no-shave-november

Inspired by a film we watched last year and in honor of No-Shave-November, Braeden has decided to let his hair and beard grow unchecked for the next 6 months. (You can follow his journey at winterofthebeard.tumblr.com.) But, in order to be able to legitimately say that his hair/beard growth was the evidence of 6 months only, he had to start from scratch.

So this morning Braeden went from this:

Can you read the trepidation in his face?

 To this:

Shaved head and full beard? Not bad, eh?

 To this:

Whhhhaaaaa?!

As he says, "I look like a hungry, angry baby!" I've got to say, it is strange seeing him clean-shaven for the first time (when we met he had a lil' goatee and since we've dated he's always had a full beard of various lengths). This is also the shortest his hair has ever been in his life.

I must admit, I miss the beard (you know of my deep love for beards in general), but his cheeks are now smooth and it's nice to actually feel some facial skin for once. What I'm least looking forward to? The terrible sandpapery skin that is the in-between phase between clean shaven and bearded: nobody likes that: nobody.

But I still love him!

Since Braeden blogged about his plan, our friend Jared has decided to join Braeden in his bearded journey. Because he's awesome like that. In his own words:

I have united with my brother Braeden Jones in a contest of beardom affectionately known as Winter of the Beard. The rules: Shave day one, leave untrimmed for 6 months. The prize: one AWESOME beard. Everyone wins if you finish.

That's right, everyone wins if you finish. (I'm looking at you, Jacob Seifert.)

I admire Braed for just going for it: I've been thinking of shaving my head for years now but have never gotten up the courage to do it. After some across the country road-tripping and long conversation about said secret desires, my friend Claire promptly went back to school and shaved her head: what a woman. Who knows? Maybe some day I'll have as much courage myself.

beards

Braeden got me a beard for Christmas. And I shared it with the world.

This is Luke. His Amish-type interpretation was especially apt since that day his parents were having their custom-made furniture delivered that had been handmade by an Amish guy in Ohio.

Me with the beard (and intense stringy bangs) while Luke's mom Wendy laughs in the background.

When Little Matthew saw the beard he immediately ran and got his Santa hat. He looks like I like to think the young Santa looked at age 4. Adorable.

I think the beard fit Lindsey's face best. You can totally tell she's smiling behind there!

Garrett looks like a swarthy sea captain. Ahoy, matey!

My mom thought my love for beards was a little strange until she tried mine on herself. "It's actually quite satisfying." I like how she twists her moustache and looks at the camera with that twinkle in her eye.

Erin thought the beard was the most ridiculous but you can tell that even she is smiling with it on.

I like Katie's beard interpretation. She reminds me of an amazing old man playing chess in the park. Not one that I've seen, just, you know, one that could exist somewhere...

Braeden's sister Vanessa. She really didn't want me to take this picture. But I did. And now I am posting it here.

total eclipse of the...moon

I arrived home for Christmas yesterday around 2 pm. That night we celebrated the Christmas season with our annual Shepherds' Dinner (we sit on a blanket in our living room by the fire and eat foods with think the shepherds may have eaten when the angels announced to them the birth of the Christ child—pita bread, lamb, yogurt, cheese, figs...) then stayed up until 3 am to watch the lunar eclipse (apparently on visible from the western-hemisphere—sorry, Sydney!). Word on the street is that the last time the lunar eclipse happened on the winter solstice was in 1632, no big deal. The next one? Predictions are it won't be until 2190-something. What? Craziness.

Lucky for us in New Jersey the skies were clear, and, although the air was a bit brisk out, it wasn't snowing so we could sit out and watch as long as we could feel our fingers (and even a little bit longer than that...). Carter and our friend Minni made some delicious hot chocolate that helped warm us up (albeit, momentarily) and despite all the huddling and blankets after about an hour Garrett and I were out-spig-out (as Ade would say). We guilted the dad into staying a little longer than he wanted to as well because how could he leave when for the first time in hundreds of years the whole frickin moon was orange?! Come on, man.

Here are some amazing, super in-focus, and close-up, professional looking pictures of the event:

Right when the eclipse was starting. This is the view from our front porch.

When there's just a tiny sliver left of the moon...

It's all red/orange/eclipsed! Exciting.

 All in all it was a pretty fun experience. It's been a while since the whole family's all been together and participated in an activity like this. I'd forgotten how loud Brinden is and how he gets shushed more than anyone else in the family combined; how helpful Carter can be when things need to get done; how mom's "super-power" can be overwhelming in close quarters; how much dad likes to take pictures and blind everyone with the flash so we all loose our night vision; and how hilarious Garrett is, especially when his legs are numb from the cold.

Speaking of cold, before we left for our respective home states for the holidays, Braeden and I exchanged parts of our Christmas gifts. I gave him a copy of Daniel Pinkwater's Big 5 (one of my favorite—and therefore greatest—books of all time) and a small graph paper notebook that I stitched together for him (he uses small notebooks like nobody's business—he fills them up at an incredible rate and I knew that he was almost done with his present notebook and would be needing a new one soon). What did he get me? A beard. To keep my face warm in the terribly cold Iowan winters. No big deal. I am so in love with him...

