When you're tagged with a meme, do you feel obligated to complete it?
For me, it hangs over my head until it's d.o.n.e. I figure, if someone thought of me (cough cough) and was interested in how I might respond to the tag, the least I can do is play along. Sometimes I post my version right away, other times it takes me FOREVAH, but usually, eventually, I'll do it; if not, I let the "tagger" know I'm not going to and the reason why (which reminds me–Stephanie, I guess I blew the "real moms" meme…:/…it was a timing thing…plus, it seemed like over and over I read the type things I woulda said, but only better than I could've done myself…).
Occasionally, a tag comes along that's pure e.v.i.l. Such is the one I offer you this morning. It's from Rachelle at Seek First His Kingdom. Sure, her blog title (blitle?) seems "Christian"; of course, if you read her for five minutes she sounds "nice". She's one of those who I've recently stumbled across who I thought could be a kindred–my age, evolving faith, an instant blognnection.
Apparently she's trying to sabotage that now with her recent tag to me.
It started with Lisa Samson over at Author Intrusion who asked Rachelle and others "to show [their] morning faces! Yes, she
wants to see that no-makeup, just-got-up, haven't-had-coffee-yet face.
Are you up for it???" Rachelle, in her post, went on to explain, "Lisa slyly asks us… if we don't want to do it…why not?"
This was Rachelle's response: "I have to admit this is definitely a challenge for me. Can you say v-a-n-i-t-y?
I'm embarrassed about the "real me." So, for that very reason, I'm
doing it. Here's my morning face at 43 years old. I didn't even brush
my hair."
Once again, Rachelle has pretty much said what I would have, only better. Substitute above the words "self conscious" for embarrassed and "44" for 43, and that sums up me in a nutshell.
The thing is, WHY do I even CARE what "you"–for the most part, people I will NEVER know IRL–think about me? My husband thinks I'm s.c.o.r.c.h.i.n.', my children think I'm pretty, isn't that ENOUGH????
The answer is found in Scripture…"Man looks at the outward appearance…", we all intuitively know that. People make judgments about what they see; if they're seeing me, I want them to see the best "me" possible. Simple as that. I don't want you to see my f l a w s, I'm well acquainted with each and every one of them. A little make up covers and conceals and corrects the imperfections.
What I honestly w i s h I was more concerned about is the second half of that verse found in I Samuel 16:7–"…but the LORD looks at the heart."
The thing is, if you've read me over the long haul; if you've seen bits and pieces of "me" since I began my blog what feels like forever ago, you have seen my heart. You've seen a fair amount of laughs … a little snark … my family and a few of my friends … a little spice … but more than anything, I hope you've seen a glimpse–even if it's tinier than a split atom–of someone who has been loved by the Greatest Love evah, and who, in response loves back with encouragement and compassion and forgiveness. Do you know how bad I want to backspace over that??? Because I know I blow it more than I get it right???
Anyway, I'm stalling. I figured if I kept writing long enough, you'd lose interest and NOT look at what I'm about to show you. This is definitely vintage Pensieve, beginning a post with a general direction in mind (posting a simple picture, for goodness sake!) and ending up somewhere entirely different. C'est la vie…that's me…
And so is this…first thing in the morning, no coffee (grrrrr) and teeth filmy. I'm smiling ONLY because "you're never fully dressed without one" and frowning causes more wrinkles (and frankly, it's much more unattractive). Especially at 6:30 in the morning with no coffee and zoo breath.
I'm warning you in advance, super-size the picture at your own risk; I've given a like warning in the past. This picture enlarged might just be worse than the the Queen of Crack.
Gosh, who to tag? Let's go "Switzerland"… all the ladies who commented to my Fun Monday post yesterday (guys don't factor into this, I'm afraid–you look the same when you roll outta bed as you do when you're freshly showered and shaved…unless you've had a "rough" night): Heather, Kila, Chris, Karmyn, Gina, Vicki, Beccy, Tracey, Tiggerlane, Jill, Kristy, Pamela, Little Miss Moi, Nadine and Nikki…and the Drama Mamas because they dissed me. Lemme know if you post…
Dude. You are GORGEOUS! Seriously hot. I’m not even close to being hot in the morning or any other time. Not fair.
