Growing Out The Pixie...Update...

So...it's been nearly 18 months of "growing out the pixie."

I can't believe I've lasted this long!

Nearly every time I get my hair cut short...I never last.

I end up chopping it off short again.

Don't get me wrong...

I've been tempted...many a times.

I've seen A LOT of cute short cuts out there!

And I've gone through some major awkward stages.

But...

I did it!

I'm actually happy with my hair!

People are starting to compliment me on it!

Yay!

I've never had "good hair".

So to get a compliment on my hair just MAKES MY DAY.

I usually get more compliments when my hair is in a shorter style.

People seemed to like the pixie.

But I got THE MOST compliments when I wore a short angled bob.

I used to wear it super short and layered in back...

And then angled on the sides.

People seemed to really like that style on me.

"I" really liked that style on me.

Only thing, it required SO MUCH upkeep...keeping it trimmed every 6 weeks...

Well, so did the pixie...

That's the great thing about growing my hair out now...

I haven't had it trimmed in...

I don't know how long!

I was going every 6 weeks during the first few months because I was in such awful "growing it out" stages.  I HAD to keep it trimmed to have any kind of style to it.

But now...it's so healthy, I haven't even had the ends trimmed in several months!

I use Healthy Sexy Hair on my hair (argan oil) when I blow dry.

And if I roll it in sponge rollers at night, I put some leave-in conditioning oil in it before I roll it.

I forget the name of it.

I've just been trimming my own bangs (I know...naughty).

But so far...it's working for me!

I've been taking Biotin for the entire 18 months I've been growing it out and I think it really helps.  My hair normally grows SOOOOOO SLOW.

Not sure how long I'm gonna let it get...but for now...we're just still growin'!

Stay tuned for more updates!

Christmas 2014

 Another Christmas has come and gone.

Wow.

Where does the time go.  This one kind of just sneaked up on me!  We celebrated with the extended family at mom and dad's house this year.  Everything was wonderful, the only bad thing was, Jam couldn't be there due to work.  Crazy schedule, crazy shifts...bummer.  We had a fun day.

 Lots of yummy foods, presents, and games.

 Everyone playing with their gadgets...cameras, iPads, phones, etc.

 Dad with one of his gift cards...

 Chillin' w/ my sis and niece...

 Mom with one of her gift cards...

 Playing games at the table...

 We're a crazy bunch!

 Christmas morning the boys opened their gifts...

 Stocking stuffers...

 Ooooh!  Could it be?  A new game system?

 More history books for our history buff!

 Gaming headphones for Nate...

 Stocking stuffers for Jam...his favorite candy and some Detroit Lions and Tigers decals for the car window.

 Kitty with some of her new toys...

I made a quiche for breakfast.

It was a great holiday.

We are enjoying our time off together as a family.

We hope your holiday was blessed!

Have a happy and healthy 2015!

Update on my schooling...(WGU)

Just thought I'd give a little update on my progress and where I'm at with school.

I've already completed one term and am working on my second term.

I am a little over 1/3  of the way done...falling somewhere in my sophomore year.

I am loving this school.  I don't think I would have ever went back if "traditional" school would have been my only option.  WGU is geared specifically for working adults.  You can accelerate if you want, but don't have to.  Each year is broken up into two 6 month terms.

You work at your own pace, but you still must finish the term by the end of the six months.

If you finish your course load early, you can accelerate and add another class in that term before it ends.  It is extremely challenging.  If you aren't the kind of person who is self-motivated, can work independently, or set and reach your own goals...it's definitely not the type of school for you.  It's A LOT of work.  You have to be a go-getter.

The support of the student mentors and course mentors is AMAZING.

They WANT you to succeed. They want you to graduate.  They will do anything they can to help you succeed.  That is something I never experienced in traditional college at the other two schools I attended.  It is difficult, challenging, trying, and overwhelming at times...not only the course load, but balancing it all with a full time job (2 businesses), family, and other day to day responsibilities.  This is why I stress over and over again to my sons..."Finish college while you're young.  Don't get married and start a family before you finish.  Don't quit.  Don't give up.  Do it while you're young."  I hope by my example that they will see that it's worth it to have a college degree.  It's been so nice being in college again while my oldest son is in college as well.  He has helped me a lot.  I'm hoping to continue to accelerate and graduate early...but if I don't and it takes the full amount of time...that's ok too.  The point is...I WILL GRADUATE!  I am NOT giving up or quitting this time!

It's gonna be so worth it in the end!

Merry (early) Christmas To Us! (And some Christmas decorations!)

 I started whining mentioning to my husband how I'd love to do a DIY faux fireplace.
In the 21 years we've been married, we've never had a fireplace in any of the homes we've lived in.  I was telling him about all of the cool faux fireplaces on Pinterest that I had seen and how we could create something really unique and fun.  I've always wanted a mantel to decorate for all of the seasons and holidays.  I knew a "real" fireplace was out of the question, as it would cost a lot to install a gas one, so I thought "faux" was the next best thing.  We could light lots of candles and make it lots of fun.  Well...dear hubby says, "Why don't we look for an electric one instead?"  Well I never even considered that!  We looked around...and although electric fireplaces HAVE come a long way...we were still really wanting that "real flame".  Soooo...
We got a "gel fuel" fireplace!  It uses small cans of gel fuel and you get that real flame!
Yay!

 It is so awesome.  I love the ambiance it gives the room.  So cozy!
We already decorated for Christmas and I'm loving the warmth the fireplace adds to the room!

