I have no Hair!

I have no hair. Those of you who know me will know that my hair has been long for several years. What you may NOT know is that back in 2004 I chopped off my hair for Locks of Love.

In case you don't know, Locks of Love is a non-profit organization that makes wigs for children who have lost their hair due to any medical-related illness, such as alopecia areata or cancer. Check out http://www.locksoflove.org/ for more information!

I have always been blessed with beautiful hair. Not to boast, but it's true: I've been blessed. My hair is a gorgeous color (people spend lots of money trying to dye it this shade!), it's thick, and it has a natural yet easy curl. If Amy from Little Women were here, she'd say it was my "one true beauty." Still, when I heard a long time ago that I could help poor kids who didn't have hair, it seemed almost selfish NOT to chop my hair off. So, I took the plunge.

I cried; it was such a shock. Still, it felt good knowing that my hair was shorn for a good cause... even if it took a few days to get used to, and even if my then-boyfriend walked past me in the hall because he didn't realize it was me. (I wonder if I even told him of my plans, or how drastic the change would be!)

I've been growing it out since then. Since then it's been in the back of my mind to chop it off again. A few years ago, I decided that I wanted to wait until I got married to cut it off, so that I could do an updo if I wanted. (I decided to do a half-up/half-down 'do.)

June 2010 came and went, and I had my long hair for the wedding. Then I moved to Florida, and the idea of chopping off my hair was even more cemented in my head. Still, I waited, thinking I'd grow it out a bit more. The "get it cut!" feeling was constantly strengthening and ebbing. I knew it would happen eventually.

These past few weeks I've been more anxious to cut it. Indeed, I almost did several times. Yesterday I decided that today, 11/15/10, would be the day. I looked at pictures for inspiration. I stopped by a few salons on the way home from work, but they were closed or didn't have time for a walk-in. So, I went to a salon close to my house. I showed Eva my pictures, we talked about what I wanted, and we got to work.

I LOVE IT. It's so fun. Modern. Sleek. Chic. Sophisticated. Mature. I know I'll love it even more as I play with it (what little there is!)

Money and the Like

Roy and I just took a big step: We've set up three Primerica accounts for our future. We set up a retirement Roth IRA, a mid-term account to save for big items in the near future (i.e. a car!), and an emergency fund. We're also going to be getting life insurance in the next few months.

I feel very grown up. (If only I were tall enough to look it, right? haha) It just feels great to be able to save for our future. Since we're starting at a pretty early age, we have the potential to really build a strong future.

We are going with Primerica because Roy's uncle is in the business, and he is learning it from a man who is like his son. They've come to our house and sat down with us, explaining everything and working with us to choose the right accounts based on what we want. It's great that we have someone to really help us, given how important your financial future it.

Hooray!

My Love

Not going to lie: I have a pretty great husband. He's very good to me. Case in point: He told me he was going to the supermarket and was going to get me a surprise. The surprise is a lunch of homemade chicken noodle soup (with homemade stock broth) and grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches. Roy knows I don't eat grilled cheese unless there is, at least, tomato on it.

Roy and I also have a funny little thing we do, wherein I make some sort of noise ("La la?") and he responds ("La."). Weird, right? Well, it's pretty great, because everyone else just looks at my like I'm a nutcase.

Last night Roy called me worried. We were driving home separately, and I was ahead of him. There was on huge accident, which I must have missed by a minute, but Roy didn't know that and was concerned. It may seem silly to love that he did that; I mean, who wouldn't be concerned, right? Yet it is so amazing to have someone that concerned for you. Everyone should have that. I am very lucky.

Revamp

So! It's been a while, eh? Sorry, I've been busy. First, though, I've decided to change up the ol' blog. Given that I am no longer planning my wedding, it didn't make sense to keep that title. The URL will stay the same, though. One of the things I'm going to do to simplify my blog is to use names instead of nicknames. I mean, it's not like I'm putting dirty laundry out to dry, and I really did that in the beginning to keep the wedding details private.

I'm calling it "Life: Pure and Un-simple" because I'll keep it straight forward, but life is never simple. In fact, I can't remember the last time life was remotely simple. That's neither here nor there, though. Regardless of how difficult life may be, it is an exciting adventure.

I mentioned I've been busy, which is very true. I currently work two jobs: I'm a substitute teacher for my county and I work evenings and weekends at a local Ruby Tuesday. I like both jobs, but it can certainly be a long day when you do subbing 7:15- 2:45 and then go to a restaurant at 4.

I'm also going get my temporary teaching certificate to be an earth-space science teacher. Since I have a bachelor's degree already, you can take a subject-area knowledge test to qualify for the certificate. Then I'll take teaching-specific courses at the local college to get my permanent certificate. At the moment, I'm making a study guide based on the test subjects. This is more intense than I thought it would be: The study guide is already 37 pages long, and I still have two more subjects to cover as well as some Florida-specific topics to research. Luckily I can do a lot of this work while I'm subbing (as long as the class is good and I have good Internet access). Still, it's incredibly time consuming.

At the same time, Roy and I are also trying to find jobs in our industry. Well, he is. I've applied for a job at my Alma Mater, and I am really hoping to get it. It's a job as a dispatcher in the safety office, but it comes with benefits and everything. Plus, people who work at the college get free grad school for them or their spouse. Um, hello, please pick me. Roy and/or I will gladly get a graduate degree.