Yesterday I went to Sally and got some supplies – rubber gloves, a cute shower cap to put on while the henna does it’s thing, plus a haircolor applicator bottle AND a highlight applicator brush (I heard of people using both so decided to go for broke and have both on hand). I washed and dried my hair, put on an old shirt, and got down to business.

First, I shreddedthe block of Caca with a cheese grater. There are 6 blocks in a bar and I used 2. This part was kind of fun! Once it was all powdery, I put it into a Pyrex bowl and used my hot pot to boil some water. I added boiling water and stirred it with a wooden spoon until it was like brownie batter. I also added a dash of olive oil at this point and stirred it all up again. I took it into the bathroom and sat the bowl on my coffee mug warmer. The idea here is that you want to put the stuff on your hair when it’s hot, but not hot enough to burn your head. So I thought the warmer would keep it nice & hot during the application process. I wouldn’t fool with this again because it didn’t take that long and just didn’t seem necessary.

I tried the highlight brush thing first, but it was a big fail. The stuff is gooey and instead of painting it into my hair, it was falling onto the sink in clumps. I didn’t even try the applicator bottle, I ended up just putting clumps into my hair and rubbing it in with my gloved hands. This seemed to work out best for me. I rubbed all of it onto my head, and though the coverage was good, I would have felt better to have another 1/2 block in there just for good measure.

Now the big question: How long should I leave this stuff on? I heard many different ideas – anywhere from 1 hour to leaving it on all night while you sleep. I decided to err on the side of caution and leave it in for 1 hour. Caca is very gentle and doesn’t have any chemicals, so you can do it several times in a week to achieve your desired color. I put on my foxy shower cap, set the alarm on my phone, and did some drawing while I waited. One thing I want to mention here is the smell. It’s not unpleasant at all (at least not to me), but it’s somewhat strong and it’s very earthy – like wet grass or hay. I thought it smelled kind of nice, but some people complained a lot about it.

When it was time to wash it out, I got into the shower. I was a little nervous that it would stain the tub, but that turned out to not really be a concern. I took a dark colored washcloth in with me and scrubbed off the walls immediately and it came of with zero issues. My hair was another story. First I rinsed as much as I could get out with just warm water. It was pretty gritty, and the water was running green. I used  some cheapo shampoo and washed it out really good twice. The rinse water was still a tiny bit green, so I washed it a third time with the I Love Juicy shampoo from Lush. It’s a special shampoo made for oily hair that the girl at the store suggested I use after a Caca. It worked great, and got all the rest of the Caca out. I washed with the cheapo stuff one more time just to be sure, then switched to cheapo conditioner. I used that twice, then put on a deep conditioner and left it on while I did the rest of my shower bidness, then rinsed that out too.

Once I was out of the shower, I blew my hair dry. I am super pleased with the results. I definitely got a nice rich chocolate brown. There are a couple of spots in my crown area that are still a little bit lighter, but I’m sure that was an application issue, and I know what I did wrong so next time that won’t happen. Plus, it’s not really that noticeable. I could see it, but Mike couldn’t at all. And my hair feels really soft and nice, too.

I’m very happy with the results, and I would definitely do this again. I might even try mixing the Caca Brun with a square of Caca Marron or Caca Rouge next time so I can get some reddish tones. I was so worried that it was going to be messy or hard to do or stain my skin, but it was way easier than I thought it would be. Also, these pictures kind of suck and I’m sorry about that. I think the lighting I was in was, well…caca. I feel like the before and after pics look kind of similar, which isn’t the case. It doesn’t look the same to me, anyway.

