A Hairy Tale

My lower left leg looks like a mangy dog.

I guess I should start at the beginning.

It all started almost a year ago when I searched high and low for a plain razor. A no-muss, no-fuss, no extra-moisturizing strip. A plain ole' razor. 

After finding myself looking through every department and drug store within a 2500 mile radius, I've come to the conclusion that they just don't make them anymore.

Ok, maybe that last statement was a bit of an exaggeration. The exact mileage from my front door in Arizona to the front door to where I live now is only 2105.57 miles. And they do, in fact, make razors that don't have a strip. It's just that those razor's are always a generic brand, and they will cut you up like a wood chipper on a good day. 

Oh, and if you leave them in the shower for half a second, they rust. 

I'm not even kidding.

You can imagine I was getting tired of shredding my legs to bits with rusty razors, so I bit the bullet and bought those expensive ones with the lubricating strip. Which I personally feel is a gimmick, but what could I do? The people at Gillette had me by the legs.

I don't like that sneaky, slick strip for one reason alone: I swear they dull the blade quicker, ensuring that I will go through them twice as fast, forcing me to buy more!  I know what you're thinking. Your thinking that my corse, crazy-growing hair could be the part of the problem, but I am telling you, it's just not so. 

I could cry defeat, wave my white flag, and turn my eyes from a scheme, but its the principle, you know? You have to know what to fight for.

About three weeks ago I decided to take a bold stand... if you saw my legs right now, you would know how bold.

As some of you know our home in AZ has yet to sell.  As a result I have resorted to waxing my own eyebrows. My sister-in-law, and AZ hair guru, told me what to buy and it's been working like a charm. 

There were a few times I wasn't sure I would walk out of the bathroom with all my eyelashes, but for the most part, my gig working with wax has been successful, and has saved me a monthly expense. 

I got to thinking... if I could wax my own eyebrows, how hard could it be to wax my own legs?

Famous last thoughts.

Let's just say its not exactly easy. Which is why my left lower leg now looks like a sorry dog with the mange.

Oh, and my fingers keep sticking to the keyboard. Honee Wax is sticky stuff.

So here is my dilemma, do I just call it quits, and go grab a lubed up razor? Or should I go see a professional and ask for a discount since she'll only have to do one-and-a-half-legs? 

It's Gonna Be Good, Y'all

You might want to sit down for this post.

Y'all, there has been a Thanksgiving Miracle at the La Vida Household. I can barely type through my excitement.

I could've entitled this post When I Found Her I Knew but I am hoping that this post isn't entirely about my hair.

My appointment went exceedingly well yesterday. Not only did she give me a fabulous hair cut, but she also trimmed The Girl's hair and I didn't have to take out a loan to pay for it. Then, when I asked about whether or not she might be able to help me out with my unfortunate "grey hair" issue, she said, "Yep, I do it all."

It was then I sheepishly asked, "Um, what about unsightly facial hair? Do you take care of that too?"

"You bet."

Hallelujah! 

As it turns out, I knew her. Her boys went to the pre-school that I taught at when we were here last time. 

She has the cutest little shop attached to her house. I'm going back in two weeks to get my roots done and to tame the eyebrow.

Moving on to other things....

The Girl had her first horse riding lesson on Saturday afternoon.

My little animal lover has been asking for riding lessons for a long time. We have a sweet gal at our church who owns two horses and has generously offered to give The Girl some lessons. We bundled up and headed out in 40 degree weather for a trial lesson; just to let The Girl get a feel for being around such a big animal, and to see if she really did wanted to continue after seeing all the work involved in this hobby.

She loved it.

I knew she would.

So after the New Year she will be taking a weekly lesson. 

On Sunday The Mister celebrated his 40th birthday.  I had envisioned big plans for this day. (Which he would've hated since he is the don't-bring-attention-to-myself type of guy.)But, with the move and an already full schedule, I decided on a quiet affair.  Which was probably best since he will be working without a weekend for the next couple of weeks. 

He chose the menu for his day. We dined on grilled hamburgers, french fries, and homemade chocolate cake. Then we watched the old re-make of Maverick.  All in all, a birthday success.

In keeping with The Mister's request to be anonymous on the blog, here is a picture of The Boy lighting the candles on the cake.  I chose this picture only to demonstrate what happens to normal, sweet, kindhearted, eleven year-old boys when given the opportunity to play with fire. Look at how crazily happy he is to just be playing with a lighter.

Last, but not least, I present, The Impromptu La Vida Dulce Thanksgiving Celebration. 

We had our feast last night: roast chicken (thanks to Sam's Club), green bean, mashed potatoes, cranberries, and stuffing. 

Every Thanksgiving The Mister's has two very important jobs: to get the wine and to carve the bird. This year our bird was small but he carved it just the same. I swear I felt a little tryptophan action, but then again it may have been the Pinot Grigio.

This year, although not quite as decorated, or fancy, or planned, or fussy, was just as sweet. 

I am so very grateful.

La Vida Dulce!

I'm So Vain....

I sometimes think this blog is all about me...

Today I am blogging about two of the most trivial things in life: my hair and my favorite eye make-up remover. 

The only thing that could possibly make this post any more ridiculous is if I talked about my unibrow, or more, the battle I wage against one.

Anyway, if you came here today for deep thoughts or encouragement, you might want to stop reading. This post is about as deep as a pond in Arizona. 

So on with the story.  I have used Nutrogena oil-free eye make up remover F-O-R-E-V-E-R! And ever!

I have tried a few other products here and there but there is nothing that can compete with my favorite brand.  Right as we were packing up our bags in the desert I used up my last drop, so I ran to the local drugstore to get some more. They were out. 

So like any other frazzled woman who is about to move across the country, and is a bit hormonal, I went on a hunt for my make-up remover like a bear who hasn't eaten in awhile.

I found my self at Target where I had found that Nutrogena decided to change everything about the old product and replace it with pre-moistened pads; in quantities of 30 and in a large and cumbersome plastic jar.

This did not make me happy. 

But since I love change so very, very much, I hastily bought a 30 day supply for 7 smackeroos and found the nearest Starbucks to drown my sorrows.

Since I am trying to keep my kids from saying that awful "H" word, I will only say that I very, very strongly and emphatically dislike the new eye make-up remover. Not only were the pads not wet enough, but you had to rub at your eyeballs until they were pink to get the mascara off. With the number of crows feet that have appeared on my eyes I can't afford to be rough with them. It took twice a long to remove my mascara, and did I mention there were only thirty in a package? 

To add insult to injury, after the wrinkle causing scrub-up each night, I still woke up with coonies.

To recap: this remover cost twice as much for a third of the product and limited me to 30 uses. 

When I used the last pad last night I gleefully, and yet sadly, threw the empty jar away. What was I going to do now?

Today while shopping at the department store mecca of homemakers everywhere, I thought I would see if the Nutrogena people might have seen the error of their ways. They hadn't. 

BUT! Target had!  Right next to those Nutrogena pads was the Target brand of the same Nutrogena product, at the generic price! 

I'll let you know how it compares.

All right, moving on now. I bought hair color today. Loreal Paris: Natural Match in Warm Dark Brown.

It is everything it says it is: very warm, very dark, very, very brown. I'm trying to take Moriah's advice and remember that it will look darker for the first few days.  

It's dark. I mean, it conjures up the word Goth in my head. I don't thinks quite there, but it's pretty dark. 

I miss Melissa. 

I will post pictures, but I am going to wait until tomorrow when the light is better.  

Yeah, I know, just call me chicken.

;)

La Vida Dulce!

Finding Normal and a Random Poll

Hey there good bloggers! And readers!

Why is it that in the middle of trying to find a new "normal" I always want to start a project?

Am I the only one who does this?

Anyway, here I am trying to establish new routine; Trying to get everything under my umbrella of responsibility done in an organized and functional matter, and I can't stop thinking about art projects!  Who needs to plan for tomorrow's school lesson, or cook dinner, or return emails or phone calls, or get the menu sorted, when I could cut and glue and sew instead?

You know the crafting bug has bit when I have time to read blogs but choose to create instead!  

So here is the project I am going to start as soon as I log off this time-consuming computer! 

Last year I saw this at Pottery Barn and thought to myself, you could make this!

