Thursday, May 26, 2011

#186 RIP Nordstrom Circle Centre

It was announced today that the Nordstrom at Circle Centre is closing. I don't know when. I did go to the half-yearly sale yesterday. I did try on a couple pairs but didn't purchase either. We still have a Nordstrom at Keystone, and will (hopefully) still get the new Rack in Castleton, but that's way on the other side of town. Bummer.

Monday, May 23, 2011

#185 Capri Diem

I’m not sure what this phrase means. I just made it up. “Pant day?” I thought it would be funny to put a twist on the word capri, since today I am wearing a pair of capris (cropped pants). For many years I refused to wear capris. I thought that if I wore them people would look at me and say, “That poor girl grew out of her pants!” One day Julie and I were shopping at the Eddie Bauer outlet store in Edinburgh. I found a pair of raspberry red tall capris. Since they were a different color than the norm AND technically were talls, I tried them on. Julie tried a different pair on. Inside the dressing room we both came out and I asked her, “Does it look like I grew out of my pants?” She said no, so I bought them. Since that day I have embraced the capri and have bought many more. They are a great summer pant. I even have a pair that are regular-length pants and I turned up the 3” hem to make a cuff. The fashion experts say that cropped pants make women look shorter so regular-height women really shouldn’t wear them. Well, then, they are the perfect pant for me!

#184 Carpe Temporis Punctum

Usually people say “Seize the day” but I wanted to say “Seize the moment”. A couple weeks ago at work I was reminded about how important it is to do this. I will not go into detail, but I had an opportunity to do something and passed on it, thinking the opportunity would present itself later in the day. I ended up being very disappointed that it didn’t. So make sure you carpe temporis punctum!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

#183 Chris O'Dowd

I have a new celebrity crush. I saw "Bridesmaids" over the weekend (loved it!) and the part of Officer Rhodes is played by Chris O'Dowd. I'd never heard of him before. He's Irish and has been in some British TV/movies the past few years. Very cute. Great curly hair. And very funny. (Check him out on Conan.) Then I found out he's relatively tall - 6'3" or 6'4" (depending on which website you believe). He's cast in an upcoming movie "Friends with Kids" scheduled to come out in 2012. I am very much looking forward to seeing him on the big screen again.

#182 Nordstrom Follow Up

Alas, I was a week early for the half-yearly sale. Bummer. I did have a nice walk though. And on the way back to the office I passed a tall, cute guy. Probably 6'7", dark hair. I don't think he had a wedding ring on. I smiled at him. He smiled back. I wish I had the guts to talk to him, but what would I say?

Friday, May 20, 2011

#181 Bike To Work Day!

It's Bike To Work Day! I rode my bike today! It's amazing how great the day seems to go when I bike to work. It helps that the sun is out too. I may even go for a walk to Nordstrom for lunch and check out the women's half-yearly sale. I will let you know if I find any cute big shoes.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

#180 If The Shoe Fits

Last month I was deciding between two pairs of shoes at Nordstrom Rack. Both flats and gold colored. One was a more known brand and looked more comfy, with a little arch support, and was a little more expensive. The other was more flashy, with jewels on the toe, and I think this one was an additional half price or something. I bought the flashy shoes.

After wearing the shoes for a month, I now know that they are not very cushiony, they are little tight (I usually have trouble with shoes coming off my heel, so initially thought this was great), and some of the jewels have come off. I still like them and they are very cute, and I've sewn the jewels back on. However, if I could I'd probably trade them for the other pair.

I was thinking today about how buying shoes is like picking a mate. You really need to try someone on before you "buy" them. Spend time with them, wear them around a little and make sure they really fit you.

And like my big shoes (size 12), I need a big/tall man. ;-)

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

#179 Breakdown

So I rode my bike to work this morning. Well, I attempted to ride my bike to work. I was riding smoothly until about 3 miles in. Then I felt some resistance in the back. At first I thought I had a flat. Nope. Then I checked the brake pads and frame. No rubbing. I have no idea what it was, but it’s got to be something with the gear/pedals. I kept saying out loud, “What IS IT????” I finally turned around and scooted home. I could coast fine but when I tried to pedal I still felt resistance, so I pushed with my left foot. I'm sure I looked ridiculous. I rode a total of 4.7 miles and it took me about 50 minutes. It took me 20 minutes to go 1.5 miles back home. It usually take me about 40-45 minutes to ride the full 7 miles to work. Thank goodness I did make it to work on time.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

#178 Hide and Seek

My house has been burglarized twice so I learned to hide things well. Unfortunately, I hid some things so well even I couldn’t find them. My problem is that I move my hiding places around and what seems like a brilliant location at the time seems to leave my brain once a few days go by. I once couldn’t find my camera for several weeks and finally found it by chance while cleaning the house. I still can’t find one ring. It’s probably hanging out with my silver hoop earring (Post #177).

