Vintage Bathing Beauty

...my first post by a guest blogger, Holly. I guess I should have some type of disclaimer, so here goes:

Anything contained in, not contained in, assumed to be implied by, warranted by, excluded from being warranted by, or vaguely alluded to in this document, or any other document resembling or not resembling this document in any way, shall not be attributed to, blamed upon, or otherwise associated with the named author, any alleged author, the sender, any of the sender's friends, enemies, or acquaintances, or the blog hostess also known as martha, martha or m2 for short,or any other associated company in any city, county, state, province, or country, nor shall any of the aforementioned parties be held responsible, irresponsible, accountable, discountable, or in any way involved with the aforementioned document or the presence or absence thereof.

got that?

Without further ado, may I present (and am extremely pleased to do so), Holly:

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Martha, Martha has become a favorite site visit of mine. I came at the urging of the Anchoress, but soon found myself coming again and again. The day the template changed and a photo of a snow-drifted chapel appeared, I was struck by the symbolism. This is a warm little church in drifts of snow.

Our "concerned blog hostess" sent out an invitation Sunday so aptly timed. For weeks I have mulled over starting a blog with my heart and my head at odds. Yesterday, I was looking at a catalog idly, when an item description caught me.

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"Vintage Bathing Beauty"

That's me, I thought. I'm the pale, plump, and proper woman at the shore. She would never plunge into the water without properly preparing. She would be modest, in a full coverage suit, thinking it cheap to bare one's self unnecessarily. Being tender skinned, she is careful not to subject herself to too much sun.

She would invite your glance, but not your stare, because she doesn't want to advertise for your attention. She looks relaxed and pleasant and healthy, benefits of a refreshing daily dip in the water.

My heart says, "O! the joy! Ocean in sight!" while my head says, "No, no, no. You'll get your hair all wet." A Vintage Bathing Beauty manages her hair just fine, my heart replies. She swims keeping her head above water, or she might don a fetching swimcap for diving.

With this on my mind, I visited Martha, Martha. I am taken by surprise this afternoon, for she is inviting us to swim! Gracious hostess that she is, she is even providing a flotation device to encourage my attempt.

I am 44, married, one daughter, one son, one dog, one cat. I live in Austin, Texas. I believe in having family, friends, faith and good food. I like to think about books, art, history, and culture. I am homeschooling my son, though as it turns out, he is teaching me a lot about myself. I usually feel underaccomplished and inefficient, but I like to do things with care.

Anyhow, I'm going to venture from the pews of our snowy little church to the seaside. You all look to be having fun and frolic in the w-w-w-waves. I'm coming to join you.