The Son has decided that he definitely wants to make the switch to boxers.  In fact, for all intents and purposes, I think he has made the switch which means I need to get my hands on some more boxers, in a hurry.  Four pair of boxers is not going to get him very far and I see laundry issues and potential meltdowns in our future if I don’t get this taken care of right away.

Boxer shorts, thankfully, are very popular these days so there really isn’t a shortage of sources.  On the other hand, if you’ve seen popular styles these days, you’ll know that among the 2–35 set, boxer shorts are more of a fashion accessory than an undergarment.  The Son has no interest in boxer-shorts-as-fashion-accessory.  At the very minimum, The Son wants shorts is subtle stripes and plaids; he’d clearly prefer solid colors.

And so, a fairly wide field quickly becomes decidedly more narrow.

Not only that but there seems to be three distinct style subsets within the men’s boxer shorts category:  back center seam (i.e. the Joseph Abboud boxers I bought), the “3-panel” back (i.e. the TH shorts), and the seamless back (haven’t sampled these yet).

The Son liked the JA shorts well enough but he liked the TH shorts even better.  Apparently they were more comfortable though he was at a loss as far as articulating the reason why.  [Of course, that’s no big surprise to me as The Son, unlike the stereotypical Aspie, is pretty non-verbal.]  My guess is that the TH boxers were comfortable because of the 3-panel back and overall “fuller” cut.

So now at least I know what I’m not looking for:

• nothing in a blend; they must be 100% cotton (this is my requirement but it’s firm; cotton is breathable and much healthier overall for the skin especially in so delicate and intimate an area)
• nothing in a wild or colorful pattern; plain colors would be most preferable
• no center back seams; I’d like to get my hands on a pair of no-seam boxers to give those a try as it appears that several brands/designers make this style (Nautica, for example)

The one style/design difference that The Son hasn’t expressed no opinion on is the waistband — he didn’t seem to have a preference between the JA soft elastic waistband over the TH fabric wrapped waistband.  Thank goodness for minor miracles.

So, despite the rather large number of boxer shorts available, I’m having a tough time finding a source that I think he might be able to live with, much less find perfect.  Outlined below is what I’ve discovered through my online research.  The next step is to head out in the car and do a “little” real-life research.

–  Gap, Old Navy, Aeropostale, and American Eagle Outfitters all carry cotton boxers but none of them carry plain boxers.  Gap comes the closest with fairly subtle stripes and plaids.  I plan pop into the local Gap Outlet store but don’t expect to find what I’m looking for; I’ve shopped there for boxers for The Nephew and know from experience that patterns, the wilder the better, rule the day.

– Eddie Bauer carries cotton boxer shorts, mostly in stripes and plaids, but they are sold only online and through the catalog.  I’m assuming that means I will not find any in the Eddie Bauer Outlet store.  At this point, I’m still very much in the “sampling” stage; ordering online and paying shipping is out of the question.

– Target.com shows that their Merona brand boxers come in all-cotton but no details are given regarding style particulars — trim fit?  full-cut?  back seam?  3-panel back?  I’ll stop and check them out but I’m not going to hold my breath.  In my experience, nothing Target makes is very generously cut — great for some things, not so much for others.

– Jockey seems to have eliminated their classic full cut boxers in all-cotton.  The only Jockey full cut boxers I could find on their website were their blends.  Why they would do that is a total mystery to me and honestly, it strikes fear in my heart.  The Husband wears Jockey full cut boxers in 100% cotton; he has quite a supply but some of them are getting close to being just a little too air-conditioned and will have to be trashed before too long.  As much as I don’t hate shopping and do enjoy a challenge, I really don’t want to spend all of ’10 looking for boxer shorts for the men in my life.

– And what is it about department stores?  Have all mid-level department stores banded together and decided that they will carry  nothing but cheaply made polyester blend clothing?  For goodness sake, even Target carries 100% cotton boxers!  And why in the world would a guy choose to carry his package day in and day out in polyester?  Makes as much sense to me as perfumed tampons.

