A short bob!

Wanted to do a quick update, don't have time for a long post right now!  Got the new coif last Tuesday.  Too much going on with Easter/95th Anniversary 1916 Easter Rising festivities.  But in short, I love it love it love it!  Does take time to style but still not as long as it did when it was past my shoulders.  And yes, it's much better for the round-ovalish shape of my face.  I'll post a pic when it's freshly styled, but it looks very similar to this:

Though perhaps a bit longer.  But I love it.  Definitely on board with the shorter hair again!

Au revoir, long hair

Tomorrow is it.  My much anticipated appointment to FINALLY get something different done with this crazy hair!  My final decision- to get it cut.  Not super short, but definitely different!  Gotta be able to tie it back in time for performance season.  I'm even more motivated to get it cut by my lack of doubts about getting it cut.  The more I think about shoulder length hair again the more I like the idea.  No more ten extra minutes in the shower rinsing out extra shampoo.  No more waiting hours for it to dry into a frizzy mess, or giving in and putting the blow dryer on it to dry it into a frizzy mess in less time.  No more blah style that doesn't look right no matter what I do with it.  And no more tangles every morning!  And the curls?  I still want them.  But after browsing through photos of medium curly/wavy styles I've realized how nice medium length curly hair could be as opposed to long and wild hair would be. 

So my solution?  The quick fix now, the curls later.  I don't want to be standing in a baking bathroom every day with hot rollers on my head or a curling iron for an hour just to get so-so curls.  So perm- later.  Just when the weather turns too warm for me to be running the curling iron, and just in time for performance season to roll around, I'll be gettin' that perm!  For now though, I'll be happy for a change.  Long hair, for me anyways, isn't all it's cracked up to be.  But power to all you ladies who are loyal to your long locks.  It takes a lot of patience.

The Hair Conflict, part deux

Indecisive, that's me!  When it comes to hair, anyway.  With an appointment with the stylist fast approaching I'm changing my mind about what I want done with it roughly every thirty minutes.  Maddening, I tell you, maddening! 

I know more than one person who outright refuses to grow their hair long anymore because their mother made them keep it long until they were old enough to decide otherwise.  The aversion to long hair rooted in them by their being forced to keep it long makes them cut it constantly.  It gets past shoulder length and here come the scissors.  Maybe they'd even like long hair, on a subconscious level, but that memory of their mother raking a brush through waist length hair and refusing to allow them to cut it resounds in their minds.  So short it stays.  I have the opposite problem, I think.  More than once I've gone to the salon with longer hair, intending to make a dramatic change.  And more than once I've come away with a short, cropped style I wish was longer within a week of getting it cut.  Maybe this is why I have a fear of cutting it...  I loathe coming away from a haircut with locks too short to keep in an updo.  I crave a change but that old fear keeps coming to mind.

My other option is getting the perm I thought I wanted.  But that was half hour ago.  Actually, what changed my mind was trying on a bathing suit at the mall.  Seeing my hair from the back in one of those three way mirrors made me realize how much of a mess it is!  I thought I wanted long hair.  Now I wonder if I just liked the idea.  Long hair itself can look very pretty but what I have now seems to be swallowing my face and accentuating everything I DON'T want accentuated.  Maybe super long hair just isn't for me, curly or not.  I really would like to see what a perm would do for me but if it doesn't provide the rescue from the hair doldrums I'm hoping for it means money down the drain and chemically fried hair on top of it.  I'm thinking I should take the safe route and just go for a new, albeit shorter style...

If I could get a longer version of this, I think I could be happy with it.  I love her layers, just a little shorter than I'm comfortable with.  Again, the old fears!

This one is a winner for me.  If I got it cut and it came out like this, I'd definitely be happy!

The dreaded appointment is fast approaching.  To be continued!

My New Stilettos!

As long as I've been wearing heels, which has been about five years now, I've lived comfortably in the 3-4 inch heel height neighborhood.  I've mastered walking, and even running in my heels and have become quite confident wearing them.  And then, whilst shopping the sale at DSW, I stumbled upon a pair of honest to goodness stilettos.  Adorable.  Ankle strap peep toes that I fell in love with as soon as I laid eyes on them.  And I've been wanting a new pair of ankle strap pumps since my old ones finally gave out.  The 4 1/2 inch heels didn't bother me, although I knew I was graduating to a whole knew level of high heels by buying them!  But resist I could not.  The highest heels I currently own are 3 1/2 inches in height so it was a bit of a surprise when I first stepped into these amazon shoes!  I was suddenly tall, and the feel of these spike heels was a little...wobbly at first!  I'm talking true to life stilettos, so anyone who wears these understands that they take some getting used to.  But I loved them on my feet as much as I loved them in the store and this morning I made breakfast in my new heels.  I would have probably looked like a maniac to anyone who might have dropped in, walking around in boxers and a tank top and these crazy high heels, making my morning toast and tea.  But I didn't want to take them off!  I loved being eye level with the microwave as I heated up water, and I could actually see the top of the fridge (which very much needs cleaning, as I discovered).  Being tall made me feel extra confident despite the bedhead and the fact that I hadn't even gotten around to washing my face yet.  And I realized I was standing up straighter than normal even though it was early in the morning (for me, anyway).  Definitely worth every penny, and more.  Being a dancer I avoid heels too overly often and finally made myself take them off to save my arches.  But I'm already conspiring when I can come up with an excuse to wear them again, even if it's to make dinner in Saturday night.  And as a bonus, the killer spike heels make me feel like I'm walking in built in daggers- I just read in May's Cosmo how women have been turning to their heels as self defense against attackers.  Another reason I love these.

