Pajama Pants: Not Just for Bedtime Anymore

I was packing for my trip to the beach and as I stocked up my "loungewear", I started thinking about the evolution of the pajama pants. (Yes, I know this sounds like a Creative Writing 101 topic.)

The pajama pants have not always had a stand-alone identity. When the footie pajama peeked complete with footies and back flap, there was no separation of pant and top. When the pajama set rose to popularity, there was no mixing or matching and there was definitely not the option to buy one without the other. We wore sets of pajamas...flannel, silk, and has a child, who could forget the Chinese pajamas? I don't have children, but I'm curious to know if Chinese pajamas can still be referred to as such or are they now Asian pajamas? Just sayin'...

It appears that the pajama pants have broken off from the band and gone single. Like Sting did from The Police. Like Phil Collins did from Genesis. The dress code for pajama pants is much more lax than it used to be. I remember wearing pajamas (the set) to bed and if I was sick. And that was it. I didn't come home from school and change out of my Catholic school girl uniform and into a pair of pjs. Those were reserved for sleeping.

Now, all I can say is, God bless the stand-alone pajama pants. I love that when I shop on-line, they have their own category and I'm not committed to the pajama top AND the pajama bottom. While I have yet to bust out in public with them on, it is good to know that they are a fairly acceptable means of attire. I'm not going to get tossed out of my local grocer for cruising for produce in pajama pants.

When it comes down to settling in for a cozy night or weekend in your abode, there's nothing better than pajama pants. I don't know what it is about them, but for me, they are rising to prominence similar to that of the black pants...you can't have too many pairs.

Photo Album

As promised, I am posting pictures. Thank you to Rachael for supplying the footage!

The Crew and Thomas for Girls' Night at my humble abode:



Memorial Day Dinner at Iguana Grill with Susie, Rachael and Kevin:

Vaycay

There are many obvious benefits to being employed. I won't insult your intelligence by listing them. A couple of the not so obvious benefits of being a contributing member of society are being excited about Friday and taking a vacation.

When you're unemployed, every day feels like Saturday. That can get quite depressing...sort of that feeling you get when you're in casino where there are no windows and clocks. You lose track of time and days altogether and I find that to be rather depressing. (Another reason I find casinos depressing is because I have no money...another causality of being jobless.) I love being able to appreciate Fridays and the weekend. That sort of appreciation only comes from working hard all week and reaping the rewards of two days of downtime.

Planning a vacation is another upside to holding down a job. It gives you something to look forward to and you relish the time off. Not only is this not the case when you don't have a job but for me, it's hard to completely downshift and relax when I am not working. There's a little bit of guilt there and it just doesn't feel right.

Last week I managed to suck it up and join my family on the coast of North Carolina for a little bit of R&R. Unfortunately, the entire family couldn't join us but those who were able to make the trip were lucky enough to bask in the sun and eat and drink well. There's something about a beach vacation that just can't be beat. It's a mind clearing, low overhead getaway that does wonders to take the edge off.

As most of you know, I am not a sun goddess. I have fair skin and I burn just opening the sunroof to go to the grocery store. My makeup has sunscreen in it and I can't go on the beach without SPF 50 on my face. The rest of my pasty self is slathered in 35 and I am an OCD re applier. Until Neutrogena emerged with their sunscreen for pasty and sensitive skinned folks, going to the beach usually was a good idea turned bad. If I did apply sunscreen correctly, I usually was allergic to the brand so while I may not have been sunburned, I would most definitely have had a rash or some horrible reaction. Thanks to the skin freaks at Neutrogena for coming to my rescue. It is because of them that I was able to join my family out on the actual beach last week.

While it seems almost laughable to take a vacation while you're unemployed, I will say that there is a certain stress that comes with pounding the pavement in the middle of a 30% unemployment rate. If you've never had to do it, be glad. If you have or if you're weathering the storm right now, I feel your pain. It's a roller coaster and it's maddening.

Getting away for a few days with my family at the beach was a welcomed reprieve. I needed a change of scenery and time with my people. Thanks to my parents for planning such a wonderful time for everyone and thanks to my sisters and bro-in-law for being able to make the trip.

Below is a photo of my pops with some of the girls in the family. My brother in law, John, has about 852 hobbies, one of them being photography. He brought along his spiffy new camera and snapped this one of us on my last night there. Cheers!

It's Not What You Know, It's WHO You Know...

