New hair, finally

Ok, here's the new hair. I am not very girlie, I used to make more effort in this area than I do now. If I were to put product in my hair and then blowdry it, I have no idea what would happen, but it is not something that I normally do. I think it's because when I was in junior high and high school I did all that and my dull, limp, hair would just be lank again in half an hour. I have a new coif and it's just wash, pull a hair pick through it and go. So please don't tell me how good it would look, if I would only straighten, perm, product, and roll it. It won't happen. If it did, it would automatically undo all that work within a few minutes anyway. This is my hair:

Vegan? Ha!

I'm thinking maybe I need a new, personal definition for my food choices. I was appalled to read the "good news" in VegNews that Strawberry fucking Quick is vegan! Hot damn, I've been craving that....NOT! Why, if I do not want animal products (tainted with antibiotics and growth hormones, or not) would I find chemical food acceptable? Hey, so are a few hundred other chemical foods. I don't care. I don't recommend, want, or support them. Get away from me Hideous Non-Food Options! Hell, I think maybe a McDonald's french fry is vegan too. If I want a piece of genetically modified, corn syruped piece of potato, I'm in luck!

I now e-mail companies. I highly recommend it. About a week ago I emailed a company and asked what a hydrolyzed soy protein is and they replied it was a vegetable derivative in a few of their products. No shit, Sherlock, I got the whole veggie thing down. That so did not answer my question, people. And it is sad that they don't know what a hydrolyzed soy protein is, either.

I would like to add that I still use titles (e.g., To Whom It May Concern) and this particular company responded at their close with Regards, Product Questions. How lame is that? I couldn't resist, I responded to them by saying Dear Product Questions and closed with Regards, Former Potential Customer. I was going to close with Regards, Vegan Hominid but I thought they wouldn't get my smartass humor.

For all you people about Rocking the Boat of Complacency, please e-mail Kelloggs and tell them vegetarians and vegans don't want genetically modified foods in their MorningStar Farms products. I don't believe them (that it's safe and nutritious).

Google me not

Sometimes, just for the hell of it, I'll Google people I know to see what comes up. Usually nothing much. When I Google myself, my work comes up. Fine. Not exciting, but fine. I tried Googling my married surname and I am all over the place, people! I am the NCAA director of professional development and (even more notable, in my mind) there's a woman with my name in Midland, MI that won a $1000 gift card to Wal-mart and was so psyched she was jumping up and down. I have been known to jump up and down when I'm excited, but I have never jumped about Wal-mart. I don't even shop there. I actively AVOID Wal-mart. I jump up and down if you say there's a new place within a hundred mile radius to check out yarn. I also jump up and down if I know Guinness is on sale somewhere, but not about Mal-wart.There, now you know, I'm not that Rochelle. I am imagining the me that I know to be somewhere in the socio-economic bracket between those other two Rochelle's. May the force be with Rochelle's everywhere, we're all just tryin' to do the best we can.

Pretend Love

Here's a shameless plug for the Avett Brothers new CD "Four Thieves Gone" - I know I've said loudly, proudly, and publicly that I am in love with them. I am. But I am also aware that I have at least a decade on them in age and they are T-R-O-U-B-L-E (they're young, but they may have taken a few pointers from Steve Earle in the womanizing department). If you doubt me listen to their lyrics. Bowen's favorite song on the album is "Pretend Love." Since the darling boy is eight (nine next month-yikes!) the idea of pretending to be in love with someone freaks him out (me too) and is very confusing to him (ditto for me). I know this because we had a discussion about the lyrics.

Back to my point, the Avett Brothers rock, and they're cute and charismatic, but they are Trouble. "Matrimony" is a favorite song of mine on the album. Distration #74 is also good, so is A Lover Like You, It's all good. They are funny, they scream over acoustic guitars and a stand up bass. They have a stomp drum and an electric guitar occasionally, and I adore them and all their shenanigans. Bad Boys that they are, I think they have to be bad to rock so well and have such great lyrics. They were raved about at Merlefest last year, and just had a sold out show at the Cat's Cradle. I'm all about the Avett Brothers.


Oh, I'm also all about a hair cut. I used to say that I wouldn't have long hair after 30. Well, at long past 30 I cut it. I'm diggin' the hell out of it. It's great, easy to wash and comb, and feels less like Frump-girl.

Funk and Fish

There's been a lack of posting due to general malaise and personal funk. I had a fine birthday - spent with good friends sharin' the love at a Thai restaurant. I bought myself three CD's for my birthday. I am in love with the Avett Brothers - they are like crazy bluegrass punk! I've kind of got a crush on them, but they're too young for me and all their songs are about girl troubles. They are funny and good. The second CD is in almost constant rotation, it is Caitlin Cary and Thad Cockrell's album Begonias. I grew up on country duets and this album is like a refreshing blast from the past. Great lyrics, great 70's sound without over-production. I cannot get enough of it. KT Tunstall's album Eye to the Telescope is also very amazing. This woman performs by herself, playing everything when she's live. Gorgeous voice, beautiful lyrics - she's got it all. So, even though I'm in Personal Funkland I'm listening to good music.

We have had a pet trade at our house. A little background is necessary to explain this one. About four years ago I had this wild idea of breeding guinea pigs. I am an early childhood educator and we had several female guinea pigs at work and parents kept asking about having them as pets. I decided to breed some and give them away. Well, as you can probably imagine, it soon got out of hand. I put one male (Tree) in baby pool in the kids' room with three sows and soon had a whole passel of pigs. Oddly enough, the interested parents vanished like smoke on a windy day and I was left to find homes for all of them. Many of them ended up at the child care program. I gave four away (two each) to my sons' first grade classrooms. In Bowen's class there were Scooby Doo and Captain Underpants (I had nothing to do with the names). After a couple of months Captain Underpants died from injuries sustained at the hands of one of the children in the classroom (it was really sad). The surviving pig came home to live with us (Scooby Doo). Scooby has lived in the laundry room and was then in the boys' room on their desk. He has had quite the time being held by the children, riding in Chicky's baby stroller, being put to "sleep" in her doll bed, and left to run around on the sofa.

A few months ago at the child care program, a woman knew of an African Pygmy Hedgehog in need of a rescue and asked if we wanted it. She came to us in a plastic tub; scared, very dirty, and neglected. We tried letting her out to run around when children weren't there- and she would after about an hour or so of sitting all curled up in a ball and making her huffing/hissing sound. But she didn't seem very happy. It just didn't seem fair to have a scared nocturnal animal living in a place that can be quite loud during her prime sleeping hours. So, that's where the trade comes in. Fish (named by a child at the program, we think she was thinking about a pufferfish when she came up with the name) has been enjoying our house. Here is a picture of her on a recent explore under my desk:




Even though I'm funky I've got cute prickly company.