Hairstylists Hazards

OK gals, I'm just needing some validation here, so pardon me whilst I vent a bit.  I had to cancel a hair appointment that I had on Saturday because Stan had to leave to go to the GA Dome for a highschool playoff game.  Major bummer.  I needed the haircut pretty seriously, and my hair today looks like a loud proclamation of that truth.  I won't go into explaining every detail, but I wound up cancelling the appointment on the morning of the set appointment date.  I know this is very unhelpful to the gal doing my hair, but sometimes these things happen.  I really can relate to the struggle of cancellations with my MK biz, and I always appreciate when people can give me 24 hours notice, but sometimes life just happens.  When I called to cancel, there was the noted dropping in her vocal tone as she said, "OK."  I apologized profusely for the short notice, and I immediately asked what she had available for next week.  She seemed to almost enjoy telling me that, "Oh, I don't have a single appointment available until the day after Christmas!" My appointment was originally on December 8th, and she doesn't have anywhere she might could work me in within the next 22 days?  I can't even take her "earliest available appointment" on the 26th, and when I told her that, she said, "Well, then the next appointment I have open would be January 3rd."  This is the gal who used to cut my hair when we first moved here five years ago, and you know why I quit going to her?  Because if I had to ever reschedule, I'd better be ready to look like Thing from the Adaams Family by the time she'd be able to see me for an appointment.  Why did I go back?  Let me tell you of my journey back to Trish.  (I have changed all of these names to protect the innocent and not-so-innocent)

When I left Trish I went to a gal named Holly who was at an "award winning salon" in our community.  I liked her personality, but she charged $35 and would barely trim my hair.  I would leave feeling like I'd paid someone $35 to have pleasant conversation.  Holly moved, so I saw Stephanie in that same salon and had a mediocre haircut, so I said bye-bye to the award-winning salon.  My hair grew and grew and grew, and eventually I was in a desperate feeling spot, so, ladies brace yourself, I went to the Wal-Mart salon.  Why do we do these things to ourselves?  A nice guy cut my hair and talked at length about his momma, his Harley, and his new trailer during the course of my appointment, and as you can imagine, I left with a fairly poor haircut.  After Wal-Mart, I decided it was time for some pampering, so I went to a very nice salon where I found the girl of my hair's dreams.  Emily was such a skilled hairstylist, and other than the fact that it took the first two times for her to realize that I wasn't quite as cool as the haircut she tried to give me, I had very little to complain about with her.  But Emily was good, and her rising prices showed that she knew it, too, so eventually I felt like I couldn't justify paying $40+ for a haircut, and I had to say goodbye to her.  After asking around a little I found another gal, Cris, and while she did a fair job for a more reasonable price, it didn't break my heart when she told me she was getting married and moving to Connecticut.  After Cris, I went back to the salon Emily was at, hoping to rekindle some of the magic with one of her colleagues, (and although I was tempted, I couldn't go back to Emily, because she had a personal melt-down and left the hair-biz) but after two cuts with Haley, I had to put her out to pasture.  She was young and too green.  So I asked a friend, "Who cuts your hair?" and she said, "This girl named Trish, you know that place over behind so-and-so, " and  I thought to myself, "Adrienne, you probably were unfair about leaving her so hastily.  Give her another shot."  So here I sit, 7 1/2 weeks out from my last haircut with her, and no chance of getting a cleaned up "do" anytime before January 3rd.  Arrrrrrrrr!  So the question now is, will I  wait for that appointment?  Absolutely not.  I realize she was likely frustrated that I had cancelled, but at the very least I thought she could've said, "Alright now honey, I need you to give me a ring 24 hours in advance if you need to reschedule, but let me see if I can work you in somewhere, and if I can't, I'll put you on my list of folks to call if I have cancellations this week."  So I know the saying goes, once bitten, twice shy, but I've reworked that one--twice bitten, twice as bitter! :)  As I sit here with my mop of hair, messy, unruly, flipping up in ways I'd rather it not, I almost wish I could take on the spirit of Flo--you remember Flo from that old show Alice?  She was one of the waitresses in Mel's Diner.  Anyway, my fleshly self would love to utter a Flo-like phrase to Trish, "Don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya!"

