Anne Lorys Photography on Facebook

Thursday, January 21, 2010

The Origins of Peculiarity

I've always been a little "off".
Those who know me best will attest to this fact, and for those who do not, well....strap yourself in, the funhouse ride is about to start!

Is weirdness learned behavior? Is it by nature or nurture, or a combination of both?
Whatever the answer, I am in possession of more than my fair share of idiosyncratic behavior, some of which dates back to my childhood.


That's me and my mom.
We both look normal enough, but those are the ones you gotta watch out for, everybody knows that.

Ever since I was a tiny little thing, I've had to raise my feet up every time I go over railroad tracks. I'm not sure why, but I'm fairly certain that some heinous tragedy will befall me if I do not.
Same for those Emergency Broadcasting System tests. As soon as they announce it, I have to run to the nearest bed, chair or sofa and make sure my feet aren't touching the ground until the test is over. I'm fairly sure I've saved y'all from a national nuclear catastrophe more than once with this particular move.


Awwwww, ain't I cute?
You'd never suspect what oddness lies just beneath the surface!

Here's another.
Somewhere along the way during my childhood, it became a matter of grave importance that the phrase
"Hot diggity dog" MUST be followed by the words"it's a junkyard."

Hey, waaaaaait a minute....that one's not so crazy after all! ;-)
Definitely prophetic, wouldn't ya agree?


Oh, yeah. That's me. Sad to say.
I'm not sure what's more pathetic, my ensemble or my rockin' curly hairstyle.
You're probably asking yourself, just how does one attain such perfect ringlets?
Look closer, I'm wearing pink, spongy curlers. The SHAME!

Not enough for ya? Behold, child abuse in action....


Not sure if you can make it all out clearly, but that's me.
Wielding a sword.
In curlers.
And a hair net.
Out in public!
And all documented for posterity by my clearly sadistic mother.
And she looked so sweet in that first picture, didn't she?

My weirdness extends to my pets.


Havok




Belle



Winnie

I've always given my animals middle names, as well as the baker's dozen assortment of quirky nicknames, too.
Let's just do the middle names today, shall we?

Winnie came to us as a Winnie. She already had her name, as she was a shelter kitty.
For some reason, she promptly became Winnie Bagel, I'm guessing because it sounds so much like Winnebago. Not so weird.

Then there's Belle.
My husband already had Belle when we met, but she too came with the name.
Very princess-y, and seriously devoid of personality.
I'm a big fan of Indian food, and there's a great South Indian dish known as Bhel Puri.
So, no brainer! She will henceforth and always carry Puri as her middle name!

And lastly, we have Havok.

Whenever I call the dogs, because we live on over 4 acres, I tend to summon them as a unit...
"Havok and Belle! Come, Havok and Belle!"
Ooooo, you guys are gettin' good, you already guessed it!
Havok's middle name is "AndBelle"!
And yes, my husband does look at me with the same bemused sense of "whaaaaa?" you guys have plastered across your faces this very moment.

I've got enough weird to fill another post or three, so don't worry, I'll follow this one up with some of the better stuff in the days ahead. This was just a whet-your-appetite sorta deal here.
In the meantime, what's your particular brand of weird?
I, for one, would LOVE to know! ;-)

49 comments:

Bunnym said...

funny you should write about quirky stuff. I just wrote about my obsession on my blog. I actually find nothing weird about you or me at all...everyone else is weird...lol

tootles,
bunny

Garden Antqs Vintage said...

Girl, you are funny too! Tell us more...

savvycityfarmer said...

my list could rival yours ... hehe

did you meet the baby yet?
I've been so busy I haven't looked at all the comments

Linda @ A La Carte said...

Wierd? you sound like a perfectly sane person to me...hmmmmmmmm maybe that makes me weird?

Unknown said...

LOL, what a funny post! Your little quirks make me feel normal in my weirdness. At least yours are cute...mine are just...weird! And no, I ain't sharin'!!!

