Intimate Body Waxing???

So I am a hairstylist. Hence the name of my blog. I recently stared working in a Suite, which is one of 39 suites in a salon. A suite is a private room we design as our own small salon. Among the suites we have a lot of hairstylists, several massage therapists, skin specialists and one Intimate Body Waxer.
OK so I probably will never use the Intimate Body Waxer, since at my age I am losing more hair than growing any and since Mr. Wonderful's testosterone level has dropped I don't see any need for a design between my legs. Not that he would notice. I come home with flaming red hair and it takes him three weeks to say "Oh, you have red in your hair".
We have five hallways where our suites are located. The intimate body waxer is a hallway away from me. Am I curious?? Well yes. Unfortunately I can't see when anyone comes or goes so I am out of luck at who uses her.
I have wondered how soundproof the walls are because I have to let you know..in case anyone really ever pondered this question, but there is NO WAY IN HELL wax would be used in that area. Shall I repeat that? NO WAY!!  Should I ever venture to that hallway and decided that possibly, maybe, perhaps I would ever have that done my screams  the first time a strip was removed would pull all other 38 suites out the door wondering who was being sliced up in another room.
We had an open house last week and I met "Kat" the intimate body waxer and saw her suite. It had a thick, furry spread on her table.
I wax eyebrows and all facial components in my suite. I occasionally drip a little wax on things. My wax is about a foot from where it will land on skin. While I am not sure how far her wax should travel to get to the intimate So if you lay on this thick, furry blanket while being intimately waxed, you better be a good aim or your client will have that fur stuck in her ( or his) intimate areas.
Kat is a lovely person and I am very sure she is excellent at what she does.
I am excellent at what I do too.  I will stay in my suite one hallway away working on hair, extensions and an occasion eyebrow wax. If I hear an unrecognizable sound or a very loud "OH SHIT" I will know what intimate parts are being ripped off.
Just saying.

Never Too Old To Dream!

Never think you are too old to start a new dream.

I said I would never sell my salon..really thought I would be carried out on a stretcher, but here I am, going to a new place. To top it off I am excited about it!! Yes, excited.
I think of all the "old" people term.  Never too old to teach an old dog a new trick. When I am old I shall wear purple ( I'm thinking plum for the walls)
"The excitement of learning separates youth from old age. As long as you're learning you're not old."

Rosalyn S. Yallow

That's me. Without a doubt.  The last year, besides being filled with another replaced body part, seems to have been a down in the dumps years for me. No feeling of really wanting to do anything, just getting through. Oh, I have loved what I do for a living. Always, Not much enthusiasm though.

Until I made the decision to close my business, sell it, get rid of it, stop being an owner, lose the headache that comes with wondering when the toilet will stop up or the air conditioner go out in 100 degree weather.

I became "joyful" again. Almost a giddy joy. Even more so the fact that I am leasing a suite in a mall of suites. Apparently that is the direction a lot of stylists are heading and by God I want on that wagon 

When many women my age in this business are working a couple days a week, doing a few older clients, trying to get cheap booth rent because they can't afford much more, Me???? I am heading into the most expensive rent I have ever paid, in a very upperclass salon with thirty nine suites. Yes, you read that right. THIRTY NINE people will eventually work there.  

That's a lot of egos. I don't care. We will all be in our wonderful rooms with our own little salons and our clients and our privacy.  I am very stoked about this.   

OK, not all stylists have big egos, but one of the reasons I loved my little salon was because I have worked with some divas.  It's also fine that the first stylist I was introduced to in the suites told me right off the bat she was a "DIVA".  She smiled though and I think she is just a happy bouncy person with loads of confidence and it's just fine. Why?? Because I will be in my own room.  Love love love it.

So much more to come!

No Resolutions!!

Yay!!  I'm back. Ok I can get excited. No resolutions, mind you. Just the fact I made it here twice in one week.
Speaking of resolutions. I never make them. I have sworn them off completely.
Why set myself up for disaster? I used to. Of course.
I will lose weight. (Ha!!)
I will exercise. ( Really?)
I will be kinder . ( now that one I do try, but all the time)

Aren't the top two the most popular?  January 1st. Eat healthy and lose weight. Oh yea, after a night with my friends who the heck wanted to eat anyways. Now that I have decided the new year will come without my help and my bed looks great at 10 PM, I'm faced with myself. New Years day is usually when I'm clearing out the junk from Christmas. Some makes it to the trash, some to my mouth.

Exercise? Years ago it was cleaning the house after my friends left. It's so nice to wake up to a clean house.  I make breakfast for hubby and settle in for a day of watching football, taking down the Christmas decorations and enjoying more of the Christmas junk.

