A Monumentous Haircut

You probably won't believe it, but I actually did it: I gave Dan a decent haircut!

If my life were recorded in a book, this event would have had some foreshadowing. Remember the time when I convince my little sister to let me cut her Barbie dolls' hair, in the t.v. room? (Joanna, the good little saver, always had enough allowance to actually buy additional Barbie dolls. I believe she bought a Skipper or two, in addition to her hand-me-down Barbies.) If you've ever cut a Barbie's hair, you'll know that their luscious blonde locks frizz out a bit when you trim off some of their imaginary split ends. Not so pretty.

Or the time that Mark, Andrew's friend, visited us and needed a trim. He had great faith that I would be able to use his trimmers and create a decent product. He got a trim along his neckline that was a bit high and a bit crooked. It looked better than did the Barbies' haircuts, but not by a whole lot.

Of course, the man I married is too cheap to go out to get his haircut. Fortunately, our good friend Jaynie is a pro at such spatial things as cutting hair. She just chopped away and WALLAH! A nice short FREE haircut for Danny boy! This happened for a good 3 years, without many interruptions. (The one non-Jaynie haircut came from his parents a few weeks before our wedding. Dan wanted a trim; I wanted his hair curly. His parents tried to mediate by giving him a little hair cut. I had to leave the room in fear that his head would have to be shaved before our wedding.)

Then we moved, far far away from Fillmore, NY. Dan didn't cut his hair from August to Christmas, when we went back for a visit. Jaynie to the rescue! But this time? There was not a chance that we could visit NY for a haircut. At Christmas, my sister-in-law Colleen had reassured me that I could definitely handle a haircut. And Jaynie gave me a lesson while cutting Dan's hair. Plus, Dan seriously needed a trim. So last Sunday, Danny boy and I went to our neighborhood goods emporium (aka Wal-Mart), bought a pair of color-coded trimmers and hair cutting scissors, paid for them, and made the drive home in silence, apprehensive of the things that would come.

Well, maybe not that apprehensive. But Dan kept saying things like, "I don't work tomorrow! Maybe I'll shave my head and then sit out in the sun all day so I don't have a funky tan!" Apparently, that was his vote of confidence AND his back-up plan.


So, after watching an instructional video or two on YouTube, I sat Dan down in the kitchen and went to work.



It took a long time, but in the end, it finally looked pretty good (if I do say so myself).



P.S. It looks better now, actually -- better than in that picture. Of course, I still have some room for improvement (as you can see!).

Catching You Up to Speed!

It has been a while since either of us has posted, and I've had a lot of things I've wanted to say! We're three weeks from the end of the semester, and Dan is only two weeks from his Pinning Ceremony. (Pinning Ceremony sounds kind of "Bye-bye Birdie" to me, but it's what Aurora does for it's GWC graduates.) We have just made plans with Dan's parents for a visit -- they are going to fly out to celebrate Dan's graduation with us! Hopefully, the weather will be as lovely as it is today. Believe it or not, it is 70 degrees.

So, a few pictures to sum up what April has been like.



A few weeks ago, Dan was informed that he was being honored with an award. Being the modest guy that he is, he didn't even want to tell his parents that he was voted Recreation Student of the Year! I had to spread the news. We went to an award ceremony where Dan received his award. Here's the proof:



Congratulations, Dan!

Last week, the school that I sub at had a spring break for an entire week and a day. In my sudden abundance of time, I went to a yarn store in Madison, worked on projects, took a Praxis exam, and made Dan an apron. Here he is wearing it.



He's actually cutting up our Easter ham. Easter was the first major holiday we celebrated by ourselves in our married life. We tried to fill it up with church. In two days we went to 3 services -- Saturday community, the sunrise service, and regular old church on Easter. A beautiful, beautiful day filled with hope. Compared to our normal family celebrations, it was quiet -- and there wasn't quite as much food. Thanks to self timer, here's a picture of the two of us.



As you can see, Dan is starting with the apple pie.

There is still more to come, but I need to start on my homework. Alas. Soon and very soon I'll have a more peaceful schedule.

my new road bike

Since I live in the Mid-west I figured I should indulge in all of this flatness and purchase myself a road bike. In order to fulfill this road enjoyment my wife and I went off to a bike expo last night. This bike expo. It was a hard decision, but I think I made the right choice. Can you guess? Pick one!







If you picked either of the first two you just happened to be wrong. Since we are saving to go on a sweet trip out to Glacier, TD Roosevelt, Idaho, Yellowstone, Tetons, Lander, Devil's Tower, Mount Rushmore, Badlands, etc., the wife has talked me out of a road bike...for now.

So to satisfy my road bike desires I purchased two $10 700x35c commuter tires, and two $4 tubes, which happen to have the wrong valves. I also bought a SS water bottle cage and a $2 leg reflective leg strap for my friend. All told, I spent about $50 on my new road bike. When I get the correct tubes I'll post a picture or two of my new tires on Cheyenne, which happens to be the name of my mountain bike.

I am trying to not constantly want more.

Happy trails, and happy Easter week.