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May 4, 2023

I spy Reg's mom, & vote for your fav outfits for Ed's graduation

On Monday, I bought strawberries at the Jewel, our grocery store. That night I wanted to eat said strawberries, but realized they'd never made it home. 

I bought MORE strawberries at Costco on Tuesday. Ever bypassed something at the regular store, like strawberries, planning to purchase in bulk at Costco only to get to Costco and find they don't have strawberries? I've been in that boat and this boat was a bit different - more like a cargo boat where strawberries abound.

Yesterday I spent a few hours at the library making banners for Ed and his people, but the heat press was acting up - messed up a bunch of fabric. Running out of time, I offered to hire Becky's daughter to run to the fabric store for me. She was waitressing, but Becky ran to the store and brought the fabric to the library. I promised to pay her in soda bread and cash money.  

Fabric purchase and delivery is an unusual favor/unchartered territory in our friendship until last night. You know you have a good friend when she drops off fabric so you don't have to stop your process. 

Becky watched my 1 woman sweat shop operation. When we walked to our cars, I told her I wished I had the Irish soda bread in my car so she didn't have to wait until the next day. I'd just baked it and it's so good when it's fresh. I filled her in for a minute about the latest in the basketball/not basketball related issue, which I will share in more detail soon. The situation makes me feel sick. It gives me knots in my already-messed-up gut. Layers. 

When I got in my car, I realized that I DID have a plate of soda bread on the front seat of my car. I'd intended to drop it off at another friend's house after the library, but I could easily have Reg deliver a plate there later. I fumbled with my phone to call Becky to tell her to drive over to my car. Deciding that would take too long, I honked. She was making her escape - not knowing I was Morris code honking at her. I sprinted, plate of bread in hand, and intercepted her just before she left the lot. I'm sure I looked ridiculous, only in part because Becky told me so. I FELT ridiculous. 

Next stop:  Jewel service desk. I opted to show my receipt for a strawberry refund vs grabbing more fruit. 

While I was in line, a few girls walked in and got in line behind me. I got the feeling that they knew who I was, because 1. they wore our high school sweatshirts, 2. they exchanged glances, surprised expressions, etc. I smiled at them.  

I was having a bad hair day, so I appreciate that
 they chose to focus below my shoulders.

At home, Reg chuckled. "SO, YOU WERE AT THE JEWEL? THAT WAS JENNIFER BEHIND YOU IN LINE."

This is maybe the 3rd time that kids who know Reg see me, ALWAYS at the grocery store, take a photo of me, and send it to him. 

How happy am I that these girls didn't capture my library parking lot sprint with their phones? 

We leave on Friday for Ed's graduation. I'm looking forward to it, but my contact lenses are giving me grief. I HATE wearing my glasses. This same thing happened when we flew to Ireland. After several days, the contacts were fine - but I don't have a few days. 

I tried wearing glasses yesterday and went back to contacts today - but the stabbing pain in my eye started again at 1:00. A new lens felt the same. I'm in danger of tearing out what little hair I have left. 

I need to decide what to wear to Ed's graduation. I value your feedback. *Coach and I went to a wedding March 11th. Who is good and responsible and would like to be the one to remind me to tell you about this wedding? Until then - the outfit I considered wearing made Mini say: 

UM, YEAH. HMM. OK. I HATE IT!

I need:  

OUTFIT #1:  a dinner at a restaurant Friday with girlfriend's family, followed closely by graduation ceremony from the business school.

OUTFIT #2:  Saturday morning, HUGE all school ceremony at 10 am. 

OUTFIT #3 (more casual?) Sat afternoon party with food trucks around 3:00 at one of the guys' houses. 

So #1 and #2 dress is probably business professional, so a tad dressy. Weather looks nice - mid 60's and maybe rain Friday, low 70s and part sunny on Saturday. I'm not wearing it in any photo but know that it is an option, my jean jacket with any of these if sleeves are needed. White skinny jeans (not pictured) always an option to wear to bars at night. 

In no particular order, in part because I cannot line them up as I had envisioned. Bonus points if you guess the article of clothing Coach hates the most and which item I've had the longest, which I've had the newest. Thanks in advance for your input. Feel free to mix and match. Contact lens advice also welcome. 
(see below #2) cannot get this guy
 to line up with the other photo - 

#1 - prob not enough red in
the shirt to wear with these pants.
 
