A post about health and not shopping.

Hello there people in blog reading land.

Recently, I have been too often eating my feelings and feeling garbage-y and tired and like I need 8 gallons of coffee to survive. Working full time and taking 10 credits worth of classes is no dang joke. So, what's a girl to do? Well, through a friend I know on The Book of Face, I am embarking on a 7 day cleanse next month. I've taken cleansing products before, but now I am combining it with an appropriate diet. What's this mean for me?

For 7 days:
~ ALL THE VEGETABLES
~ No dairy
~ No gluten or starches
~ No alcohol whatsoever (gulp)
~ Severely reduced coffee consumption (double gulp)
~ Severely upticked green tea and herbal tea consumption
~ ALL THE WATER
~ Hot water with lemon every morning
~ No red meat
~ enough protein to survive my day, so chicken, tofu, egg whites, fishes
~ No artificial sugars
~ no more than 3 fruits per day
~ Serious meal planning
~ extreme organization
~ Making yoga an every day thing. Akin to eating.


I hope that after 7 days I will

~ Feel lighter inside
~ Have more energy (My biggest hope)
~ Have better skin
~ Crave less garbage food
~ Crave less sugar
~ Have fewer GI issues
~ Kickstart a healthier lifestyle
~ Do yoga every damn day forever and ever
~ Have less anxiety


The good news is that I have the support of a coach whom I like and who has done this before. There are also other people in the group who will be doing this at the same time as I will and we will be commiserating and sharing recipes and such and generally supporting each other through the 7 days. Weight loss is a secondary concern to me. Energy levels, skin issues and GI issues are my number one concern. If I should drop a few pounds, that's extra credit. I also want to shock my system off artificial sugars and artificial chemically flavoring badness in general. If I understand things correctly, the less you consume this garbage, the less your brain wants to eat it. This will be VERY hard for me as I love dairy, coffee, booze, and carbs. I mean, an unhealthy, all-consuming, bodice-ripping love of these things. My coach is already kicking ass and telling me that she did not fully quit coffee when she cleansed and that I shouldn't beat myself up if I can't do it. There are a bunch of recipes and tips already up on the FB group from previous cleansers. I'm *kind of* looking forward to it. I feel like it's been a long time coming and that it will only be good for me in the end.

Imma need your encouragement. I'll try to find time to chronicle my experiences here. I'm sure it'll be interesting.

The Stitch Fix Saga of misery continues

Hey there. How's it going? I'm still annoyed. Yup. Still. Something about feeling like I was cheated by a company that I publicly supported really pisses me off. Weird, huh? So, you all may remember a few weeks ago when I got my last "Fix" from Stitch Fix and it was clear to me that they put zero effort into what they sent me and basically sent some random crap in a box on the off chance that I might like any of it. I waited a few weeks  to see if I got any response from the company based on the very negative feedback I sent them. I haven't heard a peep from them. So, I figured it was time to contact them myself and let them know that they cheated me out of $20 and that I was irate and wanted my money back. They did not hold up their end of the bargain. They did not do what they say their company does. If you blatantly ignore every preference that YOU, the company ask your customers for and then take their money anyway, then you should refund that money because promising something, taking money and then not following up on said promise is tantamount to stealing. I'm not having it. All would have been forgiven if I had heard from them prior to this point and they made some attempt at reconciliation, but since that did not happen, I'm now going to escalate my complaint. We'll see what happens.

I had a thought....

