Ugh
Rainy gray Friday. My mom is downstairs entertaining Thumper for a few hours while I work on novel revisions. You may notice that I am blogging, and therefore not working on revisions. I’ll give it another go in a few minutes, but my head isn’t in the right place today. (Though with my writing time as limited as it is, I don’t have the luxury of cutting myself any slack. I will work on revisions today. I have to.)
There’s some money stress, not unusual in a freelance household as tax-time approaches. There’s the stress of the revisions themselves and stress from the fact that I’m still doing revisions on this novel while the next one languishes, its first hundred pages waiting around on the back burner for over a year now. There’s bridesmaid stress. Yes, I’m to be a bridesmaid for the first and probably last time this summer, and my dear friend has threatened me (not meaning to threaten, but still) with a dress that’s about as unflattering on my shape as one could possibly choose. So that’s something to look forward to. I’ve emailed her about the realities of my post-partum shape and I hope she listens rather than dooming me to several hours of embarrassment in a dress that makes me look like a refrigerator. I’m on the small side, but I’m a small rectangle. Rectangles don’t look so great in little dresses with cinched waists. Mainly because I don’t have a waist. There’s a reason I wore a two-piece outfit for my own wedding.
I know. Let this be my biggest problem, right? Would that it were. Though mostly I’m exceedingly fortunate and all is mostly well and good. But still…rainy gray day, money woes, art angst, thick waists.
And now this. Do you know what your sippy cups are made of?
Well, I hope the bridesmaid dress is a good shape and not too expensive– the gold standard for bridesmaid dresses, I think. Lots of good writing time for you too, I wish you (in my Yoda voice). And, no ears burning. But I totally miss you. How come I have to come to NYC to see you people? Can’t the mountain ever come to Mohammed, to quote Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret?
Posted by: Anina
Check your mail. If I’m lucky, there might be something in there today that could perk you up. XOXO
Posted by: Norma
You are far too beautiful to look like a refrigerator no matter what she puts you in. Reconcile yourself now to the fact it will probably be something you dislike quite a lot, but that you love your dear friend and wearing ickiness to make her happy with her wedding day is good karma. And it’s only for a few hours. No embarrasment in a loving gesture m’dear.
Posted by: Rachel H
Ooof, you read my mind – well, only part of it. The part of it that is getting very, very antsy being This Poor going into tax-time. Freelancing may have its perks, but moving money from savings to pay the rent yet again, whilst anxiously contemplating the question of “how how many thousands of dollars will I suddenly owe the government and with what am I going to pay my accountant?” is not one of them. I hear ya. Here’s hoping your friend takes pity on you about the dress. Being a bride seems to do strange things to many people’s ability to consider the feelings of those around them.
Posted by: Lizbon
Can you not simply wear something of your own choosing that fits in with the bride’s color scheme? And if not, can you cover the not-so-perfect dress with a beautiful hand-knitted shawl?
Re: money — I think it’s safe to say that most of us are in the same scary place. While I make a very decent salary, I live paycheck to paycheck. I’m so tired of always feeling stressed out about it.
Sending you good thoughts and much love.
Posted by: regina
Sending you some writing/revision karma. It’s hard to not have the time to ooze into that space you need to revise.
And I’ve been a bridesmaid once. That experience, which was only mildly painful, was enough for me to elope.
Posted by: Steph
On the bright side, you saved Thumper from the toxic baby bottles, thanks to breastfeeding. And even though you’re doing revisions, at least your mom is there to help you. And revisions are a good thing because it means that the book is still in the running to be published. Another good thing, no one will be looking at your waist when your best friend gets married.
Hang in there girl, the weather is bound to change.
Posted by: LaurieM
I can sympathize with the bridesmaid dress thing. You can suggest, but ultimately they choose what they like, and basically pick what looks good on them. They’re not even wearing the dress. Sigh. The good news is no one really looks at the bridesmaids at a wedding.
Posted by: Kim
Stinky to feel stinky. Go make yourself some fabulous warm drink and cuddle up with Thumper for a bit!
On the sippy cups/bottles talk, I saw a on Cool Mom Pics a while ago about SIGG Sippies. We aren’t to the sippy cup stage yet, but may get some of these when we get there.
http://www.flaxart.com/For-Kids/Sigg-Kid-s-Bottles
Posted by: Johanna
Do they make something like SIGG Sippies for adults?
Posted by: a
Aaahhh, bridesmaids dresses. I’ve been a bridesmaid 5 times and 4 of those came after my 35th birthday. My very young sister-in-law put us in dresses with bows on our backs AND our butts. It didn’t even look good on the skinny 22 year old bridesmaid!
Posted by: janna
Well, I hope the bridesmaid dress is a good shape and not too expensive– the gold standard for bridesmaid dresses, I think. Lots of good writing time for you too, I wish you (in my Yoda voice). And, no ears burning. But I totally miss you. How come I have to come to NYC to see you people? Can’t the mountain ever come to Mohammed, to quote Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret?
