Hanging around

How’s everybody adjusting to the new routine?

And why, oh why, does it always turn warm and beautiful just after all the schools open and all the pools close?

Yesterday we biked over to Central Park and playing in the hiking trails. The mosquitoes were fierce early, so we didn’t last long. Here’s M scaring the hell out of her mother by climbing along a fallen tree far overhead.

Today was J’s first ballet class. We’re trying Orlando School of Dance. We visited at an open house, and M thought that she might try jazz, but we were closed out of the class. I’m a little bitter–oh, well. Here’s J practicing her curtsey:

And with my vast stretches of free time, I took myself shopping for some jeans. You know I don’t love shopping, so I tend to have few items, and they’re all cheap. Which meant that when things started getting cool I realized that I only had one pair of jeans. And frankly, they’d seen better days. The shopping trip alone was  much better than that time that J came with me when I was swimsuit shopping, but I have to share a little pet peeve. Has anyone else noticed those little labels that stores often put with hooks these days? In Marshall’s, my choices were “definitely,” “possibly,” and “tomorrow.”

This drives me crazy because of course the store designers stay super-positive. Old Navy, at least, provides a little honesty with the “NOT FOR ME” option.

But every time I use one of these dressing rooms, I imagine more accurate hook labels. You know, I’m not opposed to some sort of  “Pretty cute” option. But for filing purposes, it would be easier if there were something along the lines of Yes/No/Maybe. So each time I try something new, I imagine the label in a colorful, splashy font stickered above the dressing room hook,  like “No freakin’ way!” or  “poorly designed” or “Makes me look fat” or  “Yikes!”

In spite of these dark thoughts, I found two or three pairs of jeans that I like. Too bad it’s warm again. . . .