Stupid Fashion Rules

I am not one to blindly follow the fashion trends and fads. If I like something, then I will wear it, and probably keep it until the day I die. Or until it disintegrates. But sometimes those fads and trends do not make sense. For example, the most oft quoted fashion rule of all:

No White After Labor Day

Who knew there is history behind that?? Not only history, but common sense when it was still common. However, that rule is considered archaic by most people, and kept only by the most rigid fashionistas. So, in order to meet both contingents in the middle, fashion designers came up with the concept of winter white.

So yes, they took a color commonly known as cream and repackaged it. I think that was Coco Chanel’s idea. And I know, most men would still call that just plain white.

Another rule I have never understood:

Match Your Purse and Shoes

This is my current purse:

You bet a year’s worth of Godiva™ that I’m not going out to get the matching shoes. I love the print, but there’s a limit. Common sense dictates that your prints don’t clash. But let’s face it: it’s not like most people will be carefully looking at your shoes anyway!

And one that gets under my skin:

No Blazer With Jeans

That trend started in college. It was wildly popular. So popular that the local thrift stores were making a killing selling old men’s blazers to young college co-eds who wanted to look trendy. And no matter what fashion magazines say, it’s still popular today. Fashionistas say that it is “cheating” to wear a blazer or jacket with jeans, because you are trying to make a casual garment (the jeans) into more formal attire.

To that I say, Pfffffffffft!! If I like it, I will wear it!!

Remember, the only rule to follow in fashion is the one you make for yourself!!

Historicality!!

I love making up words. I think I enjoy it because English is my second language, and it was a challenge for me to learn it. And what better day to come with a new word than on Dr. Seuss’ birthday?? The man had a gift for brevity, and a beautiful soul to show for it.

“It has often been said
there’s so much to be read,
you never can cram
all those words in your head.

So the writer who breeds
more words than he needs
is making a chore
for the reader who reads.

That’s why my belief is
the briefer the brief is,
the greater the sigh
of the reader’s relief is.

And that’s why your books
have such power and strength.
You publish with shorth!
(Shorth is better than length.)”
― Dr. Seuss

It is also Texas Independence Day! On this day, Texas adopted its Declaration of Independence, effectively telling Mexico that Texas was free from tyranny. It is also the birthday of General Sam Houston, who is rumored to have wanted the ratification of the document on his birthday. What a way to celebrate!!

Long may she wave!!

And as a short aside, today also marks the day that Puerto Ricans were granted citizenship by President Woodrow Wilson. So if not for that, my path to being a Texan in love with Seussian wordsmanshippery  would not have happened. I hope y’all have enjoyed this little tribute to some wonderlyful historicality 🙂

Converse All Stars™ Can Save the World

I used to think I got weird dreams whenever I ate too much, or drank alcohol too close to bedtime. But apparently, that may be a false premise. After all, I have given up alcohol and fats and sweet and pretty much anything I would enjoy for Lent, and still I had a weird dream.

Any of you familiar with Doctor Who will know what a TARDIS is. And what a Dalek is. For those of you that don’t, click here. Anyway, last night I went off to sleep, thinking that my dreams would be about all the chocolate I would eat on Easter Sunday, but no…

I’m off in the middle of nowhere, and suddenly the TARDIS appears and David Tennant gets out, and tells me that he needs me. And I just look at him and tell him that I can’t help him, because I have to stand out here in the field. He asks why, and I tell him because someone said I was outstanding in the field. And he says I can’t stand in the field because he needs me and my Converse All Stars™. And I look at him as he shows me his Converse All Stars™, and he says that we are twins of destiny. And that he needs me to go with him to save an interplanetary cargoship from destruction by the Daleks. To which I ask, aren’t those things trying to kill us all? And he says that the Converse All Stars™ keep us safe from destruction. So I ask him why not just distribute Converse All Stars™ to everyone, and he looks at me and tells me to stop trying to solve problems for him. And with a wave of his screwdriver, he leaves for Footlocker™.

David Tennant was already in the TARDIS. I had left in a huff.

I can’t imagine what my dreams will be like on Easter Sunday.

Dear John

I purposely wrote that title to deceive search engines. This post has nothing to do with relationships of the personal kind.

It has to do with the U.S. Postal Service.

It never fails. I go to the post office, and always, always I hear someone complaining about the service, the price of stamps, the price of shipping, etc. Something always sets someone off. Yesterday I was there to pick up a package that I owed $0.56 on, when a lady whispered in a roar, “Boy, can this get more expensive??”, referring to the flat rate box she was using.

Uh, yes, it can, and your wish is about to come true, honey. I didn’t say it, but I sure thought it!

Personally, I do appreciate our postal system. I don’t mind paying $0.45 for first class postage. I remember dealing with Deutsche Post in Germany. First class meant it would get there in three to five days, and cost €1.50. I hear nightmares from countries all over the world, and I tend to appreciate ours a bit more, even with all the bad things about it.

