Twelfth Fan!

The best leaders inspire by example. When that's not an option, brute intimidation works pretty well, too.

Goodness me, a happy day indeed.

Violet LeBeaux has become the latest follower of Happy Cup Day, and I am over the moon. I actually did a little victory dance in my swivel chair (the second victory dance of the day...how victorious I am feeling!). Her blog is inspiring, her attititude humbling, and her nails..well they're just freaking awesome. Truly the Queen of the Hime Gyarus.

So without much further ado, a warm Happy Cup Day welcome to Violet!

I dare say you haven't had much practice, said the Queen. When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast...

Lazy Girl's Guide to Deco

She may very well pass for forty-three in the dusk, with a light behind her

You will need:

• Cheap hand-held mirror
• Snacks
• Large flat backed jewels
• Short attention span
• Craft glue
• Pyjamas

Step one: Arrange self comfortably on bed with most of the above

Step two: Realise you've forgotten something vital

Step three: Haul ass out of bed and get it

Step four: Apply glue to individual jewel and, starting in the middle, apply in a mildly haphazard manner.

Step five: Attempt to not use the same jewel twice in the same area

Step six: Perfect art of eating whilst crafting, taking care not to glue down snacks, or snack on glue

Step seven: Get bored half way through and take a nap

Step eight: Wake up several hours later, confused

Step nine: Realise that it's taking too long, and decide to bodge it

Step ten: Apply glue willy-nilly to back of mirror and stick on whichever jewel comes to hand

Step eleven: Get frustrated that only certain shapes are left, and that they're all the same colour

Step twelve: Rush finish job

Step thirteen: Camera whore excessively with finished product

Step fourteen: Vow never to attempt any sort of deco again

Step fifteen: Hide epic failure behind a "witty" blog post

Step sixteen: Go to Violet LeBeaux's blog

Step seventeen: Look jealously at her deco skills

Step eighteen: Forget step fourteen

Step nineteen: Order cabochons and tiny diamontés from the internet

Step twenty: Embark on next deco adventure

It's not denial. I'm just selective about the reality I accept...

Cunning Plan: Project Pink

I believe I will dip my pink-and-white body in yon Roman tub. I feel a bit gritty after the affairs of the day.

Personally, I believed that one was either a pink person, or a red person, but never both. This was reflected by the sheer volume of red things I possessed: camera, shoes, hair, iPod, gloves, carpet, lips...just to name a few. But recently I've felt a real longing for more pink.

On that note, here is the plan in all its simplicity:

if pink is an option, pink is the answer.

So far I've been taking baby steps...my pink highlighter has been getting a lot of action recently, along with the only pink item of clothing I own (yes, that is Blossom from the Powerpuff Girls).

I've also purchased two pink lipsticks and a pair of pink slippers.

I'm heading off to New York next Wednesday with the school (you cannot appreciate how excited I am), and man, oh man, I am going to have a pink field day.

Weeeeee'lllll drink a drink a drink to lily the pink the pink the pink...

Sneaky Peeklet

If I stand here, I can see the Little Red Haired girl when she comes out of her house...of course, if she sees me peeking around this tree, she'll think I'm the dumbest person in the world...

A teeny peek at my prom dress...I couldn't resist (:

I am real

"...Likewise, if you look “just nice” in person, you will look “a bit on the plump side” in photos. True, there’s this operating theatre known as Photoshop and we can always perform digital surgery on ourselves."

I usually give credit when I quote from blogs, but not today. In this person's defence, the end of the article is more in defence of not having to skinny down. But still..

Photoshopping...really?! I read this and was astonished.

For me, the blogging world is somewhere we can turn to to follow examples of real people. Of real people, away from the bright lights and high expectations of the glossy pages.

But us real girls get belly rolls when we sit down, our skin isn't always clear, our arms do a little bingo wing jiggling when we wave, and patterned socks distort over our calves. This is all oh so true for me; but my god, I am so deliriously happy with myself right now.

Underneath hair dye, make up, eccentric clothes, high heels and hold em up and in bras, we are just girls. We are girls that make mistakes. We are girls that succeed. We are girls that write. When we go to bed we are nothing but our natural state. And it is essential that we are happy like that, because otherwise, what exactly are we happy with?

So to those of you who photoshop before you reveal, please feel free to go ahead. I must say, it's a mighty skill to be able to use this software so effectively. I have minus amounts of skill in this department...even if I wanted to photoshop myself, I couldn't. Well done for perfecting this art, as art it is, just as it is art when we sculpt our hair and paint our faces.

But now, with my 12 megapixel Holly, I promise you that I will never, ever, photoshop photos of myself.

Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong! — I have as much soul as you — and full as much heart!

She's making a comeback

A lot of people are waiting for Martin Luther King or Mahatma Gandhi to come back -- but they are gone. We are it. It is up to us. It is up to you.

I was gone for a week. A week of being extremely busy for seemingly no apparent reason. A week of never eating dinner at home, of walking a lot, and of talking in English more than I probably should have done. Yet Happy Cup Day was always at the back of my mind, niggling, waiting.

I have, however, managed to not only buy a new camera (yay!) but also a prom dress!

And there she is, my new camera! Her name is Holly.

You'll have to wait til June to see my dress though...

She's a real girl

They used a doll when I fall through the ceiling

Today brought forth another glorious day. I ate way too much chocolate, spent a lot of time with my host family, and finished the day by devouring a fairly sizeable chunk of rabbit. The cuter the better, that's what I say.

I made the most of the fantastic weather by taking another long walk. I effectively wore this outfit, although this picture was taken a couple of weeks ago (clearly, as I am now camera-less). I also had knee highs and my coat (it may have been nice out, but it's not summer yet!). All along the path in the park, strangers were saying 'Bonjour', older men were dipping their caps, and little girls were grinning inanely at me.

Blank minded, I turned the corner at the end of the path and entered the marina. Hanging on to her father was a tiny girl, no more than four years old, and the cutest little thing you've seen in your life. She pulled on her daddy's hand, pointed at me and said 'Papa, papa....c'est une vraie poupée!' (Dad, dad...it's a real doll!).

Best compliment I've had this year? I think it just might've been...