Soles of a Mom

Good News Comes via Email!

deana — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:53:53 +0000

So on Thursday morning I was sitting in my car outside the gym scrolling through my emails. I hadn’t looked at email in the morning so I wanted to take a quick peek to make sure there wasn’t anything “earth shattering”. My heart sank when I saw an email entitled:

“2012 Nike Women’s Marathon Random Draw Results”

I quickly opened the email. The first couple of sentences of the email read….

Dear Deana,

Whether it’s your first or fiftieth race, there really is no other feeling quite like standing at the starting line.

We’re so glad that in 2012, you’ll be sharing that moment with us. ((I was thinking what…??))

That’s right, you read that correctly. You’ve officially been selected to run in the 2012 Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco. Congratulations! ((Then I thought OMG! Oh no did I get into NYC??))

I quickly scrolled through my race emails and logged into my NY Road Runners account and it was official…

DEANA – We’re sorry, but you were not selected for the 2012 ING New York City Marathon. We must limit the size of the race field chosen through our non-guaranteed entry drawing for many reasons, including safety and overall runner experience, but there are other ways of gaining entry this year.

Wow! Thank freaking god! I think that’s the first time ever that I have been happy, maybe even ecstatic about not to be selected for a race. That would have been a cruel joke if I did get into both. So it’s locked in. I will do my 3rd marathon in reviews and in San Fran!

I have now started to google all kinds of info about the Nike Women’s Marathon. Of coarse there are stellar reviews and horrible reviews. Some woman saying it was poorly run and poorly organized. Others saying it was the time of their lives, with beautiful vistas and massive amounts of positive energy. After doing a very small intimate marathon Napa Valley CA Marathon- 3.6.2011 and a very large marathon DC National Marathon 3.17.2012. I can see the pros and cons of both. I definitely favor the smaller events especially if your looking to PR or do a BQ time. But this is an experience like no other and I intend to absorb all the good estrogen vibes I can during my weekend. This is going to be very challenging for me as I hate doing hill work and looking at the race coarse and having a 1 mile hill at mile 11, I think I will have to do some hill work for sure!

So perks of the Nike Women’s Marathon….Of coarse we like a good finishers medal…but after 26.2 miles you feel like you deserve a little more. Well Nike provides that with…Wait for it….a Tiffany Necklace served on a silver platter in that fantastic blue box with a white bow!

Sweaty or not I will be hugging on of those guys for sure! The necklaces are different every year. Of corase I cannot wait to sport my very own creation! Here’s a pic of a few from other years!

I’m loving the bottom right one. But when it’s my very own that I’ve earned I’ll wear whatever I am given proudly! So there you have it Sole Momma’s my fall 2012 race, the Nike Woman’s Marathon in San Francisco, CA ~ October 14, 2012! As Kim from “This Runner’s Fuel” commented on my post “the third times a charm”. YES it is!!! Game on!

What happened???

deana — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 20:33:28 +0000

Believe it or not I just couldn’t wrap my mind around my recent marathon experience to blog about it. To help you understand I’ll have to explain. Greg and I left for Washington as soon as we dropped the kids off to school. We arrived in DC around 1:30pm. We were able to check into our hotel and grab lunch. We made our way to the expo via the metro- which was how we planned on getting to the race the next morning.

The expo was good. I actually prefered last years expo at the Napa Valley marathon. Smaller vendors, more specialized stuff. But packet pick up was quick and easy. I was disappointed that they didn’t have more vendors for cute running tees etc. New Balance was the primary sponsor so it seemed that they were the only “clothing option”, so to speak. No new running gear for me. Anyway we headed back to the hotel via the metro. It was a 20 minute metro ride and we pre-bought our metro tickets for race morning to avoid lines.

Hotel view, just before going to bed.

We ate dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant in DC, called I Ricci. They had “tappas” so we were able to try a bunch of things without feeling stuffed. My favorite menu item was the Polenta Tartufata ai Funghi Farciti. I ate just enough carbs to feel satisfied.It was back to the hotel, making sure all my race day belongings were laid out. My diabetes action shirt was ready to go. Many of the people who sponsored me signed it which was really cool. My friends from Catalysts Health & Fitness who were my biggest sponsors, donating $262.00 (get it 26.2) wrote some amazing quotes on my shirt! One was from Kosta, the owner of Catalysts “Man imposes his own limitations, DON’T SET ANY! Another from my trainer, Nikki “Strength doesn’t come from physical capacity but from an indomitable will. It’s just so encouraging to have people who surround you with support when you work for a goal. My Ipod was on the charger, garmin ready to go, I was off to bed. I got an early start to have my greek yogurt, raspberries and honey for breakfast.

