Week 21, Days 1 & 2: Sweltering Heat!

Week 21, Day 1 Outfit: Ann Taylor Red sleeveless tank, Zara Denim Skirt, Ann Taylor Loft black wedge flip flops

Week 21, Day 2 Outfit: Loungewear: BR maroon cap-sleeved tee, David and Goliath shorts

It was a hot one yesterday - registering 95 degrees with a high level of humidity (not exactly sure what the heat index was). Mike and I had been wanting to buy another painting for our living area from an artist that was showcasing her work at the Toledo Art Fair, so we began our day walking around the fair, dripping with sweat. At times, I questioned my decision to wear a form fitting tank and thick denim skirt! The rest of the afternoon was spent running errands, getting a massage (yes, Adam is back :) ), and then taking an afternoon nap. We also have a bit of aftermath from the garage sale that will require us to put a few things away...but aside from that, I am going to call this a productive weekend. Speaking of the garage sale, we made a whoppin' $150. Certainly not worth the effort put forth...so this maybe our last one - unless we move and need to get rid of a bunch of furniture.

Today is a work from home day, so I'll be lounging in my favorite PJ shorts. I bought these in Vegas last Christmas from a store called David and Goliath. They say "Rock is Dead, Long Live Paper and Scissors." Too funny!

Work is starting to get a bit hectic as I have multiple projects going on at the same time - and sprinkled within the next couple of months - 2 short vacations. I am hoping I can survive the rest of the summer and actually pull all of this off. We shall see!

I filled my friend, Nikki, in on my shopping challenge this morning as she was wondering why I was indicating that I cannot shop when we all get together in New York. That will certainly be the greatest challenge...because not only will I be around a ton of great stores, I'll also be around 3 other women who are going to be in shopping mode! I did succumb to a bit of shopping curiosity Saturday afternoon as I had some time to kill and therefore started to look at prices of Christian Louboutin shoes and Louis Vuitton bags. I still want that token item that my friend Soni refers to as the "bitch bag" or "bitch shoes" that you splurge on and buy for yourself to say to the world "I've arrived." I'm still not sure if I will wait until this challenge is over, or perhaps allow myself to buy it on my 6-month mark of this challenge - which, incidentally, is when I'll be in Vegas...what better place to make the purchase than the city that has every high-end store you could imagine within a 1 mile radius? We shall see!

Week 20 - Where did it go?

Week 20, Day 1 Outfit: BR turquoise cap-sleeved tee, BR denim shorts - good outfit for garage sale prepping!

Week 20, Day 2 Outfit: Office day - Ann Taylor Loft navy skirt, BR stripped short sleeved button down woven shirt (missing a button which is why I am standing so weird!), BR beige patent leather pumps

Week 20, Day 3: Work from Home Day

Week 20, Day 4: Travel Day - BR black camisole, Gap Green Courdoroy shorts, Black Ann Taylor Loft wedge flip flopsWeek 20, Day 5: Plant Visit Day (re-enacted at home) - Burberry polo, Ann Taylor Loft Beige Khakis, Sketcher sneakers

Week 20, Day 6: Another plant visit day (re-enacted at home) White Old Navy v-neck woven shirt, Pink Ann Taylor Loft capris, Black flats from DWS (can't remember the brand)

Week 20, Day 7 Outfit: Garage Sale Day! Pink Ann Taylor Cap-Sleeved Tee, White JCrew trousers, black Ann Taylor Wedge Flip Flops

