on the road

We are coming home TODAY!!

As blessed as I am to have the job I have, I am always most excited when the jobs are complete and I am on my way home. I miss my church family, I miss my dogs and I miss my home. I don’t really miss my husband though. That sounds pretty bad… unless you know that Special Ed is with me on this job.

We are sitting in our hotel room, drinking coffee from the lobby and shaking the cobwebs out of our heads. Getting ready for a 7 hour drive to Wilmington. Our Pet Nanny will have Bella and Daisy at the house waiting for us. They give us such a sweet homecoming. Tails wagging like helicopter whirlybirds, Bodies wiggling all over with excitement until they flop on the floor from exhaustion with bellies showing just waiting for a tummy rub. I get puppy kisses from Bella. Daisy is much too dignified a lady to take part in such a sloppy show of affection. I never allowed a dog to give kisses before but somehow, we let this cute, sweet tempered, black, love muffin get away with it. I love my dogs.

This trip has been very fruitful. I made some new friends and got to see some old friends again. I discovered that one of the products that I use primarily on ethnic hair works wonders for our Native actors with long hair. I had the pleasure of spoiling these folks on a daily basis and it was so much fun for me because they appreciated everything that was done for them. A lot of the Natives that worked on this shoot are Pow-wow dancers. They dress in the most beautiful regalia and wear some intricate hairstyles and head pieces for the dance. They teased me about flying me in to do the Pow-wow circut with them. Apparently, folks follow the pow-wows and set up a booth to do hair for the dancers. Who knows, I may have found my next gig.

We have finished well

They are filming the last scene of our project tonight. I am so pleased with the work that we have done on this one. I have met some people who are sober alcoholics (friends of Bill). It has been good to be here.

Here is a pic of a beautiful young lady with extensions that I put in. Her own hair is not quite to the shoulder. We had some fun!

be true to your self

Whenever I write something of a personal nature I always cringe when it comes time to press the PUBLISH button. I question… is this TMI?, will this chapter of my life benefit anyone else?, and did I put it all in a comprehensible context? This is becoming my guideline for whether or not I make things public.

Then, I get some comment that tells me SOMEONE has identified. Man, that helps me to remain transparent. You never know who will be touched in some way by just knowing they are not alone. I know that I do not need to air my dirty laundry, so to speak, and I struggle with how much honesty is too much for someone else to bear. Many times in my life, I have heard someone share something deeply personal and I have been able to say, “That is me. I feel just like that. If that person can survive and even grow through the pain, so can I.” After all, if you have found your way to the cheese in the rat maze, don’t you want to show someone else where the cheese is? I’m just saying.

My purpose for beginning this blog is to share my experience, strength and hope with others out there. I have a lot of experiences and a lot of hope. I credit God Almighty with any strength I have.

Thanks to every one who encourages me to remain transparent. I once heard some one say, “We are only as sick as our secrets.” I would add to that, be wise about who you share your secrets with and how you share your secrets. God is a good listener and He never gossips.

Been there, now I am here.

Being here in Quincy is playing with my head a little. I went to Jr. High here and that was not a happy time in my life. I was attempting to fit in at first. I tried out for cheer leading. Unfortunately, I was laughed out of the auditorium by the pretty, mean girls. I did not have nice clothes, nor did I have a polished look and none of these “girlfriends” had ever seen me before because I was new in town. Teen years can be so awkward. Besides all that, I was always an outsider in life. Looking back, it seems that I was moving down to the lowest common denominator until I found a group of outcasts who were a little more wounded and messed up than I was. I made friendships with a couple of prostitutes and their boyfriend (pimp). The girls taught me how to apply make up and false eyelashes. Later in life I would learn how to tone down the make up tips I acquired from these beautiful girls.

I did not have much adult supervision in my life because my Mom worked about 10-12 hours a day and by the time she got home from work, she was drunk. My Mom loved me. She was an alcoholic, single mother and she was doing what her disease would allow. Mom tried to warn me that I was beginning to hang with the “wrong crowd” but I found it very difficult to take her advise. She was, of course, correct.