Okay, rant over.  My challenge tomorrow: hit the stores in hopes of finding an affordable and dependable source of cotton boxer shorts in solid colors (or subtle stripes/plaids) in a full-cut style with 3-panel back.  I’m going into this with a positive attitude — I will find what I’m looking for.

In conclusion, today was a no-spend day.  Tomorrow will not.

Related posts:

1. $$: Bonehead
2. $$: Groceries, Clothes, Gas, Gifts, Soap & Donuts
3. Day 189: Shopping Frenzy
4. Day 27
5. Day 188: Tide, Tampax, & Cargo Shorts

I forgot to report on Monday that I’d transferred $150 into my Sharebuilder account and that yesterday that money was used to make another investment purchase in form of GE stock.  Yesterday’s transaction cost me $4.00 in fees and yielded another 8.8539 shares of GE stock at $16.49 per share.

Also on Monday, GE paid out dividends.  Mine ($25.33) was automatically reinvested netting another 1.5723 shares.

According to the Gains & Losses report in my Sharebuilder account, I know own 273.0807 shares of GE stock with a current market value of $4,421.18 for a lifetime net gain of a whopping $37.33. 

At least today my net is a gain and not a loss.  I’m pretty used to that little total being red.

No related posts.

Last night The Son came home and announced that he’d been smacked in the head with a basketball and he thought he’d chipped a tooth.  I poked a finger in his mouth like he was a 2yo and, sure enough, he’d chipped one of his lower bicuspids.  Darn.

So this morning I called our dentist and they fit him in this afternoon.  Naturally, that meant that The Husband had to come home early so I could have a car.  I picked up The Son from basketball practice and fought rush-hour traffic to the dentist’s office which was packed to the gills when we got there.  The receptionist announced they were running a bit late.  The Son took the opportunity to take a little cat nap on my shoulder where he was snoring ever so slightly in my ear when they finally called his name.  He was in the chair for all of 5 minutes, max.  The dentist announced that there was nothing to bond to so he’d ground it down so it wouldn’t irritate The Son’s tongue and called it good (exactly what I’d suspected he’d do; it wasn’t a huge chip, but it was plenty rough).  The charge:  $0.00.  Gratis.  Nada.  Zilch.

I didn’t complain.

Since I had a car and had no idea of when I’d have one again and since I’d had the forethought to bring along the items I needed to return to T.J.Maxx and since the shopping had originally been done on The Son’s behalf, I was a little bit heavy-handed in talking him into being okay with me stopping quickly to return the dress shirt and the t-shirts and see if they had the t-shirts in the correct size.  I also mentioned that I’d look for more boxers in the right size because, surprise! surprise!, he’s decided to switch to boxers [thus sparking what will most likely amount to The Great Underwear Hunt of ’10 — for those of you who remember of the Underwear Search of ’08 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8].  With any luck at all, this will be a mini version of that epic treasure hunt.

T.J.Maxx — ($48.40)

• returned Ike Behar dress shirt — $29.99
• returned Nautica undershirts, size M — $14.99

T.J.Maxx — $22.57

And this is where the bonehead title comes in, after I’d lucked out and found a 3-pack of white crewneck Nautica undershirts in size Large, as I made my way to the cashier, a shiny object caught my eye and I, spur-of-the-moment, grabbed a stainless steel coffee mug and had the clerk add it to my purchase.  The Daughter had mentioned wanting one and this one looked perfect.  It wasn’t.  It is stainless steel and it does have a no-spill top and a nice handle.  But it’s plastic inside.  “buzzer sound indicating wrong answer” Plastic inside is not acceptable.  It needs to be stainless steel inside and out.  I noticed the problem right away, before I even left the store but I felt like a bonehead and felt embarrassed and, thus, decided to return it some other day.  After all, I’m going to have to keep looking for more boxers, right?

