Monday, January 7, 2008

My Self-Esteem Is Stretchier Than That

This morning, as I was driving to work, I heard the following words on my radio:

"Stretch marks are humiliating."

Yes, humiliating. The lovely voice informing me of this went on to tell me that stretch marks can even damage my self-esteem. Wow...if only I'd known this sooner, I would've been properly humiliated and ashamed. I now come before all of you, ready to admit my horrible offenses.

I've got stretch marks. There, I said it. And admitting is the first step, right? And I suppose this miracle cream advertised is the "Higher Power" to which I should submit. I take full responsibility for all my weaknesses. I filled out quickly as an adolescent, so there are some stretch marks on the sides of my breasts. And when I was pregnant with my son, I didn't properly control my belly's speedy expansion, so I have some there as well. And on my inner thighs, though I don't recall exactly how they happened - I suspect it has something to do with my inability to maintain my high school weight all the way through my 20's.

As long as I'm purging my soul, I suppose I shouldn't stop there. I have scars as well. At 14, I got my face to close to that of an angry, pregnant beagle. I had the appropriate surgeries, but I'm afraid there is still an imperfection on my lower lip. And, my son was born via c-section (I'll save my atonement for being unable to have him 'naturally' for another time), so there's a scar going perpendicularly through my belly stretch marks - my belly's just a tapestry of humiliation!

Oh, and as long as I'm acknowledging the hurt I've caused, I would be remiss to not address my breasts. You see, I've allowed them to become less perky than they once were. Aside from nursing my son for an extended period, I actually continued to age at the same time. I know, it's shameful.

Does someone know a really good therapist? I'd love the contact information, so I can send it to the advertising agency that came up with "Stretch marks are humiliating."

Monday, December 31, 2007

95% OFF - I love this!!

I very recently (a couple days ago) discovered a wonderful blog - Centsible Shopper, http://centsibleshopper.blogspot.com/. Thanks to her postings, Centsible Shopper: Walgreens clearance deals and Centsible Shopper: Walgreens Deals: December 30 to January 5, this evening I purchased $74.70 in product for an end cost of $0.42. Yes, that's 42 CENTS!!

Here's how I did it:
Product Reg. Price Sale Price Mfg. Coupon
Easy Saver Rebates Paid
Rx Essentials
$14.99 $14.99 $5.00 $3.00 $14.99 -$8.00
Rx Essentials – BOGOF $14.99 $0.00 $5.00 $3.00 $0.00 -$8.00
Post-It Products (6 items) -had 3 coupons, each $3/2
$18.24 $18.24 $9.00
$0.00 $0.00 $9.24
L'Oreal Couleur Experte Hair Color $18.99 $8.49 $0.00 $3.00 $0.00 $5.49
Garnier Nutrisse Multi-Lights Highlighting Kit $7.49 $3.19 $0.00 $1.50 $0.00 $1.69
TOTALS
$74.70 $44.91 $16.00 $10.50 $14.99 $0.42

I subscribed for a few months to a website that would put together weekly lists of Walgreens' specials, what coupons were out there, what rebates you could combine, etc. I never got this sort of value out of it. The difference? Centsible Shopper listed only the exceptional deals, including links to printable coupons (as opposed to noting a coupon in the Sunday newspaper 2 months ago that I might or might not have) and links to active rebates.

THANK YOU, CENTSIBLE!!

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Why My Blog Is Titled "Discursiveness"

My email account randomly offered "Discursive" as the word of the day recently, and I felt I'd found MY word. I have a tendency to switch from subject to subject - in thought, writing, and speaking. I've often described it as babbling, stream of consciousness, rambling - these never felt quite right, though.

babble, intransitive verb
1 a
: to talk enthusiastically or excessively b: to utter meaningless or unintelligible sounds
I'm enthusiastic, even excessive - but never meaningless or unintelligible.

Ramble,intransitive verb
1 a: to move aimlessly from place to place b: to explore idly
2: to talk or write in a desultory or long-winded wandering fashion
Rarely aimless or desultory - long-winded, I'll admit! :)
So, the following definition resonated with me:
Discursive, adjective
1 a: moving from topic to topic without order
b: proceeding coherently from topic to topic
2: marked by analytical reasoning
3: of or relating to discourse <discursive practices>
— dis·cur·sive·ly adverb
— dis·cur·sive·ness noun
Yes! That's it! So, welcome to my Discursive Stream of Consciousness.