My hair and I have issues

I have nice hair, decent hair. Have had decent hair for pretty much my entire life. I've never dyed it (well, other than those washout ones and of course sun in), never bleached it, never done anything but your basic hair care.

I always see these women around me with this amazing hair. Somehow they know how to use all those products next to the shampoo and conditioner. And not only that, they can strategically place bobby pins to make their hair stay up for hours on end. HOURS. They can make the curl stay in for hours. They can keep their hair in one style for HOURS. I have no idea how they do this. I've been perplexed for years.

Then, I get a few friends that went to cosmetology school. Where they teach you all about this stuff. And not only that, but how to wear makeup, what colors look good on you, and all that stuff.

I've had three of those friends in the past six years. They have done amazing things for me, my face, and my hair. Three years ago, I didn't know what a flat iron was. I KNOW!! What, did I grow up under a rock or what! I learned how to set my foundation, and how to put eye makeup on my deep set eyes. I learned about hair wax, hair smoother's, stuff that helps to hold curl, and a ton of other stuff.

I actually have a friend here, that I met two years ago at a different Army post, who just happens to be one of those used-to-have-her-own-salon-but-is-a-SAHM-now hair people. She cuts my hair and the kids hair. She'll come to my house, or I go to hers. Our kids play while she makes my hair look better. She shares her hair secrets. Well, at least they are secrets to me because I never knew them. She is awesome. (not to mention gorgeous. seriously gorgeous.)

Now, at the ripe old age of over 30, I now know how to do my hair. I now know how to wear makeup properly. No more buying green eyeshadow for me.:)

A few memories

While our family has always celebrated Thanksgiving, it's never been my favorite or one that I particularly look forward to.

But. There are a few memories of Thanksgiving that I wanted to share.

I think this was when all of us kids were still living at my parents, which means this was a long time ago. Anyway, we weren't with any extended family, it was just my parents and us six kids. The meal was the normal Thanksgiving fare. One thing though, is that we ate off of copper plates, drank out of copper cups, and everything was served out of a copper dish. It was as if a copper mine had exploded at our table. My mom has a thing for it, and I hate it. Terrible stuff to clean, turns your fingernails green..... oh, yeah, back to what I was saying.....so after we ate, we were all pretty tired. I am not sure exactly why, but we all ended up laying on the floor (ok, this was a really long time ago because there was still carpet in the dining room) and sleeping for the next hour or so. All of us. I don't remember where my parents were, but I'm pretty sure they were sleeping too. When we woke up, even though it was more than an hour later, there was still ice in our cups. Copper can really keep things cold.

Another year, everyone but one of my brothers and I was in Utah for Thanksgiving. I don't remember why. So, he and I went out to my aunts for Thanksgiving. I had recently bought a car. It was not a great car. The heater never turned off. You hit a bump in the road and the radio might change stations, get louder, or even turn off. I didn't have a rear view mirror. But, gosh darn it, it was my car. We took that out to my aunts. I grew up in Southern California. In Los Angeles County. Even at Thanksgiving, we wear shorts and t-shirts. We were stuck in traffic going out to my aunts out in Riverside. It was boiling hot inside my car and out. My brother thought he was going to die. Poor guy.

What are your Thanksgiving memories. (darn question mark key. still won't work!!!!)

Conversations at the gym

I've been going to the gym every day for about two weeks now. And I'm loving it. There are several women from church that go to this same gym, and we usually chat while we're there. One of the topics of conversation always seems to be what we don't like about our bodies. What we'd like to change, that sort of thing. I mean, we are at the gym. We are making a pretty big effort to change what we can. With these conversations we always seem to be get to the boob job, liposuction and tummy tuck part of the conversation.

And, you know, I was really thinking about having a tummy tuck once I was done having kids. I have to have c-sections, and that little area right above my scar will never go down, no matter how much I exercise. I don't know if I'll actually do it, but it's just a thought. I have a few other areas that are, in my eyes, a bit lacking.


A month or so ago, I read this. It's like Pygmalion gone wrong. I could not believe what I was reading. That this man married her for her potential, and then operated on her himself. Turned her into something that she isn't. If you look at her before picture, there isn't anything wrong with her. She looks beautiful to me. Then you look at the after picture. She looks terrible. And then you look at the guy. And somehow it took almost $30,000 of plastic surgery for him to "fall in love" with his wife. Holy hell. Who is this man and why does he think so highly of himself. (ok, just pretend there is a question mark there. I'm having issues with that key right now.)

This morning, like most other mornings, the subject came up again. And while I would love to have a cup size bigger than an A, while I'd love to have a behind that actually filled out the back of my pants instead of being flat as a pancake, I'll take the body I was given. My husband didn't marry me for my potential and sees no need for me to surgically alter anything. He loves me the way I am, and wants me to be healthy. And I agree.

