Thursday Things

1) I haven't done a CBO (Cheap Bitch Outfit) in aaaages.  I think it's harder to dress on the cheap in the winter time.  And also? I really prefer tanktops and flipflops to sweaters and boots wif' da fur.  I think I've been rotating the same three sweaters all winter -- maybe jazzing it up with a different shirt underneath and alternating my brown and black boots.  BO-RING. 

This is what I wore to church Sunday:

Why am I doing the Angelina Jolie leg?  Please let me know when you figure it out.



This outfit is pretty underwhelming (i.e. BO-RING [again!]) but it was cheap to put together and my husband LOVED it.  Probably because I was out of yoga pants and the shirt wasn't holey, stained, or had been in my dresser since circa 1999.

Anyhow -- CBO stats:

Pants, The Limited, $2 yard sale find (they also made an appearance here!)
Shirt, Express, $1 yard sale find
Camisole, Forever 21, $3
Necklace, $3, Body Central
The boots were purchased back in 2007 -- making them older than two of my children.  Whatever I (And by I, I mean Eddie -- we weren't married at the time and hadn't combined our incomes) paid for them they were worth it because here it is six seasons later and I'm still wearing them.  Also, they came from Payless and I'm pretty sure they were in the $40 range.  Winning!

So not counting the boots (come on, ya'll, they were a GIFT) the whole outfit was about $10!

2) How about another type of CBO?

Cheap Baby Outfit.

One of the best things about having a baby girl?  LAYERING.  This little girl has so many summer dresses that can be turned into winter dresses with a pair of tights/ leggings and a sweater.

Evil much in that first pic?  Jeeez!



Everything - with the exception of the red tights and pink boots - was purchased at yard sales or on consignment.  The pink boots were just $8 on Black Friday! 

3) Speaking of consignment -- one of the kids' consignment shops in my area had a special last Friday and everything on their $1 racks was BOGO.  I was able to get a shirt and dress for Karis and two pairs of pants for Kyan to wear to school next year (gasp!) for $2.  Can't beat that.

4) How is potty training going you ask?  Well, I want to PUNCH IN THE THROAT every single person who claims to have trained a child by age 18 months.  That's how it's going, friends.  That's.how.it's.going.

5) The episode of Friends where Ross and Rachel get drunk (and subsequently married) was on yesterday.  Favorite!


6) The Birds got his report card yesterday.

Perfect again!  So proud of him.

7) So, like everybody on Facebook was all "Lee Brice!"  "I Drive Your Truck!"  "Must hear this song!" 

Assholes.

I looked it up.  And then I cried.  Cause, like I said, assholes.  If you decide to look it up, well, can't say I didn't warn you.

Also, I love country music but it's pretty rare that I listen to country radio.  I was thinking Lee Brice was the guy who was runner-up on American Idol several years ago.  I was thinking WRONG.  Apparently that was Bo Bice.  So, not really even close.  Huh.

8) I've yet to drop any of the four holiday pounds that are [still] hanging around.  Not a big deal.  I just want to be back at my pre-holiday weight before I go to New York in March.  However.  The other day Kyan told me my "big butt" was looking "even bigger than usual."  What the?  Man.  No one can tell the truth quite like a four-year-old.  Sheesh.

9) The winter time makes me ugly (fat, pale, bad skin) and, apparently, it also makes me pretty damn boring.  Apologies.

10) This.

Thursday Things

1) All Kyan wanted to do for his birthday was go to the Disney Store in the mall and use birthday money from his MawMaw to buy a Zurg toy.  (Zurg is Buzz Lightyear's nemesis on Toy Story.  Kykers totally has a thing for the villian.  He's also a huge fan of Chick Hicks).  We managed to find a few other things to do with our day other than just hitting up the Disney Store -- we also rode the carousel (or the roller coaster as Kyan calls it), had a Frosty, played at the park, went to Chili's for lunch, opened presents, ate cake, and tried out his new scooter, a scooter he'd been begging for for months.  It was a good day!

2) Something that irritates me and I don't even know WHY it irritates me: preschool graduations.  Not just preschool but, like, ALL the "graduations" these days.  Kids "graduate" from preschool, kindergarten, elementary school, eighth grade.  Gahhhh.  Enough already.

