Friday Five: What are you...

1. Wearing - Dark cuffed jeans and a nearly-lime green cable knit 3/4-sleeve sweater, green and brown argyle socks, and brown clogs.

2. Pondering - my favorite saints

3. Reading - the book about preaching and powers theology that some of my friends had in their preaching class last term, the name and author of which I cannot remember, because people just called it the powers book.

4. Dreaming - I had a dream last night that one of the same hymns was used at both evening worship and noon Eucharist today. Not exciting, I know.

5. Eating - Right now I'm really hungry and envying Tripp's Aztec hash, but soon we're going to dinner, at which point I will probably be eating either sushi or green beans with bok choy at Koi, or bibim bop or cashew tofu at Mandarin House. Except now that I've mentioned bok choy, I'm craving the vegetable risotto from Wild Mango. Which is in Cleveland. Sad.

Not My Life

Seen today somewhere on BlogHer:

"I suggest, though, that you pair your yoga pants with a nice casual sweater; I wear mine with my cashmere crew neck and a tee that's longer than the sweater, to keep my midriff covered."

Ok, except for a few people who have family in the cashmere business, I don't know anyone for whom cashmere counts as "casual." And I'm quite sure I don't know anyone at all who wears yoga pants with cashmere. I'm just saying - if you're trying to advise the general blogging populace about how to wear yoga pants without embarrassing themselves, maybe you want to pair them with something most people own?

Edited to clarify: I guess by casual, I don't mean "informally, with jeans or khakis" so much as "with yoga pants or pajama pants." I think that within the realm of things sweaters can be made of, cashmere is not at the casual end of the spectrum. And even there, I guess I mean "standing in front of a drawer wondering what to throw on with yoga pants" rather than "happening to have both on at once" which I
find less weird. I'm also thinking of pure cashmere, which tends to
be pretty pricey, rather than cashmere blends. It's possible that the author has in mind something more affordable than 100%. It's also been pointed out to me that there's a difference in men's wear and women's wear, which I think is true. I hadn't really processed that piece, since the article on BlogHer was specifically for women.

That may or may not actually clarify things - I'm pretty exhausted and not entirely coherent today.

A hat!

Pippa has made me a hat - a warm-looking one at that - in Ohio State colors. The hat is red and sturdy, with gray flowers on the front. It's quite impressive. (It's also an especially kind gift, considering that Pippa is convinced I have about 3 times as much clothing as I need.) I'd show you a picture of it, except, I don't do that here. Also I haven't photographed it. But hurray for hats - and go Bucks!

Weather wonders

It's a bit strange to be pulling on flannel pajamas while planning shorts, skirts, tank tops, and t-shirts for next weekend, especially when I'm not actually even leaving Province V.

I do like Wippell.

Wippell makes a clergy shirt that fits me. Really well. The collar needs to go up a size, and the sleeves shorten a bit. But that's why they send Wippell reps who know things to measure us and sell us things. Actually, I wasn't looking to buy today - I was looking for Christmas. Which is another great thing about Wippell - Wippell Man put my measurements for that shirt into a gift registry, so that I can send my parents there for Christmas.

Yes, they're expensive. But they're expensive for a reason, which is something that doesn't seem to be true of some clergy outfitters. And while I'll mostly still convert my own blouses, I expect, I also want a couple of really nice official black clergy shirts that look really good and fit really well. Really. And, as Wippell Man pointed out to me, they'll be happy to make me as many as I want. (Which, right now, is probably one.)

Survey says...

Your Fashion Style is Girly

You dress to look beautiful and show off what you've got Dresses, skirts, heels... whatever it takes to turn heads You love feeling like a girl in any setting Even your workout clothes are cute and feminine!

What's Your Fashion Style?

Of course, I was also remarkably close to this:

Your Fashion Style is Sporty

You're a natural beauty who doesn't need fancy clothes to look good You prefer your clothes to be comfortable, so you can stay on the go For you, femininity is not how you wear - but how you wear it. Still, don't be afraid to show off that great body in a dress or skirt!

What's Your Fashion Style?

Or this:

Your Fashion Style is Classic

You like what's stood the test of time... Simple, well styled clothes that don't scream trendy You stay updated and modern, but your clothes stay in style for a while You wouldn't be caught in animal prints, fake fur, or super bright colors

What's Your Fashion Style?

But they didn't tell me what kind of party I was dressing for, so I didn't know which outfit to pick. Personally, I suspect I'm more the last one - out of sheer fashion laziness.

Meme

We haven't had a meme here this month... so here's one from Badgering.

