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Caught!

Turns out that it really WAS a very hungry catepillar eating up my basil. I went out super early one morning and caught him red handed. Or green legged, whatever. Of course I had to take pictures. I did not have the heart to squash him, so I put him inside the hurricane glass that goes to a lantern but he managed to crawl out after a while. I am one of the few people on earth who really cannot abide butterflies, so I was kind of glad he got away. Thanfully, he hasn't made his way back to my basil.

Hair FAQ

I’ve been growing my hair out since 2004. It’s taken a long time, because I did a lot of damage to it with the dryer and flat iron etc. but it’s finally getting to be long. I overheard someone at work describe me as “the girl with real long hair” so I guess by some standards it is. In my mind I still have a long way to go. Sometimes people ask me questions about it. I thought I would answer the most frequent questions on my blog and put up a few pictures to track my progress. I hope maybe some of these tips are helpful if anyone wants to learn more about long hair care. Q. How long is it? How long will you let it grow? How often do you cut it? A. Last time I measured (April 2009) it was 28 inches but since then I cut it about 1 ½ inches. The pictures are before the haircut and you can see the ends needed a trim. My goal is 40 inches, which will be just above hip length on me. I’ve been getting it cut about twice a year. Q. Is it hard to take care of? How long does it take to dry? What products do you use? A. Recently I have changed my hair care routine significantly, having become better educated about habits conducive to growing healthy long hair. You can get away with a lot more abuse if you are cutting a few inches every 6 weeks but I’ve come to realize that if I want the ends to look nice then I need to take better care of them. Here’s my basic routine: No silicone products. These coat the hair making it impossible for moisture to get into the hair shaft.

No heat. I miss the super straightness from the blow dryer and flat iron but it was really killing my hair. Now I wrap it in a bun to dry and it comes out with smooth waves. Unless it’s really humid in which case it frizzes – Bleh.

Wearing it up more. Wearing it up protects the hair from damage of sun, wind, getting tangled catching on things and breaking etc.

Coconut oil. Yep, the kind you find right in the cooking oil section of the grocery store. I apply a little to the ends each night. Once a week I use quite a bit all along the length and scalp, leave it in overnight and then wash it the next morning. My hair is coarse and thick and can handle that much moisture, if you try this start with a “less is more” approach.

No chemicals, I don’t color, highlight or use chemicals perms/straighteners.

Apple Cider Vinegar rinse once a month to clarify any residue and make it super shiny. As for products, I use Alberto V05 shampoo. Currently on sale at CVS for 77 cents! Specifically I am using the Passion Fruit Moisture Milks shampoo/conditioner. I think I’ll try the strawberry one next. After a lifetime of trying expensive products, I tried these at the recommendation of a long hair message forum I am on. They leave my hair soft and shiny. The only downside for me is that I don’t like beauty products to smell like food and all the VO5 products have food kind of smells (fruit, vanilla, green tea etc.). I don’t miss the high price of my old Aveda products and these products work better but I do miss the more sophisticated herbal smell (Aveda Shampure smells like heaven in a bottle). Now Will says my hair smells like jr. high! My routine is pretty simple. I wash about every three days. I do the deep coconut oil conditioning before every third wash. I bun it to let it dry. At night I braid it to keep it safe and out of the way. I try new buns and up-do’s if I have time. I’m looking forward to getting some new hair pins and sticks so I can do fancier buns and things. If it is down or in a pony tail it will dry in about 2 hours on its own. If it is up it takes about 8 hours to dry, if it is braided I think it would mold before it ever dried! But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering. I Corinthians 11:15

I love to tell the story...

Well over a decade ago, while still in college I worked for a temporary agency. A girl I met on one of my assignments invited me to go with her to a Christian concert. The band was DC Talk. Several things happened as a result. The first thing that happened is that during the invitation, I recommitted my life to Christ. God is good. At the concert I ran into Stephen Heleman, the older brother of my best friend. At that time he was a youth minister. He invited me to attend his church and I began to participate in my first "home group" bible study. God is really good. Stephen was the minister who eventually counseled me out of a bad relationship, and he is also the minister that did our premarital counseling before William and I were married. Nothing is just a coincidence. God seeks us out, as our Creator he knows exactly how to reach us, and connect with us. For me, it was music. I don't remember the name of the woman who invited me to that concert, honestly we didn't have a lot in common. I don't know why she had the extra ticket, or if she bought it purposely. Was I so lost that I seemed to need it? Did God nudge her? Did she think I was cool and want to hang out with me (not!) If she had witnessed to me in any other way I probably would have rejected it and continued on the path I was on. So that's my story, what's yours? Blog it! Oh - here's my favorite song from the concert:

Guess What Else?

