Caribbean Cruise!

Oh my pinch me will ya? I can't believe it but went on a cruise! And it was to warm sandy beaches in the Caribbean too! What a dream come true. Thanks to my friend Mike, I was able to have 7 days of cruising in the Caribbean for free.

It was awesome. The ship was beautiful and huge. It's not one of the biggest cruise ships, but it is quite large - 2000 passengers. But I didn't feel crowded at all. There is so much to do and see on the ship, everyone is spread everywhere. The food was superb and plentiful. Norwegian Cruise Lines has a FreeStyle program where there are no set dinner times. It's more like a restaurant -- first come first served. If you want to be seated with others, that's fine, and if you prefer to be alone, that's fine too.

Islands I visited:

St Thomas

Dominica

Barbados

St Lucia

St Kitts

The islands were all pretty. For each port we took one of the shore excursions the ship offered. At St Thomas is had just rained heavily, so our trip was canceled. But our cab driver was the resourceful one and gave us a 2 hour tour for a nominal charge. I liked Dominica the most but it might have been because it was the only island that I took a land tour. We traveled into the rainforest and saw so many plants and trees in bloom. There were also waterfalls too. Just gorgeous. In St Kitts I canceled my train trip in favor of a snorkeling tour. I have never snorkeled before, so I was a bit apprehensive. But I loved it and so canceled the next days excursion for another snorkel trip! Both were nice, but the first site was so clear and beautiful. I saw different fish each time. I took a bunch of pictures with my digital camera and some with an underwater camera too. I haven't gotten the underwater pics developed yet, but when I do they will be loaded with the others.

Purchases: I bought a bunch of stuff. Hey it's a cruise and Christmas is coming up.

Tanzanite ring and earrings

The islands have jewelry shops everywhere. I found a pretty tanzanite ring set in white gold tha I liked and wasn't too expensive. It's a beautiful blue that reminds me of the ocean surrounding the islands. I also found a pair of tanzanite earrings to match.

Diamond stud earrings

I picked up a few freebie sets of diamond stud earrings; the diamond is so small but they are set in gold and look good. I wear them every now and then and I gave the other pair to Grace.

Binoculars

The set I bought online and brought with me were just too big. This new one has a good range and they are so small I can carry them anywhere. Plus they were only $25.

Del Sol: Tshirts, nail polish, tote bags

A company by the name of Del Sol produces items that change color when they are under sunlight. The designs are pretty and I'm sure the kids will get a kick out of the shirts. I also picked up a few bottles of nail polish for Grace. I thought she'd like having color change polish. They also gave every cabin a free tote bag. It is fun to watch the colors change so vibrantly.

soap and eggs

I bought a few bars of olive oil soap, Castille soap, and one other moisturizing soap in Dominica. They smell lovely and I've wanted to buy some before but never did. One of the vendors at the rainforest waterfall had a basket full of tiny rock eggs. I instantly thought of my long haired online friends and bought a few.

I think cruising is the best way to vacation. It's relaxing and everything is within reach.

Name Calling

Ok, I've had it. Today, after karate practice Alan and I run up to the grocery store to pick up a few things. He argues with me about his choice of cereal, swearing he didn't pick the Cheerios I bought last time. I told him he was wrong and he continued to argue. Then I told him that he will no longer be choosing cereal anymore - I will do it and he will have no choice at all if he continues to disagree with me.


We move on down to the bread aisle where Alan accidentally bumps into a lady. I told him to be more careful with the cart as he hit the lady. He denies doing any such thing. I SAW IT WITH MY OWN EYES and yet Alan said he didn't do anything at all. I tell him how tired it is to hear him lie to me. He calls me stupid.


That's it.


I tell him he's no longer getting a thing from me, he will not call me names and I will not take any more of his lies. I hand him the root beer he wanted and tell him to put it back. I then walk off to finish my shopping. He's no where to be found, not that I'm looking for him.


He asks if he can help carrying the bags. I say no, I don't need help from lying boys like him. I also tell him I'm not feeding him anything except tea and toast. He eats lunch at school, so he better make it a meal, I'm not feeding him at home. He's to stay in his room, eat and do homework there. I don't want to see him. I won't take him anywhere with me, he won't see his friends, I could give a rat's ass if he does his homework.


I'm so fed up with his attitude that he should receive and not give at all. He can't say a good word to Grace (Grace can't either, and I'm working on her too) or me. He thinks he deserves everything. He has exactly two chores - feed and water the dogs, and crush cans. That's not asking for a lot.


I also got after Grace too. She's been on a tear yelling and screaming at us all. I made some Weird Al CDs and they've already lost track of one. Grace couldn't find her library card nor her swimming pass. Plus I don't know what websites she's been to, but there was some program that constantly threw up pop up ads to where they filled the window. It took me two days to get rid of the thing. At least I think I got rid of it.


What's worse is that I feel like shit now.

Beligerant

I'm getting frustrated again. When Alan was very young he had this 'game' where you couldn't do anything fast enough to suit him. When you did do something for him, he'd then turn away as if it weren't good enough. He's doing it again. A couple of times this week he would ask a question that I needed to think a bit and when I began to think he'd cut me off and say "forget it." And when I couldn't come to his aid soon enough (for him), he'd turn away and say "nevermind" Once he had some gift in his hand which he denied me. It was a photo of the two of us at school.


I'm not ignoring him. I'm usually busy putting up trash, cleaning dishes, or something and it takes a bit of time to finish that and come to Alan to see what he's wanting. A time or two I've told him to wait and let me finish, but that also disturbs him and results in the same behavior.


Homework is still achore, but he's getting better at it. I continue to find the TV remote in his hands despite the countless times I've told him he's not to touch it and there will be no television on school nights. I've already taken the habit of hiding the DSS access card so he can't watch it while I'm at work.


Will this ever end?


On a brighter note, he is doing pretty good at school. It is 75% of the semester and he has 6 points (an S). Last year, he'd be at 11, which is an N. So that's a full letter grade up in behavior! I'm extremely happy about this, even though Alan is disappointed. He so wants to be a patrol next year. He knows to be nominated he has to have 5 or less points each semester. Blowing it by a point now (and probably a few points in the coming 2 weeks) would put him out of the running for patrol. But I told him if he keeps up the S he and a friend can play one game of LaserQuest on me.

