The One With The Challenge: A Photo Of Me Recently

This one is harder than yesterday. As I have gotten older, and fatter, I have wanted to appear in pictures less and less. So finding pictures of me, let alone picture of me that doesn't show me smiling at the camera (plus when I can pose myself in such a way so I don't look so hideous and huge) is very difficult. However, there are a few times when I allow Charming to take the camera and snap away. And that is when I am attempting to feed some type of animal.

I love feeding animals. I get all excited at zoos and parks when they have the feed stations and you can give corn and grain to the animals wandering around. But my most favorite experience was in August of 2009 in Massachusetts at the animal sanctuary near my parents' house. The deer roamed around free and would come right up to you and eat out of your hand. I couldn't get enough of it and was putting quarters into feed machines every chance I got. I loved the feel of the soft deer lips on my palm. I was never afraid or timid and would often seek out the biggest bucks with huge racks of antlers because they were just so impressive.


Here I am feeding a young doe, still spotted with her youthful fawn markings. This was really the coolest experience and I hope to go back some day. I love the interaction with the animals.

Charming is always trying to get me to feed birds even though he knows I don't like them. He thinks it is good to face my fears and attempt to overcome them. I tell him I'll overcome him if a bird does anything bad to me again. But I try every once in awhile to indulge him as long as there are no swarming possibilities.


Here I am in Boston, October 2010, throwing crumbs to pigeons, and praying I don't get too close. What you don't see if right after this picture was taken birds swooped in behind me and I ran away screaming.

I just realized I could not have picked two more unflattering hair pictures if I tried. A sweaty tight bun and frizz central. Nice.