Whether you are immersed in politics or just vaguely familiar with the good, the bad, and the ugly of it, the adage, "It's not what you know, it's WHO you know" likely sounds familiar.
This phrase has more than one dimension and I was reminded of it on two separate occasions over Memorial Day Weekend.

On Saturday, May 23rd, 2009 my close friend, Katie McArthur wed my good friend, Jason Houck in her parents' lush and elegant garden in Tyler, Texas. A little family tree for you; when I relocated to Austin in 1997 to work for then-Governor Bush, little did I know I would meet a guy who would soon become one of my closest friends. David McArthur and I met and worked in "the salt mines" of the Governor's Office in the State Capitol and it was through this strong friendship that I was able to get to know Katie. To this day, I consider David one of my closest friends. Knowing people in politics gets you more than an interview or a job. It gets you a bond with people with whom you will have a long and colorful history. This is better than any amount of face time. Trust me.

As I mentioned in my previous post, one of my best friends, Rachael Duffy nee Sunbarger, was in the neighborhood en route San Diego and decided to stay for a few days. Rachael and I first met on the 2000 Presidential campaign here in Austin and became close friends in DC during our time at The White House and on the road doing advance for the President. On Memorial Day, Rachael, her husband, Major Kevin Duffy USMC, and her mother, Paula invited me on a traditional Austin Memorial Day celebration; boating on Lake Travis. It's a rite of passage, you could say.

We spent a spectacular four hours aboard the Four Winns vessel complete with a cooler of beer, sandwiches, and a professional tour given by our Captain, Paula Snider. The only casualty was a pair of sunglasses belonging to Kevin. I haven't been on the lake since I moved back here and this will go down as one of my best holiday weekends. The Duffies and Rachael's sister and my friend, Susie Sunbarger, closed the chapter on Memorial Day with a dinner overlooking the lake at Iguana Grill. Thanks to Paula and the Duffies for a much needed respite. And thank you to Major Kevin Duffy for your service.

These two special events happening over the same weekend reminded me, once again, that no matter where you are in your life; no matter what hurdle you're currently trying to overcome or what victory you're celebrating, everything is better with your close friends around. I met all of these folks through my time in politics...in some way, we are connected because I made the choice to go into the political arena. I cannot imagine my life had I chosen a different path.

Footnote: Due to the fact that I am WAY behind the times and do not own a camera, I am relying on aforementioned amazing friends to supply me with footage. Once I get back on my financial feet, I plan to "go digital". Until then, I am relying on the kindness of friends to give you a sneak peak. A-hem...

My Crew

One of the benefits of having good girl friends is that when the rest of your life is in the shop, your girl friends continue to operate normally. It's a wonderful refuge and it has gotten me through some pretty bumpy times. As the title of the blogs indicates, I am single. Even if I was attached, I would need this group of girls to lean on.

The stars were aligned this week because two of my closest friends happened to be in Austin at the same time. Georgia had a last minute trip to Austin and Rachael is here for a few days en route San Diego. The timing could not have been more perfect and that combined with a nice selection of spirits are really all we need to have a good time.

Lauren, Georgia, and Rachael covened at my apartment and we kicked off a great evening which lasted well into the wee hours. Thomas enjoyed having a harem of babes and we enjoyed just being together. It's been my experience that true friendships, the ones that are built to last, are characterized by the ability to go months without being together and still feeling as if no time has elapsed. Our lives, on paper, are different. We span two coasts (well, we will when Rachael arrives in San Diego) half of us are married and the other two are not. It keeps things interesting and no matter what paths our lives take, it's comforting to know that the friendships will remain a constant.

I'm always grateful for the time I can spend with my closest girl friends. It never disappoints and for me, it's something I truly need. Thanks for being here, girls...both figuratively and literally.

The Doors

Well, after a month or so of neglecting the blog, I am dusting it off. I'd like to report that I have been secluded on a tropical island with access only to fruity drinks instead of the internet. I wish I could say that I have been making my way around Europe with sporadic coverage and a bad signal. But alas, that is not the case.



I'll spare you the details but the bottom line is, I lost my job. Needless to say, my mind has been elsewhere. While most would argue that with all of this free time I should be a blogging machine, I have been trying to direct the majority of my brainpower to finding a job and being creative in my search.



Unemployment is a unique calamity. There is a very fine line between sounding off about your current situation and sounding bitter. I didn't want to use my blog as a venue for a pity party. It is what it is. I'm doing everything I can to direct my efforts to finding a new job.



