Hair Update

The verdict is out: My hair is growing at the rate of half an inch in 4 weeks! It's been exactly 4 weeks since I cut my hair and started taking supplements. Some days I take 2 or 3 thousand mcg, whatever that means. Fortunately, I've not had any of the adverse side effects some people talk about. My hair has always grown fairly fast, though, so I'm not really sure if the biotin is making it grow faster or not.

Not my favorite length. Between 2 and 6 inches is the worst, as far as awkward lengths go. I guess it'll be about 5 inches long by the time I go to school in the fall. (Oh, wait. I haven't told y'all about that? Well, hang in there.) 'Sgonna be rough, folks. I've got to print some pictures of my hair when it was long and amazing for inspiration. Right now, I'm kind of just sad that it's not cool and platinum anymore. :( Nix the kinda. Really sad.

In other news, my ZenniOptical order finally came! I love all 3 pairs. I got a tortoiseshell pair, some fun red&pink half rims, and a funky black and yellow pair. Yay! My cute glasses will distract me from my poofy hair and strange cowlicks.

How fast does your hair usually grow?

Hopeland

Sunday evening the girls and I went to Hopeland Gardens. They hadn't been yet, and I was eager to go again, so away we went.

Aiken is a horse town, and Emmie loves it. There are horse statues and stables everywhere! Hopeland Gardens is home to a racing museum, but it wasn't open Sunday evening.I was so pleased to find the fountains running this time around! The fountains and reflection pool are built on the foundation of the original house.
I took the girls to see the labyrinth and they immediately decided to walk it. (I would have done it with them, but I had a muscle spasm in my neck and couldn't turn it. ha! Imagine walking that maze without turning your head. I doubt it's possible.) Once they got to the center, they decided to "rewind" and do it backwards. I don't think they managed to get very far that way.

We were on our way to find another horse statue when a red-tailed hawk dipped over our heads, carrying a squirrel away for lunch. We followed him to his perch and watched him. He made his disapproval of our rude staring quite clear. I strained to get a good picture of him, but he was too far away. I got lots of blurry ones, though! Hawks are so fascinating to me.In other news, some dear friends we didn't get to say goodbye to before we left GA are stopping by for a visit this afternoon!

I seem to have forgotten how to properly write a blog post. My introductions and endings (see, now I can't even remember what you call them) are lacking. So, I'm just gonna say bye. There will be more news and pictures soon. :)

went for a walk

Hi again!

So, we loaded up all our stuff and drove to Aiken Saturday. I think it was Saturday. I don't remember. Saturday and Sunday and Monday are all a blur of roads and boxes.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are a blur of boredom and boxes. I never thought I would miss my job. I don't really miss the job itself, just having a specific place to be at a specific time. As much as I love freedom, I also enjoy having somewhere to be.

Last night I jumped up, declared, "I'm bored. I'm going to the library. Where's proof that I live here now?" and left. Got a new library card, checked out the library and a book, came home, and read til 3 AM. It was nice.

This afternoon I jumped up, declared, "I'm bored. I'm going for a walk. Maybe I'll end up at the library. I can't find an umbrella! Bye!" and left. It didn't rain. It was lovely walking weather.
The walk downtown is nice, once you run across the highway to get to the sidewalk. There are lots of stately brick walls, mysterious gates, and quaint doors and fences.

I did, after all, end up at the library, but only after a detour in Hopeland Gardens. When I passed this pretty, locked gate I decided I should go inside and see it from the other side. It makes me think of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. (This picture is from inside the garden.)

I found a labyrinth, too, but not the patience to complete it.

Hopeland Gardens is really pretty. I almost said enchanting, but I'll save that for when there are leaves on the trees and the fountains are working. It used to be someone's estate and personal garden, which I think has a kind of historical romance. I'll probably be spending a lot of time there.

Eventually, I walked on to the library where the girl behind the desk recognized me from last night. Yay!

Anyway, not very exciting, but since I came back and all, I thought I'd update on what I'm up to. Now you know! Aiken is pretty. I like it here.

Packing

Hm. Not feeling so creative with the titles lately. Title inspiration has disappeared.

So has a lot of the stuff around our house.
We're keeping busy boxing things up, throwing things out, shuffling things around, and scrubbing things down. (Phew! I had to think about that last bit for a minute. I wanted to round out my prepositions with "down," but I got stuck. haha.)

It was a good moment for me when I rounded up my coffee mug collection for a final count before packing. I think the total was 25 mugs, 1 teacup, and 4 travel tumblers. Could you call that a collection? I think yes. Call me a collector.

Aside from coffee mugs, I collect teddy bears. I can't part from them. They've all just been hanging out in this large packing box since the last move. Yesterday I realized that bears are pretty flexible, and would probably be fine with sharing their space, so I added some stuff to their box. Space efficiency and all, you know. Easily amused as I am, I took a picture of the label when I was finished. I find the assortment of contents entertaining. Maybe that's just me.

(I got a wok for my birthday last year. Woks are difficult to pack. Who knew!)

In sorting my nightstand drawers, I came across a couple magnificent pieces of art that my aunt sent me last year. I wish I knew how old I was when I made each of these cards for her! Not very, I'm sure. I never expected to get them back, but I'm so glad she sent them! Just look at that majestic Christmas reindeer! Those meticulously detailed wristwatches! A lot of passion went into those cards. I actually remember cutting and pasting each little turkey feather, being so pleased with myself at the finished product.

Ehm, this has kind of turned into show-and-tell. That was always my favorite part of preschool.

Anyway, turns out packing isn't all bad. Rediscovery is fun. Boxing up books is like playing Tetris, and that's fun. Blogging about it is fun.

How do you feel about packing?