So today I had a hair appointment with my good friend, Ashley! She is my hair guru lady. In the past four years she has taken me from  brown, to red, to dark brown, to blonde(ish)! It's been a lot of fun, and she always does a great job! I've spent the last almost seven months rocking the blonde highlights, but hubs was never crazy about it, and it's been a while since I got them touched up. So I decided the best move would be to throw in a brown weave, just to break up that annoying grow out line. I've been kind of missing being a full on brunette, so I wanted to head back that direction. There's a little part of me that will miss the blonde, but that's just the part of me that wants to be able to go from long to short, light to dark, bangs to no bangs, and then back! All at the drop of a hat. Don't we all experience that, though? Pretty sure there's a saying, something about grass being greener....

Anyway, Ashley recently got her own station at a local salon, so I was really excited to go see her there. Most times we would get together for hair-dying it was in one of our kitchens!  Not that it ever bothered me, but she's been wanting to get into a salon for a long time, so I'm happy that she finally achieved it! The place was super cute, and very mod. I loved their theme of colors, there was a lot of pink and teal, with black accents everywhere. Ashley always gets my thumbs up, but I'd say the salon itself does too!

Ashley is also an organic hair stylist, meaning that her hair color line is organic and eco-friendly. This means no crazy strong fumes to deal with while getting your hair dyed! It makes for a very pleasant salon experience. She has a wide range of colors to choose from, and she had one that matched my natural color perfectly! We were both a little surprised and how flawlessly it blended with my roots. Needless to say, my hair turned out exactly how I wanted it. You can barely tell the difference between my roots and the grown out highlights now! If you have plans to get your hair done anytime soon, I could not recommend Ashley more! You can find her at Moxie Salon, so give her a call!

Finally, here are some pictures of our day, and some selfies in my bathroom! (My camera doesn't take very good photos, and all the ones of me from the salon turned out blurry. Stupid camera!)

Our house seems to have been in a constant (if minor) state of remodel for the last four and a half years we've owned it. Even when we don't have a big project going on, there are still little things that are begging for our attention. Maybe it's the fact that I can't ever seem to finish anything completely....

Anyway, I'm always adding something to my list of things to do to our house, especially in the cosmetic department. My latest idea is to paint the blades of our two ceiling fans so they match. Now, granted, the fans themselves are completely different, but I figured matching blades would really tie them together, and that would be good enough for me! They both already have gold bases, so I figured black blades would look really nice. I don't know, maybe that's just me. I'm definitely not an expert on what looks good and what doesn't, but I know what I like. And I like black ceiling fan blades!

So here are what the fans look like at the moment. Nothing too bad, but they are very dated and could use a little tlc. I'm all about doing things on the cheap, so that's why I decided paint would be the route to take, instead of replacing them altogether.


It shouldn't be too difficult, because all I have to do is unscrew the blades from the base. After I clean them up a bit, I'll spray paint them. I'm pretty excited, because I think black makes such a good accent color to a neutral base, and I hope to get my house to that kind of color scheme soon. As you can see, I have navy blue accent walls, and I'm not totally crazy about them. I'm all for adding color, but I think I will like it better when that color comes from accessories, instead of my walls.

Well, there you have it. I plan on taking some pictures of the process, and sharing it all with you when it's done! I figure now that you're all waiting anxiously for the finished product (ha!) that I will get it done sooner rather than later. Wish me luck that it all turns out!

P.S.- While I'm at it, I might as well finish cutting in the paint around the base of that bottom fan, don't you think? ;)

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Looks like the breakfast of champions, right? Well, maybe not of champions, but it's definitely not the worst breakfast you could eat! I'm slowly beating this cold, and I woke up craving pancakes. I haven't made some in so long, so I thought I could survive standing at the stove for ten minutes or so. Pancakes are one of those things that are so comforting and filling, but so easy at the same time. I really like to use Bob's Red Mill 10 Grain mix. You just add an egg, a little oil, some water, and voila! You're on your way to some warm tasty goodness! And you won't feel too guilty for eating them, because they're full of whole grains.

