"All my friends know the low rider," as sung by the rock group WAR.

Low riding cars are both cool to drive and cool to look at. It's the low riding jeans that I have a problem with. When some fashion trends appear on the scene.....well you can only idle in Drive so long before you're dying for the Red Light to change.

Full figured gals, like myself, don't fit well into those low riding jeans. Our muffin tops are exposed as McMuffin tops loaded with extras! The other day I shopped a Consignment Boutique and found my summer steal - a low priced pair of black cotton pants. Behind the curtain of the dressing room I started to giggle. First I pulled up one leg and then another and kept pulling up and pulling up until the "waistband" finally rested well above my belly button. OMG, how many years ago were these pants made? What decade did some gal walk the streets of Mpls styling and profiling in these high waisted pants? They were so retro (and comfy) I had to treasure them for my own.

Another fashion trend I have to pass on is the girlie t-shirt that is 2 sizes too small. Does every woman under 30 have to wear their cotton t-shirts with a coordinating shirt underneath from the little girls department at Sears? No matter the size of their muffin or how low their jeans can go....the rest of their body is wrapped in cotton so tight it looks like colored Saran Wrap. Gone are the days of the Glamour Do's and Don'ts that warned against tight blouses, showing bra straps or panty lines.There seems to be no rules in fashion anymore; anything goes.

Now a cool car has something fashionistas can only dream about. The universally cool car will have a classic shape, a tried and true design, all the mechanics of a fast hot car with a kick ass stereo system. Women don't walk down Nicollet Mall humming some tune about their new low riding jeans. But you can bet some 65 year old in his Chevy low rider is definitely humming a few bars of ..... "take a little trip, take a little trip, take a little trip with me."

Enjoy this retro blast of WAR singing Low Rider. Hike up your jeans and sit back and enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6A0U7jakUY8

Roundabouts

Roundabouts. You either love 'em or you hate 'em. They are everywhere now. The big cities have them and the suburbs have them too. I think they're great. Roundabouts allow you to make U-turns within the flow of normal traffic.

I've been thinking about U-turns lately. Changing direction is scary but feeling stuck can be much worse. It can be that our change is dependent upon our life or it can be that our life is dependent upon our change.Sometimes we change as a response to exterior pressures and other times it's an inner angst that sparks a fire within us until we just can't ignore the heat.

It has been said that life is filled with "second acts." As one who has lived through Act I and is just beginning Act II, I'm hoping there will be a long run of Act III before the last and final curtain call. 

Like a roundabout circles around a center island, I really admire people that circle around their primary calling but take advantage of all choices that a U-turn can bring. For example, a childhood friend with a very respectable career, a marriage and small kids has begun  a new part time career in comedy. Another friend working 9 to 5pm in a business office works 7 to 11pm in local theater. A third friend began motherhood as a stay a home mom and has now transitioned to a new career in the classroom. All second acts. All decisions that began with a raging fire in the belly.

We 're lucky if we have opportunities for U-turns and even luckier when they work out. I'm all about second acts and second chances. It makes me want to stand and applaud my friends. I want to share in a little of their heat. I want to warm my hands over the fire that has grabbed them. I want to keep those embers of fire in my belly so that I'm ready to take the next U-turn when it comes along. Roundabouts rock!

Here is a great song by Kelly Clarkson. She sings..."make a wish, take a chance, make a change, and breakaway."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-3vPxKdj6o