Emma's New 'Do

The picture didn't turn out as good as I would have liked (I took it with my camcorder) but here is Emma's new haircut. Really it's just her fringe (that would be bangs for the lay person) that I cut but it has been bugging me for some time now.

Anything you put in her hair to hold it out of her face will be pulled out within five minutes. So I decided to give her a trendy little 'do. Actually her haircut is extremely popular right now (there are scores of models with the same fringe cut...it's called fierce bangs) plus it keeps her hair out of her face. Fashion setting AND functional. Yep, I can cut some hair.

Blogging is like free health care

And you thought I was doing this as an existential exercise. News from the medical world shows that blogging can actually help to keep you healthy. Read all about it here:

http://www.switched.com/2008/05/30/blogging-may-offer-health-benefits/

My hyperlink isn't working so you'll have to copy and paste.

Hungry, hungry children

I fixed some pork cutlets tonight for dinner (The George Forman grill makes a mean pork cutlet). Evidently my children have a hollow leg with a hole in the bottom as they ate practically ALL of the pork (and every last one of the green beans too). I actually had to fix something different for myself as there wasn't enough left for me to do more than look at. If this keeps up, we are going to have to start a farm just to feed the kids.

Better than a tip

There is a saying that goes something like this: "Satisfaction is it's own reward". I got to experience that first hand today.

I had a perm scheduled for this afternoon. At this stage in the game, perms are old hat for me. I can knock them out in about two hours. The woman I had this afternoon was older (actually, I have yet to do a perm on someone younger than 50) and pretty much blind. She had a ton of hair too. The perm she wanted rolled was on yellow rods, which are about 1/8 of an inch in diameter, in other words, really small. Combine that with a ton of hair, it was all set up to be a LONG afternoon.

I got started and we chatted amicably whilst I was rolling her hair. After I was done, I set her under a dryer for a few minutes while she called her son to come pick her up. Turns out her son got called away for work and wouldn't be able to pick her up for several hours. The soonest she would have a ride was when her daughter-in-law got off work around five.

Here is where the satisfaction part comes in. The woman wanted to pay with a gift certificate she got as a present (the school offers gift certificates...they are actually quite popular) and give me the difference as a tip (It would have came out to about a five dollar tip). Well, the school has a policy that prevents cashing out a gift certificate in exchange for money. So, I got no tip. When I informed the woman of this, she was crestfallen. Then she asked me something that actually brought a tear to my eye. She wanted me to sit with her while she waited on her ride. It was about 3:45pm at this point in time and her ride wasn't due for at least an hour. I didn't even hesitate to say yes.

I have a brother who is blind and my own eyesight is slowly but surely going south. So I can relate, on some levels, to not being able to see. As I sat with this woman, we chatted about books we had read and TV programs we watched (I was surprised to learn that she was an American Idol fan...where does the reach of that insidious program stop?). Several times in the conversation, she asked me for my name and address so she could send me a tip. Each time, I politely declined. Finally, about 10 to 5, her ride showed up. As I escorted her to the door, she told me that this was the best afternoon she had in a very long time.

So, yes, a tip would have been nice. But the satisfaction of making a nearly blind old woman's day was more than any amount of money would have equalled.

Memorial Day Swimming

We spent the day with Heather's parents. After lunch, the kids got to play in their inflatable swimming pool. Emma had fun splashing around while Emery spent most of his time filling up the pool. Hopefully they are worn out from all the festivities.

No nap time for me!

Very funny moment today. Emery has always resisted taking naps and going to bed for the night. Today was no different. After I laid Emma down for a nap (she goes down like a third rate boxer in the second round; that is, easily), I tried to get Emery to sleep. Nope, wasn't happening. Finally after about two hours of him playing peek-a-boo around the corner of his bedroom, in a moment of exasperation, I said, more to myself than anything, "You're not going to sleep, are you?". Emery replied, "Nope". I couldn't help but laugh and told him to come out and play.

Lunchtime

We had some lunch at McDonalds today. We were waiting for Grandma at Walmart and picked up a quick Happy Meal.

Some pics

Emery is very busy taking conference calls.



Emma's new favorite game is peek-a-boo.

Emma's Hearing Test

Emma had her hearing test today. This was a much more comprehensive test than she had previously had. The results are...inconclusive (you'd think in this day and age of technology that just a few things from science fiction would be here by now...like a hand held machine that can accurately pinpoint an ailment). The doctor said that she has some slight hearing loss in her right ear, but not enough to justify or warrant hearing aids. The most probable cause is all of the ear trouble she's had in her 18 months of existence. She will PROBABLY grow out of it, but then again, maybe not. Like I said, inconclusive.

They want to do a check up in 6 months to see if there has been any progress. In the meantime, I'm going to start working with her of an evening on developing her speech. Emery will talk your ear off if you let him and I figure that I can save my sanity if I can get Emma to start talking to him as a substitute.

The countdown has begun

Actually, the countdown began a long time ago, but I can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel. That's right, I'm almost graduated from school. Just a shade under 7 weeks to go and I'll be done with school. Of course, then I have to find a job (my previous employment arrangement appears to have fallen through, for reasons I'm not entirely sure of) and gather in enough clients to prevent living on welfare but I'm not even worried about that. Not to be egotistical, but I cut a pretty mean head of hair. And I've been seeing a lot more referrals from people I've previously serviced (that just sounds bad, don't it?).

So this is your first notice. Prepare the congratulatory cards and emails. I'll be beautifying the hair of millions (hundreds? Okay, 10 people) before the Fourth of July.

Playing in the sand

I'm at my mother's today. Heather had to work so I brought up the kids to see "Nana" and "Pops". Emma discovered the sandbox about an hour ago and Emery decided to join her. They've been there since then, refusing to move from it.

Tri-state

We have an annual event here called Tri-state. It's held on the first weekend in May. Schools from all over Oklahoma and other states come to compete in musical events. The highlight of the event is a parade on Saturday morning. I shot some footage of Emery and Emma between bands. Lisa and Courtney were with us (Courtney had already marched in the parade earlier...she was twirling).