I figured it would be time to start my journal, seeing as I have decided I am in on this long hair thing for life! And also because I'm kind annoyed at my sister...

The other day she got some food from a take-out place, and found a long-ish hair in her food. (I know, disgusting XD)
Buit then she said "That's disgusting. It was like an Amanda hair!!!!(now to me) People with hair like yours shouldn't be allowed to make food."
And she continued to call my hair gross...

My hair is healthy! Not gross, just long. She seems to have issue with that...
I can;t wait to hear what she says once my hair gets even longer! ^.^
And my other sisters keep criticizing just because I don't have a haircut, it's just long. >:( And if anyone watched Y&R, one keeps referencing Sharon. Every girl in my family(which is everyone but my dad XD) all have short hair, except my mom has about shoulder, and is going to get it cut. I'm so alone with my hair!(even my cousins and aunts and grandma have short hair O.o)

Also, I got a new shampoos last week, got this sunsilk voluminizing stuff, and notice my hair seems to be shedding more. I can't decide if it's the shampoo or I'm just paying closer attention what with wanting it to grow out.

And also, this site really knows how to upset a young girl. All those gorgeous hair accessories, and me with no money to buy them! I am determined to save up and buy at least one pair though. All those gorgeous sticks!!*le sigh*

Hahaha, wow. I can really rant about my hair, can't I?

Welcome to the world of journaling!

Interesting that your sister found a long hair in her food.  It is much more common to find a short hair.  Long hair is much easier to contain and keep out of food.  

Good luck with your hair goals, I look forward to reading about your journey.

Welcome!  I just want to let you know that you are not the only "outsider" in your circle of family and friends.  I am 46 years old and, according to the views and actions of just about everyone around me, should be chopping off my hair to fit into this age category.  No one has ever made negative comments to my face, but I can count on one hand the number of people I know personally who have shoulder length or longer hair.  Not me, sister!  I'm a long hair for life!  Anybody who doesn't like it can kiss my grits!  8-)

Welcome!  Enjoy the boards!  Looking forward to reading your journal,too!

Hey, Amanda. Congrats on starting your journal.  :)

Were the Sunsilk S&C that you got the Anti-Flat kind in the yellow bottles? I've had those in a gift pack that I got for Christmas & will probably never use them.  :-/  Do let us know if they're worth trying.

And I, too, am well accustomed to longhair harassment...even though most of the women in my family have long hair.  :-?  Then again, it's just one more thing in a long list of subjects that my parents harass me about. It hurts at first, but I manage to shrug it off.

Just be you and don't let anyone else try to tell you how.  ;)

Thanks guys! Hopefully once my hair gets long enough, they'll just realize to shut up  :P

bikerbraid wrote on May 12^th, 2008 at 9:15am:

Interesting that your sister found a long hair in her food.  It is much more common to find a short hair.  Long hair is much easier to contain and keep out of food.

I'll be sure to tell her that if it ever comes up!

And I haven't notice any sort of volume improvement with that shampoo(and yeah, it was the yellow bottle one) so conclusion is: shampoo suckage. While it's drying I can feel and see a little improvement, but then once it's actually dry I don't see anything noticeable.

And I did my first real Search and Destroy mission the other day. Yay! I keep checking it throughout the day like at school and finding ones I missed though. So I'll have to do a better job soon.

And for my personal non-hair life: I discovered today I might fail math...DX If I try really, really extra hard I might get it up but DX  >:( I probably won't make it. Hopefully my parents won;t chew me out too much.

Quote:

so conclusion is: shampoo suckage.

Good to know. Looks like I'll be sacrificing mine to the car washing gods.  ::)

Sorry to hear about your math class. Math is my worst subject. I burned my textbooks in college - bleh!  :P  You'll get it eventually though. Probably just long enough to pass the class...then you'll forget all of it.  ;D

Unless math is not a required course, I hope you can pull your grade up to pass.  It is really a pain to have to re-take a class you don't like.  (I loved my math classes, but I realize I'm a bit of an odd-duck).

Hair: A started doing the wash the scalp and condition the length thing. There doesn't actually seem to be a noticeable difference, but if it can improve the health of my hair, then I'm all for it!!
Also: My friend's birthday not-party(he insists on not calling it a party, it's a get-together) is tomorrow...and I don't know what to do with my hair! I want something that'll look good because a boy is going that I'd like to look good for. Which is weird for me. I'm actually trying to look good for a guy, not just because. Weird! So any ideas?? I might just wear it down..but it looks really, really messy that way.

Family Hair news: My mom got that haircut!!! And even worse--It's a bob! Agh, now I really am the only one! But then again...it's their loss of long, luxurious hair. ^.^

School: Yes, Math is required. And the worst part is I passed last semester, so I'd have to take a whole year of the same class...I can't even skip the semester I passed. DX Oh well, still have hopes.

Other: I guess that party thing counts as other news! Hopefully it'll be fun, and not depressing. My friend's girlfriend'll be there, and seeing them together kinda make me upset i don't have someone like that too. Agh, I'm much too young to be upset about such trifles!!(bad attempt at self-motivation XD)

Sorry we weren't able to come up with any suggestions for your "party hair".  How did it go?

My hair actually went great! For a few hours. I used curlers to curl some very small sections of hair, and then the brushed them out so they weren't so spirally. My hair had actually volume!!! But of course it didn't last long...it was flat in like 3 hours with the extreme heat that was going on(like 90 in WA, makes no sense). I might do the style again though, just maybe with a little spray or something.
And it's been in a pony tail all of today and probably will stay that way. I need new ideas that I can do in less than a minute. Also I need new hair ties, because a)metal and b) a chick in my chem class used one, and I doubt I shall ever get it back.

School: My AP Euro teacher slammed us with a project- a gi-HUGE-ant project. We have to plan a trip to Europe, and mark down EVERYTHING that we might need. Hotels, prices, day-by-day destination, pictures of the places. And the worst part is I was absent for a day or 2 of the project(I'm not sure, I was absent twice bu it may have started the second day I was gone) So I'm a day behind everyone else, but due the same day! I've been felling really busy and stressed with school, trying to get everything in by the deadline. Hopefully the stress doesn't make my hair fall out. :o

Other: And as I predicted, the party did kinda bum me out. And the boy I wanted to notice me didn't, but whatever. He lives like hours away anyways  ::) And since then I've just decided I shan't try looking extra nice for a boy every again, it's absurd! I actually wore makeup to that party too, and for a big fat nothing.
Also, just realized I tend to use the word 'actually' a lot. I need to extend my vocab some more.