We stopped by the Woodfield mall, which is pretty awesome. It’s big and there are tons of stores we don’t have around here. I finally got to check out LUSH, which I’ve heard great things about from lots of girlfriends. I bought a bar of the Caca Brun henna for my hair, and I’m really excited (and a little nervous!) to give it a go. I will definitely let all of you know how that turns out. I was very anxious to check out Dick Blick, an art supply store. I could have spent HOURS in there. It was so amazingly cool, and the staff there is so helpful! I asked a question about what types & weights of paper are best for watercolors and the guy talked to me for 15 minutes about how to prevent paper from warping and all sorts of stuff. Very very cool. They happened to be having a big sale on sketchbooks, so I picked up a couple of drawing pads and a watercolor pad. I have been using my Purple Rain sketchbook and it’s awesome, except that the paper is lavender (which is awesome for a Purple Rain pad, no?) and I’d prefer white. Especially when doing colored pencil, because the colored paper distorts the colors of the pencils. Also, there was some water damage, because I’m a big doofus. I also got some extra HB pencils and a few erasers. Anyway, what I’m trying to say here is that Dick Blick RULES. I wish wish wish they would open a store in Kalamazoo.

We also hit the outlet mall in Michigan City, and I went to Bare Escentuals. Oh, how I love this store. They had a really nice kit that had a lip gloss, 2 eyeshadows, a liner shadow, and a blush and I loved it. The eyeshadows were in the purple family with an eggplant liner and neutral gloss and blush. PERFECT! I have been wanting to try more colrful eyeshadows, and with my green eyes I knew purple was a good choice. I even had the girl try all the colors from the kit on me so I could see how to use them and make sure I liked them. Once I got home, I busted open the box so I could paw through my shiny new stuff. Apparently, another customer had opened this box and taken out some of the stuff inside and replaced it with other stuff. The lipgloss was unsealed and used, and the eggplant liner I was so excited about was replaced with a bright teal liner! Ugggh, I was so frustrated. I called the store and explained what happened and asked them what I could do since I live so far away and the liklihood that I will get any use out of bright teal liner is slim. I offered to send this back to them, and also to pay for them to ship me the right stuff. The girl told me that the kits were sold out, so that wasn’t an option. She took my number and said she would figure something out and call me back. She called yesterday and told me she was able to find all of the pieces that were part of the kit and she was going to mail them all to me free of charge, and I could also keep the original kit with the mixed up colors as well. Best. Customer. Service. Ever. I’m so excited to get my eggplant liner!

Mike scored a few goodies too. He got a couple of really cool new t-shirts, and he also finally was able to get a new band for his favorite watch at the Fossil outlet. He also spent some time drooling over the iPad at the Apple store, but we decided to wait on that purchase.

Ironically, right next to our hotel was the RAM Brewery, so we walked over there on Saturday night to try the local brews. It was a pretty cool place, and I tried the flagship beer, the Buttface Amber Ale. It was very good, I actually liked it better than Bell’s Amber. I also tried the Total Disorder Porter, which I also enjoyed. It had kind of a bacon coffee aftertaste, which I really dug. I also had a small taste of the Big Red IPA, uggh, not my favorite. It reminded me of Founder’s Red’s Rye. Hard to drink. I desperately wanted to try the summer brew, Summer of George, but alas, they were all out, so no dice.

We had a stellar time, and enjoyed ourselves a great deal. We loved Schaumburg and would definitely like to visit there again. Good Times.

We are planning a multi-pronged attack angaint the criiters. First, we bought a squirrel dome that will go over the feeder to keep fat critters off of it. We are also going to lube the pole with vegetable oil or maybe Vaseline so tiny paws will have a hard time scaling it. We also mixed cayenne pepper in with the bird seed. I read online that squirrels hate cayenne, but that birds can’t taste it. We are going to get our new (hopefully) squirrel-proof feeder set up this weekend. I’ll keep you posted on the results.

Everything else has been pretty good. George was gone camping last weekend, so Mike & I had the house to ourselves, and didn’t really do a whole lot. On Saturday my mom & I went out garage sale scouting, and my big find was a beer drinking board game called Chug-A-Lug from the early 80’s. The box cover photo is priceless and it even says “Beverages Not Included” just so there’s no confusion. I’m pretty sure this was a steal for 50 cents. Can’t wait to give it a whirl soon. We also went to Milham Park for the big craft show. Truthfully, it was a little disappointing. I didn’t see too much of interest, and all I bought was some fudge and some jerky for Mike.

