My calendar

The pandemic caused my long time hair stylist to rethink her life. She switched careers and moved to a warmer climate. 

I found a new stylist, who I love. The forced change was very good for me. 

New stylist has a very full schedule and that requires advance scheduling. During the first two years, I scheduled two appointments forward/in advance. And we determined 8 weeks is my needed/preferred schedule. 

Every other appointment I get cut and highlights. The in-between-appointments are cut only. 

This third year, we scheduled all of my appointments for 2023 at my last 2022 appointment in December. That felt really fabulous. I love my calendar. 

I do the same thing with my doctor’s appointments. Some appointments are annual, some are every six months. Almost all the offices allow me to schedule a year in advance. I bundle my appointments, 6 mos apart, targeting May/June and December. 

I started this proactive medical calendar in 2019 and as we entered lock down in 2020, I was current on all my appointments, tests and shots (shingles, pneumonia, etc) and very relieved to have been proactive.

More gift ideas from my Amazon Orders page

Yes, these are all things I have ordered in the last couple years. Some of them I have ordered many times.

WET BRUSHES. Available at Walgreens and other local stores too. My girls have two each. One stays home, one is at school with them. These work extremely well. We have given them as gifts also. They come in different sizes.  

Youngest has a set, I have a set. I just ordered a set for middle at her request after she saw youngest's. The zipper tab is behind a cover when closed so they do not come unzipped. Two sizes in each order. 

Math or science or drafting/drawing person inyour family? I have been buying these for youngest for years. We used to get them at Office Depot. Now the only place we can find them is Amazon. The whole thing is an eraser (it is a stand alone eraser). 

Have given these as gifts (several times) to math and science type families. Maybe I should be giving them to non math and science families to get them going too.

Middle has several pairs of the girl version. My husband has these. Keen Sandals are really great. 

I cook big breakfasts when I have a house full. We tend to eat two meals per day on these weekends.  I add protein powder and extra egg to my Red Mill Waffle mix. And I make waffles for my extended family, a lot.

Space saver Vacuum bags for suitcases. Do not need a vacuum, they roll. We all use these. I have ordered many sets. 

This is what I use when I travel. I think mine is the style on the top. Middle had the one on the bottom when we traveled to England/Scotland/Wales. I put it under my clothes. Not glamorous but super practical. I put my credit card, passport, driver's licence, a little cash and some wipes in there too. All flat enough, then I do not carry a purse. 

Good family game. (We also play the card version which is called Bikini.) We love the larger size tiles.

If you have a drawing kid of any age, Ed Emberley is great. I sent one of these books with youngest to college. If she has to draw something for a project, which happens a lot, she will be able to do it with this book. Everything starts with lines, circles, squares, etc. Would be extremely good gift for kid who likes to draw and is still learning how. (When someone taught middle the ratio for where to put the features on a face, it was like someone turned on the light. So if you have a drawing kid, look up a diagram on the internet of how to draw a face too. )  I think the Green Monster book might be a story book, not sure.

Middle found this for friend who loved Winnie the Pooh as a boy. He is getting it for xmas.  Really great (true) story.

My kids all had these as children. It is how they learned to skate. I bought these for 8 year old a few years ago. 

I bought this for 8 year old for xmas this year. She opened it early at Thanksgiving. It is all one piece, it does not come apart. There is some type of mechanism in the rings, it is sort of like wheel clogs as you put your pen in it and move around the wheel (It does not work with your finger, put the pen in and it it goes).  The kid has to be able to hold the red frame stationary as they work the pen. So some kids would need a holder. Good fine motor skills art practice.

Middle and youngest each have a set of the straight ones and the round ones. 

Boye Long Loom Set and Boye Round Loom Set which Amazon does carry.

I also called the company and got extra pegs proactively. 

They have been used and used and used. I just bought another set (Good Will) of the round ones for our eight year old who will be able to do it with youngest or middle helping her. 
An artistic boy might like these too.
We buy THICK YARN so it goes faster and takes less skeins. 

Gift ideas

Footwear
Youngest has these boots and loves them. I got them for her birthday last year. I was lucky. She has other pairs of Rockports, so I knew the size. And I was confident of the style. I had to order because she is an odd size. I ordered, she loved them, it was a surprise, I think. (She wears an insert for added support. We all wear inserts or have cookies added to almost all our shoes for more support.)

Middle is considering these same boots for her birthday. They are great.

If you have a teen or young adult where shopping for them is now really hard, consider taking them shoe shopping. It works very well for my kids. But you have to be okay spending $$$ because it is going to cost. I did this for oldest for the last two years. His birthday and xmas are close. It is extremely hard to guess what he might like. Shoe shopping worked great. And he needed the shoes. I think he got new running shoes both years. Plus two pairs of work shoes the first year. Plus a pair of casual shoes the second. So, yes, major $$$ but he needed them and it worked.

