four eyes for me

Growing up I was always so proud of being immune to some of the normal teenage... ummm... dysfunctions? I don't know the right word for this. But basically, I never had issues with acne, never needed glasses, never had allergies or asthma, never got braces (although I had the opportunity and sometimes I regret not taking it).

Then in my early 20's I started getting acne, bummer. I'm pretty sure I have minor allergies or asthma or both, but don't want to go ahead and get tested. Like I said, I regret not getting braces because I look now and wish my teeth were straight. Then a few months ago, I got glasses.

It started because I noticed that street signs were becoming less and less legible. Then digital clocks were nearly impossible to read. Most of what I noticed dealt with light or reflections being fuzzy. So I finally went in and got tested, knowing I would need glasses. While my prescription is minor (I don't know the actual number), I definitely notice a difference in everything and not just street signs and digital clocks.

At church this morning there was a statue behind the alter. I looked at it through my glasses and then without. Without I couldn't see any details in the face, it was a big blur. With the glasses on I could see Mary's eyes, nose, mouth, she became complete. These were definitely more needed than I originally thought, but my eyesight still isn't as bad as it could be.

For a reference point, here are two photos. One clear, and one edited to be about as bad as my natural eyes are. (you can click for a larger view)

Left: clear Right: blurry

New Years Eve

I've never had any consistent New Years Eve plans, and neither has Mr. Y Not. So for our first New Years together we decided we had two options. One, should an opportunity present itself (ie, party invitation) we would go. If not, we would spend the night in and have a nice dinner together. No plans beyond that, keep it simple stupid!

We ended up spending a relaxing evening together. I had a nice meal all planned out, Mr. Y Not was responsible for getting the groceries. That night I told him to go downstairs and play his video games until I told him he could come upstairs again. I wanted to make this meal for him myself. Even though I enjoy cooking WITH him, this was my treat that night.

So, on to the food. Here are the inspiration photos for our dinner.

Lettuce Wraps

Cranberry Walnut Salad

Pineapple Soy Glazed Salmon

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Beautiful dinner, right? While I will never claim to be an expert chef, NOT. EVEN. CLOSE. I thought I did ok, and Mr. Y Not said it was delicious (he wasn't being nice, I could tell!). :)

I forgot to take a picture of the salad, but let's just say it looked exactly like the above photo. As for the other items, here is what they ended up like (with flash pictures because I was more concerned with the constant cooking even throughout the meal).

Lettuce Wraps (these were VERY good)

Salmon, Rice, Green Beans (I was hoping to get the salmon to have the pretty coloring on the top like the above photo, but at least it still tasted good!)

Chocolate Covered Strawberries (No, we didn't eat all of these at once, but spread it out throughout the night)

After dinner we just watched some movies and then eventually watched the ball drop. Of course we had some champagne, which neither of us are really fans of but I think it is required for New Years.