Not Washing My Hair - Day 14 (plus kids in their costumes)

Day 14. Not much new (except for the shirt). This is getting boring.

And here's a picture of the kids in their Halloween costumes. (It was taken a couple of days ago, when we were on our way to one of our many Halloween events.)

The Facebook Experiment

One day the other week, I wanted to experiment with the idea of what it would be like to constantly be interacting on Facebook.

So I updated 28 times, added 9 photos, 1 book review, 1 recipe link, and 1 link to a YouTube video.

And here is what I discovered: It became obsessive. An addiction, almost like a drug, wanting to go back to it all the time (because that's what I've heard drugs are like from what I've seen on After-School Specials and stuff). Not only checking back in so that I could update, but also so that I could see what other people wrote about my updates. It was crazy. (Click here and here to read some articles on the subject... because it really is making people crazy!)

It became so that my Facebook life was more important than my actual life. (Or maybe my facebook life WAS my actual life for that day.)

Anyway, so here is what my life on Facebook looked for that one day: (It was fun. Sort of.)

STATUS UPDATE #1 - Lisa Whelchel (the actress who played Blair on "The Facts of Life") is on this season of "Survivor" and only ONE person recognizes her. Don't these people know Blair from "The Facts of Life"? What the dilly-yo?

STATUS UPDATE #2 - Vern and I can never agree on what temperature to have the thermostat. Guess who likes it hotter and who likes it cooler?

STATUS UPDATE #3 - It's kind of cold outside. I should really start wearing a coat.

STATUS UPDATE #4 - Someone asked me if I wanted to do something today, and I said, "No, I have to stay here and update Facebook all day."

STATUS UPDATE #5 - Some things I like about living above Erin: cake pans, jump starts, cupcakes, and a playmate for my son.

STATUS UPDATE #6 - 9:52 am - Went to the bathroom.

STATUS UPDATE #7 - I'm wondering if I should join the YMCA again...

BOOK REVIEW #1 - Probably the worst book I've ever read. Sooooo boring. 1.0 out of 10 stars. (Had to read it for Book Club)

STATUS UPDATE #8 - I wonder how many people will unsubscribe from my status updates by the end of the day. (You know you want to.)

RECIPE LINK #1 - Making this right now (for supper tonight).

STATUS UPDATE #9 - The last movie I watched was "The Cabin in the Woods" because Jen recommended it. I watched it with Vernon, and after we were done watching it, Vernon said, "What was that? Does Jen hate you or something."

STATUS UPDATE #10 - When I was pregnant with Peace, if I was ever low on protein for the day, I would mix a raw egg with 1/2 cup of raw milk and drink it down. A good 10 grams right there.

STATUS UPDATE #11 - These are the TV shows I'm watching this year: How I Met Your Mother, New Girl, Modern Family, Supernatural, Survivor, 30 Rock, The Office, Shark Tank.

PICTURE UPDATE #1 - Ezra and Peace are playing hair salon. He is trying to learn how to tie ponytails. They have been like this for at least 15 minutes.

STATUS UPDATE #12 - Do you know what phrase I'm tired of hearing? "First world problems". You know what? It's okay to have problems, no matter what they are.

STATUS UPDATE #13 - Oh, great, I just added a friend who has never known me on Facebook before today. I should have waited until tomorrow.

STATUS UPDATE #14 - This is a serious question: What should I be when I grow up?

PICTURE UPDATE #2 - Playing in the leaves...

STATUS UPDATE #15 - Because if the thermostat was set higher, soups wouldn't be as enjoyable, baths wouldn't feel as nice, and I would have no need to snuggle under a blanket.

STATUS UPDATE #16 - I was thinking of getting a waitressing job to earn some extra money (after all, I was named Outback Steakhouse's Employee of the Month in May 2002), but then I thought, "When will I watch all my shows"?

STATUS UPDATE #17 - So, when I wrote that status update about "Cabin in the Woods", Vanessa responds with: "I love Johnny Depp, but I don't do scary movies." To which, my husband, Vernon, comments: "Maybe Vanessa is just stating why she's never watched The Tourist." And nobody (except for me) liked his comment. That is hilarious, people! Hilarious!

