We're going to lake Tahoe and we're gonna get mar-air-aired....

OK not really since we are already married but I did want to get married there... actually I wanted to elope but that didn't happen, and I am happen it didn't. So J has never been to Lake Tahoe (I used to go at least every other summer) and we found amazing prices at one of the casinos at South Lake (my favorite part of the lake). It really is an unbelievable deal and to top it off J is preparing a list and check sheet for packing and traveling... I usually do that but now I can just relax and enjoy the trip because someone else is being the planning guru!!!! I love J!!!

This is our first real trip (though we did go to Maine and to visit MIL when we lived on the East Coast but nothing huge). This is also the first trip since we got married, no honeymoon only a wedding night stay over, so this is like our mini-moon. Actually, this and Oregon will constitute our first family trip as a family... no the cat is not coming.

I hope the weather is nice enough to be outside. I will post pics and tell you all about it when we get back... and maybe I will even start my third and final blog... my book blog.

My Tube Sock Hair Curler Fail... sort of

Summer brings out the side of me that wants desperately to look pretty and feminine. I know this usually happens to most people in Spring but coming from a place where Spring and Winter are much the same it is the Summer heat that changes my mood. So I have begun working out (more about that another time) but I have also been reading lots of articles on how to take care of yourself and look better. Something I am always trying to better is my difficult hair. It is naturally blonde (formal English feminine) so it has been darkening ever since I hit adulthood (college) and I hate the color it is becoming but I don't want to dye it the rest of my life (more on that later too). It is also incredibly full (lots of hairs) but very thin and delicate hairs (fine) which means I have a ton of it but I can't do anything with it without a warehouse of styling products (which I hate) so I usually just give up. Below you can see what I usually look like... except it is almost in a pony tail or bun now-a-days since I have given up. But not pretty huh?
So, again I was reading articles and I came across one in Health Magazine (I think this month but don't quote me). Anyway, it had lots of advice on how to care for hair and one of the recommendations was to curl it wet while you sleep... but not with foam curlers... with tube socks!! So I dug into our sock drawer and I only had one pair of tube socks left from my college days (when I wore them to games all the time... really school spirited... don't mock me, not everyone can dress as the school mascot).

Well I put one sock on each side of my head and tied it up. Did I mention I have a ton of hair? Well I might have had too much for only two measly socks. I added texture gel hoping it would help. J did make fun of me because I was a very convincing Princess Leia.

Don't make fun of the pictures... this is me pre-make-up and I know it is not pretty... see the face... not pretty and I know it ;). Anyway it was incredibly comfortable... something foam curlers are not. However, my hair did not dry completely over night so I had to help it along with a little cold air blow dry. Which dried it but I don't think it helped it. Darn humidity... don't they know CA is not supposed to be humid?

So I took it out and well... it was wavy but also a tangled mess! So yes it has texture but there was nothing I could do with it. I ran out of the door a little late to meet J for lunch and yes it looked OK but by the time I got to lunch it was just a hot mess. I should have combed it out first... which will be fun to remedy tonight, not. So I will try this again but maybe I need a few more tube socks... like at least one more pair.

So what have we learned? Use more than one pair of tube socks, comb out your hair first and let it dry a little bit, and... my hair is destined to be a hot mess.... poor hair. It needs a trim and at least a wash out color. I will try again after I cut and color it and maybe it will work better. Try it out and let me know if anyone else has better results!

Off to try and fix this.... this rat's nest I call hair.. ::sigh::

Happy Hair Days... please!

Bathing The Cat

So I decided to start with some humor to kick off my return to blogging. I have two funny (at least to me) posts to share with you and I will start with my favorite one. A couple months back we discovered our beloved cat was covered in fleas. As she is a living thing and does not deserve to be infested with fleas we decided to take action: we bathed her.
As you can see she did not take it in stride but she also didn't fight. Just lots of mewing... I think she knows by now that the two of us will win and she will only have to endure it for longer if she fights. However....

When J tried to reconcile with her she was having none of it. She just stalked off and pretended not to know him. She is flea free but I don't think she has forgiven us yet. Oh well, her mewing as she was bathed will keep me in stitches for a while.

Tomorrow I will share something of my own hair fail. Oh, and maybe even a little post about my birthday! The festival of me is not over yet but it has been going strong and I do have some great pictures and stories to share.

More later....

So far behind.... but not dead!

