New Years Day, 2009

It's official. The year of no clothes shopping has ended. As I started the new year off with a very light day of work - only five patients, I headed straight out to the Island, first to Panera, where I had the tomato soup that I got hooked on during NaNoWriMo, and then to EMS where I broke my fast in style.

First I bought the thing I needed most since early fall - a new raincoat. My old one, which you can ring water out of, is now in the trash.




Waterproof, breathable, and not in a girly pastel color!

Next I bought a soft shell to go with it:



It's darker than it looks.

And not clothes but I needed a new travel wallet:



Then I came home and went online on Title Nine and bought a pair of pants, a tee shirt and two pairs of socks. Now I am all set for the rest of winter and my trip to Britain in two weeks.

I bagged for the thrift shop at my parents' church:

1 pair cords, a sweater, two fleece jackets and a shirt I never really liked and only wore I think once. As well as the old rain coat I pitched my old travel wallet which was all dirty and never fit my passport properly anyway.

What I learned from this past year:

1. I don't really like clothes shopping. It didn't leave much of a void, if any. And if there was it filled very very quickly.

2. I'd rather have one shirt I abolutely love than ten cheap ones I don't really like.

3. two pairs of jeans are enough.

4. when i find something I really do love, I don't need to go buy four more.

5. sewing is fun. I hope to eventually move on to things that can be worn out of the house, but at the very least I will never have to buy pajamas again.

That's about all I can think of at the moment!

Throwing away the scale

Now that nanowrimo is over, well almost over, there are still almost twelve hours to go. I've not written in my novel for a couple of day but i do plan to go out with a bang later after church by hanging out in the nano chat room and cheering on my fellow writers till midnight, and maybe getting another thousand or two words in before the deadline as well.

But this blog post is not supposed to be about fiction writing, or my future plans for that which are bouncing through my head, distracting me as we speak. I had resolved that once nano was over I would try to write a blog post a week, that is not a copy paste from my live journal, most likely on sundry mornings (*cough* afternoon) because that's my generally calm and quiet time, sitting around the house in pajamas, drinking coffee, and just puttering. A 7:15PM church service is a beautiful thing. I figure if I could pound out 50 thousand words of drivel disguised as fiction (and many scenes of people drinking coffee, or tea, or debating the relative merits of coffee versus tea - I think I should just call next year's novel 'Scenes from a Starbucks' and have done.) then I can pound out a few hundred words of blog post a week, surely? Though the blog will not be immune from coffee references, because coffee is love. Especially with pumpkin spice creamer.

Mixed up in my nano notes in the notebook I've been carrying around since mid October are lots of little ideas for blog posts, and the challenge today is to try not to cram them all in to one, because I am in the mood to write something not related to adventures on the moon, the coffee is flowing (see?), it's raining and I have the house to myself.

No. Must stay on track. Yes.

Right, so today's blog post will be about idols.

I've been reading and hearing quite a bit lately about idols - in books, sermons, podcasts, etc. When I think of idols, the first thing that pops into my head is a silly statue, like the falling fish god, the golden calf, or Jabu in the movie 'Major League' who gets offering of rum, cigars, and Kentucky Fried Chicken. And I always think, so self righteously, how could anyone be so stupid as to worship something like that?

Of course, we wouldn't. Two thousand plus years after Bible times our idols have become way more sophisticated.

If this year of no clothes shopping has taught me anything, it's that clothes are not my issue. Finishing my eleventh month of no clothes shopping today, I still don't really feel it. I wonder where on earth I found the time to go shopping for clothes, and I'm not really looking forward to resuming it. I could almost go another year, except that I really need a new raincoat, one that does not absorb water. Did you know Gortex wears out? Apparently after a few years, it does. And proper running shoes, from the store where they watch you run on the treadmill and look at your old shoes to see where you wear them out... But this post was not supposed to be about clothes.

My idol is the scale. I decided this after about two years now of weighing and recording, obsessing about numbers changing, counting and recording points, trying to hyper organize everything I eat in one day, blowing it, feeling guilty, and then blowing it some more. And then last year, trying to fit training into the mix, calculate how many points I exercised and need to replace, so as to not pass out during a workout, which would be bad. Discovering the the weight watchers site has no clue about energy bars and sports gels and drinks didn't help.

So I threw out my scale. Well, actually i didn't because I would feel guilty throwing out a perfectly good appliance. It, they actually, are in the top of my closet, if anyone would like them. I have one old fashioned and one digital that supposedly also calculates body fat and percentage of water. I have decided to accept my body as it is. I'm not *really* overweight. I did a triathlon this year, for crying out loud. Okay, it took me four and a half hours, but still. And with no new clothes, everything still fits from this time last year.

I had a wonderful time this past month with all the write-ins, making healthy choices as best I could from the menus at Panera and Cosi, and then indulging a little bit if I wanted to, to reward myself for my word count. I'm also having fun experimenting with cooking, and continuing my training, which are other blog posts.

so I shall leave you with a picture of my thanksgiving leftovers, and go make pancakes. And perhaps catch up on the blogs I've not read all month. My rss reader just might be about to explode...