And I'd like to add that the sunsilk has a good quality: A fresh lemony scent!!!  ;D Personally I really love the smell of it, though you can't smell it when on your hair, while shampooing it's nice!

Ugh, I remember assignments like those. Good luck, kiddo.

As for easy summer styles, I have 2: A single braid and another style that really has no name but works well for hot weather. Basically, you just gather all of your hair in a low ponytail & twist as if to make a low bun. But bring the twisted part upwards - kinda like making a French twist, but without tucking the twisted side under. Just bring the twisted tail straight up and pin it in place on the back of your head - about where you would put a high bun or ponytail. I use 2 bobby pins for this, crossed over each other in an X shape.
   Let the ends of your hair fall naturally, wherever they want. Or arrange them atop your head however you wish, but understand that they will move. It looks better if you oil the ends lightly before putting your hair up this way.


Quote:

And since then I've just decided I shan't try looking extra nice for a boy every again, it's absurd! I actually wore makeup to that party too, and for a big fat nothing.

Oh sweetie, that's just life. You win some, you lose most. That's no reason to stop trying. It may feel like a wasted effort, but it's really not. For one, looking good is never a bad thing.  ;)  For two, you never know who's checking you out. Just because the boy that you wanted to notice you didn't, that doesn't mean no one else saw you. Even if it was just your friends or their parents (or perhaps another boy that you didn't notice), someone there probably thought, hey, she looks cute today.  :)  See? Never a bad thing.

Oh I do intend to keep looking nice for myself(and the sake of looking nice) but I refuse to doll myself up again, it's ridiculous anyways! And someone better have been thinking I looked cute, that hair technically took like 10 hours!(slept in the curlers :D) And I'm gonna try that hairstyle soon! Just need to buy some bobby pins(and clips, as a notetoself)Okay now updates:

Hair: Eh, nothing new. I do enjoy the scalp washing though, I feel like condition only on my lengths is helping it to stay smooth and shiny! Also, I don't use as much conditioner! Although I am all out, so I'll have to go with my mom soon and buy some. Any suggestions on your favorites. Mine was fine, but I feel I could get better results. Maybe I'll try Dove, or something all natural if I find it!!

Family vs. Hair!:My having long hair seems to be increasingly offensive to my sister. Lately she's been bugging me more than usual, and I'm not sure why. Even going so far as to constantly tell me my hair is disgusting(which it is not! I take good care of it!!) and "Mom even said you need to get a haircut" seems to be her mantra around me. Every time I turn around "CUT YOUR HAIR!" from this one sister, no one else says a thing. And my dad actually defended my hair against her!  :) I don't understand why my hair is so appalling to her! But her mind has always baffled me, she watches and likes Rock of Love for goodness sake!

School: I really hate school. It sounds immature to say it, but I truly do. But I do enjoy sleeping, so I'm late a lot. If you miss a class unexcused, you get a detention. So of course, coming in 15 into third period would get me a few detention(3 in one shot!) then the next week I came during 2nd, so that added two more. I have 5 detention to serve by next Thursday!! Me and the secretary have it all worked out, thankfully enough. I think the school's late policy is a little absurd, and I now have accumulated more detention in just one week then I've ever had in all the past years put together!(that would be a grand total of 1). Not to mention the rest I got, from being late other times this year. I've probably had like 6 detention this semester, now 11.

Other: A guy friend of mine ruined one of my homemade buttons(like those pins?) Basically I just tape over them with pics, but I work hard on them, and they actually look really good. This boy and I are constantly fighting and plaguing each other. So now I need a way to get him back for ruing it. Any suggestions on horrible, but still funny, pranks? >:D It's really awful, he's mean to me, but makes me laugh so I can;t possibly be mad at him or hate him! So we're playfully mean to each other. And he needs to go down.

Any other news?: Nope...I have done pretty much nothing of consequence. Except beat Oogie Boogie in the video game Kingdom Hearts. (after months of being too afraid to fight him!) Oh, I have been considering trying to persuade my parents over the summer into something called "Un-schooling" where I would guide my own learning, like a form of homeschooling. I actually think would be really good for me, so I'll have to study more about it and use the summer to convince them, if I think it'd be worth it.

I am very sorry to hear that your sister and mother have been saying rude things about your hair :(   It sounds like you have told them how bad their negative comments hurt you and of all people your mother should know better.  If and when parents talk like that they expect respect, yeah right :o
Hopefully it might just be one of those fazes and they might eventually just keep their comments to themselves.


I used to hate school too, especially high school.  It was only 4 years but it seemed like it took forever :P
And now I have been out of school for 25 years and there are times I wish I could go back to school and do things differently.

Good luck and I hope things get better for you :)

Jerry

Quote:

I've probably had like 6 detention this semester, now 11.

LOL, ;D

Sorry to laugh, but your situation reminds me way too much of my high school experience.  I was ALWAYS in detention for being late as well. Getting up early has always been an issue for me.  I remember my Vice Principal seriously asking me if drug use was perhaps the reason that I couldn't get it together ::)...talk about over reacting. :P

School wasn't my favorite when I was your age either. But during the last 2 years of high school, I changed my habits and started working my tail off. I did tons of extracurricular activities and my GPA was never below 4.0. I took Honors courses and even won a scholarship at the end of the year for all of my hard work. Moral of the story is that it's more rewarding (and even easier) to be on the ball than to slack off & be in trouble all the time.

Sorry to hear that your sis is freaking out about your hair again. I get that too, but from my parents. They're always telling me to cut it short and I just shrug it off. To each their own.
   My sis likes the length of my hair, but she hassles me for using Pantene sometimes. I shrug that off too.  ::)  You have to hold onto what you want & believe in and not let anyone - not even your family or friends - try to dissuade you.

'Fraid I don't have any suggestions on how to get your buddy back. If anyone deliberately destroyed my artwork, they would not live long! lol At the very least, I would not maintain a friendship with them.

Detention.... oh my, that brings back memories.  Basically I did not attend my Senior year of high school.  I decided to travel around the country instead.  But then, with only 5 weeks of school left, I decided I wanted to graduate with my class.  They let me finish my classes with independent study AND I had to do 40 hours of detention to graduate.  (and just to show you it can be done, I graduated with a 4.0, high honors, and completed the 40 hours before graduation!!).

Do what needs to be done to get thru the year.  You need to graduate.  Life is much better if you finish high school on time.