#177 Lost and Found

I have a history of losing things (mostly jewelry) and miraculously finding them again, sometimes months later. Following is a short list, sure to grow as I grow in age:

• In high school I lost a necklace that I had put in gym locker during practice. While walking out to the car I found it hanging on the front of my coat.

• I lost a gold hoop earring and found it probably a year later on the floor in my garage. Once side was a little banged up, but not really that noticeable, so I just kept wearing it.

• I lost a gold hoop earring AGAIN and after several months of waiting to see where it would turn up, I broke down and bought another pair. Another few months went by and I found the first gold earring in the gear shifter thingy in my car.

• A month or so ago a lost a gold dangle earring. Last week as I was pulling into my garage I saw something shiny on the garage floor, just to the left of where I park. When I opened my door I saw not only the gold dangle earring, but my watch, which had fallen off earlier that day. I hadn’t even noticed my watch was missing.

• I lost a silver hoop earring about two years ago. I still haven’t given up hope.

• I really lost the necklace I first “lost” in high school about 11 years ago. I had another one made (it had been a gift from my aunt for my baptism) so I guess technically it “reappeared”.

#176 Play On, Nashville

May 3, 2011, marked the one year anniversary of the Nashville flood. And I thought I was just going to a really great show at the Grand Ole Opry! I try to check the Opry’s lineup every week and saw that there was going to be a show with Luke Bryan, Little Jimmy Dickens, Dierks Bentley, Trace Adkins, Charlie Daniels, Brad Paisley and Alabama, among others. What a lineup!



A friend of mine went with me. We arrived in Nashville at 3 p.m. Central time. Our plan was to get the tickets, walk around the Opry Mills Mall and then go to the show. Upon arriving at the Gaylord hotel/mall/Opry area my friend commented that the mall parking lot was kind of empty (we’d been there before and it had always been pretty full). I said something like, “Well, it’s a Tuesday, so maybe not many people are out today.” We’d usually come on a Thursday/Friday/Saturday. As I drove closer I saw fencing going all around the mall. I asked a worker if the mall was closed. They said it was and would re-open next year. What?!!! I felt like we were in National Lampoon’s Vacation movie, arriving at Wally World. “Sorry kids, the mall’s closed!” We drove to another mall about 10 miles away. It was nice, but no outlet stores like Opry Mills.

Back at the Opry, while waiting for the doors to open, we noticed some TV cameras outside. We still had no clue about the anniversary. Only until we were in our seats watching a taped introduction by Carrie Underwood, which included pictures of the flood damage, did we put two and two together. Huh. Didn’t make the connection, Mr. Obvious.

For those who have never attended an Opry show, it’s actually a radio show with several performers, each playing two songs. Two performers play their sets, then they break for commercials. Then the next two performers play, and so on. Each time a performer comes on, the audience is allowed to come up to the front of the stage for that set. You have to stay low so as not to block the view of those in their seats. Security makes the audience go back to their seats after each set. Then they let you back to the front to do it all over again.

My friend and I went to the front for Luke and Brad. We had seats in Row K and didn’t feel the need to do it for each artist. Note for next time: don’t wear skinny jeans. I almost cut off my circulation. It’s not comfortable to squat for 15 minutes at-a-time.

Here are pics of each artist.

Luke is a cutie. And he’s got a great butt.



I didn’t take a picture of Little Jimmy Dickens, but he is a cutie too. He sang a couple songs and told some jokes. At 80, he’s a little spitfire.

Dierks is cute too.



Trace is not "cute". He’s dead sexy. You’ve got your little Luke, Dierks and Brad. And then Trace walks out, all 6’6” of him, solid as a rock. Ooooeeee, shut your mouth, slap your grandma!



Charlie was great. To hear The Devil Went Down To Georgia live was amazing. He played that fiddle so hard the strings were shearing off at one end.



My friend’s favorite (besides Luke) is Brad. LOVES him. She was right at the edge of the stage. He played his new song “Old Alabama” and the band Alabama came out to sing with him. They don’t tour anymore so that was special. The last song they played together was Alabama’s “Tennessee River”.





As we walked out of the Opry, my friend said, “Best concert EVER!” It was a great experience.

After the show we hopped back in the car and drove home. Really. It wasn’t too bad and I wasn’t really tired until I got home and finally went to bed at 4 a.m. One bonus – gas was $3.69 in Tennessee. What a bargain!

The day trip was totally worth it!