Day 183: If I Ruled Lichtenstein... You'd See Gorgeous Models - Stretchmarks And All

No. Sorry. It is not every girl's dream to walk the runway of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. Contrary to what one of the models said in her interview between sections of the fashion show, it has never been my dream to starve myself so I be a size negative four and walk in underwear down a runway. 

Yeah, I have more lofty goals.

But I still couldn't help but admire the bangin' bodies of the models in the show. And their skin looked absolutely flawless, which is something I have to admit I envy, having had problem skin all my life.

The only thing that was more amazing than the models to me was the makeup.

So one of my cousins whom I'm closest to is a graphic designer. She has a bunch of friends in the graphic design department at Limited Brands - aka the company that owns Victoria's Secret. So she's seen the models' unedited, un-airbrushed film, and hung out with some of them in person. Score.

Is it wrong that I was happy to hear that all the models who've had babies have noticeable stretchmarks? Or that one of the famous blondes has horrible acne?


But had she not told me this, I would continue thinking that there are just women out there with perfect skin and perfect bodies.


Therefore so this falsehood does not continue, in Lichtenstein, models and advertisements are gong to depict real women. Sure, they can wear makeup, but there will be no airbrushing allowed in any magazine in my country. Women already feel bad enough about themselves for not being tall enough, pretty enough, skinny enough, etc. The last thing we need is a false sense of perfection. 


Because according to my cousin, what we see is an absolute false sense of what these women look like. Graphics designers are magicians. If they weren't so good at their jobs, we'd know that even models are not immune to stretchmarks.

Day 182: What Did Batman Say to Robin...

Holy book tour Batman!

They're making a trilogy book series of your life. What are the titles, who would write it and why?

Since this is not a memoir nor am I (God willing) near the end of my life, I am thinking about giving a book to the three most significant periods of my life. This is precisely why this would be an interesting question to ask someone once every five to 10 years, because the answers would most likely change immensely (I know mine would had you asked me this five years ago).


Therefore, my three book titles would be:


Lambertville Snowglobe
small-town girl In New York City

A Chicago Education


Book one would be about my life growing up in the sheltered snowglobe of the tiny village of Lambertville, Michigan.


Book two would be about my crazy, unpredictable, amazing four years living among 8 million people on the island of Manhattan.


Book three would be about what I've learned about life and the world we live in now that I'm on the cusp of my 30s.

And all three books would be written by Jeanette Walls, author of one of my all-time favorite books - The Glass Castle. She can paint a picture in one sentence and breathe life into the most mundane. She would be the one to give my sometimes hilarious sometimes crazy sometimes monotonous life a life of its own.

Day 181: Never Have I Ever... Done Anything to Earn the Nickname Red. Until Now.

I finally did something I've been wanting to do literally for more than a decade. And it seems silly that I've went this long without doing it because it's something so simple to do.

I've always wanted to have auburn-colored hair - really dark brown hair that turns red in a particular light. So I went to the hair salon when my sister was working and she dyed it "lipstick red." So to honor its name, I put on some red lipstick to match.

And I kind of love it.


Never have I ever been a redhead, but might keep it this way for awhile.

Day 180: Shakespeare's High School Poetry... On Giving Thanks

The Lanturne is a five-line verse shaped like a Japanese lantern with a syllabic pattern of one, two, three, four, one.

I was able to go home for Thanksgiving this year and, as always, just enjoyed 

spending time with my family while eating too much delicious food.

Food

shared while

giving thanks

with family.

Bliss.

Day 179: A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words... On Floating Without A Care in the World

Just floating along without a care in the world...

Last week's cliche: Poor as a church mouse

Day 178: Stop. Focus. Click... On Home Away From Home

Even though I live four hours from where I grew up, downtown Chicago still gives me little reminders of home. Loving it.

 

Day 177: Remember the Time... There's No Place Like Home

Driving past Chicago from Arlington Heights on the way back to Toledo was nothing short of a nightmare. The drive that typically takes me about a half an hour took a half and hour... plus two hours. This was after my stress level skyrocketed trying to meet several deadlines that converged on the unfortunate day before a holiday, and I remained on a conference call while on the train, in the bathroom on the train, and while giving directions in the car.

And of course once we got to Indiana, it was smooth sailing on the turnpike. And I didn't need any signs to tell me when we got into Ohio because the landscape opened up and everything just was brown - the muddy land, the bare trees, and the dark sky past the orange-y streetlights.


But of course, as always, it was worth it. A roaring fire was waiting for me, and my seat right smack in front of it was warm and waiting near a buffet of snacks I only eat when I'm home - trail baloney with cheddar cheese and homemade salsa and chips.


Remember the time that there's no place like home? Living away from home for the past five years has taught me this, and for that I'm thankful. But not as thankful as I am for my family.

There's nothing I'm more thankful for than my family.