Pockets

Today's topic: women's trouser pockets.

Because of the dress code where I work (and because I've worked there for several years) I own a decent assortment of slacks, trousers, corduroys, and khakis.  I will admit, I have my favorites (namely, a $13 pair of clearance slacks from Target...amazing that they were long enough), but I generally like them all (even the lime green ones!).  At the beginning of the summer, I was wandering through the fabulous BR, and came across a pair of beautiful slacks, and even better, they were on the sale rack, listed for $26.  So I tried them on.  They fit.  And for $26, I couldn't pass it up.  I approached the register, the cashier scanned the tag in.  $13 magically appeared on the screen.  I couldn't believe it.  $13 for a fabulous pair of BR slacks!  I wanted another pair, so naturally, I said, "hold that thought" and ran and got another pair.  I went home quite happy that day.

Fast forward to today.  While on a recent trip to the District (of Columbia) I purchased a pretty, short-sleeved wrap sweater, and clearly needed to pair it with a nice pair of slacks..  After arriving at work in my BR slacks and wrap sweater, I settled myself in, and set about unlocking my file drawers.  When I was done, I went to slip my keys in my pockets, fully expecting to encounter a slant pocket, only to discover (and remember) that these pants have slit (horizontal) pockets - so not functional in any way, shape, or form.

And herein lies my quandary, it's something I've thought about on several different occasions: why do clothing designers design women's slacks either with no pockets at all (horrendous!) or with minuscule slit pockets that barely hold anything?  If anyone knows the answer, please let me know.  In the meantime, I will continue to wish these pants had real pockets.

Martha Agrees

Yes, I get daily emails from Martha Stewart.com (several in fact).  Yes, I read them.  Yes, I like them.  And yes, I get daily emails from Martha Stewart Weddings.  In one recent email, Do's and Don't's of Wedding Registries were presented.  I logically had to read more, hoping that my opinion would be confirmed that it is (slightly) tacky to tell people where you are registered in your wedding announcement/invitation.  It's like saying, "I really like these stores, and I really think you should buy me THIS."  While the concept is nice, there must be a better way of presenting the information.  And so I give you this from Martha:

Don't Tell Guests Where You're Registered in Your Invitation

Once you have registered, give the information to immediate family and the wedding party, and let them spread the word. If you are asked where you have registered, it is fine for you to tell, but it is not proper to include registry information in a wedding invitation. Registry information can be included on a wedding website, as long as the actual name of the store is not included on the same layer; organize your website so that guests must click down one level to find the details.

Thank you, Martha Stewart (er, your staff) for coming out and saying what I have always thought; may many brides-to-be read your website and follow your advice.

School Days

When I was growing up, and then even through my last year of college, summer was always a cherished time, free from homework, papers, and most importantly, tests.  And then inevitably, every year, it happened.  Stores would send out their ads, featuring new backpacks, sharp pencils, shiny pens, and crisp notebooks.  The beginning of a new school year.  A growing angst would form in the pit of my stomach.  Who wants to go back to school?  I never did.

It happened again.  The ads started coming.  Commercials on TV.  The angst.  But then, suddenly, miraculously, my brain started to form around a new idea, "I don't have classes starting in a month."  Wait, what?  After being in school for 20 years, I don't have school?  How can this be?  The angst dissipates.  My mind relaxes.  A sigh of relief.  I don't have school.  I'm free.  No homework.  No term papers.  Tests?  Well, yes.  There's the GRE  looming in the future.  And maybe the LSAT.  And those of course will bring homework, and term papers.  But for now, I will enjoy the bliss of not being a student.

Duvet, Finally

At the beginning of the year I mentioned that I was going crazy and in need of a project.  Well, I finished the project quite awhile ago, and have been in the process of finishing other projects that have been sitting for the last six months to a year just waiting to be finished.

After picking out some pretty awesome fabric, in a color scheme I wasn't even planning on, I began the several month process of making a duvet.  I was pretty proud of myself to get those mitered corners to turn out so well.  I still need to make a bed skirt to match, but I'm thinking that will have to wait until I get a place of my own.

When the bed was finished, the next part was curtains.  I debated.  I wasn't sure what accent colors I wanted to throw in.  Pink?  Green?  Blue?  Purple?  I finally settled on a royal purple (eggplant, anyone?) and a subdued lime green.  The curtains ended up being cream and eggplant.  And while I didn't get pictures, I have green and purple flowers around the place - it's pretty fabulous.

