Snow, snow, finally, snow!

They said it would snow, and it did. Not much in the scheme of things, but it's the first time this year. And it happened just like the weather report said it would.

I went to my third movie in 3 weeks. Very unusual for me. I guess I'll have to change my profile to say I do go to the movies. A bunch of people from work were going, and I joined in. We saw Dreamgirls. Everyone liked it. It was really good to do something with people I only see at work. Emily called a friend and they saw another movie at the same theater. Fun for them too.

When the movie was over, we saw the snow for the first time. Everyone was oohing and aahing. Traffic was so slow going home. You'd think we were in Malibu and people had never driven in the snow before. Did I mention there's only about an inch and a half on the ground? It might as well be a blizzard. I'm waiting for them to cancel school, which they'll probably do.

So if you read this regularly, you know my Saturday routine. Start work at 8, work hard, get off early and head to my local hangout. Drink my favorite hot beverage. I was pleased when the barista called me by name. When I got my drink and said I'd see her next Saturday, she said she was moving to Texas. That's too bad. I told her I had just seen something on Google about Starbucks buying Seattle's Best. She said that happened in 1999 and that Seattle's Best is the red Starbucks. Hmmm..She's worked in both places and said SB is much better. I agree.

We went to our friend's for dinner. A great time was had by all.
The kids were very rowdy, meaning, they were having a good time. Cathi and I shared a few beers and lots of conversation. Geoff always grills and he made bacon-wrapped shrimp. Delicious. We had that, salad, rice, bread, grapes, and grilled goose breast. There weren't many takers for the latter. Emily called me at work to ask if she could make a cake for dessert instead of buying one. Now why didn't I think of that? Mallory made something delicious that she called Chocolate Crack Up. Here's a picture of the kids ready to have their cake and eat it too.

I love this picture of their cat taking a drink from his favorite bowl. The fish bowl, that is. He never bothers the fish. I think that's hilarious. I wonder if they'll come home one day to a fancy water bowl sans fish??

I went to an out of the way grocery store in search of a fancy chocolate cake to bring to a friend's house tomorrow night. I was there on Monday and was so impressed by the selection. Tonight the showcase looked sad and neglected. The cakes that were left were imperfect. It just wouldn't do. It will be my quest after work tomorrow to find the perfect dessert. Cathi is a wonderful cook, and Emily and I love when we're invited for dinner. Her husband and kids are wonderful company. I wish we saw each other more often.

I highlighted a male client's hair today. It's really difficult to do that on short hair. It wouldn't have been my choice of what to do, but he was really into it. I told him I'll be calling him Ryan Seacrest from now on. It turned out pretty good and he was really happy with the way he looked. I only have one other man who's color I do. It actually looks pretty good on him. I think he does it because he's getting older in a business that values youth. I have one male client who does his own color. It's very black and looks terrible. I wish I had the nerve to suggest he use a brown color, but have never figured out how to say it. I always think about it while I'm cutting his hair. I'm hoping he'll ask for my advice.

It's very quiet here tonight. The time I've been on the computer has just flown by. Think I'll finish reading the paper before calling it a night.

For a while...

For a while I was thinking I should take down the 'mostly mundane' part of my title. I was thinking that maybe what I was writing was kinda interesting. I don't know if it's just the after-holiday blahs or what, but things seem truly mundane around here. The highlight of my week is Border's on a Saturday afternoon. Is that pitiful?

My big adventure today was going to the dentist for my 6 month cleaning. I'll go back again next Thursday to have my teeth whitened. My cousin's husband, David, is my dentist. It's a ong drive on the beltway for me, which I really don't like, but it's beneficial to have a dentist in the family. The good part of the drive is that I was in the car long enough to get thru more than one CD of the book I'm listening to. Because my ride to work is only 20 minutes, it takes me a while to get through a book. Did I ever mention that I love listening to books on CD?

It's colder here than it's been in quite a while. They were calling for a wintry mix, but I think that's changed. I wouldn't mind a good snow storm.

I bought some colossal shrimp at the market and found a recipe for shrimp scampi with angel hair pasta. It was a great and easy dinner. I try to prepare home cooked meals on my days off. I'm happy when I succeed.