STATUS UPDATE #18 - I think I might need someone to come over here and help me organize my kitchen. When we moved in, I just threw everything in random cupboards with no organization whatsoever, and it has stayed that way.

PICTURE UPDATE #3 - 1) So, if you are following along, this is what part of my spice set-up looks like. There they are, sitting on the second shelf there, in little plastic bags from the co-op.

PICTURE UPDATE #4 - 2) And when I need one of these spices, I throw them on the floor and find the one I need. As you can see, not the most ideal set-up.

PICTURE UPDATE #5 - 3) I have some of my more commonly used spices in these little magnetic containers on the fridge. Now, I could do this with my other spices (that are currently in little plastic bags and then thrown on the floor), but I would need 13 additional magnetic containers and that would make my fridge look too crowded.

So... any suggestions?

STATUS UPDATE #19 - It's a good thing that Jared Padalecki's "Young MacGyver" didn't get picked up ten years ago, because then he wouldn't have been able to do "Supernatural". Am I right people, or am I right?

STATUS UPDATE #20 - Also, I need help organizing our art supplies.

PICTURE UPDATE #6 - The moment you've all been waiting for: Beef Stew!

STATUS UPDATE #21 - Who wants to play poker with me and Jen and Sally on November 2?

PICTURE UPDATE #7 - We made these tissue paper stars earlier this week. (But I took this picture today!)

PICTURE UPDATE #8 - Here is one that Ocean made...

STATUS UPDATE #22 - Whenever we're at playgroup and we've noticed that Mike has gone to the bathroom, we'll gather all the kids around outside the bathroom and then give Mike an exuberant round of applause when he steps out.

PICTURE UPDATE #9 - We made these ghosts out of garbage bags today and then hung them from the ceiling.

  

















STATUS UPDATE #23 - Sometimes when the wind blows things across the street, I will say, "Something wicked this way comes". Because it reminds me of that one scene in the movie "Something Wicked This Way Comes" where something is blowing across the street.

VIDEO LINK #1 - Vern just had me watch this video. It lives up to the title. Has the same cinematic quality of the home movies I used to shoot with my cousin Randy when we were kids.




STATUS UPDATE #24 - Time to watch "Shark Tank" with my hubby. Don't worry. I'll update more later.

STATUS UPDATE #25 - This Facebook status update is brought to you by Mind & Body Chriopractic. Unlimited adjustments, $67/month individual, $100/month family.

STATUS UPDATE #26 - Vernon just said to me (in regard to something you don't need to know about): "That's weird, Al". To which I said, "Where?"

STATUS UPDATE #27 - Today I made ghosts out of garbage bags, jumped in a leaf pile, drove Ocean to and from school, made beef stew, went for a walk, read books to the kids, watched Shark Tank and The Simpsons, and, to Facebook, posted 1 book review, 1 recipe link, 1 link to YouTube, uploaded 9 pictures, and posted 26 different status updates.

STATUS UPDATE #28 - It has been an interesting day, Facebook. Good night. I am off to read "Seven Story Mountain" with my husband, until one of us falls asleep while the other is reading. Today has been a day of connection, obsession, perplexion, and fun. I shall henceforth go back to my regular pace of updating. The experiment is over. Good night.                                      

Not Washing My Hair - Day 13

Day 13. It doesn't even look greasy to me anymore, and it's feeling fine. I have a feeling this could go on indefinitely:

Not Washing My Hair - Day 12 (and a photo of Vern)

Day 12. I'm actually starting to think it feels really nice. Doesn't really feel that oily, just oily in a good sort of way.

And here is a picture of the man that I am married to:

Not Washing My Hair - Day 11

Here is Day 11 of my hair experiment (which could also be called "Showing Off All the Shirts I Own"). I've come to wonder if most people wash their hair out of habit, and because it's easier to get it wet when you're in the shower, because I don't *think* that hair really needs to be washed that often. At least for me anyway. Yes, it is starting to get oily, but it still feels and look more or less the same as it did on Day 1.

