Time to give me a little TLC

After all the angst and tears yesterday, I decided to pamper myself a little and I wanted ice cream.

I went to Sonic and got an ice cream then came home and decided to "treat" myself with a home spa night. The eyebrows had grown to one again, the toes and feet were in need of some serious pampering and the hair on my legs was beginning to really need attention.

Last time I was at Target, I got a home waxing kit and decided to put it to use -- legs, bikini area, brows, the works. Before you laugh and say I'm insane, I've done this before. No, seriously, I've done a leg and bikini wax at home before without incident. I do it because I'm too scared embarrassed cheap have it done at a salon. The eyebrows, well, I have done those successfully and not successfully, but decided to give it a go. I was feeling brave.

I got the package from under the bathroom sink, read the instructions and gathered the necessary stuff. It is important to note at this point that in the instructions it said (and I quote) "Lavender Spa Body Wax is the perfect wax to remove hair from your delicate, sensitive skin." I followed the instructions for heating the wax, got the tongue depressor-looking application sticks and the removal strips all ready and set to work on my legs first. I quickly decided that (1) the hair on my legs is too fine or (2) the hair on my legs was too short. It wasn't working well, so, undeterred, I moved to the eyebrows.

My skin is very pale and sensitive, so it was no surprise to me when I turned REALLY red around my brows. It always does, even when I go have it done at the salon. I got my eyebrows done with little fuss, but afterwards noticed that the skin around my left eyebrow was stinging a bit. I applied the "Post Treatment Soothing Azulene oil" to the area and moved on to the bikini area. I had no plans to, and didn't go "Brazilian." I wanted to remove just in enough that I could wear a swimsuit if I were 50 lbs. lighter. I won't go into the gory details, but suffice it to say that uncomfortable is an understatement, but excruciating is a slight exaggeration about right. I didn't remember it hurting that badly before. At this point, I was beginning to wonder if I had really made the correct decision for my choice of pampering.

I got in the shower to clean up afterwards and was greeted with searing pain of water meeting raw flesh. I think I ripped half the skin off of my eyebrows and the bikini line.... oh my!!!! It only got about half of the hair on my legs, but all the skin around my eyes!! Remember the quote from above... it should have read: "Lavender Spa Body Wax is the perfect wax to remove hair from your delicate, sensitive skin." I did it just like they said! I kept the strip close to the skin as I pulled it off and didn't pull up! I applied only a thin layer. Brand new kit meet trash.

It wasn't until later that I realized I'd always used a product called Nads before. It's water soluble, it is gentle, and was lovingly created by a mother for her hairy daughter. Yeah, the stuff I got was really, really sticky and so NOT water soluble. I was also not so gentle and obviously created by someone who is evil.

Fast forward to this morning. I trudged into the bathroom this morning around 6:45 (I showered last night, so got a precious 15 extra minutes of sleep.... ) and looked in the mirror. My left eye, the one with very little skin around it any more, is all swollen. I look like I have been in a fight and didn't come out on the winning end. The bikini area is still red, but thankfully not raw still and my legs are just polka dotted (every hair follicle that had hair removed is red) and I have cat fur stuck to the wax that I didn't come off in the shower after using their special oil and baby oil and soap. REALLY attractive.

Oh, and I never did get to my toes. Maybe another night.

What we have is a failure to communicate

I got my hair cut yesterday. I always know it is time for a haircut when I wear my hair up in a ponytail or clip more than I wear it down. I found a cute picture of how I wanted it to look and discussed it with my hairdresser, Ethel. (No, seriously, that is her name!) We talked about the texture of my hair and we agreed that it would be a cute cut on me and my hair would, indeed, do like the picture.

See, this is what I wanted. Long layers, side-swept bangs. Super cute cut! Good for fine hair, at least according to the magazine where I found the cut. It is something like how Nicole Richie wears/wore her hair.

She set to work on my hair and I watched large hunks of hair fall to the floor. Now, I was getting it re-layered, so large chunks didn't alarm me. I couldn't see the mirror because I was wearing my glasses yesterday and had taken them off for the cut. I trust her. She did a great job last time. I foresaw no problems. (Does anyone begin to see the error in my judgment?)

Somehow from picture to finished product I ended up with a shag haircut a la Carol Brady circa 1974. Not the look I wanted or even truly understand. Even Rachel's 1995 Friend's haircut would have been better and actually very similar to the cut I wanted. It is just so not what got. It was just supposed to be long layers!

Mine looks more like this guy. It's poufy on top with it clinging to my neck. So not the look I was going for. The top layer is too short by about a month or two of growth.

I just wonder what part of LONG layers she missed?

