Transitions

I will begin a new schedule at work. It will begin on Tuesday. A transition from old schedule to new and I was just starting to get used to the old one. Work was good until the owner showed up. I was a half hour late because my car's battery was dead. I left my XM radio on all day yesterday and it sucked the life out of my already sketchy battery. I don't think the whole scenario was good as far as the owner goes. I spent about 3 hours yesterday working on a flyer to put in one of our local coffee shops. I showed it to the owner today and all she could spill forth was a ton of negative responses. I got such a bad vibe from her today. She makes a lot of effort to make me feel like an outsider. I am getting to old for this crap...
The girls start school on Tuesday. Big transitions for them. It will be an interesting year for sure. Riley had to choose her "Wednesday" elective yesterday. She could choose from things like digital photography, orienteering, pottery or study time. She chose study time. She told me that she thinks she is gonna need it. I was proud of her for being aware of her new responsibilities and sad that she didn't feel confident enough to try something else. She did have to pick four in case she doesn't get her first choice and I was glad that digital photography was on her list of choices. Sid has been rockin' the stat girl thing. Her coach is new and young, therefore not sure what he supposed to do with a stat keeper. Sid is teaching him.
It is time for me to transition from sitting up to lying down, busy day today and I am pooped...

today

"Today" was really Wednedsay. We celebrated our last Wednesday off as a family by going to Ballard. That is where the locks are. The girls and I went with family in July but Bob had to work. When we were there in July we commented several times on how much he would like it. It was a beautiful sunny day and about 78 degrees. Perfect. Bob did enjoy it and we did get to see lots of salmon. King(Chinook) and Coho(silver) were running up the ladders. We saw lots of them jumping out of the water and flipping back into the water. It was like fireworks, everytime we saw one jump out of the water we would "ooohhh" and "aaahhhh". We enjoyed walking through the botanical gardens just as much as the fish.
So many beautiful flowers, awesome trees and plants. Sid and I took lots of photos of great flowers. Bob even found an extremely tall eucalyptus. We haven't seen much of them since leaving Calif.
We finished out the day by going to Burgermaster, the 50's style drive in hamburger joint. The servers come out to the car(no roller skates) and put your food tray on your halfway rolled down window. Then took the long way home down Lake Washington Blvd. Big gorgeous homes to the right and beautiful Lake Washington to the left. Lots of people watching, dogs, volleyball players and such.
I have worked the last two days. Owner is on vacation so it has been pretty low key. I have been a little busy but not too much. I am really motivated to get busy. Today, another stylist and I handed out gift cards on Lake st. There have been some new businesses that have sprouted downtown lately and we stopped into all of them. One is a new coffee place. It is so beautifully decorated, large, high ceilings, large video screens. All good til you walk up to the counter. The employees/baristas were scary. Not hair salon material for sure. One guy was probably about 20 and had a handlebar mustache, it wasn't even neat or cool. One pale guy with bright red hair all clipped up and pony tailed, one flat out refused the gift card. There is a popular trend in Seattle right now, "Steam Punk" is what it is called and these three were way into it. "BEFORE THE age of homogenization and micro-machinery, before the tyrannous efficiency of internal combustion and the domestication of electricity, lived beautiful, monstrous machines that lived and breathed and exploded unexpectedly at inconvenient moments. It was a time where art and craft were united, where unique wonders were invented and forgotten, and punks roamed the streets, living in squats and fighting against despotic governance through wit, will and wile." is how SteamPunk magazine describes it. It definitley sub culture. The next coffee place is not new but the baristas were way cuter and way more normal. The owner even invited us to leave a poster or flyer to advertise. I got all excited and gave one of my certificates to a man with a shaved head. We then headed to a herbal wellness shop. Not sure what they are selling but it did smell really really good and they were serving some herbal tea. I tell you... all very Pacific Northwest. Last stop was a vitamin supplement store. Brand new redecoration with Brazilian wood floors to die for. Great floors but wierd inventory. One bottle of each supplement and kinda sparse. The owner was a lovely very deep ebony color woman with some kind of accent. Perhaps Australian or New Zealand but not quite and maybe some kind of British. She was friendly and offered to order my co worker some water soluable vitamin. I liked the smell of new wood in there as well.
About two hours later I got a call from a guy walking down Lake Street. He was on his cell. He wanted to know where we were located because he wanted a haircut. Lucky for him I had time or he would have had a long walk for nothing. Turns out he is a chiropracter that just moved here from Oregon by way of Tennessee. He was sweet, young and single. Not handsome in a Pierce Brosnan sort of way but cute like a thin, young Kevin James. He had one of our certificates.
I think if I have a break on Sunday I will go out again and smell, I mean visit some more retail establishments around the salon. It was the highlight of my day.

