Recently, a childhood friend of mine posted an old school photo on Facebook.
I was utterly mortified. I looked like a complete idiot.
I was an adorable child. My parents will tell you this, other people might agree, and I will tell you this. However, around the age of about ten or eleven, I turned into a complete, awkward mess. I'm not sure if it had to do with getting glasses or what, but something happened between fourth and fifth grade. And it only got worst till I was a junior in high school. I still tended to take horrible photos, but I stopped looking so awkward and geeky. (Sometimes.) I also finally stopped hacking off my hair to channel a mushroom.
But I digress.
The photo posted on Facebook (or The Facebook as some people call it) was from fifth grade. Oddly, I was actually wearing my glasses (I tended to forget them till I was in about seventh grade when I finally became blind enough to be unable to function without them). I also, for some unknown reason, tucked my shirt into my high waisted jeans. I know, back in 1995, those were like the ONLY type of jeans out there, but still. WHY DID I TUCK MY SHIRT IN? Out of the seven or six girls in the photo, only two of us were sporting tucked in shirts. And since I was the short one with the tucked in shirt, tapered jeans, and granny boots, I looked like an awkward mess. Even for 1995.
With the exception of the girl who posted the photo and one other, each person (besides myself) commented on the photo how, well, horrible she looked. Each one thought she looked the worst, completely passing over myself. (Who did look the worst. My brother agreed.) The photo had been up for quite a few days before I realized that likely all of us were totally embarrassed (in a ha ha ha kind of way) of how we appeared as kids. For the most part, when I see photos of myself as a kid, I don't cringe at the clothes. Yeah, I look dated, but for the most part I think I look fine. It's not till I hit that awkward stage (around the time of the photo), where I want to crawl into a hole and hide.
Though, out of all the years, I think my junior high years were the worst. I remember thinking during those years I looked GREAT. My mom let me have more control over my wardrobe (in eighth grade she took me to Old Navy to buy clothes and I almost passed out, as she never took me to "cool" places to shop. I had to take my dad) and I had wire rimmed glasses (which at the time I thought were great and cool).
My hair kept getting shorter, the glasses kept getting geekier, and I had braces. And I am just awkward. I am still awkward. I just can dress and do my hair now. In high school, when I finally stopped trying to channel a mushroom, I finally stopped looking like a complete train wreck. By the time I went to college, I had "style."
Seriously.
I never thought I had my own style. I wanted to look like everyone else. I shopped at the "in" stores (especially after I got a license and a credit card). My hair was finally somewhat under my control and not always in a scrunchie. (Oh god, the scrunchies...) My basic goal in life was not to look like an award mess.
But style? That was the farthest thing from my mind. Yet, for some reason, all my friends seemed to think I was the fashionable one, the one with style, and the one to come to when they had clothes questions.
I spent a lot of time blinking my first year of college when this would happen.
As I went through college, it kind of went to my head. Especially when this one well dressed girl told me she liked my style. I was totally flattered. And blinked a lot.
When I look back at photos from my college years (or late high school), I do not cringe at my hair, clothing choices, or glasses. Even when I still sported the braces, I looked okay. I do cringe at photos of me from after I got married, but not due to what I'm wearing. I usually cringe because I think my face looks fat or something else along those lines. Or why or why did I cut my hair off before we went to Del Rio? I look like a moron with short hair. I don't know why, but I think I look like a loser. And it always makes my face look fuller, so then I look fatter. (I know I am not fat. Even at the moment, I know I am not fat. If I were fat, I'd fit into my maternity jeans and I would have to take them in on the sides to avoid them a) falling down and b) having mom butt.)
That is another thing I began to contemplate while staring at this photo from 1995: will my daughter be an award mess like myself? She will be blind (I'm blind and Pilot Boy was blind till he let some doctor cut his eye up with lasers) and she will likely have some crazy hair. (When Pilot Boy has hair, it's curly and I've got a wavy/curly/straight mess on my head.) Will she likely listen to me when I try to tell her to do something because she will later want to hide her face in her hands when looking at a photo some twenty years later?
No. Just like I didn't listen to my own mother. I doubt she'll listen to me. Such is life.