• 3-pack of Nautica undershirts — $14.99
• Stainless Steel travel coffee mug — $5.99

The problem with the boxers is that The Son would clearly prefer plain boxers.  I knew from the outset that he wouldn’t want patterns (after all, a tiger can only change his stripes so much right?).  Switching from a lifetime of tight-y whiteys to boxers was a leap I didn’t think he’d take but the additional leap from solids to funky patterns like shamrocks, lipstick kisses, and skulls — no, he’s not going to go there.  The boxers I found the other day aren’t solids but they aren’t patterns either.  The Joseph Abboud boxers were various, though overall subtle, plaids.  The Tommy shorts were light blue with really small Tommy flag logos — as close as not-patterned as a pair of Tommy boxers is ever going to get.  So now the challenge becomes can I find him 100% cotton boxers in the right size that are solids?

Now one really doesn’t have to look very deeply to see that the apple has fallen right under the tree.  Not only does The Husband prefer solid colored boxers, he really prefers solid white.  He has a couple pair in light blue and a few more in dark blue (both solids) and they are always the last ones to leave the drawer.

So I guess the first place to look in the Underwear Hunt of ’10 is Jockey.  Do they still make 100% cotton boxers?  But if I can find some, will The Son like them?  After all, the two pair he’s worn so far are cut differently than the Jockey shorts his dad wears.  I just know that if I buy a couple packages online, something will go wrong and he’ll reject them.  But it could take me a week of Sundays driving all over town trying to track down solid-colored 100% cotton boxer shorts in size Small.

You know what?  I’m packing it in for the the day and just going to bed.  The boxer shorts dilemma will still be here tomorrow.

Related posts:

1. $$: No-Spend
2. Day 189: Shopping Frenzy
3. Day 41
4. $$: Groceries, Clothes, Gas, Gifts, Soap & Donuts
5. Day 164: Gifts and Underwear

No related posts.

There are currently three schools on the “Serious Contenders” list.  Two are private schools; the third an in-state public school [although she hasn’t officially been accepted to this school yet].  One private school is on the West Coast; the other in the Mid-West.  All are within or close to the $20,000 annual budget.

The work of writing the essay(s) and the chaos of coordinating all of the recommendations and transcripts is done; the excitement of receiving those first few acceptance letters is over; the thrill and incredible sense of validation (for her) and pride (for me) of receiving some very generous scholarship offers will hopefully linger a long time.  The stage that is just upon us is that of panic mixed with just a touch of fear:  now comes the process of actually making the decision as to which school to attend.

Naturally I don’t know exactly how The Daughter feels right now but I can assure you that I’m feeling plenty myself.  First, I’m so incredibly grateful for having followed my gut in encouraging her to apply to private colleges and not just assuming that we could only afford in-state public schools.  She might very well end up at a state school but at least she has the option of choosing a private school.  With the offers she has received, the difference in cost could be as little as $4,000 per year (and maybe even less) — that’s calculated on initial scholarship offers, there are still competitive scholarships she might win or other negotiations to be made that could bring the difference in cost down to a negligible amount.

Second, I’m feeling pretty overwhelmed with the complexity and magnitude of the decision ahead of her.  On the one hand, not only is it her decision to make but I’m uniquely unqualified to offer any assistance.  The Husband, as the money-maker and bill-payer and the one with previous experience having already sent three children through college, is the one who has set the budget.  If he’s set it, I know that the number is both generous and firm.  Plus he has the experience of having himself attended college full time and having graduated.  Sure, I’ve taken plenty of college courses, even attending full-time for a while, but not straight out of high school.  I didn’t do the whole application process, didn’t attend straight out of high school, didn’t do the “dorm life” thing, and I never graduated.

So, what happens next?  Now she visits campuses again.  Alone and for longer periods of time while school is in session so she can get a better feeling for the kids, the campus, the faculty, the administration, the overall experience.  A rep from the Mid-West school called a few days ago about their Competitive Scholarship weekend (as you might have noticed in last night’s Daily Dollar posting, I’ve just bought her plane ticket).  I can’t go with her because I have family in town that weekend but it’s good for her to go alone anyway — good practice for her and a good impression for the school.  Independence and initiative are things that college administrators love to see in students.