By January 2 I had forgotten my resolutions and when I did remember I had made them, I felt horrible.

So for many years to come I will continue my NO resolutions. I live healthier, happier and am not disappointed in myself.

So as blogs go this is a bust.  My brain wraps around things but I never get it written down.
So here I am again.
New Years Day 2015
During the last 30 days of the year my ex-husband, dear friend and father of our two boys suffered a major bleed in his brain and was taken off life support after 13 days. It was a horrible decision for his 18 year old son and 39 year old daughter. Ol Doc Dennis would not have wanted to live the way he was though and so, as sad as it became, it was for the best.
On Christmas Eve a friend from church discovered her 30 year old son dead in his apartment. He had medical issues and they believe it was a mix of medicines gone wrong.
At 1:45 in the morning on December 26th, my cousin, was killed by bullets from a group of youths who had come out of the hotel he was staying at.
Today is a new year.  Everyone hopes the next year will be filled with good things, with hope and happiness not realized the year before, to overcome obstacles in front of them, to come away from heartbreak and sadness and have a new outlook.
No. It's still sad.
My son, who last week signed up for the Air National Guard, has to grow up faster than he ever imagined because his dad didn't really teach him how to stand on his own two feet. Yes he is a man going into the guard, but inside he is a frightened young man who has lost his father. His dad and I had been divorced for 10 years. We remained very good friends. We had the nicest divorce compared to horrendous divorces I have seen others go through.  I miss him. My now husband, Mr. Wonderful, was beyond understanding though his time in the hospital. Through my tears he knew that Dennis and I were friends and he would leave a hole in my life.  Thank God for Mr. Wonderful.
Shawn, my son, will grow into a decent young man, holding onto what he will learn through this. Nothing lasts forever. New years aren't always great. We can get through Christmas with a deep loss. His girlfriend looks good in auburn hair as well as she did in blonde and life will go on.
My friend suffers from the loss of a child. We expect out parents to go before we do. Not our children. Her new year will be difficult as she and her family deal with this loss.
My cousin, who left behind a daughter, son and grandchild, was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  When I get angry about guns, this is why. Yes I know guns don't kill, people do. Tell my cousin that. This one makes me angry. Very angry.
For the three people who's lives ended last month, you touched my life in so many different ways. I will miss all of you.

Firing an old lady.

I had to fire a client recently. It was sad. She was 84, which made it even sadder.
She was mean. Not just cranky mean. Not just "I have had a bad day" mean. Insulting mean, make me feel inadequate mean, want stick my pointed comb into her head mean.

I've been a hairstylist for over 30 years. I know how to do the "Big" hairstyles. I backcomb hair ..tight.
I can do the little curls that women of that generation love, I can even do a roller set. Does this mean it is something I love to do? No, but I love my elderly ladies and I will do most anything to please them. Except Wilma.
Wilma called me to ask if I backcombed hair. "Yes" Could I backcomb it tight? "Yes" She lost her hairstylist due to a back injury and needed in that week.
You must understand that only Ashley and I do the "older" ladies. She was busy and while I am not taking new clients for a "weekly" spot, I felt sorry for Wilma and booked her in. First mistake.
She was bossy, demanding and not very nice. Like a trooper though, thinking it would get better over time, I held my tongue, did every little thing she asked me to with a smile to end with " Maybe you'll do better next time".
Mind you, I don't take that from clients. I've been doing this too long to be treated in a demeaning way. I am not perfect, I don't always nail a style the first time, but I work hard to please clients.
I knew this was going to be a tough one.
Next week, same thing. I didn't shampoo right, I didn't put the color rinse on right. I'm seething inside all the while thinking how I could get out of this. By the end of each appointment there would be a glimmer of niceness so I'd stuff my "let go" speech away.  Then she started bringing her "Wal-Mart" products in because those would help me do better.
I do not embarrass people. I would never say anything in the salon to make anyone uncomfortable, but I had to get rid of this client. Plus her products.
I decided to call her and tell her how I felt, then mail her products to her.
Do you know what a 555 telephone number is?  It's what you hear on TV when someone gives out a number. They do that because that number does not exist.
Wilma's number was 405-555-0012  I get people's info off of checks. That was on her check.
84 tear old woman, fake elephant number. What was she hiding?
Time was running out though. It was Friday and her appointment was the next Thursday. I mailed her products along with a letter explaining why I no longer wanted to do her hair.
Done!
Monday I checked the tracking number to see if it had been delivered. No such address. Returned.
WHAT??
Fake phone number and nonexistent address. How did she even get checks??
One of my other clients knew her so I had to call Betty to get her number, which meant I had to tell Betty I was firing her friend. Betty Said " I don't blame you, she's a mean person  Well, if nothing else my feelings had been validated.
On to the call.
No answer. So I left a message.
"Wilma, I hate to leave this on your answering machine but seeing as your phone number and your address are nonexistent I have no choice.  I no longer want to do your hair. I can't please you and you would be much better off finding a new stylist".
Hey, that wasn't so bad. I tried everything I could and finally left the message. Problem resolved?
No, she called back.
"I'm not mean. I don't understand what you are saying. Would you do my hair this week?"
Lordy. So I had to talk to her. "No Wilma. "
I had never fired a client before. This is tough stuff. Especially when they don't understand why.
I finally got through to her, she picked up her Wal-Mart products and life in the salon has gone on.
I told my protege Ashley if I ever get like that she has permission to send me to the looney bin..or fire me.

