Great Dress at Target; Hair Care Woes

I had a really good trip to Target this weekend.  I still haven't found a maxi dress that I can wear--apparently, big boobs and hips indicate that you are tall, very tall, so I haven't found one that doesn't drag on the floor. I did find this chambray dress though, and I fell in love with it--1. the fact that I fit in to a dress from target that was not in the plus or maternity section, and 2. it really is super cute!  Just look:

I also bought these sandals:

I bought some fitted tees and workout clothes as well.  I've been feeling pretty good about the way I look lately, and I enjoyed shopping.  I'm not skinny by any means, but I am more toned than I've been in a long time.  I'm enjoying wearing clothes that make me feel like I look good.

If only I could do something about my hair.  I had the straightest of straight hair up until a few years ago.  I never used a hair dryer, never had to worry about it.  Now?  The shit is straight up wavy/borderline curly.  If it is humid, as summer in Buffalo tends to be? Forget it.  What is a girl to do? It seems like even if I blow it straight complete with product, that as soon as it hits the humidity, or I sweat a little bit that it all goes to hell.  Being that I never learned how to do my hair, I am at a loss.  So tell me--what am I supposed to do with my hair?

Anyway

I had a post in draft about the horrible things that happened here last week. The things that pushed me to my breaking point.  The things that have left me (at the very least temporarily) estranged from my mother.

It's not worth it to put it here though.  It doesn't need to be hashed and rehashed.  I'm so thankful for the people who talked me through it last week and helped me to be strong, my husband, my brother and my godmother as well several of you who were pissed right along with me. 

I was (am) disappointed and hurt by my mother's decisions, but I am grateful to be on the other side of it now, having said everything I've wanted to say for 20 years, and knowing that I am supported, cared for and loved by so many people.

I hate that it took what it did to get here, but for the first time in a long time, I feel ok.  I feel at peace.  The weight of everything that was unsaid for so long is gone. 

And I think I am fine.

Fun Bits

• I think I forgot to mention that we had the police here over Memorial Day weekend. As is our usual weekend plan, we had a fire out back. Hub had been saving our Christmas tree, for compost he says, well…since Christmas. I went inside for a minute and came back out to see that he’d thrown the tree on the fire. They tell you to keep your Christmas tree moist for a reason, right? Picture a dry-ass Christmas tree catching fire. This tree sparked and then suddenly the flames were higher than the house. The leaves on our live chestnut tree were starting to curl. Hub grabbed the hose and put it out just in time, leaving a normal subdued fire in its wake. He thought it was hysterical. Me? Not so much. Anyway, about 30 minutes later an officer was peeking over our side fence. I caught his eye and he said he’d had a complaint of a fire too big for a back yard. He was looking around, and said “Clearly, you have an overreacting neighbor. This fire is fine.” Hub and I looked at each other and sort of shrugged our shoulders. And now we are plotting against the neighbor next door.
• I got our garden, both front and back completely planted that weekend as well. I never thought that I would be the gardening type, like ever. But it is so fun, and I love that I can eat what I grow, AND that the compost we worked on all winter is integrated in to the soil and is feeding our new veggies. Circle of life and all that crap. It is a gorgeous garden if I do say so myself. Separate garden post forthcoming.
 • I will show you this though—Bud built me a planter on the side of the garage, to dress up the back yard a bit. Isn’t it just great?

 • I finally added internet listening to my SiriusXM plan, and am enjoying listening to Howard while I work.
 • This maybe isn’t such a fun bit, but it is interesting for me. I’ve given up dairy.. My skin has been a mess for the better part of a year. I’ve been on every prescription acne medication. I’ve used everything you can imagine over the counter. Nothing works. I’ve waited for it to “get worse before it gets better” through countless regimens and nothing. Mild to no improvements on all fronts. So I’ve decided that it must be something inside my body that is making it so bad. I had a milk allergy when I was a kid, that gradually turned in to an intolerance. Certain forms of dairy make me feel worse than others, but generally my tolerance is high. I think. Or I thought. I noticed that I have more breakouts when I’ve been drinking iced coffee—you know that comes with heavy cream and wheels started turning. I’ve been thinking about doing it for a while now, and so I started yesterday. My plan is to give it 30 days and see what happens. I hope it works, because if not, gluten is next and I think I need gluten.
 • The best news of all has been finalizing some plans to meet up with 3 fantastic ladies in July, and having potential plans to see Carrie and her new baby (This should be easier than it actually is. She lives an hour away from me.) In my 12 years of blogging, I’ve had all of these relationships and I’ve never met anyone in person. This is a step for me, and an even bigger step for Hub who is convinced that everyone on the internet is a murderous stalker. Meet-ups ahoy!