True Love

So you know what we did for Valentine's Day? We played "girlfriends." Michael & I have been friends a very long time. In college, we'd laugh, complain, or play jokes on each other's girlfriends/boyfriends (and then hide from them). We would do the dumbest stuff together. Nothing's changed (well except for the fact that we married each other). I still tend to have more guy friends than gal, which becomes a problem when I have the occasional girly urge. I didn't pluck my eyebrows until I was 30. Too scared to do it myself the 1st time, I handed Michael a how-to magazine article and a pair of tweezers and told him to start yanking. The occasional changing of the hair also involves moral support. Of course, I can do it myself, but sometimes it's nice to have backup when you need it. Enter Mikey.

I'm one of the 2-4% of humans on the planet "blessed" with red hair (apparently a viking trait - no I'm not Irish). I like to call it strawberry blonde, but there's way more strawberry than blonde. I got made fun of when I was a kid in school, got asked if my carpet matched my drapes as an adult, and now just feel old. I usually like bucking trends/traditions, but my hair tends to become multi-colored (copper, mahogany, blonde, white) and actually looks like a bad dye job. Every once in a while, I end up coloring it just to make it look "natural." Unfortunately, red turns out be the hardest color to dye if you want a change. Anyone who colors their hair red on purpose be warned - Google it!

This is Michael's "girlfriend" face.

Not sure what kind
of face this is.

Tired of looking like a kaleidoscope (or worse, Carrot Top), I decided it was time for Michael and me to play girlfriends again. Michelle Michael got all giddy about the idea and took off to the drugstore to get a box of hair dye. Personally, I think he likes to torture me.

An attempt we tried about three years ago resulted in some scary moments (well I was scared; Michael thought it was hilarious). If I thought red was bad, I discovered that orange was even worse. I'm pretty sure I know how Donald Trump comes by his hair. It took (Michael) two more trips to the store to fix it. It happened again the next and last time, forcing me to get it professionally corrected (she had to do it twice too). After that, I let it go back to natural. Until now.

How did it turn out? Well, it's not a huge change, but it's not copper anymore either. And it didn't go orangutan - hooray! (Supposedly, the trick is to stay within 2 shades of your current color. You can keep lightening from there if you want. The alternative is to strip hair of all color first, a harsh option.) Below's a before & after if you can't tell. Good job Mikey!



It's not easy being a chick. A "ginger" chick. Or the husband of one.