The GGA Project -- Day #99 "Mane-tenance"

Today was all full of plans that had nothing to do with anything new.  I had the rare chance to get together with BOTH my best girlfriends, Kelsi & Nicole, at the same time, and with only the smallest of the 5 kids we have between us there to absorb any Mama attention.  His needs split between the three of us, little 3 1/2-month-old Max had it pretty good today.


The gals and I completed a collage project we'd started a couple of months ago, but mostly we caught up on all of the everything.  Nicole let us go to town with her art supplies again, which is just amazing fun.  I wouldn't have a clue where to begin if I wanted to start collecting art supplies.  There is just so much out there from which to chose.  Nicole has loads of conventional media--watercolors, acrylic paints, paper in all colors and patterns, inks, charcoals, etc, etc.  And she also has a whole bunch of unconventional items to employ in the collage process, like the leftover cardboard from some kids' Pokemon punch out prize, to be used as a stencil.  It was so nice to have her teaching and demonstrating techniques, especially since she's taken the time to do all the trial and error, as well as put together the mind-boggling collection of supplies.  Here are pictures of what my collage looked like where we left off the first time:

and what the finished collage looked like after today

Today we mostly worked on techniques to blend and smooth all the hodgepodge elements that went into the creation.  It seems the most crucial thing is knowing when to stop, in order to keep the whole thing from getting too busy.  It's a difficult line to walk, and I need some time away from it before I can say whether or not I think I succeeded at that part.


Doing the collaging was a great exercise.  For a long time I would have looked at something like this and maybe thought, 'well, cool...but what's the point?'  The beauty of it is that there doesn't have to be one; the act of creating something is a worthy end in itself, worthy of anybody's time and effort.  It was wonderful just to carve out some time to devote solely to making something pleasing to my own eye, regardless of whether or not there is any plan for it beyond that.  Being able to do so while chatting it up with my best gals made it 20 times better, too.


Also at Kelsi's, I had the chance to briefly say goodbye to Sowmya, whom I only met recently through Kelsi, but whose absolute, shining presence had a big effect on me.  I wish her luck on her journey to India and in her new position working in peace studies.  She told me about a great resource website for anybody interested in the topic.  www.internationalpeaceandconflict.org lists, among other things, employment opportunities for those looking to make making the world a more peaceful place their lives' work.  Best wishes, Sowmya...and congratulations to those who will be the lucky recipients of your radiant light.


Between having Monkey up and ready for his dad to pick him up, the 1-hour drive to Kelsi's, the catching up and the art, the drive back north and baby pick-up, anddinner and working on the unpleasant task of preparing for round two of custody mediation tomorrow, today was pretty much spoken for.  There was, however, time enough for


Today's New Activity: New, *Salon Quality* Shampoo


Hey!  I never promised every day would be groundbreaking.  This project was originated with the choice of gnocchi over fettuccine alfredo, after all :P


As I mentioned a couple of days ago, I can be a bit of a cheapster.  You might think I would make the exception for things like shampoo, given that I have three tons of long hair, and it seems it would take something special to keep it in good health.  But I am, officially, the world's laziest person when it comes to hair care.  Yes, I wash it everyday.  I even manage to blow dry it these days.  But I do so very reluctantly, and pretty much only because it just isn't what it used to be in terms of health, and to infuse any hint of body into it is a Herculean effort--one I'm willing to undertake if only to stop myself from getting angry enough at it to shave my head completely (hmm, that would be an interesting new activity!).


I buy cheap shampoo because I've yet to be convinced that spending more money actually yields better results.  Lately I've been going with Herbal Essences because I like the way it smells.  Nice criterion, right?  Today I found Nexxus shampoo and conditioner on sale at Target and decided to give it a go.  I seriously doubt that any measurable improvement will come from making the switch (what I really need is to get about 3 inches lopped off), but I figured it's worth a try.