High Five for Friday!

This week has thankfully been a slow, pretty event-free week for me. I'm definitely not complaining! Here's a quick list of the highlights from my week:

1. I got my hair cut. Well, trimmed. I'm growing it out (or trying to), and right now it sits just a tad below my shoulders. The last time I had it trimmed, I had my sister (don't worry, she's a professional!) do something different. I wanted the ends to be more fringe-y instead of straight across. I saw it in a magazine and thought it looked really cool. Not so cool on me. It was terrible to work with! So this week my sister just trimmed my hair normally and it is SO much better. Hey, when you're at this awkward length like I am you take what you can get with your hair!

2. I got a new flat iron! I know that sounds pretty dumb, but I'm super excited about it. I realized my el cheap-o flat iron was part of my problem, and it was probably ruining my hair. So I got one that's a little more expensive (still only $30, but that was at TJ Maxx, so its really more like $60) and I can already tell its much better. And its pink!

3. I discovered deep conditioner for hair. Yes, this is three hair events in one week, and yes its probably very shallow of me. But I don't care. This is what has made me happy this week! One of my favorite blogs, The Small Things Blog, is written by a professional hair stylist in Raleigh. She's got all kinds of tutorials for hair styles on there, and so much more. Recently, she did a FAQ video and one of the questions she answered concerned deep conditioners. I'd never used one before, but after hearing her advice, decided to try it. I got the Organix Moroccan Argan Oil deep conditioner from Target. Probably not the best stuff out there, but I really liked it. It made my hair feel really silky and moisturized.

I only wash my hair 2-3 times a week because it (like the rest of my body) is extremely dry, and washing any more than that is too much for it. I already use a pretty intense conditioner (I think), but this stuff just made it feel so much better. Today I'm on day 2 post-wash and my hair still feels great, not dry at all!

4. Okay, enough talk about hair! Last night, it hit me how truly happy I am with my life. God has blessed me so much. Sure, nothing is perfect, and I get discouraged and upset sometimes, but really, I've got a great life.

This week, I bought my daughter a pair of "shortalls" (that's overalls, but shorts instead of long pants) from Target. I've been eyeballing them all summer, waiting for them to go on sale. They went on clearance this week, so I snagged them. She, of course, loved them. (My child loves all clothes, God help me.) Immediately wanted to put them on. So last night I put them on her and she walked around the house so proud, with her hands in the little pockets. Then DH came home to mow the grass, and C wanted to ride with him. So I put her shoes and sunglasses on and took her outside. As I watched them ride off on the mower, it just struck me: I am so happy. Its probably going to be super annoying when she's a teenager, but right now C's assertion of her own fashion sense is super cute, and seeing the love between my husband and my child just lights me up.

5. The last thing is something I'm trying really hard to make positive. This week, I was diagnosed with a milk allergy. My allergist recommended I avoid everything that contains milk products. I didn't realize this at first, but milk is in everything. Even deli meats and hot dogs! The only way to tell how severe my allergy is is to eliminate it from my diet, then slowly add things back and see how I react. So for one month I am going completely dairy free. Its hard. I'm only on day 2 and its a struggle. I don't know how to cook without using milk or butter, so I'm having to relearn everything in the kitchen. Its frustrating. The silver lining I'm trying to see is that hopefully this is the cause of my severe reflux (GERD, whatever you want to call it), and once I get milk out of my body I'll feel better. Fingers crossed!