Hair Update

So....those who know me know that I love to play with my hair....as in cuts and colors. Guess what...yup...I've updated it again! Fun times! :)

Here are the before shots:

Front

Side shot to see the colors...brown and blonde highlights

Wait for it....

Wait for it....

Okay...here's the after shots:

Front

Side shot - Sylvia curled it so it seems shorter than it probably is.

Now I don't know if you can see the red or not in my new color, but it is PRETTY red. :)

So...what do you think? Like it?

JoNa's 8th Birthday

Happy Birthday JoNa!

JoNa has turned 8 this week! He is growing up WAY too fast! So he had this incredible part at America's Incredible Pizza Company. We had a party room, games, and unlimited pizza bar that was awesome! It looked like everyone had a blast.

Here's a pic of JoNa's cake...Indiana Jones is the coolest! The ball rolls off and everything. :)

Afterwards all the kids got unlimited game cards that lasted for an hour. They all then ran and played many of the games in the arcade, go-carts, bumper cars, glow in the dark mini-golf. It was tons of fun. I was on Sam duty and she had me running around quite a bit. At least she understood when I told her the game was too big for her...as in I couldn't hold her up long enough for her to play big-boy basketball, and when the time had run out she still wanted to play but didn't question when I just said, "We have no more money". :)



So overall it seemed like a very happy 8th birthday. I know I had tons of fun.

We Want to Remodel the Kitchen

Okay, so Mom and I came to the decision that we can't stand the kitchen linoleum anymore. So, we want to fix up our kitchen. We were recommended a contractor through one of Mom's friends that is a quick worker, honest and resonably priced guy. So he came over got some measurements, and offered another update we hadn't really thought about.

While discussing it came up that probably the easiest thing to do would be to tear out all the lower cabinets and put the Ceramic/Porcelin tiles that we were leaning towards out over the whole floor, then re-install the cabinets over the new floor. Because of our layout it would be around the same cost as if they had to cut all those tiles to get it all to work/fit correctly. I also like this idea as then we wouldn't have to worry about not being able to get the dishwasher out in case it needs to be fixed or replaced as the new tiles would add a half inch to an inch at least on the floor height. Anyways...he also mentioned since we were doing that, we could get a new formica counter top to also help update the kitchen. He has a friend who could cut it and we could get a good deal on a good product. Oh...new idea! Love it! Now I not mind our butcher block counter, but Mom is not really a fan.

So our shopping/browsing for kitchen stuff takes a new turn. We now hunt for a new formica counter top we like. Below are our top four choices for counter tops...from left to right our favorites on down. Mom's favorite was number one, I was leaning more towards number two. The background is our weird sink color...we not want to replace this...even though and odd color we both love the sink and how it works for us. It really not that splotchy in color...the light from the window was reflecting and that is how it showed in the picture.

So we are shopping at the tile store now...the finally agree on a floor tile for the kitchen that will match our counter top pics...as we are girls and this MUST all go together. I see this example floor and love the pattern! It is so geometric and mom calls it an optical illusion. It's called a weave pattern.

We are not really leaning towards a green floor though, so we keep on looking.

In the back of the tile store they have example tiles laid out and we find this one below:


We both agree...this is the tile and pattern for us! It's lighter than our current floor, and should match the cabinets, sink and new counter selections. The different sizes make the pattern more interesting so the floor won't be totally boring. Now in the pic to me it seems a bit yellowish...which we didn't want, but once we take the example tiles home...I see no more yellow. It must be all those intense florescent lights at the store. :)

Here are the example tiles next to our cabinets (pay no attention to the water spots on the cabinets...we will clean those) so you can see how the matching will look. We've also decided on our option #1 on the counter tops. So see...here's how it should all look together once done. Hopefully this will help lighten up our kitchen. Also, you can see part of the current linoleum floor in the upper left background of this picture. Dark browns to soon disappear! :)

Here's the tiles, with our counter top choice and sink so you can see how those will go.

So...What's your opinion? You like our choices? Not like them? Input please...cause we are pretty set and want to go ahead and if you see ugliness I don't...I'd like to know. :)

Although it's too late to dislike the counter top...we ordering that making today hopefully. Well, we will at least tell the contractor what our choice is. :)

My Body Chemistry Hates Me

So I have officially decided that my body chemistry has decided to change this year, and it doesn't want to be easy on me. Shoot me now!

Sorry for the delay in posting, but I have been frustrated and busy. Busy with work, church, friends and family. Frustrated with my face and it's obvious rebellion from my normal life. I'm sure I'm confusing you, so I'll show you pics to prove my annoyance and I expect full sympathy. :)

Well right after we went to go and visit Luke for his birthday I put this nightly cream on my face (generic of Retin A) that my dermatologist put me on...to help clear up these little white zits that are beneath layers of skin and form because I have really small pores. Which per the dermatologist, says is the kind of skin everyone would like to have, but these little baby like zits keep popping up. Now when I was a kid I had these and I used Retin A for a year or two and got rid of them for almost two decades...they are now back though and I hate them. I had relatively clear skin for years and I was starting to feel like I was going through puberty again.

Anyways, I've been using this stuff randomly for around 6 months or so. Not as often as the doctor told me to be using it...cause each time you apply it it peels off a layer of skin on your face so then I have to use TONS of face moisturizer so I don't look like I'm peeling all the time. So I put it on the night after our trip and for some reason on Monday through Thursday my face started to break out even worse than it ever has before. It itched, my my skin feel tight and pretty much turned into full blown hives. Sucky!

