It's time to start a new journal thread- the previous one is so long that it's starting to get difficult to find anything from there. I won't update the old thread, but won't move anything from there either, so old pictures and recipes will still remain there.

On this first post, I'll keep updating my LL hairstick collection.


Raspberry Swirl Gossamer
Pastel Bride Bridal
Violet Pinks SE Bridal
Silver Sphere Spiral
Misty Mauve Deco
Seafoam Bloom Glitter
Spring Forsythia Duet
Rose Futuristix
Romantic Interlude Bridal
Zircon D'Or SE D'Or
Caramello SE Glimmer
Lacerta Holo
Hot Chocolate Individual
Rare Bud Spiral
Glittering Sea SE Glitter
Keylime Pie SE Glitter
Spring Daisy SE Spiral
Blue Gems Neon
Forest Sanctuary Gem
Capri Moonlight Sterling
Twisted Springtime SE Drizzle
Raspberry Festival Drizzle
Butterfly Meadow SE Sugar
Sapphire Ice Futuristix
Olivine Rainbow Futuristix
Willow Grove Artistix
Hibiscus Tea SE Sterling
Prismatic Sun Glimmer
Vintage Chic Bridal
Zircon Fantasy Fantasy
Pastel Butterflies SE Sugar
Tropicana Rose SE Sugar
Gilded Denim Majestix
Plumeria Pink Majestix
Dragonfly Dreams SE Deco
Plum Sophisticate Rapunzel
Peridot Panache Rapunzel
Sapphire Heart Spiral
Gilded Raven D'or
Rare Butterfly SE Gem
Periwinkle Wave SE Swing
Citrus Shine SE Gem
Spring Rain Swing
Pretty Pastels SE Duet
Lemonade Pink Spiral
Blooming Pearl SE Rose
Rainbow Night Holo
Negative Spiral SE Spiral
June Meadow Spiral


Starting situation in the beginning of New Year 2006

Length: 61 cm/24 in.  Goal: Longer, but because I've found out that maintaining neat hemline is important to me, I don't have a specific length goal for this year. I'm happy with whatever growth I'll get.

Routine:

Washing: Chagrin Valley Shampoo bars/soap, ACV rinse

Care&Styling: Rose water, Aloe Vera gel, homemade deep treatments, XZ Deep Conditioner, jojoba oil, Three Butter Lotion. Combs: wooden one from Body Shop, Celluloid comb, De Renaudin Horn Comb

Toys: Hairsticks, especially Longlocks. Ribbons. Scrunchies when at home (I've used ones I got from Secret Santa Exchange almost every day!). Amish hair pins.

Styles: Haven't been able to wear hair down because of limitations caused by winter clothes & headgear. In December, I wore mostly Cinnabun with hairsticks, low pony at home, and English or French braid for sleep. Other styles like French Twist and braids have been worn only a couple of times. As I know that making cinnabuns will become difficult once again in near future, I've tried to enjoy them as much as possible.

- New 2006: No monthly measuring, measuring after trims. Trimming every 3 months (+ S&D missions whenever I remember).

I love the new thread name!!!

Hee, me too. The old journal had such a boring name for some reason...this is much better!

I placed a new order to Tenderheaded: a silk sleep cap and a whole bunch of their pretty silk ribbons. I still don't like the idea of using silk pillowcases, but so many people have raved about sleeping on silk or satin so I'll give this a try (in spite T's protesting).
I haven't really decided what other things to buy this month...except the toys coming from France Luxe group order. Hm, on a second thought, it seems that though the month has barely begun, I already have quite a few hairtoys coming. ::) A nice pair of hairstick with twisted ribbon beads would still fit into my collection... *hint, hint*.

  Hair feels nice, very soft, manageable- and dirty. Holiday has messed my washing schedule nicely, and scalp doesn't seem to want to cooperate with the rest of me in going back to normal smoothly. In any case, I'm not going to wash today- if I can survive until tomorrow evening, I wouldn't have to wash until Saturday. Difficult...

My sleeping schedule is a mess too- during the holiday we stayed up late and woke up late, and as I don't have a regular job to go to, it's going to be a bit challenging to get back to regular rhythm. Neverthless, I must do that and soon because lack of regularity doesn't mean lack of work to do. I need to do my Doctor's thesis disposition ASAP as well as transform part of my Master's thesis to a scientific article in English.
Plus other stuff...none of which I can do well if my brain isn't rested and in good working order.

And, then there's the traditional Winter Fast, starting today. Well, it's not really fast, just a diet...but both I and T love good food so there's always some sense of drama in starting to eat healthily (and less). All in all, holidays are over and everyday struggle for survival has resumed.

I washed hair last night, with Rosemary Lavender Aloe shampoo and Cucumber Lime Yoghurt soap. Today, it's consequently clean and poofy- lots of aloe vera gel needed! I hope I'll survive until Saturday and will be able to go back to my normal washing schedule.

I started this day with a dentist appointment as I had chipped a tooth in weekend. That meant scarf bunning as it's the best style if one needs to lie back for any reason. I'm still wearing that same bun-  scarf buns are just amazing that way.

Split ends are back- not in great numbers, but I've S&D'd twice in three days now. Maybe it's because of dry winter weather...which brings me back to thinking that I might be wise to wear scarf buns a bit more often than I have recently done. I've oiled more generously than I normally do. Maybe that will help a little too.

Hair: poofy, oh so poofy, but that's because I have a perky population of baby hairs growing in front. Longest hairs are already barely long enough to be pinned neatly, but majority is so short that only aloe vera gel tames them. The rest is behaving nicely enough, and I'm able to wear a nice cinnabun with hairsticks (Zircon Fantasy).

My sleeping schedule has normalized a bit- I've managed to wake up reasonably early and have been reasonably productive right from the start. My translating project is going well and I think that by the end of next week, my article will be ready for professor's review.

Winter Fast has started well. Yesterday was the first day when I didn't feel ravenously hungry all the day. Neverthless, I'm happy that weekend is soon and "normal" food with it (not to mention my PMS chocolate).
   

Hair: starting to get dirty and therefore less poofy, which is good. I'm wearing a rope braid with crocheted scrunchie. A lovely style, but it becomes loose quite fast and has to be redone every few hours. I'm hoping that this problem will solve itself when my hair grows. A long rope braid secured with a pretty scrunchie would be just gorgeous... *dreams*

I've been watching Babylon 5 from DVD for this whole week- since we 2nd season episodes arrived here. I'm drooling at Ivanova's hairstyles. Her hair is easily iii thickness, but it's about same length as my hair so it's still quite educating. In an episode I watched yesterday she wore a very interesting style, it looked like a French twist, but with a "tail" that hung down. Must experiment with that. Another Ivanova style I should learn is lace braid, but so far that seems fairly impossible because 1) I have too little hair 2) much of my hair in front is halo anyway and I can't braid that 3) it requires practice, and lately I've been too lazy to practice anything. But, it's still a great style and I'm not going to forget that.
 
