Life as a Nuurdygirl

Daily Off Topic: Girlie Hair Stuff…..

OK…..if you don’t want to hear my take on a girlie stuff like hair, stop reading now and go back to the hockey.

Like most gals…I have a love/hate relationship with my hair.  I love the length, I love the color - whether I have colored it or not - and I love that I have succeeded in getting it pretty darn healthy.  Everything else is evil.

My hair is fine and has cowlicks and tends to be oily.  Thus….any curl falls out or collapses in on itself into a stiff hairspray mess; straight styling just ends up looking stringy and flat; and every style has the issue of a cowlick at my crown that gives the appearance of a super sexy bald spot. 

Then I have had a couple of realizations….but I am going to cover the second realization first.

I had my hair cut a week ago.  I have had every haircut known to man from pixie cut to shag to long past my shoulders.  Because of my hair’s fine texture and cowlick-y craziness, I think that it wants to be short; however, I feel that long hair is far more flattering.  Luckily I have a great stylist who talked me off the short-hair-panic, and just trimmed my medium length hair with layers that really work for me.  The big realization out of this experience, however, was that when she dried my hair she used no products.  With fine hair that is really useless, I have always been led to believe that I needed something to give my hair some “guts” and be workable….but apparently not so.  She and I talked through how my hair behaves, and what I do with it, and she pointed out that using a protectant for really hot stuff would be ok - but that was really all.  She didn’t even use hairspray, and my hair was terrific the rest of the afternoon.  Let’s keep this in mind….

Now, my weak tresses are neither straight, nor curly, nor wavy.  They are just…..whatever.  Curling irons don’t work on my roots; hot rollers create great curl that falls out; straightening just looks pathetic; and the only thing that kind of works is using a wavy iron but that can look a little Carrie-from-Sex-And-The-City crazy sometimes.  Enter….the flat iron.  Now, I still cannot straighten my hair with this hair straightener - it looks awful and my ends are just not happy with it.  However (this is gonna sound weird) I discovered the awesomeness of CURLING with a flat iron.  Yes….curling.  If you go to YouTube, you can find dozens of videos from semi-vapid young girls about how to curl with a flat iron….and they are actually really helpful.  I tried out this technique with quite a bit of success!  Then, I added this curling to my second realization of not needing the products I have been using…..and I have come to completely love my hair!

My noggin is full of fine, flat, medium length hair that is lifeless.  Here is what I do:

1. wash my hair at night - let it air dry.  this allows my hair to gain some volume without damage from so much heat with the hairdryer.  This way my hair is totally dry in the morning - and dry hair is far stronger than wet hair.
2. In the morning, I get my hair slightly damp with a spray bottle.  I mean very slightly……this is only to get out the weird bed-head.
3. I spray a bit of a root booster into my hands, and run it through my hair.  My roots can’t really take weight, so direct application isn’t wise.  Also, while drying, any hair product will “creep” up the hair shaft.  Then I comb my hair.
4. Shake out my hair to let it fall where it wants to part.  This is the path of least resistance….let it part where it wants to. 
5. Dry my hair on a pretty low heat setting with a round brush.  I do this in top and bottom sections, roll the round brush around sections, and blow dry at the root with the nozzle aiming up or from the opposite direction of where I want the hair to lay.  For example….if a section of hair is going to lay on the left side of my head, I roll the hair on a round brush and aim the hair dryer so that it is blowing from left to the right side of my head.  LET THE HAIR COOL ON THE BRUSH for a couple of seconds before unwinding the hair.
6. Comb out my hair with my fingers or a really large tooth comb - just to get out tangles.
7. If I decide to curl with a flat iron at this point, I will put a little bit of heat protectant in my hands and run it through the bottom half of my hair - the bottom half of the shaft.
8. Curl following any number of examples from said YouTube.
9. Finish with a really small amount of hairspray.

With the flat iron curling, curl actually stays in without any help.  Since doing all of this will very little product and what turns out to be far less effort than what I did before…..my hair is done, stays done, isn’t stiff, feels soft, and actually doesn’t get gross and oily by the next morning.

My advice from all this rambling: no matter what your hair type, try out a flat iron and less junk in the hair.  You might be surprised! 

Daily Off Topic: A Craft Everyone Should Learn….

