A Week or a Year Unplugged?

Yesterday, I posted about my week of being pseudo-unplugged. I also came across a post by a gentleman who actually unplugged entirely for a year. The timing seemed rather fitting, so I thought I should share his thoughts on the issue, too.

You can read his post here.

I suppose the reality is that the internet is very much an integral part of many lives these days and I don't know that it's just a simple flip of the switch to sail off to some imagined, idyllic life. As he mentioned, part of the equation is still you and your priorities and choices. That remains whether it's on- or offline. I suppose it's like many things in life - we have to learn how to handle it in moderation, knowing that sometimes we won't succeed, but plenty of other times we will. It's just a part of life.

What I learned Being Pseudo-Unplugged

Recently I decided to take a week off from that parts of the internet which become huge, time-sucking vortices. Vortexes. Vor Texas. For Texas....

As much as I think I'd like to unplug entirely, I know that it's just not that feasible. Too much of my life is connected - banking, paying bills, proofing, setting up a website, and so on. But I posited that I could gain a lot of valuable and, hopefully, productive time if my only internet time were spent upon specific tasks. I wrote about it here.

Monday was fantastic! Of course. It was the first day and I was highly motivated. I even started making journal entries to keep track of how my week went. I also decided to implement a Three Things system for each day. Every morning I wrote down three things that I felt really needed to be accomplished that day. It's much more palatable than a five-page To Do List. I completed one and a half things (one of them involved looking through 5-6 years of photos and scanning some which were specifically requested - a hefty project). One and a half items? Okay, not too bad. I suppose. However, I accomplished a whole bunch of other things, in addition to playing games with my kids, spending time outside, and dealing with all the dreaded hand-wash dishes. I felt great at the end of the day.

On Tuesday, I pulled off two and a half items. I also got out for a walk with Caleb, remembered to pick up Mother's Day cards, got a super deal on my B Complex, and had some fun time downtown with my mom. I walked a lot more than normal, which felt wonderful.

Wednesday rolled around and we had a drizzly, cooler day. I completed one item from my list of three. Ran some errands. Enjoyed Starbucks' Frappuccino Happy Hour with my boys and a sweet time of fellowship with friends.

By Thursday, I didn't write down anything. Not three or any other number. I don't know why. Things had just begun to fizzle, I guess. Plus I still had some leftovers from the first three days. I took Zach to bowling. I sat in my chair and finished reading a book. I ordered pizza for dinner.

But I also had a light bulb moment. From my little journal:

This week is a perfect example of how I roll.

That's exactly it. Over the years, I've had a number of times when I've "taken the week off" to accomplish something or another. Every time I do, the first day is amazing. The second day is just a notch or two lower. The third day's not bad. But by the fourth day, I'm pretty much done. Maybe this means that in the future, I shouldn't take an entire week off, because days four and five are usually somewhat guilt filled. Even if I need more time, just take three days sometime soon again.

As for the internet, I did quite well at staying away from Facebook and Twitter. I also was relatively focused when I was online. All in all, this was a good experiment.

I learned that three days holds my Maximum Accomplishment Potential.

I accomplished numerous things.

I had some fun hanging out with my kids.

A Week Unplugged

That's what this week will be. When I say unplugged, what I really mean is unplugged from the excessively great time sucking vortex portion of the internet. You know, like Facebook and Twitter and other such things. I may need to check the balance in our bank account, pay a bill, edit some images, or some such thing. But nothing that leads to trolling around the web, losing all track of time, and frittering the day away. It's an experiment in what can I accomplish if I free up some time and space in my life?

I'll be back to report my findings on Mother's Day or the day after.

In the meantime, how about a photo or two?

My youngest. Who is now 18.

I never thought of ducks as curious.

Have a great week, everyone! Catch ya' later.

Happy 2013

January 1, any year:

A clean slate. 

A brand new month. 

A brand new year. 

A fresh start.

