Life Be Life'ing

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Selfie. Canon 7D Style.

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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.

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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!

 

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Bathroom Natural Disaster!

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I just washed, deep conditioned, blow-dried, trimmed, curled and pin-curled my hair.

The bathroom is a Stage 4 DISASTER currently!

When you do your own hair...do you make a hot mess too?  Or is it just me?

Who's coming help me make it all clean again?  I'll feed you and give you lovely pre-Scandal wine.  :)

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My Bags, My Life

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Rue La La contacted me and asked me what do I keep in my bag.  Um...kinda personal huh dude?  I was all frown-t up and then clicked on this handy link they sent me and I realized that...whoa...I have a problem since I have multiples of all the styles in their style guide.  *sigh*  

The Style Guide

And this is even after, during the move, recently getting rid of a LOT of bags because well...we all know I used to have the worst bag problem in the world!  Needless to say, the recipients of the bags I got rid of were very, very happy!  LOL!

Now I'm not saying that I have a problem with having this particular problem because...BAAAAAAAAAABY...a girl and her bags are important parings.  IM.POR.TAN.TE!

I only had one of the 6 containers of bags in the house (the other 5 are in the garage from the move and it's cold in the garage and I'm totally not unpacking a single thing today because yall...I'S TIRED!) but this container is the one I will probably use the most of while here.

A long time ago, I was having back problems and couldn't figure out why.  My doctor picked up my bag to move it off the stool in front of me in the waiting room and diagnosed my back problem by saying, "WHAT DO YOU HAVE IN THIS THING?????"  From there, he prescribed a very scientific remedy for my back pain, "Start with nylon bags and put less stuff in it."

*sigh*

Funny guy.  Ha-ha.

But...the solution made sense even though my options, at the time, seemed limited.  

The best thing I've ever done to make changing purses easy and stress free?  I use this Sonia Kashuk purse organizer I bought at Target.  I keep all of the things I must have with me at all times in it.

Now...in answering Rue La La's question, however, I realized that I'm a tad bit (okay...A WHOLE LOT) special once I dumped the contents of the bag out:

And that's not all I keep in my purse.  That's just the things I keep in the purse ORGANIZER.  The rest won't fit.  o_0

This doesn't include my water bottle, phone, handkerchief and random bits of receipts and coupons that I always forget to use when I get to the check out line so they stay in there and get all crinkle soft and expire.  (What?  Like you don't do that too!)

Sitting back and looking at this, I realize that I am clearly expecting to have to fight off zombies when I'm away from home and that, because of the world we live in, someone will have a video camera and I will want to make sure that I have moist (THERE'S THAT WORD AGAIN!!!!!) lips, a neat ponytail, and juice for my phone.  Oh...and nothing stuck between my teeth.  The only thing I can't explain is the Monopoly house.  I gots nothing there.  The Prince CD?  Don't even try it.  It's Prince.  I might want to listen to the crisp clarity of the CD inside the house as well as in my truck.  So there.  Leave me alone.  Oh...and the dime?  Maybe I expect to travel back in time and will have to be re-courted by The Robinator and I will need a dime to put between my knees 1950's style.

*BLINK*

This exercise has made me feel bad about myself.  I have issues I'm still not working on.  *sigh*

I am doing some things right however, according to Rue La La.  I store my bags properly!  GO ME!  I always clean them completely and wipe them down with a lightly damp towel.  Then I stuff them with paper and generally store them back inside the dust bags they came in.  I then put them inside large clear storage containers.  

The history of handbags was pretty cool to read too.  I'm not a style blogger so I've never read up on the history of bags.  Pretty interesting stuff.  The only bag I've ever wanted to own, I don't own.  The bag you ask?  A Chanel anything.  LOL!  I actually bought one once and it sat in the box and bag for exactly 14 days in my closet before the guilt consumed me and I returned it reluctantly.  One day though...ONE DAY!!!!!!!!!!!

MAYBE.  

What's in YOUR bag?  What would we be surprised to find in your bag?  Do you carry a bunch of stuff around like I do?  What is wrong with me?  Why must I stuff FABULOUS bags with so much stuff?  

Oh...and no need to pretend you weren't surprised I didn't have a flask or a half bottle of wine in there.  Frankly...I was too.

 

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Settling In Nicely!

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This entire weekend was focused on unpacking as much as possible.  There is a lot of stuff it doesn't make any sense to unpack so sorting through everything and repacking what I won't need until we move is fun.  (Note sarcasm.)  I hung the key hook last night so yup...we've officially moved!

Jaru is used to going sit out on the deck and getting some sun whenever he wants to and has taken to standing at the backdoor staring at it until I open the door.  He seems to enjoy surveying all.  LOL!  Of course his majesty wouldn't actually lay down until I put a rug out.  *sigh*  When I put the rug down he gave me the most disgusted look as if to say..."Took you long enough."

I'm telling yall...that dog might not make it.

Of course that wasn't good enough so he's trying different spots.  I have to keep the door open so I'm sure Robby will be chasing down a fly or two once he comes home.  

I'm starting the quest today to find a hair salon.  Unfortunately, I haven't seen anyone yet whose hair made me want to ask them for a referral so I'm just going to try and find an Aveda salon somewhere and see if I can just get a blowout.  I'm currently sporting the air dried bohemian look which really doesn't do much for me.  LOL!  

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I've decided I'm doing Thanksgiving this year and the thought of not cooking for my FAVORITE holiday has hurt my heart.  I simply won't be able to do it right so we'll go to family and I'll eat what I can.  I figure by the time Christmas rolls around I'll have more of the lay of the land and be able to plan appropriately.  I haven't even found a good florist yet.  *sigh*  I stopped buying flowers awhile ago at 13700 because while packing was going on it didn't make sense and now...I want flowers in my life again.  

How was your weekend?  Getting ready for Thanksgiving yet?  Are you traveling or hosting?