Around Here

I knew the fall season is always my busiest season, but I didn’t think I would have so much going on.  Between work and all my other activities, I haven’t been spending as much time on the computer when I get home.  That means less blogging.  I started to feel guilty about it, but then I stopped immediately.  Blogging should be fun and not guilt-ridden. 

On Tuesday 10/15, we had dinner with one of our good friends Dan.  He was in town for a conference and we had dinner together at Urban Solace.  I decided to be good and have a salad.

Todd had the chicken and dumplings, which is one of my favorite things there.

So fun to get-together with old friends!

I’ve had to take the last two Fridays off work, because I’m bumping up against my maximum vacation accruals and if I don’t take days off, I lose them.  So last Friday 10/18 I took the day off and spent some me-time.  I went to lunch at Rubios.

And I went to Target.  But I thought I had entered a time portal back to 1988.  What’s with the clothes??!  I mean, Bruce Springsteen “Born In the USA” and Def Leppard?

Weird colored and patterned (almost acid washy) jeans?

And big cardigan sweaters??

Made me want to tight-roll my jeans.

Did you know that Target now makes their own brand (Archer Farms) of k-cups for the Keurig?  I tried the Pumpkin Spice coffee and it was delicious!  And because I only put in two tablespoons of coffee creamer, it’s only 70 calories versus the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks, which is WAY more calories.

I’ve been working out with weights twice a week for three weeks now.  I feel like it’s making a difference with more toned muscles and less fat, but the scales haven’t moved as much as I would like.  It’s ok.  I love it and I’ll keep going.

Todd went to a nerdy science-fiction book convention last weekend on Sunday.  It was called Conjecture/ConChord. 

I re-organized my washi tapes.  I used to have them in a divided plastic container like this.

I now have them all on a pants hanger than I wasn’t using.

Todd made this Thai Steak Salad and it was really amazing.  So flavorful!

I got to spend some more “me-time” this week.  The 3rd book in the Divergent series by Veronica Roth came out.  I had pre-ordered it on Kindle as soon as I finished “Insurgent” back in September.  It downloaded to my Kindle around 11pm on Monday night.  I haven’t read as much this week because I’ve been busy, but I’m so excited to read it.

I suppose this is some me-time.  It was time for a mammogram for me.  It’s really not a big deal and takes only a few minutes.  The actual squishing/uncomfortable part is only a couple of seconds at a time. 

And then Wednesday a “me-time” that I did not enjoy:  an orthodontic consult.  I had braces 12 years ago as an adult, mainly because my teeth were wearing down unevenly due to them being crooked.  It was totally worth it, because my smile is so much better now and I love smiling.  (As Buddy the Elf would say, smiling’s my favorite!)  But I noticed that my bite has changed over the last two years.  I thought it was TMJ-related so I had a TMJ consult back in June.  Turned out the TMJ specialist told me it was my bite that was really the problem, and referred me to ortho.  So anyways, I went at lunch on Wednesday and my bite really is very off.  And it will cost thousands of dollars to fix it, and 7-12 months of braces again.  I am NOT happy!  :(

I took yesterday (Friday) off work again.  Not working two Fridays in a row is kind of awesome, although I think next time I will take Monday off.  I hadn’t had a haircut since May, so it was time for a trim.  I took a couple of before photos.

I haven’t had hair this long in a while, and I still like it a lot.  So I didn’t have a lot of length cut off, maybe just an inch.  But all the layers were re-cut and re-shaped.  And now I part my hair on the left side, because my hairstylist said my bangs naturally want to go that way.

And this is the back.  Lots of long layers.

I really like it.  It’s actually really easy to maintain compared to short hair.  I tried short hair once in 2002 and it was a lot higher maintenance than I realized.  With long hair you can sleep and wake up and it looks ok.  With short hair you wake up with horrendous bed-head and have to either wet it or wash it to style it.  And having the option of just pulling long hair into a ponytail is way better for me when I exercise than having short hair on my neck when I sweat. 

After my haircut I went to Old Navy and tried on skinny-fit jeans.  Normally I hate trying on skinny-fit jeans because they never fit me and make me feel like I have the biggest thighs and calves in the whole world.  But I’ve lost some weight so I thought I would try it again.  Miraculously, all three pairs I tried on fit!

