Turquoise Lace

So... remember how shocked I was last year, when Oprah changed my life? She did it again. With my suave and sophisticated (for our neck of the woods) friend, H's help. See-- H is the kind of professional woman who shops at Nordstrom. Not even the Rack-- at least, not often. And about a year ago, she had a bra fitting. It changed her life.

Since then, she's been encouraging L and I to have our lives changed, too. And yesterday, since it was the half-yearly sale at good old Nordy's and all... we went. And had a bra fitting. And yes- it changed my life. "Oh, you're a 32-- definitely not a 36. And you've underestimated your cup size by two cups. Here-- try this on. It fits, doesn't it? Yeah-- it looks good on, too. It's an Oprah."

Wow. There in the dressing room at Nordstrom, with a total stranger wearing about twice the legal limit in eyeshadow, Oprah changed my life. Again. I cannot tell you how much more confident I feel wearing an understory that FITS-- it holds up the right parts of my anatomy, and it doesn't pull down on my injured shoulder, and it looks all smooth under my summer T-Shirts, and ... wow. I never thought being this shallow could be this gratifying.

Of course, none of the five bras in my size AND on sale were anything I'd wear. Lime yellow. With sequins. Fire orange with no straps... hmm... Nope. So I paid full price for something that FITS. I don't know if it's the new cup size or the sticker shock, but I'm still reeling from the experience. And by the way-- if you wear an understory-- GET TO A NORDSTROM NEAR YOU, let the over-dressed (and very helpful) teenage expert put the oh-so-cold tape measure around your ribs-- and change your life forever.

Seriously.

...okay... why am I surprised that the spellchecker doesn't know the word "nordstrom?"

Pumpkins

I just found the most AWESOME set of blogs! The kick-off blog is called Three Beautiful Things, and it's author has started a revolution. The 3BT revolution. You will now see it as one of my labels on a regular basis. I love this idea. LOVE IT!

The other two spin-offs (much encouraged) of the original that I've found so far-- and love-- are called Simple Things, and Pumpkin Diary. I think H&J will especially appreciate the Pumpkin Diary, as it is a first-time father's account of his first child-- from conception to 2 years, so far.

The idea is that each blogger will start a blog section, new post, what have you in which they make a commitment to post three things that brought them joy or made them smile every day. POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT, PEOPLE! I love it. So-- in honor of this delicious find, here are my three things of the day:
-Three Beautiful Things
-Simple Things
-Pumpkin Diary

YAY!

The Baby Has Oomph

So... Did you know that Mono is one of those illnesses that most people only get once-- and then they develop an immunity to it? Did you know that some people are carriers-- and that you are just as likely to catch Mono by going to the movies (or whatever) as by being in a room with someone who is sick with it? And that by the time you reach the age of 35, there is a 95% probability that you have already developed immunity to the illness, and therefore don't really run any big risks by being around someone with Mono.

Not only that, but it is called a "kissing disease" for good reason-- you have to ingest/inhale the spit droplets from someone kissing or sneezing or coughing on you to actually be EXPOSED to it in the first place. In my experience, I've been exposed to Mono. Repeatedly. And as my costar recently reminded me, our college was that kind of an academic environment where people succumbed to stress, got horribly sick, and still went to class out of fear of falling behind. So even without the wave of Mono that hit my high school Junior year, I've definitely been exposed.

With all that in mind... I'm currently taking care of a 2.5 year old boy with a very bad case of Mono. And his little sister, who (much to my surprise) is nearly ten months old already. He doesn't know how to cover his mouth when he coughs. He doesn't like these early nap-times we keep forcing him to take-- and is so stubborn that sometimes he WON'T SLEEP even though he is falling over when he walks because he's so tired. He also doesn't understand why (now that he's home from the hospital and obviously improving in health-- though he'll be contagious for something like six weeks or more) the world no longer revolves around his every whim. What-- no s'moors power bar for breakfast? What-- you are actually sending me to the time-out chair for whining repeatedly and taking a toy away from my little sister?? You haven't done that in WEEKS! ...sigh...

And yesterday... yesterday was the pivotal day when everyone finally got fed up with everything. That day when you've been under such stress for so long that now, finally, you can relax, and therefore the grumps hit. The WHY DOES THIS HAVE TO BE SO DIFFICULT-- I JUST NEED SOME TIME OFF FROM EVERYTHING, DAMMIT part of the recovery process. And it hit the whole family at once. Even the baby.

Until yesterday, I never knew it was possible to get bigtched out by a baby. But yesterday was different. Yesterday, it happened a lot. And it was really funny-- when I remembered to take deep breaths, because I was so frustrated by her determination to have it all go HER WAY, BECAUSE SHE KNEW SHE DESERVED IT, AND SHE WAS GOING TO GET IT, DAMMIT! She would scrunch her little face up into a determined and grumpy prune, and just dare me not to help her get what she was going for at that moment (mostly, to be in my arms, playing with the toy her brother was holding). And if she didn't get what she felt was her due at that moment, she'd let loose the "come to jesus" scream. Even some big crocodile tears, and a discontented bounce or two. I tell you, that baby has OOMPH!

Already I can tell that her parents will have to invest in some serious therapy once she reaches teen-hood. Therapy for them. And I also think she'll be an awesome adult: strong, independent, determined. Just like her mom.