With so many new things going on, I rearranged a few furniture pieces and decided I finally needed to get myself a chair.  After being converted (it was a long conversion process) to Ikea (thanks Brandon and Felicia) I opted for an upholstered dining chair.

Lastly, I had this picture project going for the past year or more.  I had them hanging and everything, in these frames, but the middle quote portion was printed on four sheets of computer paper taped together, and there was cardboard backing showing on the sides.  It was quite the site to see.  But I finally broke down and finished it (thanks Jessica!).

Quandry

Since graduating, I've been faced with many potentially life-altering decisions.  Where to live.  What to do.  And when to move forward with any of it.  What for some may have been an easy task, I have found the answers to these questions quite daunting.  And, just when I feel like I've finally made a break through, come to a decision, and I feel REALLY good about it, for days or weeks at a time even, then a new day comes, and the choice seems to weigh heavily on me.  Is it simply discouragement creeping in?  Is it just me, overanalyzing the situation?  Is it my brain fully comprehending all of the implications of such a decision?  Or is it simply because it's not the BEST choice for me right now?

It's like an eternal p-day

On the mission, Wednesdays (a.k.a. p-day) were long awaited, and coveted.  The end of the mission brought the promise of what I liked to think of as the "eternal p-day".  With the end of the semester (as well as my undergrad career) nearing, I have begun to feel like I did at the end of my mission.  I can remember thinking how nice it would be to just be done.  I fully understood and realized that while "real life" would not be all I was cracking it up to be, it would still be fabulous.  And it was!  And now, similarly, I realize "real life" will not be all that amazing (likely pretty boring, actually), but there won't be homework!  There won't be term papers!  There won't be grades!  Seriously, I don't think life can look any greener. (in that aspect anyway.  Don't ask me what I'm going to do afterward; I still don't know)  Don't get me wrong, I like learning.  I just don't like learning for a grade.  It takes the fun out of it.  And learning, above all, should be enjoyable.  One week from today, I will be officially graduated.  And free.  Long live p-days!

Spring, I can just feel it...

I must say I love the onset of spring.  It's glorious, and oh so full of hope!  One of my favorite parts of spring are the flowers.  I love love LOVE spring bulbs, particularly tulips, so I love to see the starts of them poking through the crusty, seemingly untouched earth.  A few weeks ago, I decided to get out my camera and experiment with a few settings I discovered (hooray for taking it off of automatic mode!).  While I don't consider myself a good photographer by any means, I must say I was impressed with what I captured...shown here are some daffodils poking through, as well as some crocus' in full bloom.  Ahh, Spring!

Feverish Dreams

I don't normally get sick, and in fact, don't let myself get sick, who has time for that?  Unfortunately for me, however, this week brought on a case of the common cold.  Monday I could  feel that maybe I was getting something, but I hoped that a PMA (Positive Mental Attitude) would stave it off.  No such luck.  Tuesday, I had a cough.  Wednesday, I was all sorts of congested (I will spare you all the rest of those details.).  I went to bed last night at 9 pm hoping that between lots of pineapple, vitamin c, orange juice, and sleep I'd be able to overcome this blasted illness in three days.  I turned out my light, and settled in for what I was hoping would be a glorious night of 8 hours of sleep.  Somewhere between the hours of 10:45 and 12:00 am I awoke with dead arms.  No good.  I also found myself feeling quite warm.  Strange - I never get feeling that warm at night in the winter months.  I didn't think much of it.  I settled back in, hoping to enjoy the rest of my night sound asleep.  2 a.m. arrived filled with what can only be attributed to fever-induced dreams.  I don't usually remember what I dream about.  But in a two hour span, I somehow conjured up a mixture of Remote Sensing, sewing, and Arabic into one big, creepy dream.  I'm currently working on a project in my Remote Sensing class that involves using a remotely sensed image (which you can see above, which I have geometrically and radiometrically corrected, as well as subset).  These images, for you novice remote sensing friends, come with several different bands in the electromagnetic spectrum, generally red, green, and blue bands, near-infrared (NIR) as well as others (thermal, infrared, panchromatic, etc), depending on the sensor.  In my dream, these bands were the blankets on my bed, and they were sewn layered together in the duvet I'm making, and I was thinking of all the new Arabic words that I had been studying for a vocab quiz (brain, liver, milk, water, you know, useful stuff when you're sewing a remotely sensed duvet cover....)(got the best score on that quiz than any other, I'll have you know....).  It was slightly creepy, and I felt like I was being smothered by these data bands.  bleck. I hope that my duvet doesn't come out looking like a remote sensing image.

