Back to My Roots.

OK, deep breath.

So I know to most people, this entry is going to sound retarded. But today was a very, very big deal for me. I have been a blonde most of my life. As I got older, the natural blonde wore off, so for the last 8-10 years, this blonde has been artificial. It started with bottle blonde, just cheap over-the-counter concoctions. Then I started going to a salon because a friend was getting me a super deal. After I moved back to CA, I found a new stylist that I just love, and she made me the best blonde I've ever been. It wasn't cheap, but it was so great that the trend continued. Being blonde has been part of my identity for as long as I can remember. It's just who I am.

And today all that changed. (At least for a little while.) In order to scale back on spending, I decided that I will have to live without the salon for a bit. So I went back to my natural color. *GASP* Honestly, it sounds so stupid. I know it's just hair!! But I was really emotional today. I cried before I left home, knowing what I was about to do. I cried at the salon (and almost made my fellow blonde stylist cry). And I cried on the way home in the car. It's not so much that my hair is brown. Most of my favorite people in the whole world are brunettes. And they are all beautiful, wonderful people. So my stylist said "This will be good therapy for you. You will see that you can pretty as a blonde OR a brunette." And that's the hardest part for me. I guess with blonde hair it added a sense of confidence. It may have been fake confidence, but it was confidence nonetheless. I stood out and I liked that. Now I have to learn to look at myself in a different way.

I still get a little jolt when I look in the mirror but I know the shock will wear off in a couple days. My stylist did a great job matching up the color. And there is something to be said for having darker hair. It's a little more rocker and a little bit sultry too. So I can deal with that. And the beauty of hair color is that nothing is permanent. But those extra $$ dolla dolla billz $$ in my pocket every 6 weeks will sure come in handy.

The Invention of Lying

I L.O.V.E. Ricky Gervais. Loved him in The Office. Loved him in Extras. Loved his stand-up. He is one of the most clever writers out there. There were a lot of good cameos in this movie, but he is definitely the right choice for the leading man. (Especially since he wrote, directed, produced, etc, etc, etc.) Jennifer Garner was great too. I mean how adorable is she?

Throughout this movie, I kept imagining what life would be like if really, truly nobody could lie. Pretty bizarre. And the film could have be an accurate depiction, it's hard to say. Everyone is blunt, everyone is categorized, everyone is gullible - they have no reason not to be. Why they divulge every little thought they had was beyond me, but you have to get the laughs from somewhere, eh? Overall I thought it was a great little comedy with heart. Gervais is good at these touching story-lines too. Unexpectedly good. So it was an all around enjoyable movie.

Be forewarned, if you are religious, he pokes fun at the idea of God and revelation. He is an atheist, so you should just know that going in. I personally am not religious, but still believe in all those things that make up the foundations of religion. I can just see where he's coming from. I feel sad for him, but he's still hilarious.

Workout Crew

Working out is a commitment. Working out is hard. Most people know my feelings on working out (hate it!) I don't mind being active - walking, playing sports, etc, I just hate working out or being stuck in a gym. However, one of our friends had a great idea! Working out with each other will make us stick to the commitment and may actually be fun. She was right. For the last three Saturdays, we've dragged our butts out of bed at a reasonable hour to meet up with our friends and get some exercise. The first weekend, we all met at the bike path in Burbank. Some people walked, some ran and some rode bikes. On week two, we were in Mammoth and went on a 4 mile hike. Week three we met at the high school and played tennis for an hour. All three activities got us sweating, laughing and sore! But the variety has been fun and of course makes us feel good about doing something healthy. Yay!

Now, I know I won't get in amazing shape playing various sports once a week, but I figure its better than nothing. And I'm having fun. We just need to stick with it. When the alarm goes off on Saturday morning, its not easy. But when you know everyone is there waiting for you - well it is motivating. Wish us luck.

A Mammoth Weekend

I've never been to Mammoth before. One of our friends is allowed to use her company's condo there for free, so she invited everyone along. I'm so glad we went. The drive up was a lot easier than we expected and the condo was right in this little Village shopping area. So cute. Obviously there was no snow yet, but I could totally picture it as a winter wonderland. It would be beautiful (so hopefully we can go again when there's snow!)

This picture cracks me up. Awkward!

Even with warmer weather, Mammoth was great. We spent a lot of time in the condo just hanging out, but we also went out to eat a couple times and got out to hike. We took a trail to Rainbow Falls and that was just awesome. The falls were beautiful, especially when we got up close. Along the trail, we also saw a lot of dead wilderness from the fire of '92. It looked cool though! Very desolate. And if you were quiet, I swear you'd hear a pin drop out there. We also stopped to see the Earthquake Fault, which is one of those things that looks really neat in person, but is difficult to translate into good pictures. Always feels good to get back to nature though.

I totally enjoyed the fresh air, but I was also surprised how much the elevation got to me. I guess we were at about 8,000 feet and I felt like my heart was beating so hard the whole weekend. I didn't really have any asthma problems or anything, so that was good. But I got a little light-headed at times. It seemed so silly! I've been in mountains before, so I don't know what happened. Even so, it was nice to be up there and get out of the city for a couple days. Loved it. Oh, and on the way home we drove down the "Musical Road" in Lancaster. That was hilarious and we did it a couple times. It's the simple things in life, ya know?

The Gift

So I did something kind of crazy. For our anniversary, I surprised my hubby with a tattoo! I told him I was going to get my hair done, but my secret plan worked out and I came home with some ink. He was totally surprised and loved it (thank goodness!) I love it too. It's not in a place that will be shown off all the time, but when I make the effort to turn around in the mirror and catch a glimpse, it makes me smile. I even designed it myself to make it extra special. Isn't it cute?

I must say, all those people who tell you getting tattooed doesn't hurt - all those people are liars! It hurts. It kind of hurts a lot. But after about 20 minutes you go numb and then you're just excited to have it, so I think you forget how much it hurt in the moment. My hands were dripping with sweat and I just tried to carry on a conversation with the artist to avoid thinking about the needle being dragged through my skin. It wasn't my first tattoo, and its probably not my last, but I'll definitely remember the pain when I'm picking a location for the next one.

The only gift I wanted in return was to have my wedding rings cleaned. Huz got them polished and re-plated and they look amazing! Like brand new! I couldn't believe how great they looked. I swear, even the diamond looked bigger because it was sparkling like crazy. So he did good there. He also took me out to a nice dinner and a comedy show. Semi-celebrity, Tom Green, showed up to do a set, so that was a fun surprise. It was a small crowd though, so at times it seemed a little awkward. Especially since some of the comics weren't THAT funny. But overall, we had a great night. As always, a celebration to remember...