Halloween Costume

This year I did not make any part of Ben's Halloween costume. But, I am proud to say that I did have the foresight to purchase it early. As in August. And then I successfully hid it until just now!!
Feel just as proud as if I had actually made it!













It doesn't matter what I say, as long as I sing with inflection. - Blues Traveler

Bens-day

Ben is cuddling with plush versions of Lighning McQueen and Mater, on the floor of a Hallmark store.

Fall!

I have decided, despite the 87 degrees weather, that fall is here! I had to share this ensemble, partly because it was purchased at bloom, partly because it looks great! :)

The necklace is from Charming Charlie's and is a pine cone!!! Love it! 

Manic Monday - twins!

First day after the musical and it couldn't have been better. I so enjoyed getting to actually hang out  with and talk to people again!

When Nat came in this morning, she and I are wearing  the same outfit! Love it!!

Shoes

Feels like a full, accurate explanation of my life...




It doesn't matter what I say, as long as I sing with inflection. - Blues Traveler

Bens-day

So, I am not seeing my kid much right now. It's musical week, so that's pretty normal. But, that means no Bens-day picture, because I didn't see him that day!

Jam

Jam is the title of Kim Kardashian's single that dropped this past Spring. What, you missed it? That's embarrassing for you! In it's first five days, it sold 14,000 downloads according to SoundScan. True, that's not enough to enable a spot on the top 75 digital download chart, but there are alot of songs that missed that mark in their first week. Beyonce for example, (if we are going with similarly endowed, ethnic types) had her worst selling single to date this year, selling just 310,000 copies it's first week. So maybe consumers just aren't ready for all that jelly. Or Jam.


I bring this up because today in class, I had a girl compare another girl's singing ability to that of Ms. K. I mean, how could you not be flattered by comparison to the top selling, female, celebrity, heiress, over 25, under 30, for the week of March 3, 2011?!

Love this...So true!

Fix You

What if all my blog posts from now on were song titles? Impossible you say? Challenge accepted!

Today at lunch I referenced putting spinach on my sandwich to combat my continuing fatness. Josh said, "OK, you're not fat! Not even remotely approaching obese!!" To which I said thank you, but my pants don't fit.

However, I will say, having someone validate your size is a pretty powerful thing! I feel better already! :)

Manic Monday

It's been weird not having my picture taken everyday, so Nat and I decided we will just try to do it once a week.

This is a new shirt from Loft and I love it! My face is kinda tired though...Ah. Tis Monday!

Get ready for some Fashion Fabulosity later this week though. I will post my Musical performance ensembles cause they are usually AMAZING!

Haircut!

Not for me mind you, for Ben! :)







It doesn't matter what I say, as long as I sing with inflection. - Blues Traveler

Time for Fall

Probably the biggest change when moving from Nebraska to Texas has been the weather. We just don't have the seasons the same way as the North does. For example, all my friends in the Midwest have been in Fall clothes for a while now, whereas I have yet to bust out a jacket!

So, in thinking about Fall, I also remember that we need to get some fall Ben pics. We usually have Tim set up the full studio in the living room this time of year and do some Ben pictures.

In that spirit, here are some of Ben's spring pictures!

















It doesn't matter what I say, as long as I sing with inflection. - Blues Traveler

Dark clouds on a sunny day

Have you ever just had one of those days that starts out totally fine and it seems like a normal day, and for no particularly good reason, it just goes to hell? I mean real quick too. Like you were just hanging out in your office and something just rubbed you completely the wrong way and it's too late! You're in the fog! And don't even bother trying to get out of it. You won't be able to shake the feeling of impending doom no matter how hard you try.

It has just been the longest, most emotionally stressful day. And nothing really happened! No one died, I am not ill, nor is my family. That is very first world problem of me. This whole rant is. Feeling sorry for yourself because you feel sorry for yourself is a ridiculous way to spend a day. Gotta shake the funk.

Hope musical goes well!

In other news, I'd rather be doing this right now.

Bensday - a day late.

Enjoy the latest music video from Ben Randall!

Remix review - what I learned...

Or maybe I should title this:

Everything I learned about fashion, I learned from watching Kendi (and Nat and Lana). 


Here's the collage of my 30 days:

So, I learned a few things about myself and about my closet.

• I do not need all the clothes I own, but I want and love them!
• I may have more shoes than most, but I am not an accessory kind of gal, so they usually are like earrings for me. I could have done the remix with fewer shoes, but I would have been sad.
• Regrets:
• Grey dress with black accents. Wore it once. 
• Black trouser pants. Wore them once.
• Black crazy Gaga shoes. Love them, but not a great remix staple.
• For the future:
• More solid shirts. Should have stuck with my black V neck.
• Try fewer shoes. VERY tough one for me.
• New favs:
• Loft olive cords. My absolute new go to pant.
• Black blazer. And I used to HATE blazers.
• Black Target Pants. Ok, maybe these are my new go to!

I really am beyond proud of myself. Now to finish off my 12 races in 12 months and stop eating out. Dave Ramsey. 'Nuf said. :)

30/30 - Did it!

Ta Da!!!!

Remember being a kid and you needed constant affirmation of your activities? Ta Da always signaled, "praise me!"

Well,

Ta Da!!!

