Finally Growing Out of Cinderella

 Bonjour Mes Amis
As you can see, I'm back to greeting you in my favourite Toy Language, Franglais. This morning, as I was rushing to get ready for school, I knocked over one of my small collection of Le Tour Eiffels which perhaps has prompted this.  Or maybe it's the thought of The Looming Holidays which begin at the end of the week. Other, more glamorous Middleagedteachers  are about to head off to Exotic Locations. And I'm not.
 Luella, a fellow colleague, in so far as a Maths Teacher can be a colleague of an English Teacher,  is doing a 'Thelma & Louise' style road trip across America. I do hope that she doesn't end up like them. What would her Year 12 class do then? Quelle Horreur!

Even my students are off to places like Rome & Hawaii, making sure they stop off in Honolulu for a slice of Heaven at The Cheesecake Factory, that is, if they can get in. Apparently, it's always booked out. Who knew?
But I'm not really complaining although it certainly sounds like it. And I'm not being a victim either, although I'd love to be   because it's always been My Default Position. 
But not anymore.
How I Used to Be:
1. Poor Little Match Girl.
2. Abandoned Princess.
3. Disadvantaged Left-Hander.
4. Task Challenged Temptress.
5. All of the Above at The Same Time.

Of course, my favourite fairytale was Cinderella, the ultimate Victim Story With a Happy Ending. I totally empathised with Poor Cinders, revelling in the fact that I too, had dainty little feet, not like those Mean Oafish Stepsisters. I never had any stepsisters myself, but it always felt as if I had a whole truckload of them in my head.
My Mindless Love for Cinderella was so great that I read the story to Maeflower, my daughter, over & over again to her when she was little. Thankfully, one day I realised what I was doing & stopped reading it to her immediately. After that, I stuck to Roald Dahl. Much safer.

 Perhaps you are wondering what the pictures are. Perhaps you already know. But if you don't know, I'll tell you: They are Collages.
 A person asked me the other day what I meant by 'Collages'.
Cut Outs.
From Fashion & Decorating Magazines that I drag out of the Recycling Bin in my building or are 'given' to me by Peter from 'Zinc', my local cafe.
I love making them & make them as often as I can. I ponder about what to call them. And when I do come up with a title that works, I feel a sense of Inner Triumph.
But of course, I worry that I'll be accused of Image Theft.

Now it's time for Some Outfits. Goody Goody!!!
I do find Winter Dressing a challenge. Don't get me wrong, J'adore Winter. I love how it gets dark just after 5 which means that I can sit down &  start watching TV earlier than in summer because I have a slight rule that I shouldn't watch TV during Daylight Hours. I also like wearing my Toy Ugg Boots that my daughter bought at 'Aldi' for eight bucks. In fact, I'm wearing them now. I also don't like waking up in a lather of sweat which I often do in summer. And I like The Coziness that Only Winter Brings.
Anyway, I find Winter Dressing a challenge because I have to dress to keep warm. My classroom has a v. Nasty Heater that gets cranky when too many girls crowd around it & then  stops working for days on end. What a Sulky Withholder.
So, in all three Outfits I'm wearing almost against my will, a black scarf. I had to wear it as a measure against the cold. In the Outfit above, I'm wearing it as a Pussy Bow, just like a Young Marcel Proust who I compared myself to in my Last Post. BTW, I've never managed to read any of Proust, nor do I particularly like 'Madeleines', his favourite cake? biscuit? dainty cookie?

Meanwhile, back at The Outfit, I'm wearing a ruffled shirt. I'm always a sucker for a ruffle, which is perhaps not such a good thing as you could really look like you're wearing a Pirate Shirt, which was featured in a famous episode of  Seinfeld &  is never chic.

The next Outfit, a hardly- worn- almost- wool- suit,  by Australian Design Royalty, Lisa Ho, above, was
My Big Find last week at 'BednobsEtc'.  But looking at it just now, I'm not so sure. I'm beginning to see why the person donated it. I thought that she was just wanting to Share the Joy, but I think she was getting rid of it because it made her look a little like a Drum Majorette.

And then there's the Ruched Black Dress with the Enormous Black Flower that looks like it's growing out of my chest. OH, & that blue stripe that's down the side? An Effect of the Sun. I'm sure you'll be relieved to know that.
If I was going to The Races, which I'm not, I don't think that I'd wear any of these outfits. What a Perfect Segue to urge you to read the Wonderful Post-length Comment that Elegance Maison made in my last post. Thank you! I would love to go inside The Royal Enclosure at one of those Race Meetings, but I've got as much chance of doing that as I have of riding in the Queen's Glass Coach with her & the Duke. (Is it really called a Glass Coach, or am I thinking of 'Cinderella' again? Maybe it's called a 'Golden Coach')

I'm nearly at the end! And I'm back to more Collages. Or Cut outs if you prefer.
I'm desperate to get back to the TV & watch yet another episode of '30Rock'. I have just freshly discovered it even though its been going for years. What, Oh what, have I been doing all this time, I wonder? Clearly wasting it.
I'm sooo crazy about Liz Lemon/Tina Fey & have toyed with the idea of wanting to be her, although I believe that she's currently pregnant & I wouldn't want to go through childbirth again . In fact, I'm so crazy about Tina that I raced out & bought New at a NewBook Store a copy of her  Memoir, 'Bossypants'.  This totally goes against my 'Abundance Though Frugality' dictum of only buying books if they are in One Dollar basket at 'BednobsEtc'.
I'm also crazy about Alec Baldwin. This started a while ago after I watched the Perfect Middleagedteacher Film, It's Complicated, in which  he starred in with Meryl Streep, who I've almost convinced myself that I resemble. And not just because we share the same hair colour.
I just love the way that Alec talks in that breathy way, which I believe Tina mocks in a later episode that I'm not up to yet. In fact, I love just about everything about him. And..... MBFF's son in America is in his daughter's class at school. I'm desperate for them to become Besties. And then perhaps I could meet Alec. But then, what would I say to him? I mean, what do you say to a Celebrity? I'm your biggest fan. Lame. Perhaps Stalker.
I'll just have to be more like the Sassy Dame, below.