Hello to Good Buys

So, I'm not really a shopper.

My parents, husband and best friends can attest to how not-fun it can be to shop with Kate. I'm frugal and I don't like crowds. Recently I've come across a shopping experience that helps address one of my shopping issues: the multitude of consignment sales that pop up this time of year. There was one near my hometown a few months ago so I decided to partake in full force as a consigner, volunteer and buyer.

I hadn't really gotten rid of very much of Grace's clothing and so we had two bins and two huge boxes of her clothes and two other boxes of miscellaneous items (this isn't including any of the big items like swings and bouncy seats). So I decided it was time to let some stuff go. If (if, if, if, if, if) we decide to have another child, I kept some favorites and some necessities, but I winnowed the "stuff" in half. That left me with over 150 items (mostly clothes) to sell. Those of you who've priced things for a garage sale know how tedious the task can be, even more so for a consignment sale where there are particular rules, good rules but ones that make the process slower than you'd like.

The volunteering part was motivated by my desire to get into the sale early. Volunteers get in a day before regular shoppers. This was great for a crowd-avoider like me. Or so I thought. As I was hanging up some items on the rows and rows of kiddo clothing I overheard some one say: "Then when they open at 5:30 everyone just runs." I inquired further and yes, they were indeed refering to the volunteer pre-sale, not the sale-sale. I started calculating how many volunteers were working my shift, times the number of shifts ... yikes. This was going to be over a hundred shoppers.

I showed up to the pre-sale 15 minutes early and had to park on the street and stand in an already parking lot-long line. I happened to stand next to someone who was in the same mindset as me. We both were not fixated on needing to get any one thing. No "Cabbage Patch Kid/Tickle Me Elmo/Toy Of The Moment" stampeding for me.

Once inside the pace was brisk, but no one was rude at all. Big ticket items where gone quickly but I did snag a few choice deals for Grace. And found some cute outfits that were higher-end brands that I'd never ever buy at full price but would spend 2 to 5 bucks on.

Then my bag and shoe obsession kicked in:

They were just too cute to pass up. Those that remember my True Colors post are likely shocked to see the pink theme in these items. And then there's this ... I bought her a play kitchen. But wait! I also got her a chair that looks like a tree stump with a lizard on it.

Domestic chore-themed toy + outdoorsy reptile-themed seating = my very own Little Miss Muffet. 

** Ok, I know a spider isn't a reptile and the little girl didn't likely make her own curds and whey ... but still : )

The Long and The Short

I REALLLLLLLY want to blog more -- I have lots to say. But here's why I'm not saying it right now. It starts with "diss" and ends in "ertation." It is what I need to get done-done before I can be the dedicated blogger that I'd like to be. This long paper/book/project/unwieldly weight-on-my-mind needs to be done in December 2010, no ifs, ands or buts. See the True Colors blog post for a reminder of the general gist of my research.

(As you'll notice, I have been "finishing" my dissertation since 2008 -- I haven't been in the right "mood" until this year : )

So, why am I blogging about this? Two reasons: a) As an FYI to those who check in regularly. And b) As a way to keep me honest. Keep me on track. Keep me accountable. If I have all of you aware of my task then I need to make and meet my goals. Accountablity to the masses (heee) will be good. Once a month I'll write a longer blog. But at other times I'll be doing a dissertation blurb or brief Edenborg update. These might, if you're lucky, turn up in the form of haikus.

Diss Lowdown: This weekend I must continue to tackle data entry (reading children's periodicals from the 1920s and 1930s).  Two more publications to go. By the end of May I should be done with this stage and on to data analysis by June.

Let the accountablity begin!

Getting Lost

Apologies for leaving your question unanswered. I left you dedicated readers hanging -- anxious to find out what I think of Lost. Or maybe you we too busy thinking about what you think about ALL of the unanswered questions of Lost.

I want to commend those of you who've been dedicated watchers of the show. Wow. I would've gotten frustrated long ago. As I indicated in an earlier post I'm a newbie to the show.  That said, at this point, I feel like I know just about as much about what's really going as long-time viewers.

Jay and I watch the show on DVR so he's able to stop and explain bits of who certain people are or tell me what a certain place or object meant in previous seasons. We mess with each other every now and then saying "Ohhhh, I get it." Or "Ahhh, it all makes sense now."

I did have a proud moment when watching it one night. I figured out that Claire was Jack's sister on my own (before they reminded viewers of that this season). Small victories.

I have to say, it's interesting to see who shows up on the show -- such as the guy who played Chip on Kate and Allie, back in the day. He had a gun! Chip shouldn't have a gun. Where's his mom? Was his mom Kate or Allie? And was "Kate" Jane Curtain, or was she "Allie"? And what's the other mom's real name anyhow?

