SimplicityInTheLBC

After reading about the no-poo shampoo thing in a couple of blogs, I’ve decided to give it a shot. Everything I’ve looked at says that it takes a little while for your hair to adjust, so the summertime is a good time for me to try it out. (This way, if it makes my hair disgusting, I can throw it up in a ponytail…unlike during the school year, when I have to look presentable every day.)

I have to say, I am very dubious about this. My hair has been on the oily side for as long as I can remember. Occasionally I’ll see something in a magazine or a blog where some hairstylist dork or nutritionist yahoo is begging women to not wash their hair every day, it’s not good for your hair, your hair will be so much healthier, blah blah blah. And I look at my thin, fine hair a full 24 hours after having shampooed, and it is on the verge of becoming a complete grease pit, and I say fuck you to the so-called experts, because if I were to go more than a day without washing my hair, I would look like a homeless person.

So. Baking soda and water, and maybe a vinegar rinse every so often. Come on, crunchy granola hippie stuff, make me a believer.

1) Getting two major hassles out of the way in one day.

2) Good sleep last night.

3) A Man who loves me unconditionally.

4) Epic Rap Battles of History, Stalin vs. Rasputin

5) Clean sheets on a freshly made bed.

6) A gorgeous day outside, and a walk in the sunshine.

Credit card paid off. Waiting for next month’s paycheck (including the second half of my extra duty stipend), and then the student loan is going to be toast.

CANNOT WAIT.

1) Making the decision to sleep in and not go to yoga.

2) A heartfelt email from a parent of one of my students.

3) A week’s worth of dinners planned and shopped for.

4) Giving myself a paddy-cure. Glitter abounds.

5) A very lazy day around the house. I can accomplish tomorrow (ugh, DMV).

6) Plaque taken to trophy shop!

7) Postcrossing cards in the mail.

1) Vocal charts for next year’s competition set: DONE.

2) I have absolutely NOTHING planned for tomorrow, except yoga.

3) Half the grocery shopping is done.

4) Turning off my alarm.

5) Celebrating Father’s Day yesterday, which left today open to spend with the Man. Who is most emphatically NOT a father.

6) Repairing my sweater, all bah mahself.

I’ll be making it a point to try several different styles of yoga with different instructors this week. Here’s hoping that at least a few of them will be a good fit for me.

SUNDAY
4:00-5:30p
Yin yoga – Tami

MONDAY
10:20-11:50a
Gentle yoga – Rosanne

TUESDAY
7:30-9:00p
Yoga Deep Stretch – Cheryl

WEDNESDAY
7:30-9:00p
Vinyasa Flow – Jennifer

THURSDAY
10:30-12:00p
Yoga I/II – Andrea

FRIDAY
4:00-5:15p
Yin yoga – Thea

SATURDAY
No yoga – going to see The Muffs play!

1) Spending time with the fambly today.

2) Knocking out a bunch of little dumb errands, and scheduling more for next week.

3) Sleeping till noon.

4) Looking forward to eating the rest of last night’s prime rib dinner.

5) Postcrossing cards in the mail!

6) Making a really stupid joke that made my sister laugh.

7) Making some more progress on last month’s goal of automating my finances.

1) Being a dumbass and forgetting my hair appointment, and then being able to reschedule for not-too-far-in-the-future.

2) Chopped up all the useless set pieces in the sea container!

3) Mi padre helping me out today.

4) Looking forward to celebratory dinner with the Man tonight, complete with ice cream (courtesy of gift cards from students).

5) Making plans for summer travels (or is it travails? We’ll find out).

Today my father, myself, and a portable circular saw dragged a bunch of old set pieces out of the sea container and turned them into lumber. There is more room in there now, even though I didn’t finish doing everything that needs doing.

I have also gotten rid of a TON of crappy old costumes, which has made a massive difference in the amount of space available.

I might be able to finish the sea containers by the end of this summer!

1) LAST DAY!

2) Going to the German Deli for lunch.

3) Having the owner of the German Deli recognize me and ask where I’ve been, since I haven’t been there in eons.

4) Successful performance by the show choir today. Lots of compliments.

5) Signing up for a professional development that I’m hoping will actually be useful.

6) Couch nap with the cat.

1) ONE. MORE. DAY.

2) Making my students laugh, even though I was really frustrated at the time.

3) A cat on my lap, purring away like a rusty outboard motor.

4) Making dinner with the Man this evening – we have both been so tired lately that we’ve been falling asleep without supper.

5) End-of-year thank-you notes and gifts.

6) BOGO candles.

7) Making decisions for next year’s competition set.

8) Doing massive clean-outs at work, which will hopefully make life easier in the long run.