So, I've decided. No more conversations at the gym about this stuff. I'm going to stick to other topics of conversation, like how crappy the weather is, what is going on with my kids, and what I'm going to do that day. Or a million other things. Because it's not even worth talking about.

A little early

I'm thinking about being thankful tonight. I've seen people on Facebook posting one thing every day that they are thankful for. And while it's still over a week until Thanksgiving, I'm going to do my thankful list now.

~I am thankful that this year is almost over! It's been a terrible year for many reasons. Can't wait until 2010 and this year is all behind me.

~I am thankful for neighbors that watch my children so that I can go to the store by myself.

~I am thankful for rubber gloves. Without them I would never do dishes or clean a bathroom.

~I am thankful for the Internet. Specifically Skype. I get to talk to my husband up to 2 times a day, and I get to see him while I talk to him. And my kids get to see their dad. Can't beat that.

~I am thankful for the basics. Hot and cold running water, toilets that work, electricity, heat, a home, food, and vehicles that work.

~I am thankful for the military and what it has done for our family. It has made us financially stable, given us many good friends, and amazing experiences.

~I am thankful that I'm a member of the LDS church.

~I am thankful that I can bear children.

~I am thankful that I can call up any of my brothers and sisters and have a good conversation with any of them.

~I am thankful for all these modern conveniences like digital cameras, cell phones, computers, external hard drives, DVD players, DVR's, and TV's.

~I am thankful for Facebook. While sometimes it seems like a black hole that I get sucked into, I have found old friends that I otherwise never would have heard from again.

~I am thankful for my kids.

~I am thankful for friends that are still my friends no matter if we live next door, or 2500 miles away, or are on the other side of an ocean.

~I am thankful for good chocolate. And for my brother who is sending me good chocolate and a friend that is sending me good chocolate. You cannot have enough good chocolate.

~I am thankful for a garage so that when we go to the car, we don't get soaking wet.

~I am thankful that my husband loves me and thinks that I look good even when I just wake up in the morning.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I hope you're able to spend it with family or good friends where ever you are.

My little secret

While my children are watching Monsters vs. Aliens, I think I'll blog a bit.

I have a secret.

It's the shows that I watch at night. It's an old show, but they still play it late at night on some random channels, so I record it. And I love it.

I spend my evenings cross stitching, eating whatever I happen to feel like, and watching Frasier. That's right. Frasier.

My aunts and uncles watched Cheers a lot growing up. And I think when Frasier was really the thing to watch, I was either in high school, or just not into watching sitcoms. But I have discovered it, and it is so stinking funny!!! The comedy is smart stuff, not that nasty, dirty stuff. I find it much more interesting than lame shows like Melrose Place, One Tree Hill and all the rest of that sort of crap. Well, I do watch Dancing with the Stars and Glee, but other than Frasier and the occasional Law and Order, that is all I watch.

Well, and the morning line up of PBS kids. I think I've seen every episode of Sid the Science kid.

Decisions decisions

I know a while back I had mentioned something about our FRG leader. And about a month ago, I decided that rather than whine and complain about her doing nothing, I would try and be supportive of her. I sent her an email about possibly hosting a meeting at my house, and asked for her number so that I could call her. I called, and we made plans for an FRG meeting. I thought that maybe she just needed some support. And I had talked to a few others within our unit, and there weren't a lot of good things being said about her. Which really is not helpful if you're trying to get people to work together and be supportive of each other. Anyway.......... I hadn't heard from her since I had called her. I sent her an email yesterday asking who had RSVP'd, if there was anything else I could do to help her, and that it might be a good idea to send out a reminder email. Instead of a response, we all got an email today saying that she was stepping down from the position due to personal issues.

So now we are without an FRG leader. Really thinking about doing it. I know of at least two other people who would help with being treasurer, and with the organization end of things. I also know that Christmas is coming, and if we're going get things together as a unit to send to our guys, it has to be done now. And if there isn't someone in charge, nothing will be done.

You know, I've been the president of our local church's women's organization, and I can't imagine that it would be any more difficult than doing that. But I only did that for six months. The potential for failure is huge. But the potential for success is also huge! I feel strongly that when done right, the FRG can be a huge support for our soldiers and families. I know I benefited from it when we lived in Germany. I feel lucky that no matter where I move, I have the church that is an instant support system. I would like to offer that kind of support to people in our unit.

So, now is the decision time. I am very very nervous! I keep going back and forth, trying to decide if it's worth it, if I can handle being the FRG leader and all the rest of the stuff going on in my life, whether or not my emotional health will survive it, if I will be able to actually help our soldiers and our families. And really, if it's even worth it. I don't want to do it and then step down after a few months. If I'm going to commit to it, I want to stick to it.

I'm going to sleep on it. Maybe a few times. I have to figure it out soon. Things need to get started.