Dead horses, baby steps and almost-George Clooney…

Happy Friday Frump-No-Mores! Today we are expanding on our lesson from last week. Because here at the Nirvana, I aim to beat a dead horse explore frump fighting to it’s fullest. Last week we discussed how a room full of dead people and a house full of monkeys inspired me to stalk George Clooney at Target. All right, that may not have been the best summary, but I have a short attention span. I started working on this post yesterday afternoon. Well, not actually THIS post because what I was working on was even worse then THIS so I dumped it. BUT in the middle of my brilliant thought a very LOUD sound enveloped my house. FIRE ALARM. Not just one, but all the smoke detectors were going off. I ran upstairs and grabbed my children and ran outside to designated meeting place in case of fire. No smoke. No fire. Very loud noise. I finally called the fire department’s NON-emergency number and explained what was happening. 4 minutes later sirens blaring the fire truck arrived with 5 firemen in full fire gear. 4 minutes later the ambulance was on the scene with 2 more men jumping out of emergency vehicle. So, in the course of 10 minutes I now had 7 of our city’s bravest searching my house (crap! my closet) and reporting back to me. It was not George Clooney, but really…I was glad I wasn’t clothed in fuzzy robe and slippers.* This week in Colorado another almost-George Clooney moment happened over at Eat, Play, Love when fellow frump fighters holding a play date ended up on the evening news. It turned out great because they looked just adorable, but it makes you think…what would happen if news cameras found you at the park? So how do you become O.I.A.B.I.G.C.A.T. (Oh! I Accidentally Bumped Into George Clooney At Target) ready? I will take my inspiration from one of the greatest films of all time. A cinematic masterpiece. A movie with few rivals: What About Bob? Yes, What About Bob! Bob is diagnosed crazy, but an excellent therapy student. He constantly reminds himself out loud and under his breath through just about any task, “Baby steps, baby steps to the….” Baby steps is what we need! Baby steps ensures that change happens slowly. Baby steps keeps wild swings in check. Baby steps helps keep clothing budgets under control. Today’s baby step I am advocating is T-shirt replacement. One of the mommy staples is the plain T-shirt or the slogan T-shirt *shudder*. Bye, bye slogan T’s. Now let’s make a plan upgrade the plain ones… I am shopping for plain t-shirt alternatives. I want to find things that just step-up the style without giving up comfort. Consider exhibit A: This is an eyelet shirt from Target (I think it was $17.99). Please excuse the wrinkles…I pulled it out of the laundry to photograph it. I doubt Martha Stewart has ever done that. Anyway, I have washed it multiple times. It washes really well, requires no ironing, is really comfortable and an upgrade from my usual T-shirt. Consider exhibit B: This is a polo shirt by Bitten. It retails for $7.99. Karla introduced this line in one of the first Fight the Frump Fridays. I was very skeptical because I have a long torso and ANY shrinkage will cause an ordinary shirt to become a belly shirt on me. I have washed this several times and it still fits like it did the first time. I love the sleeves. They have a little gathering on the top to make it a bit more feminine. Please join Fussy and friends for more fight the frump. Please look to upgrade your t-shirts. Please let me know if you run into George Clooney or a suitable replacement… *The conclusion of that story was the the fire chief saying, “Hmmmm. We have never seen anything quite like that. You need to get an electrician out to see why the alarms are activated.” That isn’t good news. Thank God I looked cute.