On Saturday my guest upped her appointment from just a mani/pedi to ...a mani/pedi, facial, lip wax, cut and color. Normally that would overwhelm me, but she was so dear. She gave me tips on how to improve and how to market myself and just generally encouraged me. She even made me cry when I was rinsing out her color! (Admittedly, it is not that hard to make me cry. But still.)
One thing she told me is not to sell myself short. In general, I don't have a lot of confidence in the hair department. After the first week of beauty school I thought, "Uh oh. I just spend a LOT of money for the WRONG thing." But that's not true. This is SO right, I can feel it in my bones! I am not a natural (I have seen some 18 year old girls fresh out of highschool whip up some hair that leaves my mouth gaping open saying "a-duuuhhhh"). But I do know how to work hard. I know how to learn. And, most importantly, I know how to love people. (I have a Great Teacher for that. :) )

Well. After that speech about how I have no talent..pictures! I thought I'd start at the very beginning... it was a dark and gloomy January...



I learned how to do a 'finger wave' (very carefully and with lots and lots of gel)


and a spiral perm( among other perms. But this one is my favorite. maybe because it requires less precision?)...

and foils! (definitely more sophisticated than the baseball cap with holes and peroxide I tried when I was 12)