I don't mind the rat race but I could do with a little more cheese.

An unexpected boon arrived in the mail towards the end of last week in the form of a check from my mother-in-law. In the accompanying note, she said that she'd read my post on Facebook about having cleaned out my closet and having only a few garments left which fit. I was incredibly touched and put that fun money to use on Sunday when courtney_d_h took me to Unique in Faifax for a full-on thrifting spree. I've never enjoyed thrift shopping for clothing because, well, nothing fit. But now that I'm a standard size, it was an absolute blast! She'd suggested wearing a loose skirt and leggings and a tank top. All I had in the way of skirts, though, are my exercise skirts (which I am thrilled to bits about them actually fitting now!) and I showed up at her place looking like I was ready for a bike ride.

Anyway, she is physically smaller than I in every direction and much more hour-glassy, plus we have much different coloring in that she is blonde/blue-eyed/pink-skinned and I am blonde/brown-eyed/warm-toned-in-summer (and pale blue in winter). So, when she found a top that too big/too long/too muted for her, she tossed it my way and I reciprocated when I found garments that were more suited to her. I came out of store with half a dozen capris, four skirts, and eight work-appropriate blouses all for $100+tax. We'll be doing that again when it's time for cold-weather clothes.

We also spent a couple of hours catching up on each others' lives over a barely-nibbled-at bowl of queso which, we would have devoured in milliseconds back in the hold days. The way things change...

Saturday was full of home-repair (Hubbyfink) and cleaning (me). Slowly but surely we're getting the minor repairs taken care of and may actually finish the basement this fall. I'm so excited about that prospect. psalite came over late in the afternoon and we spent a couple of hours paddling about the pool catching up with each others' and friends' lives. My goodness. It wasn't until this weekend that I realized what a hermit I'd become. Must force myself out of the house and enjoy all those friendships I've cultivated before they wither away.

Friday night, Hubbyfink and I finished "Sherlock". OMG. I am soooo glad that we only just got into that program otherwise I would be crawling the freaking walls. I'm also shipping FreemanWatson/CumberbathHolmes like whoa. I haven't started down the fanfic path just yet, but it's only a matter of time.

It was really and truly wonderful, and one of those weekends you hope will never end. Friday night was full of laziness and then flailing about the new Sherlock series. (After having viewed an additional three episodes, I have developed impure feelings for Benedict Cumberbatch's sociopathic Holmes. Unf.)

Saturday was even lazier with me not rolling out of bed until the crack of noon. I spent a good portion of the afternoon catching up with a college friend whom I haven't seen in, oh, seventeen years? Good gravy. Then there was shopping which resulted in additional organization tools for the bathroom cabinet, cosmetics and fuchsia and purple hair dyes, a slinky dress, and the most adorable tankinis I've ever worn. And BONUS on the swimsuits: I got them from the REGULAR MISSES SIDE OF THE STORE. Boo-yah! (In fact, I think the tops are only XL instead of XXL and they may not carry me to the Outer Banks vacation in October. But, they'll get me through next week's dips in Mom's pool and excursions on the lake.)

Sunday was bittersweet in that we attended a going-away party for chargirlgenius and family who are moving to Colorado. snolan generously opened his house to us and we all spent the afternoon swimming, noshing on yummy foodstuffs, and visiting with far- and near-flung friends. Snolan even pulled out some port that was older than the majority of us for sipping. OMG. I had only a sip and it made me cross-eyed. More ports and a sweet wine came out and, again, I had only sips of each but I declared Scott the driver for the return trip home. It was terribly sad saying good-bye to Char and Jeff, but we'll get to see them in a couple of months when we visit Colorado. They'll have to show us their favorite hang-outs.

This morning's alarm was a harsh return to reality. I wanted very much to call in a mental health day, but that was more laziness speaking. Work is being gentle with me thus far and for that I am grateful. I'm sure things will get hairy as Bossman realizes that I'll be out of the office next week...

More trends I won't/can't do:

• Exposed booties - I'm talking about the shoes here. Short (ankle- or low-calf height) boots are great under jeans or maxi skirts, but an abomination over skinny jeans and with knee-length or above skirts. And don't even get me started on booties with shorts. Ugh. It's been a trend for a while, but I think it's a stupid trend and I simply will not do it.
  
