The beauty of third-day hair.

29 Feb posted by

photo1 300x224 The beauty of third day hair.I was perusing Babble’s Facebook page (because that’s what I do in my spare time for chuckles) & came across several commentors on my Dirty Mom vs Primped Mom piece wondering what the H-E-double hockey sticks was “third day hair.”

Oh, mommas. I envy you for not knowing what “third day hair” is when quite simply, it is hair that has gone unwashed for three days. The hair that is perfection for an updo with thanks to the grease that would hold it in place, if only your darned prom wasn’t over a decade ago.

Third day hair usually happens when I wash my hair on Friday morning. Then I rock the second-day hair on Saturday, thanks to dry shampoo & a sock bun after a rinse-off in the shower. Looking cute & lemon-fresh scented, I head to a barbeque with friends & the playground with my tot & on Saturday night, I fall into bed exhausted, promising to shower on Sunday morning. But then Sunday morning rolls around & it’s lazy with cinnamon buns & coffee & at 10am, I realize the housecleaning needs to happen. So I pull out the Oreck & go to town, promising I will shower after chores are finished. But they take a little longer than anticipated & at 2pm, I realize I’m late for play date. So it’s off to the Subaru we march, tossing a baseball cap over my (still unwashed) tresses.

By Sunday night, the hair could hold a French twist without bobby pins & when I wash them out, I’m sure baby seals are crying for the amount of oil I’m dumping into the water reserve via my shower drain.

HeirtoBlair500x150 v41 The beauty of third day hair.

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Filed Under: All about BA, BA's a nerd, Never Have I Ever, Random

Tomorrow.

28 Feb posted by

DSC 0316 1024x682 Tomorrow.

Tomorrow Missy will cross over the rainbow bridge, go to doggie Heaven, meet Jesus…any of those things we say to soften the blow but do no justice to the idea that come tomorrow morning, we won’t have our little girl anymore.  Tomorrow she will be just a memory, the kind we pull out at family dinners with a story of how she took a bite of The Momma’s sandwich one time with such a dainty bite.  We’ll laugh & talk about the day she joined our family, where we thought Daddy suprised The Momma with a mini doxie as a Christmas present & we named her “Mistletoe” because “Holly” was too obvious.

& then we called her Missy or Miss or even Fiest for the next sixteen years.

We’ll talk about that December 23rd at 11pm when she had a c-section & delivered 3 beautiful pups.  How we rubbed them like 101 Dalmations & they squeaked little barks & she nursed them so faithfully despite her scars.  There are pictures to remind us of the Christmas morning after the pups were born, where we opened presents with her in the middle because she never wanted to be without her family.

We’ll have those pictures.  & those memories.  But we won’t have her.  Although we’re all ready & we know it’s time, it hurts so badly that right now, I don’t think I can breathe fully.

78 Comments
Filed Under: Adult Club, All about BA, I share DNA with these folks, Life in General

Pink ombre over my brain which does the dumping.

24 Feb posted by
    • Hi! I’m in Nashville at the Blissdom conference all thanks to Oreck.
febweek Pink ombre over my brain which does the dumping.
    • I told my hairdresser to go a little crazy this time.  I think she doesn’t trust that I can handle it, so when I said “I don’t know, throw in some feathers or pink streaks” & she switched my wine to champagne & got to work with some foils.  The honey color she put all over is simply lovely & when I’m in the sunlight, you can see that she created an ombre look with hot pink.  It’s subtle & still professional, but just enough funk when I pull my hair back.
    • Lent = the main reason I’m thankful to have been raised Southern Baptist.
    • My sister is living with us during the week now.  But don’t worry, I still do the cooking & cleaning & so far I haven’t seen one bon-bon in sight.
    • Then people were all, “Why do you even have children if you’re not going to raise them?” on Babble’s Facebook page & I got pissed off about it.  Naturally.
    • Harrison’s favorite thing to do is to sit by me while I work, showing me his Matchbox cars.  I adore watching him be so quiet, sitting at my feet with an intense expression as he lines them up carefully.  He’s great company & when he does this, he reminds me of his daddy.  Steady, careful, deliberate & so different from the hurricane that constantly wages within me.
    • My handwriting is like a serial killer’s & I am a horrible speller, especially when I’m jotting notes.  Which means that “data warehouse mining” became “whorehouse mining” & then I laughed so hard that water came out of my nose.  Because I’m a 15-year-old high school drop out serial killer.  (you know, or not.)
23 Comments
Filed Under: Friday Dump

Beef Stew: The Momma Edition

22 Feb posted by

beefstew 300x300 Beef Stew: The Momma EditionI used to feel really, really intimidated by this recipe, mostly because it took so long to nail The Momma down to exact measurements (she’s been making it so long that it’s second-nature to her!).  & the first time I attempted it, I left the heat up too high in a basic pot & it was…shall we say, DESTROYED.  I can count on one hand the number of inedible meals I’ve made since our marriage began & my first attempt at beef stew hits #1 on that list.  I’m so proud to conquer it because it is a staple of my childhood & an absolute favorite on cold nights.  The leftovers are fantastic, too.

