lipstick and polkadots

I took this picture to show you the cute polka dot shirt my mom gave me for Christmas which is hiding under my purple cardi. However, the large black baby in my arms blocked the view.

Colbs likes to pretend he's a lapdog sometimes.

So.

Instead, you got my (closeup, large!) white arms and a sleepy puppy face.

Lets talk about something else in the picture. My lipstick.

I was wandering the aisles of Meijer this week, looking for red lentils to make a dish from my new Global Vegetarian cookbook.... humming a nameless 80's disco song which has been stuck in my head literally for 3 weeks...and thinking about how glamorous I looked with my pants tucked haphazardly into my old Uggs as I trudged around, feeling like a giant dirty marshmallow in my brown warmest-ever puffy winter coat. My hair had been blown to smithereens by the graceless Midwestern wind. And I was thinking lipstick thoughts.

I usually wear a light foundation, a bit of bronzer and whip on some mascalara (yes. mascalara!) every day. But my lips have only ever known the soft caress of Mr. Chap Stick. Well, and the sparkly lip gloss for 'special occasions'. But I began to think about how I'm kinda grown up now. And maybe I should pull myself together, you know. Begin grocery shopping in high heels, quit laughing too loud in public places, and wear lipstick. Well, at least wear lipstick. I figured it was a good place to start. I tried explaining to my dear husband about how even thought I own a couple of tubes, I don't know how to wear lipstick. He didn't get it. Just put it on....right? Wrong! What about lip liner, and color choosing, and cracking/rubbing off and kissing and eating and cup stains and the dreaded front tooth dilemma....?

I have to learn how to wear lipstick. Its...its...

A rite into womanhood, I said. Womanhood! How would you like it if you still didn't know how to shave your face? Would you feel like less of a man?

There you have it.

So I promptly left the lentils unfound and chose a new lipliner with a vow to wear lipstick. At least once a week. (Hey, baby steps, right?)

Anyhow, let me know if you have any lipstick-wearing advice.

In the meantime, I also talked to my mom about a book we had both recently read, Small Kingdoms...and how the way we both see the world and the things that pique our interest extends to the books we enjoy.

We like to think about human interaction and human behavior and how people interact and how people analyze themselves and grow both individually and in their relationships- and the complexity of it all. And how each person brings a cultural, historic, and personal background along with past experiences to the table... which shapes the lens through which they see life and the current situation. What about you? What kind of books do you like?

In other media news. I've discovered that I love this bluegrass band: Nickel Creek.

Also, I love poppyseed dressing.

And, as we are counting down to graduation in May and enjoying/enduring our last semester, Jonny and I have continued job searching/posting our resumes slash dreaming about our future.

Such dreams include backpacking all over the world, becoming farm hands in Australia, going to culinary school in Paris or being care-takers for a beachside property in Spain.

Although it did feel pretty cool when I had a recruiter for a medical staffing company call today to ask about my 'professional needs' and preferences. Heck, I didn't even know I had professional needs. Who knows where we'll end up.

In the meantime, we've been watching BYU basketball and loving our Cougars...(sorry SDSU...you just got Jimmered! )

Aaaaaand making a bucket list.

Some of the top picks are 'build a tree house' and 'eat a whole pint of ice cream while in bed'.

Can you guess which is whose?