Homework part deux

It's been three weeks and homework with Alan is still an ordeal. Here's a recap:
Sept 8: He zips through math, stalling with English. He decides to trace a paragraph instead of writing it in cursive. He complains of headaches again. I threw a fit this week, writing his teacher a mad note about how Alan is so stubborn and coniving and maybe he should be put back a grade. Ok that might have been a bit over the top, but I was PMS'ing.
Sept 19: More stalling, but better this week. We also started karate classes. If he doesn't do homework, then karate is out. I didn't do much management this week.
Sept 26: Continued stalling, but no headaches. Instead, this week's illness is extreme heat. He had pages returned to him from last week's homework because it wasn't done.

Behavior

Today Alan came home and cried like a baby. He was so upset, I had never seen him react like this. After holding him for a while, he was able to say he got another behavior point. This makes 5 points and he thought that took him down a rung to an S in the behavior grading system (Excellent, Satisfactory, Needs Improvement, Unsatisfactory) and therefore out of contention to be a School Patrol next year.


I've never seen him this upset and it pulled at me terribly. He mentioned that he's tried to do something different at school, but every time he hasn't been chosen - testing for Promise was the example he brought up.


I tried to cite examples of things he does do that are super - taking karate and soccer. But they don't count, because they aren't school activities.


After a nap (for the both of us) I told him that I was still very very proud of his behavior. Just last year he was consistently getting N's. To expect him to jump two levels to an E is preposterous. I told him that he still has an E, and if he does get more points, he's still doing wonderful.

GM: It's Been Fun, But I'm Bored With You

Somehow, I feel like I should be in a confessional, but I'm not Catholic so I don't do that.


As some of you might remember on my first GM trip back in February this year I decided to give GM products a try. Since then I've been faithful and haven't used anything else - not even my usual ACV rinse.


I like the GM products and they like my hair. No problems at all.


But


I'm bored! I'm tired of using them all the time. I've tried to think why I'm so bored. The products are simple to use and that's a plus for me. They give me great feeling hair afterwards. I do love the creme rinse.


I want to smell something different! That's what it is.


So I'm going back to Suave Humectress. It smells like coconut.


Sorry GM, but I'm moving on and leaving you. I might take you back into my shower one of these days, but for now I'll be taking someone else.

Homework blues already

This week started off well (well it was a holiday, how can it be any better?) but ended poorly. Alan waited until the last day to do his homework. I kept reminding him every day to do a page, but he ignored me. I promised myself that I'd be easy on him Mon-Wed and then on Thursday get after him like a duck on a June bug. And so I did. He didn't like it. He tries to bring his homework into the living room to watch tv as well. Not a chance, and he's perturbed. I tell him he does have a choice - bedroom or dining room. More comments about not being fair.


Now don't get all bothered, he didn't have a lot to do - 1 page of math and 2 of English, but they are front and back. He naturally went for the math first and I helped him on some of the problems, but it went smoothly. He tends to skip the instructions and go for the problems and that gets him in trouble. Then came English work. Instantly, he gets a headache. hmmm, interesting. Ok, I said, just do this page and rest some. Nope, headache's terrible mom. Fight ensues, but it's quick because I won't have any of that. I send him to bed. He goes to bed, obviously not sleepy, but has to because it would blow his cover. All evening long, he pops back in to complain about this or that. I send him back.


We've been over this last year, and he knows that tv isn't to be turned on until I get home. But he's been watching it this week. He says he 'forgot' which doesn't wash with me. When he calls I give him suggestions - do your homework, put away your clothes, read for 20 minutes, write your spelling words. All of them has gone ignored.


But I'm not upset yet. Next week, because he's done poorly this week, I'm going to take the time and do homework with him. I need to make a schedule....

A Clean Sweep

I cleaned off part of the deck this weekend. Lots of dead trees from neglect. I don't know if the raintree will survive, but I'm hoping. I need to calm down and not get overwhelmed. I tend to go overboard on things, I need to take small steps and move on.

You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks

Ah.... the new school year. Grace is in 7th and liking classes and classmates despite having to wear uniforms now. Alan is in 4th and doing likewise but without the uniforms. Can it get any better than this? I think not.

But just to make sure we started off straight and on the right path, I wanted to reinstate the Poker Chip Payment Plan. Only I forgot the combination to the lock! ARGHHHHH! I'm dumber than dirt.

Dr Gunzberger thinks we are doing well and to see how things are going in 9 weeks. He's right - if Alan is doing well, then the praise goes to him and him alone. If he were on pills and doing well, the praise would go to the pills and not recognize the advances in maturity Alan has made. So time will tell. Keep your fingers crossed.

How Abe Got His Name

I forgot to tell you about his name. While on our walk searching for his owner the dog plopped down in a yard. I thought it was a good sign, maybe this was his home?


Alan looked down and saw right in front of the dog a five dollar bill. Lucky dog I thought, this could be his name. But Alan didn't like it. So he was named after Abraham Lincoln, the picture on the $5 bill.

Abe - our newest member of the family

Earlier this month, Alan brought home a dog. It was a dalmatian mix. Alan was playing outside and the dog came up to him. He's young and cute and not too hyper. Alan begged to keep him, but he seemed to be kept by someone else. His toenails were short with the exception of the dew claws. He was thin, but I didn't think much of that.


So I told him we would hold him for a week and see. We then grabbed a leash and took a walk around the block asking people and knocking on doors. We know there are a few homes with dalmatians in the area, but none of them were missing a dog. One lady did recognize him as the neighbor's dog, but they just moved yesterday. hmmmm, I wonder if he was abandoned?


Then I called our local security to let them know of a found dog. And the local vets were notified too. No one called to claim him. I also emailed the dalmatian rescue guy to let him know. He helped us find Didi and is a nice man. He did email me back a week later with a lead from the newpaper. I called the man, and he came by to take a look, but it wasn't his dog.


So we have a new dog. God help us.

