January 13, 2015 by ravelingoutko

In Which Tuesday Displays Some Very Monday-like Qualities

It’s the day before classes start for spring semester and I have a full day planned. I started my morning at the campus gym on the treadmill and then was heading to my office to work on course prep for tomorrow class meetings. One major problem: I was planning on showering and changing into work clothes at the gym, but I forgot to bring pants. PANTS. I don’t know about y’all, but for me, pants are kind of essential.

Fine, fine. In all honesty, it was leggings I was planning to wear. Leggings with an entirely modest, butt-covering tunic, tall boots, etc. So I forgot my leggings, which I realized as I was completing my cool down run. I had a few options: 1) go back home after my workout and shower and change there, 2) shower and change at the gym as planned, putting my running capri tights back on in lieu of pants, then driving home to grab pants and heading back to work, or 3) just…wearing my sweaty running tights all day.

Option one would waste too much time — showering and changing at home, with the pets and the distractions? I might as well just stay home if I did that. I was leaning toward option two, until I realized that maybe, just maybe, I could disguise the fact that I was wearing sweaty, capri-length running tights instead of pants. I had knee socks and leg warmers with me, which I arranged just so in order to cover the hem of the tights right below my knee. They were icky with cold, damp sweat, but maybe no one would be able to see or smell that? They’re a bold pattern, but it’s neutral and maybe kind of goes with my top? Enh?

So here I am at work, dressed in the outfit I intended from the waist up, and just hoping not to run into anyone too important. I’m so glad this didn’t happen on a teaching day. Really though, this outfit would be totally FINE with plain black running tights, which are barely distinguishable from leggings anyway (more seams, usually, and sometimes more shine). Why didn’t I wear black capris? Or, you know, REMEMBER MY GOT DANGED PANTS.

Leaving the house this morning was a real pain in the butt, actually, which is probably how the pants got forgotten. In the bathroom, I dropped a bottle of perfume on the tile floor and I don’t need to tell you how much fun that was to clean up. Little shards of glass everywhere, fumes, and — of course — the bitter frustration arising from the fact that I’d JUST BOUGHT the perfume a couple of months ago. Sad, sad start to the day.

So I smashed my perfume; I forgot my pants; I’m wearing sweaty running tights. Can’t wait until I can go home and pour myself an ice-cold glass of…water. Hmpf.

November 17, 2014 by ravelingoutko

Warming Up, Help Wanted

Please don’t rescind my feminist card, but I am too scared to light the pilot light on our gas fireplace by myself. I am waiting for my husband to do it for me. Help me please; I find gas terrifying. (Seriously. I don’t even like to think about it too much.)

It’s time, though. Things are getting nice and cold here. I’m wearing mukluks at this very moment.

In fact, I bought a new winter coat today chez Target, but I am only 80% sure about it. It’s kind of an asymmetrical wrap type coat. It does button all the way down, but seems to require the belt in order not to be too shapeless.

CW says it “reads” Alabama (as in too houndstoothy, as in I will look like a ‘Bama fan, which would be undesirable here in Auburn) and also that looks like a sweater.

I don’t know. I like it, but I don’t love it. But it was only $40, and I don’t particularly feel like looking for another coat. But maybe I should. This wasn’t exactly what I had in mind (I was thinking of something more classic/dressy in black or charcoal, but all the good ones are so pricey). Opinions?

Or, better yet, do you have a suggestion on where to look for reasonably priced wool coats in a thigh/knee length?

August 22, 2013 by ravelingoutko

Moles, Clothes, and More Wedding Planning

School is officially back in session as of this week, and let me assure you, I am feeling it. This fall is going to be an incredibly busy semester, but a good one, I think. After all, I’ve got a lovely view from my now-private office (!) and I’ve got Marcel Proust keeping me company on my desktop.

In other news, I recently had my first visit to a dermatologist for a check up. Have any of you ever done that? The phrase “full-body skin exam” was invoked and I did not anticipate it with pleasure. I envisioned someone inspecting every inch of my naked body with, like, a jeweler’s loupe while I stood in awkward positions and laughed nervously, apologizing for my cellulite. In reality, it was very quick and not too embarrassing at all. The doctor did find a suspicious mole on the back of my shoulder, in a spot I can’t really see. It was two-tone, which is a sign it could be a malignant melanoma, so she removed it and sent it off for testing. She numbed the skin with an injection of local anesthetic and then just cut the offending mark right off. I didn’t even feel a thing, even though I now have what my fiancé refers to as “a crater” in the spot where the mole once was.

