Anna's Friends

Teaching the Odyssey
I will be teaching the Odyssey this coming semester to 9th grade students and am slightly nervous about this. This is a text that I am not very familiar with for the most part. I wasn't required to read it in high school or college, so I am starting from scratch. What I do have is very basic background knowledge of Greek mythology, but I definitely need to review.

Right now I seeking some direction. For one, are there are resources that you would recommend to brush up on background knowledge? Are there any resources you found helpful in the classroom? What lessons have you used that go over well in the classroom? How do you go about teaching the text, background information, and so on?

Any teaching tips and resources would be greatly appreciated!

Combs
Happy Winter Holidays to all!

I was just curious, for those of you who use wooden combs. Do you have a favorite? What wooden comb has served you the best? Also, what are people's experience with horn or bone combs?

For hair reference, I have about elbow-long (not sure what that is officially) straight straight hair. Medium in thickness and fineness.

Thanks!

Scissors?
I've been looking around for somewhere to get a really nice pair of barber scissors to dust and do occasional trims with. I found what I thought was a decent pair at Target. It's ConAir brand, they seemed nice, and cost about $18, which for me was creeping toward being a bit pricey. They were fancy Japanese stainless steel. I figured they were okay.

However, since I've used them I've noticed they aren't nearly as sharp as I thought they were. Unless I'm snipping a hair at a time for dusting, they tend to mash or bend the strands more than cutting them. It's pretty horrific. It looked like when you use a knife to shave bits of wood off a twig. There were long, curly slices of hair and mashed ends all over after one snip. *shudder* I'm going to retire them to trimming ribbon bits or something. They aren't touching my hair again.

Which brings me to my problem: What do you folks use to dust/trim? And where in the world did you get it?

Yarn
Lately I've become a little bored with my hair. I like having it long, and I love that it's just about waist length (I'm just a tad short!), but it's just boring me. Putting it in buns, braiding, etc just seems kind of dull to me right now.

I discovered that we actually had a hair straightener and tortured my hair a couple times with it.

But today I've decided that I am going to try something that I haven't tried since high school (which only lasted about a week because I had short hair and it drove me mad)...

Yarn extensions!

I'm aiming for something like THIS from THIS WEBSITE (hilariously enough it's the same website we had found before when my sister and I first did the whole yarn thing), except black and reddish-pink instead of black and purple. I don't have it in right now. We're planning on doing this tomorrow.

I was just wondering if any of you guys had done this before and if you have any words of wisdom or pics (I love looking at hair pics!).

Current Mood: excited

thanks guys
To everyone who responded- to this post:

I was really freaked....

First off, thank you. I'm having a LOUSY week (i hate my job and the holidays and this hair thing was just like the icing on the s**t cake)
Second off:
I tentatively think its breakage. I'm FOR SURE going to ask my dr about it on Monday because if there's something wrong with hormones it needs to be fixed ASAP. I had a hard time getting preggers (year and 1/2 and they were literally 1 week away from putting me on fertility drugs) and I don't wanna loose this kiddo.

BUT today I braided it VERY gently, and put it in a bun under a silk scarf. I just took it down and combed it out, and I've got approximately 40 hairs as opposed to the HANDFUL that i was getting every single time I touched my hair. I honestly think its the dry weather and the texture change, but i'm still going to ask my doc JUST IN CASE. - I think it was just breaking because it was so tangled constantly, and the coconut oil even after washing out makes it nice and slippery. Its VERY soft now, and I think the coconut oil is a WONDERFUL conditioner and plan on using it again. Even if it does make me smell like a pirate.

My mother's theory is that the baby is also a redhead and that he's stealing my hair.... (i do hope that part of that is true, I REALLY want a Ginger kid.... ha ha!!!)

professional orgs and personal philosophies
Hi everyone,

two very open-ended questions:
1. do you join professional orgs? why or why not? (I'm an american teaching Eng Lit at an Int'l school abroad, so not qualified for NCTE or AFT, but have been thinking about ISTA at least, as I am director of the school musical...)

2. any advice on writing a statement of educational philosophy? how long should it be? (I didn't need one for my first job, but would like to have one on hand as I've now been teaching for almost two years and *should* be able to articulate a philosophy of some sort)

(lastly, has anyone taken the week-long course on bilingualism at the university of utrecht? curious about it this summer.)

thanks!

