Another Brave Step

I am not good socially.

But at the same time I am a natural show off. 

Give me a chance and I screw up that courage really tight and go for it.

Hard and fast and devil may care.

It's how I end up being the one that does that thing that no one else wants to do.

Part of me tries to hide in the corner but a bigger part of me jumps up and down and waves her hand in the air shouting "Me me pick meeeeeeee!"

When I volunteered last week to be part of my daycare centre's management committee it was the bouncy one talking.

But when I headed out tonight for an informal "Meet and Greet" the painfully shy bit of me was kicking my arse for making it go out in public and play social butterfly with no one to hang on to.

There was a moment of utter panic when I walked out with my wine glass in hand and realised "You have just arrived at a gathering where there are  zero people you know in a town you have been in for ten weeks and you are RUBBISH at making conversation".


Thankfully she was kicked to the curb by my insanely optimistic side who attempted to struggle the shy one to the ground while also standing up without looking awkward.


And I found out something really interesting - It didn't matter that I was rubbish at small talk because other people were quite good at it. I just had to follow along.


I even branched out far enough to realise there was a girl looking even more awkward than me and I (haltingly) managed to have a conversation with her and make her laugh.


My second piece of head slapping realisation was that in a situation like this I hold all the cards.


Because no-one knows who the hell I am.


And they all want to know who the new girl is. Especially if she's crazy enough to sign up for a job in the first few months here.


Meet and Greet dusted.


Bring on the dinner meeting (including taxi so I can indulge in a trifle more of the fabulous wine of this delightful region).

 Linked up with a bright and shiny IBOT over at Diary of a SAHM

Beauty for Beginners - Episode Two

 

I've linked up this post with Diary of a SAHM for I Blog On Tuesdays.


I wrote here about how being a girl is too much work. 

But deep down I secretly want to be a perfectly groomed, glamorous type person, so I thought I better get a move on before I hit the other side of thirty and gravity starts it's long slow slide.

I started with a leg wax. Being on a budget and clueless i stared at all the options in the supermarket aisle before going with something middle of the range and with some chance of not hurting myself too much.

It wasn't that hard, in the end.

Messy, yes, oh my god what a mess I got myself into!


But it worked! And with no bruising, burning or loss of limbs which is awesome. I'm getting better each time and hardly make any mess now.

I may even have a go at some slightly trickier parts later down the track *wink wink nudge nudge*

So I was on to my next challenge. 


It's been a lifetime since I coloured my hair. It was so dun and drab. While waiting for it to go properly grey so I can get myself a blue rinse, it's been looking lifeless. Like a fluffy dust covered mouse has settled on my head.

Woolworths were having a sale, I needed a pick me up, it was a match made in heaven!

I chose this one* - it claims to give "rich tones and contouring highlights" which means..... um.... lighter and darker tones that hair would naturally have I think. (Can you see I am new at this?) And it does this in a one step process which suits me just fine because despite doing my mothers lightened tips for years there was NO WAY ON EARTH I was going to attempt that crazy stuff on myself.

I can tell you it was -
1) Easy to use. Straight forward "tip that in there, shake it about, rub in and wait". I love simple things.
2) Good for solo-parenting beauty bloggers - I didn't make a mess or stain my countertops, even doing it at 11pm; considering I only have two unco-ordinated hands this is excellent.
3)Pretty - It developed exactly the same colour as on the box, my hair is soft and shiny, and I like the natural way it looks.


I would definitely use this product again, mostly for the ease of use and I like the rich golden brown.

I even reached outside my zone and tried a twist and pin hairstyle today using inspiration from Fox In Flats Hair Dare and the tutorials at Hair Romance.

Impressed with my pinning skills

I felt really pretty while I was running errands today, a little hard work and I can already feel my spirits lifting!




So what's next in my journey? I'm not sure but I would really like to have a go at doing my own french polish because I adore a pretty set of nails. 

Do you have any tips for getting the perfect polish?

*This is not a sponsored post, I bought this product with my own housekeeping money, but I wanted to share my experience with you. However, I would definitely welcome a delivery of products for me to try if you are interested in working with me ;)

Being a Girl Is Too Much Work

Stupid, fiddly, time wasting work.

Here's my big confession - I have NO IDEA about beauty. None. Hair do's, make up, manis, pedis.... it's all just mumbo jumbo to me.

I WANT to know. But not really having friends as I went through high school and beyond, having babies and being poor have all taken their toll.

I can see the finest of wrinkles ready to appear. I have grey hairs on top of my head. But at the same time I'm still struggling with the most sentsitive, acne prone skin ever.

I need help.

Unfortunately, help mostly seems to come at a ridiculous price... and you can never be sure what will work. It's such a gamble. Years of visits to "skin specialists" have taught me it's more about pushing the new thing than what's actually good for me.


Aside from that I have a few basic beauty tools... I have a hair straightener. All I can manage with it is a dead straight, you-could-cut-metal-with-this-edge look, or the half-ironed-shirt-crinkle. Neither of them very stylish. 


I don't have curling tongs, and even if I did I have no idea how to use them either.


What's a pedi?


I first had my eyebrows waxed when I was twenty seven years old.


That tells you how bad this situation is.


Now, I can't afford beauty school, or a team of people to make me gorgeous before I get out of bed.


And I'm becoming aware of how much the waxing, mani, blow wave, can impact on my shoe obsession.


So today I enrolled in the "How Hard Can It Be?" school of home beauty.

Starting with a leg waxing kit.


I'm not sure if WonderMan is running a book yet, but I would give ten to one odds on light maiming within the first week.


At any rate I'm sure it will make for some good laughs at my attempts to become a girl.


How hard can it be?