Adventures with the Ahrens's : The blog in which I try to look pretty. Disclaimer- graphic pictures

I was so excited when I woke up on Sunday morning and read the local online newspaper that they were accepting local bloggers to submit for online publication. Wow. This might be my big break in getting my little blog out there! I nervously decided to share a recent post, and two days later, I was accepted and told that it would be running the following morning! Wow. That was amazing. However, there was a catch. The editor wanted me to send a head shot to include in my bio. Grrr.. I didn't have one. I have very carefully stayed on the other side of the camera for years. So, I ended up sending along a picture I took of myself a month ago. It was a picture I texted Geoff with the "I love you" sign. I wasn't thrilled with it, but yesterday, I had about an hour, and thought, if I shower and straighten my hair, I could put some make up on and take some head shots. Well, in theory, it worked out great. In real life... Well, that's a different story.

First, it takes about 25 minutes to straighten my hair. By the time I am halfway though, I am sweating, and that creates more curls. It's really a self defeating task. The make up--- I don't ever use it, and don't really know how to apply it. All I know it, I spent $9 for a complete set of make up last spring, and my friend pointed out that most quality items cost more than $9, alone. Then, when she asked if I had set it with powder, I told her the only powder I had was called "Anti Lady Monkey Butt," and that was used to help my thighs from chaffing. She suggesting that I might not want to apply anything to my face that has the name "butt" in it. Okay, I agreed. That might be a life long lesson to follow. Once I completed the process, I thought I looked pretty good. Then, I took a picture. Not the best, but I am taking them myself, and need to play with the angle. And finally, I realized, I'm not the most attractive, and all the work int he world can't help me. I looked back at the pictures of Geoff and I before we got married. I thought I looked great. Guess I didn't pull off that tanorexic look as well as I remembered. But didn't my teeth look pearly white?

In all honesty, I am pretty happy with the flawed person I am. I love that my husband thinks I am beautiful, and that when I put makeup on, he doesn't like it. I love that Charlie just recently told me that he loved my curly hair. I love that Shay gets excited when I put on a pair of character (Tinkerbell) pajamas. I love how being comfortable and being me makes my family happy. I'm a lucky girl, even if I can't put a model face to my blog. I hope that my blog is written well enough that it doesn't need a face to be remembered.

They asked for a "head shot." Get it? Forget it.

This was a real picture.

Let's try that duck face phenomenon. Nah. I don't look any better than the rest of them.

This was a real picture. Real bad.

Look at me! Don't I look happy? I was SERIOUSLY trying here.

Is this really what I look like? I don't want to point out the obvious, but if I look just as bad after applying make up and spending that much time to straighten my hair, why bother?