FitBit
Last year middle wanted boots for her birthday all year. There was a lot of boot talk. I got a lot of boot pictures. I got a lot of boot links.  I just kept saying - that is fine, we will buy when it gets closer. Then when we were a week or two out from her actual birthday, she switched to fitbit and that is what she got. I bought the insurance. It has already been replaced once. The insurance started over the moment it was replaced. No extra fee. Best Buy. She really uses her FitBit - sleep and steps mostly. Her

On Black Friday, I bought a FitBit for youngest for this Christmas. Target. I bought the insurance. I did it online and they held it at customer service. I knew the size (small) because middle had one. I picked it up on Saturday when we were back in town. No crowd, no wait. I gave it to youngest early (now) because she will be gone for xmas. And with finals coming, she can use it. We buy the ones that track sleep and monitor heart rate (plus all the other stuff).



OTTLite
If you have someone who does a lot of handwork of any kind, an OTTLite is wonderful.
http://www.joann.com/ottlite/
JoAnns carries a variety of styles. They go on sale often. JoAnns has coupons available all the time. Our local JoAnns also accepts the 40% coupon from Hobby Lobby.
I bought one for my mother for Mother's Day. I bought one for myself for xmas. Both of ours are floor lamps. We both also have short ones too.





HAIR
Bed Bath and Beyond for these first two. If you register online, they will send you coupons regularly.
(The Hair Turban does not work for people with really, really, really thick manes of hair. It works well for both of my girls.) Youngest has three Hair Turbans, two at college, one at home. She has two Turbie Bands (one at home, one at school). Middle has a Turbie Band for herself and buys for the gift bags she assembles for high school graduation gifts. (She has two graduating this spring and she has her bags filled and ready. Painted letters, Turbie Bands and manicure sets.)

A close friend swears by the Wahl Peanut. She cuts hair regularly, the boys go thru beard phases. Sometimes they arrive for family functions, she takes one look and gets out the peanut. Groom two days before wedding, for example. I do not cut hair. But middle cuts her boy's. And we have beards here too. So I have one of these on hand. As you can see, it has not been used yet. But it will save the day on some future occasion. So this is a good gift option too, in my opinion. I bought mine on sale at beauty supply place.

Still making headbands for extended friends and family, fun little project

Headband post #1

Headband post #2

So today is the third headband post.




I needed more 7/8" black velvet ribbon.

Went to JoAnn's because I only needed enough for 3 headbands (ribbon/elastic headbands from post #2 linked above).

My husband was with me. We looked high and low and could not find the right spool.

My husband finally said - I think you had better go find a clerk.

I found a good one, assistant manager who has worked there forever.

I explained that I had bought a whole spool of 7/8" black velvet a few weeks ago. And now could not find it.

She looked, she checked shelf tags.

Finally she said - you bought a whole spool?

Yes.

She asked if I remembered how much it was.

$3 something.

She asked if was still wrapped in plastic, unopened when I bought it - ?

Yes.

She said I had picked up a buy the yard spool which had not yet been opened and the checkout person had sold it to me at the buy the yard price. (So I paid for 1 yard and got many yards.)

She said - Deal of the century.

I said - Really deal of the century because I also used a 40% coupon . . .





So, if you (reader) are making these headbands, order from my ebay lady.

7/8" velvet ribbon in 5 yard lengths ($1.48 per yard)

1 1/2" velvet ribbon in 5 yard lengths ($1.20 per yard + shipping)


Shipping is free on the 7/8" and if you talk to her thru ebay, using "request total from seller" button on shopping cart page, she will adjust shipping for multiples on the 1 1/2" too.

The real bonus, besides the price, is she has great colors.

If you have college or graduate school age guys in your life, you might have noticed this trend . . .

Beards.

Some of these guys grew beards as part of the No-Shave November movement. And then just kept them.

Some grew them as a bit of rebellion coming out of high schools with strict no facial hair policies.

Some grew them because they were finally able and wanted to show every other guy they knew that they could (a definite guy thing).

Some grew them because they have baby faces and realized they would look older with a beard.

Oldest (who did grow a beard last winter) says he thinks it is a reverse percentages thing. Because beards are not worn by the majority, they are desirable to a minority who want to look different. We have not yet seen his beard in person, will see him later this summer.




And if these boys have steady girl friends, whom they spend a lot of time kissing, they need to know about rinse out conditioners.

A good rinse out conditioner softens a beard hugely (and prevents beard burn on their girl friends).

Beard burns hurt (and show).

It is news to most younger guys that they need to condition their beard to protect their girlfriend's skin.

The headbands continue

I wrote about The Great Headband Project of 2014 that was my first headband post. Today is the second. (Later, I wrote a third headband post here.)

In comments (on that post) Jen left links to headbands made with ribbon. Link one. Link two. Silky or grosgrain type ribbon on the top for decoration, velvet ribbon on the under side to prevent slipping, elastic in the back to hold it in place.

7/8" ribbon

I tried a couple and the girls loved them.

