Friday, November 14, 2014

Friday Mishmash

I lost 10 pounds in one day without dieting!  It's the newest thing in weight loss, and it's called a haircut.  OK, it might just feel like I've lost 10 pounds, but I had about five inches chopped off, plus my hairdresser put in a lot of layers, and the result is like I'm floating on air!  I documented the process:
 Before - my hair had grown past my bra band in the back;
During - all foiled up for my highlights and lowlights;
After - all done!
Back view - it's still long, but much lighter overall.

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So last Friday I posted this picture:
Ollie, Andi and Louise
Today, I'm posting this:
Just Andi and Louise.

Last Friday afternoon, little Ollie started looking unwell.  It's hard to describe a sick rat, but she just didn't look right.  I tried to get her into a vet on Saturday after my race but all the "exotic pet" vets in town only work M - F.  I held her as much as I could, and petted and loved on her, but she died on Sunday afternoon.  It was pretty crushing - she was such a sweet, outgoing little thing, and seemed perfectly healthy right up to late on Friday.  She was only about four months old.  Jeff and the kids were still on their nerd convention vacation while all of this was happening, so I didn't tell them until Monday night, when they got home.  Thankfully I had sweet friends who were checking in on me - it's a pretty helpless feeling to watch a pet decline like Ollie did.
 R.I.P. Ollie

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Today I'm going to a celebration of life for an old friend, Gary - last Friday morning, I heard that he had died.  It was a pretty crummy Friday, as you might surmise.  Gary was someone who really enjoyed life and marveled at everything.  A while back, he decided to take up bowling, and before long, there was a group of us who met him every Friday night at the bowling alley.  We'd bowl, eat burgers and fries, and have a great time...sometimes, friends who didn't bowl would stop by just to hang around!  He was a good guy, and he will be dearly missed:
Fun times and good memories at the bowling alley with Gary.

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Tomorrow I have my 11 mile run.  It's going to be freezing cold, but hopefully not as windy as it was for yesterday's run - it was 35 degrees, with a north wind blowing of 15 mph, which made for a 25 degree wind chill...brrr!  Fingers crossed the run goes better than last week's 10 miler.

Have a great weekend!

33 comments:

  1. Lovely you! Your shirt matches the salon. You could do a promotion for them. So sorry about the loss of your friend. Cherish the memories.

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    1. I didn't think about matching the shop with that shirt, but yes, I did! :)

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  2. I like "the celebration of his life" instead of a condoleance. I think we should all do that when someone passes away.

    Your hair looks fabulous! I love it.

    And poor Ollie, still so young. Your kid must have been very sad hearing the news. But you took really good care of him in the last hours.

    Have fun at the run and enjoy the cold, you know that you run more hot than cold runs, before you know it, it's warm again.

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    1. The celebration of life was very nice, and it was great to hear all kinds of "Gary stories" plus meeting his other friends and family. Still, just too damn bad we all had to come together without him there.

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  3. You had a lot of death in a couple of days - that's not easy for anyone. Sending thoughts of peace to you today. I hope the celebration of Gary's life allows you to cherish your memories of him.

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  4. Cute new hairdo! I love it. I had to idea your hair had gotten that long. I go through decades of long hair then cut it all of short, short, short which, is what I've been doing for the last four years and I must say since I still get hot flashes once in a while I think the hair shall stay short:)
    Sorry about the loss of your friend. I hope the celebration of life will allow you to find peace and closure.
    Please keep the really obnoxious cold weather in TEXAS and don't send it to Florida we don't want it!:) Seriously though good luck on your 11 miler can't wait to read all about it.
    Have a great weekend and thanks for sharing your life with us your readers!

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    1. I imagine if you live in Florida, you would resent this kind of cold weather - it's exactly WHY you live there, to not have to deal with it!

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  5. Ughhhh, so sorry about Gary and Ollie. Love the hair.

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  6. So sorry about the loss of your friend and then pet. I know I wouldn't want to be notified of a pet's passing while on vacation. I always feared that when I would go away that I would get a call that my then 16 year old Labrador would pass. She finally did but we were by her side.

    On a happier note, I love the hair! I called my stylist earlier this week to make an appointment but she hasn't called me back yet. I think I may need to find a new one.
    Bundle up for your cold run tomorrow. We are featuring some cold weather gear today on the blog that you might like!

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  7. You, and your hair, look great! So sorry for your recent losses. The photo of you hugging Gary really highlights how much you've changed your lifestyle over that last years. Enjoy celebrating the life of your good friend.

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    1. Yeah, it's funny to look at that picture of me with Gary - I gave a copy to his brother, who kind of did a double take looking at me now compared to the picture.

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  8. Your hair looks great! Reminds me I need to get my own hair cut soon...

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  9. Dah-link! You look Mah-velous!!! Really pretty hair. And now I need to call for my own appointment!

    So sad about Ollie. Will there be a new little rat-nick to join Andi and Louise, or is it too hard to introduce a baby to older rats?

    I will be thinking of you today as you spend time with old friends remembering Gary. He really does look like he was a nice guy. And I will be thinking of you tomorrow as you run in the freaking cold! Man, you went from hot and humid, to freezing cold. It just doesn't seem right. But then I remember. You live in Texas :)

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    1. freezing, not freaking. I guess either works :)

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    2. I think freaking works just fine, LOL.

      No new rattie at the moment - Andi and Louise are doing really well together, so I think we'll leave it at that.

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  10. Your hair looks great! It is cold here too and it will be getting colder.

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  11. Shelley ....you look beautiful! My thoughts are with you as you remember your pal Gary ...he sounds like a great person.

    Happy weekend!

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  12. Your hair looks fantastic Shelley. I'm so sorry for BOTH of your losses! Take care Shelley! Sending a big hug your way.

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  13. I am sorry about Ollie and Gary. I think we do need to celebrate life because it is short and you never know what can happen.

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    1. Thanks - and here's to making more celebrations while our loved ones are still around to enjoy them.

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  14. Ditto what Kim and Lori said. Onward to happy memories.

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  15. This has been a long week for me, just finally trying to catch up a bit. So sorry about your friend - he looked to young - and by the way, if I didn't "know" you I wouldn't have recognized you in that picture with him.

    The hair is gorgeous - such a pretty color! Although if I had hair that long, you know I'd put it in a pony tail!

    And smart decision to wait to tell the boys until they got home - no need to rain on their weekend. Hugs!

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  16. Your hair is gorgeous. Sorry for your losses this week.

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  17. Sorry you has such a bad weekend. I have my cats and I don't know what I would do if I lost them suddenly.

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