Not fair at all.
Man that’s a GREAT picture of Thomas. How did you get him in that Lin-ger-ee? Robin, you know you are all that and a “blog” of chips. Swwweeeet picture!
Evil one here. Robin, you are H.U.H.larious. I can’t help it, I’m LMAO.
And I hate you even more now because you are B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L.
So there. Thanks for playin’ along. I’ll see if I can come up with any other evil memes. Actually, I don’t know what the he** a meme is. I’m fakin’ it as best I can.
L-O-V-E… Y-O-U……
I seen that you won something at a tea blog or something like that. Way to go!
Here’s the weird thing, I tagged Peter to do Monday Funday next week and I thought, “Wouldn’t it be awful if he asked us for a picture first thing in the morning?” and then BAMB here you are.
I’llsee what I can do. No promises. =)
You are way too gorgeous that early in the morning! Going to have to try harder for a “scary” pic. . .
And your stalling was rather impressive, by the way!
What’s with people double posting??? Does TypePad have a gremlin right now?? I think I’ll leave ’em for a totally artificial comment count.
Jenny, flattery will get you NO WHERE. Post a morning picture, especially now, when you can’t find a brush!!
Chas, bite me. Can I say that?? Hmmm, I just did, lol. So you see Thomas…interesting…he is a cutie, so I’ll take it as a compliment. Not the “you look as fat as a bag of chips remark” ;).
Rachelle, you know I have a blush on you, right?…I hope the affection shows (not just the snark) :). Guess what? Maybe this ISN’T a meme, lol! I’ve read it should be pronounced to rhyme with “seem”, but I always say it to rhyme with “him”. I get confused on what’s what in the blogosphere…
Vicki, I’m still waiting on the prizes, you KNOW I’ll post it as soon as it arrives :)…kinda like the Irish prize pack from the Mamas that hasn’t arrived…yet ;). It took me three months to send out prizes when I had a contest, so I’m patient on the receiving end, too.
Sabrina, you ought to have seen the pictures I QUICKLY deleted. Holy crap! S.C.A.R.Y. with ALL capital letters!!!!
Hey, Robin! You look wonderful in the morning. Thanks for doing this.
Man, if I looked that good after an hour of primping I’d be happy! Sheesh!
Challenging my vanity. Whoa. This is gonna be tough. I WILL do this…but not sure when…wow…I look so rough in the morning. I’ll have to get The Offspring to take it, since my eyes won’t yet be open.
Dahling, what are you whining about? You look mahvelous!
Okay, I must admit to feeling a bit of a jolt when I saw my name. I mean…there’s an ‘e’ there, which caused instant recognition in my brain and a heart lurching into my throat. Why you’re picking on a newbie to your blog, I don’t know. But a good sport I am, so at the risk of scaring off the few visitors I have left after the horse skull, a photo you shall have. Tomorrow.
You definitely pull off the no make-up look. You go girl. Great post, BTW. I read all the way down. :o) You and I are in the majority who couldn’t help writing a mini-novella about this topic!
OH MAN – you are one brave lady – except it really wasn’t very brave because you still look abstolutely STUNNING.
ME? – I have to work myself up for it. Give me a few days. I can barely post a picture of myself looking normal…but first morning picture? yikes.
This is not fair you look very pretty first thing in the morning. Am I brave enough to post an early morning photo, I’ll see on how it goes before commiting. I’m not a pretty sight anytime of the day let alone first thing in the morning. It’s likely to scare everyone away from my blog or maybe send everyone flocking to have a good laugh. I’ll let you know later in the week.
Y’all are being kind…I just looked at that picture again and winced. I will say this, long hair “wakes up” much better than when my hair was shorter (whoa! nellie on the bedhead back then!!).