We did have Crappy Movie Sunday, and this week we watched Twilight. It turned into a spirited debate of why Twilight’s vamps aren’t “real” vamps because Stepenie Meyer didn’t go along with the established vampire lore. The dudes are just really mad that Edward glitters in the sun and they don’t. Dawn & I tried to stand behind the actual story and the books (not necessarily the movie, which we know is crap), but the dudes are adamant that Twilight is lame and all vamps are made way lamer because of it’s existence. Or something. Jacob didn’t even take his shirt off in this movie, so I don’t know why the boys were feeling so threatened anyway. PS – can’t wait for Eclipse! It looks like it might actually be good! Dawn & I are going to see it next weekend in an effort to avoid the (other) screaming fangirls. We really want to be the only screaming fangirls, and that just won’t be possible on opening weekend.

Last Friday we went to Grand Rapids to help Alexis celebrate her graduation. I made her the sweet afghan, of course, and I think she liked it. I didn’t really see her open it as we were on our way out the door, but I am pretty sure it was a hit. Besides that, both of her sets of grandparents, Mike & I, and another Aunt & Uncle went together and got her a laptop and a digital camera of her own. She was super stoked about that. She is leaving for Texas in September and will be gone for 3 months as part of a mission trip, so she really needed those things, and she was extremely happy to get them. The party turned out great, and it was good to see everyone.

On Sunday we hooked up with Bill & Deb and headed to Indiana because Bill needed to procure some illegal (in MI) fireworks. We had a blast! We started at the outlet mall and looked around there for a while, then hit the fireworks store. I’m not big on fireworks, so I settled for some morning glory sparklers and some of those popper thingies that you throw at the ground.  After that we decided to hit the Four Winds, but since it was a school night, we only stayed for about an hour. Bill was the big winner – he managed to wrangle $30 out of the place playing video poker!!

I finished season 5 of Lost, and that’s about as far as I can go right now, since season 6 isn’t available (legally anyway) on DVD yet. It got SO much better. When I said it was horrible, I was only about 2 episodes in, and once I got over the hump it was much more interesting. Also, I must say, I’m a big fan of Sawliet. Did Sawyer totally grow up working for the Dharma Initiative, or what? I was pretty much over Juliet as a character, but her hooking up with Sawyer totally reinvigorated her. And then there’s Locke. Alive! Dead! Alive! But not really? Anyway, I am eagerly awaiting the final season to see how this twisted story ends.

Mike & I also finished season 3 of Buffy, and it was quite awesome. I miss Spike though. I’m hoping he’ll be back pretty soon. I’m sad to see Angel go, but hey, if a dude can get his own show, he should jump at the chance. We are planning to watch the Angel episodes that crossover with Buffy as needed, with the help of our friend Dawn, who is an expert in all things Buffy/Angel. In the absence of Lost, I have been filling that hole with the first season of Bones. It’s a really good show, and I’m liking it very much. I just watched the Christmas episode where they are all trapped in the lab, and it made me weepy.

That’s all for today. I’m off to meet my mom for lunch. Toodles!

Another exciting thing that’s going on is that I am going to garden. I have zero experience, but I asked a lot of questions and I think I have everything I need. So tomorrow is the big day & I will actually be planting things in the ground and hoping like hell that they survive more than a week. For those interested, I will be planting orange & yellow Celosia in the front window box, pink & white Astilbe in the large planter at the corner of the backyard, and hot pink Impatiens for the window boxes on the shed. Mike even got me a wheelbarrow to haul my soil and tools around the yard. So I own a wheelbarrow and I am going to plant things. I am so hoping this doesn’t turn out badly. I have a long list of things I want to accomplish tomorrow and they all relate to the outdoors, which is typically not my thing. Wish me luck, dudes.

Yesterday was Mike & I’s 6th wedding anniversary. We went out for dinner at this place down the street called Zooroona. It’s a Middle Eastern restaraunt and the atmosphere was so cool. But it didn’t hold a candle to the food – it was AMAZING. If you dig Middle Eastern food at all, this is the place to go. We ended up getting a 2 person sampler platter and we were very happy with everything we got. I usually don’t care for lamb, but the lamb & beef kebab turned out to be my very favorite thing that we got. We had a great time together and a great meal. After dinner we just ran around and shopped a little. We had a fun date and a stellar anniversary.

