Hello Esty, here I come!

Very exhausted, but it's under construction:

Creative Magic

Handmade knits, the "Bracelet", my music, lace wig application DVDs, etc.

Finally, a commercially creative outlet for my expansive output.

Stay tuned.

February - #44! So Much to See, So Much to Do!

So much has happened since the last blog. I had a birthday (44 - ugh!), we toured Alcatraz Island, and I'm making great progress on my Leviathan sweater. My birthday was a weekend. Andrew is so sweet, and he makes me feel special everyday. He gave me a dozen orangey-peach and yellow roses and a chocolate birthday cake with whipped cream frosting:

I don't know why he put my "1st birthday" on it. It did have Tinkerbell trinkets on the cake.

The day before, we went to my beloved San Francisco. I LOVE San Francisco. We started the day at a BEAUTIFUL restaurant called The Cliff House. It's on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge. The views were spectacular. I had a Bellini and we shared a plate of spicy calamari. I definitely want to go back to that place.





Then it was off to Alcatraz. It's a penitentary, what else is there to say. I do like the fact that none of the prisoners had to share a cell. It was interesting. I delighted in the fact that some of the prisoners learned to knit and crochet.






We ended up at my most favorite restaurant, The Crab House. I could eat pounds and pounds of the crab. The garlic fries are to die for also. I'm still trying to decipher the recipe. The navy neckwarmer made its first public appearance:


All in all, it was one of the best birthdays I've ever had. Andrew makes it all so special.

On the hair front, I was scouring You Tube looking for layered haircutting vids, and I came across the CreaCut. It looked so neat that I ordered it. Click here for the You Tube video. I'm a little nervous, because I ordered it on Thursday, now their actual http link doesn't work. I'm needing bangs and layers in my Virgin Malaysian Straight. Hopefully, when I start working (a regular job), I'll be able to purchase a new wig whenever I want. I'll keep no more than 3 at a time. I decided to retire the hybrid virgin malaysian loose curly/Amina. I wore it for the birthday weekend, but she was shedding up a storm. I tried reinforcing the seam in the back by sewing some extra lace on top of it. The neat thing was when I removed the wig, I didn't have to remove the adhesive and tape from my skin. It was still tacky (I'd only had the wig on for 2 days). I put another layer of Vapon over what was still there, and put the Virgin Malaysian Straight right on. I did add a little dark makeup to my bandage/wigcap. Maybe I can do this two or three times a month, to further reduce the manipulation of my real hair (since I know how to do the beehive/spiral cornrow).

Speaking of hair, I finally saw Chris Rock's "Good Hair" yesterday. I LOVED it! I could see the comedy in it. I wish there were more natural haired girls representing. As soon as my hair is shoulder length, I'll be LF free. I think it's easier to take care of natural hair once it's fully embraced and accepted. I can't wait to be able to go to the beach and just jump in the water and not care that my hair is wet. As long as I carry my scrunchies and elastic bands in my bag, I'm cool. No more straightening. Just wild, and free, with a few blonde streaks here and there. Patience and tenacity are propelling me towards my goal. I love that the older I get, the more I don't care what other people think. I ran out of my GNC NourishHair caps. I don't really know if they work. I know that the MegaTek works. I will keep using that until forever. I'm trying to go through my products, without buying more. So far, the products (conditioners) that are keepers are: Silk Elements Luxury Moisturizing Conditioner, MegaTek Cell Rebuilder, Nexxus Humectress, and Tressemme Flawless Curls. I like the Organix Vanilla Silk more for the smell. I love the extra virgin olive oil for my deep conditions. Everything else is collecting dust. As for shampoos, I really like the Suave Daily Clarifying Shampoo. It's no more that $2! In these recessionist times, who can beat that! Hopefully, I can keep my hair braided and hidden until I can't stand it anymore. I'll eventually remove the bandage and wigcap and wash my braids. I love the path my hair growth is on.

I'm wanting to do more singing videos. Andrew and I have up on deck: No Excuses (Alice In Chains), 9 Crimes (Damien Rice), Down In A Hole (Alice In Chains), and Set the Fire to the Third Bar (Snow Patrol). Up for me solo is Harvest for the World (Isley Bros), Whenever (Maxwell), Why (Annie Lennox), and a million more. I'm doing songs I love and think are great. Not what's popular. I love music.

Clips, Clips, and More Clips!

Two more video clips are added, and I'm adding wig clips into the nape of my curly unit. Only because my Hair Direct order (Vapon, White Adhesive, Walker and Super Tape) won't get here in time. I'm all set. My Delia's peacoat arrived today, and it's too cute. I didn't take my braids down, except for the perimeter braid. I washed my braids and now I'm letting them air dry. I'll spray some of the hair freshener on them just in case they're not dry tomorrow. Then I'll braid the perimeter again, apply the wigcap, apply the bandage wrap, and just attach the front. All is good on the lace front!

Recording the "Wait" video was almost on accident. I was in the zone. I tried to do Annie Lennox's "Why" and " Ingrid Michaelson's "The Way I Am", but I need to practice those more. I want to do Five For Fighting's "Superman", and Madonna's "Live To Tell" and "Gone". I also want to do Rush's "Armor and Sword" and "Resist". The list is long! I'm so excited, and the comments are encouraging. My sister told me to wear lipstick on the subsequent videos, so I figured, why not, plus the rocker girl hair! I'm having fun.

I'm excited about LA!

Phase Two of World Domination.... Music!