Nancy

Polly said...

Ok, you are so cute!! Shirley Temple cute!!! Cute as a button!

Weird, quirky, cute....it's all good! It's what makes a person unique and lovable!!

Polly

gail@My Repurposed Life said...

yep, I agree with Polly... shirley temple cute!
I love the photo booth pics!
cute furbabies!
quriky... I name stuff. Like a pantry that my dad made in my home is called the "Harry closet"
A shelf that my bil made is fondly known as "the Harold shelf"
I have the "blue room" which currently is nothing more than a glorified hallway that has become a catchall place.
I also have a "hot tub porch" that hasn't had a hot tub in YEARS!
ohhh, and I count, everything! I'm just a little ocd!
thanks for sharing!
gail

Janean said...

as you get older, you'll just call it "a little eccentric." OTHERS will call you "weird," but...LOL.

enjoyed the post even though i had to keep my feet off the floor while i read it. JK.

gail@My Repurposed Life said...

ohhh ps
the harold shelf is right behind the left of my fireplace, and the harry closet is right behind the right of my fireplace. I'll explain all that someday if my makeover is ever done!
gail

Winchester Manor said...

You crack me up! Loved seeing your pictures as a wee little one...so darling and the photo booth photos are fabulous!

I find eccentric people quite facinating and one of the many reasons I adore you! As far as my particular brand of weird I've taken to walking through restaurants with my skirt tucked in tha back of my underwear...sigh!

Love and hugs,
Karyn

CosmoGirl Carla said...

Oh, Anne . . . too funny! I love reading the funny, quirky side of bloggy friends!

I guess the quirkiest thing about me is I don't, and have never since I have memory, liked my "bones" touched. Anywhere on my body where there's less "padding" (not too many! hehe) - knees, shoulders, elbows, oooooo . . . the all super-sensitive collar bone - is off limits to be touched. I feel as though I'll bruise. I'm quit sure I remember my older brother pinning me down just to torment me by touching any of those areas. The big meany!

Can't wait to read the future installments of "Anne's Weird Behaviorism's" . LOL :o)

north pal said...

ah keep the weirdness coming. i love a good giggle or even a down right hardy laugh. it's free ya know. i'm all of us have some wierdness. i know i do and don't want to give it up. otherwise, my kids or grandkids can't say "geesse, mom or grandma. that's what makes the world go round. Bestest,Denise

Happy To Be/ Gl♥ria said...

Too funny girl...I don't know about you but love the curls...my Mama use to set my hair every night with rag curls...yes you heard me right she used rags as curlers ha ha!! and I know I'm not weird I just march to the beat of a guitar instead of a drum...Hugs and smiles

WIZARD OF ONCE WAS "WooW" said...

Okay, Anne,
This is another fun post and I love how you can laugh at yourself..especially knowing we are all laughing too, not at you, but at your wierdo sense of humor!!ha ha I'm not sure I'm ready to tell you all my wierdness...that to me takes self confidence and a great amount of self courage..both of which I am vowing to work on this year!! I will share one and just one weird thing...growing up our Catholic typical fish dinner for Friday night was....tuna and banana salad...that's tuna, mayonaise and banannas!! There's obiviously a story behind it, but for now...just know to this day I still love it!! Weird huh?
Gale

Theresa said...

You entertain me so with your stories! I am pretty quirky myself:) Cutest darn pictures of you as a child! Love them all, have a blessed evening dear Anne!

Unknown said...

I kiss the latch on my necklace when it gets in front to the pendant.
I wish on the brightest star EVERY night waiting for IT to come true.
I immediately apologize to God if I say something bad...
I keep a penny in my shoe.
I will not sleep in the dark.....OKAY, how many more do you want?

