Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Reverted

Last night I did what used to be one of my most favorite things in the entire world when I was in high school. I watched "The Real World: Austin." And much to my surprise I liked it. He. He. I watched three episodes in a row.

Monday, July 18, 2005

Who says I can't believe in fairy tales?


My friend and I recently had a e-mail discussion about the fallacy of Prince Charming. She's under the impression that he's still out there and therefore believes that since I am disillusioned with this concept I must be with the wrong guy. I must be doing the dreaded deed of "settling." Ack! The horror!

Anyway, I informed her that it is not that I don't believe in fairy tales, it just that I'm more inclined to identify with Shrek and Fiona than Cinderella and the Prince. And frankly I feel this is a more realistic ideal.

I spent my whole life waiting to be rescued and magically turned into a princess, but what I found when I found my man was something better. I found someone who saw the ogre in me and loved me even more. Someone who loved me for me and never asked me to be "a somebody," but to just be happy. And to order Chinese food when he's too hungry to decide. And to volunteer at beer festivals to get free admission and a cool t-shirt. And to go to beer meetings and taste mead for him. And to stay up until 2am and bottle beer with him. And to drill holes in the bed of a early bronco in order to attach the roll cage. And to drive topless in a jeep wrangler to the beach (no I wasn't topless, the jeep was). And a whole lot of other things that I resisted, but now that I look back I find I'm richer for the experience.

Oh and I found that I always was a princess. I didn't need a prince to tell me that.

Friday, July 15, 2005

Vanity II

It occured to me after my friend Paige commented on my recent blog concerning sculpting foam that I should have ended the entry with gratitude rather than criticism. The truth is I'm really fortunate to have such wonderful friends who like me for who I am. Thank you!

Thursday, July 14, 2005

What I like about him

So it's dawned on me on more than one occasion that I often find myself in conversations with my friends and relatives about our partners. (Perhaps because I am obsessed with this thing we call love, but that's beside the point.) What I find interesting about this trend is that it is seems to be much more common to complain about our SOs than it is to praise them. I can't remember the last time I publicly praised my fiance (probably just after he proposed, which was in January).

And the obvious question is why is this the case? Is it simply easier to be negative? Is it more socially acceptable? If we talk about the positive are we bragging? Are we by human nature concerned that if we overlook the negative more often and focus on the positive that we are in danger of emotional let down? Are we conditioned to grow bitter as we converse until we get so fed up we get divorced?

It seems to me that we get so caught up in trying to compromise or make it work or get our own way that we forget why we got into the relationship in the first place. In the majority of situations, we hopped onto the relationship roller coaster because there was something we liked about the person who was asking us to sit in the seat next to them.

I know. I know. You're thinking I liked him/her then, but the person I'm with now is nothing like that. Chances are there still a few of those original attractive character traits underneath the coffee slurping and the incessant snoring.

So I say, "let's all take a day to remember what it is that we like about our partners." To help you out I have provided a list of things that I came up with that I like about my fiance. It is as follows:
He's smart.
He's funny.
He's spontaneous.
He's fun-loving.
He's playful.
He's goofy.
He's sweet.
He's sensitive.
He's manly.
He's strong.
He's sexy.
He's romantic.
He's loving.
He's responsible.
He's tall.
He's strong.
He's fast.
He's intuitive.
He's sexy.
He's energetic.
He's productive.
He's creative.
He's clever.
He's adventurous.

That aught to get you started. Have fun and enjoy your mate for a day, or two, or a lifetime.

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Vanity

Ok. I'm 26 years old, which is old enough to have had quite a few different hair dos and of course my fair share of hair don'ts. From the mullet in 6th grade to the pixie cut my senior year in high school, I've had quite a few hair adventures--the majority of which were not sans some kind of hair care product. That's what makes this recent debacle so disconcerting.

I've recently been trying to grow my hair out for the wedding and honestly it's been hell; especially lately. I wake up in the morning, take a shower, put on my make-up and blow dry my hair. Trust me it me it looks good when I leave the bathroom (or at least I think it does), but, by the time I get to work it will be going in 72 different directions and look like I don't give a damn, which is just not true, I'm far to vain for that.

And then yesterday it dawned on me. Why not buy some mousse? Pomade obviously hasn't been cutting it and texture paste was a greasy disaster. So I bought a small bottle of Paul Mitchell's Medium Hold conditioning mousee and tried it out this morning. Not only did it smell good enough to eat, it actually helped my hair look better after I blew it dry than it normally does and it stayed that way all day. Even after I put my hair behind my ears! Stupendous! Why this idea hadn't occurred to me earlier I don't know.

I almost wish someone had taken me aside and said, "Now don't take this the wrong way, but maybe some mousse and a blow dryer would help that hair do out." It's kinda like having spinach stuck in your teeth and giving a presentation and no one tells you until the end. Or like the time that I went to Harvey's Comedy club and the comedian's fly was down and it kept getting lower and lower and no one said anything for like 15 minutes to a half an hour. It was so uncomfortable. I know that my hair is no one else's responsibility, but shesh! Help a girl out once in a while will ya?

Thursday, July 07, 2005

It's All About The Attitude

So, I'm reading Night Swimming by Robin Schwarz and it's interesting. The heroine is fat...253 pounds to be exact. At least at the beginning of the book, but after she is diagnosed with terminal cancer and one year to live, she quits her job and moves to Hollywood where she buys an apartment in a complex with a kidney shaped pool and begins to swim every night. Her nightly swims lead to a release of all her harbored emotional trauma from growing up in a small town as well as her losing 175 pounds. In the mean time she falls in love with the pool guy who begins to reciprocate those feelings once she reaches 150, but don't worry she doesn't stop there...she keeps losing weight.

Anyway, as far fetched as the story might be, the author had me until today when I realized that she has made a connection between getting your life together and losing weight and personally...I beg to differ. I happen to know plenty of thin people who do not have their ducks in a row. They don't think positive all the time. They aren't completely self aware. They are not emotionally superior human beings.

Why can't fat just be fat and emotional superiority be emotional superiority. Like Dr. Phil says when dealing with finances you're only dealing with finances. Maybe when dealing with food, you are only dealing with food. Life is difficult and challenging for lots of us. I don't think that it is any less difficult if you are thin. We all have our vices. Why should I have to get my whole life together in order to be my ideal weight? Harrumph.