As I was soaking in the sun like a fat cat on the way to class, enjoying a pumpkin latte, I said to myself "what a great day! I have a lot to be happy about." I pretty much never have that thought. So often I find myself mired in sad feelings. Some of this is chemical and hard for me to control, but lately I've noticed that when I AM feeling sad it's compounded and sent spiraling down into the Nothing Good Can Come From This Abyss when I am (sub)consciously comparing myself to what I think I should be based on some cliched societal standards or when I'm comparing myself to others. If I have learned ANYTHING in my short time on this planet it's that nothing is as it seems and even people that seem to be the happiest can be suffering deeply on the inside. So why am I comparing myself to cliches and illusions? How does that help me? It doesn't. It fuels the depression monster in my brain. Now, some things are tragic and unavoidable. And sometimes your brain gives you a big middle finger and there's nothing you can do to stop the spiral into the abyss. I get that. I've been there. Sometimes though, when you're just teetering on the edge, it helps (me, anyway) to remember what I have that makes me feel lucky.There are a ton of things I wish I had or that I wish I was able to do, but you know what? Today is a good day and I have to go bonkers on the good days because my brain could decide it's sad bastard time whenever it wants and then I might not be able to pull myself back from the edge. My wish for you, dear readers, is that today turns out to be a good day. Get some sun. Get a pumpkin flavored thingey. Embrace your inner weezer (my step-father's word for children. He always referred to us as Little Weezers) and play in a pile of raked leaves. In your yard or someone else's. Don't get arrested. Have a cupcake. Gluten free, if necessary. 

Anyway, I need to spend more time reveling in my successes than wallowing in my failures. And maybe if I put that intention out into the universe, I'll remember it on my dark days.

In which I make a second attempt at keeping up with this and the awful, no good, very bad date.

You know what my problem is? I have a tendency to get all up in my feelings and want to play hermit for 5 months. That's what my problem is. I started this blog initially as an attempt to move away from all that. It was kind of a mixed bag. Mostly reviews of stuff I bought, some recipes and a small smattering of deep thoughts I had. What I'd like to do is create a place for Regular Jills (such as myself) to pop on in, read, get some cute ideas or whatever and then say hey, I'm not alone. No one i perfect or happy all the dang time and that's okay. So, even though I'm taking 10 credits this semester and working full time, I'm going to try to work it out. I've been insanely busy lately. When you only have one day off a week and you want to maintain friendships, you wind up using that day to hang with the people you like and not get your tedious crap done. Like cleaning your house. Or laundry. Or studying. This state of No Rest for the Jilly will persist through this weekend. I have promised good friends I haven't seen in months that I will go drink wine with them. And well, I wouldn't want to disappoint.

I did recently attempt to jump back into the dating thing. I thought I'd try online dating again. The online dating disaster of '08 traumatized me for awhile (I'll have to elaborate at some other time), but I was feeling saucy and thought I'd give it a go. I was duped people. I firmly believe that said fellow had someone typing all his messages to me. Modern day Cyrano D'Bergerac. Because the person I was chatting with and the person I met WERE NOT THE SAME PERSON. They couldn't be. The date started off poorly because he showed up half in the bag. Then he proceeded to insult the things I like as a matter of not being patriotic. Apparently it is not very red, white and blue to drink fancy whiskey, dislike cheap beer, and not care for country music. Not sure if that makes me a communist, but oh well. Whatever. Over the course of the night I also learned he chewed tobacco and at one point he was so hard up for nicotine he thought he's leave me at the bar so he could go seek out some Skoal. I should have let him, frankly, but I insinuated that I thought it would be rude to leave me alone at a bar where I knew no one to go get a nicotine fix. What REALLY bothered me though was what happened when we were poking around a local shop. He tells me to come here and he shows me a video he has on his phone of him introducing some potential candidate for senator. Said candidate takes the podium and goes on and on about what a real American hero he is for being a Veteran. The video stops and he looks at me expectantly as if to say "See?! I'm awesome. I'm a hero.". All I'm thinking is.....Did you just use your status as a veteran to try to pick up chicks? Really? I was extremely put off by this, but I didn't realize until later JUST how put off I was. My future brother-in-law did two tours of Afghanistan, I have dated several veterans, I have family that are veterans, I helped a friend (a veteran) when he needed better medical care to get an appointment at the clinic I work at and then the Doctor and I helped him when the Government tried to dick him out of the healthcare reimbursement he deserves. So, I appreciate the hell out of all veterans everywhere and I would go above and beyond to help any one of them if it was in my power to do so. As far as I was concerned the date was over when he showed me the video. I was pretty disgusted. Fortunately, I had a contingency plan and was meeting my cousin and her friends for a ladies night out. She really saved the day...er.....evening. He took off when she got there and attempted to contact me again the next day. He sort of seemed to think that everything went really well. o_O.....I don't really want to spend the time getting into why it didn't, so I just blocked him on all my social media and on my phone. Which might be a little shitty, I grant you, but this wasn't a long and involved affair, so I don't really feel compelled to spend too much time sorting it out.


