Need a new do. . .

The state of my hair has been quite bothersome to me for awhile now. Currently, my hair is about 1/2 to 3/4 down my back and it needs to go. Don't get me wrong. I love long hair and the ability to whip it up into a ponytail, but let's face the facts here. I wear my hair in a ponytail (or ponytail variation) about 95% of the time and I really dislike the maintenance factor (especially with the frequent pain issues in my hands). So, I'm looking for a new, short, do!

Pictured below are a few options. (Please ignore the hair color, it was the closest approximation to my own color but not quite). I'm looking on feedback regarding the cut and maintenance of these styles, which is where you all come in. Please feel free to leave feedback in the comments. Keep in mind that I'm looking for a wash & go, no muss no fuss look. Sometime this weekend I'll be going from long to short.

  

  

Or if anyone has other HELPFUL suggestions, just let me know (a link to specific example would be great).

MN or MT

I get some of the strangest phone calls at work some days. The winner of today's eye-roll award goes to the pleasant woman with the slightly southern accent. I had answered the phone in my normal manner and politely told her that the person (PersonX) she was looking for didn't work for our company on this campus.

She was obviously a product rep who was determined to follow up on a lead. She explained that PersonX was the campus marketing director for the dining service on the Missoula campus, and asked if I was sure she didn't work for us. Here's how the rest of our conversation went:

ME: "Missoula? Minnesota? I've never heard of a Missoula, Minnesota, but there is one in Montana."
Product Rep: "Oh, well I don't know about that. It's spelled M-I-S-S-O-U-L-A, and the information we have is that PersonX is the marketing director."
ME: "And it says that she's in Missoula, Minnesota?" (I'm wracking my brain at this point, because while I know I haven't heard the name of every city in Minnesota I'm also pretty sure there isn't a Missoula).
Product Rep: "It says Missoula, MT"
Me: "Wait, what? Did you just say M-T?"
Product Rep: "Yes, M-T"
Me: "That's Montana" (I try to say this in the nicest possible way I can, because darn it, there goes another 5 minutes of my life that I'll never get back.)
Product Rep: "hmm" (pause while I hear the clicking of keys) "So it is. Well, that's what happened" (she laughs) "Thanks so much sweetie, that was very helpful. You have a great day!"
Me: "You're welcome and good luck."

After I get off the phone I turn around and jokingly ask the room if anyone can tell me the abbreviation for Minnesota. A co-worker scoffingly asked if I was serious (my voice was apparently not dripping with enough sarcasm). Upon hearing that I was, in fact, serious he replies with the expected "M-N". To which I replied "Good. I was just checking to see if anyone here thought it might possibly be M-T".

"M-T" he says thoughtfully, "I don't think there's any state that's abbreviated that way." It was at this point that my forehead was once again introduced to my desk.

So, in the spirit of learning, I offer up a small Social Studies/Geography lesson for anyone who may be confused:

MT = Montana          MN = Minnesota

Sum, Sum, Summertime.

Summer is almost here. In fact it seems as if summer has been trying to show up early this year. Sure the past couple weeks haven't been the greatest meteorologically speaking, but today was amazing! And that's coming from the girl who forgot to take her breakfast to work because she didn't get much sleep last night due to a kitty who would not shut up about wanting someone to play with. (Seriously, TheDexter, three a.m. is NOT a good time for mama to play the mousie game.)

Any-who, since it's almost summer and since one of Mama Kat's writing prompts this week was to "list your top 10 favorite things about summer growing up", I thought I'd take a walk down memory lane. First, a warning, I don't know that I'd consider myself done growing up yet, so I'm just going to limit myself to the time period before my family moved away from the farm and into "town". And now, without further ado and in no particular order:

Best Advice Ever

In an attempt to spend at least a little time writing each day, I will be participating in various writing prompts/challenges/etc. I will be linking this post up with Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop.


Today's Prompt: Share a lesson you learned from your Mother that still sticks with you to this day.

Today's result:

When I was in high school she was talking to someone about kids and curfews. Now I can't for the life of me remember who she was talking to, but we'll call her Mom X.

Mom X said something about being exhausted because she had to stay up to make sure her kid(s) made it home by their curfew. My mom replied that she wouldn't know about that because she didn't stay up to make sure my brothers or I got home on time. Mom X was flabbergasted at the response and wondered how my mom could possibly do that.


My mom, the woman who had seven children to look after, simply replied, "I trust my kids to be home on time and if they aren't, for whatever reason, I'm probably going to need all the energy I can have to deal with the situation."

Now I don't have kids, nor do I plan on having them, but my mom's words have stayed with me over the years. Her rational can be applied to a myriad of situations where one might be worrying about future events. Simply trust that you've done your best, and don't waste energy worrying about something that may never happen, because you'll need that energy IF it does happen.

Best life lesson, ever.

The Last Time. . .

In an attempt to spend at least a little time writing each day, I will be participating in various writing prompts/challenges/etc. Today I am linking up with The Lightning and The Lightning Bug.



Today's Prompt: Flicker of Inspiration Linkup #49: The Last Time

Today's result:


The last time I heard his voice was at my surprise birthday party. I had turned 30 a week and a few days before and my mother-in-law had invited my family to her house to celebrate. I wasn't surprised by the party, but I was surprised he had come. My father was an introvert, a trait he passed on to me, and the fact he had traveled four hours to a near strangers house was slightly shocking. 


What wasn't shocking was how he positioned himself off to the side, nearly in a corner, of the living room. The chair he chose was between the entry way and the door to the kitchen. Typical of his nature, there was no chance for anyone to sit next to him.


Throughout the party his mood slowly turned from slightly cranky (a result of the four hour car ride) to downright cantankerous. While his chosen spot allowed him to keep an eye on everything going on in the room, it also planted him in the middle of the main flow of traffic which caused problems for his hearing device of choice. Unable to make out an specific conversation taking place in the room, and unwilling to move to a different chair, he finally retreated to the car in the driveway so he could have a good grump.


The rest of my family soon noticed his retreat and packed up to leave. Disappointed, I walked them to the car and watched them pull away without saying goodbye to him. A week and a few days later, he was gone. I sometimes wonder if our parting that day would have been different if I had known it would be the last time.