The Politics of Hair and an announcement

This morning I made a bold decision. I've been growing out my colored hair for months and letting my natural salt-and-pepper haircolor see the light of day. Yes, I'm only 34. Early graying is a genetic trait. At any rate, my natural haircolor had grown out enough that I decided that it was time to cut all the highlighted brown ends off. So I took myself off to the hair salon and the stylist went to work.

I tend to be the quiet type once I sit down in the chair. Other people rattle on and on, but I'd rather sit and listen to the conversations flowing around me. Today, there was a man getting his hair cut by a very loud and opinionated woman. The conversation starting with stories about how the price of gas has just gone through the roof and, goodness, she didn't know how people could afford it. Then the conversation quickly went downhill as the stylist ranted about how citizens don't have no rights and the government's stealing from us by making us pay for Medicare when doctors don't even take it anymore and the social security's going to be gone and the government's just stealing! Out. Right. Stealing!!

Now there's one thing I know. You never, ever argue with your stylist. You make appropriate noises of agreement and non-commital statements no matter what outlandish conspiracy theory she starts spouting. Then you carefully steer the conversation back to more neutral ground. After all, you don't want her to get so worked up over some topic that she stops paying attention to what she's doing with those scissors. And your hair.

You might never recover.

Now onto the really exciting news that I can FINALLY post. My brother's engaged!! He made it back to his base in CA just in time to get a 4-day pass, fly his girlfriend out to Vegas for her birthday, and propose. She just posted it on her Facebook profile, so I can now let the whole world know. My brother is over 10 years younger than me and it's so weird to think that's he's grown up and getting married. My first bit of advice to him after I heard about his plans actually came from Mr. at Home. After he proposes, it's *her* wedding and it will happen when, where, and how she wants it and he just needs to get used to saying, "Yes, dear".

Very sound advice.

The Beach?? or The Beach!!

This week has been difficult with Mr. at Home having a stressful work week with long hours and something going on every evening. When he announced that he would be away most of next week on a business trip, I knew something was going to have to happen so that the girls and I survive even more "just us" time.

This morning I hit upon a possible solution.

For the past three years, we've spent a weekend at the beach at the end of September. It's off-season, not too crowded, and still warm enough to enjoy while not being so hot you feel like you're melting. We also camp at a Christian family campground right on the beach so we walk down to the beach, play all day, then walk back and relax around the campfire. The first year was just K and I and it went very well. Year #2 was K and L and I and that trip included a midnight excursion to Wal-Mart for a new air mattress, the reality that I packed way too much stuff, and the declaration that it would be years before I tried that again. Year #3 included the welcome addition of Mr. at Home and things went much more smoothly.

Now we're at Year #4 and it's back to just us girls. When I mentioned the possibility of going to the beach to Mr. at Home, he made a surprising suggestion. And when I followed through on that suggestion, I made an amazing discovery.

It's just as cheap to stay in an oceanfront hotel as it is to stay in the campground.

Hello?!?! Why have I been torturing myself camping alone with small children when I could have been showering off the sand in a real shower?? No van full of camping equipment or relying on a child to help you wrestle the tent. No sand, sand, and more sand in everything. No worrying about whether or not it rains. Not that I don't enjoy camping and love the place we camp there, but camping's a lot of work!

Now the question is, do I go with the ultra-cheap, but clean and friendly place?

or

For $10 more a night, do I go with the nicer, family-friendly resort with indoor kiddie pools (notice the multiple poolS) and a Starbucks inside?

or

Be financially responsible, stay home, and find something to do here? Do I really want to pile into the van, drive 3 1/2 hours, and still be completely responsible for the girls? Of course, the girls are good travelers and they love the beach.

Any opinions? Anyone want to go with me?

Ho-ho-hum

The dishwasher is humming along, the counters are wiped and everything is put away in the kitchen. Pictures finally adorn the wall that stretches from the living room to the dining room, while another set of them lie scattered on the table waiting for their new place of honor. The only boxes left in the garage are filled with Christmas decor, waiting until we get a ladder so they can be stored up in the attic. At few boxes are still sitting in corners of rooms, filled with odds and ends that require a little extra thought and effort to put away. My little home office is piled with stacks of...stuff, but I need more shelves before I can organize things more in here. For now I just try not to knock over the precariously balanced papers and books.

We've been here for two weeks and it's beginning to feel like home. I think I'll throw a party when I get the last box unpacked because I hate having things still floating without a place to call its own. Right now I feel like I spend one day unpacking and one day cleaning in a never-ending cycle. Yesterday I cleaned and did laundry. Today I unpacked and the housework piled up so that tomorrow I'll have to spend the day doing floors (how do they get so dirty so fast?!), cleaning bathrooms, and polishing the kitchen with its million different cleaners. But it will look awesome when I'm done and I can bask in the shiny glory that is my kitchen. Then Thursday, I can get back to unpacking those last few boxes and maybe I'll get done this week and give away all those boxes on craigslist.

Anyone need a stack of boxes? I'll set them out for you. Just please take them away and never bring them back because I am done with moving.

Like Father, Like Mother, Like Daughter

Friday night found us visiting some new friends at their house in the country. We've been there before, but there was something new this time.

Rock Band.

And oh. my. stars. That game is addictive, especially to a room crowded with teens, pre-teens, and little girls. They played alllllllllll night long. I hope to never hear "Wanted Dead or Alive" or "I Think I'm Paranoid" for a very long time. But out of it all, K has found a new passion.