• Belts over the top layer - Fashion bloggers, even plus-size FBs, everywhere seem to pull off the belt-over-top-layer-blouse or cardigan look with ease. Me? Not so much. I've tried wide belts, skinny belts, solid color, patterned, natural waist, low waist, empire waist and I think it looks TERRIBLE on me. This makes me sad because it looks SO GOOD on other women. Of course, maybe it looks good for only those few seconds it takes for the shutter to snap and they, too, are futzing and rearranging the belt all day long.
  

Trends I'm not brave enough to do:

• Faux fur vests - Chic and urbane if done correctly. I'd probably look like an escapee from Sesame Street.
  
• Pattern mixing - The closest I've come was wearing leopard pumps (which were nearly completely covered by my slacks where only my toes peeped out) and a dark floral cardigan. There are some girls out there mixing stripes with florals and dots with plaids and it looks great. I'd wind up looking like Laura Ashley threw up on me or an escapee from a mental ward.
  

Trends I'm rocking:

• Tall boots over skinny jeans/leggings - Of course, I had to find skinny jeans and tall boots to fit my [ahem] muscular legs. Thank you, Lane Bryant, for answering that call. Happily, I've even been able to find a few sweater tunics/dresses to go with.
  
• Hair color not found in nature - My stylist added a few fuchsia streaks to my hair for my 40th back in October. Not two weeks later, I was back in the chair for more, MORE, MORE! The top streaks have faded to pink and I'll get re-fuchsia'd during next week's appointment.

I decided to dress up today in a button-down blouse, pencil skirt, tights and heels. The only comfortable parts of my ensemble are the tights and heels. The skirt is riding up to an almost embarrassing length and the cotton sateen shirt is wrinkling like it was made of linen.

First world problems, oh the humanity!

Going back and forth on what to wear to this weekend's combo Halloween/Birthday party. First choice was a Rockabilly Catrina Calavera. I've got the dress, floral headband, and makeup all set. On the other hand, I spied my beautiful veiled top hat this morning and started thinking I might want to dress up in my Wilhelmina Murray drag (a la League of Extraordinary Gentlemen). I'd just need to press my jacket and skirt and find the red scarf. It's got to be somewhere in the garb closet. Hrm.

Last week, I hit the going-out-of-business sale at the Sterling Avenue. Everything was 80% off and I stocked up on sweaters ($5 each!), plus a couple black skirts, soft black slacks, sleek winter white slacks, and two shirts. My eye was critical and, rather than snapping up one in every color, I selected garments in only those colors I want to make my signature going forward.

I've been reading a lot of fashion and style blogs and I'd like to minimize my wardrobe. Yeah, good luck with that... But I do want to make it a wardrobe with separates which will coordinate with one another. So while the actual amount of garments will be slim, but combinations will keep me from getting bored. Something else I wanted to keep in mind were accessories. With basic staples, I can jazz things up with the dozens upon dozens of colorful scarves and statement jewelry pieces I already own. Basically, I want simplicity in my clothing and elegance in my accessories.

Much of Saturday and Sunday was spent savaging my wardrobe. I pulled nearly everything out of my closet and dresser drawers, and if I didn't love a garment on my body, it got tossed in a give-away pile. This critique wasn't just about fit: I scrutinized color and comfort and how each garment made me feel. If I'm to be completely truthful, I must admit that I then hit Lane Bryant, with coupons in hand, and selected the afore-mentioned staples such as blouses (that actually fit my bust and waist!) and a few more pairs of pants so that I will wear something other than jeans to work.

Next on the agenda is to take my bounty of adorable autumn/winter skirts to a tailor have them hemmed to a more flattering height. The A-lines look great on me, but the mid-calf hemline is dowdy. I want/need knee length skirts to make my legs look their best.

In my hunt for a way to carry belongings on my road bike on solo journeys, I overlooked the most obvious and universal portage solution: the humble bike jersey. My main reason for not considering this garment is that, up until very recently, I had only one jersey.

It's a cute jersey and does a fairly good job of fitting my non-standard cyclist body. But it's so specific to a certain time of year that I didn't even consider wearing it in winter and spring. Which is weird since I wear Halloween-themed PJs year round; my deeply-closeted goth must be extremely closeted when it comes to jerseys. At the time I wore this garment, I didn't really use it for holding stuff since I had a trunk bag on the back rack so the pockets were kind of superfluous.


