Simple Marley Twists hairstyles for long trips

From May 11th - 13th, Brian and I drove to Virginia to visit my family and watch my sister graduate from college!  She was number 3 out of her class of 700!  I was so proud of her and I was able to be close to the stage for her to see me and wave.  Eventually, the trip took a toll on me, especially since we got up at 5am everyday to travel.  On my last day in town, I missed dinner at my in-laws because I fell asleep on the couch.  Overall, we had fun and the trip was worth it.  Here are some pictures from the graduation:

And here is what I wore to the graduation:


Full Tilt Ruffle Belted Maxi Dress from Amazon.com
Mix No. 6 Bianca Wedge Pump from DSW.com 

In the meantime, I did my third installment of my Marley Twists so I didn't have to worry about my hair as much.  Here are my four go-to styles I had for the whole weekend.  Each style took between 1-5 minutes and required only 1 bobby pin.  2 out of the 4 hairstyles were even done in my car!  I will provide a tutorial on these styles soon!
10 hour drive as a passenger?  Try this: Bun with Satin Scarf.

This style allowed me to keep my edges smooth while I slept during most of the drive.

Simple style to try after the drive?  Try this: Half up do.

 

Graduation guest hair?  Try this: Side Braided bun

 

After graduation hair?  Try this: Side Braid

"Graduation guest hair" with the bobby pin removed.

Bonus:
College Graduate trying to fit your natural hair under your cap?  Try these:

WIAW: Last week in my Architectural world

I am thankful for last week's Hiatus! 

When I came back in town last Monday afternoon, I got an email from an Architect I have been in contact with that has been assisting me with conducting the Architect Registration Exam study group.  She forwarded me information on a scholarship given by AIA that would cover the costs of the 7 ARE exams and provide a complete collection of Kaplan's study guides for the exam!  This sounded amazing.  When I read a little further, I found out I only had one week to apply!!!  My vision of possibly ending my Hiatus early went down the drain.  Even writing a post for this past Monday was out of the question.  I spent all week in my spare time revamping my resume, portfolio and biography and gathering all the recommendations I could for this scholarship.  With the help of my awesome husband, he checked for errors and I was able to submit it on Monday before catching a 24hr bug.  Now I'm crossing my fingers that I get the scholarship and get rid of the bug.

In the meantime, I still had to work.  Below are little snippets of my adventures in Architecture:

Tuesday:
Project C had a site visit.  I thought the site visit was for the civil engineer only and the Architects would visit the existing spaces.  With that said, I wore a new pencil skirt and a button down blouse my sister gave to me with heels to match.  Apparently I was wrong and the Architects had to go.  I was glad that I drove my car, because my construction boots were in there.  (The client's office is on the same street as my townhouse, so I didn't have to stop at work first, yay!)  We got a lot done, and my boss and I went to Zaxby's before we headed back to work.

Thursday:
My bosses and I had a meeting with the end users for Project F.  We laid of the new spaces in the existing building and wanted the end users to review it.  The meeting went well, and we made more changes that accommodated the end users.  After the meeting, we saw an event for the Urban Design Commission going on in the main lobby and they were giving out popcorn.  My bosses and I decided to check out the event and view the historical districts that were up for awards.  The popcorn was soooo yummy that I accidently dropped a popcorn down my blouse.  I couldn't do anything about it because we bumped into past colleagues, UDC employees and a guy named DM.  DM worked with our firm on a historical project out of the city and we even received an award for it.  This was my first time meeting DM, and he said this to me:

"What's your field of study? Architecture? I just wanted to tell you that you have a face for historical Architecture. I just know these things and you will be a historical Architect. Soak every bit of information you can from your firm. {Insert websites here} are great websites to look for historical information. I know you will do great."

The weirdest thing is that he didn't know my Thesis was on historical Architecture and that I wanted to specialize in it.  It was pretty awesome hearing that from someone who is a "big wig" in Georgia.  Afterwards, I had a big smile on my face.  Oh and I was able to get the popcorn when I went outside:

I found out I had another popcorn down my blouse when I changed clothes, lol.  And yes I saved it for this post that I wrote on Sunday!

Saturday:
Saturday was our first meet up for the ARE study group.  Myself and the co-founder had issues finding the Starbucks and parking but we made it.  We had a total of 4 members that attended the meeting and all of us are planning to take the Construction Documents and Services of the ARE.  Everyone shared their experience with the exam and how they are approaching to study.  This was the BIGGEST motivation I needed.  I know I'm been slacking but I'm going to sign up for my exam on June 22.  I'm going to check my calendar and see if that is possible.  It's no far being a leader to others and not taking my own advice.  I got to stay motivated!

Our next meeting is next Saturday and I can't wait!

Tibby Tuesday: How?

How?  That's the only question I could ask on Wednesday afternoon. 

When I came home from work, Brian was down stairs cooking; so I talked for him for a little bit and headed up stairs to see my favorite Big Boy, Mr. Tibbs.  I have a habit of singing his name or jiggling my keys while I go up the stairs, so he would know it's me.  When I walked through the door, he was missing!  I was freaking out because I couldn't find Mr. Tibbs, but then I looked up.  Mr. Tibbs was on the curtain rod! 

Mr. Tibbs is a creature of habit and is never by the window unless his window perch is up.  The only time you can find him in a random place is if something scared him.  When he is found, he doesn't fly back on his own, unless someone guides him back to the cage.  Brian stated that the door bell rung before he went down stairs and Mr. Tibbs flew around the room a couple of times before he landed back on the cage.  Afterward, Brian left the room and didn't hear much from him.  Usually when Mr. Tibbs fly around the room, he lets out a big "SQUAWK" as a warning.  Brian didn't hear anything.

