Yes it is. She came home last night from school with a gorgeous bouquet of
a dozen long stemmed roses. It was their one year of "going together" even
though they have only been on one date and that was prom last year. I asked
her how he got those and asked if his mom knew about her and the
significance of the day. She said no, that his friend took him out
yesterday morning and he got the roses and a box of candy for her then, so
his mom would still not know.

It was so sweet of him to buy her flowers, and since I was chaperoning a
school function last night and saw the kid that took him to the store to buy
everything, I told him thanks for doing that for Matt as it was so sweet of
him.

Debbie

"Miss Violette" wrote in message
...
that religion thing can make it rough, Lee
Deb in Northern California wrote in message
...
This year it is $65/couple and they are complaining that they raised the
price. Last year it was $60/couple. Sherry's dress last year was a
whopping $12.00 (yes twelve dollars), we found it at Ross Dress for Less
and
it was on clearance besides. She is lucky in that she is so tiny, just
about anything would look cute on her. She ended up splitting the
ticket
with the young man she went with, so I think the whole night was less
than
$100 including taking photos and even though she went to dinner, she did
not
want to eat, so no expense there either. I was the limo driver, as I
was
a
chaperone for the dance. Because her high school is only about 200
students, they open it up to all students, so that they can actually
have
a
prom. The past two years they have had it on the riverboat
http://www.spiritofsacramento.com/fleet/mckinley.htm it was nice and
contained so chaperoning was easy, as there was no getting on and off
the
boat. I will say though, for early May it was darned cold at night on
the
river, it was breezy and in the 50s, so it was chilly for here. This
year
they are holding it at a hall in the next town. This senior class
wanted
something that no other class had ever done since this is the first
class
to
graduate that have been there their entire high school career. The
school
only opened 4 years ago.

Sherry's dress this year was $50, but like I said her dad and step mom
bought it and I got her shoes on clearance for $15 and they match
perfectly.
She has a red dress and these are red shoes. She is riding in a limo
this
year, but someone else is renting it and asked her to go along with
them.
I
most likely will be chaperoning again, but I will drive my own car to
the
hall this time. The thing is the boy that she went with last year and
is
going with this year, that is the only times, they have been out
together.
His parents have a strange philosophy with dating outside your religion
and
well Sherry is not his religion. So he just hides the fact that Sherry
and
him have been a "couple" for a year now.

Debbie




"Joyce" wrote in message
...
One is too old for prom. He avoided it like the plague in highschool
and
has no
intention of participating now. He is one of those *dances are not
for
me* type
guys ... tried it once, drove him nuts. LOL My daughter has talked
about
going,
but also really has little interest. It is so darned expensive around
here, maybe
it's the same in all areas. Tickets run over $100/couple, attire is
similar
priced if not higher ... then there is the after prom activity,
dinner,
and day
after. And of course you can't drive, you MUST hire a limo to cart
you
around. I
swear it's like a dang wedding. Daughter was going to go with her
best
friend (he
is openly gay, a really sweet kid) but now they are thinking of
waiting
until
their senior year. I don't push, I was the same way - hated the
dances,
it just
wasn't *me*. My group used to skip the expense and hassle of the
dance
itself,
and just hit the picnic the next day. We survived, we were happy,
didn't
feel
like we missed out on anything.

Joyce

On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 18:16:37 -0600, "skiur"
wrote:

I dunno Joyce, it's prom season around the corner? You *do* have
teens...

I love knowing who is owned by which company, etc. It's my hobby.

"Joyce" wrote in message
.. .
Well, I don't think I have any urgent need for formalwear or bridal
apparel. G
It appears we only have the higher end stores in our area then, I'm
assuming they
must also have lower end retail stores? I'm thinking there may be
a
bloomingdales
in Oakbrook .. or maybe it was just talk of one at some time -
don't
remember.
Lord and Taylor's is in Fox Valley. None of them hold any interest
for
me, too
uppity. G

Thanks for the info. I do find it very interesting, who owns what.

