Tell me I'm not crazy, well maybe just a little bit....

I am pleased to say that autumn is here. And I gladly welcome it with open arms, steaming coffee, and comfy hoodies. Late September through early November continue to be my favorite months, and Fall my favorite season. The change is so tangible, expressed through colors, and smells, it refuses to be ignored. I find that my imagination goes wild as my senses explore this magnificent transformation.


Being a part-time employed gal, missing her brother, with some time on her hands and errands to do, I found myself adventuring through neighboring towns yesterday. Purchasing chemicals, picking up job applications, making bank runs, and visiting one of my favorite places in the world: the library. 


There I returned all my books, and went to find some new world to delve into. Success, I think. I left the great hall of literature with only two books in my bag this time, I had learned my lesson on over ambitious amounts of reading with lack of time to do so, and was intrigued by the story line of my new companions. (Happenstance Found, by P.W. Catanese, an author who apparently lives in CT, and The Wednesday Wars, by Gary D. Schmidt an author who does not live in CT ;)


I pushed through the double doors out into the gray, damp world of downtown Manchester. And as I made my way to my parallel parked car, leather boots sloshing through puddles, something about the whimsical plot of Happenstance tickled a corner of my brain....I pondered it the rest of the day as I listened to the pitter patter of rain on the windowpanes. Finally my imagination got the better of me. I grabbed an old notebook filled with loose papers and a tale of epicness in the the making,(a little story I had long since put down and nearly forgotten about) set up camp in my garage, and prepared for a walk in the rain.


 With leather boots laced up and a heavy barn jacket I strolled up towards my cul-de-sac. The street was deserted and lit by four or five dim lamps. The air was pleasantly fresh, and I lifted my face towards the sky inviting the rain to soak me. It may sound terribly odd, but trudging through dark streets in the rain can be quite invigorating. As I traveled up the street my mind went on many adventures. So many stories, so many possibilities. 


Returning to my garage I slouched down in a canvas chair, notebook in my lap, doors wide open, the sound of rain and chill of mist floating through. I sat there for the next hour familiarizing myself with old friends, and reconstructing new and exciting plot lines. Thinking up all sorts of adventures that I wish I could have. Once or twice my father came out with looks of confusion, amusement, and what may have been concern for my sanity. I was inspired. Blame it on the weather. Blame it on my new pair of scruffy leather boots. Blame it on boredom, or a lack of adventure. Blame it on my lunacy. I don't care. I had fun. 

I escaped for just a little bit, and it was most refreshing to do so.

Sparrows....

"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" Matthew 6:25-26

Hello dear bloggers,

Last I typed to you I was anxiously awaiting the build of my clientele. Well, I'm still waiting. The only difference is the amount of money I am getting paid. When I wrote my last post, my hope for clients was more of a call for something to do. I was still being paid by the hour, whether I was doing hair or not. Since then I've been taken off hourly pay and am now working solely on commission. Oh, commission. I have mixed feelings over you. The way it works at my salon is that the client pays for their service and then half of that money goes to the salon and the other half goes to me. 50/50. Not so bad, I guess....unless you don't have a steady flow of work coming through your door. My hope for clients has turned into a heavy NEED of clients.

A few weeks ago I went out to breakfast with one of my friends. We sat there and confessed our needs to constantly be working. Creating bits and pieces of art - art that stands unmoving, and art that gets up and walks around. This need to create, and change is part of who we are. We talked about artists like us and how we 'fit' into the great big artistic world out there.

"Fit" is a silly word to use. As if you could put us in a box. Never have I seen an artist who is shaped like a square... We talked about the struggle of being in the world, and not of it. The total blur of moral lines, showing love, being salt, and being light, and being scared to stand out....

We spoke our concerns about how we love what we do, but how financially hard it can be.

The fact that I can't control the amount of people that come in requesting me, that my paycheck isn't steady, really bugs me out. I wouldn't say that I'm a control freak, but there are some things that, were I able to control, I would. This is where I have to let go. I've always been a very independent girl, just ask my mother. If I wanted something, I would work to make it happen. I could do anything. I now find myself very dependent, and very out of control. And I don't like it.

You've heard the phrase "Be still, and know that I AM God."? Well, lately I've found myself being still and knowing quite often. I'm learning to become dependant. God is teaching me to depend on him for clients. He's giving me patience. Now, it's hard, I'm still sitting around alot and waiting for people to call, and my paycheck is pretty shabby, but not once have I gone into work and left without having done at least one client that day. What do I do in my spare time? I pray that God would send me walk-ins. And he does. He is faithful, and I need him. A lot.

So, next time we'll have to see how I'm doing with patience and my contentedness with dependency....(and not gonna lie, 'next time' will probably be quite a while from now.... ;) We'll see how sparrow like I've become.

Do not stir up, or awaken love....