Jerry: Well my Mom hasn't been saying them to my face at least. But I'm sure they'll learn it's useless soon, seeing as I haven''t technically gotten a haricut in like 2 years. Trims fine, haircut? Noooo.

La Diosa: It's okay to laugh! It's just a little ridiculous! XD But my worst fear has been for a while that they'll call me to see the counselor about why I'm so late! There's no reason other than I just can't wake up, but I'm afraid they'll twist something around to make me seem insane O.o

Angel Spun: Thank you for the encouraging school words! I did realize recently that I'd have to get my act together, and soon. But I was worried after 2 years of slacking off it wouldn't be enough, good to know I might have a shot at a decent college!

Bikerbraid: That must have been one intense year!! 40 detentions in 5 weeks? I'm having enough trouble getting in 5, but then again my school usually only allows four maximum over a 2 day-span. And you graduated with 4.0? Again I say intense! I wish, and hope I can develop that kind of drive to succeed. I want to succeed, but as of right now, I don't wanna do the work to get there. :/ But hopefully I'll learn soon!

And now hair: Today I did a conditioner only, and I'm a little afraid I over conditioned my scalp. Usually once a week I do a conditioner only on all of the hair, but right now it seems like it'll feel strange in the morning.
And I've worn my hair the exact same for 2 days in a row, soon to be three. I just put it in a braid at night, wet it, and then take it out in the morning! Although today the waves were ruined by rain, they still looked moderately nice. And this hairstyle is so easy, but still looks elegant. Although I'm sure it'll get boring if I do it everyday this week!

School: Hahaha, yeah. Not doing so great in math again, seeing as I failed a test. But I believe I can do a retake! As long as I find a way to get there really early in the morning, which doesn't go well with my inability to even wake up on time. But I can do it!!...? Yeah I can! Simplifying insane fractions with square roots and exponents is just difficult, and I've never liked fractions...
And the rest of my classes are perfectly fine!! Especially LA, where I keep having to read Hamlet, as Hamlet. It's fun until he starts talking to himself and gets all depressed.

Annoying boy: That boy I was hoping to get back at? Yeah now I've decided we're not friends anymore. He just repeated his obnoxious routine of trying to torture me, and usually he can say something funny and get away with it, but now I'm done with him. And it takes a lot to get me angry, so when I get grudges I tend to hold them(I only have a grand total of 3 now!) Even though I feel immature, he is even less mature, so I don't feel too bad about it. Maybe he'll apologize, but I shan't be surprised if he doesn't! And at this moment in time , I don't care if he does or not!

Other: School is out in 17 days! (I think I said that...) It is both exciting and nerve-wracking. This is my worst school-year in my history, and even worse probably the worst out of everyone in my family. My parents don't care too terribly, but just knowing that fact kinda bums me out. :\ But then again, almost 3 months of nothing to do! Except the evil summer-work I'll be doing for Language Arts and History.

Books: I've been reading an amazing book called The Heroines. This girl's mother own a bed&breakfast where literary heroines like Scarlett O'Hara come and stay. It sounds a little silly, but it's very, very good! And there's a part involving an insane asylum, which has gotten me thinking I'll get called crazy if I am late too often, or don't get enough sleep, or do my work. I've already read it once, I'm now re-reading, for sheer fun(and of course, my LA class needs me to read 800 pages by school's end, which I did but didn't document)
Wow, this is a ridiculously long post!!

Quote:

Angel Spun: Thank you for the encouraging school words! I did realize recently that I'd have to get my act together, and soon. But I was worried after 2 years of slacking off it wouldn't be enough, good to know I might have a shot at a decent college!

No problem, hon.  :)  And trust me, you can redeem yourself even after 2 miserable years. My GPA was in the tank during my first 2 years of high school. I think I had a 1.6 at the lowest point.  :o  Between my parents and teachers, my life was constant hell and I eventually got sick of it. I guess I wanted to feel good about what I was doing for once. So for the last 2 years, as I mentioned, I worked my tail off. Keeping my GPA no lower than 4.0 for 2 years straight actually pulled my total GPA for all 4 years of high school up to a 3.5. Not too shabby.
   So I totally know what you're going through. And I promise you that where there's a will, there's a way.  ;)

Sorry to hear about your friendship with "Annoying boy" ending, but it sounds like you're probably better off. It also sounds like it doesn't bother you all that much, so maybe there wasn't a very solid friendship there to begin with? Just a thought. You can't hang around someone who's always negative & disrespecting you. That $#&% gets old fast! *hugz*

It is never too late to "turn the corner".  Doing your school work now, may prevent you from having to retake classes.  (You don't really want to go through all the classes and tests again, do you??)  

You can do anything you put your mind to do.  

Tanks BB and Angel Soun, those encouraging words mean a lot to me right now!
And this'll just be a quick post because I haven't posted in a while, but technically should be in bed...

Hair: Well......I dyed two streaks red with kool aid. I know it was a bad idea but I had to do something. My sis was bugging me about my hair again, so being an obnoxious teenager I felt I had to do soemthing different with it to make her shut up already. Everybody at school said they liked it though! Although it's already fading  :(. I dyed the front two streaks that frame my face and wore the rest of my non-colored hair in a pony tail to show off the color. But as I said now it's just kind a tint. And U haven't washed my hair for quite a few days, so I'm a grease ball >.< really bad too. But I haven't been able to wash it because of the kool aid, and today I fell asleep before I could take a shower XD I fell asleep around 7 and woke up at like 10:30. It's now currently 12:18 am O.o woah I thought it was like 11:30!

Annoying boy: We haven't talked snce I informed him we weren't friends...I don't mind too much because it really wasn't that good of a friendshsip, but it kinda bums me out that he doesn't seem to care a ittle bit that we're not friends anymore. He's just indifferent and it bugs me >:( Oh well I suppose, it really is his loss!

School: Huge project due Thursday in AP European History and I'm nowhere nbear finished! And have barely begun really. I have to prove my thesis, but I'm having trouble doing so because I don't really believe it myself...it just seemed easy at the time that I chose it. And it would be if I cared more to try and prove it. It is a 15 minute long speech. ANd I have to present Friday, hand her my paper Thursday, this is gonna be tight.
And a math test due Friday too(like a takehome one, it's the seniors' final, they gradutate on Saturday, just a big test for us 'children')
And one of friends told me she worrieds about me and my school work today, sweet! And kinda sad, she has her own schoolwork to worry about!