As you all can see (per the new video posted), I have added music videos to my YouTube channel. I've been playing guitar and singing for a very long time, but never serious enough to put it on display. What kicked it into gear for me was seeing these young girls on Ellen (Degeneres) last week, playing guitar and singing the Lauryn Hill version of "Killing Me Softly". I hate all that affected singing, but that's just me. So I'm going to post me singing all my favorite songs, mostly 70's rock stuff. I'll throw in some unexpected treats along the way. I had to get used to the camera, and our camera is really neat, because the view thingy swivels around so you can see what you're doing. Next up is "Angel" by Sarah McLachlan, dedicated to the victims of the Haitian Earthquake (we donated $20 too).

The LA trip is next week. My coat should be here tomorrow. I was hoping my glue and tape from Hair Direct would be here before we left, but it's not. I'll have to milk this app for all it's worth, including many touchups. No major lifts yet, other than the nape right corner. The hair is performing spectacularly.

I'm still knitting Colbi's domino scarf. I'm trying to figure out what kind of scarf I want. I was going to do a scarf like the brown monster, but it's not working out in the stockinette stitch. I don't necessarily like garter stitch items. I'm pouring over some stitch books now. I may just do it in the domino motif too.

Let there be light...

As I thought, it's lightening up. I'm happy again.

I'm still knitting.

Last night, I did something that I haven't done since moving to California. I put my headphones on, and opened iTunes. I started by practicing "Why" by Annie Lennox. That's definitely going to be a YouTube video. Then I started adding songs I want to do to the list. I miss listening to the music I really like (the Bee Gees, Maxwell, Mint Condition, Julia Fordham, Faith Hill, Alison Krauss, Fleetwood Mac, Olivia Newton-John, etc).

Back to the knitting...

Happy October!

I can't believe the year is flying by so fast. I've been in California for 10 months now, still jobless (dang, why won't Target or Walgreen's call?!). I'm trying to make the most of it. I have a loving boyfriend, beautiful surroundings, and time to create, be it music or my writing. I am a little sad that we have to find Dagny a new home, because we can't have pets where we live. My heart is broken over that. I've really been working on getting my guitar playing up to speed, so I can join the fray and start recording performance videos - me sitting in front of the camcorder, playing and singing my favorite songs, and maybe some originals. I've been playing everyday, and my fingers hurt like hell. I'm very encouraged about doing this though, since I've been dabbling in songwriting most of my life.
Today is "remove the current unit" day. It's also hair picture day too. I really don't feel like removing this unit, but it's been on since 9/22 (the last post). I'm a little itchy. I'm glad I pinpointed that my nape doesn't like the WNST. The itchies weren't bad at all this time, since I used Super Tape on my nape. The Frankenlace really held up this app. It looked good (to me, at least) everyday. She's still shedding like a beast, but I think that may be from where the seam is joined. A lot of hair got trapped in there, then I cut it from the inside. It's like the worse I treat the wig, the better it handles. The only thing is that I forgot to dip the cap into the cocoa brown rit dye. The lace is yellowish/orange (yesterday in the car):

I can't believe I forgot to dye the lace back down. You can still see the blondish roots on this pic:
Other than that, no lifting on this app, except for a small area on the nape, and that was after I washed the hair in the shower yesterday. The seam was much more comfortable this app too. I'm only removing the unit because this is the 10th day. It's almost like I'm using my head as a calendar.
In closing, I will devote a seperate YouTube player just for my music clips on this page.

Music a great passion of Miley Cyrus

Music a great passion of Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus has a great passion for Music. The character she played for Disney series as Hannah Montana is also a character of singer. Hannah Montana is a twin role played by Miley Cyrus. She made her career in both the field of acting and singing. She sung various songs for Walt Disney record which made her a well known celebrity.

In the fourth edition of Disney record she sung her first song with her father. Which was becomes a success all over the night when it reached public ears. “See you again” was the most famous song by Miley Cyrus which enters on the hot 100 in the top ten songs.

“Breakout” is Miley Cyrus first album which has no link with Hannah Montana show. This is her individual album. She got inspiration for this album from whatever happens in her past few years. In this she co-wrote two songs. Songwriting is something she would like to continue her whole life.

In 2008, she hosted CMT music awards along with her father. She also attended American Idol and performs on her song “See you again”. During American idol she told the audience that she also dreamed of participating in American idol. She also hosted teen choice awards in august 2008.

In all these award events Miley Cyrus looks gorgeous with different costumes and hairstyles. The first disc was given out as the second sound track of Hannah Montana, while the next disc was debut by Cyrus solo album and she wrote eight songs out of ten songs, which accredited by her birth name Destiny Hope Cyrus. She made a marvelous job both in song writing and singing.
Music a great passion of Miley Cyrus

green garden and wet dog

Some quick photos from our weekend....

We spent a good chunk of time at a violin repair shop in the U-district while we got mom's violin fixed up for Eric to get started on. The fiddle just gleams now....

Then we went to Haller Lake with Matt and Micky for some dog swim time....

Finn really has figured out how good he is at swimming. He went again with Micky, and they raced after the "buoy" toy. The best part is when Finn would turn his head to see how far behind him Micky is...

they have a great time playing together.... best dog buddys!

We also did a bunch of gardening -- mostly flowery stuff in the front yard, but also paid some attention to the veggie garden. This is the herb garden (foreground) and the leafy greens section (middle), with the tomatoes and hops against the fence.

We're having ceasar salad for dinner tonight!