Hanging on to old styles.

In an ever changing world of hair styles, colors , cuts, texture and more I find, even at my old age, a fascination with what can be done with hair.
Very few of my present clients will ask for the pastels, or rock the vivid colors, but I wish they did.
Anyone who knew me years ago, knows I would be a veritable rainbow if I could. Gray hair has a life of it's own though and is not condusive to brights or pastels. Hell I have a hard enough time going one week before the crap comes through. That's a post all of it's own though.

One of the hottest colors right now is the silvery white blonde ( at my age, we call that gray) but it is gorgeous when done on the right head. Add a few lavender pieces and my tongue hangs out at how beautiful it is. My clients usually say " Isn't that awful?"  "Can you imagine someone doing that to their hair?" when all the time I'm drooling wishing I could do it.
Not all mine are that bad, but as many of my clients and I have grown old together, I have discovered how strongly women hold on to their hairstyles.

Client: Thelma   Age: 72  Hair type:  Thick, straight, steel grey  Hairstyle: Roller set ( ugh)
I started doing her hair when she was 64. As I have always at some point or other had ladies with roller sets, this one was a thorn. I was hard to roll her hair, took a long time to dry and while it looked good,  I thought something else would look so much better.  Fast forward 5 years. Conversation in salon about women who hang on to hairstyles never wanting to change. Thelma asked what I would do if I could change it. I would cut it short, over the ears, give her the volume on top she needed but make it much more stylish. She said "Go for it" Once I got over the shock I started cutting. The salon was watching as was Thelma. It looked fantastic. Thelma looked in the mirror and said "We'll see how it does through the week"  While I wanted her to jump for joy at the new style I also knew she was the type of person who didn't throw out compliments and needed time. Of course everyone gushing over her about how much younger she looked and how much better it looked, added to the possibility she would come back the next week appreciating the new look.
I don't think she ever flat out said how much easier it was, but she kept it for a few months. After about 4 months she started letting it get longer and longer until it was close to her own style.  I never said anything because this is a "comfort" zone for many women.  Try something new, then gradually go back to the old style.  While she never again let me cut it as short as I did the first time, at least we got away from roller sets and it was a much softer looker.
May she rest in peace now. She was a wonderful client.  She would have rocked silver and lavender.

Roxie and Kleenex

My cocker spaniel. Roxie, eats kleenex. Lots of kleenex. Why her poop isn't white, I will never know.
I read somewhere that dogs are similar to goats in what they can ingest and not be ill.
I have been sick this week with a respiratory infection. you know, the kind where tissues are your best friend and they can't get too far from you?
Have you ever seen a dog so enthusiastic she is drooling right next to you?
She was waiting for me to fall back asleep and loosen up my grip on the tissue I had just used.  Like it was a piece of raw steak.
I moved my small trash receptacle to the top of my nightstand. When I would drift out of sleep. it looked like snow. Yes, she had managed to push it down and have every used tissue spread around the room. Some eaten, some awaiting her. The good thing about illness is you don't care. I looked at the sea of white fluff through my hazy eyes and rolled over back to lala land.She is a kind loving dog, always at my side if I am sad or upset. Always with a wiggling bottom, excited to see me. Grabbing her toys to play. Unless I am blowing my nose or using a tissue while applying makeup. Then she is a sneaky, conniving hound.
She gets about 50% of what I use, through some device of her own. I absently set it down ( while applying make-up) or miss the throw shot.  She will sneak up on the other side of an end table, then pop up and swipe it off, running away like she has performed an act.
I read they like the texture of kleenex. Well, so long as she doesn't get sick, poop white fluff or bring it back up.
 This is her busted. She had the evidence in her mouth. See those innocent eyes?  All my trash receptacles are above the floor. All my tissues are up high, but she will always manage to one.
 Have a great day,
D

Christmas...
  Since my kids no longer are at home, Mr. Wonderful and I have a tradition. We go to a fine dining restaurant and then to church for our beautiful Christmas Eve service at St. Michael's Episcopal Church in Norman. Oklahoma.
On Christmas morning we make breakfast then head back to Norman to serve dinner for the community until 1 PM. The afternoon we spend with our family.