The other evening The Daughter came home from school and started gently dancing around the subject of visiting the West Coast college again and I quickly put her at ease by saying that I thought it imperative that she visit all of the campuses of schools she is seriously considering.  It’s a necessary expense and hopefully cheap insurance against a very expensive mistake of choosing a school that she ultimately hates.

The other thing she needs to do is delve a little deeper into the nitty gritty of what the schools actually offer and what she wants.  For example, since the whole foreign exchange thing didn’t pan out at her high school and a foreign immersion semester in college is very important to her (she plans to minor or possibly double major in Spanish), what does each school offer in the way of study abroad programs?  She doesn’t want to run into what turns out to be more empty promises.  Also, additional expenses will be a serious consideration.  Will she be expected to pay extra tuition for study abroad?  How much of the coordination will they help her do?  How many students do they send abroad (in other words, is this something they have a lot of experience with)?  How varied are the experiences offered?  [That was the big issue at her high school; they send plenty of kids to Germany but she wanted to go to a Spanish speaking country and they simply didn’t have the connections in place to make it happen.]

Another thing to check out is the double major issue.  Some schools make double majoring much “easier” than others.  At some schools, double majoring is a difficult process that makes graduation in 4 years impossible.

Honestly, somehow the Mid-West school appeals more to me.  However, the West Coast school seems to have very well established programs both for students who want to pursue foreign immersion opportunities and for those who wish to double major.  Can the Mid-West school measure up?  But then the Mid-West school is offering this opportunity to compete for additional scholarship funds and they’re paying a chunk of her travel expenses and taking care of accommodations.  Does the West Coast school offer anything similar?  And will they help cover travel and assure me that she’ll be picked up and delivered to the airport and well taken care of in-between?  And don’t forget about the in-state school.  The Daughter’s high school counselor seems convinced that some type of academic scholarship will be forthcoming.  Will it be big enough to entice her?  We can’t forget to compare the state school in cost comparisons — what are the chances of not being able to graduate in 4 years (this issue is becoming more and more prevalent at state schools where students simply can’t get into the classes they need to graduate) much less being able to double major in 4 years?  And how would tuition work during a study abroad semester — that is if they even offer that option?  I certainly don’t want to get sucked into a school that looks less expensive only to find lots of hidden costs.

Just as with every other aspect of parenting and all of the stages through which The Daughter has progressed up to this point — the work is never done; there’s always a new worry just around the corner; as soon as one question is answered another larger one pops up.  Oh, and she just keeps getting more and more expensive

Related posts:

1. College Update
2. Another College Update
3. $$: School Lunches, Milk, & Vitamins
4. The Disappeared Reappear
5. $$: Tunes & Travel

It’s been absolutely forever since I’ve purchased any new music — partly because I had no iTunes credit and that’s usually the only circumstance under which I indulge myself.  However, with the receipt of a couple of gift cards over the holidays, my store account is flush and today I went on a little music shopping spree.

• What’s Up? by 4 Non Blondes
• Come Undone by Duran Duran
• Runaway Train by Soul Asylum
• Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Deep Blue Something

United Airlines — $401.40

A round trip ticket for The Daughter to fly out for a campus visit and a chance at an additional competitive academic scholarship to one of the top two private colleges she’s currently considering.  They’ll reimburse us for a good portion of that cost but not all; and almost all of her other expenses that weekend should likewise be covered by the school.  They take care of picking her up and getting her back to the airport plus accommodations during the visit.  Exciting times!

Related posts:

1. College Update
2. Another College Update
3. College Update
4. $$: School Lunches, Milk, & Vitamins
5. Day 222: Travel, Battery, Concert Tickets

Kroger — $15.95

The Son and I started the day with a stop at Kroger on the way to church.  Yesterday at the basketball game I got the word that it would be appreciated if I’d bring donuts to church in the morning.  Who was I to say no?

And then, of course, last night as I was getting ready for bed I discovered that The Daughter, who’s been using our master bath more frequently these days because her brother tends to camp out in the kids’ hallway bathroom, had helped herself to my tampons.  I needed a “super” and there wasn’t a single one left.  What made this little invasion of privacy really annoying is that The Daughter recently had me buy a box of her preferred tampons and that box was sitting unused under the sink in her bathroom.  Her tampons, same brand different product, were useless to me because she prefers the scented variety [let’s not even get into how utterly stupid I think it is that anyone would make perfumed tampons and how completely idiotic I think women are who use them — including The Daughter;  clearly it’s collusion between the perfumed tampon and t.p. manufacturers and makers of yeast-infection products].

