Rollerama {and a bunch of unrelated stuff}

{Iphone photo}

As a marriage and parenting coach, I am always telling my clients how important it is to "date your mate."  With the busy schedules of a teen, a tween and a kindergartner it is a challenge for me to follow my own advice sometimes.

Anyway, last week was a blue one for me.  I am feeling so very lost.  I have perspective and realize my problems are small but nonetheless, they felt very overwhelming last week.  Dave saw me crying one day and realized we needed a date night ASAP!  So when Dave asked me where I wanted to go for dinner, I said..."I don't want to just go to dinner. I want to go do something fun! I want to laugh."  He said, "like what?"  I immediately said, "Rollerskating!"

Well, Dave had never roller-skated or rollerbladed in his whole life.  He had never been on wheels. Ever.  But my sweet husband tracked down a roller rink about 40 minutes from our house and we went roller skating!!!  We I had so much fun!  I was very shaky at first.  But all those Friday nights at the Rollerama in Bucks County, PA came rushing back to me.  Seriously, I spent a lot of time roller skating in my tween years.  

Dave and I really did have a great time.  It was just what we needed. He did great too. He did not fall once. I have a few seconds of video from my phone but I don't think he wants me to post it even though he looks awesome! In fact, I am going to try to come up with some more "fun" dates for us.  Let me know in the comments any fun date ideas you have.

On Sunday we went to the BEST Superbowl party!!!   Our friends have recently built the MOST amazing Mies van der Rohe style house.  It is huge.  It is stunningly gorgeous.  They had the most food I have ever seen anywhere from sliders and wings to steak and shrimp.  There was a fabulous frozen margarita machine and just about anything else you might have wanted.  The kids had a blast too.

{Kate just before we left for the party (outfit Zulily).
I just got instagram but have NO clue how to use it!}

I curled my hair for the party ( who knew it would match Madonna's?)...

Great tutorial for curling hair here.  This is a darling blog too.

(an I phone snap at the party. My I-phone stinks. It is old.)

I was outside by the fire and the outdoor kitchen watching with my friends on the big scren.  My kids were in that room beyond the glass.  A HUGE media room with a movie screen, a flat screen, a pool table, a shuffleboard table, and a fireplace.  It was perfect!


I know a lot of people did not like Madonna's half time show but I did.  I was taken back to the 80's driving around in my shiny red pinto listening to her!  I LOVED Madonna's music when I was in high school and college.  And I can tell you this.  There were about 100 people at this party and the only time everyone was staring at the multiple screens was when Madonna was on.  People were mesmerized.

Okay so back to my hair.  It is getting so long and it looks awful down.  So, I have been trying new things.  Here is the messy sock bun.  Yup there is a sock in there.  Tutorial here and here.

(This one was the first one I did but I have gotten much better at it)

I am getting my hair hi-lighted on Thursday and I might cut it shorter too.  What do you think? I wear it up or curled everyday.

We are hosting an early Valentine's dinner party Saturday night for four couple friends at our house. I am really excited.  We have not had a formal dinner party in a long time. I am in the process of menu planning. Any suggestions?

I might make this centerpiece.  I am not sure I love it.  It might be too cutesy for me. What do you think?

And I cannot remember where I got this image below but doesn't this look like a yummy comfort dessert?  If anyone knows the source or recipe, let me know, please:)

See, I told you this post was all over the place!  Okay, here is what I want to know:

Any fun date ideas?  (keep it clean people.  This is a g rated blog)

Any menu suggestions?

What should I do with my hair?

What do you think of that centerpiece?

Okay, that is all for now:)

Jumping on the bandwagon!

