Dare to Hair

So, this is how I have felt about my hair lately. I was going to be creative and take a picture like that myself.. but thats how HORRIBLE my hair looks. I can't even post a picture.

Since being married I've had to cut back on what I spend on getting my hair done. As much as I don't think I can survive if I don't color my roots as soon as I see them, I always do. In fact, I've been surviving WITH roots for the past 3 months!!

I also have a hard time trusting people with my hair. I've had some pretty bad experiences. I miss my hairstylist back home sooo much! Not only does she make what seems to be an impossible head-of-hair look amazing, it's just SUCH a therapy to be able to sit there, chat, and leave looking amazing.

So, for a healthy head of hair you're only supposed to color it every 6 months right? Well, this works out perfectly...I only go to Utah about that much! And luckily, my hair grows sooo slow so it needs about that much time before it needs a good trim.

Well, it's about that time again. A week from today I'm leaving to Utah and at the top of my list of things to do, you will find "Get New Hair".

Yep folks, I'm cutting AND coloring. I already have found a style, but what I need your opinions on are what color to go. I've been brown, blonde, red, red/brown, brown/blonde, blonde/red, brown/blonde/red. You name it, I've done it.. well kind of. I always stay with the comfortable warm colors, when I go blonde, its not BRIGHT blonde, its sandy blonde. When I go brown, I go light brown, not CHOCOLATE brown. So..people... I need change. Right now I'm gold/red/blonde/brown. Keep in mind its very faded.

So do I go BRIGHT blonde, or DRASTIC dark, (usually when I go that dark, I always get a red tint to it, but everyone is doing that color now so thats out) What should I do??

HELP!!!

P.s. Blake wants Blonde..but...I'm really..not so sure how I would like that.
P.s.s If you want to know my hair type : Thin and Fine.

Don't let the bed bugs bite

So lately, I have been having the WORST sleeps of my life. I toss and turn all night, then end up beeing groggy and tired all day, just to do it all over again the following night. And on top of that

My back is SOOO SORE.
I hurt.
A lot. Call me weak.

In fact, one day I cried about it.
These beds are NO BUENO.
Thing is, Blake is sleeping just fine.
What is going on?!

I won't complain too much, but I will tell you this.....

Back Rubs
Are
THE
Best.

I love my husbands hands.
Always have.

But right now,
I appreciate them.

Yo-ho, Yo-Ho, an APX life for me.

June has almost come and gone, and I can't wrap my mind around how fast time is seeming to go out here. 2 months down, 2 more to go.
This has been such an adventure to be so far away from home, but I still haven't been able to call it a home...in the least.
At times I have felt so helpless, useless, and impatient with how things were going. The income we are getting in, hasn't been sufficient to what we need to have in order to survive.
Laundry alone has been costing 7 dollars a week. Ugh.
(We now air dry our clothes)
That's not the only thing we've had to "sacrifice". We have been eating canned soups, oatmeal, applesauce, and easy mac for the past few weeks.
No, it's not healthy nor ideal,
But, we are surviving. And that's what matters.
(Sometimes it's better to be smart, than picky.)
Attitude plays such a big part in our daily lives. Things that seem impossible at the time, can be overcome with simply changing your attitude.
I'm so grateful for the power to do remarkable things,
by just thinking in a remarkable way.

Beach day

Yesterday, we went to Parlee Beach!! It was fun to finally see the anticipated ocean, and all the creatures that occupy it! As you can see..this is one of Blakes favorite things to do. His first catch of the day, a crab!!

This is what I saw the whole time we were there, they wen't down the whole beach crowding around some creature they would fine. This time it happened to be a beached Jelly fish! There were a lot!

The boys touching the jelly fish..the ended up throwing it back in the ocean..trying to "save" it.

Yes, they caught a fish! They all chased it and ended up getting it onto the beach...Unfortunately..when we tried to throw it back..belly up. We like to think he came to in the end.

Another crab. A main event of the day was "crab fighting". They made an arena and everything for it.

Here is one of the arenas, oppenents: a snail, and a hermit crab. The large crab didnt seem too interested though.

The last find of the day, a STARFISH. It was soo cute!

All in all, the day was a sucess.

Next week we're thinking Bay of Fundy.

Crowne Plaza

Well.. WE MADE IT!! After a long day of packing, dissappointment, and unpacking! We are finally settled in a comfortable room in our new home at the Crowne Plaza. Oh yeah, and I'm officially 20 now! Yay!!

So all day Sunday, we were doing things. I woke up pleasantly to my cute Blake getting me breakfast and bed. What a great way to start off my birthday!! For those of you that know me well, you know I stress..very easily..and worry..about small things. Well, there was no time to celebrate, snuggle, or get ready in my head. Blake had to repeatedly tell me to calm down and relax and to be happy! I tried. It didn't work too well. We had to be out of there by noon! It helped that I had packed the day before, but it still seemed like there was a never ending load of things out to our car! And on top of that it was RAINING. Beautiful. So here I was, going in and out of the Hotel, back and forth, in sweats and a t shirt. Hair getting matted down and curling. GROSS! I know. It looked very fitting that I was a joyous girl turning 20. Jokes.

The car was finally packed..completely..packed. We had no vision out of our back window, and I had no leg room. Luckily, our destination was only 2 hours away. I actually enjoyed the drive. I got some quality time with Blake, we talked the WHOLE time. It was nice. The scenery was also BEAUTIFUL. The vegetation here is sooo green!! And there are so many body's of water out here! We made it that much closer to the ocean!

