What She Said.........

I'm not the only one doing this whole dress dare challenge thingie.

Read what some of my friends who joined the challenge are saying:

From a Hawaii friend:
‎15....days.....down.....S​IGH. I SUPPOSE I should say 14 since I "cheated" the day of my final and wore jeans to the lab. There are days like....well, not today, but maybe where I just want to throw some shorts on. I'm doing ok, but getting tired of wearing the same skirts and dresses day after day after day after day after.....well, you get it. ;) This is a long month. ;)

And another Hawaii friend:
I put on capris one evening to go to the movies (after spending all day at the beach in a dress and swim skirt) & totally felt different! I apparently carry myself differently in skirts and dresses!



And the friend who started it all:
Greetings from Demanda! You may recognize me as the culprit that started this whole thing....
So, I have worn a dress or skirt every day starting 2 days early.... well except the one Saturday that I was so tired, and cleaning, and cooking the entire day preparing to have a farewell party at my house on Mother's Day. On that one Saturday I wore a HUGE sweatshirt and a pair of comfy running pants... I felt guilty nearly the entire time, but since it was something that I would wear to bed and work out clothes, and the weather dropped 40 degrees that morning... I kept my pants on. I have found that I can get away with wearing my little bit dressier dresses because I am going to work or church 6 days a week! But, that also tends to make Saturdays seem all the more a sacrifice! I mean really... I just want to stay in my sweats and sleep all day! And, now that the weather is back down so cold that snowflakes were reported this morning I had to wear the pair of jeans that are the closest thing I have to skinny jeans and pretend that they were jeggings under my polo shirt dress today just so I wouldn't freeze to death in my office! But I noticed quite a few things... 1) you can't wear frumpy shoes with Dresses or Skirts... and since I've been wearing a lot of "church dresses" that means wearing a lot of shoes with heals. After three days in a row of heals my calves were a bit sore! 2) Being dressed nice so often also means putting my face on more often... I never used to wear makeup so often! 3) Pantyhose, you need to make sure that your alligator hands are moisturized and your nails aren't gnarly so that you don't snag them before you even wear them. I've already killed 3 pairs in the last two weeks! 4) Overall posture, whether walking or sitting is better. 5) Dresses and skirts are easier to find good fits in... I put them on and feel better and look better then when I have on pants or slacks because a good fit in pants is just nearly impossible to find. 6) I really love frumpy workout clothes!
7) People are more ready to help a lady in a dress and heals carry the huge water jugs to the car, then they are the lady who just found her way out of the gym... or so they assume. I do Love dresses and skirts more than I thought, but my casual wardrobe is much more summer... not so much for the 40-50 degree days.

Overall the dress dare is really forcing me to be more feminine and thus making a noticeable difference between me and the men around me.

Half way through the month of May

I am half-way through the month of May and half-way through my Dress Dare Challenge. 15 days of wearing skirts and dresses and 16 more to go. How do I feel? Really tired of skirts!

No, really. I have lots and lots of beautiful Sunday dresses. However, my Sunday dresses are a little too much for every day wear. I have found myself wearing the same daytime skirts day after day.

I have a basic denim skirt that hits right at my knee. I tend to wear this one with basic short sleeve polo type shirts.

I have a basic kaki skirt that hits right at the knee as well. And when I wear my baskic short sleeve polos with this skirt, I look like I am in a school uniform.

I also had a poly/knit black skirt that hit slightly below the knee. This skirt was an a-line with an elastic waist. When I wore this skirt, I felt like a pentecostal!! Alas, the first time I washed it after wearing it three days in a row, the elastic snapped. I didn't like that skirt much anyways. Today, I picked up an identical black skirt at the px in a size smaller so hopefully I won't feel so pentecostal.

I have some longer broom stick skirts as well but I seem to revert to these three skirts over and over again.

Have I been faithful to wearing skirts every day? Weeeeeellll, mostly. One Saturday morning, I worked out, walked the dog and spent the day frantically cleaning my house for a party the next day. I wore capri work out pants all day-- even to the commissary for a quick shopping trip. Of course, I ran into two of my MCCW friends. Including one friend who was doing the dress dare with me. And what was she wearing? Not a skirt!!!

And yesterday, I spent all day at the beach with my brother and I wore swimming shorts most of the day over my swimsuit. But I did wear a skirt later that evening when I went to a friend's house for a meeting.

So, yes. I have worn a skirt or dress for 15 days in a row.

How do I feel? I like wearing skirts. I think it makes my interactions with others softer. I think other people treat me differently when they see me in a skirt or dress. There certainly seems to be a difference in how service workers interact with me, like sales clerks. Maybe wearing a skirt subconsciously makes me want to be more feminine and softer in my dealings with others.

