Why I Chose to Not be Tan this Summer

If you recall, one of my original goals for the gap year was to be a glowing, bronzy, sun kissed shade of tan by this summer. That, however, is not going to happen. I have decided that his whole tanning process is just not worth it, and I will tell you why...

1. It is stressful to me. You have to make an effort to go to the pool or beach and lie out in the blistering heat. If you don't have time or don't stay long enough, you are mad at yourself. Bummed out, if you will. You have to make sure you don't get awkward tan lines, you spend money on lots of sunblock, turn over to make sure you're even... Well, I'm not doing it anymore, society. I'm going to the pool to go to the pool. I will sit under an umbrella and read a book and casually dip my lily white self into it every adult swim and be perfectly happy. 

2. People only care if you are tan for about three months out of the year. As soon as school starts again and everyone puts their clothes back on, nobody really cares. That is a lot of effort for such a short time.

3. I'm naturally fair skinned and have bleached blonde hair. If I were tan, it would just look weird. I cannot believe I did not realize this before. I can rock being pale; I have decided to embrace it! My endeavors to stay out of the sun also have caused me to need a lighter shade of makeup. I am now, officially, the lightest shade ULTA sells. Just call me porcelain. 

4. It is healthier and will be more attractive in the long run. I hate to sound like your momma, but how many times will you burn before you learn? UV rays can be incredibly dangerous and fair girls like me need to be careful! Exposure to the sun also causes wrinkles later in life. My mom and several ladies I know often say they wish they had worn more sunblock and been careful around the sun. I would rather look like Nicole Kidman than the tanning mom in twenty years! 

5. I am on a prescription medicine that does NOT play when it warns, "avoid excessive exposure to sunlight."

So there you have it! My 5 reasons for being pale. Want to see a comparison?

July 4th, 2011 and July 4th, 2012!

I've never been the kind of girl to use tanning beds, spray tan or self tanning lotions and I feel so relieved to not have to worry about being tan ever again. Some friends have already been making fun of how pale I am, but you know what? I love it!

I think society's obsession with being tan is bollocks. If you have the natural ability to get dark, go for it, but don't subject your body to dangerous behaviors. If we're going to be honest here, half the time girls who go all out to tan do not even look good. 

Just be careful girls, and make sure you're tanning because you actually want to, not because you feel you have to.

Frances

My sweet grandmother, Frances McFerrin, is not doing very well. The past four years we have watched her get weaker, moving from her senior living community to an assisted living home, to one that provides more care, to the emergency room back in May, to a nursing home and now back at her home under hospice care. 

She has always been the strongest woman, a truly great lady full of grace and kindness. I can only hope I am like her one day. 

It's just so heartbreaking. I know some people say that religion is only good for comforting people... I just believe it to my core that when we die we do not just cease to exist. There are souls inside of us. Without them we would be nothing. Souls are what allow us to fight and to love and to appreciate everything good and beautiful. Souls are what make us greater than animals. I know they exist because I see my grandmother giving up hers a little more each day. I just want Him to call her home to be with her husband and her sisters. 

My mother already asked me to make a memorial video for her. I don't know if you look at my other blog If I Were Artemis regularly, but that is why I have been scanning all these vintage pictures. You can see a few more here.

Frances is second from the left and first on the left

The past few weeks have been so overwhelmingly difficult. I have been trying to get ready to leave for college in August and I am too emotionally exhausted to deal with anything. We come home from caring for her and just go to bed most nights or I zone out in front of the computer, not accomplishing anything. I have a few more goals that I really wanted to hit hard this month but you know what, it's just not going to happen. We are all just too tired and that is okay.

Throughout all this, I have learned that family is the most important bond we can have, never take it for granted, and that in the end we all return to dust. The greatest thing we can accomplish in life is to love one another with everything that we have. You can't take anything with you; the only thing that matters is the legacy you leave behind.

"For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s"     - Romans 14:8 

Artemis + Apollo

For about two years now, I have wanted to create a site called Artemis + Apollo. I had very mixed intentions and meddled goals for the site, but let's just say they all involved needing a web designer and tons of money! There were going to be all these different pages for my portfolios, styling, an about me and a page where you can buy things I make. Over zealous, much? 

