Yesterday we took some pictures for our 2014 Christmas card. I'd almost decided not to do any but then...cards started coming and well...I changed my mind because...I LOVE CHRISTMAS AND HOLIDAY CARDS!!!!!!!

So I picked out clothes for us to wear while listening to Christmas music. I was going to have a good picture day. There was NOT going to be a repeat of last year and I was soooooooooooo serious. What sense does it make that I can take great pictures if I can't take any of us? SERIOUSLY?

I'm STILL salty about last year's "photo shoot." JOY.

He drove me so bad last year every.single.time I pass by this framed picture in our home and my eyes fall it good...I scowl.

Okay...so I have to give yall some backstory before you appreciate yesterday as much as I did. Friday night we watched this movie, "The One I Love" on Netflix. The movie was kinda quirky in that independent movie kinda way. Well...the premise was that this couple was having problems and they were going to therapy. Their therapist sent them to a retreat to get back right. The retreat was kinda magical or something because whenever one of them entered the retreat's guesthouse, the version of their spouse that they WANTED their spouse to be was in the house.

Re-read that. Cuz yeah...it was different. LOL!

Kinda creepy at first but then you were like...hmmmmmm...okay...I get it! So you...but the better you for me. ME LIKEY THAT!

I'd already made the declaration that we were taking pictures so the husband unit had been warned. When I got up the next morning I was ready for battle and ready to ignore any grown folk temper tantrums which may occur. I put on Christmas jazz music and smiled, whistled, picked out clothes, washed and styled my hair, etc.

I was ready for the fight that was surely to come. And I KNEW there was going to be a fight, because not only were we taking pictures...but I was taking the pictures myself so that meant I was going to use a tripod and the timer on my camera. LOL! I knew that would drain his brain like crazy because that meant I'd have to set up the shot, test the shot with different settings and then pose for the shot while the timer counted down and...since I was wearing a long skirt...he'd have to be the one to push the button and run over to the position I'd determined he needed to be.

Yeah...I was setting the poor dear soul up for failure. I know.

So...as I'm cautiously choosing clothes for him to wear, I lay them out and he says, "I thought you'd want me to wear the red sweater."

Me: *BLINK* Well, I didn't choose the red sweater because I felt you'd get annoyed at how "Christmasy" it was.

Him: Nope. It's whatever you want. I'm "Guesthouse Robby" today.

Me: *BLINK.BLINK.BLINK* Um...come again?

Him: You know...like from the movie last night. I'm going to be "Guesthouse Robby" all day and tomorrow, you can be "Guesthouse Monnie" and I can go play golf and then go to my parent's Bayou house and watch the Ravens game and all the other games on the Sunday ticket and you won't get mad at me.

SIP: So yeah...using bargaining chips are we?

And I thought about it. "Guesthouse Robby" wouldn't be a bad thing to deal with on picture day.

Me: Deal.

And we shook on it. LOL!

So..."Guesthouse Robby" was way better on picture day than I ever thought he could be. (And now I'm a tad bit miffed because he clearly KNOWS he can be special and clearly KNOWS how not to be special...see how that works???????????????????) After pictures, he traipsed up and down store-to-store with me looking for the perfect SLIM tree. (More on that in another post. I needed a slim tree this year and well...folks don't seem to grow slim trees. LOL!)

Then...we got home and he decided that he'd like me to take a couple of headshots for him when I was ready to decorate my newly acquired slim tree. But...dude was mostly good all day so I poured myself a glass of lovely...and took headshots for him. Well...SIP did. "Guesthouse Monnie" was reserved for today. Golf and game day. *sigh*

Any of you ever seen that movie? Would you ever develop a "Guesthouse" version of yourself? LOL!

T-Monnie...Not Your Mommy's Tee-Tee