Wow, has this week flown by! I spent one day in the office, then a work from home day, then travel to Florida for a 2-day plant visit. The travel gods had it out for me and I therefore paid my dues on Wednesday. My flight from Detroit to Atlanta was delayed by an hour because the flight crew was late coming in from San Diego. This caused me to miss my connecting flight which put me in the throes of a mad (literally) crowd of people who also missed their connecting flights and were frantically trying to find alternate flights. Delta now has this system that will automatically re-assign you to the next available flight to your destination. All you have to do is scan your original boarding pass and out pops a new ticket with your new flight plan. Well, given that this was a client engagment, I HAD to get to Florida, so I stood in the crazy line in front of Customer Service, was directed to a phone to speak with a customer service rep who ended up being very helpful and putting me on a flight to a city about 1.5 hours away from my original destination. This put me into the city at right about 1:30 in the morning after landing, getting a car, and then making the drive. It's just amazing how rude some of the flight attendants can be. When I realized that I would likely miss my flight, I flagged down one of the attendants and asked her if there was anything could do. Her response? "I don't know what to tell you." My response back to her "Well, can you make some kind of announcement asking travelers who don't have a flight to catch to let the rest of us go first?" Her response "you telling me that you're gonna run all the way down the aisle to catch your flight? Pft! Good luck!" and she walks away. BITCH! Earlier, at the gate in Detroit, I approached the ticketing agent to ask if I should be concerned about catching my flight...her response "your flight to Florida doesn't leave until 8:45pm, you'll have plenty of time to catch your flight." My response "my ticket says that my flight leaves at 8:20." Her rude reply "You are looking at the boarding time." Me: "um, okay, even though it's plain and clear on my ticket that the flight leaves at 8:20!" BITCH! Seriously, I sometimes think the main criteria for hiring these employees is "how much of an attitude can you throw at innocent passengers...especially if the reason they miss their flights is because we are total idiots and cannot seem to get things running in an efficient manner?" Southwest is still my favorite airline...the people are way nicer, as soon as the plane door closes, the plane pulls back and takes off within 10 minutes. Delta? The plane door closes, and 10 minutes later you get an announcement from the captain telling you that there is paperwork that still needs to be filled out and there will be a bit of delay. Um, HELLO??? What the hell were you doing all the while we were boarding the plane? Picking your nose?

Anyway, I got to my destination fine, got a total of 4 hours of sleep, spent the day visiting a large orange juice manufacturing facility, and then caught up on work, had dinner with the client, and was "forced" to stay out until 1:30A with the client bar-hopping...yes, another 1:30A arrival back at the hotel! While out at our last bar, one of my clients was listing off his top rules in life - and one was to save up for retirement. One of the other clients, a very well-dressed New Yorker from the corporate offices of the company I was doing work for, mentioned that she might need to start doing a better job of this given that she loves clothes (as was evident by her Calvin Klein pin-striped pants), has both a Hummer and a BMW, and a house in Chappaqua - all for just herself! Um, yes, perhaps she could start saving a bit more...but damn, she is well-dressed! I mentioned to her that I was doing this challenge, and she said...wow, that's a great idea...not sure how much she took it to heart.

While away, my poor cat Sunny breathed his last breath. He had been losing quite a bit of weight over the course of the past 2 months and pretty much stopped eating on his own for the past month. Mike was force-feeding him Ensure...but I think he finally just gave up. He was buried beneath the buddha statue in our back yard - fitting considering that his full name was Sunshine Dharma and came to Mike as he was meditating at a buddhist monastery.

To round out the week, we are on Day 2 of our Fri/Sat garage sale. Before leaving for my trip, I spent as much of my spare time I could rummaging through all of my goods (clothes included) to find stuff to sell. We got rid of quite a few larger items that were taking up space - a couch, a bar & stools, a futon. As I was traveling most of yesterday, Mike had to man the fort - and was going by the motto "let's get rid of this stuff, even if it means giving it away for free, because we don't want to have to haul it back inside." I'm now blogging on a dining room chair which I'm hoping to get rid of by the day's end, staring out into the empty street wondering where all the garage salers are. I did sell a purse that I bought for $60 for $1.50. Wow, what a return on investment! Apparel is not the big seller at these events...that's for sure! Our proceeds from this weekend probably wouldn't even cover one shopping trip in my past life! I think we'll instead use it for dinner out :)

