The Saga of a Short Girl's Search for Jeans

My heart is in my stomach.  While my stomach has dropped to my knees.  Prep work, mostly consisting of online searches, has been completed.  Now it's time for the pep talk... if I can find any pep at all.  Mentally, I'm already convinced it'll become another epic fail in the search for a fabulous pair of jeans.  Sigh!  Here I go...

As I pull up to the first store on my list, I debate on even going in for another attempt at denim comfort.  Should I give up before I even begin today?  My eyes roam to the neighboring stores and linger at a nearby craft haven and even an office supply store.  I'd much rather be going in search of a cute little notebook.

Be prepared, I'm about to share a deep dark secret that many women would never speak of.  I HATE shopping for clothes!  Yes, you read that right.  Don't mistake clothes with boots however.  Boots I can mostly certainly count on for a smile and contented sigh.  As for pants of any kind, I give up!  Maybe it's the fact that it's so difficult for me to find a pair that doesn't accent my butt crack and post pregnancy stomach stretch marks.  I'm tiny, but I'm not a teenager!

How many people can simply point, click, and pay for an online clothing item without a thought that it might not fit?  Sure, there are some.  For me it's nearly impossible.  Especially when it comes to a good pair of pants.  Most extraordinary petite people can't walk into a store, pull jeans from a shelf, and have an instant favorite piece to their ensemble.  We must try it on.  It's the way our world works.  With this fact staring me in the face, I find it unbearably frustrating to find most stores choose to sell their "short" or "petite" items online only.  For those stores that actually do carry short and petite styles, please stop putting the smallest sizes on the top shelves!  Give this short girl a break!

Shelf after shelf, rack after rack, failure after failure.  I search through petite, women, and junior sections in a desperate hope of finding one brand's style of jeans that was made for little ole' me.  Snagging the solo pair found that seems like it may be a reasonable fit, I head to the dressing room.  Quickly trying the pair on, and even more rapidly deciding they are not mean to for me, I change back into my current favorite pair.  I look sadly at the comfortable denim that has begun the ventilation process and wish the brand continued to produce the same style and fit that I have worn out over the years.  Then I hold my head high, okay slightly drooping, and determine that today will yet again be another epic fail in the saga of this short girl's search for jeans.

Next stop (for another day- one can only take so much torture):  A petite store with potential... and a larger price tag than I'm used to.

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Keeping up is not my forte lately.  While the items on my to do list are piling up, I continue to have a hard time following & commenting on blogs.  Contact with my message board mom friends is sporadic at best.  I'm fearful it will only get worse as the holidays continue their approach.  Alas, I do my best.

Apologies to those I haven't been keeping up with.

Cover Story

I love books! I'm sure you haven't figured that out yet. *wink* Often when I'm at the store, I can't resist going to the book aisles to peruse the titles and covers of the many beautifully bound published creations. I love looking at all of the different cover art and the catchy titles that grab my eye. At times, a magazine cover will also get my attention. Some of these masterpieces make me laugh, smile, or simply intrigue me. A book store to me is like Toys R Us to a kid.

Recently, I've began pulling out my trusty iPhone to take photos of a few books that I was interested in reading. My memory is awful and it's much easier than filling up the back of my grocery list that I'll end up misplacing later anyway. Since beginning this ritual, I've also began taking photos of the covers and titles that entertain me. I may or may not intend to read the books, but I just can't resist snapping a photo to show my husband later. Today, I'm going to share some of my recent finds with you.

This photo, and the one below it, are from IKEA. Everywhere you go in this store, they have books. It's a book lovers dream come true! Well, if you can read Swedish that is!

This was a magazine on a few coffee tables in the different IKEA display areas. I was impressed that "the year's smartest products" and nudity went so well together!

Dirty Sexy Knitting? Wow, things sure have changed over the years. Just don't tell Grandma!

Pixie perfect! I'm a big fan of pixies you know. Most faeries are usually tame. Wait what? This is a hot sexy novel about... umm... One question. Does this involve pixie dust?

My sister is a big Dorothy fan so these kinds of things always catch my eye. So if she clicks her heels 3 times and says "there's no place like here" does "here" become someplace totally unique?

The smart one and the pretty one... aww someone wrote a book about me. Oh wait, umm...

So does that mean you don't have to be sisters any other day of the week? 'Cause sometimes that would work for me. LOL Just kidding sis!

Okay, I loved these 2 covers. What's not to love about a big beautiful bouquet of roses, a gorgeous wedding dress, and hot shoes? As for the other... The combination of the sand, blue water, and bare feet makes me want to head out on a beach destination vacation.

