My Makeover

Hello again, dear readers!

Today, I accompanied my husband to his job training at the mall. I walked around the mall with the baby for a few hours while my husband did his job. It was crowded, and I have no money, which made stopping by Sephora painful because that is my absolute favorite store in the mall.

However, despite the chaos of Christmas shopping, I finally got my long overdue free makeover! I was color matched for foundation at two different places (Sephora and Bare Minerals; I came out as fair in both places), and got some great advice for choosing blush (something in the mauve range), lip colors (same as blush), concealer, and bronzer colors (go for light browns/cinnamon colors). I got some free samples of foundation from Sephora, but it was Bare Minerals that did the actual makeover, as seen in the pictures below.

Nice, even tone with zits and blemishes covered

From the side. Good coverage and some defining blush

Close enough

Since I was mostly interested in foundation, I didn't get the full makeover. However, I'm generally pleased with the result even though the flash from my camera made me look like a cadaver. My skin is pretty clear, thanks to my minimalist regimen of twice-daily washes and nightly coconut oil moisturizing.

We wound up leaving an hour later than planned because the wrong schedule was communicated to the trainees. I didn't mind it since I took my time walking around the mall and seeing the Christmas displays, but my husband was mildly annoyed. Since we were all hungry, we stopped at Safeway on the way home so we could get some snacks. I'm currently in love with their bakery's cinnamon rolls.

And that was how I spent my day.

First Day of Work

Hello again, dear readers!

Today was my husband's first day at work. Technically, it was training for his job, but it still counts as work because he was getting paid for it. They had to meet at a Sears store at the mall close by my former apartment and where the company's office is, and from there, my husband and a few colleagues spent the four hours alotted for their time learning how to use the scanning equipment, filling out some paperwork, and practicing taking inventory for the store. My husband was miffed about using a scanner that ran a Windows program (being a die-hard Linux penguinista, he views anything having to do with Microsoft as being the spawn of Satan), but managed to behave himself. He said it was an overall positive experience.

Before leaving, however, my husband had worked himself up into a fury over his new haircut. Since he basically kept his hat on from the time we left the barber shop, my husband didn't see that the hairdresser butchered his haircut until about an hour before he had to report for work. Instead of doing a Caesar cut like he asked, she gave him an uneven mop crop. This after he described to her exactly what he wanted, even giving her an idea by pointing out a style on one of the other customers there.

Not a Caesar cut. The pomps of Rod Blagojevich and Justin Bieber mated and pooped this monstrosity out on my husband's head

Combed out, it was apparent where she'd messed up. My husband was furious, but refused my offers to trim his bangs and some of the gross unevenness so as to bring about the appearance of balance. He blamed her not knowing how to cut hair on anyone who wasn't Mexican, as there are differences in hair type between the races. He claimed that his cousin thirty years ago did a better job using a bowl and some kitchen shears. Not wanting him to be late or do something stupid, I told him to put his hat on and say he was having a bad hair day until we could find another barber. Fortunately, when he got home, my husband reported that his colleagues and superiors didn't mind his chop-job haircut. So long as it was short, they didn't care.

Having survived the first day, he goes back tomorrow for a few hours to finish up training. Since it'll be for a shorter period of time, I can come with him and hang out in the mall with the baby for a bit. Having frequented this mall in my old bourgeois life, I have nothing to fear about showing up. Consumerama, here I come.

The Shearing

Good evening, dear readers.

Today was a big day for my husband. He got sheared like a sheep for his first day of work tomorrow.

After doing some measurements, my husband tied up his hair and I cut the tail off so that the barbers wouldn't throw it away. We plan on selling the hair and if no one buys it, we'll keep it as a trophy. It's too impressive to throw away.

The End

His severed ponytail

Now sporting a Rolling Stones-esque moptop, we did a quick search and found a local Mexican barber shop. We had a few errands to run, so we went there first to get my husband sheared.

The post-tail moptop. Half mullet-half shag, and it still looks good on him

Let the shearing begin

The barber shop was busy and a large TV hanging down from the ceiling had Maury's show on when we walked in. Fortunately, the wait was not long. The lone female barber on duty wound up getting my husband as her  customer. He described to her the Caesar cut he wanted and let her go to work. She did a decent job, even giving his eyebrows a small trim. Needless to say, there was a substantial pile of hair surrounding the chair by the time she was done. I made sure to catch the whole event on video. It was not a continuous video since I wound up running out of space on my memory card and had to switch over to my phone's memory so that I could finish filming. My hubby was surprised that I filmed his haircut, but I did it for posterity. I don't know how long it will be before my husband gets to grow his hair out again. Needless to say, the barber was quite impressed when my hubby showed her one of the recent hair pictures I took of him.

All done. No cameras please

You might think that I'm obsessing over my husband's hair. In a way, I sort of am. His long hair was an integral part of who he was. It belonged on him! It was distinctive, since men with waist-length hair are not a common sight and it was one of the ways people could recognize him. Physical appearance aside, the hair gave him character. It added to his image as an old bohemian, an autistic hippie who did his own thing and gave no fucks about flying in the face of social convention. Now shorn, he must blend in with the rest of the masses and cower before The Man to earn some money.

