More Memories.

I am going to start this particular post off by apologizing to my fave cousin Amber (I won't get upset if you get me back ten fold) and my bestest friend Ronda (she has been thru a lot of crap with me over the years). I am sorry but I couldn't resist. Love you both and you both mean the world to me :)

Since I have been running down memory lane recently and stories are being told and memories have been shared I decided to start  going through pictures and maybe just maybe get them organized when I came across a few pictures. I sat on the floor looking at these photos and remembered how much I miss being a teen. I really miss the traveling and daily socialization with friends. When we would talk on the phone for hours after school about the guy we were in love with and what we were going to do over the weekend. There were times of tears too when we found out that said guy had broken our heart or we found out that they only wanted to be friends. One of my most favorite memories is when each summer Grandpa would take my cousin Amber and I and sometimes one of our friends on various trips such as Nashville, TN, Branson, MO,  and so on. Then Amber moved to Phoenix, AZ so I would ride with Grandpa to pick up Amber and bring her back to Iowa for the summer. I loved going to Phoenix. I wanted to move there when I graduated from high school.  So instead of writing a bunch of things I will show some embarrassing photos although I must confess that I love to look back through pictures and remember the good old days. 

The photo below is Ronda and I racing and I think she beat me if I remember correctly. She and I have been thru Teenage Hell and back and this was taken on a trip we went on in high school with my Grandpa Dick to Branson, MO That was probably one of my favorite trips. Enjoy!!

Family and Memories

I am finding myself really torn with family. I love them all dearly almost to much since I worry about them all the time. My surviving grandparents' health seems to be deteriorating all the time but they manage to stay active and keep telling me to stop worrying but I can't. They don't want me to make a fuss over them but that is how I am. I am also noticing that the health of my parents is starting to deteriorate too.My Mom had a heart attack just before Thanksgiving and is on the mend thankfully she is taking some much needed advise and putting it into action and that was after my dad had not one but two heart attacks this past year and trying to get him to listen to the doctors and take better care of himself is like trying to pull teeth out of a tiger..He thinks that eating Mc Donalds and continuing to smoke is ok and insists that he will be fine. On a lighter note he is going to church and has since the heart attacks. He hasn't regularly attended church in a very very very long time. We had the pleasure spending our day with him and beings that Christmas fell on what we call "Sabbath" we went to church and then went to my aunt's house for dinner and Christmas. I would have to say that this Christmas was one of the best in a long time. If only Grandma &Grandpa were still with us it would have been even better. I miss them terribly.

It is very hard for me to not want to go back to the church I grew up in but I have been away for so long I think it would be very hard to go back. I credit that church for a lot of my beliefs but at the same time don't want to face all the questions as to "Why do you go on Saturday instead of Sunday?" or "What kind of religion is that?"and so on. The truth is I don't know and couldn't tell you the answer since simply put that is how I was raised.

Growing up my sister and I spent every single weekend at my Grandparent's house (even after my parents go divorced) that was until I was able to drive and it wasn't cool to hangout there. We went on Friday night and I always remember Grandma would have everything she needed to have done and after sundown T.V. would be shut off and we would get things ready for church the next day. We would get our baths done, get clothes set out and go to bed. Early Sabbath morning we would get up and have a simple breakfast (mine being saltine crackers, Helman's Mayo and tomatoes). We would get all dressed up and go to Sabbath School. After Sabbath School we would use the restroom get a drink and get settled into our seats ready for church. It never failed that Grandpa would start nodding off during the sermon and Grandma would have her arms crossed and be sitting close enough to Grandpa that she would pinch him hard enough to wake him up. My sister and I would try very hard not to laugh as Grandpa nearly jumped out of the pew. It still makes  me laugh thinking about it. The other church members around us had no idea what Grandma was doing since her arms were crossed in a way that her pinching hand was covered by her arm. Grandpa even tried to sit on the opposite side on occasions and she would switch how her arms were crossed so she could still get him if he dosed off.

After church was over we would either go back to their house or we would stay for Potluck. I love the Sabbaths where we had Potluck. There would be so much food and I would get to hang out with my friends longer. On non-potluck Sabbaths we would eat lunch and go take a nap. After our nap we would go outside or play games with our Aunts. At Sundown Grandpa would turn the T.V. on and watch the news while Grandma got dinner ready. After dinner we would watch Wheel of Fortune. The best part came after dinner Grandma would make popcorn the old fashion way and we would eat while watching  various shows. Sunday morning we would wake up to the yummy smell of pancakes. Oh how I looked forward to Grandma's pancakes. Sundays were spent cleaning the house and doing the laundry for the rest of the week. Sunday's meant get the work done and the going home to get ready for school. I find myself want to go back to those days. It was a simpler time. You didn't worry about living up to anyone expectations and you could be yourself and didn't care what other thought of you.

