So I am getting my hair cut this Wednesday & I am thinking it is time for a change. Nothing too drastic but something simple & something that will look noticeably different. I am seriously thinking of getting bangs. Seems simple enough but to me it is a HUGE decision. Especially after all the time & effort it takes to grow bangs out. And then there's the thought of what if I hate them after cutting them? I also have naturally curly hair & I usually straighten it 2-3 days a week so the bangs would have to work with both styles. Ugh - I am scared that I will hate them & all the drama that comes with them. For one, they would be SO impractical for my job since I wear a bouffant hat all day long:
Me & my co-worker Sam
For two, I know myself & I can't stand hair hanging in my face so I would probably be pinning them back all the time or trying to tuck them behind my ear :( But I am willing to go out on a limb here so I don't know - I guess it just depends on what kind of "bangs" I get?!
I have been doing much research on this & have discovered a fun, new virtual makeover website called Taaz. I must warn you though that once you check them out you will be spending countless hours making yourself over that you will never get back....just sayin'!
Also, not only can you "try on" different hairstyles & colors, but you can also play around with makeup colors & then buy them from their site. Too fun! Unfortunately, I have spent numerous hours that I will never get back "making over" myself with different hair-do's just to see what bangs would look like & some of them were just down right hilarious. However, there were some that I could totally see myself pulling off! I am even digging the longer locks also.....you be the judge:
See - lots of fun & very entertaining. I will however be saving you all from being witness to the blonde Lady GaGa & "Goth" pics :)
So does anyone have any thoughts or likes to the above pics or tips as to why I should or shouldn't get bangs? I got less than 36 hours to make this decision.
Seriously - this heat wave we are having is out of control. We are on day #11 with temps at 99 degrees or higher meaning the heat index has been 110-115 degrees & according to the forecast above, there isn't an end in sight.....until July 31st when the KC meteorologists have "predicted" it will finally start to cool down. They also predict that there will be a huge tornado outbreak at that time as cooler air rushes in through "tornado alley". Ugh - that is still 12 days away. I'm not sure how much longer I can get away with using this "heat" as an excuse to get out of doing things like yard-work, cleaning the house, doing laundry or cooking dinner!? I keep telling Shane that this heat is making me exhausted but for some reason he isn't buyin' it since I work in the AC all day & he works outside all day.
Hmmm - maybe that is why he keeps rolling his eyes at me?!?
It was the summer of 1989 when I first saw The New Kids on the Block. I was 17 years old & it was the summer before my senior year. It was the first time they had toured & they were playing State Fairs all around the US that summer with Tiffany as their opening act. It was my very first concert that I had ever been to & I remember it like it was yesterday! Fast forward 22 years.
(Ouch - it hurts to even write that!) This past spring they announced that New Kids on the Block (aka: NKOTB) were going on tour along with the Backstreet Boys (aka: BSB) this summer & I couldn't have been more excited! As soon as tickets went on sale I snatched up 4 of them & counted down the days until the concert. My girlfriend Jilly & two of my co-workers were going to the concert with me & they were equally excited. Then a few weeks later I find out that my neighbor Melissa wanted to go so she got two tickets & joined us.
So July 16th finally gets here & I could not wait for the evenings festivities. Me & Jilly picked up Melissa & her girlfriend Chrystal & we made our way downtown - of course listening to NKOTB & BSB all the way :) We met up with Sam & Nicole for drinks/dinner at The Cashew before the concert & had a great time. L - R: Sam, Melissa, Chrystal, me, Jilly & Nicole
As we were sitting there eating, Melissa notices that they have a "bus" that will take you to the Sprint Center where the concert is & bring you back at no charge. We definitely took advantage of that seeing how we would have paid $15 for parking had we drove ourselves. Little did we know it was called "The Cashew Short Bus" (cue "short-bus" jokes here) & we all thought that was hilarious.
After a quick ride on the bus, we got to the concert safely & made our way inside. But not before stopping by the 99.7 van & playing a couple of rounds of "pin the rat tail on the New Kid"!
Our seats were in the upper level while Melissa & Chrystal's seats were a section over so we unfortunately parted ways & settled into our seats.While there, I was lucky enough to get to see my "blog" friend Cori before the concert got underway as she was in the suites below us. She was sweet enough to come on over to our section & we met up for a quick hug & some catching up. It was SO good to get to see her :)
Right after I got done visiting with Cori, I noticed a guy next to me that works at the Sprint Center with a bunch of tickets in his hands. He was giving away "upgraded" lower level seats to whoever wanted them so I asked if he had 6 together & he said all he had left was 4 together & 2 single tickets so I snatched up the 4 tickets & told the girls to grab their things - we were moving on down to the lower level. We ended up being SO lucky - those seats were 3 rows from the floor & the view of the stage was AWESOME!