I had many ambitious plans for today, and ended up getting through about half of my list. Two doctor's apts (I'll spare you squicky details, but everything's fine) took longer than I thought, and I ended up almost finishing my book in the waiting rooms, So naturally I had to go to Starbucks to finish it before I came home. Plus it was after 3 and I'd had no coffee yet! Or food for that matter. So, Starbucks, grocery store and by the time I got home, I might as well have been at Ork.

Did manage to get four loads of laundry done, as well as going though my dresser and closet and ruthlessly getting rid of anything I've not worn all summer.





Ronon Bear supervises The Great Clothing Purge



All packed up! 5 bags.

I had wanted to clean and bake cookies, but by now was after 8. So cookies will be baked tomorrow, and as for cleaning.... I'll negotiate with the dust bunnies to hide when my company arrives on Sat! Or perhaps TehJerry will feel a compulsion to clean tomorrow. That's a better plan.

I did however make a healthy dinner.



Now to shower and decide which book I will start next.

No Clothes Shopping Update

This week I'll enter into my fifth month of no clothes shopping, so I'm almost halfway through. I'm wondering if the second half will be more difficult, as so far I'm not really feeling anything. Catalogs go straight to the recycle pile, I barely glance at the windows when I walk past shops, and when I do I'm generally apathetic about the stuff in the windows. I'm looking forward to having more time to experiment with sewing after the triathlon.

to recap- since January first I've purchased:

- one pair of capri running tights, in London (after nearly passing out in fleece lined ones at almost 50 degrees in York)

- one pair of $5 thongs (the shoe version) at Target, for swim training

- one souvenir tee shirt at the Comhaltas convention - half price and just as dude was ready to pack up on Sunday.

And that's it :)

And so it begins...

The post Diane was waiting for *grin*.

I have a Robin Hood fanfic pounding my brain, but I need to get all my New Years posts done first while it is still New Years Day. So, here goes:

(drum roll please)

Today marks day one of the Year of No Clothes Shopping! And I didn't even buy coffee today, so we're off to a good start.

Exceptions:

-gifts, gift cards
-souvenirs, tho they must be real souvenirs, not "oh what a gorgeous sweater and hey, I'm in London." Nope. It must have a British flag, and or a cheesy slogan like Mind the Gap. (and don't worry about me, I can find plenty other things to buy in London. Books. DVDs, SuperPoseable Guy of Gisborne Action Figure *ahem*)
-anything I make, once I figure out how to use my new sewing machine. Which means fabric and patterns are fair game.
- any remaining gear I need for my Team in Training Triathlon. I hear rumor of something scarily called "tri-shorts"...

I am looking forward to all the new and exciting things I will do this year, and wearing old clothes to do them! :D

Modesty

I don't think that I am an overly modest person. I don't mind showing some skin, leg, arm, etc. I love shorts and low rise pants that add a few inches to my torso. I have no issues with wearing a swim suit, hate long skirts, and rebel against the notion that women shouldn't wear jeans to church, tho I respect the rule against wearing them if I am leading worship.

I especially adore the soft clingy feel of Old Navy tank tops. I just wish most of the necklines were about two inches higher. I was shopping earlier this week, looking for a couple *non* tank tops for summer, a brown themed swimsuit top to go with the shorts I made from capris, and possibly a cute dress for church and parties. Of all the things I tried on, I walked away with Bermuda jean shorts, a skirt, a sweater (on clearance sale, see previous post), and another couple tank tops.

Every single one of the shirts, dresses, and swim suit tops I tried on had one thing in common - they exposed so much of my chest that I might as well just walk around in shorts and a bra. Actually my bras cover more than some of these tops. I don't mind showing a hint or shape of cleavage, and I admit I have another motive for keeping my chest to myself - I had heart surgery when I was nine, and so have a scar that runs straight down the center. But really.

This morning I was reading from "Real Sex" by Lauren Winner, and a couple passages jumped out at me after this (and many many other) shopping experience.

Lauren is discussing taking her friend's five year old shopping for school clothes: The kindergarten set, it appears, is wearing the same low-riding, midriff-revealing tops and trousers that their big sisters and moms are sporting, At least, the working-class and middling kindergartners are. All the affordable shops, in other words, specialize in revealing outfits and tight skirts. Wealthy daughters, whose parents can afford to shop at Hanna Andersson and Nordstrom, still get little girl clothes - crinolines and dresses and smocking. But we apparently expect their less well off cousins to start dressing for sex early.

I thought,wait a minute, it's not just kids shops but ours too. Sure, I can pay $40 for a full coverage unfitted tank top from Title Nine, but my budget would cry much less if I grab the two for $12 at Old Navy.

Reading further: Try finding a truly modest summer frock that doesn't make you look like a sack of potatoes - it isn't impossible, but it also isn't the easiest thing in the world either.

Or cheap. *sigh* All I'm asking for is a couple of inches here and there, without sacrificing style. I want to be covered, comfortable, and not look like I borrowed my grandmother's clothes. If I were a seamstress, I'd make or alter my own, and I admire those that do, but sewing is not my forte. I can manage cutoff shorts and replacing a button, that's about it. Let's face it, you can't chat on the computer, watch TV, or read a book while using a sewing machine. Possibly by the end of next year I might be making my own pajama bottoms (WHAT is the obsession with drawstrings??? They might make Jean Butler look good, but no one else!), but don't hold your breath.

Thankfully I wear a uniform, so have no workplace clothing issues. Anyway, will have much food for thought in the next year.