I also had some frozen blueberries on hand, which I simmered on the stove to make a kind of syrup. Then I mixed in some homemade blackberry jam to give it just a little extra sweetness. It was a nice little treat, and with a couple of eggs on the side, made a wonderful breakfast for this sickie! Also, I had to make sure to get in my vitamin C and caffeine...



Normally I don't make breakfast on Sundays, because I always end up sleeping in and then we're running late for church! Actually, I don't make stuff like this most days. D eats a lot of cold cereal. Luckily for me, he doesn't mind. I tend to eat simple things, and lately I've been trying to watch my carbs. For some reason I find that easier to do for breakfast, so I'll have an egg or two, and either an apple or some grapes. Once in a while I'll make some whole wheat toast with peanut butter. Those are pretty much my standards. That makes mornings meals like this all the more special! So, are you craving these yet? Then I suggest you go make some! Maybe as a jump start to your Monday morning. Have a good week everyone!

 Your day is about to look up. There is a product out there that is going to make you so much happier. Like, you're going to wish you could give me a big hug for showing it to you! I'm talking about Le Parcel. The box that is going to make your "time of the month" much, much better!

For only $15 dollars a month, you will receive a box filled with 30 feminine products, of which you can choose a combination from several types and brands. They also give you chocolate and a small gift! How much more awesome could it get? No more running out when you need them most, or having that dreaded 'guy cashier+big box of tampons' moment. Awkward, right? No? Just me? Oh, alright then. Anyways, it comes every month, on time, on the date of your choosing. I don't see how any woman could not fall completely in love with this product. I mean, come on, there's chocolate! I will probably sign up as soon as I'm done writing this post! (I love me some chocolate)

So check out their video, and then head on over to their site and order this box!




Meet Le Parcel from LE PARCEL on Vimeo.


I also want to give a shout out to the website that introduced this product to me, and that is Hello Giggles. It is the brain child of one of my favorite actresses ever, Zooey Deschanel, and her two friends Molly McAleer and Sophia Rossi. The sight is filled with tons of great articles and videos, from funny to political, aimed at a primarily female audience. If you haven't already heard of it, go and be entertained! This product was featured in one of the Item of the Day articles, and was first shared by Andrea Greb. I hope you all find this stuff as great as I do!


P.S.-I didn't receive any compensation for this post, I just felt it was too awesome not to share! :)

I tend to go through stages where I'll do my nails all the time, at least two or three times a week. They just tend to chip so bad! Both the polish and the nails themselves. Then inevitably, I get tired of wasting so much time and energy on something that only lasts a couple of days!  So I will go weeks without doing anything to them and they get all kinds of gross looking (sorry no pictures to prove that). Right now I'm coming off of one of those "no polish" stages, and I'm pretty sick of them. Plus I've been seeing a lot of cute nails online lately, and that's been pretty inspiring. I figured since I had the day off work, and I was being lazy anyway, I would bust out the stash! My mom bought me some loose nail glitter for Christmas, and I absolutely love it! There are all different brands, but mine is Sally Girl from Sally Beauty Supply, and you can get it here. Oh and it is cheap! Like only .99 cents cheap! Yeah, that's how I roll. Plus, it seems to last a really long time.




Sorry that the picture isn't super clear, I'm not known for my photography skills. But here I used the gold and the silver glitter, mixed about half and half, over a clear base coat. Then I topped with a high shine top coat to seal it all in. The trick to using the loose glitter, instead of a glittery polish, is using an eye shadow brush. Not like the little triangle shaped ones that come in the compacts, but an actual brush. I use one from e.l.f. (again, super cheap) but any small brush you have around would work. You just polish, wait until it's slightly tacky, then use your brush to put on the glitter. You may need to play with it a little bit, but it's really not all that hard. Plus, if you go with clear polish it's almost impossible to mess up! One way I like to wear it is gradient, but coming from the bottom up. As you can see though, I went from the tip down this time. I realize my nails were probably too short for this, and that's where starting at the bottom works better, but I thought I would change it up a bit and I'm pretty happy with it.