I have said Christmas is just not Christmas if I don't attend church. It's empty. To sing the carols in a dark church, to smell the incense, to celebrate the birth of the Christ Child, to have communion in the evening, to end the service on our knees singing "Silent Night", there is no moment so meaningful on Christmas Eve.

This year we had our family get together on Sunday, as my husband's grandchildren from Texas would be with us. It was a bit strange to be opening presents three days before the big day, but as we get older and your kids go different ways, that sometimes happens.  I knew we had our Christmas tradition and the two days would have that special deep meaning it always had.

Then I got sick. The Sunday the family was coming over I knew I was in trouble as the day started out with the scratchy throat and general feeling of jello in my veins. Through the day and into the evening  I went downhill and felt like I had let down my kids, since most of the time I was curled up in the chair, I thought..I WILL be better tomorrow..I will!!)

I wasn't. Monday we were supposed to take the grandkids back to Arlingtion, a long drive when feeling good. Mr. Wonderful said I was to stay home and take care of myself. I didn't argue. My bed and I were close friends through the day.
Still downhill.

Yesterday was Christmas Eve.  I knew by mid-afternoon our "traditional" Christmas Eve was doomed. When hubby arrived home from work I went into meltdown mode. Really!! I bawled like a baby. I was literally sick to my stomach that I couldn't have dinner or go to church. Poor David. He just wanted to please me. I went from raging tears one moment to "Yes we will go"  only to start to move and the room moved with me. Resignation that dinner would be burgers from Braum's, my social evening would be in my chair, under my blanket watching "It's a Wonderful Life".
When my  husband called the man in charge of the Norman Community Dinner to tell him we would not be able to make our yearly position of serving dinner to 100's of wonderful people who wanted to not  be alone on Christmas Day, I cried again. This was NOT Christmas. I was devastated.

We had gifts to each other under the tree and I could care less. I was miserable, inside and outside.

Then he brings the gifts to me with a smile and says "Honey let's open our gifts"  My pity pot melted away. I had spent all evening feeling wronged because I was sick while my husband just tried to make me feel better.  I thought I was the only one who really cared about Christmas and MY Christmas was ruined.

As we opened our gifts, me sniffling and blowing my nose, him like a little kid enjoying his gifts I knew it was going to be okay.
For weeks I had baked, shopped, wrapped gifts, sent gifts, collected items for two different organizations, sent packages and "felt" the season.   Yes, without a doubt Jesus IS the reason for the season and do not say Happy Holidays to me.  I have had and will continue to have a Merry Christmas. Traditions don't always work out.
Today hubby woke up with a scratchy throat. Not a gift I wanted to give him.
Merry Christmas honey.

It's two weeks until Christmas.  For me it's really one week. The weekend before we will be invaded by two grandchildren, ages 9 and 11, for three days. Then the drive back to Texas, work Christmas Eve and then it is here.
We will celebrate over the weekend. Transiberian Orchestra will be our big night Saturday, preceded by enjoying all the wonders of our downtown area, weather permitting. Outdoor skating, which the grandkids from Texas have never done, I don't plan on doing, but hope they will have the time of their lives. I'm the picture taker.
They will arrive Friday evening, Mr. Wonderful will go get them while I work, and Saturday morning will be the first time in many may years we have awaken with children and gifts under the tree.

I am excited. I have said for many years that Christmas is not about children. It's not. I dearly love the Advent season, when we prepare for the coming of the baby Jesus.  I am aware that is not his exact birthday, no one really knows, but isn't it wonderful to have a time to celebrate?
The wisemen came many weeks later but we cram it all into on day.

I've given up trying to explain to the masses that Christmas actually starts at midnight on December 24th and goes for 12 days. I've told them that if you attend my church the Sunday after the official holiday we are still celebrating and singing carols.  I'm usually looked at with eyes full of humor or total confusion and I change the subject back to the craziness of getting everything ready for the 25th.

I do the same thing. I wish I could for one year not put my tree up until the 24th. Look at the wonder of the magic of Christmas as it should be. I can barely make it past Thanksgiving.
I love the lights and the mystical feeling of the lit tree in my house when all the other lights are off.

When my children were young I would never turn the lights off at night. Awakening before the children got up, I'd come to the living room and sit with just the tree on, thinking about the season and how wonderful it can be.