Today was Crappy Movie Sunday, natch, and this week we watched Tank Girl. I had seen a little of it years ago, but stopped watching because it was terrible. I was lured in by being promised that Ice-T was in it. I am a big fan of the T. But, wow, even T couldn’t save this trainwreck of a film. Not only was I sad that he was involved in such a disgrace, but he was a Mangaroo on top of that!!

Ok, as for TV, I’m plugging away at Lost, but season 5 is really tough for me. I really think this is the worst part of the show so far. I really don’t think it bodes well that every season I have thought it couldn’t possibly get any worse, and yet I am shocked to find that it has. I’m still hopeful for a great payoff in the end, but I’m really not holding my breath. Mike & I are still watching Buffy too, and we are about a third of the way through season 3. We still have a LONG way to go, but we are really enjoying it. I’m considering watching Dark Shadows on Netflix, too, but there are SO MANY episodes! I’m not sure I’m ready for the time commitment it will take. A season is about 40 episodes, and there are 20 seasons!! I’m still mulling this one over, I don’t know if I can handle all that. Anyone seen it? If you have an opinion about it either way, I’d love to hear it. And I’m talking about the original BTW, from 1966, not the 80s redo.

I freaking love Polaroid. Instant cameras & film are the coolest. I could not be more geeked to hear this. I have had 2 Polaroid cameras for a while. I have a pink & gray one that I bought shortly before the film disappeared. Not new, of course. It’s totally retro, I’m thinking 80’s. How could I resist a sassy pink camera? It actually still has the last pack of film I could get my hands on in it, with a few shots left that I’ve been saving for a VERY special occasion. I also have a glittery blue i-Zone camera. This is probably the coolest camera I’ve ever owned. It takes a tiny photo – 1.5 x 1 inches – and the little photo has a sticky back. I bought this camera in the late 90’s when it came out, and I had a blast with it. I still have one pack of sticker film left (12 pics!!)for this baby, and again, I’m waiting for something incredible to happen so I can take tiny photos of it. The film is long expired, of course, as I’m sure the film in my pink camera is. But it’s all I’ve got!! Here is a sample of just a few i-Zone photos I’ve taken. These are just some of my favorites that I’ve scanned. I have lots more.

Mike & I happened to pop into Goodwill last night to kick around and see what was shaking, and I managed to find an awesome forest green Polaroid camera for $6!! It is definitely newer than Pinky – I’d say late 90’s as a shot in the dark. It’s super cute and I can’t freaking wait to get my mitts on some Polaroid film to make it go!!

I’ve scoured the internet to find out if they will also be making film for the i-Zone, but couldn’t find an anwer. I emailed the Impossible folks, but it may be a while before I hear anything back. But, really, here’s hoping. For now, the fact that they are making the 600 film makes me giddy.

Here are my cameras, left to right: Pinky, Glitzy (i-Zone), and new to my pack, Evergreen (this photo doesn’t really show off her super cute green color, but take my word for it). Also, my last pack of sticky i-Zone film.

Friday was my super awesome spa day with my mom! First I had a facial while she had a massage, then we got manicures together. After that, she got highlights and her hair styled, and I got a cut, style and deep conditioning treatment. Then we both had our makeup done. It was so so much fun. I wish I was super loaded and we could it all the time. When I got home from the spa, I had 2 packages waiting – one was my new crock pot, and it is so cool, I can’t wait to try it out.  The second was a giant box of St. Patrick’s Day/Birthday cookies from my good friends Brian and Holly in Las Vegas. These are so cute, and trust me, they taste even better than they look! 

Later that evening, Mike & I decided to rent some movies, so we watched Quantum of Solace. It was an OK movie, but Casino Royale was far better. It was a good day. Actually, a GREAT day. I even got  call about a job and it sounds like I’ll have an interview in a couple of weeks.