I think this is a really fun way to glam up your nails, and the color combos are almost endless! One of my favorites is a dark, shimmery pink topped with the silver glitter. Do any of you ever spend too much time on your nails? What are some of your favorite ways to do them? Let me know in the comments below!

I think I finally figured out a new design that I'll be happy with for a while! I'm not very savvy when it comes to html and all that jazz, so trying to come up with something besides the basic blogger templates was pretty difficult. I wasn't looking too seriously, but then I found my header over at The Cutest Blog on the Block, and I used it with a few font color changes on one of the basic templates. Nothing too fancy, or probably too original, but I feel like it really freshened up my page! I'm plan on leaving it as is for a while, and I hope it's as pleasing to the eye to everyone else as it is to me :) And in case you didn't notice, orange and grey are two of my favorite colors!

One thing I've also been thinking of doing lately is changing my blog's name. Something about it just isn't working for me, and it never really has I guess. It was the best I could come up with at the time, and it's kind of annoyed me ever since! The problem is, I'm having a really hard time coming up with something different. Maybe it would help if I actually sat down and made an effort. Instead, I just think about it once in a while, and then immediately give up when I pull a blank. I've had about enough of it though, so there is a good possibility that it will be changing in the near future. Just thought I should forewarn you!

Well I hope you all have a happy Friday, and a great weekend! And since I'm feeling like some tunes, here's a couple of the songs I've been loving this week :)

I know that I mentioned a little about my new job in a previous post, but I feel like I could just rave to anyone who will listen about how great it is! So, I'm going to do just that :)

I've never been the kind of person who "loved" kids and all of the work they require. As the oldest of seven, I felt like I got a good dose of kid time, and I avoided any extra! It always boggled my mind when friends (or anyone) talked about wanting to be a teacher. It always sounded like such exhausting, difficult work!Then I grew up, and moved away from all of those kids I was used to being around. And it got pretty lonely. I got to thinking, "Hey, maybe being around kids isn't such a bad thing." And I was right.

I started off by volunteering at our local community library in the children's room. I really thought I would love it because I am such a total book worm! It wasn't all that great though (but not because of the kids) and when I felt I had gotten all I could from the position I moved on. We have an awesome gym here in my town that offers a daycare for a variety of situations, and it is run by volunteers. The deal is that if you donate four hours a week of your time, you get a free family gym membership. So for the last two and a half years, I have been working down there, and it has been a lot of fun. For some reason though, every time someone told me I should try working for a school, I just shrugged it off and never really considered it.

It was in November that I'd had enough with food service and being a hostess, so I finally decided that working in a school was something I should pursue. I felt like I was qualified enough to be an aide, so I decided to get on the substitute educational assistant list for our local city elementarys (after not being selected for the part time position I interviewed for with the county). Since then I have worked about three weeks total, and the last two weeks straight. Let me just say, I have enjoyed every single day I've been there!

I work primarily in the resource, or special education, room helping out kids who are a little bit behind where they should be. I've had reading and math groups of several different grades, helped out with a kindergarten class, and been one on one support for a little girl who needs some extra help. All of the groups I do are part of what they call "scripted learning." Meaning that I have a book that I read almost word for word from to teach and direct the students. I've also got to experience every "duty" there is! Such as cafeteria, recess, and bus duty.

It has been so much fun getting to know all of the students, and getting to help them learn! It is such a great feeling when you watch them finally get something, to see that little click when, all of a sudden, it makes sense to them. Not to say that there hasn't been challenges, because there has. Kids who have trouble following directions, who get frustrated to the point of having bad attitudes, and some who are so far behind that you wonder if they'll ever catch up. But they are all such good kids, and it is just so rewarding when they do well. There is nothing better than seeing their faces light up when they are learning and enjoying it!

These past few weeks have seriously made me think that I should have spent the last four years going to school to be a teacher! It just seems like the hardest, most rewarding job a person could have. I'm not going to rule out the possibility that I will do just that in the future, but for now I'm happy where I am. I think my next step with be to try to get on as an actual ed. assist and not just a sub, but for now I'm just glad I finally transitioned to this area of work. It really is one of the better decisions I've made in my life!

Well, I've probably shared enough for now, but I hope the have a lot more great things to say about my job in the future! Oh, and if I can ask just one little favor, it's that you go thank a teacher! They really care so much for all of their kids, and they really love what they do. At least most of the ones I know anyway. Next to parents, they have the most important role in shaping how our young people grow up into smart, responsible adults, and they deserve a lot of thanks for that!

I've thought a long time about whether or not I should write this post, because it is so personal and still so fresh. But it has been on my mind a lot lately and I would really like to share with you some of my thoughts. 

21. That's how old my little brother will be in a couple hours. Or how old he would have been. I mentioned in an earlier post that he passed, and it has been almost a full year. It seems so crazy to be saying that already. Our Tony Bologna. That's what we always called him growing up. It has been such a hard year, not having him around, but in a way it's harder for all of my family who lived near him and saw him all the time. I've lived in Oregon for four years now, so to go a while without talking wasn't uncommon for us. And now that is one of my regrets. That I didn't talk to him more after I moved away. And the fights we still had like we were both still teenagers. Or the fact that I didn't give him a hug and tell him I loved him the last time we talked. The thing I've realized though, is that I can't go on always thinking about the regrets I have. I know that he knew I loved him. So I would rather share with you a little bit about him, and how great of a guy he was.

Tony was my only brother, the next after me, and the only boy out of seven kids! We were only 18 months apart, so we were inseparable. We fought like crazy, but we were also always there for each other. We told each other everything, and I mean everything! We had no secrets between us, and the code we followed was that we never ratted on one another for the things we had done. We couldn't really, because as soon as one would threaten to tattle, the other had something else just as bad to use! Growing up we had a lot of the same friends, and it was always Amy and Tony. We did pretty much everything together.

Better a week late than never right? Of course one of my (kind of) resolutions was to start blogging more again, but like all my resolutions it's just something that I always want to do more of, and I have a hard time sticking to it. Or starting it for that matter. Case and point, and new year's post over a week in!

But again, I guess better late than never. Hopefully I can apply that to all of my other so-called "resolutions." I always have so many great ideas and good intentions for all of the things I want to do. I'm going to organize my whole house, keep up on my house work, play with my dog more, work on his training more, do all the yard work, pick up my knitting again, play more guitar, write more blog posts (ha!), do all of my projects, be better with my time, stop being late everywhere I go, and lose 15 pounds! It's really no wonder that I get so overwhelmed....

So I suppose I will have to just keep plugging along, and hopefully if I keep telling myself that "one of these days" it will all happen, then one of these days it will! Even if it's because one of these days I'm going to come up with a list of manageable goals and strategies to make them happen. Maybe that should have been my resolution. I think though, that I want to resolve to do any of these things at any point during the year, not just at the beginning.

For all that I feel I am failing in (or at least letting slide most of the time) I do feel like I am in a good place in my life, and I'm feeling pretty happy. I definitely still have my moments, and if I could just learn to be content with all that I have I would be so much better off, but over all I would say life is good right now. I recently changed jobs, from being a restaurant hostess to a substitute teaching assistant at a local elementary school! It was such a good choice, and I have really been loving it! The kids are great, and the hours are too. No more working nights or weekends for this girl! It's one of those choices in life that you kick yourself for not making sooner. I've made it now though, and so on this happier note, I hope 2013 brings great things, both big and small, for all of us!