Have you heard about the new "no-poo" craze? I know it sounds like a constipation medication, but it's not. It's an eco-friendly beauty regimen. You can read an article about it HERE if you want... but here's the basic idea: You stop using shampoo. Forever.
I know, I know. It sounded disgusting to me at first, too. I read various articles about it, and it turns out that the chemicals in shampoo are actually pretty damaging to your hair and to the environment (am I a horrible person because the "bad for your hair" bothered me more than the "bad for the environment"? Hmmm...) Anyway, they also said that your hair follicles produce oil, and when you're constantly stripping your hair of its natural oils then your oil glands start overproducing. This is why your hair gets greasier faster if you shampoo a lot. Interesting. Well, I hate greasy hair, so the promise of letting my body regulate its own oils and avoiding constant shampooing sounded like a good idea. A shortcut, if you will.
After reading testimonial after testimonial about how this "no-poo" thing gave people Pantene-Pro-V-commercial hair by only rinsing their hair with water, I decided to go for it. Plus, I was almost out of shampoo and didn't feel like buying any more. I figured it was as good a time as any to try my new eco-friendly hippie experiment. The articles told me that there would be a "transition period" where hair would feel a little greasy because my body would still be regulating its oil production. In the mean time, I was supposed to shampoo and condition with baking soda and apple cider vinegar until I was one of the cool kids who only needed to rinse with water.
Ummm...putting baking soda and vinegar in my hair sounds like a fifth-grade science experiment gone wrong. In my quest for beautiful hair, though, I decided to go for it. Full-steam ahead on the no-poo movement! Anything for beauty! Let's make a volcano on my head!
It was five weeks later that I decided perhaps no-poo wasn't for me. I know. I went five weeks without using shampoo. Gross. To be honest, it wasn't terrible. My hair didn't look greasy, and I didn't have to wash it often. My hair did feel a bit thicker, but I actually think my hair is too thick anyway so that wasn't a huge plus. I thought my no-pooed hair felt a bit waxy, like I never got it actually totally clean. That wasn't too fun. The part I missed most about shampoo was the wonderful smell of freshly shampooed hair. Hair that smells faintly of vinegar isn't nearly as exciting. I gave up on my no-poo experiment yesterday, when I finally broke down and broke out the Garnier Fructis.
I apologize to my fragile hair follicles that are apparently crying out from their chemical burns, and I apologize to the baby polar bears for ruining their habitat with my eco-destructive habits. My hair finally feels light and fluffy again, though, so I'm a happy camper. It's been over a month since I had light fluffy hair. Excuse me while I go swish it around for a while.
Monday, February 17, 2014
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Letter to Myself at 30
Hello me-as-a-30-year-old,
It feels a little ridiculous to be writing this letter. Don't you think we're getting a little old for this? I do. But since I've written letters to myself at 15, 20, and 25, it seems a little weird to stop the tradition now. I don't want to get to 30 and think "BLAST! WHERE'S MY LETTER!?" so I guess I should go ahead and write this.
Hmmm...well, you're 30. I guess I should console you. Are you having a midlife crisis? Probably. You're probably freaking out that you haven't won a Newberry Honor yet or hit the bestsellers list. You're not J.K. Rowling, okay? You're fine. And actually, I think she was over 30 when she wrote Harry Potter anyway, so you're really, really fine. Do you realize that you might never hit the bestsellers list ever, and that would be okay too? Because it would. I just think it's cool that you're thirty. You're old enough to be wise and experienced but young enough to be hip and cool. So fab.
Let's see... You probably want to know what I'm up to. Well, I'm surviving the polar vortex of 2014. You know, the one where you had SEVEN snow days!? Actually, possibly eight - they're talking about closing tomorrow because of a -20 wind chill. And February just started. Sheesh. I'm living in the cute green house on Pembrook Street with Rex and Elvis and Elsie. Cara's trying to figure out where to go to college. I'm trying to sell my book about the librarian assassins, and Scholastic has requested the manuscript (which, really, is actually a pretty cool thing even if they hate it. At least they're reading it.) I'm writing a third book, and I'm 44 pages in even though I only started it a couple of weeks ago (thank you snow days). Writing basically keeps me sane. I'm teaching junior high at Providence (actually, I wouldn't be disappointed at all if you're still teaching there as you read this). It's a pretty fabulous school.
