Getting started again

Yesterday I made this for dinner. But the asian market was out of peppers and I added lightly fried tofu. It was still really good and I cooked it on super high heat and everything came out smoky and blackened. I’ll definitely try it again. I’m sure a hood fan would help though 'cause all the spicy steam made my nose burn a little.

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It’s cliché but with the new year rolling around, I realized I’ve gotten lazy. I want to make more of an effort, be more mindful with my eating, get some of my projects done on the weekends. Part of this comes as I start to feel normal again after the 2-week scourge that made me miserable during my week off from work. I didn’t get any of my stuff done (except the overdue knitted x-mas presents) and now I’m behind. The bedroom project is two years in the making and I can’t let it stretch on forever. Especially now that my alarm clock is dying a slow death. Some mornings the alarm is 20 minutes late, others the beeps are three seconds apart (that’s actually kind of nice since I wake up on the first one). I received a new alarm clock for x-mas but it has to plug in and in the current bedroom setup there are no outlets near the bed, or even near either dresser. I am not going to start using my phone as an alarm clock. I refuse.

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I finally bought jeans that fit. It's been years since I've tried on a pair that didn't gape in the back but also didn't cling unattractively in places like my upper legs. Earlier in the fall I had high hopes for a pair of Gap jeans that were getting rave reviews, until tried them on and saw that they flattened my butt. I am not paying 65 dollars (even with 20% off) to get a flat butt. So the jeans I did buy are from Ann Taylor LOFT. I've ordered pants from LOFT in the past because they come in tall, and usually I am ultimately disappointed. The pants come, the fit, they're long and comfortable but then they stretch out. Blech.

I decided to try on jeans in one more store. I really started to feel like nothing would work. I knew I'd still have to order my pants online since no one seems to carry the talls in their store but I needed to know how they fit up top to avoid the too big in the waist and flat but problems. The pants were laughably short and fit weird around the knee, but I knew those problems would be solved with the longer size. I also needed to go down a size to more closely match my waist measurement, even though I should size up for my hip measurement. Anyway, I was surprised they fit (mostly) and that night ordered the smaller size in tall. There is something validating about putting on a piece of clothing that fits and looks good and even though we all love our bodies just the way they are, we need clothes that flatter what we've got.

I feel a little silly talking about buying jeans, but it actually made me really happy to find some that fit, finally. Now I need two pair of slacks that fit. I promised myself that I would make those but I haven’t made the time or the space in my house yet.