Flip Your Wig

The 1940's is my favorite era for beauty and glamor so I thought I would test out a "1940's hair how-to" pin from Pinterest. http://pinterest.com/pin/161355599124308689/

When one is taking a "before" picture, one must take the most unflattering picture possible.

 First step was to pin the first two sections of my hair. And curl the rest of your hair.

Now you are supposed to let one of your first sections of your hair and curl it back, pinning it with a bobby pin. First half of the section worked out fine. I could not get the second part. So I stared at it until it knew who was boss.

Again... Several attempts...

Ugh....

If you look at each side by itself... It kind of works...

Finally got it...

Threw on some lipstick and eyeliner and I called it a day.

I am wanting to start a blog series where I test out different pins. I know it isn't completely original but it gives me a good excuse to actually attempt the pins on Pinterest. Judging by my first attempt... This should be interesting...

Unqualified Advice from a Twenty-Something

A lot of advice articles have been going viral. Most of them are written by barely twenty-something's, or have titles that are controversial but the article says exactly what the reader believes. As a twenty-something, I feel like my advice is pretty much comparable to a twelve year-old's with better grammar. That being said, here is a dose of unqualified advice from a twenty-something:

Aaron and I have been dieting since school started in August. We aren't to our goal weights yet (thanks, Christmas) but so far, between the two of us, we have lost four pant sizes and seventy-seven pounds.  

 Here is a seventy-seven pound Dachshund for a frame of reference.

I'm not telling you this to brag (although it is nice to slip that piece of good news somewhere in here) but to say I struggle with this point I am eventually going to get to. 

There has been a trend where everyone claims everyone is beautiful. And however nice that sounds, repeating it over and over again doesn't make it true. Although society's definition of beauty changes based on what era we are in, not everyone is going to fit in the cookie cutter definition of beauty.

It is instinctual to judge people based on looks and the sound of their voice. In fact, it takes a millisecond to decide if someone is trustworthy or not. That isn't necessarily something to be ashamed of, it is just biology. I  understand we need to be aware of how we present ourselves. 

But why do we value ourselves on how we fit in a size two or how well we can contour our face rather than other character traits, such as intelligence, kindness, or integrity? I'm not saying you need to pick one trait or another. Don't run out after not showering for weeks and yell at people to accept you because you have a masters degree. 

Please bathe. 

I would be offended if all a person could say about me is that I am fashionable or know how to apply makeup. I would much rather someone praise how I stick to my beliefs, or that I am clever, or kind. 

How about for your New Years resolution, in addition to losing the equivalent of an obese Dachsund puppy off your waist, focus on a character trait to improve. Let's make 2015 a year where we focus less on the packaging of the gift and more on the content. 

Christmas Post

There is something special about sunrises. I am saying this as a person who doesn't appreciate mornings, otherwise. A sunrise is like a page is being turned and new words are waiting to be written for the day. Aaron and I found ourselves witnessing one yesterday and if sunrises are special, a Christmas sunrise is that much more so. I tend to witness Christmas morning sunrises and I was glad yesterday was no exception. 

We were driving to Lubbock's airport to make our journey to Round Rock. I was reminiscing about past Christmases, and missing the Christmas magic that came standard with being a child. Christmas will never feel like it did when we were children but hopefully we wil be able to see it through our own kids someday.

Our plane ride was pretty exciting. I was certain we sat next to Tom Selleck, but Aaron said it was a 5'8" man with a hispanic accent. In the middle of the flight, we heard a sudden yell from a man two rows behind us and an announcement asking if there was a doctor in the house. Fortunately, there was a doctor and a nurse and through careful eavesdropping, I discovered that the man experienced his first siezure. It didn't last very long and the doctor talked to him throughout the duration of the flight. He seemed to be okay and fortunately it isn't a very long flight. 

It was so nice seeing my family, eating too much, and giggling half of those calories off playing white elephant afterwards. 

My mom is on the board of directors for a professional theatre company in Austin and we saw one of their plays today. I always get so nostalgic for the theatre whenever we see plays. In a perfect world, I would love to start a community theatre in Seagraves. Maybe someday. You know, when I suddenly find myself with free time. (I should probably delete this paragraph so no one can hold me accountable for this statement).

 

The Unspoken Rules of the Thanksgiving Table

Julia and Julia is playing in the background (the ladies won that battle), the dog is snoring, the men are talking cars, and Mimi is watching videos about cats with a sweet smile on her face. This year is Aaron's side of the family's turn with Thanksgiving. Although I have eaten at a variety of Thanksgiving tables throughout the course of my young life, I have discovered there is a list of unspoken rules that occur at these tables, no matter what location or who surrounds it. Here is the condensed version:

1. Stories that have been told 100 times will be told a 101th time.

2. The Thanksgiving meal will never start on time.

3. Something will be spilled or broken (usually by yours, truly).

4. A comment will be made on how Thanksgiving has snuck up on them.

5. Someone else will comment on how everyone's head is in their electronic devices

6. It takes a lot of convincing to get the men away from the football game once dinner is finally ready.

7. A forgotten dish will be remembered once everyone is finally in their place at the table, causing the person positioned closest to the kitchen to retrieve it, along with 10 other forgotten items.

