Crazy Dog Lady

I wanted to play around with the manual setting on my camera and see what kind of shots I could get. It was prior to the age of digital photography last time I did that! Since Phoebe isn't exactly in any shape to be running away from me, she makes a pretty good subject. I know, I never post pictures of my other dog, Harry. I promise I don't treat Harry like a red-headed step-child. He just isn't photogenic (like me). I take that back. He does have his signature "Just Tan Harry, Being Tan Harry" recumbent tan pose circa 2006.

Brian: Stewie, what are you doing?

Stewie: Just getting my bronze on, baby. Hey, what do you think of my recumbent tan pose? Legs probably spread a little wider than they ought to be, but who gives a damn? This is just tan Stewie being tan Stewie. Check me out, Brian.

Anyways, here's a couple of shots of Phoebe sans auto settings and with minimal editing. She's cute even when her negligent human doesn't fix her hair. I lurve her.

I love her eyelashes. So feminine.

Brazilian Blowout Before & After

So far I just love this Brazilian Blowout. Humidity is no longer a factor in how my hair will look when I wake up in the morning, or at the end of the day. It remains as smooth as when I blow dried it. Today was a perfect day to test it out! The BB is more of a relaxer. If I didn't blow dry my hair it would still have some wave to it. Sadly, this whole process has made my beloved Chi flat iron unnecessary. Perhaps the BB has replaced the Chi as the "best invention evah."

The whole process was pretty quick. First, Brooke shampooed my hair and then combed the BB solution through. Then she blow dried my hair using a round brush and then flat ironed it. The blow drying was the worst part, only because the solution's fumes made my eyes burn and water...so I closed them most of the time. There wasn't any pungent perm smell, so that was good. I didn't want to be stinky perm girl, smellin' up the whole salon. Next, she shampooed my hair again and put the BB conditioning masque on my hair and rinsed. When wet, my hair didn't curl as tightly as before. Then, she blow dried my hair again using a round brush.

Here are the pics.

Here's what my curls look like after years of straightening them out. Not quite the spirals I used to have, but you get the idea. And yes, I'm wearing my super spiffy staff shirt from TAKS week.

And this is after the Brazilian Blowout. My hair was only round brushed. (Normally, it would be all poofy and frizzy after blow drying alone. To get it smooth and tame the fro, I'd have to go back over it with my Chi.) Best of all, it looks like I got new highlights. But I didn't.

Brazilian Blowouts and Babies

Tomorrow I am going to get a Brazilian Blowout. Now wait. Before you click away, I assure you it has nothing to do with waxing or nether regions. Those of you who've known me a while know that my hair is really super duper curly. Since acquiring a Chi flat-iron, aka the best invention evah, I've worn my hair straight. Don't even get me started on all the hair straightening disasters prior to owning the Chi.

Since my hair is short, it doesn't take that long to style, but it's definitely more maintenance when summer rolls around. Swimming, sweating, humidity and all the extra showering that comes along with these things, makes for a lot more work. The Brazilian Blowout is supposed to be a gentle, permanent straightener. Unlike other straightening processes, this doesn't have all of the bad chemicals. Sure, I could let my hair air dry and go au natural...but I would look like Medusa with this particular cut.

See? It ain't pretty, people. I've decided to wear my hair curly tomorrow for a "before" picture. This means that my students will see me as Medusa. There are a few annoying students who I wish I could turn into stone, so maybe it will all work out. I'll be sure to post before and after pics and let you know if this process is worth the money. The salon is currently running a special.

And now for a Phoebe update. Oh boy, was I way off with a guess of "one puppy." She still has three weeks to go and her belly is getting so big. After sending this photo to the breeder, she told me that if she is this big already she is probably carrying 3 or 4 puppies. Wow! This is a bit unusual for a first-timer. Phoebe will go to get her x-ray about a week before her due date (May 18th) to count the puppies and determine if she will need a c-section. We're hoping she'll be able to do it naturally, of course. But if she does get a c-section I am going to go ahead and have her fixed while they have her under. Having a pregnant pet is stressful and had I not had the contract with the breeder, Phoebe would remain "chaste." The breeder has assured me there's nothing to worry about though, so I hope I can relax and enjoy the journey. In the meantime, I'll be puppy-proofing my house.

Beehind

It is hard to get action shots of insects. It's easy when they land on flowers. This was the best I could do. It's a bee's behind.

