On the Gray side...

Here I am!

2011-01-13T20:24:00.002-05:00

Wow, it's been forever since I've written a blog entry. I don't think that anyone is reading or following this, so I guess this is more like a journal for myself. LOL

Well, I've joined Weight Watchers Online. I was anti-WW in the past, but the new points plus program intrigued me. The focus is on filling foods, whole grain, fruits and vegetables. No more good girl for having a 100 calorie pack twice a day and a vita-muffin. I am actually enjoying the program. Weird, I know. I am eating lots of food everyday, breakfast is usually steel cut oats with milk and a teaspoon of brown sugar. I splurge on the weekends and have an egg white omelet. Fruit is zero points, and I have no problem having three servings a day. Veggies are also zero points, my new favorite is roasted brussel sprouts. Yum. And olive oil is good for you too. I'm learning what a serving size actually is and only eating a serving. I already have a food scale for my bread baking, so it comes in handy for weighing meat. I was hungry the first few days, but now I find myself full, actually stuffed after most meals. I am eating less. The moving more is harder, but it's starting to happen. In the two weeks that I've followed the program I'm down 5.8 lbs.

One thing that motivates me about the program is trying to eat as closely to my daily points plus allowance without going over. It's a challenge, and I like challenges. I need to motivate myself to earn extra points with activity, now that would really be a challenge.

What's Cooking?

2009-06-04T15:35:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, I made Tyler Florence Chicken Enchiladas, they were very good and the best part is that the recipe makes 2 pans of enchiladas. Everyone was more than happy when I suggested we have them again tonight! Yay!

I also made a batch of Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies this afternoon. There is nothing like a warm cookie fresh from the oven.

Big B went to get a snack and reminded me that the apples look yucky. I'd forgotten about those, they were not fresh and crisp when I bought them. So I have a pot of applesauce simmering on the stove. Big B will have it for breakfast on fresh whole wheat toast tomorrow morning. No recipe, just apple slices, a wee bit of water, brown sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon, simmer until done.

Tomorrow is Friday and that means Pizza Night and I'll be making whole wheat pizza dough in the morning. The basil in the garden is nice and big so I'm sure that will be tasty on the pizzas.

And that's not counting the loaves of bread that are on my weekly baking schedule.

Hmm, maybe I'll suggest that we order Chinese on Saturday?

Garden!

2009-06-01T09:23:00.000-04:00

The Square Foot Gardens are doing awesome! We picked and ate our first green pepper over the weekend. Yummy! The squash is blooming and absolutely gorgeous. The cucumber vines are full of baby cukes. The most fun part is that almost everything was planted from seeds. Not to mention, cheap too.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies!

2009-05-26T11:14:00.000-04:00

I've made chocolate chip cookies with whole wheat flour before and they were... well, yucky. They were dry and tasted of whole wheat flour.

Then I found this recipe, it's from a cookbook called The Frog Commissary Cookbook. The only change I made to the recipe was that I used whole wheat flour instead of white. The cookies are chewy and crunchy, what a perfect cookie. They also have oatmeal in them, the old fashioned whole oats kind. You can just pretend the butter and sugar aren't in there. I've ditched the Tollhouse recipe for this one, these cookies taste so much better.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
(from The Frog Commissary Cookbook)
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 tbsp milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour (I use Whole Wheat and no one can tell!)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups oats (rolled or "quick," but not "instant")
2 cups chocolate chips (about 12-oz.)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugars until mixture is light in color. Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the milk and the vanilla extract.
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Either by hand or with the mixer on low speed, gradually beat the flour in to the sugar mixture until just incorporated.
Stir in the oats and chocolate chips by hand.
Drop 1-inch balls of dough onto the cookie sheet, placing about 1 1/2 inches apart so they have room to spread.
Bake at 350F for 10-13 minutes, until golden brown at the edges and light golden at the center.
Cool on baking sheet for at least 1-2 minutes before transfering to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 4 dozen.

How does your garden grow?

2009-05-20T09:53:00.000-04:00

The Square Foot Gardens are doing great! The small 4 foot x 4 foot box holds a lot.

Box 2 contains:

2 Zucchini Squash
2 Dwarf Marigolds
2 Dianthus flowers
1 Gerbera Daisy
11 Green Onions ( we planted 16)
2 Sweet red Pepper plants
4 cucumbers
1 Big Boy Tomato
1 Grape Tomato

Box 1 contains:

2 Dwarf Marigolds
1 Green Pepper
2 Diantthus
1 red pepper
4 basil plants
4 squash plants (we just planted those last weekend)
12 green onions
2 sunflowers ( one is huge and one got mangled by a football!)

Overdue!

