fauxhawk - LIVE!

Fauxhawk

I just got back from getting my hair done and I think I love it. It's kind of hard to say because she always puts an entire jar of pomade in my hair making it look perma-wet (not my favorite look) but I'm pretty sure it's going to look great once I can get all of the grease out and style it the way I like. I don't have a picture yet, I'll take one tonight, but to give you an idea...it's short in the back and along the sides, but long (a little bit shorter than the second picture in my last post) on top. It's way fun, and I'm pretty sure I could fashion a fauxhawk with this cut. I would never go out in public like that, but you better believe I'm going to try it out tonight!

My vision (o hair)

As I mentioned before, I've got a hair appointment on Monday. Considering I left my stylists house the last time with a cut that got me mistaken for a guy on more than one occasion, I've decided to go in with a solid plan this time. First and foremost, I will not engage her in conversation about boys and more specifically failed relationships. Secondly, I will bring concrete examples of what I am looking for, like these:

I don't think this is one of Kiera's best looks, but I DO like the way it's shorter in the back than it is in the front. Having long-ish (short) hair in the back and around my ears drives me nuts-o.

I want this girls flawless skin. Isn't it beautiful? What I wouldn't give to have skin that glows like that. Well since that's not a reality, I'll have to settle with her awesome haircut. Isn't it fun?! I've had hair like this before and it's my absolute favorite. I love the messy look!

I know this picture is kind of dark, but that was a particularly good time for my hair. I can't decide though if I should go that short. I've got a few days to figure it out.

What do you think?

color palatte

I found the greatest sweater at the Gap a few weeks back. It is an awesome shade of green, sooo soft and only 6 bucks. I had to have it. Apparently the rest of the world finds it a little too "green." I had my hands full of boxes and my co-worker Jake said to me: "Need some help there St. Patrick?" Maybe I'm the only one who will find it funny, but I was laughing for 10 minutes.

Please excuse the crazy editing of the pic below, but this is the closest I can get to capturing the brightness of the sweater, although in reality it's even 4x more bright than this.

So...what's new?

Every time I talk to my mom on the phone she asks me about a million times if there's anything new to share. The answer for the first 999,999 times is always "nothing," and then I finally give in on the millionth time and say something like "I bought a new external hard drive" (as was my response the last time I talked to her). With the exception of a few random things here and there my life really isn't that exciting, sometimes it's even boring, and I don't really know what to say. Well, I feel like it's been forever since I posted anything, so here's "what's new" with me, mainly for my mom's benefit.


-My roommates threw a Valentines Day party on Friday. Historically me + parties = tears. I lasted about 30 minutes before I took refuge in my room. Luckily I had my friends Tess and Scott to keep me company and to give me back tickles (well Scott anyway).


-I LOVE back tickles. This isn't new, but rather a re-discovery. My dad used to give me back tickles all the time when I was little. They're pretty much heaven. If I can find someone to give me back tickles every day I'd be one happy girl.


-I bought an external hard drive (as mentioned above...). I feel warm and fuzzy inside knowing that all of my photos and music are safe from scary viruses and system failure.

-I went to a game night at Scott's house and played Pit. I am a huge fan of any game where yelling is encouraged (since I tend to yell while playing games whether or not it's ok to do so).


-I went to BodyPump at the gym on Monday. It's choreographed strength training and it's a total blast. There are two really great songs in the mix, I think you should check them out:

Keep Your Hands Off My Girl - Good Charlotte
I'm In Love With You - Freestylers

-My arms are STILL sore.


- My place of employment has a suite at the Verizon Center and the client who was using it for the Wizards game on Tuesday cancelled at the last minute, which means my friend (who coordinates the use of the suite) had to fill it. It pays to have friends in high places and I was offered two seats. I don't know that I can ever go back to the nosebleed section! Having a great view in nice non-plastic seats with free food and drink is hard to give up. Tess and I had a total blast.

-It's been way too long since my last haircut. Call me gunshy, but I've been a little hesitant to go back to my stylist after the buzz cut she gave me last time (a full 10 weeks ago...DOUBLE the time I usually go between cuts). As you can see though from the above pictures that I'm long overdue for one, so I finally made an appointment. Monday's the big day. Wish me luck!

