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324th Friday Blog Roundup

Happy IComLeavWe.

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I am not a fan of clothing shopping, mostly because I am not a fan of clothes.  Which makes me sound like a nudist, but I’m more of the living-in-sweatpants non-fashionista type.  Yet I needed pants, so I went to the mall to hit the clothing stores that hadn’t let me down in the past.

And I looked hideous.  First of all, most of the stores didn’t have petites in stock so I was trying on regular sizes and they looked ridiculous on me.  The jeans extended a good 8 inches past my foot.  And the jeans that fit best STILL looked hideous (they were just less hideous than the others).  So I went home empty-handed which pissed me off because I don’t like to go shopping in the first place and now I still had no pants and I had wasted my time.

The next day, the four of us went to a different mall and I swung into LL Bean.  And perhaps y’all knew about their curvy line, but I did not know about their curvy line (due to the fact that I try to avoid all clothing stores).  Basically, they took  their normal items and made them fit curvy short people.

And I seriously wanted to kiss the elderly woman hanging up discarded clothes in the dressing room because I had felt like total crap about myself the day before and now finally felt pretty.  I ended up buying two pairs of jeans, 1 pair of cords, and 2 pairs of velvet pants.

And now, I don’t have to go shopping again for another 7 years.

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Instead of the Weekly What If: What is your favourite article of clothing that you own?

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Here’s a little technical conundrum that maybe someone has a solution.  Every month, I need to send out two big group emails (between 150 and 200 people) for IComLeavWe.  The list changes every month.

Gmail will not let me send out an email to more than 20 people.  When I do, it  refuses delivery and sends me a warning.  I need to figure out a way to send a big group email to a list that changes monthly.

So far, my only solution is to create a Google Group for IComLeavWe.

Any other suggestions?

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And now, the blogs…

Shauna wrote this post last week, but I didn’t read it until last Friday, so … I’m including it.  And beyond that, the follow up happened this week.  She writes so eloquently, “Enough: I don’t want to live like that anymore. And enough: I have enough. I have more than I need, more than I could ask for… It’s not wrong to want another baby…but there’s a fine line in there, and I feel I’ve crossed it a few times this winter.”  They are both gorgeous posts on weathering friendship when infertility bumps up against a pregnant belly.

Serenity Now has a post about pre-transfer anxiety.  She explains: “Because I feel guilty for wanting something more than I have, and am putting myself, my health, my family through this in order to have it.”  I love the end of this post, mostly because despite having those thoughts, in both running and life, she still pushes on.

Lastly, Bakery Closed Until Further Notice has a post about marriage.  I loved this exercise: “But since I cannot force Doug to think like me – because I think so quickly and in such a forward-moving spiral, a pattern which has inherent problems of its own – perhaps, she suggested, I should try to think like Doug.”  Isn’t that brilliant?  Her point about earning stillness spoke volumes to me.  I know it was her therapy session, but I got a lot out of it too due to the clear, concise writing that brought me straight into the moment.

The roundup to the Roundup: I finally found pants that fit.  Answer the Instead of the Weekly What If.  Please help solve my email conundrum.  And lots of great posts to read.

35 comments

1 Runny Yolk { 01.21.11 at 8:23 am }

Ah great choice on Marie’s blog (Bakery Closed). I read this post earlier this week and it gave me goosebumps.

2 serenity { 01.21.11 at 8:49 am }

Right now my favorite article of clothing is a comfy pair of yoga pants bought last week when the IVF bloat got too much. However, usually? I have a pair of what I call “magic jeans.” No matter what kind of day you’re having, you can put them on and feel skinny and hot and sexy. I love them.

xoxo

3 Mic @ IF Crossroads { 01.21.11 at 8:58 am }

As of late, I have learned to loathe shopping as well. Which is ironic, actually, since before K I was a shopaholic. Oh well. And I did not know about LLBean’s curvy line. I will make a point to check it out – thank you!
My favourite article of clothing is my pair of Nike yoga-ish pants. They aren’t “real” yoga pants in the fact that they aren’t totally spandex, but they are comfy and short enough in length where I’m not walking all over them. I love those pants. I wish I could find them in other sizes. They’ve never let me down, unlike the pair of Ann Taylor loft pants that I wore yesterday and split clear up the ass crack when I bent over to pick up a box. I kid you not. Ass cheeks exposed clear in the middle of downtown Alexandria. I was humiliated. It was not my finest hour. So those pants are now my *least* favourite article of clothing.

