What's the First Thing One Does Upon Landing a New Job?

Go shopping and clean out one's closets, of course!

I have a really hard time finding pants that fit. Always have. Part of it is that I'm short, but I'm also long waisted -- and the two together are not easy to fit. For every hundred pairs of pants I try on (not that I'd ever attempt that in one day), maybe 5 fit. It drives both me and the dressing room attendants crazy!

Today I went shopping and within the first hour I miraculously found five pairs of career pants (three of them on clearance!) that fit -- black, brown, charcoal pinstripe, blue and khaki. All the bases (and basics) covered! I have to hem them, of course (petite are usually too short, and regular are too long), but shrieks of "Eureka!" came from dressing room after dressing room today. (Or maybe from my imagination. Yes, probably from my imagination.)

Sure, I hate to look at the label and see the size, but I always have -- even when I wore a size 10. Now that I'm swimming (or will be again after the two week forced hiatus after my eye surgery), I'm trying really hard to be good to my body and not to hate it too overtly. It's a constant struggle and I'm not good at it. But I'm trying.

(I'm working on a post called "A Letter to My Body." It's excruciating to write and I wonder if I'll ever finish it. It drains me.)

In addition to the pants, I also bought a few sweaters and long-sleeve tees (this is Seattle, remember?) as well as some button-down, collared and fitted shirts.

And after a shopping expedition like that, there's only one thing to do and that's, well... make room for them in my too-small closet!