Lisa, I tried to post to you today and something funky happened…I’ll have to check to see if it went through, but somehow I think the comment was escaped. If you didn’t get it, it was the BEST COMMENT YOU’VE EVER HAD ;)! Interesting what a nerve you’ve hit by beginning this in the first place, though…Hmmmmmmm….
Heather, you’ve got a GREAT natural look! No primping necessary :).
Tiggerlane, I held the camera at arms length…I was wishin’ my arm’s were longer :/.
Tracey, your comment made me smile :). Poor thing! What a day to decide to jump into Fun Monday,lol. I knew if I waited, I’d never do this one…somehow, it seemed like one I should do :/.
Paula, why do we…women…feel the need to explain this? My goodness, we’re all in the same dang boat!!
Karmyn, I D.I.E.D. when Rachelle tagged me! I was like “NOT THAT!!” But that’s the thing…that’s WHY I did it. I dunno…vanity sucks…
Chris…e.a.s.e. into it…think about why you wouldn’t post it. Really, truly, our skin is just “trappings”…somehow this was a liberating exercise…minuscule that it was…your life and beauty will shine, it always does :).
what were you worried about? You look great!
Claudia…for the record, I was ticked you didn’t comment yesterday, I almost added you with the Mamas ;).
I think your pretty!
Marla
You sexy thang you!
Liberating is most definitely THE word for it.
Not bad. Nothing to be embarrassed of! You look better than 95% of the moms I see dropping off kids at school each morning.
You rock. Love the “zoo breath” reference. I’ll be dropping that into my vocab right away!
Love your rambles, too.
…a perfect stranger.
Dang! Your family’s right.
Lol, I saw your comment over at Rachelle’s and I knew, just KNEW you’d play along. I did too, sorta. Curious? Check out my latest post. HUGS!!! (Your hair is gorgeous).
I’ll go look for a picture like that of when I was 43.
OK Robin you win I’ve ‘risen’ to your challenge!!
You look great first thing, my hairlooks awful. If I remember I’ll post a picture tomorrw but only if I remember!
MQ-Why, thank you :).
Michelle, at least you got my email :/… Yeah, I know you know what I mean!
Kila, lol, that’s why I wear sunglasses in the morning!
Shanna, Hmmm…I’ve never been called that before…perfectly strange, yes, but not a perfect stranger. Me likey :).
Carol, just remember, I let you off the hook THIS TIME, but I’d bet money someone else will getcha;).
E-mom, you’re six shades of cute…but you’re still a big CHICKEN!
Pamela, Lemme know if you find one :)…heck, I’ll know before you tell me!
Chris, WAHOO!!! You go girl!
Beccy, remembering is almost as hard as posting it when you do!
I think I love you.
What a GREAT post Robin.
Okay, and yes – you look amazing…how stinkin old are you?? Don’t believe it for a second. Nope.
Wow dude.
Not sure if I’ll ‘play’ along or not…..YIKES.
Oh yea – thanks for all the ‘comment love’ over at my place! You know how to make a gal feel special….!
Thanks friend.
Such a lovely picture. Thanks for playing!
HAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAH! That was a good laugh. Me? In the morning? My rats nest hair? You really want me to scare all my readers away? Especially because dude, you are HOT! Did I mention my double chin?
Dear robin. You do look great! You must be a morning person. I tend to swing between morning and evening person. Depending on what time I go to bed. Blah blah that didn’t even make sense! Hmm… I’ll see what I can do too. No promises…
You’re gawgeous! And brave. And I wouldn’t be caught dead on the internet without my makeup.
You don’t have anything to be self-conscious about. :^D
I’m sorry, i’ve been popping in here and there without commenting as much as usual…Monday I was in class all day long, then came home and SLEPT!!!
ps…I still want to come have coffee on your porch, esp. now that everything is in bloom, and then play with that cute dog!! 🙂
You go ahead wit yo bad self!
I would post a pic of me but I am afraid that the before (zoo breath included) and after aren’t much different. 😉
Honestly, you’re still smokin’ 😀 dark curles are sexy!