A new member of the family

Last week Alan found another dog. He loves animals and wants to keep every stray he finds. I tell him that he's got a heart of gold and that the owners would be very sad to lose their dog, so we need to find the owners or let the dog go so it can wander back home.

Most of the time that works. But last week he found a dalmatian mix and it had been hanging around for a while. So we leashed him and took him for a walk around the block looking for owners. No one claimed him. There are a few homes that have dals, one lady said the dog looked like her neighbor's dog, but they had moved that very day. Did they dump this dog, I wonder? Oh I hope not; that is so cruel.

The neighborhood search didn't work, calling local vets didn't work, notifying our local police was a bust, as was emailing the local dalmatian rescue person. We didn't see any signs, and we didn't post any signs because it rained most every evening. I told Alan that if after a week, we could keep him.

His name is Abe, because during our search the dog plopped down in a lawn right in front of a $5 bill. He's just under a year old and is very good natured. His spots aren't solid, instead they are dappled with white. We took him to the vet for all his shots and a checkup. He's healthy with the exception of worms, but that's easily taken care of. He's a smart guy and learning to sit and go into his crate (it's really Didi's but he's using it until I can afford another crate) on command.

Website News

I've redesigned this site a bit. I'm using blogs for most of the pages. I like the fact that I can add and change entries from anywhere. It's creating the template that really sets the tone and feel for the page.
And so, knowing me, each page is a little different using ideas and graphics from around the internet. The nifty thing about blogs is that I can change the template for a totally different look and won't have to retype the content. muy bueno.
Well I've got most of the pages done. The hair page is done. It's my journal of how I'm enjoying growing my hair long.
I've got all the entries into the Disney page, but it needs some spicing up. The page needs a table of contents or a go back button or something. I like how I did it - each set of pictures are grouped together so you can see the page as it appears in the scrapbook. Then I've journaled a bit about the photos and our time at WDW. But the best part (to me) is the journaling at the bottom of each entry in italics. There I describe how I made the pages. Plus, you can click on an image to get a larger view of the page.
The genealogy page is up and running. That one takes some time to load as it is on a different host and I've got over 15MB of files to FTP. I still don't have the GEDCOM file created, but that gets loaded onto yet another host. Check out the pages though, I think Legacy does a spanking job of creating pretty web pages. Of course I chose the background and graphics, but Legacy did the hard work - there are over 4,000 people in my family tree!

My Second GM TreatmentandHow I Got to Speak with Dr George Michael!

I'm back from a trip to Dallas for a GM treatment! It was a lot of fun and I'm sure I'll miss something I wanted to tell y'all about it but I'll do my best.

First off I picked up LongHairRennie at her place Saturday morning and we chatted all the way to Dallas! She's a sweet lady with fine looooong red hair. I have never seen such red! I kept my sunglasses on in her presence! 8) hehe.

Our appointment was at 2pm and we made it despite taking the wrong I-35. (tbear, you need to give me a lesson on Dallas highways) We gave up trying to figure it out and took the speedy tollway and arrived without more delays. Bill was as sweet as ever, he gave us hugs and welcomed us. He knew we liked pictures and reminded us that he needed to take before shots. What a thoughtful guy!

Then he got to work on us: Rennie was first. He did the usual wash, sectioned off hair and slathered on lots of the 1hour treatment stuff and then wrapped the hair around on top of her head. Then she was in the beautiful pink heat cap for an hour. I was next. After Rennie's timer went off, he rinsed her well, applied the cream rinse and then combed her, put in the rollers and put her under the dryer (106° = ten degrees above body temp) for another hour. Then it was my turn. I think this shot is after I'd been under the dryer, but look at them rollers! :shock:

During all this we chatted and pounded Bill with questions. Rennie was very good and remembered all the questions about GM theories and opinions; I listened a lot :)



While we were under the dryers, Bill took a break and made a few phone calls. I didn't hear anything cause I can't hear with the dryer noise and besides I had just bought the new Harry Potter book to keep me busy ;) But at one point I did hear him say "Dr Michael this is Bill" and I wondered who he was talking to? Darn those loud dryers. Then after a bit he gave the phone to Rennie and she talked on his phone. Strange, I thought. Then Bill bent closer to me and said "Dr Michael wants to talk to you next. He's 85 and has a Russian accent" I was astounded so I said "get outta here" and he told me indeed it was him on the phone! I was so excited! After Rennie talked for a bit, I got to talk to Dr Michaes!!!!! What would I say? I didn't have to worry a bit, cause he's a charmer and loves to talk. He already knew a bit about me and my hair (I guess Bill told him while we were drying) but he asked a few more questions about it and he said he was so happy I liked the system and that my hair was beautiful according to Bill. He told me that he wanted me to take pictures and send them to him. He said to do it soon cause his birthday was coming up and it would be a nice present for him! Can you believe it? :D Then .... this was wild..... he said to be sure to add my phone number and address, because he will call and thank me for the pictures. And he said to give him a time that is good to call, because he hates to talk to machines. I can't remember what else we chatted about, but I know I did tell him how happy I was with the GM products and Bill's work. When he closed he told me how he couldn't wait to see my hair and it's beauty. Then he said "Well it was a great treat to speak with you lovely Carol, now let me talk to Billy" I nearly laughed at the Billy remark!!!!



After all that, I HAD to tell someone. So I left a message on Tbear's phone, but that wasn't enough. Dulci couldn't believe it when I told her! I was freaked too, it was very weird to speak to the man himself!

Whew! Back to the treatments.... he unrolled Rennie and did a split end trim on her hair. He didn't do that at the last visit I had so this was new for me to watch. He took little sections (about 8 or so total) and twisted the hair. Then he spotted and clipped selected hairs that stuck out. It didn't take long, Rennie must be doing a good job by not using rubberband and ponytail holders.

Then he combed her out fully and trimmed her ends. It's beautiful don't you think?

Then it was my turn. He unrolled me, combed it out then dusted the ends! I got a dusting! He also said I was tailbone length! I didn't think I was but wasn't too sure if I knew where tailbone was exactly (yes I do know my anatomy, but you know how terminology gets sometimes). He took longer than usual on the dusting - Rennie said my hair flipped weird and Bill was trying to sort it out. I think he did a great job - here's a pic of the GM flip on my hair.

