it WAS my anniversary (hair)

It's been 2 years (and 2 weeks) since my dad said, "Are you really going to leave the house looking like that?" Several arguments and raggedy ass comments later, he's finally reached the point of acceptance.

It's also interesting to witness my son go from indifference to begging me to allow him to grow a mini-afro of his own. And we did that during the first 5 months of this year. He recently cut it off for the summer, but would like to grow it back again ASAP. He now offers his unsolicited opinion of how "I don't look right" with my hair in a ponytail as he prefers it "all over my head."

What a difference 2 years make...

(June 13, 2009)

(June 28, 2011)

(June 12, 2009 - blurry, I know)

(June 28, 2011)

My 6-month healthy hair challenge ends July 1st. I retained more length than I thought I would considering how I wear my hair out 90% of the time. I also manipulate/retwist every night (when it's not in a ponytail) to keep it from tangling. (Everything that I've read that you shouldn't do to retain length). The things that most likely worked to my advantage may be product consistency, deep conditioning after every wash, being extra careful during my detangling sessions, and overall keeping it simple.

(January 1, 2011)

(June 28, 2011 - It goes under my chin and touches my neck)

(January 1, 2011)


(June 28, 2011)


(January 1, 2011)


(June 28, 2011 - beware of the CLAW, lol)

I usually get the 2 year itch to cut my hair off, but I'm gonna hold out for a minute. I haven't henna'd in ages, but I think that I'd like to try it again, so that I can darken my hair with indigo. I know that the summer inspires many to go lighter, but I think that darker hair looks better against my skin tone and I'm hoping that it imparts more shine (and lays the smack down on these 3 gray hairs that have sprouted up, lol).

hou.se hun.ters

So, my episode of Hou.se Hunt.ers aired last Thursday (too lazy to find the link to the blog that I wrote about my filming experience, but it's around here somewhere :o). The couple that I helped out had a mini-watch party at their not-as-new home. I've always wanted to be on HGTV. Although not necessarily in this way, but it's a start, right?

I debated on whether or not to announce it b/c I wanted to preview it. After all, I had gotten up early, thinking that I would've filmed my scene first, but fell asleep while waiting for my big break. The things that I thought that they would've shown, they didn't. The things that I don't remember saying while filming, they did. And while watching, all I could focus on were my cheeks. It looked as if the camera added 10 pounds to my face and my hair wasn't as long as it is now to detract from them.

But aside from that, it was fun to watch...especially after 3-4 glasses of wine. My fam kept texting me and ribbing me. It was all good.

Unexpectedly, they ended up showing my loft/office and it looked fabulous. I'm still waiting on Can.dice Ols.en to call and ask me to cohost Di.vine De.sign. They did not show my living room, which I thought, was the money shot. But perhaps that was for the best. I made mention of my emotional decorating in my last post. I recently painted over the red accent wall in my living room that I have been enamored with for the past 3 or 4 years. I remember when I painted it...all 5 coats of it since I didn't buy primer (too lazy to find the link to the blog that I wrote about my painting experience, but it's around here somewhere :o).

Initially, I didn't want to cover it b/c that would negate all of my hard work back then, but it was time for a change. Plus, I needed something to do since J was leaving me. So, I picked up some cinnamon paint to brighten things up a bit.

Ignore the orange blotch. I was trying to see if I preferred something brighter, but after staring at the blotch for a day, I covered it back up with more cinnamon paint. I'm pretty happy with my decision since it brings out the terra cotta undertones in my slate countertop and coffee table. Also, it compliments the other walls that one sees when they walk through my front door.

Now, I'm walking around with a hammer and a screwdriver, looking for other things to do to my house while I'm missing my baby.

the goings on

Thanks to everyone that congratulated me in my last post. I really appreciated it. So much has happened since then. Now that my son has left me for the summer (hopefully, only a month), I'll devote more time to tell some stories. I should b/c otherwise, my missing him will lead to other impromptu decorating decisions...like painting over my red wall in my livingroom. Yes, I did that. I have since put the paint brush down and backed away slowly.

I reached my 2 year natural anniversary a little over a week ago, but my camera is acting funny, so I didn't bother doing a special post. I'll figure this out later. But 2 years ago, I had about as much hair as my son has in the above pic taken on my birthday.

I turned 33 last week. YAY to 33! I tell you one thing, I love who I am in my 30s. Yes, I still have problems and things don't always go my way but it's different. You couldn't pay me to revisit my twenties. Seven of my girlfriends here celebrated with me during a Sunday birthday brunch at a fabulous French-themed restaurant. No big hats this year. I DID overdo it on the mimosas, but it WAS long overdue. Since my idea of going out is browsing the aisles of Home De.pot when on break from baseball games and cubscout meetings, my girls encouraged me to down another one...and another one. I was rather "nice" by 1:00pm. We just sat and enjoyed each other's company until I sobered up...somewhere around 5:00pm. :o)

Since passing my exam, I've had my Performance Evaluation and it went great. Now, I'm just waiting to see if the next raise matches the review. But that's not even the sweetest part in all of this.

I'll close out this random post with one of my little stories. I did contact my former supervisor...you know, the one that said that he can no longer afford me the day after I returned from vacation 2 years ago. Anyway, I thanked him and some other gentlemen for writing my recommendations for my exam application and let them know that I passed...extending the olive branch. Now, I may be childish but I still have a slightly bad taste in my mouth over the way things went down. And on top of that, I didn't like how he gave my former coworker a bad review when contacted by my current employer. I was trying to get him hired at my company when he was laid off by them (with a family to feed and an unemployed wife), but my ex-supervisor told them, "I wouldn't trust him with his own projects." I found this to be rather odd b/c he was telling my ex-coworker one thing and apparently, letting everyone else know something totally different. Needless to say, my company didn't grant my friend so much as an interview.

Fast forward to now, he writes me back to tell me congratulations. But in the same email, he asks if my company has any openings, b/c he'd like to get on. Come to find out, since I had been laid off, this dude was demoted from VP, had to swallow a pay cut, and had his decisions questioned until he finally decided to leave my former place of employment. I was tripping out, b/c the same man that couldn't afford me 2 years ago was asking ME about a job. How ya like dem apples? So, I kept it cool. I asked him to forward me his resume and told him that I'll make sure that the VP receives it. I held true to my word and sent it off. Part of me felt like I owed him "something" since he did hire me. The VP then calls me in his office and asks me questions about my ex-supervisor. I struggled to answer b/c I didn't want to bad mouth the man b/c that reflects more on me than that man. All I could think was that ever since this dude had brain surgery, he hasn't been right, but I didn't exactly know how to phrase it. I was finally asked, rather bluntly, about the man's performance. My honest opinion...

"Well, I can't say much, but...I wouldn't trust him with his own projects." I guess the OTHER part of me felt that I owed him "something else". HA! A setback is a set-up for a comeback, baby!