A Tale of Two Haircuts

Take off a little here, but not too much...

So, now that we all have new haircuts, we are ready to brave the Florida heat.  As long as Tropical Storm Earl stays away, we should stay dry.  However, The Boss is starting to get concerned with the potential for Tropical Storm Fiona developing in the Atlantic.  For those of you that are unaware, my wife is, what I would call an "Armchair Weather Warrior".  I caught her watching Hurricane Central on the Weather Channel tonight, and she is currently viewing the Satellite Imaging from the National Hurricane Center's website, looking for any developmental changes that she can decipher.

Ahhh, this is the life

Anyway, back to the hair.  The events could not have been more different.  First, we got Miss Giggles hair done, and she loved every minute of it.  The only one that didn't enjoy it was The Boss.  Here is a picture of her trying to explain what she wants done.  Turned out she explained more what she didn't want done.  It was pretty hilarious to watch and listen as she bumbled through what she wanted.  It reminded me of Miss Teen South Carolina's infamous rant in 2007 - no rhyme or reason, and no solid answer.  I think the hairdresser may have been scared to touch her.  So, with that we ended up with sone trimmed ends, and maybe a few strands of hair on the ground.  In the end, it was much more of a big girl time for Miss Giggles than a productive styling session.  But, she had a lot of fun and that's all that matters.

Take me to my happy place

I cannot say the same for Miss La La.  We took her to Cookie Cutters so they can bag the hair, print a certificate with a picture, and everything else associated with a first haircut.  Well, Miss La La was not having it.  No one could calm her down, and thankfully, all we were having done was trimming her bangs.  Of course, I can't really blame her for being somewhat timid.  A stranger dangling big silver shears in front of your eyes might be rather frightening for an eightenn month old.  After a tense ten seconds of hair hell for Miss La La, her ordeal was done and it was time to take her picture with the new do.  Well, still no calming her down, so we got a nice shot of a crying Miss La La.  It's just as well though, might as well remember the event how it happened.  It's also a good thing this place has a slide in it.  They need to have a movie theater too.  It took forever to print up the first hair cut certificate, and our stay was prolonged quite unecessarily.  So, Miss La La made the most of it, and snapped out of her funk, and got silly on the slide.

Space Mountain, here I come!!!

With that, the haircuts were taken care of and everyone was happy.  It was time to head home and chalk up another day down 'til we invade the Happiest Place on Earth. 

Coach Nobucks and The Draft

So, we are now less than one week from the big trip and The Boss woke up today with a fire in her belly.  I guess she felt rejuvenated after her haircut, and the time is now ticking down.  Of course, yesterday, I found out that I will be coaching Miss Giggles' soccer team, which I am very excited about.  The only problem is the draft is next Thursday night.  I love that there is a draft for an under 6 soccer league. However, I have a few questions about this draft, which I will be missing unfortunately due to the C.F.D.W.P.P.E.  What about trades?  Will cash be offered in lieu of a player to be named later?  I'm also wondering if I have to pick my own daughter, or does she come with me by default?  I think we can get someone to help us, and I am just wondering if I will need to confer via cell phone while my team is "on the clock".  Enough of the sports references, I want to get down to business with an update on the vacation readying process progression.  However, it is late and I am tired.  So, I will post tomorrow with some pictures of the girls' new haircuts, and a story or two to go along with them.  Nighty Night.

Decisions, Decisions!!!

So, we will be leaving for Florida in nine days and there is a lot to do between now and then.  First, I was busy all morning prepping the house for a showing at 4:30 - mowing, weed-eating, throwing some highly intrusive weeds back into the neighbor's yard etc.  Then we get a call from our realtor, they've canceled for today.  It's just as well, The Boss has been fretting over our current stage in the readying process - outfit planning.  She was ordering some monogrammed shirts the other night and was having some serious trouble deciding on a design.  She asked me if she should order the Minnie Mouse cheetah or zebra print.  Decisions, Decisions!  After a long pause from me, followed by an all too familiar response to her "ears". . ."I don't care", I say, and after several agonizing minutes she makes her decision - and orders one of each.  What a woman.  Vote for your choice to the right (what can I say, I like playing with these new gadgets).

Rapunzel, Rapunzel . .

It is also time to head back to "the city" again.  The girls are getting

their "hair did" and The Boss is really struggling with another decision - cutting some of Miss Giggles' hair.  It is sooooo long and curly and gets very tangled at times.  However every time she complains about Mommy brushing her hair, she always shoots down any ideas of getting it cut - I think she likes all of the compliments she gets.  Nonetheless, The Boss has made another executive decision, and is taking her to the "place where mommy's get their hair cut".  She thinks that's pretty cool.  I'll be very interested to see exactly how much comes off.  I'd put the over-under at about 2" and bet on the under.  One decision she has not struggled with is getting Miss LaLa her first haircut.  This is a no-brainer.  She has begun to look like Sam Sheepdog from Looney Tunes.  Of course, it wouldn't be so bad if she would only leave the bow alone once placed - alas, she's 18 months, what can we expect.  You also may be wondering why they have to go to "the city" to get their hair done.  Well, about a month ago, The Boss got hers done down here.  On her way home she called me, laughing at how bad it was.  When she got home I took pictures to document the baddest of hair days.  It was awesome.  She also told me she would kill me, if I posted one of those pics.  Call me crazy, but I just can't let this one stay on the hard drive.  Check it out.