Being that not a single one of us is perfect, I find few people who don't feel at least the tiniest desire to change, improve, or do something better in a new year. Resolutions, many of us call them. Or we call them something else, seeing how resolution has become synonymous with failure. No matter what we call it, it's a tough road to journey for three-hundred and sixty-five days without discouragement, frustration, and distraction sidelining us.

There are many projects and endeavors in which I want to participate. After all, January 1st only comes once a year. If I don't hop on today, my chances of joining prior to the next January 1st diminish significantly.

Project Life
365 Project
Project 52
One Little Word
Read Through the Bible in a Year
1,000 Gifts / Joy Dare
The Happiness Project
and many more

The above are just some which lure me personally. In addition to eating better, going to bed on time, getting more exercise, drinking more water, blogging regularly, reading more books, and a myriad of other goals and intentions.

Do you ever reach a point where you feel like perhaps this year could be different? Perhaps this time you really could actually make some different choices? That's where I am. While I can't possibly do all of the things listed above and still manage the life I already have, I'm picking a few.

One Little Word
I've seen people choose or pray about having a word as a sort of theme for the year. There are blogs, websites, classes, and even a book about your word. Every year, I give it some thought, and some years, I even come up with a word. But being a notorious quitter (actually, I'm not at all notorious, I'm more of a secretly quitting and hoping nobody notices and calls me on it person), I've never followed through with such a project. In order to prevent this from ending shortly after it begins, I signed up for a class at Big Picture Classes, called One Little Word, taught by Ali Edwards. I hope that this will keep my word at the forefront of life, keeping me on track this year.

My word?

It's actually tied to my secretly quitting and hoping nobody notices and calls me on it issues.

I often struggle with following through on things. I have the best of intentions, get all fired up to start something new and better, but my motivation quickly fizzles and fades. Rather than picking myself up, dusting off my proverbial britches, and getting back on the road, I bemoan the fact that I've failed again, think that I might give it another go, and feel guilty that I probably never do.

So my goal this year is to just get back to it. Take that step. Do one small thing. Whatever it takes. I'm ready to see some different results this year.

As He usually does, the Lord is already preparing the way for this. I read some things which I hope will encourage and remind me along the journey. I'm listing them here so I can return to them when I need to.

• Make New Footprints by Carrie Hilgert

• Pretty much everything in the Rants & Sermons category at David DuChemin's site

• Lovely quote shared by Tasra Dawson

• Falling forward by Ann Voskamp

* * * * * * *

There are a couple of other things for 2013, but they'll wait for tomorrow. After all, I'm going to bed earlier this year.

Overused

I am currently on a computer sabbatical. Although I will probably get a couple of blog posts up. Hopefully.

Many, many years ago (20+) in a state far, far away (California) I worked for a company called Hewlett-Packard. Maybe you've heard of them. One weekend, I worked some overtime, entering credits for customers. Unfortunately, instead of continuing to type with two hands and using the numbers at the top of the keyboard, I cranked out the work on the ten-key side. While I don't recall my speed anymore, I really rocked a ten key back in those days, entering over 300 credits in a few hours. That was when it all began - pain in my wrist, elbow, arm, and shoulder.

Since then, I've had a variety of pains, numbness, tingling, and other issues anywhere from my fingertips to my lower scapula up into my neck and base of my skull. It's a relatively normal thing for me, so while it may be uncomfortable, I mostly just put up with it. Sometimes, my massage therapist and/or chiropractor work on it. I know the things that cause me trouble, so I make some effort to avoid them or at least not overdo it. Sometimes, not so much.

The past couple of weeks have been pretty bad. I've had both extra chiropractor and massage appointments. It's much better, but as soon as I get on the computer, it gets bad. Quickly.

Today I was helping Caleb pick up ratty apples in the backyard and it hurt to even do that. UGH. So it was off to the chiropractor - again - especially since her office won't be open again until Tuesday. I told her I had already decided that I need to take a break from the computer beyond things that I absolutely have to do. She agreed that was a good idea. She also gave me a schedule of icing and ibuprofen for the next 5 days. Which I will adhere to, because I am sick and tired of this pain.