I attempted to start last year, but got started too late. I actually went to the PB kids last weekend to see if they were going to sell this banner again this year, but no, they're not. It's just as well. I can whip out a La Vida knock-off and it might be more cost-effective. Although, with the way I craft, it's highly unlikely!

I just love the fall colors and the sentiment of this banner. 

Speaking of fall colors...

I need some blogger advice. 

You see, I haven't found a hair stylist in this town yet. Which is a very scary thing for me, because if you have read this blog more than twice, you know that I like good hair.

Anyway, to add insult to injury we currently have two mortgages and until we can get the AZ house rented I won't be seeing the inside of a salon for awhile. Desperate times call for desperate measures and I desperately need to do something with the gray roots popping out of my scalp. Which means (I hope you are sitting down....) that I am going to have to color my own hair.

I know, I know!

Here is the random poll:

Do you color your own hair? If you do, what is your favorite over-the-counter-color brand?

Talk to me!

The Fruits of My Labor!

Thanks so much for leaving me comments in the last post! It's fun to hear how y'all work the last minute grocery runs! 

I know I haven't posted in three days. I have been a little busy, although I am never really too busy for y'all. However, The Mister has been home and been working and I never like to look like a slacker when he is home.  

So, the last time I posted I was cleaning out the pantry and I didn't want to miss this opportunity to show you the 'after' photo of my pantry.  Of course I didn't show you the before photo of the pantry because I don't like to air my dirty laundry, so to speak.

Oh, what am I talking about? I have shown my dirty laundry many, many times here on this blog! But I chickened out on the 'before' shots of the pantry.  I do have some standards.

OK, not really, but the pantry was pretty bad.

I also cleaned out my car and both refrigerators, which is why you haven't heard from me in three days. It took me three hours a piece to clean out those fridges (is that a word?)! There is nothing worse than a fridge that has been unplugged and closed up for over a week but hasn't been completely scrubbed out. But let's not talk about such awful things...

Let's talk about happy things! Like a good hair cut and the ability to sport two eyebrows.

Meet the gals that I talk about every 5 weeks. The gals who help me cover those ever-greying greys' and help me to maintain healthy, moisturized skin. 

Aging: it ain't for sissy's.  These gals assist me in aging gracefully:

Melissa is on your left in the grey sweater, and Elizabeth is on your right in the floral dress.

Melissa is not only my hair stylist/colorist extraordinaire, she is also married to my "baby" brother.  If I was independently wealthy I would charter a private jet once a month and fly Melissa to whatever city I was living in next. There is nothing worse than finding the gal who gives you the perfect hair cut every. single. time. And having her live in a different city.  Of course the great thing is that she married into the family, so I know that I can always find her. 

I am non-to-proud of the fact that my biggest concern is finding a new stylist/colorist who understands my hair when we get into our new, yet old, dwelling place.  That is high on my list of priorities, however, the new stylist has a lot to live up to. I may have to lower my standards.

It's all Melissa's fault that I met Elizabeth. Elizabeth is an aesthetist. She gives a fabulous facial. Mel gave me a gift certificate a year ago and I have been hooked ever since. I treat myself to a facial about every twelve weeks or so. Elizabeth is great at what she does, but is only made better because of her sweet heart. I will certainly be seeing Elizabeth on my next visit to the desert. 

Listen, if you are a mom of young children, or have a stressful job, or need some way to spend some time to just feel a little pampered, go out and get a facial. It's an amazing hour of sweet smelling lotions and creams, hot towels and a little bit of massage on the shoulders, arms and back. Husbands (all three of you who read this blog), this is a great idea for a gift for your wives.
There is this soft bed, and comfy sheets and candles and soft music.  It's truly an hour of time where you can relax and enjoy an hour of time to yourself.  

As a matter of fact, I had my facial before my hair and eyebrow intervention, and since it was my "last time", Elizabeth took extra time during the massage and threw in a "peel" (I have no idea what that is and it scared me, but didn't hurt at all!). When I walked out of Elizabeth's room to Melissa's chair I felt very, very relaxed. I could barely talk.  

So, now after I have talked about my day of beauty, you probably don't feel one bit sorry for me that I have been cleaning and packing and working very hard.

And you shouldn't. My life is very full, and I am very spoiled. I have not ONE THING to complain about. 

Not one thing.

Happy Labor Day!

La Vida Dulce