the homecoming dress debacle....resolved

When I saw the UPS truck pull in front of the house yesterday, my stomach started to get queasy. That brown truck meant only one thing, or in our case two things.  The dresses were about to be delivered. I accepted the plastic bag (when did some stores stop using boxes) from the nice man and carried it into the kitchen. I carefully opened one end of the package and pulled out two smaller plastic bags. I said a prayer and hollered to the middle kid that her dresses had arrived.

No response.

I called out again and this time walked to her room and knocked on her locked door. Oh yes, she locks her door when she studies. The squeal issuing forth from behind the door guaranteed that this time she heard me.  I was allowed into her room and we opened the bags and shook out the dresses.  She tried on her third choice dress first. It fit. It looked cute. She smiled.

Then she tried on her second choice. It fit. It looked really cute. She posed. She twirled. She grinned. She flipped her hair.  She stood on tiptoes to mimic heels.

"Ohhhh Mommy, this is the ONE!"

Thank the good Lord and all the saints in heaven.

lament

I finished reading the two LA Banks "Crimson Moon" novels. Ehh.  I liked them, but I won't go searching the shelves for any more of them. They were okay. I might give some of Banks' vampire huntress novels a go and see if those are better.

I've heard a lot about Maggie Stiefvater and her YA books are hard to come by at the Library. They are always checked out.  So, when I found "Lament" on the shelves, I grabbed it.  Good. Stuff.  I have a thing for evil faeries and Stiefvater delivers not only those, but takes traditional faery lore and embellishes it in such a seamless way the original concepts are enhanced. Lots of good faery story details in this one and all the elements are incorporated in the plot.

This book has it all and I can see why teen readers are gobbling up Stiefvater's stories. Romance. Intrigue. Sacrifice.  Basically the same formula that propelled the Twilight books into super stardom, but I like these characters and their world.

In other news, the dress debacle shenanigans continue as my darling daughter is now dreaming she goes to homecoming without a suitable dress and is forced to wear one of my 'old lady' dresses. Oh. Yes. She used those words this morning, then back pedalled into saying that it was a dress that even I didn't like and refused to wear. Nice attempt on the save....hahahahahaha.

the theme for the week is dresses

The fancy dress theme is lingering this week. The oldest announced that she finally decided to attend the winter fest dance. I rolled my eyes and sighed as I knew what was coming next. I hate going to the mall and we'd just had the big discussion about want versus need. She caught on quickly and said she'd wear a dress from a prior event. She tried it on and while it fit, she didn't have that happy, silly grin on her face that only 'the dress' can provide.

I told her to get a pair of heels out of my closet and those helped a bit. Then I remembered a dress buried in the back, hanging in a garment bag. Now, this is the daughter who is into all things old and retro. She likes vintage. I pulled out the bag and revealed a dress I wore in 1991. I'd spent a small fortune on the black and white number and wore it once. I'd also loaned it once to a coworker who took it on a cruise.

She tried it on and although it is a tad bit big, gosh was I skinny in those days, it looked amazing on her. She squealed. Her eyes lit up. She grinned. She twirled....she looooooved it.

So, she's now set to attend the dance in an 18 year old dress from Hudson's. She's excited and I've got that funny lump in my throat that means I'm being either way too sentimental or my oldest is really and truly growing up and there isn't a darn thing I can do about it.