And this is my after shot! I'm at 37 inches now! The pic looks shorter than tailbone, I'm going to have to disagree with Bill. I'm not at tailbone - yet.

We loved our 'new' hair! It was past 6pm by then and we were starved. Rennie knew a great little rolled sandwich shop there that was delicious (Rolly Polly I think it's called) We didn't have time to shop so we skipped that part, but that's okay, cause we'll do that at the Austin meet next month! Rennie had a game to attend so I dropped her off to play and have fun. I went to see 'Alex and Emma' - good love story ;) After all that, we headed back home to Austin. It was a looooooong day, but very worthwile.

Some lovely hair quotes

She knows her man, and when you rant and swear,

Can draw you to her with a single hair.

--- John Dryden, Persius.

Give me a look, give me a face,

That makes simplicity a grace;

Robes loosely flowing, hair as free, -

Such sweet neglect more taketh me

Than all the adulteries of art:

They strike mine eyes, but not my heart.

---Ben Jonson, Epicoene Or the Silent Woman.

Those curious locks so aptly twin'd,

Whose every hair a soul doth bind.

---Thomas Carew

Tying her bonnet under her chin,

She tied her raven ringlets in;

But not alone in the silken snare

Did she catch her lovely floating hair,

For, tying her bonnet under her chin,

She tied a young man's heart within.

--- Nora Perry, The Love-knot.

ODD study

Mom found a newspaper ad from the university looking for kids with ODD and no other problems. It seems they want to try an ADHD medication called Adderall on ODD kids and see if it helps any. I thought Alan would be perfect for this study. The analyst thought it couldn't hurt, and if we wanted to forgo the study, he could probably persuade his partner into writing a script for it.


I called the university and set up an appointment. They faxed me a 17 page paper explaining in detail the process and the procedures to be used. It didn't seem to be a problem, except for the blood.... they would need to draw two samples - one before the test and one after. I knew Alan would not like this.


But after talking to him, he agreed to go for it.


The interviews with the doc and Alan and I went well. I learned something in fact. Alan doesn't have all the indicators for inattentiveness, but he has quite a few of them. When the doc told me about this, we agreed that this study would most likely result in a major improvement for Alan.


At that time, the nurse was trying to draw blood. And Alan fainted :( poor guy, I wish I had been there to help. Are mothers a help in cases like this? I don't know. Anyways, he fainted and she couldn't finish the draw, so it wasn't enough blood to send. I kept hoping that Alan would continue, but he decided that was enough and he wanted out of the study. I couldn't persuade him otherwise - a hallmark of ODD is Defiance after all. The nurse, doctor and I talked about it some and thought he might reconsider on Monday. He hasn't. I'm disappointed.

French Twist

I can't do a French Twist for the life of me. I don't know if it is because I have too much hair or that I don't have the skill. I was able to get something like a French Twist by first wrapping my hair around a long hairstick and then laying the hairstick vertically on the back of my head. Then I grasped the hair and took out the hairstick. I tucked it a little more and inserted a Ficcare clip. Not bad for my first tries.

A Plastic Banana Clip

I think this clip is called a banana clip, they used to be very popular back in the 80's. The clip is hinged at the bottom with the teeth on each half of the clip. I put this clip on my hair by bending over, flipping my hair over and placing the open clip on the back of my head where I'd like it to be. Then I stand upright, flipping my hair back and into the combs of the clip. Then bring the top of the clip together and secure. Problem is -- the clip slides out of my hair pretty easily, resulting in a fix up two or three times a day. But I like the look, a sort of long ponytail that looks almost Roman to me.

An Interval PonyTail

I bought a bunch of small brown wraps (it seems we lose a lot of these, I'm always buying some) and thought I'd use the wraps at intervals down the length of my ponytail. I think it looks great, and keeps the hair together well.

Stealing and Playboy

I am terribly upset and angry today. Yesterday I noticed that the
bags of Ron's mail that I had sitting next to my desk were rummaged
through (some of the mail was out of the bag.) Then I noticed an open
envelope that would have contained a Playboy magazine. I instantly
thought of Alan, and called him about it. I asked if he had been
opening Ron's mail, because one of his magazines was opened and is now
missing. Alan said he didn't do it. I then told him I wanted it
back, it wasn't his to open and it needs to be returned before we go
to bed. He still said he didn't do anything. When he and I went to
eat, Grace called me and told me she found 3 magazines in Alan's toy
backpack. I was livid, but I didn't mention it to Alan, because I
wanted him to come clean and return the magazines on his own. That
didn't happen, because at 10pm when I kissed him goodnight I again
asked about the magazines. What would you say if I know where they
were? How bad would it be if I found them in your room? He agreed it
would be damning evidence against him, but yet he still didn't admit
to anything. I pulled them out of the bag, and nothing happened. I'm
so very mad about this.

This morning I decided that his punishment would be to owe me 10 chips
every day. He already owes me 55 chips for spending 5 hours at a
friends house and watching tv. Alan thought I should ground him until
school is out, and at first I agreed, but now I think this is a better
idea and keeps in line with the chip earning and spending.

Just now, I'm in his room helping him clean his room. Actually I
wasn't cleaning, I was trying to get him to put things away instead of
having everything out and in the way. It was then that I noticed a
book of my checks were on his dresser in addition to a laser keychain
of mine. I never gave him any of these items. What did he want with
my checkbook? I'm furious now, and I'm just wondering what he's doing
next.

Evita Peroni

	With the great success of the Ficcare's, I decided to throw some more money and buy toys from EP. EPs are less expensive than Ficcares. I bought a gold Mimi Stick which is a great stick to have. It really feels good and is the perfect length. I bought a maximus look-alike in dark brushed silver. I also bought a millenium clip in bright gold. Both work well. The EP toys don't have the extremely smooth edges as the Ficcares, but that can be taken care of easily.
I also got a Julia stick in gold dust, which is the center stick in the picture. I'm not as thrilled with this toy; it's made of plastic and the ends are blunt which make it difficult for me to get it into my hair. I think it will work best for loose hair styles rather than the tighter buns that I can do.
	This is the equivalent to a large Ficcare Maximus, Evita Peroni calls it a Patsy Pelican. I had already bought a dark matte silver clip (which looks like pewter to me), so I got a shiny gold one recently.

