A New Color of the Rainbow

I'll admit it with no shame and only slight embarrassment: my hair is not it's natural color and it hasn't been for a long, long time.  I used to just get highlights back in my late teens, early twenties just to do something a little different and add some style to my usual nape of the neck pony tail (I rarely wear my hair down as when it gets in my face it drives me CRAZY).  Well, now I dye it out of necessity as I have a few grays sprinkled in with my dark brown natural color.  I don't remember exactly when the first gray appeared, but it was probably a year or two ago right around time time miss M was born.  Coincidence?!  Maybe.  I think the first one I noticed was really before I conceived her, but they sure did multiply a lot quicker (so it seemed) after she was born!

I've always spent a small fortune to get my hair done as I was too chicken to attempt it myself and risk needing to visit a "real" hair stylist in a rush to fix whatever orange or blue hue I had given myself by accident.  I wanted to give it a shot at least once myself as I knew it would save us quite a bit of money and with two kids and my reduced schedule at work our budget is a little tighter than it used to be.  I don't really need highlights in the summer as I get them naturally when outside, so I figured I could attempt an all over semi-permanent color for my first attempt at home hair dying.

Before: please excuse scary morning face post newborn

I polled some on-line friends of mine, clipped some coupons, and headed off to CVS to buy my first hair dye.  I opted to be conservative and stuck close to my natural dark brown color.  Clairol Natural Instincts happened to be on sale and with my coupon I scored two boxes for $5.99 including a travel size Pantene color stay shampoo (which happens to be the shampoo I use daily)!  I could dye my hair for about 94% less than what I normally spend (excluding tip).  Holy crap.  I figured I'd need two boxes as my hair is shoulder length and I'm glad I got both.  I probably didn't need the full second box, but I definitely needed more than one.

Waiting for the dye to work

I skipped the skin test risking a potential allergic reaction, wrapped an old dark towel around my shoulders, applied vaseline on the tips of my ears and all around my hair line (a trick a friend told me about to keep the dye off my skin), prayed my two Littles stayed asleep, put on the gloves that came with the kit, and got to work.  It was quick and easy to apply and the wait for the dye to work wasn't bad at all.  Thankfully, my Littles both slept through the entire experiment and I hopped into the shower to rinse all the dye out and apply the conditioner included in the kit (it smelled of sweet coconut- Mmmm!).  I hopped out of the shower and was instantly pleased with the result.  It looked natural, covered my grays, and actually looked good.  I will say that for a few days my hair did feel dryer than usual, but I applied the conditioner that came with my kit for a week and a half until I ran out and it really seemed to help with that.

After

It was definitely a million times easier than expected and I'll definitely do it again and maybe even be brave enough to experiment with a different shade of brown.  I also think next time I'll dye it first and then get a hair cut as I think it'll help with the dryness by getting a trim after the color.  Please excuse the horrid self portraits....it was after a few late night(s) with a newborn that I attempted this back in August. :)

What A Sleepy Sunday...

Today has been a sleepy Sunday for me. My body definitely gets worn out more easily than it used to now that I'm 18 weeks pregnant. Last night we went to a Sweet 16 Masquerade ball which was fun, but it sure wiped me out today! I did have some of the best sleep ever last night, though, and it was good to discover that A.R. and I still have our moves on the dance floor. :) We did a little Merengue and Bachata and it felt great to be dancing together again. I sure hope our little one likes to dance!

Toasting the birthday girl with Sparkling Apple Cidar- YUMMY!

To go along with my sleepy Sunday here are our two peas in a pod snoozing in their two favorite spots. I have yet to catch a shot of them curled up together...it is absolutely adorable when they snuggle together in their beds at night.

Yes, that is our Lily monster ON TOP of the couch. She learned that from Sebastian (RIP kitty!)

I Need a New Purpose

For the past three years I have filled most of my time outside of work completing my MBA at the University of Hartford (Go Hawks!). I've spent many hours reading textbooks and case studies, doing homework, papers, group presentations, midterms, and finals...AHHH! All of the hard work has paid off and I'm finally finished with my degree and will graduate on May 17th.


Now that all the hard work is behind me and I've accomplished my goal, I feel like I need a new purpose. Or maybe just a new goal to strive for. I have to admit that I feel kind of lost having nothing to do in the evenings. Of course I have several projects that have been on the back burner since I started my degree that I could do (like finish the scrapbooks from my Bachelorette party and bridal shower, read the stack of books I have on my coffee table, sew curtains for our new house, and hem the four pairs of pants waiting in a heap on my guest room bed), but something is still missing. I almost feel empty not having a goal to work towards.

Of course, if I were to decide to continue on and get my PhD or suddenly have a mid-life crisis and decide to change professions requiring me to go back to school AGAIN, I think I would seriously need to be medicated and put in a straight jacket.

I have always done well in school, but I found getting my MBA particularly challenging considering I worked full-time, bought my first condo, planned a wedding, sold my first condo, got married, and built a house with A.R. all while enrolled in evening classes. Some semesters I got sick because I stretched myself so thin. Pretty much every semester I was up to the wee hours of the morning on several occassions finishing up a case study, writing a paper, or putting the finishing touches on a Power Point slide show for yet another presentation. I didn't drink coffee at all in the mornings until my second year of grad school!

By far my favorite course was an MBA course in International Marketing that I took to Bangkok, Thailand and Singapore for 12 days in 2007. It was the most incredible experience I have ever had culturally, professionally, and educationally. My classmates and I are even planning a mini class reunion to catch up and reminisce on our adventures. I think my least favorite class was Economics. I just do not think like an economist and it's just my luck that this was about the 4th time I've had to take an econ course considering I took both Micro and Macro for my Associates Degrees and I took it again for my Bachelor's in Accounting at Central CT State University (darned Assistant Dean wouldn't waive it).

My classmates and I visiting Otis Elevator while in Singapore on our class trip:

It's time for me to find a new purpose...a new goal to strive towards. I'm not sure yet if it'll be a personal goal, professional goal, or even just a few mini goals. For now, I think I'll finish those scrapbooks I began back in 2008, read some books for pleasure (gasp!), and start sewing some curtains for our new home with the sewing machine my grandmother got me as a graduation gift (thanks Grammie!). Perhaps in a few more weeks, once I've found myself again and begun to dust off the old hobbies I set aside for the past 3 years, I will discover that having nothing to do can be pretty darned satisfying, too!