Goin' for a run. Surprising...I know.

Yep, it's true.  Jocelyn (my friend from work) and I are going for a run on the trail through the Duke Forest after work today.  And I am NOT a runner, so we'll see how that goes.  And by not a runner, I mean knees and ankles hurt afterwards (too much gymnastics in a former life) and I dread the thought of even running.  But... it is GORGEOUS outside today, so for once, I'm actually pretty excited about it! 

Besides, I did stuff myself on corned beef and cabbage last night, so I could surely use a good long run! :)  Some friends that live in our apartment complex invited us over last night to eat with a group of people and I went by myself because Ryan is out of town for work.  I'm not going to lie - I wasn't quite sure about "corned beef and cabbage".  Not only have I never had it before, but I didn't even know what it was and "corned" beef just sounds kinda scary, like something out of a can or something.  Anyways, Jen, the one who made the meal quickly changed my mind on the stuff because it was DELICIOUS!  First of all, it definitely did not come out of a can and it tasted like beef brisket or something yummy.  And she didn't just make it with cabbage either, but with carrots, potatoes, onions, and turnips too. Add a little mustard, recommendation of Jen's boyfriend, Ben, and the stuff is making my mouth water as I think of it now.  And I stuffed myself to the point of not being able to eat dessert - not even a bite.  And those of you that know me well, know that this girl never reaches a point of not being able to squeeze in a little dessert. 

So, anyways, I'm thinking this whole corned beef and cabbage thing is going to have to become a tradition for St. Patricks Day that I'm going to have to pick up from Jen.  And if I can get her to teach me how to make it, I might even make it a meal that happens more than once a year! :) 

Oh, and has anybody filled out brackets for March Madness?  Because mine's not doing so well so far... :( 

Ok, wish me luck...here goes this run!

I've converted...the darkness has won me over.

Creepy title huh?

Before I go any further, please let me apologize for my "bloody bunny" picture to anyone who might have thought, "ewww, GROOOSSS!".  Apparently, I've become very desensitized to the sight of dead animals since I have grown up with hunters (dad, granddad, uncles, and my brothers) all my life.  I wanted to find a picture of the boys at the cabin in Hancock to make my point about them spending as much time there over spring break as they can because it's where they spend all their time when they come home and when I looked through the "Hancock" picture folder to quickly just add a picture to make my point, they were all group pictures with my brothers AND all of their friends in them, so when I came across this one I thought "Perfect!  One of just Matt and TJ...that'll do" and posted it before I even thought twice about the fact that they are holding bloody game in their hands.  I mean it could have at least been a deer or something not as cute as a bunny I do realize.  So sorry bout that!  If it makes you feel better, my family really does love bunnies and we have a pet bunny rabbit named Bella who runs the house (seriously - Sadie our Lab even shares her water bowl with Bella - the bunny really does run the house), but that's another story for another day.

Back to my post.  So apparently you all want the update on what happened to my hair.  And appaaarrrrently, we forgot to take pictures of it other than the video from my sister's camera, which is really funny because you can hear Jamie's nervous laughter and my mom's nervousness and see the blonde streaks chunks.  However, it only shows my hair wet, so no finished product.  But for your viewing pleasure....

Enjoy!  (you'll have to pause the iPod on the left sidebar to be able to hear the video)

 

And here's what my hair looked like after we finished washing it and combing it out. Because it was a highlight "touch up", they only covered my roots and didn't cover all of my hair to the end of the strands, hence the bright blond on top and dark blond on the bottom - and no, none of it is a shadow.  Notice the hint of tension in their voices??



So, after wearing my skunk stripe hair for two days to church and to work, I went to a stylist last Tuesday to have my hair mess fixed.  Melissa had to do three, I repeat...three(!) color treatments to my hair.  First step was to put some wash on it that my then porous hair (from all the bleach) would absorb so that my hair would be able to hold any color and/or highlights she added to it after that.  This process would initially make my hair darker as it absorbed, but then she could make me back blond again by doing a base of my natural color, which has actually gotten pretty dark and then going back in and adding the highlights.

I snuck a picture of my hair during this "wash" process when she walked away and thought "hmm...so this is what my hair would look like dark brown." 

