It's a Slumber Party, Didn't You Get your Invite?

No matter where I go these days, inevitably I find myself staring at the backside of someone who appears to be wearing their pajamas in public (or at least pajama pants). My first thought is typically "Weird", but my thoughts tend to turn almost immediately to "Gross, they're wearing their pajamas in public....is that what they were sleeping in just a little while ago?"  I'll admit I like to be comfortable and the first thing I usually do when I get home at the end of a workday is change into my 'comfies'...but I don't wear them in public because I don't think the public really wants to see what I sleep in, sweat in, and roll around in bed in.  This partners really well with the people I see on almost every flight I'm on (or in the security line at the airport) wearing the above-mentioned pajama pants and carrying a pillow....not a travel pillow, but a pillow from their bed.  Yuck.  I really don't want to be near your bed pillow that you insist on carrying around the airport because you have some fear of being uncomfortable on the plane.  Everyone is uncomfortable on the plane these days, deal with it!

Nordstrom Nightmare

As a Seattle native, I have been shopping at Nordstrom since I was just a little girl...my mom and I would go there for school shopping, and we even had a Nordstrom in the Shoreline area at the time (remember Aurora Village, northenders?  It's where Costco is now located.)  Going to Nordstrom was a treat; they gave you 'Nordy' balloons in the children's shoe department and when I was in junior high and high school the Brass Plum was the place to shop for that season's must-have trends.  Nowadays, if I do find myself at Nordstrom, it's the downtown 'flagship' store between 5th and 6th avenues, and I've really started to notice what Nordstrom is all about.  It's all about my feeling completely out of place and completely under-dressed.  Quite honestly, I can't tell which people are the employees (ladies in impossibly high heels, chunky bangles clanking) and which are the shoppers (ladies in impossibly high heels, chunky bangles clanking....and maybe a coat).  While I know that I'm far from being trendy or even fashionable a lot of the time, I can't believe how high-end things have become at Nordstrom.  And how snooty everyone seems to be when you walk in the door.  Has it always been like this?  And I just didn't notice for all those years when I was a regular Nordstrom shopper as a kid and a teenager?  I feel out-snarked by the snarky/snooty ladies at Nordstrom (is there a word that combines snarky and snooty? if there is, that's the word I need right now).  Oh well, maybe I'll check out Macy's next...if nothing else there's always excellent people watching at the downtown store...

Over the Mountains and through the Woods...

If you are a native Washingtonian, and especially one who has grown up on the west side of the Cascades, you are probably aware of the great divide between Puget Sound style and the style of our Eastern comrades.  Having just spent a little more than 48 hours in the vicinity of Leavenworth (which is, I know, just barely over the mountains) I did pick up on a distinct change in the style over there. First thing to note: Reeboks.  They're everywhere, and not current Reeboks, but the Reeboks that I remember from middle school (white leather anyone?).  Another thing to note:  if it's pushing freezing levels outside, and you feel like taking your toddler out for a walk with the stroller, by all means, get dressed up!  I did an absolute double-take when we arrived in Leavenworth and saw two youngish moms pushing their babies along the main drag all dolled up...I felt like I was in some weird Bavarian red-light district (and not in a good way...).  Don't get me wrong, I love Eastern Washington, it has been a summer destination for my family and friends for most of my lifetime, after all, where are all of us pale-faced, rain-soaked Western Washingtonians going to go to dry out and warm up?

Public Bathrooms aren't Private...Or Have I Missed Something?

Do you ever feel as if public restrooms have turned into some people's private salons?  More and more often when I enter the restroom at my office (which is down the hall and shared with the other businesses that are on our floor) there are one or two people huddled near the sinks talking (sometimes in hushed tones, but often in 'normal' tones) about anything and everything.  I'm left feeling as if I've interrupted them (I haven't, remember this is in a public bathroom!), and now they're going to be able to hear me doing my business (and I have a shy bladder so when I know people can hear me....you get the picture).  I've walked in on people talking on their cellphones in the restroom too, and it's equally as awkward; I mean, would you want the person on the other end of the call to know that you're in a public restroom talking to them?  That's not how I like to picture the people I'm talking to when I'm on the phone.  It seems to me that there are a plethora of other places people can go if they want to speak in private....and the public restroom isn't one of them...especially if I'm in it!

Your Pants are falling Down...and what if there are Zombies?

I know you've seen them, and asked yourself "How can that be comfortable...or even safe?"  I'm talking, of course, about the young gentlemen sauntering around town with their pants (I'm going to start calling them dungarees just to add to the ridiculousness).  I always want to ask them if it's fun to have to walk down the street holding up their pants with one hand...but they're usually talking on their phone with the other hand, so I don't want to interrupt and seem rude.  The real treat is when not only can you see that their pants are at mid-thigh level, but that you also get the privilege of an eyeful of underwear.  Nothing excites this newly minted 40-year-old more than a glimpse of some punk's plaid boxers hanging over his low-riding jeans.  But, even if you don't like how they look, I'm always wondering: how will these guys get out of the way quickly if a car almost hits them?  What if they hit a slick patch of ice?  And what about the zombies that may or may not start to take over our civilization? (and I'm referring to the fast zombies that are cropping up in a lot of movies, TV shows and video games, not the slow-moving zombies of yesteryear)  What about the zombies?

Just Breathe it in....and Sweat it Out...and Stink it Up...Part Deux

Ok, I went to yoga on Friday, and I'll admit, it was me who stunk...no denying it!  Now there were other people there who were definitely stinky and sweaty, as well as this one guy who was so bendy it made me a little nauseous to watch him. But, just thought I ought to step up and admit, that yes, I was a little rank at yoga the other night.  (but still not as much as some of those other people, yikes!)