Unstoppable

Ok, so today was probably one of the worst days I have had in 8 years... Actually, there is no probably, today was the worst day I have had in 8 years and the second worst day in my entire life. But that is besides the point, this is my happy place and it doesn't need to be tarnished by unnecessary drama.

Today, my eyeliner thoroughly impressed me and I had to share. So yesterday, I had put on a copious amount of Maybelline Unstoppable eyeliner in Onyx. I ended up falling asleep without removing it. This morning, I woke up and my eyeliner was for the most part, how it looked the previous day, so I just touched it up with a fresh coat over top because I was in a rush. Typically, I remove it the night before and all that good stuff, considering that waking up with raccoon eyes is never a good look.

So, I went on about my business and had my horribly, awful, bad day which induced me to tears for well over three hours. I didn't quite cry three hours straight, more of I went through a cycle of sobbing huge tears uncontrollably and then slowly it tapered off and then the process started again. There was lots of wiping of my eyes and what not.

Well after all was said and done and I finally pulled myself together and came up with the only solution to my situation that I saw fit, I went to the bathroom to wash my face, because I was sure I looked like death, and death is not quite a good look on me. When I looked in the mirror expecting to see huge tear stains and black smudges marring my entire face, this is what greeted me...

While, I would never go out in public like that... with the amount of eyeliner I had on, the fact that I wore it for a day, slept in it, wore it for another day and it bathed in salt water whilst I rubbed at it for three hours, that is pretty darn impressive. I have had eyeliner that smudges like that just from daily wear (of course, I didn't keep them for very long) Maybelline Unstoppable gets a thumbs up from me....

And thus no matter how bad a day is, if you have a positive attitude, there is always a silver lining, even if it is just a sliver that most would over look...

Ombre

Sorry for the obscene neglect of my blog. The holiday season is upon us! Being a mom, who home schools and has also added a puppy to the family, things basically can be summed up as no rest for the weary.

So what is new in my life (besides the puppy who deserves his own post briefly following this one)? I did my hair. Now, one of the luxuries of being an at home mom that does not need to seek the approval of a boss or the general public, I am at liberty to have a little fun with my hair. I take full advantage of this. My hair and ridiculously large shoe collection are my favorite accessories. Typically my wardrobe is a little bland... well not really bland... it is just all my clothes fall into the categories of blacks, grays, whites, tans and browns. Seriously, my closet looks like a black and white photography for the most part with the exception of a few pairs of jeans. That means my hair can get away with being bright and colorful and I don't risk looking like someone threw up a bag of skittles.

Well, a couple months back I was browsing fashion blogs and found this one http://www.le-happy.com/ and while I liked her fashion sense.... I fell in love with her hair instantaneously. It is completely awesome, right? Well, I knew that I wanted to do this technique to my hair. I thought it would be perfect for summer. Of course, after continuously browsing through her blog on a daily basis, I got impatient. Considering that I had to touch up my roots anyways, I gave my self an early Christmas present.

Here is a little tidbit about myself; I refuse to allow professional hair stylists anywhere near my hair. I know that sounds crazy, but here is the cycle. I will go to a stylist and leave practically in tears because the lady has done nothing close to the photos I have shown her or been able to cut a straight line. From there, I will swear to never again step into a salon. Years will pass and I will maintain my hair on my own perfectly fine. Then, I will be out and about and decide oh my bangs need trimmed or my ends need trimmed and for sake of convenience venture into a salon, figuring that they will be able to at least complete that much in a satisfactory manner. Then I will walk out looking like they used a chain saw instead of scissors. Needless to say, after the last time, when I went to get my bangs trimmed and told the lady that I want to cut them straight across but I don't want the line to be a blunt line and the lady razored layers, thick chunky layers that ranged from about a half inch long to two inches with huge gaps and it took me 6 months to grow out and regularly trim my bangs to get them even to resemble a straight line and still I had to end up growing them out because instead of just trimming my already cut bangs she decided she was going to add to my bangs and make them super thick, I am officially done going near salons. Yes, I am aware that was one hell of a run on sentence. 

And I am sure that there are perfectly capable and wonderful stylists out there... I just haven't had the luck to sit in their chair. I figure I am perfectly capable of doing what I want to my hair. Now days, youtube has made it increasingly easy to learn how to do anything in regards to fashion. If their is a product you want to try, there is a review for it. If you want to master a certain make -up look, trim your own bangs, marble your nails, give your self scene hair or anything else you can think of, there are step by step video instructions out there for you. I <3 Youtube. 

