Zero Pay.... The Highlight of My Day

I was walking through the Altamonte Mall today when a young girl with a clipboard approached. She was screening participants for a movie survey and she asked if I could spare a few minutes. Ordinarily I would say no to something like this, but I figured ... what the heck? I'm rather cash strapped right at the moment and I've been giving people my opinions about movies for free all week.

We only got to Question 1 of the pre-screen. That's because my answer to Question 1 rendered me inelligible as a participant.

The surveyer asked me my age and when I responded, her expression changed. She seemed genuinely perplexed as to how to explain the reason for the rejection without calling me old. I told her no apology was necessary. (She was supposed to be surveying 18 - 35 year olds.)

It seems unlikely that anyone will be recruiting this young woman away from her mall survey post to have her guess ages and weights at the carnival. Does she have impaired vision? I don't know. Is she just too young to properly gage ages? Perhaps.

I'm choosing to attribute her confusion to something ese though. I'm attributing it to the fact that this past Friday, Diane once again worked her magic on my hair.

When I left the salon on Friday, I left with the hair of an 18 - 35 year old....an 18 - 35 year old with sassy, rich brown, silky smooth hair set off by the most perfectly placed highlights. The sun itself couldn't have done a better job with them.

So am I upset that I didn't get the quick cash? Are you kidding me? I can't think of a time I've ever been so delighted to have an empty wallet.

From Hair To Eternity, Volume 1

Because it is February, because I am a hopeless romantic and because I have watched six epic romances and/or romantic comedies in the last two weeks (When in Rome, Valentine’s Day, Dear John, The Notebook, Love Happens and Couples Retreat), I’m going to offer up a short series called, From Hair To Eternity, where I will provide mini-reviews of each film. In addition to an overall rating, I will evaluate each based on two categories I know readers of this blog will care about: 1) What I thought of the female lead’s hair and 2) whether or not there was any chemistry between the main characters. I will also tell you what I believe was the most romantic scene in each movie and what, if any, lesson(s) I learned from watching the film. I’m going to start with Love Happens with Aaron Eckhart and Jennifer Aniston and with The Notebook with Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, James Garner and Gena Rowlands.

Love Happens


Hair: B+

In one scene Jennifer Aniston’s character sports braids and a knit cap. For the most part, however, she rocks her signature look wearing her long honey blond hair loose and slightly wavy. Of course, it looks beautiful, sexy and natural (even though we know it’s not). See my October 24, 2009 post, http://hotheadsgroupie.blogspot.com/2009/10/want-ride-in-time-machine-forget.html.)

Chemistry: D- I’ve liked Jennifer Aniston in other romantic comedies, but I didn't in this one...and sorry, but I just don’t find Aaron Eckhart attractive. He has an expressionless face, anchor person hair and an unremarkable body. This one just didn’t do it for me….at all.

Most Romantic Scene: Since this was a completely unbelievable love story, this is a tough one. I’m going to go with what had the greatest potential to be romantic. There was a scene where Jennifer Aniston’s character, Eloise, borrowed a bucket truck and parked it close to a stadium where a sold out concert was taking place giving her and her new beau their own private box seats. I’ve got to admit, that would be pretty cool!

Lesson(s) Learned: The words, quidnunc, poppysmic and sesquipedalianist. Quidnunc means a person who seeks to know all the latest news and gossip. Poppysmic refers to the noise that results when you smack your lips. (For some reason that I still don’t understand, Jennifer Aniston’s character wrote these words on the wall behind random hotel prints. ???) A sesquipedalianist is a person who loves to use long and unusual words.

I was also reminded about how grateful I am that I got to go through the stages of my son’s life where he made me absolutely crazy. I’m grateful I got to hear clicking skateboard sounds when he landed jumps perilously close to other people's cars. I’m grateful for the piles of clothes that were always all over his floor. I'm grateful for ALL the parent/teacher conferences I had to attend. I’m grateful for the screeching guitar amps I had to listen to… and I’m grateful for the never ending homework arguments we had. The most heartfelt scenes in this movie were delivered by a Dad whose son didn’t live long enough to put him though these things.

Overall Rating: D (Good hair alone can’t carry a movie!)

The Notebook

Hair: A When playing a teen, Rachel McAdams looked adorable whether her hair was swinging in the wind on a carnival ride or pulled back in a ponytail at the beach. As a young lady, she wore her shoulder length hair in pin curls, waves and sometimes set off with a tasteful ornament or a faux flower as was the rage back in the 1940s.

Gena Rowlands hair was senior chic. It was chin length and quite healthy looking in a tasteful shade of white blond that perfectly complimented her complexion. I can only hope my hair will look that gorgeous when I’m at that stage in life. Since her character was no longer in the cognitive place where she woud’ve made this happen on her own, it was all the more touching. This wasn’t something that was explained in the story, but it was understood. Someone who knew this had been important to her in her younger days – maybe the James Garner character or maybe one of her daughters – made arrangements to make sure she still looked beautiful every day. She certainly did!

