Hair & Makeup Monday: Whipping Up Soft Shiny Hair!



This is definitely not me
or my hair. It was so shiny
and pretty, that I am hoping
this will be my outcome.
But Blonde :)

 Ways to Get Soft Shiny Hair
(For Thrifty Women Like Me!
-A.K.A. Cheap)

Winter has officially taken the life out of my hair. Because of this I am on a quest to find the best home remedy to add shine and health back to my hair. I found many different sites with ideas, and I've decided to try one a week for the next 4 weeks. I will let you know which ones actually are worth your energy, and which one's are old wives tales. Here is the first home remedy for dull hair that I will be testing!!! (I'm a little scared!)
An Oldie But a Goodie

1.  Mayonnaise:
I've always heard about this in old movies and on t.v. shows, but never really thought that I would put something that goes in between two slices of bread on my head. I never thought I would be cleaning crayon out of a toddlers teeth either, but sometimes you do what you've got to do :)

It is advised to put the mayo in your hair, focusing on the ends (to reduce frizz and split ends) and leaving it in for approximately an hour. You can wrap it with a towel or just put on a shower cap to keep from condimenting your home. After the hour wait, rinse, shampoo, and blowdry.
**** Tip: When rinsing your hair use cool water. It seals the cuticles and is supposed to prevent frizz. *****

I'm heading off now to get started. I will take pic's to let you see the difference. Check back tomorrow to help me judge whether this is beauty miracle or just miracle whip!

See ya tomorrow. Let's just hope Coach doesn't smell my head and decide he feels hungry in the middle of the night!

The Coach's Widow's Tips to Staying Sane for Moms

How to stay sane as a mom:

1. First and foremost, Take time for you!!!

I have a hard time with this sometimes because I feel like mommy knows best. Yes, Daddy may let them eat 3 starches for dinner but they will survive while I take a half an hour to write, or enjoy a night out with my girlfriends. This pertains to taking time out for you to spend time with your husband as well. Coach and I make it a point to go on at least one date a month. Many times we have the babysitter come over after 2/3 kids are asleep, but at least we have the chance to reconnect and remember the special things we love about each other that are harder to see with spit up on your shirt, or Barney songs playing in the background.  

2. Ask for help. I have such a hard time with this. In my head, if I can't do something on my own then I'm weak. I have learned that even the most successful people have to get help. All the Hollywood celebrities have assistants, maybe that's what I need ;)

Grammie loves giving babies baths in
the sink!!! I love taking pics of
it!

3. Say No. As a mom there are people asking you for things left and right. On top of your families needs there are always others asking for your help. Don't overload your plate. Learn to say no if you really don't have time or the energy to fully fulfill those obligations and continue to be a great mom. There will always be someone who is disappointed if you say no, but the most important thing is your health, and the needs of your family.

Sometimes you have to be stern!

4. Realize that no one is perfect. Doing your best and putting forth effort for your family is all that matters. Parenting and perfection do not go together. It is more like a hill you are trying to climb. Sometimes you need to sit down and take a break, sometimes you may go downhill a little, but you are always working toward being at the top (you can't leap to the top of a mountain, it takes a lot of effort and trials to reach the peak, but the view from the top is worth the work).

5. Give up the guilt. Everyone has different expectations and beliefs about what form of parenting is best. As long as love and energy is put into raising your children, you should feel like you are doing a good job. I constantly feel guilty for everything (sitting down to rest even makes me feel guilty sometimes when I feel like my time could be more productively spent another way). Guilt is never productive.

Happy Healthy Moms = Happy Healthy Kids

 If your children see and feel that you are enjoying life, they in turn will see what they need to do to enjoy their own lives.