As for the grandchildren coming to spend a few days with us, it will be fun again to have that excitement in the house as they get to celebrate the "first" Christmas for them. We usually have them after the big day when they are like  "where's the presents..Oh I already for that"
This year we tried to make sure our gifts are what no one else has bought. We will spend a day baking cookings and celebrate the season.   We will be ready for them to go home on Monday and then quiet back down for round two.
The only time I live better than Christmas is Holy Week before Easter. I gave up trying to explain that Good Friday is not just a day off work, but that's another post.

Have a blessed day as you enjoy the magic of the anticipation of Jesus being born unto the world.
Debi

Blustery Weather

It's a blustery 10 degree windchill as I sit here at 5:30 AM. Normal for Minnesota, not so Oklahoma. Yesterday at 1 PM it was close to 70 degrees. Then the bottom fell out and here we are.

My extra bedroom is full of "winter" clothes, that I rarely ever get to wear. Because right now I am in "not quite winter, because I'd burn up in them clothes" and "I can still catch a few warm days clothes"
That's the norm for me at this time of year.
Before bed last night I scrambled through the winter clothes to find my boots, shawls and any top with longer sleeves as I am notorious for wearing tanks even in the winter time, under a  shirt.
This a layer day.  I don't spend any time outside. Only what is necessary to get from house, to garage, open door, drive to work , get out and go in.
I am not someone who will weather the cold to go for my morning walk or to head to the mall to exercise. I don't do that on warm days, why would I do it on freezing cold ones.
I am always worried about sweating. Yes, I sweat when it's cold. ( I am long past perspire) When I am in the salon and the dryers and heat tools are going it's going to get warm.
So my blustery layered clothes will allow me to get down to something more comfortable when the salon warms up.
Who knows what the day will bring.
I really like these days, occasionally. The atmosphere is different. It gives all the women something to talk about and I like to cozy feeling of it being arm inside and cold outside. Just for a day though. After that I want our regular weird weather.
Time to bundle up.
D

Obama? Care?

Obamacare. That's a word we never thought we would add to our vocabulary.
I want Obamacare to work.
I need Obamacare to work.
We, Mr. Wonderful and myself, have been without insurance for almost two years.  For us to have insurance would have cost us around $1600 per month if we were accepted. I have no misgivings that we would have not been accepted. Too much wear and tear on my body after years of standing behind the chair. I won't go into all of it, but if I was an insurance company I doubt I would have insured me either,
We cruised along for a while thinking this isn't too bad, no insurance payments. Occasional visit to the doctor along with monthly prescriptions was much less than $1600. Until Mr. Wonderful blacked out at work in September 2012 and ended up in the emergency room. POW!! $24,000 we owed.
So much for cruising along. We were now on a warship headed into battle.
I won't bore you with the details but we eventually were able to reduce the bill to $10,000 if we paid it all at once, so we stripped our small savings and did so.
We need health insurance.
Is the AHA flawed? Yes. Does it offer lower insurance rates? For a lot of people. Even though ours is still high due to the amount we make and our age, it's less than the $1600 we were facing. Will we get it? We have no choice, not because the government says so but because we can't face another $24,000 bill.
I like President Obama. ( Pick yourself up, some people really do like the man.  He who has not sinned?  Get those stones ready) I voted for Obama. I am not going into political talk here. I have my feelings and they will remain within me. I have read too much ugliness the last year and I am tired of it.
I will say this.
Thank you Mr. President for your  success at bringing some form of national healthcare to us. I pray that through the years it will be refined and help more people.
I am thankful that even though we have to pay a lot more than we thought, that for
one, we can be accepted without worry about pre-existing conditions. That two, we don't have to fear an emergency room visit. We will have to pay, absolutely, but not the exhorbitant amount the hospitals charge.  That three, I can go back and see my doctors without being embarrassed when the front desk asks for your insurance card and you have to see them shake their heads when you say you don't have insurance, then look away from you when they hand you the bill at the end of your service.
This is my political statement for the year.
Have a glorious day.
D

A year later??

OK so I am not a good blogger. I get motivated then sink. Mr. Wonderful being laid off a year ago was a huge deflater and then I tried again a few months later with the Social Security disaster and again, nothing for awhile.
Today is a depressing day. So I want to write to help me get out of the funk.
Why the funk?
Age
Weight
Children
What should have
What could have
What is.
Sound like a pity party? It is.
 I am allowed at least one pity party per 6 months of existence. This is my 6th month one.
They don't last long. My hubby has been the target of my surliness this morning.
I slam things. When I'm frustrated, angry, hurt. I slam them loudly.
Then he thinks he's done something wrong so starts doing something.
It's wrong. I know it is.
In a few minutes I'll go out and hug him and tell him I'm sorry, which I am. because it's not anything he's done. It's me unhappy with me right now.
You know that gratefulness list we all should be making each and every day. Well mine hasn't been done in a long time.
I do have so much to be thankful and grateful for.
The murderous rampage in Boston didn't take place here. I still have my body in one piece, my sons are doing well, my husband is back at work, I'm blessed with a decent job, I have food on my table, some savings in the bank and three animals that follow me where ever I go whenever I let them.
I'm feeling better already.
Maybe it's the crazy winter we've had during spring. Maybe it's the candy I eat that I feel guilty about when I do, maybe it's the humdrum daily life that is so monotonous, that has put me in this mood.
Maybe just maybe I'll go hug my husband.