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I just made a big leap and ordered airline tickets. I'm not a good flyer. I'm going to try not to worry about it till March when I'll be taking my trip. I'll fly into Charlotte, NC for the weekend. I'll meet my sister who will drive there from her home in GA. Neither of us has been there before, so we'll be looking for things to do. This will be the first time we've ever spent any time together without our kids, and I'm very excited about it.

I drove to my parent's house after work. My Dad's in Atlantic City for the night, so I invited my Mom to spend the night with me. We went to dinner at Outback Steakhouse. That was really good. I've only been there a few times. We had my mother's favorite meal, Alice Springs Chicken with salad, broccoli, and sweet potato. Yum. We split the dinner with salads for each and it was just enough. Afterwards we went to Coldstone Creamery and had fancy ice cream concoctions. Yum. We got home and watched American Idol. I couldn't ignore it since it was what my Mom was watching. How can all these people audition for the show when they clearly can't sing? They all really seem to think they can. My Mom was laughing at them, and I was just shaking my head. I think it's pretty sad.

I'm trying not to watch American Idol. Am I one of the few? I started watching it last year, but only after all the auditions were over. This part of the show is painful to watch, yet oddly entertaining.

It was a good day at work. Pretty uneventful. I had a new client who came in with frizzy hair and a terrible haircut. She said her last haircut was really bad and that she had to cut her own bangs and have her husband cut the back. She'd been to a few salons but was always disappointed. Her hair looked great when I was done, and she was very happy. I love that part of my job. This client was in her 50's, and didn't know how to style her hair. I can't understand why a hairstylist had never shown her how. I also can't understand why she had such bad haircuts. There's really no excuse for that.

Well, La De Da

I've been staying pretty true to my word about not being on the computer when I'm home with Emily. I'm amazed that she's been staying off it too. That was what I was hoping for. It was a good weekend. Since I'm off work on Mondays, I consider that day half of the weekend. The first part of Sunday was spent cleaning out cabinets and re-caulking the tub. Emily and I went out shopping afterwards and out to Cheeburger Cheeburger for dinner. It's one of her favorite places. Did I say I went off my diet big time this weekend? Let me go back and say I had a banana split for dessert on Saturday followed by a bag of Dave and Thomas chocolate drizzle popcorn. At Cheeburger Cheeburger I had a juicy cheeburger and fries followed by ice cream at home with Milky Way topping and whipped cream. I think I was pretty good yesterday, except for the popcorn I had at the movies. Today starts another week of my usual...lots of salads and veggies. Hopefully it will balance out. Maybe. Anyway, yesterday I tackled the closet in my guest room. I can't describe all the stuff I had crammed in there on the floor and shelf on top. You could hardly close the door. It's mostly empty now. I'm one of those people whose house looks totally neat until you open a closet or look in the basement. You'd think two different people lived there. I'm determined to clean it all up. All these things haven't been hard to do, yet I've procrastinated doing them forever. So I'm proud of myself for finally getting some things done that I've meant to do for a long, long time.

We went to see Freedom Writers at the movies. We absolutely loved it. I think it only got so-so reviews, and there have been many films like this one, but I'd recommend it to anyone. The theatre, Muvico, was absolutely packed. I guess a lot of people go to the movies on holidays.

I don't mean for my posts to be all about the things I do around my house. Getting things accomplished here clears my mind. I wonder if I'll ever get to the point that everything's done. What a concept. I could just laze around cause there'd be nothing to do but basic cleaning. I'd like to find out!

Well, it's off to work for me on this very windy day. Hope it's a good one for everyone else.

It came to my attention that the video I thought was working was not. So much for my claim of conquering this technological challenge. Is it working now?

My daughter had a friend sleep over last night and I spent a good deal of time checking out links to blogs that are new to me. It's just amazing what's out there.

I'm hoping that today will be a productive one. I'm almost ready to get started....

I had to change my photo software to be able to download videos. That was the problem. I was using Jasc Paint Shop photo software and switched to Kodak. I was so excited when I was easily able to do what had eluded me for so long. I had about given up--the frustration was killing me. I had some problems uploading the video to YouTube. I tried again early this morning and both videos loaded in minutes. So, with no further ado, here's a video of my daughter and her dog Elvis taken last weekend.

Not much to write about tonight. I thought I'd post a picture of my huge pet goldfish. I think we've had him for about 5 or 6 years. He's a familiar part of the scenery and I will miss him when he's gone, which I think will be soon. He's been having a hard time with his balance, and I don't think goldfish live much longer than this.