Day off

Today is Tuesday and I have Wednesday off. This will be my last Wednesday off. We all change schedules next week. There are mixed reactions amongst the stylists in regards to this new schedule. Some are happy, some are leary and some are just plain ticked off. I was okay with it at first but as my children's schedules develop and change, my new routine at work will not be my dream schedule. When we had our shop meeting back in June, the salon "coach" told us to write down our "dream schedule". Before jotting down my five days off per week schedule, I looked at her with a large amount of skepticism. There is no way that 5 stylists who work in a salon that is open seven days a week from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm are gonna get their dream schedule. It ended up with less than half of us got such a great deal. While interviewing for this job, I made it pretty clear that there was a certain day off that I really really needed. I was told at that time that it would be fine and that it wouldn't be a problem. I was planning ahead for the school year. I got that day off, it was Wednesday. I got those Wednesdays... all summmer. Come fall, when I really need Wednesday off, I will be working and have Thursday off. Bob assures me he will stay with Wednesdays off, thus being able to help at Riley's school. Wednesday is the day parents can help the most, there by paying off their required 125 hours they must clock in.
I was working from 9-5 on Fridays and now I will work from 2:30 to 8:30 pm on Friday night. The same night my daughter will be doing football stats at her high school football games. So I am in the unhappy catagory as far as this change in routine goes. I am at the bottom of the totem pole but we are going to hire someone else who will help with the space being left by a pregnant stylist.
I have no plans for my day off tomorrow. Lots to do, so anything could happen. Bob has a physical so he will be busy in the morning. He should come out of that fine. He complains enough about his aches and pains to make you think he will be in a convelescent home next week, but I am pretty confident that he is in good health. I am probably the one who should be worried...

Okay, Okay...

Well, maybe just a little bit o' bloggin'... a few posts here and there. I really did not intend to "fish" for a fan base and see who really was reading. I do feel like I have either too much to write about and cannot possibly get it all in here or I have nothing at all except the boring normal things of daily life and lately work work work.
I have had some interesting clients come in to the salon. The kinds of lives people have here in K-land. It's a money town for sure in the downtown area. Lots of amazing cars cruise up and down our street in front of the salon. Some of the cars I have never seen before because they are exotic or so expensive. NO ONE in the desert would have some of these Bentleys or Masaratis. I have had two clients that are actual chefs. Some clients only live here in the summer and somewhere else in the winter. Lots of clients are physicians, optometrists, etc. We also get a variety of international clients because of Microsoft. I have learned so much about Xbox, Windows, Twitter, Apps for smartphones, etc. I had a client with the coolest love story about her new husband. There is so much material for my future book.
I did an actual paying client set of extensions today. I did half of it and another stylist did the other half. She was the other stylist's client but we are not quite ready to go out on our own with a whole set of extensions. It went well, ran a little too long but I came away with a good feeling about them. The client was very happy and she was a great sport. It is such a long process to sit through so a happy fun client is always helpful. She did look great.
The girls have been doing great holding the fort down. Getting their chores done. Sid is going to be a football stat girl for her high school football team. She is so excited and so am I. We will be avid supporters and go to her games. I better get a parka and a rain hat and other rain wear to insure my comfort during these games.
I am having a hard time believing that I will have one child in High School and one child in Junior High School. I do not even know when it all happened. Yikes.
I am off tomorrow and am so very happy about that. This has been a crazy week, weird week, long week. I am glad that it is over and am ready to take on another week filled with welcome bouts of boredom and routine. I like it like that. Plain old boring, routine living, that' how I roll...

