Another day, another lesson

So today was day two of using vinegar as conditioner for my hair. I was wondering what my hair was going to look like after I used vinegar yesterday and then dared to allow my hair to air dry. Usually when I let my hair air dry, it turns into a afro-like mess. I was pleasantly surprised! My hair was shinier and smoother than it has ever been using conventional hair conditioner! Fantastic news. When I woke up this morning, it was still smooth, shiny, and fairly tame. Amazing!

I bought myself a spray bottle today so that I would not have a repeat of the "eye incident" today. I was looking forward to my shower this evening to see how well it worked. I was not sure how much I wanted to spray on since yesterday I just dumped it on and possibly used more than necessary. No biggie though. If I did not use enough, only DH would see the afro mess and he has seen it before.

So when I took my shower this evening, I waited until the end of my shower to use the vinegar because you are not supposed to let it sit on for long. You basically coat your hair and rinse it out. So I figured I would end my shower that way. HUGE MISTAKE! Whatever you do, NEVER EVER use vinegar on your hair AFTER you shave any part of your body.  As I rinsed the vinegar out, various precious parts of my body began to burn, and I am fairly certain it was worse than the eyes. I would go as far as to say that I may never have to shave again because hair might actually not grow back...  Can you tell that I like to exaggerate a bit? Seriously though, it really did burn.

In the end, the "eye incident" was avoided, but I still learned a new and valuable lesson.  My hair was soft and easy to brush through, and I look forward to a shower where there are no new lessons to be learned. :-)

A word of advice...

March 27, 2012

So I had run out of conditioner and I have committed to using vinegar as a replacement. When DH and I went to the grocery store on Saturday morning, I was looking for a spray bottle to put the vinegar in for easier application, but the store did not have a spray bottle. How is that possible you ask? I have no idea. This store is one of the largest stores in Germany and it is an all purpose store, not just a grocery store, but there was no spray bottle to be found.

On Sunday we had a pajama day and I did not even bother showering, so it was no big deal. When I showered on Monday, I used nothing on my hair for conditioner. I did not want to just dump the bottle on my head and waste a bunch of vinegar.  Tonight however, when I took my shower, I knew I needed to use something.  So I decided I would just try the dumping method until I can get to the store tomorrow and get a spray bottle.

I learned two things in this process, and I was reminded of one thing. First of all, whatever you do, DO NOT GET VINEGAR IN YOUR EYES. It really stings! This is one of the reasons that the pour method is not a good one.  The thing I was reminded about is how bad vinegar tastes. Only a few small drops had run down my face, but I managed to permanently damage my eyes (Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration), and the taste on my lips would not go away for the rest of my shower!

With that being said, the second thing I learned was that vinegar really works! My hair was definitely easier to brush through than on Monday when I used nothing at all! I am so excited about this!

Overall, I would say that I had success. I mean, as long as you learn something, it can't be a complete failure, right? Now I just need to get a spray bottle to avoid further eye casualties.

On a completely different note, DH has received two emails regarding setting up a second interview for a job back in the good ol' USA! I am feeling so happy about this. I want to get home to our family, friends, and a normal life (or at least normal for us). I am saying prayers that this pans out for us and we can move soon. I really need to get out of here!

I was also semi-productive around the apartment today and the animals and I enjoyed some time together. Overall, I would have to say that I had a good day. :-)

A better attitude!

March 20, 2012

Well I know it has been a while since I have written, but that is because I have been doing a lot of thinking about where I want to go with this blog.  I have decided to have a "fuck it" attitude towards living in Germany and the attitude I get from so many of the people that live here. I figure at this point I don't like Germans very much (I know that is a generalization, and I do like some Germans...just not most of them), so why should I care about whether they like Americans or not?  Americans have a bad name in a lot of places and I was always struggling to prove that Americans are a great group of people!  I have decided that it is a waste of my energy (they aren't going to change their minds anyway) and it only stresses me out, so I am done.  I don't really care what Germans think of Americans anymore. I am going to go about my day, being nice and friendly, and when they give me attitude, I will simply roll my eyes and ignore them completely.

With that being said, I am going to try to switch over to a more positive blog so that I can remember all of the good things in our life, which means I should also consider coming up with a new title for this blog....too bad I am not very clever about those sorts of things. Maybe DH and I can work together to come up with something good..

So it is the first day of spring and things are going pretty good.  DH had another interview  (I am not sure if I updated about the last one or not. The people decided that they did not have the budget to hire someone, so he did not get the job...but neither did anyone else).  DH is also waiting to hear back from someone else that had sent him an email telling him they would like to discuss some potential opportunities, so we will see what happens.

I went to the Netherlands with DH for a few days last week (he had to go for work), and it was a nice getaway. It felt good to get out of this apartment.  We also got to visit with a couple of our friends that live there and we rarely get to see.  I did come home with a cold though. I should have known it was coming because I took a two hour nap one of the days that we were there and I was complaining to DH about my ears itching. I think I am on the upswing of this cold because I seem to have a bit more energy today. I decided to strip the bed and wash everything and hopefully DH won't get sick (although he did mention that he feels like it may be coming). He has been taking his Echinacea though, so hopefully that will work.

I guess that is it for now. I just wanted to give an update on the changes I plan to make with my attitude and my blog. Here is to better things!