Who knew one show could instigate so many questions?

Body Movin'

I bought a jogging stroller for a reason. But that reason comes and goes. In spring and fall I feel motivated to jog. Summer, not so much. It's no fun running in sticky weather. And winter, forget it. Jogging in freezing temps or inside on a track makes the task that much more of a challenge.

It's nice out today, I'm home and I'm inspired by my husband's plans to start running. And I need a break from this dissertation work. The perfect time to jog -- if there is such a thing. The last few years I've done the Couch-to-5K program which is supposed to allow my body to adjust to the fact that I'm asking it to do something I don't do very often. Run. I usually get through the nine weeks of the program and then am reminded that I really don't like running.

So now that I've communicated my ambivalence for running I'll let you know what I'd really rather do. Swim. But given that we're out in the woods, the closest pool is 20 minutes or so away. That I can handle, but in order to swim laps I have to join a gym (which doesn't make financial sense to do just for swimming) or swim at the my old high school pool which isn't heated and might not have lanes open for lap swim.

Long story, short. I need my exercising to be convenient. Running is that.  So I'm off. I'll let you know how day one of  week one goes ... be back shortly.

Later in the afternoon

Not tooooo bad. Before I headed out I downloaded a free running app for my iPod touch called 321run (thanks Jay : ). It lets you know when to run and when to walk so you don't have to use a watch to track the time. Anything that makes the process easier can help keep me moving. My iPod just might help make me a runner. Nothing can stop me now ... except maybe the snow we're supposed to get tomorrow.

Strolling into Spring

"Peoples! Peoples walking!"

Peoples were indeed out and about yesterday. I felt the need to get outside with Grace for a bit, so we took a stroller walk around in town. I contemplated jogging, but that urge left me quite quickly. Just being outside without a bulky coat was refreshing enough.  We went around a few parks and through a college campus so there was a lot for Gracie to see.

As we strolled I realized in many ways this was Grace's first spring -- at least a spring that she could interact with. As we took our walk she took on the role of tour guide calling out things and pointing:

"This way." (Directing me to cross the street to get a better look a what some "peoples" were doing.)

"Ooo, ooo. Catch." (Commenting on some college "kids" playing Frisbee.)

"Birdies! Aww. Awww." (That's her bird call.)

"Ooohhh." (In reaction to a skateboarder.)

"Go Mommy!" (Directing me to go faster up a steep hill. Great little personal trainer : )

Guess I didn't need to go for that jog after all.

Cutting Remarks

Grace had her first (real) haircut this weekend. Jay and I have trimmed her bangs a number of times over the past months, but she's never had a haircut-haircut.

Gracie has these curly curls. Very cute, but tangly. Her hair was almost to the middle of her back. It was getting caught in bibs and stuck in her mouth. And it was becoming great collector of stray bits of food. It was time.

No beauty salon for this girl. We took her to SportsClips where her dad goes. They have little TVs that we thought might help keep her distracted if things got a bit sad.

She had a few seconds of tears, but then caught a look of herself in the mirror. Then she was distracted by the others getting their hair trimmed -- two young boys. And then she realized there was a TV right by the chair. As a true 2010 mom, I brought my ipod touch with as well (that's my hand in the picture). I've loaded some Sesame Street podcasts and other toddler distractions on to the gadget.

Three inches were taken off and it made for the perfect length for a toddler. I kinda wanted to go a bit shorter, but didn't have the heart to have them cut out all of the curls ... yet.

** And of course she was offered a sucker before we left : )

Healing Words

I've been sick and/or injured for almost two months now and just so you know, I don't deal well with not being healthy. I don't whine about it -- I get frustrated with it.

A perfect example: I was coughing so hard a few weeks ago I pulled or tore something in my lower back. I felt a pop and knew that movement wouldn't be particularly fun from that point forward. While I spend my workdays at a desk, I spend my nights and weekends with a toddler. We spend so much time on the floor playing. We also spend time running around -- mostly doing races down the hallway. Some time is also spent on me picking Grace up to console her after a fall, give a hug or transport her to her time out spot. This back thing limited all of that.

Grace and I were alone (well Ella was there : ) in the house when my injury happened. As I forsaw my limitations I started to cry out of pain and frustration.

Gracie looked at me with her concerned face all scrunched up and asked, "Mommy sad?"

I explained, "Mommy's got an owie."

She looked at me and said, "I kiss it."

And she did.

The pain, of course, was still there, but my state of mind and heart were all better.