Happens to the best of us

postpartem hair loss...it happens to the best of us. i knew all about it. i knew that it is more than normal (can something be more than normal??) when a woman is pregnant she does not shed hair the months she is pregnant. it is her bodies natural defense to protect the baby. once the baby comes and her hormones level out (usually once mom is no longer nursing the baby, or greatly decreases her production) she sheds all the hair she would have lost while pregnant plus the 40-100 "normal loss" hairs. its shocking!! its even more shocking when you have very fine and thin stringy hair like me. its completely shocking when most of your loss is around the front hairline, again like me. it was gross. my hair loss started around 7 weeks postpartum. nursing did not go well for me and the twins. i think i have mentioned that before. but if not, in all reality i was pretty upset about it and it really sucked. we are over it now. i cant go back and change any of it. so, around week 7 i was pretty much completely dry and my hair was everywhere! every time i would look down my shirt had a good 10-15 hairs on it. i would pick them off, get up and thrown them away and then realize one or both of the babies was also covered in my lost hair. peter was completely grossed out. and when i say it was mostly in the front, around my hair line, i am not kidding. i looked like i was a middle aged man. i had a receding hairline and a thin patch in the very front. i was super self conscience when my hair was pulled back. well lets fast forward about 4 months. my hair is now coming back. its crazy! of course i now look like i have side burns and "angel hairs" all in the front (especially where my hair parts) and all down my part. in case you havent seen me, or just dont know, i have been growing my hair out since july 2012 including my bangs. my hair is longer than it has been since my wedding! and i have had bangs since middle school! i have enjoyed longer hair...being able to curl it, pull it back, etc. but now i am rethinking that! these little short hairs all over my head sure would blend in better if my hair was shorter and bangs help blend, but i think either way i am going to have awkward hair for a while. good thing i love these babies and they are totally worth sideburns and porcupine hairs! 

here are a few pics for ya!!

last thursday our friend Juliet came over, she is 3 months old. their first play date together!

see those little hairs..yep they are all along my hair line! 

Annabel, Briggs, Claire. briggs is our little buddy (just as big as annabel but a month younger) and came to visit friday. claire is already trying to make the moves!! lol 

sweet annabel! 

crazy claire, i love you! ps. she got 2 teeth in 4 days! 

perfecting her little wave on our way to church saturday night

annabel wasnt sure if she really wanted to leave the house

on our way to the BBQ cook off, claire needed her thumb to tide her over!

the twins and i at the annual COF Texans Tailgate. please excuse my face...i forgot my makeup on the way out the door! ewwww!! 

blessings, ALo

A Day of Firsts

a post of firsts:

1. today my sweet friend, lisa, announced that she is having her first girl. yep, same lisa that thought she was going to be having another boy in june. turns out that when they say they are 95% sure there is still that 5% of uncertainty! :) so happy for her!! i already bought baby girl two cute outfits and some headbands (of course!).

2. today i helped put slats in a fence to make a privacy fence. i helped transform a regular chain link fence into a cool, school colored, privacy fence. our church is helping to transform a local elementary school. over two days and with about 2000 other COF members, we have put in a baseball field, a track, a garden, a covered sandbox, new fencing, painted the interior (including the gym), held a carnival, all new landscaping, and tons more! we were hoping to do 2 soccer fields, but last i heard they probably were not going to get done today because of the wet mud. it was our own extreme makeover for a school that was more than deserving. over 86% of the students at this school are on free/reduced lunch and many go home on the weekends to no food. this project needs it own post with pictures...be looking for that soon.

3. i also got my first sunburn of the year today. yeah, see #2...we were there for almost 4 hours. i am really pale. i didnt wear suncreen. sadly, i am not the only one! oops! it was a gorgeous day here...sunny and just under 70 with a breeze. perfect for manual, outdoor labor!

