I can't think of any more of a sad, depressing play to read with tenth-graders than Our Town. Not sure I'm looking forward to it. When I was younger, I thought it was great. Now it seems to be a little too tragic and too true.
At least it's not On the Beach!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Nothing could be finer...
At the outrageous hour of 7:00 a.m. on SATURDAY, of all days, we arrived on Stadium Drive in Chapel Hill. It occurred to me that in the six years of being a full-time undergrad and then grad student (and additional three semesters of education classes for my graduate-level teaching certificate), I never saw the sun come up over the Bell Tower. Given the clouds on Saturday, I still haven't. But at least we saw the shift from night to day through the dawn's early light.
Parking was not a problem, which is along the lines of a miracle in Chapel Hill. We rolled out of the car, snapped the shot of KLC and the Bell Tower, and headed to Carolina 101 overflow in Murphey Hall, home of the Classics Department. It was freezing. Not literally, but if felt freezing as we walked past the Pit and up the walkway next to Davis. We cut behind Lenior and hurried to Murphey, excited to see lights on inside. Peeking in the front door, we saw signs of life. We opened the door and were greeted by Dr. Dave M. who said, "You here for 101?"
"Yes, can we come in?"
"We're not quite ready for the program yet."
"We won't get in your way, I promise. It's freezing out there, and we don't want to die."
"Well, we can't have that. Frostbite is nasty. Freezing to death is worse. Why don't you guys have a seat in one of the classrooms down the hall. We'll let you know when we're ready."
And so began the adventure of Carolina 101.
I was glad to see that my alma mater had hired a fun guy in the admissions department. He later teased me about getting coffee or hot chocolate to help me recover. I told him that to make the program a complete success, he needs to hand out Snuggies. He could also move the registration table a few feet to the right or left. Where they had it on Saturday was smack in the middle of the front entry to the Classics building. Where they had replicas of Greek statues. KLC picked up her registration packet off the table under the watchful eyes of a naked Greek dude sporting a stylish fig leaf.
( "This is NOT what you should expect in college, KLC -- naked Greek guys with strategically-placed fig leaves. But if you do happen to see one walking across campus, go the other direction." Teachable moments, you know.)
We had a great day on campus. We learned about the Carolina 101 program, went on a walking tour of campus, got a chance to talk to professors and students, and heard about admissions process and financial aid/scholarships. It was great! We had no idea how KLC got on the short-list of people they invited to come to the program, but Dr. Dave shared their thinking, and we were simply grateful for God's provision.
The temptation after SUCH a great day is to grasp hold of one vision for college, but we've learned that when the Lord blesses you with something special, you have to hold it with an open hand. I will admit one thing though, after visiting, my attitude about KLC going there has changed.
For a long time, I saw UNC through my experience there, and knowing what an adolescent mess I was the first years, I cringed at the thought of KLC going through the same thing. But yesterday reminded me that we are two very different people. And the Lord has His unique plan for her life. For the first time in the whole college dialogue, I could see letting go of her to follow hard after the plans the Lord has for her as a good thing. I really don't have to micro-manage His work in her life. As a matter of fact, I might be creating unnecessary challenges for her in doing so (naked Greek statues notwithstanding).
The road to college is long and short at this point. I'm sure that in August of 2012, I'll swear it was the shortest road anywhere, ever. Yet there's a lot of ground to cover from now until then, and we really don't know where that road will take us or what we'll go through to get there. So we are left on our knees, praying and trusting. To be honest, if we do it right, we may even get to enjoy the ride.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Beach reads roll inland...
One of the fun things about teaching English is getting to dissect new novels every now and then. A couple of weeks ago we finished Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, which is near abouts the most depressing book I've ever read.
Yes, it's OK for an English teacher not to love the book. Sometimes you just have a suck it up and read it. It's a little like taking icky medicine... tastes like hooey, but it's good for you.
To cleanse the literary palate before delving into the next masterpiece of World Lit, we're reading the novel equivalent of sherbert.
It's a fun, quick read. I read it one afternoon at the beach last summer. The pages still smell like sunscreen, which makes teaching it all the more fun.
So if you're looking for something light and fun and quick to read... give this one a try:
Yes, it's OK for an English teacher not to love the book. Sometimes you just have a suck it up and read it. It's a little like taking icky medicine... tastes like hooey, but it's good for you.
To cleanse the literary palate before delving into the next masterpiece of World Lit, we're reading the novel equivalent of sherbert.
It's a fun, quick read. I read it one afternoon at the beach last summer. The pages still smell like sunscreen, which makes teaching it all the more fun.
So if you're looking for something light and fun and quick to read... give this one a try:
Things I can't figure out...
I can't figure out...
- how to stay on the right week of a curriculum guide when each year has different weeks being a different number of days. One year Week #27 has five days of school. Another year Week #27 has two days.
- how to stay on a diet.