I will admit that while I was waiting for the results of the biopsy to come back, I allowed some worry and fear to enter my mind. I imagined hearing that it was cancer, that it had spread, that I’d get sick and have to go through treatment and basically ruin our lives right before the wedding. Or, you know, die. I’m sure that sounds like a dramatic overreaction, but tell me you wouldn’t have some similar worries if you were in my shoes. I think anyone would. At any rate, the results turned out to be normal, so there’s now nothing to fret about. Sigh of relief, I tell you.

I do wear sunscreen and I do keep track of my (many, many) moles for signs of change, but it’s impossible to see all of them myself. So if you, like me, spend any time outdoors (hello, fellow runners and cyclists, I am looking at you!), even if you wear sunscreen, you may want to get your skin checked. It’s really not as scary as you might think. Quick and painless, even the mole removal.

Hmm, what else? Oh, I started posting work outfit photos on my tumblr again, if you are interested. And frankly, why wouldn’t you be? This is gripping stuff. Really, though, I think tumblr is a good little place for me to tuck those away so that my Twitter/Instagram/blog doesn’t get too full of selfies. Not that I’m opposed to selfies — au contraire. I love them. Everyone’s selfies, not just mine. (I like to see pictures of people! I find get to like people even more online when I see their smiling faces more often.) But at any rate, I just don’t feel like this blog is the place for daily outfit selfies. I might post a favorite here every now and then, but if you want the full spectrum of my pilly old Target wardrobe, you’ll have to head to tumblr. Deal? Deal.

In wedding planning news, there isn’t a lot of wedding planning news. During the time when CW and I were moving and then traveling, we let it sit on the back burner for a while and just didn’t worry about doing much of anything related to the wedding. Now, though, we’ve got to get back on it. We just placed our order for invitations, and I am so excited to get them and send them out! They’re fabulous. Did I tell you I got a dress? I can’t remember if I did. Well, I got a dress! I fell in love with one at Ann Taylor (yes, that Ann Taylor, go figure!), but it was on final sale and they didn’t have my size. Tragedy. But! I wound up finding an incredibly similar one elsewhere, even less expensive, and it fits me almost perfectly right off the rack. Can you believe the luck? I just have to get it shortened by about 1-2 inches, which I can do at my local tailor. I also found a pair of shoes (ivory ballet flats) and I think I’ve decided on a hair doohickey instead of a veil, but we’ll see.

Regarding flowers: did anyone out there make your own bouquets? That’s what I’m going to do, but I’m waffling between ordering the flowers online or buying bouquets from Kroger the day before. In both cases, I’d have to trim, assemble, and wrap them myself. The difference is, Kroger flowers would be half the price of ordering in bulk, BUT you never know what exactly they’ll have in their bouquets on any given day, so there would be less control over colors and flower types. Thoughts? Should I trust it to Kroger to save myself $75-100?

Still to do: arrange with our potential photographer, order the cake, order boutonnieres/corsages, do a food tasting, confirm with my hairstylist, make playlists, buy rings, meet with our officiant, write vows, choose readings, make seating chart, remember the things I’m forgetting, and oh my dog not freak out because the wedding is only 79 days away. Pas de problème.

April 12, 2013 by ravelingoutko

File Under: At Least it's Not Yoga Pants, I Guess?

Yesterday, one of my students revealed that all semester she had assumed I’m a grad student. She was wondering if I had any final exams to take. Uh, no. So you’re already done with grad school? I’ve been done for a WHILE now, actually.

We laughed it off, like, hey, you just look so young! My secret potion must be working, I cackled. Awkwardness mostly erased.

But it stuck with me in an annoying way, and I found myself having an Imagination Argument this morning as I tidied up the kitchen before work. What is it that makes me seem more student, less faculty? I know I haven’t been dressing very nicely the last month or so — I’m sick of all my clothes and I’ve been wearing jeans more often than usual. The last couple of weeks, it’s been too hot for a blazer. My legs and feet are revolting against heels. All the little tokens of my wardrobe that tend to quietly point toward “professional” rather than “student” are therefore absent. I think I still put myself together in a neat and polished manner, but, you know. I’m not feeling it lately. So is that it? I’m not dressing for the part?

