Eyelash Perm

Am I the only one who didn't realize this exists?!?!? One afternoon over the holidays my sister, Kelly, and my mom and I went to the salon to get manicures together. While being pampered, we couldn't ignore the crowd of people circling around a girl sitting in a chair in another part of the room. Those confined to their chairs were straining the necks to see what the fuss was about, and then finally our nails dried and we got a look too--you guessed it, she was getting her eyelashes permed!

The treatment takes a little over an hour, so I didn't get to see the results, but Kelly and I promptly made an appointment to do the same later that week.

The eyelash perm, touted as a budget-friendly alternative to extensions (which are upwards of $100-$150 and have to be redone every 2 weeks), costs about $35-$40. The process is rather simple and is nothing to be nervous about. Once all of your makeup is thoroughly removed, the technician puts in rollers and brushes on perming solution as they would for an ordinary perm.

The rollers come in three sizes--small, medium, or large. My sister has long, thick lashes and was able to use the large rollers. Me? I squeezed by with the medium, though sadly I think the small ones would have worked as well. The rollers are a dense foam, slightly sticky and felt awkward but did not hurt at all. Your part of the deal is simply to keep your eyes shut for the next hour or the whole process will need to start over from the beginning. I imagine since I wear contacts and thus have no problems with my eyes being touched and overall messed with, I had no problem keeping them shut (except for the flinching when I got my eyebrow wax done at the same time!).

Then wait, wait wait...for about 75 minutes, part of that time with saran wrap over your eyes. They took Kelly and I out from the back room into the main room with all of the massage chairs. I could feel the gawking stares but I pretended like it was completely normal and just enjoyed the massage. Once time was up, one more solution was applied to our lashes and then a quick rinse over the sink and ta-da! Lashes are permanently curled for the next 3-4 weeks.

No one noticed that my lashes were any different, and though our dad feigned a "They look good!" I imagine he only said as much because he knew we were having them done (aww). Personally, I do think that it opened up my eyes, though nothing more drastic than if I had curled them the old fashioned way. I want to say that an eyelash perm is the best kept beauty secret and you should run out to your salon and get one done today, but I have to say you might be the only one who notices!

A special thank you to Kelly for allowing me to post her picture!

Running Resource: Gmaps Pedometer

Neighborhood running junkies and mile-tracking-aholics rejoice, because Gmaps Pedometer has got your fix. Click your route*, block by block, and the mileage is posted on the screen. The plan I am roughly following is based on mileage, so I have found the tool to be indispensable in keeping me accurately on schedule.

To begin you enter your starting location, zoom in, then hit the "start recording" button to start logging your route. Click once and drag to move the map and double-click to mark a stopping point, turn or "leg." Final results can be printed, saved, or exported.

Note: There are lots of other "Google Map Pedometers" out there, but personally I have found this interface to be the most friendly to use.

*The route above maps my walk home from work, albeit an infrequent occurrence in reality, but look--3.68 miles!

Email Makeover: Inbox Zero

"Inbox Zero," of Merlin Mann and 43 Folders fame, has literally transformed the way I use email at work. No longer are emails read, only to sit in my inbox indefinitely until I "do something" or forget about them--whichever comes first. Instead, Inbox Zero has taught me to process incoming information.

Because it has helped me drastically to get organized and be productive, I thought it might be helpful for some to hear my personal account of what I've been able to stick with and make work on a daily basis.

Processing--not just reading and replying to--Email
The general idea of Inbox Zero is just what it sounds like--keep your inbox empty. I have never been an email deleter and in my pre-zero days, had a consistently bulging inbox due to my fear of maybe needing something later on. Upon starting Inbox Zero, I took my entire inbox and dragged its contents to another folder, giving my inbox a clean slate. Amazingly, weeks later, I realized that I hadn't had to go back into that folder but a handful of times. All of that information I thought I needed "just in case," was really just clogging my access to relevant information.

For me, processing email typically results in one of the following events:

-Complete a specific task if it's something that can be done in less than 2-5 minutes (Merlin uses the 2 minute rule, but I find 2-5 more realistic).

-If it will take more than 2-5 minutes, determine the action steps required and assign them to a specific time or place (see The Email-Paper Connection, below).

-Decide that it's information that needs to be filed separately for reference, and do so.

-Read the information, then delete it if it's nothing I will come back to later.

The Email-Paper Connection
As I go through email, I keep one sheet of paper on my desk, typically divided horizontally in 5 parts, naturally for each day of the workweek. This allows me to quickly build out my workload for the week and how I should prioritize based on deadlines. If a certain task needs further notes or I have ideas to remember, I have a separate sheet of paper just for that specific task. I imagine many people use online to-do lists or some other form of digital time management, but I find that nothing beats a legal pad and pen for top-of-the-mind note taking and quick processing.

Schedule Time for Email
This is difficult for me to do considering my company more often than not uses email in lieu of phone calls or instant messages, but even so, as possible I shut down my Outlook while I'm working on a specific task that needs my full attention. Along those same lines, it follows that time to process email should be an isolated event, not a constant buzz and distraction in the background.

Want to give your email life a makeover? Visit the Inbox Zero site and be prepared to never use email the same way again.

how to travel with gadgets

I don't know about you, but every time I go on a trip I cram all the different chargers I need into random pockets in my suitcase and purse and inevitably, I return home missing one or two. I took a trip this past week, and as I was packing my cords into different pockets as usual, I stopped myself and decided this time would be different. I was determined to return home with all of my gadget's life supports!

I had four chargers to bring: usb cord for my camera, usb for my ipod, cell phone charger, and laptop cord.

At first I thought I could just store them all in the same pocket or a smaller bag, but then that left a chance that I'd still forget to put one back in there, considering I'm bad about spreading my things all over the place, even on a short trip.

