Thursday, July 14, 2011

Random Bits

Does anybody else thin the new Ford Flex cars look like hearses? No offense if you own one; they look spacious and comfy, and I have a thing for station wagon-style cars... but they look like space-age hearses to me.

I was shopping for a maternity sundress a few weeks ago and found a great one for a great deal using a Groupon from Old Navy... I wanted something to just wear casually in this heat as I go through the final trimester of pregnancy! So once I bought it, I realized I needed a bra that would work with it - strapless or thinner straps or something along those lines. Luckily, I was right next to a Kohl's. Actually, I thought I was around the corner from a Kohl's so I drove around the building in the same large parking lot to go in... but when I left, I somehow came out right next to Old Navy. Apparently they have two entrances, and I chose the less convenient one, ha ha! Anyway, if you have ever shopped in the underwear/bra department in Kohl's, you may have noticed its square footage is larger than my whole house. Endless rows of bras. If you are male and still reading this, please feel free to skip past if you have little interest in bra-shopping. ;) What I noticed as I walked up and down the aisles is that 90some% of the bras were padded... not just a little bit, but the padding that makes the cups stick way out, perfectly rounded, so as you have to be careful when walking down the aisles lest you get too close and knock them off the racks as they protrude into your path. Apparently I am in the minority here on not liking these kinds of bras... I guess I don't like that they are too thick, too bulky-feeling, too much fabric (meaning too hot). I typically want a bra that I don't notice I am wearing a few minutes after I put it on. And, thankfully, I finally came across something new: bandini bras. They were made by a brand called Barely There. Yes, that sounded right up my alley - I want a bra that is barely there. If I could go without all the time, I probably would, so this is the next best thing in my opinion. They are also made in easy sizes: small, medium, large. And they came in a set of two! The straps can be up over the shoulders or pulled down to make it a strapless bra. You can even have one strap up and one strap down, although I can't see much practicality in that. So, I just thought I would review this product here in case there are any other people out there who like this kind of bra!

Cecilia went swimming and talked about rinsing off the "cholrine." Hee hee. She doesn't say "scrunscreen" any more... I think that was last summer.

We were given a huge load of girls' clothes by a neighbor who has two nieces who have outgrown the clothing... and wow, is it a lot of stuff! After sorting through and putting aside the almost half of it that is too small or otherwise not usable, there is still enough to fill almost three large loads in the washing machine! I am washing it and then will need to sort through and put it into boxes by this winter, next summer, next winter, and next summer! Looks like I won't need to do any big consignment sale shopping this fall, which is good, seeing as I might not really feel up to it in the last weeks of pregnancy or with a newborn!

School is off to a good start here, and we'll do our second day tomorrow. Next week we will do three days between dentist appointments and La Leche League, and then the girls and I head to Atlanta for a Leader Development Seminar for LLL. They can hang out with my parents while I go to all the technical classes and learn what I can. So, another busy week next week, and then maybe - hopefully - things will start to slow down into a better routine... for a little while, anyway.

We are doing some of the Holy Heroes summer adventure stuff... it is like an at-home Vacation Bible School program. Caroline really enjoyed VBS with our parish a couple weeks ago.

I was noticing that there are tons of old photos on my phone that I hadn't moved to my computer... so, I finally moved some of them and thought I'd share some in an edition of Random Bits - Random Sightings:

First we have a photo from our downtown fountains, which I have mentioned before as being extremely cool for a relatively small town. I need to take my real camera there to get some actual good photos sometime... but this one gives an idea of how the three "rivers" work: there is a shallow pool at the top of the photo, and the water flows out of it (between Cecilia's legs in this photo!) and down toward the bottom of the picture into a shallower pool... and then there are fountains beyond that, which lead down to a huge fountain in the middle.

Here is what Cecilia does while Caroline is at her occupational therapy sessions... she really enjoys the time to just sit and draw, or read, or play with whatever else we bring in to the waiting room. I have found that the front room is almost always less crowded and more pleasant, with more appropriate conversations going on! I love to watch her draw, though... she likes to color in all the space. In fact, I was coloring something in to use for school, and she pointed out to me the pinprick-sized spots where I hadn't filled it in all the way! ;-P

So, I think this was at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis... maybe? Like I said, some of these photos were taken months ago. Anyway, I guess this means that children under age 9 can go in alone?

One of our chickens caught this in the backyard... it is the third snake they have caught this spring/summer. Yuck! They go crazy when one catches a snake, all chasing each other and trying to be the one who gets it! Anyone know what kind it is?

Okay, so I saw this in the cake decorating area in a store... multicultural fondant. Why would somebody decorate a cake like this???? As a side note, I think fondant tastes gross. I know you don't have to eat it, but why ruin a perfectly good opportunity for lots of yummy frosting by putting this stuff on instead?

Hmm, maybe it's cinnamon rolls, or it could be something totally different... say, human waste smells, seeing as this sign was posted inside the bathroom! What were they thinking?????

As another side note, every time I walk into the locker room and bathroom in the gym where I go to swim laps, I think, "Mmm, it smells like Big Red gum!" Then I immediately think, "It should not smell like something edible in a public bathroom..." I think it is the air freshener that has that cinnamon smell.

And speaking of bathrooms, last photo... don't remember which bathroom this was; I visit them all often these days. ;) Maybe it was Wal-Mart... but I just wondered, if soap is in the left side, what is that in the right side?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

kids guess is Earth snake or worm snake, saw your crucifix as an idea for Kateri Tekawitha today on Catholic Icing, good ideas!

Kris said...

I'm laughing so hard about the bras!! I wear the uber-padding ones - they are for, shall we say, those of us that missed the line in the endowment department....!! :)

Carrie said...

I love you random bits posts. I've noticed that sign at Cici's before. Seriously..gross!

Unrefined Mommy said...

I needed a laugh today. Got plenty reading this! Love your notes of randomness. :) Thanks!

Lisa Boyle said...

Thanks for the laughs, Erin! I enjoyed your post, bra shopping and all! :-)

Jenny said...

Pretty sure its a corn snake. It looks way too big to be a worm snake like Beth said, worm snakes are roughly the size of..well...a worm!
If it's not a corn snake it could be a rat snake (both are in the same family, Elaphe.) They eat mice, and have been known to eat eggs, which they could have access to if they're around your chickens!
Either way the snake in the photo is not venomous, therefore I wouldn't worry too much!