I feel I've made such great progress since my hair has reached Ivanova length. I remember all too well when it was short and the high point of my day was making Centauri do's in shower. ::) ;D

edit: for those of you who have missed Babylon 5: an example of Centauri hairstyle can be found here: http://www.midwinter.com/b5/Pictures/Characters/londo2.jpg

Today was hairtoy care day: I oiled all my wooden forks. I had rubbed my horn comb with lanolin yesterday evening, and this morning I just wiped it clean again. I think the Body Shop comb is waxed or something- it certainly didn't look like it needed anything so I didn't do anything to it.

Today was also sauna day. My hair was quite horrible: a little itchy, felt greasy (though strangely enough, it didn't look that bad) and scalp was slightly gunky. So, I scritched the scalp thoroughly with horn comb + did a small S&D, washed with Lavender Spice, and then let Snowy's Deep Moisture Treatment sit for a couple of hours + sauna. Afterwards, just a nice ACV rinse and voila! Good hair was back again. And at least in theory, I'm also back with my normal washing schedule.  :)

While shopping new gorgeous SpiralStix, I realized that I haven't really done much to prepare to styling difficulties awaiting me in near future, when my hair reaches over 25 in. Technically speaking, I know plenty of styles that work just fine at any length: braids, ponytails and of course down with twists style. But I want updos, preferably something that can be secured with hairsticks. Discovering that SpiralStix still work when any other hairsticks won't, was great (especially since BB suggested that they can be mixed and matched with regular stix). Neverthless, I want something that works even in case my hair decides to become a real PITA and spits out even Spirals.

Of course, practicing updos in advance has its difficulties- the Figure 8 for example just isn't possible at all before my hair is 65 cm long. But, today it occurred to me that Chinese bun might work. So, that's what I did today.

My problem with Chinese buns besides lacking length has always been the slipperiness of my hair. So, anyway, today I did the Chinese bun with Mamacat hairstick - they are just perfect for this job- but instead of Amish pins I secured it with bobby pins and added two Amish pins just for additional support. Now, hours later, the bun is still perfect! Very promising!

Otherwise, my hair is doing today wonderfully. Snowy's Deep Moisture treatment really made the difference this time. I suppose it means that I should make them more often for a while.

Hair: Hair is still doing well. I had to peek from the mirror- the distance to BSL is not much! No matter how scissor happy I get, I should reach it by the summer. Yay!
No styling experiments today- I'll have to chair a meeting, and that means cinnabun with hairsticks (Dragonfly Dreams right now).

Health: My throat is a little sore and I've got at least 4 dentist appointments in near future. On a more positive note, I've started second week of Winter Fast, and have started to feel better (=less hungry). I'm drinking lots of tea, also rooibos and green tea. Since the beginning of January, we decided to make a monthly meal plan. After first week, it feels an excellent idea. Shopping groceries, eating healthily- everything is easier.
 I'm also having my second period with TLC pads. The difference in amount of waste is huge! Not to mention, that the pads are great in use. :D Even T has accepted the arrival of rinsing pots and new kind of laundry after I pointed to him that the risk of him having to buy me pads is gone. ;D Silly men...

Family life: I had very interesting discussions with T during the weekend, and right now I feel quite strongly that one way or another, our relationship is going to survive and mend. My emotional life isn't yet quite what it used to be, but I'm not worrying about that too much- it's improving all the time and that's the important thing.
We agree, that our next engagement (among other things I decided that the crisis ruined last engagement beyond repair, so we aren't going to just put the rings back but to buy new rings and announce new engagement) will be a lot shorter than the last.

My Tenderheaded order arrived!

The silk sleep cap is...well, very silky. And big. As it looks like a shower cap on pictures at their website, I kinda assumed that it would also be about same size as a shower cap. But it's quite a lot bigger, hanging a bit like a snood, and could easily accommodate huge hair. In spite size and silkiness it sits quite firmly. I'll test it tonight.

I also received a bunch of their fabulous silk ribbons in luscious colors: Laura's Garden, Peach Blush, Jewel Turquoise and Ada's Rainbow. The colors are a bit more intense than on the pictures at website, brilliant and beautiful. I tried a Dutch braid with Ada's Rainbow, a ribbon in intense rainbow colors. The ribbon looked a bit too colorful, but when braided it was just perfect. Different colors "peeking" out of the braid created a fascinating look.

And now comes something completely different:

Galadriel's Short (and biased!) Introduction to Finnish Presidential Elections 2006

Today, if T's physiotherapy won't take too long, we're going to vote in Presidential elections.

This year, the Election is quite an event. There are 7 candidates, which is quite normal, and three of them are considered as "main" candidates in media (president who is a social democrat, prime minister from Center party and Coalition party's -biggest right wing party- candidate), which is also quite normal. There is one "independent" candidate who doesn't represent any party, which is a bit unusual though not unheard of, and candidates of smaller parties (Greens, Swedish party and Christian Democrats) are arguing as usual that they're seriously in game. But, this is where normality stops!

First, the most exciting question that everyone's asking is not, who is going to win the elections, but rather, will president Halonen be elected right on the first round of the election, or will there be a second round. Halonen's popularity is quite unprecedented in Finnish political history after early 80's (when both election system and world situation were very different from today). But, she HAS done great job. I've usually voted for Green party in all elections, but this time, I didn't consider Green candidate even for a moment. I, along almost everyone else likes the president a lot!
        According to opinion polls, she'd currently get about 50% of all votes- with error margin it means that no one really knows whether or not we'll get a second round (in which case the polls predict a landslide victory for her- neither of the other two main candidates seems to have much hope even gathering the voters from their own party to support them). It'll be exciting to see how it will turn out.

Secondly, this is probably also among the most comical presidential elections in world history: not only voters like the President, but American tv-comedian Conan O'Brien has also announced his support for Tarja after having discovered that he looks like her. The interesting thing is, that it may even have a little significance: Late Night is a SubTV show, and SubTV is a channel watched mostly by younger people, many of whom think that all sorts of elections are among the most boring events ever invented. Conan's support campaign has brought some color to the scene, and it might mean that some people who don't normally vote, reconsidering. OTOH, as his affection to President is clearly uninvited, I don't think that anyone can turn agains Tarja because of him. Veeery interesting. Though president seems also to be both awared- and pleased- of the support she's getting from this unexpected direction and her commercials have been shown right before Late Night...ROFL...

The official voting day is on 15th. It'll be interesting.

Cool!  I'd love to hear how your sleep cap worked out. :)

Sleep Cap

It works! It was very comfortable to wear, and it stayed quite well through all my tossing and turning (though tonight, I'll try to make it even more secure with little clips). I wore my hair in a simple low ponytail, but in the morning there wasn't any tangles. Woohoo! And no lumps under my head, no braid getting caught...I like this thing!  It has only one downside: T says I look like a cooker when I'm wearing it. So I may have a challenge in fitting romantic moods and sleep cap together.  