07 February 2014
So, it snowed....
It snowed.
The world ended because it snowed.
"What?????" you're asking, "The world ended?"
If you live in Oklahoma, yeah, the world had ended several times since winter began. I say the world ended, because they cease running normal programming and run constant....weather reporting. Oh, and random People driving around and telling you not to drive around. Stay home. Don't get into your car, mount a camera, and drive around aimlessly.
The first "snow storm" the state got (because if it snows anywhere in the state, it's the main news story, as there are only two TV markets in the state and we happen to live in the bigger one), the entire Sunday morning was spent watching some dude drive from Altus to OKC. (Instead of showing us the program Sunday Morning.)
Was it snowing where I was?
No.
Did it snow?
No.
This week, it was indeed snowing where I was located. But not on Sunday when they refused once again to show me Sunday Morning. And then when it was snowing here, I wasn't allowed to see any national news.
(You can watch regular programming on CBS if you either don't have cable or have Cox Cable, one one of the digital channels, but I've got a dish to watch football, so I'm trapped with no news when ever it snows here.)
It is annoying. Not EVERYONE NEEDS to see CONSTANT UPDATES FOR THREE HOURS STRAIGHT. You know that ticker thing you run at the bottom of the screen? That's FINE. You know that little graphic with the radar on it? Yeah, use that instead of showing me it's snowing on some highway where I AM NOT LOCATED, nor will I be located. (Nor will a large portion of the people watching your freaking channel.) You know what? You can interrupt to tell me something pressing, but doing the SAME FREAKING FORECAST FOR THREE HOURS IS NOT NEEDED. You see, in the THREE HOURS you are broadcasting random people driving around and some poor woman standing outside in the freezing cold, NOTHING HAS HAPPENED. It is still cold. Roads should still NOT be traveled and it is STILL snowing. I do not need to be told this for three straight hours instead of seeing whatever national news has for me in the mornings. You can tell me EVERYTHING you have been going on about for THREE HOURS in the thirty second forecasts you're given by the national channels. DID YOU KNOW THAT?
One day, when it was "supposed" to snow, they ran the "forecast" all freaking day. It hadn't even started snowing yet (anywhere really) and they were already showing people driving around the state highways and showing the radar. Seriously. It was on ALL DAY LONG.
We got less than an inch. You could still see the grass, but you weren't allowed to see regular programming.
I've lost track of the times this winter I woke up and wasn't able to see any news (I don't like news channels on cable as they make me mad). Though, what makes me REALLY mad is when they refuse to allow me to see Sunday Morning. It's on ONCE a week.
The only good thing about this last snow: it was enough to cover the grass and has hung around so Basil has snow to play in. It's been a year exactly since her last romp in the snow. She was so THRILLED to have snow to run around in. It was like the BEST DAY EVER as far as Basil was concerned.
The world ended because it snowed.
"What?????" you're asking, "The world ended?"
If you live in Oklahoma, yeah, the world had ended several times since winter began. I say the world ended, because they cease running normal programming and run constant....weather reporting. Oh, and random People driving around and telling you not to drive around. Stay home. Don't get into your car, mount a camera, and drive around aimlessly.
The first "snow storm" the state got (because if it snows anywhere in the state, it's the main news story, as there are only two TV markets in the state and we happen to live in the bigger one), the entire Sunday morning was spent watching some dude drive from Altus to OKC. (Instead of showing us the program Sunday Morning.)
Was it snowing where I was?
No.
Did it snow?
No.
This week, it was indeed snowing where I was located. But not on Sunday when they refused once again to show me Sunday Morning. And then when it was snowing here, I wasn't allowed to see any national news.
(You can watch regular programming on CBS if you either don't have cable or have Cox Cable, one one of the digital channels, but I've got a dish to watch football, so I'm trapped with no news when ever it snows here.)