2009-05-18T07:49:00.000-04:00

I'm overdue, for a hair cut that is. My last cut was in Feb. I checked my calendar two weeks ago, noticed an open space and called the salon. My stylist broke her foot and is out until the beginning of June! The person making the appointment was very nice and offered to book me with another stylist, I politely declined. Alli has been cutting my hair for almost two years now and I like her, she can make my hair do things that I never thought was possible. She was the third person in the salon to cut my hair and I've never even considered anyone else since. So, I'll continue looking ratty and overgrown until June. Get well soon Alli, my hair needs you!

Silver update

2009-05-08T08:44:00.000-04:00

Wow, my hair is not pixie length anymore! Woo Hoo! I like my naturally silver highlights and I can't imagine myself as a red head anymore. I'm sure there are people who think I'm nuts, but I'm enjoying being dye-free! I'm liking my hair, I'd forgotten what my hair feels like without all the harsh chemicals. Oh yeah, I have lots of red shirts now! I could never wear red before, it totally clashed with my red/orange hair.

He loves my buns!

2009-05-04T12:31:00.000-04:00

Hamburger buns that is!

I try to keep at least 8 to 12 of these in the freezer. Four of these fit nicely in a gallon sized Ziploc freezer bag. They thaw nicely on the counter, when I remember to take them out in the morning before dinner. I make these from a King Arthur Whole Wheat Dinner Roll recipe found here. They are very yummy as dinner rolls too, especially if you brush melted butter on them just as they come out of the oven. My daughter will ask for a dinner roll for her snack instead of a cookie, she loves them that much. My former neighbor Little B used to love them too. The only change I make to the recipe is that I use no white flour, I use all whole wheat and they come out nice and soft. The recipe makes 8 nice sized hamburger buns baked on a cookie sheet or 16 dinner rolls baked in a 9 X 13 pan. Just slice the buns with a bread knife when you are ready to use them.

2009-05-02T08:17:00.001-04:00

Pizza Night!

2009-05-01T09:23:00.000-04:00

Friday nights are pizza night, there would be a rebellion in my house if we had something different for dinner. I thought I'd share my favorite whole wheat crust.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

1 2/3 cups water
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp salt
4 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/4 tsp yeast

I use the dough cycle on the bread machine. When they cycle is complete I divide the dough into 2 pieces and place them in plastic bags and stick them in the fridge. They can keep a couple of days in the fridge. I take them out about 30 minutes before I'm ready to use them and let them sit on the counter so they get room temperature.

Each half of the dough will make a 16" pizza. I roll my dough and then place on a cornmeal sprinkled pizza peel to assemble. Once assembled, the key is to place them in the oven on a pizza stone that has been preheated to 450 degrees. Bake for 10 minutes.

I can't wait for the basil to grow in my garden, the kids love fresh basil on homemade pizza too. If I can remember I'll try to take a pic of one tonight when it's all baked and yummy!

Insert Post Title Here!

2009-04-08T09:51:00.000-04:00

I made Dark Chocolate covered strawberries this morning to take to an Easter Party. We are so blessed to have met such awesome friends here. Our kids get along great and are near the same ages, mine are 10 and soon to be 13 and hers are 8 and 13. We have a standing weekly playdate where we alternate the kids coming to play each week. It's great, it gives the kids some play time and us mom's a 3 hour break. We have such fun holiday parties. Today we'll be doing an Egg hunt, of course, and spoon races, silly string, etc.

While I was making the strawberries, I was reminiscing about the guys who stood on the street corners in CA and sold strawberries and oranges. Usually they spoke no English, but the produce was usually good quality.

Also, I miss the diversity of CA. It really hurt me last week to disenroll from a local homeschool group here. The group has some wonderful people and plans great field trips and adventures. One of the ladies in the group was asked to leave, after planning many, many events and even a week long trip to DC, because they didn't consider her a "mainstream Christian", their words, not mine. She is an awesome lady with a great heart. I decided that I can't belong to such an exclusive group. I'm sure that I'll see some of the members around town and at gatherings, but I cannot willingly support such a thing. I have friends that are the same religion as this former member and it hurts me that other Christians would be so cruel. This brings me back to CA and my diverse homeschool group, we had super conservative Christians, extreme hippie types, Muslims and Jewish members. We all got along beautifully, we respected each other and our children had a great time. For me, homeschooling is exposing my children, with my guidance, to the world and it's people.

Sigh, this whole mess has just been heavy on my heart, but I think most of all it saddens me that such prejudices even exist. Can you see why there is not a title for this post, my thoughts are all over the place this morning?

Spring, finally!

2009-04-05T19:23:00.001-04:00

It's spring, finally! The past few weekends have been beautiful and we've been busy outside. We built our boxes for our Square Foot gardens. So far, Miss A has planted marigolds and dianthus. We plan to get veggies planted this week, such as tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, also a watermelon and my favorite herb, basil. Building the garden was fun and a nice family project, Miss A really had a hand in helping out. We are planning to put a rose bush in between the two boxes and then finish off the garden with a rock border.