Given that I crochet quite a lot, and am an avid knitting attempter, you would think that my craft recommendation would be yarn related.  However, it is not.  Truly….I believe that learning to knit and/or crochet will absolutely change your life; but the craft that all crafters need to try and practice is: Quilting.

1. Quilting covers a broad range of sewing skills that are applicable for everything from home decor to ripped-knee-patch-placement.  Cutting the right fabric, a straight stitch to put something together, and ways to stabilize an item (such as a knit sweater) before cutting.

2. Quilting is a practical guide to all things fabric related: fabric weight, care, color, drape, cut, and so on.  This becomes a gateway understanding for other crafts.  Color choice in painting, paper selection for scrapbooking, and craft care for knitting and crochet

3. Quilting provides instant gratification.  While a large quilt piece will take a long time, it is also likely that within a few hours of learning only one technique a wall hanging can be created for instant use.  When other craft projects are unfinished for a long period - a small quilted item can provide the instant gratification fix.

4. Quilting teaches thrift.  Quilting uses shapes and strips of fabric that are of all sizes…and to buy too much or too little fabric or thread can make for an unpleasant experience and be more costly overall.  This craft is an easy way to learn and apply rules for measuring, note taking, and keeping to a budget.  Your mind gets used to thinking about ways to use items in more than one way, and about how to use up a stash of anything and everything lying around.

With quilting you learn how to sew….without really “sewing”.

Daily Off Topic……A Work Dress Code

I have been lucky enough to work in offices and industries where the suit and tie is not required.  Even in my large corporate offices, most guys were in button down shirts with nice jeans or slacks and women kept to something similar.  However…there is still a dress code that I think needs to be held to.

1. Ankle socks are only for trainers and golf shoes.  If you have white ankle socks, do NOT wear them with dress shoes or other shoes where they will be seen.  It just looks like you didn’t have appropriate socks clean and available.

2. Do NOT wear any shirt and pants combination where there is a gap when you sit down.  If your shirt does not cover the waistband of you pants or does not stay tucked in when you sit….it is not appropriate for work.  None of your co-workers wants to see the tramp-stamp tattoo you have or the waistband of your tidy-whities.  It’s just awkward.

3. Hooker heels and fishnet stockings are really more appropriate for going out, and not for going to work.  Even if you are wearing pants….the 4” or greater stilettos and fishnet nylons send the wrong message.  The only time I have every seen 4” heels work in the office is from our Executive Admin….because she is only 4’11” tall and having heels that high only helps her to seem slightly shorter than everyone else.

Uniforms are not needed….but come up with something of your own that you can easily follow.  Think about what you communicate by what you wear…..

Daily Off Topic……Something I Have Learned About Myself

I am approaching the end of my first month in my new job…..and this adventure has led me to learn something about my self….

I cannot sit sideways on a bus.  For those of you familiar with public transit, you know that many seats on either a bus or train face into the aisle and not toward the front.  This is to accomodate the foot traffic in the aisles and to allow standing room.  While on a train (like the subway) I am totally fine with sitting this direction - which is good because there is rarely a choice.  However, on a bus this is a NO-NO!  I get dizzy and queasy and that leads to my being REALLY unpleasant and cranky.  However, if I sit facing forward, I can read or crochet easily and have no problems with the start and stop of the bus or the crazy turns.

So…..my advice to new bus riders……sit sideways with caution.  Until you know you are fine with it, do not try to do anything besides just sit - no knitting, no crochet, no books…..just sit.  If you survive that bit, you have a chance.

Crafty goals for 2011

Here are my goals on the crafty front for this New Year.  Check back in 51 weeks to see how many actually succeedeed!

1. Complete 20 squares for the Knit A Square charity

2. Ship squares for the Knit A Square charity :)

3. Complete new photo box for product photos

4. Meet at least 1 person I communicate with on Twitter

5. Till my garden for planting

6. Plant 3 things in the garden with my kids.  Veggies tbd

7. Complete doggie bag samples for listing in shops

8. Make more jam, preserves, relishes, and other canned goodies

9. Complete and inventory of new products and propose retail arrangement with at least 2 local boutiques

10. Reduce my yarn stash by 25% and my fabric stash by 1/5.