 I FINALLY got my mantel to decorate!
I set out a crystal bowl and put some marbleized glass Christmas bulbs in it.  Then I set out my "HOPE" plaque that my momma made for me.  A little reindeer votive holder.  My "JOY" milk bottles.  A glass vase of candy canes.  And I also added my brand new cashmere winter mittens that I got last year for my birthday!

 We decorated for Christmas early this year.
Normally, I say, "The tree does NOT go up before Thanksgiving!  We have to give Thanksgiving its do time!"
Well, with Thanksgiving falling so late this year, and as much work as it is to put out all of the decor, I caved and we decorated early so we could enjoy it for longer.

I put up two trees again this year.  One in the living room and one in the family room.
The one above is the living room tree. 

Knick-knacks on our end tables...

 My momma made me the JOY bottles and the HOPE plaque.

 My snowmen...

 The tree in the family room...

 Momma made me the JOY plaque too...

 Mom and dad made the "For unto us a child is born" tree...they're such DIYers!

 More table decor...

 Coffee table...

 Living room...

 Kitchen...

 Patio...

 Entryway...

Half wall between upper and lower levels...

That's just "a little" taste of it all.  I have stuff everywhere...every room of the house.

Even the bathrooms get decorated.

Do you decorate every room of your house?
Do you set up more than one tree?
What are your favorite decorating traditions?
I hope you all have a wonderful time preparing for the upcoming holiday season!

Will try to post more during this joyous season!

Merry Christmas!

SNOWvember...

I  know I already shared our snowy SNOWvember (November) picture with you.

Here's a fun little video I took out our window early in the month.

Enjoy!

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

 This isn't the way it's supposed to be.
It's November for goodness sake.
"I don't remember having this much snow and these bitter temperatures before Thanksgiving in...FOREVER!" my husband cries!
This "IS" typical Michigan winter weather...
But not "NOVEMBER" weather.

These pictures don't really do justice to the "damage"...as this was pretty early on.

We first got about 8 inches, then another 6 or 7...

They say another "dumping" is coming tonight or tomorrow.

Possibly 4-7 inches more.

I have to say, I do enjoy it when I don't have to go anywhere (I work from home)...

But when I "have" to go out...to the store, to church, to the boys' schools, events...

It's pretty uninviting.

I don't see well at night to drive, much less in whiteout conditions.

I guess my only complaint is that when the snow starts so early, we don't get to enjoy fall, my favorite season, near long enough.  It makes our already long winters, even longer.
But it is what it is, right?
We are healthy, stocked up on supplies, and our snowblower is working hard!
We're all in this together, right?  Bring it!

This and that...early October happenings...

 We are just plugging right along.  Life seems to just move more swiftly along the older you get.

We are so blessed.  One of our more recent blessings has been the addition to our family of sweet Katarina Blue...our part Russian Blue kitty.

 For those that follow my blog, you probably remember that our former fur-baby Oreo always slept in this little box-bed that Nate made seven years ago.  Sweet Oreo slept in that bed for the full seven years he was with us.

 When he passed on, the box went to the basement.  However, when we adopted Katarina, Nate brought the box back up.  I really didn't think she'd go into it.  But look where sweet Katarina is sleeping!

 Yep!  Nate is thrilled that she has reclaimed the box-bed!  Sweet girl.

 This kitty-girl has brought so much joy to us.  Our home was so empty after sweet Oreo passed.  And now it's filled with kitty love (and kitty fur) again.  I snapped this picture as she was climbing on me and I called her name and as she looked at me, she must've blinked as the flash went off.  Isn't it adorable?!?!

 Most of you know I decorate custom cookies.  And not much makes me more happy then new cutters!  My momma scored these vintage cutters for me and brought them up to me today.  What a great surprise!

 I haven't posted any hair updates like I had been.  It's been 14 (very long) months since I started growing out my pixie.  Here is a side-by-side of where I was 14 months ago...and where I am today.  I think it could have been a little longer, except I had a few scissor-happy gals who trimmed it a couple times.  But we're getting there.  It's progress!

 I've been working on a big cookie order for some special people.

For those who don't follow my blog, check out my Sweet Ivy Confections blog:

http://sweetivyconfections.blogspot.com/

Or look me up on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sweet-Ivy-Confections/247776648584544

I'm also on Twitter:

@Sweet_Ivy_Conf

And Instagram:

sweetivyconfections

 These are just a few sneak peaks of what I've been doing.

I can't share the full pictures yet because the folks who are getting the cookies, don't know they're getting the cookies!

 Today, my mom, sister, and I went thrifting.

It...is...a...thrill.

We go crazy thrifting.  It's like finding treasure.  We have a lot of great thrift stores around here.

I ended up with:

5 sweaters

2 dresses

2 blouses

3 scarves

1 headband

1 necklace

1 make-up bag

1 pair of shoes

1 coffee cup

2 vintage coffee mugs

2 vintage cookbooks

1 vintage ice cream scoop

ALL THIS...FOR A GRAND TOTAL OF...are you ready for this?

Drum-roll...
Less than $30.00!!!

Can you believe it?

Neither can I!!!

 Here we are making our, "Can you believe how much stuff we bought?" faces.

LOL!

 Our haul in the trunk...

 Our, "Our husbands are going to freak out" looks.

LOL!

 Selfie!

Or is it a "groupie"?

Hehehe!

 Well, now that my hair's finally growing...I can finally get it in rollers!

Yay!

I was able to fit it in my hot rollers today.

It was SO NICE to rock a different look!

I love curls!

 ...and a few edits for fun...

Well, I think that's about it for now.

Between working full time, going to school full time, baking, and keeping up with the family...I don't blog as much as I used to.  I do try to fit in at least a few a month though.

I hope this finds all of you happy and healthy!

Have a blessed autumn!