Women's Expo!

See the progress on my Flower Patch 2nd Sock? I'm working on the heel!

Recap of the weekend:
I took half a day off work on Friday to spend with my sister-in-law. She's a really fun person to hang around with, and this day, we planned to spend getting ourselves fitted for a new brazziere.

Yes, you heard it right.

Now, normally, I purchase this sort of item at Meijer's, and as I've gotten older, I'm finding that my biggest pet peeve is going to this store to have to wait for the fitting room attendant, tear off all my clothing, try on 4 or 5 brazzieres only to find out that not one fits correctly. Then having to put all those brazzieres BACK in the box (ever try to fold a brazziere into 3 sections?), which somehow is impossible without making the package bulge in an ugly way, put all your clothing back on your body (never mind having to look in 3 full length mirrors at your nudity!) go back out to the counter where you found them, but now have to replace them where they were, find 5 more to try on. And repeat from several times, and you've got this huge recipe for a mental/emotional breakdown and a fight with the hubby when you get home!

So I rarely buy bras--which means I rarely wear them.

So I was seriously looking forward to going with my sister-in-law. Not for moral support or finding product that MIGHT fit. No! We went to a "bra fitting place" in East Lansing. A little hole in the wall called "The Front Room". Did someone say "what's in a name"? I considered "Shop Lifting", but rejected it, and laughed all the way into the store.

The staff was perfectly lovely. The store owner took one look at me, and brought in two brazzieres--and both fit wonderful, but the second one fit the best. So I walked out wearing a brand new brazziere. I wore it all weekend. I only took it off to sleep, but I could have worn it to sleep, because it was almost like lingerie--wait a minute. They ARE lingerie!

But while we were shopping there, my SIL found some coupons for $1 off at the Women's Expo, and she thought it would be a really crazy thing to go to it....that is until she found out that it was TODAY! She asked me if I'd like to go, and I said I couldn't think of a better time than spending time with her--and so we went.

Cost to get in was $7.50--and with our coupon, $6.50. This seemed high, but I was excited to get inside and see all there was to see.

It was mainly featured for women's health, but there was a ton more there, including a whole row of food to eat from L & L--everything from cheese and crackers, cakes and icing to a chocolate fountain and mixed fruit. Why, there was even chocolate ice cream--low carb so that us ladies watching our weight could have some--and it was so tasty. Of course, it was the back row that drew us most, but we refrained and restrained ourselves so that we could have supper with mom later.

Anyway, the first row was all Sparrow Hospital and different areas there that cater to women's needs--from obstetrics to breast and cervical health to nursing homes--even a booth on health insurance and child day care information. Testing for sugar and other health issues not exclusive to women, but a danger to them none the less.

There were massage chairs ALL over the place, and little kiosks where you could go in, lay back in a chair and put your feet up and put a restful cooling pack over your eyes.

There were special socks for diabetics, and not so special socks for everyone else. 600 count sheet sets for $20, mops and brooms, Sham-Wow look-alikes, Avon and Mary Kay, Nail technicians, hair dresssers and booths with bags and purses, doo dads for the pet in your life, even some that spoke to home repair--roofing and eavestroughs that I looked at because mom's eaves are falling down because of the ice on the roof! There were jewelry stores and beading specialists, clothing and a couple of Pakistani women selling birkas--beautiful work from the loom, and then some that were embellished with sequins and beads.

There was so much more, it's hard to count everyone.

So I went back on Saturday.

I took my knitting with me, and I'm so glad that I did. If I hadn't, I would probably run over people. The knitting kept me from being impatient, and I happily knit away, when people stopped right in front of me and didn't move for several minutes at a time, but I digress.

(can you feel my stress right there? Good)

I specifically went on Saturday to buy the things I couldn't buy on Friday because some booths didn't take credit cards (which mine really isn't a credit card, but you know what I mean). So I stopped at the ATM on the way in, and got some cash before going.

When I got there, the line was as long as the building was wide, and I knew I was in for some trouble. Inside, the place was quite literally a zoo. Thousands of people milling around. I had tasks to do, and knew exactly where I needed to go to get them, but the PEOPLE! My only regret was that I bought the rubber broom before I made my last purchase, and carrying it was slightly unwieldy, and kept me from doing any knitting afterward, which raised my stress level.ever.so.much.

But I made my final purchase and wormed my way through back to the front door, and whisked out into the fresh air! AH! Free at last!

I did finish the dishcloth when I returned to the car. Here's a pic:


After the Expo, I returned home with my "loot", and picked up my husband and went to his mother's house. I spent the afternoon napping. They chatted in the kitchen. I woke up to the smell of barbeque pork. We had dinner and retired to the living room to watch a movie. We ended up watching "Gifted Hands", a spectacular movie about a young man who becomes a doctor specializing in children's neurosurgery who separated twins, conjoined at the head and developed the technique to separate the left and right hemispheres of the brain to control seizures. It was a very good movie.

Mother brought out 31 pairs of pants that had belonged to dad and gave them to my hubby. We loaded up the car and headed home. I don't know why, but I was simply exhausted from the day, even though I'd had a LONG nap--so I simply dove into bed and was out like a light in moments. Hubby stayed up and watched the late show, played a game of Chess online at Yahoo Games, and then he too, retired for the evening.

And he's considering retiring from his job, too. Very strongly--even though the company isn't offering the employees the best for the buck. He thinks he might be able to find work elsewhere. I'm not sure about that, but every time I ask the Tarot what he should do, they say Retire and go on a new adventure! So it's probably pretty much a done deal. But I have to say, the man is a hard worker, and he's going to need another job to come along for him or he will literally sit in his chair and go crazy. Work is his therapy--it keeps him alive and kicking. But the right thing has to come along, or it won't be worth it to him.

For instance, we don't want to end up stuck out in tim-buck-two where there's none of our family around that we can chat with or run about town with. We want to be somewhat close to our families--and that means staying in Michigan-even though we'd both like to head to warmer climes. Hubby has a brother and sister down south, and that's where we'd like to go, but those areas are really more depressed than Michigan, right now...so we haven't made a decision "where" yet. The right thing will come along. I just know it will. And we might be separated for a short while, but it will work out.

In the meantime, I will knit, crochet and quilt my way through life. With my animals, I will conquer the world, one stitch at a time!