Anything Else: Prolly not...oh yeah I might get to see Avenue Q live! I told my mom I didn't want to buy a yearbook so I could go see it($65 for a book full of people I barely know? I'd rather see a show!), but apparently she only had the money on that on day, so AQ is iffy. I hope so, though!

haha, so much for my quick post  ::)

Omg, I love Avenue Q!  :D  I hope you get to see it!

And sadly, I know all too well how it feels when you break things off with someone you once cared about and find out that they really don't care. The thing is, kiddo, they never did care. And my guess is that "Annoying boy" probably doesn't have many meaningful relationships in his life. And unless he learns how to love people, that will never change. So you're absolutely right - it's his loss! There are a billion better friends out there.

And lol @ Kool-Aid hairdye. I remember when kids that I went to high school with did that...many, many æons ago. Guess the new generations are still keeping the old traditions alive.  ::)

Hello everyone! Well let me get right down to business:

Hair: I found a shampoo and conditioner I absolutely love right now Suave something or other in a big orange bottle(it somehow got into my parent's bathroom, and I can't get in for the real name!) It makes my hair feel amazing, I think. Especially the conditioner. :D I love it!!

Health: I have to start exercising. I eat way too much junk food, drink waaaaaay too much coke, and then never exercise or do anything. I'm starting to get a bit of a belly, so I suppose I don't want that. I at least want a more toned stomach, if nothing else. We'll see how I do! Maybe I'll try walking to school(we have like 3 days left..). So that'll be  start, those three days! And I have to walk to the library, I've an overdue book to get back! So I'll walk there a lot this summer...yeah, lots of walking in my future!

Avenue Q: Sadly, I don't think it'll happen. It closes the 22nd of June, and we're broke for a while I guess :( But maybe I can see this other thing closer to town and cheaper "The Complete works of William Shakespeare, abridged" They did a preview at my school, and they were hilarious, so I'd like to see the whole show!! They spoof R&J, McB---(can;t even type it!), Hamlet, and more! I love WS< and I love comedy so..I would totally love this!

Annoying kid:...I'm friends with him again. One of our mutual friends was staring at us(we sit next to each other in Acting) and was like "Aww come on! Kiss and make up!! Come on!!" Which made us both laugh, and I realized I wasn;t even mad at him anymore, and that it bugged me not talking to him. By the end of the day i had told him I wasn;t mad, and he smiled and seemed kinda pleased. Then many days after that, I ate lunch with him, and he actually seemed pretty happy I was there. :) So good to know he kinda missed me! I really need to be more adamant with my grudges though...

Chemistry: I had to make some paint today, which wouldn;t be a problem except one of the ingredients was Dijon mustard...and then I had to heat it. It was so disgusting, I could barely stand it and tried spraying body spray into the paint to make it smell less like mustard! Hope it worked!
AP Euro: Well last Thursday night I tried staying up all night, no naps, to finish a  project due on Friday NO EXCEPTIONS! So of course...I fall a sleep and miss the day of school. So I got a 0 and missed a lot of sleep, which actually brings me to...

Sleeping!: I'm practically nocturnal now! I usually couldn;t get to sleep until late, like after midnight, but somehow I got into the habit of sleeping right after school until like 11 pm, and then staying up all the way until after school the next day. I rather like it, being up all night. Pretty much my only time alone!

Well that's the end...I think I'll try and shorten my long posts. I'm sure no one likes reading every detail of my mundane life!

I don't know about everyone else but I don't mind your long posts (even though compared to others they are actually pretty short) :)


And I have to thank you for spacing things out because I have seen some very long posts which are all bunched together with no spaces or even paragraphs in them :o
And I am not picking on people here because I have seen them on all kinds of boards and forums ::)


Jerry

I don't mind your long(ish) posts either.   :)

We have no restrictions on the length of a post other than 5500 characters in a single post.  But if you need more than 5500 characters, just start another!

Haha, alright. I could probably go on forever with that kind of invitation! And since I've been gone for a little while this one might be extra long...so have fun guys!

Hair:Nothing very new. Found out my shampoo/condition I'm using is Suave Professionals Sleek moisturizing shampoo/conditioner. Apparently it's for dry hair, but I don't really have dry hair.  It just has made it very soft and...moisturized I guess! More so than previous ones. I really like it!
And I've been wearing my hair in that sock bun a lot lately. It's been really, really hot so I want it up and that's the most convenient, though I'm worried about a lot of breakage if I do that too much.
And I've been remembering to braid it before I fall asleep, to prevent more breakage.

I do have a serious hair problem though, I keep getting tempted to cut a bunch off! Like I'll be brushing out a bad knot and think "I should just chop it all off like everyone wants!!!!" There's been a few times where I almost did(usually when I have scissors in my hand already)
And I think the bottom 3 inches(at least!  :o) are horribly damaged. When I have my hair in a pony tail and I feel down it, there's a noticeable change in the feel/texture of it. The bottom feels drier than the rest. It looks just fine, but feels odd. Maybe I just don't condition the bottom well enough or something? Also a lot of my hairs are shorter than the rest...like you know there will be random strands that are a couple inches shorter? I have a lot of those and am tempted to just cut them all the be the same exact length(which would mean cutting off even more than the 3 inches!) I probably will have an inch chopped off.

Musicals!!: I went to the library today and they had the soundtrack to 'Evil Dead: The Musical' Yes, based off of the Evil Dead movie series. It is hilarious!! If you don't mind some bad language/graphic descriptions of hilarious but disgusting ways to kill people, then you might like it! The Necronomicon is probably my favorite...it's the dance of the candarian demons! Just hilarious, but also good.

Idol Worship:And the greatest news I have ever had in my life!! I get to go see Shrek: The Musical on August 17th!!!! Sure, that sounds awful, but my idol and most amazing Broadway actress ever Sutton Foster is in it as Fiona!! This is a huge deal for me...There's a good chance I could see her by the stage door. Though if I did I'd probably lose the knowledge of how to speak coherent sentences, so I wouldn't speak to her. I know I'd scream a lot and then get her autograph!! Also John Tartaglia, I love that guy so much. He plays Pinocchio. I'm so excited!! This is my entire birthday present though, but who cares? Seeing Sutton Foster perform is the best present EVER!(I got to see her in Young Frankenstein last September...I love her so much!)

Health: Hahahaha...about that exercising thing...it hasn't worked out. I did walk to school one of those days(from missing the bus though) And I'm certain I actually am addicted to Coca Cola. It's really bad...I'm drinking  way more than I used to(like 2 cans a day!!) and I can't seem to function without some in my system. I get irritable and get headaches. I know it's bad for my body and especially my teeth, but I can;t seem to stop! It doesn't seem that important to me to stop I guess.