• 2 dozen donuts — $9.98
• box of Tampax tampons — $5.50

Natural Grocers — $52.43

My luck didn’t get any better after church.  I stopped at a different store than my regular haunt hoping that they’d have the vitamin C chewable tablets I like.  My local store no longer carries my favorite variety and this store didn’t have them either.  They did have other things I needed and I knew there was no way The Son was up for a second stop before going home so I bribed him to cooperate with shopping by agreeing to buy him a Ginger Ale.

• 4 bags of Cascadian Farms crinkle cut french fries — $2.99/ea.
• 2 pkgs of Applegate Farms roasted sliced organic turkey breast — $5.49/ea.
• 1 pkg of Applegate Farms sliced uncured ham — $3.65
• 3 Amy’s frozen cheese pizza pockets — $2.15/ea.
• 1 box of Amy’s frozen cheese snacks — $3.69
• 4 Brown Cow cream top vanilla yogurt cups — $0.59/ea.
• Organic Valley muenster cheese — $4.75
• Alexia frozen Mozzarella snacks — $4.29
• pint of organic buttermilk — $3.75
• Ginger Ale — $0.55

******************

T.J.Maxx — $67.74

On the way home from church, The Son announced that he been thinking he’d like to try boxer shorts again.  I can’t imagine that he’s going to find them any more comfortable than he has in the past (he’s tried the traditional cloth boxers, knit boxers, and knit boxer briefs — all with the same results: no).  I can’t even guess as to the source of this decision on his part but I’m not going to second-guess it.  He’s asked to try them so we’ll give them a try.  He has come unbelievably far in pushing beyond his old comfort levels and learning to wear things that just a year ago would have been out of the question.  Who knows, maybe he’ll decide to make the switch.  Then again, maybe he won’t.  My only job was to procure some boxers for him to try.  Naturally, that called for a trip to T.J.Maxx and I find it very, very difficult to walk out of there empty-handed.

• 3-pk of Joseph Abboud cotton boxers — $9.99 (this style has a button fly and a back seam much like a pair of pants or shorts would)
• 1 pair of Tommy Hilfiger cotton boxers — $7.99 (this style has the more traditional panel back with two off-set back seams)
• 3-pk of Nautica crewneck undershirts — $14.99
• 1 men’s cotton dress shirt — $29.99

Unfortunately, I completely messed up on the Nautica undershirts — The Son needs a size Large and I bought Medium.  I’m pretty sure it was the only package they had of the Nautica brand so I’ll have to return them and either try a different store or wait and hope they get in some Larges at some point.  The Son wears these as pajama tops; he currently has size Medium and would like to move up to a size Large.

The dress shirt was a particularly bitter disappointment.  It is an absolutely gorgeous Ike Behar dress shirt in the most beautiful silky cotton with french cuffs, no less.  It’s a wonderful french blue color with white stripes and solid blue collar and cuffs.  The tag says “compare at $125.00″ and it’s very easy to believe that the shirt originally retailed for that or more.  Even better, The Son loved it immediately.  The bitter disappointment is that it’s just not big enough.  The collar size was perfect (15) but the sleeves are just not long enough (32).  His current french cuff dress shirt, purchased last Spring for his confirmation, is a 14–1/2; 32/33.  It could have been the bargain of the year had the sleeves only been a little longer. 

