I Dyed My Eyebrows

No, this is not supposed to be a catchy, creative title. It's a confession. While dying eyebrows may be something of common practice, I'm not familiar with it. And because I feel a bit… ……weird…..silly…..strange……bizzare…..goofy….what is the word?....slightly embarrassed by the ultimate manifestation of frivolous vanity because no one except me can even tell the difference.......I have to tell on myself.

See, I've been darkening my eyebrows every morning for years now with an eye shadow of sorts. Being fair skinned, light eyed, and light haired means for me that I also have eyebrows no one can see. So I've always darkened them. But now I'm trying another tactic.

This was the first time I'd ever dyed anything myself. Wasn't quite sure what to expect and was mildly apprehensive about the prospect of burning my eyebrows off in pursuit of lasting color. I had to wash off the first attempt because I had applied the mixture with a q-tip, which not only got the eyebrows but the skin beneath as well. And naturally, the acrid odor of hair dye comes with its very own stinging sensation, especially so in the sensitive facial area. I was in serious danger of looking like Groucho Marx for the next 24 hours - what wasn't stained brown in a thick, fake line would be flaming red with irritation. So pretty.

The second attempt was applied to just the brows using an old clear mascara wand. Much better. I still didn't leave the solution on for the full 25 minutes, though. I'm not sure how sturdy eyebrows are and whether that would make them fall out. Chemically frying them to the balding point would kinda defeat the purpose.

I wish I'd taken pictures of the process, a before and after, but alas. Perhaps next time, once this fades, or, God forbid, turns orange in the sunlight, or goes horribly awry in some other unimaginable way. Because that's what I need - a big sign on my face that says, "yes, I am this big of a moron."

Michael's response when I told him what I'd done: "I…....I don’t know what to say to that."

Congratulations, freak-show?

It's Been A While....

I know. I'm WAY overdue for this post. But I've been trying to be good about actually working when I'm at work (the after-busy-season slump can very easily turn choc full of slacking). And when I get home, I like to play with CJ and spend time with Michael. Getting back on the computer is not high on my list. And I got sick again. And Camille got sick again. And then Michael got sick again. And I couldn't think of any really great to blog about….

I know. Excuses, excuses.

So I though I'd give an update of what's been going on, and then since I've been tagged a couple times for that "6 Interesting/Weird Things About Me" game, I'll tack that on to the end here. It's taken me f-o-r-e-v-e-r to think of six things. Because I'm so NORMAL. I should have just asked people sooner - other people can always tell you what wacky things you're in the habit of doing - especially if it annoys them.

So what's up…. Well, considering Camille is usually in the forefront of what's going on with us now, we'll start with her. She is 5 months old and has rolled over several times now, but none of it is purposeful yet. She's gotten very good at coordination and reaching for and hitting things. She can grab her pacifier and put it in her mouth. She's now rolling around holding her feet, which is uber cute. She talks up a storm, talks over the TV or any book reading, and we can get her giggling by tickling or snuggling or kissing her ears. She's getting better every day at propping herself up when she's on her tummy and is leaning forward all the time in efforts to sit up. We still have moments of amazement when we stop and again realize that she is a new little person.

Michael finished finals (yeah!!) and is now home for the summer playing Mr. Mom (love it!). He is studying for the GRE, reading up on other various topics for future classes, holes in his knowledge base, or general interest, re-reading the Harry Potter books, and making daily trips to the neighborhood Y.

I cut about 10 inches off my hair, so it's just above my shoulders. I had my first Mother's Day last month - strange to think about. Work has slowed to normal business hours, but I have enough projects and returns to try to finish before the next busy season to keep me plenty busy during the day. Motivation, however, waxes and wanes (of course).


Camille and I made a trip at the end of April to visit my fam in SA, and over Memorial Day weekend we drove to NC to visit Michael's parents. We have a couple other small driving trips to visit family and friends either coming up or being tentatively planned. Camille will be baptized in early August, so we're excited to have family and friends in town for that.

And now, tag, I'm it. Six Interesting / Strange Things About Me.

1. One of my favorite meals is shrimp and grits. Because they naturally go together, that's why. (It probably has something to do with yummy cream or cheese sauces that are all over the dish.)
2. I've been all over the U.S. and multiple other countries / continents in the world, but I've never been to New York.
3. I've been a Texas girl since the age of 5, raised in San Antonio, and I don't like guacamole. (Except for Sol's guac, but that goes without saying.)
4. I made it a goal to send the tackiest Christmas cards I could find each year. Like Santa Claus in his candy-cane speedo. However, marrying Michael put the kabosh on that winning idea since he comes up with great photo card setups. I still hold on to the hope that I'll get back to my dream one day, though…
5. I like brussel sprouts. Uh huh. But most anything is good after being fried in garlic and butter. (and instead of covering up the flavor, I think the butter and garlic compliment their yumminess well)
6. I discovered that if you eat chocolate chips and candy corn in the ratio of 2 chocolate chips with 1 candy corn, it tastes rather similar to cookie dough.

So there you have it.

Taste of Home

One Nashvillian once asked us if armadillos are real, actual animals or mythical, jackalope-type creatures. We assured her that they do indeed exist. Then yesterday morning on our way to church Michael and I saw something we had not seen in quite some time. An armadillo, dead, feet up, in the middle of the road.

I've heard that road kill is legal to eat in Tennessee. Mmmmm…armadillo… A little taste of home, almost literally.