How to Keep My Mind off How much I'm Gonna Miss Fash- idea #1

Julie Powell blogged her way through Julia Childs' recipes in an effort to set a reachable goal and to give herself an outlet from her depressing day job, which landed her a movie deal. Marisa, over at New Dress A Day, inspired by Julie and in a rut herself, is blogging about her project of turning 365 ugly flea market dresses into 365 new outfits on $365. With 97 days and $98 left to go, this chica is churning out a re-worked wardrobe that is inspiring hundreds of readers and attracting media attention nationwide. She's considering auctioning the dresses off and donating the money to charity.

So, I've been thinking...

Here I am at this end of an era, embarking on a brand new journey into the unknown- life without kids in the house. Boy, oh boy, am I gonna miss my Fashionista.

Lord knows my 1977 goals remain largely unmet.

From my diary, June 15, 1977:

Perhaps it's time to follow the leads of Julie and Marisa and battle the blues with a new set of goals- blog style.

But what goals?

My super together sisters-in-law and some pretty, cool bloggers and my neighbors and friends and almost all people in the world- run.

5k's, 10k's, marathons....I've often wondered what all the running is about. My knobby kneed legs do a chopsticks trying to pick up the chicken dance when I try to run. At last attempt, I could barely make it to the mailbox before doubling over and sucking in and out searching for oxygen somewhere in the universe. Maybe I didn't have the right shoes. Running does seem to require lots of special gear. But that just seems ridiculous to me. Why can't a person run in regular tennis shoes with, you know, just everyday socks- like this:

(I love socks!)

Which leads me to my latest goal and blues battling idea:

Run past 365 mailboxes in 365 different pairs of socks, glean and share 365 words of wisdom- one each day for 365 days.

Yeah. Each day I will run past one more mailbox, beginning with my own, until I have run past 365 different, consecutive mailboxes in my neighborhood, while wearing a different pair of everyday socks each day. And maybe on my runs I'll discover a new bug or how to install a windmill to power up your home and then I'll come back here and share those bits of knowledge on the blog.

Maybe if I can run, you can run too. Maybe we'll all run a 5 or even 10k after this! Maybe we'll figure out why our future is blowing in the wind. Maybe I'll meet the mailman; I mean that in the most appropriate, hi neighbor, sort of way. And maybe, just maybe, this will inspire a socks for the world crusade- kind of like Toms- you buy a $55 pair of socks and one pair of socks is donated to someone who doesn't have socks.

Yes, that should help me get my mind off the goodby girl and her new four hours away college dorm home.



But after I run past the mailboxes, how will I get back home? Uh... "Taxi!"