4. peter cut my hair. actually, this is not a first. it is a just a first in that it is the first time i have allowed him to touch my hair since i have been professionally trained. we were both scared. he tried very hard to refuse! i wish i had a picture of this event but i am really glad that i do not have a picture of the very first time! so, not long after we got married, i asked peter to cut my hair for me. we were trying to save money, and i thought that because he was so meticulous about everything else, and because he was studying to be an engineer that it wouldnt be a big deal. knowing what i know now, what i was asking him to do is by far one of the more difficult haircuts...a "simple" bob, same length all the way around with no layers (to hide imperfections). he didnt know that wet hair "shrinks" up. he didnt know that you had to have good, even tension...he didnt know anything about cutting hair. and these are the scissors i asked him to use:

yikes!!! those are medium sized Fiskers craft scissors. not hair cutting scissors, craft scissors!! i should have known it was going to end badly. but, we were young. i thought my hubby could do anything (i still do, honestly). its a bad sign when about 3/4 of the way through he says, "you kinda look like darth vader with this helmet on." excuse me, what??!!!?? i am not the biggest star wars fan, but i do know that darth's helmet is "shorter in the front and longer in the back" type of style. NOT what i was going for...not at all!!! it was terrible. it was worse than terrible! i had to pay a lot of money to have it fixed! (i blamed the bad haircut on my brother's friend...said i was her model while she was in hair school...i could not tell the stylist i was just being cheap...) anyway...so tonight i begged peter to cut my hair again. after his last experience he was more than reluctant. he didnt really end up doing much other than holding the mirror for me and making sure i didnt cut my finger off. he did a great job! thanks, hubby! we did get a few good laughs.

it has been a great day! i hope that you all feel the same way!! enjoy your sunday!

blessings, ALo

Pictures

I didn't get a full body pic yesterday, but i like this picture of me and my hubby. we went to the house of blues last night with some friends to see my friend amos perform. it was so much fun! i got to hang out with my friend jess, which is always a BLAST. we get into trouble together...our husbands probably get annoyed! :) i also had to stay close to my hubby last night...make my presence known against someone who had their eye on him. i got a little ruffled, but i think i made it very clear! anyway, wanted to show you my nails too. i got the inspiration from pinterest (i waste too much time on pinterest, ugh!). i think they turned out pretty cute. can an almost 30 year old still do "cute" stuff? eh, who cares?

see my short hair? and it's not blonde! i love that we are both so happy here!

cutesy nails. trial run for heart day!

hope you have a great weekend! we are hanging on the couch on this rainy weekend!

blessings, ALo

11/10/11

today i am thankful for people who give me a chance!

i had a few few new home hair clients...it feels so good to be getting back into some hair here and there. thanks to my new friends for trusting me!! :)

blessings, ALo

Tis the Season

for weddings!!! i love weddings. i love everything about weddings. i love doing hair for weddings. in fact, i have done hair for 3 weddings in just one week! i love to do hair, anytime and anywhere and i love weddings...BUT...brides make me sooo nervous! i make sure that we do a trial run before hand so that i am not walking in blind and unsure of what i am up against, but that doesnt always mean much. i get so nervous because i know how special the day is for the bride. i know they want to look their absolute best all day, not just for pictures. i have been doing hair for over 3 years (not long in comparison to some) and i feel like i have seen all types of brides, but this week i was soooo blessed that each of the girls were super laid back!! is it weird that those girls make me even more nervous? i mean, the pushy/crazy ones will always speak up and tell me what they really think, but the "laid back" ones may let things slide and just say "oh well, this will work." let's not forget to mention that i am a serious freak about hair...especially brides' hair and how pins show...does not always go well with nerves! :)

last saturday i was a part of amy's wedding in grand rapids. she is a cousin of my cousin abby. when i did amy's trial run, she came to my mom's house and we had quite the audience...something that i am sure did not make her super comfortable, but she was a real trooper. she wanted to look a lot like she normal would, just a little more dressed up. love it...thats what i wanted too! :) the only thing we didnt practice was the veil, but we knew we had scheduled plenty of time the day of in case of a snafu. of course that is what happened that day! i, for the life of me, could not get her veil the way i wanted it to look! amy was so patient and in the end it was perfect...she was a glowing bride, so excited to marry her now hubby!! i also did hair for 4 of her bridesmaids and stayed for touch-ups after pictures...sure was a beautiful day for a wedding!!!

before the freak out on the veil

at the reception...after the veil was taken off.

thursday after amy's wedding i did my sister's (olivia) hair for her wedding. we didnt do a trial run for her wedding because it was planned so quickly, but it wouldn't have mattered anyway. i boss her around all the time and thursday was no different. i told her to sit down and let me do what i wanted to :) she didnt argue. i did let her think she had a say, but we all know she really didnt! :) liv has been growing her hair out and i had toyed with leaving it down, but the day of the wedding was very humid after the rain and i knew that the curls would not stay well...so, up it went! she looked great...pretty grown up! like my grandma said that day, Olivia sure did clean up nice!

