A Fair-Weathered Foreign Friend

Hey everyone! A friend of mine has a great blog she has just recently picked back up again! Go check it out!

Click Here To Access Her Blog  <---- This is a safe link. The page contains no AdWare, Malware, Spam, Viruses, or Bots. Enjoy!

Boots & Boys... They bring me so much joy!

This is pretty much exactly what they look like...
and yes... I drew this with my
Wacom Intuos4.

Well... This has nothing to do with boys. Just boots. I recently purchased a new pair of Uggs for this winter. I already had a brown pair that came up to about mid-calf with ivory colored fur rimming the top, cute suede/leather strings that tied up the front, and an Indian-esque design that went around the top of the boot below the fur. My mother bought these boots for me about a year and a half ago. I wear them out every winter and I LOVE them. I've never had cold toes with them - of which I am very thankful for. They are a size 10 and fit me perfectly. When I was being sized for these boots, the sales associate told me that all Uggs run big and to get a size smaller than I would normally wear. I normally wear a 9, so I tried on the 8. I could barely stand to shove my foot into them. It was ridiculous! Before even heading into the mall, I read on Ugg Australia's website that they run big as well. I was slightly miffed, but continued on to try a bigger size. Moments later, he brings out a 9. This one was much easier to shove my foot in but my toes still felt a bit crowded- of which I cannot stand! I have to have the freedom to move my toes about. So here I am. A size 9 in any normal shoe- be it Adidas or Nine West.... Apparently for me, I am the exception. I had to buy the size 10. I was almost irritated that I had started at the size 8 and had to try on 2 more sizes to find the right one. As I have stated before: I am not a shopper. I dislike trying on clothes, rummaging, purchasing, or bargain hunting. Yes Forever21 is my worst enemy.

[This image is from http://www.miuggs.com/]
[I am not advertising or promoting this site.]

So, fast forwarding a year or so later, I am ready to buy another pair of Uggs. This time I want the classic tall boots in black. I was down in Columbia, SC visiting family and friends and wandered into the Belk in Columbiana Mall. I saw the boots and was jumping to get them. When I picked up the display boot and found a sales associate (which was a challenge in itself because I went December 18th which is WAY too close to Christmas and it was a zoo...) I told him I needed a size 10. He squinted face in such a manner of "We don't have that size in stock anymore but I'll go run around back just to make you  happy." I do have to give the guy some credit because there were so many people swarming around him trying to get their shoes and sizes. I'm surprised his head didn't pop off...
   He disappeared in the back for a few minutes and returned with no box in his hand. My heart sank a little. He told me the only size they had left in black was a 6. I kindly thanked him for looking and was beginning to walk away when he stopped me and told me he would check the inventory of Belk that were nearby to see if they had my size in stock. Alas! He said the Belk in The Village at Sandhills (heading to Florence on I-20; Clemson Road exit) had 3 size 10 classic tall black boots in stock!! Unfortunately I couldn't make it out there that day, but would have to go on my way back home to Wilmington, NC. Two days later it was time to leave. I packed up the car with my and Ashley Lilley's stuff, said bye to the grands, and raced to Sandhills. I quickly found a parking spot (after cutting off an old lady and practically mauling a young couple doing some Christmas shopping) and scampered into Belk. We came in right next to the shoe department which made me happy. I found the boot, brought it to a hounded sales associate, and asked for it in a 10. She said she'd be right back. I was so happy I couldn't contain myself. I quickly found a chair to sit in and pulled both of my shoes off. A few minutes go by and out comes the woman holding a big ole' Ugg shoebox. I smiled and did a quick clapping motion... In retrospect I probably looked more like a disabled sea-lion, but I didn't care. As she approached me and handed me the box, I saw that the size was a 9. I was about to cry... I smiled and told her I needed a 10...... Of which she replied, and I quote: "We is all out of them." I figured that I'll just try them on anyways. I already pulled my shoes off so what have I got to lose? I slid my foot in and even though they were a bit snug, they were definitely do-able. Worse case scenario I'd exchange them when I got back to Wilmington, NC for a size up. Purchased.
    Today, Monday December 20, 2010, I have already made room in my routine to trek up to the mall and *hopefully* make a successful exchange. I'll be lugging my mall-hating husband and my two cousins, aged one and a half and three and a half, with me for my attempted exchange. I will be going to great lengths to get my boots. I will follow up with an [EDIT] to share my success or failure.

[EDIT] I decided to keep the size 9. I'm just not used to things coming near or around my toe. I've always tended to buy things a bit bigger and floppier. Eh. Oh well. So goes my tolerance and simultaneous lack of patience. 

How do YOU shop?

    I know everyone has been to a few stores in their shopping career and have had to rummage. For example, stores like Forever21, T.J.Maxx, Ross, and Marshall's all require you to rummage through rack after rack; whereas Banana Republic or GAP have a few of every article hanging or folded so you know exactly what you're looking at and you are easily able to find your size/color/etc...

