A Hair Conundrum

My question to you today, readers, is a complex one. 

Can you please explain to me how, when I come home from the salon, my hair is fabulously shiny, smooth and luxurious, and perfectly coiffed...

...and yet, even armed with explicit instructions, products, and tools, when I style it myself it looks more like this:

It is a Hair Conundrum.

My Hair, Some Advertising, and a Little Donnie Wahlberg-Husband Rivalry

A couple of months ago, I mentioned that I was considering changing my hairstyle. I'm proud to announce, after approximately 12 weeks, that I'm making some not-so-significant-but-still-some-slight progress. I always knew growing out a pixie was going to be challenging. But so far, I'm pretty pleased with the results.

I love how it started doing this "woohoo" flippy thing in the front:

And I love being able to use all the cute hair accessories I've purchased to keep my hair out of my face:

This one was taken about 3 weeks ago. See how much it's grown since then??

However, after having a pixie cut for almost 5 years now, there are certain things I'm having to get used to again when it comes to having longer locks. Like hair touching my ears:

And what I'm referring to as my Elvis side burns:

Granted, those few little things will be tamed when I visit my friend and stylist, LeAnn, tomorrow. But at some point, the snipping here and there to tame the beast won't be able to contain those puppies, and I will have to don some gold sparkly glasses just to get my shopping done incognito.

The one thing I'm really struggling with, though, is a habit I formed as a young child. When I am focused on something (writing, reading, Doctor Who on BBC America) I tend to play with my hair. It's totally involuntary, and I really don't even know I'm doing it half the time. But there I'll be, minding my own business, and somehow my hands wind up in my hair.

Truly, it's not such a terrible habit. The problem is when I do it during the day. Because inevitably, after about an hour, I go from looking like a normal, mostly-coiffed Abby, to something more along the lines of Medusa in glasses.

Source

Not only do I look weird, but I've actually suffered a hair-play injury, involving a pinched nerve in my neck, due to my overzealous twirling of late. And so my husband has been given the assignment to help me remember to STOP playing with my hair. Now he walks around the house randomly shouting "HAIR!" and "Arms down, missy!" 

I swear I'm not making this up. Everything I publish here is true. Mostly.

Anywhoo, I'm excited to see what the next 12 weeks will bring. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I lose the Elvis look by Christmas. It'll happen. I just know it.

IN OTHER NEWS...
Those of you who are observant will have noticed that my BlogHer ads are live as of today! (Those of you who aren't observant will now scroll up to see what they missed. It's ok, you can go peek. We'll wait for you....Back now? Awesome. Let's continue.) There were a few moments of confusion this morning as I tried to find my newly generated ad code on the BlogHer website, but with the help and support of my husband (who reminded me to breathe,) Alex from Late Enough (who sent me an email with more Abby-friendly instructions), and MoMo from Team BlogHer (who cheered me along like a pro), I finally got the ads installed. I think they look fantastic! And I'm super-excited to see what my association with BlogHer will bring in the future.

That being said, I'm still trolling for readers. The little contest I started last week brought a few new faces to my Abby Gabs Facebook Fan Page, but I still haven't broken 70 friends. So, spread the word, share the love, and pretend like all you REALLY want for Christmas is an Abby Gabs specialized portrait.

Lastly, a little shout out about a big thing that happened to me last week. I wished the ever-sexified Donnie Wahlberg a happy birthday via Twitter, and he totally hugged me.

The following conversation with my husband took place minutes later via text message:

A: I just got a Twitter hug from you-know-who.
B: Will Smith? The Doctor? DJ Jazzy Jeff? Voldemort? Justin Timberlake? That guy from the Backstreet Boys?
A: Noooooooo.
B: Mark Wahlberg?
A: Noooo, but you're closer.
B: The Funky Bunch?

And that, ladies and gentleman, is why I married him.

Summertime Fun: An Abby Gabs List Blog

It's summertime. Isn't summertime great? Forget about the 100+ degree heat, the monstrous thunderstorms that leave us without power for hours, and the crazy tourist-caused traffic. With summer comes awesome farm fresh produce, glorious beach days, and lots of frosty alcoholic beverages.

Ice cold beer, anyone?