#2 - shirt has cool arms -
see in above pic  






#3 - would wear navy
 cami under this, but
 I was being lazy


#4 - flowy pants
and black blouse with flowers
around the neckline


#5 - navy striped dress


#6 - red is IU's color BTW,
with geometric shape shirt


#7 - Coach's photo work - blurry,
same tan spanx cropped pants
 with a blue top, Curly
says top is too plain.
#8 - same flowy pants
and pop of color shirt
#9 - I do like my red pants, they keep
 appearing, with a colorful blouse
#11 - these re black polka
dot cropped pants/capris?
#10 - I'm not this thin. I stopped wearing
 this b/c it didn't fit and when
 I put it on today I sucked
 in a bit too much,
trying to be sure it still fit



#12  - same tan cropped pants, when
 I wiggle into them, Curly
 called it a frog maneuver,
 same white blouse

#13 - black polka dot pants, different white sleeveless blouse. I think I meant to take this one back but I never did and now it's too late. It's longer than the other one. Can a person have too many white sleeveless blouses? I vote no, you cannot


#14 - rainbow dress -who remembers
when I wore this to Curly's dancing
 competition in Vancouver?
 

38 comments:

Bijoux said...

I am all about how clothes fit (which is probably why I rarely find anything I like), so my choices are based purely on how the clothes hang and fit your body. My two picks are #11 and #4. I also like #5 as the dressy option. Have fun!

Beth Cotell said...

I choose outfit #5 for the first event, outfit #4 for the second event, and outfit #12 for the food truck event.

You look great in all of them so you can't go wrong no matter what you choose! Enjoy the weekend!

Eli said...

I love outfit #4! I tend towards classics that would work for many different scenarios.... Those pants look so comfortable and easy to wear! I also like the white and navy/black striped dress.

Colleen said...

#3 and #5 and #9 get my votes. Also those girls caught you in a flattering photo, but WHAT IF YOU WERE AT THE POOL IN A SWIMSUIT? I don't like the whole idea of sneaking the photo. I'm sure they are nice girls, but now I'm going to be paranoid if I ever see my kids friends out and about, especially at the beach ;)

Jenny in WV said...

I like #'s 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, & 14 the best.
I have a navy shirt that I bought thinking it would look great with khakis and it does, that's probably why it's is the Wal-Mart employee uniform!

I'd love to hear about the wedding you attended!

ccr in MA said...

I know I was in high school a long time ago, but I don't get why they're excited to recognize you, and letting Reg know they saw you? It's just the grocery store! It's not like they saw you somewhere surprising or unexpected. Ah well. I'm clearly getting into the "kids these days" age group, have to watch out for that.

Ernie said...

Bijuox - Comfort is a big plus - especially since I don't know if I will be able to change clothes between hanging all day and then going to the bars. I think I'll bring a change of clothes and leave it in the car. I think we'll park at Ed's house as our Airbnb is about 15 min away. I anticipate traffic being really rough. I rarely get to wear the long flowy black print pants and both my girls love those, so I'd love to work them into the weekend. I've had that pink top FOREVER, but it always works. The striped dress is a classic that I really love. Thanks for weighing in.

Ernie said...

Beth - I like all of those choices. Isn't it funny that I had a short panic attack that I needed to go buy something for graduation? Then I dug deeper into my closet and realized that I HAVE A TON OF CLOTHES. I don't get dressed up often - hello, babysitting, so I do like to wear an outfit. I might sway your 1st and 2nd outfits, but those might be in the lead for me.

Ernie said...

Eli - Those pants are so comfy and I don't wear them as often as I'd like. I might wear black pumps with them that are really cute because I think my sandals get lost in them. The striped dress is a favorite piece in my wardrobe and I haven't worn it much because I got a little too doughy for it, but thanks to SIBO and my weight loss - I can pull it off again, may as well wear it before I end up not fitting in it again. Thanks for stopping by.

Ernie said...

Colleen - I do feel the need to work those red cropped pants in somewhere, since it's his school color. I love them and I have several options of tops to wear with them. That's one of my favorite dresses. I wore those navy print pants to every event I attended last summer, so my fam might veto them - but they are really cute.