Sleeping: I'm kinda nocturnal again! I wasn't for a while, because my body absolutely hates any sleeping pattern that I like and proceeds to get a new one. But in a bad way. I don't go to sleep until like 5 am, and wake up sometime after noon(It has been varying). Which is bad because I now have a job of sorts, that job being...

Babysitting: My cousin has three kids: 9 year old girl, 6 year old boy, and 3 year old girl. It's Monday through Friday and I get 100 bucks a week. Before I actually had to do it, I figured "Oh it won't be a problem! Kids are easy!"  Which is so not true. I'm staying over there and over my first week(last week) by Wednesday I just wanted to go home! The oldest girl kinda looks up to me I guess, so usually if I'm doing something, she'll want to do it too, so I had like no time to myself. Usually at home I get that by staying up late, but I couldn't there because I have to wake up with the kids...which is usually around 10 am...WAY too early!! Before noon? Jeez.
I'm also concerned, because the 6 year old boy will be going into 1st grade in September, but he can't read at all. I know kids learn at their own pace, but I feel that he should be able to read a little by now. He knows the word 'the' and that's about it...not my business really, but I love reading dearly and am worried that he'll grow to hate it!!
Also the oldest girl, going into 4th grade, can't really subtract. What is wrong with their school? I know I knew all of that stuff by their ages. And by 4th grade you are learning division, so she should be rather good at subtraction by now...or should she? I guess I'm just being annoying and should mind my own business, they are not my kids
But what really concerns me is that that girl said she "hates learning" Ah! How could she hate it? Personally I hate school, but I love learning!! Probably the school's fault she thinks she hates learning!! So I;m wondering what you guys think...if I should interfere with their education like I want, or mind my own business(which I probably should!)?

Really? I had one more section and ran out of chars!!

I told you all of the mayhem that would ensue!! Well here's the last part...

Grrr, grown-ups!: Because of my newfound income, my mother and oldest sister think I should get a bank account. "Then you'll get interest and have more money!" I really, really don't want one. They seem complicated and unnecessary. My cousin is paying me in cash anyways!!! The real problem I have with having a bank account is that I'll feel like an adult if I get one. That'll be my first step into being a real grown-up with responsibilities for myself...I don't want that! I just wanna spend my money irresponsibly on books and candy! Why must I use this bank thing? Why must I have responsibilities so soon!!?
My grandmother gave me a check for cleaning her house though, and my problem now is that my mom refuses to cash it, so I'll need a bank account to cash it.

Okay the end for now!! ^.^ Future ones'll probably be shorter, I swear. I just had a lot to talk about this time... :D

Quote:

I don't go to sleep until like 5 am, and wake up sometime after noon(It has been varying)

Sounds all too familiar.  My father, one of my younger sisters and I all do that as well.  Unfortunatley, it sounds like you have a sleeping disorder.

As for the bank account... I can't relate.  I was one of those kids who didn't want to be a kid, and loved doing "grown up" type things like opening a bank account.

However, if your mother won't cash checks for you anymore, you might just have to...(GASP!)... get one.  Oh the horror!!!:o  Sorry, I'm just teasing you. ;)

La Diosa: I knew it!!! I also was suspecting I might have a sleeping disorder, but my mom is blaming me, saying that I'm staying up this late on purpose
And my daddy cashed it for me!! Neh neh!  :P hahaha

Hair: Nothing new with treating it. I just washed the scalp/conditioned the length as usual.
Hair scare!: I did have a hair adventure though. I was getting dinner, and my older sister was behind me. She started touching my hair, so I turn around and she tells me "You have gum in your hair," (she was trying to get it out...apparently) Of course I ran as fast as I could to a mirror, hoping to god it wasn't true!! It was however, and pretty far up. About my shoulders.*blek!* I almost started crying, panicking that it'd have to be cut. However, my sister did get it out after much trying, and it didn;t have to be cut!!
The gum wasn't the kind I chew, and I really have no idea where it came from. I am suspecting hair sabotage by someone!!
Hair Victories!: I also have some hair victories!! You know how my family continuously plagues me about my long hair? Well I had my hair up in this really high, like Genie pony tail one day, and I think the hairstyle caught one of my sister's attention.
She randomly wanted to go to Wal-Mart for hair Vitamins because she thought they would make her hair grow faster. She and her friend both decided they want long hair and her friend even said I had "pretty, long hair." Hahahahahaha!! I win, long hair wins, we all rule.  ;D They both intend to grow their ridiculously short hair out.(though I doubt they will, her friend said that her barely shoulder length was long for her!)

Emotional junk: These past 24 hours have been very trying to me! First was the gum incident in my hair(made me incredibly upset) then my sister made me watch the saddest episode of a cartoon ever made(Jurassic Bark of Futurama...so depressing!) and then I had to watch the series finale of Death Note(an anime) That last one was probably the worst. Because a)the end! and b) my favorite character died, and worst of all by dying lost this huge contest of sorts, and also he was killed by my second favorite character!! I cried for like 5 minutes afterward. It was so awful!! DX But I'm fine now from that horrible day! It shall be behind me, and the next 24 hours will be better(without a doubt)

Sleep: I woke up at like 3 something yesterday, I believe. Am planning on going to sleep maybe around 7am...haha, that;s the time I usually would have to wake up at to get ready for school. I intend to do research soon on different types of sleeping disorders, to see what I may(if any) have.

That might be the end! Wow!

I haven't gotten gum in my hair in years but thats never any fun! :P  Glad you got it out okay. ;)

You probably have a delayed sleep phase.  That basically means that you fall asleep later than the "normal" time range, which I believe is between 10 o'clock p.m. to 1 a.m.  I don't recall the exact times, but it's something like that. Without medication, I tend to fall asleep between 3 and 5 a.m. sometimes later, but I absolutely hate still being awake when the sun comes up, although that happens to me sometimes as well.

Reading up on different types of sleep disorders would be a good idea and also discuss it with your doctor but PLEASE don't let your mother (or anyone else) make you feel bad about it.  I've dealt with so much crap from my mother and grandparents when I was growing up.  I wasn't diagnosed back then (nor did they have me evaluated), they instead chose to believe that it was something that I was doing on purpose. >:(  

Hello everyone! There is no way I've been gone for nearly a month!! But apparently so, I feel awful! But for a period of time we had no Internet, and then I couldn't get back into the groove of using the Internet once we got it!!(also, another series finale...my shows and fandoms are very important to me!) So I was concentrating on those for the last month... either way, here I am!!