Solution? As pictured above, I took a hint from how people store embroidery thread and cut out a piece of a cardboard box I had laying around to essentially make a large spool. It worked better than I expected because not only did it keep everything in one place, it ensured that I would easily recognize that something was missing if all of the notches were not full.

Simple solution, but my gadget's batteries are full after my return home and my wallet's fatter for not having to replace anything!

how to find money

How much money did I "find" this last week?

$1580.40

Really!

Now to a lot of you personal finance gurus and those otherwise experienced with all things money, you can more than likely skip this. For all you others out there, read on.

"Finding" this money was simply a matter of making some calls. This past week I have gathered all of my monthly bills and expenses into a pile. One by one, I called the customer service numbers to see what they could do about lowering the amount. For other expenses, I realized that I wasn't really using them enough for what I was paying, so I simply canceled.

Credit Cards
This is a biggie. Since I'm young with a short credit history (though it is good), my rates are through the roof. When I first had the cards, I probably took too much advantage of the intro rates and never really paid attention when the finance charges started accruing. Solution?

I called each card and told them I was looking to consolidate all of my cards, that I was calling each one to compare the rates, and then asked them what could they give me. The last one I called gave me the best deal. Only 2% balance transfer fee and 0% interest for 18 months. That's way better than any intro rate I've ever had! Some handy calculators at my card's website allowed me to calculate how much I would save in the next year minus the transfer fees and interest I would have been paying on my other cards. It was a lot, and most of what you see in that number up top.

So now that the finance charges are under control, I will be able to pay off everything in 6 months. Not to mention only one payment deadline to keep track of every month!

The Gym
I hate going to the gym. For some reason, I thought signing up for one a block from my office would convince me to go, but now I laugh at myself thinking that. Needless to say, I canceled my membership. If I really become motivated to workout, I will be motivated enough to work out at home. Another small plus is that I won't feel as guilty when I walk by the gym on a frozen yogurt run because even though I'm not working out, at least I'm not paying to not workout!

Cable
I hardly ever watch tv. I mean really, weeks go by that I don't even turn it on. I called Comcast to cancel, but doing so would raise my internet bill by $10. I complained, and the second rep I talked to instead cut my cable bill in half for the next 6 months. Savings? A cool $150 just with a phone call.

Bill Pay
I've never realized that my bank was charging me for this. Shame on me, I know. What effectively was happening was that I was paying $6.95 per month to pay one bill. Ridiculous, I know. I canceled that pronto to quickly save myself almost $85 dollars in the next year.

Cell Phone
I researched other phone plans, but I found that I have the best (read: cheapest) deal that fits my needs. I wasn't able to save any money here, though it's still comforting to know that I'm not overpaying.

Sticking with a plan
The last step? I've been tracking my expenses, keeping all receipts and once a week, entering them in a spreadsheet by category. These categories would be different for everyone, but the bulk of my spending falls into the following buckets:

• Dining out
• Coffee & drinks
• Alcohol
• Clothes
  
• Apartment shopping (decorating, org stuff, etc)
• Misc Shopping
• Books
• Groceries
• Cabs
• Medical

It surprisingly isn't taking much time at all, and it's allowed me to create a reasonable budget for me to follow each month to quickly pay off my debts.

It feels so good to be in control. How much money can you find???

how to hand wash clothes

It has taken me 23 and 1/2 years to be motivated to educate myself on how to hand wash clothing. The catalyst that sent me to the Internet to research hand washing and sent me even faster to the store to buy a drying rack and Woolite?

Well, there's this sweater I wore once last winter...and what would you know, it's been in the bottom of my laundry hamper since. Now, said sweater has been washed in the washer before, but it was starting to pill so I told myself next time I'd pony up for dry cleaning. Through what was left of last winter, through spring, and now almost all of summer, it remains banished to the bottom of the barrel. It even made it in the hamper through a move from one side of Seattle to the other.

Needless to say, the dry cleaning prices in Seattle abhor me, so it made easy to ignore for a while. But this sweater is looking sad. And lonely. And I couldn't go another day thinking that one of these days it's going to be winter again, and I will realize that it's been a YEAR since I needed to wash it.

Do you think I'm disgusting yet? Good. Me too.


On to the washing. Not surprising, there are tons of resources on hand washing clothing. I read through several and even watched a cheesy video, though when it comes to anything about cleaning I tend to trust good ol' Martha Stewart. I particularly love the mag Real Simple, though I'm not sure why, because every time I read it I find that there is some square inch of my apartment that I've been negligent in tending (read: more work for me). Regardless, here is the round-up of hand washing tips from Real Simple online:

• Do's and Don'ts
• Three Steps of Washing Delicates
• About Detergents

If you don't want to click through, here's what I found particularly useful from these links, others, and actually doing it:

-Most things can be hand washed. Even things that say "Dry Clean," with the distinction from "Dry Clean Only," which means just what it says. (Note: I washed a sweater that said dry clean only, and it is fine! You can use your judgment based on the make of the garment.)

-How the garment dries is important in keeping its shape. Some things need to hang, some need to dry flat, and still others need care to be reshaped.

-Don't soak the clothing for more than 2-5 minutes. Letting it soak can weaken embellishments and besides, 98% of the dirt comes out in the first 2 minutes anyhow.

-Don't use water that's too hot. Most things should be washed in luke warm, but some of my tags said cold only.

-Roll sweaters in a towel to squeeze out all of the water. They will be really heavy after washing and difficult to reshape without this step.


Final verdict? Worth doing.

As for my hamper-ridden sweater? It's actually still in there!! I didn't get to washing that one. Soon though, my friends. Very soon!!