It is annoying. Not EVERYONE NEEDS to see CONSTANT UPDATES FOR THREE HOURS STRAIGHT. You know that ticker thing you run at the bottom of the screen? That's FINE. You know that little graphic with the radar on it? Yeah, use that instead of showing me it's snowing on some highway where I AM NOT LOCATED, nor will I be located. (Nor will a large portion of the people watching your freaking channel.) You know what? You can interrupt to tell me something pressing, but doing the SAME FREAKING FORECAST FOR THREE HOURS IS NOT NEEDED. You see, in the THREE HOURS you are broadcasting random people driving around and some poor woman standing outside in the freezing cold, NOTHING HAS HAPPENED. It is still cold. Roads should still NOT be traveled and it is STILL snowing. I do not need to be told this for three straight hours instead of seeing whatever national news has for me in the mornings. You can tell me EVERYTHING you have been going on about for THREE HOURS in the thirty second forecasts you're given by the national channels. DID YOU KNOW THAT?
One day, when it was "supposed" to snow, they ran the "forecast" all freaking day. It hadn't even started snowing yet (anywhere really) and they were already showing people driving around the state highways and showing the radar. Seriously. It was on ALL DAY LONG.
We got less than an inch. You could still see the grass, but you weren't allowed to see regular programming.
I've lost track of the times this winter I woke up and wasn't able to see any news (I don't like news channels on cable as they make me mad). Though, what makes me REALLY mad is when they refuse to allow me to see Sunday Morning. It's on ONCE a week.
The only good thing about this last snow: it was enough to cover the grass and has hung around so Basil has snow to play in. It's been a year exactly since her last romp in the snow. She was so THRILLED to have snow to run around in. It was like the BEST DAY EVER as far as Basil was concerned.
06 February 2014
Buying for Baby
I'm feeling greatly accomplished. Since officially entering into my third trimester (not semester, no matter how many times I say 'semester' it's not a semester), I've been in a blind panic because of one simple question posed to me by one of the preggo apps I've got.
What was this question?
It was: What was the first item you bought for baby?
So, what was the first item I bought for my kid?
Paint.
Seriously. When I read the inquiry, I hadn't actually bought anything for the kid. Yeah, I had some clothes, a few pacifiers, and some other random things, but I had not bought any of those items. They'd been given to me. I personally had not bought a thing for the baby. And when I did finally buy something for the baby, it was paint for her room.
So, I began to buy stuff. I got some snappy t-shirts my mom suggested, I bought an adorable Peter pan collared shirt on sale from The Gap that won't fit her till she's six months or so, I went out and bought canvas and paint to make artwork for her room, and...I...bought...a....crib (and a mattress, as cribs don't actually come with the mattress. I had to explain this to Pilot Boy, as he couldn't figure out why the crib failed to come with the mattress).
In my life, I've bought very few "expensive" items. I think the most expensive thing I personally have ever bought was the eight hundred dollar area rug. I had a mini heart attack after I hit the ORDER button.
The crib I bought wasn't ANYWHERE near eight hundred bucks. No, I'm not that mental. I also didn't pay for most of it. (Gift vouchers are amazing, as are grandparents.) However, after the area rug, this crib is the second most expensive thing I've hit the ORDER button for. Granted, out of pocket, I wasn't paying much, but still.
Yet, I did not wake up for the first time this week in a blind panic about the lack of baby items for the baby. I mean, besides ordering a crib, I've also signed up for those pesky birthing classes. And I announced later this month I was ordering the car seat and stroller. (It was pointed out to me the car seat is a must need, as you can't take the baby home without one. Pilot Boy seemed to think we could just store her in the trunk with Basil. Kind of like how he didn't think we needed a crib because she could just sleep in the crate. Without Basil, as Basil would sleep on the floor. Clearly, Pilot Boy is confused. The Baby is not a dog. You cannot put the Baby in the crate. Will she crawl in there someday and try to sleep in there? Likely. Will Basil like this? No. Will it happen? Yeah.)
Next month, I plan to order the furniture for the room. I'm getting a dresser and a nightstand.
Pilot Boy said I don't need a nightstand. Clearly, he wants to be woken up fully when I feed the baby in the middle of the night when I turn on the overhead lights in order to see what I am doing instead of turning on an adorable little table lamp. Also, he's never read anything about pregnancy or afterwards, as he ought to know that breastfeeding requires things. I've seen it in books. You need a 'breastfeeding' station. Thus, a nightstand.