So, now the dilemma is do I just live with it and let it grow out, because it is after all only hair and I am blessed with hair that grows relatively fast. OR do I go back in and have her fix it knowing that the only way to fix it is to cut the length off and I'll still not like it? My third option is just to pull it up in a ponytail and pretend it is fine for a month or two until it actually grows out closer to the cut I want THEN go back in and have her shape it up.

Honestly, I'll probably do option three. I'll wait for two reasons...(1) I hate to tell hairdressers they've done something I don't like because I don't want to hurt their feelings and have them "retaliate" by giving me a worse haircut and (2) I'm lazy. So, if you see me in the next couple of months, I'll likely have my hair in a ponytail or clip and look all messy like I didn't fix my hair because the front is really too short to pull back... ::::sigh:::: I hate when I have bad hair.

The countdown is on...

Okay, my birthday is coming up, but more importantly so is spring. It is 30 days away. At something like 11:58 March 19, 2008, my favorite season of the year starts. I don't have any big plans for spring. Summer either, for that matter. But it is such a pretty time of year. We get lots of sun here in DFW, the temperatures generally are in the 70s to low 80s in the early spring. That means the winter doldrums will be over. (Yes, it's really hot in the summer. I know, I know.... but that is another post.)

It is just a gorgeous time of year. Colors are prettier. Flowers start to bloom. The trees start to bud out and turn green. I think this year I will go to the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens. I think I will go there for my birthday this year. They're having a butterfly garden from March 1 through March 30 and that sounds like fun to me.

Oh, and in case anyone who is reading my blog isn't family.... my birthday is March 16.

We get by with a little help from our friends

It is amazing what talking to your best friend on the phone will do for your spirits and mood.

PJ and I have been friends since the third grade. We had a few years apart after high school when we'd gone our separate ways, but since our 10 year reunion, have rekindled a friendship that I don't think ever really went away. We'd be closer if we lived closer, but we do the best we can with her in California and me in Texas. All I can say is thank goodness for free nights and weekend cell phone minutes and mobile to mobile calling!

Since she got married and I got busy, we don't talk as much as either of us would like, so generally our conversations are between things when we can fit them in or marathon two and a half hour conversations like last night. It's funny, when we have the marathon calls, we discuss/vent issues in our lives, then we solve all the problems in the world (if only the world would listen to us).

We always end the phone calls smiling and feeling better for having talked to one another. It's nice to have a best friend.

Life since Nablopomo

I have felt almost guilty, like I wasn't doing my homework, for not posting the past couple of days. It's funny how something like blogging about my life -- or lack thereof -- can become a release of sorts for pent-up frustrations, sharing fears, and finding out that you're not that much different than everyone else out there who is just trying to make it in this world.

So, what has been going on in my life for the past few days, you ask? Let's see. I've got an awful cold. Thank goodness I don't feel nearly as bad as I sound (or look thanks to rough tissues at work all weekend). I've discovered that anytime I get sick, it goes to my chest and I cough. It's a nuisance, but not totally unbearable. I have decided to go to the doctor today and get something a little stronger than the over the counter cough medicine I've been taking. It seems to have lost its effectivness. Bummer.

UPDATE: I went ahead and went to the doctor for the cough since it was beginning to really hurt when I coughed (and I don't mean the stomach muscles, I mean my lungs hurt). He said I have acute bronchitis (I could have told him that) and a mild ear infection in both ears (this did surprise me a little bit). So, Z-pak and Tussionex now in hand, I should be up to par in no time at all. I still don't feel bad, other than this nagging cough, so yay for small favors!

I have been working at the photo place on weekends for a while now. I've added Friday nights now through Christmas. People ask how I can do it. There are screaming kids, frustrated parents, lazy parents who allow their kids to destroy the studios (grrrrr to that one), but for the most part, I get to see people and kids at their best. They are generally all dressed up in favorite outfits or special Christmas suits or dresses this time of year. My whole job is to make them smile. It really is fun. I will admit, not everyone can do it. I will also admit that during the Christmas season, I tend to go hide in my car for my 30 minute lunch break just to get away from the chaos in the studio. But, overall, it is a blast.

I had a treat yesterday at work. I started at the studio in September/October three years ago. A few months after starting at the studio, Mrs. O brought her newborn baby in for pictures. I got to take those pictures... and the 3 month, 6 month, and 9 month pictures. Last year, on Miss Katie's first Christmas I took her pictures. I hadn't gotten to take the pictures during the year, though, because I didn't work there during the spring and summer. When Mrs. O brought her in yesterday, I didn't get to take the her pictures (it's kind of luck of the draw as to who takes the photos during the Christmas season since there are several photographers and three studio bays) but Katie wouldn't cooperate with (also known as smile for) the photographer. Mrs. O requested that I take the redo because Katie "knows me and feels comfortable with me." {insert ego boost here} I did the reshoot and we got some great pictures and both Mr. and Mrs O thanked me profusely. See, that is why I love my photo job.

