feeling old(er)

birthdaying was fun yesterday; a nice and quiet day. mike had the day off since he worked last weekend, so we just puttered around and ran errands, had breakfast at IHOP (harvest grain and nut pancakes...ummmm...), and dinner last night at azalea. azalea was good but didn't blow my socks off, as i was hoping. good to try, though. i must be getting pickier with my restaurant reviews. mike's gift to me was (is? will be?) a mother's ring. we went to anglo to look at settings and get an idea of what i'd like. it will probably be awhile before we order it, though, since we don't know if benjamin will arrive in april or may, and my fingers are so swollen this pregnancy that i wouldn't have a clue as to my ring size for my right hand. it was fun to get ideas, though. i'm going to get a style where we can add a stone later, if and when we have a 3rd. heehee.

the downside of my day was the haircut i received. i decided to go and use the gift certificate i had from christmas for a local salon. everytime i've gone before i have ended up erring on the conservative side, telling the stylist that i still have to be able to put it in a pony tail, i don't want to go too short, etc., etc. this time i said i wanted to notice a change, and needed more layers and shorter length. i gave her complete freedom to do what she thought would work. that sort of backfired. my heart skipped a beat at one point when she was combing my hair over my eyes and i felt a snip against my forehead--- she did NOT say anything about bangs. bangs are not my friend. but i sucked it up and waited it out. the result is what i believe to be an 80s haircut. seriously, i could be on the cover of a whitesnake album. the top is all poofy and the bottom hangs flat; somewhat like a long mullet. as i turned the corner into our culdesac, mike was outside with jack. when he saw me driving up, he was already on the ground laughing. supportive, eh? he also told me, "well, you definitely look like you're 30 now." and "it makes you look like a Mom." who is this guy? getting a new cut to look OLDER was not my plan for the day i entered into a new decade. but i'm keeping a sense of humor. at least hair grows. if i try hard, i can get it into a tight ponytail, which will happen on those days i can't deal with it. once the bangs grow, i may be more at ease. this morning i showered all the crap out of it she used, and did not blow dry it or straighten it. it's more of a disaster now, but i'm dealing. see for yourself:

family photo on brandy's 30th and jack's 19-month bdays:


not as bad when behind the ears....


the morning after (i.e., catastrophe.)