When the blonde highlights kick in

I've always been a firm believer that I should stick with the color of hair that the good Lord blessed me with.

I was born a blonde. Pictures from the past show a tow-headed blonde until about the age of eight. Then it began turning to a dirty dishwater blonde.

At the age of eight, there was nothing I could do to stop the change nature was forcing on me. But by the age of 16, I was able to take it back to the color I was blessed with at birth.

I've never been bothered by the blonde jokes -- because I know that under all that Garnier Nutrisse 100, I'm more of a light brunette, and I'm not afraid to let people know that.

I had let my hair go for a little to long recently and decided it was time to make the change.

I went to the local discount store and purchased the products I needed, went home and put it on my hair.

Unfortunately, Brad was home. He was busy watching television, while I sat, waiting for the 30 minutes to click away. I got bored. I decided while I was waiting, I'd call my son's girlfriend and visit for a while.

"Who are you calling?" Brad asked.

"Brad's girlfriend," I replied, without thinking.

He sat there staring at me, I'm not sure if he was trying to figure which of his girlfriends I was trying to get ahold of or just wondering if the fumes had finally gotten to me.

"You mean Shane's girlfriend?" he asked.

"I mean Lauren," I retorted, knowing he was about to come back with some kind of smart-aleck comment.

He did.

"Looks like the blonde highlights are working already."

I threw the highlighter box at him.

It's nice to finally have him back from Wyoming -- sometimes. But he's in the process of getting another rig outfitted and that has meant he's been spending a lot of time at home on the phone.

I'm thinking about getting a new mobile phone for him -- it seems his phone won't work without the television on.

While he was away, the television ran about an hour a day. Now it's off for about an hour a day. I've finally decided to lay down one rule -- just one simple rule.

From now on, he has to leave the house by 7 a.m. and can come home at 6 p.m. I've decided it'll be all right if he comes home for a one-hour lunch period. But during that time, the television stays off.

Obviously, my plan hasn't worked. He still comes home when he wants to and turns on the television so he can use his phone.