I didn’t make it to any other yoga classes this week, but I did catch yin yoga this afternoon. It is still awesome.

One more week of work, and then I can attend classes at any time of day. The hard part is going to be making myself roll out of bed before noon.

I’m currently reading a personal finance book to see if I can get some ideas about how to get my shiz together for later in my life. One of the chapters in the book is about insurance, and I was going to skip over it, but I actually read through it.

I currently do not carry life insurance and have no plans to ever do so. This is because I have no dependents – I don’t consider The Man a dependent because he has his own retirement income that is guaranteed by the United States Government for as long as he is alive. We do not now, nor will we ever have children, so I’m not worried about providing for parentless sprogs. I also carry very little debt, and it will all be paid off within the next year.

However, what I am planning on doing in the next few months is looking into prepaid end-of-life services. I figure the cost of a cremation and memorial would currently be the only financial burden I would leave my family, and that’s something that I can arrange and pay for now while I am still alive and kicking. Whoever ends up being the executor of my “estate” (not sure who that would be yet, since I’m likely going to outlive my parents and probably The Man as well) at least won’t have to deal with THAT bit of paperwork and financial hassle.

Neptune Society, here I come! Bless you for having a branch in Long Beach.

1) Paying off my credit card.

2) Spanish Harlem Orchestra keeping me company on my commute today.

3) Coming home to a clean house!

4) ONE MORE WEEK.

5) Finding out that some stuff didn’t get done because I dropped the ball. While that’s annoying, at least I’m able to fix it.

6) Listening to the practice time of the flute player that lives across the street from us. He/she is either collegiate level, or a REALLY good high school player.

7) Being able to shower in my own home, instead of having to go to the gym to do it.

1) Light traffic to and from work today – other schools in the area must be done with their year.

2) A friend of the Man’s bringing a pizza over.

3) A very positive meeting with my principal today.

4) Not having to stay after school for another meeting, which got moved to next week.

5) Guilty pleasure early ‘90s pop music for my drive time today.

1) Realizing that if I get reimbursed by the department for several things I’ve written my own checks for over the course of this year, I have over a thousand dollars coming back to me. SCORE.

2) Taking an environmentally conscious shower. (Okay, so I only did it because our drain is backed up, but still. Saving water and all that.)

3) Chicken tikka masala, with leftovers for tomorrow.

4) Figuring out a workaround for a tech problem.

5) The first Jason Mraz album as today’s drivetime music.

1) Staying up late and sleeping till noon.

2) Taking a yin yoga class at the gym today. I loved it. This is exactly what I’ve been needing. I will continue to try other yoga classes available as well, but I definitely want to keep a yin yoga class in my rotation.

3) Time with the Man before leaving for the gym today.

4) Watching the sad cat diary and sad dog diary videos.

5) Finishing up some stuff for work this week. Only ten more working days till this year is DONE!

6) Appreciating the messy imperfection of the grunge music movement in general and Hole’s Celebrity Skin in particular. In the sea of autotune that passes for music these days, I miss hearing the rough edges of a real performance.

I just checked out the new schedule for my gym, and they’re actually having decent yoga classes at times when I can take them. For the next few weeks while school is still in session, I can do evenings. During the summer, I can go whenever I want! Time to go through the gamut and see which teachers are right for me.

Last time I tried to get back into yoga, I got really discouraged. I am fatter and less flexible now than I was when I was doing yoga regularly, and it was incredibly disappointing to struggle with stuff that used to be easy. Of course, lack of practice is what got me to puffy-and-stiff mode in the first place, so let’s not give up this time, eh?

UPDATE: Sunday evening Yin Yoga is a big fat WIN. Teacher says don’t do more than two yin yoga classes in a week, so I’ll keep checking out other options as well.

1) Got a massage today, which was awesome even though she didn’t spend nearly enough time on my hands or feet.

2) Pancakes and eggs-with-blue-cheese-and-bacon-and-onion for a tasty brunch al fresco with the Man.

3) Reactivated my gym membership in preparation for summer.

4) Paycheck!

5) Sleeping in, and savoring the fact that in a few weeks, I’ll be doing this every day.

6) Postcrossing cards going out to Germany, Czech Republic, Belarus, Finland, and…Missouri.

7) Our rose bush in the backyard is blooming again.

1) Compliments from my principal and other teachers at today’s meeting.

2) In keeping with this goal – no news on the way to work or coming home. Instead, music. Much better mood achieved.

3) Making plans for summer projects.

4) Delicious barbecue dinner out with the Man, with leftovers for tomorrow.

5) Reading our new teachers’ contract for next year. Our union did some bang-up negotiating.

6) Day off tomorrow!