accept. embrace. live.

OK. My ex-wife seems intent on driving me absolutely batty, so I need to write about something that will: a) put a smile on my face and b) use as few brain cells as possible. So please excuse me if this post sounds like it has come straight out of the PINK FOG.

I went shopping this evening for some birthday presents for my kids. About 8 months ago, my son saw a picture of a truck with a conveyor-belt loading thing in the Richard Scarry book I was reading him. I loved Richard Scarry when I was little. Anyway, he decided that he simply must have this truck. I've looked and looked, and been asked 10 times if I found his truck yet, but alas, no truck. I was in luck tonight, as the toy store at the mall actually had one! It cost $60, but I had no choice in the matter. They didn't have anything that I thought my daughter would like, so I decided to go shop for some work clothes. Meh.

I tried on a couple things and they looked hideous. I felt fat. On the bright side, they might have enhanced my ability to be seen as myself, as two of the skirts made me look pregnant. But, I am not pregnant, and I don't care to adorn myself in clothes which make me look like I am.

So I soldiered on. I grabbed a couple other outfits off the rack, and was walking past the "hip" section, the section which just might be a tad out of my age range, and I saw this peasant dress. It just kind of reached out as I walked by and smacked me.  So so cute.  Split neckline, little tassled ties, ruffled hem, sleeve length that looked like it might work on me.  So cute, and so not appropriate for work. Too short, too bohemian, too fun. Oh, and too expensive. But, I figured what the hell, I'll grab it and try it on for fun.

I tried it on, and it looked adorable!  Too adorable.  Quite a bit shorter than other stuff I have but not inappropriately short.  Cute-short.  I put it back on the rack, though, as I was there for work clothes.  I wandered around for about 15 more minutes and the little voice in my head talked to me about my dress.  Whoops.  Um, I mean that dress.  Not my dress.  Hmm, maybe you could wear it to work in the Fall with thick brown tights and boots.  You might be able to get away with it, you know.  So it is kind of for work, really.  Ooh ooh ooh.  You know that mustard-colored bag your sister got you for your birthday?  It would go perfectly with this dress.  If you think about it, it'd be a sin *not* to get it.  You never find anything with patterns that you like.  In fact, you were thinking this morning how boring your work clothes are.  Yeah, I think you ought to get it.

You know the rest of the story, of course.  I even changed into it after I bought it and did a little more shopping.  So it ended up being a productive shopping trip.  Although I need to get a little better at rebutting that little voice in my head.