A day at the beauty shop...

I have been growing out my hair for about nine long months and not once in all of that time did I go see the goddess of hairdressers, Toni. My reasons were two fold. Firstly, the cut grew out so well that I didn't really need a haircut. Secondly, I was afraid I'd end up cutting it.

Growing out hair is a long process and requires constant vigilance. The good news in that the vigilance against cutting it paid off. My hair is now grown out. The bad news is that I was so focused on not cutting it that I dove into the world of at home hair dying without really thinking it through.

That is how I ended up with hair that was orange had a reddish glow.

Today the girls and I booked two and half hours with Toni so that we could get cleaned up and made pretty.

First Toni was kind and did not scold me for ruining my hair dying my hair. She painted my hair with lots of goop and then as I waited, Lily got a hair cut. Lily is a mercurial creature. For months she has been growing out her hair and then yesterday she announced: "I want short hair!"

She would not be dissuaded. The result is very, very cute.

Once Lily's hair was done, mine was rinsed and cut and more goop was put on it. While my hair absorbed chemicals, it was Rebecca's turn.

Rebecca only wanted a trim so her result was not quite as dramatic.

I could not get that child to sit still for a proper picture.

Finally, my hair was rinsed and styled.

No more red!

I have now grown out my hair, am within five pounds of my goal weight and have home schooled my kids. I still suck at Scrabble though, so there is always room for improvement.

Beauty shop...

About five years ago when Lily first started preschool I had gotten in the habit of cutting my own hair. David was traveling all the time and I was so busy with a two year old and a five year old that I hardly even noticed my hair. I'd try to keep it straight in the back, but really, it was pretty rough.

One day I was at the mall returning something at J.Jill when I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and was horrified. I had had no idea it had gotten that bad. I knew that there was a beauty shop over by Lord and Taylor. I had one hour before I had to leave to pick up Lily so I went over there to see if they had anyone available.

It was on that day that I met Toni. She made hairdo magic and has continued to do so ever since.

I was stunned when I left the shop that day. My hair was amazing. Layers and flips and dips all came together to bring me the most perfect hair cut of my life.

I have been going to Toni ever since. I have never strayed. I have never cried after a hair cut. I have loved every single cut.

All of this is leading up to tell you why I felt brave enough to walk into the salon today and suggest bangs.

I haven't had bangs in years and up until five minutes before my hair cut bangs had never even occurred to me. While I was waiting for my turn I looked in one of those hair style books and saw bangs. Why not?

When I asked Toni about it she was very positive, but suggested we dye my hair darker first since it was time to say good bye to summer highlights.


Here I am with Toni.

Here's my new hairdo!


I love it!

Sometimes a little bit of change is good.

Where the whores shop...

I know that it's been ages since I've had a good junk post, but my junking has diminished considerably this week. We've been in Back-to-School-Hell.

This week I discovered two things:

1. Rebecca has outgrown nearly every single piece of clothing from last fall and winter.

2. Replenishing her wardrobe is a nightmare.

Rebecca is one of the tallest girls in her class and she's not one of those skinny bean poles either, she's proportionally built to her height. Jeans never really fit her well, though I found one pair of Lucky Jeans at the junk store for 5.99 that fit her nicely. Mostly she lives in gauchos and leggings. Last year I found tons of great blousey knit tops that were great. They fit her beautifully, nothing was too tight and it was all age appropriate.

This year the style has changed. The crap that is being sold to the "tween" age group is simply appalling. The t-shirts are skin tight and in all of the awful flourescents that were ugly the first time that I lived through them in the eighties. None of it is pretty you know? We found some things that we could both live with, most of which were black. There were simply no pretty colors to be found.

We tried the Gap, which is not whorish, but doesn't fit her in the kids sizes. Justice is pre-whore central, though we found a few things. Sears, even good old sears had a strong "How to be a whore in three easy steps" section. Forget Kohls. Just do. I used to love that store.

The things offered at Lands End and LLBean are just boring. I miss the days when I could go into Gymboree and lose myself in those sweet ensembles. The whole thing would match, underwear, socks, hair ribbons, dress and tights.

So clothes shopping which should be fun, has been nothing but frustration as Rebecca tries things on only to find them too tight or just too awful. Finally I gave up and ordered some things from some very non whorish catalogs.

Today was also haircut day.

Lily wanted hers short.


Rebecca just needed a trim.


So after a full day of haircuts, a movie about special agent hamsters, failed clothes shopping, and forcing my children to try on their winter coats, snow pants and boots, guess what we did to relax?

We started (and finished) rearranging the furniture in Rebecca's room. Because I'm that kind of crazy. Now I'm just exhausted. Tomorrow we are staying home and tidying and cleaning the house. We will put the shame of the tween tart clothing expedition behind us and start the morning fresh and bright.