Hair: My hair is almost to my waist!!!!! :D I'm getting very concerned about my poor ends though. I need to start applying oil to them I think like a lot of you do. What kind am I supposed to use?
Also, I need to buy bobby pins and clips. I need to put my hair up more often, I've been very lazy about it. MY new favorite hairstyle is to put these curlers in my hair after I take a shower, lust rolling up to my shoulders. It looks very nice!!!

Exercise: I actually got into a rather good groove for two days! I figured as long as I was awake at like 6 in the morning, I could exercise. So I exercised from like 6-15 to 6-30. I ran around my block, and did ab work mostly. Push-ups and stretching too of course!! Although I haven;t done it the past two days(I was reading Breaking Dawn this morning, and the morning before that I think I was sleeping at the usual time, so I gave up or something) I hope to exercise tomorrow morning though!! I need to lose a few pounds, and like flatten stomach. I would just like to lose like... 5 pounds maximum(I can't remember what I'm at right now, but I remember not liking it!), my obnoxious round tummy bugs me whenever I wear tight shirts; it kinda looks like I'm pregnant when I breathe O.o.

Sleep: Very, very interesting. I haven't slept the same two nights in a  row for like a month! I had a habit of falling asleep around 10 am, but then one day my friend and I went out, so I was up until like 11:30 pm. And then, for unexplainable reasons, woke up at like 4:30am. Falling asleep at 10 am again!! And now I'm completely nocturnal, seeing as I just woke up for the second time today at 8 pm. Earlier I had fallen fallen asleep for a few hours. I stayed up longer than normal reading. So I have to stay up about 24 hours, to get a good schedule for babysitting. I am convinced I have some sleeping disorder, and only Delayed Sleep-phase Syndrome makes sense. I need to keep a journal of my waking and sleeping times...

Birthday! My 16th birthday is on August 5th!! I've already received a couple presents. My grandma got me a video iPod Nano(in blue! I was ecstatic it wasn't pink!) Although I hate iPods, I really can't complain seeing as I had nothing before, and it was a very generous gift. My best friend got me a Pirates of the Caribbean themed Chess set. It is so awesome(Will Turner is the bishops on Jack's side... I got 2 of him!! XD) And my sister ought me Breaking Dawn. I went to a midnight release party for that book, the Twilight series is amazing!!
And on my birthday I am...babysitting. Wooooooooh.
*Is still angry because her sister was supposed to babysit this week, and promised like a month ago, but then went and got a real job so she wimped out on the promise*

School: Starts on September 3rd, I get my schedule on August 19th. I wish I could just like get my GED or something, but my family would never go for that... agh, I hate school. I'm not even looking forward to any of my classes for next year I remember signing up for!! My schedule is so messed up... I think I'll be in weight training and conditioning, which would be the hardest and easiest gym classes, respectively. What did I do? :o Plus AP US, which is a very hard history class. I'll have to switch out, which means I have to take normal US, which is a sophomore class(I'll be a junior). Grr. I'll deal with it somehow though!!

So that's it, I think!! Neat! 1616 characters left too! XD

Happy Birthday on Tuesday!!!

You need to experiment w/oils to find the ones that work for your hair.  I really like camellia oil.

Happy Birthday on Tuesday! :)
That sucks about the babysitting on you birthday. :(

Happy Birthday Amanda ;)

Jerry

http://www.maniatvblog.com/cjchristy/uploaded_images/Sweet16-733534.jpg" name="post_img_resize_1" alt="" border="0" id="imagecount1" style="display:none" />http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:9qjq8gU2GbQB2M:http://www.maniatvblog.com/cjchristy/uploaded_images/Sweet16-733534.jpg
Happy birthday, kiddo.  8-)

HAPPY SWEET 16!!!!
[smiley=birthdays.gif]

:)

Happy Belated Birthday! :D

Well, I'm 3 days late but Happy Birthday!   :)

Aw, thank you all!!!! That's so nice!! (about a month later, but our internet has been wonky >.<) I feel so little and young! Kiddo...  :D

So yeah, what with our internet being awesome now instead of annoying, here I am!

Hair: My conditioner actually ran out about 2 weeks ago(it was a huge bottle) and I finally got new conditioner. Those two weeks I had to use my sister's tea tree conditioner, although I only used it twice. The main reason being it made my hair feel so gross, and the other reason being it cost her $11 and she didn't want me using it. No problem, seeing as it was AWFUL.
My only problem now is I have mis-matching shampoo and conditioner. Both Suave, but this new conditioner is for dry hair and is extra moisturizing. It makes my hair soft enough, but I liked my old one better.  :( Oh well!!

And I saw "The Dark Knight" Hairstix, and I intend to own them someday! I have a pair of earrings that would match perfectly. It really would seem like they came in a set!! I must own them. All I need is a job!!Ewww...

Oh I forgot to mention the aweosme news that my hair grew 7/8 of an inch in a month!! Almost an inch in a month! Aweosome! :)

School: Starts on the third, and this Summer assignment I have is due on the 4th. I've been trying to do it and all but I just don't feel smart enough for it or the class it's for! (AP Language and Composition) I think I'm going to switch into regular LA 11. I'm about a third through the assignment, and for the rest of it I have no idea what he wants!! It's confusing me so much. I do love the book they assigned though, Fahrenheit 451. I really don't want to explain the similarities and differences between Faber and Mildred. He wants us to do a lot of comparing and contrasting, but I have a feeling I am missing the entire point of the book/questions.  :-/
Oh well!! I intend to go to the library tomorrow and  really concentrate on it!!

Job: I need one. I wasn't responsible enough to save any of my babysitting money in case of a hairstix emergency, and I generally enjoy money, so I need a job!! My mother doesn't want me to get a job at the mall, however, because I can't drive, but I can't drive without driver's ed which we don't have the money for XD And the mall is really the closest place to us with employment options for an inexperienced teenager. Although I don't much like the idea of walking home at 11pm(that was the time my sister usually got off when she worked at the mall) at night, so I am content to agree with her on the point that I need to drive.

Well, hello again after another long absence! It shouldn't happen again though!!!

Welcome back, Amanda.