Joyce

On Sun, 14 Mar 2004 12:13:00 -0600, "skiur"
wrote:

Joyce,

I just did a search on the May's and Federated. Lord & Taylor's
is
a
May's
dept store as was Filene's Basement while here. They also
recently
bought
Gingiss formalwear and own David's Bridal.

Macy's is Federated as is Bloomingdale's and I believe there is a
Bloomie's
in the city.

Julie


"Joyce" wrote in message
.. .
LOL! And you not dealing with a sweatshirt is when the temps
are
what
...
low
60's? Today it was about 45, heat wave in my mind. Running
around
in
shirtsleeves like it was mid summer. G

I think the only reason our paper carried the story of the
stores
selling
is
because Marshall Field's has been a long time chicago store.
Selling
it
off is
another landmark disappearing. My understanding is that they
will
only
be
keeping
the Target chain, the rest will be dissolved or sold. No
Federated
or
May's here
either, will be interesting to see if this means that both of us
will
see
these
chains appear in the future? Or will we only have Target left?

Ok, maybe the stuff at Hot Topic is the pleather and vinyl and
not
leather
.. I
tend to just lump it all in the same category. G Not
something
any
of
the
family members go for, so we don't give it a second look and do
not
check
out the
tags. LOL Cass doesn't buy too much at the concerts, finds the
items
way
too
expensive and standing in line a pain in the neck. My son just
went
to
a
concert
a few weeks ago, had asked if I wanted a t'shirt (he is into
country
like
his mama
... I taught the boy well). I found the tour t'shirt at a flea
market,
for $3 -
so much cheaper than what was offered at the concert ... and it
was
the
current
one!

What a neat career for you daughter to get into. Cassie is
leaing
in a
few
directions at the moment - all media based but I think more in
the
journalism end.
She has thought about marketing for radio/music, then swings
into
photographic
journalism, then thought she would really enjoy getting into
music
based
magazine
stuff. Next week will be her first visit to a college, which I
am
a
bit
fearful
on prices since it is one of the artsy type chicago schools.
But
it
comes
with a
fantastic reputation and one of the best journalism programs
around.
So
we'll
see.

Joyce

On Sat, 13 Mar 2004 10:01:37 -0800, "Deb in Northern California"
wrote:

You are so right about the warmer clothes, I think I have had
my
heavy
wool
coat on maybe six times all winter. Normally a sweatshirt will
do
unless
it
is pouring down rain, and then you need the umbrella,but most
times, I
don't
even bother with a jacket or umbrella, as I can't be bothered
with
them
and
don't mind the little bit of rain I get on me in the process.
I
typically
just don't go out when it is really bad weather (that is for
here
at
least).

Yes, Mervyns, Marshall Fields and Target are all owned by the
same
company.
Had not heard about them selling off any of the stores. We
don't
have
Federated or Mays out here, so maybe it is just the Midwest
stores,
of
course, we don't have Marshall Fields out here either.

Hot Topic is a Goth store, no leather in ours though, just
pleather
and
vinyl. They carry Dickies in there too, so we have bought them
when
they
are on the clearance racks. They do have a large variety of
band/music
t's,
by Sherry typically gets her music t's when she attends a
concert.
She
is a
huge music fan and goes to concerts/shows quite often. She is
even
working
her schooling towards going into the music business, hopefully
managing
bands, etc. She already does marketing and things with a local
band
here
in
town.