K has discovered the drums. She eyed those drumsticks with fascination until someone handed them over and she refused to let them go for the rest of the night. Now, honestly, does this surprise anyone? After all, both her parents were dedicated percussionists for a long time. K, however, has never quite gotten the concept that a song has a beat, a rhythm, a way to count and keep things going the same tempo. She has never been able to clap to the beat of any song at church, but Rock Band has changed all that. She needed help on some of the drums and she "failed" quite a bit at the beginning, but after an hour or so, she could play all four drums and the bass and still make over 50%. Not bad for a rhythmically-challenged 7-year-old.

On Saturday, Rock Band was constantly on the tip of her tongue. On Sunday, she had moved beyond just a game. "Mom, can you buy just a pair of drumsticks?" "Really?!? Where?" "Can I have some?" I explained that you can buy drumsticks and a practice pad that acts like a drum, but it's not as annoying, and no, I won't run out and buy them for her right now.

Of course, my parents might. They may run immediately to the music store and buy the child the loudest drum set they can find, all the while laughing maniacally. They'll be thinking that it's payback time for all those hours I spent practicing and they spent plugging their ears.

The Sarge on a Stretcher

That's my brother on the bus that took him to the airport where they moved him to a small military plane and flew him to an air force base in CA, where they parked him in a hospital bed. Tomorrow he'll be back at his base, then he hopes he'll get to go home on leave. Yes, he really can walk, they just wouldn't let him.

Good grief, I've gotten out of the habit of writing!

I can't believe my last post was Monday. What under the sun have I been doing that has kept me from writing?

Ok, I've had a really busy week with fall activities starting up and that whole unpacking thing. But, still! I would've thought I'd have made time to write (how's that for passive voice?).

So, here I am. Writing. Typing. Hummmm, what to say... Yep, I'm definitely out of practice.

I have spent much time this week reading opinions on Sarah Palin from both sides of the political track. Since I have friends from both sides of that track who are very passionate about their side, I have tried to stay out of it. I will say that the media and blogosphere have been caustic in their abuse and I pray that Mrs. Palin has thick skin. She seems pretty tough, though, so I worry more about the friendships that are being strained because people are talking/writing before they put think and reacting in anger and judgment. I do think it's interesting that a VP choice is causing more of a stir than the Prez choice.

On the home front, today I have run out of motivation to clean another surface or unpack another box. Instead I am sitting in front of my computer with a bag of chocolate, but I blame it on the hormonal surges that come around once a month. The girls are also on an energy low. They've been kinda grumpy and quiet all day and K is complaining again of a headache. She's been having them fairly often lately and I'm thinking I may have to take her in to get her eyesight checked. The headaches have coincided with school starting and a new interest in reading, so maybe they're related or maybe she's just being overly dramatic.

I am proud to report that K is following in my steps and has become a book worm. She is devouring the Spiderwick Chronicles and is constantly asking to go to the library because she blows through a book in no time flat. I promised her that if she actually read the Spiderwick Chronicles books, I would let her write the author an email (I have friends in the right places :-)). Well, she's finished them so I have to get off and let her write the email.

And the blessings rain down

Today has been a day of blessings.

#1 - Apple picking. Our friends invited us to join them and some other families for a trip to a mountaintop orchard. The day was wet and foggy (as it has been all 3 times I've been to this particular place), but I had so much fun talking with old friends. I was a bit unhappy about the fact that I'm allergic to apples and couldn't enjoy the crunch of one right from the tree or take even a nibble of the awesome-smelling apple cider doughnuts. But the orchard had a few rows of grapes and those, along with a tiny tub of fudge, totally made my day.

#2 - A brand new shiny red cell phone. We went to the cell phone store yesterday to let them know that the boring base model phone they gave me worked and what were my options for something cooler? They told me that I *was* eligible for an upgrade (I thought it would be mid-October) and that any of their new models should get adequate reception. So I've got a stylish new phone with all the cool features and it works even out here.

#3 - The internet is here! We were out talking to our new neighbor when her significant other drove up in an internet company van. He was just coming home for a brief stop before his next appointment, but he took a look at our connection and had the whole thing figured out in 2 minutes. The installer had just hooked it up wrong. He did a few things and came back later and had it all working in no time. Let me tell you, it pays to have the cable guy living next door! Tomorrow I will be baking him an apple pie because we have a bag full of apples that have to be eaten and we are completely in his debt.

#4 - We have neighbors. We stood outside for awhile today and talked with the people who live in two of the other units in our building. We're still waiting for the last family in our building to close and move in, but I love that we're getting to know the people who are here so far. I want for this neighborhood to be a close-knit community and getting here at the beginning of the building process is a good place to start.

#5 - Empty boxes. There may still be a lot of work left before we're done moving-in, but I managed to unpack quite a few boxes this evening and get more stuff organized and put away. The essentials are easy to find and get to and I feel much more ready for the week. I've got a busy couple of weeks since all of our fall activities are starting - dance class, Wednesday night church, MOPS, CBS for us, BSF for Mr. at Home as well as his university teaching duties. It's all well-spaced so that we're not over-whelmed with stuff to do at any one time, but it's always a rough start setting our routine in motion. Adding in a new house complicates it, but I think we're ready.

Speaking of ready, I need to go get the school stuff ready for tomorrow.