Oh lord, here I am again...3 months from the last. I guess it's hard for me to think people would read this and even more difficult to think that a client who I talk about would find it and then I'm screwed.

I am going to talk about clients who changerappointments at the last minute..consistently.
Do you not realize we only make money when we are working? Do you realize when you call 10 minutes before your two and half hour appointment that I can't fill that? So I SIT for that time praying a walking might come in.
Well actually not me. I've been doing this for 25 years. Sometimes I enjoy the break, but I have one stylist who is about to have her 2nd child. When I say about I mean any day and all she can worry about is how long she has to be off and when she can come back. SO when you take that away from her, just more worries.
As hairstylists few of us work in salons that have "benefits". The majority, at least in this end of the world, work for themselves, have no paid vacations, no health insurance and in most cases are the main support of their families.
So I ask you PLEASE if you are going to cancel...do it ahead of time. We understand emergencies, but you can't have that many all the time.

And please tell me WHY???? you call in the morning to make an appointment and then don't show up that afternoon?  I've seen new stylists almost emotionally destroyed by numerous calls like that. They get so excited and then the time comes and they sit, and they sit and they hope they are only late and they sit and I can watch them slowly sinking. My heart breaks for them. I then have to explain that this is common place. Have the common decency when someone asks if you'd like to book an appointment to say "No thank-you"

Chihuahua is on lap, kitty next to computer and hubby is wakjng up. I'm gone to get ready for another wonderful day in my salon.

Too old to get hired?

When I started blogging back the first part of the year it was fun to sit here and come up with witty things to say about my family, job and other insane parts of my life.
Then Mr. Wonderful got laid of work.
What a bubble buster.
This was the second time in less than a year. The first time was bad enough, but twice? Did I mention we are both up in years...past the 55 year mark and progressing each day?
I hated the job he had. Self centered, egotistical, demeaning jack ass he worked for. Hubby came home every day, feeling like the high school kid who gets bullied every day and that is just WRONG at any age. So when he got laid, which while being deeply disappointed, I was happy inside because I hated seeing my wonderful husband like that.
Fast forward to mid August. Still no job.
The last five months have been tough. Hubby thought finding a job would be easy. He has incredible experience, is meticulous in what he does and how he does it. He renovated our entire house. Perfectly.
As each job came with a "Oh you came in second", then would put out another ad two weeks later and wouldn't respond to calls, or they paid minimum wage for skilled work, I could see him sink into a deeper depression. We finally decided it was age. Oh yea right. there is NO age discrimination. Bullshit!!
They can't say that's why you weren't hired, but there certainly is discrimination
  I need to be honest with you though. If I was a business owner in my 30's, had job applicants from 20 to 60, thought about the future of my business and it's growth, I might choose the person between 30 and 40 because he could be with me longer. Again is it right? Hell no, but it makes sense. Illegal? Yes, but prove it.
What a shame. My husband could spend 10 years sharing his experience with the younger guys and they would be better for it. Maybe 15 years. Does he have 20 in him? Not sure, but what a shame no one took the chance and found out.
So now he is starting up a "Handyman Business" It will take time to build a reputation but he can do thsi and do it well.
I've watched him work. He's a man who does things right. Not like my ex who was a master of bubble gum and rubber bands, who could "rig" anything. No, David does it right.
So it's time for the pity pot to be gone, to support my husband in this endeavor and be his support.
If you need a great handyman for odd jobs, bathroom and kitchen renovation and many other things, you can check out his website at  
http://www.ddhandymanokc.com/
Have a blessed day, Debi