Joe: My Best Friend

5 Reasons Why Coffee is My Best Friend!

1. Have I told you I'm not a Morning Person (See the blog labeled A Tu-Tu A Day Keeps the Morning Blues Away)

2. The next few days are going to be busy. Coach's basketball team made it to the playoffs! Yea!!!!  Although I am very excited for him, this means that he will be gone a lot more preparing the team for the upcoming games. Tonight he has traveled to Dallas to scout out some teams he may be playing against. Tomorrow is game night, and Saturday the team will be playing a make-up game due to the snow day. Because of this, I am warning you ahead of time that my posts may sound a little delirious :)  But that only makes them more fun. Right?  I guess we'll see.


3.  Yesterday I awoke at 5:45a.m. (yeah I said A.M.) to a banging noise in the living room. I sent Coach to check it out. He returned with an expressionless face like he had seen a ghost. I asked him what the noise was, and all he said was, "Your daughter found your nail polish." Needless to say, the rest of the morning I was scrubbing bright red nail polish (the one from the post about betting!) out of my white carpet.
***** Tip!!!!! ************
If you ever spill nail polish on the carpet, after scrubbing it with soapy water, use Windex to help remove the remaining stain. (Found that tip on the Internet when I was hoping for a miracle, and it worked!)
I hope deep down in my soul that you will never need that tip, but just in case!
***********************
She had also painted her legs, arms, and lips. She apparently thought it was lip gloss. I will have nightmares about that morning for years! There were no pictures of this, I was busy feverishly scrubbing the carpet.

4. Coffee makes me sit. I'm not sure how or why. When I wake up on the weekends, I usually do so with a vengeance. I have a list of things to get done running through my head, and I jump straight to work. Coach is a coffee connoisseur. I've never seen someone drink so much of it. It is the first thing he does every morning, so as soon as he places the cup of coffee in my hands, I feel like I need to sit down and take a few minutes to enjoy it. Although it is full of caffeine, it is probably the main thing keeping me calm.

5. It's easy to make! I know this sounds silly, but at this point in my life, anything that only takes a few minutes to prepare, and has a setting where it turns itself on and makes itself is definately a favorite. It's like the croc-pot of beverages. Not only that, but my husband is such a coffee lover, that I very rarely have to actually make my own. Score!


I tend to agree with Mike Ditka from the Movie "Kicking and Screaming"

Coffee is the lifeblood that fuels the dreams of champions.

Survival Skills

 7 Things I've survived this week:

1. An amazingly cold day and no socks (I hate socks, they make my feet clostrophobic- let me be free). My nickname in high school had something to do with stinky feet. Not sure why? They weren't that bad. I'll probably steal some socks from Coach to wear tomorrow so my toes don't get frostbite and fall off ;)

2. My speech darlin's turning into little gremlins at the elementary school (weather changes always make them crazy but power outages only added to the spaz factor)



3. Working on 4 hours of sleep. Baby Gray was at home sick with Coach. I hate it when babies get sick. You feel like you can never do enough. The nights were full of lots of rocking, cool washcloths, and vicks. Poor monkey.



a pic of him on a well day!





I took a pic of myself to
document the fear



4. A chicken attack. I see a little girl at her home for therapy and on my way up to the house, a chicken/guinea (not really sure what it was) decided to chase me. For some reason, animals think it is fun to attack me.I promise you I'm not exaggerating, I walked out, ran to my car, and it was pecking on my car after I got in. Growing up I had hermit crabs, hamsters, dogs, cats, birds, and fish (I was bit by all of them except the fish- I'm so glad they don't have teeth). Needless to say my dream of being a veterinarian did not become a reality.

5. Heavy snow! Just kidding. We got two inches, and that is probably a record! The kids loved it!

Stinkerbelle got to make her first snow angel, and Mini-Me only thinks snow is good for one thing. Eating! Everytime I looked up, she was getting another mouthfull.

We made snow ice-cream. I'll post the recipe for that tomorrow.

6. Walking in and seeing Mini-me putting everything she could find in the toilet after she was supposed to be in bed. We have since decided to put a bell on her door, so we can have a warning if she gets up in the middle of the night to explore. Why the toilet??? Why do kids love the toilet so much? The world will never know.

