In Search of the Fountain of Youth

I caved.  It's so disappointing.  I caved to cultural expectations.  To youthful appearance - or the lack thereof.  To societal norms.  Yep, I colored my hair again.  I said I wouldn't do it.  (http://serenitygoddess.blogspot.com/2012_10_01_archive.html)  I was going to stand strong with my goal of pure living (better, preservative-free eating; no longer putting toxic chemicals on my head).  If men can do it, if they can 'age naturally', then why can't women?!  But alas, I caved.

My mom is a cosmetologist.  She has been doing hair since she was in high school. She has done my hair my whole life.  She keeps her grays happily hidden under dye.  To say that she is a fan of keeping a youthful appearance would be an understatement.  She is a beautiful woman, on the inside and the out!

Today when I told her I 'caved' to societal norms, she literally raised both arms in a victory pump and said "Yes you did!".  She was jubilant.  She said I was too young to look so old.  And I said, "but mom, we should be happy to age naturally".  And she said, "No Way!  That's why they made hair dye!".  She is a believer of fighting aging with all the tools available to us.  I love you Momma!  You are the best!!  :) 

At least I can say I didn't completely cave.  I didn't do the entire head of hair; I did highlights, which means I didn't cover all my grays; I just brightened some of the hair by adding streaks of red.  I still hate the thought of being 'required' to keep up with the whole dye process.  Once you start dyeing your hair, you need to expose yourself to those nasty chemicals every 2 - 3 months, to keep up with it as your hair grows out. Ugh!  We will see how long I keep this up.  Since it had been 6 months since I colored it, it had grown out alot.  I figured I could either cut it short (removing the longer, colored part) or I could color it again.  Apparently I wasn't ready to go short yet; or truthfully, I wasn't ready to face all that gray yet.

This is the first time I have seen the top of my head since I stopped coloring my hair in October (6 months ago) and I can't get over how many grays are up there.  (I always thought grays came out when you were in your 60s - not 41!  It's all that false advertisement from all the women dyeing their hair!!  And what's with the big space in my part between my bangs and the rest of my hair.  This aging is for the birds.)

 The fun "foiling" highlighting process!

The finished 'wet' look.

The finished 'dry, frizzy' look (yes I know, it needs product or to be straightened).



A Sucker for Society,

(aka Shallowly Yours,)

Me

Motivational Moment:

I decided to look up some quotes on beauty (http://www.goodreads.com) and I have to say I am pleased that almost all of them referred to inner beauty (note - I did not google 'inner beauty' - just 'beauty').  I was completely humbled by these quotes; how silly to be concerned with going gray, honestly.  See for yourself:

“Sometimes people are beautiful.
Not in looks.
Not in what they say.
Just in what they are.”
― Markus Zusak, I am the Messenger

 

“It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness.”

― Leo Tolstoy, The Kreutzer Sonata

“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.”
― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.”
― Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

 

“For Attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
 For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
 For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
 For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day.
 For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
 People, more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms.
 As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others.”
― Sam Levenson

 

May you spread your beauty to others today and in so doing make their life a little easier.

For the Love of Sleep

Have you ever realized that you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone.  This can apply to so many things in life: relationships, jobs, money, etc.  But my topic today is a much simpler one...SLEEP!

I have realized that I am a lover of sleep.  I LOVE sleep.  Really, I do.  I am someone who likes getting the full 8 hours of sleep.  My husband and brother-in-law exist on 4 - 5 hours of sleep.  Yuk.  No thank you.  My brother-in-law has even said that he feels he is wasting his life if he sleeps too much.  (Which I think is crazy because I know I feel so much better when I get a good night's sleep versus when I don't.)  Some people say they will catch up on their sleep when they are dead.  I say, if you are not getting enough sleep, you will die sooner.

I didn't realize how much I loved sleep until I didn't get a good nights sleep.  Last night, I was really tired.  I started falling asleep while watching TV a little after 9.  I headed up to bed (of course, by the time I go through the whole bedtime routine, over an hour has passed.).  I laid my head on my pillow.  I was luxuriating in how good it felt to be laying in my bed.  I got to enjoy that feeling for a whole 60 seconds.  And then I heard 'the cough'.  The deep cough of my youngest daughter, who has a cough-variant asthma.  The deep cough that means she is not going to sleep well (typically for several nights), and hence, I am also not going to sleep well.  It also means running into her room with the bucket while she throws up from said deep cough.