The weird thing was, since they were different washes, they were THREE different sizes and they all fit me!  I tried on sizes 4, 6, and 8 and they all fit in those different washes/styles.  So the moral is, don’t just try on one-size at Old Navy and think that’s what you are.  You could be three different sizes, like me.  Well, I think it has more to do with their quality control than anything else.  But I guess on my fat-feeling days, I can pull on the size 4 and revel in it.

Obviously, no update could be complete without some cute Noodle photos.

I found him in a basket under my desk a few days ago.  I had never seen him in there before!

And a common sight around here when the weather gets cooler?  Noodle sleeping on Todd.

And then the other night, he slept on Todd’s chest while Todd played on his phone.  Cutest sight in the whole wide world!  ♥

I can’t believe that October is coming to a close!  Todd and I decided on our Halloween costumes.  I hope it works out.  We won’t be going anywhere, just handing out candy to kids.  Hopefully they’ll like our costumes.  :)

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New 52 | Week 40: New Hair

I think many of you can related to my hair story.

When you find a great hair stylist, you never want to let him/her go.  I had a great one in Dayton, Ohio.  But then we moved at the end of 1999 to San Diego.  I asked around at work and was introduced to a stylist named Kristin, who was at a salon 10 minutes from work.  She was pretty good and I liked her.  But then she moved to a salon very far away.  So Todd asked the ladies at his work and one of them recommended this guy named Jay at a Supercuts near our house.  Jay had been working at a higher-end salon, but the hours were not flexible and he had started going to college to pursue a degree, so he opted to cut hair at Supercuts for less pay per hour but a more flexible schedule.  Both Todd and I LOVED Jay.  Jay’s precision cuts were awesome.  Jay trimmed, cut, layered, and texturized like nobody’s business.  We followed Jay to another salon in the same neighborhood.  But eventually in 2008, Jay finished his undergrad degree, married the guy of his dreams, moved to the suburbs, and started graduate school.  He quit cutting hair at salons.  It was so sad.  Todd and I walked around with long and shaggy hair because we didn’t know what else to do.  Todd started going to a Supercuts near his work, a stylist named Nikki.  So I went as well.  She wasn’t that good.  She wasn’t precise.  She cut my hair in 20 minutes.  She didn’t take the time to layer small sections of hair.  She would grab a handful of hair and start layering.  It wasn’t ugly, but it wasn’t what I was used to. 

The last time Nikki cut my hair was in late April, and that was the last straw.  I sort of felt like my hair was just hacked.  The layers were so uneven that I took some scissors and trimmed my own hair afterwards.  I was not happy.  In June, in desperation, I asked my local friends on Facebook for recommendations.  My friend Cass suggested Laura at Dearinger Salon.  Cass said some magic words like “precision”, “never had a bad haircut from her”, “no one compares”, etc.  That same day, another friend chimed in on Facebook and said that there was a Groupon for that salon, $40 for $100 of hair services.  What a coincidence!  I took it as a sign and bought the Groupon.  I had to let my hair grow for a couple more months though, because the last time I got a cut, well, it was HACKED. 

So finally yesterday, I had my first appointment with Laura.  I had pinned this hair style on Pinterest because I thought I could pull off something similar.


So I printed it out and brought the picture with me.  She said we could do something similar but my hair texture is different so I’ll need to use a curling iron to get the curls.  (I think the model used a curling iron too though.)

Laura spent over an hour on my hair.  I could see the concentration on her face.  She was so precise and cut every little hair exactly.  She took a lot of time layering my hair, then texturizing it with the end of the scissors.  My previous stylist Nikki didn’t know what texturizing was.  Then she blew dry my hair all smooth and flat, which I always think is weird.  I guess because my hair is pretty straight already, I never style it all straight and flat.  I like some volume and body.  But whatever, I came home and re-styled it myself.


Not as pretty as the picture I brought, but definitely a good haircut with more layers.  Todd said this is my best haircut since Jay!  I’m definitely happy with my new hair!  :)

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About This Project

New52 is a project started by Peppermint and I to encourage each other and others around us to try something new every week in 2011. The "new" each week doesn't have to be something big. It could be something as simple as ordering a new dish instead of old standbys at your favorite restaurant. It's simply opening your heart up to NEW possibilities.
Don't worry if you're late getting started on joining in. It's totally OK if you miss a week here or there. We encourage everyone to keep an open mind about trying something new. This is a life project, and a photography/blog and even scrap challenge if you wish. If you participate this week, please leave a link to your blog post in the comments of this post.

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