Pregnancy hair WOES
Ok,

I thought pregnancy was supposed to make my hair LUSTEROUS and GORGEOUS and amazing. Heck no! Its either falling out or breaking by the handful and i'm starting to REALLY panic. Its my vanity and I'm FREAKING out . Its not a medical issue - like i'm lacking a vitamin or anything because all of my blood labs have come back A OK normal, and I can TELL that the prenatals are working because my nails are like TEFLON hard and they've NEVER been like that. This happened to me when I was one of the pills, orthotrycyclin i think it was made my hair fall out in handfuls- i HONESTLY think its the hormones. Which I can't do anything about. (its also turned my skin into a battlefield.... and i NEVER get zits)

I'm wondering if it could have anything to do with the fact of: Pregnancy sucking all nutrients+I loose hair when i'm on the pill/hormones go crazy (like now that i'm pregnant hormones!) +chicago winter=OH THE HUMANITY. It HAS changed texture as I posted before, it was wavy to begin with but now its gone very CURLY at least for me.

So i'm sitting here, smelling like one of those fruity drinks that come in a bottle with a pirate on the label (to misquote David Sedaris) because i've slathered myself in coconut oil in a desperate attempt to save what i've got. I know i need a trim, but this is REALLY not about my ends- up by my temples while i sleep is getting VERY tangled and i'll braid it and can't comb it out in the mornings! Its VERY fine and I have a lot of it, but i'm afraid i won't have a lot of it for very long. :( Its getting bad even up near the crown and its not like i'm abusing it. i'm not even BRUSHING it anymore with a BBB, but finger combing it and still coming away with handfuls every evening. I'm known jokingly amongst my friends as having "more hair than G-d" (my friend said this the other night) but i'm not gonna for very long at the rate i'm going.

Could it be that its changed texture and i'm not treating it right? Or could this just be one of the "joys" of motherhood.

( some pics )

Single French Braid :)
Merry Christmas Everyone!

I've been playing with my hair lately, thought you guys and gals might enjoy some photos of the one I decided to wear for Christmas tonight...

Back of my head... Simple french braid... I think my hair now when braided hits about mid backish area... although apparently I was too close to my camera and it cropped it off.

Side view... I'm wearing a headband which i found a very comfortable one from the Goody brand, the last inch on the ends bend so you can adjust it to be more comfortable on your head I totally recommend this one and if your not satisfied it does have a 100% guarantee on it for comfort :). and in front of the headband I have it parted to the side.

I got raving comments about how pretty it looked the other day when I wore it like this at my work...

Current Mood: amused
Current Music: Waidmanns heil - Rammstein

long hair and plus size model on fashion shoot?
plus size model Crystal Renn will be in a fashion shoot "celebrating women of all sizes" in V magazine due to come out January 14th
they pose her in identical outfits next to a rather waifish model of the same height.
link HERE, about as work safe as any fashion shoot.

i like the idea of posing two different sizes in the same clothes! may the trend continue.. (not that i would wear any of what i saw in the sneak preview.... but still its a good idea)

anyway, the reason i am posting it HERE is that both models appear to have fairly long hair. now i suspect one of them is wearing a fake pony tail...... but still, both models are pictured with rather long pony tails in this shoot... which gives me some hope that long hair is on the upswing again fashion wise...... which of course means more availability of hair toys....
and more people BUYING hair stuff........
and fewer people asking me when i will cut my hair.

Why I love teaching others how to teach...

This happened last night, when my best and brightest student teacher took over a group therapeutic riding lesson for an absent instructor. I just have to share the awesome!

( The awesome in question... )

Current Mood: optimistic

I need a good clarifying shampoo. Any recommendations?

Hair Oil Review
I've been noticing a bunch of posts recently asking questions about hair oil/oiling so I thought I would post a quick review for this new hair oil that I've tried out.

I found it sitting up at the registers at Sally's Beauty Supply so I thought that I would try it out. It's a kind of Argan Oil which is supposed to deeply moisturize and condition your hair. Specifically, this is the stuff that I bought: http://www.sallybeauty.com/moroccan-oil/ONEONL16,default,pd.html

It definitely moisturizes, alright. It creates instant shine, conditions my hair and smells absolutely blissful. (My husband loves the scent.)