5 Items in my Fridge:

1. Hummus
2. Leftover pierogies and peas
3. Leftover peas with no pierogies
4. Lots of yogurt
5. Sam Adams Summertime

5 Items in my Closet:

1. Fun new brown striped summer work pants
2. New turquoise sleeveless blouse with covered buttons that will be a clergy shirt when it grows up
3. New polka-dotted two piece dress outfit (yeah, ok, it looks better than it sounds)
4. New turquoise linen jacket (yay!)
5. New eyelet short-sleeved blouses

5 Items in my Car:

1. Road atlas
2. Box of books to read at work
3. Prayer book/hymnal
4. Collars and electrical tape, for hospital visits
5. Broken hanger pieces (from Thanksgiving still)

5 Items in my Purse:

1. Wallet
2. Sunglasses
3. Burt's Bees Champagne Lip Shimmer
4. Phone
5. Rosary

5 Items on my Desk: I am the Incredible Movable Intern With No Real Desk right now, but on my desk in my room at home I have:

1. Old magazines
2. Sophomore yearbook from high school, because I was looking someone up last time I was home and my parents have decided to store my yearbooks on a high shelf where I can't put it away
3. Orientation CD
4. Diocesan aid form
5. The picture of Yoda that Emily ripped out of her high school ethics textbook for me

5 Items Flowering in my Garden:
1. Little spiky white things
2. Slightly bigger, slightly less spiky, two-toned pink things
3. Little pink things
4. Peonies
5. Roses

In Which Yodabeth Discovers "Summer Clothing"

Growing up, clothing divided into three categories: church/dressy, school, and play. As an adult, that's become: church/dressy, school, and camp. Indeed, church/dressy includes a remarkably well filled out professional wardrobe for someone who's 25 and only ever worked campus ministry and camp jobs. As far as I'm concerned, professional clothing involves blouses, gray/black/chocolate pants (often wool or lined or both), long dark skirts, suits, etc. You have clothes for the academic year, and you have clothes for the camp season. And when you work in a hospital instead of a camp for a summer, you wear the former, because it's a professional (and highly air-conditioned) environment.

Today I discovered that not all clothing falls into the binary division of "fall/winter" or "camp". Today, I sat (figuratively) at my mother's knee and learned of a thing called "summer clothing." Today, my parents and I went to the outlets, where I acquired things like sleeveless and short-sleeved blouses, knee length skirts with bright colors, and ankle-length pants (some of which are pale). Today, my mother and Jane came very close to convincing me that a long black linen skirt with a nice top (not a blouse!) will be an entirely professional outfit for my first day at my internship parish tomorrow. I still have my suspicions, but since I am not yet permitted to retreat into clericals, I will wear this outfit, and I will act professional enough that there will be no doubt as to whether I ought to be working there. (Admittedly, the action/speech part is the more important part of the professionalism equation even in indubitably professional clothing.) I am informed that in the 21st century, a suit on a summer Sunday, or even a more formal blouse, will be overdoing it, even for an intern on her first Sunday at the church.

I am now trying to accustom myself to this new reality. My camp wardrobe is in a camping pack in the basement. My winter clothes are (mostly) in Evanston. Instead of either, the closet contains things suitable for summer work wear. (Ok, so it also has most of my blouses and a lot of my winter pants. I change slowly.)

Tune in tomorrow night to find out what happens when I show up in the aforementioned suit-free outfit!

Alb!

Wippell has sent me an alb! A pretty one! In exactly my size! With a girdle that doesn't drag on the floor!

Now, before some killjoy decides to point it out, I am in fact aware that this bears a strong relation to the fact that I custom-ordered it and they took my measurements. But I've given people measurements before and still had things come looking like they expect me to give birth soon or to have joined the WNBA while they weren't looking.

Besides, expected or not - I now have my very own alb, in time to press/steam and wear it to preach in chapel tomorrow night (assuming I can find a closing line for the sermon itself by then). Yay alb!

Lately

My mother was here for a few days. We:

~ate a lot
~went to the Botanical Gardens
~went to Ikea
~went to the Talbots Outlet
~walked on the beach during a few exceptionally warm hours
~watched a family history video and a quantum physics and spirituality one
~found me a bridesmaid dress for summer

Pippa was here last night, and will stay tonight as well because of the weather. We:

~ate dinner with Hope and Andrew
~read
~welcomed prospective students
~played Uno and Zigity
~went to church
~ate pizza with prospective students
~sang evensong with prospective students

Now we're watching Hook, and then we will go to bed, because that's what people do at night.