I have bangs

I got my hair cut on Saturday and as strands fell to my chest piece by piece I couldn't help but remember the time my dad took Sister and I to get our bi-annual trim. We were still in the single digits and most likely unaware of what a "trim" entailed. I suppose the stylist on duty that day was new/inexperienced/just plain bad but she eagerly accepted our business. My dad waited in the reception area, undoubtedly reading up on his celebrity gossip (or whatever gossip they had in the late 80's), as the stylist went all Edward Scissorhands on us. The end result was two little girls who looked like they belonged on a farm in Germany at the turn of the century.

German milkmaids

Shortly after the end product was revealed, there was a big to-do and who I assume was the manager of the salon pulled Edward Scissorhands to the side and gave her a stern talking to, showcased by a severe finger wagging. My dad looked a little surprised and a bit nervous, as I'm sure he was bracing himself for what my mother was going to say upon our return home. I remember bouncing on the chairs at the salon, gazing at my beautiful 'do in the mirror, flipping (what was left of) it from side to side as I watched it gracefully fall into place. My little 6-year-old self thought she was the cat's meow.

Not long after the follicle homicide, I was at a park in the city playing with a bunch of kids. It was the days of cooties and I remember that we had split up in two groups - boys and girls. I can't recall the details, but I somehow got mixed up with the boys, listening intently to their plan of domination. Thanks to my styling haircut, it took the group a moment to realize that I was, in fact, a female. Talk about a complex! Screams abound and the boys scattered away. From then on out my dad opted to stay out of the salons.

Luckily the haircut I received on Saturday is no where near as humiliating as it was 20 years ago, but it will take a little getting used to. For instance, I have bangs again which I wasn't expecting to walk out with when I went in. And lucky for the stylist, who was not Edward Scissorhands, everyone has complimented me on my new do - a do which I still watch fall into place as I flip my head from side to side, all the while bouncing on chairs.

Home...or kitchen...is where the heart is

Hubby and I have finally gotten our gluteus maximuses into gear and started with our kitchen remodel. Between designing the kitchen and purchasing the materials, we’ve spent somewhere between 8-10 hours in Lowe’s. On the one hand I’m sick of the store and feel I wouldn’t miss it if I never step foot in one again. On the other hand, though, I feel like it’s a second home because we have spent so much time in it. I feel like I know the aisles like the back of my hand. Karin, our kitchen specialist, even feels like a part of the family. Ok, maybe that’s going a little too far, but you get the gist. It’s been a long process and demolition hasn’t even begun yet!

About a month ago we ordered and purchased our cherry cabinets in burgundy. I really love the color and couldn’t wait for them to be on my walls. The order took 4-6 weeks to be processed and on Tuesday they finally arrived. Hubby took the morning off to receive the delivery. Everything was in boxes so there was really no way they could be inspected. Luckily one of the cabinets, a bottom corner cabinet with a lazy Susan built in, had to be taken out of the box in order to be brought through our front gate. It was then that Hubby noticed it – all of these cabinets were in the wrong color. The dimensions and wood type were correct, but they were buff and not stained. Hubby admitted that the description on the check-list also said buff, but he didn’t think anything of it and just figured it was the cabinet company’s custom description. Always able to think on his feet, Hubby called Lowe’s and someone was able to come by within 10 minutes of his call to take pictures and set a rush delivery of the correct color cabinets. We should receive them in 8 days. They also offered us free hardware for our trouble. Yes, please! Lowe’s wanted to make it clear that they placed the order correctly and it was the cabinet company’s mistake for processing it incorrectly. Because of Lowe’s prompt response to our problem and their willingness to make it up to us, they are not on my sh*t list. Yet. All I have to say is that they’re lucky I wasn’t the one home for the delivery. I probably would’ve gone on some sort of tangent about the money and time spent for these materials only to get the wrong cabinets. Between Hubby and me, I’m definitely the hothead. I thank my parents for that charming attribute.

I am excited for the process to begin but I’m dreading it, too. There’s a lot of work that still needs to be done by us and I’m just not in the right frame of mind to embrace the tasks. We need to paint the walls (did I mention we have vaulted ceilings in the kitchen?) and put down a new floor. There’s a reason why I never worked jobs consisting of manual labor. I’m going to be the one complaining that I got plaster under my fingernails. I just don’t like it. Me and exertion don’t mix. It makes me cranky :-(

I’ll try to document the kitchen progress in photographs once the process begins. Stay tuned for those.