Since I'm posting pictures, I have to include this red, red rose. It reminds me of the Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland. I actually took care of my roses this year and they are blooming like crazy.

Grody

This is just plain goss and I am only posting this so all you front loading washing machine owners have a heads up.

Joe and I have been cursing our GE front loading washing machine for several months now. It would shut off in mid cycle, leaving a lovely, water-logged heap of half-washed laundry. How can this be, we wondered. This is a relatively new machine. We'd bought it new when we moved in nearly 5 years ago.

Last week we detected a foul odor emanating from the washer. Actually, foul doesn't even begin to describe it. It smelled like strait up sewage. Joe thought maybe running a cycle of vinegar through would do the trick, and it did.

Well yesterday afternoon I was waiting for a load to finish washing. I waited...and waited...and waited. The cycle had stopped. Finally after several attempts to restart the machine and realizing that it wasn't draining, I went to Fixya.com and did a little trouble shooting. I wasn't about to pay someone to fix my shiz! Good ol' Google.

Turns out there's a lint trap to clean out. No mention of this in the manual. For the past 4 years we've never cleaned out the lint trap, which you need a screwdriver to remove 3 screws from the front of the washing machine to access, by the way. You'd think that if there were something needing regular cleaning, they'd make it a bit easier to get to!

It was one of the most disgusting things I've ever seen/smelled. Thank goodness I have Joe to do the dirty work. No wonder our washer wasn't draining properly!

After reading the help threads about how much money people had reclaimed, I was a little disappointed all we got back was a measly thirty-five cents, a massive lint ball, pine needles, twigs, a candy wrapper, military rank patch, and a ball point pen cartridge.

What we thought was a computer fault in the washer was as due to a maintenance issue all along. Gee, I wish there was something in the Owner's Manual about a lint trap that needed periodic training. So, if you have a front loader, you may want to check and see if lint trap cleaning is needed. Sorry for the nasty picture. I tried to make it smaller. ;)

It's Tough Being a Girl

Today I had a wardrobe malfunction. You see, I have this snazzy fitted button down blouse and had worn it last week, and all day today with no mishaps. And then 7th period rolled around.

After I'd herded my last angel into my classroom, I glanced down and noticed said blouse was unbuttoned...but not just one button...two. There I was, standing in front of my two most "challenging" students (boys, of course) with some major cleavage showing. Not sure if they could see my matching black bra or not. I sure hope not. Luckily I happened to be wearing a cardigan and I closed it and tried to nonchalantly spin around and hide my shame. Oh. My. Gosh. I was morti-fied! Someday I hope to look back on this day and laugh. Right now I'm just praying my picture doesn't end up on the Internet or on the news. 15/16 year olds are pretty quick with a camera phone. Let's all hope my reaction time was quicker!

Yes, my shirt was unbuttoned to here! And yes, my arm is so pale there is no delineation between the white background and the edge of the photo.

Remember how I mentioned Pheebs was turning down her usual fare for unusual food choices? Today it was steamed broccoli. She gobbled it up like it was going out of style. Didn't touch the dog food. Broccoli, apple, and rotisserie chicken. That's just about all she will eat these days. I think she is pregnant.

Tuesday's Wednesday's List

My top 10 favorite movies in no particular order.

Cool Hand Luke

That devious smile, those twinkling eyes, Paul Newman with no shirt. Not to mention the best catch phrase evah- “What we have here…is failure to communicate.” I’m going to try it out on my most obnoxious, defiant student. Wait…does that mean I’m the warden? Of course I am! Where are my aviators and shotgun? Ok, no shotgun. That would be highly inappropriate. Please don't alert the authorities. I was only kidding.

Roman Holiday

In my head, it goes like this: Atticus Finch, fed up with the backwards South, turns reporter and defects to Rome and falls in love with Princess Audrey Hepburn…sigh. Gregory Peck will always be Atticus Finch to me. Maybe because I’ve watched the TKAM movie 6 times per year for the last 6 years.

Funny Face

I love your funny face. Your sunny, funny face! And I love this movie…singing, dancing, fashion, emphaticalism, Paris, Fred Astaire, Audrey Hepburn…what more can I say?

13 Going on 30

Such a sweet Jennifer Garner movie….and it has a Thriller dance sequence. Score!

