The skinny

Dear Ms. Hatch, 

I would like to start my letter by saying that I did not walk around taking pictures of my bum and my legs for this post. I just cropped photos from my Yellowstone adventures. This letter is in fact in regards to my current fashion state (or lack thereof). I would like to also point out that my legs are really too big to squish into stretchy spandexy tight denim, but I have in the name of fashion, ignored that. 

I would like to ask for a little advice on the subject of mom-fashion (an oxymoron). Recently, I walked into the ladies locker room at the rec center with its fabulous florescent lighting and saw myself for the first time all summer. And I hate to say it, but I was ashamed. I don't think I had brushed my hair in over 24hrs, my pants were dowdy and I looked like I could be collecting plastic bottles on the roadside in LA. Suddenly, I had flashbacks of myself deep in conversation with my roommates in college swearing that when we got older, there's NO WAY we would turn into frumpy moms in  stretch pants and t-shirts. Uhhh, whoops.

I just so happened to be baby-less (Brian was watching L that night while I swam) and so post-workout I walked the boardwalk near Jackson's town square until I found a store that carried something other than cowboy hats and fur coats. I went straight to the jeans area and decided to ignore the fact that I'm almost thirty still haven't lost my pregnancy fat and try on pair of Levis skinny jeans. 

I bought them. And another pair. And I'm pretty sure its one of those things where you walk around thinking you look cute and when you look in the mirror you gasp at how utterly wrong you were. This brings me to my question: should I surrender all that's trendy and just go with those basic-but-never-in-style-never-out-of-style  wardrobe selections and shake my head at what kids wear these days? I mos-def don't want to be one of those moms shopping in the Junior section of the Dept store, but I'm not 40 (or 30) yet. Can a mom wear skinny jeans? 

signed: 

Somewhere between frump and fashion

How to Cut Boys' Hair

SHORT HAIR

You will need hair cutting scissors, a comb, and a hair clipper.  My beautician friend taught me how to cut boys hair by demonstrating it on my boys.  Here's what she said to do. 

The BEFORE shot.  Now is the time to put on your child's favorite cartoon.

1.  Attach the size 2 or 3 clip guard to the clipper, depending on the length of the hair and the length you want.   

Turn on the clipper.  Starting below the hairline, pull the clipper through the hair toward the crown.  As the clipper nears the crown, slightly pull it away from the head to blend the hair.  DO NOT WET the hair.  I forgot with the hair cut pictured and it clogged my clipper!

Clip the same section at least twice, first going one direction and then crossing back the other way to ensure an even clip.

2.  Remove the clipper guard.  Instruct your child to sit very still because otherwise, he could get clipped!  Carefully shave the hair to make edges where you would like.  I do traditional sideburns and then edge over the ear and down to the back of the neck and across the neck.   

My friend used an edger and I intend to get one someday.  They are much easier to use and make a nicer edge.  Plus, they won't hurt if you or the child slips! 

3.  Done with clippers.  Wet the hair.  Using a comb and scissors, comb the crown hair and hold it in your fingers to cut STRAIGHT UP.  Go all the way around the head, cutting perpendicular to the floor.  This will blend the crown hair with the clipped hair below.

4.  If you want bangs, comb them down.  Starting with the section of hair directly behind the bangs, cut sections of hair using the previously straight up cut hair as your guide.  For example, when you pull out the hair, you will see that the hair is shorter near the side of the head where you have already cut.  Cut the rest of the hair to the length of the shorter hair.

If you want a longer crown, when you cut the hair straight up, pull it out a little.  Then, when you cut from behind the bangs back and around the head, you still use the previously cut hair as your guide but it's a little longer than if you had cut it right next to your knuckles.

Here, you can't really see the previously cut hair because it's tucked in my fingers, but I am cutting towards it to even out the hair. 

This is the aesthetic part of the cut.  After going all the way around the head, cut the middle section using the around the head cut hair as a guide.  I end up going all over the head again after the initial round and middle, making sure that the hair is all even.