Soon after we got settled into our new seats the lights went out & then 14,000+ girls started screaming....including us! Then they appeared:
NKOTBSB = New Kids on the Block + Backstreet Boys
I ain't gonna lie - I got goosebumps!
I instantly felt like I was 17 years old again. The boys opened up together singing "The One" & each group took turns singing/performing together & separately throughout the night. They opened the show together & they ended it together which I thought was way cool! They also had a four-piece band that played live for a show that rocked!
Jordan Knight of NKOTB singing right in front of us! Still "hot" after all these years! They sang for 3 hours & put on an awesome show! Back then Donnie Wahlberg was my favorite NK & I must say that hasn't changed. He & his abs didn't disappoint! Nick Carter is my favorite BSB & he has "grown-up" quite nicely also ;) They have all definitely gotten better with age!
::sigh::
For the encore the boys came out with NKOTB in Boston Celtics jersey's & BSB in Orlando Magic jersey's & sang Hangin' Tough & Everybody (Backstreet's Back). I hated to see it end :(
I also managed to get some video clips of a couple of my favorite songs:
See - I told you it was a GREAT concert :) If they ever come back to Kansas City I am SO there!!!
Tonight I headed over to Miss Erinn's house for the July "game-night" gathering. Due to an earlier function, I ended up getting there over an hour late so all the girls were in full-swing by the time I had made my way over. Even though I felt exhausted, I was glad I had stopped by as it was a much needed & well deserved way to end the work week.
When I arrived, the ladies were gathered around the kitchen & we did our usual "grazing" of yummy appetizers around the island while catching up with the neighborhood happenings. Later in the evening, we moved the party down into the family room where we played a several rounds of Family Feud on the Wii. It was a really fun & entertaining game & lots of laughs were shared by all. L - R: Erinn & her childhood friends Janell & Andrea
Me & Jilly pose for a quick pic between rounds of "The Fued"
L - R: Michelle, Melissa, Chrystal & Natalie
The best part of the evening though had to be the popsicles that Erinn discovered at the liquor store. They are called Shark Attack margarita popsicles & are a fun, refreshing, frozen tube of margarita deliciousness :) They were enjoyed by all & I will definitely be making a stop at the liquor store soon to pick up these yummy frozen treats!
Thanks Erinn for being such an excellent hostess & for the fun evening! Also a big thank you to Melissa for always having her camera with her & taking fun photos of us all :)
On Monday I got a wonderful surprise that totally made my day! I received a text from my girlfriend Desiree saying she was in town & wanting to know if we could meet up sometime this week for lunch or dinner. I got SO excited when I read this because I knew she had Miss Sofia with her & not only was I going to get to see my dear friend, but I was also going to be meeting her precious baby girl for the 1st time!
We decided to meet up at Granite City at the Legend's Wednesday evening & I could hardly wait for the 2 days to pass by so I could see them. When we finally got together it was absolutely wonderful & seeing Sofia was love at first sight! I immediately wanted to devour those cheeks & those cute little chunky arms of hers! She is absolutely beautiful - just like her mama & was the most perfectly behaved baby!
She hung out with us girls for 2 hours all relaxed & chill & hardly made a peep! She let me & her mama get all caught up with each other over a great dinner & a fabulous bottle of red wine! We talked about anything & everything & I just loved listening to Desiree talk about Sofia, being a mom & all the challenges & good times that come with motherhood that she has experienced so far. It was also amazing to watch her with Sofia & see her in that "mom role" & I was in awe at how easy she made it all seem.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end & after 2 hours Miss Sofia decided she was done with all the "girl-talk" & it was time to say goodbye to the both of them :(
I am very thankful & appreciative that Desiree took time out of her visit with her family to come meet me for the evening! It was SO great to see them both!
One of my favorite co-workers & dear friend is moving to the East coast on Friday & although I am VERY happy for her, I am also sad she won't be around anymore :( She went & found herself a Navy boy last year, fell in love, became engaged 3 weeks ago & is moving to Virginia Beach to be with her fiance on Friday - ugh....the nerve of her!
Today was her last day at work & we had a "going-away" party for her tonight at The Well. It was a great turnout & lots of fun was had by all! There was good food, many laughs as we shared our favorite stories of Michelle & lots of tears as she hugged us all & said goodbye. Here are some pics from the evening:
The cheesecake my friend Stetson made for the festivities: 1/2 white chocolate raspberry & 1/2 strawberry - YUM!Me & Michelle: Some of the "crew":Me, Lisa & Lori:Michelle & one of our favorite Cardiologists - Dr. Charles Barth:Some of my "south-side" peeps: Michelle is getting married in April so we will be seeing her again in a few short months for her bridal shower. We are all looking forward to this joyous occasion & being able to celebrate it with her!
