Hair Care

It's summer break and while I am supposed to have more time on my hands, lately I feel busier than ever. This past week was quite busy. My brother, his wife, and their son came into town from Atlanta--with my mom and dad. Since getting our adorable puppy, I have come to realize that I now need to clean daily. Ugh, I don't like it. So, I've been cleaning and re-cleaning, and well you get the idea. I scheduled in a hair cut for last Wednesday before the family's Friday arrival. Big mistake number one. What's that saying? Shame on you if you fool me once. Shame on me if you fool me twice. Certainly. Bad haircut number one was on Wednesday. I returned for a redo and it came out worse, if that is possible. Needless to say, my search for a GOOD stylist is back on. Why does that have to be so hard to find? It's not like I live in a little isolated village with one salon. Quite the contrary. So, I'm dealing with the super short, new bangs (which I haven't had in YEARS--and certainly didn't ask for), slightly boyish haircut.

While my hair was getting mangled our poor pup was having her spaying surgery. This has been a very trying experience for us also. She quickly got an infection and she's proven to be too cunning to take any medicine. In a nutshell she has figured out there were pills in (and therefore not eaten), peanut butter, doggie treats, blueberries, raspberries, bacon grease, mini flavored marshmallows, large marshmallows, and the list goes on. She literally pulled things apart, dropped the pill, and finished her treat. She's too smart for her own good. And while her suture removal is two days away, it seems like eternity. It will certainly be nice when we can let her run, run, run!

Saturday we took the whole family including our super cute nephew, Taro, to a free kids day at Valhalla Park in Holt. We even ran into a co-worker and her darling daughter Savannah, who were about to ride an elephant when I phoned to see if she was there. It was quite the good deal. If you brought canned goods you received extra tickets to play games, adventure into bouncy houses, or ride that cute elephant. Lunch was free to all who attended and they were doling out free popcorn, snow cones (funny story about this), and cotton candy. What a great way to give kids experiences who normally would miss out due to financial strife in their family.

The snow cones...my husband had NEVER had a snow cone before in his life. He's 35. So, needless to say, he got one Saturday. "Cold". Ah yes, honey. It was blue and so were his lips.

We went to our good friends' house on Saturday afternoon for their daughter's second birthday. It was a camping theme, complete with four tents, a pop-up camper, wading pool, and sandbox. What a fun day. The darling Hannah received two handmade dresses I found on Etsy. They were quite the hit. Dress 1. Dress 2. On her actual birthday she also got two adorable barrettes. Barrette 1. Barrette 2. Etsy is definitely a place I will continue to find gifts.

Sunday night took us back to the 'campground' where we hung out with our friends in front of the campfire and toasted marshmallows for S'mores. We had a little run-in with an opossum but it didn't stick around for too long. Thank goodness. I love animals. Actually almost all I think are cute. That is, with the exception of the opossum. Blegh.

My quest for simplification in our life continues. I'm cutting back on my non-organic food purchases and have moved from simply purchasing organic-only dairy products to organic-only fruit. So far the prices have been comparable so I'm not feeling the pinch just yet. Today organic peanut butter, jam, canned veggies, and pasta found their way into my cart--because they were on sale, with a coupon, too.

I've moved into natural cleaning products--vinegar, baking soda (which I've always used but now I'm using it more often), and lemon. A good friend of mine reminded me recently, "If you can't eat it, you shouldn't clean with it." My husband now retorts, "Smells like vinegar," every time I clean. Yes, darling...good observation.

Tomorrow I have a meeting to find out which sessions I'll be teaching this summer and Thursday I'll be starting Project WRITE. This was presented to me Monday afternoon. I'm very excited to have this new learning opportunity. Before I know it, it will be the end of June and I'll be off to New York for my week at the Teachers College for the Summer Institute. And then...Sept...no, I can't do it. I cannot speak that month yet.

Okay, that catches me up. It's the perfect Michigan sleeping weather tonight. I can't wait to snuggle in.