Thursday, August 27, 2009

Dating a new Stylist

I cut out from work early yesterday to hit up a hair appointment. The girl I've been seeing for the last 18 months has moved on from Gene Juarez and in her place I scheduled an open appointment with a new stylist.

Meeting a new hair stylist always feels like a first date. I have certain criteria that a stylist must meet in order for drinks to lead to dinner. For instance, I can't see a short haired stylist... under any circumstances. I don't trust stylists with short hair. My experience has been that every hairstylist with the latest Victoria Beckham bob is absolutely convinced that I should to the same. I have to explicitly state that I am a long haired girl. I can't do short hair... I tried it once and it was awkward. I have a very round face with gigant pumpkin sized cheeks. Short hair accentuates that and it's not a good look.

I feel my second requirement is reasonable. The stylist has to be self styled in an acceptable manner. I remember being given a gift certificate to a Redmond salon with a snazzy name. I walked into the salon and saw my proposed stylist with a forehead full of '80's jumbo curling iron styled bangs I pivoted and walked out the exit. This may seem harsh and rude but saving $70 on a haircut is not worth a forehead full of hairsprayed bangs or a perm of any kind!

My third requirment is that my hairstylist can not look like she moonlights at any seedy establishments including tatoo parlors, strip clubs, and/or punk rock venues. I know this sounds a little WASPy but it has less to do with those establishments and more to do with personal preference. I'm a little too J. Crew to pull of any types of spikes, neon colors, or anything involving a razor. Plus, I believe my job may frown.

My stylist yesterday passed the three preliminary checkpoints in that she appeared normal. We discussed the cut I was looking for and we decided to move on from drinks and go to dinner - metaphorically speaking. 8 inches later I had fresh, fun, and healthy hair. Loved it!

But.... We were short on time and when she went to style it, she started by taking pieces of my hair and twisting it into dreadlocks circa early 2000 Jennifer Anniston at the Oscar's with a very unshaven Brad Pitt. I became nervous. In my head I was questioning why a discussion did not take place first. These dreadlocks were an awfully broad assumption for our first date... It was as if we had been dating for years and she thought it would be fun to change it up. This felt like the equivolant of being introduced to the waiter as the Girlfriend on the first date!

As the frizz on my head grew and grew, my face began to twitch slightly and I found myself chewing on my lip wanting to speak up but being afraid of coming across as difficult. All of a sudden out of no where my knight with shiny scissors interviened and offered to help. She was an older woman who was probably in her 40's. She was dressed in a simple skirt with a flower patter and a white dress covered with a black vest. She looked like she could be a kindergarten teacher. Her hair was cut a little below shoulder length and she had faint highlights. Whatever styling she had to offer would at least be in the realm of normal. She got to work defrizzing the golden halo that had grown around my forehead. While she was working she asked me questions about my life and talked about her children. I started to become more comfortable. She put away the god awful diffuser and brought out the curling iron. I thought thank goodness, a tool my hair responds to. Gone were the promises of heavily textured beach hair and my fears this was something more appropriate for Hemp Fest and in came the casual wavy curls.

Perfect - and that is how I met my new stylist!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

A Day at the Lake

Over the weekend I had my basketball team and their families up to my parents lake house. Some of my friends came over on Saturday to help me assemble cupcakes. Poor boyfriend looked a little lost surrounded by that many teenaged girls. The girls and their families are all so nice and we had ended up having a great Sunday at the lake!


Monday, August 17, 2009

Weekend Update

Friday night boyfriend and I headed out to one of my favorite Seattle restaurants Chinooks. When I was a kid my aunt worked for a travel agency next door to the restaurant. We used to go the restaurant and I would always order clam chowder and dip their fabulous bread in it!
After dinner we headed to the driving range to work on our swing. Ummm my swing needs a lot of work but boyfriend seemed to find his and sent those golf balls flying!

Saturday we went to a friend's BBQ at the Normandy Beach Club. It was really fun to BBQ on the beach. We even made S'Mores which I hadn't had in forever!





All in all it was a great weekend:-)

Friday, August 14, 2009

Resilliancy

Resently this week I had a girl who I worked with at the Group Home over for homemade pizza. She's had a rough summer but things have started to stablilize for her. I got to her know her girlfriend a little bit and she seemed very nice. We joked and laughed about some of our crazy memories from our time there.

I dropped the girls off at their apartment and they were really proud to show the new furniture they purchased from Ikea and it was appearant how two girls who grew up being shuffled between foster homes and group homes found such a haven finally having their own place to call home. I am really proud and impressed with these two young adults.

After I got home Boyfriend and I were talking about how resilliant some people are. Everyone is born into situations that present challenges and the idea of "equal footing" that was big during the Affirmative Action days of the '90's has become an unattainable goal that we can continue to strive for. However, foster children tend to get lost in the mix and foster children are faced with hardships that are completely unique to their demographic and the reality of the situation is that the majority of these kids will not become functioning members of society. Their situation is as close of a guarantee to failure as any lot in life is. They are forced to overcome a multitude of hardship that many of us will never be faced with and they have to do that at a young age with virtually no adult help or guaidance.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Breath of Fresh Air



Last night I met a good friend of mine from my days at Marquette for dinner. We went to a Belltown spot called Black Bottle and caught up on the last few years. It's so funny how facebook provides the outline and catching up is really just about filling in the cracks!

