The Better Blazer

I always wondered why a friend of mine looked so good in her clothes when we went out. There was just something about her look that worked. It said, I’m here and I’m confident. After repeated analysis I understood the pattern: Blazer, earrings, bag.

I never had too much quarrel with earrings and bags but blazers? Blazers reminded me of teenage years when my mother would help dress me for a job interview. She would inevitably find the most boxy and “conservative” blazer on the face of the earth. While my eye for fashion was in its infancy, I knew those coats made me look ridiculous, and made me feel even worse. I refused to wear a jacket for most of college and really only took it out for occasions of necessity.

I can’t say exactly what encouraged me to try the blazer again. I’m sure, flipping through celebrity magazines at the salon left an impression in the fashion recesses of my mind. But the big difference was, I was now on the hunt for tapered waist, feminine lines, and unique details. I understood how a more modern jacket could add lift to an otherwise simple outfit.

I recommend trying different styles to see what looks best on you. Pay attention to the length of the jacket. A classic style and safe bet for everyone would be a blazer that covers your hips but stops above your inseam. With all clothes, it should lie against your body appropriately, and you should be able to move around with few restrictions. Can you raise your arms above your head? Can you button it and still move with ease? Another important attribute are the sleeves: width and length. For an anytime blazer I recommend sleeves that hit your wrist or that are slightly shorter. Arm width should be tailored and resemble the natural shape of your arm, rather than rectangles. It seems like a lot of rules, but focus first on finding a jacket that complements your feminine lines rather than erases them.

I love to mix my blazer with jeans, a dress or skirt. It is a versatile piece of clothing that adds finish to your outfit whether you are shopping on the weekend, at the office, or grabbing a cocktail with friends.  Go forth and blazer it!

Wanderer’s Dream

When I was younger I saw a homeless man that prompted me to write a poem about him. I felt sorry for him but at the same time wondered if he felt sorry for himself or if he felt like he had a life of freedom.

Years later my aunt passed away and my mom asked if my poem could be read at her service (changing “he” to “she”). I didn’t understand why she wanted a poem about homelessness read for a woman who had a husband and 5 children. After the service, many people commented that the poem meant more than I thought it did. To them it meant that my aunt as a human being lived life. She struggled through the hard times and treasured the good ones. She made a home of the things that she held dear and carried that inside her everywhere she went. This week I was sorting through a stack of papers. I found my poem and thought I would share it. Please comment with your interpretation of how it reads to you:

He’s asleep under the newspaper
He hasn’t had food in days
To him it doesn’t matter
We just turn our heads away

His face shows lines of hardened times
He carries a bag of shoes and clothes
He wanders form town to town
Not caring where he goes

There are memories in his mind
The stories he could tell
The moments in life which were sad
The times when life was hell

But the more that was wrong
Left twice as much right
For the love and joy he found
Turned all the darkness to light

To know the good times
One must go through the bad
And to him you see
Bad isn’t all he had

To him his life has been fulfilled
With the things his eyes have seen
With the lives his entwined
That have created a wanderers dream

Enough of the Stuff

Moving is a very difficult time in one’s life. It brings up thoughts of beginning and endings. It’s both sad and exciting. Yet I’m finding that I am so ready for this change. Allow me to explain …

I am not someone who collects a lot of things. I try to keep my possessions down to a minimum. If I haven’t used something for a while, I tend to get rid of it rather than keep it (much to the dismay of my husband). This impending move has me looking at my possessions differently. Things I still use, and still like, are speaking to me in a new way. I’m hearing “Enough of this stuff. It’s been around for five (10, 15…) years. Time to go.” This is a new twist in my cycles of right-sizing.

I find that I’m feeling this more than I ever have before.  Now, I should say that I’m all for buying new things and hopefully doing my part to boost the economy in the process. Seriously, though, I’m wondering why I want to get rid of so much stuff this time. Perhaps it’s because this is a bigger move for me than usual. I’ve made multiple cross-town moves but this move is from one city to another. It’s a much bigger change and it appears I want a much bigger change for myself and my stuff as part of this process. It’s time to clear the air, and my home, for newer and brighter things!

Shoes, Shoes and More Shoes

I like shoes. I don’t think I own more than the average woman. I have shoes for work, shoes for play, shoes for running, shoes for the gym, shoes for summer, and shoes for winter. I have mostly black shoes and a few in various shades of brown. I also have boots: tall boots, short boots, high-heeled boots, flat boots, hiking boots and finally, snow boots,

This past weekend, while shopping at my local outlet center, I purchased two pairs of shoes. I needed new shoes for Fall and found a black, closed-toe, medium-heel pair suitable for the office and a brown pair with neat detailing that will be cute with jeans. Going shoe shopping in September brought up fond memories of childhood and of getting new stuff for school. I was giddy over my new purchases and planned to show off the brown shoes later that evening.

Fast forward to dinner… great company and wonderful food. After showing off the cute brown shoes, the conversation turned to shoes… so Glori, how many pairs of shoes do you own? Why, I really don’t know. 100 pairs? No of course not, more like 20. My boyfriend and our friends stared at me like I had grown antlers. Anyhow, after them calling me “Imelda-Marcos-in-training”, they challenged me to count how many pairs of shoes I owned, since I admitted that I don’t recall ever parting with any in the last ten years.

Piece of cake. Well, actually, not so easy since I realized I keep shoes in the downstairs hall closet, the side entry closet, the upstairs guest room, the basement and the attic. In order to pull this off, I decided to bring all my shoes to one room in my house and take the opportunity to go through them. This could be the time to donate those that I haven’t worn in years.

