live for experiences

Firefox
What an experience this has been! After praising Firefox I soon ate my words. For the life of me I was unable to post here on Blogger while on Firefox, or even Internet Explorer, yet had no problem saving on Verizon Yahoo. VY is a browser I don't care to use now that I've found Firefox. I've had a lot of problems with VY and now that I know Blackboard works best with Firefox it is my browser of choice. Since I'm taking online classes through Blackboard and spend so much time on it it seemed fitting to stick with Firefox. When I tried posting and would click on the "save" button it would go to dark gray and say "saving" but it wouldn't stop, and it wasn't saving. To fix the problem I had to go in and change the name of the cookie file for Firefox.

A Friend in Need
Back in late January I'd posted about aiding and abetting someone who left their husband. The adulteress is still out West. It's not a match made in Heaven by any means. It seems she and Romeo are having their fair share of difficulties. Whatever. They are not my concern. I do not have time for the drama that festers there.

Big B and I (more so Big B than I) have taken to making sure our Friend is ok from time to time. Last night was one of those times. Big B and I had dropped LB off at the Relay (more on that to follow) and then took advantage of the gift cards Big B had one in a trivia game, to Outback Steakhouse. After returning home Big B called Friend and invited him over for some beer. Friend brought Jim...Jim Beam. We started out inside watching the Nascar race, as they're both fans. Then Friend decided to go out on the patio for a smoke, and we all ended up out there for the remainder of the evening. Big B stuck with his beer, Friend had Jim and Cokes, and I attempted to make a Whiskey Sour substitute. I used the JB, Coke, and Apple Pucker Schnapps we have in our house, the only sour liquor we have. Eh, it wasn't quite the same, but it was drinkable. We lit the fire in our fire pit, AW and his friend came out and made smores, and we all had a fun, relaxing evening.

Relay for Life
Every year our county puts on a Relay for Life event. LB decided to take part and joined one of his friend's teams. They've been working on the arrangements and made team t-shirts, after school. Last night all their work came to fruition for the main event.

I guess neither he, nor I, had said anything about this to Big B. So of course after we'd dropped LB off and sat down at the restaurant he started asking about it. I pulled out my handy dandy Blackberry to look up the event list so he could read it.

While looking at the list I recognized the name of the speaker as someone who I thought may have been a young woman who'd just lost her mother recently to cancer. I wasn't quite sure because the name listed was her full first name, and she usually goes by her initials. I texted LB to find out and sure enough it was her. Wow.

I had to hold back tears because being a very visual person I envisioned her up there speaking amongst the good-sized crowd I knew was in attendance, and how raw her grief still must be, that and the fact that I didn't want to ruin mine and Big B's dinner.

I can't help but feel a slight connection to the girl and her family, although I don't really know them. The time I actually did meet her I probably wont forget because it was so comedic. We were at a mutual friend's house one night for a party. I was in attendance as one of the parent chaperones, if you will. She, another girl, and I ended up in line at the powder room. I know the other girl, since she knows LB. The other girl introduced me to her as this is "LB Studmuffin's (name changed to preserve semi-anonymity) mom". The girl pipes up and says "I'm the eagle!" She happens to be the cheerleader who plays the part of the high school's mascot. She was so cute and endearing when she said it.

The connection I speak of is only felt since reading the girl's mom's obituary. It turns out she'd spent some time in the military and we have that in common, that and being mothers.

I texted and told LB, after he'd confirmed it was the girl I thought it was, that when she gave her speech he needed to listen to her. Somehow I don't think he would have had a choice as I'm sure everyone there would be silent and listening.

Colorful
The experiences of the past few days wouldn't be complete if I didn't tell of the colorful experience AW and I had the other night. Since before we had AW's hair dyed black he's been asking to put color in it as well. He at first wanted red, as in fire-engine red, but then changed his mind to blue. Earlier this month we had bought the bleaching powder, developer and the blue dye, but because he was having trouble with his grades Big B and I refused to succumb to his wishes. Since then he's been working hard to try and get his grades up, and I thought it was time to reward him.

I am not a colorist. We do not have a hair washing sink. Like a dumbass I started the process later in the evening Friday. That all adds up to YOU SHOULD NOT GET WITHIN ONE HUNDRED FEET OF YOUR SON'S HAIR WITH ANY TYPE OF CHEMICALS. The things we do for our kids...and to save a buck.

Talk about comedic occurrences. I decided it was best to touch his roots up with the black dye before bleaching the small section of hair he wanted dyed blue. After the first process, when it was time to rinse the black dye out, he had to get into the shower with his boxer shorts on and I stood there for a very long time rinsing...and rinsing...and rinsing some more. After towel drying his hair I applied the bleach paste to the small section we had tied off. I decided rather than chance burning his hair I would only leave it on for about 20 minutes, tops. Dumb move #225.


When it was time to apply the clue dye, I'd forgotten to grab a pair of gloves, which of course I do have.




Oh, and when it says "do not apply to scalp" you should really heed that warning!! And maybe, just maybe if you leave the bleach on longer therefore lightening the hair sufficently yo just might end up with blue hair and not ....






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