Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Pull Up a Front Row Seat at the New York Hairshow. Or: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

There was much more to this hairshow than I'm showing here. We pretty much stuck with Nick and his presentations.
Nick Arrojo and models.






Before:

During:



After:





The "New Shag".




Deconstructing the "New Shag".







Love this short cut...






Just in case anyone wants to look like they're wearing a flying saucer on their head...





I think I may have found my next color I want to try...



























































Saturday, April 25, 2009

TTFN!

Ta Ta For Now!

I'm off to the Big Apple this weekend. Hopefully, I'll have some pics for you when I get back. I'm remembering the camera AND extra batteries. Now if the card is mostly empty instead of mostly full, we'll be alright.

I have to keep reminding myself that I'm going for a hairshow. I've been poring over the internet planning out all the places I'd like to go. 

First stop: Museum of Modern Art. 

Anything else is gravy.

Friday, April 24, 2009

One is the Loveliest Number...

I have spent my week in a fantastical daze.
 
In the midst of shampooing and blowdrying I've been fantasizing about today--my day off. Because for the first time in many a moon, I will spend this day off....

ALONE.


If you've read this blog at all, you know that  I love my family but am always craving (and never quite getting enough) time to myself.

This morning, I will wave goodbye to my dear ones as they leave to see his family for the weekend.  An antidote trip for the one I'm taking to New York on Saturday. 

They are leaving today. I'm leaving tomorrow.

*muffled scream*

I can do whatever I want.
 Eat whatever I want.
 Paint for hours.
Watch whatever I want on t.v.
Sew.
Read.
Lay on the grass and stare at the clouds.
I can do stuff I haven't even thought of yet.

And I'll do it alone.
 
Solitarily.
Solo.
Singly.
Unaided.
Unaccompanied.
Unassisted.

By myself.


Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Feeling the Highs of Anticipation and the Lows of...Well, Feeling Low.

Wow it's only Tuesday, but I feel I've felt a whole week's worth of emotions in three short days.

Sunday, for whatever reason, my hubby and I had a rough day together. I suspect he was feeling--something---which led to a loooooong conversation during which I cried most of the time. What can I say. Marriage is that way sometimes. You hit a bump, but once that hill is traversed, life can be smooth sailing again.

But that didn't happen immediately, so I spent half of Monday thinking, considering and generally digesting. I find working with my clients helps take my introspective mind off myself and I must say that my day improved with age.

At the end of this week, I'm flying out to NYC for a hair show. I've been kind of disappointed, because last week I found out that I owe a pretty significant amount for taxes this year and that kind of sucked the joy out of my trip. I feel like if I go I shouldn't spend a penny on anything that isn't Absolutely Necessary. Like food. (But I'm gonna get some GOOD food dangit!) And with that pragmatic approach, I've decided: "Hey. I'm going to New York City, whoopee!"

Today was the best yet. One of my clients today is also one of my good friends. Every time she has her hair done, we make it a point to have lunch together. Not just any lunch but a 2 hour lunch. And let's face it. If lunch is done well it will take a minimum of 2 hours. We love to savor and enjoy our food. We always choose a restaurant (no fast food) and usually we try to visit a place that will be (a.) Delicious and (b.) a Culinary Adventure. Today we tried the only Thai restaurant in town. We hit the culinary jackpot.

After feasting on omelet soup, pad Thai and some sort of catfish "pen kay" (who knows?) we studied the dessert menu. Since we couldn't make up our minds, we chose two desserts: a triple chocolate cheesecake and something with vanilla ice cream and Grand Marnier drizzled fruit. Beyond that we ended up with a couple of ginormous white and dark covered strawberries and a side of mango mousse.

May I say after polishing off our entrees we put serious dents in all of the desserts. Strawberries? Gone. Ice Cream? Only a smattering of fruit remained. Triple Chocolate Cheesecake? Barely enough to divide to take home.

But we did anyway.

Food is wonderful therapy, but this particular friend is also of creative mind. While shamelessly eating off each other's plates, she began telling me about a plot line she has and we began brainstorming using her phone to record some of our ideas. (I thought that was brilliant. My great ideas always evaporate without a trace.)

After asking the wait staff for a wheel barrow to roll us out, she returned me to work. I have retained my sense of well being, feeling that my time with her helped light my creative spark.

My heart feels free, because....

I am me.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Well. That was Anti-Climactic.

So for the last week, I've cleaned, straightened, tidied and generally freshened up. Because there are so many things that need to be done around our house (and we are in the middle of scads of unfinished projects) I am always self-conscious to have company. I girded up my courage in preparation for the family visit.

They arrived a little after 9pm last night. We visited for about an hour and a half then B&SinL went on to a motel I had reserved for them (I didn't have enough beds to go around an I don't think all the blankets in the world would soften a concrete floor.) and the two girls spent the night with us on an air mattress.

