Haircuts and Ham & Cheese

Happy Monday, friends!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  Sometimes Mondays are hard, so Sadie and I started with a doughnut.  Usually, we celebrate Doughnut Day on Fridays, but since we’re going on a big trip later this week, we went ahead and celebrated today.

Sadie chose a strawberry frosted doughnut.  Just coffee for me, thanks.

Today I was busy running errands, getting a few things done before our trip.  One item on the agenda: haircut for Sadie.

We go to Clipper Doodles, a child-friendly “salon.”  Sadie loved sitting in the race-car chair and wearing the “superhero cape.”  Sadie was soooooo good for her haircut.  She did exactly what the hairdresser asked her to do, and she was super-proud of her new ‘do.  Nothing drastic… just shortened up a bit.

Tonight, we had a simple dinner that I usually reserve for tailgating or parties: Baked Ham and Cheese Rolls.  These are so delicious.  They are perfect for a party or for a simple dinner.  (I have even made them for breakfast!) 

You could make many varieties of these, and I actually like adding arugula and sliced tomatoes sometimes, but tonight I went with the super-simple version: honey ham, muenster cheese, and soft potato rolls. 

Assemble the sandwiches and place in a baking dish.  Then comes the best part… the topping.  THIS is what makes these mini-sandwiches awesome. 

Mix: hot melted butter, yellow mustard, poppy seeds, and dried onion flakes.  I don’t use exact measurements, but tonight I would estimate that I used 1/2 stick of butter, 1 tsp of mustard, 1/2 tsp of poppy seeds, and 1 tsp of onion flakes. 

Pour over the rolls and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes, or until cheese melts and sandwiches are toasted.  Mmmmmmmm… delicious!

Okay, now the Bachelorette finale is calling my name.  It’s the final rose tonight!

What Would YOU Make with a Cardboard Box?

Guess what… I got my hair did!  Wanna see?

Here’s the work in progress…

and the finished product.  I decided to go a little lighter with some highlights.  Now that it’s spring, I thought it was time to lighten up!

It looks like I am standing in the doorway of Heaven or something here, doesn’t it?

Thank you, Salon Namaan!

Now… any guesses what I made with the cardboard box???

If you guessed it was a light box, you were right!  I have been wanting to make one forever to help me take better food pictures, and today I finally had a few minutes to do it.

I took a box.  I cut a big hole in the top and on the right and left side, leaving the front open.  I covered the holes with white tissue paper.  Then I attached three lamps.  The tissue helps to diffuse the light so it looks natural. 

I wanted to try out a test shot right away, so I used this nice, ripe tomato for my first photo in the light box.

I used 60-watt daylight bulbs.  I think I may try some brighter bulbs later on, just to see which “formula” yields the best results.

But here are a few dinner pics, so you can see the light box in action.

Some fabulous potatoes from Trader Joe’s.  They are sooooooo good! (And this is my favorite dinner photo! Completely un-edited!)

Props to the hubby, who made this meal when I was on the way home from teaching Zumba!  Potatoes and crispy Tilapia!

I think I need to get some nice white and black fabric for the background.  And maybe some other fun backgrounds.  I’ve got a lot of food photography stuff to learn—I am no no means a pro at all!  But I have a great photographer cousin, who has been sending me helpful tips!  (You should check out his blog, Occasional Glimpses to see some of his wonderful photographs!)

OK, friends!  Have a great night!

"Good Hair"

So today I am veering off the subject of food, exercise... and the other typical topics you usually see on this blog.  I'm gonna show you some pictures that might knock your socks off.  And take you on a little journey.

Last night, Ryan and I watched a documentary that I've really been wanting to see:



"Good Hair."  Have any of you seen this documentary?

It's actually ironic that we saw this last night... because today I went to get my hair cut.  I was awake for a long time last night thinking about hair.  My hair, in particular.

Now, the average white girl probably can't relate to this documentary.  But I can. 

Let me take you on a little trip down Hair Memory Lane.

My hair has always been curly.  I mean, when I was one, I had more (curly) hair than many adults out there.  All through my childhood, it was cute.  I mean, who DOESN'T love a cute little curly-haired baby?

Baby Pic... "Awwwwww!"

About 4-5 Years Old, With sister Meredith

But when I reach adolescence, I really despised my hair.  It was like this creature I had to carry around with me.  It wasn't just curly.  It was curly, thick, super-dry, coarse...

Middle-High School Years:  "The Beast" Unleashed

Strangers wanted to touch it in stores.  "Can I just touch your hair?" they would ask.  Hair dressers' eyes would boggle when I took my ponytail down and they saw what they were working with.  I remember my mom used to take me to this guy Michael to get my hair cut.  He would go around the salon and say, "Come look at this girl's hair!"  He meant it as a compliment.  People were always saying, "Wow.  Your hair is amazing.  You're so lucky to have so much body, so much curl."  But to me... it just felt like I was this circus freak.  I just wanted to be NORMAL.

Super Curly and Thick Hair+Short Haircut=Mistake

I didn't know WHAT to do with it.  I went through like a bottle of conditioner a week-- and at LEAST one bottle of hair gel.  Probably more.  All of my friends had smooth, shiny, STRAIGHT hair.  They could use a normal brush.  If their hair got messy during gym class, they just ran a comb through it.  For me... if it got messed up... I had to take a shower and start all over again. 

Senior Prom... Oh, how I would have liked a smooth "up-do..."

The girls from my graduating class.  Notice all the straight hair... except for one...

