Happy

When Kate and Jackie announced their Don't try so hard link up last week, I couldn't wait for it: all of blog land (or some of it anyway) coming together, bare faced, to celebrate our natural beauty. 

Getting ready for work this morning: shower hair + a little exhausted from a great swim session

I have a hard time deciding what I think about wearing makeup. On one hand you have the women who are totally against it, who view it as a mask and a way to hide our natural looks. They believe it goes against womanhood and feminism to put even an ounce of mascara on our faces, because that means we are trying to cover up who we really are.
Then there are the women who look at make up as essential. They would never leave the house without it. Not necessarily because they are insecure, or they think they are "ugly" without it, but just because that's the way it is. 
I'm somewhere in the middle. I rarely wore makeup throughout high school. In fact, I think I only wore it twice during my senior year: for pictures, and for prom. During college, I had to teach myself how to wear makeup (and I'm still kind of working on it). Do I wear makup to work on a daily basis? Yes. Do I feel like I need it? NO. I am 100% comfortable waking up and going to work without a lick of makeup on my face. However. Makeup does make me feel prettier. More feminine. A little softer around the edges.
As I said earlier, I was super excited about this link up last week, but then the weekend happened. I was planning on taking a few shots with my "fancy camera" but I was too busy.

You can't read my hat, but it says "Life is Good" and oh, how I agree.

I snapped this at the boat ramp after a few hours of riding around the lake, looking at houses (most of which we could never afford) and wondering/pretending how awesome it would be to live in some of the mansions. We may have even done a little trespassing and sneaking around properties, looking in windows and sitting on porches. It was one of the best days I've had in a while and I think this picture perfectly captures me "not trying so hard" at all.
When I look at the two pictures above, this is what I see: I see a girl who has grass-green eyes and sort of thin eyebrows (but that's okay because she just learned how to fill them in). I see a girl with naturally straight teeth (thank the lort for not having to wear braces) and a sort of flat stomach that she works her ass off for. I see a girl with "beauty marks" a plenty, and with crows lines around her eyes, because she smiles so much. I see a girl who is happy.