4 loribeth { 01.21.11 at 9:14 am }

Tried leaving a comment on Shauna’s blog, but for some reason, it wouldn’t take. What I wanted to say was that the first post was amazing, & the second was the icing on the cake. I’ve always felt that everyone has their own line in the sand when it comes to infertility, & you’ll know when you’ve crossed yours. Which is not to say you still won’t feel like smashing a few plates now & then. ; ) We should all be so lucky to have a friend like Shauna’s!

My favourite piece of clothing? Hmm. I have a huge weakness for sweaters & I have an armoire full of them. I’m particularly partial to a grey acrylic blend V neck from the Gap, which is great for casual days at work & weekends. It’s thick & baggy enough that I can wear it without a bra & nobody notices. ; ) My mother & her brother shared a grey orlon sweater from the 1950s that I pulled out of a drawer & started wearing when I was in jr high. It became my “lucky sweater.” I wore it for all sorts of important occasions, and for every exam I took in high school & university. I still have it, although I haven’t worn it in years. But the grey Gap sweater gives me the same feeling of warmth, coziness and security. ; )

Since I don’t have my own kids, I’ve considered passing the old grey sweater on to my cousins’ kids, & explaining that it’s a family heirloom & their great-grandpa wore it back in the 1950s — but I’m not sure they’d be as enthralled with it as I was. ; )

5 Gail { 01.21.11 at 9:46 am }

My favorite item of clothing in the winter is a sweater with a black lab on it. Since I own a black lab, I just love wearing it, plus it is warm! In the summer, I love t-shirts and jeans and can’t wait to wear the t-shirt that I got from the Universal Studios “Wizarding World of Harry Potter” last week. In fact, if we ever get above freezing, I might just turn up the heat and wear it anyway!

As for your email issue, can you make a group and send it to the group instead of to 200 single addresses? I have a Gmail account, but don’t use it except to post to blogs. Plus, I have a Droid phone and have to have a gmail account to use the phone since it has a google operating system. My other suggestion would be to get another email account through Yahoo or something. Good luck!

6 mom-mom-mom { 01.21.11 at 10:50 am }

It’s bad when your 10-year-old-fashionista says, “Mom, those faded jeans are so 1984.” Hey, at least they aren’t acid-washed! I also hate shopping for pants and end up in tears and vows to exercise more often. Then I hit up Cinnabon and justify my light-blueish jeans as retro.

7 tash { 01.21.11 at 10:52 am }

Favorite clothing? Hmm, tough. Definitely not a bra, socks, pants. (Clearly, I should also be a nudist, or at least someone who forgoes undergarments.) I sometimes have a favorite shirt, but it tends to last a season. I’m going to go with: a really beat up blue hoodie that used to belong to my dad. It’s old, old, old, even has a splotch of paint on it, but soft as all get out and cozy and . . . well hell, used to be Dad’s.

8 Sarah { 01.21.11 at 12:26 pm }

My favorite clothes this time of year is a tie between my smartwool socks and a soft, fleece-inside, zip-up hooded sweatshirt from Target, which goes with all of my shirts and layers well under my winter coat. I hate being cold!

9 T_Lee { 01.21.11 at 12:44 pm }

Hmm… my favorite piect of clothing would be one shirt I have. It’s cotton and soft and, frankly, it’s a t-shirt. BUT it has ruching on the sides and sita a little off the shoulder so it LOOKS like growns up clothes, but it’s totally comfortable. Awesome…

Now, off to read…

10 Jonelle { 01.21.11 at 1:45 pm }

I don’t mind shopping. Retail therapy is the best form of therapy. What I hate is when I have to look for a particular article of clothing. The spontanity of shopping is totally lost because I need this specific article of clothing. I would reallylike to find the perfect pair of black trousers.