Another new element in my new babies is the peep toe feature.  New for me, that is.  I steer far clear of anything open toe, flip flops, forget it.  Maybe it's the clean freak in me but I've heard the stories about more bacteria being found in flip flops than in public restrooms or something crazy like that, and all I gotta say is no thanks!  And I guess I am a little self conscious about my feet, modest even because something about having your feet hanging out for the world to see feels a little too personal to me.  But again, everything about these heels were too irresistible for me to pass up and I couldn't let a little peep toe stop me from grabbing them up before they were gone.  And I have to say I'm liking it!  Just enough open toe to be sassy (like me ;P) and I'm not too terribly worried about getting dirty or flaunting too much skin!  I doubt I'd be wearing these anywhere overly dirty anyway (not like I'm going to wear them to the grocery store or to fill up my gas tank).  So I'm now warming up to the peep toe concept now that I own these. 

So for a deeply discounted price, these were well worth it!  An extra 4 1/2 inches gives me a lot more than just extra height.  I'm so excited to wear these and love the way I feel in them.  Funny how happy a pair of shoes can make someone.  In fact, in the few days I've owned these they've made me much happier than my last boyfriend did in nine months ;D  So my latest pair of heels, my first stilettos, have already earned their keep.  Love em!

Long hair vs. short hair

Long or short locks, that is the question.  I am currently attempting, for what seems like the umpteenth time, to grow my hair out long.  Anyone who has ever done this knows how irritating the process can be.  A little over a year ago, I got a short, choppy coif, and I mean short.  The longest layer hit right about chin level and I had even shorter layers.  While I liked the manageability of it, after the newness wore off I found myself wanting it long again.  Obviously, it's a lot easier to get short hair than long hair!  So ever since I've been patiently waiting while it grows, which in all fairness is relatively fast.  It's just past shoulder length now, and just about at the stage where it was when I cut it last time.  And now, I remember why I cut it!  It has reached the unavoidable awkward phase, where I just can't seem to be happy with it no matter what I do.  More than once in the past few weeks I have had the urge to get it cut short again.  The fact that a lot of girls in my dance classes have been cropping up with adorable short, layered cuts lately hasn't helped me maintain my resolve to let it grow.  Oh, how I've longed to go to the salon and leave with a cute, layered bob with some choppy bangs to match!  But so far I've stayed strong...so far.  Although I am planning to get a body wave perm in the next couple of weeks, because the way it is now is driving me crazy.  But that's another story, and another post.  Right now, I want to take a look at some of the pros and cons of each style, since I've had both I know from experience.  So here we go.

Short hair

Pros:

1. Typically easier to maintain than longer styles.  Less tangles, less to blow dry, less to style.

2.  There are so many cute and sassy variations on a short bob, which is great when you want something suitable for your specific face shape.

3. In the heat of the summer, it is so nice not to have a mane hair hanging down your neck making you feel less like a lady and more like a merino sheep waiting for the shears!

Cons:

1. This one is a big deal breaker for me.  Sometimes short hair is so short you can't tie it up.  For a dancer, being able to get you hair out of your face and into a bun is a BIG thing (fellow dancers will understand!)  Not being able to get my hair back into so much as a mini- ponytail was one thing that made me want to grow it back out so badly.

2. Having to get it trimmed on a regular basis.  If you fall in love with what the stylist gave you, it means making a trip down to the salon about every six weeks, give or take depending on how fast your hair grows.  This can not only get expensive, but it can be difficult to keep the exact cut you originally got.  No matter how much of a genius your stylist is, the cut is going probably to vary a little each time you get a trim.  Having layers adds to the difficulty of keeping exactly what you have.  This is one thing that stopped me from running out and getting a copy-cut of one my friends' new style.  Even if I went to her stylist, there's no guarantee she'd be able to give me that specific cut she gave my friend.

