Pink Asparagus

I sometimes start posts and then leave them for later. And then forget about them. Below is one from early April 2007. It’s only getting play because I forgot that E did this and my blog is nothing at all if not a glorified baby book.

E has struggled with the pronunciation of his own name since he could talk. A few months back we were at the playground and a little girl asked his name. He replied, “aye-yee-UT”. So she called him that. He would say “that’s not my name, my name is ‘aye-yee-UT’”. This went on for a few minutes until I could tell the girl his name is “el-lee-ut.” After that, all was fine.

On Friday night, in the car, E says to me, “I don’t know how to say my name.” Out of the blue. This is a fairly new concept for him, but one that he exhibits often. He can’t say “Leakless” or “Miss Janine” but he tries, and he’s close. He acknowledges he’s not saying the words like I do – but he’s trying. So, I said his name clearly and slowly and he repeated it exactly. He could say his name just fine. He was accustomed to the mispronunciation.

I do remember, now that my memory’s been jarred, when this happened. It broke my heart a little to hear E confess he couldn’t say his own name. You could tell it troubled him. Today? Today he can speak just fine. And sometimes I can hear a little sarcasm sneaking through. I have no idea where he picked that up.

Sad. That’s just sad. Fortunately I have kids going into grade school in a few years, so I have the opportunity to learn it all again!

I wear sandals often. If the sidewalk is clear of snow, then I think they’re viable footwear. I do, however, lack imagination when it comes to shoes. If I find a pair I like, of course I would like a similar pair in another color. I’m trying to break out of that mold though. My most worn sandals are all Danskos. I once visited a Dankso store in Hillsboro, OR and it was like Oz. The shoes were arranged by color. It was a rainbow of sandals and patent leathers and clogs.

The black sandals pictured above aren’t exactly like mine. Mine aren’t so matte. But I can’t find a picture of mine, so it’s close enough.

I like these because they have enough of a heel that I can wear them with pants. They’re dressy enough to wear with skirts & dresses. And they’re simple enough to wear with shorts. Well, maybe not the pink patent leather ones. If there is melting snow on the sidewalk, I have enough height not to get my feet wet.

Respecting MarBlo‘s theme and doing as the very wise Susan has requested, here’s MY ten wardrobe basics:

1. properly fitting brassieres
2. long jeans for heels
3. not-so-long jeans for flats
4. black crop pants
5. denim jacket
6. A-line skirts (most recently these are my favorites)
7. simple, substantive necklaces (a la my birthday present)
8. faux wrap shirts
9. v-neck t-shirts
10. a pedicure, since I wear sandals 9-10 months of the year

If you doubt Susan’s unwavering wisdom, she was right about the red shoes and the white t-shirt. But I wasn’t always a believer. I went so far as to comment:

I’m going to voice opposition about the white tee being necessary. I don’t wear white, even of the winter variety. I am already pale enough that white washes me out even more. Recently a nice little old lady, while out shopping, did tell me that if I “just wore a little blush and eye liner and darker lipstick and more eye shadow” I could wear white. Seems like a lot of effort to go to for something that’s not even a color :)

And then I caved. And now? I reach for that shirt a few times a week. I usually talk myself out of it though, “saving” it for a day when I feel I have nothing to wear. In the end, it doesn’t get worn often – but I now am the PROUD owner of a 3/4 length sleeve, v-neck WHITE t-shirt. And I don’t look too pasty in it. Oh and the shoes that she said wouldn’t make me look like a pole dancer? She was right about those too.

candles on my cake today

1 – wine glass broken by my head smacking into it
2 – birthday deserts
3 – the hour which I got home
4 – bars we drank at
5 – friends at dinner
6 – alcoholic beverages
7 – women roaming LoDo
8 – hours of celebration
9 – weeks until we do it again
10 – the hour this morning that I needed to be at Chuck E Cheese