Congrats on the growth. And I've seen the Dark Knight stix too and they are lovely.  :)

You might want to check with people you know if the places where they work are hiring. That's how I got my first job (at 16) and my mother drove me there & back every day because I didn't have a license yet either.  :P  Might there be a way for you to carpool with people you know? Just a thought.

September 4th, 11:53 PM
I'm gonna start dating the top...it seems more organized.  ;D

Hair: I really need to wash it. I did curls for the first day, and then I got home late so I couldn't shower. Then the morning after that, my curls looked even better than the first day! My hair actually had volume!(at least in the morning) so I neglected it again. Plus, I might've gone overboard with the hairspray. I hate using it, but on curls I think I have to, so I just go mad. My hair feels all right, although maybe a bit greasy, but I just need a good conditioning.

And I intend to play around with it a lot. I love wearing my hair up, I feel all fancy when I do it and it looks really pretty.  :) Which would be a good reason to get those gorgeous hairstix!! Argh...
Plus, I really wanna dye it a red color. Maybe Auburn or real vibrant red! I used to hate that color, my mom and sister have it, but now I think it is so gorgeous!(also, my sister dyed her hair blonde XD And my mom dyed it a really, really RED shade) I am going to look into henna for it. The color would totally make my green eyes pop out! And I need to do somethign new with myself, desperately.

School!: Haha, I don't know why there's an !, I'm not excited about it. And today was our first full day(yesterday was only a half day, plus like an hour long assembly so we did like nothing) so now I know what all of my classes will be like.. boring.
First period(Culinary Arts) will be fun. Preparing food for the cafeteria, and doing dishes, which I found oddly fun today! My group[ only had dishes until Tuesday, then we switch. I'm nervous for that, I'm not great in kitchens, ever. People will be getting lop-sided sandwiches!!  :D
AP Composition is going to be really hard. But two of the funniest people I know are in there so they'll help make it better.
Pre-Calculus, my best friend is in it, so I have that! The teacher was bland, though, and math has never been my thing.
Ugh, PE is just ewwww, I can't handle it and am switching ASAP. I feel like a bit of a quitter and a failure because I'm not even trying. But feeling like a failure and actually failing the class are very different, I don't need another F...
US History! My class full of 10th graders... the teacher is incredibly animated, loud, and energetic(like really!) but I'm still bored in it. The only aspect of history I like studying is the Civil War, so I can't wait for that!! Damn other wars we'll have to study... who cares about the American revolution anyways? Not like it was important XD

Ooh plus I might already be behind on homework! I think I have math, oh and all those syllabi. But now my parents are both sleeping... whoops.

Job: Even though just the idea of working at a fast food place grosses me out, I might try for Jack in the Box. There's one about 15 minutes from home(walking), and I get my food handler's permit from my culinary arts class, so it would be a good place to go.
I might go get an application after school tomorrow... technically today because it's past midnight!

Sleep: I sleept all afternoon, so I think I'm just gonna stay up, got to school, and sleep after school again. I like that much better, I won't worry about being late!

September 7th, 7:21 PM

Hair: I have to put this down, because I love it! On Friday morning I blow-dryed by hair because it just wouldn't dry in time for school. I did remember to put on this heat protectant stuff, which I've never used before. Well today I was playing with my hair and realized it felt fantastic. I'm guessing it must be the heat protectant, and I just love it! Way less tangles and it was still all sleek and straight. I hope I never have to blow dry it again, but once a week I might use this protectant as a leave in! I'm in love with it!! Although it says heat activated styling creme, so I'm not sure if it will have the same effect without the blow-dryer.

My sister is killing her hair: My sister is dying her hair for the second time this month, and even worse, the last time she dyed it she dyed it blonde(today it should be a light brown). For someone who wants their hair to grow, she isn't really treating it very kindly. :-/
Just today I told about some vitamins that make hair healthier and might help it to grow, so I suppose that made her think of her hair and she decide she should dye it.  ::)

I have homework that I doubt I'll finish... bye!

Hair: I tried using honey on my hair. It didn;t make it any shinier, but I'm betting that's because I forgot to actually leave it in. I applied like 3 drops to the conditioner on my hand, mixed it all up, applied it, and then I wasn't thinking and washed it right off a second later. >.<
I also mixed a drop in with my shampoo.

Also with hair, I can't get over how long it is!! I keep enveloping myself in it. I just turned and noticed the longest part is at my waist. My waist. Ah!  ;D I can get it all the way around my head, and... it's just so long! I'm just loving it right now!! I need to get a good picture somehow.

School: Not doing so well, I either gotta pick up the pace(ew!) or switch out of half of my classes into easier ones. Leaving behind these 2 adorable guys in English(they're so funny I couldn't bare to not have them in a class), and this one really cute guy in preventative medicine. :-[ Also Culinary Arts is killing me. It's first period and as you know I'm late a lot so... a class that the only grade is participation + missing it a lot = Worst idea ever!

Guys: In my US History class there is a boy named Ian with the most amazing smile ever! I need to start like, talking to him more. I am actually finding myself looking over at him, just to see if he's smiling, or waiting for him to smile. It's that gorgeous(although then I remind myself how old I am and that if I want to talk to him, I should) He's also funny and has the Constitution on his wall in his room XD Perfect! He's totally adorkable! So I'm gonna have to make that move.. hopefully I'll deal with the shyness! ^.^ Hahaha, I feel kinda lame

I think that's it, bye!

Adorkable...what a good word!   ;D

October 21, 4:20 am.

I need to post here more often. Although right now the gap is hilarious, I don't remember being sweet on this boy for a month, but apparently I have been! And yes, adorakble is a great word! I love it!

Hair: I don't intend to shampoo it at all this week. Because..... I'm going to dye it. Black. I intend to use the semi-permanent type that will come out in 25 washed or whatever.(and the reason is because of Scarlett O'Hara. I've been re-reading it, and watching the movie obsessively. I have green eyes and I just wanna look more like her for a little while!) So I want to let the natural oils protect my hair when I do that awful thing to it. I really can't resist. And I need a change, a temporary hair one would be good!

School: I'm going to fail Culinary Arts. No really, I think a month in it's already set from my absences. I recently got 4 detentions in 2 days from missing 1st and most of second two day in a row.  :-[ But then again, detentions aren't that bad. I have time to read, or do homework. And since usually I'll have to walk home I get some exercise in. Detentions are good things, kids! Get lots of them!
Also the blood drive is on the 30th. This is the first year I'm actually old enough to give blood, so I would like to. I just barely weigh the minimum though, so I'm a bit afraid I'll pass out. I never have fainted before, I wonder what it's like! Plus extra credit in one of my classes, and a free cookie. I hope I remember to sign up.

