I knew it!

It was just beginning to feel like spring. The snow was melting rapidly over the past two days. The birds were beginning to sing in the mornings. Kids were getting out on their bikes, scooters and skate boards. Even *I* was getting anxious to pull my bike out and go for a spin around the block. I had my boyfriend buy a wee helmet for our daughter before he came home from work yesterday since I had promised my oldest son that today we would go for a bike ride together. Old Man Winter, you selfish bastard! You broke my 8-year old's heart with the foot of snow you puked all over town. It was all because of that dead robin I saw on the road earlier in the week... it was a sign that spring will never come to Sparwood again.

So instead, I'm sitting here writing in my blog and trying to decide how to make it up to my son and trying to avoid the housework that is calling my name...

I did some shopping for ME yesterday. This is not something that happens often. In fact, I HATE going shopping for me. I have no sense of "style" to say the least. Not big into dressing up and such. I don't feel like I can "pull off" any sort of fashion so I stick to what I know. Jeans, t-shirts, and hoodies. How boring, right? So, for my birthday this year, I was given two gift certificates. One for Mark's Workwear World and one for a little fashion shop called Freya's.

I went to Mark's first. Easy. Zip-up hoodie and two tank-tops with built in push-up bras. (Proud member of the Itty-Bitty Titty Committee right here!) I got to Freya's with my nine-month old daughter in tow. As soon as I walked in, I thought, Ohhhh great, I'm never going to find something I like in here. I'm going to have to pick something that I can wear a few times to show-off (and feel awkward in) what I bought to the gift-card giver. It would then be forever forgotten in the bottom of my dresser drawer until I got brave enough to give it away to goodwill.

I started looking at some tops. $39 for a t-shirt? Are you kidding me??? I had $50 to spend. I made my way around the store and got to the clearance rack and saw a nice pair of dress pants. They looked about my size. I grabbed them off the rack and within seconds the woman who worked there, who was obviously keeping a real good eye on me, came over and said, "Those will NEVER fit you, they are way too large." I was sort of embarrassed at first. Right away she filled the silence with words that brought a smile to my face, "Let me help you."

In a matter of seconds, she was pulling jeans off shelves that I hadn't even seen until now. Where did THOSE come from? She took me over to a dressing room and hung up 4 pairs of jeans, all in the same size. 29. Oh dear woman, you are sorely mistaken. There's NO way I'm a 29!!! She could read the look on my face and said, "I can hold your daughter if you'd like and you can just try them and we can go from there." Obviously she was a mom too and she understood that it's not always easy to try on clothes when you have a baby with you. I handed over my daughter to a complete stranger and tried on the first pair. Not too bad. They fit pretty well. I tried on the next pair. Ok, seriously! It was obvious this woman had a gift. They fit perfectly. Dare I look at the price tag? I held my breath and reached for the tag. I flipped it over and there it was. A SALE tag! Regular $200, marked down to $99. I could hear the angels singing, HALLELUJAH. Oh wait, that was me singing hallelujah in my head! $99 minus my $50 gift card. Yes!

I will definitely go back to Freya's again. Friendly, helpful and knowledgeable staff like that are few and far between these days. This store is a true gem.