Some days I think I should just work on becoming left-handed so I could give everything on my right side a much longer break. It seems that everything I enjoy doing requires my right hand/arm, which is kind of frustrating these days. So it's time to take a break from much that aggravates my upper right appendage. I hope to get a few blog posts up, but that'll be the only recreational computer time for now.

Of course, a week or so away from the computer will probably be very good for me. And my household. And my family. I may even accomplish some much-needed things around here.

p.s. - I think this might have to apply to some of my iPhone activities, too. Sigh.

The Pansy Ride

That's pretty much what I felt like when I got home. No, actually that's what I felt like during the ride.

A big old pansy.

Probably because that's pretty much what I am. My level of physical activity in recent weeks, er, months...years (?) won't even register on a scale of any sort. Unless you count the numerous trips up and down the half flights of stairs in our tri-level home. Right. I didn't think so.

But the weather here in beautiful Colorado has been gorgeous lately. And last year - sadly - I never even got the bike OUT, let alone ride it. The dream of riding everywhere, saving money, getting exercise, not contributing to carbon monoxide pollution . . . well, that pretty much stayed packed away along with the bike.

So this year I decided it will be different. I asked John if my bike was easy to access. Yes, it was. So he was sweet enough to get it out for me (remember - I'm seriously out of shape!). After taking some more apple blossom photos, popping in the house for a little bit, and checking my email and facebook, I told the boys I was going to the store. Yes, I had keys and purse in hand. And then I remembered my bike. And I looked at the beautiful day. And I changed my mind.

So I grabbed a rag and went outside and wiped two years' worth of dust off, got a water bottle, and told them I was taking a bike ride instead.

Oh yeah, the tires were a little low on air. Never fear, I have a handy-dandy pump attached to my bike. So I promptly pumped some air in and started off across the back yard. But when I arrived out on the sidewalk, I looked down, and to my dismay, the tires were a little on the low side.

Side note: I'm pretty sure my arms and shoulders will be crying tomorrow because of using the handy-dandy pump. So I rode around front and promptly let my dear husband use his air compressor to fill my tires. Turns out that was a good thing. They should be filled to 100 psi. I only managed 50 in the back and 20 in the front with the manual pump. I wouldn't have been able to hold onto the handlebars had I actually filled the tires completely. Then if I wasn't well-balanced, I'd have fallen in the street with no strength in my arms to catch myself. That wouldn't have been good at all. So you can see how letting John air my tires was a much safer option.

Tires filled to 100 psi? Check.

Helmet securely on my noggin? Check.

Water bottle in my basket? Check.

Phone, ID, and a couple bucks in my pocket? Check.

And I was off. Sailing down the street with nary a care. The operative word here being down. We live at the top of the neighborhood, as it were. Not that it's an enormous incline or anything. In fact, if you were driving, you'd hardly notice. But it's noticeable when you're on a bike. Primarily because you don't have to pedal. Ever. In fact, you better be getting on those brakes before you get to the stop sign. Which came up pretty quickly, given all that downhill momentum on 100-psi-filled tires.

Made it through the stop sign, onto a slightly busier street and headed west...or something. So far, so good. And then I turned to come back up into our neighborhood. The operative word here? UP. And by up, I mean minimal-barely-detectable-in-a-car incline. But for an out-of-shape, scary-how-old-I'm-getting me, it about killed me.