For the animals:
Amos is Amos Joseph, AKA Tigger Joe
Annie is Judith Anne, AKA Lupy Lupita
Lola is Lola Bear, AKA Beaser
Bob Jr. is Bobcat
Gracie is Gracie Belle
Punkin is Punkie Doodle
AND
Becca is just lucky to get to stay :)

You made me smile today, girl....thanks!
xo,

jana

Six divided by two..... said...

Whew.. I ma glad to know that my mother was not the only one who sent me out in rollers in public as a child. I love it- that is what makes the world go round. I too give my pets middle names..i.e. Kingston Ike. LOL LYLAS

Malisa said...

I am telling you...that is the CUTEST dang strip of photo booth pics EVER!!! Seriously...cutest ever!

My weirdness...maybe too many to list. Here are my top two:
1. Until I got married at the age of 21, I put a period after my name. Never signed my name without that period. When I changed my name, I dropped the period (as is evidenced by my two children...ha!)
2. When putting on deodorant (this one drive Lurch crazy), I apply to left arm pit and then right arm pit and then one more for good measure on left arm pit. Why? Who knows???

I could go on and on...but I don't want to scare you off! :)

Laurie said...

I am sorry to say it, but my husband and 2 daughters would be the authorities on my weirdness. I don't see any in myself. Ha! I loved your pics, and I could only hope to have had those curls! Your critters are adorable and their names are perfect for them!
We have had several dogs over the years, and they obtained their middle names as we got to know them. Our last three have been called:
Molly Girl, Kiska Darlin' and Lucy Belle or Little Lucy, even though she is a Golden Retreiver!

2sisters said...

I love all your "wierdness" (although I'm not sure I would call it that). We have blogged about some of the fun we have a twins, and guess what tomorrows post it about? Our idiosyncracies! I guess tis' the season!
teri

The Little Red Shop said...

Cute, cute, cute pictures!!! For a weirdo that is. hee hee. My cats have middle names and a bunch of nicknames too. Just ask Bud...Jonas Tristan Roberts, aka The Dread Pirate Buddy.

: )

Julie M.

Marlene said...

I think you were the most adorable little girl!
No wierdness detected on my end...Of course....I too have been labeled wierd by a few..its an animal thing with me..I was like this as early as I could talk!..My parents could not take me fishing as a child..cus I would cry and have a fit until all the fish caught were released..I still get misty eyed when I see the cattle grazing here..( I live in a rural area..lots of cows) and I always say a mental prayer for them as I pass them by. ..I can't be in a room with any mounted animal heads....and all insects are carefully taken out of the house by my poor husband..and released...

Country Wings in Phoenix said...

Oh Anne Sweetie...
I love this post. You are just the cutest little thing. Now as a little girl, I too had to wear those dang pink curlers. I had some pretty wild ringlets in my day. I'll post one day and share.

Now the railroad track thingey. Okay as a little girl I was always told to raise our feet when we went over the railroad track so as not to stop us, then a train would come and your car would be hit. So you lifter your feet to help the car go, I believe we actually rocked a little. Yes I do so remember that one.

Now I do not continue down a street if a black cat runs across in front of me. I do not walk under ladders. I still find myself stepping over any crack, my Moma does not need a broken back. I still search for that four leaf clover whenever I see clover. I eat an apple a day to keep the Dr. away. (it didn't work 2 weeks ago when I got sick with bronchitis).And lastly sweetie, I never let anyone open an umbrella in my house. NEVER.

Does that make you feel better? See you aren't so different, you just thought you were. You are perfectly normal.

You my sweetie are the beautiful lady today, because of the beautiful little girl you were as a child. Your parents did something right sweetie, they raised you.

Country hugs and so much love, Sherry

starnes family said...

I love this post. The photo-booth style strip of pictures is priceless. And, your mom? Adorable!

I love quirks.......I'm drawn to people with them. Maybe because I have so many, too.

Cynthia K. said...

Hi there! oh, your mother is so pretty! And you were such a cutie - of course, that hairnet is just the thang!!