My morning face is posted on my blog. If ya wanna see what I look like gussied up, go back to the December posts for our family pictures. 🙂
I don’t think that is a bad picture- really! Thanks for visiting my blog! 🙂
Wow, you are better than I am. 🙂 I had to sit there for a minute and wonder if I made it over here to comment on your Fun Monday post. Now I am glad I waited. 🙂
You are very pretty, even with Zoo breath!
Sorry to disappoint, but it looks pretty good from here. I just don’t understand how you can go through the day leaning like that.
Have you even heard the term “all that and a bag of chips”? Evidently not or you would have been happy about my comment. It means you are the $#!%, or your the bomb, or you rock, or your hot. I take it back because the your head is swelling. I can see you glowing from here from all the Love from your Blates (Blogmates) Bite me? huh? Interesting?
No one should be allowed to look that cute first thing in the morning. If I posted a morning pic, I’d probably shut down the entire internet as we know it.
Love your blog.
Kristy, I’m hearing David Cassidy singing that. Are you even old enough to know who that is and why your comment reminded me of that??? lol How can I NOT ** heart ** you after some of the ways I’ve caught you talkin’ behind my back! My skirt’s gonna blow over my head Marilyn Monroe-style if you aren’t careful!
Mary, Thanks! Me likey your feisty pose much better :).
Nikki, there’s just … somethin’ … about another woman tellin’ me I’m hot. It thrills me and scares me all at the same time. You sound like you’d take a MARVELOUS morning picture! Chopchop! What are you waiting for??
Dear LMM, you made PERFECT sense to me! And, yeah, if I had to pick, it’d be morning. After coffee. I’m a slave to it :(.
Nan, I’ll say to you what I said to e-mom…CHICKEN!
Claudia, GLAD you got some sleep in! It really does do a body good :/ (spoken by someone who NEVER gets more than 6 hours a night anymore…). I’m waiting on a visit. On my porch. With liquid refreshments :).
MaryMert…SEXY??? You’ve been licking toads!! No, no, I’ve got it, YOU NEED GLASSES! I just saved you tons of money with that diagnosis!
Gina, dang it…I don’t have time to blog hop right now, but I’ll visit SOON! I promise :). YOU GO GIRL!!
Toni, have I not commented before? Cause it’s not the first time I visited…:).
Julie, lol, lucky girl, you are :).
Joe, you must’ve not been around during my vertigo posts…:/.
Chas, that must be some backwoods ALABAMA expression…something you’d know plenty about ;). And color me impressed, you’re speaking my language! Time for you to pick up the blog again, bluddy;).
Tammy, I have no idea how you found my blog, but thanks for letting me know you did! Shutting down the whole internet? You might be doing a lot of people a FAVOR!
Well, I did it. I’m not too happy about it, and no one may ever read my blog again…but I did it. Unruly hair and eyebrows and all.
Tiggerlane, puh-lease! You’re cute, girlie-Q…stinkin’ adorable! 🙂 I’m proud of you and Chris and Gina for takin’ the plunge!
You are beautiful inside and out =)))
Hel-loooooooo Hot Stuff!!!
Absoulutely NO FAIR you look that good!!
Okay, I know I’m tagged…
I’ll let you know when I actually get the courage to do this…
Laurel, When I read that, the crazy idea that popped in my mind was the movie “Innerspace” starring Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid, lol…like you had been floating around my insides or something–ha! Thanks on any account ;).
Steph, you’re a sweetie…been missin’ your stellar comments, but at the same time, I know “where” you’ve been lately…:/. 🙂
Oh alright. I did it, check it out , yo! Today’s the day I bared myself on the internet, I hope you’re proud of yourself! LOL!
MaryMert, YOU GO GURRRRL!!!
I can’t believe anyone could look so good in the morning!
I’m lucky if I look as good as you after a day at the salon! It’s 2pm and I’m still not wearing makeup, only because I know no one except my kids and husband will see me today and they are all used to my mug…