I am not usually such a follower but I am totally being a copy cat on this one.  First, our friend, Wesleigh got the cutest lil bob last week.  Then our friend, Sienna cut her own hair which led to the cutest pixie cut for her and a darling angled bob for sister, Miss Ruby Mei.  I kept looking at Kate's long stringy locks and thinking they had seen better days.  So, I showed her Wesleigh and Ruby's new cuts and asked her if she would like one too.  She joyfully agreed!  I am spontaneous this way and could not wait for an appointment at my salon so I took her where Will goes.  Luckily, it turned out well.

Before......

After....

I know--TOTALLY out of focus- but she was twirling around and I love her smile and when she finally stayed still....I got this face......

Lil Miss Sassy pants doesn't want bows or headbands anymore either!  I am not happy about that!  But she says we look like twins now and I think that is cute:)

She asked me as it was being cut if I think Josh (her little friend at school) will still love her with short hair.  That really made me sad that at four she thought someone would love her because of her hair (or her looks).  I could not help wonder if I made her think that because I did cry when she gave herself that mullet last year.  We talked about how people love her because she has a beautiful heart and a great sense of humor and a giving, generous personality and gifts of art, music and intelligence.  Still....it makes me sad that our girls get such messages about external beauty at such a young age.  I am going to be extra sensitive in trying to make sure Kate gets the right messages about true beauty.

Will got his hair cut too but he did not want a lot of photos (you know how it is when you are a teenager)!

A hair update and juicer questions answered

I am doing a little better about the hair. Thank you for all your supportive comments. Kate looks so young with it short.  As we go about our day, I do feel slightly compelled to explain to people that we did not cut her hair like this on purpose (I haven't though).  The length is not the awful part.  The awful part is that it is still a mullet (short over the ears and longer in back)~it is just a shorter mullet.  Anyone have any hair growing tips?  Kate's hair grows SO INCREDIBLY PAINFULLY slow.

She told me this morning that she wanted her hair back now.  So, I know she does regret it. One of the boys mentioned that all of the princesses have long hair (she is obsessed with princesses).  Their point was to tell her not to do it again.  She thought about it and said, "Mulan cut her hair with a sword." Damn that Mulan!

Okay, now onto the juicer questions...

1.  I noticed your juices are mostly veggie juices. What about fruit juices?

I have made fruit juices for my kids (watermelon and blueberry).  They liked it but they prefer smoothies.  Fruit juices are okay  (in terms of health) but they do have a lot of natural sugars and can spike your blood sugar.  So I have not done many. Also, I have not really craved the fruit juices as I think they are really sweet. It is my understanding that the veggie juices really pack the nutrients.  I use fruit to sweeten the veggie juices.

2. Do your kids like it too?

Harry is very willing to try all the juices.  He liked the beet and green veggie juice I made yesterday.  He also likes the carrot, apple, ginger juice.  However, I only make them for myself unless they ask.  Right now, my strategy is to be a role model for the children.  I am hoping that by seeing me drink them and feel energized (and hopefully Dave), they will ask for more.  I typically pour Harry a small cup from mine when he asks.  Also, for children the juices ought to be diluted with pure water (it can be too much for their little systems).  

3. What kind of a juicer do you have...brand/model?? Do you like it enough that you would purchase the same kind again? Is it easy to clean??  

I bought the Breville Juice Fountain Elite.  I got it at Bed, Bath and Beyond using a 20% off coupon so I saved quite a bit. It retails for about $300 but you can find it on Amazon for $259.00.  I paid slightly less than that at BBB and really I was impatient and did not want to wait on shipping. 

I LOVE my juicer! In fact, I wish I could take to with me when we travel:) It took me a few tries to figure it all out but now it is super easy.  Cleaning takes 5-10 minutes.  All the pieces are dishwasher safe but I hand clean them because they are big and I don't want to run the dishwasher twice a day.  I did a lot of research and for my needs and budget, this was definitely rated the best.  Martha Stewart uses it too:)  Have a look here to see her juicing...

4. The taste - did you have trouble getting past the taste of some of these mixes?

You would be surprised!  They taste very good to me. I put either a pear or an apple in all of my veggie juices and they really sweeten any bitterness of the greens.  I actually CRAVE the green goddess every day and I have missed it when I was away. Try one at whole foods or a juice bar sometime!