  ------ A tip for new parents: have buckets around the bedroom areas of your house.  For some reason, night time is a popular time for stomach flu's and bad coughs to kick up unexpectedly, requiring the immediate need for a bucket. ------

As I was laying there at midnight - awake - next to my coughing daughter, who I had propped up on pillows in an effort to alleviate her sleep-stealing cough, I was lamenting my missed night of sleep.  Hubby - by the way - was able to sleep through this deep nasty cough - even though our daughter was pretty much coughing right at him.  (Lucky are the deep sleepers!)  :)

There have been two other times in my life when I realized my love of sleep: being in the last trimester of my pregnancies and during the first 6 months after the delivery of said bundles of joys.  During those wonderful last months of my pregnancies (and yes, this is said with extreme sarcasm), I remember laying in my bed at night absolutely adoring it (my bed).  I am not kidding you, my body was all aches and exhaustion and my bed felt absolutely heavenly!!  It was as if my body was melting into my bed.  The first couple of months after having twins, I remember feeling like I was going to lose my mind from being so tired.  I had a love/hate relationship with going to bed.  I would go to bed at night, completely exhausted and sleep deprived and wanting a long, good night's sleep but feeling like I was going to go crazy because I didn't know if I was laying down for an undisturbed 5 minutes or 2 hours, until one of the twins woke up.  No wonder sleep deprivation is a top torture technique (as if I have any clue what torture techniques are popular, (thankfully!!) other than watching TV, that is).  Simply stated, sleep deprivation sucks!

Those who have experienced insomnia couldn't agree more with this subject.  I have a couple of friends who are experiencing insomnia right now and they also have a love/hate relationship with going to bed at night.  They are exhausted and want a good night's sleep but also dread going to bed just to lay there for hours not being able to sleep.  I have only experienced insomnia a handful of times in the past couple of years, thankfully.  I remember thinking I was going to go crazy laying there and wanting to sleep but not being able to; freaking out the longer I couldn't sleep, knowing how tired I would be in the morning.

Here's to everyone getting good, restful, restorative sleep.  Sweet Dreams!


Sleepily Yours,
Me


Motivational Moment:

Ironically, even though new parents don't get much sleep, newborns sleep most of the day and there is nothing more peaceful to look at then a sleeping baby! 

(Baby pics from http://www.magickalgraphics.com/ )

And of course cats!  They are fellow sleep-lovers and have perfected napping!

Ultimate Blog Party 2013

I was surfing the top stories on AOL tonight (because I was, of course, supposed to be doing actual work, but procrastination is SO much more fun!) and I came across this hilarious blog: http://crappypictures.com/parenting-i-quit./ by Amber Dusick.  (And for the record Amber, quitting and running away sound so fabulous right now!)  And while on Amber's page, I discovered the link to the Ultimate Blog Party 2013 http://www.5minutesformom.com/75741/ultimate-blog-party-2013/, which just so happens to be going on right now!!  (I love serendipity being at play here, in that I didn't notice the link the week after it closed!!  Thank you Amber!  Murphy's Law didn't get a chance to bite me this time.  Yay!)

The Blog Party sounds like an awesome experience - so, I will do as the lovely two "5 minutes for mom"s suggest and tell you a little bit about myself and my blog.

I am a stressed-out mother of three (awesome girls)!  I work full time, have a house that is constantly winning the clutter war (I have yet to even come close to winning one battle since I have had kids!), and I never seem to have enough hours in the day.

I mainly blog about whatever current rant is going through my head.  I think way too much and way too deeply about life.  My blog name - Serenity Goddess - is my ultimate goal!  :)

I like ending each blog with a Motivational Moment because even though life is stressful and hard at times, it is also beautiful and amazing and goes by way too fast.  I love beautiful pictures, songs, and words and find that beauty and people inspire!!!

Enjoying the Blog Partying 2013,
Me


Motivational Moment:

I love the two new sites I discovered tonight (http://crappypictures.com/parenting-i-quit./ ; http://www.5minutesformom.com/75741/ultimate-blog-party-2013/ ) and all the exciting, new connections they represent.  I think it is so cool (and inspirational) that so many people can connect over something like blogging.  We are all in this thing called 'life' together and we are sharing our time here together.  We might as well help each other out and make the absolute best of our time here for as we all know, it ends way too soon!

Here's to meeting new friends and connections, the joy of blogging, and getting the absolute most out of our lives!

http://www.5minutesformom.com/75741/ultimate-blog-party-2013/