Ficcares

I bought my first Ficcare (Fi-care-ray) on the Great GM Experience in Feb 2003 (see trip report below.) I had been reading a lot of great experiences from other long hairs, so I decided to give it a try. My first one is a large brushed silver maximus clip. It's very strong, yet all the edges are smooth. I twisted my hair up in the usual fast messy style and slid the maximus in. The top part of the clip lays on top of the hair, and it stays all day! I'm very impressed. They are expensive ($25) but very pretty. The Ficcare catalog has some great colors and styles. I then was given a couple of Ficcare beak-type clips. They are pretty and would probably hold a French Twist pretty well, but I can't do a French twist.

Volleyball and Frogs

Grace has been playing volleyball in the local YMCA league for 6-8th grade girls. The coach is a young lady who didn't smile much, but certainly knew how to play. She had two assistants, which has turned out that they are coaching all the time since the coach has taken an internship and it is taking all her free time. It's best anyways, the girls didn't like the unfriendly coach much, they really like the two guys. They still do the drills as before, and it is very new for Grace, but the guys are fun and smile and tease the girls, so it makes it bearable.

She's played 3 games thus far and has won each week. There are a lot of great volleys between each team which makes for a great game.

Last Friday while I was pulling my bonsai down to take some pictures, I found a little frog sitting in the saucer of my frankensence. I caought it for Alan who promptly started to create a home for it in the little bug container we've got. We tried to identify the critter by doing some searches online, but I couldn't readily identify a species. So, we took the guy to the local pet store. This isn't an ordinary puppy/kitty/fish store, oh no. They specialize in snakes, lizards, frogs and turtles. They took a look and pulled out their frog guidebook and decided that Alan's got a Western Chorus Frog. Cool name huh? Then we asked some questions (what should it live in, what does it eat and how often?, etc) and bought a dozen 2week old crickets. At home, Alan put 3 crickets in the cage and we waited and watched. Sure enough, the frog stuck out his tongue and zapped the crickets quick and neat. I hope this guy lives for a while, Alan's enjoying having a pet again.

Brazilian Raintree

I was lucky to buy this tree from a fellow bonsai society member. There aren't too many raintrees in our region, and this one is gorgeous. At first glance you might think it is a Texas Ebony, another favorite native of mine. The leaves and thorns are similar, but it is the trunk that is very different. The Texas Ebony's trunk is round, while the Brazilian Raintree is flattened and squarish. It makes for a very interesting tree. Like the Ebony, the leaves close up at night or when stressed.

Boxwood

I won this boxwood at last years Bonsai Convention. I was so happy to get such a beauty of a tree. I love how the bark is smooth like a crepe myrtles. This guy is bigger than what I'm used to; it's in a five gallon pot.

Green Island Fig part 2

My second fig. I got this guy at the bonsai convention in New Braunfels last fall. I think it has lots of potential. It is leggy, but I can fix that.

Combing in the Shower

All my life I have been told that hair is especially fragile when wet and you shouldn't brush wet hair. Knowing that I comb my hair after I have towel dried it, and sometimes I will go to sleep with towel dried (but still wet) and uncombed hair. You'd think it would be a mess to comb out in the morning, but it isn't at all.

Then Mariah posted on LHC that she combs in the shower under the running water. This intrigued me and I tried it. Of course I'm very careful and don't jam the comb and drag it down my hair. I lean forward and use a very wide shower comb. I begin at the bottom portion and comb it, moving up six inches or so until I've got the entire head combed. It takes less time than combing out of the shower!

Alan is Great

Alan's been doing much better in school. Miss Cerny said he's been gettng Greats on his contract quite regularlly. In fact, she's thinking of raising the bar and hoping Alan will rise to the challenge. Right now, if he gets 6 Greats in the day, he gets a treat. She wants to increase it to 8 or 9 I think. There are a total of 18 opportunities to get a Great, so raising the number isn't outrageous.
I'm so happy he's focusing on class more. I wish he'd work with me at home.
He was invited to spend the night at Tristans this Saturday. I told him it would cost him 20 points to go, and he had about 4 chips. He worked hard to get the chips but he also complained the entire time and wanted more choices on the list of jobs. That's just like him -- to want something other than what's available.
Something else was suggested about Alan. Maybe he is dysgraphic. I'm not sure what that entails, but I'm going to look it up and find out.

Certificates for Grace

Grace got her report card last week - all A's. Pretty darn good :) Plus she received two certificates for having the highest grade in her team for that subject. She got one for Social Studies and the other was English. Her school splits the grades into teams, and the 6th grade has 4 teams, each consisting of about 200 students. So Grace made the highest marks out of 200 kids, or 1/4 of the 6th graders. I'm so very proud of her.

The Great GM Experience

I had been reading the forums and saw a lot of talk about GM treatments and GM salons. Dr George Michael is a man who has developed a line of products especially for long hairs. He also trains people in the proper use of the products and his theories of long hair care. Unfortunately, there are about 20 salons in the US that are GM trained. And the closest to me is in Dallas.

One of the ladies on LHC mentioned she and another were going to Dallas, so I asked if I could barge in on their trip. This was an exciting trip for two reasons: the GM experience, and meeting Teacherbear and Dulci! We had a great time, they are both friendly and fun to be with. We chatted on the drive up to Dallas, checked into our room (we all stayed in the same room, a nice suite-type of place, highly recommended and close to the salon!), and then went out to eat. Afterwards, we went back to the room and played with hairtoys and styles. The room could have been a brighter to see all the great things we were doing. One of the best things we did was feel each other's hair. I'm not kidding! I'm not talking hair, the strands individually. I was amazed that each of our strands felt so different. My hair felt straight and thickish all the way down. Tbear's strand felt so thin I could hardly feel it at all. Dulci's hair felt thick and thin down the length. When you turned her hair it would feel thin and then thick. It was a helix pattern, I guess that's what gives her the curls she has. I couldn't believe this! Imagine, three women who had never met in person, check into a hotel room and touch each other's hair!?! It sounds strange, but we all felt very comfortable with each other. Dulci and Teacherbear are exactly as they post online, no false pretenses with them.