I’d like to think that at as long as there’s a firm line between my typical outfits and the students’ typical outfits (Nike shorts, leggings as pants, oversized tee-shirts, Chacos), I’m doing okay. And let me take this opportunity to share this post on My Life as a College Professor, my new favorite tumblr:

When a Student Wears Their Pajamas to Class:

I’d rather it be the wardrobe than my teaching style or persona, you know? Wardrobe is easier to fix. But then I thought to myself, surely — SURELY — I demonstrate teaching skills and a base of knowledge that are appropriate for someone who has been teaching on the university level for thirteen years and has a terminal degree in the field. RIGHT? I refuse to imagine that this is the problem.

WELL. I see I have gone on about this subject for far longer than I had intended. Really what I wanted to say was this: Self, dress nicer and stop saying “like.”

Hot weather is here, though, and I just find it so wearying to try to look professional in hot-weather clothes. I don’t have any great summer-weight trousers; blazers and cardigans are almost always too hot (with some exceptions, maybe). Some dresses look okay, others tend to suggest that I’m on my way to a beach party. I can tell the difference, of course, between beach-party dresses and work-appropriate dresses. Maybe I’d rather be headed to the beach, you know? It’s just frustrating. Not a lot of what I have for summer clothing really works well at work. I’m not buying more this summer because I’m on a strict budget — which is also the case EVERY summer, so little about this situation is likely to change.

I also think I’m just tired of dressing up. It’s near the end of the school year and I’ve lost that feeling of fresh newness I had in August, when I wanted to make more of an effort. I was just fantasizing the other day about how I longed to just lounge around in sundresses and shorts and tee shirts for a while. I want to spend all of May and June just being relaxed and casual and even — if I feel like it — a complete slob. I will wear my flip flops every day! No one can stop me! You hear me?!

February 4, 2013 by ravelingoutko

Boyfriend, Spectacles, Egon Update

It seems that lately I don’t have really developed, coherent topics for posts. I also haven’t been participating in the Project 365 daily photo challenge this year, so I don’t have a lot of photography to share at the moment either. Nonetheless, I’m feeling a desire to write over here and just witter on about my day, my week, my life. I hope you all don’t mind that it’s a bit of a hodge podge at the moment.

So annoying when the big themes in your life aren’t really bloggable, isn’t it? Personal relationships, work stuff. You know the drill. Any idiot knows you don’t blog about work. My boyfriend, fantastic as he is, is a private person. He hates having his photo posted anywhere online. The first words out of his mouth when he sees someone pull out a camera: “Don’t put that on Facebook, please” (at least he is nice about it). He’d surely be uncomfortable if I made his stories a part of my blog. After all, he didn’t sign up to have his life documented on the internets by his girlfriend. He’s part of my life, and my life is the subject of this blog, of course, but I like to stay away from writing anything too personal about him — anything that really would be his story to tell, if he chose.

Speaking of my boyfriend, here’s a little story I feel like I can tell you, because it is mostly about me: he’s going to be out of town over Valentine’s Day, so I was asking him if he wanted to do our Valentine’s Day thing the weekend before or after his trip, and he was all, “Hmmm?” It turns out I’d given the impression (mostly unintentionally) that I don’t like and/or don’t “do” Valentine’s Day. Not the case! What I’d meant to convey at the time — and I don’t know exactly what I said, but what I meant — was that I don’t want to exchange expensive gifts or go out anywhere fancy or make a big production of it. I do enjoy things like cards, or small nice things, like, say, I might bake him a batch of cookies or give him a small, fun/funny item. Or we could cook dinner together and get a nicer-than-usual bottle of wine. You know. A little fun, nice acknowledgement of the day, but not a big huge deal.

Right? Right. So of course I had to try to explain all of that when I became aware of the miscommunication and lord only knows what I actually conveyed during the whole conversation because I was so flustered. Like, NO, please don’t spend oodles of money on seasonally overpriced flowers and please don’t stress out, but, you know, don’t ignore the day, either. Ai yi yi. Stupid holiday. And what is the deal with cards? Are you a card person? I LOVE cards. Finding neat ones (I love Etsy for this purpose), choosing ones that remind me of the person, making my own, sending them in the mail, everything. Are cards a Girl Thing only, though? Do men not like cards? Hmpf.

