Chic.

Being on Spring Break gives me options. I can wake up whenever I want, do whatever I want, go wherever I want. However, I know myself, and thus I realize that a day of nothing will lead to boredom, which will lead to lethargy, which enevitably will lead to me being a bum, sitting on the couch in sweats with a bowl of Cheetos on my lap, watching show after show of H&G TV, thinking, "Ah, yes, this is project I want to do!" while life slowly ticks by and this project goes by the wayside along with my happiness.

No. That is not what I want.

So instead, I wake up with my alarm at 7:30, roll out of bed convincing myself it is better this way, and get on with my day. Shower, eat, check email, FB, and the news. Go and get dressed. Nice jeans, cute top, a little mascara and some lipgloss, and of course, some earrings.

Like I said, I have nowhere to go, nothing to do.

So, why then, when I could be a bum in my jammies or even a pair of jeans with a t-shirt, would I go throught the "hassle" of getting dressed up? I mean, nobody is even going to see me, right?

Yes, and no. Nobody else is going to see me, but I am going to see me. Periodically throughout the day I will catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and I will see either a bum or a beauty staring back.

It's like my high school dean, Ruth (my pseudo-older sister), taught me ten years ago as we were out shopping together one day. Since she was a single lady, and one whom I was assuming was not having secret rendevous with some hot man at night, I was surprised when she bought lacy bra after lacy bra, and sexy underwear to boot. Puzzled, I asked her why she would spend this extra money for something that nobody else would see or know. I mean, really, what is wrong with Fruit of the Loom? Her answer, although it has taken some time for it to sink in, has become a motto for me. "But I will know. When I have a rough day, I will tell myself, 'Ruth, it's ok, you are hot underneath this all.'" Although I didn't change my ways right away (as most of you know, I was the queen of jeans and t-shirts for most of my life), life has given me time to see that, yes, I too want to be beautiful, if for no one else except me, because whether it is a cute top that no one else will see or sweet shoes I am rocking, I will see and I will know. That is what matters. I call it the Brazilian-Mantra. While I used to understand it as vanity, I now understand it to be an idea of, "When we have no control over all the terrible things surrounding us in the world, let's take control of the things we do have the power to change. When there is so little to feel positive about in the news, let's give ourselves something to feel good about."

So now, I figure it like this --> Instead of that ratty t-shirt, pull out the sweater. Pass the flip flops and go for flats instead. Or grab that t-shirt and clip my hair back in a cute ponytail and throw on some earrings with it. The extra five minutes I spend getting ready will be more than made up for with my productivity during the day. After all, I didn't get all dolled up to sit around and be a bum. Time to get out there and do something -- or in my case, time get my write on!