I love petunias and couldn't wait for spring to get here so that I could hang baskets on the front porch! Happy Spring!

My love!

2009-04-02T11:52:00.000-04:00

I ordered my new stove on Valentine's Day! Yes, I love my stove. I bake all of our sandwich bread, rolls and hamburger buns, so to say that I use the oven a lot is an understatement. I couldn't be happier with any other gift. The top oven preheats in about 4 minutes, the bottom in about 7 or 8. The bottom oven is also a convection oven, which is heaven when baking bread and rolls. They rise a bit higher and have a lovely crust. I was ecstatic one Sunday afternoon when I was able to convection roast a chicken in the lower oven, while baking rolls in the top oven. I was so giddy when I could bake 3 trays of cookies at once in the convection oven, in fact that was the first thing I baked the day it was delivered.

Still Growing!

2009-02-27T09:06:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that I ever cut my hair pixie short! Grow, grow, grow! Seriously, I have so many burn marks on my forehead and side of my face from trying to use the flat iron and curling iron. LOL

February

2009-02-05T17:50:00.000-05:00

It's haircut day again! The length has come a long way since the pixie, but it's a while yet until I get back to shoulder length again. These aren't the best pics, I'd just gotten back from the salon. It's just below freezing today so my stylist dried and flat-ironed my hair. I'm sure that I won't be using the flat-iron everyday! The side view really shows the color well, I think. When it warms up I'll get outside and take some pics in the sunlight. The lighting inside seems to make it look blond/brown when it's really gray. I'm getting there! Thanks for following along with me on my journey.

January

2009-01-02T09:19:00.001-05:00

A new year, a new me!

Still getting there!

2008-12-29T10:54:00.000-05:00

I'm still getting there! I had another observation about the changes in my hair, it has less frizz! Yes, less! Usually when it rains my hair is an unruly mess of curls and frizz, but this past weekend after being out in the rain several times, it hit me, my hair looked the same as when I had dried it that morning! Wow! I'm really beginning to think that all the things I was told about gray hair and read in magazines was all made up by the hair dye companies.

Can I just say that I love being dye free! It's so funny that I used to dread the gray growing in and now I can't get enough of gray.
I actually have less gray than I thought when I started. It's mostly on the top with a few strands sprinkled throughout the sides and back. I love when the sunlight shines on the gray, I love the sparkle.

I have a few more weeks before I go for another trim, I'm trying to grow it out to shoulder length. I have a few ends with dye left and another hair cut should take care of those.

Frosty in December

2008-12-03T08:22:00.001-05:00

I had my hair cut last night. There is still a bit of color on the ends, but I'm happy with the gray! My hair is so soft now.

Before

2008-11-07T14:07:00.000-05:00

I found this photo on my computer and thought I'd post so that I could compare the before...

The in-between stage, again...

2008-11-07T11:40:00.001-05:00

It's a few days shy of 2 months since the big chop! I am seeing more gray but am frustrated by the ends which have some blond and red. I know I need a cut or trim, but my hair is just now getting to a length that I can tolerate! I'm trying to psych myself up for a cut and having to deal with the super short hair again. I am not a short hair person! I guess I'm just having an Eyeore moment.

And another thing, I remember hearing and reading about the texture of gray hair, how it is wirey and hard to control. NOT! My hair has always been extremely dry and felt like a horse's tail, really it did. My hair is soft now, I actually like touching it, it doesn't crackle like it did before with all the chemicals in it.

I wish I had a savings account...

2008-09-30T10:11:00.000-04:00

with all the money that I've spent on hair color! Sometimes it was $60 every 6 weeks, sometimes it was the $7.00 box of color from Target and then the past year it was $80 every 6 weeks. Multiply all that by 20 years and that would be a nice chunk of change.

Anyway, the short cut is growing and it's also growing on me. It will be a few weeks before I can go back and get the last inch of color cut away. I can't wait!

Getting used to short hair.

2008-09-18T09:22:00.000-04:00

I'm still getting used to short hair! I'll admit that it dries in less than 5 minutes! LOL I can barely use my flat iron to straighten a few stray pieces here and there. When I took the kids to swim practice the other day I was talking to another mom who commented on my new short cut. I told her that I was cutting the dye out so the gray could grow. She didn't know that I had gray hair! LOL She thought that I had highlights up top! LOL She told me that she is not brave enough to go gray, but admits that she colors every 2 to 4 weeks! Yikes, I thought my 6 weeks was bad. Anyway it certainly feels nice not to have to worry about planning hair appointments around roots growing in!

I cut it!

2008-09-11T14:29:00.000-04:00

I've got the urge to cut!

