Contesting

Here's a quick update on my quirky hobby. I'm still entering contests galore. I plan to inventory my contest winnings (or lack thereof) in early June to re-evaluate my strategies and to focus in on the type of contests (sweepstakes, single entry, daily entry, essay contests, photo contests, recipe contests, etc.) that are most beneficial.

Have you heard of any great contests or are you a contester yourself? Send me a note!

Hobbies

When and if I have time to spare (if you are a mom, you know that translates as almost never), here are the ways I like to spend my time:

* reading - especially non-fiction (parenting, health, cookbooks, politics, business, etc.)
* writing
* scrapbooking
* hiking, backpacking, or going on some outdoor adventure
* listening to a lecture or attending a workshop on a topic I'm interested in
* tinkering around with the guitar
* taking outdoor pictures w/ my digital camera
* trying new foods
* playing soccer, volleyball, or walleyball

Share your favorite pastimes.

Country Girl

I turned on an online country radio station yesterday while I was cleaning (and dancing with Kayla) around our house. And I still love country music as much as I did in my high school days.

Of course, I will be the first to admit that there are plenty of corny, twangy, and completely worthless songs in the genre. BUT there are also songs that are particularly moving, sweet, inspiring, and fun. There's something about country music that reminds me of family and wide, open spaces. It conjurs up images of boots and horses and wrap-around porches, summer dresses and fresh-grown vegetables and falling in love, jean jackets and juke boxes and authenticity.

I hereby present a list of a few of my favorite country songs (old and new):
I Loved Her First (Heartland)
Without You (Dixie Chicks)
The Dance (Garth Brooks)
When You Say Nothing At All (Alison Krauss)
Grandpa (The Judds)

Share your favorites!

Girl Next Door

Being around all of the hoopla and foofaraw of the fashion industry and the celebrity world made me realize that I'm really just the girl-next-door type. Yes, I liked being served champagne while my hair was shampooed and eating gourmet food was fun, but something seemed missing from that green world of wealth and fame. The people I met were nice, but they lacked the authenticity that comes from hard work and happenstance.

I like the "real", homeade part of me. It's the me that:
* doesn't wear make-up or wears just a little bit of blush and lipstick
* loves to lounge around the house in pajama pants and t-shirts
* would much rather eat-in with friends than attend a big soiree
* sings in the shower and along with the radio in the car
* dances in the living room
* makes crazy faces to make Kayla laugh
* loves wearing jeans, boots, and a nice jacket
* enjoys walking, camping, hiking, scrapbooking, and hanging out with friends
* curls up with a good book or on a soft chair with my laptop to blog or write
* is totally and completely content at home with the people I love

My First Big Contest Win

Remember my contesting hobby (see my prior blog entitled "contests")? I won my first prize: an all-expenses-paid trip for me and a guest to Santa Monica, CA - including airfare for two, accommodations, most meals, transportation, a $1,000 shopping spree with a wardrobe consultant, a haircut/style, a makeover, and 2 tickets to a dinner and debut fashion show. The contest was sponsored by FIDM. My entry consisted of four short essays and a photo of myself.

We just took the trip this past weekend and returned last night (hence, my neglected blog...). As with most things in life, I made it a learning experience and came away with a lot of great insights about myself and about the fashion industry.

Today's log will be about the shopping spree portion of the trip:

1) Shopping with a consultant is the best way to shop - especially if you don't particularly like to shop. If I were rich and I had my druthers, I would go shopping once a quarter with a fashion consultant because it's fast, efficient, and fun. Essentially, I just stood in the dressing room and tried on clothes that were brought to me from throughout the store. Vicki brought me styles that she thought would look good on me - I tried them on and handed them back if they were in the wrong size, didn't fit right, wrong color, etc. Plus, she gave me feedback about various styles. All in all, we bought: 2 skirts, 2 pants, 3 shirts, 2 jackets, a camisole, 2 pairs of shoes, and 2 hand bags. We spent most of our time and money at Zara, but also made purchases at Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, and Loehmanns. We stopped in at BCBG, Mango, and Max Studio as well. If we had more time, Vicki was also going to bring me to H & M, Anthropologie, Club Monaco, and Banana Republic. [NOTE: Out of the 11 stores named above, only 5 are in AZ and only 2 are in southern AZ.]

2) Women's clothes are overpriced and under quality. I can understand a pair of pants being $50 or even $100, but not $200, $300, $500+. That's just plain ridiculous.

3) If you buy at high end stores, expect to take your clothes to a seamstress afterward. All the pants and jackets were too long and the jackets needed to be brought in. Such is life in Beverly Hills.

4) I would absolutely love to win a shopping spree for casual/athletic clothes. Yes, it was fun to buy shiny heels, swirly skirts, and leather handbags - but it wasn't particularly practical for a young mother. I would have much rather purchased fashionable jeans, sweaters, shorts, t-shirts, tennies, etc. Especially since Tucson is on the casual side and especially since I won't be in a fulltime work setting for some time now.

All in all, shopping on Saturday was my favorite part of the experience. This came as a surprise to me since shopping is generally not something that I enjoy.

I would have liked to have a bit more buying power (Ex. I wanted to buy all pants since I wear pants way more often than skirts due to constantly bending over to pick up baby, but the wardrobe consultant insisted that I buy skirts), but I can't complain. I received some very nice pieces that I can mix and match with clothes in my closet.

Contests

I've been on a "contest kick" lately. Yes, it's true. I've been entering dozens of contests - perhaps up to 100. My favorite kind of contests are - surprise - any that involve writing. I especially am drawn to short paragraph/essay contests on a prescribed topic ("In 250 words or less, describe your dream vacation...", something like that). I also compete in other writing contests - historical essays, poetry, grant proposals, nominations. And, I confess, I enter sweepstakes as well. The lure is the possibility of winning an all-expenses-paid vacation, a makeover, a shopping spree, a new bike, a donation to the charity of my choice, or any other number of things. I am attracted to the hope that perhaps my essay might win over the hearts of the judges or that my name might be pulled out of the proverbial hat.

Wish me luck on this wild and crazy venture. You can check back with me in about six months to see if my efforts were futile or if my hopeful attempts resulted in anything fun or fabulous.

If you happen to run across any contests in the newspaper or your favorite magazine or the local department store, please send me a link or a cut-out. It's a silly hobby, I know - but my imagination about the prospect of what could be keeps me energized.