The End

I have been pondering this for quite sometime. I went back and forth and have made some half hearted attempts. I am not going to blog anymore... I may still blog but it wont be for public consumption. I will hold on to it as it serves as a "journal" during a pivotal time in my life. A little over a year's worth of joys and sadness, nerves, rants, amusement. I just don't feel too funny anymore and my blog lacks that certain writer's flair and humor. Work has taken up more of my time than I imagined and time has become a rare thing around here. I needed the therapy that my writing gave me and I needed to connect with friends and family that were going to be far away because we moved to Washington.
I am looking at the clock and it is getting very late. I have to be up and at the salon at 8:00 a.m. we have training all day and then clients.
I love this blog and I will miss it.

Woodstock

Riley woke me up at about 2:00 a.m. claiming she couldn't sleep. I was surprised since she had her best buddy here for a sleep over. I talked to her for a few minutes and she slept for a couple of hours in Sid's room. I had taken Ri and Mags to get some ice cream earlier in the evening. Ri had chosen Coffee Heath Bar Crunch. Coffee being the key ingredient. I figured it had to be the cause. When we discussed it this morning over Belgian waffles she proclaimed that she would no longer have any coffee infused desserts so close to bedtime. I thought that was a wise decision.
Bob took Sid with him to his rifle match. She even got up early to go. She has expressed to him that she would like to shoot in junior marksmanship matches. We will see how that pans out. I don't mind it if that is something she wants to do. Bob would be so proud. After they left the range, Bob took her to the cemetary where Jimi Hendrix is buried. There is a memorial there. Since it is the 40th anniversary of Woodstock and Sid loves Jimi's music.
Ri and i did some chores and listened to the Woodstock channel on XM radio. We then watched some of our recorded shows. She ended up falling asleep next to me. After her nap she felt much better.
We are in the process of having a new roof put on. The landlord had promised that we would have a new roof by June. It finally is happening. It is only two guys, a dad and son. With only two of them working at this pace it will be September by the time it is finished. It is a LOUD process to say the least.
Work tomorrow. Hopefully busier than it has been the last two days. When I left on Friday it looked like tomorrow was going to be a good day. I think the weather is promising sunshine as well. It was out in its sunnyness today.
Both girls have been watching every documentary they can get a hold of on Woodstock. I even bought them some cute t shirts from Target with cool Woodstock graphics on them.
Off to bed for me... peace out...

Make New Friends but Keep the Old...

Riley has her bestie over to spend the night tonight. I have already driven them to the convenience mart to get ice cream. They are the freakin' cutest things together! Bob's friend from Calif. called. The group that he and the girls used to camp with are at Catalina Island this weekend. This was a big trip for Bob and his daughters. Sid started to cry when she heard them on the phone talking about it.
I have great new friends at work but miss my friends in Calif. Those relationships are the ones that you can never replace but hope to someday have new friends to hang out with.
Work has been quiet for the last two days. Not sure why. Sunday appears to be busy so far so that is good. Can't pay those bills when you don't make any moola!
Tomorrow is Saturday and it's all about getting things done. Bob has a rifle match down south below Renton. Sid may go with him. Riley and Mags will probably sleep til noon, they wont fall asleep til well after midnight tonight.
It has been kinda chilly all day, think I will go and put on some p.j.'s. It is supposed to get warm, up to the nineties next week. Our last hurrah before fall takes over and starts to slowly hypnotize us into a winter stupor.

