Ms. Smarty Pants Know It All

As part of starting out the new year, I cut off almost ten inches of my hair. It’s been growing for specifically this purpose, but it was starting to drive me crazy near the end.

Now the ponytail is off to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. They have a simple program and their minimum length is only eight inches. Most other programs are up to ten or twelve inches now.

The hair donation restrictions just keep getting harder and harder to reach. Every time I do this, I swear it’s going to be the last time because hair that long is such a hassle.

But look at how much money I save:

• one haircut a year: $66 (tip included)
• a trim every month for a year: $792
• a cut every two months for a year: $396

Is my discomfort worth $330 plus part of a wig for a cancer patient? Probably, right?

Tags: Life, Money by Ms. SP
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Here are my favorite reads for the week:

• This one is more of a listen. I love Patty Griffin. Her next album, Downtown Church, is available for a free listen from NPR.
• Fox remakes Torchwood? What the what? This isn’t a favorite read, but it must be noted. Of course Fox has such a great track record with sci-fi shows. What could go wrong?
• Self-pimp: Grey Gardens review. I didn’t even know that this was an HBO release and not a motion picture. Drew Barrymore ended up with a Golden Globe award for her role, and it’s nice to know that my evaluations are sometimes in the ballpark. Sometimes I wonder.
• Interesting study about names. Would Awesome be a good first name?
• Excellent points about this whole Conan/Leno thing.
• Films for my Netflix queue.

Tags: Recommendations by Ms. SP
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Potato Branch is a series of short stories about the author’s childhood in the Appalachian Mountains. The author was also one of my teachers in high school.

Personal connection aside, I really enjoyed the book. By coincidence, I had just finished Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver right before starting Potato Branch. While Potato Branch does not have the sweeping themes of Prodigal Summer, it serves as a nice companion piece because it talks about the life that used-to-be along the small farm communities of those mountainsides.

Potato Branch provides little vignettes about the traditions, morals, and work ethic of the region during the ’30s and ’40s. The hardships of the life come through but the stories mostly focus on the positives. It’s a nice dip into the nostalgia/Americana genres.

The stories are well-written, full of humor, and flowing with love. It kind of is what a lot of Jimmy Carter’s writing should be.

New Author Challenge: two completed, thirteen to go.

Tags: Books by Ms. SP
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