- how to find "balance" in a job that consumes every minute of time that I will let it, but one that I love dearly and is infinitely easier than dealing with auxiliary dramas.
- how to get to bed before midnight.
- how to work exercise into the mix when I can't show up at work sweaty and late, and I'm trying to get to bed before midnight.
- how to coach my daughter into womanhood without making her angry or hurting her feelings.
- how to encourage my kids to do their best without making them feel like I don't think they are good enough.
- how to finish "work" in all forms in order to have time to "play" with my youngest.
- how to be more thinking and less feeling.
- how not to take it personally when I hear NO over and over... or worse... nothing at all.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Ninth grade novel meets world news headlines...
When I was in ninth grade, we read the novel On the Beach by Nevil Shute. It's a post-apocalyptic story of what happens on Earth after a nuclear holocaust. All life in the northern hemisphere dies because of the massive impact (both instant impact and nuclear-fallout impact) of the bombs, and the only people left are in the extreme southern hemisphere. Yet even they aren't safe. The air currents are carrying the toxic radiation slowly southward, and the survivors are simply waiting die from radiation exposure. The novel centers on how individuals handle the finite time they have remaining before the fallout arrives and what they do when it does finally descend on their part of the world.
Who on earth makes ninth-grade kids read this stuff? I lived for weeks with the undercurrent of mortality running through everything I did. It was scary and very, very weird. I mentioned that I was 14 years old, right? Yeah.
Then last week I was talking to a good friend about Japan. It was a timely and relevant conversation not only because of the crisis that island nation is experiencing, but also because my friend's husband is a nuclear engineer. He specializes in nuclear fuel, and he works for our local power company. And he's really, really smart.
He's been on the professional blogs, reading about events at the Fukushima nuclear facility. I asked her what he thought about the situation, and I knew it wasn't good by the way she stopped everything she was doing, got a deadly serious look on her face and took a deep breath. "He says it's bad. He says it's really, really bad." Understatement. That's never good from someone with the inside scoop on a crisis.
The bottom line (because I am not a nuclear scientist and don't understand the ins and outs of the whole thing) is that they have the most brilliant nuclear experts in the world over there working on the problem, and no one knows how to stabilize the situation. For the most part, the radiation is contained for now, but they if they continue to release pressure from the reactors, more radiation will escape into the air. Each release sends out radioactive particles that have to land somewhere.
"So what does he think will happen?" I asked.
"Japan is gone," she said.
"So it's as bad as Chernobyl?"
"Worse. Chernobyl had one reactor meltdown. There are six reactors in danger in Japan. Six. They should never put more than two or three reactors at a site. This one has SIX."
Now I admit I am one to go from A to Z in a hurry, so I took that to mean the whole nation, not just a few kilometers surrounding the facility. The irony is that the nuclear facility was built to withstand a 10.0 earthquake and 25' tsunami. It did well through the 9.0 quake, but the tsunami was 30'. The 30' tsunami ... less than my height more than the safety measures accounted for ... caused the nuclear crisis.
I read Thursday that Americans were advised to leave Japan. I read yesterday that the Japanese government has warned that they detected unsafe radiation levels in spinach and cow's milk from that region, so the food supply is already tainted. I read this morning that they are going to have to release more gases from reactor #3 today. They're trying to run it through suppression pools first, to lower radiation levels before it hits open air, but it that doesn't work and they have to release it directly into the open air, it'll increase the radioactive iodine level in the air 100 fold. It doesn't take nuclear brilliance to conclude that increasing radiation in the air is bad. It's not like the air goes into a container; it floats around the world, dropping radioactive particles in the lakes and streams and oceans and soil along the way.
As the events of On the Beach come to mind in pondering the magnitude of this disaster, I realize two things: 1) The events of Revelation 6 (or Matthew 24, for that matter) are quite fathomable; and 2) God is big enough to handle this crisis. It's an odd thing to witness something potentially apocalyptic. On the one hand, there's "Even so, Lord Jesus, come." On the other hand, there's the knowledge that the end is The End, and there are no more chances for those who don't know Him.
So what's left to do? Pray and keep going. And that's where I've found myself this week... praying and going. Praying for wisdom for those in authority, for divine revelation of solutions to the nuclear crisis that our subduing-the-Earth efforts haven't discovered yet. Going with the tasks Jesus gave us before He left... go and make disciples, love one another as He has loved us, forgive as we have been forgiven, feed the hungry, heal the sick, be holy, etc. I've been way too distracted from the game plan for way too long. You?
Who on earth makes ninth-grade kids read this stuff? I lived for weeks with the undercurrent of mortality running through everything I did. It was scary and very, very weird. I mentioned that I was 14 years old, right? Yeah.
Then last week I was talking to a good friend about Japan. It was a timely and relevant conversation not only because of the crisis that island nation is experiencing, but also because my friend's husband is a nuclear engineer. He specializes in nuclear fuel, and he works for our local power company. And he's really, really smart.