the last wedding of the week was for my sweet friend aubree. aubs and ty got married july 3 in canton, ohio. it was super warm out but so pretty! aubs and i had set up a schedule to stay on track the week before the wedding...schedule started at 9:15 am and we finished at 1:45 pm. my hands were pretty well coated in hairspray, but i loved every minute of it!! back in early may (i think) aubree and i did her trail run...this is what it looked like...

soft swept

curls and texture low and centered in back.

we knew that there would be a flower pin added, but other than that, we were both happy with it. well, this not at all what we did sunday! :) when i walked into the hotel aubs told me she wanted to change it up. not going to lie, i had an internal freak out moment! then she showed me the pic and i really freaked out!! not because it was a bad pic, but i for real didnt think i could do it...mostly because we didnt have extensions to work with. in the end it was gorgeous...one of my favorite bride hairstyles i have done in a while! thanks for shaking it up, aubs! when we were finished i thought it was smooth sailing for the last two bridesmaids...thanks tara for proving me wrong! :) talk about the heaviest and silkiest hair!! good thing i like you enough not to just shave your head!!!

braid on each side. curls low and off the side

some of the back

our group of friends at the wedding. so fun!!!

so, moving to houston will put an end to my home hair days for a while, which is sad! hopefully i will make friends fast with people who need a new stylist!! :) by the way things are going well on the move front after talking with a relocation company...guess we are really moving!!

blessings, ALo

ps. if i stole your pic for this post...thanks! :)

Hitched!

well...my little sis is a married woman! it was a whirlwind of a trip for me, but sooooo worth it!

kayla and i spent a few days in ohio together, which was so fun! we went shopping at the outlet mall...she picked out an adorable outfit from j.crew and we picked up a bouquet of silk peonies from pottery barn for liv. she cheered for uncle petey, uncle grant and me at our softball game...it worked, we won! i am pretty sure she colored at least 15 pictures, and ate way too much sugar!! we also went to a really cool park that had a splash area. she even suffered through a little home hair. :) i wish i had a few more pictures, but we all know how great i am at taking pics...not!  so here are a few...

our last night, we realized we didnt have any pics!

kayla looks like her mom here...she wanted a silly face.

this was supposed to be a creepy pic...mine is creepy bc i can stick my tongue up my nostril

in the parking lot when i dropped kayla off

kinda matching shades

her cute new outfit.

 thursday afternoon (after i dropped kayla off) i spent some time with my mom in her pool. it was awesome, except that my little bro kept trying to hit me with "pool golf balls"...not funny, nate! anyway...we got ready and made the drive to coopersville (a little over an hour away) to help miss o get ready for her big night! when we got to brian's (the fiance) parents house, mom and i could tell liv was a little anxious...i totally remember those pre-wedding jitters!!! i tried to joke and laugh, and she played along pretty well. the wedding was set to start at 6:30, by 6:15 olivia was a beautiful bride ready to go! we were all so thankful that the rain had stopped and that everything would happen just as they had hoped! olivia was so pretty (and it had nothing to do with her hair and make-up)!! you could tell that she was so excited to be marrying brian! i think that he was just as excited too. my uncle roger performed the ceremony, which was so great! the ceremony took place on what used to be a baseball field, right on home plate, actually. uncle roger referenced the movie A Field of Dreams (such a good one!). he said that just like in the movie, this day could be the start of olivia and brian's dream life. if they follow their hearts together, they will be blessed. not gunna lie, i got choked up! liv has been through a lot in the last 2 years and i am so excited to see all that God has in store for olivia, brian, and zoe as a family!! uncle roger also encouraged all of us in attendance to pray for and encourage this new family of three to follow their dreams. after the short and totally sweet ceremony, there was a cake and beverages while we all mingled. leave it to my sister to pick an awesome cake...girl after my own heart! one of brain's cousins is a photographer so hopefully there will be some good pics...again, i didnt take very many...i was a little distracted! after mingling and before it rained again, we said goodbye and everyone from "our side" went to dinner down the street. i think the place was a little overwhelmed when a group of 21 walked in with no warning...thats us! :) in all, everything was so great! everything was planned and carried out in a matter of 4 days...litterally! last sunday, brian and liv decided to forego a big wedding for a simple ceremony (and the cash!). they will have a party in august when brian's brother can come from alaska...but this was a great way for them to do things!! i was so excited that i could be there and be a part of my little sister's big day... even down to being there when she picked out her wedding dress (and much more!) which was so fun for both my mom and me!

