I'm an Addict

My name is Jillian and I have a problem.  I love to shop online.  Two years ago, I would have silently thought you were a weirdo had you been a mostly online shopper, but I have since joined the club.

It started out with Jane.com and then Zulily.  Then I was like, "I know my sizes at Old Navy and Gap, so I'll just order stuff from there online, too".  Then I got a LOFT card, and figured out my sizes there, and then I got hooked on thredUp.

The latest craze is LulaRoe (LLR).  I'll guesstimate that I have ten pair of LLR leggings, two skirts, two shirts, and one dress.  After I hosted my first online pop-up (an actual consultant sells her inventory with you acting as the hostess to your friends), it was like I had a good hit and joined five or more other groups immediately to buy more LLR!  I've since leveled out, thank goodness, and I'm back to watching the budget again.  

I can't tell you how many times I've told my husband, "I know (our daughter) and I don't need anymore clothes", but I keep buying them anyway.  My excuse I've been using for myself is that everything from LLR is very forgiving, so when I'm bloated it all still fits.  It is depressing when you know you have all these other cute skirts that don't stretch and you can't zip them over your belly.  Yet I don't want to get rid of them in hopes that I finally start to lose my gut.  Plus, I had just gotten them and maybe worn them once before I started gaining weight.

What I really need and would like to do is save all the money I spend on clothes (that no one really needs) to put toward a bigger, nicer home, and toward experiences that we'll remember.  Clothes are just immediate gratification.  If I tell myself that 500 times, maybe it will finally sink in.  This is the toughest challenge I've had to face in a long time.  Kinda sad, huh?

I've counted, and do own 10 pair - wearing one, so only 9 pictured

Hot Mess Mardi Gras

Two years ago, my husband and I both had food poisoning from eating bad prosciutto.  He actually went to the ER for it on Lundi Gras that year.  Last year it was pretty cold because Mardi Gras was early.  This year, my husband has been working the graveyard shift and I have a sinus infection and tummy issues.  I just want to be healthy, for him to have a flexible schedule, and all of us be happy and ready to parade at this time of year.

I've already got next year's plan made - which also means it will get messed up.  Nyx and Muses will be half days of work, and Flyday and Lundi Gras I will be totally off .  We'll hopefully have someone we can use as a babysitter for the night parades, and the rain needs to stay away.  Mardi Gras is going to be early in 2018, which I highly dislike, so it could be chilly.  Of course, with this whopping two weeks of winter we've had this year, it could just as easily be 80 degrees again - at least it's sunny.

Last Friday night, we ended up cancelling our open house party for Eve because of rain.  Actually, most people cancelled themselves.  Tonight we were going to do the same thing for Orpheus, but with my issues and my husband's schedule, we decided to call it off.  Plus, there's pretty major road construction on our street right now, which could prove to be a pain in the butt even for walkers.

It's just not meant to be for us this year.  If I feel better, tomorrow our three year old and I might join some friends heading uptown for a couple of morning parades.  Sunday we'll be at a friend's house with tons of food (but no parades), and Monday kind of depends on the weather, but could be a buffet lunch with some other friends.  Things aren't terrible, I just hope I can enjoy all this food, but next year I would really like to parade a bit more.

Happy Mardi Gras, Y'all!  Stay safe, and have a great time!