My many colored days... and memory foam nights.

Good evening my dear bloggy friends,



It's Sunday night and I'm trying to figure out where the weekend went. Time just seems to be flying by so quickly these days. I have been without a car now for several months, so the only time I have access to the other car (J's) is on the weekend, which means I have to squeeze a lot of stuff into a small amount of time. Recently it's been spent collecting and returning job applications, apartment hunting, errand running, grocery shopping, and occasionally church when we're all healthy at the same time. Yesterday I went to look at another apartment and really loved it. The unit itself was pretty small, but there was a lot of open outdoor green space, which is very important to the boys. It was also in a nice neighborhood and in an excellent school district. It was not the area I had originally intended to move to, but I have been trying to keep an open heart and mind and follow God's lead... (more on that soon.)The sky was such a beautiful shade of blue and the sun was shining... it was the warmest day we have had in awhile. And by 'warm' I mean, high 30's, ha! :)



After that I ran a few errands.. went to Whole Foods and to my favorite toy store to see if they had Mad Libs (which they did & the boys were very excited about),then ran back home to grab a bite to eat, and then was off again to get a much needed hair cut. I had only been to that particular mall a couple times and never to the salon, so I realized when I got there that I could not remember in the mall where it was located. I speed walked through the entire second floor, unable to find it, only to finally discover that it was on the first floor, way at the entire opposite end of the mall. By the time I got there I was wheezy and sweaty. I was also completely embarrassed by my hair color, as I recently had a bit of a mishap. :(

It looked cute in the pic below for about two days until it started turning orange....



So, what happened was that I tried to put blonde streaks in my hair myself, but they were much too dramatic, so I tried to tone the rest of my hair down a shade using a mixture of lemon juice/conditioner and it was super cute at first (the pic in my last blog was taken after that). But then after a few more washes my hair started turning really orange and blotchy. So I decided to try to go back to light brown again, but instead it just turned the streaks a green-ish gray color. Then after much googling, I read that you have to use a red tone first as a filler, before dying brown over top. So then I colored it red, which turned it a horrible shade of orange/purple and then dyed it brown over top. For some reason most of my hair took the brown, but some rejected it, so now it's mostly really dark auburn brown, with purple/red on top. It only looks normal in this pic because you can't see my roots...



So, I am completely broke by this point, because I just spent so much money buying boxed hair dye, and the girl who cut my hair HIGHLY suggested I do not try to fix it again myself. So, thankfully... I remembered that I had a gift card for an Aveda spa/salon for a massage from like a year ago that I keep forgetting to use. After calling to inquire, they said I could use it for any treatment I want. So, I made an appointment to have my hair color fixed, and am giving up my massage... sigh.

It's a good thing I held onto that gift card all this time, because otherwise I would be forced to continue going out in public with really badly dyed hair. So... hopefully they will be able to fix the damage I have caused. The funny thing is (not ha ha funny) is that I am probably going to end up with the same color I had to begin with! I have definitely learned my lesson. And if I EVER decide to try to highlight my hair again myself, somebody please stop me! I mean, I've had hair minor hair trauma in the past, bu this definitely was by far the worst experience ever. Now I'm just praying that my hair doesn't fall out and have been spending a lot of time deep conditioning with olive oil, honey, and avocado. Yum :)



Today, on the other hand, was not so productive. The boys have both had colds and coughs all week and I have been feeling some congestion in my chest, but have been determined that I can fight it off with oranges. This morning I woke up with a splitting headache and pain in my chest though, so I decided to just take it easy in bed. I got caught up on e-mail, researched schools for the boys and myself, filled out my apartment application, caught up with my mom on the phone, etc. But, the absolute best part of it was that I did it all on my brand new memory foam mattress! Nolan knows that I have suffered for years with severe back and neck problems, so he decided we needed a new mattress and had it shipped to me this past week. :) Admittedly, I am feeling a little guilty about getting to sleep on it now, while he has to wait several more months. But, it's pretty amazing and definitely the most romantic gift ever. It's so sweet how concerned he is about my health and well being. :)



I have slept really well the past two nights, but my back is a little sore as it is trying to adjust to the new level of firmness. The funny thing is that when I first got it out of the package and put it on my box spring it looks so skinny and ridiculously dwarfed in comparison to my giant sleigh bed frame, so I decided to put it on top of my regular mattress as sort of a pillow topper. By the next morning though it had doubled in size and now I am up so high off of the ground! I thought about removing my other mattress, but decided that I kinda like being so high up in the air. I feel lofty and royal. Like the princess and the pea. :) So, I don't care what anyone says, I'm leaving it like this. It is hilarious though watching the boys try to get into it. They sorta run and jump, and then cling onto the side and shimmy up the rest of the way. Also, once they are on it, they have trouble getting back down. It's been fun cuddling up in it together though, reading Dr. Seuss books and laughing hysterically over Mad Libs.



There is just one person missing though... thankfully our tribe will be together in just a few weeks, when Nolan comes to visit for several days. In the meantime, it's nice to lay in bed and talk to him on the phone... daydreaming that he is snuggled up beside me. Sigh...



Nighty nite & sweet dreams...

XOXO, Erin



Does anyone else have any hair horror stories to share, or am I the only one?

P.S.- More than once I cut my own hair as short as Dolores O'Riordan. And in High school I used to have to listen to "the Cranberries" to be able to fall asleep every night. Even now they still make my eyelids heavy...