Debbie

"Joyce" wrote in message
.. .
If I remember correctly, Mervyn's is a division of Marshall
Fields
...
as
is
Target. Yup - just dug the newspaper article out of the
*library*
(hub
constantly
drags them into the potty - lol). Currently they are selling
off
the
Field's end
of the stores and *lower -end Mervyn's chain* (quoted from
the
newspaper)
and
hoping Federated or May's will buy them out. We don't have
the
Mervyn's
in my
area. I love Target, but stay far away from their clothing -
have
not
had
much
luck in the quality. I swear, every shirt I have ever
purchased
from
them
has
shrunk to half its size in the first washing and that was
when
I
would
line dry my
clothing. But you can't beat their household items. Around
here
American
Eagle
is pretty non-trendy type items, much simpler styling by
standards,
less
glitz and
fuss which is why I think my daughter prefers it. Well, as
well
as
being
able to
walk in and find things small enough. g I hate the prices
though,
you
are only
paying for the name. The shoes are odd though. Around here
they
are
all
just
unisex - buy smaller size if you are a female because they
are
sized
for
men ...
at least in the converse styles. I just ran into the same
thing
with
the
pair of
Adidas she bought from Journeys. They put the mens stuff in
smaller
sizes, in the
womens section. g But these are what are considered to be
*in
style*
with all
the kids. Hot Topic is considered more of a *goth* store in
our
area
...
tons of
black, leather and chain type attire. Daughter does wander
in
on
rare
occassions,
but only buys t's - says they have great music/band t's.

My son found the Dickie's brand carried in PacSun when he was
shopping
for
work
clothes a few weeks ago, I also believe daughter bought a
sweatshirt
at
Anchor
Blue (which she doesn't like shopping at very often) - so
evidentally
has
become a
much more popular item with the kids again. We don't have
any
work
type
stores
nearby, have to drive 45 minutes to the nearest one (Farm and
Fleet
...
which I
love). Probably because I am stuck in yuppie heaven (or
hell,
depending
on how
you view things - lol). But Farm and Fleet is fantastic,
prices
are
great
and
always a fun place to go. Carhart seems to be the current
craze
(based
on
sonny
boy talking his dad into buying me a new jacket for
Christmas).
That
also
might
be due to the weather we endure - you don't have much need
for
the
heavier
duty/warmer clothing in your neck of the woods. G

Joyce

On Fri, 12 Mar 2004 23:10:52 -0800, "Deb in Northern
California"
wrote:

The American Eagle, Express, etc, are the stores she stays
away
from.
We
rarely step into K-Mart or Wal-Mart. I hate that they have
zero
customer
service. I typically shop Target instead for the things
that
K-Mart
or
Wal-Mart carry. We have a store called Mervyn's here that
sells
the
jeans
she likes on sale for about $22 that is very reasonable.
The
Dickies
that
she wears, are the men's, and they typically come from Work
World.
The
converse shoes are the basic black ones, nothing special
about
it
and
they
did come from Journey's, but we had to special order them,
since
she
wears
the boys/men's styles rather than the girls styles. Of any
store
that
she
shops at that would be considered trendy it would be Hot
Topic.
But
then
again, those are just t's and a few other tops she buys in
there.
She
is
such a down to earth girl. Most of the stuff she wears, she
prefers
to
buy
in the men's/boys department and those are cheaper too.


"Joyce" wrote in message
.. .
Sounds to me like your store is one of the much smaller
ones.
I
have 4
stores in
nearby towns - one is a very small store, one is extremely
large
...
other
two are
somewhere in between. The women's section in the one
nearest
me
is
quite
large
... well, larger than 3 racks but smaller than a specialty
shop.
g
I
do
admit
though, that I never cared for their selection of items in
the
larger
sizes ...
then again, I didn't care for the items in the specialized
women's
stores
either.
I'm very picky. G

Your non-trendy daughter would have no problem shopping in
the
Kohl's
store near
me ... they carry the lowrise levi's (carry tons of
levi's)
and
dickie
sweats.
What's rather odd is that around here, Dickie's is
considered
a
more
trendy brand
as well as those high top converse's (daughter just looked
at
a
pair
at
Journeys
but took a pass on them) ... so maybe by CA standards she
is
not
trendy,
yet IL
standards she is??? g I have found Kohl's to have the
best
prices
on
the levi
jeans ... again, when they are on sale. I don't recall
ever
spending
more
than
$20/pair, which is cheaper than anywhere else (they
usually
run
around
$30-$40
depending on style - low rise and stretch are at the top
price
end).
Now
my
youngest daughter will not buy clothing at Kohl's, she is
more
of
a
brand
snob in
my opinion ... American Eagle, Express, etc.

