Missing in Action

Yes. I have been, haven't I?

jacket — Liz Claiborne Liz & Co (thrifted)

tee — French Dressing (Costco)

pants — RockStar (Old Navy)

shoes — Blowfish (DSW)

I keep looking at my feet, thinking that I'll find the answer down there, but it's of no use ...  I admit it. I'm just a slacker. That, and I've been insanely busy ... and stressed. And when I wasn't insanely busy or stressed, I was resting and recuperating from being insanely busy and stressed. So I wasn't really slacking. Really and truly I wasn't ... cross my heart and hope to die [who knew that Cross My Heart and Hope to Die was a Norwegian movie? Ti kniver i hjertet].

I look at these pictures and see one thing — my sleeves pushed up.

"Hello, world!" she shouts! "I am ready to get to work!" Yes, indeedy, I am ...   <snort>

I am a BIG sleeve pusher upper. I can't wear a long-sleeved anything without pushing up the sleeves. Even now, I am sitting at the computer wearing a long-sleeved shirt, and the sleeves are pushed up. It's instinctive. I have absolutely no control over it.

But these pictures are convincing me that this is a habit that really must go (along with many others ... biting your nails, anyone?). I mean, do you ever see really cool women pushing their sleeves up (or biting their nails, or any other awful habits?!)?

 

from http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/03/10/meryl-streep-to-play-hillary-clinton.html

Dreaming about a woman president, yes, I am ...  WOW! It's just so so exciting to think of it being an honest to goodness possibility! (Yes. I know that we are four years away from another election, but still ... It really never seemed to be quite possible before, and now it does!)

As silly as it sounds, I'll bet a woman president wouldn't have her sleeves pushed up ... I think that it's probably something that the photographers tell the movers and the shakers of the world — do NOT push up your sleeves! Don't  you think so?

 http://www.newnownext.com/meryl-streep-hilary-clinton-movie/12/2012/

I just absolutely adore this picture of Meryl Streep and Hillary Clinton! What strong and beautiful women in their own right — their strength is what makes them beautiful!

Linking up to Visible Monday, sponsored by my lovely friend Patti at Not Dead Yet Style. "Why?" you ask. Because even though I have been MIA, I'm not dead yet!

A Day Without Water

A day without water is like a day without ... Hmmm ... Anyway, pardon me for looking a bit scattered in this picture ...

shirt — J. A. C. (thrifted)

pants — Impressions Lifestyle (can't remember; older than dirt)

shoes — Dansko (thrifted)

I was in the shower this morning (having a really lovely shower, I might add), when all of a sudden, the water slowed to a trickle and then nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch ... eek! Kari was not a happy girl. In fact, you could even say that she was quite unhappy. EXTREMELY unhappy! LOL ...

 

Ordinarily, I would have been more than unhappy. I would have been freaking out ... thinking, "What the hell happened now?" This time, however, I had a pretty good idea that it didn't have anything to do with my money pit of a house. The city has been doing something with the water lines on my street, and I was pretty sure that it was related to that. I'm not quite sure what they're doing — but they not only shut off my water this morning, but they also blocked my driveway and my street. Somebody just didn't want me to go to work this morning.

My street doesn't look in very good shape either ...

Luckily, I was just luxuriating under the shower at that point (I love when I can linger in a shower), and I was able to throw on some old faithful clothes. I've had these pants for longer than I can remember and the shirt has three-quarter sleeves — so I was good to go, even if I was a bit worse for wear by the end of the day.

I came home to a sign on my front door saying that the water was still off, and they were working on it. You never know how much you need water until you don't have it (I mean, that would be the day that the cat gaks all over the kitchen floor!)...

And speaking about water ... How is your region doing, rainfall wise, this summer? I have friends living in the Midwestern United States, and they are saying that this drought is the big one ... that there is a good possibility that we may run out of corn, which would be devastating.

