Did I surprise you? I surprised me!

I’m back. And I’ve got pictures. Lots of pictures. And I chose this one first. I don’t even know why. It’s not my favorite. I prefer my hair down. Someone once had to explain to me the definition of ‘looking like a pinhead’ and ever since I’ve been afraid of looking like a pin head, so I usually don’t post a picture of myself unless I had time to style my hair before the picture was take (which I rarely do). Plus, I’ve been having a bad hair year trying to grow at that wedge hair cut, so I haven’t been able to wear my hair down. (That was remedied by my sister taking her fancy scissors to my head and taking so little off I didn’t have to sweep, yet giving me a fresh new look. Hooray!) All this results in me not posting pictures of myself very often. Now I decide to’ let my hair down’ by posting a picture of me with my hair up. Go figure.  You don’t have to tell me I don’t look like a pinhead, I know I don’t. But I still fear it.

Whoa. Weird bunny trail. Pinheaded bunny trail.

Anyway, I posted this picture first ’cause I wanted to tell you about my glasses before posting all the pictures of our trip, because in the pictures of our trip, I’m wearing my glasses and I didn’t want you all to freak out and wonder if I’ve always worn glasses and you just didn’t notice or something. And I didn’t want to post about my glasses in a post that’s supposed to be about our trip.

So, for starters, here’s a picture of me in my glasses (not looking like a pinhead, I hope).

I have been near sighted in my left eye for years. It was finally getting bad enough that I was afraid to drive at night. I decided it was time to get glasses last fall, and then I got pregnant. And they say your eyes change when you’re pregnant, so I put it off and let Jeremy do most of the driving (which he does anyway!). Finally, it was time to get glasses.

My eye was so bad the optometrist could not believe I’d gone that long without corrective lenses. That’s why I say, me getting glasses is not a sign of the fact that I’m aging. (because I’m not – right, Christine? That’s a story for another time) My glasses are a sign of maturity. As in, I finally did what a responsible adult would do and went and got my eyes checked.

And then I was told I should probably wear them all the time so my eyes can learn to adjust.

And I freaked out, ’cause I was not prepared to pick out all-the-time-glasses with such short notice. I had not had time to research what styles would look good on my face. I did not have any fashion-conscious friends with me to give me advice. And I had 3 kids who were really being quite good, but where getting tired of being in the optometrist’s office for over an hour while Daddy and Mommy had their old eyes checked. (Claire kept trying on $300 dollar glasses and Jesse was using the lounge chairs as a jungle gym)

Despite all that, I made a decision, picked them up on Friday on our way to the concert, and loved them.

And wore them the rest of the day and had fun (and only felt a little bit bad about) making people uncomfortable all evening because they couldn’t figure out what was different about me. I decided I should issue a public apology. Sorry, peoples.

There, do you feel better? Now that we have gotten that out of the way, I will post the long-promised pictures…

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fter 3 trips to the dentist, hours in a cold waiting room, and numerous x-rays, I am told that I DO NOT have a cavity! Not a single one! I have beautiful teeth! Hooray! My delight is hardly dampened by the news that the mysterious, intermittent pain in my lower right molars is due to an impacted wisdom tooth which will require oral surgery. Nope, doesn’t phase me. I’m just glad I don’t have a cavity. Why such a fear of cavities, and such a blase attitude about wisdom tooth extraction? Maybe ’cause my mom was a dental hygienist and the fight against cavities is one of my earliest memories. “Get those sugar bugs!” she would cry as she scrubbed at my teeth.

::We finally got our first good snow, followed by a sunny day that allowed me to experience our new house in a new light – ‘snowlight’ that is. I love how sun on snow makes every room look bright and crisp. Claire’s room is especially nice in the afternoon. Hmm, that reminds me – I need to finish the house tour. Next room to nearly be ready for pictures is the living room – hooray!

::Hanging out with family watching stupid movies. We initiated Colin the other night by introducing him to Rocket Man. I laughed till I felt sick. I love that movie. It is so stupid. That’s why it’s so funny. “Classic story…boy meets girl, girl goes into hypersleep…”

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Click for a humorous tribute to Billy Maze.

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This was too beautiful and amazing not to share. I am astonished.

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Oh, this is too cool! You guys are gonna be glad I couldn’t work in the studio today,
that I finished my library book,
and that the laundry is not dry enough to fold yet,
for I’m just playin’ around on the internet and just discovered something that is going to revolutionize my life – and yours, too!

I have discovered the End of the Internet.

I was reading over at Heather’s blog about a feature in Google Reader. She said ” if you install a Google Reader ‘Next’ button in your browser’s bookmark bar, you can click from one new post to another and read each post in its original blog setting where it belongs.” The idea totally appealed to me, because, though I love using an aggregator, I miss seeing the actual blog page. Also, it’s not as convenient to leave comments when you’re in Google Reader. (ok, so, you just have to click a few more times, but seriously, it’s all about saving clicks, isn’t it???) So, I followed the link and found very easy instructions, and promptly installed the little next button. (Trust me, if it wasn’t easy, I couldn’t have done it!)

