I have had a little more time this week at work, so am just on a blogging roll!
I had been delaying a haircut for a long time, in part because I didn't want to get rid of my waves from my digital perm, and in part because I never could find the time! But my hair was soooo long and it was getting really heavy and I was feeling a bit washed out by it. It was also very dry as I did absolutely no maintenance on it whatsoever for about eight months. I wasn't sure which salon to try but I was in the mood to try a new one. Well, I am so happy I went for it!
After reading a bunch of different hair salon reviews, I decided to go with Sozo Hair Design, located on Wyndham overlooking LKF. I liked that the team of stylists was small and they all had many years of experience working both in and out of Japan. I liked that it was a Japanese salon - I have tended to have good luck with them in the past. And a 4.4 google rating from 44 reviews? That seemed pretty solid.
After surveying the rates and the stylists, I made an online booking for Wednesday morning this past week. I was the first person in the bright and quiet salon, and I loved my stylist immediately. A very skinny, soft spoken, platinum blonde Japanese man by the name of Ash greeted me and helped me figure out what I wanted. What I found most helpful was that he gave suggestions and then explained why he thought that would suit my face/hair texture/style. I told him I wanted to cut my hair shorter as it was long and dry and heavy, and I wanted some fringe or bangs to frame my face. My only criteria was that the hairstyle had to be absolutely minimal to no maintenance - I do not use mousse, gel, creams. I didn't tell him I barely even condition my hair and rarely blow dry it...He explained I should have just a few levels of layers at the bottom to minimize the weight of my hair - I have a lot and it gets heavy and pulls the top of my hair flat. To add volume, I should also thin out some of the hair I have in the back. Rather than get a short choppy set of bangs, I should get a long sideswept one that can go either part (left or right), as short hair or short bangs require more maintenance. I felt very comfortable in his hands.
I walked out of the salon with my head feeling about 2 pounds lighter!
I went shopping on my way home that evening and happened upon a nice full length mirror in a very pretty dressing room, and decided to take a bump pic. 20 weeks in just another few days! As I told my parents, more than halfway there! I don't look very big here (I think) but when I changed into my yoga top this evening, my stomach looked huge.
Speaking of yoga, I was musing on some of the changes between this pregnancy and last as I awkwardly squatted and tried to clamber into various poses:
1. I am much more tired this time around
2. I have gotten much bigger, much faster!
3. I am sooooo creaky and unwieldy. I don't remember being this inflexible last time around. I have been going to my yoga classes and especially my prenatal yoga classes with a sigh of relief, trying to stretch out my hips and hip flexors. They are so sore.
4. I was just informed I have high glucose. I wasn't given a diagnosis of gestational diabetes (yet) but it looks like I may be headed that way. They moved up my appointment by 3 weeks, which alarmed me a bit. Have I become an emergency case...
5. I am twice as thirsty and feel like I already have to pee 2x more oftem!
And finally, to round out the post with some of my favorite recent Lola-isms! How cute is she here in her little rainboots and backpack and doggie, by the way? She is turning into a big kid right before our eyes.
She heard Michael exclaim "Oh my goodness!" once and now goes around shouting it with great glee.
When Michael came back from the U.S., Lola leaned back against him while they were on the sofa watching TV and relaxing and said, "I missed you Daddy."
In her nightly routine, Jovie says, "Lola has eaten, brushed her teeth, washed her face, changed her diaper, changed her clothes, and will go to..." and waits for Lola to fill in the blank with "sleep!" But in her latest shenanigans Lola grins mischievously and shouts, "slide!" And in another instance, with "play!"
When evening time comes around, she will often exclaim, "Oh, the sun is sleeping!"
Lately she has taken to making her toy dolls ride on, and then "fall" off of, cars and trains and trucks. She will say, "Uh oh! She fell!" and then sometimes, will chastise them with, "I told you to be careful!"
My nanny Lily told me that at class Lola didn't want to wear her shoes, and when Lily told her she had to, Lola retorted in Chinese, "But yi yi isn't wearing shoes!"
Today while taking a bath she told us, "I baked banana bread!" She was very proud. They made oatmeal banana bread in her playgroup and apparently she loved it (both mixing and stirring and, eventually, the eating).
