MY BFF's are the "TRUTH"
I've found that shopping was my peace, my solace, my therapy. I could escape my troubles, my worries and woes. I didn't think of anything but how I'd look and feel in my new outfit and/or my new shoes and how I couldn't wait until the next shopping spree, which could be the next week or until payday or even the next day. Or maybe I'd see someone in an outfit I liked and I'd recreate it. Of course it looked better on me :D. Either way, I just wanted to feel better or to forget and shopping did that for me. Then, here comes the big "C" and I'm left without my true passion....shopping. Stressed with no outlet.
Stress does strange things to people. For me, even more so than the "juice" (we don't use and "C" words here), it took away my appetite and left me wide awake well into the night. And I thought I was a stress eater, apparently not. So, I'm now sleep deprived and two dress sizes smaller. And I can't even shop online in the wee hours of the night. Isn't that what insomniacs do best? I once bought a mink jacket on ebay for $50.00, so I could've done some real damage in the state I was in. Wardrobe Interrupted....No frikkin' kidding!
That aside, what I am most grateful for, however, is the outpouring of gifts from my friends. Now remember, Rule # 1: I can accept gifts of clothing for legitimte occasions only....
I unrepentently broke it but if this isn't a legitimate occasion, I don't know what is. And by the way, I was holding my pants and skirts up with safety pins. And of course, there were my birthday gifts back in August, a very legitimate occassion. My condition preempted our birthday trip to the Bahamas, so my girl's brought the islands to me. Needless to say, I have been showered with dresses and pants and skirts and suits and a Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt. So many that I cannot wear them all (much thanks to Jody, my lawyer, tight-girl and life coach and even her ex-mother-in-law, whom I love, love, love). I even got a ceramic shoe that serves as a wine holder. Have you ever?
The people I love (the people that love me) are "the truth". I have one more session to go with the "juice" (which has been mercifully tolerable) and one month to go in this self imposed mall exile. They have supported me and lifted me up all the way. And soon, I'll have both the energy and the incentive to get back to my old life. The question is, what will I do?
Now, I have to admit, I did break Rule # 4: I cannot purchase an item of clothing for anyone else as a gift or gratuity. I say this because, this month I went shopping for my 12th wedding anniversary, for which the gift is silk. So, I bought my husband two matching silk tie and shirt sets. He, unfortunately (and perhaps it's for the best given his fashion impairment) did not buy me any clothes.
I literally couldn't get out of that mall fast enough. First, who turned the heat up so high in the mall or was it me and being 50? And second, where are all the silk robes? Do they even make them anymore? It would've been so much easier. Dang! All that matching and pairing and walking around and yes, spending got on my last nerve and I realized that I might just be cured of my shopping addiction. Not to mention my beer addiction (doesn't mix with the "juice" or the big "C").
Now, I"ve said I'm stressed and if you can, picture me staring mindlessly at the TV, way into the night, with the remote. But I'm putting my big-girl panties on and getting off my royal duff. My fog is lifting and the ideas are flowing and I'm back to work part-time. I've got stuff to do. I have a law degree and an MBA for crying out loud. There's got to be some extra-curricular enterprise I can sink my teeth into. Might be fun to start a blogtalkradio.com show or sell some natural skin care products. There are a gillion things to do. I can get my butt back to the gym, for starters.
But the best thing I can report having done with my savings is that I've booked a New Years Eve trip to Disney World with my family. How 'bout them apples? Next month we're headed to Florida to celebrate life and love and good health. And that's for me.
Before I sign off from this ramble, I want to give a belated congratulations to Jen S. She is the proud winner of the Tankini Recipe contest and the recipient of the $25.00 Visa gift card. Here's her recipe. Give it a try. Sounds yummy:
