Aging, Photoshop, and the Illusion of Perfection

A couple of days ago, I came across this video through Yahoo.

First, you gotta watch the video.  Seriously.  Take the time.




I laughed my tail off.  Especially about the blog part.  Because its so true.

But, it also something I've been thinking a lot about this year.  Is it because all of a sudden I'm middle aged?  Is it normal to be thinking about this stuff?

My fleeting youth?

This year, I'll be 36.  THIRTY-SIX?  OMGee.  Where'd the years go?

I'm old.

The kid at the drive through calls me "Ma'am."  "MA'AM?!"  I'm not a MA'AM.  That's my MOTHER!


The wrinkles on my face have started to multiply and make friends.


And don't get me started on the Ta-Tas, which are saying "Ta-ta!" to my neck and "Nice to meet you!" to my waist.


Does anyone else look into the mirror and go, "What the heck happened????!!!"

So anyway...  This has been bugging me.

Does anyone else look at celebrities that are forty, but still look like they're twenty and get disgusted?  And not only disgusted, but also feel the burden to measure up?  And know there's NO.  CHANCE.

Shannon from Fox Hollow Cottage and I were chit-chatting yesterday on the phone and somehow we got on the subject of aging...  And men.  And how men age like wine, while women age like...  Well.  We age like milk.  Had I known that the best I was going to look in life was how I looked at seventeen, I might have enjoyed it a little more.

Anyhoo...  To my point:

Stuggling with my self-image as a thirty-something is hard enough even when I KNOW they photo-shop the heck out of pictures of celebrities that are my age and older.

I mean, beyond them having perfect bodies.  I know that they have trainers and spend boo-ku bucks on make-up, anti-aging creams, botox, and plastic surgery.  Besides, their job in life is to look good.  That's why they make the money they do.  But it doesn't help the average woman feel any better about themselves.

Case in point...

I had a little fun with Picmonkey yesterday.  It started out as a new picture for my blog.  My first thought after uploading it and looking at it on the computer was, "Holy crap!  I'm really starting to look old."  My second thought:  "Sunlight is not my friend."  My third thought:  "Thank God for photoshop!"  And then, while I was working on it,  I really thought about what media and the fashion industry has done to us as women.

Here's the before:

Effects used:  Wrinkle Remover, Airbrush, Shine Reduce, Blush Boost, Spray Tan, Teeth Whiten, Lip Tint, Eye Brighten, Mascara, and Weight Loss

Amazing, isn't it?  Scott and I had a good laugh because I said, "See...  You're married to model material and you didn't even know it."  LOL

But, getting passed the giggles...

What is this doing to our daughters and our sons?  

THIS is what is being shoved down their throats every day.  Our daughters are trying to measure up to a standard that doesn't even really exist.  And our sons are looking for a standard that will never exist.  What they see on TV, movies, and magazines isn't REAL.  They've been perfected.  And perfection doesn't exist.

Here is a picture of my daughter, Savanna.  She's beautiful.  Just naturally beautiful.

 Because I had e-mailed the above pictures to her and my mother, so we could laugh over them, she asked me to do one of her.  At first, I couldn't imagine how I could make her look any more beautiful than she already is.  Then I started working on it because she had asked me to and I had promised her I would.

Before, she was the pretty girl next door.  Altered, she could be America's Next Top Model.

To use this as a teaching experience for my sons, I called them downstairs last night and showed them the befores and afters.  I reminded them that they need to keep this in mind when they start dating and begin looking for a wife.  The perfect woman does not exist.  And they should never compare their girlfriends or their wives to what they see in magazines, on the internet, or on TV.  They will never measure up.  Ever.  And that is not fair.

And if you think that your sons are not noticing or even thinking about such a thing at whatever their ages, here were their responses:

Noah (Age 9):  "No wonder girls in magazines look so hot."   Wow.  I didn't even know he was noticing girls.

Ian (Age 11):  "Holy cow."

Greyson (Age 13):  Never a kid of many words, he didn't say anything, but the look on his face spoke volumes.  I'm pretty sure he got my point.


In the current culture of perfection of ALL things...  Whether it be our lives, our appearance, and even our blogs,  remember:  Perfection does not exist.  Only superficial perfection exists - in the pictures we see in magazines or pictures we post on our blogs (Don't lie, you know you "tweak" your pictures too.).  That's why occasionally, you'll see that I'll post pics of the real deal.


And ladies...  Just remember...  We put enough pressure on ourselves to be perfect wives, perfect mothers, perfect bloggers.  Its okay.  LET IT GO.  T he conclusion I came to last night is, its okay to always try your best, whether it be in how you look or in the things that you do, but perfection in any form does not exist.  Far more important than being perfect is being REAL.

Because it never gets better than the real thing.