{okay . . . for those of you who KNOW where I live and KNOW where I'm talking about riding, you can get up off the floor and stop the howling laughter, RIGHT NOW! Let's see you be in my bad shape and do better.}

So I'm huffing, puffing, and pedaling up this great incline past all the little neighborhood children out playing, thinking how much I really need to stop and breathe a little, but also thinking how pansy that would be, given how little I've actually ridden. And then it occurred to me. These children don't know how long I've been on my bike. Nor how far I've ridden. Perhaps I'm on the last leg of a 30-mile ride back across town, for all they know. In fact, these children don't know anything about me, except I'm the overweight lady with weird hair cruising by. Although I doubt they even noticed that much. Because really, when you're a kid playing outside with your friends, do you even pay any attention to some woman riding up your very steep street? Probably not. And even if they did, why did I care what they thought of me? Clearly, the lack of oxygen to my brain was causing me to think irrational thoughts.

So I once I was clear of the children, I pulled over and downed some fresh cold water. See, forcing myself into exhaustion is good, because then I'm very thirsty and then I will drink the water that I otherwise don't intake much of. And I practiced deep breathing again. After my nice little water and oxygen break, I was off again. I made it all the way up the rest of the mountainous climb, around the corner and toward my house.

I'd probably been gone for all of five minutes. Okay, maybe six. Seven at the absolute most. Go home already? Sheesh. What a sissy thing to do. So I passed my cul-de-sac and went around another little portion of our neighborhood. At least I had the foresight to take the long way for the downhill part, to ensure that the uphill part was shorter.

I made it all the way back home, up the second less-than-enormous climb.

I may have ridden a mile total. Or not.

No matter.

At least I rode.

And now that the bike is out, clean, and has 100 psi in its tires, I may even do it again.

p.s. - My mom keeps asking me to go to Zumba with her. Yeah, right. I would obviously drop on the floor in the first three minutes and remain there for the rest of the session, possibly tripping up the other Zumba junkies. Which could cause great damage to me if they fall on me.

Maybe after a few hundred bike rides...

p.p.s. - The photos were all taken before the de-dusting. It's much prettier now. Because that really matters to the content of the story, right?

I Love My Toes

For Veggie Tales fans, this may bring to mind "I Love My Lips" by Larry Boy. Otherwise, disregard this portion.

I really do appreciate the ten toes that God gave me. Granted, they're not lovely or anything, but they're nicely teamed up, with five on each foot. They're super helpful when it comes to balance and walking and such. I especially like the way they keep my socks in place. All around, I'm sure glad to have them.

Why then, you might ask, do I keep breaking them?

Apparently I'm just super clumsy.

This makes break #4 in under three years now. There was also that time probably 15 years ago when I broke one while chasing one of my boys around the house. All of my left foot and its toes cleared the cat post. Except the pinkie.

And in case you have nothing better to do and want to read about one of the injuries, it had something to do with a Crock Pot lid.

The other time, I apparently didn't blog about. I will say it was the worst. I kicked a nice sturdy Herman Miller office chair early in the morning to break one toe. Then I kicked a dresser and further damaged that toe and added another to the pain later in the day. You know, in case I didn't hurt the first enough with the office chair, I guess.

Once Upon a Time...

...there was a girl {well, technically, she probably qualified as a woman} who found out about blogging because she read the blog of this other girl {also technically a woman} and she thought it seemed like a fun and cool thing to do. The first girl wanted to have her own blog {though she knew not why} but could never decide upon a fabulous name for her blog. So she just read the second girl's blog. And blogs that the second girl linked to. Times were good.

Then the second girl had a contest on her blog! One in which she was giving away a digital camera. Well. The first girl only had a film camera and she desperately wanted a digital camera. But in order to enter, she had to write a blog post. Gasp! She had no blog. She had no blog name. She'd better come up with something and she'd better do it soon.

She had been tossing around a few names, but none of them really captured what she thought her blog would be about. But somehow, this contest propelled her in a new direction and she arrived at a name.

It's true. Five years ago today, I started Bunny Trails. In hopes of winning a digital camera. Which I didn't. But I was able to buy one about a month and a half later. Which was very helpful for the blogging efforts.

Just like the rest of my life, it's been an up and down journey. Sometimes I post fairly frequently. Other times, my blog gets a little desiccated. Along the way, I've found some other wonderful bloggers, have joined bigger blogging projects, participated in memes, and had an all-around good time.