So in the last couple (yes couple... I suck) DH and I have been through a bit. We found out it is pretty likely we will not be working in our old district next year, DH finished his credential, we both got serious about working out, I have been reading like a fiend, we saw a movie DH liked (that is few and far between), and I got a year older. I have some great book reviews to share with you and lots of info about what is going on in our world. I can't fit it all in here but I promise to add something tomorrow. As for now at least you know I am alive and still thinking about the blog. Ok, off to stretch and shower... I am trying something new tonight, I am going to roll my hair around tube socks to try and curl it as it dries. We will see if it works.

Thanks for not giving up on me! TTYS!

Sheep in Benicia?

Jason being a sweet heart, decided to take me to dinner tonight (we have massive coupons for Chevy's) and as we walked out to the car I looked at our lovely green hill and saw these little buggers... sheep and goats!!! Benicia is nothing if not agricultural so it came as a huge surprise to us. It turns out that they are cutting back the grass to keep it at handle-able levels (fire safety) and they are a very eco-friendly (and cheap) way of doing it. Not to mention sheep and goats are both easy to transport and cut grass the shortest of all domesticated grazers. They still have a lot of hill to go so I guess we will have some furry neighbors for at least the next few days. I wonder if I can get some of the wool to make into yarn? Do you think anyone would notice? ;)

So we were pink slipped....

So today we got some bad news today, bad news we knew was coming. Friday is the day everyone has to receive their pink slips by in order to be let know they may not have a job next year. Jason was let know today that this week he will receive his. We are really frustrated about this since it has nothing to do with his teaching ability and everything to do with the state and federal budgets. Yes I do have some choice words for the yahoos who decide how money is spent but I will spare you. At least we still have my subbing, which is happening in fits and spurts but still happening. Let's just hope Jason can get the job at dream school for next year... he totally deserves it.

Life Update 3/3/09

So again I have fallen off the wagon with posting. Well I promise to post once day on my crafting blog so I should be on here more often. I have been busy though. My dad had some heart problems, which weren't fun but Kaiser fixed him right up so he is fine now. Jason has had a hectic time at work, mostly because his co-teacher has never actually materialized. But even with all of this life has been getting a little easier and happier in the Moratuk household.

I am subbing much more often (still not enough but better). I have found I really miss the classroom. It is nice only having to be in one classroom for the day without any planning or grading but I miss having the kids be my own, not just for the day! Hopefully, next year I will be able to teach in my own classroom again. I am applying to every district I can reasonably get to each morning but no bites yet. I probably have to wait until they know their budgets better. Well a girl can hope, can't she?

As for Jason he is taking his last class before he gets his clear credential. He is also taking to his dream district about a job for next year so we are keeping our fingers crossed. As for this year he is doing the best he can with what he has. He was supposed to have a co-teacher, which never actually happened, and his kids just don't seem to want to learn, which really hurts him. But he is doing relatively well with it. At least spring break is about a month away and we don't have plans yet.

In other news, we are still in love with our apartment, but Jason is itching to buy a home. Maybe if I get a full-time job next year we will be able to. However, Jason needs a new car and to emphasis it even more his car was recently broken into and his stereo stolen. I guess it is time to look into one. We are still discussing what would be right for us and maybe mine will be mostly paid off by the time we actually have to buy the new one.

Jason is still making his way through his video games. We had a huge high streak in the fall but now we are on a low. Most of the games aren't worth playing but we look forward to many hours on the new Resident Evil, but probably on the Wii not XBOX. He is also looking forward to Watchmen which comes out on Friday. We can't wait to see it!! I hope it is at least good, if not close to the novel. We are both on a reading lull right now. Neither of us can find books we really want to read and I can't even make it through Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets and can't seem to start Twilight. However, my new book club book looks promising, In the Woods.

I have also been very active in both my online community (someone finally got me to rejoin Facebook... so bad!!) and I am also on Ravelry (also bad!!) and more crafting boards than I care to list. This month is also NaNoEdMo, where I should try to finish and edit my novel from November and some inspiration to do that would be great too. Also I need to finish going through the wedding photos. I just can't seem to get into it anymore... I just have too many of them. I have been busy with my crafting, especially crochet. In fact, I am now testing patterns and enjoying it. Maybe I will be able to do it for profit one day. If nothing else I am getting a ton of free patterns. But you can read all about my crafting exploits on my crafting blog (Found Objects).

Well that is most of it. I will relay what I am doing for the Lenten season and about our most recent date nights soon. Oh and I should have book reviews if I ever finish these books. I also have some fast and yummy recipes I just need to write up. So stay tuned!!