I can see that Winnie wants me to pick her up and take her away from this weird family!

Come see me...

Cynthia K. (Beauty and Blessings)

Chickens in the Basement said...

Miss Anne, I do believe that being weird is a gift. Who wants to be like everybody else? Even worse, who wants a lot of friends who act just like them?

My quirks are many, too! The one that came back to bite me in my rather large behind today was my ability to get perfect strangers, usually also of the weird genre, to tell me their life stories, particularly the very strange! Today, a craigslist customer called me. We had never met or talked before. I spent 30 minutes trying to get off the phone with her. I won't go into all the details, but they moved from Michigan to NC. Her child is sick, probably cutting a tooth, her other child gets out of school at 3:10, her husband teaches at a really poor district of NC and can't even get chalk to stick to the chalkboard, hence he was buying my large dry erase board. I couldn't make this stuff up!

Embrace your weirdness! You sure can't run away from it!
Anna

Junk Exchange said...

the photo booth photos are amazing .. such light .. destiny is your name ..

the one with the curlers and sword - i thought it was a coonskin cap .. lol!

weird things i do - can't think of a thing .. it's you .. you are the only weird person in the world .. what's wrong with you girl? .. you need to straighten up ..ok, well, i do give cats the middle name of lou - my brother had a cat named kitty lou when we were kids - so all cats since that time have been named - whatever lou - like winnie would be winnie lou - now, i don't normally admit or reveal that info - so you're lyin if you repeat it to another ..

love ya'

troy

Rosemary said...

I love it all!! It's not weirdness, it's quirky. That is what I like to call it. We all have a bit of it.
Have a great night!
Rosemary

Dixie said...

Anne... those photos of you are just adorable and you mom is so cute! I have to tell you though... the fact that your mom let you wear a real hairnet over those curlers and not your white panties.. well that just proves she was a great mother. My mother... well... where to you think I found out about the white panties from?
weirder than you... hugs. Dixie

Anne Lorys said...

Oh, y'all have made me feel MUCH better! And LOTS less weird, now that I know just how odd y'all actually are. Or a bit "touched in the head", as my grandmother would've said!

I'm still laughing over both the coonskin cap and underwear on the head comments...Man, you people really ARE weird!

;-)

Anne

Debra@CommonGround said...

Annie, you looked like a little dolly laying there on your mom's lap. Was that before or after you fell on your head? oh, so mean.
You are just too darn cute in all those pictures, pink sponge curlers and all! That's why I love ya, you're more weird than me. All I do is check the stove and coffee pots. Just a little ocd here. I do sing to my animals and they have "voices". does that count as weird or normal?
love ya!!!
Debra

Simple Home said...

Lol, I love quirky, I married him :-) My husband makes fun names like this for everything and everyone. I'd forgotten about lifting my feet over the railroad tracks, I used to do that too. This was a fun post. Love the old photos too.
Blessings,
Marcia

Queen "B" said...

Aloha, what a doll!! love the pic's, you are too cute! hey I HAve a Happy 101 award for you over on my blog, Mahalo for being my friend from my blogsphere begining...
Aloha Nui Loa wishes
Brandi

Castles Crowns and Cottages said...

Oh my goodness, you were and still are, a charmer!!! Ilove your post because I can relate. Since childhood, when someone said yes, I said no; you say you say up, I say down; one says why, I say, WHY NOT? And the list goes on; thank you sooooo much for coming by to wish me a week's worth of prayer. You are so dear! Thank you from the bottom of my heart...what a kind soul you are! Bisous, Anita

Unknown said...

oh LOVE all your pictures........so cute!!
oh and yes.......the 52 weeks of gratitude is for anyone........can't wait to see your photos!

Witchcrafted Life said...

You are such an incredibly wonderful person. I don't think you're quirks are odd or outputting at all, they're wonderful and help to make you a delightfully interesting soul. I have my fair share of unique points, too, but wouldn't change most of them for the world. By be bland and fade into the crowd when you can be your own shining star of creative, wonderful traits?