Oh. The other blogger who inspired me to join this craziness? That would be Sprittibee. Heather was my first blog friend ever. She was so sweet and helpful as I ventured out into the blogosphere. She even sent me html codes so I could tweak things a little bit. I still haven't had a chance to meet her IRL, but one of these days it's going to happen, right Heather?

Happy Five Year Blogiversary to me!

And if you stuck with me this long, how about a giveaway? Like all the things I have to give away that have been sitting here waiting for me to post them. I'm scheduling a number of posts {complete with randomly unrelated photos}, so there'll be a new giveaway each day. Feel free to enter just one, a couple, or all of them.

All giveaways will be open for one week. So check back daily to see what goodie is up next for winning.

Today's giveaway is The Busy Mom's Bible

I reviewed this Bible last year and while it's great, I'm just kind of attached to my favorite ever, highlighted, written in, used to be rose colored, but is now recovered in purple duct tape Bible. So this lovely has been sitting on my shelf. It's like new, as I didn't read it more than long enough to review it.

If you'd like a chance to win this, leave a comment here, along with what works for you to set aside time to be in the Word. If you'd like another entry, tweet the contest and then come back and leave a separate comment to let me know.

This giveaway will be open until Monday, October 3rd at 10:00 p.m., Mountain Time.

I Found It!!

I saw it a few weeks ago. There was no room to turn around and get a picture. Plus we didn't really have time.

I was so disappointed.



Then a week ago, my sister called me to tell me she saw it on her way home from dropping her daughter off at school. The timing wasn't good for me to dash out, try and find it, and shoot it then, either.

I was even more disappointed.



And then this morning, it zoomed around our cul-de-sac. Almost at light speed. Amazing we even saw it. But my camera was upstairs. So was my phone. I dashed upstairs, at something less than light speed, making crazy little sounds of, "Oh! Oh! Oh!" only to come back to the living room and discover that it was long gone.

I was seriously disappointed now.



But I know this neighborhood like the back of my hand, er, the front of a map, or something. So I grabbed my camera and my phone (and my purse), asked the Comedian if he wanted to join me, to which he replied, "Not really. It doesn't sound like fun," and I took off.



I was well-rewarded this time, for I found my prey a mere block and a half away. I quickly pulled to the curb, shut off the motor, and got my camera into position.



CLICK

Dianne - 1

Disappointment - a BIG FAT ZERO!

High Maintenance

I really don't want to be a high maintenance kind of person. I'm sure I am in some areas, but in others I've learned to be a little more low-key. And yet others were probably not a big deal in the first place. I believe that I just discovered the area of life in which I am completely and utterly high maintenance, though.

Dentistry

I haven't blogged much about my dental issues, and sadly they seem to be many. I've taken a rather hit-or-miss approach to my dental health. In part due to whether or not we had insurance. And it's been on that proverbial list of things I need to do . . . sometime. Well, sometime has arrived.

I have a very wimpy gag reflex. I can't even get through a mouthful of x-rays without problems. I sometimes gag while brushing my teeth.

Thanks to advances in dentistry, they have a nifty little lozenge that you dissolve in your mouth and it will calm your throat down somewhat in regards to the gagging issue. Unless you're me. And it doesn't work at all. Except that it does make my mouth and throat taste and feel a little funny after I leave his office.

Okay, so maybe we'll bypass the modern advances and go the route of old-fashioned methods. Salt on the tongue. Yep, I stuck my tongue out and the hygienist sprinkled salt on it. Then I press it to the roof of my mouth for a few moments.


That didn't work out either.

Since I could barely manage x-rays, we won't even talk about impressions. Because they didn't take them. I go back next week (cleaning, bite adjustment, and impressions) and in preparation of that appointment, I'm taking an antibiotic, which is fine. But I've also been prescribed a low dose of Xanax. And he's going to use Nitrous. I just have big issues about being tilted way back, my mouth being pulled open, stuff and hands all being in my mouth, and then gagging.