So what else is going on? Well, I finally replaced the pair of brown glasses that broke last fall. I like to keep a brown pair and a black pair in the rotation for outfits with different color palettes, but my last brown tortoise pair, a cheapie set from Zenni Optical, had broken — and it was the second pair of Zennis to break in that exact spot. So, cheap and fun as Zenni is, I didn’t want to order from there again.

This time I tried Warby Parker. If you don’t know them, they operate on the same principle as Toms shoes: for every pair you buy, they donate a pair to a needy person. I like that philosophy. I also really like their styles, their prices ($95 for the frames and lenses; add on an extra $30 if you, like me, are blind enough to need high-index lenses — still a good deal compared to my optometrist’s shop) and their at-home try-on program where they’ll send you five pairs to try on, free of charge, and you just send them back in five days (free shipping). Totally not being paid to advertise here — but I do wholeheartedly recommend them if you’re in the market for new specs. I did the home try-on twice, trying a total of 8 different frames, before I decided on these:

These are the Colton in hazelwood. I love them!

In other news, Egon the Dachshund just turned seven years old. (His birthday is on Groundhog Day — weirdly appropriate for a dog bred to hunt small burrowing rodents, right?)

He enjoyed a quiet celebration at home with his person and step-person, went for a roll with his wheels, spent some time wrestling around with his blankie in the most dignified manner, and received several luxurious ear scratches and shoulder rubs. Happy birthday, short guy!

If you’re wondering how he is doing lately, I am delighted to say that there just isn’t much news, which is why I haven’t really updated. He has settled into post-paralysis life really well. He’s as happy as ever — the main things that’ve changed for him are that he’s no longer allowed on any furniture at any time (he used to love to snuggle on the couch and sleep in my bed, but now he has a nice comfy dog bed he likes to lounge on) and I help him take care of business in the bathroom (yes, the actual toilet). When he’s scooting around the house, he really doesn’t seem to be limited at all, and when we go out for a roll around the neighborhood with his wheels, he can really fly!

Well, it seems I have found a lot of words to say. I’ll have to wait until next time to tell you about my new fitness regime. Please don’t wait with bated breath, though. Keep breathing.

November 8, 2012 by ravelingoutko

What's Up

Oh, you guys. It has been a long week and it’s only Thursday. Normally I’d be rejoicing at the prospect of a Thursday night, as I almost always have the option of working from home on Fridays, but tomorrow I’ll be going in for a couple of meetings and other such things. So the week isn’t done and yet I feel like I’ve already buried it several times over.

Tuesday night was so (wonderful, but) exhausting. By the time both candidates’ speeches were over and we were staggering tiredly to bed, I felt like I’d lived three full days in the previous 18 hours. Teaching and other work duties have been busy all week, too, and there’s nothing I want more than a relaxing and restorative weekend.

So what will that entail?

having a night out with some ladyfriends
doing laundry
house cleaning
working on an academic writing project
judging a thesis for a contest
starting a big, secret craft project
going for a 5-6-mile run
watching at least one super-girly movie if not, like, four
doing a manicure/pedicure (at home)
spending plenty of time in my favorite PJs and slippers

I am looking forward to a good mix of neglected things that really need to get done (Laundry, sweet fancy Moses! I’m about to have to go buy a few new 6-packs of Hanes Her Way if I don’t do the laundry soon) and lazy, fun, me things. I’m flying solo this weekend while my guy is out of town and I’m such a dork that I miss him already, but I’m not going to let that dampen my two days off, right? Right.

Two more things:

If you were one of the people following my weekly outfit posts, I’ve made a new home for them on their own tumblr, safely tucked away where no one has to see them unless they want to. I didn’t really like loading my own blog and seeing tons of huge photos of myself looking at myself in the mirror with my phone in my hand. Ugh. It just wasn’t the content I wanted to have here, useful though it is for me to document that kind of thing. I do still find that snapping a photo of my outfit everyday helps me be less repetetive, more creative, and generally more thoughtful in my choices. This past couple of weeks, I’ve been a bit lazy about putting good outfits together, I admit, but the act of taking/posting the photo makes me want to do better, which must be a good thing. So anyway, follow along on tumblr if you like; ignore if you don’t.

