Knotty Blowout Fro

Can you say 9 day hair! I didn't think I could....but I am and its super cute!

When the winter first started, it was just my mission to find styles I didn't have to wet in the am. Now, I'm kinda styles I don't have to wet for several days. I had been rocking my coil out for a few days and it was getting kinda old, so I wanted some bigger hair. I sprayed my hair with the talijih waasjid protective leave in, oiled it with coconut oil and pulled out my blow dryer. I blow dryed each section with a denman - like brush (from Goody) and it didn't take more than 15 minutes. Once this was completed I rocked my hair in a fro for a day. See picture below:

After the fro day, I parted small sections and twisted. Because my hair isn't long, some areas wouldn't twist so I twisted and pinned this areas to my head. I slept with a scarf and in the morning unwraveled with coconut oil. So the top pix and bottom pix are with the same blow out, just made the top one a little more developed with the overnight twist.

I'm hoping to get another day out of this style because its 5 am if you can see when I'm up posting. I haven't been able to sleep all night and won't have time to create a new hair style for work in the am.

Coil Out Fro

 This is my new favorite style I talked about in previous post (but had lost my picture holdy thing...its now found). The coil out. I am able to get like 7 day hair with the coil, then the coil out.

It gives my curls lots of definition and once it gets bigger it gets even better. To maintain the coil out I oil with Castor Oil/Grapeseed every other and put on a bonnet at night. Easy!

Day 11 of HCG

I have some awesome pix I'd like to show you, but to reiterate...I've misplace my picture holdy thing (i'm having a brain fart and can't think of the official name). Anyhoo, yeah, I'll post those when I have a chance.

Anyhoo, I am only 12 lbs away from my goal weight...well my first goal weight. My first goal is to get to my pre-baby weight. The next goal is to get to my first goal weight ever. I've been here like once in my life and Imma do it...no diggity no doubt.

The diet is coming along. I'm losing about .5-1 lb per day. People are hilarious cuz they like to tell you how the weight is going to come back, how diets don't work, etc, etc. Well, I'm not feeding into it. I've dieted before and lost 50 lbs (first goal weight) and kept it off for almost 5 years. It wasn't until I meet this man, oh, my DH, that the weight started coming back, and back and add baby...you get big girl.

What I'm eating now...Below is a sample of what I had today. Kinda random, but I'm full:
1. Breakfast - Apple
2. Lunch - Morning Star Black Bean Pattie, Sandwich Thins 100 Calorie Buns, 2 cups of Spinach, 10 Grape Tomatoes, 2 tablespoons Ken's Steakhouse Dressing Lite Cesar (da bomb)

{Source}

The Burger on the left is the one I eat and the right is one you can make from scratch that has black beans. If you click on the link, it gives you the instructions. I'm not really down with cooking my own from scratch food right now. I barely have the energy to eat much food right now, so I'm keeping it simple with the Morning Star set and forget its.

One last thing I've incorporated is a little exercise. I try to do about 30 minutes a day. I'm using the Comcast FitTV right now and it actually has a lot of the videos I actually own for free.

Let's see if we can get to my goal by next Sunday...dun, dun, duuuuuuunnnnn!

My Adventures In Alcohol: Scotch

If you know me...you know I like...no...I'd say LOVE Patron!

All flavors, shapes, sizes, buckets, gimlets, I love Patron!

But...2011 is about me trying things different. Before Patron, this post would've been about Captain Morgan (somewhere in like 2004) but I evolved. I'm attempting to do that again.

Over the weekend, I tried Scotch. I'm going on a Tour de Alcohol right now to try to discover an alternative to the Patron coma and haze I experience once I've had one, two...maybe two too many. My Scotch tour included most of the Johnny Walkers...red and black and maybe something else, who knows really what the hell they are giving you behind the bar.

For now...I'm betting on black! It is incredibly smooth (well after like my first two sifters) and I like the feeling of it. I also liked saying to the bartender "Gimme a scotch, neat", lol. That's just hot. Well, literally...its kinda hot. I'm thinking I may need some rocks the next time...or even it shaken in a Manhattan. We'll see...

What I L-O-V-E is after several of these little tastings, I felt incredibly relaxed, not hazy and I had no hangover the next day! And with a two year old who likes to wake up at 7 AM telling you all about her issues with Dora and Ni-Hao Kalan, no hangover is really the only way to go.

Next tour, I'm going to try Cognac and Bourbon. I've never been big on the big C. But I hear Conjur (sp?) and 1738 don't give you massive hangovers either.

We'll see...

My Remedies: OCM Issues

So, one of my besties saw my distress on the blog and sent me some awesome tips. She is also a natural girl and likes cooking up her own recipes, like me for skin and hair. I think she is way better at it than me because she has been at it for longer, so I CAN'T WAIT until she starts her blog so I can get some daily tips!!!

Some tips that I am trying now to help my breakouts, fakeouts whatever are as follows:
1. Taking makeup off with OCM (Castor Oil, etc mix)
2. Washing face following OCM with Hollywood Black Soap
3. Adding honey/cinnamon to face following the Black Soap to replenish moisture and help with breakouts
4. Adding a little more ACV to Green Tea to tone
5. Moisturize with coconut oil at night and coconut lotion in am

I've never used coconut on my skin. It seems so sweet, it seems so sinful to use on my skin, but I'm going to give it a whirl. I don't have any coconut lotion right now, but I may just try to use the aloe alone or coconut oil alone. I really like the moisturizer mix I use and it keeps my makeup on fabulously through the day. I don't want to loose the awesome moisture and smoothness I have in my face now, I just want to loose the super painful huge breakouts I'm having.

My plan this year is to try new things, for at least a month, before I give it up, so a week more of the OCM and we'll see how I'm feeling.

OCM Breakout

So, this is like week 3 of the OCM and I'm starting to experience some breakouts. I'm not sure if they are related to the OCM, the cold weather, or...my period about to start in like a week (I know that may be TMI). I'm so confused, and irratated.

Why oh why couldn't I be blessed with the sweet smooth skin like oooohhhh, every other woman I know! I have this combination, oily, dry, random a&& skin! Random, random skin. Skin that can't take any one treatment for more than 2 weeks without needing a change.

Hey, maybe my skin is a reflection of me...I do like a lot of change. My hair, my job, outfits...hmmmm...my skin may be letting me know its time for a change in other areas of my life. Who knows.

For now, I plan to change up my OCM. I'm going to only do it once a day at night. In the am I will refresh with water, tone and moisturize. I have changed the toner from so much apple cider vinegar to mostly green tea and only a cap full of ACV. My moisturizer has stayed the same because I love the feeling. I also changed the oils I'm using. Today, I added mostly grapeseed, about 10% Jojoba, 25% Castor Oil, and a couple of drops of Tea Tree oil. Well see by the end of the week whats really good with that mix.

My Natural Soros: Bridgette and Courtney

You never notice how many people in your life are natural until...you go natural. Pictured below are two sisters, who are family friends. I love their hair!

Courtney (above) has been natural for about 3 years. She is rocking a wash and go in the pictures above using Miss Jessies Products (I believe curly pudding, custard, somein' sweet, lol). Bridgette, below has been natural for about 8 years. She is rocking 2 strand twist that were curled at the ends. She also looooves Miss Jessies Products for her hair. I still have yet to purchase anything from the Miss Jessie line. I just can't justify the cost for my hair being so short right now, but once it is their length, I'd definitely give it a whirl!

Isn't black hair shrinkage amazing! Our hair like doubles in size when its stretched! Man, God knew what he was doing.