I called the dermatologist on that Thursday and they called in a perscription for me for a Hydrocortozone cream that was stronger than anything I could buy over the counter. I knew it was some kind of allergic reaction or something that was only affecting my face. Didn't make the connection to the cream as it had never done this to me before. So I was to use this hydrocortozone cream on my face for a week and wear no make up. HARD!!!

Here's a picture of my face on the worst day of the next week...when my skin finally started to peal off a bit but in splotches and the hives were still there a bit.

Pink cheeks suck!

Side view...ugh!

So after a week I finally used makeup for around 4 days. And on Tuesday night of this week I put some of the Retin A on my face again...as the doctor said to keep using it even when my face broke out but I hadn't yet as I didn't want to. But starting Tuesday night while I was sleeping my face kept itching...seriously itching.

Here's me Wednesday morning...trying not to itch...but I am wearing makeup here.

I am sucking candy here...as to why my lips are pursed a bit.

Side view.

Anyways, after lunch on Wednesday the itching was driving me crazy so I went into the bathroom at work just to see and guess what....hives were breaking out AGAIN!!! I was so mad. So I then wash off my face with some water, pat my face dry and then put on the hydrocortozone cream I just happened to still be carrying in my purse. Thank goodness!

I called my dermatologist that afternoon and I set up an appoinment on Saturday for him to look at my face and figure out what is going on. At this time I am now 90% positive it's the Retin A that is making my face itch. No way could it be my moisturizer or my makeup as it was fine for the first few days I wore makeup and the Retin A started itching immediately.

Here's my face this last Friday...layers of skin again peeling off randomly and the new skin showing up BRIGHT pink. I am seriously so sick of people staring at me funny trying to decide if I'm sun burnt, am continually embarrassed, or if I have a strawberry birthmark on my face that they never knew about.

Front view

Left side

Right side

Now to you it may not look so bad...but it still sucked. So I went to the doctor on Saturday morning and my skin is just so sensitive that I cannot use Retin A anymore...my skin is rejecting it and breaking out in rashes on the new skin...which is why it's so pink apparently. I then get perscribed what two types of moisturizer I should now use from here on out, I can wear makeup as of today...but I'm waiting one more day anyways...and I get a new cream to apply for those baby zits that were the root of all this annoyance.

I still look like I have gotten some sun, and I have now explained it to soo many people. Hopefully my self-consciousness will go away a bit. Fully sympathy appreciated. :)

Thanks for listening to my rant. My body hates me.

Dreaming - too Realistic

Okay, I had some more weird dreams last night...and I have to say they were highly annoying. But mainly I remember two portions of the dreams.


So the first part was I parked my car in what used to be a 'safe' area around my house in another subdivision. It was near a friend's house in my dream, but out of the way. I knew for the next day I would not need my vehicle as my friend was driving us...to where ever we went (I don't remember that part and I don't remember who my friend was).


Anyways the next day it snowed pretty badly. But when we were done my friend was taking me back to my parked vehicle...which was at the bottom of this pretty steep hill. So my friend dropped me off at the top of the hill and I had planned to just walk down the street to my vehicle. It was dark out and I couldn't really see it from the top of the hill. As I'm walking down the street these two guys sled past me suddenly. One of them was trying to weave between trees along the sidewalk edge, but ended up falling off his sled and skidding along concrete for awhile.


I run up to him and he's bleeding pretty badly, and doesn't think he can walk home on his own or just with his friend. Well I offer to give him a ride home, as my car is just a little further down the hill. So as this other guy and I are helping the hurt guy down the hill we approach my car and as I'm walking around the front to the drivers side, getting out my keys, I notice that my back left tire has been stolen. Crap! I walk around, and my back right tire was also stolen, and my car is now sitting on blocks. Dude, this sucks!







As I continue around my car the dream morphs and I realize...my car has totally been stripped! It is now just down to it's measly frame. :(







So I then get out my cell phone and call the cops. I'm stumbling around, in shock from seeing my baby totally vandalized in what I thought was a safe neighborhood ( I mean it's only been a day!) when the hurt guy all of a sudden goes into spasms. So since I'm already on the phone with 911 I ask for an ambulance for the hurt guy. After I'm done with that call I run to the nearest house and find a family there who is willing to help take in the hurt guy and cover him in blankets and try to stop the bleeding.



My dream then switches.



I am now cleaning madly. In a frantic spell trying to get all this cleaning done. I'm cleaning up my house, then my desk at work, then I start cleaning my friend's place...all the while trying to get this done before some deadline hit. What the deadline was for I have no idea. But while I'm cleaning I keep forgetting to do things, then when I go back to try and do them...I make another mess that I have to clean up.

It is never ending. I keep thinking..."This has got to be a dream! Why isn't it time to wake up yet? Where is my alarm all ready?!"

But of course I can't wake up enough to really look at my clock and see what time it is. When I'm running around my room wondering how these messes keep popping up for the 6th time...my alarm finally goes off.

Thankful, I turn off my alarm and think, "It's about time!" I then close my eyes to get my bearings and start to doze back off again...but the fear of more cleaning dreaming makes me throw back my covers and roll out of bed. Shoot me now! No more cleaning! PLEASE!

I then had to stand there and reaffirm to myself...my car did not get stripped...my car did not get stripped. My brain didn't really calm down that fact until I did finally see my car again when I left for work.

My imagination is was to over-active! Too realistic I tell you, seriously. Do you ever have those dreams when you wake up you can't remember for sure if you ONLY dreamed that, or if some of it was true? Cause it happens to me all the time. Annoying!