So, that is my life these days. Busy and hectic as normal but with a few ego boosts to lighten the load a bit.

Day 28: Daddy is so generous

It seems that Daddy shared more than his home with me this weekend. It seems he also generously shared his cold germs. Ugh. I woke up this morning with a headache and sore throat. Double ugh. As the day wore on, my throat got sorer and sorer. Triple ugh.

So... I went to the store and got me some Tylenol Cold and Sinus and I will stay drugged until I'm over it. Hopefully it will be a 3 day cold and tomorrow will be the worst of it. I can feel like crap for one day and start to feel better. That wouldn't be so bad. Especially after last year (and the year before's) case of the flu and all the yucky-ness that went with that. I got my flu shot this year so hopefully I'll avoid that particular unpleasantness this year.

Day 19: No rest for the weary

I am so glad this is a two day work week.... okay, actually, I have to go into the office for Wednesday morning, but I know it will be a S-L-O-W morning work-wise since most of my sales reps will be on vacation (officially or not) already. I've just got a case of the I-don't-wannas this week.

Maybe it is just because I'm excited that I get to go see Moma and Daddy and my sisters, thier spouses and the kids or maybe it is because it will be my last weekend off until after Christmas and my first weekend off since October. I'll be working all week and going to school as usual Monday throught Friday AND at the portrait studio on Friday, Saturday and Sunday until after Christmas.

Day 17: I got a new toy

Day 14: My Morning

This morning, just like most every weekday morning, I was doing that last minute rush to get out of the house while running through the checklist of things I have to do before I walk out the door: Are the cats fed? Check. Lights off? Check. Litter scooped? Check. Have keys? Check. Cell phone? Check. And so on.

Generally (and unfortunately quite often) I lose my keys and there is the 2 minute, where-the-heck-did-I-put-them-oh-there-they-are kind of hunt. Because of that I have tried very hard to get into the habit of putting my purse and keys in their place (keys on the key peg and purse on the door knob to the coat closet) so I don't have to hunt for them as I rush around of a morning.

This morning, I was running my usual 5 minutes late and as I grabbed my purse to drop something into it on the way out the front door, I realized my wallet (with EVERYTHING in it) was not there. Um, can you say YIKES!!!!

It is amazing how fast your brain works when in a state of panic. (enter curse word here) What was the last check number? (enter curse word here) What cards are there and what is the number I have to call to cancel them all? (enter curse word here) Did I drop that prescription off at the pharmacy or is it still in the wallet? (enter curse word here) If I did lose it last night, how much damage has already been done?

I called the last place I'd been (grocery store) to check to see if someone had turned it in. No. (enter curse word here) Check the car. Not there. (enter curse word here) Come in the house where could it be? Full on panic mode is setting in at this point. I turn and glance toward the couch and there, peeking out from between my cushions, I see a bit of pink. Crisis averted. (enter serious prayers of thanksgiving here)

Time from beginning of panic to finding lost item: approximately 5 minutes. Years taken off of my life: approximately 5. Relief I felt when I found my fabulous pink wallet: Immeasurable.

Day 7: Let me explain the Camel

It was pointed out to me that yesterday's "I am the Camel" post made people sad. It shouldn't. I am not sad. I was simply pointing out how I feel.

To be honest, we are all the Camel at some point in our lives. There are days and places that everyone feels out of place. As my sister C pointed out, sometimes we become Obnoxious Camel or Aloof Camel or (insert your adjective here) Camel to compensate for being out of sorts or feeling out of place.

I happen to be Aloof Camel or Wallflower Camel.

Day 6: I am the Camel

Everyday on my way home or to work I pass a pasture with a herd of buffalo and a single camel. Since the camel showed up a few months ago, I've found it a little funny that there is a camel in a pasture with buffalo mere blocks from a herd of Texas longhorns. (Only in Texas, huh!)

Shortly after the camel came I started making up stories about the camel and the buffalo herd as I drove by. Often in the stories, the camel felt left out and alone because he is different. Depending on the day (and how close the camel was to the buffalo that day) the camel and buffalo became friends or he continues to feel left out and alone.

Today, I realized how much the camel I am. In most settings I don't feel I fit in or that I stick out in the crowd. I am on the fringes or outside totally -- or at least feel I am. Even with my family I feel that way. Maybe especially with my family. As the only one not married, I often am fringe... not because my family makes me feel that way deliberately, but just because I don't have anything in common with them part of the time.

In social settings, I never feel I fit in. I am actually really shy in public situations and I'm afraid to talk to people I don't know. So, I stand on the outside looking in much like the camel standing in the field with the buffalo.

So tomorrow I'll drive by the field, see the camel and make up a story about him. Maybe tomorrow he'll make friends with the buffalo. Maybe he'll be on the other side of the pasture alone. Who knows. We'll see what tomorrow holds.