Unemployment is also one of those awkward categories like money, religion, and politics. It tends to yield prophetic responses from people when you hit them with the news. People reach into their reserve of safe responses to get through the awkward moment. I can't help but make note and give commentary on some of the most popular responses to the words, "I lost my job".



1) "When God closes one door, he opens another." Really? He opens another? So far, the only door that I can tell He has opened is a doggie door built for a dachshund because I am still unemployed.



2) "This too shall pass." Lots of things pass. Gas, tornadoes, and people when they die. I don't see this as a comforting adage when you consider the other things that also "pass".



3) "Everything happens for a reason." This does absolutely nothing to comfort a person who has ceased to have money coming in. People win the lottery for a reason, too. Anyway I can get in THAT car of the EHFAR train?



4) "Is there anything I can do?" Um, yeah, there are a few things that come to mind but "YOU COULD HIRE ME" is the first one that leaps to mind.



5) "Hang in there." Here's a tip. Don't ever tell someone who is unemployed to "hang" anything.

Let's Work it Out

One of my favorite aspects of being single is the ability to set my own routines. I'm a routine person to begin with and being single makes it easy for me to stick to my rituals. I'm working my way back into an exercise regiment which is both challenging and rewarding. By exercise routine I don't mean marathons, triathlons, or Iron Man races. I don't have what it takes to do those; namely, desire.

No, my little exercise regiment is, at the moment, three to four days a week at the "gym" at my apartment complex. It's a good 30 -40 minute walk on the treadmill at a good clip followed by a few "reps"(as they say in the biz) with some free weights. It works for me and I am able to set goals for myself. I guess you could say I am the Goldilocks of working out...not too easy, not too hard, but JUUUUST right.

The "gym" at my apartment complex is basically a workout room. Considering there is no membership fee and it's located literally next door to my building, I find it to be pretty darn nice. It's also pretty darn basic and I find that the people who frequent it are status quo. There are folks who are in better shape than I am and folks who are in worse shape than I am. I would probably fall in the middle in comparison.

If I was a serious athlete and "in training", I'd consider the Gables Grandview workout room "cute". It would be where I would stop over for my "cool down". You don't get a lot of Iron Men in there on a regular basis, which is why yesterday was such a departure from the usual after-work crowd.

Before I even crossed the threshold of the workout room, I could see the silhouette of a frantic elliptical user in the window. The workout room is encased in floor to ceiling windows so I can usually gage how crowded it is while I am en route. There are only four treadmills so my arrivals must be timely. I'm used to looking inside on my way over to see if I can spot a vacant one, then I hone in on it like a cadaver dog on a scent and do not relent. At any rate, I ended up claiming a treadmill two machines over from the elliptical enthusiast. Her wild antics continued as I proceeded with my workout and several times, I honestly thought she was going to propel herself off of the elliptical and the hilltop and land on a tree limb somewhere on the side of a cliff. I had this cartoon-esque imagery in my head which made concentration difficult. Something a la old school Looney Tunes.

Had this been a spinning class, she would have been the instructor; up front with a Madonna drive-through head-set on calling out motivational chants like the Tony Robbins of exercising. But it wasn't a spinning class. This is the Gables Grandview; the anarchy of activity. No lifeguards at the pool and no instructors on staff in the workout room to prevent you from smashing your femur with a weight. My fellow workout tentant seemed so serious, so focused, and so out of her element.

I was determined to get into that zone where the endorphins do their thing and you find you are enjoying your workout so while it was difficult to flip off my peripheral vision, I managed to do so and with great success; I shaved three minutes off my time from the day before. For me, a personal victory.

As I was entering the twilight of my workout, my fellow workout tenant was still going strong. She now bore a resemblance to Chris Farley in Tommy Boy during the "She's a Maniac" scene with Rob Lowe. Upon further inspection I noticed that she had a small piece of notepaper affixed to her elliptical. That's right people, Tommy Boy had brought with her workout instructions, presumably she was doing different increments at different speeds or something equally complicated. Whatever the reason, there was no denying that Tommy Boy had INSTRUCTIONS with her. Where was I? IKEA?

While I am motivated on my own to return to the gym today after work, I must confess that seeing what Tommy Boy has as her routine du jour gives me added incentive to go straight home and hit the t-mill, perhaps in record time.