Not Washing My Hair - Day 10

Day 10. Hair definitely starting to feel more oily. Not so bad that I feel the need to wash it, but the oily feeling is definitely going down at least halfway throughout my hair. I think you can tell in the picture how it is getting greasy, especially toward the top.

Not Washing My Hair - Day 9 (and pumpkin foods)

Day 9. It is finally starting to get a bit greasy at the roots. I think you can tell a bit in this picture. Ends are still fairly dry.

I've started a new October tradition. Every week, I will buy a pie pumpkin, and make a new pumpkin dish. This is what I have made so far:

Pumpkin and Bacon Pasta
Pumpkin and Feta Salad
Pumpkin Chili
Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins
Roasted Vegetable Cake with Ricotta Cheese
Pumpkin Pancakes (we just add pumpkin to the Nourishing Traditions recipe)

I am also very keen on Halloween events. If you live in the Twin Cities area, here is a good link for Halloween happenings in the area. I printed out some things that were of interest to us, and hung it up on the wall, titling it "The Kuznia Family's Halloween Adventures".

As you can see, tomorrow is going to be a very busy day for us. We won't be able to do all the things, I just like to have them organized so we can pick and choose what we do want to do.

Not Washing My Hair - Day 8 (plus some nursing pictures)

Day 8:

I've been doing these photography events called Boobs and Brunch for over a year now, where I'll host a brunch and do mini-photography sessions for nursing mothers. It's a chance for nursing mothers to get together, mingle, create community... and get affordable nursing portraits done at the same time. (Click here to see a slideshow.)

Anyway, so after the last one that I did, it occurred to me that I should get some nursing portraits done of my own, so I had Vern take a couple. I purposely had her stand up in some of them because I wanted to highlight how BIG she is while nursing, while also kind of doing a spoof on that TIME magazine cover. Here they are:

Not Washing My Hair - Day 7

Day 7:

Not Washing My Hair - Day 6 (and one other thing)

Day 6, update - No real change in the hair since Day 1. I can keep this up for weeks:

(Note in the picture above how Vern's hand kind of looks like my hand.)

Ezra turned seven while I was on blog hiatus, and I made this video of his birthday and posted it on my personal facebook wall. And NOBODY, not a one, commented on how clever I was with my song choice. Please, somebody, tell me how clever I am!

Not Washing My Hair - Day 5 (plus some other stuff)

Day 5:

We went to a Halloween party the other night, and Vern was so happy because someone finally knew why he was wearing a shoe on his ear (he has worn this costume before):

Meanwhile, I am wearing this cow costume that I said I would never wear because it makes it look like I have four penises, but I'm wearing it anyway because the invitation said to "PLEASE DRESS UP" and it was the only thing I had to dress up in (I had bought it for $1 at a thrift store a couple weeks prior and didn't realize what it looked like until I put it on at home):

Now, before I go on to post this next picture, I want you to get the idea of the four penises out of your head, and just think of them for what they are: udders. Got it? Because here it is:

When we got home from the Halloween party and are getting out of the car... Vern with his shoe-ear, me as the cow, and the kids dressed up as Super Girl, Mario, and Eeyore, respectively... Two grown men are walking down the street and one says to me, "Went to a Halloween party?"

And I said, "No."

True story.

Not Washing My Hair - Day 4

Here it is:

Not Washing My Hair - Day 3

Here is Day 3. As you can see, still looks fairly dry and there is not any oily build up at all yet:

In other thoughts, I was thinking about how I am closer to menopause than to the onset of my fertility. Isn't that... something?

Not Washing My Hair - Day 2

Here it is:

Not Washing My Hair - Day 1

I've been using just baking soda to wash my hair for awhile now, and I think it's starting to dry it out a bit. So, I am going to try experimenting with not washing my hair for awhile. At all. (In case you're wondering, yes, I will still shower. Duh. I just won't get my hair wet.)

So, here is a picture of me on Day 1 of Not Washing My Hair:

I will update you with pictures of my hair as the days / weeks / (probably not months) go on.