And, perhaps, my very personal favorite, is when she says in Chinese, apropos of seemingly nothing, "Lola REALLY likes mommy!" (Lola HAO xihuan mama ah!). My heart!
I had been delaying a haircut for a long time, in part because I didn't want to get rid of my waves from my digital perm, and in part because I never could find the time! But my hair was soooo long and it was getting really heavy and I was feeling a bit washed out by it. It was also very dry as I did absolutely no maintenance on it whatsoever for about eight months. I wasn't sure which salon to try but I was in the mood to try a new one. Well, I am so happy I went for it!
After surveying the rates and the stylists, I made an online booking for Wednesday morning this past week. I was the first person in the bright and quiet salon, and I loved my stylist immediately. A very skinny, soft spoken, platinum blonde Japanese man by the name of Ash greeted me and helped me figure out what I wanted. What I found most helpful was that he gave suggestions and then explained why he thought that would suit my face/hair texture/style. I told him I wanted to cut my hair shorter as it was long and dry and heavy, and I wanted some fringe or bangs to frame my face. My only criteria was that the hairstyle had to be absolutely minimal to no maintenance - I do not use mousse, gel, creams. I didn't tell him I barely even condition my hair and rarely blow dry it...He explained I should have just a few levels of layers at the bottom to minimize the weight of my hair - I have a lot and it gets heavy and pulls the top of my hair flat. To add volume, I should also thin out some of the hair I have in the back. Rather than get a short choppy set of bangs, I should get a long sideswept one that can go either part (left or right), as short hair or short bangs require more maintenance. I felt very comfortable in his hands.
I walked out of the salon with my head feeling about 2 pounds lighter!
I went shopping on my way home that evening and happened upon a nice full length mirror in a very pretty dressing room, and decided to take a bump pic. 20 weeks in just another few days! As I told my parents, more than halfway there! I don't look very big here (I think) but when I changed into my yoga top this evening, my stomach looked huge.
Speaking of yoga, I was musing on some of the changes between this pregnancy and last as I awkwardly squatted and tried to clamber into various poses:
1. I am much more tired this time around
2. I have gotten much bigger, much faster!
3. I am sooooo creaky and unwieldy. I don't remember being this inflexible last time around. I have been going to my yoga classes and especially my prenatal yoga classes with a sigh of relief, trying to stretch out my hips and hip flexors. They are so sore.
4. I was just informed I have high glucose. I wasn't given a diagnosis of gestational diabetes (yet) but it looks like I may be headed that way. They moved up my appointment by 3 weeks, which alarmed me a bit. Have I become an emergency case...
5. I am twice as thirsty and feel like I already have to pee 2x more oftem!
And finally, to round out the post with some of my favorite recent Lola-isms! How cute is she here in her little rainboots and backpack and doggie, by the way? She is turning into a big kid right before our eyes.
She heard Michael exclaim "Oh my goodness!" once and now goes around shouting it with great glee.
When Michael came back from the U.S., Lola leaned back against him while they were on the sofa watching TV and relaxing and said, "I missed you Daddy."
In her nightly routine, Jovie says, "Lola has eaten, brushed her teeth, washed her face, changed her diaper, changed her clothes, and will go to..." and waits for Lola to fill in the blank with "sleep!" But in her latest shenanigans Lola grins mischievously and shouts, "slide!" And in another instance, with "play!"
When evening time comes around, she will often exclaim, "Oh, the sun is sleeping!"
Lately she has taken to making her toy dolls ride on, and then "fall" off of, cars and trains and trucks. She will say, "Uh oh! She fell!" and then sometimes, will chastise them with, "I told you to be careful!"
My nanny Lily told me that at class Lola didn't want to wear her shoes, and when Lily told her she had to, Lola retorted in Chinese, "But yi yi isn't wearing shoes!"
Today while taking a bath she told us, "I baked banana bread!" She was very proud. They made oatmeal banana bread in her playgroup and apparently she loved it (both mixing and stirring and, eventually, the eating).
And, perhaps, my very personal favorite, is when she says in Chinese, apropos of seemingly nothing, "Lola REALLY likes mommy!" (Lola HAO xihuan mama ah!). My heart!
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