Boyfriend Need Not Apply

Boyfriend sweaters (or jackets) don't work for me.  My husband, aka clothing boyfriend, is too tall.   Our eight inch height differential renders his sweaters and blazers unwearable for me.  On the plus size, at the peak of my pregnancies, I never approached his weight. 

Anyhow, today I "found" my alternative.  I'm wearing my college student son's cotton cardigan. His clothes are big enough for "the look" but not too big.  I actually am the one who paid, perhaps even selected, them.  And, more importantly, he's not here to protest.

Shop Free

I started this new year with a vow not to shop, actually not to buy, any clothing or accessories in the month of January.  Never mind whether I've stayed true to my goal,  the real story is in the why and how.

Typically, for me, a shopping-fest occurs in the post-Xmas days.  It usually lasts through January.  Great deals, great stuff.  Not just impulse purchases either; rather, I find items I've admired from afar for months.  One time it was a pair of over-the-knee fur-lined boots reduced from $1300 to $400.  Another was a similarly priced handbag.  We're talking 65-75% off here, folks.  Practically free, in shopper vernacular.

But this year, nothing.  Not a thing from the deeply discounted holiday deals.   And, now, mid-January, it's basically over - the big sales stuff has left, or is about to leave, the big stores.   The on-line selections are meager.

So why did I do it?  Yes, I didn't want to spend the money.  No, I really don't need anything.  And there was nothing I coveted from the fall/winter selection.  I didn't want to fall prey to the "it's on sale, so I'll buy it" mentality.  Yet, I did check out my favorite websites on December 26.  I wasn't even tempted.

Here's what I found:  if I didn't want it at full price, it's no big deal to pass on the discounted price.   More importantly, the sales aren't what they used to be.  No more double and triple reductions.  Not much selection.  Clearly the stores have successfully reduced their inventory and are selling more at full price.  Top store sales associates told me that a delayed price reduction in top designer merchandise led to higher non-discounted transactions.  In other words, if prices stay high, people buy at those higher prices, at least  during the holidays (we're talking high-end here, folks).

On the surface, it sounds great.  No discount deluge.  But here's the downside:  full price buying.  That's where I got tripped up by my vow.  Cryptic, perhaps - just read between the bar code lines and don't tell my husband.    :)

The Three C's

Cooking, cleaning, chauffeuring . . . the three C's of suburban weekend motherhood and not necessarily in that order.  This past weekend, if I wasn't cooking for the boys, I was cleaning up from the cooking.  Then I was packing up the car and driving someone somewhere.   Only to come home and start the cycle (another C) again.

No wonder C is a middling grade.  It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either.

Snowbird

How does he do it?  For the second consecutive winter, my husband is managing to be out of town for every snowstorm.  To be fair, we both missed the big day-after-Christmas blast of 2010.  But he missed yesterday for a Florida trip scheduled weeks ago.

Last winter, he travelled through every single storm.  I don't think he even lifted a shovel or salted a walk.

Is it luck?  Or the Farmer's Almanac?  Or something else?

Update 1/12/11:  No escaping this one; hubby just shoveled!

Lice(nse) Check

As I pulled off the highway in Manhattan, I was pulled over by several NYC police (not traffic) officers, along with about five other cars.  I couldn't imagine what I/we had done.  The light was green; my turn signal was on; I was not talking or texting; basically, I was a good driving citizen.

We were put in a line on the right side of the road as a couple of officers approached each car, asking for driver's licenses.  Politely (really), they said it was a "random license check."  Lucky me . . . not, as I was, of course, heading to the all -important hair appointment.  But I digress. . .

A license check?  I've never heard of that.  Three police cars, six officers later, we were released one by one.  Other than the lapsed time, no big deal given my squeaky clean driving record, but still . . . Why?  Is there a rash of unlicensed drivers of passenger vehicles midday midweek.  And, why so many cops?  Clearly, they were training officers - they said as much - but surely there's a better way.

And then I remembered my teenage son's New Year's Eve experience:  randomly stopped by a cop to ask what was in his bag.  After showing him the unopened bottles of wine and cranberry juice along with his driver's license, my son said he wasn't doing anything wrong.  The cop agreed.  They parted ways.

Are teenagers no longer allowed to carry bags?  Do you need a license to walk in NYC?  I've had many talks with local police officers about these police "stops" without cause and the answer is never satisfactory.  Supposedly voluntary, the failure to submit, justifies an elevated police response and could result in an arrest or worse.

Just imagine if you were actually doing something wrong.  Given the number of unsolved crimes, you'd probably get away with it.  But the rest of us will be checked.

Lost in Larchmont

I played the mega millions lottery yesterday.  I didn't win . . . anything.  I pored over the tickets this morning hoping for a match in the money.  Alas, no.  The best I had was two digits, but no bonus.  So, nada.

Losing was no surprise.  Playing, however, was.  I've bought lottery tickets fewer than five times in my life.  With yesterday's pot approaching $400 million I wasn't even tempted . . . until . . . something else went my way.  Something very silly.

I called the kids' orthodontist to schedule a (hard-to-come-by) Saturday appointment and, lo and behold, the available date and time perfectly dovetailed with dentist appointments just down the road.  Luck was mine.  Just for the asking.

It didn't translate to the lottery.  So much for a lucky day.

Insanity is . . .

starting a blog in the midst of holiday season.  But, I thought, if not then, when?  Why put off to tomorrow what you can do today . . . and all sorts of other platitudes that ignore the reality of demands imposed and undertaken.

Really, though, insanity would be doing it again next year . . . as i often say, true insanity is repeating the same conduct and expecting a different result.

I'll be back on writing schedule soon  . . .