Also, did you notice I’m planning on a 5-6 mile run this weekend? OH YEAH BABY I AM. I have decided to aim for a local 10K on December first. I’ve done a handful of successful 5 mile runs in the last couple of months and I feel like I’m ready to increase the distance up to 6.2. I certainly can’t run that far very fast, at least compared to where I was for the same 10K race last year. I expect to take the hills really slowly (hills aggravate my hip issue) and probably take a couple walk/stretch breaks — both of those strategies usually enable me to run longer without pain. I wish I were ready to be competitive again, but I’m just not. Like my physical therapist said, first endurance without pain, then speed. Last year I PR’d this race in 53:34; this year I hope to come in under 1:06:00, or maybe even closer to 1:00:00. I don’t know, y’all. We’ll see.

So what are your weekend plans? I must know.

October 15, 2012 by ravelingoutko

What I Wore to Work: Week 9

Apparently I am still doing this outfit documentation thing. Rest assured, I have no intention of becoming a style blogger — this is merely for my own amusement. And maybe for the amusement of other people like me who shop almost exclusively at Target and Old Navy? I don’t know; most style/outfit bloggers I know of have really nice, high quality clothing. It still seems sort of silly to be posting my clearance special nonsense, but hey, I’m a teacher, so this is what you get! I do find the thought of photographing what I’m wearing has made me put a little more thought into my choices, which in turn has made me feel, on most days, better dressed and more confident. So there’s that, which is good.

This was a short week with just three regular workday outfits — and a bonus outfit just because I was feeling silly.

Monday Lecture: This was a boring, hurry-up outfit because I was feeling rushed and uninspired in the morning. I’m glad I have a few standby things that I can throw on whenever that’s the case, but I really can’t say anything interesting about this outfit because of it. Sweater: Target. Blouse: Target. Trousers: Gap. Shoes: Rampage. Hair: Braided bun that didn’t come out quite as well as hoped, but I still liked it.

Tuesday Honors: I love this dress and always feel good wearing it. This is one of my favorite cuts — I have a similar one in grey tweed and another in grey sort of wool, bouclé-ish kind of, ah, thing. Anyway, this is the black linen version, courtesy of Claire’s donation pile. It has served me well! I got a couple of compliments on the outfit and felt good in it. It also works a lot better on a non-lecture day, since there’s no need to clip on a microphone battery pack (I don’t wear this with a belt and there are no pockets, making the mic impossible to clip on). Dress: Talbots. Sweater: Target. Shoes: Target. Bracelet: Target. Earrings: Old Navy. Kind of digging the preppy pearl jewelry thing lately. These are cheap fake ones because for some reason I refuse to pull out the real ones for anything less than the best occasion. I am stubborn.

Wednesday Lecture: I loved this outfit! I’ve worn this dress before, exactly as it was sold (with the pink sash), but I was happy to have been able to wear it again in a totally new way. I was also happy to have chosen boots on this day, as not only was I standing up lecturing, but I was also hoofing it around to various meetings all coincidentally scheduled on the same day. Whew! Dress: Anthropologie. Sweater: Target. Belt: Target. Boots: Frye. Stupid Expression: I’m sorry.

At the end of the day on Wednesday I got home, exhausted, but dragged my butt out the door for an evening run anyway. Afterward, I was so tired that I decided the ultimate comfy clothes were an absolute necessity, so I put on this ridiculous lounging get-up and then posted a joking photo to Instagram. Soon enough, everyone was clamoring for details. Who was I wearing? Were these pieces from this season’s collections? Was it custom? Vintage? Could the average budget shopper get a similar look? Well, rest easy. It is more shit from Target. Sweater: Target Men’s Section. Tee Shirt: Herbivore. Sweat Pants: Target. Socks: Injiji.

October 5, 2012 by ravelingoutko

What I Wore to Work: Week 8

It’s midterms week, y’all! The semester is half over. I think we’re gonna make it! We’ve also had nicely cool weather a couple of days this week and I just figure it’s time to bust out the jeans and boots and jackets whenever I like.

Monday Lecture: I tried this jacket last Monday but it was still too warm. This week, it worked. Please admire my modeling partner, Egon the Dachshund. He doesn’t get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day, you know. Jacket: Target. Tank: Old Navy. Jeans: Gap. Boots: Steve Madden Girl (the cheaper, non-leather line!)