And because I've always been curious what my hair would look like dark brown, on a whim, I told Melissa to make it dark brown!  I went through my pros and cons with her and it turns out that the process to go darker would be less damaging to my hair than the process to go back to my normal shade of blond because that would have required more bleach in addition to the intense bleaching it had already gone through.  The pro that made my decision final was when she told me that it would always be easier to go back to blond from the brown, but harder to go to the brown from the blond.  So I said "let's do it Melissa!"

And here's what we got:

 The new "me"! 

Dun dun dun...

Which do you like better?  The blond me or brunette me?  Don't worry, I promise your honesty won't hurt my feelings!  Lots of people at work actually told me they LIKED my hair when it was in it's blond striped crazy state, and even AFTER I told them "no, no, no, this was a mistake and I'm getting it fixed", they'd still say, "oh well I really like it!".  That's when you know people are lying and only tell you what they think you want to hear, haha!  Gerald was the only person at work to give me his honest opinion and he told me right before my hair appointment that he didn't care what I did to my hair, just as long as I didn't do "that" and he pointed to my head!  And I appreciated his honesty. :)  And when I returned with dark hair, he also told me that he liked my hair better blond, ha! 

Ryan does like it though - he says it brings out my eyes.  But there's a slight chance he could be blinded by love. ;)

That's why I need your opinion...so you can help me with my decision.  I like it both ways, so I'm glad to have it this way at least for a while and just for a change.  But do I stay a brunette?  Or come summertime, do I add back the highlights and go back to my typical blond?  Decision, decisions - I hate decisions!  HELP!

Where to even start???

Oh bloggy world, how I neglect you on a regular basis with my so sporadic posting...I'm such a bad "blogger".

Anyways, lots happening...LOTS.HAPPENING and no time to write home about it. So, where shall I start....

1) the update on my fried hair...with pictures....??  (if you don't know what I'm talking about, see my last post here)

2) the weekend update of getting into Duke/UNC with Ryan and Britney...AND standing courtside...beside Erin Andrews and her Dancing with the Stars Partner (hottie Max!)...oh and meeting Nicholas Sparks at that game too...(with pictures)???

3)...this week of babies...2 showers, 1 birth...??

You tell me.  I've discovered that the best part about having a blog is when you get a random email that notifies you that "so-and-so just left a comment on [Livin' the Wood Life]", soooo since I obviously can't write about all these things with pictures in one blog post (in less than a mile long of scrolling), comment away and you tell me which one you want to hear about first and I'll post about it tomorrow.

Oh, and one of the topics comes with a surprise twist...  which one do you think it is?   :)


And one last thing:

Both of my brothers have the same spring break and are both at home this week.  Hangin out at hunting camp and such...

It's one of two times in the entire year they both make it home at the same time between their crazy football schedules.  So, I'm 1 - slightly jealous that I'm missing out on all the fun while my whole family is together, and 2 - slightly depressed that my days of having a spring break are over.  Welcome to adulthood.  No more spring breaks...you have to work to make a living.  fun stuff.

This picture sums up exactly what we're missing out on up here in NC.  First of all, TJ!  Do I ever mention that I MISS that kid who lives ten too many hours away???  I'm missing everyone sitting around the table, eating one of moms delicious meals, and laughing til our stomachs hurt.  This picture is so typical of the dinner table scene.  Here you have talented Matt who knows how to carry on a conversation while never looking up from his plate as he's shoveling it in.  Literally, he has an eating stance and it's scrunched over his plate til the rim of the plate meets his mouth.  Here you also see not Jamie, but Jamie's phone in the bottom right corner as she carries on two conversations at once - one at the dinner table AND one on Blackberry messenger.  Let me tell you, it takes talent and she never leaves her phone behind when she sits at the table. And TJ is laughing...and TJ's face lights up when he laughs and I miss that lit up face!

Which means not only are we missing out by not being there, but we are also enduring a week of a very quiet apartment with no visitors...

I love when Matt and his buddies come and hang out.  It's like I have a bunch of little brothers, but this place is like a ghost town this week while they're all gone.

But I know my mom is happy to have them home for one of the two times in the year she gets them.  And lucky her, spring break for both of them has fallen on her birthday two years in a row now.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM - YOU HAVE YOUR BOYS HOME!