I am really finding that small town living has huge down falls. Don't get me wrong I love Wilton but it comes with a price. Everyone knows your business whether you want them to know or not. You can trust very few people and the ones who you can you are still cautious about what you share with them. It is a very cliquey town. People don't ask you about things instead they talk about it to everyone else. I remember a sermon that the pastor of the church my family has been attending for a few years about gossip. It kind of makes me laugh since recently we haven't been in church due to reasons I am not going to bore you with but non the less I was told that they heard that we were going to another church. The things that make me go humm. Gossip!   Shame on those that took the liberty to tell people that we were going somewhere else. Did anyone even bother to call and ask if that was the case? No. Instead we get a Facebook message from a few people asking if things are ok. YES people we are fine. We have been spending time with our F A M I L Y !! :) It is the holidays and we have family that live out of town. As a matter of fact we got to spend time with our new great nephew Landyn. Who by the way is the most adorable little boy (I am just a little prejudice i must say) he had a rough start but is home and doing A W E S O M E!! I can't wait to see him and spoil him some more.. Soon Landyn soon.. So get a grip people we haven't gone anywhere.
  On the positive side small town schools are the best. Wilton Schools are by far the most adaptable and have been awesome for my oldest who has Cerebral Palsy.

Just Me!!

As I was laying in bed the other night I came to the realization that I am not myself. As a matter of fact I haven't been my true self in a very long time. I don't know where the turning point happened but I really miss being the happy go lucky person that would rather sit at home or enjoy a shopping trip and lunch with my best of friends. Instead I am the on the go, wanting to help with everything and being out there everywhere and wanting to be a part of everything because I thought it was the right thing to do.

I miss a lot of things that make me who I am and I would say that the biggest ones are my family, my church (which was a big part of my life growing up), my shopping buddies, my once a month lunch date, my date nights with my husband, sitting down with a bottle of wine and basking at all the things I am truly thankful for. 

I have become this person who is fighting to "fit" in to a place I don't belong with people who aren't meant to be in my life and who just are there because I seek them out. The so called friends who tell me they miss me  when they hadn't seen me, but really they are just saying that to be nice. I see the looks and know the routine because I myself am guilty of doing that to the people I love the most. You get that "oh no what do they want now"  look and then start looking around to send out the silent signal to someone to come rescue you because it is not nice to be rude and you would rather be talking to anyone but the person you are talking to. The I don't dare ask how they are because I don't have the energy to talk to them or yet listen to their nonsense.

I find myself wanting to go back in time and have a do over so I can avoid making the same mistakes. I know I would choose wiser and not go astray from the values that were instilled in me by my grandparents. My grandparents were and are my rock when things got crazy in life they were there with a load of advise open arms and a shoulder to cry on. I really leaned on them and now I hardly see or talk to those that are still living.

I miss my one and only "best" friends from high school. The one who if we did not talk to for a long time we could pick up right where we left off as if we had been there the whole time. I miss our lunch dates. I miss her introducing me to new restaurants, food, wine and drinks. I miss the long talks about nothing and everything. I miss the see who can bee later me or her since being on time is not one of our strong suits. I miss griping about the kids,significant other and the woes of life. I miss reminiscing about the crazy stuff we use to do.

I miss the late night calls to my most "Fave" cousin. I miss talking to her about the crazy times we had growing up and the trips we use to go on with grandpa and what new creations she has come up with in her addiction to crocheting.  I miss hearing about her adventures and telling her about the girls. I miss her period.

I miss my husband. I miss the silly little notes we would write to one another. The date nights which we would go to dinner and the go walk off the food we at at either Target or Walmart sometimes we would go to the mall and just walk around. I miss dreaming and planning with him. I miss snuggling with him. We still live in the same house but I feel as though we are separated, more like roommates rather than a couple. I feel like I have changed and yet he is still the same.

This is me venting wanting to change the unchangeable. My outlet, my story. Plain and simply put just me!!

New Direction

I decided to give this another shot since I have been pushing the blog world off to the side for the past year as life has been filled with changes in jobs, personal life changes, family illnesses and deaths.

I took some time to reflect on exactly why I wanted to start blogging in the first place. I needed an outlet to keep my sanity and then I foolishly tried to fit in the blogging world with trying new weekly segments but it didn't work out the way I had planned. I had imagined this awesome blog with everything from beauty tips to going green since I am a Hair Stylist and BeautiControl Consultant and I am trying to be more Eco- friendly, but lets face it I am not as good with words and advise as I was imagining. When it came time to put my thoughts into words I struggled and got so frustrated that I gave up. As a matter of fact I haven't logged on here since my last post until now. Pretty pathetic I know.

Last February I accepted a job as a Teacher's Associate (or Para) at the elementary school. I still work two nights a week in the salon, but I am finding the job at the school to be a little more fulfilling. I love working with children especially those with special needs. I wish I could talk about the things that happen at the school but I can't because of confidentiality but I will say that kids both say and do the darnedest things, They are so cute, funny, energetic and yet so stressful all at the same time.