John Green, John Green

There's this book I read called "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green that I found truly amazing and so my latest crush is now John Green. (For note, previous crushes have included: John Krasinski, Jared Padalecki, River Phoenix and the guy who played Kevin on "Mr. Belvedere".)

Anyway, not only does John Green write books, but he has an amazing presence on the internet and on the YouTubes. He does this VlogBrothers thing with his brother which is amazing. And he has, like, five other different websites (on one of them, called Crash Course, he and his brother teach stuff, on another, he plays video games while he tells various stories about his life, and something else he has is called NerdFighters. And he responds to his fans constantly. How does he have time for all this? I don't know. This is just part of his superpower, I guess.

Here is one of my favorite things he has ever done:

So, I not only have a crush on him because of the fact that he is this really great writer, but I also like all this internet stuff that he does and I kind of (sort of, really) want to be like him. How I would like to be the one behind creating something as awesome as VlogBrothers (and an accomplished author to boot)! I want to be that cool (or nerdy, or smart, or whatever the heck it is that he is)!

But, in fairness to myself and to him, his videos were pretty lame when they first started out, so maybe there is hope for me.

Make Me Laugh

I was at a social gathering with some adult friends of mine, hanging out around a fire pit.

What a great opportunity to play "Make Me Laugh", I thought to myself. (This is a game that I bring up on occasion, in various social settings, and with varying degrees of success. The premise of it is this: Somebody tries to make the other people laugh, and the other people try not to laugh. It is based on the not-so-popular 1979 game show of the same name. It's hilarious.)

The last time I coerced people into playing this game with me was two years ago, with a group of Vern's chiropractor friends. It was awesome. Probably one of the most fun nights of my life. This one routine that Mikala did still keeps me up at night laughing: She went to a corner of the room and said, "La la la la la." Hilarious!

Anyway, so I bring out the "Make Me Laugh" idea the other night, and of course nobody wants to play it because that's just the way it is, but I get up and do my routine anyway (it wasn't anything great, just bouncing around saying, "Doo doo doo doo") and somebody laughs. So, she gets up and does her thing, and somebody else laughs, but nobody is really having any fun with any of this (except me), so we end up stopping it shortly thereafter.

I will have to try it with another crowd next time.

Why am I writing any of this? I don't know. Let me end with this clip from the game show:



(I encourage you to watch the whole thing, but if you're pressed for time, jump to minute mark 2:50 and watch from there. Quality stuff, I tell you. Quality stuff.)

I'm Updating Again... Maybe

So, I think I'm going to start updating my blog again. Maybe.

I wasn't sure what I had to offer anymore, really. I didn't feel I was contributing anything to this blog that you couldn't find better somewhere else. Recipes? Tons of people have them. (People who really know what they're doing with them too.) Wit and humor? I certainly don't have the market on that. Thoughts on family life? ALL over the place.

But now I don't really care anymore (about finding a voice and offering something unique that nobody else has or even if people are actually reading this). I'm just going to have fun with it, which is probably what I should have been doing in the first place.

Now, there are a couple of loose story ends to tie up before I move on to new content:

1) Ocean is going to school and she likes it and I'm okay with it too. Liking it even.

2) Vern's dad died last month.

3) I'm making a documentary. Shhh... don't tell anybody that I don't really know what I'm doing. (Actually, I probably know a lot more than I give myself credit for). Basically, what I'm doing is following a midwife around for a year, intending to make a beautiful cinematic portrait of what the midwifery profession looks like. No preaching. No soap boxing. Just beauty. Quiet, simple beauty.

I guess that's about it for the updates.

I think I've changed a bit since I first started this blog. Remember all those Soapbox Sundays? I was really trying to change the world. Now I don't really care what the world is doing. I'm just trying to work on myself, you know? My days are spent with self-examination, reflection, and trying to figure myself out (believe me, it's more exciting than it sounds because I'm a really interesting person!).

I'm still doing all the things I used to do and write about (breastfeeding, not vaccinating, attachment parenting, making our own toothpaste, whole foods eating, etc.), but, it's like, they just don't mean as much anymore. Yeah, we do all that stuff, but who cares? Me? Not so much.