And in other news...

Most of you that read this already know this, but this is for the benefit of random family and friends that don't know yet.

My Annual Clothing Rant

I love shopping. I love clothes. It should stand to reason that I love clothes shopping. Tis not so... As a rule, I am not a fan of clothes shopping for myself. Shopping for my family's clothes is another story--much fun to be had by all.

I've been clothes shopping recently. A few weeks ago I did my own back-to-school shopping. I love wearing a new outfit the first day of school! I feel more "professional" and ready to tackle the school year. Yes, I'm strange...I know. Anywho, I decided it was time to go shopping for something nice to start the year with.

Why, you ask, do I find clothes shopping for myself such a chore? Because nothing fits me the way it's supposed to. Combining my body type ("fluffy") with my other physical concerns (a.k.a. Spina Bifida wreaking it's havoc on my body) makes clothing interesting, to say the least. Because I have Spina Bifida, my legs are a bit shorted than most peoples. Length of pants is a concern. I sit all day (wheelchair factor), and everyone knows pants fit differently standing up and sitting down. For pants to fit me comfortably sitting down, they are ALWAYS too big in the leg. If the pants fit through the leg, I cannot breathe in them sitting down. I happen to enjoy breathing, at least several times per minute. This is non-negotiable. If I knew how to sew, it might make my life much simpler...I could just alter everything. But I don't, so I have ill-fitting pants (nor do I have the $$$ to have everything I buy altered).

Next is the shirts. Shirts should be simple, right? Shirts don't really fit different whether standing or sitting, right? Right. However, since I'm in a chair, I have broad shoulders (years of pushing myself around). Add to that some decent sized boobage, then take into account that I have to flex my arms whenever I want to move. If it fits in the shoulders, then it gaps in the boobs when I push myself. If I get a shirt large enough to fit my boobs and my shoulders, it's so big I swim in it, and look 50 pounds larger than my already large self.

I enjoy looking at the clothes. I enjoy envisioning myself in the clothes. I enjoy finding awesome sales on clothes. I do not enjoy trying them on and going through a minimum of ten items of clothing to perchance find a single item that actually fits.

So...if there's anyone out there that enjoys shopping that actually is able to easily find things off the rack that fit, do you wanna swap bodies with me for awhile? I promise to give it back when I'm done shopping (and subsequently showing off said new clothes).

Shameless Snapshot Showoff: Classroom Edition

Well, it's that time of year...school's in session! I've been having fun setting up my room (though it's been exhausting getting ready in time) and I thought I'd post some shots on here.



This is the tree right outside my room... right now it's an apple tree, but it will change to a fall tree with a pumpkin patch, to a bare tree at a turkey farm etc. as the months go by.

Here's the other side of the tree display with my sign on it:



This is the bulletin board in the back of my room...where we're going to track the letters as we learn them (a la Chicka Chicka Boom Boom):



This is the alphabet...I found these cute kid-drawn ABC cards that match my calendar set, so I had to have them!



Here's my other bulletin board with my calendar. The blank space is to display their work.



There's a few more pics, but blogger is being difficult and they're not showing up, so I'll have to finish this another time.

And In Spina Bifida News...

Most of you that read my ramblings know already know that I have Spina Bifida (more specifically Spina Bifida Myelomeningocele), and if you didn't, well now you do. Having said that, I need to give a shout-out to Amy at Spina Bifida Moms for her Milo post! Everyone go check it out... get a Milo T-shirt (or a Milo whatever-your-heart-desires) and support a great cause while raising awareness of Spina Bifida!