He's been on the professional blogs, reading about events at the Fukushima nuclear facility. I asked her what he thought about the situation, and I knew it wasn't good by the way she stopped everything she was doing, got a deadly serious look on her face and took a deep breath. "He says it's bad. He says it's really, really bad." Understatement. That's never good from someone with the inside scoop on a crisis.
The bottom line (because I am not a nuclear scientist and don't understand the ins and outs of the whole thing) is that they have the most brilliant nuclear experts in the world over there working on the problem, and no one knows how to stabilize the situation. For the most part, the radiation is contained for now, but they if they continue to release pressure from the reactors, more radiation will escape into the air. Each release sends out radioactive particles that have to land somewhere.
"So what does he think will happen?" I asked.
"Japan is gone," she said.
"So it's as bad as Chernobyl?"
"Worse. Chernobyl had one reactor meltdown. There are six reactors in danger in Japan. Six. They should never put more than two or three reactors at a site. This one has SIX."
Now I admit I am one to go from A to Z in a hurry, so I took that to mean the whole nation, not just a few kilometers surrounding the facility. The irony is that the nuclear facility was built to withstand a 10.0 earthquake and 25' tsunami. It did well through the 9.0 quake, but the tsunami was 30'. The 30' tsunami ... less than my height more than the safety measures accounted for ... caused the nuclear crisis.
I read Thursday that Americans were advised to leave Japan. I read yesterday that the Japanese government has warned that they detected unsafe radiation levels in spinach and cow's milk from that region, so the food supply is already tainted. I read this morning that they are going to have to release more gases from reactor #3 today. They're trying to run it through suppression pools first, to lower radiation levels before it hits open air, but it that doesn't work and they have to release it directly into the open air, it'll increase the radioactive iodine level in the air 100 fold. It doesn't take nuclear brilliance to conclude that increasing radiation in the air is bad. It's not like the air goes into a container; it floats around the world, dropping radioactive particles in the lakes and streams and oceans and soil along the way.
As the events of On the Beach come to mind in pondering the magnitude of this disaster, I realize two things: 1) The events of Revelation 6 (or Matthew 24, for that matter) are quite fathomable; and 2) God is big enough to handle this crisis. It's an odd thing to witness something potentially apocalyptic. On the one hand, there's "Even so, Lord Jesus, come." On the other hand, there's the knowledge that the end is The End, and there are no more chances for those who don't know Him.
So what's left to do? Pray and keep going. And that's where I've found myself this week... praying and going. Praying for wisdom for those in authority, for divine revelation of solutions to the nuclear crisis that our subduing-the-Earth efforts haven't discovered yet. Going with the tasks Jesus gave us before He left... go and make disciples, love one another as He has loved us, forgive as we have been forgiven, feed the hungry, heal the sick, be holy, etc. I've been way too distracted from the game plan for way too long. You?
Saturday, March 19, 2011
When the high school prom turns into middle school meanness--or not...
A senior girl has risen as the class leader this year at our school. She is a dynamo, coordinating everything from senior girls prayer groups to silly games of assassin to unofficial (but fun and harmless) class pranks that appeared during powderpuff. She even began a tradition called the Academy Awards. Held in the fall, this non-school-sponsored event brought all the senior girls together at a ceremony where every single young lady in the class received an award for the thing that makes her shine. Where the school isn't the sponsor, she has coordinated events through her church.
She is a young woman of prayer, and you can tell from her Facebook and Twitter that she steeps herself in God's Word. She is fearless. I, personally, stand in awe of her. She's done more in a year of leading her senior class than I've seen grown women do in years of leading women's ministry.
As I watched in amazement and tried to figure out why and how she's changed a group of petty, gossipy girls into a band of sisters who are serious about their faith, I realized it falls on two things: heartbreak and heartache. Heartbreak that the girls were shallow in faith and love. Heartache that longs for something better. And did I mention that she is fearless?
In the Prama season, this girl started a Facebook group for girls at our school wanting to avoid drama surrounding their dresses. It is a closed group, but any girl from our school can join by requesting an invitation. It is not at all meant to be exclusive, and it has already filtered out MUCH potential conflict.
And the really super-cool thing is that it's not a place where people are snide and snippy about who looks better in what. It's been a forum of encouragement. Comments are like:
So, here's to you, friend... you are quite the warrior princess in your Father's Kingdom. Thanks for being fearless.
She is a young woman of prayer, and you can tell from her Facebook and Twitter that she steeps herself in God's Word. She is fearless. I, personally, stand in awe of her. She's done more in a year of leading her senior class than I've seen grown women do in years of leading women's ministry.
