My first Stitch Fix!

OK, I think I love Stitch Fix...
I got my first fix today and had no idea what to expect. Well, my stylist got me and my style REALLY well! She had access to my Pinterest clothing board and my Style Fix quiz and that's all, and she did a great job. I got medium gray pants, a bracelet, dress, blouse, and sweater. Of the pieces, the only one I didn't instantly love was the green blouse.

 Here's the red sweater with the gray pants and bracelet. Love this. The sleeves on the sweater are LONG enough! My arms are 24" long, so this is not always the case. The pants fit perfectly and are boot cut, not tapered, which is a good look for the Danskos I wear all fall and winter long.

In the picture below you can see that I've unzipped the little sweater zipper details. I like that little feature!

 

The third photo is the cute dress. I loved it from the waist up. Sadly, while it fits perfectly on the top, it's too small on the bottom (story of my life). I'm going to have to tell my stylist to go up a size for dresses.  I know it doesn't look horrible, but honestly, it's too tight for me. If I were willing to wear Spanx and have a super tight skirt, I could pull it off. But 1. I don't do Spanx and 2. I don't show off my booty.

Finally here we have the green blouse. I'm hesitating on it for 2 reasons. First, it's not really one of my colors. I suppose it would go with jeans, but I don't have anything this color. You can't really tell how it looks on me because the lighting is terrible (I'll fix that in my next review). Second, the blouse is just a WEE bit tight across my chest. That weird area above my bust and below my shoulders. Final decision? I'm going to model it for my hubby. If he likes it, I'll probably keep it. 

Finally, the prices. The only item that I really don't like the price of is the bracelet. It's $34, which is more than I would spend on costume jewelry, unless it was fair trade or exquisitely breathtaking. This bracelet is neither. Now, there's a discount if you buy all 5 items, so if I were keeping the 4 clothing pieces, I would totally keep the bracelet b/c it would effectively be free. But I have to return the dress, so I'm not getting the discount, which means the bracelet will likely go back too. Overall, I'm thrilled. The pants are AMAZING, as are the sweater. The dress would be PERFECT if it were just a bit bigger in the hips and butt. And the total price for all 5 pieces is definitely less than I would spend at the mall, not to mention that I didn't invest any of my time shopping!

Think it sounds good? Go ahead and try it out! If you use this link, I'll get a discount on my next Fix. And then you'll get a referral link that you can use to get your own discount. We all win!

 https://www.stitchfix.com/referral/6057711

A Gift of a Day

Being a parent is brutally hard. And to be bluntly honest, being a parent to MY child is especially hard. All the advice, all the parenting rules, all the good old tricks - all of it fails with respect to her. She is strong willed, resourceful, perfectionist, intelligent, and willing to do WHATEVER it takes to be right.

My determination to be a good mother and to use primarily positive parenting tools is part of what makes parenting so difficult. If I were willing to spank and discipline using traditional punishments, I might have an easier time, but it certainly wouldn't be any more pleasant. Instead I've chosen the path of conscious, positive parenting, which means I'm always seeking to renew and strengthen our connection and our bond.

So being a parent is exhausting.  This past weekend, I thought I couldn't take it any more. If I had to fight one more battle over the simplest thing; if I had to listen to one more whining complaint; if I had to watch one more meal be treated like a plaything; well, I was just done.

And then today we went to the State Fair. My husband took the day off from work and the 3 of us arrived at the Fair right at 9:00 AM. It was a glorious, although chilly, day. We had a blast. We bought her whatever food she wanted. For breakfast she had hot chocolate. For second breakfast she had an ice cream cone. Yes, her hands got brutally cold, but we warmed them up and she was fine. We rode rides, we ate cotton candy, we watched a milking demonstration, we checked out the crafts, etc. She requested and got a whole cob of roasted corn, which she devoured. I was delighted that my child, offered every sugary treat under the sun, wanted a vegetable! We went to a pumpkin carving demonstration that was fascinating for me, but less so for her. Yet she quietly sat and watched. Sure, she was wiggling all over the place, but she was quiet. She very quietly asked if we could leave, and when I said no, she didn't object. What an amazing kid! She generously shared her cotton candy with us. We went to the pig races and had to sit and wait for 20 minutes, during which time she was delightfully patient. It was a gift of a day.

Today was the reassurance I needed that I'm not a total failure as a parent. That all the hard work I'm putting in day and night is paying off. I have a 4 year old who was sleep deprived (she normally naps) and high on sugar and yet did not misbehave or have a tantrum once, even when we said no to leaving the carving demonstration and no to more rides. She's a good kid. Our work is not in vain.

10 Minutes

I have 10 minutes before my daughter gets up, so here goes.
I'm feeling much better this morning. Still feel bruised and sore emotionally, but after a good night's sleep and my Reiki I have a much better mood overall.
Sleep gives so much resilience. The ability to bounce back. There's a reason that we say weeping endureth for a night but joy comes in the morning. The sunrise is a potent reminder that everything is reborn. There are always second chances.

What will happen to my business? I don't know. I'm at my wit's end, literally. I've given it over to God. Whatever God wants to happen will happen. I'm going to keep doing the parts I enjoy, but I'm not going to break my back marketing or trying new ideas, etc. I'm just going to quietly do what I'm called to do, whenever and however I can, and let the rest take care of itself. We shall see.