I wore it all different lengths.  Long, short, in-between.  (Short was a mistake, as you can see above!)  I tried every hair product out there.  If a hairdresser recommended it, I wanted to try it.  However, NOTHING worked.  I remember buying a straightener in high school.  Now, this was before ceramic plates, and tourmaline technology.  My hair just laughed at that thing. 

I was 28 when I walked into a new hair salon for the first time.  And I will tell you... this was a LIFE-CHANGING experience.  For the first time, my hairdresser Erica straightened my hair-- and showed me how to do it.  And it was, for the first time in my entire life... TRULY straight.  It was like having a religious experience.  I bought my first Chi Flat Iron two weeks later.  I am telling you... that Chi... it's like a second child to me.  Here are a few pictures from the straight hair phase of my life.

I'm on the left, with my sisters and my mom

With sister Adrienne, and Sadie (2 years ago)

Now, when I get my hair cut, it is just the best feeling.  It's probably equal to other people going to get a massage. 

As I was watching "Good Hair" last night, I was thinking... to your average white woman, this must seem crazy.  To spend $1000 or more on a hair piece!  More than once!  But to me... I was sitting there thinking, "I KNOW JUST HOW THESE WOMEN FEEL."  I would have paid $1000 for straight hair.  Probably more, actually.

Today, I love my hair.  It took me 28 years, a lot of product, a heck of a lot of experimentation, and many mornings of frustration to get to this point. 

So there you go.  If you've admired my hair at one point in time, now you know what I had to do to get to this point. 

Have any of you been through a similar experience?  Maybe not with hair, but with something else in life?  Tell me about it.

And rent "Good Hair" next time you're in the video store.  It's eye-opening, entertaining, most of all, informative.

Boo Ha Ha... Booooo...

You want to see the hair, right?  Here's a pic...

I also went for a little different cut.  It's pretty short in the back and longer in the front.  It's taking some getting used to, but I like it.  I like doing something different when the seasons change.  I used to say that I was "going dark for the winter."  When I got to the salon last night, I really wasn't sure what I wanted, so I just said, "I don't know what I want.  What do YOU think I should do?" 

So tonight, we were heading downtown for the City of Rock Hill's Boo Ha Ha.  It is supposed to be "a safe alternative to neighborhood trick-or treating."  Basically lots of vendors hand out candy to the kids and there is music and inflatables.  I was pretty excited to take Sadie.  I knew she would love seeing all the other kids in costume and that she'd have fun getting candy.  We still planned to Trick or Treat tomorrow, but I thought this would be fun, too.

We were pretty disappointed.  What a mob!  I should have taken pictures so you could see the masses of people.  When we got there, it took us a while to figure out where the line started for trick-or-treating.  Once we figured that out and got in line, we quickly realized that we were not going anywhere.  For a while.  We stood in line for 5-10 minutes and never saw anyone move.  Who wants to trick or treat THAT way?  We ended up walking around to quickly realize that there wasn't much to do if you didn't want to wait in the hour-long line. 

Oh well... live and learn.  At least Sadie got to dress up one extra night.  She was pretty cute in her little witch outfit. 

So then we headed home and made it up to our disappointed child... with spaghetti and meatballs!  That made it all better!

And the cupcakes helped, too.

Walking Between the Towers

This morning I didn't forget my breakfast.  I had a ham, egg, and cheese sandwich on Pepperidge Farm Deli Flats (Whole Wheat). 

Breakfast of Champion Teachers and Former Couch Potatoes

Now I am sipping my coffee, getting ready to face the day.  I am getting ready to go and read one of my favorite books, The Man Who Walked Between the Towers to a class of 5th Graders.  This book is amazing.  It is about Phillippe Petit, a French tightrope walker who did a high wire walk between the Twin Towers in 1974.  It's an amazing story of courage. Every time I read this book to a class, I get many gasps, oohs, ahhhs, and more hilarious sounds.  The kids and I both love this book.  I've been reading this book every day to groups of kids for the past 2 weeks.  And I think this book is one of the things that gave me the courage to start this blog.  I've always been interested in doing it, but I needed something to give me a push. So, thanks, Phillippe, for the push. 

A funny thing happened at work today.  A water line burst and they had to shut off all water at 2:00 p.m.  So that made things a little interesting.  Now think about this... no water means no toilet flushing... so I immediately stopped drinking water...

For dinner, we had Hungry Girl's Cheesy Beefy Quesadillas.  YUMMMMM... so delicious.

I added a cup of leftover chili, just to round it out.

So, here's the recipe for the quesadillas:

Ingredients:

1 high fiber low fat tortilla

1/3 cup beef style soy crumbles

1/4 cup FF or light shredded cheddar

1/2 wedge Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss flavor

1/4 tsp. taco seasoning

1 Tbsp. sliced green onions or chopped scallions

1 Tbsp FF or Red. Fat Sour Cream

Combine cheddar, sour cream, onions, taco seasoning, and crumbles in a bowl.  Stir well.  Microwave on high 30 seconds.  Then stir again and set aside.  Heat a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat.  Spread Laughing Cow cheese over half of a tortilla.  Then lay the tortilla on the skillet for about 30 seconds.  Then, spread the "beefy" mixture on top of the Laughing Cow.  Fold the tortilla over and press to seal.  Cook for about 1-2 minutes on each side-- just enough to get the tortilla nice and crispy.  Serve with sour cream and salsa-- or whatever fixins you like!

The husband is always complaining about low fat foods, but he raved about this one.  Even went back for seconds... that means it was a winner!

Ok, well, I am off to the salon... going to get my hair done!  Can't wait!  

Before...