Unfortunately, it's a very heavy oil so for my baby-fine, very thin hair it has a tendency to make it look very greasy and it clumps the ends together making them look like I haven't showered. Also, it has silicone products in it, Dimethicone being one, so I can't use it often for fear that it'll eventually dry out my ends.

My personal plan is to use it occasionally, and sparingly, until it's used up and then I won't bother with it again. However, I thought I'd mention it for folks who need a heavier hair oil that don't mind products with silicone in them.

Just wanted to relay my excitement! + question
I can finally (sort of) braid my own hair!! yaaay! It's still messy, but i'm slowly getting the hang of it!!!

The gross reality is, the greasier the hair is, the easier it is for me to braid it... haha!

So on to my question...

A lot has been mentioned about oiling, what type of oils to use and such, but I've been looking for some how to's also. Are you supposed to leave it in your hair over night? For many hours? Just for a little while? How far up the shaft do you oil it? How do you wash it out?

Thank you =)

Current Mood: happy

Dusting scissors
Hi guys,

First post here... I've checked the memories for "Stuff" but did not see this answered.
I've read about dusting and I love the idea. I know hair scissors should only be used for hair and not for any other purpose - but I am confused about what kind I need to buy and where.

Do regular manicure scissors sold at drug stores fit? Or should we find some sort of hair dresser scissors... and in that case, what do they even look like and where can one one get them? Thanks a lot!

Hair fork experiment
I finally got bored enough to try experimenting with hair forks, but unfortunately the only double ended knitting needles/hair sticks I own are about 8 inches long, they're perfect for the job as hair sticks but they make teeny hair forks, but I actually managed to make em work, it takes a pair of em to hold my (past classic length) hair in a bun but still, it works. I was so proud of myself cause all the bending and shaping required got the metal scratched up and made it hazardous for my hair so I dug through my extensive cases of jewelry making supplies and found my metal sandpaper and fixed em ^.^ now I have 2 pairs of hair forks, one pair silvery lavender and one pair red and silver. a pic of the silvery pair
( pics under the cut )
Pics of me wearing the hair forks
I refuse to show my face...cause I really don't like how my hair looks when its half up half down, or at least when I don't spend the extra time to make it look decent lol.

Current Mood: cheerful
Current Music: Fullmetal alchemist fullmetal v.s flame

Teaching a language class...
Hello everyone!

I just got the news that I will be teaching a French as second language class beginning January. I have experience teaching FSL, but the one I last taught was at the high school level and had a set curriculum because the exams were at the provincial level. The new class is considered to be a prep class, meaning that the students will have little to no knowledge of the language (I am hoping they will understand English, however, but it may not be the case for all of them). I also get to make up my own exams and decide how I want my class to be organized.

I have a lot of experience teaching in French as I am a French teacher myself, but in the past I was teaching at the elementary level and in an all-French school. In other words, everything I have is way too advanced for my students. I'm looking for suggestions on activities to do because my classes will be 3 hours each. I was thinking since this was a prep class we could even explore different subjects (always using French as a language) as well as looking into readings, orals, listenings and writings. We have a computer lab, but I don't want to spend all of my time there. We also have TVs and DVDs. I'd like to make a syllabus, decide how my marks are going to be assigned for what-, etc etc etc...

I've been searching the web for some info, any type of info, but I haven't found much.

Anyone has advice or tips?

Thank you in advance!

A Lament
I know those of us dedicated to growing our hair out to any length, but particularly very long lengths, sometimes face setbacks. The dreaded trim. I know many of you search and destroy and dust, but as I like my blunt hemline (had I more pronounced waves, I would opt for fairytale ends, but as my hair is neither very wavy, nor very straight, blunt seems to work best) that's not so conducive to my maintenance. ( More whining (and pics) after the cut... )

Stalling, I think.
@_@

It's been months since I last posted - I feel kinda bad about that. :x I think I hit a wall with my haircare routine. I'm temporarily living in Italy, and they have some really horrifying water here. It's very hard and always leaves a residue. I ACV rinse and coconut oil my hair, but I think it's getting to the point where I'll have to cut at least 10 centimetres off my hair when I finally go home. I'm going in the summer, so I'm just going to S&D until then, to see if it really is just the water. So for nearly three years it's been like this, and I've had to S&D at least once a month, and my hair is very, very slowly growing as a result. :/ Needless to say, I can't wait to wash my hair with water from home. :3

In the meantime, do you think rinsing with bottled water would help at all? I try to wash it no more than twice a week, but it's not so easy as it was before, because of all the stuff in the water. I keep it back all the time with either a braid, a bun, or one of those comb things with the beads on elastic... stretchies... if you know what I mean. 0.o

It's a real shame too, cos my hair is almost to my tailbone! Or maybe that's my iliac crest...I'm not sure. @_@ Anyway, here's a picture of my hair from February this year - I think I posted it before, but eh... it's the most recent one. I'll get an updated picture from this week when I have my camera handy. Maybe I can do a proper timeline.

