Valentine's Sweetness

We made it through Valentine's Day at our house with minimal damage. I must admit to being bowled over by what came home with my daughter from school. She ran in the house, tossed her bag in a chair and casually said, " Look at the bear and ring I got today."...................... HUH???

She opens her bag and pulls out a cute fuzzy teddy bear from a boy in another class. He found her at recess to give it to her. He's a funny kid who every time he makes a mistake on something says "Doh!" like Homer Simpson. The ring came from a cute tall boy in her class who she says has had a crush on her all year. It was in a red ring box and everything! He wrote a note that said, "Do you like me?". What is a mother to do? (My husband reminds me the Dads get stressed about this, too.)

Do rings at age 8 mean anything? What kind of mom lets her boy take that to school? Oh my...what if it's real? That would be entertaining. I guess I just have to give it up and say we all do weird things on Valentines Day.

On the flip side, I have this gorgeous little brown eyed boy who adores his big sister, and when she came home he took all his valentines from school and gave them all to her. Including the candy! Who is this kid....what have you done with the typical gimme-my-candy child? How dare you be so sweet....can I just have the Reese's peanut butter cup that's mostly smashed in the bottom of your bag? Please??

The only thing I feel my children are missing is the opportunity to make their own Valentines Box to collect their notes and candy. I did find a site where a parent made beautiful boxes for the kids teachers, but what happened to oatmeal boxes and tinfoil? I would love to see pictures of those......especially the outhouse my sister got to take one year. I have a feeling that one was my Dad's idea.

Go tell those around you that you love them. Make it sincere. Promise yourself to love more and judge less this year. It's amazing how beautiful this world can be when we let ourselves see the good side.

Long Legged Benefits

So, do long legged runners have to work harder to move longer legs while exercising or is it easier because their legs are longer and they can run farther?

Do these pants look weird to you?

When you're young and impressionable and your legs go to Mars, the last thing you want is to deal with too short pants. In fact, like my little girl, all you want to wear are skirts. Skirts in the snow, skirts at the skating rink, skirts at recess. Too bad we can't all keep that happy-go-lucky attitude and wear skirts all our life. Pants are an issue that must be dealt with and thankfully there are great solutions now!

I have clear memories of too short pants during all my school years. When knee high boots came into fashion it solved a lot of problems...but only for a year until the fashions changed again. I was the girl that could see over nearly all the boys heads. I was the one that scared them all into being nice to me. Desks never did fit well, but things change as you get older and wiser. I found a couple of tall friends that have stayed close ever since.

When you find a friend you can look in the eye, you have an instant rapport. One friend brought balance and depth and joy, so I married him. The second friend created havoc and silliness and fun, which we laugh over to this day. We are finally fulfilling a dream of providing tall clothing options to other tall women and men by hosting a site called Tall Clothing Mall. Check it out at www.tallclothingmall.com and see what you think. It's been a long road but we now know how important it is to have pants that really fit.

As for my favorite pants right now, they have to be a pair of PJ bottoms from J.Crew. They have a wonderful waffle weave that doesn't shrink in the wash and the softest waistband with a feminine drawstring. I will admit to wearing them all day and then to bed that night. They look good, they feel good and now I need another pair in another color. Go through our site and check out the beautiful clothes we have found for you and help us provide a place for easy and intuitive shopping. It should be fun to get a new pair of pants and if you still aren't there yet, email us and we'll be your personal shoppers!

I hope we will never have to be afraid to walk out the door in a pair of pants....now they don't have to look weird anymore! Happy Shopping!

Do you know who I am?

My mom and sister and I made a mad dash to NYC a couple of years ago to get our fix of running in Central Park and just have some girl time. A red-eye flight in, a couple days of running and walking and shopping, laughing until our stomachs hurt....a slice of cheesecake from Carnegie Deli and the red-eye back home. Girl's weekends are truly the best!

So, we're visiting some of the stunningly beautiful cathedrals through out the city, and there are some amazing ones, when my moment of joy happens. We were walking around the perimeter and looking at the different paintings and scriptures when this little gentleman walks up to me. In a quiet and reverent voice he mutters something so softly I can barely hear him. I say, "Excuse me?", at which point he repeats, "Ms. Universe, we could take you on a private tour if you would like. ". WOW!!!! I admit to being completely bowled over but I calmly smiled and said, "Thank you so much but I am enjoying just looking on my own." He smiled like he understood I would like having some privacy in my life and he walked away to a corner to closely watch my steps through the building. It was like he had discovered a secret that no one else could see and he was going to make sure I was protected and enjoying myself. I smiled and waved goodbye to him as we left and he looked ready to burst with pride.

OK, so I could have corrected him but what was wrong with letting him have a happy moment in his life? My mom and sister laughed for hours over the whole thing and when we saw a tee that summed it all up, it made the trip that much better. On the front of the shirt it said, "Do you know who I am?". I have wanted that shirt ever since. That man had no clue who I was but it sure made me feel good to think that I looked good enough to be mistaken for Ms. Universe!

We still have occasional moments where my sister or mom and I will say.."do you know who I am?" and the deeper meaning really starts to sink in. Yes, height matters, but so does how we feel about it and how we show it. We can bring a room to a halt by walking in if we let our attitude show. We will always be the center of attention because it really is crazy to try and hide. It's all in how we feel. Be strong, be happy, stand tall and smile. You may be the next Ms. Universe!!