Why are the shops filled with ugly clothes? Why? I am so sick of the "boho" look. If I see another flouncy skirt I'll scream. If I see more brown and pink, I'll go nuts. I have money and I want to spend it, so come on shops, co-operate.

My sister bought the loveliest dress in Portmans recently. I wanted to get one but they didn't have any. That made me sad but I had a diabolic scheme - it involves her putting on more weight, not being able to fit into the dress and then persuading her to give it to me. Simple, yet evil like all good schemes. Now I bet she'll ruin it by losing weight. Bitch.

I wanted to get runners but I wanted to go to the Athlete's Foot to do that footprint thing. They don't have a store at Northland though so I'll either go into the city over the weekend or at lunch time next week. I wanted to buy work clothes but flouncy, boho skirts are not for work. Anything with sequins or glitter on it isn't for work either - why do they do that? Take a simple top and destroy it with shiny bits? I like shiny things as much as the next girl but there's a time and place for shiny.

You know what else would make my life a whole big Easy McEasier? If shops were more open about what sizes they sell. Like, I don't want to go into a store and look at clothes that don't fit me. That would be embarassing and a waste of time. Most stores don't even tell you on their web site. I have a new found love for those that actually put size charts - that way I know that I can shop there.

And, grr - this is my major hate - why do all these shops sell the same clothes? You have a whole shopping centre full of stores that sell variations on the same thing. Why? Why not have just one big shop? I don't get it.

I thought once I got into a "regular" size - a 16-18, I'd have a world of shopping choice. But that's not the reality at all. I can shop in some regular stores but I don't know which ones and I can't shop in the stores I like. Recently, the only clothes I've really liked have been in hippy shops. I have a real thing at the moment for Asian influenced clothes. They have some great stuff in the hippy store (Ojays, I think it is) near me and there is a fabulous store on Smith St that I travel past everyday on the tram but mostly those clothes are very small fitting. I'll get there one day and, at least with those types of shops, the styles don't change too much.

In fact, as I'm writing this, I'm realising I've never liked fashion. I've never liked dressing the same as everyone else or spending heaps of money on clothes that will date within a few months. Before I never have the option of being a fashion clone most of the time anyway, although I did throw myself head first into the peasant top trend of '03. I guess, regardless of size, it takes a while to cultivate your own look and to find the stores from which to cultivate it. And I don't think any of those stores exist at Northland Shopping Centre.

Rant over. I did so some good this morning. Kathryn's # 1 shopping tip - go early. I picked up my son and hit the market at 8.30 am. I love early mornings at the market, it's worth the sacrifice of sleep time to avoid the crowds and I will nap this afternoon anyway.

I took a leaf out of Jodie's highly organised book, and planned out my meals for the week. It made such a difference. We whizzed around that market at high speed and instead of buying a whole swag of food that is impossible to combine into meals, I have a range of dinners to pick from this week.

We did have souvlakis for breakfast but a girl can't be perfect and I only ate half (and am still full hours later).

And, get this, I bought the ingredients so I can make my own bircher museli to have every morning. No more Uncle Toby's Oat Temptations for me. It's a bit of mucking around but I can make enough for 2 days in one hit. If it works out, I'll post the recipe.

I got my son a mobile phone, been promising him one since his birthday in Feb so it's about time I followed through; stocked up on underwear and pjs at K-Mart (20% off, woohoo!); got a nice '50s style skirt at K-Mart also (one fashion trend I actually like atm is the girlie girl '50s skirts) and finally got rabbit ears for my telly, plus I got to hang out with my son (even if I spent half the time telling him off for not being a girl, cos that would make shopping with him so much more fun - oh don't worry, he's used to that) so the morning wasn't a complete waste.

Now it's time for resting. Maybe a nap and watching more of the Twin Peaks dvds I borrowed from my friend, Sugar Lips. It's a great show, I just wish they'd stop eating pie all the time!