I'll appreciate your prayers for my quest to find a new stylist.  :)

Zoo Trip

What a fun day we had going to the JAX zoo with Aunt Carrie Beth, and her two boys, David and Jonathan. Click on the title of this post and you'll see what we were up to.

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

This was on Tuesday night before we headed out for the middleschool band concert. I'm having to resort to using facebook to load my photos, because blogger isn't working, so click on the title of this post (it's the link), and enjoy.

Nonny finally slides!

I should've done these videos in the opposite order that I've uploaded them, because this is the second one. The first one is underneath, and I had to stop recording, because Mom and I were so tickled, I was afraid she'd never make it over!

Benjamin loves to swing!

Extended Spin

I wheeled the white hamper

next to the machine

one by one

pulling the dark items from the bin

they wrestled with me

seeming to prefer their present company 

more than the cold water of the tub

I pullllllllled

   and pullllllllled

thinking I might not be able to rescue one

but finally it would break free

springing out

nearly bounding into the tub 

Squeaking accordian doors and a noisy washroom

invite my chubby little crawler

he makes a b-line for the open doorway

mops and brooms dangling at one end tempting him further

I realize I'm going too slowly

pick it up

pick it up

he's coming 

he's coming

Briskly I'm scooping the soap

and dumping it over the clothes

when big sister joins us

her bed hair stands on end on one side

an lies in soft, gentle waves on the other

"Bong!" says the washer lid

"Screeeeeech!"  go the accordian doors

just before chubby crawler makes it

"Momma! Momma!

I did it all by myself!"

Kneeling down

I see she's dressed herself

and buttoned her own shirt

"Where did you learn how to do that?"

I say in honest disbelief

"From you!" 

Her chin rising and smile growing

I suddenly had one of those moments

Moms have them occassionally

when we wish we could freeze things

slow things down to a snail's pace

so we would really feel everything

soak everything in

not miss a single second of what we're in the middle of

Wasn't it just a blink-ago that she was my chubby crawler?

When did she become my I-did-it-all-by-myself-big-sister?

I realize I'm still holding the laundry soap

quickly I swing open one door

clunking the big box down on the churning machine

all of those knobs, buttons and settings catch my eye

I find myself wishing that the two of them had those knobs

I'd set them both on

Supersize

  Gentle

    Slow

       Warm

          Extended Spin

             Delicates

Spinning and Spinning

living forever

in these squeaky clean

sudsy, shiny

precious 

perfect

moments

A Wonderful Weekend

It's only Saturday night, and I've already had a spectacular weekend! Last night I got to go to a play--all by myself! And the two stars of the show were my parents! My mom and dad were commissioned to write and present a play about Charles and Sally Wesley at the Bishop's House Party. Dad wrote it (with a few additions and deletions and changes from Mom), and it was a mammoth project. The amount of research alone that he must've had to do to create enough material--it blows my mind. They were fabulous! It was a tremendous amount of memorization, and they both had been expressing their concern over getting it down pat, but they really did a beautiful job. Afterwards they told me they had left out a small portion, but you never would've known it. The whole thing flowed beautifully and I learned so many interesting things about Charles Wesley. I think I've always thought of him as John's sidekick, but there are ways in which he had a greater impact than even John. His hymns alone were a wonderful contribution, but he was also known to be a very good preacher--maybe better than John, actually. Charles and Sally's children were prodigies--musically, but they faced much rejection because of their name. The church of England basically black-balled the Wesleys. I didn't know about the physical attacks that Charles faced--being chased, beaten, having rocks thrown in his face...etc. I think, though, the most interesting thing I found out was that Charles never intended that there be a "Methodist" denomination. He wanted to revitalize the Church of England from the inside out. He didn't really want to give up on it. His hope was that their movement would cause a revival within the Church of England. I hope Mom and Dad will have an opportunity to present this play another time or so, because it really is so interesting, and it's written so that you somehow come away from it with this marvelous new wealth of knowledge but you felt as if you were entertained thoroughly, too.
I have to brag on my dear husband. You'll see him pictured here. He wasn't able to go to the football game Friday night because he had no voice, and his throat has been giving him fits--sore, etc. He loaded up, though, and went with me, and kept the kiddos in the hotel room, allowing me a wonderful time. How kind and loving. I know my folks appreciated having me there, and it would've been difficult if he hadn't joined me.
It was a great time, and I was so proud of my dear mom and dad.