Then, having about as much fun as a stroll on a sunny spring day, I clicked through all the blogs that had fresh posts, leaving comments like strewn petals as I went. Then, apparrently, I got to the last fresh post in my feed, for the next page said,

The End of the Internet

Congratulations! This is the last page.

Thank you for visiting the End of the Internet. There are no more links.

You must now turn off your computer and go do something productive.

Go read a book, for pete’s sake.

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PREGNANCY Q & A & more!

Q: Should I have a baby after 35?

A: No, 35 children is enough.

Q: I’m two months pregnant now. When will my baby move?

A: With any luck, right after he finishes college.

Q: What is the most reliable method to determine a baby’s sex?

A: Childbirth.

Q: My wife is five months pregnant and so moody that sometimes she’s borderline irrational.

A: So what’s your question?

Q: My childbirth instructor says it’s not pain I’ll feel during labor, but pressure. Is she right?

A: Yes, in the same way that a tornado might be called an air current.

Q: When is the best time to get an epidural?

A: Right after you find out you’re pregnant.

Q: Is there any reason I have to be in the delivery room while my wife is in labor?

A: Not unless the word ‘alimony’ means anything to you.

Q: Is there anything I should avoid while recovering from childbirth?

A: Yes, pregnancy.

Q: Do I have to have a baby shower?

A: Not if you change the baby’s diaper very quickly.

Q: Our baby was born last week. When will my wife begin to feel and act normal again?

A: When the kids are in college.

(though I don’t agree with all of the answers to these questions, being a strong believer in natural childbirth myself, I thought these were hilarious, and thank my cousin, Corrie for sending them to me!)

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Here’s a great idea I got in my photojojo mailing this week – we’re gonna have to try this when the fam is together this weekend for Olivia’s graduation party!

The goggling stares. The stiff, tortured stances. The false grins. The symptoms are all there.

You’ve got a bad case of Group Photo.

Fear not! Dr. Jojo, photoologist, at your service. And I’ve got a patent-pending, never-fail, miracle cure that’ll have you taking happy, fun group portraits whenever you want!

Here’s how:

Step 1: Set the timer on your camera. Make it short, like ten seconds.

Step 2: Arrange everybody in your shot, making the sure the camera’s zoomed out enough so you won’t cut off anybody’s head.

Step 3: Here’s the tricky part: have everybody that’s going to be in the photo come around behind the camera.

(Except Great Aunt Lily who don’t move so good. She can stay.)

Step 4: Ready? Press the button! Now everybody has to run to get into the photo before the timer goes off. Yikes! Hurry!

Now wasn’t that fun? And we can almost guarantee you’ve got a picture of smiling people actually enjoying themselves. Maybe even injuring themselves!

Now if you can just convince them all to do it one more time…

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Alice Grayson was to bake a cake for the Baptist Church Ladies’ Group in Tuscaloosa, but forgot to do it until the last minute. She remembered the morning of the bake sale and after rummaging through cabinets, found an angel food cake mix & quickly made it while drying her hair, dressing, & helping her son pack for Scout camp.

When Alice took the cake from the oven, the center had dropped flat and the cake was horribly disfigured. She thought, “Oh dear, there is not time to bake another cake.”

This cake was important to Alice because she did so want to fit in at her new church and in her new community of friends. So, being inventive, she looked around the house for something to build up the center of the cake. Alice found it in the bathroom – a roll of toilet paper. She plunked it in and covered it with icing. Not only did the finished product look beautiful, it looked perfect.

Before she left the house to drop the cake by the church and head for work, Alice woke her daughter Amanda and gave her some money and specific instructions to be at the bake sale the moment it opened at 9:30 and to buy the cake and bring it home.

When Amanda arrived at the sale, she found the attractive, perfect cake had already been sold. She grabbed her cell phone and called her mom.

Alice was horrified – she was beside herself. Everyone would know! What would they think? She would be ostracized, talked about, and ridiculed! All night, Alice lay awake in bed thinking about people pointing fingers at her and talking about her behind her back.

The next day, Alice promised herself she would try not to think about the cake and would attend the fancy luncheon/bridal shower at the home of a fellow church member and try to have a good time. Alice did not want to attend because the hostess was a snob who more than once had looked down her nose at Alice because she was a single parent and not from the founding families of Tuscaloosa but, having already RSVP’d, she couldn’t think of a believable excuse to stay home.

The meal was elegant, the company was definitely upper crust old South and, to Alice’s horror, the cake in question was presented for dessert! Alice felt the blood drain from her body when she saw the cake!

She started out of her chair to tell the hostess all about it, but before she could get to her feet, the Mayor’s wife said,

“What a beautiful cake!”

Alice, still stunned, sat back in her chair when she heard the hostess (who was a prominent church member) say, “Thank you, I baked it myself.”

Alice smiled and thought to herself, “God is good!”

Thanks to my Aunt Becky for sending me this cute story!

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If you like a good story, visit this father’s blog as he tells the story of a special day in his daughter’s life.

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