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Mar 24, 2013

The Things I Do For Awesome Hair

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Last summer I decided to do something fun with my hair color and dye the ends purple. The ombre look was fun, even if it was a little difficult to achieve. The most common way to do an ombre color is to tease (backcomb) the hair so that when you bleach out the ends you don’t have a solid line of color change, but more of a gradual change instead.

Then after bleaching the ends, you comb out the tangled mess before applying the color. It’s not comfortable, but the first time I didn’t find it too awful. The whole process took about four hours, including an all over color on the top 3/4 of my hair, too.

So when I felt my hair was drab last week and needed a lift, I made an early morning appointment for another ombre color. I decided to go with the darker brown on top again, but thought red sounded fun for the ends of my hair.

This time wasn’t as smooth, though. I had the all over color and a color correction, although the stylist chose to do the all-over color on the ends. That part alone took over three hours – longer than I had planned. Then the backcombing began – I worried that maybe she was a little bit too overzealous with teasing my hair, as I quickly had hair that looked like I had electrocuted myself.

Beauty can look super ugly at first.

It took longer than normal to bleach out the ends, because she had just applied the top color to my hair, including the ends. It was now mid-afternoon. I was tired and hungry and really wished it was all over.

When it was time to rinse out the lightener, the worst part of the process started: combing out the tangled mess that was my hair. She really did go too far in backcombing my hair – it was locked into a giant knotted ball. It took one hour, two stylists – one working on each side of my head – and a bucket of conditioner to get my hair combed out. One hour of tugging and pulling and yanking and sharp pain and holding back tears. Near the end of it I was shaking from the pain. (I have a tender head, too, which doesn’t help.)

At that point I had been there for over six hours and wanted to go home. But I still had to get the color on my ends. I slumped in the chair, exhausted from the ordeal and hoping this would all be worth it.

Eight and a half hours after I first sat down in the chair, my hair was done. I have to admit, it looks really good. I love the ombre look – it’s subtle while at the same time being a bold, fun choice.

It looked even better after I had it styled this weekend:

(My new headshot – cute, no?)
The view from the back.

I hated the process to get hair that looks this awesome, but I have to admit I love the finished look.

I also took notes on how my hair was styled this weekend, too, so I can try to create my own gorgeous curls at home. This BlogHer TV video below shows one way to do it, creating Selena Gomez inspired body and soft curls with a wide curling iron, a comb and some hairspray.  What do you think – does it look easy enough for an amateur like me to do at home?

It looks simple enough, although the backcombing has me a little scared after what I went through last week. I may have nightmares about teasing my hair for years to come.

(PS – BlogHer and Olay are giving away $100 or more with this video – if you watch and answer the question at the end of the clip, you could be a winner!)

Filed Under: fate laughing at me, me me me, shameless bragging, sponsored ·


Mar 19, 2013

Domesticity, Conferences and Dresses

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Over the weekend we moved a little closer in my goal of making this house look like it has permanent residents and not just transients passing through. Two more rooms have curtain rods! Like, real curtain rods screwed into the walls, and not spring rods. That makes twice as many as we previously had.

 Please ignore the bad lighting, ugly ceiling and lack of paint. Work in progress, folks.

The living room curtain rod (which I bought over two months ago and has been sitting in a box) is also now in place, although still lacking in anything to put on it. But now that it’s in place, I’m more motivated to buy curtains. Mira’s room also has a new curtain rod and new curtains. No surprise, she picked pink striped curtains.

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I’m also making progress on my desk area. I bought this file organizer at TJ Maxx and can’t wait to hang it on the wall and start using it:

I love the chalkboard panels on each pocket. I don’t have a lot of papers I need for work, but if I hang it just off to the side of the desk, I can also use it to organize school papers, tax info, etc. There’s a lot of possibility with it.

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Mira recently asked me to make her a shawl. She had noticed the shawl I occasionally wrap myself in and when she found out that I made it, she wanted one, too. It’s been over a year since I knit anything, mostly due to an inability to carve out time for myself, so I thought this might be a good way to get me back into knitting. I clearly had no idea what I was agreeing to, however, when I took her out on Sunday to pick out the yarn for her project:

Ouch. Hot pink with bits of metallic shimmer. Well, at least there will be no way to lose her when she wears it. She’ll probably be visible on Google Earth maps.