Tuesday Honors: Proctoring a midterm exam in classes on Tuesday, so I figured I wanted something comfortable. I am digging navy a lot this fall and this new cardigan is one of the Target ones I bought to replace the old pill-monsters. Pretty happy with it! Blouse: Old Navy. Cardigan: Target. Cords: Old Navy. Shoes: Target. Nails: Sally Hansen Grey by Grey (love it).

Wednesday Lecture: This outfit was a dud, but at least I was comfortable for test proctoring and grading all day. (Be jealous). Tee shirt: Target. Cardigan: Target. Trousers: Gap. Shoes: Rampage.

Thursday Honors: I tried belting this a million different ways. Skinny belt over open sweater, skinny belt over dress but under open sweater, wide brown belt over open and buttoned sweater, and this one (skinny belt over buttoned sweater). I never felt satisfied. I might have gone for the wide brown belt if the sweater were a different color. Hmm. Dress: Target. Cardigan: Target. Belt: Target. Shoes: Target. Oh, hey, I like Target. SHOCKER.

Friday Office Work: I am grading all those midterms today and I also have a few people coming by to meet me at the office, so I went for casual but nice. Did I achieve it? I hope? I ordered this cardigan online and should have gone for a smaller size, but now I think I like the oversized look. Hmm. Tee shirt: Old Navy. Cardigan: Target. Jeans: Gap. Boots: Frye. Hair: in a low bun for better wave action tonight.

September 28, 2012 by ravelingoutko

What I Wore to Work: Week 7

I am at the point where I can’t help but exclaim how quickly the semester is going by. Did you guys know that on Monday (MONDAY!) it will be October? OCTOBER! I know. It’s crazy how the months just keep coming, one after another. You will be shocked to learn that here in Alabama, however, the high temperatures are still in the upper 80s and, despite the return of college football, it still doesn’t really feel like fall yet. Nonetheless, I have declared myself officially DONE with summer and I will have no more of it. Summer? You and me, we’re finished.

Long pants, long sleeves, boots, cardigans, scarves, jackets. It’s all happening here. I can’t exactly wear tights yet, or keep my jacket on all day, but in the frigid cold of my air-conditioned office and classrooms, I can almost pretend.

So in terms of this work-clothing project, I think I am happy so far with how it’s helping me. I’ve been able to avoid getting in some weird pattern where I always wear the same outfit on Tuesdays, for example (this has happened to me before). More importantly, I’ve identified that I do have plenty of clothes for work and no excuse to go on some crazy shopping spree. That said, I’ve also identified the few things I did/do need to add to my wardrobe: black wedges to replace a falling-apart pair, a few basic tees and cardigans (also replacements of old favorites) and a crisp, white blouse of some kind. All except the blouse have been successfully found and procured at very affordable prices (see last week’s post). Once I find the blouse I want, I’m done shopping for the next few months. I’m happy with that!

OK, here’s what I wore:

Monday Lecture: I LOVE this blazer, but sadly it turned out to be still a bit too warm to wear. It spent the day hanging on the back of my desk chair and I lectured in the white tee and scarf. Good enough, I guess. I hate my hair in this pic, though. I don’t know what I did or didn’t do, but ugh. Blazer: Target. Trousers that desperately need hemming when even 3″ heels don’t fix the problem: Gap. Tee: Target. Scarf: I forget…maybe World Market? Shoes: Target.

Tuesday Honors: Wore a dress because I was being observed by my chair that day and this dress always makes me feel good. Wound up wanting the cardigan layer because the back of the dress is low enough to make my upper-back tattoo (ca 1996, just imagine) visible. Dress: Anthropologie. Cardigan: Target. Shoes: Rampage. I like to imagine that “Rampage” is pronounced “RAMP-idge.”

Wednesday Lecture: The weird boot-socks day. I was in a rush on this day because I knew my PT guy was going to try to squeeze me in for an appointment some time before 9:00, but I wasn’t sure when or if I’d have a lot of time to change and get ready in between seeing him and getting to school. I wound up not shampooing, hence the pinned-back bangs and huge visible five-head. I liked the outfit, though! Dress: Simply Vera. Belt: Target. Boots: Frye. Socks: Target (GREAT selection of fun and funky knee socks there; I have tons.)

