Four Eyes

I've always loved to brag to Nate about how I have perfect 20/20 vision. In fact, two years ago at my last eye exam, I could see slightly better than 20/20 (whatever that means...15/20?) and I've only gotten exams every five years or so because I really didn't need them. My dad didn't need reading glasses until he turned forty, my mom got glasses in the sixth grade, so I assumed I have my dad's eyes and would not need specs until I was over the hill.

Then about a month ago, I started feeling 'off' when driving. It was like I couldn't focus on the moving cars around me, or that it just made me feel kind of dizzy or blurry. I could ignore it occasionally but sometimes it would be seriously freaky when I'd be driving and then feel that 'disconnected' feeling. I started noticing it when I was inside, not driving, especially when moving my head or trying to focus on something quickly. Running on the treadmill and watching the iPad in front of me was horrible, and even watching the TV that is further away was starting to feel scary. I tried not to assume that I had a brain tumor or some neurological disease....BUT I couldn't quite pin point what was going on with my vision, and it came on rather suddenly which was concerning. I just didn't like that it was hard to focus on moving objects and definitely felt like my eyes were getting tired, but I wasn't sure it was a problem with my eyes.

One of our friends is an Optometrist and owns his own store close to our neighborhood. (Would highly recommend Dr. Veth at Be Spectacled, for the locals! Totally not a sponsored post or anything, we just really like this guy and his store). When I finally told Nate about my 'weird vision stuff' he texted Mark immediately, and then Mark called me right away, which furthered my conclusion that I was probably dying of a neurological disease because everyone seemed to be worried. I saw Mark in the office, and right away he could tell that I was not seeing at 20/20 anymore. Which, he said, was good because it meant I wasn't just going crazy;)

He went on to do all of the tests in an eye exam, then dilated my eyes which was a strange sensation since I've never had it done before. Also, I was practically blind when dilated because my over-worked lens could not longer accommodate and focus for me, so I truly could barely make out text messages on my phone when I left. I've always had trouble seeing things in a dark room, and Mark noticed that my pupils are crazy small because they are always trying to focus. Makes sense now why I can't dilate well on my own in low-light situations, and I verified that I am NOT on crack cocaine so my small pupils must just be from over-focusing for so long.



Since my eyes are different right to left, and also I have trouble focusing far away and up close, I have an astigmatism but also seem to be nearsighted. Mark was surprised that I hadn't complained of more issues reading screens or up close objects, but he also said that many people don't notice changing vision up close. But it's common to notice when our distance vision starts to go, and that a lot of my complaints made sense to him since I was struggling to focus far away and then also close.

Basically, I am falling apart and getting older but NOT dying of a neurological disease, so that is good.



Mark picked out the frames for me, after targeting the prescription in the office. (They are by Intrigue, since some people asked on IG and FB). And today I picked up my very first pair of glasses. I feel extremely close to thirty-five now, with the big birthday next month, combined with glasses, and an alarming number of rebel white hairs appearing daily. But you know what? I don't hate the glasses and kind of always wondered what it would be like to wear them. My dad texted to say I look 'dignified' and my mom said 'smart.' Nate likes them, the kids pretty  much hate them, and I think we will all get used to the four eyed-Julia sooner or later. I plan to wear them as much as I can to see if they help with the weird dizzy/out of focus feeling but I can already tell that I'll need to gradually acclimate to wearing glasses. I'm shocked that typing on the computer right now feels a LOT sharper than when I pull the glasses down from my eyes. Focusing on something further away still feels odd but it will get there.

Elaboration on the kids hating the glasses: Cecelia actually does like them, although she was pretty stunned at the store today when she saw me try them on. But Porter? He stared at me with a blank look on his face while we were inside, then as we walked out of the door he melted down. For a solid five minutes, he was nearly hyperventilating and saying, 'Mama!' over and over. He started with a quivering lip and then just lost it, so I ripped off the glasses to assure him it was still me, but it was too late. But not too late to snap a quick video to remember the horror of an aging mother with glasses, the poor boy. Truman already told me he doesn't like them and I look 'weird', when I showed him the selfie I took the day we picked out the frames last week. Then today he just sort of laughed and said, 'Nah, I don't like them, they are weird,' but then he seemed to get over it when I explained they help me to see.



But seriously, the hardest part about wearing glasses? Taking a selfie without a wicked reflection from windows on my eyes. This is a very real problem, I had to take an absurd amount of selfies today to master the reflection problem. But at least I can see.

nifty fifty

So my nifty fifty has arrived and I'm in love. 

Yes, my 50 mm, f/1.8 little lens that only cost about $80 delivers fabulously narrow depth-of-field images and yes, bokeh:) I can see why this photography thing becomes an addicting and expensive hobby....watch out!

I heard many raves about this baby but some people claim it's a cheapie, 'Cracker Jacks box toy' lens. So far I must say it's well worth my money and is a great starter for someone like myself who has no need for the uber-expensive, elite f/1.2 lens [well, of course a girl can dream but for now this will do]. Even the f/1.4 seemed a little too much for little old me and thus a love affair with the 1.8 was born. 

As a prime lens I have to move my whole body forward or backward to zoom instead of twisting the lens itself. Let's just say this makes me a little less lazy and is rather hard to get used to, but I love it. 

So my first round of pictures are as follows:

{food---I hear this lens works wonderfully for food shots and any stationary objects}

This would be our asparagus and chicken parmesan dinner we created last week. So yummy!

Then there was my new favorite muffin, the cranberry pumpkin from Alterra. Scrumptious! 

Onto more inanimate objects, Go Billikens!

And there's always nature. Check out this depth-of-field!

This is shot looking straight up our neighbor's wall, which is covered in vines. Again, the DOF boggles my mind. I see what my kit lens is missing now, with it's measly 5.6 or 4.5 apertures. 

More of the vines, love the colors here.

And come on, you didn't think I'd forget about this little dude, did you? Backlit subject with a noticeable hunk of goo on his nose. I'm pretty sure he might have gotten bombarded by a renegade squirt of honey and now his fur is a sticky mess of gunk. But I refuse to wash it out because I'm lazy and it's rather cute, don't you think?

It's kind of difficult to get the right focus with such a narrow DOF but this one was okay. It seems like if I focus on his nose then his eyes are totally out of focus and vice versa. Darn dogs and their large honkers!

That's just the beginning, my friends. I have many other images to share with you this week and I'm about 80% sure Nate will grace us with his presence, too. I'm going to force a Twilight scene or two on him tonight just so he can get the full effect while I relive some of my favorite scenes. It's a sickness, really.