Making Changes

I refer you to my post on My Uniform. One of my favorite authors is Merilee Boyack. I've read all her books and believe we are kindred spirits on different sides of the country. She's written books on parenting and marriage and just overall having fun in life. Her sense of humor is delightful and speaks to my soul. I admire her greatly.

I recently emailed her to tell her how much I appreciate her. I tried to be funny in my email by telling her a little about myself and I wrote about my uniform. She responded quickly and told me that I needed to get out of my elastic pants and white tshirts and into something much more flattering. Although I thought I was being funny, I was a bit surprised to find a call to fashion repentance in her return email.

This is what she wrote:

"Aha!!!! So do you remember what I wrote about t-shirts and elastic-waist pants?!?? :)

Time to go SHOPPING!!!! Those items must be BANISHED. And yes, I know all about scraping vomit off of my shirts. It's about who YOU are and treating yourself with respect. (Not to mention being attractive to hubby.)

Remember my mother's rule?? He works with babes all day, make sure he comes home to one! :)

Sorry - I'm just WAY militant on that subject as you know. . . And yes, I know it takes effort."

So, I've been pondering her words. I'm determined to have a little more respect in my appearance. I'm trying not to use the excuse that the baby wears me out...even though she does. Or that my other six children wear me out...even though they do. I'd like to be a better example of this to my own children.

I am going to get my hair done today. I'd been putting it off for way too long. I have this guilt thing that goes on. Can't leave the baby. She's eight weeks old. She takes a bottle. Even though she's a big mama's girl, she will survive without me for a few hours.

My other thought was that if I'm going to wear elastic-waisted pants, I have to exercise. My effort in self-discipline will be that I have to exercise to wear the pants. AND!!!! NO SWEETS when wearing the pants. Does this sound totally weird? They're just so comfortable and they fit my body. I have such a funky body and I have NO fashion skills. I don't know what looks good on my body so I just go with what feels good. That's not always the right answer.

I've lost an additional 20 lbs since having the baby so some of my clothes are too big...I'm freecycling those. I need to buy some newer ones but I'm just buying what I've always worn. So, I guess I need to do some research to figure out what's better for my super cool shape.

Ok, I need some sleep. Been up since 5:30 this morning with the baby.