Back Diabetes Action tee!

My hubby went to Starbucks to get me a latte to get “things moving” if you know what I mean. Mission accomplished so everything was good and we left the hotel at 6:45 am for the 8am start. Plenty of time with the metro only being a 20 min ride. Well all best laid plans can crash and burn and the Rock & Roll marathon people really dropped the ball with the metro. They encouraged people to take the metro and then were ill-equipped to handle the masses of runners who took their advice. We hopped on the train, having to wait for two trains to pass before finding one that wasn’t packed to the gills. We boarded standing room only. We abruptly came to a stop, the conductor informing us that the train in front of us (which had 10 cars on that train) was having door issues and they had to unload. That took about 15-20 minutes. When we finally began to move our train stopped at the next stop. Frantic runners literally pushed into the car. I was smashed up against my husbands chest. Claustrophobic didn’t even begin to explain it. Plus my nerves before a race are slightly higher and combined with people literally on top of you, I felt nauseous. We had to wait in the tunnel to disembark because they trains were backed up. We did not even reach the stairs to get out of the metro tunnel until 8am. Yes 1 hour and 15 minutes for a 20 min metro ride.

Runners packed the metro...

I have to say everyone was very orderly, calm, and polite. I mean at that point it was what it was. I tried to wrap my mind around the fact that I probably would not be making it to my corral. There was a guy on our train that was in corral number 1 for the 1/2 marathon. That means he’s running 5 min miles, contention to place and he missed that start. Awful. I made it to the start line at 8:29, going over with Corral 23, with the 5:30 marathon goal runners. My original corral number was 13, the 4:20 goal runners. I felt like a rock star running past people with ease. The morning was cool, mid 50′s at the start. Over cast skies just perfect. I kept close watch on my pacing and my heart rate. Which this is the first race I’ve run really trying to run with my heart rate. I was hitting my splits 4-5 minutes under where I wanted to be. Around mile 16-18 I remember thinking to myself- “wow I’ve got this!” It was at about the 3:20 mark that I hit the waterfront area of the course. There was no shade like there was in the downtown area with the buildings. The fog had lifted and it was clear blue sunny skies. This would have been good if you wanted to just leisurely stroll along the water front. But trying to run a marathon 80 degrees it was awful. I watched my time at miles 20 & 21. Readjusting my goals as I looked at the tatoo of my running split times for the 4:20 goal. I thought “ok we won’t shot for 4:20 maybe 4:25″, even 4:30 will still be ok, I just wanted to desperately beat my time from last year of 4:33. Then at mile 22 I was so hot, I was dizzy. There was zip, zero, no shade and hills. Not huge but big enough to increase my already high heart rate. I found myself running and then walking, but that just seemed to be making me slower. By mile 23 I just decided that I could power walk faster than alternating. It took me an hour and 17 minutes to do the last 6 miles. I was so disgusted. I had never seen so many people walking at the end of a race. There were lots of people sitting on the curbs, medics people handing out ice, grocery stores giving out bottles of waters in front of their stores (which wasn’t a sponsored water stop).

My splits:

29:59 5K
1:00:42 10K
3:28:02 20 M
4:45:16 26.2M

I was able to see my husband at the finish line, which ugh was a freaking up hill finish! I went over the timer just feeling happy I made it but so incredibly disappointed that I fell short of my personal goals. Last year going to Napa to run the marathon I had severely over trained. This year I followed my plan to a tee. I didn’t over do or under my mileage. I went to the chiropractor and had my IT Bands worked on prior to the race. I mean I felt so healthy when I stepped over that starting line. But weather…ahh the weather… the old adage “you take what the race day gives you”. No body knows that better than the people who ran Boston this past Monday. You train all winter in the cold temps and mother nature just throws that curve ball.

I had made up my mind before I went over the finish line, (when I resigned myself to walk) that another marathon will be in my future. I just cannot let this “thing” a.k.a “the marathon” beat me. So now I wait. I am in the lottery for NYC (Nov), which will be announced Wed April 24th. I also but in for the Nike Woman’s Marathon lottery in San Fran CA (Oct) for this fall. Knowing me I’ll get into both LOL! But really what are the chances of that.