It's been a very satisfying day today because I got so much accomplished. I'll be able to go to sleep tonight without a list of things I should have done scrolling through my brain. It's been that way the last few nights. The only thing I didn't do is, (are you ready?) put away the Christmas tree. If it were in a place that I saw everyday, it would have been taken care of a long time ago. It's in the living room, I never use that room, and I never use the front door. I forget it's there. I swear I'd keep it set up if I could carry it into the basement that way. Emily said she'd help me undecorate the tree and bring it down to the basement this weekend.

The house is really clean and neat. The laundry's done. All the holiday stuff is put away except for the tree. I did some research, banking, and shopping online. I made dentist appointments. Clipped coupons. Grocery-shopped. Made a cornish hen for dinner. Made my lunch for tomorrow. I even had time to read the newspaper. Woo hoo.

It's been a busy few days of work. Today was payday, and it wasn't pretty. My work is strictly commission, and I was off for a few days after Christmas followed by a slow week after New Year's. That's just the nature of the business. Things have picked up again, and I don't have any time off planned till March. I'll try to put aside my fear of flying to attend the big Chicago Midwest Beauty Show. I'll need to fly to Chicago again in May for my nephew's wedding. I'll just have to do it. I understand it's only about an hour flight; that's good. My sister just sent me a e-mail telling me flights are on sale to Charlotte for $39 each way. I might have to do that too. The last time I flew was 2 years ago and I got a prescription to help me out. I'll need to do that again. I decided I wasn't not going to do things because of fear that something bad could happen. People fly all the time. I'm not deathly afraid, just kind of.

I'd like to spiff up the look of this blog, but I'm not very savvy with code. Really, I'm clueless but would like to learn. I'll be playing around with a picture, let's say, trying to center it, when my daughter will look over and say, wouldn't you like that centered? Well yes, I just don't know how to do it. So I bought a book, Creating a Web Page with HTML for beginners, and I'm going to see what I can learn. Just one of the many projects that I don't have time for but have an intense interest in. I'll also take my friend Kit up on her offer to lend me her photo scanner while she's away for 2 weeks. That will keep me busy.

For those of you who haven't known me for long, I love making my own cards with rubber stamps. I have a craft room, with just about every related supply to support that habit.I used to be obsessed with it, but it's definitely been on the back burner. My new hobby seems to be computer-related. I haven't given up on my craft hobby, I just make the cards when I need them instead of spending my spare time brainstorming new designs.

I noticed this beautiful sunset as I was leaving work. It was a welcome sight.

I had a very good day off today. It was pretty lazy, which is unusual for me. It felt good to be mostly home. I did go to 3 stores and stocked up on lots of fresh fruit, vegetables and lots of chicken. I'm trying to shed some of the weight I gained during the holidays. Every time I put something in my mouth that I shouldn't, my daughter catches me. I told her when I'm on a diet I'm unstoppable. I'm not quite there yet. I'm ready for the week with lots of healthy food. Work days are always easier for me, food-wise.

Emily wanted me to post pictures of her dog Elvis. He spent Saturday and Sunday here while her dad was out of town. Emily loves that dog. He's pretty cute, huh? He looks gigantic in this picture but it's just the angle it was taken from.





This is what happens when I download video. I get stills. One of these days I'll figure it out. It does make a nice picture collage.

I spent part of today visiting with friends in Annapolis. This picture is the view down Main Street. You can see the Chesapeake Bay in the background.



After running a few errands, I drove over to Sherwood Forest, a private gated community on one of the rivers. It's the best place. Kit's family owns a very small cottage there and we occasionally get to spend the day. Our friend Lisa, who lives in VA, met us for lunch. We've all been friends since Junior High. Kit and I see each other pretty regularly, but haven't seen Lisa since June. There's just something special about friends you have a long history with. We talked non-stop, jumping from topic to topic. We know each others' families, stories, etc... We agreed that we have to see each other more often. These pictures are of the drive into Sherwood, the cottage, a peek at the river from the porch, and us.



I had time to run to the coffee shop and Trader Joe's before coming home and catching up on laundry, homework, and a few hands of Phase 10. A good and busy day. Two of the shows I watch on Sunday nights were back on after what seemed like a long break, and I enjoyed the rest of the eve. Time to put it all to rest.