Looking like a pumpkin at last October's "Great Pumpkin Ride".
My typical road bike ensemble has been a Ruu-Muu with a long sleeved shirt or windbreaker. The Ruu's back pockets are good for holding a hankie, my iPod, and a camera. I could probably stuff more in there, but it would start getting uncomfortable and bulky underneath the overshirt/windbreaker.

Yesterday, though, I decided to wear my new jersey from HillKiller Apparel for a short ride and I discovered the joys of honest-to-goodness cycling jersey pockets. Hankie, ID, cash (you never know...), phone, iPod, and keys all fit comfortably with lots of room to spare. I could stuff extra powdered drink packs and waffles and a banana back there if I'd wanted, plus my camera. So this is how it's done...

Post ride, front.		Zombie Girls do have more fun.

My deeply-closeted goth is beyond delighted with both the form and function of my adorable purple jersey. Their plus size actually FITS which is not always the case. I'm going to contact the HillKiller guys and ask if they'll make some of their men's designs in a women's cut because I want more of their jerseys. In the meantime, I'm champing at the bit for my jerseys from Scudo Sports Wear (they made the Halloween jersey) to arrive.

It's been nippy in the mornings this week (32F Wed, 39F Thu, 46F Fri) and I decided to ride in regular clothes and give the Lady Cyclist thing another try.

On Wednesday, I wore jeans, cami, cardigan, SmartWool socks, loafers, wool cap, heavy gloves, and a light jacket. I was chilly when I left home, but quite sweaty when I got to work. Stupid overpasses (although, I am grateful not to cross many streets at grade) and the two long, steady inclines just before I get to the campus. Plus, while the hat kept my ears toasty, it trapped too much heat for the rest of my head. My hair was soaked and I kept the hat on until I could spend a fair amount of time in the "privacy" of my cube. Thank goodness I keep a dish towel in my drawer. The ride home in 60F was lovely with the jacket, heavy gloves, and hat stowed in my pannier. I swung up the access path along Pacific to visit the bank and Ulta which gave my legs a rest before tacking my nemesis: the Rte 28 overpass. Clothes were soaked when I got home, but that's okay.

On Thursday, I wore jeans, long-sleeved shirt, SmartWool socks, boots, Buff (to cover my ears), heavy gloves, and a light jacket. My arms were chilly when I left home, but I warmed up quickly. I'm starting to figure out where I can coast and using that to my advantage. I also unbuttoned most of my coat (kept my neck covered) to cool off while playing in traffic during the last mile of my commute. My clothes were mostly dry when I parked the bike, but my hair under the Buff was soaked. *sigh* The afternoon commute was nearly as delicious as the day before, minus the side trip for shopping and plus throwing my chain at the top of the Rte 28 overpass; my clothes were soaked and streaked with chain grease when I got home. I made sure to transfer the baggie of wet wipes from another bag into my pannier for the next post-chain throw clean-up.

I'm making this bike commuting thing sound like fun, aren't I? No really, it is! Plus, if I remember to grab my external speaker thingie for my iPod, I can listen to music or podcasts on the commute. (I am not going to wear earphones while on the bike.)

For Friday, I realized that my third and last pair of jeans was in the hamper. Oh noes! I didn't want to wear my light-colored cotton slacks because they might show super embarrassing sweat spots. I've got to get more dark colored pants. What I did find was the skirt that I wore as part of my cheerleader costume. I picked the orange and white triangles out of the gores, and with the addition of a black cami, black leggings, multi-colored SmartWool socks, black boots, white & black cardigan, and a red scarf I was set to be an elegant-ish Lady Cyclist commuter.

The elegance mostly worked. At least I managed not to get my red lipstick on my cheek, chin, or forehead (which is a total win). My face was flushed and damp, but my clothes were dry. The hair? Well, the hair is going to continue being a problem, but if I get it cut into a choppier style which lets me just shake my head and go, it will be less of a problem. Biking in a skirt? So. Much. Fun. Plus, there was no flashing of an unsuspecting public, whoo hoo!

Friday: Kohl's had a more massive than usual sale and I had three gift cards. I wanted dresses, but the Sterling Kohl's doesn't like plus-size women to wear dresses or skirts and I came home with one pair of cargo pants, four shirts, and two gift cards. Drove through the Sugarland Run neighborhood and found an adorable (and big!) house (with pool!). Too bad we're not in the market. Supped at IHOP. Went to bed early and stayed up until the wee hours reading The Help.