3) I can be very dedicated to something once I set my mind to it.  Unfortunately, it's generally not something that's gonna, like, you know, bring about world peace or anything like that.  My latest fixation - now that I've stocked iBooks full of all things literary I'm going to devour this summer - is a roadtrip playlist.  We're going on two (almost back to back) big trips this summer.  When I go to California with Eddie and the kids, I'm going to be outnumbered when it comes to musical preference.  I'm saving all of my veto power for anything Nicki Minaj sings and focusing my energy on creating a playlist for when I go to Virginia with my mom and grandma.  Because those two ladies aren't assholes when it comes to music.  I'm filling said playlist full of Jason Aldean and Zac Brown Band and Lady A and Brad Paisley and the like.  And, of course, it's chock full of good old southern rock, there's some Journey thrown in, and James Taylor.  I love James Taylor!  And the country music of my youth (think Baby Blue and Bluest Eyes in Texas.  Total tangent: whatever happened to Restless Heart?  Hello, Great Country Band!  Once upon a time, I swore I was going to dance to I'll Still Be Loving You at my wedding.  Then I didn't have a real wedding.  And I married someone who'd probably have been much more comfortable dancing to something like Rump Shaker).  I decided to take the playlist for a trial run the other day and Kyan asked me if I could turn on "Sexy and I Know It."  No comment.

4) Speaking of music, I downloaded the Lionel Richie "Tuskegee" album a few weeks ago.  The night I downloaded it, I told Jaidan we were going to listen to it while I cooked dinner.  He said, "Lion Richie and country?  What are you trying to do to me?"  Oh, honey.

5) My weekly #instamay pictures:

Day 11 - Friday Fun

 * This one is out of order because . . . well, it's just out of order.

Day 10 - Animal - Only kind allowed in my house!

Day 12 - Word to describe the day

Day 13 - Mother's Day - My favorite chocolates

Day 14 - Made me LOL - More about this book tomrorow!

Day 15 - Lunch - Turkey burger and onion rings

Day 16 - View from my "desk"

6) A few weeks ago, I posted a picture of me in one of my "cheap bitch" outfits.  Someone found the post earlier this week and took issue with the fact that I, you know, buy clothes at yard sales and thrift stores. Buying clothes at yard sales is gross. Maybe instead of worrying about trips all over the place you could buy some new clothes for once.  I had to LOL, you know?  I mean, seriously?  I have an entire post calling out every four year old in the world for being an asshole and saving money is what someone wants to criticize me for?  REALLY?

In true Brandi fashion, when I know something pisses off someone then . . . well, Imma do my best to keep pissing them off!  Thankfully, I routinely take pictures of myself.  It's not a narcissistic thing so much as it's a . . . um . . . I dunno.  Checking out the outfit thing?  The camera AND the mirror can't BOTH lie to me, right?  What's that?  The pictures are taken of the mirror view of the outfit?  Oh, whatever.

This is what I wore on Mother's Day:

I thought, seeing as it was Mother's Day, it was best to accentuate that "mom pouch" my children gave me.  Thanks, kids.  The child bearing hips were there before the children ever came into existence.

Let me break down this Cheap Bitch Outfit* for you.

Cheap Bitch Outfit is getting a label on this blog and will make several reappearances from here on out.  Thanks to YOU, "Whatever."

Shirt - Charlotte Russe - Yard Sale Find - $1

Pants - NY&CO - Yard Sale Find - $1

Camisole - Worthington - JC Penney (I only know it came from JCP because I worked there 2934902 years ago and I know Worthington is a brand exclusive to them) - purchased more than five years ago which means it doesn't matter how much it cost, if I still have it in my closet then it was worth every dime I paid

Shoes - Whoknowsthebrand - Gordman's (last season) - less than $10

So there ya have it, folks.  An entire ("very springy" according to my hubs; "kindergarten teacher" according to me) outfit for less than $15.

7) Tuesday was the 14th anniversary of my high school graduation.  14 years!

I can't believe it's been an entire eighth grader since I finished high school.  Think about it -- in the time since I've been out of school someone was born, learned to walk and talk and read and write and do long division, sprouted boobs (that are quite possibly larger than mine), started her first period, graduated middle school, and might even have her learner's permit.  When I graduated from high school, Justin Beiber was still in preschool.  The world hadn't yet heard of Britney Spears (her big break was still a few months away!), Rachel Green was in her 20's, if you had the internet then you most probably had AOL and no one could EVER call your house because someone was CONSTANTLY surfing the net. 

8) Jaidan asked me to change the song that was playing yesterday evening.  I told him, "I can't.  It's Jason Aldean.  He's my boyfriend."  Surely he said something like, "but what about Daddy?" or "Does Daddy know you have a boyfriend?"  Oh no.  He said, "I thought Derek Jeter was your boyfriend."  Doh.

9) The past two nights, my daughter has gotten out of bed around 1AM and wanted to party for two to three hours.  Mind you, this is a TWO YEAR OLD.  Yet I feel like I once again have a newborn.  *Yawn*  Last night, after she grew bored by pinching me with her toes, she wandered upstairs and woke Jaidan up.  SERIOUSLY? 
10)