The Simple Life

I think I tend to make life harder on myself.  Often I have these great ideas, but they are usually require too much work and I end up giving up.  One of my recent comments was about living the simple life, and I think I really need to embrace that thought.  I am making changes one step at a time and that seems to be making life a little less stressful an a little easier to handle.  I made my menu plan for the week, healthy but easy.  I think I only have one day that I don't have anything planned and that is Saturday since there is a chance that may be our take out night.  I am getting back on track with my laundry, but I still have a ton of clothes that I have to fold and put away.  Once that is done, I will be pretty good with the laundry.  I have started to wash my laundry on cold, except for the diapers.  Things seem to be going good with th new old washer.  I really need to stop using the dryer so much.  I want to get a clothes line for the basement like I had when I was growing up.  It was like a real clothes line that hung from the rafters.  Right now we are using clothes hangers, which works, but there are only so many hangers and I don't know if we have enough.  I will be encouraging my husband to put up a line outside for the nice weather though.  I need to start making snacks for the kids, especially for Michael to bring to school.  My newest resolution is KISS, "Keep It Simple Stupid".  Ny next step is to move on to doing more activities with the kids, that is more than just physical or maybe add some physical activities into some of the more sedentary activites I want to do, like reading a book and acting out the story instead of jsut sitting there while I read the story to them.

Not to keep talking about something as simple as my hair, but as much as I don't want to have to get my haircut often given the cost of haircuts, I have decided that I want to go short again.  I am planning on going short like I was about 1 1/2 years ago.  It was short, but not spiky short.  I will ahve to spend a little time on my hair, but I am really looking forward to cutting my hair short again, though some would consider my hair short now.  A friend is looking into setting something up for a haircutting event, but I am thinking I want to do this sooner than later.  I am looking to stay local, but I am thinking I would love to get this done this weekend.  I will post a picture once I get it done.  I really can't wait.  I think I grew my hair long again for some good reasons, such as time to get it cut, cost, and just the desire to try long hair again after many years of short hair.  But I think I grew it for a lot of wrong reasons too, such as a certain person who is no longer in my life making some negative comments and feeling like I should have long hair because girls are supossed to have long hair and want long hair.  the funny thing is I remember my grandmother saying that there are certainthings a girl should do, wear earrings every day, have long hair, wear a necklace eevry day.  She was shocked when I got my hair cut so short and I was actually afraid to let her see it short at one point.  But, I will always remember her telling me that she actually liked my hair short.  That was an amazing moment.  I also remember how I felt every time I got my haircut (that is if it was a good cut, there were some bad ones in there).  I have gotten lots of compliments on how short hair suits my face.  I've gotten some compliments with my longer hair, but mainly about my hair, not necessarily that the long hair looks good on me!  My husband will say that either style look good, but I think short is better.  Even though there is some nervousnes about the actual cutting, I can't wait for short hair again.  I don't think I ever want to go back to long hair, but if history shows up anything, at some point, I will probably grow it out again. I just feel so good in short hair.  I feel like it is the only time that I look good and in style.  There is always the idea that I am doing it in support of my mom's potential for losing her hair, but that is really just a small part of it.  I am really just doing this for me!  I also have a potential salon that 4 people in my extended family go to and strongly recommend.  Ithink I may be giving them a call, and I get to keep it local, always a good thing (that is if my friend hasn't started a whole process yet)  I just am really excited about this decision.

Amy who in a couple of day will have a whole new look! Hopefully!!!!!

Hair today Gone Tomorrow?

So, I am still questioning if I should cut my hair or not!  I put a post out to facebook, and unfortunately got more don't cut than cut, but I can't tell if that is because they think either I look good in longer hair or because they like longer hair in general.  The one person whose opinion I would trust beyond a doubt is my husband.  The problem is he doesn't seem to have an opinion, or at least that's what he says.  I do believe him.  I think he would be honest and tell me if he truly had a preference either way.  I am still having visions of having that cute short pixie cut again, but I am so afraid that I will cut it all off and hate it or I will want to go long again.  Part of me thinks that this is just who I am.  I love short hair, but then I get this urge to grow it again and as soon as it is long enough, I decide to cut it all off.  I keep it short for a while then I get the urge to grow it again an the cycle continues.  I should just accept that is who I am and go with what I feel.  Part of the issue is keepin gup with haircuts and the cost of keeping up with haircuts.  I remember having to go for a haircut every 3-4 weeks at times.  I used to love getting my haircut, but I just don't have the time of the money.  I put out to facebook that I am looking for a good inexpensive hairdresser and have only gotten 2 suggestions so far.  Maybe there is no such thing as a good inexpensive hairdresser or maybe what I consider inexpernsive just isn't a reality.  I was thinking about when I had my hair short for my sisters wedding.  I remember trying on my dress and feeling like Audrey Hepburn, not that I looked that pretty, but that was the feeling that I got when I looked in the mirror.  I can't believe that I am taking so much time thinking and writing about this, but this is a huge decision.  I really want to just take the plunge, but what if I regret it.  I know that i can always grow it back and the summer is coming.  I can always cut short for the summer and gorw back in the winter if I choose.  I have a feeling that a hair cut is coming my way.  I can always use the excuse that I am doing it support or my mom's risk of losing her hair due to chemo, which really is actually what got me started thinking about this.  I think I may just use my picture from my sister's wedding as the type of style I am going for.  I love having a classic yet edgy look.  My hair has always been the one area that I tend to experiment with, that and make up.  I have a feeling I have made up my mind, I just haven't decided when to do it.  I guess I'll have to talk to my husband about it.  Oh well,  I finally don't mind my curl and yet I still want to go short again!