liv, i am so excited for you and for brian and for zoe! i am so glad that brian loves you from who you are...the real you! i think it is more than awesome that zoe is a priority in brian's life! it was so clear to me, while watching you both say your vows, how much love you have for each other. i will always be here, cheering you on as you grow as a wife, helpmate, and friend to brian. i will be here if you need advice or to chuckle about weird things that boys do! i will pray that God continues to strengthen you personally, as a couple, and as parents. thank you for letting me be a part of your special day. i love you, livvy!! xoxo

here are a few of the pics...sorry i dont have more!

getting ready...

mimi (mom), zoe and liv just before the ceremony

dad and liv walkin the plank :)

sweetie zoe...the best baby ever! 

vows

exchanging rings

love little zoe so much!!

blessings, ALo

Prom and then some

so for the past few weeks the salon has been PACKED every saturday with young girls coming in to have their hair "upstyled" for prom. this season evokes so much anxiety into the lives of so many people...most of all...mine! not because i cant do the required "updo", no, my fear runs much deeper than this simple curl. you see, where the salon is located i have the...uh...pleasure (???) to service families with mom's that only want the best for their daughters, especially for this extremely important night of their lives. i mean, i know that prom is a very important right of passage, a night that girls dream about and a night that mothers spend lots of money for. here again is here i come into play :) yes, it is true that i make decent money curling, spraying and pinning hair for prom. and if that is all it was i would be just fine...just fine i tell you. but as we all know, beauty is not all it appears to be. here is how it really happens during prom season...the said prom date comes to the salon accompanied by the mother. i greet them with a smile knowing how excited the girl is for this huge night...well, day actually...to get started. we, all three of us, go to my station in front of the large front window. the beautiful high school student sits down and we begin to talk about her dress and what her ideal "event style" would be. then outta nowhere here comes mom, all up in my grill about what her duaghter HAS to have for her special night. i smile and nod knowing that, well, here we go again...a mother always knows best! i proceed to do what i have been trained for...training that mommy dearest does not have, i mean if she did would she be paying me to do this? in the meantime mom sits in the sill pointing out every imperfect curl and uncrossed pin. really lady...really??? gimme a break! the really crazy part is that this happens more times than not and we could do 3 or 4 on a given saturday...ugh...makes for a long day! prom is not always bad though. it does remind me of how much fun my friends and i had at our "prom" or lack thereof. i mean, i loved getting dressed even with the dress code requirements and sitting all night NOT dancing. no, but seriously, i loved high school and i loved all that came with it. and thankfully my mother was not the doting type. my mom was helpful, encouraging and always a gracious host! thanks for making my jr./sr. so fun, mom, and for not being a momzilla!!! :)

blessings, ALo

Oh Man!!!

yep, i am a HUGE slacker! well, not just a slacker...lazy. so where do i start? what do you want to know? so, the truth of the matter is that i am updating this because i told my cousin alex i would if she gave me the address to her blog. so for those of you who have been waiting, you can thank alexandra ann bufton!! :) so, anyway, rather than try to revisit the last few months i am going to start with today :) here goes nothin...

today was one of those days that you think over at the the end and just go...huh? really? so, we all know that i love my job...i love what i do and where i do it. that being said i left today going, really? REALLY? i was cancelled at the very last second this morning for a cut and highlight which meant that i sat there from 9 until 11:45 with pretty much nothing today. i did get to do something new on a loyal guest of mine...she cracks me up every time she is there. at the end of my work day...2:30 mind you...i had an appointment for a cut and color for myself. now, in case you haven't seen me in awhile, i have been keeping my hair short and platinum blonde. i also ALWAYS have the same friend from work do my hair...in case you cant get in with me at sqaure one make sure you ask for courtney, she is awesome...anyway, thursday is courntey's day off and she is completely booked tomorrow, my day off. so i instead had another colleague do my hair. to make this already long story a little shorter i walked out looking like a lesbian porcupine!!! ugh! i am so serious!! my hair is soooo short. i even had to call peter before i got home to warn him, thats how short it is! huh?? really?? of course that is not my while day, but you all know how much your hair can consume your day/life when it is not right. like camilla alves on shear genius says "...and remember, hair is important!"

ok, hope to talk again soon...thanks alex!!!

blessings, ALo

Best day in awhile

today was a great day! there were lots of things that made today great, but here are the top 4...