Rows of corn stalks stand under a cloudless sky south of Blair, Neb., Monday, July 23, 2012.
The drought-damaged field was cut down for silage. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

To end on a happy water note though ... How about that Melissa Franklin in the 100 backstroke? Wow! So happy to see a girl (she's only 17!) who lives at home, living a normal life and succeeding. She refuses endorsements so she can keep competing for her high school. Love that!

Melissa Franklin during the semifinal of the 100m Backstroke
2010 FINA World Swimming Championships.
(Source: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images Europe)

I still get all choked up when I see and hear some of these stories.
(Absolutely thrilled for the British men's gymnastic team!)

And I finally have my act together so that I can link up to Patti at Not Dead Yet Style for Visible Monday.  Yes. I was scattered and wore comfy clothes, but I would argue to say that I did it with style :-)

Summer Survival

One of the best things about going back to work is being able to get out of the summer heat on a regular basis. And this summer, the heat has been unreal! At 8:30 this morning, it was already 88° outside. That is absolutely insane!

shirt —Nine West (thrifted)

skirt — I.Q. & Co. (thrifted)

sandals — Born (DSW)

necklace — gift (Thanks, Mom!)

bracelet — thrifted

Needless to say, that is what I dress for these days — to be comfortable in these kind of temperatures, especially since my house doesn't have air conditioning."Oy vey!" After a couple of days of temperatures over 90°, the inside of my house is literally and figuratively an OVEN!  

With temperatures like that at home? I especially love going in to work! This particular outfit was perfect — sleeveless, loose, and barelegged, with a slit up the front of my skirt to increase air circulation. LOL. (I wore this skirt another way here.)

What may even be worse than hot summer days are even hotter summer nights! There is just no escape from the heat. And I'm afraid that it has also affected my posting. I get home and I just can't move, let alone take pictures or sit at a hot computer to write a post.



What summer survival skills (SSS) have you learned to keep yourself cool and productive?

Thanks for all the good wishes about the new job. And guess what? It's only 4.7 miles away! I could walk all the way there and back in less time that it took me to get to my last job!

First Day of Work

Yes. I got a new job, and I started today! Hip, hip, HOORAY! Honestly? For me, working a 9 to 5 job is one of the best feelings in the world!

shirt — Express Essential Stretch (Express)

pants — Impressions Lifestyle (can't remember; they're older than dirt)

shoes — Dansko (thrifted)

belt — Land's End (thrifted)

I also wore this jacket going in to work, but I took it off as the day progressed — it was just too hot to keep it on.

jacket — Chequers (thrifted)

I really wanted to wear this necklace, but I chickened out at the last moment, and switched it out for something more conservative. I kind of wish that I hadn't.

Anyway, all truth be told ... I'm not so sure of this outfit. I felt okay leaving the house in the morning, but when I see the pictures? I just groan. My hair. My weight. And maybe the belt was a bad idea — it probably cut me in half or some such fashion rule that I flubbed. I dunno. All I know is that it was tough to even find a picture to post because I hated them all — pained expression and all ... I guess I knew what I was going to look like before I even saw the pictures.

So ... now the big question — what happened to me? I disappeared after I was laid off at the end of March. It probably comes as no surprise (you all have probably gone through a similar thing) that my identity is so tied up in having a job that I get kind of lost when I don't have one. I took one day off, which stretched to another, and another, and another ... and before I knew it? I didn't know how to start back up.

 On top of not having a job, I was dealing with this menopausal weight-gain thing, and that totally freaked me out. A couple of years ago, it had started to get harder and harder to lose weight and easier and easier to pack it on. When I had a somewhat normal job, I could eat sensibly and keep up some semblance of an exercise routine, but then when I started commuting to Herndon, Virginia? Everything went to hell in a handbasket at lightning speed. I not only became sedentary (no time to exercise thanks to that hellish and god-forsaken commute) but also started to eat junk food like my life depended on it (and maybe it did ... I was always on a bus or a train or in a car on in a train station). That's not particularly healthy, and I'm paying for that now in spades.