But I just couldn’t wrap my head around the disappointment and really I just couldn’t talk about it to many people. They just didn’t seem to understand. I mean most people said hey you finished. Blah blah blah….I know and I’m sitting with it much better now. As far as recovery it’s been great. I felt really good afterwards and resisted the urge to run for 3 weeks. Doing only hot yoga. I was actually very scared to take my first post marathon run. But it felt amazing and I ran much faster. My legs were really. No IT band issues. Just me and the road.

So that’s my tale of the DC Marathon. I hope your all doing well and are having a fit-astic (yes I just made up that word) spring!

~xoxo Sole Momma Deana

On My Way!

deana — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 14:08:23 +0000

So this is it! This is when the “rubber meets the road”, when there are no more training runs. “Its go time!” So let’s see race bag packed- check. Snacks for car ride and breakfast for tomorrow- check. All info printed- check. Last workout at the gym yesterday- check. Got worked on by my chiropractor- check. New play list downloaded- check. Garmin watch, down loaded and charged- check. New race skirt from lululemon packed- check. Kiddies packed and accounted for with family and friends- check.
Nervous break down….double check! It’s funny last year with the marathon I didn’t seem to get the flash of nerves until about 4pm on Saturday the night before the race. I think because we were in Napa our friends were with us. We were wine tasting, sightseeing, I didn’t have time to really think about it. Where this week I haven’t run- which is killing me! Since the weather has been outstanding. Seeing everyone out and about, jogging etc made me anxious. It took every ounce of will power not to get out there.
But yesterday on my way to the gym I started to cry in the car. I started doubting my training plan. My last long run, 20 miles was 12 days ago. I’ve done smaller runs. 3, 4, some 2′s. But it is the polar opposite of last years over training. I’m nervous about the weather. With all this warmth DC is looking at a high of 78 on Saturday. Not ideal running temp thats for sure. My bodies not used to that. But as they say, not in my control. I’m nervous about my kids. They are staying behind. Making sure everyone gets to where they need to be is stressful. ((a HUGE shout out to my SIL and one of my closest peeps KB for holding down the fort)). But I got to the gym and worked out with my work out warrior friend, Jen and our trainer Nikki. I got to vomit all my craziness on them and get some aggression out with mountain climbers, jump squats and speed skater. They gave me a pep talk and I was much mellower when I left.
So that’s where we are at. Race day is t-minus 21 hours! If you want to know more about the Washington DC national marathon and the charity I am running for {Diabetes Action} you can check it out here. Game on people! I will see you at the finish line.

It’s locked in!

deana — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 18:50:42 +0000

Me and kiddie #3 after my 18 miler! Can you believe it was February were outside... he's in a tee-shirt. We live in the northeast! Crazy.

Well I did it! Last weekend I did my 18 miler and on Sunday I did my last long run….20 miles baby! I will do a few short runs over the next 11 days, but I am officially done with my DC Marathon training. Whoot whoot! Honestly when I started training back in December I remember thinking “holy crap, I’ll never be able to do this again“. But yet here we are, T-minus 11 days and counting! My 18 miler was so smooth, totally enjoyable ((yes I know you think I’m crazy)), almost effortless. When I headed up to my house I remember thinking to myself “I could pull out another 8 miles if I had too”. Marathon running is 1 part training, 2 parts mind-set. It’s that mental thought of “I know I can do this”. That is key. Hence last year my over training. Each time my plan called for a “long run” I would run longer. During my training last year for the Napa Valley Marathon, when I was so posed to run 3- 20 milers…instead of sticking to the plan, I ran more. ((Damn that overacheiver, type A gene I have)). I needed to prove to myself that I could finish come race day. I wound up doing a 20, 22, and 24 miler before my race. This basically ruined the actual race day for me. I was so beat up from my training that race day was a struggle. I peaked too soon! This year I hope my approach is better. I have only run 1- 20 miler. Even though Sundays run was quite challenging ((which I will explain in a minute)), I came up to my house thinking “Yup I could pull another 6 miles. I wouldn’t break any records but I could get it done”.

Me and the hubs! Yes he's a hottie!

So what was different about Sundays 20 mile run… Well Saturday night I went to a wonderful dinner auction for our children’s school. I got to get all gussied up, put on some killer platform heels and dance the night away. Hey someones gotta do it! When I say killer heels…literally at mile 14 my back was saying “are you crazy lady!” Yes note to self… “do not wear 5 inch platform heels the night before a long run”.

