October Dress Project: Day 1

It's October 1st!

I woke up this morning and stepped into the shower, half asleep, wondering what I was going to wear today. I had a stripey t-shirt lying out that had only been worn for a couple of hours last night; I thought, 'I'll wear that. Now what goes with stripes?'

Then I remembered. Stripes.

I was kind of relieved and kind of worried. It was calming to realise that for the next 31 days I won't have to think about what to wear in the morning. On the other hand, for the next 31 days, I have to find ways to make my dress interesting.

I chose a stripey dress for two reasons. One, I felt last year's black dress was just too easy, and this year I wanted more of a challenge. Two, I don't have as many options this year, due to not owning very many clothes or accessories any more and due to the warm not-so-good-for-layering climate here.

Today, I decided to wear The Dress pretty simply as just The Dress. I put on some black flat Mary Jane shoes and my silver heart locket. I had two turquoise hair clips pulling back the sides, since I didn't have time to straighten or blow dry this morning, and so I used the turquoise to further accessorize with earrings, a hand clutch and a scarf (the latter two knitted by my mother-in-law who is visiting from Scotland right now). Admittedly, it was really too hot most of the day to wear the scarf, but I persevered. It's a long month to wear no accessories simply because of the heat.

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So today was a really long, tiring day. Maybe it was the humidity, but I just felt the life had drained out of me today. Being super busy from the moment I woke up didn't help I suppose. I am just so grateful Scott's mum is here; I would not have done well today if it hadn't been for her. Tuesdays and Thursdays are aggravatingly busy around here, with soccer practice starting at 5.30. Fifi doesn't get home from school until 3.30, and we need to leave at 5 to get to soccer on time. It may not sound like much, but in that hour and a half, I have to cook dinner and actually get us all fed that dinner. It's just not enough time. Marion took all three kids outside to ride bikes while I fixed some spaghetti for my darlings (and us) to scarf down before practice. I felt like I was half dead trying to multi-task the dinner-making, and Pampered Chef stuff, and getting soccer equipment rounded up. I got it all done (mostly) and just before I started getting the kids ready to leave, Marion offered to keep Jaguar at home with her, so I could get a little peace at soccer. I could have cried; little did I realise it until she said it that that was precisely what I needed. So I left Jaguar and took the girls to practice... and actually somewhat relaxed! I got to have normal conversations with the other parents ... who knew?!


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I'm now in bed, spending precious time that could be spent folding laundry or sleeping (sleeping), making sure I get my ODP post written. I loved checking in every day last year and want to commit some time to doing that again. I love this time of year; between ODP, NaBloPoMo and DeBloAdMo, I got the winter blogging covered! I do wish I had someone else doing ODP with me this year. Last year was so much more fun with my solidarity sisters, but for this year, the October Dress Project Facebook group will do. Perhaps it will form into a theme for next year's self-improvement. This current year it's all about Simplicity, perhaps next year it can be about learning the value of going solo!