My girls have smooth/silky type of hair. We have great difficulty with things (headbands, barrettes, etc) sliding. It wouldn't seem like velvet ribbon stay put in silky hair, but it really does.







So, I started on headband project #2 -

We obtained the circumference needed for each girl (I was making for middle, youngest, middle's best friend, then another of middle's friends who happened to see the headbands and wanted some too . . .) by tying regular headbands (from my original post) on their heads, slipping off, measuring.

I discovered, while making ribbon headbands, there can be a half an inch difference in circumference of ribbon headbands, depending on whether I take an inside measurement or an outside measurement. This must be due to the thickness of the layers.  So I learned to slip the ruler inside to get an exact circumference as I made each one.

Both of my girls needed 21" (inside measurement) headbands. Middle's first friend needed 19" (she is from the Far East and very tiny). Middle's second friend needed 21" also.

As I mentioned, I tried a couple headbands (before buying bulk supplies). To see if I could do it. To see if the girls loved them. To work out the whole measurement thing. Really important, ribbon is expensive.

The original set of instructions (link two at top of this post) used two different widths of ribbon (wide silk, narrower velvet). I used the same width for each headband. I made some headbands with 7/8" ribbon (silk and velvet). I made other headbands with 1 1/2" widths (silk and velvet).

I used 3/8" elastic on the 7/8" ribbon and 1/2" elastic on the 1 1/2" ribbon. I used white and black and nude elastic which I bought at JoAnns with 40% off coupons. 

I am on JoAnn's email mailing list. They send a couple sets of coupons every week. I also am on their snail mail list. And they put coupons in newspaper. They allow multiple coupons in each checkout. I bought a few things each trip. EVERYTHING I bought was with 40% coupon.

I bought all my silky and grosgrain ribbon (washable, NO wire) at JoAnns (using 40% off coupons on each spool). 

I ordered all my velvet ribbon from jpribbons on ebay because I wanted matching colors. JoAnn's has a small amount of black velvet ribbon only (at my store).  On ebay, ordering from jpribbons, click the "request total from seller" (top of shopping cart, in tiny print) about making shipping come out right if ordering multiple kinds/colors/widths. Here is her 1 1/2" velvet ribbon. Here is the 7/8" velvet ribbon. She and I chatted on email about colors (she carries a lot of browns) too, she is very helpful.

The instructions (links at top of this post) fused the two ribbons together when sewing (to prevent slipping and to hold in place because they used two different widths of ribbon). I did not find that necessary (at all). I have been sewing for a very long time. I used the same widths of ribbon.

The instructions sealed the ends of the ribbons by singe-ing.  I cut them with pinking shears and then zigzagged the ends (to prevent fraying and to hold the elastic). I also turned the cut edges of the ribbons in/folded them under, I am not sure the instructions did this.

The instructions used precise measurements. With turning the edges under and the slippery-ness of the silk ribbon, I did not rely on the accurate-ness of my cut measurements. I cut everything carefully. But slipped the ruler in, before sewing the second end of the elastic (closing the circle), for a final measurement. The final measurement for my girls (and one extra friend) was 10 1/2" (21" folded in half measuring on the inside). And for middle's best friend it was 9 1/2" (19"). If I measured on the outside, the inside was actually a full 1/2" smaller which made the headbands feel too tight on all of them.

I made a sign and tacked it on the bulletin board above my sewing machine so I did not get confused as I sewed:

Middle and youngest and middle's other friend
21" finished
10 1/2" folded in half
Cut ribbon at 20"


Middle's best friend
19" finished
9 1/2" folded in half
Cut ribbon at 18"






Yes, I am visual too. I took step by step pictures for you.

Two ribbons, wrong sides together, stitching down sides.

Here you can see the two wrong sides, together.

Here you can see the edges folded under to seal the pinked ends. I didn't actually pin as I sewed, but I pinned here so the ends would stay under so you could see.

I stitched all the way to the end and then reversed stitching to lock

I then slipped the end of the elastic between the two ribbons

I put the needle down into the ribbons, lifted the presser foot, and turned the ribbon so I could first straight stitch over the end, holding the elastic in place and then zigzagged over the end several times.

Here is the zigzagging (hard to see)

Then I sewed down the long, second side of the headband, turning the edges under when I got to the other end

I then took the headband out of the machine to do an inside measurement (9 1/2" for middle's friend on this one). I then cut the elastic, pushed the end down between the two ribbons and sewed the other end shut with first a straight stitch and then a zigzag stitch.

Right, front side of finished headband

Back, right side of headband

Close up of elastic on back, right side of headband

Wrong, back side of finished headband

Close up of the wrong, back side of an end. All my girls (receiving these headbands) have long hair. The elastic does not show when they wear them. 

1 1/2" ribbon, 1/2" black elastic

7/8" ribbon, 3/8" white elastic

7/8" ribbon, 3/8" black elastic

1 1/2" ribbon, 1/2" white and nude/flesh elastic