Perspective: Helping Us Deal With Life Since Forever™ 😀

Home Truths

These are some of the things that I have learned this past week:

1. Never “taste” anything you find on the kitchen island that you have not placed there yourself. That is the current site of home experiments.
2. Searching pockets will not only yield loose change, gum, and paperclips, but also notes full of chemical equations and logical fallacies. Save those.
3. Always wear your glasses, even when you don’t think you need them. Screaming for your son to kill the massive spider you spied under the endtable is all well and good, until he explains it is a bit of fuzz from the dog’s toy.
4. Boredom can lead to shopping. And chemical failings, but mostly shopping.
5. The amount of cleaning you do is inversely proportional to the amount of visitors you receive. This means I should keep the house a mess if I want company coming by.
6. You only notice the amount of cookies in the pantry when you decide to give up snacking.
7. The same goes for liquor.

This concludes this week’s Extreme Wrap-Up: Aggie Losing Her Marbles Edition™. Hope y’all are enjoying your weekend!!

Soothing the Soul

Yesterday I spent the day driving in the rain. Normally that will set me on edge, because I hate driving, for one thing, and I hate dealing with idiot drivers who have no idea how to drive in the rain, for another. I must have seen the aftermath of four accidents, and several road closures, along with one bridge washout.Needless to say, by the time I got home I was beyond tired, and more than a bit grumpy.

But laying in bed after a long day, there is nothing more soothing than the sound of gentle rain falling on your roof. Thankfully, there was no thunder or lightning to disturb the dogs.

As harried as I have been, this morning finds my soul soothed, and my grumpiness gone, as I sit here and enjoy the birds singing and warbling outside, enjoying the freshness of a cool morning.

Of course, once the kids wake up that lovely peace will be shattered, but it is nice while it lasts 😀

Happy Hearts Day!!

I ♥ you guys!!!

Today I had the Travelling Red Dress photo shoot, so I am late with the post. I had a BLAST!! The photographer was not only professional, but very funny and kind, too. We did the shoot at the Japanese Gardens, and luckily the weather was warm enough. I will have pics soon and yes, I will be posting one here, as tradition dictates.

And yes, I did wear my Converse All Stars™!!

Winter, Sorta

This morning finds my corner of the world in freezing temperatures. Ok, it’s 34* Fahrenheit, which is 1* Celsius for my readers in Metriclands. I’m well aware that some of you living up North think I’m whiny about this. And you would be right. But you would whine too, if you had enjoyed the wonderful warm weather we had through January. It was warm enough for me to wash the vehicles. It was warm enough the weeds were coming up, all confused and happy. It was warm enough that the A/C was kicking in.

I guess it’s time for me to get all the cold weather clothing out and put away the t-shirts. At least I get to clean out that part of my wardrobe.

I guess Winter is a woman, and we are always waiting for her here in Texas 😉

Fairytale Versus Reality

I love fairytales. My favorite Disney™ animated film is still Cinderella. Oh sure… I like most of them, even with the creative license the screenwriters take, though sometimes they take it too far (*cough* Pocahontas *cough* Little Mermaid *cough*). Reading them in their original wording is far more sinister and suspenseful than Stephen King.

The other day I was chatting with Hubby via text messages. He had mentioned he had seen a children’s book of stories at the market, and had recognized some words. I had to laugh, because he told me he tried reading Goldilocks.

Me: Not to spoil it for you, but she breaks into a house, steals food and breaks furniture, finally passing out from her wild rampage.

Hubby: Really?!? She seems like such a nice little girl.

Me: Her name is a thinly veiled reference to her cat burglar days, when she would break the safe locks to steal gold. Do not be fooled!!

Hubby: Hehehe…

And of course, the ultimate fairytale has to be The Wizard of Oz.

Placed in appropriate context, any story can be a fairytale. Likewise, any fairytale can become bitter reality.

It’s all a question of angles 😉

On Regretting

I must say, I have very few regrets. I am very lucky in that regard. All that said, I do have some, and sometimes they surface, making me ask the inevitable, What if…?

I remember in college my Anthropology professor offered me the chance to be her student assistant during her sabbatical to Mali. I was excited, because that position was usually reserved for graduate students, and I was only a junior in college. That position could mean a slot in the graduate program (which at the time was very difficult to get). But after enjoying the accolades from fellow students, I realized I could never go. My parents were paying for part of my schooling, and my sister’s as well. The money I was earning was barely able to pay for food and incidentals, so I couldn’t save up for the flight and the expenses, since the position was that of an unpaid intern. So, I turned it down, knowing that I was passing up a huge opportunity, but also knowing the timing was not good. Years later, talking with my dad about that, he looked at me as if I had grown another head, and asked me why in the world I didn’t ask. In retrospect, it was fear that kept me from asking. Fear of being told “No”. My dad being a very smart man, told me that not only should I never be afraid of the word “No”, I should also not be afraid of accepting it, or rejecting it.

I used to regret not having gone to Mali. But I am glad that I have learned to regret the things I’ve done, rather than the ones I didn’t get to do, like dyeing my hair a chocolate cherry color.

Now, there’s a regret about which I laugh!!