Always and Forever

Mom called me tonight to let me know that the father of some old family friends of ours had recently passed away, unexpectedly. Though I hadn't seen this family in years, I still have many fond memories that include them and to hear that Brian was taken so quickly and at a relatively young age (54) is just heartbreaking. My thoughts and prayers go out to Roz and David tonight.

I have had the great fortune to have two amazingly healthy parents, both physically and mentally. Sure, Dad had his cancer last year but other than that, our family has been most blessed with strong and healthy bodies. I just can't even fathom at this point the idea that one day, they won't be here. Mike has already had to face that day, first in his dad virtually leaving him and his brother to fend for themselves in the mid-teens and then again when his mom died. In many ways, my parents have somewhat taken him in as more than just their son-in-law, but also, their blood. They see how he treats their daughter; there is no denying he is family.

My mother and I have grown to have a relationship worth envying by girls who aren't that close to their's. There are the few topics we keep in the gray area, but the simple fact that I sent out a text to my friends to see who wanted to go see the last viewing of RENT on Broadway this last weekend and my mom was the first to respond? Speaks volumes. I have been a RENThead since I was 16 and despite the fact Sally knew virtually nothing about the show except my devotion to it, she knew she wanted to be there. And while she may not carry the love for Collins and Angel, Maureen and Joanne the way I do, she took another step in learning another piece of what makes me who I am.

Each family has their pluses and minuses. Some have many more minuses than pluses. But I know I definitely fear the day I know my father or my mother isnt here anymore, possibly more than I fear my own death. Because life cease to exist as I know it far more than it has changed so far.

A Family divided

My father forwarded some Pro McCain/Palin cartoons to my email address the other day and I sat there for a moment in disbelief that he would A. be that arrogant B. be that dense C. be that careless. He and my brother are very much Republican while my mother and I are very much Democrat.

At their house this morning, I brought his action to light. "Dad, why would you send me those silly cartoons? You know I am a Democrat, right?"

"You shouldn't be." He lifted his eyebrow with a slight smirk.

"Okay. But why would you waste your time sending me that? It's not going to change my mind to see Sarah Palin's face pasted on movie posters. I almost responded with a graphic of Obama with the word "HOPE" at the bottom, but I decided to not be so tongue-in-cheek."

"I'm sending those to all my Democratic friends. You'll change your mind as you get older. "

Ummmm . . . I don't think so.

All kinds of awesome

Leave it to me to extend an offer to a favorite blogger of mine and have her, in turn, mention/link me on her page the very day after I post an entry with pictures of me in my underwear. Sweet. I am all different shades of red right now.

It took a lot of guts to post those pictures, partially because I am not done and therefore, not entirely satisfied with the current results and partially because I know there are certain avid blog readers/stalkers out there who are looking for every detail they can tear me down with. Schadenfreude, folks. I've been more careful what rolls off my tongue these days for reasons like that.

But I am proud of what I've taken off so far and look forward to seeing how much further I can go by the holiday season.

As for school, I have 7 weeks left until I have completed my hours and take my boards and become a licensed cosmetologist. Last week, I did my mom's hair and gave her a new hair cut as well as my best friend Kate coming in last Saturday and I weaved highlights in for her. It was no different than any of our other customers who have come in, but it feels so different. For one, these are my dear loved ones. If I manage to royally screw up their hair, I'll know how unhappy they are with it and it would be a long time before I forgave myself or they let me touch it again. For two, if they love their hair, they are going to be more likely to spread my name and this is how I build my business post-graduation.

Tonight . . . we tipped Mike's hair. He asked for it himself.

So far, so good

Week 0: July 31st



Week 8: September 25th



It's not even to the halfway point, yet, but it's pretty neat to see what's changed so far.

(Good God! I need to go clean my bathroom mirror!)

So final, so quick are the hands of destiny

Clear signs that this is really happening and that I am actually going to A. LOVE it and B. be damn good at it.

1. The numerous emails from friends asking when I am at school so they can come by and have services done. Folks, I am there Open to Close, Tuesdays through Saturdays. (9 am to 8 pm Tues - Fri and 9 am to 6 pm on Sat). Come see me.

2. The growing number of request clients I am getting. Last week, I had one a day. Five requests in a week? Nice.

3. The growing collection of "professional" tools I am acquiring. I finally purchased the shears that Kate and Aja had given me birthday money for back in April. Instead of the $340 shears that came with nothing but themselves, I opted to get the equally nice/expensive, yet coincidentally on special with matching thinning shears and a feather razor Joewells. And a case. And a pink flat iron. All which came at a nice, chewable tablet price. Sweet.

4. When clients ask how much more school I have and I can tell them "Eleven weeks". Not that I am counting. I mean, I definitely am, but more for the "we need to get me back out there and making money" aspect than the "I need the HELL out of here" aspect that a number of my classmates get near the end of their schooling here at VSB.

5. The vast array of skills that I have been collecting in the past few weeks - like head shaving, and ear candling.

6. The still very astonishing realization that I only thought up and decided to do this on January 12th of this year. A year ago at this time, I had no idea that this was on my horizon. I was sitting in the lunch room today talking with my friend Crystal when it hit me that had my life not gone the way it did last winter, I wouldn't be where I am now.

I am once again reaffirmed that everything happens for a reason.

The Little Things

You know what one of the smallest but most motivating things that can happen when you are trying to lose weight is? When someone you don't see often, or perhaps, do see often, but are unaware of the fact that you are doing this whole thing, mentions that you are looking good. Thinner. Skinny. I had that happen twice this week and it just boosted me a little higher. Pushed me a little harder on the treadmill. Made me look a little more closely in the mirror to see if I actually was seeing anything yet.

I honestly can't see it in the mirror. So I take a picture every week of myself at the same time, in the same outfit and then I upload it to a collection on the computer. Sure enough, you can see it. Yet, I still look forward to more noticable signs than photos I have to flip back and forth between to see.

I tried on those size smaller jeans I got for my birthday yesterday. They fit better than the last time I tried them on, but I still feel I should wait another five pounds before attempting to wear them out of the house. Which stinks, because my jeans right now are too big . . . they look baggy and sloppy and that is not my style. But that is the price we pay.

Mom got both Mike and I tshirts from Seneca Lake and of course, Mike was living in his within an hour. But mine was a ladies tshirt (you know, the ones that are cut to actually look good on women? The regular kind tent of the chest and just make us look square?) that I didn't have the nerve to even try on. So I hung it up and kind of forgot about it. Yup . . . put it on today and it fit like a glove. Small victory.

One of the items on my to do list tomorrow is to clean out the bigger clothes that need to be removed from my wardrobe permanently. If I don't have them to slip back into if I start to feel like splurging too much.