So, of course, before doing something so drastic to my hair, I watched probably about 100 video tutorials and came up with my own method based on the girl's results that I liked the best. 

Step 1

Go to Sally's Beauty Supply, they always have great prices and if you have any questions or unsure of what products you need, the staff is super helpful and knowledgeable. 

I purchased
L'oreal Hi Color red highlights in copper (for dark hair)
http://www.sallybeauty.com/red-hilights/SBS-500243,default,pd.html
Ion Sensitive Scalp Volume 30 Creme Developer
http://www.sallybeauty.com/creme-developer/ION102,default,pd.html?cm_vc=SEARCH
Ion Color Brilliance Powder Lightener
http://www.sallybeauty.com/Powder-Lightener/ION03,default,pd.html?cm_vc=SEARCH
Ion Color Defense Intense Moisturize
http://www.sallybeauty.com/hydrating-treatment/SBS-302343,default,pd.html?green=0B9DD024-C28B-57B0-A1C4-38824704B7E2&cm_vc=MYBUYS

Also you will need

Foil Strips

a hair dye mixing bowl

a tint brush

Previously, I had been using the high color highlights in red on my entire head and had about a half inch of dark (almost black) roots. I did my entire head in the copper high lights mixed with 70 ml of the developer and let sit for 30 minutes. Once done, I rinsed my hair and conditioned it heavily, letting the conditioner set for about 3 minutes before rinsing. I then blow dried my hair till it was about 90 percent dry. My results were a lot redder than someone who has virgin hair or brown hair will get. 

I had purchased the small pack of the lightener powder and I used about a third of it mixing it with enough developer to get a cake batter-like consistency. I chose this powder because it does not have a toner which typically eliminates or reduces brassiness. I wanted a somewhat brassy result because it fit into the same color family as the red orange of my hair. 

I sectioned my hair off by the layer and started with the bottom layers. Alternating sides, I took about 2 inch sections (my hair tends to be on the thin side, if you have thicker hair, you may want to use smaller sections) I 

I started by applying bleach to the last two inches or so of my ends. Instead of holding the brush like you do when you paint and having the widest part of the brush coming into contact with your hair, I flipped the brush sideways so the narrowest part of the bristles were applying the bleach) I fully saturated the last inch and a half to two inches and then had it streak the next inch or so. I did it this way so I would not have a blunt line and instead had a fading effect. I then wrapped it in foil. 

After my entire head was in foil, I waited 15 to 20 minutes. I regularly did strand tests to check the progress. 

I then took each foil wrapped bundle and undid it and applied more bleach. I used the same method, only applying it to the last 4 or 5 inches of my hair. 

After another 15 minutes, I shampooed my hair, conditioned it and blow dried it. I wasn't quite satisfied with the results and wanted the ends to be lighter so I repeated the entire bleaching process exactly the same way. 

I washed, conditioned and then I applied massive amounts of leave in conditioner before blow drying. I use Aussie Hair Insurance. http://aussie.com/en_US/hair-insurance

It is like bottling Sunshine and dumping it on your hair...
Ombre results without any real styling  just blow dried. 

The entire process took about 5-6 hours, but it was totally worth it. 

A close up on my blow dried hair. 

After Styling

The Skinny

Said Tattoo that I want.

So lately, I have been getting back into my work out phase. I am one of those people who are skinny fat. You know, one of those people who is tiny (around a size 4, give or take a size depending on what brand I am wearing) but does not have a lot of muscle. It isn't like I am in bad shape. I mean I can hop up and run a 5k without stopping. Still, I look in the mirror and just know I want to and can look better. To give me a jolt of motivation, I was asked to be a bridesmaid in a friend's wedding and also there is a small matter of wanting to get a huge tattoo across my torso.

Said body that I want. 

In the past, I have always tried to maintain a certain weight. If I come close to 120lbs, I start freaking out. I am very petite, 5'3" with a very small frame. But no matter how low I keep my weight, I have never been able to achieve that flat stomach. This time around, I am not going to focus on weight, so much as measurements and a certain desired body type. I ended up looking at tons of female celebrities in bikinis... I admit I felt a bit like a perv, But I ended up deciding that  I want Mila Kunis' body. She is the same height, age and body type as me. Also, her body is soft and feminine, without being overly muscular or twig skinny. She looks healthy and happy.