Hair: Today's washing day, but my hair feels still relatively clean. If only I hadn't to go to Department tomorrow (I prefer not to look like that philosopher who decided to live in a barrell), this would be perfect time to try just a rinse with herbal tea or something. As it is, I'll probably go with just a light wash.
         
I think I've finally discovered ponytail-type styles. I've always thought that ponytails look best with BS-waist length hair, and now that my hair is slowly nearing BS, I've also started to wear them. I still wear the simple low pony only at home, but segmented pony (at the moment, I need 1 elastics in the base+ 2 for making segments) is nice enough to wear anywhere. I've also started to wear quite often the "herring pony"  :P : start as if making a herringbone braid, but tie off at neck and leave the end loose. Decorate with a nice ribbon- this style is perfect for showing off nice ribbons.
 
Health: Health graph is diving again. I had a dentist appointment this morning. The X-rays she had taken at last visit were there, and she had discovered no less than 9 (nine!!!) "new" holes.  :o :( "New" is really relative: when I was in student health care that provided me dentist services in nominal cost (5€ or so), they never took expensive X-rays. Not once. So, now my dentist found 6 year's worth of hidden karies. Woe is me, I have dentist appointments scheduled for February too. And it's expensive- my poor budged likes this just as little as I do. I'm so mad to Student healthcare right now- why couldn't they ask me to go to a private dentist and have the X-ray taken there even once during my studying years if they didn't do that at Student dental care?  >:(
  Smaller worry is, that yesterday I managed to rip my nail badly, it bled an amazing amount and my finger is still so sore that many regular chores are painful to do (and I'm not even thinking of cleaning fish tank- as it is contaminated by fish tuberculosis, I can't expose any wounds to the water).
   Good things for last: I've still managed to eat healthily. I've decided that I'm going to weigh myself only at the end of January. My problem has usually been that I want to lose weight quickly, which ends up in me being in so strict a diet that I can't stay on it for long. Maybe, if I weigh myself less often, I can see a bit slower progress more easily and can keep up with this diet for longer. (And, if it doesn't work and I haven't lost any weight with my current plan, I can always make adjustments for February's plans. )  :)

Horray! I'am happy the sleep cap worked! ;D   Hmmm as for romantic moods - maybe you can put it on afterwards when your settling down to sleep?

I'm still working to find the solution to that little problem ;D.

Last night, I secured the sleeping cap with two snap clips and left my hair completely loose. The clips made the cap stay very securely. And, in the morning there was a surprise!
   I washed my hair yesterday with Lavender Spice shampoo bar, and when I went to bed it was still just a little damp. When I took the cap off at the morning, it turned out that I had most gorgeous, slightly wavy ends. I'm not exaggerating one bit when I say that my hair looked just like out of a fashion magazine or a movie (and I'm not thinking of Paris Hilton now!). What can you do in such a situation but leave it down just as it is ?! I made a side part and tamed wispies with tiny amount of aloe vera gel and that was it! Now it has straightened a bit, but not too much. So, today's first day in my longhair history when I'm wearing a "bed head" and enjoying it!

  Shopped my first RapunzelStix. ;D I've been looking for nice pairs of RapunzelStix for quite a long time as I imagine that they are ideal for Chinese Buns, Figure 8's and any other styles that require a bit longer sticks. And now ALL the pairs available were so gorgeus that I could have bought them. I had very difficult time choosing just two... ;D And now, my hairtoy budget for this month is completely spent. But well spent. ;D

I also received my supplemental pad order from LisaJaney. I got a couple of extra long pads for night, and a couple of light pads- my periods can be quite moody and so I prefer to have quite wide a pad selection. In this shipment, was the cutest pad ever- a pink one with little planes! How can one not smile when taking that one to use, even when feeling utterly crappy and sore?

Today, Liina had her annual vet appointment. According to the vet, she is "wonderfully healthy" for an 8 and ½ year old rabbit. She had only minor dental and digestive problems, both easily taken care of. I'm so happy for her, and hope that it means that she will stay with us for a few more years still (maximum life expectancy for rabbits is 12 years, but they start developing fatal health problems from around age of 5, so Liina's excellent health is already quite exceptional).

Oh that's great to hear about the sleep cap!  I am looking for alternatives so now I will probably try that one.  

I am so sorry about your poor finger!! Ripping a nail off is so painful.  My mom is a manicurist and when I did that, she told me to be sure to protect the exposed skin of the nail bed.  Any damage to it now can change the shape of your nail as it grows back in.  Hope it is feeling better soon!

So far, I'm very satisfied with my sleep cap. If you order from Tenderheaded, be sure to choose the silk sleep cap. They offer also satin sleep caps that are much cheaper, but I've heard many people to complain that they are too small and tight.

:o And thanks for the warning! I didn't know that a nail could change its shape! I've worn a fabric plaster on my fingertip for the day, but have tried to let some air in it when I'm not doing much with my hands. It's already feeling better though, and seems to have started healing well.  :)

Having hair down for a day was fun, but I had quite a long detangling session back home. I've used to more easy care hair that results from keeping my hair contained during the day, so I guess that hair down is best saved for special days, like yesterday was.

From Helsinki, I bought some socks. I'm probably the opposite of a Silly Sock person- my goal is to buy a lot of similar socks so that I don't have to spend time looking for pairs when I do laundry. This time, I went a bit out of my usual way and bought 6 pairs of denim blue socks instead of regular black.

I also searched for facial cream. I reasoned that as I strive to go all natural in hair care, I should also aim to that in my skin care, just for sake of integrity. After all, I feel quite silly avoiding silicones in haircare, while applying them to my face nearly every day. ::) But, it turned out that the stuff sold at health food store was no better than "regular" creams- the main difference seems to be in marketing. After a long, educating and depressing while of reading labels, I ended up buying Lumene's vitamin cream. It's a "regular" product (Finnish brand), but it didn't contain silicones or as many preservatives as others, and it wasn't "anti-age product". Among so many other things, I firmly oppose everything "anti age" as I believe that aging is a good thing that in best case brings wisdom with it. My new cream is still far from natural, but it is closer to that than anything else, including health food store products!

I am with you, aging is a good thing.  :) I am ordering my skin care products from Avalon organics. Sakina mentioned them to me one time when I was on the lookout for natural beauty care. I am very pleased with the results.

Anti-aging - HA!  If you take care of your skin while you are young (moisturize it and minimize exposure to sun), you will have beautiful skin at any age!

If there's one really nice thing about my appearance (while my hair is still "in process"), it's my skin. Even strangers compliment me about it, always asking what products I'm using. Truth? Whatever cleanser, some cream whenever I remember and a diet high in chocolate and Pepsi Max :P. Seriously, I've become pretty convinced that good skin just like good facial bones is more a matter of genes than anything else. Creams only affect to the topmost layer. Diet may have some influence- but I'm certainly not a living proof of that. And, in any case, in another 30 years most of its radiance will be gone. So, my only goal is to keep my skin somewhat moisturized.
  I'll check if I find Avalon Organics products from internet. That's not a brand I've ever heard of so I probably can't obtain it locally. :)

But, back to hair, since I'm more fond of things "in process". Today's been a pretty rough day- certain events have reminded me and T once again of the fact that our relationship is still in crisis, though there has been some progress. To cheer myself up (and to hide dirty hair) I made a French braid and tied it with a turquoise ribbon, and a while ago, after I had done today's chores I quickly washed it and applied a generous dose of Snowy's Deep Moisture Treatment. At this time of year, it can't hurt, and I need some pampering.