I have mouth claustrophobia.


swiped from Photobucket

The dental issues? Well, it's not pretty. I'm likely having a wisdom tooth (or two) pulled. Yes, I still have all my wisdom teeth. This does not make most dentists and hygienists very happy. It's probably part of the reason my front teeth are so tightly squished together. Possible root canal and crown (one or two). Maybe more pulling. Maybe a bridge. Maybe braces. Maybe something else. I don't really know yet.

I'll be taking my iPod and some tunes with me for sure. Even 25+ year ago, this dentist was using Walkmans with headphones for people to relax to during dentistry. He's really very cool.

The big question now? What should go on my dental procedure playlist?

50 cubed - week 5

Sometimes life forces your hand. All my lamenting over not drinking enough water has now been addressed in one fell swoop, thankyouverymuch.

I have some dental issues. The kind that involve pain. A lot of pain. And not sleeping. So I made a last-minute trip to the dentist on Tuesday. After x-raying a few teeth, assessing my issues, assigning me rinses and pastes and such, he mentioned that I should stay away from low pH sodas and other sugary drinks.

I assume he was referring to Cherry Dr Pepper.

Well then.

I guess I'll be drinking water, won't I? In fact, I've had no soda of any kind since Monday. I have, however, had a LOT of water. A pretty glass makes it taste better, too. Along with a fun straw.

Yes, it was my WW shot, but it fits. So there you go.

50 cubed - week 4

I almost wussed bailed on posting this week. I mean it's kind of a downer to just hear how much I can't drink water. I do not know what on earth is wrong with me.

{We interrupt this regularly scheduled blog post. Dianne just hit some keys that caused a crazy window to show up at the bottom of the screen with all her blog code. What keys did she hit? Where did that come from? Can she do it again? The answer to these and other questions may never be known. So we return you to your in-progress blog post.}

In the past, I've done a MUCH better job of drinking more water. It's almost as if the more I want to drink water, the less I do. It's insane, really. The big water jug? Yeah, that's working out great. NOT. The Mio? Ditto. I still can get a couple of days in with good water consumption and the rest? Not so much.

And it's been HOT here. Like upper 90s! Usually when it's hot, I'm MUCH better about drinking water.

I think I need to ground myself or something. Because I'm really not obeying well. At. All.

So yes, this is a couple days late. Yes, I tried to skip it. But I felt sorta guilty. What kind of accountability is that to myself if I just happen to not post? None. Zip Nada.

So, true confessions. Other than today, I've still been doing poorly with the water. Oh. And while I'm at it? The flaxseed is still sitting on the server. I stopped consuming it, too.

I am my own worst enemy.

One tiny victory, though. While I did have iced chai latte this morning, I went the entire day without soda - as in drinking WATER - until a late dinner tonight. But even then, I didn't have much. It just wasn't cutting it for me. Which is a good thing.

It's the beginning of a new habit. Right? One small step for . . . oh never mind. You get the picture.

50 cubed - week 3

This water thing is getting the best of me. Or maybe it's actually not. I am terrible about drinking enough water. So this past week didn't result in much change. I can get a good day or so in, but that's about it.

Enter my new water dispenser.

I've marked on the side how far to fill this each night {so I have nice, super cold water in the morning} with how much water I'm supposed to drink in a day.

I might've gotten half of it in today.

I might be floating away this next week as my body adjusts.

But I'm not giving up. I'm going to rise to the challenge. I WILL drink all my water.

fifty cubed - week 2

You know when you ride on the roller coaster and that first hill is the biggest, fastest, most intense part of the trip? The rest of the ride is still fun and all, but it's the big hill that's the best.

That's kind of like my motivation.

I creep up that big hill and come screaming down with light speed motivation, but the rest of the time never gains quite the momentum.

I am very much like a three year old. Short attention span. Terribly short. Ditto on the motivation for just about everything.