This was October 2009, how I plan to cut my hair

Not the best picture, but this is me now

Thanks for listening,

Amy

Newest info: after I initially wrote this I posted to facebook about where to get a haircut.  One of my friends is a selectman in town and is trying to get something together where there may be a benefit.  I don't really know how this will work, maybe a cut for a cure type event.  I don't know, all I know is that now that I have made the decision to cut my hair, I can't wait to do it.  If it can be tied in with some cancer cause even better.  And, I have the best husband.  He is not only fine with me having short hair, but says he likes my hair either way.   Gotta love the supportive partners.  That's just one of the reasons I love him!

Who Am I Update

I've written a bit about who I think I am and what some of my life goals are.  I am actually starting to feel like I am accomplishing some of the goals that I have set for myself.  When my mom got diagnosed with Breast Cancer, I took a long hard look at my life and decided to make some changes.  Unfortunately, I decided to make the changes all at once.  I should know myself better and I should know that I need to go slow.  I need to make some small changes and make them stick and then move on to a few more small changes so that in the end I will have made all the big changes, just over a long time period.  I have totally eliminated soda from my diet.  With all of the new information surrounding soda, I am hoping that eliminating this will help in many ways, not just eliminating the bad things in soda.  I am doing better with eating healthy foods.  I think today might have been the first day I have been totally vegetarian, lacto-vegetarian, but vegetarian at least.  I know need to continue in this manner then start moving towards vegan, yet if I have some meat at some point, I won't beat myself up about it, because I know that will just spiral me back to where I don't want to be.

Now that I have a working washer again, my laundry is getting more manageable.  I am back to using cloth diapers.  It's a little hard with Michael being in school and wanting to ensure that I have enough diapers for him.  I have enough, but I just need to get into more of a routine with ensuring that there are cloth diapers for school.  It's only been two days of school so I know I will get into more of a routine as time goes on.

As far as crafting and being creative, I just don't seem to make the time.  I should plan better so that I have a project to work on while I watch my favorite tv shows.  I am participating in http://flirtyapronswap.blogspot.com next apron swap again.  I am really excited for this one.  I have requested a full garden apron and put that I love bright floral prints.  I am so hoping that my partner sees what I like and makes me a beautiful apron, like the ones that I have already received.  I love how creative others in this swap can be.  I am really looking forward to getting my partner and working really hard to get a package together that is really special.

Lastly, not that this is a major piece of who I am, it's really just the outward appearance of me, but I am again considering cutting my hair really short.  I have spent the last year and a half growing it out and am actually for the first time in my life, loving my curls, which is what is making this decision so much more difficult.  For years, I had a pixie style haircut and loved it.  I felt a little outrageous, probably not the right word, but I can't think of a better one.  I felt like I was saying yes I can be feminine and have really short hair.  I loved wearing makeup and really wearing dramatic colors with the short hair.  This was also pre-kids.  Not that short hair is difficult, but you really need to get your hair cut often, especially me since my hair grows in so fast.  I really need to wear make up to really make the short hair look right.  The funny thing is, when I was getting married, I contemplated growing my hair out and my sister in law mentioned that it may be foolish since short hair was what I had been wearing for years and was at that time who I was (not that you should be defined by what you look like, but short hair was who I was).  I am thinking that short hair is who I am and I should go back to wearing my hair short.  I think my husband will shoot me if I tell him I want to go short again.  I was thinking that given that my mom is getting chemo and that there is a good chance that she will lose her hair, I would cut my hair short in support of her losing her hair.  I wish my hair was longer, then I would have no qualms about cutting it.  I would go pixie short once again and donate my hair.  I don't know that I can wait long enough to let my hair grow tile there is 8-10 inches of hair to donate.  I don't know why hair is always my thing to obsess about.  I think for a bit, I was afraid that to be feminine I needed to have long hair.  I'm not sure I feel that way anymore.  I think that I had fun with short hair and I think that some day soon I may end up with short hair again.

Just a few things about me.  I hate to say that the hair paragraph is really what I needed to write about.  It's not exactly what I want to focus on with this blog, but it is who I am and I think that I needed to write about it to figure out what I want to do, not that I have made any firm decision yet.

Amy