It Is True...I Miss Them AND Another Self-Portrait

This kid has a serious love for bananas, his silky black security blanket (an old pillow case) and my blow dryer:



And there's nothing quite like having your big sister around...



I miss you all, "TAGJAM FAM"!

Oh, and since it has been a while, another Self Portrait Challenge installment:



(Because I just love autumn, the rain, rain in autumn...).

Houston, We Have a Problem

Like any decent, red-blooded American female, I loves me some shoes. And, like any decent, single, financially stable(ish) career woman, I have way too many pair.

I seem to be obsessed with the colorful/comfortable/make a statement kind lately. Maybe a bit too obsessed. I call this "How Many, Many Feet You Meet" (because I'm a wee little dork who thrills in giving titles and nicknames and such). Enjoy...or salivate with shoe-envy.

You might want to click on the image to get the full effect.

10 Years Older...and a Self Portrait

Today I spent some time reading this post and this post by the Pioneer Woman (I know these were posted a while back but it seems I'm always lagging behind on her blog). For those of you who won't link up to see what was said I'll give you the low-down: basically she talked about where we end up in life compared to where we thought we'd be 10 or 20 years ago. Her story was interesting, but honestly, the comments in the second post captured my attention most--how uniquely similar we all are. Anyway, I thought it was an interesting topic of discussion and it got me thinking about a topic I brush over every now and again.

10 years ago I was ready for my senior year of high school at Kodiak High (woo. go bears.). I thought that in ten years I'd be married (after completing my degree at a college "back East" and perhaps a mission somewhere exotic and incredible) for two years to my oh-so-perfect husband and my first child (Emma) would be brand new or possibly on her way (I was a timeline planner, what can I say?). I figured I'd live somewhere other than Utah and I'd work as a stage actress and possibly appear in a commercial or two. But that, because of kids, I'd maybe step away from my great career for a while. Yes, I actually thought this would be my life in my heart of hearts. At 17, I recall now, I was oh-so-naive.

Fast forward 10 years and I'm single and childless and living in Utah with a roommate, my best friend, and the thought of performing on a stage or appearing on camera makes me sweat a bit under my arms. College happened in my hometown while I lived in my parents basement (because anyone with a brain could tell you that financially this would be the wisest decision). I'm not sure if my 17-year-old self would be crushed by this news or not. What I know is that I am very happy with where I am at.

I can't imagine what career I would prefer to teaching because, though I complain about it and it exhausts me, performing in the classroom is my life's work, my niche . I feel I get better at it every year and when it is good in that room, wow! how it feels to know you made a kid think about their world! And when it is bad in that room you always have a good story to share.

The past few years of single-hood have been a blessing. I know myself. I know what is important. And while a good marriage would be nice, I know that I am very content to keep busy until a good marriage presents itself. What doesn't appeal to me: a mediocre marriage for the sake of being married and no longer "alone."

And the thing about this supposed loneliness is, that I'm not. I'm lucky enough to live with my best friend who is like-minded and witty and good. I have a wonderfully mixed up, dysfunctional, and loving family that I get to live not far from because I'm living in Utah. And while I'm not a mom yet, have you seen the pictures of my nieces and nephews? C'mon--that is more than most could hope for!

So, 10 years later I can say that I'm nowhere near that place I thought I'd be. And it is fine by me.

Oh, and here's my squinting self-portrait challenge submission for this week:

Self Portrait Challenge...Reinstated

I've been a slacker with this, so here (finally) is another Self Portrait.

The Self Portrait Challenge

Jumping on yet another bandwagon, I know. Welcome to my newest blogging feature: The Self Portrait Challenge. Alice described it best. I think it is a great idea. The Self Portrait Challenge: an opportunity to show my ever-changing face. The challenge of this is not posing, which I'm prone to do in front of the camera. This is an attempt to catch those natural moments. Me. Raw.

Humor me while I blabber on about why I'm doing this. For me, this is about letting go of insecurities and a faulty self-image. As a woman, I am told how I am to look through a million different mediums. Mediums which, more often than not, tell me I look wrong. The SPC is about me owning my own body and my own face in my own way. No supposed rules. Who cares if I have blemishes or a double chin when I laugh? That is how I look. While I can think this, I don't always feel it. For me, this is about getting to a place where I feel it. Where that critical voice in my head just disappears. I hope that through the Self Portrait Challenge I can capture a piece of me at different spots along my life thread.

And so we begin. We'll call this one "Uncertainty".