Hair Trouble

Because I know almost nothing about doing formal hair and makeup, I had a girl that I found on craigslist come over yesterday to meet me and do a trial before Nikki's wedding. She did my makeup really really well, but the hair was less than stellar. I can't really blame her. My hair is so short, an entire updo is really not possible, and there are not a lot of options past that. Here is what she did:



BORING!!!

There was no product in my hair at all, and her attempt with a curling iron to give it a bit of a wave just made it look messy. The whole thing was not that impressive. The makeup though was fantastic. She did a great job with that.

I went to the beauty store today and talked to the lady that worked there. I told her that my hair is NOTORIOUS for not holding a curl for more than a minute, and asked her what I could use. She suggested a specific holding spray, and a 3/4" barrel curling iron. I bought the spray and a pretty clip, and then went over to Target to find the curling iron for a cheaper price. I also bought a strong hold mousse.

I took a shower but made sure to use a small amount of cheap suave conditioner. That crap SUCKS, but it was perfect because it didn't weigh my hair down. I know you're supposed to not shower to make curls stay, but I HATE doing that. I had to shower the night before when I had my hair done for Michelle's wedding, and my hair felt dirty the entire day. Blech.

I then put tons of the mousse in and dried my hair with my fingers rather than a brush. I have to say, this messy drying technique gave my hair a lot more volume, and texture. I then heated up the curling iron and went section by section. I sprayed each section with the holding spray before curling, and it helped keep things nice and tight.

I then used the clip I found and voila!





With hair so short and resistant to curling, I really think this is the best I'm going to be able to do. I'll be one of the only bridesmaids without a complete updo, but whatever, I tried growing my hair out and it just didn't grow fast enough!

What have all of you been up to this weekend?

My Brag Blog

I didn't realize how negative that last blog was until I read it again. I must have been in a crummy mood when I wrote it, lol. So THIS (as requested by Marni) is my Brag blog. Trust me, I have plenty to brag about...I just managed to overlook it all earlier!

October 4th was my 2 year dating anniversary with Brian. Unfortunately, I was down with a cold so we didn't really get to do much, but he surprised me by telling me that he is going to take me to DISNEYLAND for Halloween! This wonderful man remembered a comment I made about the fact that I have never made it out to Disneyland to see it all decked out for Halloween, and decided to surprise me with a weekend trip ON Halloween. How sweet is this man?!?

It really has been the best two years of my life. I don't have to change one single bit of myself around him and can be my silly, slightly crazy, not always ladylike self. He loves me for it, and I love him even more for that. The relationship never feels like work to me, even when we don't see eye to eye. I love being with him, I love everything about him, and this two year marker felt really great. Like I've said before, I can't wait for life to hurry up and happen so I can say "goodnight" to him in person every single night for the rest of my life. :)

KITTIES!!

Layla is adjusting really well, and is getting along much better with Tawny. It was a little iffy at first, but now they even like each other enough to cuddle with one another. They still fight from time to time, but who doesn't? We are both really glad that we brought her into the home, and feel like Tawny is opening up more now that she has another kitty to play with in the house. They chase each other all over the place and get into all sorts of trouble, but it's cute to watch and we love every minute of it.

So hopefully this helps to balance things out from yesterday's post. I have plenty of good things going on and it will probably be helpful to focus more on these things than the craziness that is my life. I've been really really good on my weight watchers and am looking forward to seeing more movement on the scale. It isn't going as fast as I would like, but it IS going which is the most important thing. Worst case scenario I can take the dress in to hopefully have it altered a bit, but I'm hoping that if I stay strong for the next 2 weeks that this won't have to happen.

Only time will tell!

An Update

Thanks to Columbus day, I have the morning off from my placement, and time to write a little update before I have to go to class. I got to sleep in until 8:30 this morning, and it felt fantastic!

Here is what my schedule is looking like nowadays:

Monday: Placement 8-12, School 1:30-7:15
Tuesday: Placement 8-12, School 1:30-4:15, Work 5:15-10pm
Wednesday: Placement 8-4
Thursday: Meetings 8:30-12, School 3-8:45pm
Friday: Work 6:30-9pm

I usually get to see Brian for dinner on Wednesday nights since I only work a regular day and have time to cook after, and on the weekends. It sucks not seeing him more, and I'm really looking forward to the day when we are living together so I don't have to go so long in between!

My placement is working out ok, but it has been full of a lot of stress. This is their first time having MFT Trainees with real caseloads of clients, and they don't quite understand how to balance the workload with the fact that we are only there 16 hours a week. I finally had to put my foot down and draw the line at 6 clients. Fortunately, my boss is good at listening to what we need, and is very flexible. It has just been very stressful in the meantime while waiting for a more realistic workload.

I feel like the placement is taking up all of my energy, and not giving me the time I need to put into the 5 classes I'm currently taking. I am so behind on my reading that it isn't even funny. I don't see myself catching up anytime soon either. I mean damn, when I've been working from 8am-10pm between the various locations, and have an hour or two before bed, the last thing I want to do is academic reading.

blech. I guess I'm just still waiting for all the dust to settle. I'm hoping to see it all settle soon.

In other news, I apparently had a GREAT summer, because I am up 8lbs since May. I bought a dress in May for the wedding I am in on the 24th of this month, and found out about 2 weeks ago that it no longer fits. Not only does it not fit, but the last 2-3 inches won't zip at all. That is a bit of a problem.

Since I had a month before the wedding, I figured I'd go on Weight Watchers hardcore to try to lose the weight. 8lbs, 4 weeks, 2 lbs a week....that seems realistic, right?

Boy was I wrong!

I was SO FRIGGIN GOOD on my points, and my body refused to budge an inch. I was drinking all my water, taking my vitamins, getting all my servings of fruits, veggies, whole grains, and lean protiens. It's like I started my diet on a feakin plateau or something. I'm so used to hearing people talk about how the weight melts off at first, and then starts to taper down. Ha! I wish.

I'm pretty sure that the stress from my life has everything to do with this. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot I can do to reduce stress. My schedule is what it is, and I can't really do anything about it if I plan to graduate any time soon.

Anyway, so I finally saw some movement on the scale this past Saturday morning, and am now down 3.2 lbs for the last two weeks. I was hoping it would be at least 4 for the two weeks, but I've got to say, I'm just happy to see any movement at all. I'm hoping that in the remaining 2 weeks, my body will start to lose weight more steadily, and I can lose the remaining 4.8 lbs. Only time will tell I suppose.

That is pretty much my life in a nutshell right now. ..Ready for life to hurry up and happen, Stressful schedule between 2 jobs and 5 classes, Frustrating weight loss adventures.

What's new with all of you?