Before I Nod Off

Sleep seems to be a pattern that has become more manageable lately. When I first began working again, I would come home in the afternoon, exhausted. It was all I could do to get my work clothes changed and find an empty couch or bed. That nap habit would result in my staying up too late and the the cycle would begin again the next day. I am happy to report that I am now making it through the entire day without the nap. I am going to bed earlier and falling asleep earlier. This enables me to wake up and not feel like a train has run me down and drug me along with it for several hundred miles.
This has been a week of appointments and tying up lose ends. The girls had a regular dental exam on Monday. Both came away with no cavities and a clean bill of oral health. Riley will have to return for some sealants as she is prone to the cavities. Wednesday was the loooong torturous orthodontic appointments for both daughters. Yes, both daughters. I figured that since Sid had to have her braces off a wee bit early prior to moving, and hadn't seen an ortho in over a year that I should follow up and have her checked out. She made a comment to me before going into the appointment about having to have braces put back on. I told I doubted it and not to worry about it. Riley's consultation was first. She did not disappoint. Her xrays and pictures showed us just what we already knew, the kid is an orthodontic dream and a parent's worst nightmare. Riley's mouth held no surprises and she will be wearing lots of orthodontic appliances in the next 24-30 months. Now Sid on the other hand... She will be getting braces again.. Poor baby, she cried a bit in the exam chair and was not a happy child. I could completely understand. She has already been through the pain and agony, is starting her first year of high school at a new school and all that it entails. Lucky for her that it requires only one year and maybe even less if she is extremely compliant. I have no doubt that she will do whatever it takes. So now Bob and I are officially in the "poor house". We will be eating a lot of 10 cent Top Ramen, beans and hot dogs. I could have quite a sizable down payment on a new car equal to the cost of orthodontia. Thank goodness for the insurance coverage that the large warehouse store provides. Then we would be living in a "tent city". Yikes...
After the braces nightmare, we girls went to Redmond Town Center for some school shopping. Lots of good deals at Macy's for the girls and for me. I do have to keep up my image you know. The girls pretty much have what they need for now to get them off to a good fashion start for the new school year. Fashion being waaaay more important than academics.
I have been getting myself tuned up a little. I got some hair extensions at our certification training. Nothing major, just some highlights and thickening. We went to a dermatology office (the whole salon) for a cross promotion get together. We were given goodie bags that included "Latisse" for growing thicker, fuller eyelashes. I got my nails done after work today. I am feeling very Beverly Hills.
I guess I will enjoy it all for another couple of weeks and then it will all dry up like a lake bed in Lucerne Valley. Once I begin the payment odyssey so that my children have beautiful healthy teeth, I will turn from Glenda the good attractive witch back into the green wicked witch. Sacrifices, sacrifices.... At least I can get my beauty sleep now.

Found Me Some Time

It is Saturday, almost afternoon. I am off today. I start feeling a little panic when I think that it is my only day off til Wednesday and that I will be at work for a full EIGHT hours tomorrow. I am not whining, I am thankful to have a job. I just get a little OCD when I think about what I need/want to accomplish in a short amount of time. I have chores to do on my day off, I need to get my nails filled and a pedicure(yes, NEED, I work in the BEAUTY industry), my work clothes need washing and ironing, girls have dentist and ortho appointments, lordy..
I have lots to do and yet I find myself doin' a little blogging. I am also helping Riley load songs onto her itunes. Now that she has her own laptop she has erased her ipod and reloaded the songs that she wants and no longer has to share songs with her sister. Sid's tastes tend toward new alternative and Ri gravitates towards the oldies, Doors, Cream, Boston, Beatles and such.
Bob and Sid went to a gun show in Monroe(east of us) and then he will give her a driving lesson. She is a bit bummed that some of her friends are old enough to get their permits and she isn't going to get hers until next summer. One of the down sided to putting your child in school while they are still four.
It is VERY dark outside today, overcast but no rain. We need it, our grass is so brown.
Work is a work in progress. Some days are good and most days are not. It isn't a constant bad all day but weird or unfortunate circumstances occur daily. When it is a good day, it's a really good day. I am definitely getting busier, it is amazing in this economy how busy the salon is. I am totally dependent on walk in traffic and the uncertainty of that has me in a constant state of nerves. I have NO soft place to land with a familiar client. It's all part of proving yourself yet again after 25 years of a career. I knew it would be this way, I just don't have to like it...
I did not intend for this to be a rant, it's just that the last two days were not good in a client/co-worker kind of way and it gets to you after a while. I am wondering if I need a vacation. Not that I need one from a job that I have only had since June, but just to get away. Besides Phoenix for four days, I haven't even been out of the Seattle area for a whole year. The furthest I have been is Olympia to the south, Whidbey to the west and Everett to the north and all of those were 1 hour or less in duration. Blah Blah Blah...