3. If you get it cut short and loathe the style, there's not much you can do but wait for it to grow out!  Even if you're ok with it but decide you prefer it long, it's going to be awhile before you're going to get all that hair back.

And now, let us explore the pros and cons of the style on the other end of the spectrum, long hair:

Pros:

1. Ok, this one may be just me, and it may be a little silly.  But whenever I see a lady walk by with ridiculously long hair flowing down her back I think, dang, I wish I had her hair!

2. All those updos!  With long enough hair you can do so many beautiful things with it.  And you don't have to worry about getting it up into a bun!

3. Besides updos, there's so much more you can do to style your long hair.  If your creative enough, and have the time you could come up with a new style every week.  Long hair can really be an artist's medium, trust me.  I've seen some amazing things done with long hair.

And now, the cons:

1. Long hair can be a pain in the arse.  Tangles, knots, all that brushing.  Washing and drying it can take twice as long (or longer, if you're one of those people with hair down to their waists.)  I'm at just past shoulder length right now and air drying it has started to get annoying.  I don't blow dry unless I have to but having damp hair up to three hours after I've washed it does not a pleased belle make.

2. Ever think of what would happen if it got gum caught in it?  I've heard of people who haven't cut their hair in literally decades and wonder if their pride in their hair is really an obsession.  And what would happen to these people if suddenly they had to whack off all their long hair?  I mean, long hair is nice but is it worth an anxiety attack if the day comes you must get it cut short?

3. If you fry it, there's not much you can do but cut it.  All the Rapunzels out there know that if you are attached to your locks then you have to do something other than cut it if you want to change it up a bit.  Coloring, highlighting or perming are always options but what would you do if you fried it beyond repair, or bad color turned it orange?  If you have a shorter style hair blunders such as this can be easily corrected with a trim, but if you've invested a lot of time growing your hair then what would you do if it turned into a dry, crunchy frizzball?

Well, those are a few things to consider.  I'm currently right in between long and short styles so I don't get the benefits of either.  I don't have a short cut that I can style and go, and I don't have these long, fabulous locks that speak for themselves.  Sigh.  Only time will tell if I have what it takes to wait for the long hair I've been wanting.  I just had a conversation with my sister-in-law the other day about this very topic.  When we have longer hair it drives us crazy but as soon as we get it cut short we want to grow it again.  Perhaps long or short isn't the question, perhaps it's a matter of change that we crave.  Right now I'm planning on getting a perm this month.  I also could have a weak moment and have her cut it instead.  It could go either way ;)

The German Shepherd

I have had the pleasure of having a German Shepherd in my life for nearly six years now.  Being a first time GSD owner, I was a little apprehensive when I first brought Aeva home.  I had heard all sorts of talk about how a shepherd could be "unstable" and that they were a breed that could not be trusted.  But I had also heard how fiercely loyal and protective they could be, which is a quality I greatly value in a canine companion.  So I took a leap of faith and brought home a four month old female shepherd puppy. 

Things were a little stressful at first.  Part of it was the normal stress that accompanies bringing home a puppy and part of it was from adjusting to the breed with which I was unfamiliar.  But we quickly got accustomed to each other and I realized what a prize I had found in Aeva.  She was the smartest puppy I had ever been around, and also the easiest to potty train, a huge plus!  She was attentive and when I was training her she listened aptly like she was trying so hard to understand what I wanted from her.  It didn't take long at all to train her to come when I called her name, to sit, to lay down, to chase her favorite toy and then bring it back to me.  And her protective qualities began to show through early on.  She would bark at anyone who so much as stepped into the drive and alert us every time she heard a strange noise outdoors.    Aeva also became a built in smoke alarm.  Once, someone left a pan of leftovers on the range before bed.  At some point Aeva jumped onto the front of the stove to get the food and in the process turned the range on.  Upstairs I was watching T.V. when soon the sounds of howling came from the kitchen below.  Upon entering the upstairs hall I could smell smoke.  As I was racing to the kitchen I discovered the leftovers were burning on the stove and poor little Aeva was cowering in the corner, crying and howling her displeasure.  Fortunately, largely thanks to Aeva, no damage was done (save the burned pan) and the crisis was averted.  Since then, Aeva avoids the stove altogether, leftovers or not, and also goes into a very bad mood every time someone burns something in the kitchen.  Or lights a match, for that matter.

I have to say I feel quite a lot safer going for a run up the road knowing Aeva is at my heels.  But in addition to that, she has become part of the family, a loyal companion who follows me everywhere and is always the dependable little shepherd.  Or not so little!  Does she like strangers?  No.  But that's the idea, right?  I wouldn't want her welcoming any idiot into the yard, and she doesn't.  She's no fluffy poodle, no little yapper that rides around in some rich lady's purse, and I wouldn't have her any other way.  Aeva has won my allegiance to the breed, that's for sure.