"What happened to me?"

Yeah right.  I may be crazy, but I'm not stupid!  Anyway, it's off again to the big city for hair and errands.  Let's just hope that my girls don't leave the big city with hair to match.

Behind Schedule?

So, we had a birthday party tonight that has maybe set The Boss's plans back.  Oh the horror!!!  Our neighbor's little boy had his fifth birthday party today and we were there for the better part of the afternoon into the evening.  Which was great because we got some much needed adult interaction, and the girls got some running around and swimming time - which equals early nighty night at our house.  We had a great time and thankfully the rain stayed at bay right up until we left.  Here's what crashing at our house looks like.
After the girls were down, The Boss decided to go to the grocery because some of her "deals" were ending tonight at midnight.  She is prepping some snacks for the Disney road trip and doing her due diligence to save us some money.  With that, she always feels the need to come home and brag about her finds - like she's a picker.  First of all, she says "pre-Kroger card" her total was about $150 - "post-Kroger card" plus coupons it was $77 - her face beaming as though she has just been declared the champion of Supermarket Sweep.  Her strategy is to give the clerk the Kroger card after everything is rung up so she can see the dollars counting down - I must admit, it is nice to see the dollars drop.  So, she comes home and plops everything down, and begins to boast: a frozen Chinese meal for $3, a ginormous box of Cheerios for $2, and a razor that Kroger somehow paid her $2 to take off of their hands.
The plan for tomorrow is to get everything done in "the city" that we can.  We are going to Lexington to drop the girls at Gamma's and then run around town with an early afternoon matinee thrown in. Maybe a stop at Sam's Club if time permits.  Either way, I can guarantee, The Boss will be "picking" wherever she can.

Disney 2010 Preparations

It's mine, all mine!!!

So, we have less than two weeks until we depart for Disney World. . . again. For those of you not in the know, we went last September and had a great time. Even though I am currently unemployed, I don't care. We paid for the trip months ago, and you know what; my kids are only young once. They will not care about grown women dressed up as fairy tale princesses for much longer. Thus, we go on, no matter how painful it may be financially. As I told my mom, any thoughts of money will go out the window of Cinderella's castle when my girls are having breakfast with those fair maidens. Anyway, our preparations are in full swing, as we finalized our dining reservations for the week today, in coordination with the extra magic hours, and locales, and schedules, and on and on and on. The preparation for Disney World in my house is unlike anything I have ever seen. It has a militaristic sense of precision. My wife, aka "The Boss" becomes somewhat dictatorial (more so than normal) around this time, as her lists and schedule drafts and re-drafts litter every room in our house. By the time our last visit was over I felt like I needed a vacation from our vacation. But all kidding aside, I am getting very excited. We are also getting to roll a few days at the beach into this excursion. We were hoping to get a week at the beach had I gotten the job I was hoping for. Alas, no job, no week long trip to the beach. But, it pays to have friends that live close to one! My buddy Matt had mistakenly told us at one point that he had plenty of room and that we should come down some time. Be careful what you wish for Matty! He said he had plenty of room and recently had twelve people staying at his place. My response was that we'll only bring four but may feel like twelve. So, we get the beach for two days and then it's on to Disney World. Stay tuned as the preparation continues. After all, "it's the time of your life"!

Online Photos

So, I'm thinking of selling some photos online in order to make a little extra cash while job searching. I did not realize that it costs money to sell photos online. I don't know why I didn't think this, as "my momma always taught me ain' nothin free". However, I am going to begin posting some pics every so often, to add a little color to my blog. I don't have a certain style, really just anything that catches my eye, gets snapped. I guess I do tend to focus on people and nature though. So many different objects to shoot, and always changing. I feel that the ordinary can be extraordinary when captured. And every now and then, there are just some things that I just can't pass up! Here is the first of many. I took this several years ago, before I even had my DSLR. We were in D.C. at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Memorial Day. We had walked below the tomb and I saw this guy standing in reverance. I wonder what he was thinking at that moment, Was it thanks, or was he remembering an individual or the collection of soldiers that have died for our country. Either way, I thought it was a pretty cool image. Enjoy!

Bad News

So, I've been banking on a job with a medical device company. You see, I was laid off in March from a pharma company and have been interviewing with this company since May. Well, today I got the news that I did not get the job. Stunned, pissed, devastated; these are not the words. I just do not understand. But, I am not a sour grapes kind of guy. I mean, I only spent four months out of my life bending over backwards for these fools - without getting paid!!! Nevertheless, I shall prevail. It was not meant to be, and what is it the French say; C'est la vie. Anyway, I am totally bummed out and feeling the pressure. My three year old told me today somthing funny. She caught me staring off into space tonight and asked me what was wrong. I told her I was sad because I didn't get the job that I had wanted. She then said "That's O.K. Daddy, you can still play with me all day. Every day!" The excitement in her voice made me laugh, and realize there are worse things in life. So please read my blog. I promise I am funny. More to come.