The Great Midwest Balloon Fest is being held in Olathe this weekend so while Shane was at work, my girlfriend Jilly & I spent the evening seeing what it was all about.
We enjoyed the first hour checking out all the vendors & booths while sipping on an ice cold beer & then we headed over to the open field where they were launching the hot air balloons. We were disappointed to see that the balloons weren't yet assembled so we decided to go & grab some dinner & then we would come back for the evening "glow" show.
We drove over to Gardner & had dinner on the patio at La Carreta's - a great mexican restaurant. While we were eating we ran into our friend Emily & her husband as well as my neighbors from the cul-de-sac. Seems that we aren't the only ones who enjoy the food & margaritas over at La Carreta's!?
After dinner we headed back over to the Balloon Fest & there were about 12 hot air balloons floating upright & it was an awesome site to see. The balloon that looked like the planet earth was pretty cool & probably my favorite:
While there we ran into my friend Erinn who is part of our "game-night" group:
She was there with her son Thomas & a couple of her girlfriends & it was nice to run into her & chat as I haven't seen her in awhile!
Around 9pm, they began the "glow show" where they illuminate the anchored hot air balloons by using the burners. It is a pretty cool site to see:
Definitely glad we took the time to check the Balloon Festival out. After seeing all the balloons, I am even MORE convinced that I want to complete one of the items on my "bucket list" & go up in a hot air balloon for a ride!
After a long & busy week at work, I was ready for a 3 day weekend! I wasn't on call & we didn't make too many plans so it ended up being a weekend filled with rest, relaxation, fun with neighbors & lots of firework-watching!
Saturday was spent doing the usual cleaning & grocery shopping while Shane took the Harley out & met his brother for an afternoon of riding. Later in the afternoon I made a new appetizer to share at our cul-de-sac get-together that evening. It was a Buffalo Chicken Dip & it turned out dee-lish. You can find the recipe here but instead of canned chicken I used actual chicken breasts that I had boiled & then shredded. I think it tastes much better than using chicken in a can.
We brought out the lawn chairs & gathered with the neighbors in thecul-de-sac for our annual July 4th festivities where we eat, drink & watch the little & "big" kids blow up fireworks. It is always a lot of fun & something we look forward to every year.
Sunday was an extremely lazy day. My plan was to lay out by the pool but it ended up being way to hot & humid out so instead I got a couple of movies at our local Redbox & we spent the majority of the afternoon vegging on the couch watching movies in the nice & cool AC.
Later in the evening we joined our next door neighbors for round 2 of the fireworks & enjoyed watching all the other fireworks being lit in the sky from around the neighborhood. A couple of blocks over someone was letting off some HUGE ones that were so pretty & very entertaining to watch.
Monday we ventured out of the house, had lunch at Panera & then went to see the new Transformers movie in 3-D. I love these movies. They always remind me of when I was younger & I would watch the Transformers cartoon with my brothers & would help them assembly their Transformer figurines. Good times!
I really liked the movie - especially in 3-D - but Shane didn't think it was as good as the first two. He was disappointed that Megan Fox wasn't in this one & he kept trying to tell me that it was because he liked her character in the movie - hmmmm, somehow I'm not convinced. Have you seen her? She is pretty hot!
After the movie we headed home & spent the rest of the evening catching up on DVR'd shows & enjoying the end to a very relaxing holiday weekend!
Hope everyone had a fun & safe 4th! Happy Independence Day to you all!
This past weekend my family came to KC for a visit over the Father's Day weekend. On Friday my mom & dad drove down from South Dakota with my 2 nieces & then on Saturday morning my sister & my nephews flew in from Wisconsin. To say it was a whirlwind of a weekend is an understatement!
Friday - my parents arrived late afternoon with my niece's Kyra & Joslyn. We enjoyed the evening drinking wine, eating Papa Murphy's pizza & sitting out on the patio catching up, blowing bubbles & coloring pictures for "Aunt Hedder's" frig :)
Saturday - we awoke early & enjoyed the morning watching cartoons, drinking coffee, reading the paper & just hanging out. My sister & nephews' Tanner & Cael were flying in late morning so my mom & I headed up to the airport to pick them up. It was so good to see them & see how big the boys have gotten. Tanner was SO excited to visit "Aunt Hedder in "da city" - as he calls it :) We headed home & spent the afternoon playing on the Slip-N-Slide: splashing in the kiddie pool:and having a water balloon fight:My sister & Cael sat out in the shade during the water balloon fight:
Later that evening my brother Steve & his wife Meghan came over for dinner & we grilled burgers & brats along with all the fixings of a great BBQ. It was great to get to see them & catch up with all that has been going on with them!
