Old Pictures of Vern

You know how I did that photo shoot of Vern for his birthday? And I thought I would do those more often because I want to capture what he looks like, from year to year, growing older (just like I do for my kids). I think that all of us adults should do this for each other, because won't it be fun to look back on who we were when we were 25, 35, 45 years old? (Not to mention that our kids might find it interesting as well.)

The last time I REALLY did this with Vern was 12 years ago, when we lived in Wheaton, IL, and I was studying photography at a local community college. I took a bunch of pictures of him for my classes.

Here are some of them:

This is what Vern looked like when he was 23 years old. And that is kind of nice to remember.

So, take pictures of yourselves now, grown ups, because it's going to be fun to look back on when you're 80.

Thoughts for the New Year...

Most people make these things called New Year's Resolutions at the beginning of every New Year. Well, every year I do mine on January 10, just to be different. (I'm making this up. I'm just doing this now because I never got around to doing it at the beginning of the year.)

Without further ado, here are my resolutions:

• Foster Relationships
• See More Movies in the Theater - going to movies has been something I always enjoyed, and I have gotten out of the habit of doing it since having children. The Oscar nominations came out today, and I find myself not even being that excited about them. I don't want my excitement to die, so I need to cultivate it. 
• Avoid Being Dogmatic - about nutrition plans, workout regimens, belief systems, parenting philosophies, etc. Also, avoid being dogmatic about being non-dogmatic  
• Work on My Eyebrow Plan
• Be Authentic

I also made a resolution for Vernon for the New Year: Make More Decisions. You may think that you can't make resolutions for another person. But you can (whether or not they will listen to you is another story). Vernon has always been really bad at making decisions, and he will ask me for input in making the arbitrary decisions in his life... like, what do I care whether he takes his coat off in church or not? I told Vern about my resolution for him, and how it was for me too, because it would help me let go of controlling everything. And he said, "But then you're just controlling what decisions you want me to make or not." Touche, Vernon, touche. So, I said, "Well, then let's just have you make ALL the decisions. I won't even change underwear without getting your input first."

So, we'll see how that goes. Let me know if you want me to make a resolution for you (if you know me in real life). Just write something in the comments of the facebook link or something.


Netflix Update:
No update today. We caught up on a new episode of Shark Tank. But I did want to talk a little bit more about Take This Waltz... some other things I forgot to mention were that it also stars Sarah Silverman, it has a good soundtrack, and it features this great shower prank which I went on to use on Vernon. Hilarious.

Bangs!

Okay, so I found an old picture from 2005, the last time I got bangs (and I didn't like them, almost cried, and started growing them back immediately).

Here is the picture:

But now I look at the bangs in this picture, and I kind of like them.


Netflix update:
Take This Waltz - A really good flick. Not sure how I missed knowing about it before noticing it on Netflix. It came out in 2011 and stars Michelle Williams and Seth Rogan. I like these actors, and I am usually on top of seeing any movie starring a Freaks and Geeks alum. But, anyway, this movie was amazing, and I'm still thinking about it. It is written and directed by Sarah Polley, who is a beautiful woman two years younger than me. She started out as an actress (I remember her from the movie Go) and has gone on to make some amazing films. Like this one. The visuals are amazing. The whole film is so colorful and vibrant and visually appealing. (I'm still kind of obsessing about the color scheme used in the house, and how to go about re-creating that in my life). The opening scene itself was a work of art. So, yeah, see this movie. A wonderful character study on life and marriage.

Food Challenge Results

So, Vern tried to eat the "Meat Your Maker" on Sunday:

But, he did not do it:

Netflix Update:
Young Adult - Stars Charlize Theron, written by Diablo Cody (of Juno fame), set in Minnesota. A solid independent film, but ultimately, left feeling somewhat unsatisfied. 
Jim Gaffigan: Beyond the Pale - another comedy special by Jim Gaffigan. 
Three Magic Words - A cheesey, not very well done movie, kind of like The Secret. 
Afterlife - A 60 minute look at the afterlife.

On Being Authentic

I was thinking about how I have come full circle with a lot of things in my life.

Like, with things like healthy eating. Going from being so dogmatic about it, to being more relaxed... to now being at an in between place where I can sit back and actually think about how I want it to be.

Same for with drinking.

Or spending money.

I've kind of gone through a process with all of these things, and I'm now at a point where I'm like, "Where do I want to be in regards to ________ in my life?" And I can come at it from a different, broader, more open perspective than I was before.

Take going out to eat, for instance. I want to really look at something like that and I want to determine what *I* think about it? Do I choose to go somewhere because it's what I can afford? Do I not like a restaurant because it's "too mainstream"? Am I being influenced by what my friends like and what other people think in making my decisions? Am I being influenced by my upbringing, and trying to be better than everything I deem as too small-town? Etc.

I just want to authentically determine what it is that *I* like and want out of life. It's all part of the process of self-discovery, I guess, and now that I feel that I've gone full circle through a lot of these things, I am finally able to make those discoveries.

Take that Portlandia-esque "Simpsons" episode that recently aired. Crunchiness, hipsters... everything just becomes a caricature unto itself, and it becomes laughable.

Or that picture of a hipster that I posted once, where it said: "Likes mainstream. Because hating mainstream is too mainstream."

Which got me to thinking... how much of this stuff do I gravitate to because I value it, or am I doing things just because I like to be alternative. To be different.

As I said in my blog post about those freaking owls, "Mostly, I tend to like things that are different (and unique), because I like to be different (and unique). But that seems like a rather poor reason to like (or not like) something, and, as I said before, it has become a modality unto itself."

I want to like things and want things authentically, and I think I am able to do more so now that I have come full circle. Even if those things end up being the exact same things I've liked in the beginning. That is not the point. The point is that the process was important in the reasoning behind all of it.


“Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” - St. Catherine of Siena