Self Realizations

One of Skip's favorite jokes runs along the lines of German girls looking manly once they hit their thirties. Would be funny if A) he didn't always date German girls and B) if he hadn't married one. Since he did I find myself scrutinizing the mirror looking for manly characteristics, or Skip characteristics. Turns out we also laugh at couples who look alike.

Not just laugh, but we stare at couples, think of loved ones and find those with matching noses, ears, hairlines, eyes and eyebrows. Some of you should really consider plucking. Great game until late one night we stared at pictures to find our identical traits. Skip is attracted to my well defined chin (German much?) and I'm attracted to his large nose.

Upon review I conceded that while I am ultra feminine looking and he rugged and manly, our chins are similar in shape. But I decided that the nose attraction must be my inferiority complex about my crooked nose due to an eggtooth. Simply put--I wanted to be the pretty one and needed a man with a distinctive nose so mine looks cute by comparison.

Unfortunately Skip was in Vegas last week at Shot Show where Aimpoint handed out their new catalogue. A catalogue with a couple prominent photos of me. Photos of me in camo, only my face showing. My small adorable doll face with a Tom Cruise nose protruding into the sky, lengthened by the barrel of a gun.

It's going to be a long night.

Hiatus

Maybe you wonder where I've been. Where the witty words and silly stories disappeared to? They are lost in the ice of the Illinois River. I hope they land in my head, flow through my fingers and magically publish on my blog when the icebergs melt. Until then it's bleak skies and dreary days in the cold. I could tell you that my nose hairs froze walking to the car this afternoon. And I did.

Here's hoping life picks up...with exciting new adventures.

P.S. I imagined I'd be sharing snow shoeing and X-Country skiing stories and photos with you. Uh, you need more than a dusting of snow to do that!

Negligence

The words have stopped. They stutter from my mouth and only partially form in my head. It's as if the world truly ended once I turned 28. Or I've been lazy and busy traveling.

Maybe I should have made a New Year's Resolution to blog, but I find resolutions time consuming.

So with this new theme of negligence I thought I'd share with you an alarming fact: library closures. I recently read an article announcing a number of libraries closing their doors for good. I panicked until I looked at the map and realized these were all in the U.K.

The next day I happened to wander into my local library branch conveniently located 1.5 blocks from my home. I had some copies to make and hadn't taken the time to apply for a local library card. Why? Because I've been doing all my book check outs online and downloading to my eReader. I love it! Except the selection is limited. Some of the books on my bucket list have yet to reach the digital age.

There I stood cutting out and printing images, when an old lady hobbled up to the desk to declare that she had some books to donate. Then she looked around the empty room and asked where the patrons were.

"They must have gotten Kindles for Christmas," replied the librarian. "No one comes in anymore."

YIKES! I'm helping to end the era of libraries. I spent my youth summers riding my bike or walking to the Lamar Library. I'd check out the allotted number of books allowed and hole up in my room until the next week.

The New Year's Resolution for 2011? Check out books from the library monthly.