It's All Good

Al is home! He was gone a week and half, but it felt much longer this time for some reason. I can do about a week, but then I’m ready for him to be home. He had a good trip, everyone did well on whatever exercise and he ate a lot and drank some good beer. So, overall, he labeled it a success.

He was so happy to be home. I know this because he must have said it 10 times. At one time in my low self-confidence haze, I just took it as yeah yeah yeah he’s just a homebody so he’s just happy to be back in his own house. But then I realized, Hey! I made this a home! So, I take his happiness to be home as a huge compliment and something to do with the fact that I’m at home, too.

And of course, he was happy to be home because his new laptop had arrived and he’s a happy happy happy camper as he travels the world wide web in record time. Plus, he got a black MacBook, and it just looks damn cool.

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When I was in Kansas City, I bought a brownie mix from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. Oh…..my…..God! They are so good. But how bad could they be when you melt really good chocolate chunks with a stick of butter then add it to a dry mixture with little chocolate chips in it. Wow. But be sure to have a glass of milk handy because they are so rich, you really need milk. I guess you could add the walnuts to the mixture like the box says, but why would you want to interfere with the chocolate?


However, considering the cost, I’d be just as happy with a Ghiradelli brownie mix or making some from scratch.

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I had a momentous day last week—I cut my hair! Well, I didn’t, Katie at the salon did, but considering I had been letting it grow out for a year or more, this was a brave thing to do. And a smart thing—it’s really cute, if I do say so myself, especially since it’s been almost a week and I’ve figured out how to style it to my liking. I told her that I was bored and felt old and dumpy. I didn’t want anything that looked too young or made me look like I was trying to be young but I didn’t want a helmet of perfectly coiffed hair, either. And Katie’s good; she was honest with me about what my hair would do and what it wouldn’t unless I put a lot of products on it and spent a lot of time working with it. And she knows me well enough to know that I don’t want to do that.

I like where I get my hair done, but it is a little disconcerting to walk in and see so many really, really young women in really high-heeled shoes, wearing a lot of make up and with very bleached blond hair. It’s like walking into a Barbie hair shop or a Stepford Wives nightmare. Then getting the bill is always a little shocking, at least for Al. He was looking through the checkbook and unfortunately saw a day when I got my hair colored and cut. You know, we talk about eyes bulging out in surprise, but I’ve never actually seen it done until then. But I reminded him that I told him years ago that having my hair done is a luxury that I budget for. I love having my hair done. I don’t care that it cost him $7 to have his hair cut, considering how little he has, talk about over-charging. So he’s dealing with it.

And I know the next thing you’re saying—so show us! Well, I photograph horribly, but if I can get my courage up, I’ll take one and post it.

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Yeah! It’s the weekend and Al’s home. What to do, what to do. If I can get him away from his computer long enough, we’ll find something to do.

Hope you have a great weekend, too.