I'm laughing at your fear of running into your kids' friends on the beach. Too funny. It's a little odd that they don't just say, HI, AREN'T YOU MRS. SHENANIGAN? WE KNOW REG. vs snapping a photo of me while lurking. The world with phones is a weird place to live sometimes. Imagine if they'd spotted me running in the library parking lot? A video of that would've been really embarrassing.

Ernie said...

Jenny - I'm thrilled that you like so many of my options. There were a few things that didn't make the cut because once Curly laughed her butt of at me, I reflected a bit and agreed - nope, not wearing this. I've had that tie-dye shirt for years. I think it has stayed in style. It reminds me of the scene in the Proposal though - when Betty White is fitting Sandra Bullock in her old wedding dress. "I'm looking for your boobs, it's like going on an Easter egg hung, oh -there they are." I think a bustier person would look great in that top.

I died laughing at the Walmart uniform. I've made the mistake of wearing a red zip up to Target before, NO, I DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY STORE THE BOYS' SOCKS, WHY DO YOU ASK?

Ernie said...

ccr - I'm with you. It's a puzzle. Am I really such a celeb that I'm not approachable? Could they not just say, HI, WE HANG OUT WITH REG SOMETIMES. The grocery store is my hangout, clearly.

Kara said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kara said...

#5 for the first event
#11 for graduation and food trucks - mostly because I'm the type of person who isn't going to change between events in a single day. And if I'm eating, there's a decent chance I'm going to spill something on myself and black pants are forgiving for this.

Also, maybe the red pants with one of the white shirts for going out at night? Especially if you really want to get the red pants into rotation.

Kari said...

I think your husband is going to dislike the first top. You appear to be able to fly away, which isn't necessarily a bad thing if the event you're attending sucks.

I believe you should wear whatever makes you feel most comfortable. (I like the striped dress) 😘

Nicole said...

I like #5, #14, and # 13. I bet Coach doesn't like the first one because of the sleeves.

Anonymous said...

My faves are 3, 5, 12 and 14 and hello killer legs!

Bibliomama said...

I am with you on the never too many sleeveless white blouses - I like both of those. I like the sweater in number one, maybe with the white skinny jeans? #3 and #13 would be my other favourites, and I agree with Nicole about Coach's probable least favourite.

I am enjoying to a high degree my visual of you sprinting across the parking lot with Irish soda bread, slow-motion yelling "BEEEECCCCCKKKKKYYYY WAAAAIIIIITTTT". Not that I don't think carbs are totally worth maybe getting run over.

I had a scratched contact fuck up my eye and necessitate wearing glasses for a weekend away with my husband, and I also hated it. I'm not sure what to suggest, but if you have to wear glasses, just remember no one else is looking at you thinking you'd look better without them.

Bibliomama said...

Also I love those orange sandals!

Life of a Doctor's Wife said...

Oh my gosh, so many great options!

I pick #5 (the navy striped dress) for the first night's evening event, and #4 (black shirt with flowy pants) for the ceremony because it looks polished but very comfy and ceremonies can be uncomfortable. Then I pick #11 (pink shirt, polka dot cropped pants) for the more casual food truck party. But honestly, you can't go wrong!

My bet is that Coach doesn't like the tie-dye blouse (from #2) with the dolman sleeves -- purely based on the fact that my husband cannot compute any shirt with a "different" type of sleeve.

No, a person cannot have too many white sleeveless blouses OR black ones.

Sorry to hear the basketball situation is still so awful.

Life of a Doctor's Wife said...

I am giggling as I read the comments because we all picked different things. I think this means that you have A LOT of good options and can't go wrong. But also, you need a POLL so we can vote and you can see the clear winners!

Nance said...

I'm confident that, as a grownup, you can pick your own outfit. YOU CAN DO IT!

Thank goodness that I am not raising teenagers (or still teaching them!) in this age of social media and ubiquitous cell phones. The smartphone wasn't so widespread (or economically accessible) when I finally left, and there was no Snapchat or TikTok.

I like that you travel with homemade bread in your car. Because, hey--you never, ever know.

Pat Birnie said...

Sounds like such a fun weekend! I like #1 (love the red pants) - also #9 & #8- pink top is so pretty. I’m guessing coach does not like the top with the flying nun sleeves. Also be sure to wear the dress that flatters your new lean & mean profile!

Ernie said...

Kara- You and I think alike- be prepared to spill. The navy striped dress has gotten a lot of votes. I appreciate you recognizing my desires to work the red pants into the rotation. Not sure if it is obvious, but I don't get out much . . . this is an exciting weekend and I would consider changing clothes multiple times. ;)

Ernie said...

Kari- you cracked me up with your ability to fly away thought. Very funny. That is NOT the item that he hates. Believe it or not.

The navy striped dress is comfy, as are the shoes.

Ernie said...

Nicole- oh, I love the colorful dress and the striped navy one.

He (drumroll) HATES the float black pants. Not conservative enough for him, I guess.

Ernie said...

Anonymous- I've had that navy dress FOREVER and it has never failed me. And thank you.

Ernie said...

Ali- see, I feel less bad about not taking the additional sleeveless white blouse back. I think my wardrobe would benefit from a white or black cardigan for the occasions when a jean jacket isn't right.

Trust me- my parking lot sprint was something yo see. Probably wouldn't need slow motion. . . my speed already looks like it has been slowed down.

It took a long time of living in a sort of shoe dessert, but I have a decent collection of shoes now.

Ernie said...

Ali- AND - I am with you. What is it with my eyes or lenses sometimes? I get several days and several tossed lenses, thinking it's the lens, and without warning it will go back to normal. You are def right- no one probably notices the glasses as much as I do.

Ernie said...

Suzanne- I chose the flowy pants for Friday . . . but that is also a ceremony and they are comfy. I think i will do the navy striped dress for the ceremony on Saturday.

So funny . . . Coach hates the float black pants. I guess he is like your husband but more in terms of pant leg. That which is different, is wrong.

The teacher situation is beyond frustrating.

Ernie said...

Suzanne- if only I had figured out how to create a poll. I drafted this way past my bed time. Curly took the photos in road 1 and they were terrible. Blurry. Weird angles. I put the outfits on AGAIN and Coach took pics. Time consuming! It seems most liked the navy striped dress.

I felt like, once I looked around in my closet, I had a TON of options. Glad I refrained from running to the mall in a panic. Most items are several years old.

Ernie said...

Nance- Yes, I can pick my own outfit, but it's much more fun to gather fashion opinions. I dress for daycare most of the time. Nothing fancy. Easily washable. Pockets for tissue is a must. I have cute clothes but rarely have occasion to wear them. It was fun to go shopping in my own closet.

The presence of social media and the reliance of teens on smart phones is unsettling. It changes SO much.

I do not usually travel with bread, which prompted the running start delivery. I could not believe I had some in my car.

Ernie said...

Pat- It should be a lot of fun and the weather looks perfect. I'm excited to wear something that isn't my usual get food and noses wiped on me. Thanks for the votes. I struggled to decide and didn't want to be upset that I chose mot to bring something . . . so I brought about half of my closet. And 5 or 6 pairs of shoes. ;)

Ernie said...

ALI- YOUR RAISIN REMARK KILLED ME. I AM NOT A HUGE RAISIN FAN BUT THEY SORT OF BELONG IN IRISH SODA BREAD. all caps bc you might otherwise miss my delayed reaction.

Busy Bee Suz said...

You KILL ME. "my 1 woman sweat shop operation."

I'm laughing so hard about Reg's friends seeing you OUT and sending pics to him. YOU are SO popular.

I LOVE the rainbow dress and the pink top. Not sure that I'm such a great shopper these days as the outfit's overwhelmed me just thinking about them all. :) I can hardly decide what I want to wear and then you ask me about three, four outfits? 😜😳

Ernie said...

Suz - My kids laugh at me because now when I call the library maker studio, the library people know my voice and they greet me by name. It's like my little hangout.

I guess I AM popular. Who knew going to the grocery store could attract the papparazi?

Graduation was such a blast. Ed made some amazing friends, and those friends have amazing parents and getting to hang with them for one last joyous weekend was so fun. Several live in the Chicago area. There is talk of the moms gahtering again in Chi-town. That works for me, since I have some outfits that I'd like an excuse to wear. My babysittng clothes are NOT this fun.

Ally Bean said...

You have a lot of clothes. All pretty. I lean into comfort and simplicity so I like #11 but I know you'll figure out which look to go for. And then tell us!

Ernie said...

Ally - When pulling options out of my closet I realized that I DO have a lot of clothes. Many of these items are quite old. I've worn that pink top a million times. I tend to stick with things that don't go out of style . . . thus a closet full of clothes.