The carrot juices are a little strong for me but I try to drink one or two a week because I have premature cataracts (it is hereditary!) and carrot juice is GREAT for that!

5. Do you drink the juices in replacement of breakfast and lunch? 

I did not start juicing for weight loss so I was just adding the juice to my diet.  But I generally drink one large veggie juice for breakfast now. I was never a big breakfast eater though.  I want to start adding spirulina (a protein) but I have not gotten around to purchasing it yet. I know many people do replace meals with juice and lose lots of weight.  I hope to do a juice fast (1-2 days) when the kids return to school as a small detox.

6.  I really am curious if the juices would be better though that eating the fresh/organic fruits & veggies I eat? 

Okay so here is what I have read....When you eat a carrot your body absorbs 11% of the beta carotene because your stomach works so hard to break down the food and extract the nutrients. If the carrot is cooked even less is absorbed because cooking destroys the enzymes.  When you juice a carrot, you get 100% of the beta carotene.  Juice is live, full of enzymes and super easy to digest so it gives your stomach a rest (which is why I started juicing). So, while you don't get all of the fiber, you get TONS more of the the live enzymes and nutrients (which fight cancer).  I am NOT an nutritionist or an expert.  This is purely what I have read from the experts.  I would certainly read all you can about juicing before you decide if it is right for you.

7. Will you share what brand you have and where you get your recipes?

I originally asked someone at the juice bar at the beach and she told me on the sly the vague ingredients of my favorite juices and from there I have looked up recipes on-line and experimented.  I have my favorites for sure but you are supposed to switch around the combinations so that you don't become sensitive to any foods.  Food rotation is super important to avoid allergies.  My next step is to get a few juicing recipe books.

Another tip I will share with you is that I put my juicer out on the counter (and put away the coffee maker). It looks good too! I also made sure I had 3-4 days supplies of produce for the juices.  That way, I see it every morning and I make the juice. It is no harder than making a pot of coffee.   If it were in a cabinet or the pantry, I think I could get lazy. Please let me know if you have any more questions.  I am always happy to share information on things that have helped me but I know this is definitely not for everyone.

Mullet anyone?

Okay, I know some of you will think this is funny, but I can tell you that I am NOT there yet, so please be sensitive and empathic.

I was taking a shower today and Dave was making the kids lunch when Kate CUT HER HAIR!!!!  She cut the front and side up to her ears.  She had the WORST mullet!

I have told her 1,000,000 times that we NEVER use scissors on our hair.  I am not going to lie. When I saw it I cried and I cried HARD.  For two years, I have restrained cutting her hair.  I painstakingly let her bangs and her hair grow out from this

to this.....

and this...

and this...

I stood by and watched friends cut bangs or cute little bobs on their daughters and I debated doing the same but I stayed the course because Kate wanted long hair and I wanted her to have long hair. It was finally at a length where we could style it in so many cute ways. Her bangs were completely grown out and even with the rest of her hair.  Well, not anymore!

Here are some mullet shots.  Now, trust me it looked SO MUCH WORSE in person....

Does someone look  a little guilty?

Well, now our Kate is sporting a pixie/bob/the only thing the hairdresser could do to salvage her hair. I know she looks cute in these shots but it real life...she looks like she cut her hair and it is going to take a LONG time to look even again. (and just in time for her first day of school, too!) Just to let you know how bad it looks~ Will asked me if we could get her extensions! LOL!

I know that in the big scheme of life this is minor.  I know that I am lucky and that our life is blessed.  But I am still REALLY sad and grieving her old hair.  She was going to be Cinderella for Halloween:(  I also know that it will be year or two before I can pull it back again...sigh.

P.S. I got several questions about the juicer and juicing.  I will answer them Monday or Tuesday.