I decided to scratch the project but kept my domain name parked just in case the mood struck to use it again.

You guessed it. It struck.

I’ve always wanted a tumblr. They’re inspirational and free. I never got one because I didn’t want to be that girl with the three blogs AND the tumblr. It looks like there is no avoiding it. I’m that girl! I am pretty much already addicted.

I decided to change the theme or color scheme of my posts every eighteen pictures, in order to present a coherent look or idea, instead of a bunch of randomness. A tumblr within a tumblr! I hope this decision is a good one; I'm already very pleased with my primary colors on my tumblr now!

One more goal I get to cross of the list!
Check it out!

www.artemisapollo.com

Mind: Watch a Large Quantity of Films!

I have always loved movies and everything about them. I rent books in the library about the 1,000 films to see before you die, or collections of Roger Ebert's film reviews and I spend hours on IMDB. Going to movies are expensive, and if you live in a small town where every Blockbuster and Hollywood video has gone out of business, your only options are the zombie films in the Publix redbox.

I just was not satisfied. So, I decided to sign up for Netflix. The first month is free and I love the service so much, I don't think I'm going to cancel it for a few more months. I watch two movies a week and have hundreds in my queue! Here are the films I have watched over the past month:

I have never seen a film I didn't like for some reason or another. Some I liked for their sheer entertainment value while others moved me to tears and made me think about the world and my place in it. Each of these are special in their own way. I love that Netflix is giving me the opportunity to watch the movies I've always wanted to see but never knew where to find them! Indie films, foreign films, even the classics. The selection of watch instantly films is not the best, but there are plenty there to keep you occupied for a few months!

Of all of them, these are my favorites: Kramer vs. Kramer, C.R.A.Z.Y., The Names of Love and Trade.

The Twins' Canvas!

I have been in the process of making something for my beloved Webb twins for months now. I FINALLY sat down with the intention of finishing their canvas.

What you see now is just the base, I'm going to stencil something over it!!!

June Goals

I have two more months of my gap year!!! AHHH!

There are still many, many things I have to accomplish although I have realized that I can't get it all done. I'm still going to keep blogging and if Blogger lets me upload more pictures, I will keep up with this thing! 

So here are the goals for June!

Just a few things.
- Y'all. Get on the pilates train. I love them! I even took my band on vacation and did a few sessions in the hotel room. They are so easy.

- I directed a play called Not About Nightingales a year and a half ago and am making a commemorative video for my amazing cast

- My best  friend Brenna turns 20 on Thursday and my present making is about to be put to the test!

- I have a BUNCH of t-shirts I need to cut up this summer, so that has to happen!

I think the rest are pretty self explanatory! Do you guys have anything you want to accomplish this summer??? Get tan? Go on vacation more? Get some summer reading in? Let me know! 

A Most Interesting Birthday Party

This past Wednesday the ladies got together for the Most Interesting 82nd Birthday Party of Mrs. Dorothy Deavers! After a few tears in remembrance of her son Ed, we loaded up and went to our new favorite restaurant to celebrate!

And don't worry, that police car plays no part in the story ;)

Now here's where it gets interesting. Mrs. Deavers has always wanted a rose tattoo on her ankle, so we figured, if it's your 82nd birthday you deserve to have no regrets! So Queen Kim went out and bought some temporary tattoos for us all! After a very understanding waitress brought us scissors and a damp rag we were good to go! Everybody got one!

It's hard to see, but now Mrs. Dorothy has a rose on her ankle! At least for a few days ;)

Our newest member Mary is rocking her scorpion, and yes, she can make it dance!

Fabulous dahhhlings!!!

I can definitely say that a wonderful time was had by all! We laughed, we cried, ate sugar free cake, learned how to play the bag pipes, decided on some hilarious nicknames, perfected our Indian accents and of course shared our most interesting stories.

Happy Birthday Mrs. Deavers! Hear's to eighty-two more!!!