this sorta made my day, thought I should share

sad but true

self-portrait challenge: portals

The September theme for Self-Portrait Challenge is "Portals". I haven't joined in for some time - not so much because I didn't want to as much as a total lack of time to do anything creative these days (boooo).

So, when this weekend presented itself with ample time for picture taking and I found myself wandering through a dew bejeweled meadow in the early a.m. hours with nary a soul in sight save for my faithful mutts - well, you know me. It meant only one thing: photo op!

I've been thinking about the theme though and what it meant to me. Portals; doors, windows, etc, are our entry and exit into different areas and new buildings, they are our glimpse into another world, and our exit from the one that we've known. I grew up in farm country and I've moved ...into farm country. I've lived in a city only briefly in my twenty-eight-years and didn't enjoy it one bit. As I get older, however, I find myself yearning for a more urban area. I want the shows, the music, the people, the bustle. But am I completely ready to give up my corn fed, four wheelin', gun weilding life completely? I'm not sure. I suppose I'll find out in a few months when I "graduate" from the manager training program and am given a store of my own. I'll have to up and move again, which we all know I don't handle well - but maybe this time I'll land somewhere that fits me just right. One can only hope.

As for your Qs

Punani asks:

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? My absolute favorite flavor is mint chocolate chip, plain ole strawberry is a close second.

My favorite part of summer is that first hand dipped cone. MMM.

What is the best thing that happened to you today? Today has actually been a pretty wonderful day! We went out to billiam's dad's cabin to spend the night so I woke up early and took a hike down to the river, just me and a horde of mutts. It was absolutely beautiful out with that first chill of fall in the air and absolute silence except for the splashing of the girls in the river water. I sat on the bank and thought about everything and nothing all at once and wished that the moment could stretch on and on.


Of all your sweet dresses, which is your favorite? Oh this is a hard one. I've actually been trying to not buy as many *eek* so I've been revisiting some favorites. Among them:



I have a few others that I adore but haven't really taken pictures of them yet. Among them a fifties prom dress and a sweet little chiffon one. Pictures of those. Soon. I promise.


For-Tart asks:
1. Is insanity just "not following the customs of your society" or is insanity something universal in all cultures? I believe Albert Einstein said it best when he said, "insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results". While I don't think any one-liner could possibly explain mental disesase, I suppose from my personal experience with it that I'd have to agree with Einstein. And is it univeral in all cultures? I'd think so. People may consider someone insane for eating another person where that may be culuturally accepted among some tribes. There are always extremes to contradict theories. What I refer to though would be the more recognizable aspects of mental illness such as fatigue with depression and a schiphrenic hearing voices.

2. Is "home" a physical place or an abstract idea? Can I sound wishy washy and go with BOTH? I believe that home CAN be a physical place once it is carefully nested with the possessions you love and the ones you need.


3. Are you searching for love? Yes. Who isn't?
Do I think I've found IT, the absolute defination of that word? No I don't bleieve so. I'm still looking for love in the fullest sense of the word.

(more to come)

addition to the shel silverstein arm!

Wardrobe Remix, christmasy in august?

I haven't done one of these in a long time because, honestly, I throw on khakis and my uniform most morning. Ewww, I know.

But last Saturday I played hookie and Ani and I had a girls day out together. Billiam was gone to spend the weekend at his dad's cabin and my dad was making the return trip to OH to retrieve the last of his belongings. We went to family play day at her school where we made elephants out of play dough, played "guess that tune" in the music room, and were forced to RUN LAPS in the gym. It felt like high school all over again, with me whining to the coach that I didn't want to and her shaking her head and pointing toward the other running parents with a stern expression. After that we met up with Eric Ray for lunch, went and bought some new She-Hulk comics at the used bookstore, had some ice cream cones, and ended our day with a trip to a new antique store. While there I found three dresses that are my new favorites. This red striped one I wore to visit my family for a picnic for Sammy's birthday the next day (she's ELEVEN!!! and she's turning into a little woman oh my!). Billiam said I looked like a Christmas tree in August, but I don't care. I love it!

(answers to questions coming soon!)