I also lean towards the very basic type stylings ...
jeans,
t's,
polo's,
simple
sweaters - so is very easy to catch sales. I'm not into
*brands*,
the
house
brands are just fine by me. I picked up several polo's
during
last
years
clearance for $3/each - sweaters at the beginning of the
season
for
around
$12. I
can't touch those prices elsewhere (other than
K-mart/Wal-mart
which
fall
apart on
me after a few washings).

I guess it's just like everywhere else. You have to know
your
pricing
and
your
merchandise. I stay away from the high end designs.

Joyce

On Fri, 12 Mar 2004 22:23:24 -0800, "Deb in Northern
California"
wrote:

At this point, I am still in the larger sizes and their
larger
sized
women's
department had a lot to be desired, I think they had may
3
racks
total
of
larger size clothes, so most likely I will not be back
there
for
a
while.
The younger/junior sized things that my daughter could
fit
in
to
she
would
not be caught dead in, she is so not into the fashion
trends.
Give
her a
pair of jeans (Levi's ultra-low rise with stretch size
5),a
T-shirt
and
her
Dickies hooded sweatshirt along with her high top
Converse
shoes
and
she
is
a happy camper. She is so simple, and not trendy at all.
It
is
nice
to
shop for her and she is not a clothes horse either so
that
is
nice
too.
On
the other hand her older sister (20 years old) loves to
shop
and
could
break
me, but since she has to spend her own money on clothes
now,
she
thinks
twice before buying something.

Debbie

"Laura" wrote in message

...
Give Kohls time to get going. Ours has the greatest
clearance
racks.
Stuff
70% off. Now affordable. I found a cute long dressy
skirt
there
the
other
night for $5. It might be a tad too big by the time I
plan
to
wear
it
in
May
but it will be worth taking it in at the waist for the
luncheon.

"Deb in Northern California"
wrote
in
message
news We had a Kohl's open in our town last week. This was
the
first
wave
of
stores to open in Nor Cal. I was very disappointed
in
the
store
and
the
quality of merchandise and the prices were on the
high
side
as
far
as
I
was
concerned. But that is just my observation of going
there
last
night
and
looking for a strapless bra for my youngest daughter.
$30+
for
a
bra
that
hold barely anything. She is a 34A.

Debbie

"Joyce" wrote in message
...
Yup, definitely younger category ... you are the
same
age
as
our
oldest
girl
(she'll be 30 in June). She also loves Gap, Banana
Republic,
Eddie
Bauer,
Express, etc. To me, the *normal* prices at all
these
stores
are
too
expensive.
Again, probably an age thing. What I think is
expensive,
she
thinks
is
reasonable. G I'm more of a Kohl's/Penney's type
shopper.
G

Joyce

On Mon, 8 Mar 2004 19:16:46 -0600, "skiur"

wrote:

I'll be thirty this year, so I guess I qualify in
the
younger
category.
I'm
also all of 5 ft 3 in and my torso seems to be
proportioned--I
wouldn't
know
since it's been submerged under the weight for so
long.

It's certainly clearance time. We'll be going to
Banana
Republic
for
dh
soon...I have a feeling sweaters will be
inexpensive
soon.
Last
year
we
got
him cashmere/silk blends for $7/ea.

Julie, who loves to get great bargains on
clothing.