I have hopes to post a new random blog at least once a week but I am not making any promises. I will gladly accept any in put, encouragement and criticism. Thanks for reading!!

Cleaning Green

I have discovered this past week the power of baking soda. I am in the process of trying out various recipes using baking soda. The first one is a recipe that cleans tile grout . I want to use it at the salon I work in. The building use to be a restaurant and it is made with tan shiny grouted bricks.. Not our first choice for decor but since we can't change it we need to try to clean it up. I was browsing the net looking for a solution to fix the problem without all the toxic chemicals and this is what I found:
   

Tile and Grout Paste
1 cup water and 3 cups baking soda mixed into a paste. Use a toothbrush to scrub the paste into grout.

The net has so much to offer in the way of natural and may I say cheap alternatives  to the standard  Clorox, Soft Scrub and Comet we are use to using. Not all "Green " cleaners are chemical free and are still harmful My goal is to publish a new web site with cheap eco-friendly ideas and recipes to clean green using thing in your pantry. If you discover a site, book, magazine, or have some advise of your own please share by posting a comment in the comment section of this blog.

On http://greenlivingideas.com/topics/eco-home-living/housecleaning/natural-cleaning-recipes  there is even a recipe for pampering you tired hands naturally.

Makeover Monday's - The Introduction

I have decided to add yet another segment to try and attract more readers to my blog.. I get the feeling I am either very boring, not writing enough or I have more readers than I know..

As those of you who know me very well I am a hairdresser, some of my client think of me as "a miracle worker" and then I have some who think I carry around a magic wand (if that was the case I would be skinny and have the best hair at all times and not to mention rich).  I have been a hairdresser or as I like to say Stylist for 14 years. I have worked most of the 14 years in Muscatine, IA.  I am not a self proclaimed know it all but I am very confident that I can accomplish almost anything. It has been thru the last many years that I have had trial and tribulations in the salon and have faced many a problems. Some accomplished and some not. Hey, I am human and I do make mistakes but I will try my hardest to give my clients what they want..

My clients are the best. I have the ones who aren't scared to try something new and I have those that just like to stick to the usual, some I can joke around with and some that I am serious with. I love and hold both types near and dear to my heart, after all they are all my bread and butter. My life line.. I am always looking at the new trends and I will be honest some scare me to death but that is what I like about my profession it is constantly changing.  I myself have changed too. I ended Cosmetology School with semi long hair and within 2 years I had short permed hair. For a year after that I grew it out to then turn around and cut it off again until 61/2 years ago when I grew it out again. In the process of all the cutting and growing I have had various shades of color as well. I have had red, red with blonde, dark brown with blue and blonde, dark red, blonde on the bottom with dark brown on top, dark brown, dark brown with blonde hilites, to now being almost all dark blonde. I am sure I have had more in between but these are the ones that I remember.

It's amuses me to think about how color use to scare me and I swore that I would never understand it and here I am today loving it. I would rather do a color than a perm any day. Color is my passion. It is where my creative juices kick in. I can take a color formula and make it my own. I feel the most alive when concocting a color formula or figuring out how to correct the famous "I used a box color at home and don't understand why my hair looks red , grey , green, or ashy?" or even better "I have used the same color for years and this time it looks black!" and yet another is "why does my hair look so splotchy?" HELLO!!! do you think it has anything to do with the fact that you "did it in the kitchen" I want to say but I just smile and figure out how to fix it.

Next week is the big debate over professional products vs. store bought products and how each affect your hair. If there is any topic (hair related) you would like me to talk about post it in the comments section following this blog and I will pick a new topic each week.

Turning Over A New Leaf !!

I purchased a book titled "Green Cleaning" in hopes of trying to be more eco- friendly.  In the last few years I have become more aware of the chemicals that are in the air we breath, the food we eat, and the cleaners we use on a daily basis..

Since I have taken to cleaning houses on Tuesdays with two of my friends for some extra cash, I have learned quickly that vinegar is my new best friend. Granted I don't especially care for the smell by it's self but mixed with water it's not so bad. It is wonderful on hardwood floors and ceramic tile. It doesn't streak on glass and it does kill germs, bonus. I learned (and can't wait to put to use) that if you mix 2 parts cream of tartar and one part hydrogen peroxide you can shine up your stainless steel sink. Since I don't have a stainless steel sink I am going to use my bathroom garbage can as a testing tool or maybe my toaster. 

Baking soda and salt are mentioned in the book so I can't wait to read on and learn how to use things in my pantry to clean and disinfect my home.. Maybe this could be a "blog of the day". I could even call it "Green Tips Tuesdays".. I am not good a creating catchy phrases so name ideas are very much welcomed. Hummm do I see a contest in the future.. Maybe !!!

Enjoy :)