After I took these pictures as evidence, I helped Mr. Tibbs back to his cage and eventually put up his window perch.  The mystery of Mr. Tibbs being on the window is still unsolved but at least he had fun at a new location!

Week Hiatus

Source: Google Images

Guess what?!  My sister is graduating college tomorrow!  Right now, I am on a 10 hour drive to see her do so.  I'm so excited for her.  Also, it will be Mother's Day, so I get to spend time with my Mom and the rest of my family.  With that being said, I will be on a week hiatus.  I usually write some of my posts on the weekend, and by time I get back in town, I will be too burnt out to continue the weekly themes.   

Here are some awesome blogs to visit that follow my weekly themes:

Married Monday:  Dating/Married/Family Life
Good Girl Gone Wife
Happy Wives Club
Dom & Hyo
The Foley Fam - Unedited 
Elm Street Life

Tibby Tuesday:  Birdy adventures
Love and Feathers
Students With Birds
A Diary of a Kooky Parrot

Women In Architecture Wednesday:  Art/Architectural Adventures and advice
Life of an Architect
Architexts
Ireland by Chance
Intern 101
Adrienne Rose

Texture Thursday:  Everything about Hair and how to style it
Naturally Curly
Naptural85
Curly Nikki
Around the Way Curls
Seriously Natural
Twist Me Pretty
Diva Locks

Funny Friday:  Everything funny
Nicole in Wonderland 
It Just Gets Stranger

Linky Parties: The Linky Parties I participate in 
Linky Parties

I will be back the week of May 19th! When I return, I will be looking for Guest Bloggers.  If you are interested, click here or respond in the comment section below.

See you next week!  I will still give updates via Facebook.

Thrown into the Lion's Den (An Introvert's Prospective)



Lion = Clients and Contractors
Source: Google Images

 Last week, Architecture forced me to step outside my comfort zone.  Project C and School M once again caused me to used my phrase: Be Assertive.  It has been working in my favor, and I have shown my bosses that I have grown in the past 5 years.  I know the more I speak in front of people and practice ahead of time, the more I will forget that I'm an introvert and soft spoken.  This doesn't work in my favor when I have to spontaneously speak at an event.  For three days, I was thrown into the Lion's Den (but in a good way).

Chela's Nervous Scale:
1 (lowest level) - Fully prepared.
5 (mid level) - Presenting to people I know.  I'm nervous because I'm presenting, but I can be myself since I know everyone.  
10 (highest level) - Life changing presentation that can make or break my career.  At this point I look like I just took a swim in my suit.

Day 1: Project C
Nervous Scale: 5
Friday April 26, I took Mr. Tibbs to the vet.  Everyone left a little early, so I didn't get a chance to talk with Boss J about Monday's meeting for Project C.  He had a slight cough, but he said we would talk about it before the meet.  I put my presentation information on a thumb drive and left for the day.

Last Monday, he didn't show up for work.   His cough had gotten worse, so he asked Boss S to take his place.  Worried that I would be forced to speak, I reviewed the PowerPoint with Boss S and we headed to our client's office.  I remembered we went through the same situation during our last meeting with the client and Boss S finished the presentation for Boss J, so I remained calm during the 30 minute ride.  The conference room was small and only 3 out of the 4 clients showed up.  After I set up the computer, I asked Boss S if he was going to present.  Then he said something I wasn't expecting: "No, I'm going to throw you in the Lion's Den."

Peter Griffin saw what I did there.
Click here to see the Family Guy reference.

The presentation went well and if I didn't know a piece of information, Boss S covered me.  I was the one that put all the research information together and I knew the audience, so it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.  I got a pat on the back from Boss S and we went to lunch before we headed back to the office.

Tibby Tuesday: The Tibby Law

In our household, we have a running joke called "The Tibby Law." This law is when we have a disagreement about something and Mr. Tibbs decides on which argument he agrees with.  When Mr. Tibbs agrees, he randomly rings his favorite bell.  Afterwards, the winning party has to say "Tibby agrees!"  The only way it can work is if he rings his bell within seconds of a question/statement being made.  Here are some examples:

Brian: You are crazy
Me: Nuh uh!
::Rings::
Me: Tibby agrees that I'm not crazy!

Brian: You need to get ready for work.
Me: Nope!  Lets make Tibby decide.  Tibby, can I stay in bed?
::No sound::
Me: Can I stay in bed so I can spend time with my big boy?
::Rings::
Me: Yay! Tibby agrees!
(Unfortunately, Mr. Tibbs doesn't understand that Work + paycheck = toys and seeds)

This happens so often, that we follow the Tibby Law.

On Sunday night, I talked with my sister on Skype.  For the past couple of months, my sister and I have been using a new word that we made up.  We have been using this word not only on Skype but in our everyday interactions with people.  Brian hates when I use that word because he says that it's not real. 


I can't say what the word is because I would like to keep this post rated G.  Lets call the word "Fetch."
Source: Google Images


C: "Talks about her weekend adventures."
Me:  I'm surprised you didn't say "Fetch!"
C: Lol, I know right?!
Me: Too bad I can't say "Fetch" around Brian, he doesn't believe it's a word.
C: Well, we made it up so of course it's a word.
::Rings::
Me: Tibby agrees!  Mr. Tibbs rung his bell from the other room.  "Fetch" is now a word based on the Tibby Law!
C: At 7:38pm on Cinco De Mayo, "Fetch" became a word!

We eventually told Brian about the new word the Tibby Law accepted and he couldn't dispute it.  Now "Fetch" is a household word thanks to the Tibby Law!

Source: Google Images