The next morning was the GM treatment. We had a wonderful breakfast at the hotel (they have a waffle maker!) and then went to meet Bill Mahavier. It is in a large complex of salons and beauty experts. I haven't seen a store like this before, but it was wonderful and very nice looking. Bill is a very friendly guy and has a great sense of humor. He took a look at our hair to determine his battle plan, I was to go first, then Tbear, then Dulci. I first was shampooed with the creme shampoo, rinsed, then he slathered on the conditioner. After the conditioner, he wrapped my head in wax paper, then put a heat cap on and let me 'bake' for an hour. Dulci and I talked while he did Teacherbear. After the hour was up I returned to the sink and was rinsed. Then he applied the creme rinse. I then sat in the chair where I was rollerset with big rollers and then sat under a hair dryer for about an hour (I didn't time it). I had to stay under the dryer longer after Bill checked the hair.

After the hair was suitably dry, I was unrolled and brushed out. Wow! The hair felt so smooth and silky! Bill gave me the brush and I brushed my hair following his instructions. After the brushing lesson and the fun of seeing my lovely hair, I stood up straight and let Bill trim the ends. I didn't care how much he trimmed, after all he's the expert and knows what is good hair and what needs to go. I think he cut about 1/2" off.

Bill's attention then turned to Tbear and Dulci. Teacherbear's hair was so golden and smooth, like flowing honey. Her hair is so long that she got to stand on a stool for her trim. The flip at the bottom was very sexy. Dulci was looking forward to running her hand through her hair without it snagging on her curls. She got to do it! But it was short lived, because her curls slowly started bouncing back in. I loved it though, her hair has so much body.





After the great care provided by Bill we had him take lots of pictures. We then turned our attention to Nordstroms for hair toys. I learned how to pronounce Ficcare (Fi -car- ray) and found a large maximus in brushed silver that I just had to have. The Mei Fa's were very pretty too. Dulci bought a pair. I also bought a Ficcare circle barrette in brushed silver and a velvet scrunchie in brown tones. At the Ulta store I picked up a brush that Bill recommended for me to help with the flakes I'm plagued with. I also bought some magic Grip pins and a cheapie tortoise shell prong. I forgot to mention that I also bought the GM shampoo, creme rinse and 12 min conditioner from Bill.

As if reading this wasn't enough, you can read more about it and other's comments at the net54 board where we posted our trip report.

Lifting

I kinda figured Alan was stealing poker chips when he had the chance. I set him up and he denied it. The next day, he fell for it again. This time I told him I knew he was stealing and he should come clean. He did but it took some time for him to relent.

So now the poker chip bank has a padlock.

Getting Rid of the Flakes

I've always had a problem with flakes. That's one negative thing about having dark dark hair - everything shows up light a neon sign. At first I thought it was due to using the same old shampoo week after week. Then it was not rinsing well enough. Then it was the change of the seasons. At the GM treatment, Bill suggested I should brush my scalp more often. That only made the flakes smaller and more numerous!

This time I think it is dry scalp. All my life I've thought of myself as being an oily. Maybe and maybe not. I'm not going to worry about what went wrong then, I've got to deal with this scalp now. If my scalp is dry, then it needs moisturizing. So my plan for the past week is to condition my scalp in addition to my hair and see how the flakes react. So far, I have noticed a definate decrease in the flakes! I'm keeping my fingers crossed, I'll keep this up for at least another month to confirm my findings.

-- posted on Tuesday, March 25, 2003



UPDATE: I think my test is working. I've been conditioning my entire hair including the scalp and have noticed a significant decrease in the number of flakes! After I shower and comb out my hair I used to see flakes appear on WET hair, now I don't see any! This IS a major major improvement in the health of my hair as well as in decreasing my stress.

Mei Fa Hair Sticks

These little hair sticks are very classy in an understated way. I have bought several on Ebay and really like the design. Here's one set that I just bought; they are black sticks with a gold disk, a black ring, a cut design to add sparkle, then the long gold bead with a small black bead on top. The picture doesn't show off the detail (note to self: figure out how to show detail better) but they are just darling. The small size scared me off at first, but then after trying them, I realized they hold up my buns very well and don't poke my neck at all.

Two Silver Slides

I like this slide because it is a simple design. It is too small to hold all of my hair, but it looks great with my front hair pulled back into it. Because my hair is so slippery, I often use a pony elastic to hold the pulled back hair. I then use the slide to cover the elastic. Having the elastic in place holds the slide much better. The stick on this slide is straight; I didn't bend it like I did the others. Measurements: 3.25 x 2 inches (8.5 x 4.5 cm)

I fell in love with this slide. I like the spirals and the small flower accent. I think this slide could be used 'upside down' easily (something for lefthanders to think about.) This slide measures in at 3 3/8" wide and 2 1/2" tall (8.75 x 6.5 cm) I bent the stick part a little to accomodate more of my hair. It wasn't easy to bend, but it did with some care.

Bunjiibun

If you haven't seen or heard of bunjii's you're missing out on a wonderful product. It has replaced all my pony elastics because I can get the tension I want with the bunjii and they don't tear up my hair when I take it off. Also, it holds ALL day. They come in a variety of colors and can have a pretty bead or smaller silver beads added to the tail.

Besides the normal ponytails you can make with them, I have worn it to secure a bun and left the tail hanging down for a different look. This picture is of an orange bunjii with silver ends and a cute lampwork bead. The bun is larger than what I normally wear, but is typical of my cinnamon bun making abilities.

My Experience With Henna

MagpieDee had this poll on the old LHC board and I thought it was worth keeping my answers here also.

1. How long have you used henna? How often do you use it? If you no longer use it, why not?

Only 6 months, with a total of 2 applications 4 months apart. Still using it.

