Taking Stock - #1

I was inspired by Lydz of Crowning Glory to do my own Taking Stock post.  I thought it was pretty cool to stop and reflect on what's going on with me. Check out her blog to find out the source of where the Taking Stock posts originated.  I think this is something I'd like to continue regularly. Not uber interesting but here's what's going on with me.  I tried my best to answer every line.

Making : This post..does that count? lol
Cooking : nothing..too late for that. earlier I made sautee'd spinach and kale with crab cakes(I did not make the crab cakes)
Drinking : Just finished a cup of green tea with bamboo tea
Reading: Nothing currently
Wanting: a winning lottery ticket. Early retirement please! lol
Looking: at TV...about to pop in The Office dvd...love this show
Playing: I just finished playing spider solitaire while sitting under the hair dryer
Wasting: time worrying about things that haven't even happened yet
Sewing: Bad at this
Wishing: for an awesome vacation. I never go anywhere so this would be nice.
Enjoying: relaxing at home
Waiting: For my time off for work this week
Liking: my new electric throw. its so cozy and warm
Wondering: about what I want to do for my time off later this week
Loving: my new found hair style
Hoping: That all my family and friends continue to be blessed
Marvelling: Over this new TV show Mr Robot. Kind of freaky!
Needing: to straighten up my room...and start back studying
Smelling: my chocolate covered almonds that I can't seem to put down
Wearing: shorts and tshirt; it's time for bed
Following: a whole lot of natural instagramers; i've become addicted to Instagram now that I'm not on FB
Noticing:
Knowing: that I need to stop worrying so much when there is no reason to worry
Thinking: I should be asleep now because I have work in the morning
Feeling: very sleepy
Bookmarking:  a super cute hair style I want to try and several Kale recipes...
Opening: my tub of chocolate almonds...again...lol
Giggling: about how I'm still eating these almonds while lying in bed.
Feeling: like I need to clear my head.

Have you done a Taking Stock post?  If not, do give it a try.

Thanks for dropping in!

Looking Forward | 2015

We are closing in on the last few days of 2014 and many of us are reflecting on this passed year and focusing on new goals for 2015.  I haven't blogged very much this year since settling into my new home and studying for my exams.  I haven't been documenting very well, but have still been very much on this hair journey of mine. I haven't reached the length goal that I would have expected this year, but I definitely think that I've been fairly successful with managing the many textures and maintaining my hair during this stretch, which is the longest I've ever gone.  I'm actually starting to lean toward calling it a transition now! :)  I thought my last relaxer was in February, but I could not remember what day it was.  Based on some pics I found in my phone, I think my last relaxer was actually March 21 which would put me just over 40 weeks post.

I'm definitely starting to think about the year to come and the things that I want to work on throughout the year.  I want too start working on mapping my plans to successfully achieving the following goals in 2015.

My Goals For the New Year | 2015

Goal #1. Continue with my hair goal. This time I want to get back to my focus on retaining length, but health will always be the number one concern.  My plan is to avoid big cuts. I think I will start micro-trimming every few weeks or so to keep these ends in check.  Of course I will need to keep these ends moisturized and protected so that I won't need those big cuts either.  I'm hoping I can reach MBL by the end of next year! :)

Goal #2. Finding the perfect skin care regimen. I feel like I've tried everything, but somehow I still get pimples, breakouts, and blemishes.  I know what some of the contributing factors are (diet and lack of water intake...shame on me).  The products I'm using could also be the problem. I think I will do a separate post to discuss my plans to improve on this.  I did recently purchase a facial cleansing brush that I saw on Groupon and it is on the way.  Looking forward to seeing what it does for my skin!

Prosonic Glow facial brush

Goal #3. Getting back to my fitness goals. I fell off the wagon hard. I don't know what happened, but all the weight that I had lost over a year and a half ago seemed to find it's way back to my lazy behind. LOL! Time to hop back on that wagon to stay.

Goal #4. Upping my fashion game. Ya'll may not know this, but I don't have one! LOL! I can put something together every now and then, but my wardrobe is pretty boring. Most days I am a Plain Jane. Lol.  I will try to challenge myself to be more creative with my wardrobe and incorporate more of the latest trends.

I am looking forward to another new beginning with the new year to come! Wishing everyone an amazing and blessed 2015!

What goals have you set for your self for 2015?

Thanks for reading!

I'm Still Here!!!

Hey everyone! I just wanted to do a quick post since it seems I haven't done one in ages. I've just gotten busy with other things. I had my second CPA exam a few weeks ago while also in the process of buying my first home! :-)  So much stress and excitement all at one time! Now I am moving! Good bye apartment life! I shall not miss you, until something messes up at the house and I have to come out of my own pocket to fix it....I'm sure I'll be wishing I had a landlord right about then. LOL!

As for my current hair status, I'm going on 17.5 weeks post. Surprising right! I'm the girl that could barely stretch past 8 weeks once upon a time. I have actually been considering transitioning to natural instead of texlaxed, but this last wash day was not so great.  Up until that point everything was fine, but last weekend it was tangle city. It was such a nightmare. But I think I have myself to blame for that. I went two weeks without detangling my hair so I was asking for it. I haven't given up yet, but that just might change when  if I decide that I just don't have the patience for natural hair.  I do like how thick and curly my roots are and the idea of not having to maintain multiple textures periodically if I became fully natural.  Just letting my hair be.  We shall see where this leads to, but I've still got that ORS Relaxer on standby.

 I'm hoping to be back to blogging again soon.Well I'm off to do some more packing.

HHG and thanks for reading!