    The reason I bring this up is because I had a recent experience with some hardcore rummaging. Nothing like I could have ever imagined. Before I begin, let me just state that I loathe rummaging to find clothing. I find it overwhelming and frustrating beyond all necessary reason. I purposely avoid 99% of those stores I listed above simply because I do not want to give my self high blood pressure and display public rage when I, in my transformed King Kong-like state, slam the rack to the floor and begin stomping ferociously and beating my chest... Alright, now to get back on track... A friend of mine, at 10:30PM, messaged me and told me she was going shopping in Lynchburg, VA and that she was leaving her house at 2AM. I was very puzzled by this and almost immediately said 'NO!' Before I could answer, she said it was a J.Crew clearance warehouse where all shirts are $8, pants are $15, dresses are $20, so on and so forth. I was shocked! She sent me an article to read about it telling me all about it [side note: I will find the site she sent me and put it below as an edit. Don't get your panties in a wad.] and I was pumped. I wanted to go so badly, even if it meant leaving at 2AM. So here's the time line of my evening: 10:30PM I find out I am leaving at 2AM to head to Virginia. 11:30PM I hop in the shower (second shower of the day) so I can look presentable (fat chance) once we get there. 12:30AM I finish my hair and makeup and sit down to just relax before I have to split. I end up flottling on the computer with my sister-in-law and her friend (both 14) until about 1:45AM. Finally it was time to leave. I got my junk together and poured myself into the car. For the most part, I am a night owl. I rarely go to bed before 1AM on most nights. I had to drive about an hour to meet my friend and her sisters, seeing as how I was staying at my mother-in-laws house. Fast-forward past one angry husband having to drive, round trip, two hours to drop me off getting him home at 4-ish and we're on our way.

     My friend and I take a separate car from her sisters because they have to drive back to PA after this shopping bonanza. We drive through 3AM....4AM....5AM.....6AM....7AM! [talking too much and loudly the whole time kept us WIDE awake. MAJOR adrenalin] And we're there! We arrive at this warehouse to see about 50+ cars that have filled up the whole parking lot and a line that was *beginning* to wrap around around. [Doors open at 8AM. One hour to go.] We quickly park and grab blankets and an umbrella the size of a tent and huddle around outside in line impatiently awaiting 8AM. Every five minutes, my friends sister would alert us that five minutes have passed - only raising my anxiety level, which everyone thought was humorous ... I was worried going into this, as I have stated before, because I DO NOT enjoy rummaging and I was very worried I wouldn't find a single thing due to my own faulty mentality of shopping in general... 8AM hits and the doors open up. They only allow a certain number of people in at one time, and fortunately we got in with the first wave of people. Let the mad house begin...

      The moment you set foot inside, you see two people with boxes in their hands. The person on the left gives you a trashbag taller than your average adult female and the person on the right hands you and piece of paper with items and prices listed in column form. I followed my friend like a scared 4 year old child until we got to the boxes jam packed with clothes of all sorts and sizes. As much as I tried, I couldn't keep up with her so I had to split. I trailed off on my own and found a few cute shirts in good condition, a skirt, and a cashmere sweater. I threw my junk in the bag and was literally ready to leave in 45 minutes. I knew better than to say anything to the girls I was with so as to prevent glares and cold looks because I knew they weren't even close to being ready to leave. So I figured I've got what I wanted and the pressure is off. Oh how wrong I was... I went and found my friend who had half a bag chocked full of various items of clothing. I compared her bag to mine and was quite ashamed at my small amount of clothing. I literally had 4 smalls things in the bag whereas she had about 24. After a quick run-through of what we both got, we went to go find her sister. Her sister had 3/4 of this body bag full of just pants alone. She hadn't even made it to the shoes, shirts, jackets, or dresses yet. We were like "Oh my god, Elisa... Are you serious right now..." So right then she picked through what she had and tossed what she realized didn't fit or she didn't like. Finally we got her to move on to the shirts and sweaters and stuff. After about another hour of following the two of them around, they finally became satisfied with how much junk they had in their bags. So in this mass warehouse, we find a clear section to try on all of our clothes. Keep in mind that there are no dressing rooms and you aren't allowed to bring clothes into the restrooms. Fortunately for my friend and her sister, they both had on leggings and were able to slip pants and skirts on over them. I was not so fortunate as I wore jeans, but I only had one skirt and two shirts to try on. So realistically I was just fine. We sat over in this little corner while the two girls tried on every single article of clothing they put in their bag. I was alright by this point. You know how when someone does marathon running they claim to experience a 'runners high'? Well that was pretty much how I was feeling right about then. Looking back I believe it was a state of delirium from sleep and food deprivation... But nonetheless, I was just kind of staring off. Not really caring what happened around me. I tuned out all of the chaotic commotion. It was like my brain had fallen asleep but my physical being was still moving and function and nodding when I was asked 'Does this fit me?!' Another hour passes as Elisa and Jenny continue to try on, what felt like the same shirts and jeans over and over again, everything in the bag. All of a sudden Elisa screams 'LOOK! COATS!' and goes and grabs a big beautiful grey coat. It was awesome. Double lined winter coat with golden buttons. This coat's retail price was $255... The warehouse price was $50. The coat didn't fit either of the sisters, but fortunately for my hamburger loving self, the bigger coat fit yours truly... and YES it is currently in my closet. Anyway, apparently the coats are the hot commodity of this whole warehouse ordeal.... Which obviously so when full price you're paying $300+ and here they're only $50... The warehouse workers would bring out a medium sized box packed full of winter coats and let me tell you... girls would come out of NOWHERE to attack these things. They would snatch and elbow until they grabbed any coat they could get their hands on. The beauty of this was the fact that, no matter what color the coat or what size the coat, someone else wanted it and most of the time they had a coat they could trade you. It was the biggest barter system I have ever experienced. Box after box was brought out and everyone acted as if it was the first and last. We began to hoard coats. Big coats, little coats, white coats, orange coats, and any other type you could think of. Elisa was looking for a fitted white winter coat so she continuously tried to trade and barter with others who had coats - in all hopes to 'trade up' to the one she wanted. Finally she did find the coat she wanted, but this little snaggletoothed girl wouldn't give it up. We offered her every color, size, and shape coat there was and she still wouldn't surrender it. Needless to say Elisa was heartbroken, but she did end up finding a beautiful black winter coat that looked marvelous on her. Her sister Jenny also found an awesome teal green coat that is totally amazing as well.

