Truthiness in self-portraiting

The moment I wake up
Before I put on my makeup
I say a little prayer for meeeeee...

(Is in need of many prayers. And a facial.)

Welcome to what I look like when I wake up in the morning. No make-up, no comb through my hair yet... hell, I haven't even brushed my teeth. This is what 37 year old motherhood looks like. Try to keep your breakfast down.

I post this for two reasons. One, I think we're all very good at glossing over and covering up, and let's face it, that's kind of lame and cowardly. We all promote our best head-shots, our most flattering angles, and stuff under the rug the reality of what we REALLY look like without tweaking and all manner of artificial support. I'm no different, of course: I edit and select all of the images I post here, and am loathe to publish photos that make me look less-than-attractive(-ish). But I'm not a head-shot, and my life most certainly isn't lived in soft lighting, and truth be told I rarely (okay, almost never) wear makeup. This is pretty much who I am. Internet, meet my everyday reality, in all its haggard ingloriousness.

And two, I'd like to meet YOU in your stripped-down, unvarnished loveliness, as well. So I've created a handy-dandy flickr group called Self-Portrait Truthiness, and I invite each of you to post one or more photos there of yourself as "the real you." Interpret that as you will, bearing in mind that honesty and keeping-it-real is the goal. The truth will set us free... or at least be entertaining for a few days. snort.

So let's do this thing! I double dog dare you. Yeah, I said it. Whatcha gonna do, punk?