99 Problems...

So recently I've found myself facing a new adversary/enemy/evil. No it's not the scale, it's something entirely different and completely upsetting.  All of a sudden last month my hair started falling out, a LOT and I'll admit it's been pretty crappy dealing with it.  I'm fairly certain it's a combo of stress and hormonal imbalance but whatever the frack is doing this, ima 'bout ready to lose my ever-loving-mind....

It's not like I'm some paunchy, middle aged man who can accept this sort of thing as just being part of life.

 A 30-something woman losing her hair is not OK. 

The hair gods have been cruel to me, and this seems like their latest prank. I already have thin, fine hair and am no stranger to using every thickening, volumizing and strengthening hair product ever created.  EVER CREATED.

(Now before you start asking if the hair loss is related to my latest diet, I'd have to disagree because though I joke about "being hangry and starving" I'm certainly not. I'm following Weight Watchers, and losing in a slow and sensible way.)  

The hair loss started before my latest diet so I doubt there's any link. I've had my thyroid and iron levels tested and everything seems ok. So this leaves me feeling even more bummed because I don't exactly know the cause of this hair loss???

I've got a referral to a dermatologist next month to check out the problem further (telogen effluvium- is what it's called) and I've already shelled out plenty for the latest products that claim to prevent hair loss...and I'll admit I've borrowed my dad's Rogaine...since my family doctor said that's exactly what the Dermo will prescribe anyway!

Seriously? Ugh.

So my question is, have any of you ever experienced sudden hair loss (other than post-pregnancy) and if so, how did you not lose your mind?!?!  Did your hair come back and how long did it fall out for?

 Feeling NOT so 

Girl crush...

Hey lovlies! Hope you're all having a great Friday, thank the Baby Jesus it's almost the weekend.  Husband has been working 24-7 for weeks and sometimes I forget that I'm married. It"ll be nice for the kids to spend some time with him on Saturday while I'm off to lunch and a movie with a friend. (Does that make sense? He'll be around and I'll be taking off...)

We're going to see "Black Swan" (yes, I'm the last person in the world to see it.) Husband was almost a tiny bit disappointed that he's not going to see it because of the much talked about girl on girl action.  I suppose any man would be willing to put up with watching some crazy-ass dancing ballerina's in tutus if there was some "action" somewhere along the line. Typical.

Anywho, speaking of girl action I've decided that Mama has developed a new girl crush on Sofia Vergara. She's lovely, talented, on a hugely funny popular show Modern Family and even her accent is delightfully annoying. Millions of men can't be wrong about her, right?

{is she not spicy hot latina perfection in this Vera Wang dress...?}

 {Stunning in sapphire blue at the 2011 SAG awards}

I'm loving her gorgeous dark hair (even though she's naturally blond), her curves, her not-so-pin-thin body, her big toothy smile and the fact that she's an actress with experience and not just another 20 year old starlet. (Haven't we had enough of them?!)

 She's a Columbian ray of sunshine and because of all that she's my girl crush du jour.

Images via Just Jared, Google

These are a few of my favorite things...

I was tagged by the super lovely Marie, at Marie a la mode to talk a bit about the things I'm currently loving.

Easily done, in fact I had a hard time narrowing it down to only a top five.

My 5 current loves

My Samsung Galaxy Tab. Like an iPad but smaller and even more awesome. It's a tablet that supports Flash, fits in your hand, has a front and rear facing camera, its Android powered, it's preloaded with Kobo eReader and best of all it's like a tiny computer you can take anywhere (we put a SIM card in it too.) 

I'm kissing my laptop goodbye! 

e.l.f cosmetics- (eyes, lips, face)  I'm completely into this line of ridiculously affordable makeup. Sadly it's only available here in Canada at Winners (and sometimes Zellers) and online. The prices are amazing and the quality is just as good.  Most products sell from 3-10 dollars. Crazy!

 Dolman tops, whether it's with a bat wing or angel wing sleeve, v-neck or cowl neck, there's just something so flattering and easy to wear about this style of shirt. Fitted at the bottom but loose at the arm- it's perfection.

Brunette hair colour. Yup, I'm in love with brown hair (regular readers will be tired of hearing about this once again.) After years of being honey blonde I'm totally into dark chestnut brown hair. It's rich and natural and I wish I would have gone back to my "real" colour a long time ago had I known that I'd love it so much.

Large American Retailers- ok, this one might seem a bit strange but I really do love U.S. based retail/drug/department stores that we don't have here in Canada. While we do have just about every major store or chain here there are some we don't have (like Target).  Shopping in the States makes me feel like a kid in a candy store.

___________________________________________________________

5 Questions

1. Fave Makeup Brand?

OR

For years it was MAC all the way, but lately I've been really liking NARS as well.

2. Fave Clothing Brand?

This is another tough question. I (also) really like Forever 21, Michael Kors, Jacob, INC and even Old Navy. 

