Forever in Blue Jeans

I love jeans. No, really, I love them. It’s almost sick. I prefer them over any other type of clothing, except maybe jammies. I would wear them everyday. I need to reiterate that. E.VER.Y.DAY … even when it’s 115 outside!

[I wore a beautiful gown for my wedding. That day might be the exception, but it's about the only exception.]

Husband thinks I’m nuts. My jeans addiction is one of the many things that he doesn’t understand about me. He thinks jeans are the most uncomfortable piece of clothing, EVER. It’s just another one of the many ways we are complete opposites.

I know that many people don’t share my love for the denim pant. I’ve read that many women don’t feel confident in a pair of jeans. That they are not flattering or some such thing. Bah. Craziness, I think. A good pair of jeans is simply unbeatable.

I act differently when I’m in jeans. I am at my most confident, relaxed, and myself. I have swagger. Swagger is good. Swagger is spunky. Swagger is fun.

I walk differently in jeans. Really. I had a coworker (female) mention it to me one Friday – said she’d never noticed how much I swayed my hips before. [Kind of a freaky thing to have someone say to you out loud at work, actually. But whatever.] I just smiled knowingly and told her it was the jeans.

I think differently in jeans. My most creative moments tend to occur when I’m relaxed, comfortable, and confident. So, it’s no surprise to me that I get a lot done and am able to think a tad more outside the box when I’m dressed for “off-road” thinking.

I have worn jeans for just about every occasion imaginable. I wear them to church. I’ve worn them to plays. I’ve worn them to parties. I am usually, by most standards, the most under-dressed woman in the room on any given occasion. And that, for the slightest instant, causes me to be a tad self-conscious and it makes my mother NUTS!

[Husband loves to dress up and is usually "appropriately dressed" for any given occasion. Bet you didn't see that comin' did ya?]

Put me in a pair of jeans and I can concentrate on what I’m doing and relating with those around me. Put me in anything else and I worry about what I’m wearing and how I look. And, that’s really the thing, isn’t it. Finding a place and space where you can be yourself. Where you can be who you really are? Where you can ditch most of your insecurities and just get to the business of living – the work.

Maybe that’s really it. Jeans are my “get down to business” attire. Unpretentious. Durable. Comfortable. Dependable. Secure. Everyday.

… so if you’ll pardon me, I’d like to say, “We’d do OK, forever in blue jeans”

Neil Diamond

What a Croc!

There’s a new villian lurking in the high-stakes world of shoe fashion. A dastardly beast that is causing ire and discontent.  It’s a slipper … it’s a shoe … it’s a Croc.

OK … so, in the grand scheme of things, this ain’t headline news; (unless, of course, you watch Fox or Channel 3) however, I’m finding it amusing!

Crocs are not new. In fact, most of my friends have had them for quite a while and absolutely rave about them. I’ve always thought they were ugly. Add that to my smelly, sweaty feet phobia (OK, maybe not a full-fledged phobia, but I definately have a HUGE aversion to feet that are anything but freshly showered.) and it’s pretty much a given that I’m not going to invest in a pair of Crocs.

Enter scorpions. No, not the band (they rock, by the way), the insanely creepy nocturnal critters that have recently found my house a pleasent place to live. Among other things, these invaders have got me thinking a lot about the positive aspects of wearing shoes around the house!

So, in an odd way scorpions and crocs are directly related. What would the Darwinian folks say about that, I wonder?

My Crocs arrived today. This causes at least two friends of mine great distress. Husband isn’t a fan either actually. But, he’s lived with me a while and has pretty much just decided that on some things it’s just way easier to go with the flow!

They’re comfortable. They’re practical. I can wear the heck out of them and throw them in a bucket of bleach and water – boom, all clean. I can put them on quickly with or without socks and scorpions can’t sting me through them.

Seems like a no-brainer for me. But, while I’m enjoying egging on my anti-Croc friends, I have to admit that I’m not really a “fan” per se. They are sort of like underwear – you want a comfortable pair that fits well and will last a while. I know that goes against quite a few girl rules and may conjure up some unwanted images. Sorry …

But here’s the amazing part for me. There are people who hate Crocs so much that they have purchased URLs like ihatecrocs.com and crocsarehideous.com. There are people who hate Crocs so much that they say things like this on message boards.

i am filled with rage whenever i see crocs. i balloon and turn into a radish. crocs must DIE

But, then again, I equate them to underwear – ok, colorful, designer underwear but still!

So … any more middle of the roaders out there?