Kooza and Kohl's *EDIT for pics*

Last night, we went to see Cirque du Soleil's Kooza. As always, the show was incredible. We had fantastic seats too--pretty much dead center, both side-to-side and front-to-back. I think if we would have been any closer, it would have been uncomfortable, because we would have been craning our necks too much to see some of the bigger acts.

I found a few pictures from the show online--here's a generic one of pretty much the whole cast...



These were the contortionists--simultaneously awe-inspiring and cringe-inducing. At one point, one the girls had her head, chest and arms lying on the floor and was running circles around her own head. Yes, it was just as creepy-looking as it sounds.



This was one of my favorite acts--the Wheel of Death. I know this isn't the greatest picture, but basically, these 2 guys kept this wheel contraption spinning, and then did all sorts of tricks and jumps, both inside and outside their own circles. At one point they were even jump-roping on the outside. I gasped more times during this act than anything else.



The clowns were great, too. They always do several bits where they pull volunteers from the audience, yet the trick is figuring out which one are truly ordinary, unsuspecting audience members, and which ones are just "plants." For example, they called up one woman and did all sorts of silly stuff with her, but at the end of the bit, they made her disappear, so obviously, she had to be in on it. But up until then, we were sitting there trying to figure out whether or not she was "one of them." Those plants are definitely good actors.

Ari was with the babysitter for the night, and since the show got out so late, we arranged to have Ari spend the night at their house. I didn't think of it until it was too late, but Tony was dropping Ari off at the babysitter's house right around the same time I was driving home yesterday afternoon--I should have stopped in to see her. She was still asleep when I left for work on Tuesday morning, so that means I haven't seen her since Monday night at bedtime, and won't see her until I get home from work tonight. I heard she slept through the night, though, and woke up at a decent hour, so that was good news to hear. I mean, I know she's an excellent sleeper, but you never know when she's going to have a rough night, and I always worry it's going to happen when she's at someone else's house.

My package from Kohl's arrived yesterday, and I made time in my busy evening schedule to try everything on. As predicted, there were a few things I liked and a few I didn't like. I mean, you know how it is in a store--something looks cute on the hanger, but you try it on, and it doesn't fit or just doesn't hang right. And shopping online, with only photos to go by, multiplies that effect even more. I'm not as in love with the purple dress in person as I was with the picture online, but it's still cute, so I'll keep it. The other dress has some crazy sleeves, but I think they could grow on me if I give it a few days. One of the shirts was a huge no, one was a huge yes, and the other is a maybe. My plan is to model all the stuff and have Tony take pictures, so that I can get all your expert opinions.

The 2 pajama sets I got for Ari look really small--I get that they're supposed to be snug-fitting, but I think once they're washed, they'll be too small on her. I might keep one, but I'm definitely returning the other one--no sense keeping both since they're not going to last her long. But the capris I got for her are really cute--they're nothing fancy, just plain jean, but they will go with everything.

It feels like it should be at least Thursday by now--probably because yesterday was such an odd day. But I suppose I should be happy to have an "extra day," since we have a packed-out weekend coming up.

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***** EDIT *****

OK, here are the pictures I promised, of me modeling some of my new clothes. I'll post the picture first, and then my comments afterwards. Ready? OK, let's go...

Oh, also, I got my hair cut last week, so you can see that, too.



^ I love this shirt--will definitely be keeping it.



^ The only thing I don't like about this dress is... well, see that black band on the front? It doesn't continue around the back--on the back, it's just elastic. Kinda hard to explain. But I'm pretty sure I'll be keeping this one, because that's the only thing I don't like, and it's pretty minor. I love the length.



^ OK, this is the one I really need your help with. I think what bugs me about it is the sleeves. I think the poofiness of them makes me look... wider? I don't know. Sometimes I look at it and think it's groovy and cool, and other times I think it's totally lame. The other thing I'm not sure I like is the wide neckline--I have a feeling those heavy sleeves are going to fall off my shoulders. In other words, it seems like one of those dresses I'll constantly be tugging at and readjusting, which is the kind of pain-in-the-butt thing you can't figure out until you actually wear it. So what are your thoughts?