Curly-Hair Knowledge

What a great weekend! I can never complain when my weekend is full of being with friends. We can only be thankful! Well, this weekend I got a haircut. I realize that at this point you are thinking of checking out now, because who wants to read a post about a haircut? Good point. But I got more than a haircut- I received an education about my hair.

Let me give you some sad history. I've never been one to pay much more than $30-$40 for a haircut including tip (insert angry outcries!) Of course it's no wonder that I've never really had someone who understood my hair. I've had a lot of people cut it while it's wet and other people who knew enough to cut it while dry. A haircut is a haircut though, and I've never had a bad enough one to cry about it or a good enough one to be really happy about it. I kept looking for that one person, my stylist soulmate, who could finally inspire confidence in me that they knew my hair and were knowledgeable about what they were doing. Those celebs and magazine people have great styles and I wondered if it would be possible for a normal person to look like that on a regular basis. The great news is that it is possible, but not without a price.

The stylist who was giving me an education was telling me about how curly hair needs moisture and a lot of hair products are structured for straight-haired people whose scalps get more greasy than curly-haired peoples. One ingredient in shampoo that strips hair of moisture is sulfate. Sulfate is in EVERYTHING you use for cleaning- toilet bowl cleaner, laundry detergent, toothpaste, dishwashing detergent. So it's important to cut out sulfate in your shampoo. Apparently, most shampoos that are for people with colored (dyed) hair are sulfate free so they don't destroy the color. Maybe sulfate-free products won't be super expensive! Then she said that stylists need to cut the hair with the line of the scalp. Everyone's head is a different shape, so what's good for you might make me look triangular (flat on top and fluffy on the bottom). All this is making sense to me now.

Do you know why hair frizzes? Because it lacks moisture. To avoid frizzing you need to trap moisture in your hair to begin with. A good way to do that is by using an alcohol-free gel. Who knew? But I am trying to get the same results without having to try to find an alcohol-free product. I'll let you know how that goes. This is all while trying to keep body in the hair.

To make a lengthy story shorter, after my hair was styled and dry, my hair looked like the picture below which was the actual picture I was compared to. At last, I felt like crying because my hair had finally looked awesome. How shallow is that, right? And we lived happily ever after....

....Until Sunday, when I washed it and tried it all on my own and it didn't really work. Sigh. Oh well- I'm trying different ideas to make it work without buying a $19 bottle of 8 oz gel. I may just need to purchase this book so that I can have all that info at my fingertips. You should too if you want good success. Nevertheless, wish me luck!

Technologies Going Out of Style

I think one of my favorite jokes when someone says "Do you remember X or are you too young?" is when I tell them that I remember reading about X in my history book somewhere or "yeah I remember that- we covered it really well in our recent history chapters in high school." It confirms in their mind that I indeed am young and gives that undeniable feeling of being really old. It's a win-win for me. Well here's a list that is going to make me feel old. Kinda sad that infants won't see these. Check out the list from Fox News of "15 Technologies Today's Infants Will Never Use"

1. Wired Home Internet - Ah yes- and with dial-up I couldn't ever "sneak" on to the internet
2. Dedicated Cameras and Camcorders- Smartphone cameras are already killing the consumer point-and-shoot and the family camcorder. I'm not sure this one is completely true but I see what they mean.
3. Landline Phones- Does this mean businesses will get rid of their landlines in 15 years?
4. Slow-Booting Computers- Thank heavens that this is going out of style.
5. Windowed Operating Systems- The windows will be gone from Windows. Microsoft ‘s PC operating system will still exist, as will Mac OS X. But, in the next few years, we’ll say good bye to the window metaphor where each application you run is displayed in a draggable box that has a title bar and widgets. I'm sure I'm ready for this much change!!
6. Hard Drives- Today, solid state drives finally allow us to end the ancient practice of storing our data on spinning magnetic platters.
7. Movie Theaters- First, with large HD televisions going mainstream and 3D sets becoming more affordable, the average home theater is almost as good as the average multiplex theater. Second, studios and their cable partners have begun releasing some movies for on-demand viewing on the same day they debut in theaters, a trend which is likely to continue. Theaters are over-priced anyway..oh and conservative churches everywhere are cheering and chalking this up to victory. Newsflash- you can get the same theater options in the privacy of your own home anyway. The theater issue is a battle not worth fighting anymore.
8. The Mouse- Besides touchpads, imagine the opportunities for motion-sensored computing!
9. 3D Glasses- However, in the past year or so, we’ve started seeing a number of glasses-free solutions hit the market.
10. Remote Controls- Look, if your smartphone can unlock your car and set your DVR to record, we’re pretty certain it can change a channel.
11. Desktops- Desktop computers are great…but laptops are som much more useful for students – and even employees – on the go. So true but nothing says stability like a desktop and landline!
12. Phone Numbers- With the likes Skype, Google Talk and even Facebook audio chat, you can just dial someone by username.
13. Primetime Television- Raise your hand if you watch most of your shows on DVR. (I don't.) Sure, there are one or two primetime shows you still HAVE to watch when they air, but otherwise, DVR makes primetime available during YOUR time. (We have not succumbed to cable tv yet. We have other things to do with our money and frankly we have a great quality of life.)
14. Fax Machines- 1983 called. They’d like their facsimile machine back. Thank goodness! Fax machines hate me!
15. Optical Discs- Optical discs will last another decade or so because consumers aren’t eager to repurchase films they already own on disc and because there are still a number of old or rare titles you can’t find on cloud services like iTunes or Amazon. Otherwise, they’re out. Headed toward a world that can be wiped out with the crashing of electricity. Awesome. At least it will reduce clutter in the home, right?!?