     After all the bartering and hollering, we were finally satisfied with what was in our bags. We realized though that we had a mound of coats that we were hoarding. So we saw a group of girls who appeared to be nice and friendly and gave them all of the coats we had so they could have first choice before 'releasing them to the dogs'. Well let me tell you... We surely did give those coats to the right people. They ended up giving up these little discount coupons that took 30% off of our entire purchase. It saved both of the sisters $100+ and it saved me about $40. I walked out of there with a cute pleated navy blue cotton skirt and a big grey winter coat with shiny gold buttons. Grand total: $47. Retail value: $350.

     We had a blast shopping in the JCrew warehouse and are already planning on doing it next year. We learned A LOT from just going this one time. Next time we go, we are going to share a hotel room the night before so we aren't zombies the entire day. I highly recommend going to these warehouse sales but I do warn: You have to wake up ridiculously early to beat the crowds, bring a lot of money (not because things are expensive but because they are cheap), and make sure you wear leggings and a tank top. That way you are able to try on clothing without having to strip naked. If you utterly despise rummaging through boxes of clothes, if you hate being pushed up beside people you don't know, don't show come. This is not for the faint of heart. This is for men, women, and children who are on a mission to get some high quality clothes at ridiculously cheap prices.

[This image is from YourHeartOut]

Ellen 'DeGenerate'

The Ellen Degeneres show has no doubt provided entertainment to many different types of audiences ranging children to the elderly. I, personally, like the Ellen show for the most part. She's very funny, proves to have good comedic timing, she's very audience friendly, and she keeps up with new hot celebrities (save the occasional interview by Hilary Swank). Haha..... Aside from her interviews, introductory monologue, and various games she comes up with, the dancing is what really hits me. I don't understand why she dances and I don't understand why people like it... I think it's her look, in general, that makes me dislike it. She dresses like a twelve year old boy. Her hip thrusts at random audience members seems strange for daytime television. Honestly though, the absolute worst part of the show is when she straddles/shimmies over the table in front of her chair. I immediately become repulsed at that and usually avert my eyes. *shudders* Ellen, keep up your funny but not your dancing.

Gleek or Freak?

As if we didn't get enough high school drama in high school, we now invite it into our homes once a week. Given the songs sung each week are quite catchy and for the most part incredibly well known, the unrealistic drama and bizarre relationships these characters have created are borderline appalling. When you were fifteen were you randomly having revenge sex with fellow classmates? Were your teachers getting involved with your sex life? Were you able to randomly break out into a well-choreographed dance and song number within moments of just hearing what song you are going to be singing next week at sectionals? No... I don't think any of those things are what happened to you. People didn't treat gays like that in high school. Football players and cheerleaders didn't throw slushies in your face. The dramatization of all of that is pretty nauseating... I don't think any high school students life is this jarring physically or mentally. If the writers could bring the show down to a more realistic level and not so... cartoony, then bring on the seasons. But I don't know how much more I can watch if things keep on the way they are.

In the beginning...

    Alas, I have given in to the blog world. I always promised myself I wouldn't fool with this 'mess'... yet here I am. The fact that random people actually take interests in average peoples' lives is astonishing. I have to say, the only reason I have created this is simply from the flak I catch off of Facebook  posts. People tell me frequently that I make them laugh... or that I caused them to become filled with rage - no doubt my father's personality shining forth through me. Nonetheless I enjoy people coming up to me a day or so after a post to tell me how much it made them laugh.... or the inevitable 'I can't believe you actually said that in public!' Oh well. I can't make everyone happy. So tell your friends. Tell your family. Tell your enemies. I want you to hear me and I want to hear from you.