I'd love to say that I got a whole lot done and came to some remarkable revelations during my self-imposed sabbatical, but that would be lying stretching the truth a bit lot. I'm just as mixed up now as I was before. I'll probably be a whole lot better about posting now that order (a job) has been restored to my life, but my underlying angst is just as great as it was before so I will probably disappear again from time to time.

Black and Blue

Were you able to wear your school colors during the excitement of March Madness? I'd like to say that I color coordinated this black-and-blue outfit to my school colors but unfortunately that would make me a mighty tall stretcher of truth.

shirt — D.K. Gold (thrifted) skirt — Express Design Studio (Express) shoes — Blowfish (DSW) necklace — thrifted belt — thrifted

The truth is that no special thought went into selecting the colors for this outfit. Well ... that's not entirely true. I do happen to really like how black and blue looks together. What I couldn't decide about though was whether the multistrand necklace or the single strand one was better. Which do you think? (Ignore the fact that I was committing a fashion faux pas by wearing a necklace and earrings at the same time! Oh the horror of it.)

 

 

I also was a little nervous about wearing this skirt, which was a bit too tight and a bit too short,* to work. You know what they say about old ladies of a certain age wearing short skirts ... They say, "No-o-o-o-o-o!" The fashion police would probably say that it's worse than wearing a necklace and earrings at the same time! Shudder! I did try to disguise the fact that the skirt was a bit too tight and a bit too short by pairing it with an overly big shirt (aka a bag). Seriously speaking now, I think the outfit was okay — I don't think it was scandalous, and I even received some a few compliments.

* If I put it in teeny tiny letters nobody will notice that my skirt was maybe a bit too tight and a bit too short.

But back to the excitement of March Madness ... Woo hoo! and Woot! Woot! "What excitement?" you ask. Why, the excitement of the Lehigh University men's basketball team (my alma mater) beating Duke in the first round. This was a big deal. a HUGE deal. a gigantic enormous amazing HUGE deal. Did I say it was a big deal? LOL. Oh my. Not only was it Lehigh's first-ever NCAA Tournament win — as a 15th seed, but also they beat Duke (a 2nd seed) in doing it. They BEAT Duke! Now, c'mon that is huge. HUGE. Duke is Duke. Who hasn't heard of Duke? They're a powerhouse. Don't get me wrong, Lehigh is amazing, and I feel so fortunate and lucky that I was able to go there as an undergraduate. But sports is just not all that emphasized (except for wrestling. Oh, and then there's that annual Lehigh versus Lafayette rivalry thing) Whatever. You don't go to Lehigh to play sports — to make it to the big leagues. You just don't. And they won in style and class, and pulled off an upset! How I wish that I could have been back on South Mountain to celebrate. 

And then there was the excitement on the women's side as well! My second alma mater, the University of Delaware, was playing as a 3rd seed! Woo hoo! and Woot! Woot again! Even though they were expected to do well and to play in the tournament, their story was just as exciting.

Four years ago, when Elena Delle Donne graduated from high school in our tiny little state, she was the number one college recruit for women's basketball in the country. No surprise, she signed with basketball powerhouse — the University of Connecticut. She left for college, and the story turned upside down and inside out. Two days later she left UConn, came back home, gave up her scholarship, and enrolled at the University of Delaware. The women's hoops world was abuzz as to what would possess her to do this. (You've got to understand — UD is not what you would call a basketball school. In fact, it's probably more well known for producing our vice president, Joe Biden, than for women's basketball. Nobody knew why she left and people speculated, and some really nasty and cruel things were said about this 18-year-old kid.)

It turns out that Elena was homesick, and mostly homesick for her older sister, who was born without sight or hearing and with cerebral palsy. Elena sat out basketball for a year (UConn didn't release her), and then started playing basketball for UD. This was her third year, the team has finally been able to gel around the superstar player that is Elena Delle Donne and come into their own. And make no mistake — Elena is a superstar. Her story is an amazing feel good story — read more about Elena here and here.

