MY ATTEMPT AT REGAINING SOME STYLE

I've always liked clothes.  I learned to sew because It made it possible for me to have more clothes on my budget ( not something possible these days.)  I kind of gave up on being fashionable when I got so overweight and underfunded.

For some reason I became interested in buying some boots and trying the skinny- pants-tucked-in-boots trend.  I am concerned that skinny pants on my wide body may be a fashion don't - but I am going to give it a go.

I ordered a couple of tunic tops, some skinny black jeans and then set out to get boots.  That's when the trouble started.  I went to DSW with my coupon and none of the boots would zip up.  I had forgotten about the large calf issue.  Even when I was at my slimmest I had narrow feet, small ankles and shapely but muscular calfs.  Now they are even larger. 

I headed to the computer and shopped and shopped.  No one had my size in a black boot in the style I want.  I had ordered all those clothes with the boots in mind - I have to find boots!  I expanded my search and discovered some different terms for what I need and found a few pair on the Zappos site.  I couldn't tell for sure from the descriptions and review which pair was going to fit best so, due to their free shipping and returns policy, I ordered two pair.  This was on the night before Thanksgiving. 

On Friday morning FedEx delivered a huge box with the boots inside.  Ally was home and helped me pick the right pair, I returned the others this morning and now I await the rest of the outfits.  Hopefully I won't look silly, especially since the boots were quite a bit more money than I would normally spend!  That Ally didn't recoil in horror when I tried them on with my stretchy slim leg jeans makes me think I must have looked okay. 

I am being taken out for a birthday lunch later this week and I hope to fit in with my stylish sisters for the occasion.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

Too bad I am not joining my family for Thanksgiving dinner - my nieces would have loved this appetizer!

LATEST FAVORITE BOOK

I just finished Rules of Civility by Amor Towles.  The third book I bought on my Nook, at 352 pages I just flew through it.  It is smart, funny and set in a period of time I have not seen many books cover - the year 1938.

The depression was winding down, WWII hadn't begun.  Women had left their flapper personas behind and were making their way in the world, more independently than ever.  Set in New York, the story is about a woman reflecting back on that year, a turning point in her life,  the people she meets, the decisions she makes (and those that are made for her.)

It is a glamorous and gritty time about Manhattann long before Sex & the City - yet in a way, full of  the same sort of stories. 

WHAT KAISER WON'T TELL

You know that saying about Social Security  being the third rail of politics?  Well, the untouchable rail for Kaiser - my HMO provider - is asking how much their services cost!  I can get all kinds of advice on choosing a plan and comparing plans until I ask what the actual costs of the services and prescriptions is,  then they want to transfer me to numbers that don't work and departments that don't exist.

In the past I have always had plans with no deductible.  Now I am considering  plans with a $1000. to $2700. deductible.  I would think asking how much actual care one gets for that much money would be an obvious question.  I am not asking for a  guarantee of costs - just a ballpark.  I'll need a mammogram, let's say 2 office visits per person and a few prescriptions between all of us on the plan. 

I've been on the phone and internet most of the morning trying to dig up this information.  Then I enlisted the benefits advisor for our company.  It took her a while and she seemed very surprised at how hard it was to find someone to give this information, too, but someone was found who was willing to spill the beans.

So now I am crunching the numbers and hoping that, even with the big increases in the premiums for 2012, that I can reduce the cost of my benefits and take home a bit more money each month.  I admit it just kills me to be concerned with out-of-pocket costs on top of paying over $1200.00 a month.

Anybody made the change to a high deductible plan and have advice to share?

FRIDAY FAST ONES

1.)  There was an awkward few minutes on The View the other day when the narcissistic Elisabeth went after guest Bill Maher for a joke he made 9 months ago which had her as the punch line.  The joke was tasteless, as Maher often is, but it was ridiculous that the powers that be on the show allowed her rant.

Anyway, I bring this up because of all the things I have heard said about the whole Penn State mess, he had one of the most profound observations.  He said that these things happen in male institutions.  When there are women involved and influencing things, it's different.  Think about it.  The clergy, football and other male dominated sports, fraternities. 

For one thing, women are not so susceptible to hero worship.  And since women and children are frequently the victims of male wrongdoing, the presence and influence of women both makes us part of their consciousness and watchdogs over their darker urges.  This is not male bashing, it is about the yin and yang of male and female balancing things.

2.)  I believe my back has healed to the point of getting back to the gym.  I am going to confer with one of the trainers I know to be knowledgeable about how to get started back into my fitness routine.  When I am being honest with myself - I know that the major reason I ended up with back pain is my slacking off the gym.  The couple of times a week attendance has led to my feeling jiggly and obviously is not enough to maintain my fitness.  I don't need to wait for the new year to make the resolution to get back to the gym.

3.)  I am picking up some extra hours this weekend in a attempt to make up for my tiny paycheck after exhausting my sick days.  Just as well as the whole town is caught up in a pre-black Friday shopping craze.  Tomorrow the stores on our main street are opening up at 7am and everyone is invited to shop in their pj's.  That should be interesting!

In years past I have tried to get all my shopping done by Thanksgiving so I could avoid all the holiday crowds.  Not going to happen this year.  However the benefit of working evenings is that I can go out early and during the week.  Not feeling as inspired as I have for holidays past, but I did come up with a good theme for our family ornaments - not going to reveal it yet because my kids read my blog!

4.)  Hope that Have a gret weekend shopping, working or just hanging out.

A VERY FEW FRIDAY FAST ONES

1.)  The steroid shot was a success.  I am no longer in pain but still have a sense of tightness and pressure to keep me reminded to rest and be careful in my activity.  One of the things I miss is spending hours on my computer!  My desktop set-up requires more sitting than I ought to be doing!  So I am behind on my blog reading, posting and shopping for holiday gifts!

2.)  I did spend some time on the computer last night while it was quiet on my first night back at work and had to stifle my giggles over Tom & Lorenzo's take on the Victoria Secret Show.  I love TLo and if you don't read them already, take some time to look at this post!

3.)  It is cold and rainy in NorCal - the perfect weekend to continue to rest my back and slip in some online shopping.  Have a good one!

WORLESS WEDNESDAY

I would make this if I could knit.

Designed by ravelry user Lani-Rae

DRUGS OR THE NEEDLE

I chose the needle.  The option to deal with the pain gone wild through my lower back, down and round my leg causing  one or a number of simultaneous combinations of:   numbness, tingling, pins and needles and shooting, searing pain.  

For nearly 2 weeks I have been drugged with little or no effect.  The muscle relaxer I was told to take only at night because it caused drowsiness did not cause drowsiness, nor did it relax my muscles.  If my dose of Vicodin is what "Dr. House" takes I can understand why he pops them so frequently because it did nothing to dull my pain. The fact that I could get high dosage Advil for a 5 buck co-pay was a good buy, though.

I rested 5 days, went to work for 3 and was back to bed for 4 more days.  The nest step was prednisone but the side-effects freaked me out and it would take days for it to knock down the pain.  The other option was the epidural cortisone injection. 

One shot, back to work the next day.  Not healed - I will still have to be careful and rest and do my back exercises.  If this whole drama doesn't get me back to the gym regularly, nothing ever will.

FUNNY THING ABOUT AGE

I called my dad to wish him a happy birthday - he is 79 this year.  After we shared some info about our aches and injuries,  he  said how weird it is to be staring at 80.  I reflected that I feel pretty weird being a couple of years from 60. 

He said "You're catching up to me!"

Isn't it so true that we eventually end up in closer in our life stages as we get older!