Sleep cap works wonderfully. I've decided that the most comfortable way to wear it is to put my hair in a low ponytail with elastics, then put the cap on and secure it with two snap clips. My hair is now completely tangle- and dustfree in the morning. Good buy!

Health: I couldn't resist weighing myself this morning. A nice surprise: since beginning of the month, I've lost 2 kilos. Though my meal plan is more lenient than what I'm used to in diet time, it seems to be working. I thought that half a kilo per week rate would be good, so I'm not setting any goal for rest of the month- I'll just continue to eat what the list in the fridge door says and will be happy whether or not I lose more weight.  :)

Good for you for losing weight!!!! Its so hard to lose weight!

Thanks for encourgement!  :)

Election Day

http://entertainment.tv.yahoo.com/entnews/ap/20060114/113729322000.html

Yahoo News has noticed the entertainment our presidential elections this year provides. LOL. I and T have already voted, and now we're just waiting for the evening when counting the votes will start. Right now, according to polls, Halonen has over 50% support- but on the other hand, amount of voters who were unsure yesterday was still exceptionally high. Everyone is excited to see, whether Halonen will be voted for second term on first round, or whether we'll have to go to vote on second round. So, for people interested in politics like me (blame my brainwashing in Uni  ;D), it's going to be an exciting evening. I and T have prepared finger foods and will stay awake until the result of election is clear.  :)

Hair: The effects of Snowy's Deep Moisture treatment were much less dramatic, but my hair is feeling great. Only problem is, that it's super slippery- even elastics start sliding after a while. After trying three other styles, I've finally ended up with my old remedy- cinnabun with SpiralStix (Spring Daisy).

T tried yesterday washing his hair with CV bars for the first time. He's quite happy with the result, and I think his hair is softer than with his regular stuff (Body Shop's Of a Man body wash/shampoo for men).  :)

I order my Avalon Organics stuff on drugstore.com

Like the idea with the sleep cap. Maybe when my hair gets longer, I will check into that as well.

Thanks for the tip.

Mamacat has returned to Ebay!  :D Unfortunately, her absence from there has created a big hairtoy deprivation among longhairs: at the moment, there's a pair that costs $47 and two others she has aren't coming far behind. I guess I'll wait a good while before bidding- however wonderful her hairsticks are, I just can't bring myself to pay nearly $50 on something that cost me well under $20 just a few months ago. Though the Agatewood pair is drop-dead gorgeous...

Hair: Hair is still very slippery, but also very beautiful. When I looked in the mirror this morning, I suddenly realized that now it's exactly the length of which I dreamed when I first started to grow. I suppose I've reached a goal of a kind, though my idea of good length has changed during this journey. Neverthless, there's no denying that this length looks good on me and is also good for many updo styles. If I one day discover that there's such a thing as "too long for me", I might cut back to this length, but I doubt that I'll ever want to go shorter than this.  :D
   As I had to visit my mentor in Helsinki today, I just went with foolproof cinnabun (that shows first signs of lumpiness...the Stage is nearing!) with hairsticks (Dragonfly Dreams). I'd gone with a French twist, but temperature has dropped again to readings that say "must wear the bonnet!".

Work: I presented my doctor's thesis disposition to my mentor today. He liked it a lot, in fact, so I don't have to work with it any more. Hooray! Now I can concentrate just in the hard task of finding a grant to start my investigations on. I'm really happy about my disposition getting such a good feedback- the idea of creating a whole new philosophical theory as Doctor's thesis still sounds crazy to my ears. But, my Master's thesis wasn't much less crazy, so maybe I'm just that way. ;D

Presidential Elections: To my disappointment, Halonen got "only" 46.3% of votes, and there will be a second round of elections, now just two candidates. Her challenger is one of most annoying politicians of this country- a right wing candidate who represents faithfully nearly every idea I'm against. On the first round he was 18% behind Halonen, but other right wing and center parties have regrouped behind him pretty fast. I'm preparing to vote and to buy more cheese for another exciting evening...

Return of the Claws

This would make a bad movie title, but in my hair life, the surprise has been more pleasant. I stopped using claw clips maybe 1½-2 years ago. I had used them for peacock type of twists, and when my hair outgrew that style and cinnabuns became possible, I put all my claw clips to my hairtoy closet, thinking that I won't probably use them ever again.
  But, I was wrong and now it seems that time to take them back to combing table has arrived! Yesterday I just got this idea to try to secure a log roll type of twist with a claw, and the result was surprisingly nice. My log rolls look still pretty pitiful, but the claw hides that nicely. :) Granted, it's not the hairstick style I'm still looking for, but it's an updo, and now that cinnabuns are starting to behave weirdly again, any alternate style that I'm able to make quickly, is welcome!

Now my "awkward stage survival list" looks like:

Updos

Chinese bun (must still practice securing)
Upside down log roll with Ficcare
Log twist with claw clip
Scarf bun
Figure 8 (barely possible, so it doesn't last very well)

braids and ponytails
segmented ponytail
herringbone braid/pony
simple braids: French, Dutch, English, Rope (won't work unless hair is clearly dirty)
low ponytail (only at home so far)

other styles
Down (for clean hair only, tangles)
Down with a twist (for clean hair only, tangles)

Of course, I know many more hairstyles still, but the styles on the list are good "everyday" styles: easy and  quick to make and last for the entire day if need be. It shows on the list, that at the moment I have many styles that "almost" work, but the styles that are true everyday styles (no restrictions of any kind), aren't many. And most of those styles are quite casual- a bit too casual compared to buns with hairsticks that I've grown used to. But in any case, I'm making progress towards my goal of finding new hairstyles for the difficult stage ahead. Though I haven't discovered the hairstick updo I'm after, I'm already much better prepared than the last time cinnabuns stopped cooperating. And, should I fail to find the perfect style, I still have Spiral Stix as my "secret weapon". :D

It's cold! Temperature has dropped to -15 C (5 F )+ windy, and forecast says that it will drop well below -20 (-4 F) during the end of the week. I'll freeze! Ironically, the positive thing is, that we finally had a chance to clean our freeze comfortably as we could just put the foods from there to balcony- the temperature outside was the same  :o . I'm glad I had scheduled everything that required going to Helsinki (that's by the sea and twice as windy as where I live) to beginning of this week. Besides walking to grocery store, I don't have to stick my nose outside. All I need to do is to sit here and prepare the documents I need to attach my grant applications. Small comforts count!