Why Bad Things Happen to People

I got to thinking on Sunday in church... insert lame joke about thinking never being a good idea for me... and began to wonder why God does allow bad things to happen to good people or just any people, in fact. I've wondered this a lot before. In the past few months, my friends and family and I have struggled with really hard things in life- death, broken relationships, no jobs but mouths to feed, physical illness, tornado destruction, car accidents, arrests, injuries, depression, and lots and lots of pain. I think sometimes we come back around that question and just think that we can't ever figure it out- writing it off as "No one knows the mind of the Lord and no one has been His counselor." Or maybe we only really think about it when we get put on the spot. Either way, we don't seem to have a pat answer for it which is something we kinda want when someone questions God's actions. We want to put them in place with an easy, pat answer.

An important point is that when we ask this question, we are at least acknowledging that God has the power to stop the pain and put an end to our "bad things." Of course, I've wrestled with the defining of terms. God's definition of "good" is anything that brings Him glory and my definition of "good" is anything that is a positive in my life or rather anything that benefits me. Although mentally acknowledging that my definitions are different than God's is a start, I feel like I missed the point.

During the message at church Sunday (which is absolutely fabulous and highly recommended by the way- you can find the talks HERE) my pastor was discussing how we have to unpack our baggage of our past before we can really get into a solid relationship. He went on to talk about how we can't explain away the hurt usually and we don't know why bad things happen to people. And then I got sidetracked. But I think the Holy Spirit really opened my eyes.

God allows bad things to happen to people (even those who don't believe in Him), because He is in the restoration. Jesus "wrecks" our lives on a regular basis because when He puts the pieces back together, our lives reflect a more beautiful and intricate masterpiece than ever before. He is in the healing. He is in the forgiveness. He is in the recovery. He is in the rebuilding. Yeah- our lives are never the same, but that's the point. He didn't want them to stay the same. When His vessels are broken and He is putting the pieces back together, they only become something more beautiful and awesome than before. I think God is the only One who we can say that about. Your heart is never the same and He smiles at You calls you beautiful and amazing. You are His and He has only made you more radiant. We don't really see that though. We tend to stop at pain and hurt and say "why?" The story of Jesus never stops at the pain and suffering. He always restores and heals and when He does, we stand amazed at the masterpiece He created.

Conspiracy Theories

Disclaimer: Please note that the following opinions reflect only my opinions. Unless specifically stated, my family and friends' opinions are not reflected. Also, unless specifically stated, all situations are hypothetical and all people groups are general unless names are given.

I love conspiracy theories. Not because I believe them, but because I am a sucker for a good story. I love seeing how people take facts or situations and show me a completely different side to what I've seen. I may or may not have watched Mel Gibson's Conspiracy Theory quite a bit as a teen.

A few months ago, I read an article about how Russians are manipulating Americans into equal rights because it will weaken our state and we're falling for it which will be our swift demise! However, just 6 days ago, the British newspaper noted in an article found here, that Russian spy numbers in the UK are back to Cold War levels!!! That's not to mention the real estate agent in the US, Anna Chapman, who was discovered to be a Russian spy along with 10 others. Apparently the FBI took them down because they were getting too close to actually sitting in our government. The lesson? Always check your real estate agent's background before telling them your secret and giving them all your bank info. This article from the New York Post will tell you a little more about the Anna Chapman discovery. It was practically a real life SALT (the movie) situation.

http://www.boomtron.com/2009/11/angelina-jolie-salt-poster/

Awesome movie, by the way. Jack and I bought the Blu-ray and watched all 3 or 4 versions of it. Wikipedia will happily provide you with a full list of conspiracy theories if you are interested.

I knew a few people in college who were fully persuaded that the US never actually made it to the moon. They believe that the US has a highly guarded territory in Nevada somewhere that looks exactly like the moon's make-up of mountains and craters, etc. The weightlessness was faked and the pictures were photoshopped. The idea was that in Space Race with Russia vs US, the US just wanted to be able to get ahead in the Space Race for the good of the American people and the confidence, so the American government set off a rocket into the atmosphere and then showed pictures of the Nevada territory upon its return and faked the results of the moon dust, etc. According to them, it is apparently one of Washington D.C's best kept secrets that the US possibly never made it to the moon. I had never heard of that til college. Can you imagine how crushing it would be to find out that we'd never made it to the moon? I'll let them keep that secret.

Also, there is a theory that someone has discovered the cure for cancer, AIDS, and the common cold but the drug companies aren't allowing the cures to be made public because the companies are making too much money off the curing of the symptoms instead of the actual problem. Infuriating right? I suppose we may never know how much control the large companies in our country actually have.

So what theory have you heard of that made you think twice?

Pictures to Make You Smile Today

Sentimental:

Hilarious:

Yes Please (Could you really resist this?):

Nothing like a little Bill Cosby humor:

Bali:

Desiderata (Desired Things)

Desiderata- a reminder from 1927 about life

Go placidly amidst the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God... and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful.