Today is International Women's Day (but hey, with me EVERY day is MY day!).

While flipping through stations on TV, I came upon a certain on-air shopping channel that was hawking SPANX support garments (modern-day girdles with lycra in place of old-time bones/stays.)

The saleswoman/announcer had the brilliant idea to state on-air:

"Thanks for joining us this morning. We're celebrating International Women's Day with SPANKX support garments!"

WTF?!?!

While not trendy, per se, every so often I'll get a nearly obsessive notion in my head about some doo-dad I need to have in my closet. Over the winter it was the regret of not buying the perfect fit (for me) boot-cut slightly low-rise stretch cords in a familiar vintage graywhen I saw them at a department store. Needless to say, when I went back they were sold out of said cord/jean/pant-thingys.[Sidebar: I am a "petite" and thus when dealing with most jeans/flared pants, I need either one sized as "ankle length" (GAP) "short" (Old Navy, Limited) or "petite" (everything else). ]

I am on the hunt for some other items: the perfect 3/4 sleeve or cap sleeve t-shirts in a deep, saturated colors of turquoise, orange and hot pink. Maybe even a violet-blue. Shirt must be 100% cotton (no spandex - I don't like clinginess.) Garment length must hit below waistband, to cover the battle-scars of motherhood. Garment must also NOT be of that soft, tissue-like cotton but of a heftier loft, so as to provide adequate coverage, conceal bra lines, etc.  Crew neck is preferred, although not to high so as to be butch. And not so scooped or deeply v'ed to be slutty when I bend over.

The other piece of crap that my wadrobe is clamoring for is a new "lighter" (as in color/print) mid-size messenger bag-style purse. My current black microfiber one is looking too murky for the coming spring. I love the simplicity and sportiness of its shape and spare lines. I also like the adjustable shoulder strap. It suits me and my "lifestyle" (cough, cough.)

I'd love one in a leopard print, although paisely or some vintage acid-floral also has merit. Yet again, a nice bright solid would be great too, thus being much more "flexible" and wearable in the coming months. (I HATE changing purses. I like to have one for spring/summer, one for fall/winter. I only change for "evening/going out" occasions) LeSportsac, I'm sure has what I want, but its out of my price range until birthday time. I found a cute but slightly flimsy cotton one in just the right size at Target for $14.99 in a hot pink that might be useful. I think I'll hold off until 1.) the target pbag goes on sale (since it's not that great) or 2.) until I find something better.

I think I have a lead on the shirts, too (when all else fails the Old Navy "Perfect Tee" will suffice - available now online!) But, alas, as we drift into capri and shorts weather, I figured I'd never see my oft-coveted boss faux-vintage cords again.

Until tonight, that is.

I was outside refilling my birdfeeders and out of curiosity I began raking back the leaves I put on my bulbs and perennial beds for winter...up are sprouting tulips, peonies, stonecrop, iris, mums, lilies, and gladiolas. If nothing was there yet I would have felt ever so disappointed; but those little shoots give me hope that spring really IS around the corner, although the weather we've been having belies that fact.

Wow! Last night before my evening bath, hubby came upstairs to inform me that my computer was fixed - and that he also threw in some extra RAM, too!! Yeah!

That was quite a thoughtful surprise -  especially since I hadn't mentioned it to him yesterday.  But anyway, here I am typing with no vision imparment as of yet, so hopefully I'll be visiting and commenting at my usual pace.

Just a quick note here to let anyone/everyone know that my laptop is goofed up again - something really wrong with the screen. Hubby can likely fix it but since he's pretty swamped w. other, more pressing items (earning $ for the household being the main one), I am not certain when it will get fixed. So I really can't use IM on this server (not allowed to load that app on here) plus this machine is frequently in use doing some sort of process or another so rather than hog the family bandwidth I'll just be abstaining from blogland and, for that matter, cyberuniverse, until my laptop ceases making my eyes hurt.

In previous years, I'd used upcoming triathlon events as my motivation for working out, keeping up with running, strength training, swimming, etc. I'd been hoping after last year's races that this year I'd be able to really "compete" - that is, that I'd have better split times for each event (my skills in running and swiming have gotten better) and, of even greater impact, that I'd have a "legit" racing bike to use and train on.

I cannot remotely justify the purchase of even a mid-range bike (approx. $1500 range) this year as we are really getting crowded out of our little house and hope to put on an addition perhaps as early as this summer - or even move to a location dictated by the results of the current job search. In my heart, I'd really rather put every penny saved toward opening up some space here and improving upon the space/furnishings we have, including our "outdoor area". (Last year we lost an Elm tree and thus have a big crater in the middle of the front yard that really needs some landscaping help.)

Knowing in my mind that the bike thang wasn't gonna happen. I have lost momentum in getting on my bike and indoor trainer. I've been opting for more "general" workouts, like pilates, ashtanga yoga (power yoga), and hope to also take a deep-water aqua-aerobics class that starts at the end of March. But what would serve as my carrot-on-the-stick?

