Friends (well, if you can call them that, after laughing at me the last two weeks) have told me that I need to write about my hair experience the past couple of weeks. I would post pictures, but it is just too embarrassing for the world to see. Randy has been happy, because the “hair horror” has actually kept me at home. I keep waiting to see if maybe time will take care of the color and the cut, but so far, all I have gotten is texts from my kids telling me not to come back to Texas until this new color wears off. Let me begin at the beginning.
About 3 weeks ago, I was preparing to go visit family back in Texas. As it was time to color my hair, (yes we are cheap and color it at home), I thought I would surprise Randy and buy a little “lighter” shampoo in color and really get rid of the gray that was beginning to completely take over the blonde color that I knew God must have intended me to have, but He probably just ran out of bleach and just thought He would let me pick out what color blonde I really wanted to be. So through the years, the colors have gone from…well, let’s just say that sometimes, there have been colors that no one has every seen before, but….it kept life interesting. OK, back to the story,
I woke up on Fri before I was to leave on Mon. Got out my shampoo-in kit and proceeded to mix it. As I began to mix the color, I noticed that the color was one which had powder packets that meant that this was truly “bleach” and not just shampoo-in color. But…I thought to myself, this will really get rid of the gray, so I continued. As I was waiting the normal 30 min for it to develop, I began to see that the blonde was REALLY blonde, or should I say “white”. I hurridly washed it off and lo and behold, there was a total stranger staring back at me from the mirror. I looked like Tammy Fae Baker without the lipstick. I hurridly drove to Sallys to buy a frosting cap but told the guy I wanted one that had bigger holes, so I would have more red color to get rid of this awful white color. He sold me a “chunky cap” which lets you pull big chunks of hair out to frost. He looked at my hair and reminded me that my hair was now a blank slate in which would really intensify any color put on it so to be careful. I thought to myself, “now what does this little smart alec guy know about hair color, he is just probably a shelf stocker and after all, I have been coloring my hair for about 50 yrs now. I know what I am doing” So I come home and put the red color that I had bought when they didn’t have my #67 red that I always use. It looked very close to what I was use to using, so how different could it be? Well, after I pull huge chunks of hair out of the little holes all over my scalp, I apply the red…..30 min later, I take off the cap and OMGosh, I look like Christmas. I now have Christmas red and white hair. Now I am really crying.I call Randy and ask him to please make a stop at the drug store to buy more hair color. He does and calls me from CVS. He is reading all the “red” colors while I am on the computer trying to see what color he is describing to me over the phone. He buys “Chile Pepper Red” and comes home. We once again, are hoping that this color will bring the Christmas red down a notch or 10. We color all of the top of my hair, trying to leave some of the blonde to make it look like it is supposed to be frosted. Well, I now looked like a gypsy. I cannot even make myself go to church the next day because it is just flaming red with still “white streaks”. I wash it with Gain laundry detergent, Pomolive Hand soap, Tide, anything to help strip the color out. Nothing is working. Monday arrives and I have no choice but to head to the airport. People are staring, some are snickering but I hold my head high and make them think that I “meant to do this”. Upon arriving in Dallas, well, how do I put this? I sent out texts to everyone I might be seeing to warn them that if I see even one little smile cross their faces, I would write about them in my blog the rest of their lives. My daughter, Jodi, had to turn away when she saw me she was laughing so hard. As I continued to wash it over and over trying to get all that awful red out, my hair slowly fades to pink. So now people were coming up to me and sayin, “oh, you have pink hair”. Yes, I had pink hair, so I have gone from looking like a gypsy to a 60 yr old punk rocker.There have been to many comments to post on here, but as soon as I got home last week, I went and bought another red color kit. Now it was black/dark cherry red. Maybe getting it cut would take some of the black color out, so I ran into SuperCuts because there is no way I am going to go around looking like an old punk rocker with pink/dark cherry red hair. The girl cuts my hair and asks me how I got my hair that color. I didn’t have the energy to tell her. She finishes cutting my hair and Randy is waiting for me. We get in the car with me having wet hair. I run into the house and wash it and dry it only to discover that the sweet young lady who probably just graduated that morning from beauty school cut my hair about 2 in shorter on one side than the other. So now I have lopsided, dark red hair that continues to gather looks when I walk down the street. Let’s just say that the way I look, I should be wearing about 6 earrings and one in my nose, and lots of tattoos. I always wondered what it would be like to be the center of attention…..now I know! At least when we go see Jay Leno on Fri night, you will be able to spot me in the audience. Will hope this story has a happy ending. I go to the beauty shop on Thurs. If it looks better than it does now, I will post a picture to let you know,that I will now be able to go out of the house without sunglasses and a hat.
Month: July 2011
Ease Blueberry Skillet Coffee Cake
This is so cool. Just bought a new Paula Deen Cookbook and when I saw this recipe, I knew I would have to make it and share it.
Streusel Topping
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tables butter
2 1/2 tables flour
1 teas ground cinnamon
Coffee cake
2 tables unsalted butter
2 tables light brown sugar
One 12-oz tube buttermilk biscuits
1 cup blueberries, fresh or thawed frozen ones
Preheat oven to 375. To make the streusel, combine the almonds, sugar, butter, flour and cinnamon in a food processor and pulse until large crumbs form.