1. i was a teaching aide. our salon is extending their services to include eyelash extensions and i, being the nice person that i am, gave up my time to allow Kristin to practice with my lashes :) so...i now have eyelash extensions. they are weird for the first few minutes but i love them now...so cool!

2. i was part of a make over today. Della, the recipient, won the makeover from a raffle for a womens event. she was such a great lady and i had SO MUCH FUN!!! i did highlights, lowlights, cut and style. she also got a manicure and eyebrow arch as well as 2 two outfits from a nearby boutique. she and i will get to show off her new look next tuesday at the womens event and will be given a small radio spot! AWESOME!

3. i was asked to be a stylist for a photo shoot. next monday the dayton ballet are having a photo shoot , and brent (one of the owners) asked if i would be willing to be a part of it all!! DUH!!!

4. i made homemade whipped cream tonight. i know...not the best choice ever, but it was awesome!! we had heavy whipping cream that needed to get used, strawberries that needed to get eaten and some ice cream. what a great way to end a great day!!

thanks for caring enough to read this!!

blessings, ALo

What Michael Jackson did for the salon

i know that most people are tired about hearing about the legacy that Michael Jackson left behind, but for me some things are just undeniable. actually there is only one thing that i am going to talk about that has left an impression on me. frankly, i have never been a huge fan of the king of pop and have been uber over the whole thing....BUT...here is what i have see in the salon...black boys wanting to be white!! yes, im totally serious!!

ok, today for example, we had a young gentleman come in with VERY curly VERY dark VERY...no other word, knappy hair. he then pulled out a picture of Peter Wentz (mom, this is a white boy in a popular band, married to ashley simpson) and asked for his exact cut and style. now, thankfully the stylist was smart enough to be honest and tell him that he pretty much was delusional about the outcome; however, she went ahead with what she could do...relaxer, cut and style. it was a great outcome, but probably to his dismay he looked more middle eastern/indian than he did Pete Wentz, but he did have the skin tight girl jeans and purple hightops!

now, obviously this young man has what i like to call a serious identity crisis going on in his life, but maybe i am the only one to notice. i mean, this has been socially acceptable for a long time now! michael wanted to be white for a long time and we all know that it was a running joke among all the late night TV hosts and pretty much the whole world! so now, we have beautiful black men wanting to be white girls...what the heck? come one now...i dont even now what else to say!!!

boys, your mamas want boys, not girls. 

boys, your girls want to date/marry strong masculine men, not guys we share pants with! 

thanks! :)

blessings, ALo

really??

am i allowed to do two posts in one day? i am not sure what the rules are here. i guess i am just anxious to really get this thing going... lol!

so, i have one of the greatest jobs in the world. i LOVE what i do. in fact, the days that i have to get up early arent even a big deal...yes, i know i only have 2 "early" days, but still! even though i love what i do, i was talking with some family at christmas i think that i missed my true calling in life. now hear me out...i think that deep down in my heart i am supposed to be a...

TV CRITIC!!!

lol. here's how it went down. we were sitting at dinner talking about how my two cousins, Beau and Brett, should try out for the Amazing Race and i went into this diatribe all about last season and how i think they would be perfect for the show being that they are 1. super competitive 2. athletic 3. brothers and 4. cute. then i was asked what other shows that i watched. here's the break down...

Sundays: Iron Chef, Brothers and Sisters and The Amazing Race

Mondays: Intervention and Hoarders, The Hills and The City

Tuesdays: Biggest Loser (!!!!!!) and Tabatha's Takeover

Wednesday: Top Chef

Thursday: Grey's and Private Practice

Friday and Saturday: whatever i can find

there are the occasional shows that are not listed, but those are the faithful CANNOT miss ones

then i was talking about how because i dont have TiVo i miss some shows that i love and Peter has to VHS record Biggest Loser for me...yes, i am that big of a fan.

here are 3 reasons why i think i should be a critic

1. who wouldnt want to get paid to watch TV

2. it would give be something to blog about

3. i really do care about TV, especially all the trash Tv (ie all the Housewives on Bravo, Kardashians, and Teen Moms) and could tell you everything you ever wanted to know about them

no, i will not be looking for a career change anytime soon, but you will probably be reading alot about the "crap" that i watch on Tv and the parties that occur during! i might be crazy, but whatever!

as a side note, after my family heard that i make Peter record via VHS, my mom donated her old TiVo to us, so now my addiction will only increase. GREAT!! no really, thanks Mom...i love you!! :)

blessings, ALo