A Not So Perfect Mom

As a mom we try to be perfect. need something? I have it!! Lose something? I know exactly where it is? I keep records, I have all the info on birth, SS Cards, school info..I am perfect!! I have it.
So a few weeks ago my teenage son is applying for jobs. His dad and I are divorced and I am positive, I have given his dad his actual, absolute, without a doubt, yesireeman it IS the original SS Card quite awhile ago when he needed it for something else.
Son applies for the wonderful jobs that many teens end up with, Fast Food.
YES!! He has the job. All of this being transmitted between ex-husband and myself. He goes to fill out the papers and they tell him his Social Security card is wrong. NO it's not!! I'm the mom. I know. I gave his dad the original a while back. I did. I swear. After a couple trips the the McD's and numerous conversations with my ex, and me trying to figure out what could possible be wrong
This goes on for two weeks. Mind you at no time during this do I see the card he is using. My perfect mom brain just tells me it's nuts.  Final answer from the almost employer is you need to go to the Social Secuity office. Oh my. Anyone been there? Stand, or sit or squat for several hours before they call your number?
My ex was so confused as to what has been going on ( which you will see why) so I said I'd take our son on my day off to the office.
As I was sitting here dreading the day ahead, I decided to go to the SS office website. ahha!! I can make an appointment. Knowing what can transpire on a phone with a government agency I decide to have all available papers sitting in front of me before I called. It's 7 Am. No teenager in his right mind is awake at this time, so I crept into his room, awakened him enough to ask for his SS Card. What he handed me was NOT his original card. It was a faded out copy of the original.
I had fallen off of my pedestal. I knew the second that cheap copy paper slid into my hand it was not the card he had needed. I slunk out of his room as he fell back asleep and started the hunt for the original.  Apparently I am not as organized as I thought.
We have a safe in which we keep all of our important papers. Each famly member has a manilla enveolpe with thier name on it  with every important paper nestled inside. I had gone through my son's envelope three times. I decided it had fallen out, so I stood on my head ( safe is on the floor) and pulled everything out. My son has two envelopes. What??
Oops. Big oops. There inside the second envelope is the original Social Security card. When it is in my hand memories come rushing back to me. I gave my ex a copy because I did that with all my kids. Teens lose thing so easily. So perfect mom here will hold onto the original until needed. Because my ex told me he had to  "cut" it out, I assumed he had the original. He even had the part of paper left over that it had been cut out with.
So I must now fess up to my ex what I did. That for two weeks and all the hassle with the" employer to be" who had to think my ex is nuts ( which he sometimes is), it is my fault.
It was hard enough telling my son.
What a day I have ahead of me.

Back with Maxi Stories

When I started this blog I had such good intentions of sitting here every morning and spending a few moments writing my thoughts and sharing some of the crazy things that happen in our lives. Amazing how that got flushed down the toilet. I see I still have one amazing follower. Myself. Well if anyone is going to follow me, it should be me. Other wise it could get a bit weird if I wasn't around.
So here I go again...off on a "Wild Hair"
The salon I own in the metropolitan city, is not huge. Small but comfortable. I love it. We're like the modern day "Steel Magnolias" You never know what's coming out of anyone.
This week I was shown something I never thought I would have been shown.
My clients Maxi pad. Not used, thank God, but shown.
We will call her "Susie"  Susie is about 50, from what we can ascertain, has some pretty wild nights with the men and  her luck is pretty bad. I can remember two dates she has had  in the last 18 months who have taken her financially. We do hear more that we really want to, but being the nice people we are, we just nod and allow her to continue.
Both Ashley and I do her hair. She's a bit more more reserved when with me..I must be the motherly type..but when she is in Ashley's chair???? Poor Ashley.
One of the things "Susie" complains about is how she seems to most always be on her period when she has a hot and heavy night planned. She was in my chair this week as she was complaining about how heavy her period is. What comes out of her purse for all to see? Her giant , super absorbant, extra long Maxi Pad. We got a full detail description of how it fills up, leaks out and how many she has to carry around with her.
What happened to good old fashioned gossip??? Have a blessed day.

Teens and teachers

I have an almost 16 year old son, Shawn. Shawn is bright, articulate and a typical smart ass kid. But he is mine, I love him and when he is messed with I get ticked.
Shawn has a Spanish teacher. They do not like each other, Unfortunately for the teacher, that means Shawn will be defiant with her, which I have tried to explain is not a wise decision. He's received some pretty bad grades in her class, which causes part of his arm to disappear for a while. His phone.
When reality kicks in and he gets his rear in gear and starts getting A's again, because he really would like to have his attachment back, she in turn, takes a very long time to post his grades.
The parent portal is the best invention ever for helping parents see their kids grades on a daily basis. We can see the grade average, the daily assignments and comments from the teachers. Love it!!
Yet when a teacher doesn't post a grade for a week, in my opinion because she doesn't like my son and I told her once that he loses his phone when his grades are low, I believe she is holding them back.
Now that's messing with my kid.
I admire teachers. My step daughter is a high school science teacher. I think they underpaid and over worked and all the time they spend at home working is not included in pay. Just don't jack with my son's grades. If he screws up, he pays for it, but when he does well, it needs to be acknowledged.
So Mrs. Barbara Culbertson? Please post my son's grades.

