"I'm afraid that if I started to ponder who I am and what I am, I might not like what I find." ~Rod Serling

So...

This has been quite the crappy week...mood-wise.  Let's look at some pretty photos...maybe that will help.  (I'd prefer a chocolate doughnut, but we aren't going there anymore.)

Hahahahahahahahaha!  Right....

I have some Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter photos I've been hoarding.

Enjoy.

“It is an absolute human certainty that no one can know his own beauty or perceive a sense of his own worth until it has been reflected back to him in the mirror of another loving, caring human being.” 



~John Joseph  Powell

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"I feel the room swayin' While the band's playin'...."

Well....

This post contains ALL kinds of creepy.  On our Friday Adventure Day, Pappy, Mara and I (and occasionally Emily), spend an (over)abundant amount of time "thrifting" - and there is a plethora of odd things to find at a thrift store.  (I know this because I usually buy them.)  One type of object, which sadly seems to be dispatched to these dumping grounds, is baby dolls.  Lots and lots and LOTS of baby dolls...in all shapes and sizes and conditions.

I mean, the stuff of my nightmares.

You see, growing up, my mom had this terrible, horrible, ugly, grotesque, horrid, hideous....well you get the picture...baby doll named Kathleen.  Not one of those cutsie little newborn ones, Kathleen was a ginormous 3 feet tall.  And she scared the bejesus outta me.  I mean absolutely terrified me (which, when my brothers figured this out, employed her in ALL types of horrifying acts of terrorism) to the degree at which I wouldn't go in the closet where she was kept.  At some point, Kathleen lost her pate of glorious (UGH) long, blonde locks....and an arm - just to make her even MORE delightful.  She also had eyes that opened and closed when you laid her down....but by the time she "blew her lid" they were winky - one eye opened and one eye closed...like some freaking drunk.  Sometime, during my late teens, Kathleen seemed to have just disappeared...there may or may not have been some ritualistic dancing...

Everything perished - er VANISHED - except her stubby little arm.  Holy crap...I wonder where that thing is!

Well...

I digress.  On our thrifting forays, I happened upon these beauties....in all of their glory.  Of course, they needed to have their portraits made.

I'm not exactly sure where this young lady hails from...but get a load of those eyes!

These charmers were living at the Goodwill on Etse Avenue, over by Winton Terrace.  They have an enormous section of shelves dedicated to the comfort of these castaways...wonder why...

These duchesses were hanging out at Valley Thrift in Fairfield...one of my favorite places to shop (and Jungle Jim's being right down the street doesn't detract from the trek)...

Now...I know I shouldn't be mean (hahahaha!!  Have ya met me??) but this lady requires an intervention.

JUST SAY NO!

Please?

I think she may have seen one too many Bette Davis motion pictures.

(Holy. Shit.)

She spoke to me - well AT me - last week when we were up there.  At first, I wasn't sure if she was addressing me, and when I turned around, YIKES, I was rendered speechless.  Me!

I hope I said, "Thank you."

(Me being polite and all...)

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“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!” ~Hunter S. Thompson

So...

Here are some "belated" photos from our adventures out-and-about Cincinnati.

The John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge....from Smale Park.

Carol Ann's Carousel, Smale Park.

A herd of Maneki Neko...as seen at a stop light on Race Street.

Fountain at St. Elizabeth Hospital East.

A giant cock...standing guard (I can't remember if this was Elm Street).

St. Francis Seraph Roman Catholic Church..Over the Rhine (The Sarah Center)

No left turn, no right turn...what do I do?

Giddy-up.

Hyatt Regency (Emily and I used to stalk this place when the St. Louis Cardinals were in town.)

Carew Tower

Rubber Ducky  - size xxxxl

St. Clare Chapel...Franciscan Sisters of  the Poor.

PLENTY more to come.  :)



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“You can't just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood. What mood is that? Last-minute panic.” ~Bill Watterson

So...

I'm still working on cleaning up ye olde piling system...

Here we go.

I never did post the photos of the MRI on my left leg.  The little black arrow here shows the fracture in my tibia before surgery.  Dr. Heis drilled a little hole in the bone and inserted this paste-like substance into the bone and in about a year the fracture will be completely replaced with new bone.  I feel great...considering the fact - as you can see in these 2 photos - my knee is essentially bone-on-bone.

Here's a cool "portrait" of Pappy indulging at the Hofbrauhaus...

Me...being all sassy at the Crackle Barrel....

Happy 23rd birthday, Mara!!!

So...this photo was taken on December 21, 2017...on year after....

THIS one....Holy Crap! I officially had lost 100lbs in this time period (as of today, I am down 110lbs).  Seeing the photo of me on the beach on Sanibel Island is a little bit of a wake-up call (holy shit).  I still have 16lbs to go to my goal...I'll weigh the same as I did when I got pregnant with Mara.  I think I'm going to keep going a little bit longer, though.  See if I can get back to my fightin' weight.

 

For Mara's birthday (well...the past 2 or 3 years), I promised her I would take her to get her ear pierced.  Finally happened.

Apparently, this is going to be the cover of Mara's self-help book..."Calm whilst in Chaos" by Mara Klaene.

Sassy-pants...wonder where she gets it...



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“If, then, I were asked for the most important advice I could give, that which I considered to be the most useful to the men of our century, I should simply say: in the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work, look around you.” ~Leo Tolstoy

So...

Cleaning up my "piling" system.  Maybe we'll go with themes until I get things back under control.

Just look down...

I have 2 main reasons to watch the ground at all times:

1 - Shiny stuff
2 - Trying not to fall on my ass

You miss the cool stuff if you don't.



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We going downtown in the middle of the night, We laughing and I'm jokin' and we feelin' alright. ~ZZ Top

Well...

I'm back!! 

I've been working on a "little" personal project the past 10 months and the past 4-5 months the situation has gotten a little bit more - well - intense.  As of two weeks ago, I have lost a total of 106lbs!!  Needless to say, my weight loss journey has taken over every aspect of my life.  I'm going to try to do better, photography-wise, so let's keep our fingers crossed.

I have 150 photos to process, taken since last spring (holy crap, I'm lazy).  Here are a few to get us started.

And - as usual - there's no rhyme or reason.  Go figure.

Enjoy.

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