Long story longer… I ended up using a laundry basket to transport all shoes from various locations in the house to the living room. I actually got a good workout from the trips up and down the stairs. And I counted roughly 75 pairs, not counting any boots. Although this doesn’t come close to Imelda’s 1,000+ pairs… (Some say she had over 2,700 pairs)… it was certainly a lot more than I ever imagined.

I tell this story for two reasons. To see if anyone is like me, buying shoes even when you don’t need them… but mainly, to help me let go of those pairs that shouldn’t be taking up precious closet space, that are no longer in style, that don’t fit anymore or are not comfortable and never will be.

Those 75 pairs are lined up in front of me, many pairs looking so similar in style that I must remember to never get dressed in the dark, for fear I will choose non-matching shoes. The separation process has begun… in order to buy new shoes, I must let go of those that no longer belong in my house.

Taking a Chance

I used to country line dance in Rochester. For me line dancing had become a place for friends to gather, dance, laugh, and talk about their week. It was a place where the young, old, single, and married could go and become the same as everyone else. A place where no one judged and everyone could belong.

When I had been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma this form of gathering also created a family unit for me. I realized that the people there were not just dance friends but true friends. As humans we want a place to belong to. We want a place to go that feels like home. We yearn for a place that we walk in and everyone greets you with a smile and open arms. We want a place where the friends feel like family.

To recap: I moved to Bangor, Pennsylvania and it has not provided this kind of place for me. I have searched the internet and scoured my local sources to come up empty handed. I also looked at this activity as a way to network and meet new people. I had been laid off from work before I moved from Rochester and thought this would be a good way to get my name out there. It would also be a good way to learn about the area.

After a few weeks someone pointed out to me a local dance studio that teaches Irish dancing. I have always wanted to do this but it seemed so intricate, complicated, and fast paced. Throwing caution to the wind I showed up for class. It was a beginner’s class and I thought that would be good. Wrong! No one was a beginner! They all had been doing this for at least 5 years. Here I stood in my socks watching all of them clog away in their dance shoes. What was I thinking!

The teacher worked with me for the half hour and then we proceeded into an hour of group session. This involved swinging each other around using the steps I had just learned a half hour before! My heart rate rose, I didn’t trip anyone, and even had a few steps right. As the lesson ended I realized that through sweat and effort I had met some new and interesting people. They welcomed me to come back again. I think I will go. I will take the chance of being new and maybe find new friends to gather with, dance with, laugh with, and talk about my week

The Traveler’s Wait…Part II

Continued from The Traveler’s Wait Part I

One ringy dingy, two ringy…”Hi, this is Jarrah, I apparently need to fix my hotel reservation.” As I start to fix the lodging mess, I look up and see TSA talking to the out-of-sorts backpacker and what I presume to be the mom and her wronged toddler. The toddler seems as interested as the TSA in this confrontation. Clearly the child is fine, and this is really all about mom being able to express herself to someone who doesn’t drop F-bombs. Part of me wishes I could hear exactly what she was complaining about now. The assailant is an idiot for not paying attention and immediately apologizing and the mom is an idiot for trying to rationalize with the idiot. And to add the cherry on top of the idiot cupcake, it appears my receipt for the hotel stay did not begin yesterday but today, as it should have. Is it my turn to get on the plane yet?

Ms.Pilot lands the plane smoothly and I’m in LAX, ready to begin another round of waiting. My ride will pick me up as soon as work is over, but until then, I have to find entertainment. Despite the terminal being in a cloud of construction dust, I find an unassuming bench near the baggage claim and across from the restrooms. A couple is chatting to the right of the bench, but it is otherwise empty.

After wiping off crumbs and other questionable debris, I sit with my carry-on tote in the seat to the right of me, and my suitcase in front of me, and watch. A family stops by and decides to occupy the rest of the bench to my left. No big deal, there’s plenty of room. I can’t say the same for the airport worker who thinks it’s a great idea to squeeze his over-sized body into the only seat on my right. There are other seats with much more room, so I can only conclude his move was strategic. And indeed, as I am engrossed in a texting conversation, his eyes are right on me.

Soon, the body odor starts wafting into my nostrils. I really like my spot and don’t want to get up. How long can his break be? Why did he have to sit on the most crowded bench in the room? I’m trying to hold firm to my seat, but the stench and lack of space is starting to take it’s toll. I cannot take it, promptly stand up, and make a bee-line to the restroom–I had to use it anyway.

As I emerge, I make eye contact with the couple who saw the whole scenario unfold and chuckle to myself: this time I was the entertainment. After being amused by so much around me in the last 8 hours, I suppose it was time I could provide some amusement myself. Afterall, I did make it to California on-time, and while my traveling wasn’t simple, given all that could go wrong, disaster was averted. I can’t wait to see what excitement my return travels will include. I’m sure, a lot of waiting.

So many choices

Security, community pools, walking trails, and garages can all be features of apartment complexes. Each complex has its unique combination of features which can make comparing two complexes difficult. Let me share an example of how to make your search relatively painless.

Let’s say that you are considering three different complexes. Start by making a list of the features you must have in your next apartment. If an apartment you are thinking about does not have these features, it would be a deal breaker for you. Then decide the maximum amount of rent that you are willing to pay each month. Narrow down your choices by location. Try to stick to specific parts of town that are adjacent to each other if possible.

Comparison shop online before you start visiting potential apartments. The following websites have feature selectors that allow you to narrow your search based on the features that are important to you.

Consider using one of the following websites to help in your search:
www.rent.com
www.apartmentfinder.com
www.apartments.com
www.apartmentguide.com

Don’t forget to pick up all of the free apartment guides that are typically available in your neighborhood grocery or drug stores. Many of these guides list features and offer color photos of the apartment community. Comparing apartments either online or through these guides can save you time and travel when choosing which ones to visit. Good luck in your apartment search. I wish you well