(Also, I know if I do not order the nightstand now, the kid will never get one. Just like I don't actually have one. Nor does the guest bedroom. We don't actually have any side tables either. We use stools. Yeah. We've been married for six years and have no side tables or bedside tables and use stools. Okay, we've got one table that Pilot Boy claims is a bedside table, but until this house we never used it as a bedside table. It also doesn't have a drawer, it's just a higher than normal side table which is huge. It's tall because the bed Pilot Boy had in college was lofted and it's huge because, well, I don't know why it's so big. He did build it for me as after I showed up in his life he realized I had no where to put my glasses at night and I think he got tired of me trying to find them in the morning.)
Now, I plan to use the dresser as a changing table. Kill two birds with one stone, you know? So, I also ordered a changing pad thing to mount on top of the dresser. The only other major item needed for the nursery: a glider.
The ones I've found that I like are either way too pricey or now sold out. Everything else is ugly as sin and I don't want it in the room. Will I actually get a glider before the baby shows up? I not likely. So, where will I sit at three am to feed a squalling newborn?
No idea. I'll likely wind up on the couch.
 |
| The wall color for the nursery. Shermin-Williams, Grey Screen |
It was: What was the first item you bought for baby?
So, what was the first item I bought for my kid?
Paint.
Seriously. When I read the inquiry, I hadn't actually bought anything for the kid. Yeah, I had some clothes, a few pacifiers, and some other random things, but I had not bought any of those items. They'd been given to me. I personally had not bought a thing for the baby. And when I did finally buy something for the baby, it was paint for her room.
So, I began to buy stuff. I got some snappy t-shirts my mom suggested, I bought an adorable Peter pan collared shirt on sale from The Gap that won't fit her till she's six months or so, I went out and bought canvas and paint to make artwork for her room, and...I...bought...a....crib (and a mattress, as cribs don't actually come with the mattress. I had to explain this to Pilot Boy, as he couldn't figure out why the crib failed to come with the mattress).
 |
| The crib. |
The crib I bought wasn't ANYWHERE near eight hundred bucks. No, I'm not that mental. I also didn't pay for most of it. (Gift vouchers are amazing, as are grandparents.) However, after the area rug, this crib is the second most expensive thing I've hit the ORDER button for. Granted, out of pocket, I wasn't paying much, but still.
Yet, I did not wake up for the first time this week in a blind panic about the lack of baby items for the baby. I mean, besides ordering a crib, I've also signed up for those pesky birthing classes. And I announced later this month I was ordering the car seat and stroller. (It was pointed out to me the car seat is a must need, as you can't take the baby home without one. Pilot Boy seemed to think we could just store her in the trunk with Basil. Kind of like how he didn't think we needed a crib because she could just sleep in the crate. Without Basil, as Basil would sleep on the floor. Clearly, Pilot Boy is confused. The Baby is not a dog. You cannot put the Baby in the crate. Will she crawl in there someday and try to sleep in there? Likely. Will Basil like this? No. Will it happen? Yeah.)
 |
| Dream light |
Next month, I plan to order the furniture for the room. I'm getting a dresser and a nightstand.
Pilot Boy said I don't need a nightstand. Clearly, he wants to be woken up fully when I feed the baby in the middle of the night when I turn on the overhead lights in order to see what I am doing instead of turning on an adorable little table lamp. Also, he's never read anything about pregnancy or afterwards, as he ought to know that breastfeeding requires things. I've seen it in books. You need a 'breastfeeding' station. Thus, a nightstand.
 |
| I plan to get new knobs. I hate those knobs, but it has everything else I want. |
Now, I plan to use the dresser as a changing table. Kill two birds with one stone, you know? So, I also ordered a changing pad thing to mount on top of the dresser. The only other major item needed for the nursery: a glider.
The ones I've found that I like are either way too pricey or now sold out. Everything else is ugly as sin and I don't want it in the room. Will I actually get a glider before the baby shows up? I not likely. So, where will I sit at three am to feed a squalling newborn?
No idea. I'll likely wind up on the couch.
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