Week 19, Days 6 - 7: Vino & Baseball

Week 19, Day 6 Outfit: The Limited Turquoise v-neck sleeveless empire waist silk shirt, White House Black Market white shorts, Aldo peep-toed laser cut beige stilettos

Week 19, Day 7 Outfit: Gap white sleeveless cotton tee, Gap dark wash denim shorts, JCrew flipflops

Friday was mainly a work from home day, with plans to go out to Vino100 for a couple glasses of wine. It was a mellow night and great to just chill out for once. Given the outfit on this day, a couple of people I saw on Friday asked if I was still on the challenge. That's the nice thing about a change in seasons...more options...as my winter attire is very quickly dwindling. Amazing, though...I'm now in almost my 5th month of this challenge and still have plenty of clothing that I have not yet worn!

Saturday, a few friends came to visit (one from Pittsburgh, the rest from Detroit) and we went to a Mud Hens game. It's so great to remind yourself of the great activities that you can actually do in Toledo. Had this been a Major League baseball game, we would have been sitting in the nosebleed section...but given that this was Minor League, we had front row seats right behind 1st base...and all for a whoppin' $10! Gotta love smaller towns!

Week 19, Day 5: Productivity!

Week 19, Day 5 Outfit: "Little Miss Lucky" Tee from Urban Outfitters, New York and Company black pants (that I have turned into yoga gear)

This week has been a total contrast to last week from a crazy-busy travel schedule perspective. Aside from a day trip to Detroit, I have had the luxury of working from home, which allowed me to get much more than just work done. I have shampooed carpets during my lunch break, replaced light bulbs (okay, not really, but have made the commitment to doing it tomorrow), cleaned out the refridgerator, and got caught up on work from last week! I feel like superwoman! I read an article in a local magazine publication today about making time to organize your house - 15 minutes at a time...though a simple statement, there's definitely something to that. If I can schedule everything else in my life, why can't I schedule time to take care of things that I get all worked up and stressed about when I walk by them on Sunday night (when experiencing what Mike calls my Sunday Psychosis). Little by little, perhaps all of our closets will be well-organized. Mike and I have decided to have a garage sale a week from tomorrow...it'll be interesting what preparing for that event will do to spark some kind of manic cleaning streak. Mike tells me that I am like the Tazmaninan Devil when these streaks strike - I spin around the house cleaning everything in my path...and probably utter sounds similar to what the Tazmanian Devil makes - ougha loo agh ogush ogha lah ogha! Translated into English: "Mike, why can't you put your socks here, where they belong. Honey, why are there glass cups on the bath tub. Sweetie, our house is so gross..." (notice the use of words like "honey" and "sweetie" to somehow soften the blow of an otherwise accusatory statement. Lucky him, huh?

Today marks my 4th consecutive day of spinning...which is probably why my legs feel like lead and my entire body aches...that paired with hot yoga and intense 6A yoga classes and the killer Pilates class I had yesterday. Since I've been home every morning and night this week, I have decided to make full use of my membership at Essence...to make up for what I missed all last week while traveling! That, and this desire to remove the crazy weight gain I experienced last week. So, in honor of my week-long addiction to Essence, I post for you yet another yoga outfit.

Week 19, Days 3 & 4: Yoga Junkie

Week 19, Day 3 Outfit: White Ann Taylor Loft Cardigan, Yellow Gap Cami, JCrew White Pencil Skirt with Green Polka-Dots, Unisa beige slides

Week 19, Day 4 Outfit: New York and Company pink hoodies, Urban outfitters graphic tee, Old Navy Yoga pants

My day yesterday began with a 6A cycle class, then a drive up to Detroit for a day in the office and lunch with a co-worker, then a drive back down to Toledo (with about an extra 30 minutes of road-construction related traffic), then a nap, and then 1.5 hours of hot yoga rounding out the day. Boy was I pooped! And then still managed to wake up at 5:30A this morning to catch another yoga class...didn't plan that one very well did I?