So today I succumbed to going to the chiropractor. Good news…I just spasmed the muscles in my back. They should recover in plenty of time for DC. Yea! I did however get a small lesson on what wearing platforms does to your back. Good to know. It’s always a learning curve!

So there you have it! The 20 miler in the bank. I’m ready.

A Sundae Spa Girls Day!

deana — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 21:19:31 +0000

Over the long weekend I had a great opportunity to indulge in some girl time with kiddie number two! I feel bad because many days she gets lumped into playing Legos or Starwars with her brothers and does it without complaining. So when I showed her this package that arrived from the Sundae Spa, in Waterbury CT she was ecstatic to have some mommy – daughter girlie time!

Our kit was complete with a days worth of little girl spa treats! A cupcake bath fizz which is a signature Sundae Spa item. If you attend a birthday party there it is one of the items each girl gets to pick as part of their goodie bag. The other products included a strawberry cheesecake whipped sugar scrub, a popsicle soap, glitter body spray and lip balm. We started our girl time with a spa inspired bath.

My daughters first words when she got our of the tub were “Mom feel my skin feels soooo soft”. Yes I know starting them young with these products could create a monster…but I mean how fun! She felt like a beauty queen, pampered and grown up. These are the memories I want to create with her. As a mom I like that the products from the Sundae Spa are made using organic and vegan products. No harsh dyes or additives. I even used the whipped sugar scrub which now…((I have to admit is in my shower)). It’s heavenly!

The cutest part of our spa day was putting on the body spray and lip balm. I have to say my daughter has become obsessed with perfume and lipstick. I guess that’s the life of a 7-year-old. Most perfumes and lipsticks are too harsh smelling and bright for my taste on a little girl. The body spray was the perfect combination of a light scent and a small amount of glitter! The small sparkly glitter was a HUGE hit with my girlie girl. She starting jumping up and down when she realized she had glitter on her. She said “Glitter makes me giddy mommy!”

Last but certainly not least…the lip balm. I have to say again I had to arm wrestle this from my daughter. I wanted to steal this for my own purse, but I reluctantly gave it to her. The lip balm is very smooth and smells wonderful, it’s not over powering. She thought she looked like a million bucks putting on her lip stick and as her mom I thought she looked beautiful!

Even my little guy likes to wash hands with the Soda Pop Soap! Wow if all if needed was Soda Pop Soap to get him to wash hands I would have gotten this a long time ago!

So there you have it! A complete girlie day thanks to Sundae Spa, Waterbury CT. Check out there party packages and upcoming special events. We had my daughters 7th birthday party there and it was a blast! They made their own lip gloss, got a hair wrap, spa manicures, a dance party and make your own sundaes! Needless to say every girl had a rocking time.

Also they have some great gift sets that would be the perfect gift for any little girl. I mean what little girl wouldn’t just gush over a the Little Miss Delight or Sprinkles gift sets! Trust me as a mom I would so rather my little girl get one of these as a gift vs another stuffed animal or Barbie doll. Mom’s you can sneak a little of the product too!

Sole Momma Week in Review!

deana — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:06:52 +0000

It was a busy week here once again… But then when isn’t a week busy with 3 kiddies, a hubby who just got back from India (ugh, the time change-awful), my birthday, Valentines day, work and training, training, training.

Well let’s see…My baby boy did his first reconciliation. He was so nervous. He took it so seriously and gave it a lot of thought which just makes me so proud. He was very proud after the service. We went to a celebration dinner and had special dessert called the Titanic!

Valentines Day is always fun but now more than ever with 3 kiddies. We made all of our Valentines this year and school would not allow candy which is fantastic. I started the day by making heart shaped pancakes. My daughter said “mom this is the best Valentines Day ever!” Who knew all it would take is a heart shaped pancake and a button next to her plate. Just goes to show you don’t have to spend a lot of money for it to be special. Later in the evening we had a little party at home. We opened gifts sent by our grammy’s and memere’s. Everyone was so excited!

Lastly training…I have had to decrease my mileage to stay on track and keep injuries at bay. My hot yoga 2x per week has become addictive and a necessary evil for my running. I went for a 14 mile run this past weekend with my 16 miler tomorrow. It wasn’t my best run ever. But I did it without a lot of pain. I had to wear my knee brace which sometimes makes me feel defeated, but makes a big difference during my long runs. Also I cannot compare my training this year to last year which I have been doing. As my friend and trainer Nikki said to me…that was then this is now!