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I’m going to the Blissdom conference later this week in Dallas. This will be my first trip to Texas, not counting changing plans in Houston a few times. I’m looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting lots of new bloggers and generally immersing myself in the blogging world for a few days.

Going to blog conferences now (for me, at least) isn’t so much about picking up new tricks for blogging as it is about networking and getting inspired. I’m fairly set in my ways, but I love finding new folks to read and hearing the “we matter” blogger pep talk that refreshes me and keeps me writing.

I still have to pack everything for the trip, which is the worst part of going to any conference. It seems like the minute I need to pack for a trip, my entire closet of clothing is suddenly too tight, too loose, or doesn’t match with anything else. Frustrating.

And of course there’s the flying part. I still hate flying. Here’s hoping it’s a smooth flight so I don’t grab the arm of the person next to me if there’s turbulence.

Anyone else going to be at Blissdom? I’m usually not hard to find, since I rarely stay in one spot for long. As long as you’re in one spot, I’m sure I’ll pass by. On Friday night, you’ll probably see me in a dress that looks a lot like this:

Only mine has cap sleeves and is longer.

I’ll be reviewing this dress soon. I received it for review from eShakti, and (spoiler!) I love the dress and the company. I’ve yet to find anywhere else that will customize a dress to fit you perfectly. (If you’re already interested in shopping for a new dress, I have a coupon code for your order – just use the code MMMYSTRY for 20% off.)

Now everyone think good thoughts that I don’t spill something all over myself or fall down stairs or completely offend someone with an ADD-moment or do something else to embarrass myself while I’m at Blissdom. (I’ll also chicken out on karaoke to keep myself from absolute embarrassment.)

Filed Under: Blissdom, daily life, domestic zero, home, me me me, Mira, reviews, travel ·


Mar 14, 2013

Surviving Your Disney World Vacation Part 1: Planning

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Surviving DIsney World Part 1: Planning Your Trip

Now that we’re back from our first family trip to Disney, I’ve had some time to reflect on what worked well and what didn’t work so well on our trip.

These are tips that worked for us, and may work for you depending on your situation and how you prefer to vacation. I started working on this list, and realized I’d need to split it up into more than one post, because there is so much to share. So first I’ll share what worked for us when it came to planning the vacation, then we’ll look at tips once you’re at the parks.

Tip #1: Stay on-site.

The Walt Disney World Resorts system is made up of so many different resorts, from value resorts that are often as cheap as or cheaper than budget hotels off-site, to the all-out posh experience of some of the best hotels in the world. There’s something for every price point, and depending on the time of year, there are often sales and discounts when you combine a resort stay with your tickets.

All resorts have some of the same basic features. They all have a food court (or food stands) and a shop for gifts or basic necessities. All resorts provide free, easy transportation to all of the Disney parks. And when staying at any resort, your room key is also your park admission ticket, and you can grant charging privileges to it, too. This is super helpful when you don’t want to carry a lot of cards, cash and an ID with you when going to the theme parks – one card is all you need for admission and any purchases.

Port Orleans - RiversideAt Port Orleans – the riverboat in the background and hotel rooms beyond that.

As a resort guest, you can also request that anything you buy in the parks is sent back to your resort instead of carrying it around all day. (This is also a free service.)  There are pools at each resort, too. More expensive resorts will have upgrades like on-site childcare centers, restaurants, and activities.

We stayed at Port Orleans – Riverside this time, a moderate resort. We’ve also stayed at Pop Century (a value resort) when Aaron and I went together many years ago. Both had the features mentioned above. The rooms were a little nicer at Port Orleans, and the “theme” of the resort is a little more grand. Being on a river, we had a boat option to travel to Downtown Disney instead of the bus, and they also had more on-site resort activities and a table service restaurant. The room quality was a step up from Pop Century, but even Pop Century was a very nice standard room for the money.

Tip #2: Get the dining plan, especially if they offer a discount for it.

When we first booked this trip, I said no to the Disney Dining Plan. I had grand ideas of carrying granola bars and water with us everywhere we went, and looking for the cheapest food we could find while there. As we got closer to the trip, though, I realized I didn’t want to weigh myself down by carrying that stuff all day, and heard positive tales of others who used the dining plan. (Thanks, Erin!) I called Disney’s vacation planners again and added in the plan.