Because of my rebellion and my insistence in cavorting with people that, finally, seemed to accept me I:

• took my first Benny (speed pill)
• had my first drink of wine
• took my first LSD trip
• witnessed my first crime
• became a victim of a violent crime

My Mom was right. These folks were way out of my league and I placed myself in very precarious situations. Even though my Mom was drunk 70 % of the time I lived with her, I should have heeded her advise. Instead, I ran away at the age of 15 after suffering that violent crime. It messed me up for a long time. I went right into hanging with a group of outlaw bikers. I was looking for protection. My brother, Lucky, was the vice president of the club at the time. Little did I know, I was jumping from the proverbial frying pan into the fire. I got more and more messed up and rebellious. My brother tried his hardest to get me away from the club members but I was a very determined little booger. He went to jail for kidnapping a Federal Agent and I continued hanging with the outlaws. Until one of them, the club president, at Lucky’s request, tried to persuade me to go back home to my Momma. This outlaw hung me out of a third story window by my ankles. He had one ankle and a guy named Mousey had the other one. The Pres. told me I needed to go home. When I said that I wasn’t going anywhere, he let go. Thank God Mousey had a good grip on me and dragged me back in the window. Even though I only weighed 110 at the time, I think God gave him super natural power to do that.

I did go home for a little while after that. Just long enough to hook up with another motorcycle club that wasn’t quite as outlaw as the first. These guys had a club house, some good drugs and some pretty bikes and they were fun to drink with. Most importantly, they were protective of me.

God has had His hand of mercy and grace on me all my life. I can count three events in my life that could easily have resulted in my death. Miraculously, I am still here. Today, I am sober, drug free and in possession of my right mind. (Although, some would debate the latter.) God has a plan that NO man can change. I trust that every nasty event in my life has been knit into a beautiful life. I should be full of mercy and grace to all the other wanderers who are trying to find their way in this crazy life. Today, I know that God is my protector. He saved me for a purpose. I try to listen to Him and to heed His calling on my life. He gives me compassion for the so called “losers” in this world. I try to pass on the love, grace and mercy God has lavished on me. If I am able to make a difference in the life of one single person who is struggling to find their place in this world, I will have accomplished much. It is not all about me. I do not, however, want to forget where I have come from.

Looking back, I can see some of what He saved me from and I can see some ways that He has opened my eyes to see Him. I have learned that God don’t make no junk. He is not looking to beat us up with guilt. He loves us right in the middle of our mess and He wants to lift us up out of the garbage we have slipped into.

Thanks God.

Call me Crazy Butt…

… I love what I get to do for a living?

These are our Massasoit and Edward Winslow characters.

I worked for 53 hours in 4 days and although I was exhausted and aching all over last night, I am having a great time. There are so many interesting photos that I am having a hard time choosing what to post.

One of the things that I really enjoy about my job is the people that I meet. Whether it is my co-workers or my actors or my director or producers.

The folks that I am working with on this project have been the best. I have a good, respectful relationship with the producers. The director has told me that the previous portions that we have filmed already this year are looking great. That makes me feel like I am doing a good job at my craft and that just plain feels good.

My friend Jennifer is working with me on this. She has worked on several projects about Native Americans and she has good Indian hair styling experience. She is also the kind of person who will make it work no matter what the challenge. Her arts and crafts ability really comes in handy in our line of work. As an added bonus, she is really easy to get along with and she makes me laugh more than any other woman I know.

My friend Jerry is also working with me. I met him several years ago working on The Notebook. I could watch him create finger waves and 1940s hairstyles all day long. His mother and aunt were both hair stylists. He grew up in a salon and he has a head full of knowledge about hair styling. We hit it off from the very first week that we worked together. He makes me laugh too. A good sense of humor goes a long way in this line of work.

The three of us are creating some great looks for this program.

King Phillip and his Wampanoag warrioirs.

If I saw these guys coming toward me, I would be looking for a good place to hide. But since I got to take part in creating these looks, I grabbed my camera and snapped a photo.

Monday and Tuesday will be my last 2 days on this.

Ed and I are spending one day with family here before we head for home.

Tired

I have been too tired to write. We worked 16 hours on our first day and I had to be back to work in 8 hours for my second day. Thank goodness this one is only 3 more shooting days. I am looking forward to the weekend off. I took some nice pics today. I will try to post something on Sunday.

Even though I am tired, I am having a great time and I am very blessed to be a part of this project. God has blessed me with favor. There was potential for several things to go wrong but, so far, everything just keeps falling into place, Thank you to those of you who pray for me. I appreciate you so much.

Gotto go to bed now. I can get about 7 hours before I have to back to work in the morning.

