Happy Birthday to my favorite Mommy

May your day be filled with more joy than this carriage ride.

Happy almost-Thanksgiving from Not Very Pretty

Every year for as long as I can remember (which is not very long in the overall scheme of remembrance), we've had Thanksgiving at my Aunt Lisa & Uncle Brian's house in Santa Rosa. When I was about 11, they moved across town into a big ol' Victorian house. It had been split up into apartments and extremely run down. Over the next however many years, they've been working on remodeling and revamping it, all while keeping to traditional Victorian style. Every year's visit sees a different room or project at completion. In recent years, it also means a visit with the world's best cat (no offense, Sugar).

Along with all the pretty times we've had there, there have also been some good Not Pretty times, including this one from the good ol' days:

This was before much had been done to the house, which was pretty fun as a kid, since it meant sleeping in tents (check out my sweet Barbie sleeping bag!) and being allowed to draw on the walls since they were just going to be painted over anyway.

Happy Father's Day to My Favorite Dad

Thank you for propping me up for all these years.

xo

alison.

Went to Grandmother's house this weekend

Just stood around picking my wedgie most of the time. And wearing shoes that are too large for me. Not much has changed:

Had one of these today

It was fab, even though there was not a wood-paneled stationwagon involved.

At work yesterday

Kristin was telling me of her excellent plan to make a vegan cake shaped like a slab of steak for her recently-turned-vegan twin sister. This conversation sparked me to remember the hamburger cake we made for my dad's birthday one year. As well as the Not Very Pretty picture featuring it:

This is about how long ago Father started being a father

Happy Father's Day, Daddy. I love you.

Thanks for raising me to be (generally) less witless than this.

Happy Bday NVP

In this picture I am older than this site, and that remains true today.

Today Not Very Pretty is one-year-old! Here's to many years to come!
(Mother will be excited to hear that).

While I am on a header kick

I made one for this site as well. Click out of the reader to see. No? Ok, ok, fine. Here it is:


Notice how the type fits perfectly between the crests of the hills.

I've been hanging on to this photo for a while now to post at the most appropriate/worthy moment. But, really, that moment will never come because this photo is TOO EXCELLENT to be applied to any other moment besides its own. Hence, it is very deserving of its space on the top of this page.

Do you remember those disposable Kodak panoramic cameras? [I wonder if they still make them??] This is the panormaic photograph in its purest form. Grumpy grump in the purple shirt and sweatshirt is approx-118-year-old meeee. [I think this was in Marin Headlands Point Reyes, for all you Mission-ites out there.]

Droooooooooooooool

WHAT.NOW.

pretty pictures here. but you've probably already seen 'em.

Peddle peddle

MAN!



I wish I still had a trike!

ps Footy pajamas and name license plate for the WIN.

Have a very Not Pretty Christmas!

Christmas 1990 I woke up with the chicken pox. A very special Christmas gift from my little brother. The other special Christmas present that year, as documented in this photograph, was a chalk board/easel from Santa. See the handwriting? Santa is very cold, living in the North Pole, so his is a very shaky scrawl.

Enjoy your Christmas or holidays of whatever sort!

xo
alison.

I'm goin' to visit my grams today

I will hopefully appear prettier than I did as an infant:



ps Isn't my grandmother fabulous? I want her shirt!
pps Same red chair as I depicted with less color 19 or 20 years later.

Addendum to previous post

Provided & photoshopped by Ryan himself.

Breaking promises, not making any new ones

So remember I promised lots of new posts while Laurence was away?
Well, I've failed at that--Laurence is back already! And I've only posted the post promising more posts!

Also, I realized that the only photos I had while Laurence was away were young ones. While I know this would make at least one reader very happy, I feel it would be a bit inundating to post all the children ones at once. Better to spread them out over time as they are a limited commodity. As much as I'd like to think otherwise, I only get to be a child once and that time for unflattering photographs has passed.

BUT ALL THAT BEING SAID.

I am at work and do not have Laurence.
So here is another Not Very Pretty childhood memory.

ENJOY IT RYAN LUE!




First, I get really sweaty, then I show my bum to the world. Perhaps this should be marked as Not Very Classy instead.

[Click the picture for a more up close view. I know you want one.]

What up, blood

Laurence is in the shop but luckily I've emailed myself some NVP photos to keep the updates up for a bit. So expect 'em.

Not Very Pretty, The Early Years

Retainer? Check.
Double chin up shot? Check.
Raw stiches? Check.

I was a darling first grader.

ps Number of things I still own in this photo? Two.

Not Very Pretty, The Early Years

At Grandmother's house.