Bonnet works still relatively well. I wore it yesterday, and it still seemed to keep back of my head warm. With a hood, I was able to cover also my forehead (it was so windy) and was comfortable. I guess I can now finally declare, that bonnet works through Finnish winter, though as I thought, on coldest few days a bit extra is necessary.  :)

Hair:Yesterday was hair washing day. This time I washed my hair with Honey Beer & Egg SB. I reasoned that in this weather, it needs some extra nourishment.
In general, I'm very happy with the condition of my hair right now. It's in GREAT shape. It looks healthy and happy. Of course, it has been that way for a long time, but I think that sometimes it's good to say it aloud and enjoy it. After all, so many people feel most of the time that they need to "do something" about their hair. I believe that happiness usually requires ability to rejoice of little everyday joys, and today, having a great hair is one of them. :D I've decorated my bun today with Seafoam Bloom hairsticks- somehow crisp, glittery seafoam green suits the mood of a cold winter day perfectly.

Health: Winter Fast is still going well. My skin is very dry- I've had to resort to my shea body butter. Neverthless, when I was shaving yesterday (first time for weeks), I managed to scratch myself- my skin is in such a shape that I probably better forget shaving for a while again. However, it's much better than last winter. It's not itching, and the shaving scratch is the only one I have. Sounds strange, but plain hot water feels more drying than CV soaps, so I'm washing myself extra thoroughly with soap these days.

New hairsticks have arrived!

I received: Plum Sophisticate RapunzelStix, Peridot Panache RapunzelStix and Sapphire Heart SpiralStix.
So, I'm finally a happy owner of RapunzelStix!  :D Just as I thought, these are the perfect stix for Chinese buns, and soon for Figure 8's. My confidence about emerging from BSL stage is increasing quickly... Though I was kinda hoping to find something "frosty" for winter, I ended up shopping bright, uplifting colors instead. Can't complain...

Plum Sophisticate pair isn't what is called plum purple in Finland- it's more like what I'd called grape purple, a color that goes better with my hair and complexion, and one of my favorite colors...This pair is so delicious that I could just eat it.

Peridot Panache pair is yet another pair in my collection that I consider to be very near perfection. I love the color combination of peridot green and gold, and I love teardrop crystals. Looking at this pair makes me feel happy.

It's long time since I've bought new SpiralStix...but  Sapphire Heart pair was worth the wait! Light sapphire blue is yet another of my favorite colors. Heart-shaped beads with shimmering gold are just stunning. This year, I'm NOT wearing something red in my hair on Valentine's Day. ;D

Hair: It's still terribly cold, and both my hair and skin are reacting. My skin consumes loads of body butter, and my hair demanded extra oiling this morning. I think I'll do Winter Hair Food treatment tomorrow before sauna.

Health: Feeling constantly cold yesterday (and finding leftover cheese from refridgerator) caused me to waver a little in my diet: I HAD to have some hot chocolate and cheese muffins. But, I don't think it was too bad, and I ate extra light breakfast to balance things. :)

Presidential Elections: I'm starting to get worried as most supporters of center parties have moved behind conservative candidate. He is only 6% behind Halonen at  the moment. I hope that some people in Center change their mind- there's nothing Center in that guy. I hope that Halonen will manage to keep her lead- she has been a great president. If city hall is open on Sunday, I and T are going to vote then, otherwise it'll be Monday's business for me.

The weather is supposed to get milder by tomorrow- I'm waiting for that. Meanwhile, I did yesterday Winter Hair Food treatment with my regular wash. My hair ended up having one oily spot, so I'll have to wash it again later today, but for most part, it just looks strong and happy. Not overconditioned at all in spite of weekly deep treatments. Which probably tells something about winters around here...

I did a split end check yesterday, and found just two baby splits. The progress I've made in split end front is just unbelievable. In the beginning of my hair journey I wouldn't ever have believed that it would be possible to have so few splits.  :)

As I have that oily spot in the usual place, choosing style was easy- cinnabun with hairsticks (Silver Sphere Spiralstix).

Playing with RapunzelStix

How on Earth have I ever thought that RapunzelStix might be too long for me? Because they're perfect. more They've taken me a leap towards solution of my "bunning at BSL" problem. With them, I manage to make most gorgeous hairstick twist buns- secured with just one RapunzelStix. I don't even need a bun net! When my hair grows, all I need to do is to make a tiny adjustment to my twist, and I'll have a perfect bun again!
   I might sound repetitive...but I need more of these.  ;D

Hair: Washed my hair yesterday with Lavender Spice in order to get rid of the oily spot left by Winter Hair Food treatment. Now it is happily twisted into a hairstick twist bun with Plum Sophisticate hairstick. I'll probably change it when I leave the house though as hairstick twist style is still on developmental stage

Health: I've lost 2.5 kg/5.5 lb so far in January. If I can make it to 3 kg in the end of the month, I'll be VERY pleased.

Internet shopping list update:

I have so many things to shop...and I can't shop everything in February as my funds are rather limited and I have enormous dentist bills on top of everything else. But, in near future I'm thinking of shopping...

-More LL hairsticks and another jewelry roll
-A Ficcare or two from coming LHC group order
-A huge load of imps from BPAL- I think my current list contains around 20 of them. I'll order these when I've used up a few of my perfumes.
-two silk wrapped claw clips from Headgames
-A white Pavlovo Posad shawl (if I really don't manage to find one that would cost less from Helsinki...doubt it)
-two new headcoverings for kitchen work from Christian Coverings. Much prettier than the scarves I'm using right now.
-kitchen soaps & nice samples from Chagrin Valley

Today I was in Helsinki, which meant, among other things, some shopping. I bought myself new claw clips- I found some that were both hair friendly and cheap, and also some new make up products. I don't wear much make up (on home days, I usually have nothing), and so I discovered a couple of days ago that many of my products had gone bad.
  I also bought my Winter Exchange present, and plan to send it this week. It was surprisingly difficult to put together- there weren't much nice red things around. Apparently, red is not fashionable... ::)

Hair: Weather has warmed a little (relatively speaking, of course) and I have been able to go out wearing only earmuffs. Which has meant some variety with hairstyle. For dentist appt I wore just a plain French braid, and for rest of the day I changed it to a claw clip. Can you tell I'm excited about being able to wear claw clips again? ;D

Health: Today was dentist appointment, and next is scheduled for Thursday morning. I'm still mad at student healthcare...

Today's a been a stay at home day for me. I've been able to do chores, cook, write and most importantly, enjoy the peace and quiet.

Most important event in my hair life today has been washing- this time just a simple wash with Honey Beer Egg & ACV rinse. Otherwise, I've just kept hair up and out of my way as usual.

Winter Exchange gift sent!  :D As I said earlier, I had to took a rather liberal interpretation of the color "red", but I hope the recipient will like it anyway.  :)

Otherwise, I haven't been very productive today. I started the day with longest (an hour!) and most painful dentist appointment so far, and opening my mouth still hurts. Ow. But, I'm glad that it's history and my mouth is in a little healthier condition, no matter how it feels.

  Hair is happy. Besides oiling, I haven't done much with it, just put it up and out of my way.