We finally got to Crowne Plaza. SOOO excited. The Lobby looked AMAZING. The service was GREAT. We got to our room. HORRIBLE! Okay, well they are actually very nice..but sooo small!! I was so disappointed. I was expecting a suite. Somewhere I could cook...nope. I knew if we were to bring all our stuff in, it would not be comfortable. I was already upset that I had brought a bunch of extra stuff we DIDN'T need, but not having places to put things really gets me in the wrong way. I mean its better to be prepared, then unprepared..but I wasn't prepared for a room that small. Well, eventually, after venturing the whole hotel, we found a room. With two queen beds, that extra bed makes all the difference in how big a room is. We are now living comfortably in Crowne Plaza.

Making meals is still difficult, but we're managing. We had to get a fridge brought up to our room, and were supposed to get a microwave as well, but we had to be put on a list and LUCKILY we got that microwave today! Wahoo!! I've been making top ramen, oatmeal, and easy mac in the Coffee Pot. It's been interesting, but it's worked none-the-less.

My birthday turned out to be just great. I got many wonderful texts and phonec calls and later that night we went to boston pizza with the group, had a GREAT meal (Thanks Chance and Amy!!), and came home and opened a present from Blakes family. It was wonderful. Blake also bought me cupcakes the next day, because the ice cream cake I wanted was a bit pricey. The cupcakes were SO good. (You better believe I made him sing me Happy Birthday when I ate my cupcakes).


Anyways, that's all for now!! Oh yeah, the weather has started to be absolutely wonderful. This sunday Blake and I are hoping to get to the coast.

Farewell Lakeview Inn and Suites

It's been a little over a month and we're still managing to survive. Not that I had any doubt that we wouldn't, it's just...the initial thought of living in a hotel room for a month wasn't very appealing to me. But it's a LOT better then I was expecting after seeing the pictures of the hotel online before we came out here. It's also a HUGE step up from the motels that we were staying at along the way, I actually feel somewhat SAFE here. With that being said, I'm more then ready to leave this place.

Fredericton, you are very green, and very wet. But you're beautiful. Blake and I have enjoyed much of what your city has to offer. At times, you gave our APX team a good week, and others a really slow week. But overall, it was a good area. I also appreciated the sun, when it decided to come out. The people are incredibly nice, and we couldn't have picked a better area to kick off our summer. Don't worry I'm taking pictures, I just don't want to post them on here just yet.

Lakeview, your continental breakfast was very enjoyable, but that may only be my bias opinion because my sweet husband got up early each morning to bring me breakfast in bed, even when he had a late night! Orange juice, some cereal, a muffin, a bagel, and a yogurt each and every morning. I love him. I also have to give you props for your hot chocolate...that is...when you HAD it. I also really appreciated the Non-Smoking environment of the entire hotel. Loved it.

Room 317, you have given me shelter, TV with cable, and a decent bed. But here are the things I won't miss : the roaring air conditioning, the sink that won't drain, the toilet that takes 10 minutes to flush, slow internet, footsteps of a giant, gross green carpet, *Knock Knock Knock* "Guest Services!" in the early morning, random beetles, towels that feel like sand paper, keys that won't work, and a fridge that ruins fresh food.

It's now time for us to move on, to bigger and better things. Okay, so we're going to another hotel, but it really is...BIGGER and BETTER. Crowne Plaza in Downtown Moncton, look it up. With a pool and decent exercise room, I am ready to call you my new home.

I've never been more excited for a change of scene.

Rule Book

Through out our lives, we all have experiences that shape out the type of person that we are. Some influences we let in, and others we keep out. For instance, in elementary wasn't it just the coolest to wear your hair the same way as your friends, plan out the same out fits wear them the same day, and meet at the same place on the playground every reccess?? It was even cool to have a crush on the same guy! Everyone could be friends.
Once you enter Junior high you begin to find yourself a little more as an individual, able to seperate yourself from those that are "cool" and those that are not. Cliques are formed, awkward stages come and go, and so do some different habits. (Things that you will do and things that you will not.)
By the time highschool comes, you've formed a pretty good idea of where you fit in. Everyone knows who is liking who, who dresses the best, and who just doesn't fit in.
And thus, this is why i ask the question... WHO MADE THE RULES? Just to give a little insight here are some definitions of Rule: a principle or regulation governing conduct, action, procedure, arrangement, etc. to control or direct; exercise dominating power, authority, or influence over; govern.

Don't get me wrong. Rules are good, rules have helped me become the person I am today. And I'm grateful for that. But who made the "rules" about what type of person is acceptable, and what type of person isn't? Why does everyone think there is a certain way to feel, or think?

I'll be the first to admit I have a "rule" issue. I care so much about people, and want to help them, but where I go wrong is that I try to fix their problems by telling them to fix it..how I would fix it. I've caused myself and some others a lot of stress because of that. Now I'm on the other end of it. I find that people are trying to tell me how I SHOULD or SHOULDN'T feel about one thing or another. Trying to make me live by their "rules". I don't like it... at all. I feel like the person I am, and that I'm happy with, is wrong. This leads me to my next question.. is it selfish to want to be me?

Is it selfish to want to feel, the way I feel, without being questioned for it or feeling guilty about it, just because someone else isn't happy about it? Is it selfish to not WANT to change how you think, or feel? Don't get me wrong, I'm willing to change things about myself, I want to be a better person...who doesn't? But is it selfish to not change..if you don't think making those changes are in YOUR best interest?

I want to make everyone happy just as much as the next person, but everyone, includes me too.