This morning I got up and met up with my mom & sister. We were so excited to go check out the brand new Goodwill down the street from my house. They were having a big grand opening deal. Anyway, we got there and it was a ZOO. There was hardly anywhere to park, and once we got inside, you could barely get around the store it was so crowded! I went to furniture right away because I have been looking for a small chair for my office. I found the perfect one! I couldn’t find a price tag on it, so I went off to find and employee to help me. Five minutes later, I drag a guy over there, and suddenly, it has a SOLD tag on it. Uggh. I was so frustrated! I’ve been looking for a couple of months and I thought this one was perfect!! Oh well, apparently it wasn’t. I did manage to find a couple of other bargains though – my very own juicer for $6.99, and 3 balls of Plymouth Galway Highland Heather yarn for $1 each. Those are regularly about $6-ish each, so this was a steal!

I got home and took my new juicer apart, and thoroughly washed all the pieces. Once they were dry, I plugged it in to see how it works. It was GREAT. Not as good as the one I borrowed from my sister in law, but amazingly good for $7. For example, Missy’s juicer will do a carrot like it ain’t no thing, and this one will kind of slow down a little and you can tell it is having to work a little harder to juice the carrot, but it still does just fine. Overall, I was really impressed and happy with it. After I drank my delicious carrot-tomato with a splash of cucumber and green pepper juice, I took the juicer apart again and washed all the pieces again. It is easier to clean than the borrowed juicer, so I definitely like that.

After I cleaned it, I decided to look online and see if I could find the manual for this model. I found out lots of interesting things. This juicer was sold between 1990 and 1995. Oh, and in 2001 all of these models were recalled due to a defect that can cause the lid to break and the slicer blade to come flying out of the machine. Hmmm, that’s an interesting tidbit. The recall even states that you should unplug the juicer and never use it again. There is a contact number, but I’m really not sure how to proceed. Should I call and try to get a new juicer? I feel sort of skeevy about that since I wasn’t the original owner. I am thinking that the defect is probably one in a million so maybe I’ll just continue using it. Of course, I would definitely be the one in a million that ends up with my throat slit from a runaway juicer. I’m still not sure what I should do. I need to think about it.

Last night we met up with Mike’s boss and a friend of his at Gallagher’s. I converted another person to the Beer Society, so now there are even more people for me to have beers with!We had a nice time, and I got to try some more beers too. I got Mike’s boss to try #9, and of course, he loved it. Woot! One of the beers I had last night was Orange Blossom Ale. It’s brewed in Florida, and it was very tasty. Check the link on the right sidebar to see what I had and how I rated it. I am up to 19! Only 106 beers to go!! It’s still early in the game, so I am taking suggestions – what beers should I try? Comment or email me.

I got up this morning, made some coffee and a yummy brekkie of Trish McMuffins, and relaxed while Mikey slept in. After that I decided to get started on dinner which was a crock pot feast called Beef & Potato Casserole. I browned the meat, washed potatoes and peeled the carrots, then diced them up along with an onion. The recipe calls for tomato juice, so I even made fresh tomato juice with the juicer. I put everything in the crock and started it up. About 30 minutes later I heard a loud POP that sounded like a gunshot. I went into the kitchen and found this:

I have no idea how this happened, but my crock pot is ruined, along with my super fab dinner! How sad and disappointing. I am going to look online and see if I can find a replacement lid, because I’m pretty sure the crock itself is fine. Anyway, this is very frustrating. I guess we will be ordering sammiches or pizza or something for dinner.

I’ve been rocking the Wii Fit Plus for about a week now, and I am feeling the burn in my abs and thighs. I did these lunges a few times and everytime I tried to sit down I cried out a little. Not cool, but very cool at the same time. I am also trying to make friends with my elliptical machine. We were close for a while, but then we drifted apart. I am rocking the rebounder too. I am trying to vary it up to keep things interesting - so far, so good.

WRONG. George tried to shower last night in the main floor shower, and there is no hot water getting to it and we can’t figure out why. Sooo, that leaves us with zero usable showers. I feel like a hobo right now. I am thinking I will wash my hair in the sink today and then just sort of wash up whore’s bath style. Should be awesome. We have a dude coming to look at our problems tomorrow night. Hopefully after that we will have at least one working shower, maybe 2. It’s getting pretty ripe around here.

