Me...Modest??? More Like Hilda!

Brace yourselves, I got a lot to say today.

I used to be the girl who went to the gym and got dressed in the bathroom stall so no one would see.

Then I had Emerson and my modesty left my body. Whatever residual modesty I had, was gone after I had Vivi.

Go ahead and judge, but I have no problem walking from the shower to the bedroom sans clothing. Unless, of course if we have guests, then I cover up...sometimes.

I found it quite amusing when I had my airbrushing done today and the girls were with me. The technician asked if I wanted to put up a screen so the girls couldn't see me. ( I was topless because the dress I'm wearing shows cleavage and I didn't want it to be white)

I am not a swimsuit model by even the farthest stretches of the imagination and there are puckers and lumps on my body that I am not proud of, but I am trying my hardest to teach my daughters that true beauty comes from the inside. The common phase in our house is; "Pretty Is as Pretty Does." Then I usually have to translate it for them as "It doesn't matter what you look like, if you keep acting like that, no one will think you're pretty!" or "That ugly attitude does not make you pretty!" and finally "Let your sister out of the hamper!!!!"

With a very "beauty oriented" society, it's not as easy as it may seem. I am just as guilty of outer-beauty vanity with my wrinkle creams and make-up and even my obsession of pin-up girls.

Then I was reminded of something this Christmas. Something that I completely forgot about until my mother and her best friend Kendra reminded me.

We were talking about my obsession of pin-up girls, it might have been an intervention, but it didn't work.

All of a sudden, Kendra says to my mother "Do you remember Hilda?"

Then my mother says "Oh yeah...Hilda!"

That's all that they had to say and the memories came flooding back.

My Grandmother (or Great Grandmother) had kept a Hilda Calendar and I looked at it all the time when I was little. I was just mesmerized by it.

Hilda was created by an artist names Duane Bryers who was born in 1911. He is more well know for is portraits of the west, but as far as I'm concerned (but who the hell am I??) Hilda is his greatest achievement.

I got this from toilgirls.com. They are a much bigger authority on Hilda than I am. They even have an interview with Duane Bryers.

Below are many of Duane Bryers' incredible Hilda paintings done specifically for Bigelow & Brown's Hilda calendars. These were illustrated between 1957 and 1970 although Mr. Bryers continued to do original paintings for the calendars until the early 1980s. These were all primarily rendered in watercolor employing the service of a number of plus-size models, but more often than not, he used no model at all, a feat most impressive.

Hilda is the reason for my pin-up obsession. I can't believe I forgot about her! But now she's like a long lost friend and I can't get enough. I shall now keep my eyes out for Hilda merchandise. I will be searching flea markets, antique stores, as well as the Internet for anything I can find.

I think this beautiful buxom country girl is a perfect role model!