Thursday, April 17, 2008

Lazy

~I'm listening to The Friday Night Knitting Club, reading Labyrinth and The Silmarillion. Next on the docket are Wicked and Rebel. (No one can say it's not a varied list, right?)



~The crocuses have bloomed and faded and the daffodils are open now.



~My kids have gotten their first sunburn of the year (where WAS that blasted sunscreen?)



~We're going swimming tomorrow.



~I'm putting together a patchwork baby blanket and in the last few days have made 4 pairs of shorts, several little bags and a dolly flannel robe. Xavier continues to rock!



~I feel very good about sparring tonight. Sparring to 1 point gets the adrenaline going and makes me nervous, but I didn't suck, so I feel happy.



Oh, did I tell you all about my "swimsuit"? The things available at Target and Wallyworld are so hideous that they defy description. I was kicking myself for not taking along a camera they are so bad. We're talking monstrosities of brown and avocado with ginormous hibuscus prints, and pink and brown things with huge ruffles, buckles and wooden beads. I feel the need to wash my eyes out with Daniel Craig just thinking about the things. **shudder** The new style seems to be the "backless front" this year. This amounts to something that looks like a one-pice from the front and a bikini from the back. This might not be so bad, were it not for the fact that some of the ones I saw (and, God help me, actually touched) were gigantic (but also tiny if you KWIM.)

BG and I were joking today about doing our own version. This would consist of a Sparring Banana and a posture enhancer.

Even if the available suits weren't hideous, it wouldn't matter. I can't wear one-pieces (unless I want to stay hunched over while wearing said suit) because I'm too tall.

So I ended up buying just a swim bottom at Wallyworld -- quite a gamble really, considering that I was then banking on finding a top at Target. My new swim bottom (which was found in the swim section, so hopefully it actually IS a swim bottom) is a pair of short black boxing shorts (think lace-up fly, etc.) Target yielded absolutely nothing acceptable in the top category, so I bought a black Champion C9 sportsbra. (My white ones are great for TKD. They also wick away sweat very admirably.) Yes, that's right, I've been swimming in shorts (or hot pants?) and a sports bra. In public. :-P

Of course the first time I went to the pool in this ensemble, there were men at the pool. Men! On a Friday morning! The audacity! Don't they know that the pool is the realm of mommies on Friday mornings? Clearly they had not read the handbook. (Then again, maybe they had. . .)

Considering that I have not shown my tummy to any men (well, besides MuNKi of course) since starting the process of growing children in my belly over 13 years ago, wearing a "swimsuit" that bared my middle section in front of men was a distinctly uncomfortable experience. I'm very glad of what TKD has done for my tummy muscles, but I was not banking on flashing them to men I don't know. (Well, any men, actually.) Usually BG and I have the pool completely to ourselves, so this was a shocking development. Fortunately I had a Prawn handy. The Prawn is never adverse to being carried, and even at 6 yrs old, she's still a featherlight 42 lbs or so, so I used her as belly camouflage until I could slip into the pool.

So far my swim bottoms are not holding up that great. They threaten to slip off when I swim forwards (though backwards is safe) and are fading after only 2 trips to the pool. The "swim top" on the other hand, is performing admirably. Though I'm still a little afraid of that space-age techno-fabric wicking away the entire pool when I jump in. O_o

12 comments:

SM said...

I'm reading the Friday Night Knitting Club right now. I'm almost done, but have started re-reading HP #7, so I'll probably finish the knitting one after I re-read HP.

Your swimsuit story cracks me up. I agree - I am so glad that I found my swimsuit a few years ago before all of these hideous prints became "popular". Although...I can't really fit into said swimsuit anymore.

Radioactive Tori said...

I just bought two bathing suits for when we go to the pool in the summer. I also have 2 for my "real" swimming during the week at the gym that I bought forever ago and they are starting to fall apart/become see through.