So. What are YOU doing? You have a pug, right? Because you and Rex agreed you could have one before you guys turn thirty. If you don't have a pug, go get one RIGHT NOW. Like, stop reading this and go get a pug. Have you been out of the country lately? I think going out of the country once every five years would be cool. Are you really going to go to Italy for your 10 year anniversary? Because that's been the plan since you got married, and as of now it's still the plan, so I think that would be super cool if you actually do that. Did you sell any books yet? Did Scholastic buy anything? Because if you sold a book to Scholastic, then just go ahead and label your life "SUCCESS" and then you can chill for the rest of it. Ha ha. Just kidding, obviously. But that would be way cool. Do you have any kids? Hmmm... if you have a kid then I hope it's a girl. What are you going to do with a boy? He'll have a wardrobe of entirely camouflage and know how to hit a baseball before he can walk. Rex will make you sing country music lullabies. Ewww. Definitely go with a girl.
Are you fat? Just wondering. It seems like a lot of people get fat in their late twenties. I hope you're not fat. Go to the gym if you are. Right now. And on your way home, pick up that pug that you're getting. If you're fat, though, then at least I hope that means you learned how to cook a lot of delicious food. Do you still make that tomato spinach cream tortellini? Because that's my personal favorite recipe right now.
Have you read the whole Bible through from start to finish yet? I only ask because 20-year-old you wanted to know, so 25-year-old you is passing along the message. You're probably reading the Bible on some fancy gadget, like the iBible or something. Is Barnes and Noble still in business? Because I'm actually kind of afraid that books are going to become extinct like dinosaurs and VCRs. That would be a major bummer.
Who's the president? It's not Obama, so that's cool. Did Kim Jong dictator dude ever bomb anyone from North Korea? He seems like kind of a loose cannon (no pun intended). Have you met Meg Cabot? I'm so excited to meet her, even though I'm not sure when I'm going to do that yet. She's like the Kim Kardashian of my genre, except talented. Ooooh....speaking of which, what's Kim Kardahian doing? Actually, never mind. I don't want to know.
I know this letter isn't very serious, but I think that's okay. Your life's not very serious right now. You're chilling out and enjoying your mid-twenties, because if the late twenties go nearly as fast as the early twenties then you've got a lot of fun to pack in during a very short amount of time. You don't have time to take life too seriously.
Hasta la Vista,
25-year-old-you
It feels a little ridiculous to be writing this letter. Don't you think we're getting a little old for this? I do. But since I've written letters to myself at 15, 20, and 25, it seems a little weird to stop the tradition now. I don't want to get to 30 and think "BLAST! WHERE'S MY LETTER!?" so I guess I should go ahead and write this.
Hmmm...well, you're 30. I guess I should console you. Are you having a midlife crisis? Probably. You're probably freaking out that you haven't won a Newberry Honor yet or hit the bestsellers list. You're not J.K. Rowling, okay? You're fine. And actually, I think she was over 30 when she wrote Harry Potter anyway, so you're really, really fine. Do you realize that you might never hit the bestsellers list ever, and that would be okay too? Because it would. I just think it's cool that you're thirty. You're old enough to be wise and experienced but young enough to be hip and cool. So fab.
Let's see... You probably want to know what I'm up to. Well, I'm surviving the polar vortex of 2014. You know, the one where you had SEVEN snow days!? Actually, possibly eight - they're talking about closing tomorrow because of a -20 wind chill. And February just started. Sheesh. I'm living in the cute green house on Pembrook Street with Rex and Elvis and Elsie. Cara's trying to figure out where to go to college. I'm trying to sell my book about the librarian assassins, and Scholastic has requested the manuscript (which, really, is actually a pretty cool thing even if they hate it. At least they're reading it.) I'm writing a third book, and I'm 44 pages in even though I only started it a couple of weeks ago (thank you snow days). Writing basically keeps me sane. I'm teaching junior high at Providence (actually, I wouldn't be disappointed at all if you're still teaching there as you read this). It's a pretty fabulous school.
So. What are YOU doing? You have a pug, right? Because you and Rex agreed you could have one before you guys turn thirty. If you don't have a pug, go get one RIGHT NOW. Like, stop reading this and go get a pug. Have you been out of the country lately? I think going out of the country once every five years would be cool. Are you really going to go to Italy for your 10 year anniversary? Because that's been the plan since you got married, and as of now it's still the plan, so I think that would be super cool if you actually do that. Did you sell any books yet? Did Scholastic buy anything? Because if you sold a book to Scholastic, then just go ahead and label your life "SUCCESS" and then you can chill for the rest of it. Ha ha. Just kidding, obviously. But that would be way cool. Do you have any kids? Hmmm... if you have a kid then I hope it's a girl. What are you going to do with a boy? He'll have a wardrobe of entirely camouflage and know how to hit a baseball before he can walk. Rex will make you sing country music lullabies. Ewww. Definitely go with a girl.