Thursday Honors. I’m realizing that this type of outfit is a sort of fall-back uniform for me. To make, combine: one of my several pairs of Gap Perfect Trousers (love them), some kind of embellished or interesting tank top, some sort of cardigan (or, in cooler weather, blazer). It’s easy, it looks fine, and I feel comfortable in it. Trousers: Gap. Tank: Old Navy. Cardigan: LOFT. Shoes: Target.

Friday Grading. I’m sitting in my office grading papers all day (just taking a little blogging break with my lunch right now!), so I figure it’s a good time to test-drive the crazy yellow skinny jeans. I think I like them. If you like them, by the way, they’re on sale now for $19. I was wishing for colors like dark teal or pumpkin orange when I went looking for these, but I’m happy with the mustard. Jeans: Old Navy. Tee: Old Navy. Cardigan: Target. Necklace: Target. Shoes: Toms.

Oh, interestingly, these are the same style jeans as the black ones from a couple of Fridays ago — the ones I asked you guys about, and was wearing the wrong shoes with. I also have a regular dark blue denim pair (last Thursday). So, all three pairs are different sizes. The denim pair is my normal size; the black pair is one size bigger, and the yellow pair is two sizes bigger. WTF, Old Navy?! I guess such is the mystery of their pants sizing, but I do not appreciate it!

September 26, 2012 by ravelingoutko

Lately

My feeling of being insanely busy with work continues, as I fully expect at this time of the year, but I’ve found myself with a few spare minutes to sit here with my laptop, old episodes of Parks and Rec in the background, and a cute hound dog at my feet. I’m feeling chatty. So let’s see, what’s been going on lately?

I finally got the new paper planner I ordered (from here) and it is very nice indeed. I had been working from a highly complex system of multiple notebooks, post-its, and lists, which I’m sure will continue to some degree — but isn’t it so much nicer to be able to view the week like this in my snazzy new, personalized calendar? There’s also a month view and spaces for to-do lists and goals. It’s pretty fancy. Will this be the magical key to keeping my life together, working smarter and faster, schooling my students, finding more time in the day, and finally achieving a chip-free manicure? Will it make me coffee in the morning and iron my blouses? I firmly believe all of this to be true.

In a football update, I did attend last week’s game after all on the promise of cooler evening weather and a marching band halftime show. It was much more fun! It was late enough in the evening for me to have time for a couple of beers beforehand, which allowed me to mitigate my anxious and vertiginous feelings. That, friends, was the hoppy, malty icing on the barley cake.

I checked in with my PT guru this morning due to some pain I had in my hip after Friday’s five-mile run (longest distance yet!), and he gave me some more strengthening exercises to focus on. I was worried that I might be hurting myself again, but he checked me out and said it wasn’t a real setback, just a warning to focus more on repairing the weaknesses on that side. I’ve got some new core, glute, and hamstring things to do. Soon enough I expect to have one damned fine ass, I tell you what.

Egon has been doing great lately. He’s a happy, cuddly little guy and he gets so excited for our regular neighborhood walks in his wheelie cart. It’s adorable. I recently made him a Facebook page so I could put all the dog updates over there instead of on my own timeline. (If you’re on Facebook and want to follow him there, you can.) It’s funny, because every now and then, people who only know me through work will find out about Eegs through something on Facebook, like today. One of my colleagues came by my office and told me she’d found his page and she just loved him and thought he was so awesome. People just love the little guy. Is it just me, or is Eegs just especially great? I think so. But I’m biased.

In fashion news, today I wore boots and a dress with knee socks under the boots and the top two inches of the socks were visible. On purpose. They were cute, Scandinavian patterned socks. This is a thing, right? Anyway, I tried it. I also went to Old Navy on the advice of my friend Brunbec, who advised me that the bright colored skinny jeans there were plentiful and cheap. I came home with a mustard yellow pair. I normally do not think I can pull off mustard yellow, but if it’s not next to my (pale, yellow-haired) face, I think I can. I’m thinking they’d look good with some combination of navy, grey, and white. Maybe they’ll show up in this week’s casual Friday pic? The whole point of this paragraph is to say that I think maybe the women’s fashion stuff on Pinterest is going to my head. Send help.

Raveling Out

like a looping string since 1977

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