Note to self:

Wearing a deep red shirt on a day when your face has decided to break out as though you're back in ninth grade is not such a good idea. ... Unless you want the whole world to notice, of course.

Doing the art thing

Have you ever heard of scratchboard? I hadn't until I got the most recent assignment for my design class.

Basically, you can use just about anything sharp to scratch out a design on the board, which is made up of white clay covered in india ink. It starts out completely black, and when you make your scratches, the white emerges. Pretty cool, really.

So, being the crazy cat lady that I've apparently become, I decided to do a portrait of Anna. I'm so happy with the result, so I thought I would share!

Advertising at its best

* Lose that belly fat!
* Over 30? Single?
* Stretch marks be gone!
* Oprah's berry diet.
* Laser hair removal - kiss your razor goodbye!
* Drop 3 dress sizes!

......

Seriously?

Yes, I'm 31. No, I'm not a hairy, stretch-mark laden, fatty of a couch potato who can't get a date without the help of an online service that caters to the "over 30" crowd.

However, I think Facebook would beg to differ.

I understand the pains advertisers go through to target their audiences, but good grief!

Yes I'm kind of kidding, but I'm also kind of tired of these lame-o ads. The straw that broke the camel's back was the over-30 singles ad. The woman pictured had to be in her 50s or 60s.

Humph. I'm not old. I refuse to believe I'm getting old. And I will never click on those dadgum ads.

......

And now I'm stepping down from my soapbox.

Meet Lizzie

This poor little thing was trapped in a plastic bucket on my balcony this afternoon.

While I was outside trimming my plants back, I kept hearing something flitting around inside the bucket. I peeked inside to see this grey little lizard woefully staring up at me.

So, I tipped the bucket to its side and waited. ...

... Nothing.

I waited a little longer, and still northing.

Finally, I tipped it so much that she (or he) came sliding out — looking a bit mystified. These things normally run as fast as they can away from me. But this one just stood there, slowly changing from grey to green before moseying away casually.

But not before allowing me to take a few super close-up pictures. I guess she figured it was the least she could do after I'd saved her life. (Or so I'd like to think!)

I just couldn't help myself

I tried on the brown ones first.

"Perfect," I thought. They'll go with just about anything paired with jeans.

I was proud of myself. My intention in going into that particular store was to buy a pair of nice winter shoes, and I'd found a pair I liked and they weren't extraordinarily expensive. I stuck the box under my arm and pointed myself in the direction of the checkout counter.

Shoe shopping in less than 30 minutes was a task I never thought I could accomplish, but holy cow, I had just done it!

But then, out of the corner of my eye, the cream ones caught my attention.

"Oooooo," I actually said out loud as I walked over to the table they were displayed on. I love cream-colored shoes. Always have, and this particular shoe was in my size.

So I tried them on just to see if they'd make my somewhat large foot look like a boat.

Nope! Another perfect pair.

What to do? What to do?

I tried one color on one foot and the other color on the other foot. And, seriously, I loved both of them equally.

So I did what any rational girl would do, right? I bought both!

Yeah! What they said.

Grr ...

I'm completely off my game today. I've got a case of the Mondays, only it's Thursday. And I just can't seem to shake it.

Most of it revolves around the fact that I've gained most of my weight back. I feel like a fat fatty, and shopping this afternoon did nothing but perpetuate that dreadful feeling. It seems like every time I say screw it, I'm going to buy whatever I want to improve my lackluster wardrobe, I can never find a thing. And we all know it's just the opposite when we don't have the money to splurge a bit.

School's stressing me out, but I still love it. I've just got a lot on my mind with that and my dad and work and everything else that grown-ups deal with on a day-to-day basis. Usually I'm quite good at juggling it all. Today, not so much.

I hate days like this. I feel like everyone thinks I'm a wussy girl. And what if they're right? Just one more thing to think about. Fun!