8."I will never eat like that again," will be uttered.

9. Turkey will sedate the consumer.

10. No one is happy with the Cowboys.

Of course, there are traditions that belong to different branches of family, but these universal rules of the Thanksgiving table are as comfortable as a thousand blankets.

Deck the Hills

Deck the Hills with blankets and vicks.

cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough

Tis the season to be sneazy 

sneeze sneeze sneeze sneeze sneeze sneeze sneeze sneeze sneeze

Don we now our sweats and hoodies 

cough cough cough, sneeze sneeze sneeze, cough cough cough

Troll the ancient songs of sickness. 

sneeze sneeze sneeze sneeze sneeze, sneeze sneeze sneeze sneeze. 

Turn the heat up, it's really cold.

cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough 

No, nevermind I'm hot as Texas

Sneeze sneeze sneeze sneeze sneeze sneeze sneeze sneeze 

Follow me and you'll get sick 

cough cough cough cough cough, cough cough cough cough

Wait, I'll spray with disinfectant

sneeze sneeze sneeze sneeze sneeze, sneeze sneeze sneeze sneeze 

Fast away this weekend passes 

cough cough cough cough cough, cough cough cough cough 

Hail the new week, swollen eyes 

sneeze sneeze sneeze sneeze, sneeze sneeze sneeze sneeze

 

Now we are coughing all together

Cough cough cough cough cough, cough cough cough

If only we had more sick days off. 

Sneeze sneeze sneeze sneeze sneeze sneeze sneeze sneeze! 

cough cough cough, sneeze sneeze sneeze sneeze! 

Hope you enjoyed the oh, so clever parody (cough, cough). It may not be clever, but it is the song of this household. We seem to be in that time of year when one of us is sick for a week, then the other takes over, and then we have two weeks in between of being healthy. 

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. It's hard being married to a teacher. 

Let's Pawty

Today we had a birthday party for Lucy because why not? If she is going to be my subsitute baby, we might as well treat her like it. 

To start, I played the part of making her wear a birthday outfit she had no desire of wearing...

and she played her part by rolling her eyes, fighting me on it, and finally complying to make me happy.

We made up for the embarassing photo- op with yummy treats.

My  dog usually takes her sweet time eating food so we knew she really liked it because she ate this right up. 

Oh, and Lucy made sure the festive hat wouldn't bother her again.

As you can see, it was quite the chore getting a somewhat decent picture...

Until next time, pawty on!

The Knighted Beatle

Last May, Aaron found me weeping in the bathtub essentially throwing a full on tantrum.  Why? Well I happened to catch on the radio that Paul McCartney was coming to Lubbock in June. 

I mentioned this to Aaron, and he somehow thought I figured out that he was going to try to find tickets for our anniversary. To be honest, I had no idea and didn't think we stood a chance to get tickets. He joined the fan club to buy pre-order tickets and the website wouldn't accept any of our email addresses. 

So I went from being excited beyond belief to being way disappointed. ( Hence, the grown-up tantrum in a bathtub.) It's a good thing Aaron is blinded by love because that display wasn't the most flattering.

Fast foward to two weeks before our anniverary; I accidentally found Paul McCartney tickets in the place I usually hide gifts. We seriously cannot keep secrets from each other. I wanted Aaron to feel like he still surprised me so I planned on keeping that a secret. Whenever I saw him, that plan was thrown out because I couldn't stop smiling. Again, secrets cannot be kept in this house. 

Fast foward again to anniversary weekend. Paul McCartney got sick and had to postpone the concert. (No, I responded like a grown-up and didn't throw myself in the bathtub). 

Fast foward one last time (sorry about all this time travel) to last week. We were so excited because on Saturday, we would finally get to go to the concert of our lifetime. Thursday during lunch, Aaron tells me we have a problem. The concert isn't on Saturday, it is tonight. If Aaron hadn't happened to have the radio on to the right station at the right time in his two minute commute from the church to the house, we would have gone to Lubbock on Saturday expecting Paul McCartney and would have ended up having another bathtub temper tantrum. 

While we were driving, trying to find a parking space, I kept seeing these motorcycle cops passing us. I start to realize there is a reason for all of these. In slow motion I turn my head to see a black SUV with a window rolled down with PAUL MCCARTNEY passing by and waving! I would have driven up to Lubbock just for that two second experience.

The whole night was perfect! We found a parking spot right next to the building. We were pretty close to the front door whenever it opened. We got to join thousands of other fans singing at the top of their lungs to all of his songs. He was so entertaining, funny, and full of so many stories from the past. He sounded like he did when he was in his twenties. It was so much fun that there were three encores! 

I really wish I was more eloquent with my words so that I could truly paint a picture for you. All I can say is this is a concert that my grandchildren will get annoyed with hearing all the time. Both Aaron and I grew up listening to The Beatles so this was a dream come true.