Anyways, Michelle is just an amazing girl and catching up last night was such a breath of fresh air. She's so down to earth and has accomplished so much. I couldn't fathom being a first year teacher and an MU grad student at the same time!! That's crazy. Her and her fabulous boyfriend LaRoy (who unfortunately didn't make his way out to Seattle) both have roots here and will be coming back over the Thanksgiving Holiday. I'm looking forward to them meeting Boyfriend. Although a little nervous for what embarrassing stories could come out of that meet and greet. Those two have a lot of dirt from my college days! After that I will be putting "Mission: Michelle and LaRoy Seattle Relocation" into full effect:-)

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Restless


I'm a girl who's prone to restlessness. It is not in my nature to conform to structure, rules, and expectations. You know, they are really no big deal - only the key ingredients necessary for success in adulthood. Some people thrive under those terms but not me. I'll do ok for a little while. I'll put my head down and work hard but I inevitably platue until I start to feel confined. At that point I dream of ditching the expectations and shedding the stress that hitched on to it.


I love change and spontainaity and most of all I love feeling free. There's an amazing feeling you have when your only obligation is to yourself and the things and people you choose. To have ownership over your time is freedom and the feeling of freedom is bliss.


I'm ready for an adventure. Not the kind that you plan out and save for but the kind that allows you to jump in the car without a clue of where you're going, how you'll get there, or what you'll do. I want the kind of adventure that allows you to turn your phone off and not tell a soul but return a changed and better person with a fresh perspective.


I'm dreaming of hippy clothes and tousled hair that requires no electronics. I want unlimited funds a sun so scorching the thought of wearing socks is laughable.... I want to be surrounded by languages I don't understand and smells that make my nose wrinkle in unfamiliarity. I want to take dozens of pictures and eat food recently removed from the ground.... I want to feel removed from obligations and drenched in newness.... I want to raise some eyebrows and continue on my unplanned way.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

David Hasselhof and Cher Horowitz


Is it just me or does David Hasselhoff's house pictured above look exactly like Cher's house from Clueless? Such an influential movie during my youth!

Monday, August 3, 2009

10 Things You May Not Have Known About Me

So my friend at Every Day Delights requested this a while ago and here it is:
  1. I love being barefoot. If barefoot is not an option, flip flops are option B. I wish I could wear flip flops all year long!
  2. If I could have any job in the world I would be Doris Buffet. She is Warren Buffet's sister and heads up the Sunshine Lady Foundation. She donates money to nonprofits, causes, and individuals she feels could benefit from a financial contribution. People from all over the world write letters asking for financial assistance and she is able to fill those wishes. I couldn't imagine a better career.
  3. On my way to my first date with David I hit a parked car and spilled a pink energy drink all down the front of my sweater. I arrived quite the hot mess and yet he loved me anyways.
  4. My fingernails are almost always covered in chipped polish. I secretly feel a little rebelious and non comformist with my chipped nail polish and I hardly ever use polish remover. I like to pick the polish off myself.
  5. I love to play sports and be active. I'm happiest when I'm outside doing something physical, whether it's on the extreme side like skiing powdery black diamonds or if it's on the mellow side like playing corn toss. If it's outdoors and active I'm a happy girl!
  6. My family nickname growing up was Boo and after a few months of dating Boyfriend started calling me Boo without knowing that was my nickname growing up. So Boo carried on into adulthood.
  7. I don't have an artistic bone in my body. I'm tone deaf and my drawing skills never really evolved past stick figures. In my quest for an artistic outlet I go on craft binges where I create so-so gifts and personalize everything insite. I've also found a love of gardening. I have some tomatoes, sunflowers, and Zinnia's that are thriving in my small garden.
  8. I plan to adopt a foster child. Probably not any time soon but at some point I would like to. There are so many amazing kids in the world who have been dealt a horrible hand in life and are in need of a good home. At some point in my life I hope to provide that oppurtunity to a child. I really believe that every child deserves to grow up in a stable and loving household.
  9. I love the smell of new construction and saltwater beaches. New construction that smells like sawdust and caulking and sheetrock makes me feel like home. I think it's because my dad did so many construction projects growing up. I also love the smell of drift wood on saltwater beaches. It's a smell that's unique to the Pacific Northwest but it reminds me of my grandpa because his beach cabin always smelled like that.
  10. In my head I'm absolutely convinced that someday I'm going to win the lottery. Boyfriend and I love to talk about what we would do if we won the lottery. We always talk about the people we would help and how we wouldn't want our lives to change too much. I always say my splurge would be spending a week in the summer taking surf lessons in a tropical location and a week skiing the most amazing powder in the winter.

A fun weekend

Gosh I wish I had pictures from this weekend!! On Saturday my co-worker Dave and his wife Yulia joined boyfriend and I up at the Lake House. We BBQ'd and went inner tubing. My favorite part of the night was playing Catch Phrase with the two couples and my Dad. It was a lot of laughter and fun.

On Sunday my girlfriends from high school came up and we had a girls day on the lake. Carol, Brynn, and Meghan all wakeboarded for the first time and they impressed the heck out of me for first timers. The girls were the bests guests and each brough yummy food and snacks. It made hosting super easy. I had such a great time and wish I could see them more often!

I'm also grateful to my parents who have given me the open invitation to invite guests up to the cabin. It's a fun casual spot to entertain.

Sunday night I went home to the cleanest house I've ever seen! Boyfriend unpacked and decluttered our house. A chore I volunteered for and then procrastinated long enough to know that he would master it. He even finished setting up my bathroom. It was the best surprise! We then snuggled up and watched the new episode of Entourage. It was a great weekend:-)