That's precisely why I'm blogging this self challenge. I will need a kick in the pants to keep going. I need FastPass so I can quickly regain my motivation atop Disney's California Screamn'. Over and over and over again.

So what I'm pretty much saying here is that I did not succeed in my week of drinking more water. Well, I guess I did drink some more water than normal. But not nearly enough. I think I need to take a slightly stronger approach to this matter. Perhaps fill up a pitcher with all the water I should drink in a day and stick it in the frig. Then I have a visual reminder each time I open the refrigerator. That's probably a good thing, since I'm a very visual person.

Funny thing, that visual stuff. I'm getting more and more visual as the years go screaming past me. Toilet paper rolls left on the bathroom counter so I can remember to bring up a new package. Milk jugs by the front door so I'll remember to pick up more milk. It's no wonder my house is such a mess. Out of sigh, out of mind is truly the reality in my world. Therefore, I should never put anything away, right?

But I digress.

Speaking of digression. The flaxseed? Yeah, it's sitting on the server. You know, my visual reminder to take it. That's not panned out so well, either.

So this is my FastPass Kick in the Pants to get crackalackin' this week. {Try saying that three times fast}

Go ahead and remind me. Give me a nudge on Twitter or FB. I won't mind. Question me, even. Something's gotta give, and I'm hoping it's some excess weight, not the zipper on my pants.



To find out how this all started and what it's all about, check out the first post or the tab at up there below my header.

Hair Groove

As much as I thought this would be a progressive posting project, it wasn't. No matter. Back in January, I started the process of helping my hair be curlier which I shared in this post. Here's a shot of my hair the day I bought the book. Rather undefined and sort of frizzy. Not awful, but not what I wanted, either.



After the first week, I saw some definite progress. It turns out that many of the things I'd been doing to my hair for years are totally wrong for curly hair. So I was my hair's own worst enemy.



I've still had some up and down days with a little more frizz than I want, but for the most part, I seem to have accomplished that which I set out to do.

A shot from this morning:



Interestingly, I'm actually happier with my hair than I've been in years. I've always been so incredibly fickle - wanting my hair to look different every few days, if not sooner. I've been wearing my hair the same way since the end of January. That's over THREE MONTHS! That has to be an all-time record for me.

Perhaps I've found my groove.

Follicle-y speaking anyway.

My hair groove.

One groove down.

271 more to go.

Approximately.

Curly Hair - Day 8

So far, so good. I feel like I'm getting better curls and they're lasting longer. Here's a picture on Day 8.



To compare, here's the other shot from the day before I started this experiment.



It's not terrible, but the curls are much less defined and a little frizzier than I like. Near my neck, the hair underneath has some amazing curls. I'm hoping that by not messing with the outer layers they'll follow suit. That is the ultimate goal.

Curly Hair Experiment

I totally love Ruthanne {eclectic whatnot}, her riotous sense of humor, and her rockin' cool curly hair. She has mentioned plans to share her curly hair tips and secrets, but she's a busy gal, what with going to Blissdom, making her awesome camera strap covers, and managing her modern-day Brady Bunch family, among a variety of other things. So of course, I understand that she just hasn't had a chance to post her series on curly hair. Not that I'm impatient or anything. Cuz I'm not. Well, maybe just a teeny tiny bit. But I'm an understanding patient. Not that she's a doctor. To the best of my knowledge, anyway.

But I digress.

I was at Borders today and look what I discovered:



{You can check it out here should you be interested.}

I sat down to peruse this book and see if it held any potential. It looks quite promising. So I'm going to give it a try. I have no idea just how long this might take, but here's my before picture. This is what it looks like in the late afternoon. Still a bit wavy, but rather weak. Also just a little frizzy. I know there's more curl/wave in there somewhere.

Some day, I hope to show you an after shot with curlier, less frizzy hair.

Never Trust...

...your massage therapist to not make a royal mess of your hair.

...your camera's auto focus to always focus where you want it to (nowhere).