5.  Cut the bangs straight across.  I don't have a picture of this.  If you don't want bangs, you can cut the bangs the same way as the hair behind the bangs by pulling out sections and matching them to the previously cut side hair. 

6.  Finished.

LONGER HAIR

My friend did not show me how to cut longer boys hair, but this is how I do it.  Please post if you know how to do this better.

I don't use a clipper, just scissors and a comb.  I wet the hair and then comb all hair forward or down around the head.  I pull sections to the length I want and cut around the head uniformly to make a hairline.
 
Next, I start at the top of the crown and put in layers by pulling out hair to the same length all around the head.  I work the layers down towards the hair line.

I'm not sure whether I am doing the longer hair cuts correctly, but my son doesn't care (yet) and it's fun to experiment with different cuts!

Now . . . does anyone know how to cut girls' hair?

Creating Controllable Curls

I've had curly hair for as long as I can remember. And for most of my growing up years, I wasn't particularly fond of it. You see, curly hair requires maintenance. It doesn't look good if it isn't "fixed." I've always been secretly jealous of my two younger sisters who have fabulous hair with minimal maintenance.

But, I will say, that I have liked my hair (curls and all) a lot more since I found a hair product that I like. It only took 25+ years, but after many different products and many dissatisfied attempts, I can now recommend my favorite product for creating controllable, smooth curls: Suave Shaping Mousse! Here's what it looks like (and yes, that's my hair):

I've raved about this product before and have realized that it's helpful to know how to use it successfully. So, here is a step by step guide to controlling your curls:

1. Wash and condition hair in shower

2. Wrap hair in towel until ready to be fixed (don't dry it, just wrap it wet)

3. Comb through hair with pic to get out tangles

4. If hair has dried at all, remoisten with a spray bottle of water (I always have to do this)

5. Squirt mousse into palm of hand and use fingers to work mousse through hair

6. Make sure hair is saturated with the mousse (you want it on every hair)

7. I usually flip my head over to make sure I get it underneath as well

8. Scrunch moistened hair with a washcloth to get out the extra wetness

9. Diffuse hair on low heat until desired dryness

10. Diffuse on cool to set in the look

I know it probably shouldn't take 10 steps to explain how to use mousse, but I like details, so details you get. A couple of other notes about this mousse:

Once it dries completely, the hair is not crunchy. I love non-crunchy curly hair.

It looks great on day two or even day three (for those of you that don't wash hair everyday).

It's super cheap - less than $3 a can (it was actually only $2.27 the last time I bought it).

It doesn't matter if you buy the can with a number 7 or number 8 on the can. They both work about the same.

Since I took this picture two weeks ago, they have changed the way the can looks. It's now bright pink, but it's still by Suave and is still called "shaping mousse." As they say, "Different look, Same great taste!" (Except you shouldn't eat it.)

One final note: If you have curly hair and prefer more salon-style products (because you want a product without alcohol in it), then I would recommend Mixed Chicks. It's a thick creme that you put in your hair, let air dry, and de-crunch. It leaves your curls nice and formed. It's a little pricey, though, but according to reviews it works great on all types of hair (regardless of your ethnicity).

Happy Curling! Hope one of these products is "the one" you've always been looking for and never found!

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

My college roommate Fern used to make the best chocolate chip cookies. I hardly EVER make chocolate chip cookies, but every once in a while I get a serious craving for them (especially the dough). Last spring it was my turn to bring the desert to the friend potluck and I had flashbacks of eating these cookies. So I did what any normal person would do and I stalked side blogs and found her family food website: Food We Make and lone and behold it was the very first recipe posted. I made them for the potluck and brought ice cream for ice cream sandwich's and it was a HUGE hit. So here it is:

*I put in about 1/4 to 1/2 more of flour-- I've had a problem with chocolate chip cookies being runny-- but I'm not sure if that's b/c I'm high altitude (b/t 4,000 and 7,000ft). They turned out perfect with the extra flour. 

