Second Hand

I buy very few new clothes for myself. The last new pair of shoes I bought was a pair of boots for my birthday at the end of October*. The last new item of clothing I bought was for my cousin's wedding (I was the MOH) in early October.

Instead, I tend to buy things at second-hand shops. But even so, I haven't even purchased a second-hand item of clothing since, probably, January (which is when, I think, that I bought a $3.00 sweater at a local thrift shop run by a church).

But I think I might go shopping. And I think I might even step it up from the church thrift shop and go to a local consignment shop where things are cuter but cost a bit more (but are still quite inexpensive).

Why the splurge, you ask? Because I've lost about 5-7 pounds over the past several months, and I might celebrate with a new outfit.

I'm kind of surprised that I have lost weight. I haven't been exercising, and I haven't been keeping track of weight (since I don't own a scale). But I have been back at work, teaching every day, and recently I started to notice that some of my clothes were fitting better. So I weighed myself at my mom's and, "Voila!" Apparently, teaching every day and walking around campus burns more calories than sitting around all day reading and writing for my dissertation (as I did while on sabbatical), despite the fact that while I was on sabbatical, I took the dog for hikes and walks.

I'm also probably eating less since I've been busier. When I was on sabbatical, it was easy to eat three squares a day, with occasional afternoon snacks. Now, for meals, it's more like I have two triangles and one square a day--and fewer snacks.

I'd like to say that I've been eating healthier and exercising more, but, maybe I can add those factors in this summer. For now, I'm happy that a couple of pounds have fallen away. And I'm in the mood for a new skirt . . . Maybe I can find something second hand that looks like it came from the Sundance catalog . . .

*I once went two years without buying a pair of shoes. I just didn't really need any.

**I also rarely buy new clothes for the kids. We get so many hand-me-downs that I don't really need to, and, plus, I love the second hand stores for kids' clothes. For a while, my daughter talked about "The Hand Store" (her version of "second hand store") as if it were Neiman-Marcus. I'm not sure if she's figured out the difference yet. It's been many months since I've bought something new for them (also in October, I think), and I don't think I've even gotten them anything from the second hand store since December. But don't worry. They are not naked. In fact, they usually look quite nice! I admit, however, they they are both due for some shoes . . .