2. When did you first try it, and what was that experience like?

October 2002 was my first time. I did it according to the Reverend Bunny's site. It worked well, except I didn't use as much as everyone recommended (I was too scared I'd turn out red red)

3. What brand(s) do you like? What brands would you NOT recommend? Where did you get them?

I bought body-grade henna from www.everydayhenna.com. It is called Kimia, very nice color and sifted fine.

4. What process do you use to henna your hair?

I mixed the henna in a plastic tub with lemon juice (I used three plastic lemons) and ACV to get a consistency of yogurt. Let sit in a warm spot overnight to allow the stain to come out to it's fullest.

Then I wet and towel blotted my hair and applied vasoline around the hairline and on the ears to protect the skin from staining. Using gloves and an applicator bottle (with the hole cut large) I squirted the henna into my hair in sections, working it all over.

After it has all been applied, I wrapped my hair on top of my head and put on a plastic showercap and then a towel warmed from the dryer. I kept it on for 4 hours and then rinsed it all out.

I rinsed and rinsed until the water ran clear. I didn't use shampoo nor conditioner.

5. Do you find henna beneficial or damaging to your hair health overall?

I think it does neither. I thought it was softer but I'm not fully convinced yet. I am sure it isn't damaging.

6. What is your favorite thing about henna? What is your LEAST favorite thing?

Pros: The way it shines in the sunlight. How it is barely noticeable in my hair in normal light.

Cons: I suppose it is the process of putting the goose poop on your hair. I've never colored my hair so I can't compare the process to that, but I'd think it was similar.

7. What else should someone know if they have never used henna but are considering their first henna experience?

ALWAYS DO A STRAND TEST, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'VE ALTERED YOUR HAIR (DYES, PERMS)

You shold know that henna stains, especially the hands and feet. Henna leaves a translucent stain on the outer shaft of the hair, not the inside like chemical dyes.

Eunice Cleans House

Eunice, our housekeeper, cleaned house yesterday. She comes maybe
once a month to help me keep everything neat and clean. I've been
doing a pretty good job of keeping the house clean. Alan on the other
hand has a room that looks like a tornado lives there.
I am always onto him about cleaning it, but he doesn't really care
even though he can get paid for it. I told him if he'd do just one
section of the room, I'd pay him. Even 20 minutes would be worth it.
But he's stubborn, that one is.
So, I warned the kids that Eunice was coming. She's been known to
move things around to where the kids can't find their things. Alan
had that happen to him yesterday - his beloved poker chips were gone!
He called me at work frantic that his chips were missing and demanding
that I repay him. hehe I know they have to be somewhere in his room,
she doesn't mess with things THAT much.
When I came home, his room was very clean. Not spotless because he's
got so much junk there is no way to have it spotless. Besides, he's a
kid and kids don't need spotless rooms. But he was right, I couldn't
find the chips either. Now I've got to count my stash (the bank) and
see if she added them to the bank.
Poor Alan!

MGM Studios

MGM Studios was my least favorite at first glance, but after going there, we came back an extra afternoon. Grace wanted to ride the Tower of Terror again; we got there early enough to ride it twice that morning! I liked all the movie structures, the ride inside the studios, and the backstage tour.

This page was made using a page layout stencil. I printed the title from my computer. I picked this dull blue to match the cloudy sky. It makes the page ugly, I should have chosen another color.

Once Upon a Time

There is a tunnel going under Cinderella's Castle and along the walls of the tunnel is a beautiful mosaic. The tiny tiles form a lovely picture of castle life among princes and princesses.

To make the photo border, I used a punch on a strip of paper and cut it to fit the photo. The title was printed on the paper from my computer and redrawn in gold ink.

Main Street Electrical Parade

Oops, I was wrong, we also planned on seeing this parade too. It is certainly popular; there were people lining the streets 90 minutes before the start time! But it was worth it, the music is very contagious, the lights sparkle and the cast members are so friendly and fun. I let the kids sit up close to the action while Mike and I watched from much further behind. You can see Alan's blonde head in the lower left corner of the photo of the pirate ship on the second page. Thanks goodness for those walkie talkie radios!

I used a layout from the Disney scrapbook. It really shows off the bright lights of the parade. I used corner photo punches to hold the photos in the frame. I saved the punchouts and used them to form the circle of the title. I traced the title text from a computer font. The Mickey shape I drew onto paper using a quarter and two dimes.

A Train in Germany

In EPCOT's World Showcase there is a railroad and village in the Germany section. The kids loved playing with the controls and watching the train travel through the village and countryside.

I need a title for these pages! I made this pair at a local scrapbook store's crop night. I saw the train design in a Disney scrapbook and wanted to use it. One of the teachers there had been extolling the wonders of torn paper and I thought it would be a good idea in this page.

A Tapestry of Nations

I think this was the only parade we planned on seeing. This parade happens along the countries in World Showcase. They have two shows every evening, but canceled the first due to winds. It wasn't windy, but after seeing the tall characters I understood the concern for wind. The music was very captivating, so much so that I bought the CD. One thing that I remembered was the HUGE drums that rolled along and the drummers. They were exactly like the drums I remember seeing in parades when I lived in Japan.

I hope by now you can see that I've used this scrapbook to try a lot of different layouts, styles and formats. The background is two papers - first the blue paper then a page of vellum over the top. I thought the vellum was similar to the breezy floating characters in translucence and in the stars and swirls too. I was very mad that the photos came out much darker than I wanted. I admit I'm not much of a photographer. The title was printed on the computer and then torn. I tried to handwrite a lot of the paragraphs throughout the scrapbook, but this time I printed it from the computer so that I could get all that I wanted to tell on the page.

Test Track

I think Alan loved Test Track more than anything. It was a very popular ride. The neat thing that Disney does is provide you with something to see and think about while you are waiting (and waiting) in line for a ride. Test track's waiting line was all about the testing process and the famous test dummies. We rode in a car that took us along a simulated test track, and then we circled around the outside of the building for a really fast ride. I admit it was a good ride. After the ride, you are taken to the sponsor's area where a bunch of new cars are shown and there are some simulated driving games.

This was a fun page yet simple in design. I had an easy inspiration - the steering wheel. To get the rough cut I used deckle scissors. The font is a StarWars font printed from the computer.