Ian: XD I feel a bit silly giving him his own section, but here we go. He started talking to me, gentlemen that he is. :) And giving me hugs. I get one from him everyday now! He's incredibly nice, and funny.  I sit on the opposite side if the room from him though, so I don't get to talk to him except for after class. Oh well. Hopefully I've made a new friend in him!

Homecoming: I'm a bit upset I didn't go. I got asked by one guy, but they uh... well I just didn't want to go with them at all. He seemed to think it was okay to invite me to hang out with him, and not tell me he and his friends were drunk. Not okay. Not even a little bit okay. For some reason the only boys that ask me out aren't the type of boy I want to date at all.  :-/ But I'll try not to dwell on it(and try to figure out how I give out the message of liking guys like that so I can stop it). I'm only 16, for goodness' sake. Like I need some guy to like me. And being an old maid probably isn't even that bad anyway!!  :D

Health: I've been extremely exhausted the past few days. I think it might just be a lack of sleep. Today I was kinda just stumbling along, sitting down whenever possible. Hopefully after school today I won't get very much homework and can rest up nice and good. I want to go back to sleep now, but if I do I won't get my part of a group project done, and will probably be late. Plus I slept 8 hours, so I shouldn't be tired. If this goes on for too long I'll ask to see a doctor.

Okay that's it! Now I gotta keep researching the geography of the Tohoku region in Japan!! I can't think of what else to put, but I need two slides. I'll fill half of one with a picture, hahaha. My group won't mind.
Bye!

*sigh* Sorry, hon, but I just can't resist offering a little advice. Do with it what you like.

Point 1: You have light colored hair and using a demi-permanent (through 24 shampoos) to dye it black will stain it permanently. I'd suggest using a semi-permanent (lasts about a week) or spray-on color.
   A decade ago, I decided to use a demi-permanent to dye my waist length hair black. I have light auburn hair naturally, and you know what happened? The dye took permanently and I had to cut all of my hair off. Now you can't say that I didn't warn you.

Point 2: No matter how sweet you are on this Ian fellow, he's taken. And no matter how discreet you think you're being with your affections, the whole world (including him and likely his gf) can read you like a book.
   But what if he's acting as if he likes you back? That's his problem. You're better off in every way just leaving the taken guys alone no matter how badly you want to be around them. Otherwise, you're just inviting all kinds of unnecessary drama...and it doesn't sound like you need any more of that at the moment.

Anyway, like I said, take it or leave it but there it is.
*hugs* All the best to you, love.

wrote on Oct 21^st, 2008 at 4:39pm:

*sigh* Sorry, hon, but I just can't resist offering a little advice. Do with it what you like.

Of course I would want your advice! You're older than me, for one, and from reading what you have to say and talking to you I actually like and respect you! Give any advice you please.
I did know the black would stain, but it didn't seem like that big a deal at the time I thought about it...
And don't worry about Ian. If he is taken I shan't be too upset. I barely know him anyway!  ;)*hug* thank you for the advice.

October 22, 10:20 PM

Hair: I conditioned it all today and used a leave in that actually seemed to have made it straighter as well. So that was a great plus! Although it feels kind of greasy, I think that is just because I haven't washed it in a while rather than from the leave in(which was that heat protectant, but this time I didn't use any heat)

And now I am seriously reconsidering the black thing. I figured today that I wouldn't go black, but just a very dark brown. That would basically just be darkening my natural color. I'm not sure, I think I just want to do something with my hair. Maybe I'll dye it with kool-aide again!(my dad bought me purple a few days ago when I said I wanted it to be black  ::)) Yeah right.

School: I've done all my homework on time this week, so that's good. And I haven't missed Culinary Arts! And we have Friday off, so I get that day to rest! Good week so far. Although math test tomorrow. I think I'm ready for it, but I did the review and I couldn't remember how to do some of the stuff. And his tests are usually 10 questions, so miss more than 2 and you're ruined. DX I'll just have to make some notes.

Health: Yesterday I stretched my legs out, and then was in intense pain for quite a few minutes, basically unable to move my right leg. It's still sore. I think I might have pulled the calf muscle. And really all I did was stretch it right out in front of me!
I'm betting it has something to do with wearing high heels 6 1/2 hours a day 5 days a week... I always made sure to take them off when I'm not outside, and if I have to walk long distances I wear flats. That wouldn't have shortened the tendon, would it?
Just to be safe I wore flip flops today and intend to tomorrow. The muscle is still slightly sore when I move my ankle around, and if I sit for too long, when I stand up I put my weight on it. I just hop for a second and then it lets me walk.

Fashion: I went to the OPI nail polish website and I desperately want some of their nail polish. I have to get some! And I found a really nice clothes website a little while ago, called Topshop It is a bit expensive(and I believe ships from the UK  :o), but the clothes are so nice! And they have some really nice shoes.(also some hideous ones, admittedly) I could never afford the pair I want though. Everything I want is always so expensive! I just naturally graviatate towards the expensive items, even before I know how much they are. It's really bad, seeing as I can never afford them! I need a job. Badly.

Other: We finally bought printer ink! Now time to make some new pins and bookmarks!  My mom lost all of my Twilight bookmarks, and I just lost the nicest one I ever made(Little Women one)so I need more. And the buttons I've just grown tired of the ones I have, so hooray!! New ink!!  :D

*hugs* Anytime, babe.  :)

And thanx for posting that link - they do have some cute stuff (as well as a US site  ;)). I had to laugh when I saw the "Punk Couture" bit though. That's such an oxymoron.  ;D

I know what you're going through with the whole haircolor thing. I dyed my hair several times throughout high school, but stuck to the kind that wash out in a week. I believe it's called Loving Care by Clairol? Yeah, I used to have fun with those. They don't contain ammonia or peroxide, so they aren't terrible for your hair. And I used to get tired of the new color and want my natural color back after a week or 2 anyway, which is when they wear off, so it worked.  ;D
   One word about the dark browns though is that they give your hair a weird dark green cast when they start to fade.  :-?

Oh, and OPI can be found at most beauty supply stores. Good stuff - I use it almost exclusively. The colors are highly concentrated and will sometimes turn out much darker than you might think when they dry. They also require a topcoat with a UV shield because the colors oxidize like crazy.  :P

And btw, I think it's so cool that you make your own buttons & bookmarks! How on earth do you do it??  :D