7 Days Left

We have only 7 days left of school. Yay! I am ready for summer! I have some things that I would really like to do this summer. Here's my list:

• Find 10 (free or cheap) places to explore in our city with the kids
  
• Camp
• Read whatever I want
• Prep an entire school year's worth of unit studies
• Go to the zoo and Y often, and some museums around here
  
• Do a 5K both at the beginning and end of the summer
• Do a little gardening with the kids (hopefully with Gma's help)
• Continue my Curly Girl routine and try new products
• Vacation with the family
  
• See "Eclipse" at midnight on June 29th
  
• Take the kids to kid's fests and free movies and splash parks with friends
• Grill
• Move! (if only our house would sell)
  

What a funny list. Quite random, really! The summer is just not really that long, is it? When I was a kid, the summer was endless, it seemed. But now? We have a little over 2 months before needing to start school again. 2 months! Not long enough, if you ask me. But we certainly will enjoy it!

Hair Obsession

Ok, so here's why I haven't been on the blog for a while. I have a new obsession...HAIR!! It started when I went to Seattle and saw my SIL's beautiful hair and she says, "I never use shampoo!" What?? Who has ever heard of this?? So, I got the book. Curly Girl by Lorraine Massey (sp?) It has changed my life...or taken over my life. I haven't decided which. I know which one Geo would say:) The book led me to the Naturallycurly.com website and that was it. I was hooked! Now, every day I read blogs and forums about curly hair. I read about products and find the best prices on them. I talk to complete strangers (curly-haired ones, of course!) about their hair care regimen. Too funny!

Here's pics of my naturally curly locks and then I will tell you the secrets:)





Here is my regimen (does that word mean what I think it means?):

• Shampoo-I only shampoo once a week and use a Burt's Bee's shampoo that is sulfate-free.
• Conditioner-I do something called "co-wash" all the other days. I wash only using conditioner (my choice is Suave Naturals Coconut b/c it's cheap and it seems to work). I put it on my wet head and scrub my scalp trying not to disturb my hair. I comb my hair with a VERY wide-toothed comb and try to collect the ENORMOUS amount of hair that comes out of my head. After I rinse this out with cold water( if I can stand it), I put a tiny bit of conditioner on and leave it in.
  
• Styling-I haven't really figured it out yet, but right now, I scrunch water out of my hair with an old T-shirt and scrunch in Biolage gel while my head is upside down. I use 3 small dollops that I rub in my hands first. The rubbing does something...uh, the word escapes me:) At this point, your hair should feel and squish like wet seaweed :P
  
• Plopping- this is BY FAR the best part! After the gel, I lay the old t-shirt on the toilet seat so it looks upside down to me. The hair plops straight down into the t-shirt, I grab the arms, sausage roll them, and then tie them behind my head. Voila! My curls are nicely plopped on top of my head and will stay there, undisturbed, for 20-30 minutes...or until someone comes to the door!
• After plopping (some call it plunking), turn upside down, untie the shirt, and shake out my curls. And that's it. It does take a long time to air-dry, though, and today I used my hair dryer with a diffuser and I liked it a lot!
  

Now, I have only been doing this for 2 weeks and I don't really have any idea about all of this. Seriously, it's a religion for some of these people! Real "Curly Girls" NEVER brush their hair, use shampoo, or use a towel. They NEVER would DREAM of blow-drying hair straight or *gasp* flat-ironing it! I must say that I am not sure that I am really there, but it's been a fun journey and I like the results.

Woment's Retreat

Food, friends, and Fun!! What more can you ask for???
These are some highlights from our Women's Retreat this weekend:

Me, Becca and Cynthia preparing to sleep outside on the deck. It was a GORGEOUS night, so clear and starry and not terribly cold. A tradition has started!!

JB and Kate jumped in the VERY cold lake. Hilarious to watch, but I wasn't about to get in.

Me, Jess, and Maryirene in front of the rustic cabin. This was their first time up.

Me and Lisa in front, Jana and JB in the back. This was on our way to a bulk food store where I made purchases like chocolate-covered almonds, cinnamon bears, and gummy teeth:)

Here's Becca and I in front of the cabin and the lake.

It's so beautiful up there and we all had a blast. We played some games, talked mostly, and ate SO MUCH good food. We did the Blue Gate (an Amish yummy pie restaurant) and watched "New Moon"...that was kind of funny! Becca and I were up early...it was cold and dewey out there on the deck so we went in for hot chocolate. Becca went in to cook her quiche. It spilled over and REALLY stunk up the cabin and everyone woke up to that smell. It was kind of funny:) We ate some more and talked some more and then went back into town. We headed home in the evening and a few of us met to do dinner...our last fling before going back to reality.

I loved being in the company of these wonderful women. I love talking to them and learning from them. They are amazing. I hope that we can do this every year!!! I don't know what will happen when word gets out that it's so much fun, and then everyone wants to come. It's going to be crowded:)

Happy Birthday to me!!

This is not the best picture of me, but that's how it goes these days. I turned 32 and it was a nice day. The kids got along well (I told them that's what I wanted for my bday). The only part I was sad about was I had to make dinner. Plus, the food didn't sound good because I had "tasted" the birthday cake all day. The cake didn't taste great either...I mean it did the first few times, but by the time I ate it for my bday dessert, I was sooo caked out. Silly, eh?