Saturday: Rode with Hubbyfink down to Sir Cian and Viscountess Catherine's home for a non-official practice. I learned three or four dussack drills and I learned them left-handed. Someone... either Sir Aelfred or Sir Cian suggested learning to fight ambidextrously. I've done a tiny little bit of rapier in the past (infinitesimal, really) so this cut-n-thrust/rattan fighting thing is new. I figure I'll initially learn it with my non-dominant hand and when that side has become stronger and the moves are locked into muscle memory, I'll train up the dominant side. Plus, playing left-handed tweaks Hubbyfink and that's icing on the cake. I caught on pretty quickly, thanks to being able to either mirror Hubbyfink and Sir Cian or following along with Baron Flaithri (who is naturally south-pawed). There's another non-official practice at another knight's home in a couple of weeks and I'll get to work on learning some rattan basics then.

After the dussack drills, I headed indoors to hang out in the AC with the other ladies while the guys armored up and beat each other with sticks. There were many delicious stories. At the end of the long day, people began to drift home. Hubbyfink, Ii, Abe, and I joined Cian and Catherine's family for dinner at a pizza joint down the street. We got home late and then I stayed up even later into the wee hours reading The Help.

Sunday: Kohl's more massive than usual sale was still in progress and I decided to see if the plus size section at the Herndon Kohl's (a) had any dresses and (b) was located in a more friendly area than a dimly lit corner of the most inaccessible recess of the store. They failed on (a) and would have totally scored on (b) except the signage was the opposite of where the womens section was located. I took a chance in the misses section and found three gorgeous autumn-weather skirts. I loaded up on colorful tights and a fringed scarf for good measure and walked out with no gift cards.

After the pop-up thunderstorm, I hopped on my bike for a quick spin through the neighborhood. I spent the next hour winding my way through Sterling Park's streets, discovering neighborhoods I'd never known about and nearly stroking out on hills that could rival the Rte 28 bridge. I was wheezing and gasping and had a terrible stitch in my left side. I was almost in tears and seriously doubting my ability to complete next Sunday's 30-miler. BUT. I rode through it and by the time I was half a mile from home, I felt fantastic. The stitch was gone, I was breathing more easily, and I felt like I could keep on riding for at least another hour if dark wasn't coming on so fast. I wound up riding 9.95 miles thanks to twisty neighborhood streets.

We capped off the evening with putting away laundry, "Zombieland", "True Blood" (OMG OMG OMG), and I stayed up until 11:30 at which point I finished The Help.

Today is the first day in the past ten where NOTHING hurts. My muscles? Fine. My teeth? Fine. My emotions? Fine. I am so freaking happy that I could burst. I'm sure that setting the alarm for later than usual and dozing while snuggling with my kitties for the few hours between when Hubbyfink left for work and when my alarm was supposed to go off helped my mood. Getting a call from my sister didn't hurt either. We talked for about 30 minutes while she was on the road to Little Rock, AR, and ended our call because the cell reception was getting spotty and I REALLY needed to shower and head for work.

In other super duper happy news, I decided to try on one of the shirt/skirt outfits I purchased four years ago. I bought two outfits after I lost 30 pounds during the winter of 2006-2007. I needed to lose another ten or so to fit into the outfits. These two outfits have been hanging on my closet door since I started Jenny last August. Today, I am finally small enough to wear the outfits and I am in the mauve top and olive skirt with multicolored ribbon trims at the hemline. I'm SO happy. I tried taking a full-length photo with my phone, but it didn't come out. Y'all will just have to see me in person before I shrink out of these clothes. :)

Work's still hellacious and the issues with broken databases and stubborn network elements hasn't cleared up. Those issues may not clear up before I go on holiday, but at this point I don't care. I am going to do what I can today and I am biking to work tomorrow and leaving early to make up for all the late nights and I am going to make Hubbyfink take me out for Mexican food where I can get my queso and drink on and start my vacation right.

Brown boots
Brown tights
Brown/red/cream plaid wool skirt
Brown tank with gold rivet accents
Red cardigan
Big gold hoop earrings

Camel wool coat
Cream wool scarf