what the what?

Y’all. Texas weather. There truly are no words.

On Monday, the wind chills were literally in the single digits. Yesterday and today? The high has been close to 80 degrees. EIGHTY. I’ve run my heater and AC in the same day. Possibly within the same hour. I suppose it’s like this every year. You would think living here my entire life, I would find this nonsense almost “normal” by now. Well, I don’t.

Early this morning, we had a huge storm. Hail included. The girls both woke up scared to death. Everyone piled in our queen-sized bed. Silly of me to think they might actually go back to sleep. Baby Elle sang. Little Leighton felt squished. (Mind you, MY rear was the only one hanging off.) It was a hot mess. I now feel like I’ve been up approximately 17 hours. Tonight, we “Spring Forward.” Jesus, take the wheel! 

Little Leighton is officially on Spring Break this (coming) week. We have several fun things planned but, alas, we now have to battle rain chances. Boo! I’m excited about a break from our hectic school mornings. I’m hopeful I’ll get to finish an entire cup of coffee without reheating it. Sigh. 

I hope y’all are having a cozy weekend! Stay warm! Or cool? Whatever you want to be. Winky. Wink. 

...trippin’...

Not day-trippin’. Not road-trippin’. Just My Sweet Hubby (aka MSH) trippin’.

A week ago this past Wednesday. We’d gone back to our hometown so MSH could go to his eye doctor to find out if he could get a cataract (FINALLY) removed.

We stopped at our hairdresser’s shop so MSH could give her and Her Sweet Hubby some cast iron pots and skillets. MSH’s camping/campfire/DutchOvencooling days have (sadly) pretty much come to an end. While taking these HEAVY pots out of his truck and putting them into Kit’s truck, he tripped. Fell face first onto her concrete parking lot.

I was inside. Visiting. (Imagine that.) He came in with blood gushing from his chin. Held up his right hand (And, yes. Of course he is right-handed.). His middle finger looked VERY BROKEN. (If TLC hadn’t recently purchased a new computer that is not ready to use—she could post an x-ray picture that woukd make you throw up in your mouth a little. Being honest.)

I drove him immediately to the Stephenville hospital ER. A place that has had 16 names and seen us both TOO MANY TIMES in the past 40 years. (Cancelled the eye doctor appointment. Sigh.) Our triage nurse was one of TLC’s best frienfs since first grade! That was special. At a painful and NOT FUN time. She was FANTASTIC.

The ER doctor was the KINDEST. The finger was not (Thank You, Jesus.) broken. Just dislodged. Just. Sheesh. The doctor made it straight. In less than three minutes. Although we were there almost four hours. Yikes. He put a splint on it and referred MSH to a hand specialist in Ft. Worth.

We got in to that (WONDERFUL) doctor on Monday. He re-x-rayed it and said no surgery needed. Baby it with the splint for a total of three weks fron the injury date.

This event caused three things to happen to hoth of us:

1) We decided we need an eye doctor closer to us. Not 80 minutes away.

2) We thanked Our Lord God Almighty it wasn’t worse than it was. And...

3) We were reminded, once again, to BE CAREFUL. GO SLOW. WATCH OUR FEET and WHERE WE STEP/WALK.

Life is short. Especially as you age. Gotta slow our geezer selves down.

Y’all have a SWEET Sunday. (Going to be bitter cold in North Central Texas. So over BITTER COLD. But SLOW your ROLL. If you don’t have your health, NOTHING else matters. Trust me.

Smooch!
ELC

hair DO's...

Happy Monday!

I have three more favourite products for y'all to try! This time, I'm focusing on my locks.

A few weeks ago, I had my hair cut and colored. I trimmed off quite a few inches (I went with more of an "angled bob." It's a bit longer in the front.), and I went back to BLONDE. I was so ready. It's fresh and fun and super easy to style. (I actually purchased a set of rollers via Amazon after a Sheaffer Told Me To recommendation. I believe they're easier to use for my shorter now. I love them.)

Enter these guys:

1. dp HUE Cool Blonde Shampoo. My blonde has a tendency to turn brassy after several washes. I've found a "purple shampoo" helps so much. I wasn't crazy about the one I had previously used, so I began a search. I follow Kate Bryan's blog, The Small Things, and this happened to be one she recommended. I LOVE it, y'all. Like, love-love. It smells yummy. It lathers well. It has kept my color salon-fresh. AND, drum roll, it's GLUTEN-FREE. Hallelujah. It's a smallish bottle and a bit expensive, but it's worth every penny. I will be buying more from Sephora soon. (That's the only place I could find it online. I do think it was on Amazon but was more expensive.)

2. IGK Jet Lag Dry Shampoo. When I was purchasing the new shampoo, I needed to spend a bit more in order to get free shipping. So, I purchased this small bottle (along with the concealer mentioned in my previous post) on a whim, and I love it, too! Holy cow. It gets my hair clean. It smells nice. It's gluten-free! When this is out, I will be purchasing a larger bottle from Sephora. This is probably the first dry shampoo I've liked. Like, a lot. It's great!

3. AVEDA Phomollient Styling Foam. My stylist uses this foam before she dries my hair. I finally purchased it, and I'm so happy I did. This smells AMAZING. It's light-weight without adding much gunk (technical term, dontchaknow) to my hair. It also gives my hair great, lasting volume when I dry it (which is a feat in and of itself). My hair is super thick but so fine. It won't hold much curl but this helps! I highly recommend this product.

I hope y'all give one, or all, of these a try and let me know what you think!

May your week be blessed with lots of coffee, laughs and time to actually wash AND dry your hair.

TTFN.

EYE LOVE...

...these products!

(I also love these cute Lego-builders in their matching jammies. But, let's be real. They're about 75% of the reason why I need these products.)

1. Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Eye Cream (with Retinol SA). First, I really have no clue what "Retinol SA" is; however, I do think it's apparently important. And helpful. I have been faithfully applying this cream every night. Do I notice less wrinkles? Possibly! I do think my general under-eye-area seems "brighter." If that makes sense. One big reason I'm a fan? It does not irritate my skin! I've never experienced any type of burning sensation. (That always scares me when it's around my eyes.) I purchased this at Target, though I'm certain it's readily available at most grocery stores and/or pharmacies.

2. Mary Kay Lash & Brow Building Serum. Y'all. This stuff is legit. I swear after two applications, I was noticing a difference in my lashes. I have used the Rodan & Fields Lash Boost in the past. Though it also worked wonders, it's expensive. This serum is literally ONE-THIRD of the price of the R&F product, and I would be hard-pressed to find any difference between the two. It's good.

3. HELLO FAB Bendy Avocado Concealer. This was an impulse purchase. I was ordering new shampoo from Sephora (which I will be sharing in my next post!) and needed something else to get me that coveted "free shipping." I was low on my Tarte concealer, and this had great reviews. Guess what? It's my new favourite concealer. AND, it's GLUTEN-FREE, to boot! It doesn't settle into any fine lines on your face. It works wonders under my eyes. I ordered the lightest shade available because I am super pale, but, also, I wanted it to help brighten. I love being bright. LOL.

I hope y'all consider giving one, or all, of these a whirl!

Happy Weekend! I'll be back next week sharing more faves!