Let it snow, and snow

If you live in my part of the country, you've got snow on your mind. So, more snow pictures. These were taken today, two days after the big snow.

One of the main streets in my neighborhood

The main intersection!

The main road outside my neighborhood. A snow emergency route, if you can believe it.

My house is the one on the left.

The only shoveled paths on my deck were to the birdfeeder and the bird bath.

I'm SO sore today. I shoveled for hours on Saturday. And Sunday. I live on the best cul-de-sac! My neighbor Lisa has the king of snow blowers. My neighbor George used it on Saturday and Sunday. He did the sidewalks. And the driveways of people who didn't already shovel (Rob and I shoveled mine). He used the snow blower to 'plow' our court to the cross road. Then he 'plowed' that street to one that was plowed by a truck. I was out there with the guys shoveling behind him. It was great fun to be part of the crew.

One of my friends called to ask if I wanted to sled and I was all about that. There's a hill to the side and back of my house. I made the mistake of going out my basement door to walk to the hill. The snow was so deep that I was laughing and exhausted and had to stop and sit every 20 or so feet. I should have walked around the block to get there. Last time I sledded this hill I took a running start. I did it this time and belly-flopped on my sled. The snow wasn't packed enough and my sled didn't budge. Ow. I did one run and called it a day.

Rob had car problems again and we ventured out to the repair shop this morning. We dropped the car off, and they replaced a belt. He got on the road for his hour trip home, but his car broke down on the exit ramp to work. It had to get towed. What a bummer!

The big news around here, BTW? 12"-18" of snow starting tomorrow afternoon. Good times!

More pics from the day

Woops. This one has to wait for spring!

Blizzardy day

Actually, it's been fun. Fortunately we only lost power for 4 hours, from 5AM through 9AM. We've spent hours shoveling. Well, mostly Rob, and only because he wants to. We've probably gotten about about 24-30 inches with another 5"-10" coming during the day. Good times. Don't hate :))

Bracing

We're bracing for a big storm. I don't like the anticipation, especially when it's on a work day. Will it start at 11:00, just when I'm starting my first client? Will it start later when I'm in the middle of a service that will take hours to finish? I like an overnight snow. The latest forecast is for just a few inches by night, then 12-24" through tomorrow. The previous forecast had it starting and coming down hard by noon. I'll run to the store (brave me) for butter if it's not crazy. It was crazy but orderly yesterday. I need the butter in case I make a pie. I'll go to Office Depot. I'll go to my favorite Chinese restaurant and pick up dinner for tonight. Then I'll go to work. My car had the 80,000 mile service done yesterday and it's gassed up. My two gas cans are filled for my neighbor's snow blower. Emily will be snowed in at her friend's. Rob has a gig tonight and I'm afraid he's going to get snowed in where he's at, about an hour away. It might be a few quiet days alone, but I hope not. I plan to caulk my shower. Maybe get a few other things done. Or nothing. We'll see. Time to start the running around. Happy days!

Hey

My sister pointed out that it's been a while since I blogged. Boy-o does time fly. Last week was up and it was down and ended up UP. When you're down, it's hard to be optimistic, even though you know that things work out. I really believe that things work out, but often it's hard to picture that when you're in the middle of it. Things at home could be better, and they will be. Think it and it will happen? I'm counting on that. I have to. You know what I mean.

I had a great weekend. Good company. Good food. Snow! Lots of coffee. Starbucks time with my laptop. Music. Grammy's. Etc.

I had lunch at Macaroni Grill with three friends that I hadn't seen in ages. Talk was all over the place, and it was wonderful to be together. I used to do color and cuts on each of them. Kim is living with cancer, and her beautiful hair is mostly gone. Susan and Judy go to someone from their church who is working three jobs to make ends meet, and they're helping her out by being her clients. Susan and Kim are stampers and Judy is a minister and they're all very, very funny. So, it was good times. I had a salad and a grilled chicken sandwich.

It was a busy day, and a weekend that seemed very long. Work starts tomorrow and I'm ready.

Blue skies, smiling on me

I woke up with a heavy heart. Hey, I can't be happy all the time. I drove carpool to school and tried to concentrate on my blessings, but just couldn't do it. I knew my mood would change, eventually. I'm very fortunate in that nothing keeps me down for long. The sky was very cloudy, but in a majestic way. I was happy to have it hold my attention. Here and there on the horizon, you could see a little blue. I decided to drive to Sherwood Forest and hang out on the dock for a little while and maybe take some pictures. It was so cold, but so beautiful. Here's a panoramic view from where I stood.