Juno

It’s funky and campy and added a ton of new quotable quotes to our lexicon. Goofy teen gets knocked up and has to make a tough decision. I cry for her and Jennifer Garner’s character every. time.

Sweet Home Alabama

I will watch this movie any time and from any point I happen to turn it on. I love love love this movie and Reese Witherspoon in this role.

An Education

A recent addition to my list of favs. If you haven’t seen it, you must. A British prep school girl with high academic aspirations (Carey Mulligan) is wooed by a wealthy and sophisticated older man, played by Peter Saarrrrrrsgaarrrrrrrrrd. I can't help but say his name like a pirate. I blame SNL.

Little Miss Sunshine

The characters are so real to me. Maybe not so much the plot, like stuffing dead gramps in the back of the van, but the characters are real. It makes me laugh, it makes me cry, it makes me cringe, it gets "Super Freak" stuck in my head.

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

I think Kate and Matthew have great on-screen chemistry. Mmmmm Matthew McConaughey. Have I told you I was only a stone’s throw away from him one time at a UT game? It was glorious. Never mind his newborn son and baby mama were right next to him and that I wanted to Photoshop my head onto her body in the photo I took. (And I have to agree, Heather. That yellow dress is perfection on Kate! It kinda makes me want smaller boobs...well smaller everything for that matter.)

Grease

More dancing…more singing. John Travolta’s dimples, especially the one in his chin (it's no coincidence Joe has a dimple in his chin). It's Travolta as I would like to remember him for all time. (At the beginning of the movie, the morning of the first day, when Danny turns to the camera and grins. Yeah, that scene…it sets my heart aflutter). Who cares if 90% of the characters look far too old to be high school students? Who cares if Sandy is corrupted and crosses over to the “pink side” for a boy? Nobody wants to watch a movie about Patty Simcox’s irritating goody-goody arse!

And of these ten movies, Joe would actually sit down and watch, well, none of them with me. It probably doesn't help that I am salivating over the leading actor in many of them.

Poor Pheebs

I think my sweet Pheebs is for shiz up the spout . At first she ate a lot more than usual and started barking to go out to pee every 5 minutes. Then she started barfing yellow stuff and lost her appetite (totally normal I'm told). She's craving strange foods like apples and peanutbutter over chicken and lean ground beef. I guess that's not all that strange, but maybe a little for a dog. And lately, she's been sleeping in random locations...like the middle of the floor rather than the sofa. Poor girl. Harry has been upping his appetite to keep up and is taking sympathy naps with her.

Now all of this is really just speculation. Unless she starts showing prior, an xray at the end of this month will be the first definite confirmation of the pregnancy & number of puppies. I am guessing she's just growing one puppy. One puppy for the breeder and I'm done with all this puppy bidness. It's stressful, man!

Object of My Desire

Ever since I first laid eyes on this bed set in the early fall Pottery Barn catalog, I fell madly in love with it. I've always wanted all-white bed linens. "Decidedly romantic," indeed! I've been watching several eBay auctions and I am so so tempted to buy it.

The only problem with the Rosa Collection is that the lumbar pillow, (which makes it, in my opinion) is super hard to find.

When Joe and I went to the Home Improvement Expo at the Dallas Convention Center a couple of weeks ago, we snagged some white, 1000TC Egyptian cotton sheets for $30. Hey, that's cheaper and a higher thread count than PB, so we felt it was a bargain. The sheets we had prior were pilling and it was like sleeping on sandpaper. The jury is still out, but so far so good. I'm hoping the old adage, "You get what you pay for" doesn't apply in this case.

Our current bed is this fun set from the RL Crystal Cay Collection. I lurve it (and so does Joe despite the pink paisley) and have for at least 4 years, but I need a change!

But Sarah, what about your commitment to your financial freedom? you ask.

Welllllll, I recently sold my extra sofa and coffee table, so technically I wouldn't be violating my austerity program by charging something. Yes, that's what I'll tell myself. How can I resist "decidedly romantic?"

Stick with the plan, you say?

Ugh. But I put our entire tax refund towards paying off stuff! This sucks. But yeah, you're right. Financial freedom will probably be way more gratifying than a new bedspread. This is going to be a tough one to talk myself out of though. I'll let you know.