Sunday - this morning I was woken up at 6am by a cute 3 1/2 year old tapping on my shoulder while I was still in bed asking me to come watch "toons" with him. How could I resist that? So Tanner & I went downstairs, watched "toons", had a granola bar (or "a bar" as he calls it) with some juice & waited for everyone else to wake up.
After everyone was up, fed & showered we headed to the Kansas City Zoo & since it was Father's Day all Dad's got into the zoo for free as well as got a free brat, chips & a drink. My brother Steve met us there also to join in the family outing. It ended up being really hot & humid as the afternoon approached & after about 3 hours at the zoo everyone was tired & ready to head home. Once home the kids played outside on the Slip-N-Slide while the adults vegged in the AC. I ended up making lasagna for dinner (or as my niece Joslyn calls it "basanya" - too cute) with garlic bread & a salad & we enjoyed one last meal before my parents & nieces headed back to South Dakota in the morning. Monday - my parents & nieces left around 5am this morning because my dad had to work later that afternoon so I got up & saw them off. Went back to bed & guess who woke me up at 6am to watch "toons" again? :) Little stinker! We enjoyed a lazy morning around the house & after lunch & afternoon naps we then headed over to the Spring Hill Aquatic Center.
Unfortunately, I had forgotten my camera so the above pics are taken from the Spring Hill Aquatic center website. Made me mad because I missed some great photo ops with the boys :(
When we arrived the place was packed. We managed to find a couple of empty lounge chairs & set our stuff down. As soon as we were about to head in to the kiddie pool the manager comes over the loud speaker & asks everyone to vacate the pool for a 30 minute break. Well, 30 minutes turned into 45 minutes & while we were sitting there we find out that some kid pooped in the pool & they had to "decontaminate" it before anyone could get back in. Imagine trying to explain that to 2 little boys dying to get into the pool & play!? Surprisingly, they ended up being really patient during the wait.
Finally, they allowed everyone back into the pool & we had a ball sliding down the water slides, running through the sprinklers, floating around in the lazy river & playing in the kiddie pool. So much fun! We spent nearly 3 hours there & had to tear Cael away from the sprinklers when we left. He was not a happy boy :(
The evening was spent eating leftovers for dinner, giving the boys baths, putting the boys to bed early & then my sister & I vegged on the couch & watched trash TV. Great ending to a fabulous day!
Tuesday - said goodbye to my sister & the boys - which was sad :( I hate saying goodbye but I promised Tanner I would come to WI to visit for his birthday which is the 1st week of November so I am hoping the time goes by quickly! I had the day off so I headed home & enjoyed the afternoon of peace & quiet! Even took a 3 hour nap - I was definitely exhausted but so thankful to have gotten to enjoy the weekend with my family!
I was in the car yesterday cruising home from work on I-35 on a hot afternoon with the top down & my iPod on. It was finally the end of what was a very long day & listening to music on the way home is my therapy. I will often put the iPod on shuffle because I liked to be surprised of what song is coming up next. I have over 2500+ songs on there so I never know what kind of song is going to play. It may be rap or jazz or christian or country or even Christmas music - yes I listen to holiday music ALL year round :)
So as I was making my way home, this little number came on:
::cue the memories::
I was instantly taken back to 1988 - my junior year of high school. My BFF was named Heather also & we were both dating guys who were best friends that went to a "B" school while we both sported "mall hair". You could find us on any given Friday night cruising Main Street in her Chevette or my VW Bug jammin' out to this tune. It is funny how a certain song can take you back & you can recall everything that was going on with your life at that moment. Music was a HUGE part of my life growing up so many songs do this for me & that is probably why I enjoy listening to my iPod on shuffle so much.
I can remember the Christmas I received my very first tape recorder. It was 1984 & I was 13 years old. I could not wait to put that thing up to the radio & record all of my favorite songs so I could play them back over & over. Oh the batteries & blank tapes I would burn through :) Come on - you know you all did the same thing.
Then a couple of years later I got a "boom box" for Christmas & I thought I was the sh!t with that thing. I would tote it with me onto the school bus & we would all jam out to music on our way home. Fun times!
Then while in college I bought my first real stereo system with components, big speakers & even a receiver. I was always getting in trouble in the dorm for having my music too loud. Those were the 90's so with music by Bell Biv Devoe, Snap, Vanilla Ice & Digital Underground so you know those speakers were thumpin!
And almost 20 years later I got my 1st iPod. The first thing I did when I got it was take all 300+ of my CD's, uploaded them to my iPod & sold them in a garage sale. Then I got an iPod hookup in both vehicles so I could listen to it in the car & I have been jammin' ever since.
I am going to try & link up with Casey over at Align my heart, body & mind every week or so for her Music Experiment post & see what kind of memories I can stir up in y'all! I bet I get the memories flowin' & the booties shakin' :)
Me & my co-worker Sam