As I watched in amazement and tried to figure out why and how she's changed a group of petty, gossipy girls into a band of sisters who are serious about their faith, I realized it falls on two things: heartbreak and heartache. Heartbreak that the girls were shallow in faith and love. Heartache that longs for something better. And did I mention that she is fearless?
In the Prama season, this girl started a Facebook group for girls at our school wanting to avoid drama surrounding their dresses. It is a closed group, but any girl from our school can join by requesting an invitation. It is not at all meant to be exclusive, and it has already filtered out MUCH potential conflict.
And the really super-cool thing is that it's not a place where people are snide and snippy about who looks better in what. It's been a forum of encouragement. Comments are like:
- "Beautiful"
- "You are so gorgeous!"
- "You look like a princess!"
- "Oh my word! Wait until [your date] sees you in that! He is going to be speechless!"
- "Stunning!"
- "So classy and elegant!"
- "Wow! You are magnificent!"
So, here's to you, friend... you are quite the warrior princess in your Father's Kingdom. Thanks for being fearless.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Because it's...
Happy Songs Playlist right along with Drake Bell and Big Time Rush. That's all I'm sayin'.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
You so funny!...
It is hilarious how people are trying to find the Perfect Princess Prom Dress. When you google "Mango Tango," this is the dress that comes up most frequently.
It is princessy. It is prommy. It is NOT Kelsey's dress. Not even close.
The variety of things you can do with tulle is kind of amazing, though.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Quest for the dress - Post Script: The M/D Code...
Now that we've looked at Kelsey's final four-ish prom dresses, let's take a look at some that I really liked that Kelsey pretty much hated. We are contractually obligated not to love exactly the same dresses unless it turns out to be THE dress. It's part of the M/D Code.
Number 3
Why I like it: How can you ever go wrong with classic black?
Add sparklies and a whimsical fabric for the skirt,
and you have a dress that screams sophisticated fun.
Why Kelsey doesn't like it: Black is boring.
Number 2
Why I like it: What looks more like a ballerina princess than a
beautiful pink satin dress with a sweetheart neckline and jeweled accents?
Why Kelsey doesn't like it: It's a pink ballerina princess dress. Ew.
Number 1
Gorgeous flowing ballgown in the turquoise/aqua family that
Kelsey loves so much. Sweetheart/halter neckline with jeweled accents and jeweled waistband.
Why Kelsey doesn't like it: Isn't that Jasmine's dress? A Disney princess? Really?
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Quest for the dress - Part 3: The Final Four...
I suppose this is a chickie version of March Madness. :)
Yes, the Perfect Princess Prom Dress. Kelsey absolutely fell in love with this dress. We ordered it immediately. Within two days we discovered it would take our order 12 weeks for delivery. I called another formal wear website. Same story. I called another and another and another. I emailed even more. After a few days, I realized no one had ever carried it in stock. It was special order everywhere, and special order meant around 12 weeks to make and deliver.
Talk about prama. I had to tell my baby girl that the Perfect Princess Prom Dress she had posted on the Facebook group wall, the one everyone had told her would be the greatest dress ever for her, wasn't going to happen this year. Even her chemistry teacher pulled her aside to console her. We were all heartbroken.
But we hit the internet again. The second and third runners-up were ones Kelsey said would be fine instead of the Perfect Princess Prom Dress. And then she headed out the door to Wednesday night youth group.
I continued the quest and shortly discovered the "In-Stock" and "Ready-to-Ship" categories of prom dresses. As I scrolled through literally hundreds of dresses (truly, it was probably well over a thousand), trying to find something similar to the Perfect Princess Prom Dress, I found something that I LOVED, but I wasn't so sure Kelsey would love it quite as much as I did. For one thing, it wasn't remotely the solid color she'd set as a must-have. It looked almost as if it were tie-dyed. And it had appliques with beads and sequins. It was very different from anything she'd put on "the list" so far.
When she got home from church, I said, "OK, here's one that's not really like anything you've liked so far, but it's different and really pretty. It's not aqua/turquiose/light teal/powder blue, but I really like it."
"Oh my! That is gorgeous! It's perfect! It's a Perfect Princess Prom Dress! I love it! Can I get it?" was the response. *HUGE SMILE FROM MOM*
They had ONE dress left in that style. ONE. And it was Kelsey's size. And it was on sale... for a lot less that anywhere else on the internet. (YES!)
You know, there are times when I think that the Lord is so big that He really doesn't need to be bothered by anything as silly as a high school girl's prom dress, yet in the midst of the prama, my prayer was that the Lord would lead us to the perfect dress He had for Kelsey. The same God Who created all the beauty of this world, Who is Himself altogether lovely and more beautiful that we can fathom, cares about a princess dress for the Junior/Senior. And in a way characteristic of His ways, He totally blew me away -- beyond all I (or Kelsey) hoped or dreamed, asked or imagined.
Wow. Just... wow.
We ordered it on Wednesday, and it arrived on Monday.
So...
