I have always heard about the organization “Locks of Love” but I have never donated my hair before.  After checking out their website I realized that this was what I needed to do.  I needed to cut my hair and donate the rest of it.  According to the Locks of Love website “Locks of Love” is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada under age 21 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. We meet a unique need for children by using donated hair to create the highest quality hair prosthetics. Most of the children helped by Locks of Love have lost their hair due to a medical condition called alopecia areata, which has no known cause or cure. The prostheses we provide help to restore their self-esteem and their confidence, enabling them to face the world and their peers.”

Losing your hair can be scary for anyone but I imagine it is particularly scary for a child who may not fully understand their medical condition and Locks of Love just seemed perfect.  Their minimum requirement was 10″ and I was able to donate 15″! 

Because I am always the one behind the camera and I didn’t think enough in advance to get a before picture.  The following is the best example I have of how long my hair was.  When not in a ponytail or barrette it actually came down to my waist.  It’s not really visible but hopefully you will get the idea.

Here is a picture of me after cutting my hair!

If you would like to donate your hair to Locks of Love follow this link for more information!

Brown Beans (Soup and Refried Beans)

1 lb. Pinto Beans (soaked over night)
5 slices salt pork, chopped (you can substitute bacon)
1/2 large sweet onion, chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, grated
1 jalapeno, chopped
6 cups of water
Salt
Pepper
Ground Cumin
3 Bay leaves
Oregano

In a large pot cook onion and salt pork until the onion is just starting to cook and the pork is just starting to render some of its fat.  Add the garlic and jalapeno and cook a minute longer.  Add beans and the water.  Add each of the spices to taste.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer on a low burner for several hours until the beans are soft and cooked through.  When cooked to your liking, remove half of the beans with a slotted spoon and put them in a frying pan over low heat.  Use an immersion blender to whip the beans to a desired consistency.  (If you don’t have an immersion blender you can use a regular blender or food processor.)  If beans are too dry, spoon in some of the cooking liquid from the soup pot.  Serve the refried been with homemade tortillas.  Enjoy the soup with a delicious grilled cheese sandwich.

Homemade Tortillas

2 Cups Flour
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbs. butter
2/3 cups water

Melt butter and water together in the microwave.  Combine all ingredients in a mixer.  Need the dough for about two minutes by hand and allow it to rest for about 20 minutes.  Divide the dough into 12-18 pieces depending on the size of tortilla you are needing.  Roll each piece into a thin round.  Cook on a DRY skillet over high heat until light brown blisters begin to form. Flip and cook on the other side.  Stack on a towel lined plate.  These can be put in the fridge and reheated either in the microwave or in a skillet.

A second major storm of the year granted us a snow day on Friday. Beginning late on Thursday night with a wintery mix of rain and sleet it switched over to snow in the early morning and we were awoken by an automated call from the superintendent informing us that school would be cancelled.  We slept late, stayed in our pj’s and lounged around the house all day and watched the snowfall.  I have never seen snow fall in Arkansas like it did yesterday.  It was so beautiful! BIG, heavy snowflakes and it lasted ALL day! When it was all said and done we got about 6-8 inches.  It is a little difficult to measure because it is very powdery snow and it was windy so there are some spots where there are drifts over a foot deep!!!  But overall I would say the total is around 6-8 inches. 

We had hoped to get to Searcy today but the roads are impassable so we stayed home.  We slept in again and then made chicken fried rice which was super yummy.  We rode around in the four-wheeler and played in the snow.  We checked out the conditions of the highway and the roads which were awful and will likely be even worse tomorrow as the temps drop WAY below freezing and into the teens.  We tried to make a snowman but the snow was too powdery.

We know we wont be able to get out for church tomorrow and it remains to be seen if we will even go back to school monday.  There is going to have to be a MAJOR warmup before most of these back country roads are passable!

Richie and I visited the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta for the first time back in June.  We were so impressed that we made the trip again back in November to take his Mom to see it.  It is really the most amazing aquarium I have ever seen.  I really can not describe it with words.  If you have not been I HIGHLY suggest you plan to visit it.  They are adding a dolphin exhibit that will open in the fall of 2010.  Although I know they will not do it justice I have some pictures to share. 

The Georgia Aquarium boasts the world’s second largest aquarium viewing window.  This amazing aquarium view measure 61 feet wide and 23 feet tall! The tank itself is the size of a football field and contains over 6,000,000 gallons of water!  To be in front of this window is amazing and wonderful.  We could have stayed right here all day and felt as if we had gotten our money’s worth! 

Richie

Julie

Julie and Kathy (in November)

Whale Shark - worlds largest fish species

The Georgia Aquarium is currently home to 4 of the Whale Sharks which are the world’s largest fish species.  Whale sharks can grow up to 40 feet in length! 

The aquarium also has a 100 foot long viewing tunnel where you can see whale sharks, stingrays, goliath grouper,  hammerhead sharks and a host of other fish swimming overhead. 

Here are some additional photos of sites around the aquarium. 

Crazy weird sand worm things!

I highly recommend a visit to the Georgia Aquarium! If you are planning a trip the aquarium is within walking distance of the Coca-cola Museum, Centennial Olympic Park, and the CNN Headquarters.  If you go I also highly recommend a visit to the Varsity (www.thevarsity.com) which is the World’s Largest Drive-In Restaurant!  Their hot dogs, fries and fried pies are amazing! They’ve been in business since 1928 so it HAS to be good!