This morning we all met up for my girl's soccer game and after that, they were gone. The visit lasted 15 hours.

1 1/2 hours of it, the adults were actually, physically in my house.

That was so not worth the week of freak I did.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

I May Have Actually Grown a Little Bit of Backbone Today.

I did something today that I hated.

I had to confront and employee and tell her she couldn't have something she thought she should have and was taking.

We think we are gracious to our employees in our salon. They have a four day work week, opting to work longer hours in just four days, (9-7 or 10-8) instead of working 9-6 five days a week. The ones who work on Saturdays work from 9-4. We offer the standard 1 week vacation after the first year, after five years, 2 weeks vacation and if they have the fortitude to stick it out for 10 years, a 3 week vacation. (Man, I wish I were still "just" and employee! I'd be taking 3 weeks this year!!)

This particular employee is, overall, a good worker. Occasionally, we've had to have a heart to heart if her attitude seemed to be going south or if she needed a refresher course of our expectations of her.

She starts her week vacation (which somehow ended up to be 10 days long, but that's o.k.) today. The weekend she's due back to work is a prom weekend. It is our policy that stylists do not leave early on "special event" days because, naturally, it will be busy. This particular weekend, this employee will be my most experienced stylist available but a junior stylist will be on hand as well.

Yesterday, as I was trying to make a prom appointment, I realized that she had marked off her book at noon writing underneath that she had a family reunion. I asked if she could accommodate this client and she basically said "yeah, um, if I need to, I will." I replied that I really needed her to work knowing that the junior stylist cannot take on major prom work. (She's a great stylist, but with little experience I won't rely solely on her.) I erased her markings and booked the client.

Today I happened to see her book and again, it is marked out at 12 and the client I booked had been erased. I knew without looking that she had moved it to the other stylist.

I dreaded calling her to confront her about (A.) taking off time without asking for it first and (B.) getting off early on a prom day. I was so nervous I was physically quaking inside.

THAT MADE ME SOOOO MAD!

Here I am, within my rights as an employer, nervous about stating what's right and demanding her to live up to the terms she agreed to as our employee!

I'm sympathetic to the fact that her family is having it's first reunion in a long time and people will be there that she hasn't seen in 10 years. But it's as she stated: "I can't help it the family scheduled a reunion on prom day."

Neither can I, honey.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

They Had Easter Without Me.

This has perhaps been the my most unusual Easter to date.

I woke up this morning with a general feeling of malaise. Since my mind was on the cross of Christ, I imagined a cross shape in my head; my stuffy ears and sinuses intersecting with the soreness of my throat.

Perhaps the best thing for me was laying around on the couch all day surrounded by blankets and pillows, reading material and my laptop. I got off the couch long enough to eat odd pairings of things occasionally. Like a cheese and jelly sandwich, an egg sandwich, and an apple filled with cinnamon and brown sugar. With a slice of cheese on top. Oh, and macaroni and cheese crackers. (Throughout the day...not all in one sitting!)

I found some great blogs and sites like:
Craft Gossip
Blog Catalog
Artsy Mama
The Crafty Apple (she's a cutie-love her headband in her profile pic!)
gibbous fashion advante garde fashion. Incredibly cool.

And because a friend asked me to write a poem for her for a book she's working on, I discovered (much to my relief) RhymeZone rhyming dictionary and thesaurus.

I did manage to wash the inside of a few of my windows in a carry over from yesterday's spring cleaning. My husband had an obligation come up Saturday morning that took him till early afternoon. Then he took our girl to Books a Million. (She loves playing with Thomas the Train.) They left around 5 and were gone a scant two hours. She decided she was much too excited about dyeing eggs to have much time for Thomas that night.

Sigh.

I made some progress. I guess I must be satisfied with what I did accomplish and not dwell on what still needs to be done.

It is what it is.

Company's coming.

Ready or not.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Is There a Hospitality Gene that I Missed?

So, I need to figure out how to get rid of my husband and daughter.

I don't think I need to contact the mafia, however...

I just want to clean the house.

I found out that my brother in law and his family are coming into town next weekend.

Yesterday, I began panicking. The good news is: I toook a few deep breaths (people say it helps, but I think it's overrated) and I'm not panicking anymore.

I've advanced to...

FULL FREAK OUT MODE!!

Thursday, April 2, 2009

The Year's Best Example of Irony

I sent my hubby to the store for some half and half and he came back with 4 bags of groceries. (Memo to self: give hubby exact change for purchase.)

Nevertheless, he, being the thoughtful, considerate man that he is, tried to gear at least some of the purchases toward my desire to maintain an overall healthy diet. Or as he puts it "count calories."

He's always had a romantic streak.

My sweetie was notably concerned this week upon finding out that I've not been taking a mulit-vitamin.

He solved that problem:

It's fabulous.

For a vitamin enriched chemical cocktail.