-I finally found the perfect pair of jeans. They actually fit EVERYWHERE, not just through the legs. It's kind of nice not having to pull up my pants because they are too loose in the waist, even though they fit perfectly everywhere else. They look super hot on me, I wish I could wear them every day.

-Here's the most exciting news...no more car loans!! I payed the final payment last week. Oh man, it feels good, although I'm convinced that now it's mine outright it's going to fall apart. *Fingers crossed that it holds up!

So mom, there ya have it. Hopefully that will buy me some time before you ask that question again. :)

2007 Ironman World Championship

I watched the 2007 Ironman World Championship on TV today. Their tagline is "Be Touched. Be Inspired. Be Motivated", but I think it should be this: "The Ironman: One Big Cry-fest." I seriously spent the entire hour and half bawling uncontrollably. Wow, the stories behind these athetes are incredible. The adversities they have faced and the heartbreak and successes they experience are quite moving. Here's a taste of the stories they had to share:

-One guy was in such a horrible accident that his heart was knocked to the other side of his chest. I believe he technically died 8 times in the weeks following his accident. He finished the Ironman 3 years later.

-The gentleman who lost both of his legs in an accident 20 years ago, who became the first double amputee to complete the Ironman.

There was the woman who started running to lose some extra weight she had put on. She won the 2007 Ironman World Championship...in her rookie year on the professional circuit.

-Then there was the world class athlete who walked almost the entire length of the marathon because he promised himself he would never quit, unless he had to drop out due to medical reasons.

-There was the woman who rolled across the finish line to honor a gentleman, who suffered from ALS, who finished the 2005 ironman the same way, saying that he'd finish the race even if he had to be rolled across the finish line. In 2006 he couldn't walk, and he passed away in 2007. Watch his story here:



-There was the 57 year old teacher who missed the cut-off by 4 seconds and was disqualified from the race.

I can't even imagine what it would be like to train for and complete an Ironman triathlon. I mean, even if I could put my face in the water, swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles and running a marathon is just insane-o-rama; something I would never aspire to do, which makes it that much more amazing to me that people...normal people, not to mention people who overcome great obstacles, are able to complete them. I highly recommend that you check out the coverage for the Ironman next year. If anything, It's a good cry. :)

Valentines Day!!

me wearing my "I gave blood" sticker

I spent the day (and days before) delivering homemade cupcakes (red, white and pink ones!!) sharing my favorite Sweets red hot jelly hearts fresh from Utah with my co-workers, treating myself to a Nielsen's Turkey and Avocado sandie, french fries with fry sauce and a bite of strawberry custard (I am back on my diet starting tomorrow, I promise!!!), babysitting and giving blood (essentially saving three lives ;) ). It was a really good day; it feels so good to do things for other people.

The author of one of the blogs I read (Dainon of Elvis Enthusiasts Unite) had this to say about Valentines Day:

"... any excuse to express or receive love are good ones. This day is known for chocolate and loneliness and such but, at its core, it really should be people thinking of other people, be they sweethearts or no. It's a celebration of what the soul yearns to express. I can get behind that in a second."

I really couldn't have said it better myself. Seriously...eloquence is not one of my strong suits!! But really, isn't that perfect?! Yes, while Valentines Day has been commercialized, it is essentially a day for us to show the people we surround ourselves with, whether they be friends, family or lovers, how much we care about them.

On that note, thank you SO MUCH to all of you who made my Valentines Day a memorable one, in such a good way. I feel so lucky to have such great people in my life.

I hope yours was a good one too.

Cultured

I had the greatest Saturday ever. I went on an 8 mile walk (ugh! don't ask!!!) and then met up with my friend Jad and his girlfriend Shelha in DC to see the movie Persepolis, which is an incredible animated foreign film about an Iranian girl. Go see it, it's super good, and there is a FANTASTIC rendition of "Eye of the Tiger" that should not be missed.

After the movie we went over to the Kennedy Center where they are having this huge Japan celebration, including a scary interactive animatronic geisha, great concerts and some incredible art exhibits. Here are some pictures of the exhibits. Have I mentioned how much I love polka dots???? If you live in DC you should make a point to get out there this weekend before the event closes on the 17th.

Sick

My computer caught a virus (and no, I was not viewing questionable websites at the time). That's enough to convince me never to buy a PC ever again.

mmmm cupcakes!

I'm pretty much obsessed with cupcakes at the moment. I've been known to drop a pretty penny on gourmet cupcake mixes, and it's a rare occasion I don't stop at Magnolia or Billy's Bakery or some other fabulous bakery when I'm visiting New York. I even have grand plans involving cupcakes for Valentines Day. I was surfing the internet and stumbled upon a blog dedicated to cupcakes and found that there is a new cupcake store opening up in Utah, on Saturday actually. I do realize I don't live there, but I am going out for an 11 day visit in a few weeks and you better believe I'll be visiting So Cupcake, which is so conveniently located within a 5(ish) mile radius of every single member of my family. How perfect is that?!

While there are no real pictures on their website, just darling sketches, it appears that their cupcakes are bright and vibrant; they even have a purple velvet cake! How crazy is that?! Personally, I'm dying to try "Irrationally in Love" (oh btw their cupcake names are freaking cute) which is strawberry cake with fuchsia strawberry butter cream frosting sprinkled with hot pink sanding sugar. Or maybe I'll try the "So High The Moon Lemon" which is vanilla cake with lemon butter cream frosting sprinkled with yellow sanding sugar...or maybe I'll go with the "So Goldie Peanut Butter" which is a peanut butter cake with milk chocolate butter cream frosting with 1/2 peanut butter cup on top. Ok, who am I kidding...I'll probably get one of each (and maybe more).

You Utahns out there, do me a favor and go check em out (after Saturday of course). I'm dying to know if they're as delicious as they sound.

Rock band (a real one)

Whoa, can I just say that I can't even begin to believe that it's actually Thursday?! This week has flown by so quickly, which is kind of amazing considering I've spent the whole week grumpy and starving (despite eating every two or so hours), and btw, these feelings are directly linked. See, I officially started the Biggest Loser Challenge on Monday after stuffing my face full of Rock Band practice goodies on Saturday and Superbowl goodies on Sunday proving to myself that if food is in front of me I WILL eat it, and lots of it. I am officially my mother's daughter (xoxo). But, just in case you were wondering, so far so good on the healthy eating habits, although I'm not sure how much longer I will last. (I miss you french fries). Anway, my very emotional relationship with food (cue the grumpiness) is not the purpose of this post, but clearly the one thing I can't stop thinking about. What I WANTED to share with you was my Saturday night activity. My friend Tess invited me to go with her and her friend Melissa to a club to listen to a few local bands play. It has been years and years since I've been to any form of concert, that is unless you count the bug musical concert thingy starring my nieces and nephew I attended last year. Other than that, I think N'Sync's No Strings Attached tour in 2000 (which was AWESME btw) was the last time I've seen anybody perform live (sad huh??).

I don't know, it's probably my lack of exposure to live concerts, but I kind of prefer the polished sound of songs recorded and made perfect in a studio, so while I was excited about getting out and about with my new friend Tess, I was a little unsure if I'd like the music, especially considering I had absolutely no idea what kind of music the bands played. Well turns out I do like live concerts, and I really love listening to live music in a teeny teeny club. See...I love listening to my techno really loud (I'm SO going to lose my hearing someday soon) so that I can feel it with every fiber of my being, and the club we went to on Saturday provided the same affect. I really felt like the music was coming from inside of me, it was so awesome. Might I also say the three bands we listened to were incredible? I have absolutely no idea who they were though, unfortunately, so I can't seek out their music. Bummer.

We were in the back of the crowd for the first band and then when all of band #1's groupies left, we made our way to the front for band #2, standing right in front of the speakers (I was in heaven).