How could the beauty of this day not lift a person's heart?
I like this picture too.

And then, there's this cause you know how I like taking pictures of my feet.

Heavy heart? Gone. Sunny skies again.

Break

I spent most of yesterday inside. It was rainy. It was cloudy. It was sunny. It was rainy. It was warm, then cool. I knew all this, but had no idea what the sky looked like. Had I known, I would have been outside. I went outside to bring the trash down before driving to field hockey at 5:30. The whole ride there I was trying to get Emily to be as enthusiastic as me about the sky, but she wasn't much interested. Oh well. It was a great indoor day, but what I saw outside was just majestic.

I had a big break at work today, and I've spent it at Borders with my laptop and a decaf latte. As always, a happy way to pass a few hours. Work calls, so it's time to put my smock back on and get back to hairdresser mode. Later!

Out and lazy

I'm not a stay-at-home person. I just can't do it. I feel like the day is wasted if I hang around. I can't nap. I can get lost in front of my computer. I'd rather do that at a Starbucks or Borders. So I'm at Starbucks. It's quite a busy place on this wet and cold Sunday. At one point I counted 25 people here. It really is a community hangout. All that's missing is a fireplace.

Thought I'd post this catchy rap about the Washington Capitols. The Cap Rap. My nephew Ryan grew up with the creator and actor and has a small part in it. He's the bald guy in the suit. It's a bald 'wig'. I didn't even recognize him. If you watch it, put it on pause first so it can buffer a little.



I think it's time to get my lazy self up and about. Go home an watch some TV. What a life.

That was then....

Hello Saturday night. Well, almost night. It was a great day at work. It started with a new client who found me by searching the web for salons/hairdressers who specialize in cutting curly hair. I've gotten quite a few new clients from that website and am really glad to be developing a niche market for curly hair. I feel a bond to my sisters, ya know? Anyway, she was great and loved her hair. The rest of the day was smooth sailing. I had a client return to me after a year's absence. She came back a few months ago and tried a few other stylists, but now she's back home with me. She said she learned her lesson. I'm glad to know she appreciates me more now than she did before. And I'm thankful for each and every client that I have, even the ones who challenge my patience. And I have lots of patience!

Rob is in town tonight. Have I mentioned he lives about an hour away? We're going to a mutual friend's house tonight for Chinese food and games. Board games. Should be fun.

I've been playing with my scanner. I'll post old pics from time to time. This one was taken in the 70's. My hairdresser boyfriend bought me this dress in Hawaii. I don't remember the brand, but it was the real thing. I went to J.C. Penny's with the next boyfriend to have my portrait taken. We bought the whole package. Look at the hair! Look at the nails! Look at the young me! Wow. The boyfriend at the time was 18 and I was 23. He was a wild thing, and I was me. I lived an unauthentic life with him that lasted for years. By the time he left, I was in debt, something that took a long time to recover from. I have a few regrets, but a lot of good memories too. Anyway...this was me, then.

I'm done with sugar, and other musings

Hi. I'm at Caribou Coffee with my latte. How can every coffee shop make their lattes so differently? My favorite lattes come from Borders. They're just the best. At Borders I ask for a caramel latte, extra hot, extra shot, skim with extra syrup on top. I ask for the same thing at Caribou and it tastes nothing like the one I love at Borders. At Starbucks I ask for the same but with no foam, because they fill it with foam and you get so much less latte.

I drove Emily to school this morning, then headed to my doctor's appointment. I thought it was at 9:50. It was at 8:50. I sped like crazy and was only 10 minutes late. I'm so glad I didn't get a ticket. I'm hanging at Caribou for a while, then I'm heading to my mom's. We'll do lunch.

I thought I'd post a few pics. I've mentioned that Emily's playing indoor field hockey. It's an interesting game. I've mentioned I don't really 'do' sports and don't know any rules. This game is fast and fun and so different from outdoor FH. It reminds me of air hockey or pool in that they use the wooden boards to richochet the ball. Am I saying that right? They play two 25 minute games, and the clock doesn't stop except for the 5 minutes between games. They don't change sides. And that's indoor FH.

To totally change the subject...I walked by the guest room the other day and saw this sunrise. It brought back such memories. This used to be Emily's room, and I saw so many sunrises as I sat in my rocker and nursed her.

Change again. Here's a picture of Rob and Lulo from International Guitar Night. He wanted to take a picture of me with Lulo but that would have been weird. I do have a great picture of me with Fabio of 'I Can't Believe It's Not Butter' fame. I'll have to scan and post that one some day.

