On the Cusp

So I got a hair cut! These photos were actually taken the morning before that happened and looking back, I can see how frizzy and nasty those split ends were. Here's the issue though - I'm not in love with the cut I have. Sure, the split ends are gone and it looks sleeker, but I'm just not *happy* with it.

I went into Fantastic Sams after work on Friday and maybe it's because they were closing up shortly after my scheduled cut, but I felt like my hair stylist was rushing a bit - she barely even wet the back of my hair to trim it let alone the front. I wanted a sharp line - shorter in the back and longer layers in front - an angled lob if you will. 

Is that what I got? Nope!

I got home and the boy was like "Did they even cut your hair?"




And here's the thing: I'm a very non-confrontational person in real life. On the internet, I fire back at all the trolls, no holds barred. In person, I tend to be reserved. And let's face it, it's almost imposs…

As we slide into August I've started to take stock of my current skin concerns and the routines or products that are either working for me...or aren't. As the weather begins to cool just slightly and that nasty humidity drops off, I start to focus a little more on moisturizing and less on SPF mania (thought that never truly goes away....)


I have combination skin, so I tend to be oily in some areas and fairly dry in others - and these differences seem so much more apparent and exacerbated during the hot summer months. Now that I feel my skin needs are more streamlined, here is my current skincare routine:

Morning I'm not a morning person, so I've whittled my morning skincare routine down into something I can in between brushing my teeth and getting the coffee pot going. I start with a quick sweep of my face using micellar water on a cotton pad, followed with dabbing a few drops of the Primer Water into my skin. I roll the eye serum on while watching coffee drop and then…

From one man to another - this brilliant gentleman address the dudebros in the literary scene and explicitly coaches them on how NOT to act towards lady authors. It's nice to know there are other men in the literary scene who appreciate their women peers and are willing to lend their voice to support us.

It helps that his tone is hilariously vulgar - meet 'em on their level, right?


Since we're on the topic, have you been noticing lately that so many of the recently published works of fiction have flower-themed cover art? Me too, and apparently some other folks have noticed this. Check out Vanity Fair's take on this publishing trend, which has been dubbed "bouquet books."


Remember the last time you had no weekend or weeknight plants? What did you do with that? How did you feel? Your answer likely depends on your scheduling style and how you view "time" - are you a clock-timer or an event-timer? The Cut breaks down this paper from the Current Opinion …

...from the perspective of an employee who just had an annual review.

There is nothing more frightening than that time of year when your boss or supervisor announces that annual employee reviews are coming up. Suddenly, every deadline looms that much larger, every little side-eye from a coworker seems that much more sinister. You feel like you're being watched - and you are - but it feels like someone is just waiting for you to screw up in some way.

Oh, just me?

So, here are some ideas from an employee (who regularly deals with anxiety and paranoia) on how to conduct the best annual employee review possible.

 Announce it ahead of time
Please give us time to prepare and get into a head-space that allows us to analyze our own strengths and weaknesses. That way, when you're discussing our apparent strengths and weaknesses we are all on the same page and able to level with each other.

My supervisor told us two months ago that employee reviews were coming up. And then we were remin…

Hey readers, I'm thinking of changing up my blog layout. Again! What I have right now isn't terrible, but the spacing between the posts section and the sidebar has always bothered me. So, after a bit of digging through Blogger's available layouts - I settled on three (3) that I like.

But, I'm going to put the vote up to you! At the end of the week, I'll take note of the results and the change will go into effect. Cheers!


#1.

#2.

#3.



Which Layout Do You Like Best?
#1 #2 #3 Created with QuizMaker

Like most women, I struggled with body image. Then I realized I wasn't a woman.  This article over on The Tempest really spoke to me. I too struggle with a disconnect from my own body, but being able to identify my inner-gender helped me to either make peace with the body I have or start making plans to change the things that truly cause me distress. Like having breasts. 

How to Get Over Your Fear of Networking - this recent post from The Everygirl reminds us that we all find networking kind of scary, but it can be especially overwhelming for us introverts. The tips provided here are great for breaking it down in much more easily digestible (and less frightening) tactics.

Remember Skrillex? This greasy-haired hipster kid brought dubstep and other forms of EDM to mainstream attention and now he's back with a new soundtrack aimed at making your next workout even more intense. I still like Deadmau5 but I'm not sure if I want to give Skrillex 2.0 a go or not.

Jelly Nails are the …