A Confession From A Hair Stylist

I am a hair stylist.

When that sentence escapes my mouth people automatically assume I live and breathe hair. I do love doing hair and I do spend a fair amount of my 'free' time reading/looking up things about hair. After all, it is my profession of choice. Living and breathing it? So far from the truth.

I don't actually want to stay late at work doing someones hair. I've been there 10 hours. We are closed. Get out. I don't want to do your hair on my day off. I don't care if you are paying me or not. I definitely don't want to do your hair if you are wanting it done for free. Of course, there are exceptions to those rules. Family, another hair stylist, or a cute guy. I'm game. Lets do it.

I don't know everything there is to know about hair. Wait, what? Yes, that is right. I'm not a walking hair encyclopedia. I don't know why your hair is thinning out. I don't know why your hair grows uneven. I don't know why your friends brothers sister mother hair won't grow. I just don't know.

I also don't know how to do everything involving hair. Sure, I can learn these things and most of the time I do. Ask me to french braid your hair down the middle and I might laugh in your face. Ask me to start your french braid on the side of your head and I'm your girl! See? Not a hair wizard.

Sometimes I really just want to tell people these things but I can't. They don't mean anything by it. They probably have no idea. Smile and move on.

If it isn't obvious I have had a long day at work.
I'll be feeling hair-tastic tomorrow.
Sometimes you just run low on faith and gasoline.

5 Ways To Help Yourself Have A Good Day

1. Wake up! - How simple is that! Can you imagine how sad the day would be if you didn't wake up!

2. Breathe - Sometimes when the day is getting to me I just stop for a moment and breathe. Sometimes that moment even happens before I even leave my bed.

3. Smile - I really think if you just keep a smile on your face your whole day will be filled with smiles. Your mood will better and the people you encounter will have better moods, too.

4. Be kind - Something as simple as opening a door for someone will make you feel all nice inside.

5. Do less - Now I could just be lazy but when I feel like I'm overloaded I just make a list of what is important today and what can wait until tomorrow. I feel a lot better when I'm not overwhelmed.

It is a pretty generic list but it does the job. Maybe I will make a list of the specific things that make me have a better day.

Eye Took It Off

I was pretty reluctant to wear make-up when I was a teenager. My best friend likes to joke that she practically had to hold me down to get me to wear it. Once I was off and running with it I don't know if there were many days where I didn't wear make-up. I have never worn a lot of make-up. It all looks fairly natural minus the eyeliner. I have been an eyeliner lover and wearer since the beginning of my make-up time.

I felt weird without eyeliner on. I didn't feel like me. To even drive the point home when I did brave the world without my usual eyeliner I would get told that I "looked funny" and people would ask me if I was tired or sick. I think that if anything at all had more to do with never leaving the house without a full face on. I wanted people to think I was pretty and I felt like without my eyeliner I would never achieve that.

I've had a lot of things happen recently in my life that has just left me drained. To the point that I rarely want to get out of my PJ's let alone put on my trusty eyeliner and other make-up. Don't worry about me, though. I'm a trooper. Anyway, that has left me with another problem. Facing the world without make-up or rather without as much make-up. Honestly, I'm not ready go all the way. I'm not that brave...yet.

So, I went a week without my eyeliner. I went out of state. I saw family. I saw friends. I went to work. I went to doctor appointments. I went to my child's school. I went shopping. I have done everything I normally do and I have done it fine. I lived. I made it through. I didn't die because I didn't have my eyeliner on. I got complimented. I got insulted. It was a pretty scary adventure. Don't even think for a second this is a silly matter.

This isn't a post about caring about what people think about me. This isn't a post about how awful I think make-up is now.

It is just about me being comfortable with me.

A Project In The Making

My grandmother passed away on April 20th. Just last week. Doesn't really seem all that real even after the celebration of life service. My heart is hurting as is everyone else's heart in my family. She was a pretty amazing woman and really passionate about cooking. You would never leave her house with your tummy not full. That is even if she knew you or not. Her kitchen was always open.

When I was staying at her house for her service this week I was in her kitchen quite a bit putting out food for all of the people stopping by and family visiting. I was surrounded by her recipes. Her wonderful amazing recipes that I have warmed my heart and belly since I was just a baby.

I gathered all of the recipes that she had written and made copies of them late one night. What better way to remember my grandmother always then with her own handwriting and her own recipes.

Now what to do with them is the question. I'm thinking a beautiful scrapbook will do them justice.

That is my project in the making

April Flowers

I like putting flowers in my vintage Coke bottles.

Recycle, reduce, reuse.

The Bull

After another long day dealing with...well, life. I sat down and started watching television just to get my mind off of everything. I find that junk TV sure is a great medicine if you want to just stop thinking about what the day brought to the table. But even a television show can deliver quite a punch.

The show was about a failing business. The owner needed help and basically someone was brought in to help him. She brought him somewhere where there was a mechanical bull. He tried to ride and fell off. He tried again and rode it for a little longer before falling off again.

It is a pretty straight forward lesson. When life throws you on the ground, pick yourself up and keep on trying. This message can be taught with a bull, lemons, a horse or whatever. Even though it is a 'duh' message it was definitely something I needed to hear right now.

These last couple months have been trying at best.

So, here I am looking right and that bull and saying 'bring it'.

blog  

/blôg/

Noun A Web site on which an individual or group of users record opinions, information, etc. on a regular basis.

Verb Add new material to or regularly update a blog. -------------- I've always had a blog/journal online since I was about fourteen years old. The last two years without one felt strange. When I need a place to vent or rave I had no where to go. I need that place. My only little place on the web. Here I am. I don't know about this "on a regular basis" business but I will give it a shot. Who knows.