Self-portrait Tuesday

Okay, I have to admit that today's self-portrait was actually taken a few days ago. But that's good, because I totally had a bad hair day today; I couldn't get it to do anything right. And no one wants a self-portrait with bad hair.

Is that against the rules? Oh well, my blog, my rules. If you don't like it, go find another "Like Karen With An 'M'" blog. (Oh, that's right - there isn't one.)


I was on the floor cleaning up some mess made by one child or the other, when I saw the camera on the table and decided to take a few shots. It's a funky angle for the camera, but I kinda like it.

So, no interesting story about the portrait. But I do have an interesting story from today.

I was delivering a camera to someone I had sold it to on Craigslist. It was downtown, not in the nicest neighborhood. The home was full of dogs (3), teenagers (5!), cigarette smoke (at least three packs a day), and eBay stuff (tons of it - they have their own shop).

Anywho, the lady was typically Midwestern: friendly almost to a fault. We talked about the camera for a few minutes, and before I knew it she was telling me her whole life story. I had a few minutes to kill before I had to be at bunko*, so I didn't stop her and even asked her a few questions. Over the course of ten minutes she talked about the bad choices she had made when she was younger, how they made her life a lot harder than it needed to be, and then how her life got infinitely better once she decided to let God make the decisions. (No, she's not LDS.) All of a sudden, she was practically bearing her testimony about how God had led her to her current husband. (Number three, to be exact.)

I've been thinking about it a lot all evening. Knowing the things I know, seeing the things I have seen, feeling the things I have felt: when's the last time I bore my testimony so simply in an average conversation? When is the last time I have mentioned God or even religion in a conversation with someone I don't know. (Or know, for that matter?) Granted, I'm most definitely not as friendly with strangers as Midwesterners are. (Although I'm learning!) But perhaps I should step out of my comfort zone more often and make it a point to share the gospel with others. I'd like to think that my actions speak loudly enough for this; but I suspect actually saying the words is sometimes more effective.

Well, it was a great conversation. Even when she basically called me a hussy. Okay, I don't think she realized that's what she did; in fact it was kinda funny. She had just told me about how she and husband number three had met, and then asked how I met my husband. I told her that I met Lance when we were 14 and in high school. I had a crush on and eventually dated two of his friends. We started dating when we were 21, got married, and will be celebrating our 8th anniversary this August. She then said that he must be a saint, because she thought that most men would go crazy wondering what I had "done" with his friends when dating them. It took me a few seconds to realize what she was insinuating, and then I almost laughed while I politely corrected her. I don't think she believed me, which made it all the more amusing.

It was one of the most amusing, and insightful, conversations I have had in quite a while.

*I won the bunko prize for the second month is a row. Woo-hoo!!!! It was a toaster, which I definitely did not need, so I traded it with Michelle for some totes that she had won, and totally made her night. I mean, she REALLY wanted that toaster. I can honestly say I have never made anyone so happy with a toaster, and I have made Lance some really good toast.