An Our Prairie Home Easter: Iowa Farm Style

As I've mentioned before in my Thanksgiving and Christmas posts, we are not very formal, when it comes to family gatherings.  You won't find gorgeous tablescapes, fine china, silver, goblets of wine, and flutes of champagne.  Scott is the youngest of four, so when our family all gets together, well, its huge.  All totaled, there are seven adults and fourteen grandchildren, ranging from age 20 to age 4; Ten boys and four girls.  So generally, our focus is to get all the food put out so the men and the boys can pounce on it.  All the boys with the exception of Landon are pre-teen and older, so its like a pack of starving wolves.  LOL  We definitely do buffet style - all the time.  Oh - and paper plates.  LOTS of paper plates.  So we can just enjoy each other and not spend a ton of time cleaning up.


We generally rotate holiday hostess responsibilities, although I haven't hosted for a couple of years now, since we started remodeling everything.  This year, Scott's sister's family invited our family to their farm in Tripoli (pronounced Trah-POLE-lah).

Tammy...

Tammy is in black.  Nancy is in purple.

and her husband, Dwayne 

(or Dewey, as we affectionately call him)...

own and operate Busch Hogs.  They live on a working farm in northeastern Iowa.  Duane owns around 5,000 head of hogs and farms I don't know how many acres of corn and beans.  Tammy also works as a Lab Tech at our local hospital.  They have four children, three boys and one girl, ages sixteen to six.  

We always love to go to Tammy and Duane's.  

Why?  

Because Duane is the best griller EVER. 

Mostly, the men stand outside around watch Duane grill...

And to eat it as fast as it comes off...

All the meat is raised by Duane and Tammy on their farm...  Hamburger, Porkburger, Steak, Pork Chops, and Brats.  They even have their own meat locker on their farm, which is where they cut up and process the meat that they raise for their family's use.  Even the bacon in our sides came from the pork they raise.

Seriously, we are very spoiled.

  

We rarely, if ever, have to buy meat from the store.

I miss my fresh seafood from the coast, but I love our farm grown beef out here.  You can't find steaks like that at the grocery store.

Its pretty much a free-for-all when we all get together.

The older boys play football or ride four wheelers...

because we spend a lot of time shooing them outside. 

With five of the ten boys being wrestlers, 

its inevitable that this happens:

Its gets pretty loud when all five get in on the action.  

Especially when the men start egging them on.  LOL! 

The baby girls play dress up...

and because they are only five months apart, 

we always check to see who's taller...

Its pretty much always a toss up.  ;)

It was quite the celebration when those two came along.  

After nine straight births of boys, 

we had given up that there would ever be more than two girls.  

Needless to say, they are the princesses.  :)

And poor little Landon is usually left to his own devices, 

since he's so much younger than all the other boys.

We all line up and stuff ourselves sick with all the goodies 

that everyone has contributed to our potluck style meal:

This year our menu included:

Meat:  Steaks, Pork Chops, Brats, Hamburger, and Porkburger
Sides:  Green Beans, Fresh Asparagus out of the asparagus patch, Scalloped Corn, Fried Potatoes and Bacon, Baked Bean Casserole, Pasta Salad, Vegetable Tray, Grilled Peppers, Onions, and Mushrooms, Seven Layer Salad, and Grilled Garlic Bread.
Dessert:  Strawberry Pie, and my contributions for the desserts...

Rice Krispy and Cadbury Egg Bundt Cake

And a homemade ice cream cake that was decimated before I thought to take a picture of it:

Recipe:  Two layers of Ice Cream Sandwiches, Cool Whip, and crushed Butterfingers.  Freeze two hours.  Done.  YUMMY

Its always great to get together with the family, so the cousins can spend time together.

Rob, who is the next to oldest grandchild is a Junior at Simpson College and is studying to be a physicist.  Smart boy, that Rob.

Family is just one of the many reasons I love living in Iowa...

Even if Tammy did try to take a picture of me because I was busy being paparazzi all afternoon.  She missed.  LOL 

Easter:  A time to be thankful for our family and more importantly, our Saviour, who's death on the cross saved us all.  

And totally NOT about the Easter baskets I set out when we got home late last night.

XO,

Why Iowa?

When Scott and I announced that we were moving to his home state of Iowa back in 2006, everyone thought we were nuts.  "What's in Iowa?"  we heard.  Or, "There's nothing in Iowa!"  My personal favorite:  "Y'all are nuts."

Yes, we were leaving a 2 hour drive away from this:

And the kids wouldn't be able to do this every weekend, like they were used to:

But the move just felt right.  Scott's parents were getting older and Scott was concerned about the farm falling into disrepair.  His mother had been in and out of the hospital.  It was just the right thing to do.

Last summer, I really looked around and realized that I was finally glad that we had moved here.  Not only do we live in a fantastic school district, but I love the wide-open spaces, the lack of traffic, and the kids growing up in a small town environment...  Even if I do miss the shopping that Raleigh offered.  :)

This morning, waking up to somewhat balmy temperatures for an Iowa March, really makes me long for summer and for the time we can get outside and enjoy our yard.  So, I thought I would share some pictures with you of our home outside and a small peek at what living in Iowa is like.

Our house sits on just under 4.5 acres...  Small by Iowa standards, but ginormous for peeps that live on .3 acres or less.