Andrea

Hair Growth Gadget

Of all things that promise to increase hair growth, I come across this here gadget while browsing the Groupon website.

iGrow Hair Therapy Helmet (via Groupon.com)

It looks like some sort of space helmet or something. LOL! It is geared toward men and women who suffer from hair loss, thinning, or damaged hair.  It has 30 LED lights and 21 lasers that stimulate hair growth, thicken your strands, and repair damage caused by chemical products. The headphones are there so that you can listen to music via your iPod or other mp3 player during your 25 minute treatment.

You know I'm wondering if it really works....but I'm not willing to shell out $500 to find out.  I will just stick to other, cheaper methods.  I personally have never seen anything like this.

Well I jut found this pretty interesting and thought I'd share.

Thanks for reading!

   Andrea

Seriously Jealous!!!

Okay, so someone posted this video in a thread on the Long Hair Care Forum a couple weeks ago.  I really wanted to share this with you guys if any of you haven't seen it yet.  I was surprised that there are men out there practicing healthy hair care techniques too.  I am so envious right now. I need that head of hair! LOL! Check it out!

He gave some great product reviews.  Hoping to try some of these when I get my stash down.  However, it's really odd to hear him say "pre-poo" lol! 

What do you guys think?  Have you tried any of these products?  
What would you think of your man discussing "hair regimens" with you? :)

Thanks for reading,

   Andrea

8 Weeks Post and Counting

So in many of my posts I have mentioned my biggest obstacle in my HHJ is stretching my relaxers.  Some of you ladies make it look SO easy, but I've been having the hardest time.  Well lately it seems not to have been so bad.  I'm at 8 weeks post now and feel like I can make it to 10.  This could be because I have straightened my hair since the end of the L4LPSC.  Speaking of, I DQ'd on this one as I broke the one heat pass rule a while back.  However I was not happy with the state of my hair before the challenge anyway, and knew I would end up losing length from my need to get a trim.  Back to my stretching, I flat ironed my hair on April 16 to do my length check shot (couldn't get any good ones on my own) and I had planned to get a trim because if you've been following me I had been noticing some breakage and split ends which I was dying to get rid of for a while.  Unfortunately I didn't make it that day to get my trim so a week later I tried again.  Of course i had to flat iron again to make sure my roots were straight and went on down to Super Cuts.  My girl was not there so someone else did my trim (I couldn't wait any longer). He probably could have taken off a little more so I may make another trip soon, but we'll see. I may wait until after my next relaxer.  This was the best I could do with no help taking my pics. Sorry about the quality.

Looking close to APL

At line 5 or maybe 6 but ends kind of stringy

About an inch away from APL

After Trim(between line 3 & 4) :-(

The bad thing is, I'm going to have to flat iron yet AGAIN after this wash because I have an interview on Monday.  I'm not trying to be fighting with these kicking roots so easy solution is to flat iron.  That will be 3 weeks in a row :(.  I contemplated going ahead and relaxing but I would have to flat iron anyway.  Besides I really want to keep this stretch going, and once I get to closer to week 10 I may decide to push it up to 12 weeks. WOW 3 months without a relaxer.  That was just unimaginable for me!

So what's been helping?  Washing my hair in sections for one.  It has made it SOOO much easier to detangle which can be an issue when the new growth starts "kickin". Lol! Also thanks to my Magic Star Jumbo Rake I've been seeing much less breakage.  I'll have to say that my French Perm Stabilizer is helping with softening and detangling as well.  I've been using it at the end of my washes. Moisture Moisture and more Moisture! This makes my new growth happy. Also after washing, I let my hair air dry until its about 80% dry and then I will pull it into a little bun to finish air drying with my silk scarf tied around my edges.  This helps stretch out my new growth.  I also have to give credit to my Sedu Revolution for the past couple of weeks. I don't plan to use this after this week for a while.  I have been taking precautions though.  I DC to boost moisturize, I use a heat protectant and I'm using a low heat setting (about 220 degrees).  So hopefully I'm not doing too much damage.

I'm not sure what I'll be doing from here since I'm not planning to flat iron anymore.  I wanted to continue my rollersets, but for some reason I feel like I've been getting a lot of breakage doing these so I'm afraid to continue. Am I applying to much tension  maybe?  I especially worry about how much tension I've been applying in the back which I feel is my weak area as it always seems to be very thin there.  I even let my hair dry a little so detangling is easier and re-wet when I get ready to set the roller, but that's when I notice the hair coming out.  I would air dry, but then my hair would look like a big poofy mess. If anyone has any tips to get smooth airdrying results, please let me know. I tried on some wigs last weekend and I just felt like I looked silly.  Some can really rock them, but unfortunately not me.  I'm still trying to figure this out, if anyone has any suggestions please comment below! Maybe I'll try braid outs again or a braid and twist.  I don't do them much because I hate how they look with my thin hair, but it may be worth a try to keep my stretch going.

Thanks for reading,

   Andrea

Quick Post

I have been having an issue with my hair appearing thinner toward the back center of my head.This has been bugging me since the start of my journey. The thinness is worse when my hair is oily. I know my nape is part of the problem. I'm thinking that I may have to blame it on the claw clips and other types of hair clips which I always place in the same area as well. :( I thought maybe even "doobie" wrapping my hair when it's straightened may be another culprit. I'm planning to start primarily cross wrapping my hair when necessary. As far as the claw clips, this has been my go-to simple & easy P.S. because my creativity is lacking in that dept. What to do. Not sure about that. I'm working on my nape as well by M&S morning and night and massaging castor oil into my hair and scalp. That thin area just makes me want to cut it all off even though it's probably not necessary. I'll just keep
focusing on correcting these issues AND being patient. Just had to throw up this quick post.

Thanks for reading!
Andrea