I thought I'd post some pictures of the salon I work at. I can't for the life of me figure out how to download videos yet--very frustrating! My salon used to be in a strip mall and was your normal store size. We'd been there for about 10 years and it was time to renew the lease. There were things about the shop that really bothered my boss. Every time it rained hard, the roof leaked. Parking was very limited. The floors were pretty bad and needed replacing. So, he decided to look around. He found a warehouse in an office park around the corner and fell in love with the space. At the time we were small--maybe 7 stylists. He was so excited to show it to us. We went over and saw a warehouse. It had gray concrete floors and gray cinder block walls. The ceiling was gray and many stories high. We were flabbergasted! How could this enormous space ever be the warm and inviting salon that we and our clients loved? My boss had a vision, and the place was a go. Besides being a very talented hairdresser, he is a general contractor. He can do anything. He totally designed the new salon by himself. He designed our work stations and had a cabinetmaker build them. He worked on the framing, drywall, plumbing, etc. He transformed a big, ugly space into something bright (lots of sky lights) and beautiful. We have 16 hairstylists, 4 nail techs, 3 skincare/massage therapists, and a large support staff. As you'll see, purple is our color. It really did take a while to get used to the new salon, but we got there. It's great to work in such a big, open and unique space. We just celebrated our 10th anniversary here.

This photo shows the reception and the retail area.

This photo was taken from the reception area. The front desk is on the left.
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Here's a picture of my station at the start of the day. It doesn't stay this neat for long.

This one shows the two halves of the station floor.

This is the shampoo area and one of the chemical bar areas. We don't do our chemicals on the nice wood floors.

This is part of our employee area. We all signed our names on the floor along with the date we started.

Here's where we eat our meals. A little cafe-like space. On the walls are photos of us through the years.

The best part about the salon is the people. Although we're in this huge space, it's all about being one-on-one with our clients, so in reality, it doesn't seem that big at all.

It's Friday night. Tomorrow afternoon I'll be in my favorite place sipping my favorite beverage. Woo hoo. I can't wait.

"Surgery to Stunt Girl's Growth Sparks Debate" Here's a story that's getting a lot of media attention. This links to the parents' blog where they explain their side of the story. Just a little food for thought for the day.

Well, I meant to write today. Besides what I wrote this morning, that is. I thought I'd have time to do it when I got home from my parents' house. I only had to stop at the grocery store for one thing on my way home. The customer ahead of me had a problem with her order and it took forever. I was late getting home--I always like to get home before Emily. Of course, I didn't want to get on the computer then. Later, Emily suggested I write my post while she wrote her thank-you notes for her Christmas gifts. Great, except I had to go online to look for my Mary Engelbreit desk calendar that I use every year. I just had to wait to get one after Christmas so I could get it half-price. Could I find it anywhere? No. So, I spent my time looking online for the best deal, and for the Food For Thought calendar that Emily had wanted. I will not be such a bargain shopper next year! I was done just in time to watch Ugly Betty on TV. It was the first new episode in a while. Sooo, here I am, at my bedtime, writing. Reading over this post, it seems like a big complaint. Like, blah, blah, blah. It wasn't meant to be. It's just not the relaxing, thoughtful, creative experience I was hoping for. Ya know?

I haven't been on the computer much. Resolution, ya know? I'm off to my folks for the day. I have a box of the old family photos and I want to hear my parents talk about them so I can label them. I'm going to be checking into that photo scanner. I'll be writing a real post later. Have a great day!

I just have time for a quick post. My daughter and I had a great weekend. We went to the movies and saw The Pursuit of Happyness. A great and moving and very sad story. I reminded myself how fortunate I am to have so much when others have so little. We went to our favorite mall restaurant afterwards, then home. We played Phase 10 for the longest time, then rang in the New Year with Dick Clark and sparkling cider. New Year's Day found me working in the kitchen all day. I made this meatloaf. It was good, but totally not worth the time and effort it took to make it. All the dishes and dessert were labor intensive. I had my parents and sister over for dinner. What was wonderful was finally sitting down to eat. Everyone enjoyed the meal and just being together. Emily took over the cleaning-up, which was amazing. When everyone went home, Emily and I got back to our card game. The same one we were working on from the night before and morning. We finally finished with my beating her by only 10 points. We had a great heart-to-heart talk as we sat around the table. It was all so good.