*Also, make sure the butter is softened, but not too soft. That makes them runny also. And I usually chill the dough and then scoop it with a TBS so that they're all uniform and the dough is a little thicker. . . I think that also prevents them from being runny.

*This makes quite a few cookies, so the recipe can be 1/2ed very easily. And these cookies are dangerous, so I never make them unless I plan on sharing them with a lot of people. 

Cope's Chocolate Chip Cookies

I start the blog with this recipe because this is probable the first thing I learned to make and one of my family's favorite. When family or friends gather, chances are good this will be there. This is the mother of all good cookies!

Preheat oven to 375, lightly grease cookie sheet
In a large mixing bowl add
1 C MARGARINE or butter (only if you're out of margarine)
1 C shorting
1 1/2 C packed brown sugar
1 1/2 C granulated sugar
Mix until smooth and fluffy, but not too long, scraping the sides of the bowl.
Add 4 eggs, one at a time
2 Tb vanilla
Mix well, then add
5 C flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
Mix well, scrape the sides of the bowl then fold in
2 to 3 cups of chocolate chips
drop by large Tablespoon onto lightly greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

A MUST - Cool cookies on an opened up brown paper bag. Not only is it recycling, but the brown paper bag absorbs the grease from the cookies, bringing the calorie count down, I'm sure. Most cookies are better when cooled on a brown paper bag. You will love it and the world will thank you!
Makes 4 to 9 dozen, depending on the size of the cookie.

You can exchange 3 cups of flour for 3 cups of oatmeal and 2 tsp of cinnamon and add raisins to the mix also. Whether you leave out the chocolate chips for the raisins is up to you.

 This recipe brought to you by: 

http://foodwemake.blogspot.com/search/label/Cookies

The quest for the perfect suit:

Hey guys-- I added a few sites onto this. A few of these sites (jen clothing, shabby apple and down east basics) are LDS fashion sites and sell dresses also.

I know at least a few of us Hatch girls are sporting sagging faded Speedos that instead of flattering are fattening. So-- I thought I would pass this little gem along. They are modest, cute and since Shade is no longer in business (and the half of us that missed out on that cute suit) I thought maybe you could find something great in this! Here's the link:

http://www.limericki.com/WOMEN?_oskwdid=5966357&_engineadid=7556223035

http://www.jenclothing.com/modest-tankini-tops.html 

http://www.landsend.com/littleblacksuit/index.html 

http://www.downeastbasics.com/newswim.aspx

http://www.shabbyapple.com/c-55-swim.aspx?pagesize=9999  (kind of like a modest Anthropologie- more expensive and vintage inspired)

a start to smart swimming

I think one of my favorite workouts is a good, hard pool swim.

Some of you know that I took a swimming class at UW. I don't remember a lot of the specifics of the class, but thought I'd share a long-since favorite routine I learned. It's a nice break to the usual straight-free style mile and still equates to 1 mile total:

1. Start with 400 meters warm-up (one length of the pool = 25 meters, so you can do the math) - you can pick one stroke or do a mixture.

2. Next up, do 8 IM's; each within 2:00 minutes time with 30 second rest between.

1 IM is the equivalent of the following (in this order):

25 meters butterfly

25 meters back-stroke

25 meters breast-stroke

25 meters free

Repeat this 8 times. The goal is to do 1 IM in under 2 minutes and start the next IM at the next 30 second point. Let's say you start the IM with the minute hand at 12:00. Your goal would be to finish the series of 4 strokes before the minute hand hits the 12:00 again (marking 2 minutes). You start the next IM once the minute hand goes to the 2 min, 30 second mark. If done correctly, you should complete 8 IM's in 20 minutes.

Once you finish the above 8 IM's, do 100 meters (4 lengths) of breast stroke.

Cool down with 4oo meters of free-style.

Quick and Easy Steel Cut Oats

When you go to bed, put the following ingredients on LOW in the crock pot (I always double it):

4 c water

1/2 c milk

some salt

1 c steel cut oats

any additions (raisons, figs, cranberries, nuts, etc.)

When you wake up (or eight hours later), stir and serve.  Delicious!