Third runner-up
Since Kelsey liked it enough to put it on the final list, I'm just going to keep my comments brief: not my favorite. The Mother/Daughter Code calls for a certain amount of disagreement regarding dress styles. Otherwise we lose our M/D Code membership cards. It had a great price, though!
Second runner-up
It's hard to see in the picture, but the skirt has a iridescent shimmer to it. The bodice is covered in jewels, not sequins. And it doesn't hurt that the model's hair is very close to Kelsey's hairstyle. Kelsey doesn't have quite that much auburn in her hair, though.
First runner-up...
also known as
"The Perfect Princess Prom Dress that took 12 weeks for delivery"
Yes, the Perfect Princess Prom Dress. Kelsey absolutely fell in love with this dress. We ordered it immediately. Within two days we discovered it would take our order 12 weeks for delivery. I called another formal wear website. Same story. I called another and another and another. I emailed even more. After a few days, I realized no one had ever carried it in stock. It was special order everywhere, and special order meant around 12 weeks to make and deliver.
Talk about prama. I had to tell my baby girl that the Perfect Princess Prom Dress she had posted on the Facebook group wall, the one everyone had told her would be the greatest dress ever for her, wasn't going to happen this year. Even her chemistry teacher pulled her aside to console her. We were all heartbroken.
But we hit the internet again. The second and third runners-up were ones Kelsey said would be fine instead of the Perfect Princess Prom Dress. And then she headed out the door to Wednesday night youth group.
I continued the quest and shortly discovered the "In-Stock" and "Ready-to-Ship" categories of prom dresses. As I scrolled through literally hundreds of dresses (truly, it was probably well over a thousand), trying to find something similar to the Perfect Princess Prom Dress, I found something that I LOVED, but I wasn't so sure Kelsey would love it quite as much as I did. For one thing, it wasn't remotely the solid color she'd set as a must-have. It looked almost as if it were tie-dyed. And it had appliques with beads and sequins. It was very different from anything she'd put on "the list" so far.
When she got home from church, I said, "OK, here's one that's not really like anything you've liked so far, but it's different and really pretty. It's not aqua/turquiose/light teal/powder blue, but I really like it."
"Oh my! That is gorgeous! It's perfect! It's a Perfect Princess Prom Dress! I love it! Can I get it?" was the response. *HUGE SMILE FROM MOM*
They had ONE dress left in that style. ONE. And it was Kelsey's size. And it was on sale... for a lot less that anywhere else on the internet. (YES!)
You know, there are times when I think that the Lord is so big that He really doesn't need to be bothered by anything as silly as a high school girl's prom dress, yet in the midst of the prama, my prayer was that the Lord would lead us to the perfect dress He had for Kelsey. The same God Who created all the beauty of this world, Who is Himself altogether lovely and more beautiful that we can fathom, cares about a princess dress for the Junior/Senior. And in a way characteristic of His ways, He totally blew me away -- beyond all I (or Kelsey) hoped or dreamed, asked or imagined.
Wow. Just... wow.
We ordered it on Wednesday, and it arrived on Monday.
So...
The new and improved Perfect Princess Prom Dress is...
...waiting for Prom Day - April 15th.
:)
Monday, March 14, 2011
Quest for the Dress - Part 2: Shop-at-home
When I mentioned to folks that we ordered a prom dress online, categorically the response was: "WITHOUT TRYING IT ON?!"
Yep. We're risk-takers that way.
We came home and spent a few hours on the internet, tracking down the perfect dress. At one point Kelsey and I had dueling inboxes going on Facebook, which totally worked because we left a trail of dresses, should we ever need to backtrack.
I'd hate for those long hours of prama to go to waste, so I think I'll share some of the little treasures we accrued in the quest.
20. Not all modest dresses are labeled "modest dresses," and the ones that are labeled as "modest dresses" tend to err on the side of boo-ugly.
19. Multi-colored patterned fabric is a HUGE trend this prom season.
18. Kelsey hates multi-colored patterned fabrics.
17. A-line "princess" dresses are making a comeback this prom season, especially ones with tulle skirts.
16. Kelsey loves A-line "princess" dresses, especially ones with tulle skirts.
15. Online dresses are around 50% off dresses that are hanging in the prom dress store at the mall.
14. Nearly every manufacturer has a different size chart based on measurements. What is a size 6 with one designer is a size 12 with another. True story.
13. Directions for measuring vary from designer to designer. Some have pictures; some have words; some have videos. Following directions makes a difference. We got 1"-1 1/2" differences in measurements, depending on which directions we followed.
12. It is considerably easier to click a mouse than to park a full-sized SUV. [SANITY-SAVER ALERT!]
11. Searching under the general heading of "prom dresses" will net every dress a website could conceivably procure, not that those styles are currently available.