Are you fat? Just wondering. It seems like a lot of people get fat in their late twenties. I hope you're not fat. Go to the gym if you are. Right now. And on your way home, pick up that pug that you're getting. If you're fat, though, then at least I hope that means you learned how to cook a lot of delicious food. Do you still make that tomato spinach cream tortellini? Because that's my personal favorite recipe right now.
Have you read the whole Bible through from start to finish yet? I only ask because 20-year-old you wanted to know, so 25-year-old you is passing along the message. You're probably reading the Bible on some fancy gadget, like the iBible or something. Is Barnes and Noble still in business? Because I'm actually kind of afraid that books are going to become extinct like dinosaurs and VCRs. That would be a major bummer.
Who's the president? It's not Obama, so that's cool. Did Kim Jong dictator dude ever bomb anyone from North Korea? He seems like kind of a loose cannon (no pun intended). Have you met Meg Cabot? I'm so excited to meet her, even though I'm not sure when I'm going to do that yet. She's like the Kim Kardashian of my genre, except talented. Ooooh....speaking of which, what's Kim Kardahian doing? Actually, never mind. I don't want to know.
I know this letter isn't very serious, but I think that's okay. Your life's not very serious right now. You're chilling out and enjoying your mid-twenties, because if the late twenties go nearly as fast as the early twenties then you've got a lot of fun to pack in during a very short amount of time. You don't have time to take life too seriously.
Hasta la Vista,
25-year-old-you
Letter to Myself at 20
I turned 25 years old this week. For some reason that sounds SO much older than 24. Like, last week I was still in my "early twenties," which means I was in the phase of life where I graduate from college and putz around for a little while until I decide what I want to do with myself. Now I'm closer to 30 than to 20, which means, "You've better get your crap together. Time is ticking." Eeeeek!
One fun part about turning 25 is that I got to go back and read a letter that I wrote to myself five years ago, when I was 20. If you're settled in and you're going to be here a while, you can check out that letter HERE. I figure now that I'm 25 and got to finally read the letter that was addressed to me, it's only fair that I write back. To myself. Which sounds a little trippy, actually, but I'm doing it anyway. Here we go:
Dear Me-at-20,
Would it make you feel better if I tell you that everything turned out exactly as you wanted it to?
Because really...it kind of did. Perhaps it doesn't make for a very exciting letter, but you basically stuck to your life plan and rocked it. You graduated in three years, married Rex when you were 21 (you're about to get engaged, by the way), moved to Las Vegas (yes, you read that right. VEGAS.), zipped around the country doing fabulous things for a while, wrote a book, eventually moved back to Kalamazoo to chill with your siblings (Rex's end up feeling like yours too), and landed your dream job at a fantastic school while freelance writing for magazines on the side. Health problems are basically nil. Your brain is doing fine. And you were so worried...
Can you breathe a sigh of relief now? Can you stop freaking out? Because everything is OKAY. And really, even if that entire first paragraph was lies and you didn't do any of that cool stuff, you would still probably be okay. You need to stop worrying about the future. Stop writing letters to me and spend some time enjoying being you (20 year old you. I mean me. I mean...this is confusing). Not that I didn't like your letter, mind you. It was great. I'm just saying that you have to be careful to not spend so much time planning out your life that you forget to live it.
Example: college is SWEET. I would love to go back to college for a while, but I can't. I'm too old. You're still there, though! Whoooo hooo! You're going to meet a girl named Katie in a couple of weeks. She's basically nuts, but also pretty cool. You're going to be the maid of honor in her wedding this summer. Spend more time with Elle too, because she ends up being your neighbor in Las Vegas (again, so weird that you lived there), and she's one of the best friends you'll ever have. Hmmm....what else should you know.... Oh! Get football tickets. You keep trying to save money, which is really admirable, but now I'm too old to get student tickets and I wish I would have. Big Ten football is where it's at. And MSU beats U of M in overtime this year, so go to that game. It's pretty awesome, but I didn't get to go. Start saving up now, too, because MSU is going to the Rose Bowl in 2014 (and they win).
Let's see... I guess you want to know about the family. Cara turned out fabulous. Shame on you for thinking she would be nuts! Although...remembering Cara at age 13...I can definitely see why you thought that. Mom and Dad are doing well. They're talking about retirement soon and selling "the big house," which I'm pretty sure they were actually talking about five years ago too. Jake goes to Michigan State for college, which is deliciously ironic. Tom is at Western, and Michelle is graduating from dental school this year on the same day that Rex is graduating from physical therapy school (May 18!). Everyone's fabulous. Nana still thinks that the internet is going to run out of cyberspace. Grandma and Grandpa Koopsen are both gone, which actually is really sad, but they're together in heaven so at least that's good.