I would like to say that both my teams went on to win and win big. I think you could safely say that they did and they didn't. To me, we can take lessons from both teams — from the Lehigh men's team to believe in yourself and the UD women's team of what is really important. And those are wins — that is what sports really should be all about.

Linking up to Fashion Friday at Blonde Episodes.

Guilty Pleasures

What's your number one guilty pleasure?

Before I tell you mine, here's the obligatory outfit picture ... 

shirt set — Andria Lieu Collection (thrifted) skirt — twenty-one (Forever 21) boots — Dansko (Dansko Factory Store) necklace — (thrifted)

I'm really disappointed about these pictures. It was one of those days when I just couldn't get a picture that I was happy with. The pictures that showed the outfit and the colors the best? My eyes were closed, or I have this pained expression on my face (see the above picture ...). And if my eyes were open? The colors were all washed out. I even tried to retake the pictures the next morning, and I finally had to admit defeat and go with what I had. Oh well ... I can always crop off my head! LOL.

Anyway ... this was another outfit that got compliments at work — both the shirt and the necklace. The shirt has one of my favorite things of all times — three-quarter sleeves. Yes. I absolutely adore three-quarter sleeves. I love them so much, that if it wasn't for the fact that three-quarter sleeves are hard to find, all my upper-body clothing for fall and winter (and cold spring days) would sport this feature. I don't know what it is about long sleeves, but they get on my NERVES big time! If I have something with long sleeves on? I push them up, I fold them up, I roll them up ... I do whatever is needed to get them out of my way (even now I am sitting here with my sleeves folded and pushed up)! I used to think it was weird and unique to me, but I've found that a lot of bloggers share the same idiosyncrasy. And even though I usually wear bracelets, the first thing I do when I get to work is to take them off and push up my sleeves!

My necklace? I have gotten so many compliments on it! And it's always from people who I would have never expected to like it. Or maybe it's not that I'm surprised that they would like it — it's more that I'm surprised that they would say something to me. People have mostly told me that they like it because it's so big and that they didn't think that they could wear it. And you know what? I never would have worn it a few years ago either! But I don't think twice about wearing a statement necklace these days. It looks great with so many outfits!

So ... what's my guilty pleasure? Reality TV, and one of my favorite ones was on tonight — Survivor. (Oh man. I admit it. I would dearly love to be on that show. I have even contemplated on submitting a video as to why they should select me. Unfortunately, I don't think that I would be all that good at the social game.) I love those shows. I absolutely love them. Yeah, there are some that I hate ... but for the most part, I love watching these stupid silly shows. Yes, even The Real Housewives of where ever ... LOL! (My daughter refused to believe that I would actual watch these women b*tch at each other — she said that they were worse than the witches girls in high school. I think they're hysterical! And you know? As bad as my life can get at times? I am never tempted to become a reality witch.)

I love seeing how people "choose" to behave when they're put in a fishbowl. Do they become a fame whore and do whatever and say whatever they need so they can extend their moment of fame? or do they stick to their morals and stay true to themselves? But then again, maybe the fame whores are being true to themselves. Who knows? And the best part about watching these shows? I don't have to think. No brain cells are involved.

In Like a Lamb

How's the weather where you are? It's been nuts in Delaware — last week, we had record high temperatures,

and then last night? Temperatures went below freezing.

shirt — Danar Hedi (thrifted)

dress — Express (Marshalls, I think? It's older than dirt)

necklace — thrifted

boots — Dansko (Dansko Factory Store)

On top of that, the wind was just roaring here yesterday! Br-r-r-r-r. I even had to turn the heat back on (the wind just whips through my walls), and bring all my plants back inside. Instead of March coming in like a lion and going out like a lamb, it's been the opposite around here.