Now, comes the work part. How exactly does one get a body like that? I typically turn to running for a work out, but the cold weather and rain and snow tends to limit when I actually can get out and run. So, I decided to turn to zumba... which is a Latin dance exercise routine craze. Of course, I I am supplementing that with some calisthenics and strength training, maybe some yoga too. I think the zumba might work for me, given that it is surprisingly challenging. After the first hour of zumba, I could already feel my abs, thighs and arms screaming in protest. But not only that, I am the whitest white girl ever and have absolutely no rhythm and so far, my hips absolutely refuse to move like that. While most people would be absolutely defeated and say this is not for me, I actually thrive on not being able to do something right. I guess it is because of my love of learning, and also when ever I have a little bit of success, I want more and end up trying harder.

Air Swimmers

Completely Awesome... I want!

Paterno Fired!

So it really saddens me that this is the first post I am making in my new blog, but I just can't get the whole situation out of my mind. For those of you that haven't kept up on what is going on at Penn State here is a brief description. Former Asst. Coach Jerry Sandusky is accused of molesting 8 minors, some of which happened on the property of Penn State. "In November 2011, Sandusky was arrested for 40 counts related to allegations of sexual abuse of young boys over a 15-year period." (borrowed from wikipedia). This is not really what I want to talk about though because I believe that everyone is pretty much on the same page about how they feel about this. The issue that is causing me to be unable to sleep, revolves around head coach Joe Paterno and University President Spanier.  Well, I guess there should be an Ex in front of those titles.

They have both been fired by Penn States board of trustees. Now, you may be questioning why they would lose their jobs over the ordeal. Back in 2002, an undergraduate student reported to Coach Paterno that he had witnessed what appeared to be Sandusky having anal sex with a minor in the showers at the University. Paterno then reported this to the president. Instead of taking any action, the school reminded Sandusky that he wasn't allowed to bring minors onto campus. When the news hit of Paterno being let go, students practically rioted and the basic consensus is that because of Paterno's excellent football record, he deserved better than that and news sources quickly painted Paterno as a victim.

This is where my mind started turning and I just can't understand. Paterno was an authority figure and he should be held accountable for, what I like to consider, gross negligence. He is a public figure and a figure of authority and he should be held to some sort of moral standards. If the manager at MCDonalds were to be told by an employee that a Crew Trainer was participating in suspicious behavior with a minor in the stock room and did nothing... the world would want his blood. They would hold him accountable for any incidents that took place after he was notified. Since, Paterno is the "winningest" coach in College Football, should he not be held accountable. How many young boys could have been saved from this fate if he wouldn't have turned the other cheek and reported this to the law? Does American society really value a football record over the fate of innocent children.

As a parent and a rape victim, I just can't look at the situation any other way than disgust.  These boys will have emotional scars for the rest of their lives and have baggage that most adults could never amass in a lifetime. Memories that are supposed to be pure and of things like getting the gifts they wanted for Christmas, hanging out with friends, playing little league and their first kisses have been ripped from them in the most horrid of ways and replaced with nightmares. No amount of therapy, money or "justice" will ever bring them back. Joe Paterno and Stainer could have stopped it, and they didn't. And the world thinks it is unfair that they lost their jobs because Paterno is good at winning football games.

These men are disgusting, Americans should take no excuses from them, because there is not a person in this country that doesn't know that having sex with a little boy is wrong. Shame on those that try to fool themselves into thinking otherwise over the sake of a football game. Perhaps I am particularly empathetic, but I look at the face of my son and can't imagine the lengths I would go to ruin someone for hurting him like that or not protecting him when they should of. There isn't a force on the planet that could provide me with justice.

Victims are people who are hurt or wronged by no fault of their own. They are not grown men who know something that is the worst kind of wrong is taking place and ignore it when they have the power to stop it. They don't go on about their business like nothing happened. What happens in the dark always comes to light. I hope the guilt of their decisions haunt them for the rest of their lives. I hope they see the faces of the victims every time they close their eyes and they never get a restful nights sleep again in their lives.

Alas, they are convinced they have done nothing wrong and they are the victims. They lost their jobs, but I am sure they have a pretty nice severance package coming to them and will spend the rest of their lives in comfort. They might get a book deal or two and earn a pretty penny. They will appear on talk shows where the hosts sympathize with how unfair it is that they lost their jobs when they did nothing wrong and everyone will forget who the real victims. Those children and their families will suffer and mothers will have to look into the faces of their broken children and know that they won't ever have the lives they should have. The children will wish that it would all go away and their parents will wish that they can take the pain instead of having to see their children bear it. And my heart breaks for them.