It started to snow sometime after 1 am last night. I woke up around 5 and looked outside to see a blanket of white.  We got about 2 1/2 inches and while it stopped for a while, it has started to snow again!  It sure is beautiful.  The dogs all slept inside last night.  I was able to drag Thunder out when I went to feed the chickens.  He tried to come back in but once outside he ran and frolicked and seemed to enjoy himself.  The Hens have refused to come out of their coop.  They free range and generally don’t eat much “commercial” feed because they get all they need from the land but I did put some feed out for them and an extra helping of scratch grain and cracked corn.  They still didn’t budge!  The chicks (almost 4 months now!) seemed weary of the snow but a few ventured out when tempted with scratch.  The cats were hungry but we ran out of cat food yesterday.  I put dog food in their bowl and they turned up their noses.  We’re “snowed in” and it’s Sunday, so in my opinion beggars can’t be choosers!  The horses never seem fazed by the snow.  I do love the way the snow looks on their fur (hair?).  Snow! It’s  beautiful!

If you do not know the Pioneer Woman you must leave my sight IMMEDIATELY!  Do not finish reading this until you visit http://thepioneerwoman.com and spend at least an hour drooling over her amazing website.  Then you can come back and read all about my adventure meeting Ree (aka., Pioneer Woman) and Ladd (aka., Marlboro Man/Captain Forearms).

Monday night, P-dub came to the Chenal Wal-mart in Little Rock to do a book signing.  I REALLY wanted to go.  Richie really didn’t. But, being the sweet sweet husband that he is he agreed to go.   After work got out we gathered up the book I was gonna get signed for myself and the one I was having signed for my sister for christmas and got in the car to make the hour and a half trip to Little Rock.

We were faced with a slight dilemma.  Having not had dinner yet we werent sure whether to eat first and risk being further back in line or wait to eat and maybe get a little closer to the front.  Well I had a sneaking suspicion that we would be waiting in line for some time regardless so we opted to eat first. (mmm… Blue Coast Burrito!)  With full bellies we finally made it to the Wal-marts at 6:10.  The parking lot was FULL!  We had to park all the way over in Siberia and walk to the front of the store.  When we got in, the lady at the door said the book signing was in the middle of the front near the books. 

I could actually see the Pioneer Woman sitting there!  I could also see a LOOOOOOOONNNNNNNGGGGGG line of people. I walked and walked and walked and walked and I think just about when we made it all the way around the world and back to Siberia we found the end of the line way in the back near electronics.  There were literally HUNDREDS of mostly women in line in front of me.  I even saw one lady with an entire CASE of books for Ree to sign!!! (should that be allowed??? )

Well I settled in to my place in line.  Shortly thereafter some “fans” decided they’d had too much and dropped out.  Just like that I moved up four places in line!  After what seemed like an hour the line FINALLY started to move.  I chatted with the ladies around me.  We discussed the book, the website and which recipes we had tried.  I even found out that the girl two back from me had gone to summer camp with me in the 90′s, in MAINE!!! How cool is that!?

Where was Richie during all this?  He had made friends with another husband that was further back in the line and the two of them watched the entire Transformers 2 movie while we waited.  Richie asked the guy working in electronics if they could set out some chairs while they watched but he was told that would be considered loitering.  Richie was like, “Umm…did you see the 500 ladies standing around over there?”  He still didnt get his chair.

When I had about an hour and a half left in line Richie finally came up and joined me.  We were starting to get close to where Marlboro Man was greeting everyone and signing books himself.  All the women in line of course were getting excited.  You could tell when he met someone new because there would be this girlish giggle that would rise above the crowd.

The marketing director was walking around making sure everyone had a post-it note on which to write their name so it would be easier for Ree to sign our books.  Richie asked the lady if he could have 10 post-its.  She looked at him funny so Richie said “my wife is wordy!”  She still looked at him funny but gave him the 10 post-its.  In effort to help pass the last hour we were in line Richie decided to write messages on the post-its and post them on the clothing racks for the people behind us.  He wrote confucious-style things like “Life is short; this line is long” as well as simple things like “Photographic moment ahead”, “Rotisserie Chicken on sale for $2.00 in the Deli” and “Is it Tuesday yet?”.  We would laugh as we would hear people behind them spotting them and laughing about them.  Some people even took pictures of them.  I laughed and told Richie he would probably make it onto someones blog!

Finally, I made it to the front of the line! I had my sister in Illinois on speakerphone on my cell because she was wanting to at least hear Ree’s voice.  As we walked up I said hi and told her she was signing my sister’s book and that my sister was on the phone.  She laughed and grabbed the phone and TALKED to my sister!  How cool is that!  My sister was so excited!  Richie and I talked with her a few moments and then she took a picture with me.  Richie told her all about his plan to start a website called THE FRONTIER MAN and he was planning to call me “the Copenhagen Woman.”  Gee thanks Richie.  Ree said, “Uhoh, I can already feel the heat.”

You wait in line so long and then so quickly the moment is over.  But it was still SOOOOO cool! 

Here are some pictures to chronicle the event.  Please keep in mind that NO MATTER what type of camera my husband uses EVERY picture he ever takes of me is blurry! But I love him anyway!

IMPORTANT UPDATE!!!!!

I am now known as the Wife of the Post-it Guy!!!! Richie is “famous” and is just beside himself.  He now thinks he is ALL that and more not that he didnt think that already!

Richie’s Post-it notes actually made the Pioneer Woman’s Blog today!  Here is a direct link. http://thepioneerwoman.com/confessions/

He has also been mentioned on these blogs!!! (Oh goodness!)

The Park Wife

Nonsensical Gibberish

Watch out Marlboro Man cause it looks like there is a new man in town…

 The Frontier Man!

This post kindly brought to you from Julie, aka. Willowtreecreek, aka. The Wife of the Post-it Guy, aka. The Copenhagen Woman