Anyway my favorite article of clothing is a tie between this one pair of jeans I have that rest comfortably on the hips (not to mention the inseam is perfect) and my Gryffindor quidditch jersey shirt.

11 Geochick { 01.21.11 at 2:27 pm }

Woo-hoo for finding pants that fit!

ICLW

12 Aramelle { 01.21.11 at 2:30 pm }

De-lurking for ICLW.

I also HATE going shopping. Actually, that’s not true. I love to shop, in general. But it seems whenever I’m actually on a mission to get something specific (especially clothes), it’s always a fiasco like none other. And it doesn’t help that my favorite clothing store recently (maybe not so recently, but I hadn’t been there in a long time) decided to change their entire sizing system. It’s vanity sizing to an extreme, and I have absolutely no idea what stupid size I’m supposed to wear now.

Anyway…favorite article of clothing? A pair of button-fly jeans that I recently shrunk back into after not being able to wear them for 5-ish years.

Happy Friday! 🙂

13 Michelle { 01.21.11 at 2:36 pm }

I like STREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETCH!!! Lately I’ve been in a lot of yoga pants, plus that is pretty much what Vancouverites live for. But also because 5 pregnancies have done a number on my ass.

But I have to say, that my best piece, is always….

The wrap dress!!!

Hugs those curves like nobody’s business!

Pant shopping?! How brave!

14 HereWeGoAJen { 01.21.11 at 2:59 pm }

I believe that my Yahoo account lets me send out emails to as many people as I want. I send an email out to about fifty-ish people every time I post on the private blog. Of course, I do it through Outlook, so maybe that is the work around, but I think it is Yahoo that allows it.

15 Rochelle { 01.21.11 at 3:03 pm }

Ohhhh, my absolute favorite piece of clothing is this knit black, kimono type top that I have that hides my big, non-pregnant belly and always makes me feel confident. And since it’s black it is so versatile, put it with jeans for casual or slacks for professional.

16 Misfits { 01.21.11 at 7:23 pm }

Answering your technical question. Unfortunately, you will need to make a group. You can do this many ways, but the most straightforward would be to save these email addresses in a .csv file and then import a new group in some sort of orderly fashion. Sorry about that.

17 Battynurse { 01.21.11 at 7:53 pm }

Hmm, favorite article of clothing is either my Levi’s and my victoria’s secret bra or some of my scrubs. I don’t have a lot of tops right now that fit good. I will say though that currently I LOVE shopping for clothes. I do tend toward very casual jeans and t-shirts but I love shopping these days since I can find so much more that fits.

18 Betsy { 01.21.11 at 10:00 pm }

I did not know about the curvy line, but as a short, curvy girl, I am extremely excited. I wish we had a real store here, I’m always iffy about mail catalogs.
I’d like to say my favorite piece of clothing is something pretty or trendy, but it’s really just my sweatpants.

19 Kaiak { 01.21.11 at 10:39 pm }

I can recommend http://www.mailchimp.com/ for bulk emails, I use them for my design business and they have a really good free option. 🙂 very easy to use, and you can make them look pretty too! 😀

20 Missy { 01.22.11 at 2:50 am }

My special order yoga pants. I don’t do yoga. But on the opposite side I am an inch shy of 6 foot. Regular pants shrink up and skirt my ankles. My special pants came in extra long. They rarely get washed because that means I can’t wear them!

21 coffeegrl { 01.22.11 at 7:36 am }

ugh. I hate shopping and every time I hear some fashion person talk about buying off the rack and then seeing a seamstress i think “Sure okay that sounds right” but really I can’t be bothered. And nothing ever fits me just right. So truthfully my favorite clothes are probably a pair of pajamas that I love. Soft cotton, loose. *sigh* Not glamorous, but comfy!