But as wonderful as all those things are, the best thing about THIS summer is the fact that I have Brian home from school. That means plenty of free time to do the things we've been meaning to do since, oh, let's say January of 2011. (Like purchasing an universal remote, going on vacation, and spending time with friends.) And when Brian packs up and heads off to work on weekends, I have plenty of time to obsess over a few little things of my own. Here's my list of 

Things We Do When We Have 

Lots of Free Time (Especially 

When It's Hot Outside.)

#1: Watch Doctor Who.

After plenty of prodding from fellow Geek Chic friends like Jenna and Tina, we finally broke down and started watching Doctor Who. (Thanks Netflix!) It took us about a month to watch all 6 seasons, and I can officially say we have earned our nerd cards. I can't tell you much about the series, (because, you know, SPOILERS...) but let me just say this. WE LOVED IT. The cheese factor, combined with compelling story lines, terrific one-liners, and the ultimate nerdgasm that is time travel---well, it's just the perfect show.

Those of you who are wise beyond your years and were already Doctor Who fans will probably want to know the answer to one burning question---who's our favorite Doctor? Well, I just can't choose. It's a toss up.

How can one choose between David Tennant and Matt Smith??? (Source)

We shout "alons y" in our house as often as we randomly say "Bowties are cool." But I'm really close to sporting a bowtie. And maybe even a fez.

Fezzes are cool, too.

#2: Play Plants Vs. Zombies.

Brian got me a Kindle Fire for my birthday.

See?

I could write an entire blog dedicated solely to my Kindle Fire, because it is, without a doubt, the coolest thing ever. However, there's one app in particular that is currently holding me spellbound. And that app is Plants vs. Zombies.

It's an OCD dream, this game. Planting pretty rows of plants to defend your home from zombies, mowing them down one by one...like I said...it's video game heaven. The part of my brain that drives my OCD is always happy and well-rested after a rousing round of virtual zombie-maiming gardening.

Source

And as if that's not enough to make a game great, then please let me introduce you to the in-house comedian of Plants vs. Zombies. It's your crazy neighbor, Crazy Dave. And each time he makes an appearance to share his zombie-slaying tips, he makes me laugh out loud. While searching for a video so you could hear him talk, I came across this little gem. Enjoy.

#3: Obsess Over Potential Hairstyles.

Ok, so this is something I do without Brian. Not that he isn't interested, he's just...not interested. 

So, let this serve as a warning to all my friends and family. I've decided to grow my hair out. Which means, for the next 3 to 5 months, you can expect me to look something like this:

Is that a goomba on your head, or are you just growing your hair out?

Thankfully, I have an awesome hairstylist (Hi Leeann!) who will laugh at my Super Mario Brothers' jokes as much as she will help me grow out my locks without adopting the Billy Ray Cyrus 'do. With this decision has come hours and hours of trolling the internet, looking for photos of what I might want my hair to look like next. (The giant walking mushroom with scraggly eyebrows look isn't exactly on my list.)

I'd like to personally thank whoever invented Pinterest, because with it I've found my "how it will look when it starts to get some length back" hairdo:

Source

...and my "cutey cute cute finished product hairdo:"

Source

Note to readers: No, I'm not going blonde. It's totally a coincidence that both hairstyles are sported by blondies. I'll be sticking with my natural dark brown color, which I love. Sorry to those who hoped I'd go pink.

#4: Play Mexican Train Dominoes.

Don't believe what you hear. Dominoes are so much cooler than you might believe. The game that changed my mind? Mexican Train Dominoes.

It may look simple. But when we play, it's cutthroat.

This game turns my normally kindhearted family into vicious, smack-talking competitors. And it all stems from the frustration of Brian's complete mastery of the game. 

You see, he always wins. Always. And this makes my brother, my Dad and I very, very, very angry. And then, when he walks away with another victory, he doesn't something smarmy.

Like posting the score sheets on my parents' fridge, taking a photo, posting it
to Facebook, and tagging the losers. 

Even though I always lose, this game is a must-have for dinner parties, lazy Sundays, and most any other occasion. However, I suggest you put your game face on. We don't mess around when it comes to dominoes. (Or Spitty-Outty-Sucky-Uppy Uno, for that matter.)

#5: Drink Margaritas.

Because tequila is a girl's best friend.

 Thus comes the end of my list. And so, inquiring minds want to know. What's going on at your house this summer? (If there's tequila involved, can I come?)