Chemistry A+ Oh my goodness. This movie made me rearrange my top ten movie kisses list. Wow! If you haven’t seen this one yet, please go rent – or buy it. I don’t even know how to explain it. There were sparks flying off the screen. I’m kind of glad I watched this one at home so I could rewind a scene or two.

Most Romantic Scene: There were so many. The one that I had trouble getting out of my head, though, was the one pictured above. It's also on the cover of the DVD. Guess that means that scene has the same effect on everyone who watches it. When Noah and Allie are standing in the rain and he tells her that it wasn't over when they were teenagers and that it's still not over …. before he passionately kisses her, carries her into the house and ravishes her with everything he’s kept pent up inside him for the prior seven years…. it is cinematic lightening in a bottle.

Lesson Learned: Ah… the passion/security dilemma… How many movie heroines have faced this one? In the end, they almost always choose passion and they almost always live happily ever after. In real life, the women I know who chose security seem to be better off. (They aren’t supremely happy either, but for the most part, their husbands are still around and still seem to adore them and they aren’t worried about how to pay their electric bills.)

Those who know me well know that I come from a long line of women who have done this the wrong way. My (maternal) Great Grandmother had a whole mess of suitors. This was quite the surprising discovery for my cousins and siblings and I when we went through our Grandmother’s attic following her death. (My Mother and Grandmother were raised in the same home as it was built by my Great Grandfather who had been a local contractor.) There were love letters and post cards from a number of different men all wanting dates with my Great Grandmother and/or her hand in marriage. I don’t know the whole story or timeline, but I know that she was married more than once. My (maternal) Grandmother married for security and was miserable. My mother married a guy of modest means - my Dad - who swept her off her feet but ended up breaking her heart. (He’s now on marriage #7.)

My mother reacted to what happened in her youth, just like Allie’s Mother did. I grew up hearing, “You can fall in love with a rich guy just as easily as you can fall in love with a poor guy." Mom also added this… “plus if and WHEN it doesn’t work out with the rich guy, you’ll get a better divorce settlement.”

What I heard when she said that was that I’d have to choose between love or money. I chose love. I married a poor guy who rocked my world. Turns out he rocked a lot of women’s worlds.

When I see movies like this, I tend to be skeptical, because I know how grand romances often play out when real life intervenes. Also, things are rarely as simple as making the choice between love and financial stability. In this movie, for example, unlike in Titanic, the "acceptable" suitor also happened to be a really great guy. Add these facts to the mix: 1) Being poor sucks. It does. You don’t hear music playing in the background while you look into your beloved’s eyes if there is a collector threatening litigation on your answering machine, and 2) Women are not helpless beings whose only hopes of prosperity sit on the shoulders of the men they choose. (Well, we’re not helpless now. Obviously women in other generations were much more limited in their choices.) I figured opting for passion was saying: "I’m not with him because he’ll be able to buy me a nicer car. I’m with him because I love him and I’ll make enough money to buy my own car, thank you very much."

I kind of had an epiphany watching this movie though. What was different about Noah’s and Allie’s romance was that he worked hard for her, that he tried to be better because of her and that he genuinely wanted what was best for her. Maybe I should change my assessment of the most romantic scene to the one where she awoke to find flowers on the pillow next to her and was directed to the painting studio he had built on faith for her. That was a deal changer. That was a man who didn’t just say, “You make me happy and I want you”. He said, “I get what makes you happy and I want to give it to you”.

I have many a friend who has advised me to be more sensible the next time I get into a serious relationship. I keep trying to talk myself into the idea that I’m supposed to be with a guy who is well endowed… financially (please get your minds out of the gutter :) …. and it’s been making me kind of sad. I have never been able to let go of the idea that I want to be smiling when I wake up in the morning. I do care more about the security part at this stage of my life, but I’m just not ready to let go of the passion part. I want both. I also want someone with shared values and someone who cares about my happiness as much as I care about his. I want someone to build me my painting studio. (Well my painting studio is really a beach house, but you get the point.) Can that still happen when I’m post 40 and most of the truly good ones are already taken? Gosh, I hope so!

Overall Rating: A I’ve been hearing about this one for years, but I never watched it until this week. I figured it to be a big stereotypical schmaltz fest. This felt so gosh darn real to me though. People who are "in love" throw the term soul mate around like phone companies throw around their latest, greatest cell phone plans. The couple in this film were believable as soul mates.

This was a beautiful story about a couple who had a long, wonderful, complicated life together. It had all the right emotional notes. I laughed. I cried. I lusted. (Did I mention that scene after they got out of the boat? Did I mention the part in that scene where a rather buff looking Noah, water dripping down his back, has Allie pinned against the wall when they first get into the house? Did I mention the part where he gently slides her stockings off? I could go on here, of course, but I won't. This isn't that kind of a blog.

Bottom Line: The scenery was gorgeous. The acting was inspired and the story was touching. Call me a sap if you want, but I loved this movie… just loved it!

Go Team USA!

I thought about doing my hair like this today....

or maybe like this....

or perhaps like this....

At the last minute, I decided not to! I was just too afraid of running into someone else wearing the same look.