My time here is winding down. Mom is waiting for me. I've mentioned that her favorite activity is eaingt out? Today she wants to go to Ruby Tuesday. She has a BOGO coupon. I'd rather have a Lean Cuisine. If you read my status last night on FB you'll know I ate a whole bag of Jelly Bellys. I know they only have 4 calories per bean, but the bag had 140 grams of sugar. If my calculations are correct, that means I consumed the equivalent of 33.33 teaspoons of sugar in one sitting. 'Nuff said? I've had that bag since Christmas and didn't even crave it. Till last night. It's a new day, and all I have to worry about now is chocolate.

Later!

Links galore

It's Monday night, meaning that my weekend is coming to an end. Seems like it's been a while since I posted. Let me catch you up. I wrote that I met my nephew at Caribou Coffee on Thursday. He's one busy and creative guy. Ryan has a few awesome websites and I'm going to promote two of them right here. Check out his wedding blog. It's a great site with every resource for brides-to-be. I'm impressed by it, and a bride-to-be is not me. Here's his pop culture blog. I like to think I'm a little hip and into stuff like this. And I am. Into stuff like this. Being a little hip is up for debate.

My weekends have really changed since I've been in a relationship with Rob. Now I'm happy with somebody else instead of being happy alone. It's amazing how easy the transition was. We're just taking it one day at a time, and that's working great. We never know what tomorrow holds so we have to live in today. And that's as deep as I'm getting.

We went to International Guitar Night at The Gordon Center on Saturday night. I was mesmerized. I've known about this event for years and now that I finally made the effort and went, I'm sorry for all the years I missed out. My favorite performer was Lulo Reinhardt. His long dark hair and tall, dark and handsome physique made him a striking character. His playing of Latin and Gypsy jazz was spellbinding. Rob teased me, saying I had a crush on him. I swore I didn't. The evening consisted of four guitarists playing solos, duets, and so on (meaning I don't know what you call it when 3 or 4 play together). It was a great night.

Sunday was a rainy, stay-at-home day. We finally ventured out to the grocery store in the late afternoon. I planned to make a meatloaf; it was a day for comfort food. We were so hungry that we ordered pizza from the store and picked it up on the way home. We had that and Starbucks Caramel Macchiato ice cream for dessert. So much for the Lean Cuisines.

Rob's car broke down today and it's in a shop by my house. We did some things while we were waiting for it to be repaired. We drove through Annapolis so he could see the downtown. We went to Annapolis Mall so I could return the last of the things that needed returning. Half of Maryland was there--I forgot it was a holiday. Rob got to see the Sony 3D TV. So cool. His car was supposed to be ready in the afternoon, but they had the wrong part delivered and it won't be ready till tomorrow. I drove Rob home to Havre de Grace, MD and then to his job. It was my first time seeing where he lives. It's about 50 minutes from here. It was an easy ride and didn't seem as far away as I've been picturing it. You can see the Bay from his neighborhood. I can't wait to go back and see the town itself.

How'd it get to be 9:30? I thought I'd have an hour to read in bed. If I go now, I'll have a half hour. So, that's it. The End.

And so it goes

Don't you hate it when you're hungry and full at the same time? I want Starbucks Caramel Macchiato ice cream. How can 1/2 cup of ice cream have 240 calories and 13 grams of fat? I won't buy it. Remember my post "Why Tight Pants Are a Good Thing"? All my pants are way too loose and they'll only stay that way if I stay away from ice cream and jelly beans and all those other foods I love. Fortunately Lean Cuisine is on sale everywhere and I haven't tired of eating Sesame Chicken every day. It's great being at my skinny weight but hard work.

Speaking of hard work...Work has been busy. I thrive at very busy. Time flies when it's very busy. I'm so thankful I'm busy.

Today was a great day off. I drove the kids to school. Em made a playlist for the car and it's heavy on Nirvana. I'm not digging that, but they are. I stopped at Safeway to pick up a latte and wound up getting the H1N1 vaccine while I was there. I got my mom and we headed to Annapolis. She read in the car while I ran into Sam's Club. We had lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. I didn't have Sesame Chicken. I didn't have cheesecake either. I had a few things to return at the mall, and mom kept up with me on her scooter. I shopped at the Apple store and found the perfect new case for my iPhone. It kinda made my day 'cause I'm easy to please like that. Unfortunately in looking for a picture to post here I found that I could have gotten two cases for the price I paid for one. I'm not gonna stress about it--I got what I wanted without having to wait.