7. The underwear gnome came to visit my house and stole all of Stinkerbelle's undies. I walked in to the living room after about 20 minutes of doing work to find Coach asleep on the couch, and the underwear gnome trying to escape through the back door. Not sure how she did it, but she accomplished putting on 12 pairs. Beware, the gnome escaped and is armed and dangerous.

Not sure how she got away
with all that junk in her trunk

Snow Day Survival Tip: Have plenty of food!!!! Thank goodness we went to the store a few days ago, or I would be suiting up and skiing to the nearest convenience store! Okay, there's not enough snow to ski on, but I'd get there somehow!

My New Years Resolution - Positivity

This year I have decided to try a new resolution. Last year was lose my baby weight, and I did okay. Never quite made it to my goal, but did make a dent (or got rid of a few dents) :)  I decided to go a different route this year and try a unconventional resolution.

At the school I work for, our theme for the year is "Get on the energy bus." This is a book by Jon Gordon that gives 10 rules to fuel your life, work and team with positive energy. Everyone at my school was given one of the books that outlines how to do this, and encouraged to read it.  I have not read all of it (in all of my spare time), but highly recommend it. I have heard it is great. What I have read is a list that my principal sent out to the employees that the author of "The Energy Bus" wrote. I usually think these kind of lists are a little corny, but I actually liked this one. So here is my inspiration for my new years resolution.

20 Tips for A positive New Year by Jon Gordon

1. Stay Positive. You can listen to the cynics and doubters and believe that success is impossible or you can know that with faith and an optimistic attitude all things are possible.

2. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement: My purpose is _______________
(I'm still working on figuring out exactly what I am going to fill that with)

3. Take a morning walk of gratitude. I call it a "thank you walk." It will create a fertile mind ready for success.
(Not sure I will have time for this every day, but may try to do it on the weekends when Coach is home)

4. Instead of being disappointed about where you are, think optimistically about where you are going.

5. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
(or in my case queen, and princess :)

6. Remember that adversity is not a dead-end but a detour to a better outcome.
(I really like this quote. Wish I was one of those people who could memorize quotes and use them at the perfect moment. I usually end up saying, Oh that stinks, it will all be okay. )

7. Focus on learning, loving, growing, and serving.
(Definitely important for coach's wives)

8. Believe that everything happens for a reason and expect good things to come out of challenging experiences.

9. Don't waste precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

10. Mentor someone and be mentored by someone.

11. Live with the 3 E's. Energy, Enthusiasm, Empathy.

12. Remember there is no substitute for hard work.
(We women already know that)

13. Zoom focus. Each day when you wake up in the morning ask: "What are the three most important things I need to do today that will help me create the success I desire?" Then tune out all the distractions and focus on these actions.

14. Implement the http://www.nocomplainingrule.com/ . Complaining is like vomiting. Afterwards you feel better but everyone around you feels sick.
(Love this one!)

15. Read more books than you did in 2010. I happen to know a few good ones. :)
(I'll try!)

16. Get more sleep. You can't replace sleep with a double latte.
(I am definitely a coffee addict. Maybe I can have both)

17. Focus on "Get to" vs. "Have to." Each day focus on what you get to do, not what you have to do. Life is a gift not an obligation.

18. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements:
                     I am thankful for ________________.

                     Today I accomplished _________________.

19. Smile and laugh more. They are natural anti-depressants.

20. Enjoy the ride. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy it.

(My husband wanted me to include the famous quote: Life is a garden, dig it-Joe Dirt,  thank you Coach for the contribution)

After reading these tips, I decided that in 2011 I am going to try to be more positive. When you have all the troubles of daily life upon you, it is hard to remember that most of the troubles you have are also blessings. Work, somedays tiring, but rewarding. Children screaming, thank you Lord for the healthy lungs of my children, Coach gone at a game, we are blessed he has a job, and I am blessed I have him as my husband.  Life is busy, but I am going to try to look at each day, as Jon Gordon said, as a gift.

Good luck to y'all on your resolutions and hope you each have a blessed new year!