LIfe Well Blended – JM Randolph, accidentalstepmom

Hey. It’s One and Done Sunday. One picture, and five links that are worth your time.

It’s been very quiet around here this weekend. The men were away on a Scouts campout and #1 was gone as well. I let everybody else sleep in , including the dogs. The TV wasn’t on. I didn’t have to break up any fights.

Nobody complains while they’re asleep.

CC and #5 returned from their trip just a while ago. Apparently CC indoctrinated #5 into the family mantra this weekend (Life grades on a curve, in case you were wondering).

#5: Hey, you know what Dad told me about bears?

Me: What?

#5: He said you don’t have to run faster than the bear. You just have to run faster than the other campers.

Words to live by.

Here’s your picture. We have two utility cars: a mini van and one of those sedans that is so nondescript I can only find it in a parking lot by our license plate. Then there’s Miss Lucy, my ’66 Mustang convertible. I drive her whenever I can. There are only two situations in which I prefer not to drive her. One is rain.

The other is when I have to do the Costco run.

Now for your links.

So this dude skydived (skydove?) from space last Sunday. For reasons I can’t quite fathom, there are people arguing about it. One side accuses it of being irrelevant while we live in a world with all these basic human rights violations; another side claims superiority for science while blaming all human rights violations on religion. I would like to present all of these people with a Douchebag award for making a political issue out of skydiving. From space.

Look, some people are really good at stopping crimes against humanity. Other people are really good at jumping from outer-freaking-space with a parachute. Both are heroes. Both demand balls of steel.

Felix Baumgartner has them. This link has some great pictures, plus a couple videos including the entire thing condensed into a minute and a half. I think it’s amazing. The Blaze: Felix Baumgartner’s Historic Red Bull Stratos Skydive.

Yeah, Red Bull. They financed the whole thing. Talk about taking marketing to new heights. . .

Speaking of marketing, you may have seen Dove’s Real Beauty campaign. You may have wondered how real it is. Here’s a real person I know writing a real story on her very real blog as part of it. It’s on her teenage girls and self-esteem: Inspiring Beauty at Life Well Blended.

Funny. The debate, in stills, with irrelevant but oh-so-fitting captions from The Good Greatsby: The Presidential Debate on Mute.

I loved this post from Growing Grace Farms: Lessons Learned: Farming Boots and Defining Ourselves.

I love these pictures. The Full Punch: 20 Truly Weird But Awesome Photos.

Happy Sunday.

Welcome to One and Done Sunday: one picture, and five links that are worth your time.

Don’t fret, I’ll carry on milking my 40th birthday with my next post. I would like to say that this picture is a sign of my maturity, my newfound ability to not kill growing things in my garden. But really I think the credit goes to advances in horticulture technology:

Knockout roses:

The knockout roses we have have been through a hurricane, an October blizzard, and three winters of oh crap, we didn’t winterize the roses and they’re under nine feet of snow.

They don’t seem to be terribly bothered by any of it. I never knew how much I would love going outside and seeing roses there. It’s very cool, kind of like getting flowers every day for no reason.

Yesterday at work, before I left to meet CC for dinner between shows, I lightened my bag. The last thing I removed was my umbrella. Shockingly, there are no windows in theaters and I couldn’t see the sky. I went out a side door and saw one guy carrying an umbrella, but he was prancing a bit and it being New York and all, I thought it was merely an accessory. Then I saw others with umbrellas, then I felt the rain. I turned in slow motion to watch the side door–which opens only from the inside–close. If I wanted my umbrella, I would have to plow through the crowd at the stage door and walk all the way around the building again. So I chanced it.

It didn’t rain much, it wasn’t a big deal. At least, not until after dinner. About three blocks from work it started raining more. Then it poured.

Did I mention I was wearing white pants? I was mostly see-through by the time I got back to work.

I passed a complete stranger who actually laughed out loud at me.

And you know what? I really didn’t care. It was pretty funny. Chalk that one up to 40 too.

Speaking of thunder storms, Renee Schuls-Jacobson wrote a great piece On Sons and Thunderstorms.

CC sent me this link of before and after pictures of East Germany. This photographer took pictures immediately after the wall came down, and then again ten years later. It’s astounding. Pictures by Stefan Koppelkamm: A Massive Facelift for East Germany.

Melissa Stetton is a model with a blog that I totally dig. I don’t know her and if she’s noticed my comments at all she probably thinks I’m a stalker, which is sort of appealing. Here are her recent thoughts on doing a photo shoot nearly naked in Central Park in 55-degree weather. Pretty Bored: You Chose to Be a Model, Deal With It.

Sometimes life sucks. When you’re a writer, it’s all future material. Hannah R. Goodman guest posts on E. Kristin Anderson’s site: Dear High School, Thanks for Being so Sucky. Love, H.

I loved this post for so many reasons. Life Well Blended: On Being the Stepmom on Mothers Day

Happy Sunday.