The sign outside the Sony store caught my eye: Come in and view TV in 3D. I've read that 3D will be then next new thing in television so I was excited to see it. I put the 3D glasses on and what I saw was beyond cool. First I flew along with a rocket on PlayStation. Then I watched polar bears diving into the Arctic Sea. You could almost feel the splash of water. It was all in true 3D. The TV was a prototype and not for sale. The salesman told me ESPN is filming in 3D and hopes to broadcast the World Cup in that format. Wow. If you get the opportunity to view a 3D TV you won't, as I've heard people lament, mind wearing the glasses. I can't wait till they're mainstream.

I brought my mom home just as my brother and SIL Cindy came over so we got to visit for a bit. I drove to Caribou Coffee to do some blogging and ran into my nephew, who, as it turns out, hangs there almost every day. He's the cool Mac. I'm the one with the dinosaur PC.

My nephew, Ryan Freakin Deal, has a few awesome websites. No, his middle name isn't the one on his birth certificate, but it's the name he goes by. I like it. I'm gonna steer you to one of his websites in my next post. This one is way too long already, so.... The end. Again.

How I became a hairdresser, probably part 1

I never knew what I wanted to do when I grew up. I was always a good girl. Well, mostly good. There was the summer I got drunk every day, but no one but me and my best friend knew about it and it ended along with the summer. Luckily for me. Not so much for my best friend who dropped me like a hot potato and went on to ruin her high school career with drinking and heavy drugs. I went to college because my parents made me. I was an art major because it was what I liked best. I didn't want to be an art teacher and I wasn't good enough to be an artist. I went to Towson, a liberal arts college and got good grades in every course I took. I just didn't know what I wanted to do with my life, and eventually I became consumed with my lack of direction and the weight of it on my shoulders. After 2 1/2 years my parents realized how unhappy I was and let me quit. I've never regretted it. Fortunately, and you'll see where this is leading in a second, it was my naturally curly hair (OK, I could have just said curly, but we curly girls tend to include the 'naturally' thing; it goes hand in hand). I grew up hating my hair. Curly hair was not in style. You couldn't comb it. Your friends didn't play with it. Like I said in my previous post, I felt like I didn't deserve it. I don't remember what age I was when I started setting my hair in rollers, but I was pretty young. I used to sit on the counter in the hall bathroom and set it every time it was washed. I used some kind of pink tape that was made for bangs and taped them down on my forehead so they'd be straight. I was always envious of my sister Ilene because she could set her hair in front of the TV with no mirror. I'd have to stay under the hairdryer forever till my hair dried, then I'd have to sleep on the rollers. How I did that, I'll never know. It wasn't till I was in high school that I first let my hair dry on it's own. I'd really never done that. I was shocked at what I saw. It was around then that I started letting it dry curly. I'd wear a bandana like a kerchief (tied underneath in the back of my neck) to pull my hair straight back from my forehead, and have the rest flowing down my back. That was back when I wore overalls and construction boots. Oh, yes I did. I wrote poetry and wrote in journals and thought deep thoughts. But I regress.
Me and my college friend Mark

Even though I wore my hair curly, I wasn't entirely done with setting my hair. I still felt I looked my best with it straight. What we curly girls called straight, anyway. My college roommate (and friend from home) set her hair too. I learned a few tricks from her. The nights we set our hair had us isolated from the fun our dorm mates were having. First we'd set our hair and put the soft dryer bonnets on. Then we'd paint our nails. Then we'd turn on the dryers and go to sleep. I'd wake up in the middle of the night and turn off the dryer, keeping the rollers in. When I'd wake up in the morning my hair would be dry and my nails would be done. What a pain it all was. I had a good friend Lisa who always had very short, very stylish hair. One day we were out and had a drink or two and she somehow convinced me I should get my hair styled. I finally agreed. We went to my house and Lisa told my mother I was getting my hair cut. My mom said to call right then and make an appointment before I changed my mind. Lisa's stylist had a cancellation so off we went. I couldn't believe I was actually going to get my hair cut in a real style. The hairdressers went crazy over my hair. They were touching it and exclaiming how thick and beautiful it was. No one in my entire life had ever told me they liked my hair. I thought of it as a curse. Well, I had it cut to dry naturally, and that was that. People loved my hair. It was then that I thought, this is like doing sculpture on the head. I thought it was something I could do. And that's how I decided to become a hairdresser. The end.