I had a horrible time finding them for the same reasons you describe. I don't wear one piece bathing suits ever because my boobs are so small that my stomach looks sort of pregnant (because it is muscular) when it is covered up. However, I may need to find a one piece because we are going to my aunts cottage (somewhere "up north" in Michigan...I'll have to email you about this because I have questions) this summer and my mom still doesn't know about my stomach tattoo. Yes, I am 33 years old and am still hiding a tattoo from my mom. In my defense, I am hiding it because my mom gets so sad about them, not because I am afraid I'll get in trouble.

Way off topic! Sorry! Anyway, your creativity in finding a way to figure out a bathing suit is awesome! I love it! You could always wear bike shorts and the sports bra and claim you are training for a triathlon because that is pretty much what I wear for one.

Elizabeth said...

Is Friday Night Knitting Club worth the read (listen)? I recognize the fact that I'm asking two people who haven't finished it yet, but hey, it's a start. I've looked at a few times in the online library audiobooks, but hadn't jumped yet.

SM said...

Elizabeth, I don't know what Candace thinks of it, but I'm enjoying it. There are some laugh out loud parts. It's not a change my life kind of a read or anything, but it's a good distraction when I'm waiting around for my husband after work or walking on the treadmill.

C said...

Amanda - That's so funny that you're reading it too! I'm at the part where they've just had Easter Dinner - maybe about halfway through? (hard to tell in an audiobook, LOL!)

Bluh. I had bought some swimsuits I liked ok a few yrs ago, but the chlorine has eaten them up. :-P

Tori - Yeah, my old ones were doing the see-through thing and also when they got wet they'd just kind of get all limp and off-falling.

Still hiding your tatt? ^_^ I understand, though, if it would just bum her out. Mayeb you could wear a T or tank over your triathlon suit. :) Or put on a giant Hello Kitty bandaind - you know, the kind that's clear with a picture on it and sticks all around the edges. ^_^

Elizabeth - So far, YES! I agree with Amanda - not Earth shattering, but there's something for everyone and it's been very enjoyable so far. :) I checked it out once or twice (and then it expired) before I finally downloaded and listened to it. I'm glad I decided to try it.

Amanda - You should really be knitting while you listen! ;-) Oh, wait, you have a real book. Never mind. Maybe you can listen to some knitting. . . ;-)

egan said...

My Speedo nearly falls off me all the time. I think the girlies like it that way though. Did I tell about my package? ... it arrived yesterday.

No need for showers if you're swimming. Hells yeah!

egan said...

Your next post should be titled "bsy" and contain no text or pictures. You could also do one of those cool YouTube posts you like so much.

begins with v said...

ahhh swimsuit shopping and wallyworld...my two favorite things...NOT!

Claire said...

I'd rather set my hair on fire than shop for a swimsuit! I did get a good dark blue one piece from Land's End that worked out well because they use actual measurements and they come in 'long'.
Speaking of long, that MuNKi pic was HI-larious!

Anonymous said...

Okay, I don't know which made me laugh more: washing your eyes out with Daniel Craig or Claire's comment about preferring to set her hair on fire...good times.

Target does have a pretty piss-poor selection this year. Finally, when I want to buy a "tankini" they don't seem to have any worth buying. The rest are all two-pieces made for pre-pubescent girls. I haven't needed to buy one, but the time will come when I'll need a new one this year. The best thing I've found is to buy them mid-season on sale/clearance, so at least if I don't like it I'll feel better knowing I didn't spend much.

And one last thing: last year I actually ordered a decent swimsuit from Victoria's Secret that was only about $15 per piece (mix and match). I ended up not loving the top, but overall it was a good buy.

C said...

Efo - I'm sure they do! Does your package resemble the MuNKi link?

Heckler Egan - Be careful what you wish for.


Slade - Why why WHY do they toruture us so with the swimsuit selections? Who makes these decisions? I bet they all sit around in a boardroom and laugh uproariously when the designs and prints are selected.

Claire - ROFL!! That was funny ^_^ Whoa - LONG swimsuits? Cool! Ha, you should go to the cock sox website. I couldn't link my faves because the link just takes you back to the main page.

egan said...

Yes it does and cool, you called me a heckler. I can sleep easily tonight.