Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Hair Cut

On Tuesday I got my hair cut. It was a drastic difference, from about half way down my back to very short. I brought these photos with me to my fabulous hair guy for reference:


I think my hair is somewhere in between the two, leaning more towards the picture of Michelle Williams, since I have the hair coming down over my forehead.
I am really enjoying my new haircut. However, I can no longer just pull my hair up into a ponytail when I don't feel like washing it, or am going to the gym. The new haircut doesn't look as good as it should unless I go through the whole styling process, so at the gym I am always self conscious.
Also, this haircut is driving me to wear make up every day. And I think I am dressing a little better too. All in all, it is a good change. Most people seem to like it, but there are still those out there who are very concerned about a woman with very short hair.
Speaking of hair, I'd like to mention my new hair product love: Cowshed Products
I used the Cowlick Gentle Shampoo and the Saucy Cow Softening Conditioner when I stayed with my sister in The Soho House NY (she has gobs more money than I do) and I loved them so much I stashed them in my bag and made her pay for them. I plan on putting them on my birthday wish list next month. Not only do they do a great job, but the packaging is very pretty.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Muppet Christmas

I was reading the blog Finslippy and she has a post up about The Muppet Christmas Carol (which apparently gave her son nightmares). A commenter posted a link to YouTube and the John Denver Christmas episode of the Muppet Show. I followed the link and watched a bit of it and, to my surprise, found myself welling up with tears. I had to stop watching.
It reminded me of the time, in high school, when someone told me that they were going to give Ernie AIDS and kill him off of Sesame Street. I had to run to the bathroom, where I promptly burst into tears.
How did I end up so emotionally attached to puppets? It can't just be me. I know other people out there in their 30's and older are still completely into the muppets. I so look forward to sharing the shows and movies with my kids.
Is there anything even remotely as cool out there now? I mean, I know Yo Gabba Gabba, or whatever that is, is cool and all, but that's not really the same thing. Will kids growing up now see Dora the Explorer on YouTube when they grow up and burst into tears?

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Girls and Boys

B and I were watching "Little People Big World," on TLC the other night and I commented once again on a trend that I have noticed with the Roloff family. It might just be me, but I think that the father on that show does not spend enough time with his daughter. And the family is always divided along gender lines. The boys go off with the father, while the daughter does something with the mom. Now, I know that this is an edited TV show and I don't know what really happens, so I hope that it is not how my family was, where there was not a choice of what the girls and boys would like to do. Boys did sports and active things, while girls shopped and cooked and cleaned. Ugh. I hope that the daughter on the show chooses to hang out with her mom, but was invited to go deep sea fishing and on all the other trips that the boys go on with their father.
Following a short discussion about this, B commented that he was surprised how his sister was using traditional gender roles in her behavior towards her two children. Our niece is always dressed in pink and told how pretty she looks. Meanwhile, they are constantly saying about our nephew, "He's such a boy!" I can't for the life of me figure out what he does that makes him any different than his sister. From what I've seen, both children have the same impulses to play with the same toys in the same way. What is different is their parents' reaction to their play. The girl is often moved away when she upsets the boy and the boy is allowed to be more rambunctious and loud. For example, we all went into Pottery Barn Kids and both children headed to the display table that had a couple of Fire House doll houses with Fire trucks and a fireman doll. Both children were playing with this set up and everything was fine until our niece made the mistake of putting her hands on the truck that her brother had been playing with. This made her brother scream, so her father scooped her up and carried her off to the "girl" section, which was covered in pink and had female dolls.
Moments later, her mother came in from another store and said to me, "He's such a boy with his trucks, and she is such a girl, always wanting pink and dolls." Or something like that, I can't exactly remember. I was so annoyed I just walked away. I have tried to have conversations with her about this and she's not really into it, so I didn't want to tell her what really happened. I just held my tongue and told B about it later.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

I'm Back

I am almost 100 percent better. It only took six days. After my one day of feeling not so bad, I sank into a painful hell. My mouth hurt so much! I took a lot of pain medicine and kept a tray of ice on my face at all times.
I thought I was doing better on Sunday, so I spent the day with my sister out of the house and tried to eat food that was not mush. Not a good idea. I paid for it on Sunday night. I felt as if I had run a marathon and then gotten beat up around the face and jaw. Owww!
But today I was out of the house, over at my sister's taking pictures of all of the things we are selling on Ebay, and I feel ok. I am even going to the gym tomorrow. I hope I don't regret that.
I'm also going back to the dentist for an update on my healing progress.