So my mantra and quote for this past week has been…

Source: wejustkeepondreamingx.tumblr.com via Deana on Pinterest

Linking up again with Life Re-Arranged~Insta Friday! Have a great weekend!

Instagram Week in Review!

deana — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 19:50:10 +0000

So it has been a busy week here…Here it is on Instagram…linking up with Life Rearranged!

Last weekend I was lucky enough to have a little date night with the hubby at a new restaurant called 1249 Wine Bar! If your local this is great new restaurant! But beware you need a reservation. We were lucky to snag seats at the bar. But there aren’t many seats there. The food was amazing, atmosphere vibrant. My only suggestion to them would be to offer some higher end wines by the glass. But they have tasting of different wine, so we got to try a bunch of wines without the committment of a full glass. I wore a new dress that I got this summer at a consignment shop in Block Island! I bought it without trying it on knowing full well it was too big. But the print was so cool. The olives reminded me of a Kate Spade® print. I took it and had it altered and whlaha~ awesome unique dress for under $50 bucks! Gotta love it!

The kiddies also had many activities as usual! My oldest son had his first trumpet lesson at school and was eager to play for me. The other two kiddies are just too darn cute, providing entertainment as usual while we were out and about doing errands! My running has been good this week. I have taken major steps to get let my IT band rest and nip any injuries in the bud. For the last 3 few weeks I have seen my chiropractor and doing baptise style hot yoga 2x per week. I have been more faithful at doing some leg strengthening and I cut back on my runs for 2 weeks. The result an amazing 10 miler pain-free! Ok DC is looking like a go!

A new favorite post workout smoothie! 1cup unsweetened almond milk 1 scoop orange cream protein powder by syntrax (21 gms protein) and 1/2 fresh blueberries. Throw in a 1/2 cup ice and blend. Outrageously tasty! Oooo now I’m craving one! And more winter bulbs blooming in the house. These smell amazing.

And lastly a girls night out with my “Moms Night Out” gang. We celebrated another 40th. This one was a belated 40th since Shelly joined our group after she turned 40. But we all wanted to show here how special she is and that we ♥ her!

Well that was my week! How was yours??

Day Late…Dollar Short

deana — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 20:15:10 +0000

Well I have been wanting to do this each week and Friday’s seem to pass me by…but I decided I would link up and post this anyway! I love the concept of Insta Friday and started to become a little obsessed with Instagram on my iPhone. If you haven’t heard of it yet it’s a great way to capture sip bits of your week. The app is free! I’m linking up at Life Rearranged to share our pictures of the week.

We have a wonderful dog- his name is Gus. He’s the old man of the house. If he could be a lap dog he would, but alas he is about 90 lbs. I’m craving a little lap doggie. We fostered my SIL’s puppy for about 5 months over the summer while they acclimated to having two new twin baby boys. So here’s these cuties…

Good Ol’ Gus…our 11 year old wanna be lap dog!

Cooper…the spoiled foster dog…((he’s sleeping on my bed))

puppy love ♥ I want this cutie a 10 week old Maltese-Shitzu Mix.

We also got to go see my SIL and her family for dinner last Saturday. My little nephews not so little anymore! Other things that made me smile this week…

My amarylis that bloomed this week! Such a great pop of color in the gloomy winter.

My girlfriends daughter made cupcakes for my kiddies…don’t they look delightful!

Gotta love getting organized! Cleaned out all the cabinets re-arranged dishes which I really haven’t done since we moved in 7 years ago.. (the re-arranging part, not the cleaning) that I have done at least once or twice LOL!

My favorite quote of the week! I got this from Jess at Allhora Handmade! She did a presentation on making your dreams a reality and how she has been successful at making her creative passion into a business. I so wish I loved in Cali so I could have gone to that presentation!

I hope you all have a great weekend!

2012 Words to Live by…

deana — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 04:18:53 +0000

So I’m sure if you read blogs out and about that right after New Year”s you may have heard many people talk about the One Word Resolution. The concept is pretty simple. Instead of trying to accomplish fruitless new years goals, think of one word that encapsulates many of the common themes you would like to work on this year. There have been some very interesting words chosen and even more captivating are the reasons why people chose those words. Choosing a word to encompass the essence of you and what you’d like to work on, reach ect it isn’t as easy as you might think. I have been giving it some serious thought and found the concept inspiring.