Sabotage, Paranoia, & Other Side Effects

As of late, I've been watching what I eat a little more closely. My work clothes had gotten a bit snug and uncomfortable and I refused to buy a size up. You know, austerity program and all. (eye roll) So I fell back to the one that I actually enjoy and is healthy...good ol' South Beach. Mainly it just makes me more aware of what I'm putting into my body, like avoiding fried foods :'( , simple carbs, too much caffeine, etc.) The first two weeks are "brutal city," to quote one of my student's favorite lines.

Now I am past it, and my sugar cravings are gone. Translation: I no longer have the overwhelming urge to stop and buy a bag of Lindt Truffles after work twice a week. Those things are like crack! If I exerted myself a bit more I could probably get away with it ;) Note to self: must get butt off of couch and move more to create truffle allowance. Yesterday, I gave P90x Yoga a go. After about 20 minutes, I just watched it because Tony-what's-his name isn't a very good yoga instructor (in comparison to myyogicousinamanda,) and then I switched to P90x "Ab Ripper X" and did about 50 of the 300-something crunches. Sadly, I am sore today.

Now, I try to avoid fast food joints in general, but sometimes I will get a salad or a grilled chicken sandwich if they have whole wheat buns. I like a Diet Cherry Limeade from Sonic now and then, too. Sugar free soda and sugar free cherry syrup. Not exactly healthy, but at least it's not diabetes in a cup. On more than one occasion, I have taken a few sips and tossed the entire thing because even though the receipt says "Diet CL," I have a sneaking suspicion the doofus working the soda fountain wasn't paying attention and inadvertently gave me liquid crack. It makes me furious really. What if I had been a diabetic? Plus I just paid two bucks for two sips of crap...and you didn't put a cherry in it and squeeze the limes? And then I start to rationalize the situation: well maybe they just put more syrup than usual. Or maybe I am so past my sugar addiction that "diet" no longer tastes like "diet." Ugh. There's no way to be certain. In the trash you go. You'd think I'd have learned a lesson by now, but sometimes I just want something fizzy.

Another unfortunate side effect of eating healthier is that along with the awareness of my own choices, I start to notice what other people are putting in their grocery carts. It's strange. It's just at the grocery store. Not while dining around people. As I wait in line with my basket o' fresh produce, diary, meats, whole grain this and that, I watch the mom in front of me unload box after box, bag after bag, bottle after bottle of processed-convenient-medical-bill-inducing-groceries, and I judge them. Not a single fresh veggie or fruit and $200 worth of crap? Sigh. I need to get a life. Terrible of me to judge someone I don't even know, right? Self-righteous? Absolutely. Perhaps they grow their own produce, or buy it somewhere else, I concede...and then, "Can I get a carton of Virginia Slims? Make that two." Suddenly I don't feel like a big, sanctimonious jerkface. Just an average one. Like I said, it's an unfortunate side effect. I hope it subsides soon.

Sarah vs. the Weeds

This will be the last garden blog I'll bore you with for a while. Promise.

Last year's no-mulch-garden taught me a lesson. Drastic measures must be taken to avoid having one's garden overrun with weeds and grass. They pop up and spread quickly, far too fast for me to pull them all. The result is an overgrown mess of a garden that all the chopping and hoeing I can muster can't salvage. I was completely defeated and just let it go. It was not a pretty sight.

After a little internet research, I found an article that suggested putting down several layers of newspaper as a barrier between the soil and the mulch to discourage encroaching weeds and retain moisture. A couple of months ago, we started saving the Sunday paper to use as a liner. I purchased six bags of cypress mulch and after cleaning, tilling and planting, I spread out the newspaper section by section and covered it with the mulch. Besides tilling, I really didn't prep the soil much this year...so I know there are weeds and bermuda grass still in there under the blanket of paper and mulch. I just hope this strategy works. Surely it will at least slow down the weeds to a manageable rate.

Here's the half-planted/ mulched garden.

I couldn't help myself and bought two more heirloom tomato plants on Saturday, Cherokee Purple and Black Krim. So now our little garden has 6 tomato varieties, 6 jalapeño pepper plants, 2 cilantro plants, 1 banana pepper, 1 tomatillo plant. Salsa anyone? I have eggplant and green bean seeds germinating that I will have to add later. I felt it was too late to plant onions, but maybe I'll give 'em a go. I also really need a yellow squash or patty pan squash plant, but I'm going to have to work on that expansion before I can cram anything else in.