On my way up to work, I spilled my chai tea on my sweater and white skirt, but luckily, it was diluted enough by soy milk to not be all that noticeable. Why is it that when you wear white, you will inevitably spill something on yourself? This never seems to happen when I wear black! I should conduct an experiment - wearing white for half a week while driving and drinking tea, and then black for half a week doing the same activity - to see whether there is a higher incidence of me spilling when wearing white than me wearing black. Okay, not the most perfect science experiment, I admit, but might be worth a go.

The rest of this week I'll be working from home, but should have an activity or two to encourage churning through another outfit or two. In fact, I'll post my yoga gear from today as today's outfit.

Week 19, Day 2: Impromptu Outting

Week 19, Day 2 Outfit: Ann Taylor Loft Off-white cap-sleeved tee, Unknown brand denim skirt (a favorite of mine for years that I purchased at Marshall's about 5 years ago), Brass Plum (Nordstrom) pink bowed strappy kitten heels (also a favorite for years)

So, today was supposed to be a freebie day since I was working from home, but as I walked in the door from my spinning class this evening, Mike informed me of a last minute invite to meet up with Maggie and her visiting parents at our favorite local wine bar (Vino100). So, we began the night there with plans to do a little bar-hopping after, but only made one more stop at Bar Louie for dinner before calling it an earlier night...which I was thankful for given that I'm still somewhat recovering from my weekend bug and also signed up for a 6A spinning class. Since I've had a good share of "freebie" days, I decided to count tonight's outfit toward my "wear as many clothes without repeating" mission - though I will admit that this skirt will not be put in the "file away" bin as it is 1) denim and therefore counts as jeans, and 2) has been a summer staple for years.

Tomorrow is an office day, so I'll once again be wearing regular business clothes - a breath of fresh air from the very challenging manufacturing floor required garb of last week. I love heels! I never did get around to ironing my clothes however, due to falling prey to that stupid stomach thing, so I will spend the rest of the evening laying out my outfit for tomorrow and making sure it is nicely steamed! Stay tuned for an unwrinkled ensemble tomorrow!

Week 18, Day 7: Celebrating Diversity Fundraiser

Week 18, Day 7 Outfit: Print dress from an Ann Arbor boutique (unsure of the brand, but made by a local designer, this was the last item I had purchased before beginning this challenge!), my favorite Ann Taylor strappy kitten heels

Week 19, Day 1 Outfit: Jammies

Week 19, Day 2 Outfit: Jammies

Saturday evening, Mike and I (along with Scott and Maggie) went to my advisor's house for a fundraiser to raise money for a movement to overturn an oppressive law that went into effect in Bowling Green a few years ago. The law basically violates the rights of same-sex couples and gives the city cause for discrimating against these individuals. It's amazing to me that even 10 years into this millinium that this is still even an issue. One might say, well, we're in the midwest, and people are little more closed-minded here...but even that argument doesn't work as I think about California's Prop 8. Sheesh!

Toward the beginning of Saturday, I was suffering from what I hope was a 48 hour stomach bug. Needless to say, I spent all of Sunday bedridden and sleeping. It's amazing how much you take feeling healthy for granted - and you only realize this when you are completely debilitated and unable to do anything. My darling husband was at my beck and call, providing me with toast, sprite, and whatever else I could possibly stomach. I'm happy to report however, that my system seems to be restored...and, better yet, I have my un-bloated body back! Though miserable and never a way I would choose to lose weight, I did manage to drop 3 lbs. through my weekend digestive turmoil. Perhaps all the bloating was a precursor to my stomach woes. Regardless, I'm hoping I can return to my normal life of eating & exercising so as to once again be able to wear the remnants of clothes in my closet waiting to be donned.

Today is a work from home day, so I'll be lounging about in PJ's :)