Posted by: Anina
Check your mail. If I’m lucky, there might be something in there today that could perk you up. XOXO
Posted by: Norma
You are far too beautiful to look like a refrigerator no matter what she puts you in. Reconcile yourself now to the fact it will probably be something you dislike quite a lot, but that you love your dear friend and wearing ickiness to make her happy with her wedding day is good karma. And it’s only for a few hours. No embarrasment in a loving gesture m’dear.
Posted by: Rachel H
Ooof, you read my mind – well, only part of it. The part of it that is getting very, very antsy being This Poor going into tax-time. Freelancing may have its perks, but moving money from savings to pay the rent yet again, whilst anxiously contemplating the question of “how how many thousands of dollars will I suddenly owe the government and with what am I going to pay my accountant?” is not one of them. I hear ya. Here’s hoping your friend takes pity on you about the dress. Being a bride seems to do strange things to many people’s ability to consider the feelings of those around them.
Posted by: Lizbon
Can you not simply wear something of your own choosing that fits in with the bride’s color scheme? And if not, can you cover the not-so-perfect dress with a beautiful hand-knitted shawl?
Re: money — I think it’s safe to say that most of us are in the same scary place. While I make a very decent salary, I live paycheck to paycheck. I’m so tired of always feeling stressed out about it.
Sending you good thoughts and much love.
Posted by: regina
Sending you some writing/revision karma. It’s hard to not have the time to ooze into that space you need to revise.
And I’ve been a bridesmaid once. That experience, which was only mildly painful, was enough for me to elope.
Posted by: Steph
On the bright side, you saved Thumper from the toxic baby bottles, thanks to breastfeeding. And even though you’re doing revisions, at least your mom is there to help you. And revisions are a good thing because it means that the book is still in the running to be published. Another good thing, no one will be looking at your waist when your best friend gets married.
Hang in there girl, the weather is bound to change.
Posted by: LaurieM
I can sympathize with the bridesmaid dress thing. You can suggest, but ultimately they choose what they like, and basically pick what looks good on them. They’re not even wearing the dress. Sigh. The good news is no one really looks at the bridesmaids at a wedding.
Posted by: Kim
Stinky to feel stinky. Go make yourself some fabulous warm drink and cuddle up with Thumper for a bit!
On the sippy cups/bottles talk, I saw a on Cool Mom Pics a while ago about SIGG Sippies. We aren’t to the sippy cup stage yet, but may get some of these when we get there.
http://www.flaxart.com/For-Kids/Sigg-Kid-s-Bottles
Posted by: Johanna
Do they make something like SIGG Sippies for adults?
Posted by: a
Aaahhh, bridesmaids dresses. I’ve been a bridesmaid 5 times and 4 of those came after my 35th birthday. My very young sister-in-law put us in dresses with bows on our backs AND our butts. It didn’t even look good on the skinny 22 year old bridesmaid!
Posted by: janna
You know, I got married young and I when I got married I had never been a bridesmaid before. I tried to pick out dresses that were inexpensive and I thought would look good on all my best friends. Still, everyone of them complained to me individually and suggested alternatives. It really hurt my feelings. Now maybe I was being too sensitive. But when my sister got married and chose a dress in a color that I have looked terrible in my whole life, I sucked it up and wore the darn thing without so much as a whimper. It is only one day and the wedding is really about the bride and groom and their love for each other. Just my opinion. Good luck!
Posted by: Knittripps
Ugh. I recently stopped using sippy cups because I had a revelation that the flexible plastic straws probably had something bad in them. So now we use cups. Unfortunately, Iggy Boy Bob has discovered that he is obsessed with milk. So any cup left close to the edge of a table is knocked over by a bi-pedal dog.
Great to know that the Avent bottles I used for about a year were slowly poisoning the boy.
Good luck with the revisions, and I hope the bride goes for the 2-piece.
Posted by: Frith
You know, I got married young and I when I got married I had never been a bridesmaid before. I tried to pick out dresses that were inexpensive and I thought would look good on all my best friends. Still, everyone of them complained to me individually and suggested alternatives. It really hurt my feelings. Now maybe I was being too sensitive. But when my sister got married and chose a dress in a color that I have looked terrible in my whole life, I sucked it up and wore the darn thing without so much as a whimper. It is only one day and the wedding is really about the bride and groom and their love for each other. Just my opinion. Good luck!
Posted by: Knittripps
Ugh. I recently stopped using sippy cups because I had a revelation that the flexible plastic straws probably had something bad in them. So now we use cups. Unfortunately, Iggy Boy Bob has discovered that he is obsessed with milk. So any cup left close to the edge of a table is knocked over by a bi-pedal dog.
Great to know that the Avent bottles I used for about a year were slowly poisoning the boy.
Good luck with the revisions, and I hope the bride goes for the 2-piece.
Posted by: Frith