Health: I'm happy to announce that I have achieved my weight loss goal for January! :D Since New Year, I have lost 3 kg:s/6.6 lbs. I'm very happy with the result, and think it proves that my new weight loss strategy really works! This is also the first time I'm comfortable with my diet, so I'll continue with it for February. My weight loss goal is 0.5 kg's/ 1.1 lb's per week. While it's not as fast as humanly possible, losing weight more slowly feels much better and is way less annoying.

Hair: Yesterday was washing day. I decided not to do a deep treatment this week, just an ordinary wash with Honey Beer & Egg poo + ACV rinse. I also did a small S&D mission. I didn't find many splits, but OTOH, I don't want to delay S&D missions until I do. Today, my hair is clean and so slippery that even my Ficcare didn't hold a bun. So, claw clip it is again.
   
Presidential Elections: Today's the Election Day, and in late evening, we'll know the winner. During the past days, I've grown increasingly worried: the right wing candidate has gained a lot support, and the difference between Halonen and him has disappeared to the error margin. What are people thinking? The same people who have given Halonen unprecedented support for her whole term in office?
     I suppose that in the evening, we'll find out.

 I realized that I've worn claw clips every day lately- not necessarily for the whole day, but at part of it. After having year long break from them, they feel new and interesting. Log rolls secured with them last quite well, at least when I'm at home. I think I have felt this nice last time when I discovered that my hair has grown long enough for a cinnabun. While I'm always interested in new styles, it's rare to find a good everyday style.
 
Today my hair is very nice, shiny and silky. I think that the sleep cap might have something to do with that- my hair feels really nice in the morning. I vary between wearing it in a low pony or loose with sleep cap, but both result in a tangle-free lovely hair. It's amazing how big a difference the cap has made! T has also now gotten used to the cap and said that it doesn't bother him any longer. ;D All problems solved!
 
Presidential Election: ...is now over. Halonen will continue in the office- I was worried in vain. The competition got tougher than I had expected, but the result is what counts. While president has limited powers in day to day-politics, she has stronger influence in foreign politics. We'll stay nonaligned and still have a president who speaks about global (and local) fairness and importance of sharing our welfare with less fortunate. I'm content. [/politics]

It's here...  :o ;D

When I was leaving to the meeting yesterday, I decided to do a quick, nice cinnabun with hairsticks...and it didn't work. I tried a French twist. It ended up looking lumpy and weird. In the end, time ran out and I had to leave with a segmented ponytail.

Same thing this morning: cinnabuns just aren't what they've used to be. Lumpy and weird and holding poorly. Thinking positively, this must mean that my hair has grown while I was playing with claw clips! And this time I was prepared. So, instead of becoming puzzled and annoyed, I grabbed a RapunzelStix (Peridot Panache), and quickly twisted my hair into a hairstick knot bun. Problem solved!

It feels weird to think though that for next months (who knows for how long, really!) cinnabuns and twists aren't going to be my trusted everyday styles. Last time when this started to happen, I lived for a while in some sort of denial, trying to tell myself that I was just having a bad hair day of some sort. When I finally had to admit that I probably can't have 30 bad hair days in a row with very healthy hair, I became annoyed (I suppose that that in fact influeced a little on how large my December trim ended up being), thinking that if I can't wear my dear cinnabuns, do I really want to enter new lengths?
  So, I suppose that the extra time I gained by generous trim came in need. Now I know that there are nice and easy updos that still work and look nice: claws, hairstick knots and maybe even buns with SpiralStix should take well care of my updo style needs, and in addition I've started to like the look of segmented ponytails. Temporary end for cinnabunning is a big event, but it's not a disaster. This time, I'm trying to embrace change and think of it as an opportunity.

Yesterday when I was in a meeting, I also realized that IRL, I have managed to surround myself with quite exceptional people. Long hair on adult women is rare where I live, but around the meeting table I noticed that all the ladies present (our regular shorthaired lady absent) had longish hair. K and T had shortest, around shoulder length. I think I and L are second shortest with nearly BSL hair, though L is naturally curly so it's hard to tell. P has almost waist length, pretty graying hair. And H- well, you should see her hair! It's straight and ii like mine, but a bit lighter blonde, very healthy and between hip and classic length. She seems to always keep it in a low ponytail. I hope that in a few years, my hair will look something like hers. Maybe it's just a coincidence, but it's cool- three of above mentioned ladies are well in middle age, all of them great evidence of that long hair continues to look great as we age.

How lucky you are to have so many long hair models around you!  I'm sure this will help you with your own long hair goals.

I'm sure it does, it's very inspirational.  :)

Today, it's been snowing all day, which is nice for a change. I started my day with dentist appointment. It was least uncomfortable appointment so far, and my dentist said that I have only two more visits to go, at least in case I don't decide that two of my wisdom teeth (sp.?)will have to go...I'm thinking about that. Today I had x-ray of them taken, and if the roots are nice and compact, I might have them pulled out. If they're not, I'm less eager.

When I came home, I found an already familiar looking envelope from my mailbox. I had received the hairtoys I got from France Luxe GO. I had ordered: new chignon pic in Carmel Horn, French Twist comb in carmel horn, and a pair of Nacro White hairsticks. They are simply gorgeous- it's hard to believe that they are plastic at all. The colors are lively and beautiful, and the workmanship is excellent to the smallest detail. Finally I have a French twist comb that really blends with my hair. The hairsticks are also very nice- being a bit longer than most of my hairsticks, they work well in my hair (not in cinnabuns though). I'm definitely going to order from France Luxe in future.

Today was also washing day. I did a small S&D, and washed my hair with Rosemary Lavender Aloe shampoo & AVC. Ida's shampoos should be used in about one year, and I still have plenty left. While I rotate the bars, I'm still very pleased of how long they have lasted. I suppose that I'll need to order more in spring, but not before.

Poor braindead me- I totally forgot that it's 1st day of the month and time to do monthly update.  ::) According to my new strategy, I won't measure my hair officially. But, here's the rest.

Washing: Chagrin Valley Shampoo bars/soap, ACV rinse. Nothing new here, no need for anything new either.

Care&Styling: Rose water, Aloe Vera gel, homemade deep treatments like Snowy's Deep Moisture Treatment and my very own Winter Hair Food, XZ Deep Conditioner, jojoba oil, Three Butter Lotion. I suppose that my lovely sleep cap should be mentioned here.

Toys: Hairsticks worked in the beginning of the month, but right now only long or spiraled hairsticks can hold a style alone. Rediscovered claw clips.

Styles: Doing some of my staple styles like cinnabuns and French twists became suddenly difficult (almost impossible, really) during January. I did quite a lot experimenting with new styles and toys. I have worn my hair up with claw clips quite a lot, and have liked also segmented ponytails. Also hairstick knots with long hairsticks are promising, but I haven't worn them in public yet.

