Meatloaf and...Cheetos?

Whitney ordered meatloaf of all things for lunch today, and it reminded me of one of the strangest and funniest culinary things Mom ever did. Mom made meatloaf all the time, and it was something of a family favorite. She used to take her wedding ring off (which she NEVER did for any other reason EVER) and knead the meat by hand. Mom would practically gag because she hated touching any uncooked meat. I definitely inherited this paranoia from her, so it's a very good thing I am not usually the cook at my house :) One particular evening, Dad had come home from work, and we were all sitting down to dinner as usual (I don't think I ever appreciated the fact that we always ate dinner around the table until much later in life). Dad was just staring at the meatloaf, so we all very silently began looking it over as well. Dad turns to Mom and asks as gingerly as possible as to not hurt her feelings, "Are those...Cheetos on top?!" She pauses and responds a bit nervously, "Well, yeah. I couldn't think of what else to put on top." We all looked at each other and then burst into hysterical laughter. Cheetos! I don't think my mom would have ever eaten a Cheeto if you paid her a million dollars, but she sure used them as garnish that night! To this day, Dad, Whitney and I joke about remembering to put the Cheetos on top of the meal :)

Hair of Many Colors

Brunette, Bald, Blonde!

As I have just recently become a blonde (again), I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to talk about an amusing passion I shared with my mom : hair of many colors. Most people would have classified Mom as a blonde, but as some of you may know, she had her hair pretty much every color of the rainbow. Mom used to be a hair model at one point, and she talked about how they would dye her hair radical shades like purple and white! She was a brunette for most of my childhood, and had various heinous styles like perms. She started highlighting it more after Whitney came along, it just kept going lighter. I remember always going to the salon with Mom, and watching the stylist put the plastic cap on her and pull pieces through the holes. Then they would put the foul smelling solution on her hair that would render her a blonde. Later on, I became Mom's hairdresser, dying her hair every couple of months. I liked to experiment with different shades, although I think that often made her nervous! She would tell me a hundred times to make sure I got all the hairs around her face, and concentrate on the grays! That was good practice for me though, since I get bored VERY easily with my hair and I love to make changes :) I first got highlights when I was fifteen, and haven't slowed down since! My hair has been black, blonde, red and every shade in between. Every single time I color it I think of Mom. She would have an absolute fit if she knew that her hair has gone completely gray now. Ironically, Whitney has never gone lighter than her natural shade, only darker. Although, I imagine if Whitney went blonde, she would look just like Mom. Not one of the three of us could ever be accused of having boring hair! Maybe we just do it to torture my follicly challenged father... ;)