Giant hugs & wishes of happiness to you always!
♥ Jessica

red.neck chic said...

I look forward to the day that I get to be the "fun" and "eccentric" grandma... I already have the wardrobe picked out. LOLOLOL

I don't think you're weird... does that make me weird as well? And - if so - I'm fine with that! Just think how boring we would be if we didn't make the bed every night before we can even THINK about climbing into it (No way could we POSSIBLY make it before we leave in the mornings) and... just think how boring we would be if we have to hang the bicycle upside down when we park it 'cause if it sits over night on its kick stand we can't sleep in the bed we made seconds before we pulled the duvet back to get in it?

Yep - I feel you and hear you sister.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
And love you for your fun (and incredibly cute!!!) quirkiness!!!
robelyn

trash talk said...

One of my favorite lines from the show "Designing Women" is where Julia says "No one in the South ever asks if you have crazy people in your family. They just ask what side are they on." I embrace weird...the weirder the better. I myself am more than just a little bit pixilated or as Jenn likes to say "throwed off"! Case in point...I'm in the junking business, right? Nuff said!
Debbie
P.S. You look so much like your mom.

The Flying Bee said...

This was so funny! I love you even more now! You know us crazies have to stick together, right?! I love all the pictures of you...you weird little cutie, you!

xo,
Adrienne

One Gal's Trash said...

Charming photos and stories...I especially like the photo booth strip of 4. Adorable!
xo
Pam

Junk Exchange said...

ok ok ok ok .. rod says allowing our dog Shooger to lick the bottoms of my feet at night is WEIRD !!

still feels hella good after a long day of standing on them ... and it's something she ENJOYS doing ..

troy

Tammy@T's Daily Treasures said...

You are hilarious! I remember those pink sponge rollers well. How about Toni perm rods? My mom used those on me for my first grade picture. Talk about the Shirley Temple look. The names for your pets -- priceless! Different, quirky, weird -- however you put it, that's what makes us special. I look forward to your next installment. :) Have a great day! Tammy

Unknown said...

Awww, you were a seriously cute little girl!!! I think a little bit of weird and quirky makes for a much more interesting person, don't you??! Much more fun too!!!

:) T

Auntie Cake said...

I always clench my hamstring and quads muscles whenever I pass a light post on the freeway. (I rotate between the two muscle groups and from leg to leg...) Don't know how I started that one... Totally freaky, is that my 14 year old son does it also. S-C-A-R-Y!!! He just blurted out how weird he is one day because he does it. I was shocked, then like, "You're not the only weirdo in the fam..."
Kate
PS- I actually can't believe I just told you that...Maybe embracing my inner weirdness...Sigh.

anythinggoeshere said...

I have added you to the Vintage Valentine Card Party list. Thank you so much for taking part in the party. Look forward to seeing you post on the 14th. xo Joan

Draffin Bears said...

Hi Anne,

What a darling wee sweetie you were, with the ringlets and all.
Must have been a thing, because after bath night on Saturday my Mother would do my hair in rags, to make ringlets for the next day.
Such a gorgeous photo of you and your Mother.

Hugs
Carolyn

Savings & Stewardship said...

You have SUCH a cool blog!! I love it. I stumbled upon you through a series of links from the Friday Follow Blog Hop. I'm a total fan now.

Julia @ Vintage with Laces said...

I like weird! Weird is good! You have to think about the neighbors too. What would they talk about if not about a weird person living next door? They would get bored, so be nice and stay weird ;-)! Cute pictures of you and your mom!
Hugs,
Julia

Unknown said...

Oh my gosh, I think you were an absolutely little girl! You mother was quite pretty. I can definitely see a family resemblance. Oh yeah, feel better! Your computer rocks!
Xo,
Tammy


Related Posts with Thumbnails