And then how do you dress for this flip-flopping weather? I'm kind of lucky because the colder weather of the past few days is giving me the opportunity to recreate some of the outfits that I wore back in February. I was so busy before that I didn't get the chance to take pictures. Actually, it wasn't that I was busy, because I definitely had time during the day to go outside and snap a few pictures. Mostly, it's that I still feel so self-conscious about taking my pictures that I would put it off and put it off, and then it just wouldn't happen. It feels really strange to pose in front of a camera, and to take my own pictures (as opposed to somebody else taking them) on top of that? It just seems weird and self-absorbed to me. It would be one thing if somebody wanted all these pictures of me, then I would have an excuse, right? Instead, it's all about ME, ME, ME! And I dunno ... I have a hard time coming to grips with that. 

 

Anyway, back to the outfit ... The shirt is way too big (note the folded up cuffs), but I still felt pretty snazzy in this outfit. I even received several compliments on how I looked that day (I was having an awful day at work — one of my "deliverables" had been ripped apart, and I was feeling pretty crappy and upset. Usually my emotions show all over my face, so it was a nice surprise when people told me that I looked good.)

BTW, one bad thing about recreating outfits is trying to remember exactly what I wore. Sometimes that's a good thing, because I can improve the outfit for the pictures . But this time I screwed up. The belt that I actually wore was this gold-tone one and went with the shirt much better (it didn't dangle either). I'm disappointed that I forgot, because it looked pretty cool.

One last thing ... it's kind of exciting to see how my style has evolved since I started this blog!

March 2012

November 2010

I've had this black dress for forever — easily over 10 years, and probably more like 15, and maybe even 20 (seriously, when I find something I like? I hang onto it until death us do part). I loved it when I first got it, and I still love it. It's a black sheath, and it's another very, very comfortable and forgiving dress. I used to wear it a lot, and when I say a lot, I mean a LOT — maybe once a week during the winter (and this is once a week for years!), and always with that same sweater/cardigan and the same slip-on clogs. I would even wear it in the summer, because the a/c was so cold in my office! It was like a uniform for me (no lie. My kids could vouch for me!). It's not that it was a bad outfit, but it Never. Ever. Changed.

It does now. 

Linking up to Apron Thrift Girl and Thrift Share Monday.

Just like Pajamas

Have I ever said how much I love sweater dresses?! Yes. I adore them (please ignore the wrinkles — it was left in the laundry basket a bit too long!). 

dress — Weekenders (thrifted)

boots — Dansko (Dansko Factory Store)

belt — (thrifted)

I think it's hard not to look good in one (they're so forgiving), and besides that? They are so-o-o-o comfortable! To me, they're the closest thing to being able to wear pajamas at work.

And speaking about work ... I was laid off last week. Yes. Here I go again (read about how I got laid off last year here), worrying about money and wondering when and if I'll get another job. It wasn't entirely a surprise — the project that I was working on had ended last month, so I knew the ax was going to fall at some point. I just didn't know when exactly.

But on the bright side of things. . . good-bye to one hell of a commute. No more putting in 12-hour or 18-hour days, or even staying up all night because there was no point in trying to sleep before getting on the road. No more packing up in the wee hours of Monday morning to spend the next three or four days on the road. And no more getting dressed in the dark! Can you tell that I'm a bit relieved?

Even though it's scary to be unemployed, getting laid off is probably a blessing in disguise. My commute was just completely wearing me down. The days that I wasn't commuting, I was living out of a suitcase. It seemed like I was never home, and if I was home, I was so exhausted that I couldn't really do anything that needed to be done. I think that I spent enough time commuting in the past 6 months to last me a lifetime!

I do think the economy is getting better, and I got some really good experience that should help me find another job this time around. But still ...  keep your fingers (and toes) crossed that something will come up soon, and that it won't involve commuting for hours upon hours every day. In the meantime though, I'm going to start catching up on everything that went by the wayside for the past 6 months. 

Linking up to Patti at Not Dead Yet Style for Visible Monday once again!

 

And since my dress (and my bangle and my belt) was thifted?

I'm going to link up to Megan at Brass in Pocket for  Thursdays Are for Thrifters.