So, I was at church yesterday, receiving surprised comment after surprised comment that I was standing on my own two feet as well as being ambulatory–albeit limping rather heavily. It’s been exactly two months, and I’m getting around very well (so well that I made dinner for some friends last night), despite the limp–and despite the fact that I’m not yet driving.

(Still a little nervous about that. But…I might drive somewhere today. I’ll report back later and let you know if there were any incidents. Eeep.)

Anyway, so one of my friends was there and we were talking and I was ogling her very elegant pair of shoes–slender little heels, pointed toe, black patent leather mixed with matte black. Very, very nice. I was in lust.

I told her how much I loved her shoes, and said, “But I have no idea when I’ll be able to wear anything like that again!”

It’s true–the only shoes I’ve been able to wear (because my right foot is still swollen, and not only can I not fit many of my shoes on, but my ankle is still weak and all screwed up–so I can’t put the same sort of weight/pressure on it) are my fabulous Dansko clogs. Thank goodness for them!

Anyway, I’m serious when I say I have no idea when I’ll be wearing heels again. Any kind of heel. *sob* And it’s getting to be near summer, when all those cute wedgie sandals are going to be out. *sob* Will I be in ballet flats or Dansko clogs at the parties at RWA? *sob, sob, sob*

So, she, very wisely said, “Well, you know, if you can’t buy shoes…I always say you gotta buy jewelry! And scarves!”

“Yes!” I said happily. Because I can always buy jewelry. And it’s great to have an excuse–not to mention permission.

In fact, the cross I’m wearing in my author photo was a gift to myself when I sold my first book (I actually bought two crosses because I couldn’t decide between them). And I’ve bought at least one piece of nice-ish jewelry for each new book contract since. So I have absolutely no problem buying necklaces or earrings or bracelets. (No vis bullae, though.)

One of my favorite places to buy fun, funky, trendy jewelry is Target. They have such cute stuff. So…maybe if I drive today, I’ll go check out the accessories at Target. (My eyes are gleaming right about now….)

So we were chatting quite animatedly about buying jewelry and scarves, bags and shoes, and then her husband walked up with a suspicious look on his face. Oops. “Do I even want to know what you two are talking about?” he said.

Nope. Not at all.

So what about you…if you have the choice, what’s your favorite to buy: jewelry, shoes, scarves or bags?

I’m out of stock on most of my Vis Bulla t-shirts, and I’ve been getting requests/orders for holiday gifts…so I’m going to be re-ordering them.

But I need your opinion to decide how and what…

First, should I order the Powered by Vis Bulla tees, or the Born Venator tees?

Second, what colors should I do?

About colors: The printing has to be the same for every shirt (two colors on the VB tees, one color on the BV tee), but the shirts themselves can be as many different colors as I want. Savvy?

Let me know your thoughts so I can get an order in asap so I can have them for the holidays. (And of course for the release of As Shadows Fade, which is the last Victoria book…and will be the last Gardella book for awhile.)

(Don’t worry, I’ve got three other books–a new series!– coming out in 2010, but they aren’t Gardellas. But I don’t have titles or other info yet, so when I do, I’ll let you know.)

Here are pics of some previous VB and BV tees….

So, I don’t tan. I don’t do bikinis. (Yikes!)

I like toe rings and ankle bracelets, but they’re not “musts” for me.

But there is one thing I never leave the house without touching up. (Besides my lipstick.)

I’ve even been known to paint my nails after putting my sandals on so that they have time to dry while I’m driving. Heh.

What’s your summer vanity?

Came home last night from a furious writing stint at Borders cafe to find a big box of brand-spanking new Powered by Vis Bulla tees on my front porch.

My daughter immediately snagged one of the gray ones (I like them the best), and I handed one black one off to Music Man. I'll be shipping off the pre-orders I've already received in the next day or so, and my webmistress will be reopening The Venator Store shortly for those of you who are interested in the new versions.

(Or you can email me in the meantime– books at colleengleason dot com)

The printing on the shirts, if you can't tell, is silver and red–not white. You can see better what it looks like on the white tee I'm wearing.

These are an As Shadows Fade version, because that cover has silver and black on it. Very lovely. Will be posting a picture in a few months…my publisher gets a little squidgy if I post it too soon. But I'll be showing it off at my signings, and also for anyone who participates in the Virtual Booksigning.

Here's a pic of me showing off my new 'do and the new tees. Love the gray! (Not my hair, the tee.)

The pictures don't do the hair justice–it looks much more spunky in real life, and you can't see the rich cherry-cola color very well. But you get the gist.

You'll just have to come to one of my booksigning events if you want to see it for real!

Thongs.

I'm talking about thongs. 

(Sorry to the male readers of this blog…you can look away, or grin and bear it. Or even pipe in with your own comments. We care about your opinions. Really we do.) 

Okay, first of all they're un-fricking-comfortable. If you try and tell me that butt-floss thing doesn't bother you (especially the lacy ones!), I'm not going to believe it. Sorry.

Now, I admit, there are occasions when a thong makes sense. I hate panty-lines as much as Anna Wintour, so I'll confess that I have forced myself into one of those t-shaped annoyances on more than one occasion.

But other than that, why? Can someone explain to me why anyone would wear a thong with jeans? It can't be comfortable. Jeans are stiff, and the seams are thick and rough and hard (get your minds out of the gutter, please. This is a PG-13 blog).

How do I know women wear thongs with jeans, you ask? Well, because I've seen them bend over in low-riders, and from behind, you can see the t-intersection of the thong riding up from the waistline of the jeans.

Um. Yeah.

I'm not into seeing half of some guy's boxers above sagging jeans; I certainly am not interested in seeing some chick's elastic and pansy-white flesh above her jeans. No thanks.

So. Why, when, where do you don a thong? How does one get used to the bloody things?

Guys, what do you think? Do you notice? When, how? Do you care?