All the snow is gone and so are colorful leaves. It's rainy and dark- the only time of the year of which I don't have nice things to say. I hope it will get colder again soon and we'll get some snow. That would help with darkness...
   Hair has been super nice though. It's very shiny and silky, but more manageable than yesterday.  I tried Bikerbraid's French Loop. I managed to make one (and it was easier than French tuck), but my loop is still very small so a scrunchie looked just weird with it. But it's a very promising style anyway!
   For today, I just bunned the hair, and secured the bun with Blondiesturn Birdseye Maple hairfork pair.  No need to do much else with it.

I fetched my Mamacat sticks from customs. This time, the officer was a short-haired lady, but she asked me to open the package anyway since she was so curious  . She admired Mamacat's work and so do I! The hairsticks are gorgeous! I'm sorry to report that I can't post a picture of them right away since my adventurous digicam battery has disappeared again. ??? But, I promise that you'll see the pictures right when I find it.
I got: chestnut ribbon spiral
         royal jacaranda ribbon spiral
         applejack ribbon spiral
         purplewood ribbon spiral
         evergreen spiral
         indigo spiral
         paisley spiral

I'm spoiled! As these can be worn in damp hair too, I can now donate to charity my last ugly plastic hairsticks!

Today I wore a French twist that I managed to make with medium Maximas after a big struggle. When I came home from Helsinki (where, besides running errands and shopping clothes I found some pretty hair beads and a lovely deep rose pink velvet scrunchie), I washed my hair. My scalp felt so dirty...my ends were fine, but after being 5 months with just S&D missions, I thought they need some extra pampering. So I washed the scalp with Rosemary Lavender Aloe and conditioned the length with Cucumber Lime Yoghurt soap. That should work... Now I'm waiting for the hair to air dry (wearing that new scrunchie! ), feeling that I've accomplished a lot of stuff today. And hairtoy happy. I have begun to wonder lately, how can it be that I actually actively use all my zillion hairtoys- it seems to defy some natural laws. But, as usually, my interest is mainly metaphysical and for the most part, I'm just enjoying of all the variation.

Speaking of scientific interest, I just realized that I have now measured my hair for a full year.

Hair Growing Results

November 2004: 53 cm/20.87 in 
November 2005: 62.5 cm/25.6 in

Net growth: 9.5 cm/3.74 in (not entirely sure how to calculate inches...)

Trims: 5 cm/2 inches

Total growth: 14.5 cm/5.71 in

Conclusions: It seems that I have pretty average growth. From beginning of next year: measuring 4 times a year, and trimming 4 times a year. My hair is fine, and cutting just twice a year might be too seldom- I think that I'll have to cut more than 1 cm/0.5 in in December in order to get nice ends again. Maybe, if I trimmed 1 cm a bit more often, I would get nicer ends- not to mention that it would total to just 4 cm's a year while this year I had to cut 5 (granted, the June trim was quite big). In three years, it would mean more than an inch of difference. In 5 years...
   Anyway, I'm really happy of that I decided to do monthly measurements- this was really interesting (not to mention that I got moral boost in a time when it would have been hard for me to notice much growth).

Those are some cool highlights, Galadriel!

Yes, I was myself surprised of how eventful my hair life has been. Growing has been quite an adventure!

I finally received my new credit card and have since payed all my pending payments (typical for my luck that I got a bill flood right when I couldn't use my paypal account).  Feel much better now! A week without my bank and credit card was a PITA, though I didn't shop much.

The weather is typical November weather: very dark, cold and rainy. I'm glad I've been so busy today.
I'm back with Longlocks hairsticks again-Violet Pinks for today. Though Mamacats are wonderful and excellent quality in their own way, I have to say that I still love my Longlocks sticks more. And on days like today, I just need a little extra sparkle in my life!

Got also news from my DeRenaudin comb- it's now ready to be shipped. It appears, that DeRenaudin company was a bit slow in processing the order. So, now I'm officially waiting: Amish hair pins, TLC pads, DeRenaudin horn comb 

I agree. I'm not really used to handling cash any longer- it's great to have a bank card again. As for the Visa...I think I've already shopped enough for November, but it's neverthless nice to have Visa around just in case. My orders have now been processed, so I'm waiting:

-De Renaudin horn detangling comb
-TLC menstrual pads
-three new fall color Ficcare Maximas
-4 packs of Amish pins

I think that's all. 8)

Then, to continue with good news, I left this morning my Master's thesis for inspection. I made last-minute corrections until 1 am last night and had to get up early in order to make it in time to Helsinki. Now it's just waiting until 30th day when I'll hear the proposal for a grade and decide, whether or not I'll request my Master's papers. But, the professor who read the second-last version of it said that I can expect to get a good grade. I hope so!

But, I have also some very bad news. The wedding's canceled due to a major relationship crisis. In fact, I and T aren't even engaged anymore. Some really bad things have happened, and though there is hope that our relationship may yet be healed, we will need to restart it in a way. I'm not moving away, at least yet, and we both are committed in working out the things that have come in between us. It will be hard, but, there is hope. I don't want to go into details, but I think that you should know this much.

Hair...hair has behaved quite well in the middle of everything. I washed it on Saturday with Lavender Spice + ACV. The ends are still so soft and healthy, but I'm a bit annoyed about how thin they have become. I just keep dreaming about the coming trim. Which might be good in a way- otherwise even the thought of losing even a tiny bit of my hard-earned length feels so bad.
To cheer myself up, I've been wearing my prettiest LL hairsticks. As always, they really seem to help a bit with my anxiety. Even now, looking and wearing hairsticks like Tropicana Rose makes me feel a tinge of happiness and joy, if only momentarily.

Bikerbraid is right.  Get these things fixed before your married.  If there'a a will there'a a way. I am sorry to hear about this and I hope everything works out alright. ((((hugs))))

Thanks for your support, guys. It really makes me feel better. If things won't work out, it won't be for lack of trying. Right now, the situation is still bad enough that everything can still go wrong, but I'm also hopeful. The decision whether to break up or continue will be mine- T is certain that he wants us to continue. But, I don't think I'll be deciding that for a while. I just need to see how things start to develop.

I don't know if it's fun or just tragicomical, but yesterday evening when I was braiding my hair for sleep, T came to me and asked me, if I'm going to cut it short if things go badly between us. I said that of course I wouldn't do such a thing. He looked relieved and just said that he'd thought that I might because that's what many women do when their life changes dramatically and because he's been supporting my hair growing so strongly.
   I suppose that that is pretty common thing to do, but I'm too attached to my hair to see why. It's not even really long yet, but it's already the best hair I've ever had, and I'm hoping to always have a long hair. I've thought so for a while now, but I never was sure how deep my feelings in this matter were. Now I know.

That velvet scrunchie I bought from Glitter a while ago has proved to be a real treat. It stays in my hair much better than any other scrunchie I have, and I love the color. Haven't yet worn it in public, but I think it's just a matter of time. For most part, Glitter is a shop that is full of junk not worth even the few euros they cost, but it seems that every now and then it's a place worth checking anyway.

Hair is still nice. Rose water consumption is increasing, though the weather isn't even that cold. I haven't done an oil treatment for ages- just SDMT's. Maybe I should...

I hope all turns out for the best , for the two of you, Galadriel