"Joyce" wrote in message
.. .
I did buy one pair of Gap jeans on clearance,
was
a
great
deal
for
$10.
You will
get into that XL shirt. If you're younger, you
probably
don't
mind
those
shorter
styles anyway. My problem is that all my height
is
from
the
waist
up -
so
shirts
that are cut to hit at the waist normally, will
hit
me
even
higher
up.
Not a
pretty picture on this old lady. G I did find
some
terrific
buys
after
Christmas ... mens cotton sweaters, marked down
to
$6.
These
were
cut
so
short, I
can't imagine any man wearing them. But they
fit
me
perfectly,
and
are
just plain
unisex styling. Guess it's time once again to
check
out
the
clearance
racks. I
found out today that what few hooded sweatshirts
I
have,
are
all
size
L
(mens) ...
much too big. This should be the right time to
pick
stuff
up
cheaply.

Joyce

On Sun, 7 Mar 2004 10:44:48 -0600, "skiur"

wrote:

No, but on clearance they are very attractive.
I
have
a
shirt
from
the
Gap
that I bought specifically as a NSV clothing
shirt.
I
paid
$1.99
for
it.
I
do hope to get into it at some point, it's an
XL.

Julie


"Joyce" wrote in message

.. .
I do have two pairs of jeans from the gap,
but
they
don't
seem
to
fit
as
well as
these others I have found. They fit *ok* and
are
acceptable
...
except
for the
price. G Shirts at the Gap are definitely
made
for
younger
females,
those with
little to no chest factor. G Even my 105
pound
daughter
has
to
take
a
medium
there. They seem to be cut small and short
....
not
good
options
for
women
with
longer body lengths.

Joyce

On Sat, 6 Mar 2004 15:01:04 -0600, "skiur"

wrote:

Have you been to the Gap? I know they are
more
expensive,
but
if
they
fit
right....

"Joyce" wrote in message

.. .
I tend to have the same thing, hard to
stay
focused
100%
of
the
time
when
everyone
is fussing over us. I find I kind of
relax
just
a
little
too
much.
G
But,
that's ok too - sometimes you just have to
relax,
as
long
as
we
don't
make
it a
forever thing.

I have a tough time with jeans too, had
someone
the
other
day
tell
me
to
try the
junior sizing (yeah, right, sure - not
gonna
happen
unless
I
want
to
totally
humiliate myself). Relaxed fit is too big
in
the
legs,
hips
and
thighs -
look
like clown pants on me. I have a pair of
carpenter
pants
on
today,
size 6
and
very baggy. I could take a 4 in these and
probably
still
have
a
bit
of
room to
spare - they don't come in 4's. In lower
rise
jeans
I
seem
to
need
a
smaller size
than in regular cut higher waist - the
waist
is
too
snug
for
my
liking
and
I do
like to be able to breath. I haven't
tried
the
Gloria
Vanderbilt
jeans,
always
made the assumption that those *designer*
names
wouldn't
work
for
me -
maybe I
will give them a try as I saw some cute
capri's
in a
sales
ad
this
week.
I found
a new one that does fit me well though,
only
ones
in
the
Lee
brand
that
aren't
baggy in the legs ... they have a *one
true
fit*
or
something
like
that -
fits me
very nicely ... everywhere. Same with the
Levi
Nouveau
but I
forget
which
number
(why do they assign the styles
numbers???).
The
levi's
have
a
little
stretch to
them, great in the waist but tend to get a
tad
baggy
in
the
seat
after
a
few
hours. Oh well, I like the baggy better
than
the
constant
snug
I
used
to
deal
with. g Shirts are an entirely
different
story
with
me -
range
anywhere
from a
small to a large, depending on the store
and
brand.
I
have
no
cl
ue.

Joyce

On Sat, 06 Mar 2004 11:13:37 -0600,
Prairie
Roots

wrote:

Thanks Joyce. I got a lot of compliments
and
attention
at
work
this
week regarding my weight loss, people
saying
things
about
how
confident I appear, that I have a more
positive
attitude,
and
just
plain look great. I think my head got a
little
puffed
up
from
all
the
compliments and that's what started all
the
other
crazy
thinking.