Nice Day Family Day

Left mid morning to go up to Mukilteo. Bob, Sid and I got on the ferry and picked up Riley on Whidbey Island. Cool and cloudy, hard to believe that it was exactly one week ago today that we were in the lake all day cooling off from 112 degree heat!
After leaving Whidbey, we had lunch at Ivar's in Mukilteo, fish & chips, etc. then back down south. We stopped for some essential shopping and then home at last. Ri was treated to a great surprise when she arrived. Her Papa had gotten a new laptop and gave her his old one. It is great for her, goes on the internet so she can have her very own i-tunes, etc. She is happy!
I am doing well at work, hope it continues! Will head off to bed, long days ahead. Glad my baby is home.

Thoughts before bedtime

Went to work today. Had to be there at 1:00. Owner wanted to go over our new hair extension procedure, price, consultation, etc. If I ever get an extension client it will be amazing. I might be wrong but I believe my chances are slim to none. I hope I am wrong! I had two new clients today, both were great and they rebooked with me. I needed that confidence boost! The first is a real live chef! She has worked in some amazing restaurants and has written some cook books. I picked her brain quite a bit... The next client is from Ontario, Canada. Her husband is a software writer and has a contract with Clearwire for one year. There are lots of people that come here for short term contract work. I had a young guy about 22 years old from Canada who wanted a shampoo, blow dry and flat iron! That was a first. It's so interesting to chat with the clients here. Many of them just spend summers here. It's a whole new world I tell ya.
Riley called from the island. She went crabbing yesterday but didn't catch anything. She is supposed to come home on Wednesday but doesn't want to and is trying to figure out a way to work that family over so she can stay the rest of the week. Bob and I are trying to not get a complex over this. She told me that she is not coming home to the hot house. I had to explain to her that the weather has cooled down and that the house is no longer hot and that this is her home. It didn't really phase her...Tomorrow she is going salmon fishing. Poor child...
Still lots of different boats in and around where I work. The salon is right in front of the Kirkland Marina. Lots of big sailboats as there is a sailing club two doors down and another one beneath our salon. I have not been sailing this summer yet with my aunt and uncle but I had to go and get a job and ruin all of my fun. Downtown has been very busy with lots of things going on and such great sunny weather. We have had lots of foot traffic.
As soon as I finished work, I raced over to our favorite Mexican place. My dad was in town for work and met Sid and I for dinner.( 8:00 is too late for Bob). It was nice to see him and chat.
Speaking of chats, I had the nicest phone call today. Bob's aunt that lives in St. Louis called. She and I chatted for about a half hour. It was great to catch up. I love chatting with her.
Well, the ol' eyelids are getting heavy, I have to be back at the salon at 8:00 am. I am hoping to sleep in on Wednesday(day off) but I think that is the day we go up north and pick Riley up from the ferry. Sweet dreams and will try to post again soon.

Look who's bloggin'

I have been soooo negligent. I have given the blog a try, even blogged twice but didn't post them. I had some family issues with grandparents as well as Bob having family things to deal with. I have had some questions in regards to love, respect, etc... I also blogged about work but it seems to be going well. I hope I just hit a rough patch with work and that things are going to go more smoothly. I know that I am there a lot, more than I really had wanted to be initially, but it is going okay.
We have been having record breaking un bearable heat. Yes, I lived in the desert where it was hot but we had air conditioning. In western Washington there are not many homes with air conditioning. We don't have it in our house, so many normal tasks and everyday chores are not able to get done because it has been too darn hot. We did all go to my aunt and uncle's house on Wednesday and stayed in the lake all day. It felt great. The water was really warm with some cold currents that felt so refreshing. Riley had her best bud, Maggie with her. She has since left us yet again to go to Maggie's grandparents on Whidbey Island. Sid has been doing some things with friends.
Feeling pretty pooped right now. Went in today on my day off for training. We are going to start doing hair extensions at the salon. I had declined originally to be certified as an extension artist. As I watched the education and the process, I became very impressed. I decided to step out of my comfort zone and go for it. I am so glad I did. I am loving it more than I ever thought I would.