We’re here

I have a ton of stuff to unload from my car and set up in the Ballroom of the Mariott. That is where we will be doing our hair work for this episode of We Shall Remain. I found out yesterday that the location where we will be filming is one hour and ten minutes away from where we will be doing the hair. That is not good news. Our Pilgrims and Magistrate characters will all be in wigs. Our Native Americans will have an assortment of feather head dresses in their hair and who knows what make up. To have everyone crammed into a van for over an hour with all that going on is going to be tough. Once my hairstylists get out to the location, they won’t be coming back to our base camp until the end of the day. That means we do not have an option to forget so much as a product or a feather. Thank God that it is only the first day that we will be so far away. No building, no blow dryers, no running water, no lights, and my personal favorite (not) - porta-potties. “Little hair stylists on the Prairie.” This job is not for sissies. That is why I will be staying back at the ballroom. ha-ha. Actually, there will be a group of actors arriving at the hotel who are scheduled to work later in the week. I will have to fit some for wigs and shave the heads of some of the Natives who will play Massasoit’s warriors. They have to look like they did in the portion that we filmed back in March.

I love my job.

Half way there

Special Ed is an excellent driver. We traveled for about 7 and a half hours today and Ed did most of the driving. I got a lot of my scheduling work done while he drove. Ed is SEMI-retired now. It is pretty cool that he can travel with me when I go out on a short job. We are in a hotel for the night.

Tomorrow we will drive the other 7 hours to Peabody Mass. and check in to another hotel where we will stay for a week while i am working on the North shore of Mass. Then we move to the south shore and stay at another hotel while I work a couple of days there.

I always bring my own soaps and shampoo with me so I can save the soap and shampoo that the hotel gives us each day. At the end of my out of town jobs I bring home a bag full of toiletries. I bring them to the Rock and give them to the Hand-up ministry. They pick up the homeless men and women in the Wilmington area and bring them to church every Sunday where they supply them with coffee and donuts before church starts and make showers available for anyone who wants one. There is also a clothes closet where folks can get a clean change of clothes to put on after their shower. After church they drop them off again with a sack lunch.

One of the things that drew me to my church is the people who have compassion for others. Not a condescending pity and not judging how a person got where they are. The Hand up ministry is not interested so much in giving a hand out for the sake of it. They just know that we all need a hand UP sometimes.

Before we leave Mass. we have made plans to stay one night in Plymouth so we can visit Cheryl and Wayne and the grands. The production company will be having their wrap party that night but we will be wrapping things up in our own style.

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, it’s off to work, again

I haven’t had any free space in my head to think of much else besides work. I have been consumed with reading the script, breaking down the characters and planning on how many wigs I will need to order. Placing orders for all the hair products I will need in order to accomplish the look of 1623-1670. It’s like a job. Oh wait a minute, it is a job.

Add to that, working a couple of days on One Tree Hill, learning how to use an airbrush so I can age one of our characters by spraying some silver/grey in his hair AND one hot friend of mine some platinum and purple hi-lites as well as doing some killer haircuts and you have a good idea of my last couple of weeks (How’s that for a long sentence?).

Today, I spent my day packing all my equipment and my clothes. I even started to fill up the Toyota. I am glad that we have this big Sequoya because I have lots and lots of stuff going with me. Fitting everything in there is a little like doing a jig-saw puzzle. Organizing the packing always exhausts me. I am like a whirling A.D.D. dervish spinning through the house, collecting my precious items to pack.

I made myself take the time to get a pedicure. One of my guilty (or not) pleasures. Oh yeah, I found time to color my hair and do my fingernails too.

Ed and I leave tomorrow. We will go as far as the other side of Baltimore and stop at the same hotel we stayed at last time through. Then we head to the Peabody Marriott in Massachusetts. We will cram a whole lot of work into 5 shooting days. We will be filming some more scenes for the first episode of the PBS American Experience. This is going to be a lot of fun. I will try to post some pics when I get back.

The director sent me an email yesterday telling me how good the stuff we just shot in Georgia looks. A lot of times, I do not hear any feed back from the director, so it was quite nice to know that he likes what my hair department team did for him. God’s favor has been amazing on this project. It will air on PBS in 2009. I think I will be proud of this one.

Hope I haven’t just bored you to tears. I have worn myself out and I am going to bed.

ragamuffintop weigh in

According to this weeks weigh-in

(drumroll)

I have lost

(ta-ta-ta-da)

150 lbs!!!!!!!

I am really glad that I learned the proper way to weigh!

OK. Truth is I lost nothing and gained nothing but this just makes me feel better about it.

Checkout how the other ragamuffintop dieters are doing .

My goal is to get to 140 lbs.

My current weight is 154.

I am going to walk at least 3 times this week.