Basically the plan is a pay-up-front discount dining plan that provides you with two meals and a snack each day. There’s an option for 2 “quick service” meals per day (meaning you go to a counter and order it) or 1 quick service and one table meal (table=a sit-down restaurant where they bring the food to you, or also some buffets). There are more expensive options, too, but we didn’t even look at those.

We opted for the quick and table service plan, especially when we learned that character meals (where you have a meal and get exclusive meetings with Disney characters) was included in the table service options. With the meal plan, you order your food, hand them your card – the same one that’s your room key and park admission – input your PIN, and go on your way. Super easy.

Seeing a price tag of $700-ish for a week of meals for four looks outrageous at first. But now that we’re home, I added up the receipts of what we would have spent on all of those meals and snacks, and realized we saved A LOT of money. Theme parks aren’t cheap for food, but we also thought the food quality was excellent and still have great memories of the two princess meals we were able to get in on. Portion sizes are also very large, so you may find yourself using your snack credit for a light breakfast in the morning or saving some of your meal for later.

Sharing a cupcake at DisneyDessert comes with each meal, too.
My cupcake was too much for me to eat, so Mira helped.

Also? If you have a child who occasionally is too excited to eat, it’s better to pay the discounted price for a meal she’ll demand and then take two bites of and say she’s not hungry rather than the full price. (That would be Mira, for anyone wondering.)

Tip #3: Make your dining reservations early – BEFORE your trip.

Whether you’re using the dining plan or not, if you want to eat at certain locations make sure you have reservations or you may have no chance of getting in. You can call Disney or make reservations on their website up to 180 days before your trip. Want to have dinner at the new Be Our Guest restaurant in Fantasyland? Good luck – it filled up so fast we weren’t even able to get a reservation.

The character dining also disappears super fast, and you’re better off making reservations for any table meal rather than hoping for a table with a long wait and cranky kids. We did reservations for all of our table meals and never had to wait more than five minutes to be seated. It means you have to be a little more committed to a schedule, but for us that was better than the alternative of long waits or not getting to visit the restaurants we wanted to eat at.

Meeting Ariel at breakfastMeeting Ariel while eating breakfast instead of standing in a long line?
Multi-tasking win!

Side note: if you have food allergies, tell them when you make the reservations. Aaron is gluten-free, and I noted that on all of our reservations. And for each table service meal, the chef personally came out to speak with us and let us know what was safe for him to eat. (Yes, really!!)

At the Sci-Fi Dine-in Restaurant, the chef made gluten-free croutons for Aaron so he didn’t have to have a Caesar salad without croutons. (The chef insisted that the salad would be lacking without croutons!) And at Cinderella’s Royal Table, the chef prepared gluten-free rolls with an herb & olive-oil dip just for Aaron while the kids and I had regular rolls and butter. We were so impressed that Disney goes out of their way to help those with food allergies feel welcome and well-fed.

Aaaaaand…that’s enough for one post. I’ve got another set of tips coming for once you’re in the parks, including a big recommendation for those who have kids with special needs.

Part 2: Tips for at the parks.

Filed Under: family time, memories, money, travel ·


Mar 11, 2013

Creating My (Tiny!) Home Office

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It’s been nearly a year since I started working from home. During this time, I’ve wanted to have a home office of my very own, but didn’t have the time to design anything or find the space for it.

So my office has been the corner of the loveseat with an end table to place my laptop and a folding table in front of it to hold my notebooks/glasses/pens/etc. It wasn’t my intention to keep such an unofficial (and cramped) work space for such a long time, but hey, at least it’s a comfy place to sit.

Earlier this year, my aunt bought a new house – a larger house – and I saw an opportunity to create some space here for myself. I had been visualizing the area between our living room and the dining room as the perfect spot for a mini-office.

The only issue was the piano taking up all of that space. The upright piano is mine, a gift from my grandmother after I taught myself to read music and play piano when I was a kid. I love the piano, but it hasn’t had a lot of use lately. I rarely get a chance to play it, and both Cordy and Mira have shown zero interest in wanting to learn to play. 