I make it in my cast iron dutch oven on the stove, which helps distribute the heat much more evenly so that I can walk away for the hour that it simmers.  Key to the first time: WATCH YOUR HEAT.  Watch your heat, watch your heat, watch your heat.  Otherwise you’ll end up with beef charred to the bottom of your pot & gravy that’s more like glue paste.

Ingredients

1 lb stew meat
4 potatoes, skinned & cut into chunks
1 lb baby carrots
1 chopped onion
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 cups hot water
1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp paprika
shake of garlic salt (I do three shakes)
dash of allspice or cloves
1Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

  1. Coat bottom of pot with EVOO, heat until hot.  Sear meat in the oil.
  2. Toss in 1/2 chopped onion & saute.
  3. Add 4 cups hot water.  Boil & return to low setting on stove.
  4. Add sugar, salt, paprika, garlic salt, allspice, Worcestershire sauce, & stir.
  5. Cover & cook for an hour.
  6. After an hour, add carrots, potatoes, & remainder of the onion.
  7. Return to a boil, then cut heat back until it is barely boiling (like a little over mid-heat) for 30 minutes.  Keep your eye on it to be sure it’s not burning on the bottom!
  8. In a separate bowl, whisk a few tablespoons of flour into hot water until thick but even (you don’t want little “dumplings” in the flour).  Stir into the stew broth that’s in the pot right before serving.

This also freezes beautifully!  I serve with a salad & drop biscuits.  Enjoy!

22 Comments
Filed Under: Life in General, Recipes, Suzie Homemaker

Dirty Moms.

20 Feb posted by
520175509 224x300 Dirty Moms.

Hi. I'm wearing old jeans & an oversized sports shirt but my hair is clean & I'm wearing a bra.

This past week, Curvy Girls Guide posted a guest piece on “Why I’m Not a ‘Dirty Mom’.”  You know, the moms that roll up in sweatpants & three-day hair under a baseball cap on the regular because there’s nobody to impress in the carpool lane.  To sum it up, there was this gal that wrote a piece about how we females should dump the frump & put on some eyeliner to show ourselves & society some respect.

I read this piece in yoga pants stuffed into my beloved UGG boots with second-day hair & no make-up.

Oops.

Then there were the comments (because everyone knows the most entertaining part of blogging is the comments), ranging from “ROCK ON!” to “YOU SELF-IMPORTANT BITCH, I AM TRAINING MY CHILDREN TO BE FUTURE WORLD LEADERS SO STEP OFF MY NON-COVERGIRL NUTS.”   I know it’s the kiss of death in blogging to sit on the fence, but I admit that on this topic?  I’m straddling the fence & hoping I don’t get a camel toe from it.

ccaf2e6a362211e19896123138142014 7 300x300 Dirty Moms.

...but sometimes I look like this.

I’m a total crap-shoot as a mom when it comes to fashion.  I either look cute or I look like a dog& there’s really not too much in-between.  I could blame my workload but I’m going to be honest – my physical appearance is usually a good indicator of my mental health.  If I look pretty, it means it’s a good day & I’m feeling self-confident & in control. My to-do list is being checked off, dinner is planned, & the kid’s face is scrubbed.  If I’m in yoga pants, it’s probably because they were the first thing on top of the laundry pile that I managed to recognize.  But sometimes, even when all I want are Doug’s tshirts & to never see a bottle of shampoo again, I put on jeans & a flannel & a little blush.  It’s not much, but it does make me feel human & doesn’t send me into a spiral of shame when I run into a neighbor at Target.

So I smell what K.C. Wells is steppin’ in.  Putting effort into myself tells me & society that “hey! I care about myself!  I’m more than a momma in a carpool lane!”  I think it’s important to put my best & freshest face forward on the regular & at the risk of feminist backlash, I think it’s nice for my husband to see me in more than a ponytail when he loves my hair down & curly.

On the other hand, she should have used a different word than “dirty.”  Getting primped isn’t something I necessarily enjoy.  I like getting my hair cut & I desire to be pretty, but I have never had the patience for a hairstyle that takes more than 5 minutes or a make-up routine that requires sponges & brushes.  But I’m not “dirty.”  I shower on the regular & I shave my legs & visit the dentist every six months.  I would simply rather be chasing Harrison outside than curling my hair & I’ll always choose reading a book over painting my nails.  That doesn’t make me a better mom, nor does it make me dirty.  It just makes me…me.

So sometimes I’m a walking commercial for Ann Taylor & sometimes I look like I’m headed to the gym when in truth, I haven’t had a gym membership since 2007.

But I promise if you hug me, I don’t smell.

42 Comments
Filed Under: Adult Club, All about BA, Finding Balance, Life in General, Never Have I Ever, Sorta Staying Home, Things that aren't perfect despite my best efforts, Unpopular opinions
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