World Showcase

		World Showcase was very interesting. Too bad we didn't stay there longer, but then I could say that about everything at Disney. At each country there is a kids stop where the kids are invited to add something related to the country to a mask they make. At one stop they might add feathers, or beads, and so on. Then the cast members there, write the kids' name in their native tongue on the back. Each country's cast members are residents of that country and have come to work at World Showcase for a year. It's a great opportunity for the cast member and a great one for us to visit with the citizens of each country. In between the EPCOT ball and World Showcase is a huge lagoon, it doesn't seem so distant, but it is. When we were there, they had constructed this citrus pyramid from oranges, lemons, and grapefruits. It smelled wonderful.

This set of pages was a belated joy. I wanted something simple and basic and then got the idea to silouette the panoramic shots of World Showcase and use it for a bottom. Then I wrote in the countries as a sort of map of the Showcase. The title was printed from my computer. To replicate the large masks the kids made, I cut out smaller versions and asked the kids to make mini masks. The initial caps on the second set of pages were traced with a light board from a computer font. The Mickey shape I drew onto paper using a quarter and two dimes.

A Bug's Life

This little area in MGM Studios was a lucky find. We were tired and the kids wanted a break; I can't remember where Mike was at the time. There was a playground that was of gigantic proportions to make you seem small. It was very innovative - a roll of film was a slide, blades of grass were slides. And the giant grashopper and fly were so real looking. It was a lot of fun.

I was very happy with the way this page turned out. I think it's because it is an easy layout and the colors are so bright. The grass paper was an easy choice for this page. I then found the vellum leaves and thought it would be a good addition. I also like how the one page matches the other but they both don't have the same page color. Having two pages with the grass paper would have made for a busy set of pages.

Minnie's House

Minnie's House was about the only pictures I took while we were in the Magic Kingdom. I guess it is because there was so much to do, I didn't have time to place the shots.

I wasn't too happy with this page. It looks like a child did it, and I'm sure a child could do much better. I had the two photos and thought about using the stencils along the edge, but the markers made it look fat and fuzzy. I printed the title from the computer and cut out the letters in pink and blue.

Winnie the Pooh!

		In Animal Kingdom, there is an area specfically for snapping pics with the characters. We found all the gang from the Hundred Acre Woods there. Then in MGM Studios, we found Piglet who gave Grace a big hug. I can't remember where Tigger was, I think he was in the Magic Kingdom. Eeyore was in Magic Kingdom right around Minnie's House. It was a very busy line, and we couldn't get all the pictures we wanted

Another set of ugly pages. I had bought the papers knowing I had some Pooh photos. The problem with the busy papers was that I couldn't think of good layouts. In the Piglet and Tigger pages I used a pen to make photo borders that resembled the background paper design. In the Pooh and Eeyore pages I tried to find paper to match for borders.

The Itinerary

It took a lot of planning to be able to see so much and we still didn't see it all. Since we stayed onsite, we could easily return to the room for naps and a quick swim in the Mickey shaped pool after lunch. The kids complained furiously the first day, but were happy afterwards and even looked forward to it in the days to come.

I think this is my favorite set of pages. I like red, white, black and a splash of yellow. I copied it from the Disney Scrapbook, I wish I could say it was my own idea, but it isn't. I used my computer to type the info on the pages and also to print the title letters. I used a big dot for bullets in the list for each day and then penned in the Mickey ears. I purchased the punchies from Ebay for pennies. The three tickets were our park hopper passes, the other card on the second page was our room key, and the Mickey was a cutout from a set of Mickey papers.

Animal Kingdom

This was a new park at WDW. We went in the morning hoping that the animals would be more active before the heat of the day. The show in the Tree of Life was very good, the kids absolutely loved "A Bugs Life."

I really worked a long time on this layout. I am happy with it but I realized that I need to speed up my page creation or I'll be doing this scrapbook for years. Finding that great animal print paper was lucky and it fit so well. I had a photo receipt that a cast member gave me when he took our photo at the entrance. We didn't like the photo, but I kept the receipt. I used it for the Animal Kingdom title. The monkey and giraffe were copied from a coloring book and cut out of a sage green paper. For the second page, I used a layout stencil and cut the ends of the pictures to fit within the animal print border of the page.

This is the first page of our scrapbook. We went in the summer of 2000; it was hot but still very enjoyable. This trip takes planning because there is so much to see and do. I read through the guidebook I bought and talked to the kids to choose our top choices for each park - the things we absolutely had to do. After that we filled in the trip with rides and shows. We decided to take advantage of the park hopper passes we bought and see two parks in a day. I chose parks that had Early Entry for those mornings, and we stayed at Magic Kingdom for the late hours. In between parks, we went back to the hotel to nap or swim. Also on some days we visited the water parks. I bought autograph books and large fat pens (the kind that can write in several different colors) so the characters can sign with their big fists. Each one of us wore a fanny bag. In the kid's fanny bags were their Gameboys, candy, disposable camera, and autograph book and pen. Also, a water bottle fit on the outside of the bag. My bag had my keys, money, some snacks, glasses, wipes, and my camera. The bags were crucial to our enjoyment of the parks. During long wait lines the kids would play on their Gameboys. Many families commented that this was a smart idea, and the kids were very happy to show the other kids their games - instant friends. The snacks were helpful for those times when someone gets hungry and you know it will be an hour or two before you have a chance to stand in another line at a restaurant. If you want to see a larger picture of the page, click on the image. To return, hit your browser's back button.

At the bottom of each set of pages I'll try to describe the scrapbooking involved. This is my very first scrapbook, I'm sure you can see the amateur work but hopefully you can see the progression I've made in reading and looking at other's works. I tried to use a lot of different methods and layouts to see the variety in scrapbooking as a hobby.
This page was made at my very first scrapbooking 101 class. I cut out the Mickey character from a set of Disney papers I bought. The lettering for the title was a royal pain. I cut out each letter by hand (and knife) and then cut it out again but larger the second time. I have forgotten where the letters came from: a stencil I think. Or was it a diecut? The Mickey head was made from a quarter and two dimes.