10. Every formal wear website that carries a special order dress that you, say, find to be the most perfect dress ever created orders those extra special gowns directly from the manufacturer. If it takes 12 weeks to get the dress through one website, it takes 12 weeks to get it from them all.
9. If you want a special order prom dress that takes 12 weeks to get, order it at least 12 weeks before the wear date. Four weeks before the wear date is not the same as 12 weeks. 12 > 4. 4 < 12. No matter how you try, you aren't going to be able to get it in fewer than 12 weeks. :(
8. Online formal wear stores have to check inventory and let you know whether the dress is available. They will sometimes email you with the information. Other times they will call.
7. Some people you talk to on the phone from online formal wear stores have Asian accents and speak Spanish to people in the background.
6. Many of the people you talk to on the phone from online formal wear stores have Brooklyn accents underlying every other accent.
5. Prom dress suppliers do not process the credit card information until the dress actually ships.
4. Once a sufficient number of prom dress websites have told you they can't get your perfect princess dream dress by the wear date, try searching their "In-Stock" or "Ready-to-Ship" inventory. [Bonus tip 4A: A high percentage of "In-Stock" or "Ready-to-Ship" dresses are available at a significant discount off their already-50%-off-the-mall-prices online price.]
3. It would have been extremely helpful to know #4 at the beginning of the prom dress search.
2. Most dress companies offer free shipping, but it can take up to three weeks for the dress to arrive. Overnight delivery is somewhere in the neighborhood of $75.
1. You can look at 439,591 aqua/turquoise/light teal/powder blue dresses in every style imaginable, and you will end up ordering a dress that's "Mango Tango."
Next time: The Final Four.
Yep. We're risk-takers that way.
We came home and spent a few hours on the internet, tracking down the perfect dress. At one point Kelsey and I had dueling inboxes going on Facebook, which totally worked because we left a trail of dresses, should we ever need to backtrack.
I'd hate for those long hours of prama to go to waste, so I think I'll share some of the little treasures we accrued in the quest.
20. Not all modest dresses are labeled "modest dresses," and the ones that are labeled as "modest dresses" tend to err on the side of boo-ugly.
19. Multi-colored patterned fabric is a HUGE trend this prom season.
18. Kelsey hates multi-colored patterned fabrics.
17. A-line "princess" dresses are making a comeback this prom season, especially ones with tulle skirts.
16. Kelsey loves A-line "princess" dresses, especially ones with tulle skirts.
15. Online dresses are around 50% off dresses that are hanging in the prom dress store at the mall.
14. Nearly every manufacturer has a different size chart based on measurements. What is a size 6 with one designer is a size 12 with another. True story.
13. Directions for measuring vary from designer to designer. Some have pictures; some have words; some have videos. Following directions makes a difference. We got 1"-1 1/2" differences in measurements, depending on which directions we followed.
12. It is considerably easier to click a mouse than to park a full-sized SUV. [SANITY-SAVER ALERT!]
11. Searching under the general heading of "prom dresses" will net every dress a website could conceivably procure, not that those styles are currently available.
10. Every formal wear website that carries a special order dress that you, say, find to be the most perfect dress ever created orders those extra special gowns directly from the manufacturer. If it takes 12 weeks to get the dress through one website, it takes 12 weeks to get it from them all.
9. If you want a special order prom dress that takes 12 weeks to get, order it at least 12 weeks before the wear date. Four weeks before the wear date is not the same as 12 weeks. 12 > 4. 4 < 12. No matter how you try, you aren't going to be able to get it in fewer than 12 weeks. :(
8. Online formal wear stores have to check inventory and let you know whether the dress is available. They will sometimes email you with the information. Other times they will call.
7. Some people you talk to on the phone from online formal wear stores have Asian accents and speak Spanish to people in the background.
6. Many of the people you talk to on the phone from online formal wear stores have Brooklyn accents underlying every other accent.
5. Prom dress suppliers do not process the credit card information until the dress actually ships.
4. Once a sufficient number of prom dress websites have told you they can't get your perfect princess dream dress by the wear date, try searching their "In-Stock" or "Ready-to-Ship" inventory. [Bonus tip 4A: A high percentage of "In-Stock" or "Ready-to-Ship" dresses are available at a significant discount off their already-50%-off-the-mall-prices online price.]
3. It would have been extremely helpful to know #4 at the beginning of the prom dress search.
2. Most dress companies offer free shipping, but it can take up to three weeks for the dress to arrive. Overnight delivery is somewhere in the neighborhood of $75.
1. You can look at 439,591 aqua/turquoise/light teal/powder blue dresses in every style imaginable, and you will end up ordering a dress that's "Mango Tango."
Next time: The Final Four.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Quest for the dress -- Part 1: Mall Mania...
Once the date (as in boy, not calendar) was confirmed, we had to get to work on the dress.
Note to self: purchase next year's prom dress in January.