I really don't know, though. Check back in with me in 16 days.

Tolerance

I've been a Girl Scout leader for 9 years now. My daughter has been a Girl Scout for all nine of those years, too. She is at the end of her last year of Cadette Girl Scouting and will bridge to Seniors in a week and a half. Cadettes can choose to earn their Silver Award.

Unfortunately, MK was in Cadettes during a transition time of changing from an old program to a new program. She and her troop spent two years working on pre-requirements to even begin starting their Silver and this year, GSUSA went and changed the requirements and made it so much easier to earn the award! Oh well.

Colleges and Universities and scholarship application committees take Girl Scout Silver and Gold Awards very seriously. At a time when many girls quit Girl Scouts because it is no longer the cool thing to do, their future colleges and universities are looking at and considering the leadership skills that their earning.

I've had a lot of contention this year in my troop. When you bring a group of girls from various backgrounds and religious denominations together, there are bound to be questions. My girls were constantly talking religion this year. Constantly. To the point that I think some of the other girls quit. I even had a mom call me to say that we were spending too much time talking about religion.

And these girls had so much misinformation about each other's faiths. Hurt feelings were bound to happen and they did often. For me, things came to a head when we were learning about our World Thinking Day country, Cambodia, and I wanted to start a discussion about Buddhism as part of their culture in this country. The conversation quickly evolved (or devolved) into Buddhists worship Buddha.

Their first Silver Award take action project fizzled. I came across a story about a Girl Scout who conducted an Interfaith conference for a Gold Award project. I told the girls about this idea and a project was not only born but was embraced by my Protestant, Catholic and Jewish girls!!

Their goal was to promote tolerance and understanding. They put together an Interfaith Forum and invited religious leaders from different faith communities- even from faiths that made them a little uncomfortable.

The Interfaith Forum was tonight. The girls did a wonderful job. They gave some of their own speeches. The panel of speakers were awesome and informative. Their goal was to promote tolerance and understanding but I think the people who were most changed in their viewpoints might just have been my very own Girl Scouts.

Shalom!

Hooah Army Husband

Hooah!

This is what my husband does.

This is his bird.

And he's sitting in the pilot seat of this bird.

It's called an OH58 Delta Kiowa Warrior.

My husband rocks!

4 Days of the Dress Dare Challenge

Today, I really, really wanted to wear pants.

Today was MK's May Day performances and it was raining. And I knew I was going to have to park off-campus and walk a ways to the school. I really just wanted to put on some jeans, or capris or pants.

But, I put on my skirt and a black tank. And I looked pretty cute if I do say so myself.

Confirmed in the Holy Spirit

Beautiful Girl

Tonight this beautiful girl was confirmed in the Holy Spirit in the Catholic Church.

Her name is Mary. She chose Mary to be her Confirmation name. I do believe her Dad and I chose the right name for her.

Day 1: Dress Dare Challenge

I was really looking forward to my first day of the Dress Dare Challenge but woke with a heavy, heavy heart. My friend's husband was killed in Afghanistan the night before. Although I spent the day in a skirt, a denim skirt and a t-shirt, my focus today has been in prayer for Susan and her family.

So, yes. I made it through an uneventful Day 1 of the dress dare. I wore a skirt all day. I didn't feel pretty or more feminine. It didn't affect the way I treated my daughter. I was just very, very sad.

Tomorrow, Day 2, is MK's Confirmation day. We will go for mani/pedis and salon hair in the morning. She has to be at the chapel pretty early, 1pm for a 5pm Mass. It will be easy to wear a skirt and then change into my dress.

A Heavy Heart

My heart is heavy.

My stomach hurts.

My mind has been in constant prayer mode today.

My face has been a mask for my thoughts because I don't want my daughter to know the horrible thing I know.

My friend had the most horrible, horrific, awful thing happen to her and her children today, truly a living nightmare.

And all I can do is wait.

Wait for news that everything will be okay.

Try to sleep when things are happening 14 time zones away so that by the time I hear the news it will be hours old.

I am selfish as I wait to hear, wanting to hear.

My heart is so heavy for another woman who can only wait, too.



Oh glorious apostle St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the name of the traitor who delivered thy beloved Master into the hands of His enemies has caused thee to be forgotten by many, but the Church honors and invokes thee universally as the patron of hopeless cases--of things despaired of. Pray for me who am so miserable; make use, I implore thee, of that particular privilege accorded thee of bringing visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired of. Come to my assistance in this great need, that I may receive the consolations and succor of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations and sufferings, particularly for the Clark family and that I may bless God with thee and all the elect throughout eternity. I promise thee, O blessed St. Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor, and I will never cease to honor thee as my special and powerful patron, and to do all in my power to encourage devotion to thee. Amen