As I pretend I haven't been MIA

Happy summer to you all. Oh wait, it's over. I know this because of the 65 degree weather we've been presented with the last week or so. Foolishly I wished for fall weather and now that it's here, I hope and hope each day that Mother Nature will take pity on me and throw a few 90's my way. Pretty please? Not that Bridge Man and I haven't taken full advantage of the summers glorious, gloriousness. We travel somewhere nearly every weekend. A few trips to Six Flags to enjoy some roller coaster mayhem. Yes, I'm almost thirty and still enjoy a good coaster thrashing. Although I can't take it as long as I could have ten years ago. By the end of the day I will require two Advil and my fluffy pillow, please and thank you.

In June we drove to the southern most point of Missouri to enjoy some time on the farm. Also known as Bridge Man's favorite past time. We spent four glorious days getting poison ivy and bug bites, lighting fireworks, and shooting guns. Good times. I really did enjoy the trip although I can't help but be bitter. My skin has taken a beating this summer. Sunburns, poison everything, bug bites, a few more sunburns, and a few more buggy bites. Before this summer I maybe got one or two bug bites a year and never had poison anything in my life. Did you know you can develop an allergy to poison ivy? Well you can. Over the last few months calamine lotion, Off!, and SPF 85 have been my best friends.

In July we flew to California to see some of the family. Also known as Xteener's favorite past time. That's always a fabulous trip. We are planning to take the in-laws out there next summer. It should be so fun! Big Ma, that's what we call my MIL, wants to do all the tourist-type things which I love. When we go out there I try to act like I'm a regular California girl. Been there, done that. I'm fooling no one, I haven't lived there in over a decade. Seeing the Hollywood sign still makes me squeal a little. If your cross your eyes and squint a little, you can see it. This was before I found the digital zoom on my camera.

And of course August means that I'm no longer a newlywed. Bridge Man and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary with a weekend trip to our Alma mater. We visited all the sites that were so fabulous back then. They are still just as fabulous. For a dinky, little college town there is a lot to do. Wining, dining, and lounging. That's how we spent our college years. (Maybe the first weekend before classes started.)

As always with the end of summer, there is a bit of a let down. A "what's next" kind of attitude. If I slow down too much I become like a hibernating bear. You may not see me again until next spring. No worries, my pretty, Bridge Man and I have some things in the works. A possible relocation, new jobs, new house, new everything. We shall see.

Exclamations!

Moon Beam is back from the middle of Nowhere, TX! She has been gone for months and months and months. Let the mayhem commence!




Don't we look like a duo of bad assy-ness? I think so.

Jaded

I'm in a bit of a snarky mood. A cumulation of events has brought me to this place. I try not to get too personal when writing here but we all know how unsuccessful I've been with that. Who cares though, it's my blog. If I say something someone else doesn't like they can type up in that little tool bar doo-hickey and be gone in an Internet flash. But I would really appreciate if you stayed. You see, all the personal ramblings seem to help a little. Knowing that maybe one person read, and maybe even related to what I wrote helps me to cope.

Unfortunately, I haven't talked about this in the past so I have no choice but to fill you in on the arduous back story. My 20 year-old sister has been living with Bridge Man and me since December. She got herself into trouble living on her own and needed some help. We agreed to take her in but with some stipulations. No drugs, no alcohol, no boyfriends at the house. We did not want her bringing the drama of her past into our lives.

We talked to her about going to school and getting a good job. We talked about paying off her old debts. We talked to her about staying away from friends who might sway her back into old habits. We've done a lot of talking over these past five months. Instead of getting a good job and going to school she sleeps all day, goes to work for a few hours as a waitress, comes home to stay up and watch TV all night, only to start the cycle again in the morning. After a few weeks of this I get frustrated and talk to her again. She needs to get motivated, to DO something with her life. She gets motivated for a day or two and then falls back into old habits.

A few months into her stay with us we find her drug paraphernalia in our spare bedroom. I get mad. She cries and tells me that it's the only thing that helps her to get past all the bad things that have happened to her. I feel bad for her. One more chance.

She takes my clothes. She stole my makeup. She went through my filing cabinet to find stamps and paper to write to her boyfriend who is currently in jail. These things go on every week she is here. Whatever, she's a ignorant teenager who does ignorant stuff. A month or so goes by. A bottle of Vicodin that Bridge Man had after a surgical procedure comes up missing. She denies all allocations. Last week, I opened a bottle of wine and had a glass. This week the bottle is missing. She denies all allocations. A few days ago I pick her up from work and she is wearing my scarf. Straw, camel, broken back.

I flipped out. I screamed at her the entire 10 minute drive home. I flail my arms wildly and hit my fists into the steering wheel. (Side note: I should not have been driving at that moment.) I screamed so loudly that I was hoarse for the next two days.

I am at the end of my rope. Everything of value has been taken out of the spare bedroom where she sleeps and stuffed into our bedroom. Everything that cannot be taken out has been locked up, tied down, or hidden somewhere else. I organize things in the medicine cabinet in a way I can tell if someone has been in there.

I am living in a prison. My house has become a prison.