Kroger — $50.46

• 3 pkgs of Hormel Naturals sliced lunch meat — $3.00/ea.
• wintergreen Altoids — $1.99
• Degree antiperspirant — $5.89
• 2.47# Honeycrisp apples — $7.39
• 2.16# Blood oranges — $2.16
• 2.17# ripe Bananas — $0.76 (perfect for banana bread)
• loaf of Rudi’s organic 100% whole wheat bread — $3.00
• 2 cartons Horizon organic chocolate milk — $3.79/ea.
• gallon of Horizon organic 2% milk — $3.99
• carton of Dole orange/peach/mango juice — $2.99
• Cascade dishwasher detergent — $4.71

Safeway Gas — $15.60

Might was well start the week with a full tank of gas, right?  I pumped 6.875 gallons @ $2.269 per gallon.  At the station, the odometer read 25,078.  I still can’t believe that we managed to put on that many miles in just one year.

****************

Oh, and I can’t forget the day’s two online purchases:

Pixie Soap — $27.60

I’ve been out of my favorite handmade soap for an awfully long time — maybe as long as a year?  If not really that long, at least it seems that long.  Patty at Pixie Soap was offering a Saturday night special — 20% discount for 4 or more bars of soap.  I think I actually paid just after midnight last night so this purchase does officially belong in today’s post.  I ordered 4 different varieties that I’ve never ordered before: lavender, goat’s milk, peppermint, and Calendula Avocado plus two bars of my favorite, Oats Gone Wild.  These handmade soaps are too expensive to keep in the bathrooms where my family tends to leave soap bars floating in an inch or two of water but I love keeping a bar in the basement guest bathroom and, more importantly, one next to the kitchen sink where I can use it frequently.

Shirt.Woot — $15.00

All of The Son’s classmates seem to be turning 15 at the same time.  He’s got two more parties to go to in the next few weeks.  This t-shirt is for the classmate who, though not diagnosed or acknowledged by his parents, clearly has Asperger’s and is slightly less high-functioning than The Son meaning he exhibits more classic Asperger’s symptoms.  The Son has mentioned that this classmate, more than his others, has enjoyed The Son’s various Shirt.Woot t-shirts so that’s what he wanted to give this fellow for his birthday.  We picked out a design from the among the “Reckoning” designs.  It won’t arrive in time for the party but that shouldn’t be a big deal — The Son will simply present it when it does arrive in the mail.

Related posts:

1. $$: No-Spend
2. $$: Bonehead
3. Day 189: Shopping Frenzy
4. Gas, Groceries, & Gifts
5. Day 17

The kids had basketball games today.  I was thrilled to be feeling good enough today to go watch them play.  I didn’t have to pay any admission fees because it was a home game and at home games parents of players don’t pay admission.  That’s because we pay activity fees which are a lot higher than game admission fees.  Because the larder was so empty at home and because the kitchen is an absolute disaster, I offered to stop at Subway for sandwiches for the kids.  Then I agreed that each of them could upgrade their sandwiches to meals with drinks and cookies.  Heck, why not! 

Related posts:

1. $$: Fluff
2. Day 104: Returns, Tortillas, and shhh (Subway)
3. Day 105: A Busy, Budget-Busting Day in the ‘Burbs
4. Day 186: Fast Food
5. Bagels & Shmear

I went nowhere.  I did nothing.  I spent no money.

Related posts:

1. No Spend Day
2. Honest-to-Goodness No-Spend Day
3. $$: No Spend Day
4. $$: No Spend Day
5. No Spend Day!

This afternoon I accompanied The Daughter to her appointment for a thyroid check-up.  Sometimes the thought that she’ll be on her own in 6 months strikes fear into my heart — once again she went to the appointment without her wallet (no credit card for the co-pay) and I still carry her insurance card.  I guess that when the time comes she’ll step up to the plate, as they say, and learn to take care of these things on her own.  Not that I mind going with her to her appointments.  I glad she still needs me for something.

On an unrelated health note, I fear I’ve caught some kind of crud.  I’m feeling particularly bad tonight so I will end here, wishing everyone a good night, and retire.  Hopefully a good night’s sleep will help me fight off whatever bug is trying to take over my system.

Related posts:

1. $$: Dec 10 — Medical Expense
2. Day 167: Stupid Tax, Co-Pay, more Underwear, & Chocolate Milk
3. $$: Physical Therapy
4. One Purchase, One Expense — Both Huge
5. Day 254: Doctor & Gas