I just happened to check out Self magazine's website last week and found that the annual Self Challenge just started, so I signed up to do it and keep an online log of my workouts. I am really excited about this as I've always kept a workout log/journal of some sort for the past 3-4 years. But this is even better as with each log entry, I get a chance to win a "prize of the day" - usually some sort of frilly bath product or similar.

Its not to late to sign up - and you can either follow the "prescribed" workouts or choose from a list of "general excercises" for both cardio and strength training. 

In just one week I've appreciably stepped-up my total workout minutes and intensity, as well as added more diversity to my routines. I'd recommend this plan to anyone - especially since it's been helping beat these late-winter blues.

I've nothing fun or interesting to discuss lately. My husband is getting to the end of his rope at work - he is just miserable there.

No, his job is not in jeopardy. Things have been hectic and nutso for some time, but its just been getting progessively worse for him. He got a promotion in December - and of course the new salary doesn't kick in untl APRIL which STINKS! Yeah, he's basically doing double work (new job responsibilities plus tying up the end of his current project) and isn't getting paid for it. Typical corporate BS.

He's putting in about 10-12 hours per day. Yesterday he went into work at 7am and got home at 10:15 pm - and its only a 20 minute commute! Friday night we were sound asleep on to be awakend at 12:05 am by the phone - from work, naturally, letting him know a certain process was finished and was ready for him to work with. He's not a friggin' OB/Gyne waiting for a baby to arrive in the middle of the night! He's an IT manager!!! If he had been expecting a call like that (Honey, programmer X may be calling me sometime tonight or tomorrow morning to let me know that yadda yadda yadda...) I wouldn't have been so angry. Maybe he did know and forgot to tell me?

When I was a kid my dad was frequently "on call" - especially during bad weather. He worked for a public utility and naturally, if service was interupted he needed to be in work to get it restored. That was part of the business. It was hard on my mom, being home sometimes for DAYS on end with three little kids and no dad (plus, she didn't drive at the time) but we got through it.

This situation though, somehow seems different. When my pop would jump into the trenches and figure out a way, with a crew, to stop a gas main explosion from destroying a neighborhood, naturally he felt GOOD. My husband is getting little to no satisfaction from his projects and their frantic pace, even though his individual contributions are often recognized and complimetned by those higher-up in the organization.

So I've taken time out of my daily job search and resume-updating for him to vent my frustrations here in blogville. We are scrambling together to find something else for him in the area. I am somewhat saddened about the prospect of change because he gets over 3 weeks of vacation with his current company since he has been there so long. But vacation time is pretty useless if you can never use it, I guess.

Before Buster Baxter had the opportunity to raise questions about homosexual relationships in my household, Homer J. and the Simpsons crew beat him to it. This week's episode featured a plot premise in which the charm-challeneged hamlet of Springfield legalized gay marriage in order to encourage gay tourism in town. Needless to say, before I could change the channel, my little one saw some exaggerated cartoon depictions of men holding hands and kissing thus prompting her to ask:

"Mommy, what do you call it when a man is in love with a man?"

The recent news story (see link HERE) of a Muslim woman wishing to take her daughters to a local public pool in Nebraska gave me a great idea. A few years ago, I recall a PBS documentary about everyday life in Iran (way before the recent crises between the US and that nation.) One of the more charming scenes was of two upper-middle class Iranian couples water skiing on a lake. Yes the women were in full Hijab (pardon any misspellings) AND were able to waterski! How? An ingenious company there produced quick-drying black nylon outfits and veils for women to wear swimming and for other recreational activities.

Why, I wonder couldn't people in the situation like this woman in Nebraska (not to mention others concerned with modesty - Orthodox Jews, Muslims, Mennonite, etc...) create a market for ultra-modest activewear? Long hiking skirts in ripstop fabric with plenty of cargo pockets, quick-drying, lightweight wrist and ankle-length bathing attire (not unlike a wetsuit but less buoyant), long split skirts with ankle ties for cycling, bicycle helmets with small built-in-veils in back... my idea stream for these items goes on and on.

Honestly, I'm not being sarcastic about this...I used to have a co-worker buddy who was orthodox Jewish. She used to fill me in, over lunches (Kosher, natch) about the ingenoius and creative ways that American Orthodox Jewish women could fulfill their modesty obligations while still feeling fashionable, living in a modern American city like Chicago.

For example, she stated (and I have seen it all over the country) that Orthodox women are obliged to have their heads covered. This was not such a problem when hats were worn everyday by both men and women. With the decline of the hat came...the rise of the wig! Thus some Orthodox women cut their natural hair very short and don a stylish wig - a sort of hair-hat, if you will.

For teenage girls wishing to be cool and casual like their gentile peers, the easiest solution was a long denim skirt for everyday wear. In fact, on casual fridays at work, she'd wear a long denim skirt with a longsleeve tshirt or sweatshirt, as opposed to the dresses she wore the rest of the week.

This year, my sister and her husband cleverly wore the following costume to a halloween party:

What are they supposed to be, you may ask? "THE DEATH OF HOCKEY" of course! Looks like they knew it was inevitable...