I don't know how long it will be, if ever, that my husband will be able to get hair as long as it was again. That's why I went all-out, for my child as much as for myself, photographing and videotaping his hair in its final moments. My daughter won't remember how long her daddy's hair was, and how she would pull on it to wake him up. She won't remember grabbing it when he'd give her a bath or chomping on it in play. If we have more children, they may not ever know of long-haired daddy in their lifetimes.

Good bye long hair. It was fun knowing you.

Goodbye Long Hair

Greetings and a happy Monday, dear readers!

Thanks be to God and St. Joseph, my husband has finally found a job! The inventory company in the bourgeois ghetto we visited last week hired my husband to work for them and he starts training on Wednesday.

Unfortunately, as a condition of hire, my husband must now cut his famously long hair. His long ponytail was one of the things that stood out about him when I first met him. In 2012, he had his friend, an ancient seminary school dropout, shave it off much to my chagrin. He told me it was because his living situation meant that he couldn't properly care for his hair and his ponytail had become a natty, gnarled, dreadlocked mess. Fortunately, it only took three years for his hair to grow back out and nearly reach his waist. He said when he was younger, it was much more thick, but it's still in remarkably good condition. We will definitely be selling it.

My hubby's ancient passport photo from 1999. This is the only image I have of him wearing a Caesar cut.

I spent much of the previous evening looking up cheap barbers to take him to. He wants a Caesar cut, something he'd last worn about 15 years ago. It's a pretty easy haircut to do, since all the barber needs to do is run a razor over his head until the hair is mostly the same length all around and the top can be combed forward to make short bangs. Just like the kaiser himself!

Tomorrow is the big shear, so tonight, I post the last image of my husband with his long hair.

Goodbye, gorgeous mane. It will make a fantastic wig or hair extensions for someone.

I'm gonna miss his hair. The baby also lost one of her favorite ways to wake up daddy in the morning. Fortunately, my long locks will remain for the forseeable future. It's only right that in a household headed by an old hippie that at least one of us keeps long hair.

Gaudete!

Happy Sunday, dear readers. Hope your favorite football teams won their respective games.

It's Gaudete Sunday, which Catholics all around the world celebrate as the halfway point between the start of Advent and Christmas. On this day, priests wear pink (or "rose", as they're officially designated) vestments as a moment of joy in a season of penance. Gaudete actually means "joy", from the Latin word "gaudere"-"joyous", and this is meant to be an inspiration to help us get through to Christmas and the birth of Jesus.

While I'm admittedly not the most fashion-forward or conscious individual, I try and make it a point to coordinate my makeup to match the dominant colors of the religious holidays and observations I celebrate. It's my small way of proclaiming my devotion to the Catholic faith. Some may dress in a particular manner to proclaim their devotion, others may say special prayers, but I like using makeup.

My Gaudete Sunday look for 2015. Pink with some purple and black

Closeup of my blending detail. I really like the way this came out

I used my favorite Sephora palette and my Coastal Scents Go Palette in Cairo to get this look. I can legitimately thank those beauty tutorials I was binge watching a few weeks back since I feel they helped me improve my skills significantly. With practice, maybe I too will be an MUA and be able to do some beauty tutorials one day too.

Here's a bonus picture for your Sunday. Yesterday after Confession, we went to Walmart to go get some needed items. While cruising through the personal care aisle, I spotted this.

It may be a little hard to see, but these razor cartridges have "sold by eaches" printed on the sticker on the security casing

I'm pretty sure they meant to say "sold individually", but the illiterate printer entered that mostrosity instead.

This is why I will be homeschooling my children when they are old enough.

Have a good week everyone!

La Guadalupana

Happy Saturday! I hope your weekend is going well.

A deep freeze has settled over southern Arizona. The cold front moved in last night with snowy-looking clouds and rain, and today we dealt with temperatures only in the 50s with rain on and off throughout the day. The mountains were covered with clouds and precipitation, giving them a smoky, eerie look and on my Facebook feed, people who live in the mountain communities were posting pictures of the snow.

We had planned on going to the 4th Avenue Winter Street Fair, an annual street fair in downtown Tucson where vendors gather to sell their wares and display handmade crafts. But with the weather being as it was, there was no way in hell we were going to subject our baby or ourselves to the elements. So, we stayed home until it was time to go to Confession.

Since our other church is located in a largely Mexican area, I thought we might be able to catch the Guadalupe celebration since today is Her feast day. Though we arrived long after the procession and festivities had ended, I was still delighted to have gone because I got to see my favorite Carmelite priest. The Benedictine Abbey he was called to teach at was out for the Christmas break, so he came back here to Arizona and attend to his pastoral duties here. In turn, he was happy to see us as well. Of all the priests I've encountered and known here in Diocese Tucson, this Carmelite is one of the few who has a consistently strong, bonafide connection with the Holy Spirit. As we were leaving, we saw the rector of the church and said hello. He'd been working outside, getting the lights strung up around the courtyard and the decorations in place for Christmas.