I grew up with drug addicts and alcoholics my whole life. I made the decision a long time ago to stay away from those substances because I didn't want to end up the way so many in my family have. My mom, my brothers, my sisters and myself were abused by addicts for so long. And now I have invited an addict into my house to take advantage of the fact that I am her sister. She knows that I won't kick her out. What would happen to her if I did kick her out? She would go back to the unhealthy life she was living. If anything bad was to happen to her because I kicked her out... I couldn't imagine the guilt.

Funny Dancing Tomato Kid

Warning: You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you may pee a little.

After which I am unable to respond

I have another good salon story for you. A random lady, we'll call her Crazy Hair McGee, has been randomly popping into the salon asking for a stylist named Chris. We do not have a stylist name Chris. Maybe this story will read a little better in script format...

***
[Enter Crazy Hair McGee, eyes blazing, hair a fright]

CRAZY HAIR MCGEE: [With intensity] I need to see Chris.

RECEPTIONIST: [Long Pause] Um, we don't have anyone here named Chris. Perhaps you are looking for our other location on the West side of town?

CRAZY HAIR MCGEE: Chris is at your other location? Well call her. Tell her to get over here!

RECEPTIONIST: I don't know that they have someone over there named Chris and if they do, she wouldn't be able to come to this location tonight. We can call over there-

CRAZY HAIR MCGEE: Chris has to do my hair tonight! Chris always does my hair.

RECEPTIONIST: I can call over there to set up an appointment for you.

CRAZY HAIR MCGEE: Chris is not here?
***

I will spare you the rest of this redundant conversation. It went on like this for another 10 minutes. In the end, we would find out that Chris is a stylist who worked at the salon over four years ago, which would explain Crazy Hair McGee's unkempt style.

The next week, during a particularly busy moment in the salon, Crazy Hair McGee calls and is put on hold while we assist others. She promptly hangs up and calls right back only to be put back on hold. It's a first come, first serve policy so she basically kept putting herself at the end of the line. She hangs up and calls back for a third time. This time I am the unfortunate receptionist to answer the phone. We are still busy and I ask if she is able to hold for a moment. She tells me no, she is not able to hold because she has been put on hold the before and had to hang up each time because she "got the diarrhea."

Bob help me.

A Cut Above... har har

I start on the floor in exactly one week and one day. That means that I get to take real-life clients, do their hair all fancy-like, and make real-life money. What started as a random afternoon cutting my own hair with kitchen scissors, has turned into a dream come true. (I feel like little cartoon butterflys and hummingbirds should appear out of nowhere to start singing, "one day my prince will come!")

The sad part about it all is that my mentor through this whole thing is moving on to another job. She won't be there for me to freak-the-french-out on my first day. She was the one that told me that it's OK to mix this developer with this brand of color and that a 9.5-1 will turn a yellow, dingy blond into the most glorious shade of blond you've ever seen. I will miss her. I guess every bird has to leave the nest at some point. Let's hope I don't break my wings.

I've considered making this blog all about the random, crazy clients that sit in my chair but thought that might be inappropriate. Plus, I will probably need to vent about.... oh, something at some point. Maybe it'll be a mixture of both.

***

I went to the hair show about a week ago. (A bit delayed.) Remember last year? I'll try to keep my voice from reaching a higher than normal octive but, it was so fun! I did not get my hair cut this year but rather spent most of the day sitting through razor cutting classes, mens hair cutting, and spending time with fabulous people. Since I graduated I don't get to see them nearly enough.
This was such a random moment. I turned around to talk to K.B., grabbed my camera, and yelled, "Hey, everyone - SMILE!"
This one, of course was posed. I was just so glad to have all these faces in one photo. I wish I could put them in my pocket and keep them around at all time for fun-zees.

Blog Ideas; Discuss

The longer I wait to post something, the harder it becomes to come up with an idea good enough to bring back my two loyal readers. I have ideas, no doubt, but whether or not they become anything is disputable. Writing something that encompasses my every thought from the last few weeks seems a daunting task so here is a listing of the blog ideas I had. Feel free to steal them, write about them, or ignore them completely.

- In a high school sociology class, we were instructed every week to write a one page paper on something, anything. The only rule was that it could not be about abortion. The subject has been done. Lately, I've been hearing a lot about abortion and it's sides. I have friends who are pro-life and friends who are pro-choice. Most of them choose not to bring it up at friendly gatherings, yet some do. I sit silently in my chair thinking that the subject shouldn't be so black and white. Pro-choice vs. pro-life, it's never that simple.

- I have had many inclinations to discuss the "new" house guest living with Bridge Man and me. I say "new" because she has been living with us since December. The knowledge is, however, new to you. I choose not to write about her here for two reasons. I don't like to talk about my family's personal stuff online... it's not my place. Second, I'm pretty sure you all would get sick of me posting about how irk-some it is each time she rifles through my closet. It's like high school all over again.

- I finished school. Yay! Next month I start taking clients at the salon I've been working at for the last year.

- My goal is to improve my attitude. Bridge Man and I have been talking about how negative we can get when things annoy/irritate us. We've been trying to come home and avoid conversation that begins with, "You wouldn't believe this person at work today." or "The most annoying thing happened today." Someone close to me wrote this about being a happier person. Sometimes I'll reread it to remind myself to be happier person. I (need) appreciate the reminder.

It feels good to get these things off my shoulders. Thanks for sticking with me.