Now, Class, have a sharp, #2 pencil, and make sure you completely circle the correct answer. You have 30 minutes to complete this quiz. Ready....BEGIN! Q: Why is March 20 important? 1) Spring begins in the Northern Hemisphere 2) It's Gatchamarie's birthday 3) Answers 1 and 2 are great reasons to party.

Yay, Happy birthday Marie now let's get this party started

Happy Birthday Gatchamarie

Have a wonderful birthday, Gatchamarie!!

Happy Birthday, Marie!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GM! Hope you have a lovely day and that you do something nice to celebrate the occasion!

Happy birthday Gatchamarie!

I hope you have a terrific birthday with your family, Marie!

Happy Birthday Marie! I hope you have a great day!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday!

Aw ... thanks a lot, guys! Popping in today made my birthday last a day longer and even more special! Thanks, EW, for remembering me! *hugs* to all! Ironically, I've spent yesterday, that is my birthday, decorating a birthday cake for a client of mine! I don't have to complain, though, as the day before happened to be a public holiday and we took that occasion to spend some quality time as a family. The 19th turned out to be a lovely day ... almost summery ... and I went hiking with my hubby and kids, climbing down some steep cliffs, which leaded us to crystal clear waters, where we ate a packed lunch surrounded by nature and fresh air, and where I temporarily forgot about all burdens! The way up was a bit harder ... I puffed a bit! ... but I was rewarded with a huge, yummy ice-cream, with extra condiments as a birthday treat! Plus, I've also changed my hair colour, as a small gift for myself! Thanks again to all ... you made my day! Love you, guys!

That sounds like an amazing day! I'm glad to hear you took a day for yourself.

Thanks, CW!

So what is your hair color now. Marie? I'm going to have a difficult time picturing you without your beautiful, dark hair!

Thanks for the lovely compliment, TJ! Hehe ... it's even darker now! I've found out that the darker it is, the younger I appear! :p I've turned to jet black, my beloved mother's natural colour, with a violet lock of hair tucked underneath at the back, which I can hide or make visible at my own desire and convenience! The violet just lasts around four weeks, but then I can redo it or change the colour whenever I want, for that little edge! As you might now know, spring is the best season to let your hair down, here, differently from our very hot and humid summer, which tends to compel you to pull and tie it up everyday!

How cool! I once got a bunch of red and violet streaks in my hair, it was so fun. I want to do it again one day. It was kinda expensive so I keep putting it off but it was quite fun. I wanted to get the rest of my hair dyed black but got talked out of it. "Your hair is just one shade off of black anyway." It's fun to have a little secret like the violet lock you can tuck away or show off.

Glad you had a nice birthday GM, and your hair sounds pretty cool! Maybe you can try a blue streak when summer comes.

Sounds like you're having fun with changing your hair color, Marie! Honestly, I think the secret to being young is having fun, so you're on the right track!

CW ... I urge you to do it, again! It's a lot of fun! I agree about the expense ... that's why I only opted for one lock, apart from not wishing to damage my hair! My natural colour is dark brown but black really makes a more dramatic effect! RB ... hehe ... that was the joke of the day when I was at the hairdresser's, who's also a good friend of mine! I told her that I'd change colour according to the season! ... red for Christmas, green for St. Patrick's, etc etc! Blue is a lovely colour to go for, too, but according to the hairdresser it doesn't last long as a colour! TJ ... yep ... as my 40's are almost behind the door I'm really doing my best to look but, most importantly, feel younger! Changing hair colour is something I like to use as a tool for renewing myself! I've got many thumbs up from my real friends and some silent reactions from the other category of "friends" ... hence, they liked it, too!

Someone told me once that hairdressers will often try to talk people out of black because once it's applied, it's really not something that can be undone or adjusted, compared to other colours. I have no idea if that's true or not but this friend has gotten her hair dyed a lot so it probably is. I bet those silent notices were satisfying, gatchamarie. "That's right, I look good! *pbbfth*"

Happy birthday -- albeit with a small delay -- GM! And what a great idea about the hair -- how's it working out? Do you get many comments about the violet lock? P.S. I also like the idea of green for St. Patrick's Day!

Gatchamarie, I'm glad you had a great birthday! Your cakes are amazing.

Originally posted by ChrisW Someone told me once that hairdressers will often try to talk people out of black because once it's applied, it's really not something that can be undone or adjusted, compared to other colours. I have no idea if that's true or not but this friend has gotten her hair dyed a lot so it probably is. I bet those silent notices were satisfying, gatchamarie. "That's right, I look good! *pbbfth*"

Black is a stubborn colour .. you're right, CW! You have to take a firm decision, after chewing it a bit before, before taking the plunge! But, my hairdresser told me that it could wear out by time (taking a bit longer than the other colours), if I'd decide to return to my normal habits, and has assured me that the change in colour tones whilst fading away would resemble normal hair colours at different stages and not that orangy after-effect. She also told me that dying only the roots according to the colour change during the wipe-out phase would work well! So, we'll see! I'm loving the black right now! Regarding the silent notices ... well, they're definitely an answer and bring some satisfaction with them, even though I still cannot understand such attitude! Perhaps it's due to my nature, as I'm one who's always glad with what I hear or see nice, and if I'd feel somehow uncomfortable to compliment someone because of lack of familiarity I'd try to show it in some other way and not with snarky looks! That's the thing ... some of these people are not unfamiliar, at all, but I think I still have to learn a lot in life at my old age! Admittedly ... and I'm confessing, here ... I do tend to not show my appreciation to only a very few people in my life, but only because they did me a lot of wrong! I don't give them snarky looks (well ... most of the time :p !) but I try not to over-compliment them, either, as these few I know are very, very needy-in-the-excessive-narcissistic-way persons that could ever exist! Sorry for the burst-out, there! I'm going through another phase of trying to accept certain people these days!

DT and Julie ... many thanks for your kind wishes! DT ... my violet lock had quite a good impact! At first, since my friends hadn't ever seen me with one, it came out as a surprise ... a good one! ... but now it's something which everyone is getting used to and I'm loving it! Ironically, there are some family members who haven't seen me like this, yet, but then I really don't care about their opinion upon this subject, a couple of them included in the category of persons I was talking about before! Julie ... thank you for your lovely compliment!

Originally posted by gatchamarie Sorry for the burst-out, there! I'm going through another phase of trying to accept certain people these days!

That's no biggie, Marie. Everyone goes through that from time to time. (Admit it, Chick, you're human, just like the rest of us!)

Originally posted by ElectricWhite

Originally posted by gatchamarie Sorry for the burst-out, there! I'm going through another phase of trying to accept certain people these days!

That's no biggie, Marie. Everyone goes through that from time to time. (Admit it, Chick, you're human, just like the rest of us!)

Thanks for the encouragement, EW, and for bringing me back to the ground! *hugs* I don't know why I always feel like I'm the bad one even when I'm not, though! I'm also firing out things, which others do not want to hear, and am acting a bit out, lately (sometimes with faults, too!) out of frustration, so I might have made my enemies even tougher than before! Guess I need some super powers added to my human capabilities from now onwards, but I really am at the brim of explosion, right now!! There's only one therapy that I'm finding as working well ... to focus my love on my loved ones and true friends more! Even though there's always that dull feeling inside ... Now, sheeesh ... enough with the complaining! BTW ... that was for me!

I think doing things for yourself like the hair is a great balm for all the frustration. It's good to aspire toward being a particular person, but it's important to remember that we aspire and strive because perfection is impossible but worth trying for nonetheless. It can't hurt to be a little more forgiving of ourselves.