There's alot of pressures for Christians to conform to the "normal standards" in the secular world. Particularly in the area of purity. I find this very sad, and very hard to get away from, considering where I go to school. Nearly everyday I get to hear about how some girl compromised her morals, or how she threw them out the window completely. I see boyfriends come to visit for lunch and gaze ravenously at their girlfriend and every other girl at the table.

I know that in this day and age, this generation, the standards I hold for myself are high. I'm not just shooting for the moon...I'm going to Pluto (to infinity and beyond...if you will ;). But sexual purity, along with self value - because those two in my opinion are closely related - are probably the highest ranked of said 'personal standards'. Recently, a friend of mine wrote a FB note on this topic and I believe he's expressed his thoughts more eloquently than I could on the subject. So....I'm sharing his note, from which I was encouraged. I hope this note makes you think a bit.

The Unusual Me I am.
Tuesday, 06 April 2010 at 13:38

I’m a little different from your typical guy.
I’m going to save myself for my wife. All of me. I don’t believe in doing everything but, and then calling it success. I don’t want to show up with a V-card that has been battered and bruised from too much beating around the bush, and then say “I did it! I kept it intact, but just barely.”
No, I want that thing to sparkle. And I hope hers shines too. I don’t want to be with a girl who messes around, has loose lips, and doesn’t really care who knows it. That’s just not attractive, and neither are extra-tight shorts or low, low shirts.
Okay, so maybe I have a high standard. Maybe I want to be the odd duck. But hey, I would choose a deeply satisfying marriage over those quick and flighty thrills, any day.
Call me old fashioned, if you want. And maybe I am. Maybe they actually knew what they were doing back then. See, I believe in asking her father first, and I believe in dating her family, too. I believe in holding the door open, and the second door too.
I believe in talking, not touching, and I’d rather take her hand than her clothes. Kissing is for later, so let’s joke and laugh right now.
I’m her friend before I’m her lover, but when I’m her lover, oh how I will love her.
So yeah, I’m a little unusual. I don’t do it how it’s normally done. I don’t go in for a cheap and quick romance, because I believe in the grandest kind of love story. If it’s not real and full, you can count me out. I won’t settle for an imitation, or for less than what my Creator has in mind for me.

True, it’s a high standard, but we can’t hit high unless we aim high. Right?

*Note taken from the FB page of Daniel Laurence Sellers

One of my many goals is that when I get married, and I give my husband my heart, I can hand it to him with a smile. Knowing that it does NOT look like this.

As a joke, yet in all honesty, my best friend, Bella, found and bought me this button :D

"the algebra had a devil for a sidekick eeeeeeeeee..." Wait...what did you say?

While I was doing hair on Sunday - for my very first paying client ;), we kinda make it a "party" - there was a discussion on misunderstandings.

Have you ever been in the car with someone, both singing along with the song flowing through the speakers, when you sing one thing and they sing another? You both look at each other and maybe an eyebrow is raised and confused looks are shared.

"What did you say?" they ask. "You've stolen my horse." you reply, "Why? what did you say?" "You're rollin' the course...." they say. *silent pause* You both laugh and continue singing. Eventually one of you looks up the real lyrics and another good laugh is shared over how very wrong you both were.

Well, we were all curious about misunderstood lyrics and actually found a good web site - http://www.kistthisguy.com - with maybe the top 20+ misunderstood lyrics, along with what they're supposed to be. Caveat: this is a slightly sketchy sight, hilarious yes, but a little sketch. but I think you'll enjoy what you find. Some of my top favorites were:

Bohemian Rhapsody:

The algebra has a devil for a sidekick eeeeeeeeee....

Real Lyric
Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me...

Losing My Religion - REM

Let's pee in the corner, Let's pee in the spotlight.

Real Lyric
That's me in the corner, That's me in the spotlight.

To late to apologize - one republic

It's too late to order fries

Real Lyric

It's too late to 'pologize

Summersong - The Decemberists

My girl, linen and curls, lips all parted like a fraggle unfurled.

Real Lyric
My girl, linen and curls, lips parting like a flag all unfurled

Dancing Queen - ABBA

See that girl, watch her scream, kicking the dancing queen
Real Lyric
See that girl, watch that scene, dig in the dancing queen

Oh Canada - the national anthem

Oh Canada, we stand on cars and freeze...
Real Lyric
Oh Canada, we stand on guard for thee...

anyways, these were just a few that gave us all a good chuckle. :D

Ode to Converse

Well, some of you may know, and some may not, but I like shoes. SURPRISE! Never would've thought, right? ;) Well, today I'm doing a little bit of shameless advertising. My shoe of choice has to be sturdy enough to last a while with my beastishly strong feet that go through shoes like nobody's business, and because of that, they have to look cute - but be able to look cute when they are worn and dirty, because...lets face it, I can't stay clean for long and don't have the patience to clean my shoes(I can barely keep my room clean, you think I'm going to sit there with a toothbrush

and scrub my shoes?) or the desire to avoid dirtiness cause normally, you gotta go through the mud to get to the fun! So here they are, the BEST shoes I will ever own! So lets give it up for the sneakers that've seen it all: