Annie and I have just come back from an enjoyable trip to the mall. Really. I am not being facetious. We started out (shudder) at the Limited Too. Annie's build is such that she has a great deal of difficulty fitting into inexpensive jeans. So, I have given up on that. It's worth a little extra money not to have us argue in the morning regarding her pants if she will wear them happily. These freakin' jeans cost more than mine. They have an added benefit, though, even beyond the fact that she seems to really like them: she can't hike them up to her navel. Now if I could get shirts that she can't pull down to her knees.

We went to a department store for shirts, which I hoped would be less expensive. Everything they had was crap. On top of that, there were piles of clothes just thrown on tables, and I was not about to spend hours picking through 300 articles of clothing for something that she liked and would fit her. After twenty minutes, we gave up, and went back to (shudder) Limited Too. We didn't get as many items as we normally might have, but she seems to like it all. We have talked and talked about the fact that I will no longer tolerate the store fascination with an article of clothing, only to have it go into a drawer and stay there because she suddenly decided it showed her belly button when she raised her hand in class, or that the tag started to itch, or that she thought people could see her underwear. All valid concerns, I'm sure, but that decision needs to be made before Daddy spends money. All told, we left two bags of clothes heavier, and Daddy's wallet was $300 lighter. Sometimes I wish Annie were one of those girls that never wanted to get dirty. Not very often, though.

Almost nine and a half years ago, I flew to Missouri to do discuss some research with UMR. I had just begun divorce proceedings, and at a layover in Denver, I did something I had never done. (Really, this ties in somewhat.) I bought really good sunglasses (translation: overpriced). No more Wal-Mart or gas station sunglasses for me. They really were very good sunglasses, and I have had them all this time. I never lost them, damaged them once and had them repaired, banged up the case a bit, but generally they have stayed in good shape... until recently. I perch them on top of my head in between uses, and sometimes I look down or up too far, and they fall off. Apparently, the last time this happened, one of the lenses chipped. It probably took me a week to notice, even though it was a large area. I thought they were dirty. In fact I noticed it because I was annoyed by this smudge, which interestingly enough did not go away when I cleaned them. Finally, I really looked at them, and noticed that a rather large chip of glass had decided to move to another residence. So, when Annie and I left Limited Too, we stopped in to a sunglasses store, and I bought another pair of good (overpriced) sunglasses. The attractive and very nice lady at the store (works on commission I figure) thought they looked good on me. Annie thought everything looked good on me, but liked these, too. Of course, when we got back to the truck she told me I looked better in my old ones...

On the way home I told Annie she had better be on really good behavior after this. She giggled, and told me again that she really liked her clothes. I said I was glad, and that I thought the jeans looked really good on her. In fact, I told her, they look almost too good. They make you look too old. Hey! They don't make me look old! No, I replied, I mean they make you look like your twelve. Oh, I thought you meant they make me look 'old.' You mean like me? No, you aren't old. Nicely done, Annie, you are learning! We both laughed hard at that for some reason...

Rhinestone shades or cheap sunglasses...