New haircut

THE HAIRCUT

It has taken me three days to figure out how to import this picture that my husband took of me then. I had to inlist his help, so, I had to tell him about waiting to see how long it would take him to notice the drastic difference in my hair. He said I am always beautiful in his eyes! Ahhhhh....

I didn't think to do a before picture. Trust me though, my hair was six or more inches longer and was either in a ponytail or hung down sadly. I wouldn't be making such a big deal about it, except that figuring out how to post this picture out of Photoshop (the only change I made was cropping) has been so consuming.

'

NOT YET

He still hasn't said anything but I think I noticed a, "Something is different look", as Z suggested would happen. I am amused and curious how long before he says something. He did call me from work and thanked me for being the mother of his children! He suggested he should go with me to PT today to make sure they aren't torturing his Sweetie! How sweet is that. The thing is, I am sure everyone at PT will notice the drastic difference in my hair.

Started plowing through the piles of treasures that have been deposited in my "studio", which was previously called my junk room, until a dear friend suggested the new designation. This was before I actually started doing watercolor. I get distracted easily with the clearing process. For instance, I started practicing calligraphy when I came upon a poem I've been meaning to do in calligraphy for my son for years, but keep misplacing. Then I started thumbing through catalogs that I forgot I had.

I keep believing that there is hope for my studio. I have been successful before, in different homes, states, a lifetime ago! Has anyone out there finally, conquered their cluttered, disorganized "studio", who are willing to advise and share?

"Oh, he'll notice alright!"

"Oh, he'll notice alright!"


Yesterday, after I had finished at the physical therapist, I took the plunge and went in to the new Fantastic Sam's here. My hair has just grown and grown for almost a year, for a few reasons, one being that I didn't know how I wanted it cut and another that I didn't know where I should have it done. I bought a hair magazine and cut out possibilities. I went on line and printed out possibilities. I carried them in my purse for months. Meanwhile, I was unable to feel good about the way I fixed my hair. It just hung there, pulling everything with it. A couple of weeks after I started PT, the assistant that usually does my ultrasound treatments , told me that she had worked part time as a receptionist at the new Fantastic Sam's. She highly recommended them. For a few weeks I looked for $ off coupons for Fantastic Sam's in the newspapers. Yesterday I couldn't stand it one more day.

I showed the hairstylist all the pictures of possibilities I'd been carrying around in my purse. I indicated the one that I liked best. She washed my hair and even massaged my head. I was anxious for a while when the cutting started. At one point, when I thought she was finished and standing back to admire her work, I said, "Oh, that's not short enough!"

After some discussion it hit me, "Oh, you aren't finished, are you?"

As I looked at her in the mirror. She smiled indulgently and shock her head no.

I was happy with the cut even before she blew it dry. When it was dry I was thrilled and felt ten years younger. My hair had been shortened at least 6 inches. I said, "Let's see if my husband notices."

The hairstylist said, "Oh, he'll notice alright!"

The hairstylist next to us assured me he'd notice as well.

So far he hasn't noticed. He came home from work about 2am. There was, as usual, "Hi Honey!" and my reply, "Hey Sweetie!", as he went about his ritual of putting his stuff away, then going in the bedroom to change. He got himself something to eat and joined me in front of the TV: he in his recliner and me at about a 45 degree angle, 6 feet away on the sofa. We watched TV until about 3:30am, when he started to fall asleep. We went to bed. He got up before me. When I woke I went in and kissed him on the head, where he sat in his recliner watching TV. I cleaned the kitchen, started the dishes in the DW then sorted out the pantry shelves, to remind myself what is in there. I came into the office and sat down at the computer. If he leaned forward and looked to the right, he would have been able to clearly see me.

So, he has gone off to work now and still hasn't said anything about my drastically different hair.

Maybe I will email this to him!

Where was I?

Where was I?

I was walking around like a cripple for several months. About ten weeks ago I started going to Physical Therapy(twice a week), for what I learned after x-rays last week is "Severe osteoarthritis of the right hip"(Too much, "I can do it myself" and carrying many babies on my hip, neither of which I regret!). At the same time I was doing Oprah's online class on "The New Earth". The rest of what has been going on with me, I determined, was pretty much, whine, whine, whine and I chose not to share it with you. So, I have been posting secondhand stuff or not at all. I'm sure you can tell.

I am making a change.

Buying Gas

This was emailed to me by a friend and I immediately wanted to share it with you.

GAS

I don't know what you guys are paying for gasoline.... but here in California we are paying up to $3.75 to $4.10 per gallon. My line of work is in petroleum for about 31 years now, so here are some tricks to get more of your money's worth for every gallon.

Here at the Kinder Morgan Pipeline where I work in San Jose, CA we deliver about 4 million gallons in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline. One day is diesel the next day is jet fuel, and gasoline, regular and premium grades. We have 34-storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 gallons.

TIPS ON PUMPING GAS

Tip #1: Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening....your gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role. A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.

Tip #2: When you're filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode. If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3) stages: low, middle, and high. You should be pumping on low mode, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created
while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapor return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you're getting less worth for your money.

Tip #3: One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is HALF FULL. The reason for this is the more gas you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates faster than you can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated so that every gallon is actually the exact amount.

Tip #4: Another reminder, if there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill up; most likely the gasoline is being stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally
settles on the bottom.

WHERE TO BUY USA GAS, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW.
READ ON:

Gas rationing in the 80's worked even though we grumbled about it. It might even be good for us! The Saudis are boycotting American goods. We should return the favor.
An interesting thought is to boycott their GAS. Every time you fill up the car, you can avoid putting more money into the coffers of Saudi Arabia. Just buy from gas companies that don't import their oil from the Saudis. Nothing is more frustrating than the feeling that every time I fill-up the tank, I am sending my money to people who are trying to kill me, my family, and my friends. I thought it might be interesting for you to know which oil companies are the best to buy gas from and which major companies import Middle Eastern oil.

Companies that import Middle Eastern oil:

Shell............................ 205,742,000 barrels
Chevron/Texaco.......... 144,332,000 barrels
Exxon /Mobil................ 130,082,000 barrels
Marathon/Speedway.... 117,740,000 barrels
Amoco.............................62,231,000 barrels

Citgo gas is from South America, from a Dictator who hates Americans.
If you do the math at $30/barrel, these exports amount to over $18 BILLION! (Oil is now $90 - $100 a barrel. Don't buy from CITGO).<>

Companies that DO NOT import Middle Eastern oil:

Sunoco..................0 barrels
Conoco.. ...............0 barrels
Sinclair.................0 barrels
BP/Phillips............0 barrels
Hess.......................0 barrels
ARC0....................0 barrels
If you go to Sunoco.com <http://sunoco.com/> , you will get a list of the station locations near you. All of this information is available from the Department of Energy and each is required to state where they get their oil and how much they are importing.

To have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of gas buyers. It's really simple to do. I'm sending this note to about thirty people. If each of you send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300)...and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000) and so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth generation of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers !!!!!!! If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted! If it goes one level further, you guessed it..... THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!! Again, all you have to do is send this to 10 people...and maybe we can make a dent in this gasoline dependency.