What I've Been Wearing

Extensions.

Bought the hair from a beauty supply store (human so I can dye it/curl it, etc.) and sewed them onto wig clips which secure to your real hair.
Extensions are dangerous. They get you drunk with female power, which is why I've been wearing them so much. The down side? Pretty soon after putting them in you'll develop a pretty wicked headache, which can put a damper on the hair flipping festivities.


Spouse and I went to a banquet the other night and I wore this Pinup Girl Clothing dress. It's a medium and it was a little big but I really wanted to wear it so I cinched the belt, wore an undershirt and made it work. The color is amazing and the fit is so flattering that I was able to enjoy myself without worrying about sucking in or constantly adjusting, which can seriously ruin a night out.

You know what else can ruin a night out? Being hungry at a fancy dinner. Everyone politely nibbles on their entrees and at first you try to do the same even though you are fairly sure your stomach is eating itself.
A person can only keep up this charade for so long, and at some point you find yourself elbow-deep in crab cakes and dinner rolls, looking frantically around with grease dribbling down your chin, growling at anyone who gets too close.

On a more random note, I ran out of my usual black Urban Decay eyeliner so I grabbed some Maybelline Master Drama Eyeliner while I was at Target last week and long story short, I love this stuff! One swipe and you have a smooth black line, which blends really well for a smoky eye or looks amazing on its own if you want a thicker cat eye. I highly recommend!

Friends In The City

While most of the U.S. spent yesterday cheering on their team of choice, critiquing commercials and entertainers or just gorging themselves on Superbowl delicacies, I spent the day watching a Sex In The City marathon.

(Spouse was at work. Obviously.)
There is always one question I come back to when I watch Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte navigating the complexities of life, love and growing up.


Can friendship like this exist in real adult life?

When I was younger it seemed that my friends and I were the center of the universe. Everything revolved around seeing them at school, hanging out on weekends, laughing until we cried at things no one else understood, swapping clothes and secrets and sharing the intimacy of a friendship that would always be there.
But as most females know, the best friend of elementary school can often become the worst nightmare of middle school.
Things like boys, popularity shifts, jealousy and competition come into play and often times these friendships don't survive.
As we change our ideals change and what we look for in a friend changes too. In sixth grade my friends and I knew every line of Clueless by heart. By eighth grade I was wearing heavy black eyeliner, reading Jean Paul Sartre at lunch. Then high school came and suddenly it was all about the opposite sex. Friends were secondary. And after that it's a blur of marriage, babies, careers and all the things that make you a grown up.

Friendship as an adult is a different dynamic, but complicated for some of the same reasons it was in our youth. Jealousy, competition and popularity shifts are still present, only now you get the addition of things like religion, status, politics, etc. As an adult it seems that often one fight can signal the end of a friendship. Distance can be a friendship's slow death. Perhaps because we're not invested. We have our families and careers now, so friendships are lower on the totem pole of priorities.
A few years ago I had a best friend that I spent almost every day with. We laughed until we cried, watched each others children, confided in each other and eventually got to the point where knocking was unnecessary and inviting one of us to an event meant inviting both of us. Then something happened. I don't even really know what exactly, but the going got rough and we both gave up. I tried to text a few times but it was clear that her wall was up. We retreated out of one anothers lives and polite greetings gave way to waves in passing and then to nothing at all.

Sometimes I think as adult women we hide behind our new titles. We use our role as mother or wife as a shield to hide behind when we don't want to get hurt by a friend. When it seems there might be a disagreement or hurt feeling we shrug off the title of friend because we have so many more important things to worry about.
Being a friend, a real, true friend is hard. But isn't it worth it? Isn't a real friend more like family? Someone you can fight with and there's never a question of whether or not you'll make up, or take a break from without a fear that you won't be able to pick up where you left off.

So that's my sincere question for you.
Can friendship like this exist in real adult life?

Oh Monday

(Free printable from irocksowhat.)

I have no problem with Mondays. Actually, I usually kind of look forward to them, as they signal the resumption of my routine.
I like my routine. When I go too long without it I start to feel a smidge manic. And no one wants that *manic laughter*.

Anyway, before I dive into this week I thought I'd share some of my going-on's with you.
Those of you who follow me on Facebook (here) or Instagram (nomodellady) already have the 411, but for those of you who don't...

1) I was told by a grown man at Starbucks that I "look like a female version of Draco Malfoy". When I had no response he assured me that it was a compliment. Because apparently this man thinks young boys are attractive (thanks Spouse for pointing this out).

2) Peanut got his hairs cut. Peanut hated this and wore his coon hat all weekend.



3) Spouse got desperate for surf, so even though there were really no waves he suited up and paddled around. He does this occasionally.


4) We watch a lot of old Westerns in this family. Spouse has a dream that one day, with the help of Google, his dream of becoming a rancher will come to pass. So this is what my search history usually looks like:


5) I've got the itch to change up my blog a bit but have no idea how.
Suggestions are welcome.

*Video blog is forthcoming. Look for that later in the week!

Bowling In Skinny Jeans

Help Me.

I am not a fan of bowling.