You don't know each other, but you are standing back to back and completely invading each other's personal space. Can you say awkward?

Really? Then who's taking off with your baby, and in a basket no less?

There's something about the writer in me that had to love the look of this book. Writers all have notebooks like these, or their own versions of them anyway.

Gosh! I didn't know she was so cruel! How could she? Are you going to sue? Hmmm, maybe we should be more careful about what we write.

OMG Dorothy! Ripped nylons! Quick, somebody call What Not To Wear's Stacy & Clinton! Is a shrunken Glinda looking at Toto because she is also wondering why he's looking up Dorothy's skirt?

Oh, I wish we all could have an accident like that! Don't you?

A Little Piece of Heaven In A Store

That's right! This is the blogtastic blog you've been waiting for, well at least I know Marybeth has been. It's all about that little piece of heaven in a store... Target! However, this isn't just any Target store... It's a SUPER Target!!! Amazing isn't it! Personally, I believe that every Target should have "SUPER" as part of it's name and the current SUPER Targets should be known as SPLENDIFOROUS Target or better yet, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Target! Regardless, I have waited all my life to enter the blessed red & white surroundings of a SUPER Target. I would not feel complete in my life had I not been able to experience such a magnificent event as shopping at a SUPER Target!

Ever since the day that I knew SUPER Target existed, I knew I would someday walk through those glorious automatic doors. I longed for the day when someone would build such a magnificent place within driving distance. Then one day my husband declared that we would be taking a vacation to Florida. He added that a SUPER Target would be a short distance away from our hotel. My husband, although not obsessed, enjoys Target like any other sane person would. Knowing that I would walk to SUPER Target if I had to, he promised to take me the day that we arrived!

This past April, we left our home in Michigan to start our long awaited vacation. The drive to Florida was of course full of the usual vacation excitement, but I also had visions of SUPER Target dancing through my head. We had packed lunches for the first day of driving and when lunch time rolled around, my husband took an exit that held more than a parking lot and a public restroom. It seemed like fate that we would end up taking an exit that held a little piece of Heaven in a store. We did not have time to shop or browse, however everybody needed to take a bathroom break. What better place to stop than a SUPER Target! I entered and looked around distractedly as my husband pointed in the direction of the restrooms a short distance from the entrance. This would have been the only time I had wished it was in the back of the store! I felt like I was hungry and someone was eating in front of me, unwilling to share. At least I caught a small glimpse of what I was hoping to explore the next evening!

The rest of our road trip was full of boring traffic and listening to the occassional unentertaining voice of our GPS, dubbed Veronica. We stayed in Georgia overnight, before continuing to Florida the next day. There was one interesting stop in Floriday involving a 13' gator, but other than that it was your usual road trip. Then we arrived... at our hotel that is! I was anxious to get settled as my husband took a trip to the Orlando airport to pick up my father-in-law and his wonderful girlfriend. Once they returned, I knew we'll be letting our kids enjoy the company of their grandparents while we took a short drive to enjoy the SUPER Target experience.

When everyone was settled, we were off! My husband laughed at my giddy school girl excitement, but I knew he too was looking forward to this major event. When we pulled in, I was in awe. The palm trees accented the big red target so beautifully. I forced my husband to take a few pictures before entering my favorite store in the world. He again thought I was a little goofy, but he obliged. Once in the store, we ignored our "to get" list in favor of exploring first. The biggest difference from a normal Target were #1 size, #2 a garden center, #3 an entire food & grocery department, and #4 more cool stuff! This particular SUPER Target was the closest to Walt Disney World, so it also held an entire section devoted to the "happiest place on earth!"

While in the garden center, I instantly made myself comfortable on a nearby patio couch. With a chandelier lit gazebo above me, I assumed this would be a very comfortable place to sleep. I instantly considered the thought of moving in. Anyone who has read the book or watched the movie "Where The Heart Is" knows this is a real possibility. My husband burst that bubble quite quickly however and insisted that we got on to our shopping. Along the way to the grocery section of the store, I continuously paused and drooled at all of the pretty things. Then I realized I was walking down aisle upon aisle of real food in Target! I stopped to admire the wine display, of course I don't drink it but I certainly loved the display, and all of the different delicious items that I wouldn't normally see in a Target store.

All in all, my SUPER Target experience was excellent! I could only have wished for 2 more things to really make it even better... #1 that I had more time to enjoy it and #2 that it was down the road or across the street from home!

SUPER Target... truly a little piece of Heaven in a store!