I don't know you guys. I'm in a post-bad-date-I'll-never-meet-anyone funk. Imma go have some chocolate. Send me your positive vibes.

ANNOYED with Stitch Fix

Hello. I fell off the face of the earth. Sorry. I went on vacations. Then I started school again. I wasn't doing anything that interesting, actually. Well, I went to Ireland. That was pretty great. For anyone out there that might actually be wondering where I was (and I'm pretty sure those of you that actually read this know me for realsies and weren't concerned), I'm sorry. 

When I experience customer service that is either super awesome or super terrible I feel compelled to rave about it or warn people, so....

On to the point of the post: Stitch Fix has annoyed and disappointed me for the last time. I had previously been getting fixes pretty regularly, but it was getting to be expensive, so I stopped. Then I decided I'd treat myself to a back to school present. Since I'm workig full time and taking 10 credits this semester, what better to gift myself than clothes deliveres to my doorstep?! I had pretty high hopes, since I kept everything from the last box I ordered. I didn't request any specific pieces, but I requested cozy, warm pieces in fantastic fall colors. 

O_o.....

I should mention that I have 1 thing in my stitch fix profile that it says not to send me because I don't like them and won't buy them: skinny jeans. I also asked for the lowest prices possible, but I understand that average prices here are a bit high and if a piece is REALLY great, send it anyway.

Admittedly, I peeked at the receipt before I got the package and instantly became annoyed. Nothing was under $50. Not. One. Item. And the last item on the list?! Skinny freakin' jeans. This is like, my fifth or sixth fix! Really?! This is worse than the dreaded first fix of doom! By now they should 1. Know my preferences, 2. Know my size, and 3. Know my price preferenes! Hideous disappointment and frustration, here. 

So the box arrives. The skinny jeans are gray, WAY TOO INSANELY tight and $98.  No, no, no, a million times no. Back in the box.

Item #2 is a black and white striped fit and flare dress. Gee. That sounds familiar. Possibly because they sent me a near identical dress in my second fix. I dis not buy it then and I was not buying t now. It did not look or feel like fall. It was $68.

The third item was a black and white drape front cardigan. Much like the many drape front cardigans they sent me in the past. Much like the black and white aztec print drape front cardigan I bought from them. Back in the box. Now I've had two recycled items. Swell. Also $68.

The fourth item was a sheer, sleeveless, maroon shell with decorative cut outs in the back. Ummmm.....even if I wore a cardigan, it would be like I wasn't wearing a top at all. I live in freaking Connecticut. Are you kidding me?! The kicker? 74 freaking dollars. Seventy. Four.   I just...I mean, really? Fall in Connecticut? No sleeves? I just...I'm at a total loss. At least they got the color right.

Finally, item number 5 was a blousy "henley" with an odd pattern I didn't care for and did not at all flatter my shape. This was the cheapest item in the box at $54.

It is obvious that they did not reference my previous fixes, my profile, or my pinterest board when they threw these 5 items in a box and shipped them to me. I am IRATE that I wasted $20 on this. I apologize to everyone That used my referral code. I am embarrassed that I endorsed a company that ignores their customers. I simply cannot believe that they would ignore everything I said, but speaking with others, it seems they do that quite a lot. A friend used my referral code and the first fix had a bunch of enormous loose knit sweaters in it, so she requested they not send her any sweaters like that for fix #2. Guess what came in fix #2?

Should you decide to use their service anyway please be aware that you may be wasting $20.