3. Your indispensable makeup product ?

This question is almost impossible to answer. (I really feel "naked" going out without foundation, liner, mascara and lipstick.) But I'm going to go with this pen style eye liner. It's way easier to use than classic liquid liner because of the pen style precision tip. It gives a smooth dark line that you can easily make thick or thin.

4. What country would you like to visit and why?

I'd love to visit Prague in the Czech Republic. It's one of the few European cities I haven't been to and I've heard its gorgeous. It's definitely on my list of must-see world destinations. 

5. What is that last concert you've been to?

Ok, don't get judgey on me. BritBrit is one of my favorite hot messes and she does put on a good show. What's sad is that I really haven't been to any other decent shows in well over a year. Mama needs to get out more?

Time to tag these lovely ladies:

Sara from Sara in Le Petit Village

DeefromCG at Champagne Blonde

Her Majesty, Mrs. Dixon from The Doll House

TILTE from Things I like to Eat (...and other Nonsense)

Heather from Forever in blue jeans

Hotpants from Handbags & Handguns

Kardashian hair dreams are over

So about a little over a month ago I decided to take the plunge and take my hair colour back to my original dark brown (yes we've covered this I know.)  My dreams of Kardashian hair greatness have been greatly over estimated but I will say that overall I am happy with how the colour turned out.  Just about everyone (minus Husband) agrees that darker hair suits me and even makes my hair appear thicker (thicker looking hair you say? Those right there are the magic words.)

{Love em or hate them, these girls have fabulous hair}

But there is one major problem that's "popped" up so to speak...my grey is showing already. Yeah, thanks to my mom's side of the family and their less than stellar genes I've been cursed with fine hair that's been slowly going grey since I was 19. Yes, that's not a typo, 19 years old.  WHO has grey when they're barely legal?   And now with my blond highlights gone the grey is rearing it's ugly, wiry head.  

{ok, this is NOT my head, my grey isn't nearly this bad but maybe in another 5-7 years or so. *sigh*}

So what to do? Does this mean I need to march myself back to my stylist every 5-6 weeks? There has got to be an easier way! I need suggestions, how do you cover your grey? (if you're unfortunate to have it...)  Should I try one of those "root touch up" type products from the drugstore? This hair has never been coloured outside of a salon...somehow I'd probably manage to dye it orange somewhere along the way. I'm talented like that.

{Yay or nay?}

I need your help girls....how can I manage my new darker hair colour with dropping $80.00 every few weeks?

More wine... but just a taste

This past Saturday night we hit up the annual Rocky Mountain Food and Wine Festival....3 days of fabulous local restaurants showing off some of their yummiest dishes and of course some amazing wine tasting. I adore wine tasting, such a dignified (and legit) way to put back a whole lotta vino.

Fortunately there was no shortage of delicious booze fine wines and we didn't totally drink the place dry...

{Booze hounds, wine aficionado's at play}

{Maple pecan cupcakes anyone? Sounds pretty Canadian to me....}

I decided dress a bit on the casual side for the wine fest...and I'm still trying to get used to my dark hair.  I finally took the plunge and went dark a couple weeks ago.  After my hair was coloured my stoopid stylist chopped 3-4 inches of precious hair off (I asked him to "dust" my ends.) WHY the frack do they always cut off so much when all you want is a trim?!?  In my own defense he distracted me with mindless chatter and before I could say boo, the hair was on the floor.  Sads.

 Safe to say my dreams of Kardashian hair-greatness were dead in the water.

{Reoccurring Jacket- H&M (honestly I don't really wear it all the time), tank- H&M, Jeans- Zellers (cheap like Borsht!), Boots- Steve Madden (Macy*s)

Brunettes have fun too, right?

What to do, what to do?.....  I've been tossing around the idea of taking my hair back to my "roots" and going dark again. Honestly I'm a little freaked about it because I've had some level of honey brown, with golden blond highlights for years. Like years and years. I haven't been my original colour of dark brown since 1996. I honestly barely remember what it really looks like on me (pics when you're 18 don't count for nothing.) I almost can't even wrap my mind around what it will look like on this current version of Mama.  

I'm not sure why I'm so apprehensive, it's just hair colour. But I can`t help but feel lighter and brighter with blond(er) hair. This summer in Greece my hair became ridiculously bleached out due to the sea/sun double whammie but it`s really a bit too much right now considering we've hit full-on winter autumn type temperatures. In the past I've liked blonder hair in the summer and going a bit darker in the fall. But not like this, I'm talking about making a mayjah change!


{hair colour du jour....or should I say for the last decade...}

Here's my hair inspiration(s)

Images via google

{Kim and Kourtney have almost black/brown hair, maybe that's a bit too dark?}

If I'm gonna be honest here, Husband is totally poo-pooing the idea. He's always liked me with blonder/lighter hair. But then again he's never actually seen me with darker hair. But I'm thinking about making this change for me...right?!  I do feel like you stand out more with lighter coloured hair (does that make me a bit of an attention whore seeker?)  Maybe...

 Girls I need some help, input and opinions please!!! This is no easy decision. Sure its just hair colour but I also feel like it's part of my identity...