Hair today, gone...today

In October 2015 I decided to ditch my usual long hair for a drastic change (which I wrote about in this post - http://europecrazysrandomramblings.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/the-long-and-short-of-it.html)

Whilst everyone was complimentary about my new 'do, I didn't share their enthusiasm.  I knew what I wanted, but I ended up with a hairdo which just made me feel like an old woman.  Now I know I'm getting older, but I still like to think that I look younger than my years.  So I wanted a short haircut which is also more modern and edgy than the "old woman's bob" which many hairdressers seem to think you want if you are a woman of a certain age.

Needless to say, I grew my hair out, and once again I'd reached the stage where it's halfway to my waist.  But I can't even wear it down and have to wear it up instead, such is the problem with a soaking head of hair which is something I've suffered for almost 4 years since starting the change.

Therefore I decided to take the plunge once again.  This time I covered all bases and printed off some pictures from the internet of the precise hairdo I want. My hairdresser was very happy with this as she knew what she needed to do.

The end result was nearer what I was looking for, more layered and messy than the more sleek effort of last time.  It will also be more versatile to style and who knows what might happen if I just leave it in its natural wavy state...!

Anyway I'm pretty happy with it just now. We will see how long that lasts eh!!

The long and the short of it

On Thursday I went to my usual favourite local hairdresser at lunchtime for my occasional haircut. Nothing unusual there, but this time I went for something a bit more drastic than usual.  For most of my adult life I have had long hair, varying in length from just below the shoulder to waist-length, apart from a few years ago when I had all my hair cut into a spiky crop for a couple of years.  Around that time there seemed to be this notion that "you shouldn't have long hair when you are getting older".  But I was only in my mid-30s at the time, but looking back now, it's strange that I should have thought that way.

As the years went on I firmly believed that short hair was not me.  Long hair is versatile, you can style it and wear it a number of ways. But it can also be hard to manage, and when "the change" comes along you are faced with a new challenge - head sweats and soaking hair.  It's uncomfortable, and embarrassing when sweat is pouring out of your head, down your face, running into your eyes and making your eye make-up run. Looking around I now understand why so many women of my own age and older are all walking around with short hair.

On Thursday I sat in the chair in the salon and surprised my stylist with a different request from the usual.  This time round it's not the spiky crop of years ago.  I have never been a fan of the 'bob' haircut - it does look nice on some people but it's not really for me.  So asking for a layered bob was a new departure and a big risk.  But I dismissively chuckled "it's only hair!" as I sat in that chair watching strands of my long hair cascading to the floor.  My hair grows quickly, so at least if I don't like this style then it won't be long until it turns into something more my taste.

I returned to work where my drastic new hairstyle was very well-received.  They seem to be more enthusiastic about it than I am.  Yes, it is a very good haircut, but, well, it's just not me.  I think it makes me look older as well (although I met someone in the street the other day who exclaimed "it takes years off you!").  It's early days, but I can't see myself sticking with this hairstyle in the longer term, so I'm going to grow it out a bit and see what that looks like.  Anyway I'm not going to worry about it.  After all, it's only hair.

Here's what I made earlier

Been a long time since I did the blogging thing, so time for a catch-up!

Firstly, I've been on holiday over the past week - a welcome "staycation" with a couple of fab day trips which I'm hoping to blog about very soon (my version of 'very soon' at the moment is any time between 4 to 7 weeks...)
 

I finally took the plunge and bought a Galaxy SIII mini smartphone four weeks ago.  I am surprised that I have not gone bald since then, as I've been tearing my hair out over even the most simple aspects of it.  It's a good enough phone, but why are these bloody things not supplied with a manual?

Talking of hair, I have made several attempts to lighten my too-dark brown hair, and now I have some kind of half red, half brown dip-dye-in-reverse thing going on.

After weeks of outrageous weight gain, I managed to lose a few pounds by sticking to WeightWatchers Online.  Then proceeded to undo all the good work over the past 9 days.  Oh well...back to work tomorrow and back to the discipline of counting daily points.  I feel I'm in a good position to lose a few more pounds/inches for our big summer holiday, which is just 11 weeks away.   Croatia is calling - but there are so many options that I'm getting a headache just deciding where to go!

So I believe there's some football tournament on at the moment?  Yes we are in the midst of the World Cup, but if I'm honest, the first phase has pretty much passed me by - too many matches, too little time, and no prime time highlights programmes.  I'm trying to keep up with the knockout phase though. 

At long last I managed to post my Eurovision 2014 reviews over at EuropeCrazy.  Hoping to post the Copenhagen holiday diaries pretty soon too :)

Better.

Apologies for the self-pitying tone of that previous post, but that's how I've been feeling the past couple of days, so it has to be said.

On the plus side however, I got my haircut this afternoon which is a great delight as I've been searching for a new hairdresser for the last 6 months since the infamous hair-butchery incident earlier in the year. I like my new haircut - it's just like my old one only done properly - and as someone once said, "I'll be back".

Feeling a bit better tonight after an evening of rest and relaxation. In these days of very limited blogging (even though I'm actually writing a blog post, right this minute) I have come to treasure sleep, and early nights, and not burning the candle at both ends. But I miss the blogging-buzz too. I suppose these few weeks is just about restoring the balance before throwing myself into it all again.

So in the new tradition of my limited-blogging weeknights, I'm off to sleep now. At 11.20 pm. Who'd have thought it?