This was the first full day of the vacation, but for this blog’s purposes I am counting it as day two.
Like I said in my last post, Georgia weather has been awful lately, so I was really worried about our first full day on the beach, especially since the skies were already cloudy. Fortunately, it did not rain. In fact, I have noticed a pattern here at Sunset Beach that my family has decided is the perfect summer weather-cloudy and windy weather to keep the temperature fairly low in the morning with the sun fully appearing in the afternoon, so that one gets enough vitamin D to not become depressed. Of course, the key element is to have NO RAIN, at least no rain like Georgia has had for weeks straight with no break. Mid-morning my parents and I, my cousins and their children, and one of my aunts all headed out to the beach for the first time. The wind was blowing something fierce, which made it the perfect day to fly a kite. 
Also, that Sunday was the first day that I got to wear my new sunglasses, which was exciting. That may seem silly, but since I am legally blind without prescription glasses or contacts, I can’t just buy any pair of sunglasses that catches my eye. I love accessories and fashion and so was one of the main reasons why I wore contacts for a while a few years ago. Unfortunately, the contacts started really bothering my eyes and I almost always looked like I was crying, so I returned to glasses. I figured that while Dorothy Parker may be right that, “men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses,” but girls who have red, watery eyes probably don’t get any either. I ordered these purple sunglasses from Zenni Optical a few weeks ago, but because of all the rain, it wasn’t until Sunday that I got to wear them!
By the way, right now I am reading
The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty are Used Against Women by Naomi Wolf and it certainly is eye-opening to realize just how much the advertising world keeps women's self-esteem and self-worth low, so that we will buy more beauty and diet products. Fortunately, I am realizing more and more that I like myself and my body the way that it is-in fact, some of my most favorite selfies this week have been of me wearing no makeup. Here’s one featuring my new sunglasses:
What do you think? I love them!
Don’t I look happy? It is so great to be out in the sun again. Like I said, on this vacation we’ve been having cloudy mornings, but sunny afternoons-in a nutshell, perfection. All of the rain, fog, mist, and clouds for so long in Georgia had really begun to take its toll on me psychologically. I have a
lightbox, which I sang its praises for a year ago, but this year I can’t seem to remember to use it, especially during the summer when you would think that the weather would be sunny enough to not need it. Unfortunately, looking back, I probably needed it desperately and when I get home I am going to make an extra effort to start using it again, especially since I heard from a friend recently that it is still raining hard in Georgia. Bummer!
Here is just another selfie that I like:
I think I look glamorous!
Per the book, advertisers are very successful in making women feel bad about themselves, so that women will buy products in order to make themselves feel and look “better.” That’s why I think the concept of women and adolescent girls taking selfies is so revolutionary-to take a picture of ourselves, admire it, and post it for the whole world to see is taking back some of the power from the advertising companies. It’s a backlash that I doubt Naomi Wolf foresaw, for her book was written before social media sites.
In the window of our beach house kitchen there is a curtain which says, “EAT!” I love it, because it reminds me of the little cakes in Alice in Wonderland with the words, “eat me,” written on them. Nothing could be more apropos for our family!
I simply could not write about a family gathering without mentioning our food. We are a family with some very good cooks and of course, some folks who very much appreciate them. My uncle cooked day two’s dinner and it was a meal that everyone had eagerly anticipated. In fact, family members even claimed to have dreams about his famous twice baked potatoes!
(Getting the grill ready for the steaks. Yum-I don't eat steak often!)
We had flank steak, twice baked potatoes, creamy mushrooms and a BLT salad. I wanted to post a picture of the finished food, but I accidentally deleted the picture-whoops! You'll just have to take my word that it was very beautiful and very yummy. I think my favorite dish was the BLT salad. My uncle cooks like Paula Dean-he uses lots of butter, cream, mayonnaise, etc. It’s not a way that I could eat every day, but to have him along on vacation is fabulous.
With all the anxiety that I have had this summer, I so needed these indulgences and these opportunities for relaxation. I needed a change of scenery and of weather. It really is amazing how much the weather influences our mood, especially when it is the same dreary rain over and over again. I am so grateful for this opportunity to recharge my spirit and have fun with family. Blessed be!
English
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
French
German
Haitian Creole
Hindi
Korean
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
Vietnamese
You do look glamorous in the glamor picture. But I think the sunglasses and no make-up picture is beautiful.
Karen Gold
Thank you, Karen!
Someone is using your pictures to troll on a gaming forum. http://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post?id=62854431
Thank you for letting me know. I'm not sure what to do about it, if anything. *sigh* It's one of the risks of putting yourself out there, I guess.
I must say, I don't get it though. They chose the made-up picture of me, which surprises me. Even though they compared me to cows and dogs, I still like the picture. It hurts a little, but not much when I think of how peaceful I have felt today compared with how unsettled and angry they must have felt. Whatever. Haters are gonna hate, but I am stronger.