This is what we have to look forward to this summer:

Enjoying the outdoors...  Even if it means mowing a lot of grass.  Personally, I like mowing.  And even with a zero-turn with a 40 inch deck, it takes about 2.5 hours to mow our grass.  And grass in Iowa grows FAST.  We mow once a week during the peak season - our yard and Scott's parent's yard, which has another mowable 5 acres on their 80 acre farm.

I love breathing in the fresh air...

and the smell of lilacs from this ancient bush.

The kids have plenty of space to run and play...

and I love not having any traffic on our gravel roads.  It took a while to get used to how quiet it is, although I still have to have a fan on when I sleep.  Its just too quiet.  :)

The boys are getting to age where they don't like living out in the country and would rather live in town where they can hang out with their friends.  I can remember feeling that way too, but when I got older, I was glad that we lived out in the boonies.  Hopefully, they realize how blessed they are that they can do this:

Taking the four wheeler for a spin.

and this...

Running free.

and this...

A baby bird that hadn't figured out how to fly yet and fell out of its nest.

and this.

Ian hunting rabbits with an air rifle.

Yes, there are drawbacks...  It takes 20 minutes to get to a grocery store and 40 minutes to get to the mall.  I think its an even trade off though.

Although there are things out here that freak me out:

Although, everyone out here says hurricanes scare them more.  I'm like, "But you know its coming.  For days.  You can head inland.  Tornadoes strike without warning!"  They just laugh.  I admit we spend a lot of time with our basement door open in the spring and summer.  I don't think I'll ever stop doing that, no matter how long we've lived out here.

And some things that are a pain to deal with, but oh so beautiful...

Winter 2011

Driving on ice and snow covered roads.

Sometimes waiting a day for the snow plows to come by.

Snow drifts taller than I am.

But I don't think I could go back to living in town.  And if given a choice, I don't know that I would move back to North Carolina.  I miss my family, the beach, the awesome food...  But, Iowa is the place for me.  Even if right now, it is somewhat depressing outside:

Because, Friday I saw this:

One of the first robins of Spring.  YAY!

 Which means this...

isn't too much further away.  Thank goodness!

So, although the outside of our house needs as much work as the inside...

The never-ending list of To-Do's:

1) Replace siding.

2) Replace wrap-around porch.

3) Replace steps.

4) Add attached garage.

5) Landscaping.

I know eventually it will be the showplace that it was in 1905.

Until then, I can console myself with this...

and count myself as blessed.

Its Almost Always Bigger Than You Think...

A project, that is.  ;)

I don't know about you, but whenever I start out on a project, I always think how simple its going to be.  It never quite works out that way.  LOL!

But y'all are going to be happy because not only will I be doing the  bookcase reveal next week, I'll be doing the dining room reveal next week, as well.  YIPPEE! (Not. LOL)

These things happen when your husband gets in on the fun.  :P

Yesterday morning, when Scott came down stairs, I had already drug everything away from that corner of the dining room and started stashing it in the back half of the living room, to give myself more room to work.  And I was just staring at it.

I won't bore you with the ensuing conversation, but it entailed Scott taking a closer look at what I was working with, shaking his head, and breaking out the power tools.  He had a VERY happy wife.

Who knew the top was merely tongue and groove?  PERFECT for my idea!

I could have done without knowing about all the mice poop that is inside our walls.
EWWWWWWWWWW!

Discovered that the side wall is sheet rock.  Well, that's good to know.

All the mice poop, dirt, and plaster chunks that was inside the wall on the floor.
GROSS.

Remember how the bottom stuck out further than the top shelves?
Scott cut them down to size.  LOVE IT!

Scott complaining that nothing in this house is square or level.
I told him, "Might as well get over it, because you can't change it.  Work with what you got."  He looked at me like I had sprouted horns and proceeded to make it level and square.  LOL!

Taking down the tongue and groove.

And lest you think I did nothing but hold boards and sweep up the mess, this was my little part of the beginning of the project.

My job was to take out all the trim nails and prepare the boards for painting.

Considered using chalk paint, but decided I better take the time
now to prime it or I'd be kicking myself later.  :)

Sorry its blurry.  My battery was going dead.
Scott is bringing the top out so that its square with the shelves, instead of being recessed.

And here's the sneak peak I promised last night on Facebook...

So, of course, after looking at what we finished yesterday, it was decided that I would go ahead and paint the room.  Lucky, me!  And of course painting the room entails painting the trim.  And counting the wall beside the stairs, this room has a WHOLE lot of trim!  Goal day:  Thursday night, before we go to Kids' State on Friday.  I'm not necessarily going to hold myself to it, but that's what I'm shooting for.

The biggest challenge?

Doing the entire room with what we already have.  Its actually kind of fun and Scott thinks I'm nuts, but I told him that was the deal.  Luckily, we had bought some trim years ago, that I had forgotten about.  And I've got the original wainscoting that we found hidden behind the kitchen cabinets when we put new ones in in 2009.  I'm pretty excited about it.  Maybe we'll actually get the new front door put in, that we bought 4 years ago.  HA!

So, here's a quick way before, before:

Seriously, the current state is not fit for viewers.  LOL!

So, that's what I'll be up to this weekend...  and next week.  Hopefully, it goes as quickly as I hope it will.  And you know I'll keep you posted!!!  :D