Your family has grown a little bit since you were 20. (No kids - don't freak out). You and Rex have a beagle named Elvis and a cat named Elsie. They're so cute and fun. Elsie is a little evil, but that's really just part of her charm. Elvis is a total dork, but you will love him. OH - and this is very important - you think that pug dogs are really ugly and strange looking, but that's because you're horribly unenlightened. They're actually the cutest dogs ever and now I want one really badly. You meet an eight-week-old pug named Gus next year, and he basically changes everything about your dog perspectives.
You're still trying to read through the whole Bible in order (sorry that that isn't done yet...), but you're making good progress. Also, you've done a pretty good job of actually looking at your faith as a relationship with God instead of a checklist of "Christiany things to do." So actually, the fact that you're not through the whole Bible yet doesn't really bother you a ton. The fact that you're reading it is what matters.
Cars don't run on water yet, sorry. Maybe when you're thirty.
Sincerely,
25-year-old you
One fun part about turning 25 is that I got to go back and read a letter that I wrote to myself five years ago, when I was 20. If you're settled in and you're going to be here a while, you can check out that letter HERE. I figure now that I'm 25 and got to finally read the letter that was addressed to me, it's only fair that I write back. To myself. Which sounds a little trippy, actually, but I'm doing it anyway. Here we go:
Dear Me-at-20,
Would it make you feel better if I tell you that everything turned out exactly as you wanted it to?
Because really...it kind of did. Perhaps it doesn't make for a very exciting letter, but you basically stuck to your life plan and rocked it. You graduated in three years, married Rex when you were 21 (you're about to get engaged, by the way), moved to Las Vegas (yes, you read that right. VEGAS.), zipped around the country doing fabulous things for a while, wrote a book, eventually moved back to Kalamazoo to chill with your siblings (Rex's end up feeling like yours too), and landed your dream job at a fantastic school while freelance writing for magazines on the side. Health problems are basically nil. Your brain is doing fine. And you were so worried...
Can you breathe a sigh of relief now? Can you stop freaking out? Because everything is OKAY. And really, even if that entire first paragraph was lies and you didn't do any of that cool stuff, you would still probably be okay. You need to stop worrying about the future. Stop writing letters to me and spend some time enjoying being you (20 year old you. I mean me. I mean...this is confusing). Not that I didn't like your letter, mind you. It was great. I'm just saying that you have to be careful to not spend so much time planning out your life that you forget to live it.
Example: college is SWEET. I would love to go back to college for a while, but I can't. I'm too old. You're still there, though! Whoooo hooo! You're going to meet a girl named Katie in a couple of weeks. She's basically nuts, but also pretty cool. You're going to be the maid of honor in her wedding this summer. Spend more time with Elle too, because she ends up being your neighbor in Las Vegas (again, so weird that you lived there), and she's one of the best friends you'll ever have. Hmmm....what else should you know.... Oh! Get football tickets. You keep trying to save money, which is really admirable, but now I'm too old to get student tickets and I wish I would have. Big Ten football is where it's at. And MSU beats U of M in overtime this year, so go to that game. It's pretty awesome, but I didn't get to go. Start saving up now, too, because MSU is going to the Rose Bowl in 2014 (and they win).
Let's see... I guess you want to know about the family. Cara turned out fabulous. Shame on you for thinking she would be nuts! Although...remembering Cara at age 13...I can definitely see why you thought that. Mom and Dad are doing well. They're talking about retirement soon and selling "the big house," which I'm pretty sure they were actually talking about five years ago too. Jake goes to Michigan State for college, which is deliciously ironic. Tom is at Western, and Michelle is graduating from dental school this year on the same day that Rex is graduating from physical therapy school (May 18!). Everyone's fabulous. Nana still thinks that the internet is going to run out of cyberspace. Grandma and Grandpa Koopsen are both gone, which actually is really sad, but they're together in heaven so at least that's good.
Your family has grown a little bit since you were 20. (No kids - don't freak out). You and Rex have a beagle named Elvis and a cat named Elsie. They're so cute and fun. Elsie is a little evil, but that's really just part of her charm. Elvis is a total dork, but you will love him. OH - and this is very important - you think that pug dogs are really ugly and strange looking, but that's because you're horribly unenlightened. They're actually the cutest dogs ever and now I want one really badly. You meet an eight-week-old pug named Gus next year, and he basically changes everything about your dog perspectives.
You're still trying to read through the whole Bible in order (sorry that that isn't done yet...), but you're making good progress. Also, you've done a pretty good job of actually looking at your faith as a relationship with God instead of a checklist of "Christiany things to do." So actually, the fact that you're not through the whole Bible yet doesn't really bother you a ton. The fact that you're reading it is what matters.
Cars don't run on water yet, sorry. Maybe when you're thirty.
Sincerely,
25-year-old you
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