Pair #36

If you know me at all, you've likely noticed I wear argyle quite often.  And, you've probably also noted that if I'm wearing socks, I'm wearing argyle socks. (unless I'm wearing athletic shoes in which case I am most definitely NOT wearing argyle socks, because that would be fashion faux pas #127, wearing argyle socks with athletic shoes.)  Well.  Today, thanks to my favorite store and also my awesome mom, I added to my argyle sock collection.

It must be understood that if you are going to be "Little Miss Argyle Socks" than you need to have a lot of argyle socks.  We're not talking about a few pairs...no, no, no.  We're talking about "a pair for every day and every outfit."  When I (sub)titled this, I literally meant, a pair for every day and every outfit.  This means that you have to have  A LOT of socks, and A LOT of color combinations.  Last week, out of curiosity, I counted my socks.  35 pairs of lovely argyle socks.

Now, don't judge me and think to yourself, "Man, she went out and bought that many socks?"  Argyle socks aren't cheap, especially if you're as picky about them as I am.  The argyle pattern itself has to span the entire sock, not just be a single ring around the top of the sock.  The colors cannot be gross, they must coordinate.  And, if at all possible, the same combination of colors cannot be a repeat of a pair I already own (yes, I am so familiar with my socks that if I look at a pair in a store, I know if I have something like it).  So, to answer the question, no, I did not go and buy 35 pairs of socks last week.  No, I've been collecting them for 7 years now.  I got my first three pair of argyle socks for my 18th birthday (the same birthday I got my first pair of JCrew pants, mind you (which I still own and wear); yes, it was a memorable birthday).  I still have all three pair.  So, over the years, I will buy a pair here, and a pair there. (Every once in awhile, GAP will have "3 for $18" sales, so I stock up when I can, birthdays are also fabulous times for a few new pair).  I wonder if there's a world record for such a collection?

Running, hobbies, school. In one word: LIFE

I realized recently that I don't update this "blog" very often. I also realized that this may be because my readership is slight. I think I realized this after watching the movie "Julie and Julia". Interestingly enough, it was actually inspiring in some ways for me. I contemplated for about 5 minutes doing something similar, except maybe with a dessert cookbook (some recipes in a full-on cookbook can be..well..strange....). That idea was dismissed after realizing that I would eat way too many sweets and that my body, as well as those of my parents might not fully appreciate the extra fat. (Our taste buds sure would though!) The other problem with such a scheme is my free time comes in waves - sometimes I feel like I have nothing going on, and others, I feel like there is not enough time in the world to accomplish everything that I need/want to. (this is usually a result of procrastination....)

Last post, I said I would be graduating in April. Well. Let me make an addendum to that. Let's make that August. Yes, August. Remember how I was going to graduate in December? Oh, yes, that's right. That was two months ago. Yesterday, I just registered for Spring/Summer classes. I'm beginning to wonder if I'll be a university student for the rest of my life. But, I want to take these classes, and know they'll be worthwhile in the end...it's just the process of not moving on with life that is killing me.

I think I need a new hobby. I started thinking about this yesterday. Early on when I started this whole blog deal, I told about my swimming. Wasn't that fabulous? I sure thought so! (Still do.) My dedication to the sport is waning this semester, unfortunately. The pool has been overly crowded which elimintates the enjoyment factor for me. I used to crave it and hated when I didn't get it in my day. If I didn't swim a mile, I'd work for it the next day. I felt so accomplished. Now, I'm lucky if I hit half a mile. I hit my plateau. Lately, I've been working on running. I started out with a more than 9 minute mile. After straining tendons and waiting two months for my foot to heal, I made a come back. I brought my mile down to 8:49, then 8:32, and this week hit 8:12. It was amazing. It was hard. It burned. It was totally worth it. I'll keep setting goals to bring it even lower (er...faster?) but then what? I will only be able to go so far. Yes, I'll be able to add distance and keep the time down, but then what? As I walked off the track yesterday morning, I decided I need something more. But what? I already have all the exercise my body can take in my routine. I have a job. I have classes (with subsequent homework). I teach primary. I drive (yes, I actually enjoy driving...weird, I know). I've started baking again.

Part of me wants to redesign my bedroom; make a duvet and new curtains. Part of me wants to take up photography. Part of me wants to really master my Arabic skills. Part of me wants to read more. What to do? I feel like I need fulfillment. Validation. Enjoyment. Distraction.

Suggestions? Anyone?