Band #1 behind all of the heads in front of me:

Band #2

Provided my recent failure at playing the fake drums, I couldn't resist watching band #2's drummer intently while he played. I was completely mesmerized by how quickly his hands moved across his drum set and quite jealous that he had no problems using his hands and feet all at the same time. During the second song, one of his drum pieces fell and he kept right on playing without even flinching. Pretty amazing if you ask me. He also had a freaking awesome beard. The moustache kind of looked like the guys on the right:

Hopefully this was just the beginning of my concert attendance...it was a complete blast!

I watch it for the commercials...

Well tonight was the superbowl, and to be honest, I couldn't care less. I don't really follow football and I actually slept through the first half. I do, however LOVE superbowl commercials, so I had to share a few of the ones that made me giggle...


My E*Trade - E*TRADE


So Easy - E*TRADE

This next one made me laugh SO hard.

Mouse Trap - Doritos

Breath of Fire - Bud Light

Anytime - T-Mobile

I heart Andy Sandberg...

Pepsi Stuff: Justin Timberlake - Pepsi-Cola

My motivation

On my run on Thursday I got to thinking about why I do it (as inspired by Chloe's post on the topic). Once upon a time, when exercize for me was walking from the couch to the freezer for Turkey Hill Peanut Butter Chocolate ice cream, I had the idea that if I could teach myself how to run that I'd really love it. Now that I am a runner, and not just to the grocery store to buy more ice cream, I know that I was right, but in such a different way than I had imagined. Back then I fantasized about using running as an escape, a time in which I could, as eminem says, "lose myself in the music, the moment..." but as I have learned, running is the furthest thing from easy for me. Of course there are stretches of a run that I do enjoy the act of running, but it's something I struggle with; physically, mentally, and emotionally all of the time. Most of the time it takes a huge inner pep-talk just to get myself to lace up the running shoes, yet strangely, running is something I'm very passionate about. So why do I do it?

Well, to name a few:
-To hear peoples reactions when I tell them I have run a marathon and plan on running more.
-Speaking of races, they are a total blast! There's a special energy there, and it's usually the only time I can pass runners, which is a HUGE ego boost.
-I don't know if you've noticed this, but I have a very sophisticated palate (french fries, cookies and ice cream) and running is the only way I can keep myself from gaining back the weight I've lost in recent years
-To prove myself that I am capable of finishing something (I'm the queen of unfinished projects)
-So I can live a long and healthy life (as long as I can get my diet under control!!)
-It makes me feel good when people tell me I'm their hero, or that they admire me, even if most of the time I feel like I'm undeserving of that distinction
-Running music is my favorite
-It's given me ankles (possibly by enlarging my calves, but I'll take it!)
-I've made incredible connections with people through running

So there ya go. Is there anything you're passionate about? What is your motivation?

On a related note, it's amazing what new music can do for the soul, not to mention my running! I am seriously in love with my new playlist. It's the perfect combination of angry, fun, unintelligible and lyrical and I can't get enough. Thanks again everybody!

Thursdays playlist:
1. Red Tape - Agent Provocateur
2. Getting Away With Murder - Papa Roach
3. Alfie - Lily Allen
4. Misery Business - Paramore
5. Chelsea Dagger - The Fratellis
6. Stuck in the Middle - Mika
7. LDN - Lily Allen
8. Cowgirl - Underworld
9. Oh My God - Mark Ronson
10. Ready to Go - Republica
11. Outversion - Mark Ronson

Wacky Washington take II

There's a two hour delay for the DC area schools today because of this:

I can totally understand why they had to delay the beginning of school, I mean rain is WET. It can destroy a good hair-do, it makes toesies sooooo cold, the rain clouds make the sky dark, so you have to use your headlights, which obviously can blind you.

And those windshield wipers? They obstruct your vision briefly every 5 seconds ...so dangerous.

Thanks DC, for keeping our kids safe from the dangers of water.

As promised

I was sitting in traffic today and remembered that I promised a CD mix to one of the kind souls who helped me out with my music crisis. I knew that I had to take care of it right away or else I'd forget, so it's a good thing I've been carrying around a little notepad these days and that traffic is pretty crappy in these parts, so I put everyones name on a piece of paper and drew one out of the cup holder while waiting for the lights to change. And the mix goes to...(drumroll)...Holly. Yay, I'll try to get that out to you asap.