Ahhhh.

So. Hi? How are you? It feels like it’s been so long since I’ve written here, but it hasn’t really. Just since Thursday. Once I get out of the habit of posting really regularly, it’s harder to get back in the habit. I’ll try to do better. I promise.

This weekend was sort of blurry in all the getting ready for christmas excitement. Saturday night was my company’s christmas party, and I’ve been meaning to get my hair cut for a while so it seemed like a good day for it. While I was at it I got my eyebrows waxed too (don’t laugh. If I do them, they end up not matching. it’s best to leave these things to the professionals.) In addition to getting my hair cut I decided to get some highlights, so I pretty much abandoned my family for various personal beautification processes.

Superficial Mode ON!

So I’ve dyed my hair red for a long time – 16 years or somewhere thereabouts. I’ve grown it out on occasion but always ended up dyeing it again. Always red. I just like red. However, the downside is that it always fades to a brassy, orange yuck color after 6 weeks and even when I do the touch up, it just seems like that nasty color always comes back, only quicker each time. This is probably due to me being both a cheapskate and doing it myself with Ms. Clairol, and me being greedy and wanting all the fun of doing it myself with Ms. Clairol. So that was a long route to tell you that after 16 years, I’ve managed to not dye my hair red until it’s all pretty much grown out.

However, there’s the problem that my hair is a pretty bland color. When people asked me what my natural color was, I liked to insist that it is a plain paper bag brown, playing up the yuck factor, but in truth, it’s not far from the truth. So while I liked having the brassy orange flavor gone, the plain yuck color was a bit grating. A few of my friends have done highlights with great success, so I’ve been thinking it over for a while. On asking James if I should get highlights, he responded, “Sure, blondes are supposed to have more fun!” Har-dee-har-har. Anyway, this is really a pitifully long story to say, I got some highlights on Saturday along with my haircut, and I like them a lot. I didn’t want to have the “striped” phenomenon that goes along with so many highlight jobs, so instead of bleaching it we choose a dark blonde shade and it’s very subtle and natural looking.

The hair cut was GREAT in the shop, and she styled it wonderfully, it was just exactly what I wanted. However, when I tried to duplicate her efforts in my own bathroom this morning, the result was something that looked kind of like Shaggy from Scooby Doo. Aroooo arrooo??? what’s that Scoob? You say you want some Scooby Snacks? It isn’t pretty. I think I need to purchase yet another size of barrel brush. Next time I’m going to ask for a haircut that doesn’t require brushing while blowing dry – Therein lies the mystery!

So, I’m done talking about the hair, except to tell you about my health. I was doing pretty good, perfectly healthy. Until the hair stylist finished the ‘do and sprayed me down with some hair spray. My hair became a helmet. If I lifted one strand, the entire head of hair came up with it. It was really pretty scary. I didn’t realize what she was doing, that she was using the hair glue from hell, or I would have stopped her, there’s nothing I hate more than helmet hair, but it was too late. And worse, the hairspray that I inhaled had a immediate impact on my nasal cavities and I spent the next two days in NASAL HELL. At the Christmas party, I kept having to blow and wipe my nose and my right eye kept watering strangely. the next day I could not breathe through my nose AT ALL. Swallowing a drink of water became quite an ordeal. Luckily, today has been much better, I think due to the Claritin-D and the nyquil I took last night. (that’s right. I mixed. You’re lucky I didn’t down it all with a shot of Vodka, you wanna make something of it?!) I wonder if I am actually allergic to that brand of hairspray, but somehow I don’t think so, because even in my own bathroom, I have to spray and then RUN out of the room lest any get in my nose and cause me distress FOREVER AND EVER AMEN.

So shall I talk about the eyebrows now? No, I’m just kidding. Enough with the superficial talk. I hope you clicked on the cute image in the previous post and took a gander at the pictures from the Santa Train. Can you tell just how enamored that boy is of trains? It’s pretty cute.

Did you watch Saturday Night Live on Saturday? Or later, on your Tivo? There was one sketch that seriously made me laugh out loud. I haven’t actually laughed at an SNL bit in years, but this one did it.

Dr. Pibb + Red Vines = CRAZY DELICIOUS!