Happy holiday season, all! Thanks for any suggestions you may have.

What kind of questions do they ask for a substitute position?

Straight hair :)
I posted my hair wavy a few days ago (http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b342/xyresic/hairs4.jpg), so I thought I'd post two pics of what it looks like straight :)

( clicky )

Thanks for looking!

Current Music: APC - 3 Libras

do you know this book?
Someone on my friend's list just posted this in their LJ. I thought someone here might be able to help:

So there's this book I'm trying to locate. It's a children's book, and I remember it being read to us at the library in elementary school, so in the 90's. It was GORGEOUSLY illustrated, as I recall, very pretty, and it was somehow supposed to be set in China or some other magic Asian place. The main detail I seem to recall is that it had a young woman or princess who was asleep.

This is stupid but it's DRIVING ME CRAZY. WHAT IS THIS BOOK.

advice, please
hey everyone. this is my first post. i'll post progress pics of my own hair later today. im really proud of how long it has gotten. i have an eating disorder and have lost lots of hair over the years, but my recovery and focus on healthy fats since last february really seems to have helped my hair come back to life. i have a question about my sister's hair though. i am the polar opposite of her hair wise so i have no idea how to take care of what shes going on... and to be honest, neither does she. shes a yellow/white blonde in the very front, like the baby hairs to about a quarter inch in, and then as you go backwards towards her neck, her hair slowly gets browner and browner, so that it ends up this dirty ashy blonde brown in the back. at the same time as this color change, there is a texture change as well. in the front she in pin straight and as you go back it get curlier and curlier until there is this mass of ringlet in the back of her neck. its really pretty hair, but its also super frustrating for her. each hair is fairly coarse, except for the ones framing her face, and there are a TON of hairs. we were both blessed with super thick hair. she likes to straighten it to make it more manageable but i know this does a ton of damage. she is getting this for xmas, and i was wondering if anyone had any ideas on how to protect her hair from the damage. would coconut oil help this sort of wear? also, how should she be washing/brushing/combing it? she's clean, but also a teenager so she has to was it alot, and im guessing its pretty stripped at this point. thanks so much!

new teacher on board...
i just got a job teaching a 3rd grade starting jan. 4th. i am nervous because i haven't met any of my students and i am not sure how to start. i was told to adopt whatever classroom procedures and policies of their previous teacher. anyone with the same experience cares to share?

btw, anyone knows of a good name game that i could use?

thanks in advance.

Current Mood: excited
Current Music: where would i be - cake

Caruso Steam Rollers
I wanted to share with all of you ladies my research as far as rollers go. This video is not brand new so these babies have been around for some time. You might have heard of them, they are called Caruso Steam Rollers.

The only reason why I know these rollers don't damage (like many have praised about it) is because of the man who created this product, whose daughter is the one showing how they work. LOOK AT HER LONG BEAUTIFUL HAIR (oh and ignore the hair styles....this was the 80's people!). I read more on her and she was explaining that she used these rollers about everyday since her father made them. AND LOOK AT THE LENGTH!

I'm getting my set from Santa this Friday, so I haven't been able to see how they work out for myself but I'm SO EXCITED to try. I'll post later about how they worked for me.

*ALSO FOR YOU LONGHAIRED GALS WITH STRAIGHT HAIR I've researched about everywhere on the internet about "Caruso Steam Rollers" and have come up on MANY forums (like LHC) and alot of women with straight hair say this is the only curling set that REALLY works for them!*

So if any of you are interested I suggest Googling "Caruso Steam Rollers" and look at the forums/info for yourself! =D you'll get TONS of great info that might help you in your decision roller wise! *Oh and please feel free to ask questions!

Current Mood: accomplished

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