7 Quick Takes: August 19, 2011 (Vol. 93)

~ 1 ~

Check out how determined she is!

Last week when I wrote my quick takes, Jack had just learned to ride his bike (finally!) but Molly was still very much struggling.  I’m thrilled to report that after she finally trusted that we weren’t going to let go, we were actually able to let go anyway.

I am calling Eric “the bike whisperer,” as he was able to get each of the kids riding on their own when I was not able to.  Either they trusted him more, he had better tips for them, or there was something in his attitude that was different from mine.  (I believe it went something along the lines of me telling him later that it terrified me to watch their wobbly first rides, and didn’t it scare him too.  He said that it didn’t, and he went into the whole experience just expecting that people were going to get hurt.)

~ 2 ~

Because Molly learned to ride her bike, I scheduled an appointment to have a pink streak dyed in her hair, as I had promised her.  After a brief talk on the phone with someone from the salon (not where we normally go), I was able to convince Molly to go with a pink hair extension from Lox instead.

She got two put in, and she looks so cute with them!  She was patient, and it was done quickly.  She can’t wait to show them off to all of her friends.

I also decided to go for it and have four extensions put into my hair so that I could finally have some blue hair, as I had been wanting for years.  Pretty wild, huh?

~ 3 ~

Know what?  My hair is far too thick for those extensions to do even a little bit of good in my hair.  After they were put in, they weren’t even visible.  (I can’t believe the stylist convinced me to put in a fourth one with the hopes that it would be more noticeable.  Why she thought that might work is beyond me.)

On top of them not being visible, because I tend to brush hair out of my face, I kept grazing past them with my hand and basically pulled my own hair every time.  Ouch!

Want to know exactly how much I didn’t like these not visible to anyone, headache inducing extensions? I didn’t want to wait to see if they could get me in the next day to remove them, and just had Eric cut small parts of my own hair (under a ton of my other hair) to cut out the expensive extensions.

On the up side – I feel much better (and it’s totally not visible where they were cut out) and Molly reports that hers don’t bother her at all.

~4 ~

Vintage Typewriter - Etsy Seller: LaniesLoft

I have recently stumbled upon this very fun feature on Etsy called the Taste Test.  They show you a set of six pictures (that are listed on Etsy) and you click on the one that you like most.  If you don’t like any of them at all, then you just click on “Show Different Items.”  I have had to do it too many times, and have added several things to my Etsy favorites.

I have also found that I’m particularly partial to art and vintage items (especially typewriters, Pyrex bowls, and train cases).

~5 ~

After I recently said that I don’t read books (typically), I grabbed my Kindle the next day and started working on reading Bossypants by Tina Fey, which I bought last month at the recommendation of a friend.  I’m now 80% done with the book, and am really enjoying it.  I have found myself literally laughing out loud many, many times.

(I do need to add, however, that if you’re offended by bad language, this is definitely not the book for you.)

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Last weekend, my Mom and I got away to the big city and got to visit an Archivers (scrapbook store).  I got way too many fun things (even though I’m not really scrapbooking anymore, but am able to use them in my art projects).

I begrudgingly agreed to do one of their Make and Takes for a small card.  I don’t know what it is with me and doing make and takes, but I think I’m always afraid I won’t get it and they’ll realize I’m a talentless idiot.  I was especially sure that I would not be doing it when my Mom showed me that it included making your own envelope.  (That was like a flashing sign that said, “This is an idiot trap.  You will get caught.  We will throw you out of this store.”)

I’m pleased to share that not only did my card come out looking very sweet, but I actually managed to make my very own envelope with the help of this Scoring Score Board and Envelope Tool.  They were out at Archivers, but we were so impressed with them that when we saw that they were available on Amazon (and cheaper!), my Mom picked one up.

I probably won’t be whipping up envelopes for all of my mailing needs, but it was fun to do something that was technical with ease and confidence!

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If you’re a Christian homeschooler, you might want to check out information about the 2:1 Conference (you can also follow the 2:1 Conference on Facebook), which will be in April 2012 near Washington DC.  I think this conference is going to be a wonderful blessing to so many people!

As I shared on the Catholic Mothers Online Facebook page, the one thing that made me giggle when I was signing the speaker contract is that I am specifically contracted now to share a room with Lacy from Catholic Icing.  Of course, I wouldn’t need to agree to that in a contract – I’m so excited to meet her in person and to get to share a room!

This post is linked to 7 Quick Takes and Weekly Wrap Up.

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