Old Navy + Me = Dangerous Territory

Sunday early evening, as I had dinner plans cancelled I found myself at the local Old Navy Store. I figured I would go in to get a cheap tube top. I needed something to wear while I have my henna tattoo applied at the end of this month. Yes, I didn’t own a strapless top I could use and thought I could pick up an el-cheap-o at Old Navy. I came out an hour and a half later spending almost $60. Can you say, “Oppppsss!”

I did manage to find the tube top for about $3. I also managed to find a pair of jeans, a sleeveless top, a floral tank, and a cute skirt. That’s the problem with going straight to the discount area at Old Navy. There are just TOO many bargains to be had and then the next thing I know I’m trying on this and that; followed by another this and that. AND before you know it the hanged section of “LOVE IT” is filled up. AH-OH! Then, I’m going through and try to narrow down everything that will make it over to the register with me. YIKES! This is dangerous and originally I just came in for a cheap tube top.


But on the fantastic side, I discovered I can fit rather snuggly in a pair of 12 jeans! Yahoo! I normally wear a 14. The jeans were on sale for $15. So, of course, I had to get a pair of them! Then I discovered that the large shirts that I usually get are too large. I go back and grab the medium and WOW! I’m fitting into medium shirts! How cool is this? This is making me feel really good till I try on a pair of 14 jeans in a different style and I can barely get them up my thighs. What’s up with that??!


I look more closely and discover they are mismarked. The clipped on tag says size 10, but all the stickers say size 14. Whew! That was a load off my mind because I was wondering if I was in a special twilight zone of the dressing room. Ooooo Spooky!  I go back to get another size 14 and discovered 4 other pairs that were marked the same way! I immediately grabbed a sales gal and showed her. I did it because I hated the idea of some other gal trying on a pair of mismarked jeans, and ended up with a bruised ego.


AND so, that’s how I went into Old Navy for one thing and came out spending almost $60. But I will say that I’ve improved! The last time I went into Old Navy I had spent $120. Thus, in the new math method:
Old Navy + Me = Dangerous Spending Territory!

My Bucket List...

 I've been thinking about it all this last week.  I've been adding and I still may have somethings to add over time.  There may be some crazy and different things that might surprise some you you, but then maybe not.  But this is what I came up with....
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1. Go canoeing


2. Go kayaking

3. Try rollerblading

4. Attend a traditional Greek Wedding (I mainly just want to see if they really do spit on the bride as she goes up the aisle.)

5. Get a henna tattoo

6. Go on a retreat that’s at least 4 days and at least 100 miles from home-- either spa or sports related.

7. Learn to speak Spanish

8. Brush up on my French

9. Write & Publish a book

10. Go horseback riding

11. Go whale watching

12. Try pole dancing (this might be dangerous due to my lack of coordination.)

13. See a Circque du Soleil Show in Vegas

14. Eat a meal prepared by a world class chef

15. Do a bit of stand up comedy

16. Cycle the diameter around Crater Lake & possibly Lake Tahoe too.

17. Make a difference in someone’s life. ( I see this as an on-going thing.)

18. Experience a nomad lifestyle for an extended time frame. (thinking possibly 2 years)

19. Visit all 50 states

20. Participate in the Burning Man

21. See the Northern Lights

22. See an Atlanta Braves Game

23. Go on an Alaskan Cruise

24. Visit some National Parks (not in Utah)

25. Go skinny dipping

26. Visit the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.

27. Walk along the Coney Island Boardwalk

28. Take a tour of the Hershey Factory in Penn.

29. See the Grand Canyon

30. Visit Historic Williamsburg

31. Visit the Art Institute of Chicago & see American Gothic by Grant Wood in person

32. See the Cherry Blossoms of Washington D.C.

33. Cross the Golden Gate Bridge

34. See the Liberty Bell

35. Visit the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston

36. Visit the Guggenheim Museum in NYC

37. Bake a French loaf of bread that’s not like a rock.

38. Visit a nudist colony

39. Kiss a complete male stranger & make it a good kiss!

40. Have several pieces of my artworks on sale & hanging in a professional gallery

41. Phrases I want to say before I die---

--- You can’t fire me, I quit!; --- A martini shaken not stirred. (Gold finger)

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I invite any feedback or comments you may have.

No Change & Things I've Done...

No change in the losing weight this week, but I did stumble upon an interesting fact this last week while I was perusing through old journals. I now weigh the same as what I did when I started working my current job almost 8 years ago. Depending on how you look at it, that could be a good thing or a lot of work to get back to the same place you were at one time. I personally think it’s a good thing because everyone else I work in the office with has slowly gained over the years. I feel in my own right I’m fighting against that nasty secretary’s spread that I could be susceptible to normally in my employment position. Oh, the risks of being a glorified secretary!




I’ve been brainstorming about a bucket list this last week. I, of course, got online and did a bit of research to get some ideas. I’ve been amazed by how many websites are based on or about bucket lists. I was almost overwhelmed by all the ideas I got. I ended up with about 3 chicken scratched pages of ideas that I wrote down. I want to narrow them down and organize them some what before I display them here. I’m thinking within the next week or so I’ll have something displayed here.


But what I also found rather interesting while I was going over all these bucket lists were all the things that I’ve done or tried in my life. I really have managed to live and find the joy in my life for the most part. Here’s a quick list of 25 that I put together…(I'm not living a fish bowl that's for sure)


Things I’ve done that might be on a Bucket List

1. Running- 5K, 10K, half marathon’s

2. Cycling- Metric Centuries and whole Centuries (8 Centuries in one year)

3. 70.3 Iron Man (Noncompetitive Slow Salty Dog Tri)

4. Water skiing

5. Sailing

6. Backpacking expedition

7. Yurting

8. Bungee Jumping

9. Rode in a helicopter

10. Indoor Skydiving (a surprise birthday present!)

11. Been part of a hockey fight (I would not recommend.)

12. Eaten caviar (Not impressed with it!)

13. Got hypnotized (I don’t remember the stupid stuff I did!)

14. Milked a cow (Look out 8 Maids-a-milking!)

15. Spent a night in a hostel (and LIVED!)

16. Crashed a party(s) - (I was an Olympian in college at this!)

17. Thrown a surprise party and had it actually be a surprise

18. Jumped in a pool with my clothes on

19. Learned (sort of) belly dancing (took classes for almost a year)

20. Done karaoke
(One step up- Kamikaze Style- my friends chose the songs and surprise you are singing this!)

21. Held Art shows of my art (private & at a friend’s studio)

22. Sold some of my art (which I think is pretty cool!)

23. Tried Yoga (some may remember this post- BOOT CAMP Day 11)

24. Spur of the moment road trip- to have lunch with a friend (drove 4 hours each way to & fro)

25. Gone places---

Pikes Place Market in Seattle
Vegas Strip
Disneyland
Disney World
Universal Studios
Magnificent Mile in Chicago
Sears Tower in Chicago
Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago
(among other hi-lights of Chicago)
Redwood National Forest
Crater Lake
oh and ...
Yuma, Arizona's International Airport with it's 3 outdoor gates!