So I asked my aunt if she would take the piano for us, at least until we (someday) have a bigger house where it might fit. Since there was plenty of room in her new house, she gladly accepted it (she can play as well), and offered me her desk in trade.

I had planned to find my own desk for the office, but when given the option of a free desk and chair, it’s hard to turn it down. Free trumps even IKEA prices.

My new office space now has a basic structure to it, which leads to the real dilemma: how do I transform this area into a super-usable office? I’m starting (nearly) from scratch with it. This is the current set-up:

The kids’ bookcase on the left will be moving a little further to the left to give me some space. To the right is a small filing cabinet with the printer on top of it. The desk fit perfectly where the piano used to be. Realize this will be a very small office crammed between two other spaces – for reference, I’m taking these photos perched on the staircase.

 (There’s still cleaning to be done, of course. And I need to move that framed art hiding under the table at the moment.)

Kinda bland, eh? I still need to scrub down the wall to remove the years of dust from behind the piano, but as you can see, it’s a blank canvas, waiting to become a beautiful office.

I’m begging for ideas here. What does this space need? I’m already considering some shelving on the wall and possibly a calendar. I might add a roll-out filing cabinet under the desk, too. There’s very little natural light in this area of the house, so maybe a lamp? Or bright artwork to make it more cheery? (My Happy Light will likely be joining the desk space as well.)

Because this area is the connector between the living room and dining room, I’ll also have to find a way to make it look like it’s own defined space without walls, doors or room dividers. I’ve got just under 8 feet of width along the wall with four feet out from the wall to work with – anything further out will cut off the walkway between rooms. 

I know several of you are gifted with the creative gene, so I’m hoping you’ll help me brainstorm ideas for transforming this into a bright, cheery office that I will look forward to working from each day. Once it’s all in place, I’ll do a big before-and-after reveal.

I can’t decide if being excited about having a real home office space is normal or just proves I’m old?

Filed Under: daily life, home, me me me · Tagged:


Mar 8, 2013

Ten Years

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It was on this day, ten years ago, that I stood in front of our friends and family and said “I do” to joining in marriage with Aaron.

Ten years. Wow.

Some things have changed since that time, while others stay the same. We have a house now, and a dog, although two of our cats have been with us all along. The only blogging I did at the time was on LiveJournal, but now blogging is a much bigger deal. Aaron still makes his weekly pilgrimage to the comic book store, and ten years of added comics makes me glad we bought a house larger than needed at the time.

And of course we are now parents to two beautiful daughters. That’s a big change.

 (They can be a little silly, too.)

The past ten years have been…interesting. I can’t say they’ve been totally awesome, because there have been a lot of painful moments mixed in with the happy ones. Our life together was nearly ripped apart at one point. But that’s real life, isn’t it? The vows say “for better or worse” but many people don’t think about the “worse” that could come their way, because it’s a happy day full of promise for the future.

The biggest myth about marriage is expecting it to be effortless like the media prefers to portray it. It’s not. It takes effort and determination and work, the levels of which can vary from day to day. You occasionally have to be utterly selfless, painfully swallowing your ego and setting aside your wants for the sake of the other person and for the sake of your partnership. However, it IS a partnership, and your partner will (should?) do the same for you when needed as well. And the rewards from each person making those small sacrifices are exponentially greater than what was given up.

(Kinda like a rehearsal for parenting, eh?)

We’ve been through ten years of absolute joy and plenty of struggle, and we’re still together. We learned how to be partners, how to work through our problems, and how to keep love going even when the newness starts to fade. It hasn’t always been easy, but it’s not always hard either.

I can look back at our first ten years of marriage and say we’ve learned a great deal about how to make a life together. I doubt we’ve figured it all out, but I don’t think that happens for a long, long time. If ever! But that’s OK, it gives us something to work towards.

Today on our tenth anniversary, I hope for many more years together for Aaron and I, and I hope our family will prosper in the years ahead. As cliche as it sounds, I’m so thankful to have married my best friend. I love you, dear, and I love our geeky little family.

Ready to take on the world together. (Yes, I had to throw another Disney picture in.)
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Filed Under: Aaron, daily life, love, me me me, memories, more than parents ·