Things I've learned from the local prom dress search:
Prom dress shopping at the mall was a pretty big salt-and-light test for me. People were rude, grabby, profane, snide, snippy, and immodest. The prices were OH. MY. WORD. expensive. I kept thinking about Dave Ramsey and Samaritan's Purse. Dave Ramsey: don't let it be a budget-buster. Samaritan's Purse: have any idea how many people you could feed/ provide fresh water for/ share the gospel with for that much money?!
I found myself wrestling between wanting to give my princess the most beautiful, perfect prom dress in the history of all promdressdom and wanting not to miss the opportunity to focus on God's beauty as He shines through us. Store-bought beauty vs. heaven-sent beauty.
Sooo... between price, style, nondresscodeness, and the vast quantities of snagged fabric and makeup inside the dresses, we decided to go home and shop the interwebs.
Note to self: purchase next year's prom dress in January.
Things I've learned from the local prom dress search:
- Definitions of modest vary widely.
- Mall parking spaces are not designed for full-sized SUV's, driven by spacial relations-challenged women.
- The prom dress shop at the mall is WAY OVERPRICED... as in need-a-second-mortgage-on-the-house overpriced.
- Department stores carry some seriously ugly (or seriously skanky) prom dresses.
- The amount of fabric in the dress seems to have no direct correlation with the price of the dress.
- I am pretty sure I had a ballet tutu in second grade that looked just like one of the prom dresses in the mall prom shop.
- Store dresses are not at all clean or snag-free.
Hello, tutu!
Why, yes. That is camo print.
Between top slit and bottom slit, not a lot of fabric holds in stuff.
Yes, well...
Stabby sequins and out of dress code.
Prom dress shopping at the mall was a pretty big salt-and-light test for me. People were rude, grabby, profane, snide, snippy, and immodest. The prices were OH. MY. WORD. expensive. I kept thinking about Dave Ramsey and Samaritan's Purse. Dave Ramsey: don't let it be a budget-buster. Samaritan's Purse: have any idea how many people you could feed/ provide fresh water for/ share the gospel with for that much money?!
I found myself wrestling between wanting to give my princess the most beautiful, perfect prom dress in the history of all promdressdom and wanting not to miss the opportunity to focus on God's beauty as He shines through us. Store-bought beauty vs. heaven-sent beauty.
Sooo... between price, style, nondresscodeness, and the vast quantities of snagged fabric and makeup inside the dresses, we decided to go home and shop the interwebs.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
PROM?...
Asking someone to the prom has become a big, public deal.
(Gratuitous old person voice...) Back in my day, the boy walked up to the girl and said, "Will you go to prom with me?" and the girl said, "Yes." And that was that.
I don't know when it happened, but nowadays the young folks have to ask in writing. I suppose that by putting it in writing, the requester becomes contractually obligated to follow through with the rest of the event, should the requestee accept the invitation. Having numerous witnesses certainly makes breach-of-contract easier to prove.
My front-row seat to the Prama started two years ago. By then "Will you go to the prom with me?" had shortened to "Prom w/ me?" Now it's all the way down to "Prom?" I hope it doesn't go down further --- "P?" --- that just wouldn't be right on any level.
The more public the invitation, the better. The chain link fence on the 540 walking bridge near Falls is a popular location. Styrofoam cups are the medium spelling out Prom there.
So far this year, promvites have included...
-P.R.O.M.? taped to a locker in balloons
-P.R.O.M.?--> on t-shirts with the boy standing on the other side of the -->
-P.R.O.M.? spelled out on the fence around the tennis courts
-P.R.O.M.? written vertically on a 30' banner rolled out of a third-floor window
-P.R.O.M.? written on a card, attached to a vase of flowers (that matched the boy's shirt)
-P.R.O.M.? written on a caption, taped to a picture of a Hurricanes hockey player
As much thought goes into asking someone to the prom as goes into thinking of a creative way to propose. Too much, too soon? I think so, but then again I'm old.
We had a battle around here about the promvitation. Kelsey wanted her boyfriend to ask her creatively. I explained that her boyfriend doesn't go to her school. It isn't his prom. He couldn't invite her to her prom any more than he could invite her to a nice dinner at her house. He could ask her to his prom, but he doesn't have one this year. What?
After a little thought (and verification by numerous third parties), she decided she couldn't logically expect him to ask her to her prom. So, she promvited him in her own hipster style.
(Gratuitous old person voice...) Back in my day, the boy walked up to the girl and said, "Will you go to prom with me?" and the girl said, "Yes." And that was that.
I don't know when it happened, but nowadays the young folks have to ask in writing. I suppose that by putting it in writing, the requester becomes contractually obligated to follow through with the rest of the event, should the requestee accept the invitation. Having numerous witnesses certainly makes breach-of-contract easier to prove.
