Pet Peeve # 4

I had a pair of dress pants on this morning. They were two or three inches too short. They didn't use to be, but now they've shrunk. So I changed them to another pair that still hides my ankles. I hate it when clothes are washed according to the label and they still shrink.

Do you ever calculate out the cost per wear for an item of clothing? If a pair of shoes is, say $100, and you wear them 4 days a week 25 weeks a year, then the cost per wear is $1. But the cost per wear for that party dress, which was on sale, but you only wore once, is still too much to confess to.

I'll spring for slightly more pricey dress pants if I'll get a lot of wear out of them, but I can't get a lot of wear out of them if they shrink. Those, say $50 dress pants, that you were going to wear once a week have a potential CPW of $5 for a season. If they shrink, the CPW is now $25 or $50, depending whether you spill your lunch in your lap or not. Not a good buy, especially if you have to purge them immediately. (Pet peeve #4.1: hems that you can't let out.)

My current favorite pants are the "Adirondack" pants by L.L.Bean. They're not "dressy" but I can wear them to work. They're made in "medium-tall" and "tall" so even if the talls shrink when they're not supposed to, they are still long enough to hide my ankles. They are on sale this week, so I bought four pairs. Cool colors too! Yippee! I had a LLBean gift card, too, so the CPW will be quite low. Double Yippee!

Now I just need to purge four pairs of now-too-short pants when the new ones arrive.

 

Pet Peeve #2

I hate it when able-bodied people take the elevator from the first floor to the second.

I see this all the time when I get into work in the mornings. Drives me nuts.

Don't they feel bad at all?

 

Pet Peeve #13

(As if I'm counting)

It drives me nuts when bag boys at the grocery put gallons of milk in plastic bags, as if it's not easier to carry smooth jug handles than it is to carry thin plastic bags that cut into your fingers. Not to mention, it's a waste of plastic bags.

I hate that.

Picture of the day

"Bleachers" at the Roman amphitheater in Pula, Croatia; no kissing under these.

New Year's Eve Preparations

I don't think I've ever been out on new year's eve. Oh, I've been to friends' houses for little get-togethers, but never for a big party or event. This year is different, Dan and I are going to the Ramshead Tavern to see Billy Price Band. I secured a sitter back in November, AM's niece home from college. My sister-in-law helped me pick out a dress a couple weeks ago when we visited there, a fun, flirty little black and white number. I found shoes that will do. I even bought a pair of stockings. Now, I have to figure out what I'm going to do with my hair.

You all know me, I'm not a girly-girl. I fix things: I install car stereos, I drive a lawn tractor, I change showerheads (Oh, I found my channel-locks, by the way, they were in the back of the van, no tellin' why), I don't wear much make-up, I don't polish my nails, and I don't do hair. I just don't know how. I'm a wash-and-go kinda girl, no hair dryer, no curling iron for me.

I haven't had a hair cut since March when I made my last trek to New York to see Nick. He's raised his rates a couple times since I first saw him, but he grandsfathers his clients so they always pay their initial rate, not the going rate. Thank goodness. But still, it's not trivial to take a day or two off work and get up there to have my hair cut.

Dan often tells me there are other people who cut hair. I have a real hard time "breaking in" new stylists. I can't stand to have "product" in my hair, I hate the way it feels. I admit I have tactile issues. It drives me nuts if I can't run my fingers through my hair, I hate the feeling of curl cream or mousse sticking up my locks. Yuck. It always takes about 5 visits for any stylist to remember not to put anything in my hair, but I've never been so bold as to march back over to the shampoo girl and have them wash it again right after a cut and blow-dry. Although that might get the point across, maybe I should do that just once. Which is fine with me, because I don't like to have my hair blown dry.

Anyway, back to tonight. What am I going to do with my hair?

Oops!

I mistyped in my previous post, I didn't get granite counter tops, I got quartz. Grantite is so easy to say, and it's so popular now.

Quartz, not so easy to say or type. Drives me nuts to hear people leave out the 'u' in quartz and quarts, and quarters, as in "This week korts of Valvoline are on sale for $1.29," or "in the forth korter the Redskins failed to score." I'm not a football fan so the last one doesn't bother me that much. We don't live in Qatar, folks, it's not that hard.

I never got the extension piece for the hot water dispenser, drat, and I'm on an early flight in the morning for Minneapolis. I'm not taking my lap top so this will be my last post until I get back.