When my sister became a grandmother I took pleasure in teasing her quite a bit, but she says she was ready for it even though she’s a mere 40. Last weekend I visited with my family in Chicago and took my good camera (I have a point and shoot as well) and decided that I was taking no less than 60 gazillion pictures of my very fun, extremely photogenic great-niece who seemed to be in the best mood ever for an almost 2 year old. Much of the time she sat in my lap and let me snap away. Every time I looked at these I thought, “You ought to be in pictures”. The curls, the eyes.

Being with my family always makes me happy and any time I am feeling down I am going to look at these pictures to remind me of it. Anyway, I thought I’d share. (And please, don’t steal them. Her grandmother would hunt you down and remove your spleen with her bare teeth. No kidding.)

The fact that she sat still long enough to get good pictures shows that she probably needed a nice long nap.

Her eyes are like dark pools that draw you in and then BAM! You’re mesmerized! Hoodwinked! Bamboozled!

Eating my camera lens cover because they are soooooo delicious.

“The happiest people are those who think the most interesting thoughts. Those who decide to use leisure as a means of mental development, who love good music, good books, good pictures, good company, good conversation, are the happiest people in the world. And they are not only happy in themselves, they are the cause of happiness in others.”      - William Lyon Phelps

These photos are from my weekend working with the folks from Black Atlas. A bunch of black bloggers gathered together with the always interesting Nelson George and got to spend time taking a tour with a whole slew of fabulous writers and women who are just taking life by the throat. Getting to meet one of them, Afrobella, was a true joy for me as I’ve read her for years and I have mad respect for the woman. She would be too shy to approve of it, but she is all that.

Without further ado, here are some pictures from my little jaunt up to Chicago.

Any hotel that provides Aveda products IS THE ONE FOR ME.

I spent most of the time with a chest cold so let’s title this one “For Medicinal Purposes”. Honestly, I felt better after drinking this.

Black Atlas attendees. I was lucky to meet them. We all got along so well it was a little scary. I am, possibly, now inducted into a new club of Awesome Ladies. Don’t worry. It’s not a real sorority. (They are Raquel, Patrice, and LaWanda. Check out their blogs.)

For some reason I always take a picture of my hotel bed and when this one came out it looked like something from a magazine from the 1960s. Everything about this room was vintage.

Woody Dixon’s Blues Garden.

At Blue Heaven there are these masks of Black musicians. It is a breathtaking display.

The entryway into Bronzeville in Chicago.

Bronzeville. Look into it. Great Chicago history there.

The tour guide leading us on some serious history.

Wouldn’t YOU buy a copy of Mominatrix from this woman?

Catherine and Julie or, as I like to call them, The Wonder Twins.

Julie really couldn’t be any more incredible. This is a woman who, when she’s listening to you talk is realllly listening.

And then, of course, there is always the obligatory flight home picture. It’s just that this one is made all the better by that Hipstamatic app.

Ok. That’s just me. I would never disparage their names and suggest they have bladder issues. They’re perky teenage girls for heaven’s sake!

What I really like is the variety of styles we’ve been getting. There’s something for everyone. Don’t ask why the pictures have come out all wonky like this. But I’m just so excited to get these posted that I don’t have time to try to fix it. My head hurts when I get all HTML-y and pretend to know something about this blogging thing. 

There’s been a lot of bacon and cupcakes in my diet of late and it’s going to catch up with me soon. Except that one day last week when I had a salad with Lindsay. I guess I posted this to STOP MYSELF FROM EATING MY WEIGHT EVERY DAY. Unless I want these to become “before” photos.

This is also to show that I wear the same hat, coat, and scarf nearly every day and that Mason shuts his eyes in every picture I take on purpose just to make mommy grimace after she sees the photo.

Sadly, I’m also not the dominatrix Avitable would like me to be. Unless he wants to photoshop my head onto someone else’s body. Which, now, he’ll probably do.

Edited to add: Please visit my article for BlogHer today about Beauty Challenges and leave a comment there, too!