My front-row seat to the Prama started two years ago. By then "Will you go to the prom with me?" had shortened to "Prom w/ me?" Now it's all the way down to "Prom?" I hope it doesn't go down further --- "P?" --- that just wouldn't be right on any level.
The more public the invitation, the better. The chain link fence on the 540 walking bridge near Falls is a popular location. Styrofoam cups are the medium spelling out Prom there.
So far this year, promvites have included...
-P.R.O.M.? taped to a locker in balloons
-P.R.O.M.?--> on t-shirts with the boy standing on the other side of the -->
-P.R.O.M.? spelled out on the fence around the tennis courts
-P.R.O.M.? written vertically on a 30' banner rolled out of a third-floor window
-P.R.O.M.? written on a card, attached to a vase of flowers (that matched the boy's shirt)
-P.R.O.M.? written on a caption, taped to a picture of a Hurricanes hockey player
As much thought goes into asking someone to the prom as goes into thinking of a creative way to propose. Too much, too soon? I think so, but then again I'm old.
We had a battle around here about the promvitation. Kelsey wanted her boyfriend to ask her creatively. I explained that her boyfriend doesn't go to her school. It isn't his prom. He couldn't invite her to her prom any more than he could invite her to a nice dinner at her house. He could ask her to his prom, but he doesn't have one this year. What?
After a little thought (and verification by numerous third parties), she decided she couldn't logically expect him to ask her to her prom. So, she promvited him in her own hipster style.
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| Trollface Meme |
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Slight interruption...
This series of mildly amusing and slightly insightful observations from the Parent Zone regarding high school proms is experiencing a slight interruption. Once a certain nine year old can keep solid food down, or at least takes a nap, postings will resume. (HOW ON EARTH CAN THIS KID NOT BE SLEEPY WHEN HE THREW UP EVERY 20-30 MINUTES FOR SEVEN HOURS LAST NIGHT?! I am WIPED OUT from having ridden shotgun on the adventure. Even the dog is zonked now.)
In the meantime, here are a few pictures of lovely prom dress contenders that didn't make it to the finals.
For some reason, Kelsey loved the color, but didn't care much for the fabric. A bit pricey, too, at $598. (GASP!) I liked the fact that probably no one else would have the same dress, so it'd eliminate dress drama...at a price.
Very pretty, yes? I thought so. Alas, a friend has already staked claim to this dress on the school's prom dress Facebook group, created by students hoping to mitigate prom dress duplication.
Jimmy's favorite. I liked it a lot too. Kelsey said, "Aw," and moved on to the next one. So, it didn't make the cut.
So... stay tuned for the finalists. I can't say the winner because we still don't know. Apparently, prom season is a little manic throughout the land.
In the meantime, here are a few pictures of lovely prom dress contenders that didn't make it to the finals.
For some reason, Kelsey loved the color, but didn't care much for the fabric. A bit pricey, too, at $598. (GASP!) I liked the fact that probably no one else would have the same dress, so it'd eliminate dress drama...at a price.
So... stay tuned for the finalists. I can't say the winner because we still don't know. Apparently, prom season is a little manic throughout the land.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Prama...
Prom + Drama = Prama
Coming soon: Norma's ideas for how to make prom less stressful
I've decided to document our first prom adventure. Well, not our first prom ever. It's just our first prom from the Parent Zone. I mean, Jimmy and I each went to our proms, as well as a few assorted Pledge Formals (which I believe are illegal in the US nowadays. I'm sure they call them Spring Formals now because pledge in both noun and verb forms has been removed from the AGVL -- Approved Greek Vocabulary List.)
Yeah, so stay tuned. I'm off to have coffee with my girl's prom date's momma.
Coming soon: Norma's ideas for how to make prom less stressful
I've decided to document our first prom adventure. Well, not our first prom ever. It's just our first prom from the Parent Zone. I mean, Jimmy and I each went to our proms, as well as a few assorted Pledge Formals (which I believe are illegal in the US nowadays. I'm sure they call them Spring Formals now because pledge in both noun and verb forms has been removed from the AGVL -- Approved Greek Vocabulary List.)
Yeah, so stay tuned. I'm off to have coffee with my girl's prom date's momma.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Sand...
I have no idea why it had that texture. Our best guess would be the 25 mph sustained winds and 45 mph wind gusts at CB on Monday. Pretty cool, though, huh? Except you should try walking a couple of miles on wet, weird-textured sand. Ouch!
I love the beach in winter. I love the beach in summer. I love the beach in spring. I love the beach in fall. I pretty much just love the beach.
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| The white streaks running perpendicular to the water are streaks of blowing sand. |
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| Apparently the seagulls recently had a huge party. Cracked clam shells lined the stretch between our condo and the end of the island. |
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| Winter seems to make it easier to find lots more cool marine treasures. |
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Confession...
I figured out why people go away for vacations. It's because no matter how hard you try, you can't keep from working on something while you're home. Totally.
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