I go occasionally when the boys beg, mostly because if I don't Spouse gives me this judgy "It's for the kids!" look. Like I never do anything I don't want to do for the sake of the boys. Like I didn't get my abs dissected just to get them here in the first place.
No gratitude, just guilt trips to get me to bowl.

Mark my words, guys, one of these days Spouse is gonna get it.
He wants me to like bowling? I will LOOOOOVE bowling.
I will invest in one of those professional rolling bowling bags, black grip gloves and some gray Hanes sweat pants with elastic at the ankles and I'm going to be a born again bowler.
I'll beg him to take us all bowling and once there I'll do some deep stretches before we start, in my saggy bottom Hanes sweats. You gotta be loose to get those strikes, am I right?! I'll take off my matching Hanes sweatshirt to unveil my homemade applique shirt, featuring a full moon and exotic looking Caucasian-Indian woman. (White trash culture makes every race and ethnicity look Caucasian. Tan and busty, but always Caucasian.) The boys will both match me and I will have a clip board and will coach them on technique.
Spouse will be the odd man out. The downer. The rain on our bowling parade.
Then we'll go home and Spouse will never ask me to go bowling again.
Mission accomplished.

Too elaborate, I know. Just writing it out made me tired.
Moving on.

For Man-Boy's birthday all he wanted to do was go bowling, eat cake and get presents.

Peanut Butter was fine with this plan.

So Man-Boy invited his BFF and naturally, they dressed as clones for the evening.

We ate, he opened gifts and we went bowling.

I forgot my socks but luckily they sold bowling socks for $1. So I pulled my new bowling ball tube socks up over my skinny jeans and Velcroed my neon bowling shoes on and swallowed my pride.
Let's do this thing.


Happy Birthday, offspring. I got you the last of my remaining dignity.

I Need A Vacation

I have been a little irritable lately.

I've been hyper-aware of Spouse's chewing when he eats near me. Each bite strips a nerve until I realize that I'm sitting next to him with my hands over my ears, cringing from the horror of it all.
He's forgetting my rules. He's forgetting that the sound of someone chewing in a quiet room is like nails on a chalkboard to me. Like dry skin on polyester.

We need to get away.


The last time we took a real vacation was pre-deployment leave to Disney 3 years ago.
What that was like:
*My husband is going to fight a war in Afghanistan for eight months. He might not come home. I am terrified and sick to my stomach. "Now where's Mickey?! Oh my gosh, kids, isn't this the most fun EVER?!"
*Cries quietly*

The last time we took a real vacation without the boys was 5 years ago.

I feel like I've had a lingering headache for months. I am sick of always being the cheerful one who keeps things light and makes sure everyone else is happy even though I might feel like poking my eyeballs out.

I want a nice hotel, maybe even a spa with afternoon yoga classes on the beach. Plenty of sunshine, clean white sheets, no laundry to fold or deadlines to reach or people to please.
I want strangers to hot stone me, hot oil me and rub all the tension out of my body. (Any married woman knows that husbands are incapable of massaging without getting handsy. Strangers are the way to go. At least if they get crazy you can sue and have something to show for it.)


*How uncomfortable does this picture make you? She's definitely gonna choke and spit that all over his face.

Military Love

Love is beautiful and magical and makes birds sing and the sun come out, but everyone knows that love is hard too.

I am shooting a friend's homecoming today. She had her husband for 2 weeks of the past 12 months. Sounds totally crazy, unless it's totally normal and unfortunately for most of us in a relationship with someone in the military, it's pretty normal.
Our love is hard.
Our love makes it hurt to be separated and yet we are, time and time again.
Our love means that we support them even at the cost of sacrificing a lot of our own dreams for theirs. Moving to places we would otherwise never choose, going through cycles of missing them terribly, adjusting to their presence when they're home and before we know it, they're gone again.
It's rough and it's hard to explain, but at it's core is simple love.

Anyway, I was listening to this song today and realized that it sounds like so many letters Spouse wrote to me during his deployments.
In some ways, every girl who has ever loved a boy in a uniform has been this girl.

I wish I could do better by you,
'cause that's what you deserve
You sacrifice so much of your life
In order for this to work.

While I'm off chasing my own dreams
Sailing around the world
Please know that I'm yours to keep
My beautiful girl

When you cry a piece of my heart dies
Knowing that I may have been the cause
If you were to leave
Fulfill someone else's dreams
I think I might totally be lost

You don't ask for no diamond rings no delicate string of pearls
That's why I wrote this song to sing
My beautiful girl
(City and Colour, The Girl)

Wednesday Inspiration

I'm not sure about you guys but I was in desperate need of some inspiration today.

After the vomit bombs of the past week and then the subsequent deep clean I am drained! Waking up to a dreary morning only emphasized the suck of it all and my day was almost a total loss before it even began.
Not ready to give up so soon, I went on a hunt for some positive mojo and thought I would share my findings with you!

Because I really do need to stop complaining about being out of shape:
Image from Google.


This Song:


Tiny Buddha
This website is full of inspiration and tips, from mindfulness and peace to healthy habits.


This short film:



The Shine Project
This girl has made it a mission to help others and make the world a happier place! Even better, you can help! Check out her site for more information!

Messy Canvas
The girl can write. Check out her top 27 posts and I promise you will be glued to your computer until you're done reading them all.


What inspires you? Please pass it around!