Train Wreck

I took my girls to Plattsburgh yesterday. We went in search of more new clothes for Darcie. We were successful. Extremely successful. She got some really cute new jeans at Old Navy and more new tees at Aeropostale. She loves Aeropostale. I, on the other hand, would prefer she bought her shirts at a different store. Low rise jeans and short tees just don't mix. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get normal length shirts in that store? We end up buying an XL to get the length she needs then she's swimming in it every where else. And no, it's not just Aeropostale. I don't mean to single them out, it just happens to be where we shopped yesterday. It seems to be a common problem in all the stores. And there's no happy medium either. It's either young, hip, bare it all or sweatshirts with collars and polyester slacks. Now I realize that Aeropostale and the other stores like them aren't targeting 10 year olds...BUT...not every 10 year old wears a size 10 in girls. And even their target market shouldn't be wearing some of their clothes. High school girls shouldn't be wandering around with their butt cracks hanging out the back of their jeans and their boobs popping out the top of their shirts. Have you seen the way kids dress these days? Some of the girls I see coming out of school look like they should be working a street corner instead of walking the halls of the middle school. I can't imagine what they'll be wearing by the time they make it to high school. And, for the price of their clothes you'd think there'd be a little more to them. How is it that it costs more for less material??? I wish they'd issue school uniforms. It would make buying decent fitting clothes for my princess much easier. I know, I know, kids express themselves through their clothes. Blah, blah, blah. But see the problem is what they're expressing. And, are the kids even really expressing themselves by wearing mass-produced clothes that the kid sitting next to them in class can wear? I imagine there's some group some where climbing up on their soapboxes right now. Yelling at their screens. Telling me that the constitution provides for freedom of speech. BUT...what if my 80 year old 300+ pound grandma wanted to express herself in a bikini...in public? Do you think those same people would still be shouting that she has the right to express herself? Or would they encourage her to put her housecoat back on? You know the kind right? The ones like all the other seniors at the highrise wear. Uniformity isn't looking all that bad now is it? Ok, I'm climbing down off my soapbox.

I filled my van before we left because my gas light had come on and was singing to me. I've been putting it off because I've been afraid. Sticker shock, you know? I had really only intended to put $20 in it because gas is always cheaper in Plattsburgh. But, once I started pumping I just couldn't stop. It was like being in some kind of daze. I had a death grip on the nozzle. My head was spinning just as fast as the price on the pump. It was like seeing an accident on the thruway. You don't want to look but you can't help but do it. You bob your head around trying to find the optimum viewing angle in your mirrors so you can watch until the last possible second. Guess what my morbid curiosity got me today? A $65.26 tank full of gas. I'm still sick to my stomach.