Melanie at Only a Breath offered to make buttons for people who chose their one word. I read in a recent post she made over 200! That’s amazing and a wonderful gift of her talents as a graphic designer. You can read Melanie’s One Word here. Can you guess what it is?? (hint GIVE)

Other One Word Inspiration:
Jess at Allora Handmade, Mingue at 30 days Handmade and hop on over to Lara’s a.k.a. Ellie G.’s blog at Less Cake {More Frosting} she is featuring a different blogger every day this month on what their one word is and why it is meaningful to them.

My One Word is…

So why did I chose the word Grace.

The dictionary has many definitions of the word grace. During bible study last summer I learned that the word grace as refered to in the bible means God’s Love.

But there are other meanings as well, some which I am sure your familiar with.

grace (grs) n.

1. Seemingly effortless beauty or charm of movement, form, or proportion.

2. A characteristic or quality pleasing for its charm or refinement.

3. A sense of fitness or propriety.

4. A disposition to be generous or helpful; goodwill. Mercy; clemency.

5. A favor rendered by one who need not do so; indulgence.

6. A temporary immunity or exemption; a reprieve.

7. Graces Greek & Roman Mythology Three sister goddesses, known in Greek mythology as Aglaia, Euphrosyne, and Thalia, who dispense charm and beauty.

8. Divine love and protection bestowed freely on people. The state of being protected or sanctified by the favor of God.

An excellence or power granted by God.

9. A short prayer of blessing or thanksgiving said before or after a meal.

10. Grace Used with His, Her, or Your as a title and form of address for a duke, duchess, or archbishop.

11. Music An appoggiatura, trill, or other musical ornament in the music of 16th and 17th century England.

tr.v. graced, grac·ing, grac·es

1. To honor or favor: You grace our table with your presence.

2. To give beauty, elegance, or charm to.

Now that’s a word that encompasses a lot. I want to live more in Gods grace. To allow him to define the path for me. To speak and listen to my children with more love, mercy and patience. To help others more and donate my time and treasures to those who can be helped. To continue my fitness journeys and share them with others so they may be inspired. And who doesn’t want to walk with charm and beauty in heels at a dinner party or sneakers at the gym. I also what to remember throughout the year that I cannot be all things to everyone everyday. I want to allow God’s grace to remind me of that.

Do you have a word? What is it and why?

My Pearls of Wisdom

deana — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:55:37 +0000

So this post is inspired my one of my moms night out peeps, Heather Norris. She also is quite the fantastic photographer. You can check her out here Heather Norris Photography. She also has a fun blog, called In the Studio that show cases her life as a photographer and some of her favorite images. (check it out) Ok back to my topic. So Miss Heather called yesterday and said “I need some fashion pearls of wisdom”… My ears perked up…”I am cleaning out my closet and what do I do with clothes that are too big, but who knows maybe I’ll need again someday…and clothes that are nice, maybe even new but I haven’t worn?” It didn’t take long for me to answer.
So here’s my 2 cents a.k.a fashion pearls
1. If you haven’t worn it in a year – a stretch would be two years toss it. Unless it’s a classic coat, shoes etc. the likelihood you’ll wear it is slim to none.
2. If it has sentimental value. Take a picture of it! Think outside the box…repurpose that sentimental sweater. Make a pillow out of that beloved childhood sweater or use a piece of fabric from your favorite jeans as matting behind a picture of you wearing the item and frame it. This way you still have the memories but it’s not cluttering your closet.
3. Fat clothes, skinny clothes….maybe someday it’ll fit clothes….gone! They provide no value in your wardrobe. Think of it this way. If you did unfortunately gain weight (for whatever reason) it would make you feel like crap, to have to dig into the old, out of date, fat clothes. Skinny clothes just make us feel inferior and puts ideas into our heads that were not meeting expectations. The maybe someday it’ll fit clothes don’t allow us to focus on the here and now. So stop wishing for the past or future what if’s… live in the now! Clothes should make you feel happy, strong, athletic, sexy.
4. Lastly when you are done weeding through all that stuff make a list of what you need ie: dark jeans, boots, skirts for work. Have a shopping plan will help you not to get distracted.
5. And one more rule…this is my personal sole momma rule for shopping don’t buy it unless you ♥ love, ♥ love, love it! The clothing in your closet should make your heart ♥ sing. It should make you feel good when you put them on. Not just so-so. Don’t buy it because it a “good deal”. It’s not money well spent if you never wear it.

So there you have it…the sole mommas fashion pearls of wisdom for cleaning out your closets. Do you have any tips you’d like to share? Leave me a comment!