ViViD Auburn

       Have you noticed how certain people attract certain things - catastrophes, embarrassing moments, injuries, etc?  I'm not sure if I fall into one of those categories, but some funny stuff has been happening to me lately.  I thought I'd share the most recent events. 

       I don't consider myself a vain person, meaning, once I'm out the door for the day, I don't constantly check mirrors to make sure my makeup is still impeccable, or to see that my hair is perfectly in place.  I think it was Sister Beck that made a comment like, "make sure you look good, but once you head out the door, forget about yourself and focus on helping others."  I like that.  So, back to the story.  With engagement pictures, groomals (for those of you who aren't familiar with the term "groomals" it's similar to bridals, except that the groom is there in his tuxedo along with the bride), and wedding pictures, I figure I should care a little bit more about keeping up appearances.  Well, one afternoon I was shopping for some fabric with my mom, and I started to feel light-headed.  I had enough foresight to have my mom drive us around after we left the fabric store, and good thing I did.  Five minutes later, as I was buying a drink at a gas station to try and help myself feel better, I fainted.  My cheek came in direct contact with a trash can, and the pebbles did some damage to my right cheekbone.  Lovely.  That was about two weeks ago.  Luckily, there are no scars at this point, though my cheekbone is still sore when I touch it.  

Next up - vivid auburn.  I get my hair highlighted every summer, and I usually stick to what I know and like (though, I wanted to put in dark purple highlights last year, but it didn't work out that way).  Like I said, I do it every summer, so it wasn't really a big deal to me, even though I knew I was having our engagement pictures taken on Tuesday.  Well......as my good friend Ann can attest, I had a slight freak-out after I left the salon.  My hair absorbs color REALLY well, and the warm auburn I was planning on somehow turned into fire engine red!  HA!  I immediately called Ann and told her that they turned me into Ariel.  There is a BIG difference between being a redhead and having auburn highlights.  I was worried they had leaped, not just stepped, over the line that I have never wanted to cross.  Ariel is pretty, but red just isn't my thing.  Ann helped calm me down a bit, I washed my hair that night, and the next morning...voila!  My hair looked just fine.  I curled it, stuck in a few bobby pins, and took care of the engagement pictures with vivid-auburn-not-to-be-mistaken-with-red hair.  And the best part is, despite the initial freak out, I really like it now.

Lastly, let's discuss makeup.  I like to think that I wear it, rather than it wears me.  You all know people, I'm sure, that wear tons of makeup on a daily basis.  Not sure why they do it, they probably don't even need it, but I guess it's a comfort blanket for some people.  I decided to get my makeup done at Nordstrom's for the engagement pictures.  I don't own foundation or powder, or any of that stuff, so I figured I'd let the lovely Mac makeup artists do their thing.  Bad idea!  The lady that did my makeup was beautiful - always a good sign when they're the one doing your makeup, right?  Nope!  I'll spare you the details, but basically, she turned me into an oompa-loompa!  HAHAHA!!!  It took everything in me to keep from distorting my face when I looked into the mirror and saw what she did.  A memorable comment from the makeup lady after I told her she needed to make a little adjustment, "yeah, I tend to be heavy-handed with the blush."  That was the understatement of the year people!  Bright.  Pink.  Cheeks.  Once again, I called Ann - bless her heart - and freaked out a bit as I was driving back home.  As usual, she helped calm me down, mostly through laughter, which usually does the trick.  Luckily, I had quite a bit of time before we took the pics so that I could get home, wash off the makeup, and do my own thing.  I was pleased with the final product, but you can be the judge when you see our engagement pictures.  Do you understand why I'm really happy we're done with them?!? 

So I, and my auburn hair, have survived some random happenings, but life is still really good.  I'll be sure to post any other crazy stories that may come up in the next little while, but hopefully nothing too big will need to be told.  Moral of the story - avoid fainting (if possible), avoid crazy hair colors, and avoid crazy makeup artists.  That's all.