22 Aub { 01.22.11 at 9:01 am }

I think that Ann Taylor has a pretty decent petite’s section, you know, for when you go shopping in 7 years. 🙂

ICLW #148

23 Auriette { 01.22.11 at 12:12 pm }

I can totally relate to your observation that “petite” has often come to mean skinny instead of short. It sickens me to walk through the petite section, see a cute pair of slacks or a skirt and find that it’s way too long.

My favorite item of clothing right now is my Wrangler stretchy jeans. They have been so comfortable from day one. I would be happy wearing them every day if I didn’t have to dress nicely for the office Monday through Thursday.

#104 ICLW

24 Maria { 01.22.11 at 2:09 pm }

I heart Gap 1969 Long and Lean….they make my curves look, well, long and lean. 🙂

25 Calliope { 01.22.11 at 9:50 pm }

Curvy tall girls have it hard too. Most clothing places just assume that if you are over a certain size that you want to be invisible and hide under the clothes so the clothes are either boxy or tenty. Finding something that makes a curvy butt look curvy but that also isn’t a capri? hard. I think I look better naked. But that is because I am beautiful naked. I have just decided to start telling people that. heh

26 Eve { 01.22.11 at 11:05 pm }

You could keep the emails in a spreadsheet and then do a mail merge to your list. I do it for work and it is nice because I can personalize it if necessary and no one can see each others’ emails. Unless, of course, it is your goal to have lots of “reply all” discussions. Then go with the google group. 🙂

27 Marie { 01.23.11 at 12:34 am }

Wow. Thank you.

I usually pop over to read the roundup, but I usually pop over to read the roundup late (like, days after Friday). And this is my first month trying ICLW, so when I started getting comments saying, “here from the roundup,” I was wondering if that was another way of saying ICLW, and I was just out of the loop as usual. (Am I proving myself with the forward-thinking spiral here?)

But really, thank you for including me in the project that has pointed me to so many great entries/bloggers in the past months. I’m honored.

28 Bea { 01.23.11 at 4:07 am }

I hear you on the clothing. I do. I am so glad you found your pants.

Bea

29 Sushigirl { 01.23.11 at 4:57 am }

I hate clothes shopping too, and am increasingly going to charity shops cos then it doesn’t matter so much if the clothes don’t fit properly! My favourite clothes are my Doc Marten boots. I love them and wear them all the time; possibly too much!

30 Hilary { 01.23.11 at 10:31 am }

My favorite article of clothing is a pair of Dolce and Gabbana jeans that took me three years to find on Ebay. I originally was killing some time in one of their stores, and saw the jeans, and instantly fell in love. They are covered with silk flowers and rhinestones. The only problem was their price tag. I was determined to get these jeans, without having to get a mortgage in return. I searched every day for three years and finally found them for a ridiculously low price.

31 Cattiz J { 01.23.11 at 12:01 pm }

I do like shopping for clothes the spontaneous way, but if I need something specific, it can take forever! Glad you were able to find some you liked in the end. Favourite item at the moment; a pair of warm socks during this winter.

32 Rebecca { 01.24.11 at 7:39 am }

I just got a new navy dress with white polka dots. It fits. It fits! Over my Rack of Doom! I am going to wear it with white leggings.

33 Miriam { 01.24.11 at 2:45 pm }

Yay for new pants that make you happy and thank you for that last link. It gave me things to think about which is a good thing.

34 Just Me { 01.24.11 at 9:54 pm }

This is probably totally cliched, but my favorite piece of clothing has to be my wedding dress. There’s no way it would fit me right now, and it probably won’t ever again… but when else do you get to have an expensive dress custom tailored just for you without the guilt? I felt like a princess in that dress, just like a girl should on her wedding day.

35 Billy { 02.06.11 at 1:04 am }

I always have to take trousers I buy to the seamstress to be shortened. Lucky you for finding such a place!
But then my favourite item of clothing is this pair of sweatpants I’m wearing now (for the night, haven’t yet got dressed) which I haven’t shortened so it covers my feet too..

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