Better

I went back to Fantastic Sam's last night and the manager there attempted to help with my awful cut. The result is better. It's still much shorter than I wanted, and I still have the bangs I didn't want, but at least the layers are even and well blended. I'm not in love with this cut, but I don't feel like it's so terrible anymore.

Sorry, Angela, I didn't get a picture before I left to get it fixed. I called them as soon as I got off the phone with you and she said if I could get in before they closed, she could fix it right away so I rushed off to get it fixed. But I will take a picture later today so you can see the end result. Good enough?

Ok, here's the picture! And yes Scott, I colored it again last night as well, so it's a much darker red than it used to be.

Token

I was out shopping yesterday at my new favorite store looking for cute things to put in my hair to help me until it grows out, and I found this:

I'm not actually participating in Self-Portrait Tuesday, but this made me think of it. I don't have any kind of good luck charm myself, and I didn't dress up for St. Patrick's Day. But if I ever wanted a little token to keep with me, I think I might just go buy this.

I don't like it. Not one bit.

After many months of not getting around to getting a hair cut, I finally went in on Saturday to fix that. I just went to the local Fantastic Sams down the street from my house. It's right next to the gym, which was my real destination, so it was convenient. They were very slow and actually had a bit of a discussion over who got me. I jokingly said I wanted whoever was best, but got whoever was next on the list.

I told her I knew I had a lot of damage, but I was hoping to keep as much length as possible. I also said I wanted some long layers in it. After playing with my hair a bit, she commented that I didn't really have any layers, and I said again I like my layers long.

Normally my favorite part of getting my hair cut is getting my scalp rubbed during shampooing. Sadly, there was none of that. I'm not even sure she got the roots of my hair when shampooing. She really concentrated on the ends. But that's not my real complaint. After shampooing, she combed my hair out and started to cut. The first thing she did was pull the front of my hair down in front of my face and before I knew it, SHE GAVE ME BANGS!! I haven't had bangs in years, and for good reason, and I certainly didn't ASK for bangs. But that was her very first cut. And it just got worse from there.

I lost about 5 inches in length, I have horrible, choppy, uneven layers, and the layers she did give me are all short! The layers stop a few inches from the end, then the bottom few inches are all the same length. This is quite possibly the worst hair cut I have had in my adult life. I've tried doing my hair curly (I looked like a poodle), I tried just blow drying it (it looks like an old lady cut), and I've tried straightening it with my flat iron (which just makes the unevenness and choppiness of the layers super obvious), and it's too short to even pull all of it back in a ponytail! I can get the back of it up, but the front of my hair just falls down around my face.

I didn't realize the cut was so bad before I left because I was just going to the gym, so I didn't even bother having her blow dry it. I just tied my bandanna around my head and left. It wasn't until after my shower later in the day that I realized how bad everything was.

No, I did not take a picture to show you because I don't want a record of this horrible cut. Until I figure out some way to make it look good, I'll be avoiding cameras. I guess the moral of the story is, when you have an option, don't just take the next hairdresser on the list. Find out who the best is and wait for that person. Or find yourself a good hairdresser and stick to them!

A beginning and an end

Because of the change in our ward boundaries coming up, last night was my last night hosting our recipe Enrichment group for my ward. As of next month I'll be in a new ward! I was a little sad to see it end, at least for the time being. We had 4 women in attendance (that included me), which is about average. This group never had the time it needed to build up a good group coming, though many women expressed interest in the group. We had a fun night talking about anything and everything that came to mind. Two of us made stuffed mushrooms, but they were so different it was nice to have them both. There was also a cold spinach dip served with french bread, a pineapple cheese ball, and a warm cheesy bread. It was all excellent. I'm glad I started this group, and I'm hoping someone liked it enough that they'll keep it going after the boundary changes. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to try to start it up again in my new ward. I'll let you know if I do.

So that was the ending. As for the beginning, I am officially a soccer mom! We signed Rachel and Tyler up for soccer and they both had their first practices this week. This will be a short season, just two months, so it'll be just enough for them to get a sense of the game and if they want to play in more established leagues (and it will give me an idea if it's worth paying for a more established league before I put in a lot of money into something they end up not enjoying). We ended up with great coaches for both kids. Tyler's coach is our neighbor, and her daughter, along with the little girl across the street are both on his team. This is really great for me since some of his practices will be at the same time as Rachel's gymnastics class, so he can go with them. Rachel's coach is also named Rachael, and it's a mother of one of the kids in her class, so she's met her several times. Both coaches have several years of experience and really know what they're doing. Not all teams have that. The district had more than double the expected number of kids sign up, so they called pretty much every parent who had a child signed up asking for people who would coach. As difficult as we're already finding it to get two kids to practices and games (and gymnastics for all three still), I'm excited that my children have shown interest in soccer. Scott played for years as a kid and really wanted his kids to play as well. We didn't push this at all, they told us about it (repeatedly). Rachel even read the flier she brought home from school and marked the last day for sign ups on the calendar to make sure we didn't forget! So we're off to start on our next adventure, this one being soccer. :)

Oh, I also had my first piano lesson last week! It was just an evaluation to see what I knew and what I didn't so he could start with a lesson plan for me, but even that was exciting and fun for me! I can't wait to see what I'm able to do with his help.

Fizzy Joys: unseasonably warm days, pumpkin candles, laughter, fresh fruit in season.

It makes me want to cry...

I found out today that in two weeks time, they will be changing boundaries for almost all of the wards in my stake. This most definitely includes my ward. And I've found out from a very reliable source (my bishop) that we will be changing wards. This has happened to us in the past, and I know this is a normal process, but this is a really difficult division for me. I feel more attached to my current ward than any other ward I've been in. I really feel like I belong in this ward, like I have a place here, and that I'm loved and wanted. I LOVE my calling and finally feel like I'm doing it well. Our primary is running smoothly with wonderful teachers and great kids who I have grown to love. My kids, especially Becca, adore their teachers. To be honest, losing Becca's teacher is actually the hardest part of this. Sister Bills has been the sunbeam teacher since Tyler was a sunbeam. She's been looking forward to getting Becca since she got the calling. These two seem to have a really special bond. Becca just adores her teacher, and is more attached to her than pretty much anyone she's ever known outside the immediate family. And after only 2 1/2 months together, they're being separated. I'm heartbroken over it. Sister Bills is heartbroken over it (she spent the majority of the day in tears, and the split won't even be happening for two weeks), and I'm sure Becca will be heartbroken when she understands what's going on. I know changes can be good, and I do believe the Lord's work is being done, but I'm still sad about what I will be leaving behind.

In case you didn't know...

DDR for the 360 is here!! I know because Scott came home with it tonight! I have to say, it's a lot harder than I thought it would be. I've gone through all the practice lessons, and very much enjoyed the "lite" version of the game, but the one thing I did in the regular version I failed miserably at! I guess I'll see if I can do a little better tomorrow. :) Anyway, in case you didn't know, I thought I'd let you know it's out and I have it. Any advice or tips anyone has to share would be greatly appreciated!