In a 9 in skillet (cast iron if you have one), cook the butter and brown sugar over medium heat until melted. Arrange the biscuits in a single layer in the skillet. scatter the blueberries over the biscuits and the streusel topping over the berries. Bake until the biscuits are golden and a tested inserted in the center of a biscuit comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
Red, White and Blue Cheesecake
One of the most wonderful gifts from above is cheesecake. Any flavor, any style, dessert just doesn’t get better than cheesecake. This recipe came from Taste of Home and is not only so delishious, but makes such a striking presentation. It is so worth the time it takes. Do not be afraid of making cheesecakes, they are not hard, just follow the steps and you will be so rewarded when you set this on your table at all the “wow’s, youu made that?”
1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp grated lemon peel
1/4 cup cold butter
2 egg yolks
1/2 vanilla
In large bowl, combine flour, sugar and lemon peel. Cut in cold butter until crumbly. Whisk egg yolks and vanilla, add to flour mixture, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball.
Press onto the bottom and 3 in up the sides of a greased 9 in springform pan. Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake at 400 for 5-8 min or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.
FILLING
5 packages softened cream cheese (8 oz size) Yes, it has that much cream cheese, why do you think this is so good?
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup half and half cream
3 tables flour
1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 egg yolk
1 cup creshed strawberries
1 cup creshed blueberries
Assorted berries, to top the cheesecake
For filling, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the cream, flour, lemon peel, salt and vanilla. Add eggs and yolk; beat on low speed just until combined.
Divide batter in half. Fold crushed strawberries and crushed blueberries into half of the batter. Pour into crust. Top with remaining batter. Return pan to baking sheet.
Bake at 400 for 10 min. Reduce heat to 300 and bake 60-70 min longer or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire raack for 10 min. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight. Remove sides of pan to serve. Garnish with assorted berries. I also bought the Maria’s strawberry glaze to drizzle over the top.
*Even if your cheesecake cracks a little on top, no one will know because of all the fresh berries that top it.
Dark Chocolate-Cherry Cookies
Paula Deen does it again, where does she get thesegreat recipies? Do you think she just lays in bed at night and comes up with more delicious ways to use butter? No matter where she gets them, they are always delicious and this one even has dark chocolate in it, so I feel better about eatting the cookies, saying that, “I am only eatting them because they are healthy. They have fruit and dark chocolate in them, which makes them healthy” Are you on board with me on this?
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 teas baking powder (if you are a new baker or cook, you will discover that cookies with baking powder instead of baking soda tend to be a little more softer than ones baked with baking soda. The ones with the baking powder bake up fluffier (is that a word) than the ones made with baking soda, which tend to spread more on the cookie sheet and get a little more crispy)
1/4 teas salt
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 teas vanilla
1/2 cup chopped dried cherries
1/4 cup chopped unsweentened dark chocolate
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl, beat sugar and butter until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in vanilla. Beat in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in cherries and chocolate and chill 1 hr or until firm.
Preheat oven to 350. Drop dough by tablespoons 2 in apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 11-14 min, depending upon your oven or until lightly browned around the edges. Cool completely on wire racks. (I don’t do this, I cool cookies on paper towels as I think cooling them on the wire racks makes them more crispy than I like them. I love soft fluffy cookies so if you do also, cool them on paper towels. You may also substitute bittersweet chocolate for the unsweetened chocolate if you prefer.
Fireworks and Fellowship
This past weekend ended up being such a great time. As you know, this was our first July 4th since moving to California in Jan. Some friends invited us to their lake house for the weekend where we experienced not only some amazing food, but made some great memories with new friends. Randy and I had rack of lamb for the first time and discovered that we liked it alot. Our host baked German pancakes with fresh sliced cinnamon apples to pour over the pancakes with fresh butter and lemon juice. We feasted on baby back ribs, egg strata, pita bread and hummus and several new recipes that I cannot wait to cook. We drove back home yesteray only to realize that the best fireworks show in the Los Angelos area was right around the corner. So we loaded our chairs and poured us a glass of tea and headed for the Rose Bowl to be totally blown away at the beautiful fireworks being set off right before our eyes. Although Randy and I talked about how much we missed Sevy and Jaden, our grandsons, who always went with us to watch fireworks, God blessed us with precious new memories and we came home feeling so thankful for all we have. It was a most enjoyable Fourth of July.
Tortellini and Tomato Salad
When it is hot outside, this salad makes a terrific lunch or dinner. Serve it with garlic bread and you have a wiinner.
6 Servings
2 (9 oz) packages refrigerated cheese filled tortellini
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
3 tables fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups baby heirloom tomatoes, halved
1 cup fresh corn kernals
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
Salt and pepper
Prepare tortellini according to package directions.
Meanwhile, process olive oil and next 5 ingredients in a blender until smooth. Toss olive oil mixture with hot cooked tortelinni and tomatoes and next 3 ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for about 30 min to let the flavors blend….
Black-eyed Pea Greek Salad
Just received my new Paula Deen magazine and when I say this recipe, I just knew that I had to try it. We are headed to the lake with friends for the weekend so this will be one of the recipes that I will be making. Not only is it so colorful, it will make any type of meat look so pretty on the plate, and…..it will be a hit!
5 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 seedless cucumber, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 cup frozen black-eyed peas, blanched *see below
1/2 cup halved pitted kalamata olives
1/2 cup sliced red onion
1/2 cup Greek vinaigrette dressing.
In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, corn, black-eyed peas, olives, and red onion. Add vinaigrette, tossing gently to combine. I will let it sit for about 15-20 min in fridge before serving to let the flavors blend. If you don’t want to use frozen and don’t want the extra step of blanching the peas, use a canned, and rinse very well and drain before adding to the salad.
Chocolate Castles 