A Makeover Defines Beauty

When you stand behind a chair for over 25 years you see beauty differently.
When I first started I just wanted to do young, stylish clients who would only wear the latest styles and allow me to be my most creative. I still love doing clients like that but I've leaned that they are not the most important anymore. I'll leave that to the younger stylists.
I love it when someone who has never felt pretty about herself sits in my chair. One who is far from "perfect". One who has many flaws. It's not easy. usually these women have beat themselves down for years and never get a chance to feel good just about themselves.
As a hairstlist we should hold a second degree in Psychology. We listen all the time to our clients. We sense when they have been abused, or they share with us their unhappy relationships, how they don't feel loved. A good stylist learns that the best conversation is to listen.
These are the ones I want to make "beautiful" The midle aged woman who spent 15 years raising children, never spending a dime on herself, looks frumpy, sits slump shouldered. She is my favorite.
Nothing and I emphasize NOTHING feels as good s when your clients eyes light up and you know you have made her day. It may be something as simple as as a natural color, a easy to care for hairstyle, I may have given her a paraffin dip and massaged her hands while she was processing, handed her coffeee, brought her magazines. For a couple hours I was able to make her feel pampered and good about herself.
The pictures below are of a client I did last year. You will see below the transformation.

Kimberly fit the bill. Battleing cancer and feeling bad about herself she came to the salon for a makeover.

Kimberly after her makeover. She beamed and we were so happy for her.

This is what I enjoy more than anything. Changing someone that one and making them beautiful. Life is good.

Have a wonderful day, DS
      

Golden Globes ARE for hairstyles and gowns

Charlize Theron, soft waves and headband

When my stylists tell me they aren't sure of the new trends for proms and wedding I ask if they have watched the award shows. They will know then. As with this year, deep waves, shiny hair, not s many highlights, deep rich colors are the most popular. 

Nicole Richie, timeless ponytail

Mr. Wonderful and I were eating dinner Sunday night when the pre-show for the Golden Globes started. Being as there was nothing else on the 500 or so channels we pay for,I stated we should watch that.
With as much seriousness as that man can muster he replied " You know, people really watch this for the hair and gowns, not for what it's about" I think my reply was simply "Really"? I then pointed to myself and said "Honey? That's why I watch it, I'm a hairsylist, I love the hair and the gowns. This show we are watching right now at this moment is the PRE show, where they do nothing but show that" He simply stated back "Oh"
Do I really care who won Best Director?? Not really. I want to see the new stayles, what the dresses look like, observe with my analytical mind the bad dresses and bad hairstyles.  This is the precursor to the Oscars where I watch it for the same reason, although hopefully by the time they come out I will actually know what the movies are. At the Golden Globes many have not been released locally.
In all my years as a stylist, formal styles have been my favorite. Come on wedding and proms. I love them.
Can't wait for the Academy Awards to see who is wearing what. Mr. Wonderful will be peeking over his glasses.
Have a wonderful day,
DS

Teen Mistakes

Both of my boys are adopted. Erik, my oldest at 27 soon to be 28, was a tough kid to raise. When a child is adopted at an older age ( Erik was 6) their entire personlaities are already formed. You just pray you can guide them through life with a good understanding of what is right, what is wrong, what is moral and so on. Erik took a long way around, but has become a wonderful man.
Shawn is 15. Shawn will be 16 in April. I was hoping he wouldn't become a "teenager" as we all know most of them, but sighhhhhh, he did. There are days he talks, days he grumbles through them, days I want to choke him and days I want to hug him ( only if his friends aren't around because you know, not cool.)
I'm sure the looks from him must mean I have three horns growing from my head, but I believe it's mainly I'm an adult and he isn't, we don't live anywhere near the same planets, therefor I am the alien.
I've committed to getting him through these years and not losing my mind. There are days I am not sure where it is located, ( my mind that is) but I know I haven't lost it, just mislocated it.
Due to a really bad decision on his part, he won't get his license until he is 18. My heart sinks when I think of how this should be the time when he is practicing and in a few months he would leave in the car for the first time himself. I would be praying each time he left the house that if he has an accident, it be minor. Sadly, that won't happen for him and I am going to miss that time. I am wonderfing how if will affect him when all of his friends have their licenses and he does not.  I can't say I'll miss the times he breaks curfew and is in a car, but there is something about the years our kids go through at this age, that even though we have a hard time with it, it's passage into adulthood. The mistake he made, the bad decision, will be with him for a long time, It will take away a lot of what he should be going through the next two years. Hopefully it will make him a better man.
In the meantime, he will still be surly, moody, gripey, slouchy and a teen. That would have happened anyways. I love him.