2008-09-08T11:50:00.001-04:00

Ack, I have a hair appointment on Thursday and it's supposed to be for a really good trim.
My stylist is pregnant and taking off the last few weeks of Sept and is supposed to come back to work in Nov. I really don't want to go to anyone else while she is out. I love her and she can make my hair look good, and that's not an easy feat! My hair is pretty wavy and very thick. I've been browsing all the hair style sites that I can find and even joked to my husband last night that a buzz cut might just be what I want! If I buzzed it then certainly most of the dye would be gone! LOL I'm chicken but half way tempted! I wouldn't have to worry about a cut while Ali was out on maternity leave. I would really have my hair and not dyed, bleached hair. I'm really contemplating this...
Stay tuned.

I see Silver!

2008-08-29T12:20:00.001-04:00

I'm making progress with some silver that's appearing! The rest of my hair looks like a calico cat but that's okay, I'm getting there.

I think I can!

2008-08-23T08:42:00.000-04:00

That's my mantra, my hair is at an awkward stage right now.

The blond highlights are growing out,
the grays are coming in,
some dark roots are coming in,
there is some red dye left in my hair
and some natural dark brown down near the bottom.

I have some funky colors going on up there! LOL I'm determined to grow out ALL of the color though. I'm done with that, I keep telling myself that it will so freeing to not have to color every 4 weeks, not to have to worry about roots. I have no idea what it's going to look like when the process is complete, I guess that's the scary part.

August

2008-08-12T16:18:00.000-04:00

It's been 4 weeks since the blond highlights and May was my last all over auburn color. It's hard to see in this photo but the top of my hair is really white. It's only been 4 weeks since my last cut, maybe this process will go faster than I thought.

Journaling my thoughts

2008-08-08T08:39:00.000-04:00

Just some random thoughts and observations as I go through this process.

I find myself staring at women with gray hair! I've not gotten the nerve to actually approach a stranger but I keep admiring women with beautiful gray/silver hair! I love the different colors of gray.

I also find myself looking at women with hair dyed way too dark. I used to be one of those women. After almost every color I would come home and wash my hair at least 3 times a day the first week after coloring to "lighten" it up a bit. LOL

I can't wait to be free of the color! I am so glad that I found the courage to let the color go!

I called the hair salon this morning to schedule an appointment for a cut/trim next week. The salon owner answered the phone, someone else does my hair, and she remembered me! LOL She jokingly told me that they have women coming in to cover the gray, not get excited that the gray is growing in! They haven't had anyone decide to go gray and stop coloring in the salon before. LOL I'm a celebrity!

Going Gray Looking Great

2008-08-06T19:23:00.000-04:00

goinggraylookinggreat

I spend way too much time at this site!

It helped me confirm my decision to give up the color and be me!
I love the stories and photos of the women in their journey. It inspired me to start this blog and maybe someday I'll share my story there. I'm not quite that brave yet. LOL

My husband and kids weren't too supportive at first. My son emphatically said NO, that I could not have gray hair that it would make me look old. He has since recanted and says that it can be gray but just don't get it cut short. LOL
My husband sort of raised his eyebrows when I told him of my plan. Now he says that he is okay with gray/silver that he just doesn't like the salt and pepper look that some people have. I have assured him that I plan on getting silver highlights if my hair turns out darker. I want pretty gray/silver hair!!!!!

Even Lighter!

2008-08-06T17:52:00.000-04:00

Outside in the sunlight it's even more blond! LOL
And I'm squinting because the sun was really bright out!
I'm getting there, it's going to take time though. Too bad I'm not a patient person.

I did learn after getting the blond highlights that I needed to change my make-up! My facial color was fading out so I needed to wear a blusher, which I hardly ever wear. Also my wardrobe has changed a bit as well. I'm finding that tans and browns look good on me which hadn't before. Being a redhead always stopped me from wearing the color red but now I'm looking forward to finding something to wear in red!

Blond Highlights

2008-08-06T17:45:00.001-04:00

To help hide the skunk stripe and allow the gray to grow in I opted for blond highlights. Woah what a change! I had buyers remorse the next day. I've since adapted especially since I can see the gray shining through on top. This picture is right after I came home from the salon.
Next week I'm going for a haircut, nothing drastic just a good trim. I'll post pics again after.

Skunk Stripe!

2008-08-06T17:39:00.000-04:00

Just adding some pics of the progression thus far.

6 weeks without color. Notice the skunk stripe that is forming?

I'm going gray, really I am!

2008-08-06T15:31:00.000-04:00

I've made the decision to go gray. There I said it. I'm no longer forced to visit the hair salon every 4 weeks because I have a skunk stripe. My last all over color was in May. My hair has been auburn/red for over 20 years. My pre-dye color is dark brown. I want to post pictures here of my progress along the way. This photo was taken at 4 weeks after my usual all over color.