I did it! I finished the remix! Below is day 30:

My face is crazy, as we were being crazy in the courtyard on our PSAT proctor break. I am so proud to have finished this, and even more happy that I will have my whole wardrobe back tomorrow! 

Now...

What should I wear?!

Bonus Jen shot:

29/30 - So close...

If my show choir kids saw the title of this post, they would all bust out in song! "So close, to reaching that famous happy end..." Ah, Enchanted.

Well anyway, I am almost done! One more day, one more outfit! I made it!

Can't wait to get to the rest of my closet and be adventurous! :)

This picture is taken in my home for the next 2 weeks. Our annual school musical is going up the 20 -23 and we start pit rehearsals this week. So here I am. In my pit. Where most would say I belong.

Also, my hubby  is playing in the pit this year for the first year, which is hilarious. He is a good percussionist, but it's just funny to be the boss of him! :)

28/30 - Squints

Remember that kid on the movie The Sandlot, Squints? That's me in any amount of sunlight. We took about 10 photos and this is the one where I am squinting the least.

I'd never worn this with a scarf and I love it! ($7) It's been very good on this chilly day.

One more squinty pic for you.

27/30 - Same, but different.

I've worn this outfit-ish already but I did a couple things that make it look different.

Boots.
Hair back with headband.
Bang, new outfit.

Bonus Jen pose.

26/30 - Kendi Day!

Yes faithful follows, that is Miss Kendi!!! Natalie and I drove to McKinney to see Kendi's new store Bloom. It was amazing. I bought a blue tunic dress and a camel faux wool blazer. The clothes are very Anthro, but a very reasonable price point. I hope it just continues to blossom!

She was so fun and cool and I'm pretty sure Nat and I didn't make total idiots of ourselves, so that's a plus too! :)

25/30 - Substitution!

I have worn the red pants 2 other times during the remix, (here and here) but even with that, I think that they just don't register with people. I would think that if someone I knew wore red pants even once, I would notice!!!

This is my spirit shirt that I swapped for my white T. My shoes are also a swap. My leopard flats died yesterday. RIP fav flats. You shall be missed!

24/30 - Sad default.

Here it is, least favorite outfit. I like all the pieces, but even together, it felt like a big fat nothing! I need to sit down and plan my last 5 outfits so I can finish strong. Not like black on black manufactured fibers. Yuck. Sad. Also, I look slightly preggers. Not good if you're not preggers.

RIP Steve

I'm an Apple fanboy, if you will. Grew up in a Macintosh household, back when that was the only model they made. My dad was a newspaper reporter, editor, then publisher during those days and as I look back on going with him to work as a child, I distinctly remember one thing. "Whatever you do, don't bomb the computer."

I only saw this screen one time, around the age of 6 or so, and it was a couple years before I had the guts to go back to one. Apple gave me my first taste of parental disappointment.

I can remember vying for screen time in elementary school so I could play Oregon Trail. Not an Apple product, but played exclusively on an Apple technology. So really, Apple gave me my first video game experience.

In the mid 90's, when we were having school computer classes on the new technology called the internet, we worked on Quadra 605s. My family had upgraded to a newer version; the Power Mac 7100. Therefore, Apple gave me my first superiority complex.

College is an experimental time for some and I was no exception. I fiddled with an HP for a few years, hung out with some kids who had Dells. But it always felt wrong somehow. My dad's favorite saying is "remember who you are," and I felt like I was cheating on my computer self with these inferior machines. I vowed to one day get back together with Mac, as soon as I could afford it. Apple, I betrayed you. I am so sorry.

Then one day, I met a wonderful man named Tim. On our very first date we were discussing majors, and while divulging his art major, he mentioned his love of Macs. So, if you think about it, Apple brought my hubby and I together. 

Lastly, as I look back on how the life of Steve Jobs so seamlessly intertwined with my own, I have to mention perhaps his most crowning achievement: the iPhone. 

My son will never know a world without one. A time when you couldn't watch movies on Mom's phone or take pictures and text them to grandma. I filmed Ben's first steps with my 3GS. Apple captures my most precious moments, and likely will for years to come.

So thank you, Steve, for being an innovator and a true visionary; you shall be truly missed. 

Sincerely,

Apple Fan-"girl" Jen

23/30 - Mirror, Mirror

In our never ending quest for interesting locations, Natalie, Lana and I went to the auditorium lobby. It was full  of band props. They have, like 30, stand up, 6ft tall mirrors that they roll on the field for their marching show. Right now, they are all over the FAC lobby. My favorite is the one below because I am high-fiving. Myself.

22/30 - Arrr

Apparently, I look like a pirate. A kid came up to me today and said "I love your outfit today, you look like such a cute pirate!" WHAT?! It was not a theme outfit!!!

Oh well, they can't all be winners...

Nat took my picture while I was talking. That's why I look like a weirdo pirate.

21/30 - the 1 hour outfit

So, I wore this for literally one hour at school. Ben was sick and needed to be picked up, so Nat and I took a picture and then I left! And then I spent the rest of the day in sweatpants!

20/30 - Fashion Friends

I had my little GQ buddy with me today! Ben was VERY interested in taking pictures with mom today. He was very styling as well in his multi- colored polo:

And here's a "cheese"

19/30 - Self Portrait

Sorry for the sad, sad photography! No one was home and I was dying to get out of this outfit and into some running clothes, so I did a self portrait in the bathroom mirror. Styling, I know.

See, very chic!