Shelli Stevens

Crimminey what a day. That power going out thing? Yeah, pretty much happened. I stayed up till like one in the morning listening to the wind and watching the trees bend at impossible angles–where you think they’re just going to snap.

So then I woke at the ass crack of dawn, because I was supposed to have a hair appointment. (Remember this is supposed to be my pamper, get ready for signing day) So I’m their first appointment of the day, and I’m trying to call and find out if they have power–no answer. Finally I drove over there, power lights out the entire way, dodging trees and branches in the road. Yup. Closed. Visions of looking good for my signing are fading.

Next, all the schools are closed, so my nieces come over, and since our food is now spoiled with the power outage, we all try and go out to breakfast. We can’t find a place (and we try a few) that doesn’t have an hour wait. So we do the food circus. Then I decide to see if there’s a place in the mall that can do my hair and eyebrows. After running to a few places, yes! I got it. It means I’ll have to cancel the manicure with Jacquie and Emma, but my nails are crap anyway. There’s no hope for them. So I got my haircut by a nice lady name Jessica who did a fabulous job. And I am now a….drum roll…brunette! But it suits me, it’s a good change. It’s a saucy brunette shade.

So then–you thought that was the stress? oooh no–it’s 2:3o’ish, I’ve got my hair done and my eyebrows yanked. And I’m running straight for my car–even though I can feel low blood sugar coming on–cause I want to get home and spend an hour with Emma before the CP chat. Get into the car, twist the key, my battery is dead. Beyond dead. Like four hours with the lights on dead. So I call AAA. They say 15 min to an hour. An hour comes, no one, I’m practically crying on the phone to Crystal, Shawn, and anyone else who calls. Because I can’t go get food, because there is no food except for 15 minutes and lines of holiday shoppers, away. So finally I think I’m getting the call that they’re coming, and no it’s the first hair salon saying they just noticed I had an appointment I missed in the morning. I didn’t quite hang up on them, but was close.

Soon the tow truck driver shows up. But first, he’s trying to find me in the chaos of a mall parking lot 10 days before Christmas. He asks if I can put my hood up so he can spot me. And of course I’m fumbling around, getting my hands black, trying to figure it out. And I’m such a girl. Finally some guy walking by gives me this ‘How dumb are you’ look, and offers to do it. Then the AAA guy finds me, and he’s… HOT… the one highlight of the day. But then five minutes later my car is a humming (not me) and I’m driving…in the worst freaking traffic ever!

Yup. I swear the entire Seattle region and beyond lost power last night. And a twenty minute drive home took me two hours! TWO HOURS! Traffic lights were out, lanes were closed. I had to pull into a fast food restaurant (and got stuck in line for 1/2 hour) to get something for my blood sugar. I considered just sitting it out in a restaurant by myself, but so am not that type. Then I get a call from my friend that she was at a restaurant with her hubby, and had been at the mall the entire time I was sitting in my car. Grrrr!

So that was my day… a little stressful. I think I’m going to meditate soon.

Oh, one more thing, while I was getting my hair done and flipping through a magazine, I came across something. Well, first I just noticed some skinny older lady in a perfume add. Then I looked again. OMG. It’s Danielle Steel, and she’s got her own perfume!
The add has her in some glamourous dress, with pages of a book scattered around her and the bottle of perfume. So now the expectations I hold for myself have risen. Not only do I need to become a NYT best seller before I lead the angels in a choir, but I must also have a perfume named after me. Yes. Come. Spray yourself with a bit of SHELLI. It’s a real pick me up.