Now we are twinners with our matching beards. What could be cuter? Ooh! I know! TWO yarn beards!!!

 The best part was right after he gave it to me and I put it on, there was a knock at my door. I went to answer it and it was my amazing neighbors Debbie Hartley and her daughter Kara. As soon as they saw me with the beard on they started laughing and laughing and almost couldn't stop. (It was obvious that they were just insanely jealous and that was the only way they could express it.) They were bringing over some wassil mix which was super cute and I can't wait to try when I get back to the great Corn State in January.

I just love my life...

the bet continues

So I have to be honest with you, friends: I thought for sure that Jacob would have caved by now. Part of me is glad that he hasn't—check out his epic red beard!—but part of me wishes I could go back to wearing all those other clothes in my closet again. However, I am a person of integrity and I will keep wearing this darned outfit until December 1st—but on that first of December there will be rejoicing! (Also probably an inordinate amount of time spent in front of the mirror trying to remember what matching looks like...)

welcome, beard-vember!

As you may or may not know, today is the second day into the wonderful month of Beardvember (also known as No-Shave-November). I would like to invite all of my beard-abled readers to participate in this lovely occasion to celebrate the manliness that is facial hair. (Ladies, you too can participate by not shaving your legs and/or underarms. Though, let's be honest, that is not nearly as fun as watching a beard grow. Follow your heart.)

I myself am lucky enough to be able to participate vicariously through a bet I made with my friend Jacob: if he doesn't shave his face the whole month of November, then I will wear the same outfit everyday of that month. Don't worry, he picked out the outfit and it is suitably ridiculous. (Though I did manage to talk him out of making me wear my green tutu.) Pictures to come soon. Be excited.

Braeden explained this bet to his first-year Spanish class that he teaches (they saw us talking in the hallway before class and thought that the hat I was wearing was weird...don't worry, I made it. Maybe it is a little weird...) and they all agreed that wearing the same clothes for a whole month is way worse than just growing a beard. I agree, but I also love beards so much that I am willing to make this sacrifice for my dear friend Jacob so that he, too, can come to the realization that all real men grow beards.

PS The much requested Braeden-written ode will be making its appearance on the blog soon. Promise.

you scream

There is nothing like a good Double Scoop after a long day of garage exploring, dinner making, and concert going. Especially when it has Sprinkles on top.

PS My Beard DVD came today! No, it's not a DIY beard DVD, it's a documentary about 6 guys who agree not to shave or trim their beards for 6 months and their lives during that time. I. Am. So. Excited.

i made you a beard

Several months ago I somehow discovered this amazing etsy shop run by this woman named Erin Dollar; she sells handmade yarn beards. Since that time I have deeply coveted one of these beards, though never been able to justify buying myself one. However, I recently learned through Erin's blog that she will be moving soon and that this move will mark the end of her beard making days. I can tell you that my heart literally stopped beating momentarily. My dreams of one day owning a fabulous beard of my very own may be shattered forever. So now I ask you: do I give in and buy a crazy beard for my very self that I may never wear except perhaps at Halloween and maybe in the dead of Iowa winters to keep my face from freezing and forever be known as the crazy bearded lady OR do I admit that as with all good things, this too must end and simply enjoy and appreciate Erin Dollar and all that she has done for my appreciation of beards everywhere?

Perhaps this is a question best pondered at a time earlier than midnight and on a day post-GRE testing (that would be after Thursday, folks)... However, it is clearly a decision I must wrestle with. (If I do get a beard, what color do I even get? There are so many fabulous ones. See for yourself!)

beards and facial hair in general

I really like beards. I'm not sure what it is about them that I like. Maybe it's the fact that they can conceal someone's identity both by being grown or being shaved, depending on what you're expecting, or maybe it's because the university that I attended prohibited male facial hair of the tasteful kind (in other words beards were a no-go, but creepy mustaches were a-ok) so whenever I see someone with a beard I think of them inherently as some kind of rebel. My dad seems to think my affinity for beards comes from the fact that he had a full beard for most of my formative years, though he now sports the ever popular goatee. Perhaps my love of beards stems from the simple fact that I can't grow one myself. The grass is always greener on the other side, right? The picture above is of Willi Chevalier, aged 65 from Germany who won first place in the partial and freestyle beard categories in the World Beard and Moustache Championships in 2007. The men who participate in this competition come from all over the world and not only do they have fantastic facial hair, but fantastic old man names as well! We're talking names like Franz Mitterhauser (whose wife's name is Brigitta), Elmar Weisser, and Gunnar Rosenquist (who "lives in the woods with his woman and his daughter"). Simply stunning.

Regardless, I loff beards. I just loff them. And recent podcast watching and web surfing has revealed to me this wonderful woman who makes beards for those of us who cannot grow them ourselves (or those who can but prefer the versatility provided by handcrafted beards). She makes beards out of yarn or felt and they are simply fantastic! I mean, look at the picture to the right. Doesn't it just make you want to go out and buy a beard so that you too can look this amazing?! She has normal looking ones (brown and gray and black) but she also has crazy colored ones (green and bright red and multicolored). I want them all. I think I would wear one when it was cold out to keep my little face warm, or if I needed to do some serious thinking, I would put it on and stroking it would help the creative juices flow.