The decorated courtyard. This will look nice once the sun sets.

In honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, I will post a few classic songs in Her honor. Lady Guadalupe is special because Her appearance in Mexico in the 16th Century was the first documented apparition of the Virgin Mary in the New World. When She appeared to Juan Diego to request a church built in her honor, She appeared speaking not Latin or Spanish, but Nahua to him so that he would understand and relate to Her. And when Her roses left their miraculous imprint of Her image on Juan Diego's tilma, Lady Guadalupe appeared in a way that when ordinary Natives saw her, they too could relate to her through her dark features and Aztec-specific symbolic imagery.

Despite many people over the centuries using Lady Guadalupe as a subject of theories and prophecies, the fact is that Her appearance in central Mexico spurred a mass conversion of a scale never before seen or seen since. There is a reason the phrase "non fecit taliter omni nationi" ("God’s done nothing like it for any other nation" (Ps. 147:20)) is often seen specifically on images of Lady Guadalupe. Will there be a repeat of the conversion scale seen in Mexico in other parts of the world or even here in the US? Maybe. It is written that prior to the arrival of the Conquistadors, Mexico was itching for something else, something bigger. The state religion had its human sacrifices and pagan rituals, but the people were searching for something more. When Our Lady appeared, everything fell into place.

Enjoy the music. Viva!





*Note: the title of this post, "La Guadalupana", is a Mexican-Spanish phrase used to describe female devotees of Lady Guadalupe. Male devotees are "el Guadalupano" and plural is "los Guadalupanos".

Our Christmas Tree

Happy Friday, dear readers!

Along with the arrival of the weekend was the arrival of our Christmas Tree! This is a huge occasion for my husband and I because in our three years of marriage, this is the first time we've ever gotten a tree. Prior to this auspicious day, a lack of funds and a lack of space made searching for and setting up a Christmas Tree difficult. As a result, my husband and I didn't bother with the whole mess and we were just fine without it. But when the baby came, things changed. My husband and I both have fond memories of setting up a Christmas Tree when we were younger, and we felt that it would be good for the baby if we could continue that tradition as well.

We found a 5'-6' Douglas Fir tree at a nearby Home Depot tree lot. I'd initially planned to get a Noble Fir one in the 3'-5' range as they were the cheapest trees on the lot (they were running like $24 and some change), but when I saw them in the flesh, I changed my mind. The Noble Firs were, quite literally, Charlie Brown trees with their anemic-looking branches and sparse needles. For a few dollars more, the $28 range, we could upgrade to a Douglas Fir that was much fuller and about two feet taller. My husband agreed with my assessment and I picked out the tree. The lot attendant gave us our name ticket with the bar code so we could pay inside, and set about doing a few cuts so that the tree would stay fresh throughout the holiday season.

Bad lighting aside, this was our tree just after it was brought in before any modifications were made

Before we paid for our tree, we needed to get some lights. While my husband did amass a collection of LED light strings that he used to illuminate his tent and our old trailer, the lights only worked about half the time. Suffice to say, an upgrade was needed. We got a few clear LED strings and briefly debated getting colored lights before my husband's utilitarianism won out against acquiring them. The crappy old lights could go on the fence for decoration, but the nice new ones were to make the tree look respectable.

After paying, it was time to collect our tree. My husband went to bring the car while I went to get the tree. Despite its bulky appearance, the tree was not heavy nor were its needles sharp. I felt like an old-school Russian peasant as I hoisted the tree over one shoulder and carried it like a log to the car just a few feet away. We tied it to the roof, just like everyone in every Christmas movie ever, and I added an extra "safety" tie since my husband is a bit of a hot-rodder and I did not want our tree to go flying off somewhere because he decided to gun the car.

Once we were safely home, my husband put the tree in its stand and moved it into its present location near the front door, trimming a few stray branches here and there. Once I tidied the area a bit and vacuumed the needles which had shed, it was time to do some decorating.

Daddy doing the lights

Man at work, still more lights to go on

The lit tree, dark

The lit tree, with flash

To get the Tux penguin lamp on top of the tree, my husband had to take the battery base off and manipulate the light string placement a bit so that the penguin would have a light bulb up its ass and light up when the tree was lit too. Fortunately, I didn't have to wire the penguin to the top of the tree like I first thought, since the tip branch was sturdy enough to act as a pike for mounting. I topped off the penguin with a ghetto-style wreath headband made from the tree trimmings and some twist-ties.

Ta-Da! The *mostly* finished tree

By the time we were done, I was getting hungry and we agreed to hold off on decorating the tree with old computer parts till tomorrow. I needed to find the wire and cutters, and my husband had to look for the parts. I called it a night after my husband made a batch of Miracle-Gro and filled the bowl of the stand with it so that the tree would be hydrated and fed. We'll have *proper* ornaments as well, since family and friends have sent us some, but I'm looking forward to modifying old RAM and memory sticks.

And these, dear readers, are how Christmas memories are made.