The good news is that since we have to replace the tub & shower in the master bath, we decided to upgrade to a fancy Jacuzzi whirlpool tub!! It is supposed to be installed on Tuesday and I am pretty excited! We spent pretty much all day yesterday trying to figure out what we wanted to replace the current enclosure. We went back and forth a million times, but ended up choosing the whirlpool tub, & shower/tub walls that we both like. We also decided to ditch the shower doors we have and go back to a regular curtain, and while we were at it, change up our fixtures and all the accessories like the toilet paper holder, towel bars, etc. I can’t wait until it’s done @ I can soak in my whirlpool tub!!! Woot!

I have been reading quite a bit lately. I am working on the series of books that The Vampire Diaries TV show on the CW is based on. It’s an interesting story, but the writing is super lame. I have got to get off of these teen books. I am sticking with this one because I really like the show and I am interested in the back story of it, but if not for the show I would have ditched these long ago. Luckily they are a quick read – I am on the 4th of 5 books and have only been reading these about a week.

Next up, I am torn between starting the Percy Jackson books, or the Sookie Stackhouse True Blood books. The new Percy Jackson movie looks sweet, and I definitely want to see it. I’m just not sure if I want to read the book or see the movie first. As for Sookie Stackhouse, I tried to watch True Blood but couldn’t get past the first episode. Maybe I will enjoy the books more. I have a bunch of other stuff I want to read, too, so maybe I’ll go in another direction completely. Hard to say. I have a TON of Star Trek ebooks that I have been itching to read, so maybe I’ll give some of those a spin. Ok, actually I have every Star Trek novel ever written including all of the scripts from every episode of every series and also every movie. Oh, and all of the autobiographies of all of the actors too. So that could keep me busy for quite a long long time.

Sure wish I could take a shower.

On Sunday we headed to Casa de Vargo in lovely Sparta for a VII reunion. It was so much fun, and I’m so so happy that everyone was able to make it. Even Matt’s mom & sister came from Toledo, which was just great! It was really really fun to hang out with everyone. We finally got to meet Tony’s girl, Karin, and she is awesome. Thumbs up big time. Everyone seems to be doing really well, and we had a blast. Here’s my favorite pic of the guys. It’s blurry from all the action, but I think it’s a great representation of these dudes. Also, more pics from the party are here.

While at the VII reunion, I was talking to Shawn about the Gallagher’s Beer Society, which I joined recently. He is sort of like my beer mentor. He has completed the GBS beer list 3 times and is working on number 4. There is a plaque on the wall at Gallagher’s with his picture on it for crap’s sake. The dude is an expert! He told me that he usually goes on Monday night because the bottles are discounted, so I told him I’d like to go too. I met him there the following night, and he attempted to show me the ropes of the GBS. It was really nice to hang with him and chat. He is such a nice guy. I’m sincerely hoping that Mike & I can get together with him soon. Maybe this next Monday night since I have many many more beers to drink before I can complete my task.

On Tuesday, I had lunch with my mom, then met up with my girlfriend Laura and the 2 of us went out to meet the Zombie Prom Date Knitters for coffee & knitting. We had a great time! Those chicks are so much fun. After knitting I hooked back up with my mom and we went grocery shopping. When I got home from all that I made dinner and also rice krispie treats for Mike’s friends at work. It was kind of a busy day considering that I have no job (besides being awesome).

Also, I’ve got some newly finished projects I want to show off. First, a headband that I whipped up last night from some leftover sock yarn. I made one of these a long time ago, but my hair was short & I didn’t like the way it looked. Now that my hair is longer, Laura suggested that I make another because she thought it would look great now that my hair is longer. She was right, I really like it. Keeps my ears warm and looks cute. I will definitely make more of these in some different colors. Next, a green sock I finished, still working on it’s mate. Last, a crocheted afghan that I’ve been working on all winter. Made from scraps, and a gift for The George. I gave it to him this morning, and I think he digs it.

I think that’s all for now. Today I am staying home &  doing chores. Scrubbing toilets = not that awesome. But definitely needs to be done. Word.