Today I woke up with super clean, super shiny and super slippery hair. It was snowing heavily and rather cold, so I quickly concluded that I had to put on my bonnet when leaving the house. Which, of course, created a problem: my hair was obviously too slippery for claw clips, and though I managed to make a pretty French twist with my new France Luxe comb, even it started to fall in an hour or so. As my last attempt, I made a Chinese bun with Mamacat hairstick, hairnet and extra pins...and it worked! Phew!

I gave in and ordered my first set of BPAL imps: March Hare, R'Lyeh, Magdalene, Sophia, Eos, Sea of Glass, Magus, Kyoto, Veil, The Great Sword of War, Bliss and Tzadikim Nistarim. It's half of the scents I'd like to try...

Speaking of things to shop, there's Ficcare group order open on LHC. I have no idea of what I'd like to get: right now my hair doesn't cooperate with my existing Maximas too well...OTOH, Ficcares are too beautiful and so difficult to obtain if one lives near the edge of the civilized world...besides, I haven't decided what else I should fit to this month's hairtoy budget and therefore don't know how much I can spend in Ficcares. But, it's luxurious to think stuff like this  ;) , I may enjoy pondering this so called problem after I've completed my grant application (tomorrow, I hope!).

Work: Grant application #2 is almost completed. After I've sent it, I'm giving myself a couple of days off. I feel the need to "detox" my brain before starting to work with the article on theory of knowledge.

Health: Diet-wise this week hasn't been exactly a success. While I've managed to eat the right amount of calories every day, the way I've managed it isn't too great. It seems, that every evening this week I've eaten something that I shouldn't have eaten and I've balanced it by pinching from breakfasts. While I think it's ok to do so maybe once a week, this week I've done it every day. Not good. I think that my evening hunger is more or less hormonal- it seems that feeling more hungry (and craving more sugar/fat combinations) than normally is my version of PMS. Weird. But, one day at a time- my immediate goal being not eating anything but fruit tonight.

Back with a nice log roll secured with a pretty shimmering cream-colored claw clip. Hair is behaving better today. I'll enjoy it for as long as I can: T is going to meet his friend tomorrow evening so we decided to warm the sauna today. So, tomorrow I'm going to have a clean hair day again. Luckily I don't have to go anywhere. I'm thinking of doing a Winter Hair Food treatment before sauna. The weather is becoming colder once again. On the other hand, I have some VO 5 hot oil lying in the bathroom, begging to be used. I'll decide later...

I arranged my combing table. Not only have I bought new hairtoys since I last arranged it, but I also noticed that since I've entered to a new stage on my hair journey, I had many toys on the table that I can't expect to use much in near future, plus some toys that just aren't practical in the middle of the winter.
  The change in my basket selection was quite big: all my big claws and prettiest scrunchies are now arranged neatly in there. But, many toys that have been in the basket about since I started to use the basket system had to go into the cupboard. Making the changes improved my mood though: my basket is now full of hairtoys I can use without difficulty, and most of the difficult ones are out of sight (excluding of course Ficcares and my hairstick collection- I'm still trying to find ways to use them). Depending of my success in that during February, I might end up rearranging them too. But we'll see about that. For now though, I'm content.

Playing with hairstyles

I'm making progress with 5-strand braids.  :D The only problem is how to get even sections, but otherwise, my 5-strand braids (I've tried French, Dutch and English) look pretty good.
I've also played with my new France Luxe French twist comb, and am pleased to report that with it I can make way better French twists than with my Ficcares. It's a bit slower though and I suppose that I need more practice, but I'm happy to know that French twist isn't a completely "lost" style yet- just the easy Ficcare version.

Hair was a bit oily after yesterday's deep treatment (Winter Hair Food, after I saw weather forecast), and I ended up washing it again. It seems always end up being that way, no matter how carefully I try to wash afterwards. But, extra trouble or not, Winter Hair Food is still a wonderful treatment that I can't live without. At least, I wouldn't want to try living without it.

This is kind of late, but congratulations on losing 6.6 lbs! :D

Thanks. I suppose it's actually even a bit more now, this week ended up being success at least in the sense that I didn't exceed my limit. Next week, I'm just hoping to do it in a bit more sensible way.

Hair: Cinnabuns are really beyond me. This morning I didn't manage to make even a lumpy one for a stay at home day. So, log roll with claw clip is effectively reestablishing its place as my staple hairstyle. At least until I'll become able to make nice looking braided buns and secure figure 8's.

Health: Brain-freezing cold continues. Today I had to go to Helsinki. At least I got plenty of walking (and a new hairtoy...  ;D ). They say that calories burn better in cold...I certainly hope so!
 Cold weather has had another good side-effect: I've drank more tea than usually, and in honor of Winter Fast, most of that has been rooibos or green tea.

Hair: I managed to make a decent braided bun, pinned it with my MT Tigereye hairsticks and enjoyed how comfortable and secure it lasted through all day. It could look a bit better, but for the moment I've lowered my standards.  ;) I've missed wearing all my nice hairsticks so much that even a little lopsided and lumpy braided bun is welcome way to display them.

I also decided to pass LHC's Ficcare order and spend the bulk of this month's hairtoy budget to Longlocks instead ;D . I'll order new clips when my hair starts behaving better.

And now comes something completely different.

30 facts about Galadriel

1. Though I'm now considering moving to countryside, so far I've lived in a city for my whole life.  
2. I love roses.
3. My favorite computer game is Sim City.
4. I bake at least once a week, usually twice.
5. I don't enjoy shopping IRL. Internet shopping is a different story... ;D
6. I fell in love with my rabbit, Liina, when I saw her in a pet store- a tiny baby bunny who could cross her ears. Later, I found out that crossing ears is her way to express being annoyed.
7. I'm hooked to pinball game that came with my cellphone.
8. IMO, most horrible food in the universe is peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich.
9. I don't like having my pictures taken.
10. I hate to work on computer when someone can see what I'm doing.
11. I find most comedies depressing.
12. I'm HSP -highly sensitive personality-, being especially sensitive to loud sounds (including music) and bright colors.
13. My both parents have dark hair. My only relative with blond hair is a cousin (woman) whom I've never met. Judging from the photos she looks like my twin, but what I've heard of her proves otherwise.
14. I think that green is most beautiful eye color. Don't know why.
15. I don't have siblings.
16. My favorite fiction book is Mika Waltari's Dark Angel.
17. My favorite philosophy book is Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics.
18. When I was a child, I wanted to become a surgeon. Now I think that ill people, hospitals, doctor's work...everything related to them, in fact...is disgusting.
19. I like metal music.
20. I don't usually like parties.
21. I'm terrible at math. I suspect that I actually suffer from number blindness.
22. I enjoy knitting socks.
23. I wish I could dedicate more of my time for studying metaphysics.
24. I really like Kalevala Jewelry. http://www.kalevalakoru.fi
25. I have very bad eyesight. Though I own contacts, I usually use glasses.
26. My favorite season is fall.
27. I love chocolate.
28. I need a lot of sleep. I usually go to bed around 9-10 pm. T is the same way and I consider it one of the small luxuries of our relationship.
29. I like antique.
30. I'd love to know more languages than I now do, but I don't have the patience required for studying.