Don't mistake my fashion cowardice for a lack of interest in the Winter Games, though. If we have to be cold ... and, darn it, this Winter it seems like we do, I say bring on the figure skating and the alpine skiing. Go Team USA! :)

If Hot Heads Styles It... They Will Come Calling! :)

In honor of Valentine’s Day, please enjoy this initial installment of Dear Hot Heads Groupie! :)

Dear Hot Heads Groupie,

I have set a little money aside for Valentine’s Day. How should I spend it?

A) Buy an obscure CD the guy I’m (kind of, sort of) seeing once mentioned in passing, so as to show him how attuned I am to who he really is. Get him a Tommy Hilfiger shirt that I know will look great on him and pick up a cleverly written card that perfectly sums up our budding relationship......or….

B) Get my hair cut and colored at Hot Heads so that I look amazing.

Young, Naïve and Eager to Please

Dear Young, Naïve and Eager,

There was a time in my life when I would’ve told you to go w/option A. I know now that that would've been bad advice. After years of carefully observing the techniques employed by women who have men eating out of their hands, I can tell you WITH CERTAINTY that the answer is B. While your guy would probably be appreciative of your gestures if you bought him the CD and the nice looking shirt, he would very likely end up wearing that shirt and listening to that CD on his date with your successor.

He’d much rather have a date with a hot babe who values and takes care of herself. Men are visual creatures. You can like that fact or dislike it. What you can’t do is change it.

Men also like confidence. You are the prize. When you let the object of your affection know that, he’ll be oh so eager to win the prize. If you pander to your guy, he will become bored and go after someone who is more of a challenge. Then what will happen? You’ll be back out in the dating pool with mousy hair and broken spirits. Obviously that won’t do!

A much better alternative is to treat your guy to a date with the hottest girl in town. If he gets how awesome you are, bask in the attention. If he is blind and/or confused, move on and flip that amazing looking hair in the presence of any other cute, single men you desire. Then walk away. It’s a virtual certainty that men from three states away will follow. Think, “Field of Dreams” meets “My Fair Lady” meets “Something About Mary”. If Hot Heads styles it, they will come calling.

Disclaimer: If you are trying to win over the kind of man who is only attracted to men, twelve year olds or the kind of women whose dysfunctional lives could land them their own reality shows, option B won’t deliver the desired results. No worries! You’ll still be better off! You will have spent your money wisely and you will look and feel incredible.

Hope that helps and I hope to see you at Hot Heads shortly! Happy Valentine’s Day!

XXOO, The Hot Heads Groupie :)

Even Cowgirls Get The Hues... and Cuts and Products

One of my closest friends recently directed me to a blog written by Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman, an Oklahoma married mother of four who bills herself as a desperate housewife living in the country and channeling Lucille Ball and Ethel Merman.

I've taken to reading this blog (See link below.) whenever I wake up wondering what it must be like to live on a working cattle ranch. You would think that wouldn’t happen very often. Surprisingly, you would be wrong.

(I don't have any desire to move to the middle of nowhere and drive feed trucks through the Winter snow, but I am quite fascinated by such a delightful glimpse at what that kind of life is really like. The featured recipes on the site make me want to get in my car and drive west in hopes of scoring a dinner invitation. The pictures are straight out of a coffee table book and the captions should not be read when sipping coffee over a white linen tablecloth. Looking at this site makes me want to rent a Winnebago and go see our beautiful country. It makes me want to swoon in the arms of a man in chaps. It’s makes me want to adopt a Basset Hound – Brandy, the Wonder Dog thinks that’s a really stupid idea - and it makes me want to go play with someone else’s adorable young children.

I first got hooked on this blog after taking a little time to read the story of how Ree’s handsome rancher husband lassoed her heart between the time she left LA and the time she was scheduled to move to Chicago with hopes of starting law school. She calls this series of posts, “From Black Heels to Tractor Wheels”. In a nutshell, it’s the modern version of the 70s television show Green Acres. (That’s her characterization.) It’s the sweetest story! It’s quite humorous in places and – this is the big one – it is a good reminder that there are a couple of good guys out there in the world.

Anyway, the whole thing is kind of addictive and it’s worth a read. The blog gets about 13 million hits per/month - which just a little over 12,999,000 more than this one gets. :) I’m bringing this blog to your attention today for two reasons: The first reason is because it's February, that magical month of amore and chocolate. I’m sure we could all use a handsome cowboy story about love and lust that doesn’t end in “candy coated misery”.

The second reason is because today on her blog, The Pioneer Woman chronicled her trip to a salon in the “big city” to get haircuts for her girls. http://thepioneerwoman.com/blog/2010/02/the_haircut_chronicles/ . Her already adorable daughters are positively glowing in the after shots and Ree laments the fact that this type of trip – and any hairstyle that does not involve an elastic hairband - are such rarities for them.

This, of course, made me realize anew how lucky we are. We don’t have to ditch chores, dodge ranchers and drive hours to get our hair beautified. All we have to do is head a little ways up the road to the Seminole Towne Center and Hot Heads.

Hope you do that sometime soon. I hear love … or at least lust… is in the air. It’s time to pull out your bag of tricks and wow the man in your life… or the man you’re after. Better yet, it’s time to wow yourself! Happy February!