It's hard to find jeans that fit me. The
ubiquitous
relaxed
fit
jeans
don't work for me; I carry my weight in
my
tummy,
not
my
hips
and
thighs. Of all the brands I've tried,
Gloria
Vanderbilt
classic
fit
jeans fit me best. I too like a little
stretch
in
my
jeans,
makes
bending over not just a breathtaking
experience.
LOL
But
couldn't
find
any this shopping trip and the
non-stretch
jeans
don't
cut
off
my
oxygen supply.

Thanks again for your encouragement.

Linda P

On Sat, 06 Mar 2004 09:58:12 -0600, Joyce

wrote:

Hey, taking a week of following the
program
and
maintaining
is
fantastic! Call it
practice for the future, you've proved
to
yourself
that
it
can
be
done.
Congrats
on holding firm this week.

Wish I could help you with the sink
decision
...
my
decisions
are
always
to go on
the cheap side of things. G I think
both
times
we've
replaced
the
sink, we
ended up at Builders Square (or similar
home
improvement
store)
and
looking at
their discards (something that someone
else
ordered
and
couldn't/wouldn't use for
one reason or another). Many times they
may
have
had
a
little
chip
or
scratch in
the underside - nothing noticeable or
functionable -
but
always
at
a
great
reduction and usable. Might be
something
to
think
about
or
look
into.

What a great NSV, fitting easily into
those
size
10
jeans,
smaller
tops
and much
smaller undergarments. I love the
clothing
victories
(yet
still
hate
to
shop).
Where did you ever find jeans without
stretch
though?
I
swear
that
seems to be
all that is being made these days! BUT
...
don't
write
them
off
dear.
They are
wonderfully comfortable, and I've found
rather
flattering.
They
hug
ya
in all
those places we didn't use to like being
hugged.
G

Fight back with those other
personalities
of
yours
that
are
currently
letting
themselves be heard. Do not let them
put
a
damper
on
your
motivation
or
spirit.
You know why you should go further, just
have
to
make
sure
you
are
louder than
those other voices. C'mon Linda (wow,
was
THAT
hard
for
me
to
say),
you
can do
it!

Joyce



On Sat, 06 Mar 2004 08:54:10 -0600,
Prairie
Roots

wrote:

My current weight: 159.6 lbs
Weight change since my last recorded
weight:
0.0
lbs
Total weight change to date: -72.4 lbs

Today I'm grateful to see no change in
my
weight
from
last
week.
I've
been on a mental plateau this week.
Hitting
the
70+
total
loss
and
getting below 160 is doing a job on my
motivation
to
keep
going.
This
is further than I expected to go; some
part
of
me
I
haven't
heard
from
before is wondering why I think I
should
even
further.

It probably didn't help that, on a
whim,
I
tried
on
a
jacket
formerly
worn by one of my skinny daughters and
discovered
that
it
fit.
I
also
went shopping for some new jeans and
got
into
a
classic
fit
size
10
petite withOUT stretch. When I also
discovered
that
the
medium
tops
fit nicely, I realized I should head
over
to
the
foundations
department for new undergarments and
give
my
girls a
new
lift.
Since
starting WW, I've gone down from 44DD
to
38D.

My food was off this week. More
importantly, I
didn't
exercise
even
once. I'm on a rollercoaster ride with
the
impending
construction
work
on my kitchen and bathroom. My current
dilemma
is
deciding
what
kind
of kitchen sink I want and how much of
my
construction
budget
I
want
to spend on it. I still haven't gotten
my
bike.
Later
today
I'll
have
to call and find out if I need to get
cranky.
The
bus
strike
started
and I'm carpooling, leaving earlier
than
usual
and
getting
home
later.
I'm starting with a new hospice patient
whose
health
issues.
A
major
project I've been involved with at work
is
nearing
completion
and
morphing into an even bigger project.

All of this is to say that I took a bit
of
a
breather
from
WW
this
week to marvel at my overall progress
and
to
focus
on a
few
other
pressing issues. That I ended up
maintaining
is a
wonder.

It's the best day of my life!

Linda P
232/159.6/WW goal 145
joined WW Online 22-Feb-2003