Bella pooped in the potty tonight!!!! Woo Hoo!!!

These are few of our favorite things...

Jacob's favorite thing is counting. He likes to count to 100. If he stumbles or gets interrupted, he starts over. One hundred. Yep, it's a big big number. Sometimes, just to mix it up he counts in Spanish instead. Bella's favorite thing is tattle telling. I imagine this is a useful day care skill. By tattling what I mean is that if someone does any little thing that she doesn't like she will say "Daddy (or Jacob or Mommy or Lady or Elmo) did it, Daddy did it" over and over in a very aggrieved tone of voice. It is cute the first 30 times or so. Sometimes she will just randomly tell me, "Mommy, Daddy did it!" even if Will is no where around her. It's really funny. The other funny thing she says is "Shamwow". You know from the infomercial. Shamwow is kind of our family's inside joke, it is an all around useful word for expressing wonder, joy, or if you drop something on your foot. Will's favorite thing is watching the new TRU TV station. "It's not reality, it's actuality". He watches forensic investigations and high speed chases and then tells me all about them. I think it's kind of a guy thing. He has also been scoping out new vehicle possibilities for us. Our Jeep is getting older and we could use a bit more room. He tells me about all the makes and models, I think that's a guy thing too. If you rode in the car with us (which isn't technically possible) this is what it would sound like: 1,2,3,4,5, Daddy did it. So what the cops do it they put a GPS on the car right, and when the k-i-l-l-e-r goes back to the g-ra-ve then they can see where it is (we spell grownup things) 8,9,10,11,12 If I had two hands (radio) Mommy, Mommy, Daddy Did it! The Town and Country is nice on the inside but I like the body on the Odyssey better Mommy, why do some houses have a garage on the back and some have it on the side? Jacob Did it. Shamwow. 41,42,43,46. ...1,2,3,4,... KSBJ!!(Radio & Both kids) Me? My favorite thing is peace & quiet!

I wanna rock n roll all night and party every day...

Last Friday Jacob and I went to the Jars of Clay concert, this was Jacob's first "rock" show. At first when the lights went down and the music started Jacob got scared, we ended up moving from our seats to some open seats towards the back where Jacob felt more comfortable. I wasn't sure how he would do since the show started at his normal bedtime but he did great. A very special moment for me as a parent was to see Jacob raise his hands during a praise song, he's been in worship with us many times but this was the first time he ever raised his hands and I must admit I got a bit teary-eyed.

The next day we attended the coolest birthday party. The "theme" was art and it was so fun for the kids. Angie set up all kinds of painting and craft stations in their backyard. The kids had these little aprons to wear and made a huge mess. Bella and Jacob painted for like an hour and a half.

One table had vegetables that were carved into shapes to paint and stamp with.

All the kids stamped their hands

All the finished hand prints In keeping with the theme, the kids even decorated their own cupcakes - Jacob's didn't last long enough for me to get a picture of the finished masterpiece! I love how blue his eyes look here. Bella before her bath - what a mess!

This week something wonderful happened - we harvested our first tomato!

Isn't it beautiful? Remember those tiny baby beans? They are so tall now! (You''ll have to look sideways- sorry!) Hmm, something's been munching on my basil - is it the very hungry Caterpillar? Everything is growing like crazy! The netting you see is to keep birds away from my tomatoes.

More tomatoes are coming soon

My entire attention...

I like to keep around several translations of the Bible. As a child I memorized scripture from the King James, so when I want it to read it just as I remember it, I read that translation. When I’m feeling scholarly, trying to learn about biblical history or just reading scripture for love of the stories themselves I like something that reads a bit easier, NIV for instance. When I’m reading for inspiration – at a time when I want to know God’s heart and desire for a particular situation then I like to read The Message. With lay-offs looming at both our employers next week, it is definitely a Message version day for me today. Matthew 6:34 (The Message) “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”