Hair: Clean and probably as nice as it can be right now. Playing with styles continues. I quite like that new weird clip I found yesterday. It's comfy and secures a French twist nicely.

I've reached a hair milestone of a kind. T came to me telling that our shower drain seems to be clogged. As I'm the one responsible of drains, I promised to take a look. When I did, I found IT: a fist-sized glob of something greenish and tangly  :-X. It looked like cousin to Great Cthulhu (see the link!), but closer inspection revealed that it consisted mainly of something that had once been long, blonde hair. My hair.

Here's the picture of DrainMonster/Cthulhu:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d3/Cthulu.png

Now Little Cthulhu is in garbage bag and I've poured half a bottle of drain opener to the drain just to be sure.
Disgusting as it is, this little episode has improved my long hair self esteem in some weird way.  8)

Health: I started the day once again with dentist appointment. She told me, that I have only two visits left. Yay!
I'm very happy about my eating so far this week. T is taking me for birthday dinner (My birthday is on Valentine's Day) on Saturday to my favorite fine Italian restaurant. I'm not going to count calories when we get there, so I decided to do it beforehand. At least spiced Rooibos is calorie-free.
 I've been thinking about how to keep myself motivated in the long run. I decided that if I catch myself from slipping bad during the spring, I will order Weight Watchers material (as I really dislike the vibe I get from WW, the idea should scare me enough to give some extra motivation if need be...) and begin to follow WW diet. I don't think that it differs much from what I'm doing now, but the extra hassle that comes with WW might help if I won't otherwise seem to manage it. Of course, my biggest motivation is next health check in late May/early June. If I haven't managed to drop my blood pressure in one way or another, my doctor will scold me. As I look around, I can't yet see any signs of my life becoming easier and less stressing, maintaining my diet is the only reliable chance I've got.
  I've also thought on how to reward myself of reaching small goals. Haven't got any ideas yet though.

Hair: Mess. A greasy mess, to be exact. It's still in a French braid/bun combo I wore for dentist appointment, except that I have now a greasy halo. Not very attractive. But I don't need to be attractive when I do chores and spend a free day, so I'll just let it be until I jump to the shower and wash it. And so a new little Cthulhu will start to grow... ;D

Hair: Clean. I washed it yesterday evening with Lavender Spice and washed myself with Lavender Oatmeal Spice. I felt so pampered...the scent was just divine. In the morning, I had some static, but after applying a little rose water and jojoba it got better. Today's style is single braid. Braids are getting better and better looking all the time, though tapering towards end has once again become quite visible. Grrr...

On a more positive note, I checked from mirror and it seems that I'm only about 1 cm/0.5 in above BS. Yay! Even though I have a trim (a small one, I hope) coming in a month or so, I hope I can reach true no-doubt-whatsoever- BSL before summer.

Yay! I received my Winter Exchange gift from Sakina. It really cheered me up! I received a nice comb that is unlike all my other combs: a tail comb with wide teeth. It looks sturdy and very useful. I also got a red feather boa that fits perfectly with my black evening dress. And then there's a very interesting looking foil cap. I'll test it right next time I do a deep treatment (tomorrow, I hope). Now I can just say that it looks way cooler than my ugly shower cap.
   
Hair: I'm having a very soft hair day! :) Hair feels nice and healthy. Static is still a minor annoyance. Just a minor because I spritz my hair with rose water when first signs of static appear. I guess it's just the dry winter air- the weather has remained cold for a while now and it's starting to show. I'm thinking of doing a Snowy's Deep Moisture treatment tomorrow.
No succeed whatsoever with bunning attempts this morning. I just have to keep trying neverthless. Log roll/claw clip works well, but I want to wear my hairsticks.

Health: Because I've been saving up calories for the dinner tomorrow, this has been the worst feeling dieting week so far. But, I have managed to eat just as I've planned, and have walked a bit more than I planned. So I'm happy with myself- it's just the constant hunger I don't like.  :-/  
I decided to reward myself for enduring a hard week and bought a Weight Watchers cookbook in hopes that it will give some new inspiration for my meal planning.

I did yesterday a Snowy's Deep Moisture Treatment, using the new cap I got from Sakina. The cap really works. :D Today, my hair is nice and way less static than yesterday. Now it looks messy only because it's so clean.
 I guess I'm not yet quite adapted to being in this new stage. Yesterday I managed to make a passable bun for dinner using Sapphire Heart SpiralStix and a short Amish pin, but even that wasn't very stable. So, I'm still very much learning ways to manage my hair. Braids and ponies would be so easy, but I'd really like to be able to make nice updos. Practice, practice, practice...I guess. Some growth would be nice too.

Health: The dinner we had yesterday was worth the suffering! Though I must say that I didn't expect feeling so stuffed and tired as I have been almost until now. Taste aside, my body seems to prefer lighter diet. Just maybe not as light as last week was. But all in all, I'm very happy with my this weeks' performance on weight loss front. I realized that I have also consumed way more water, healthy teas and vitamins than I used to. I wonder whether that will be reflected in my growth rate.

Woohoo! :D I'm finally wearing a bun with hairsticks. I put my hair to a ponytail, twisted the tail slightly, made a knot of it, tucked the remaining hair under the know, added hairnet and secured with hairsticks (Dragonfly Dreams). And there I have it! A perfect, secure bun with hairsticks. It didn't even take any more time to make than a cinnabun!

Congrats on the hairstick bun.  Are you using an elastic to hold the hair into a ponytail first?

Congratulations, Galadriel!! It's always exciting when a new style works. :)

Congrats Gladriel! :)

BB, yes, I use an elastic. I have never managed to do a bun of any kind without one. My hair is so slippery.

Thanks for support, juri and Beesan 16  :) . I'm really excited about this style- it's just what I was looking for. So pretty and so easy. I'm wearing it right now, with MT Asian Moon sticks. Once again, I'm able to wear all my beautiful hairsticks. :D I missed them!

Health: I can't believe that it's already week 7 of my diet. But it is! I've lost a bit over 4 kilos/9 lbs so far. I've thought that I've lost weight kinda slowly, but the numbers do add up! :D Last week I also picked two more healthy habits: drinking lots of water and increasing my exercise. This week, my goals are: 1)take three longish walks (just two left! ;D)
                2)keep drinking water
                3)follow my eating plan, but eat a bit more than I did last week. That doesn't sound too difficult, though succeeding in 3) will require a bit calorie-counting as it's challenging to tweak the diet just a little. But I know I can do it. :)  

Hair: washed, rinsed, combed gently, and now drying in a towel turban. Feeling good. I found a few split ends while I S&D's before washing, but nothing too bad considering how long it's since my last trim.

Health: I think my weight loss is finally starting to show just a little. At least I think that my clothes fit a little better than they did when I was at my heaviest. I also feel much better than before beginning Winter Fast- I have more energy and less cravings for unhealthy foods. I've also adapted well to three meals per day routine. Today I took my second walk, and have now only one more left for this week. :) So, all is going well and I'm very confident that this is doing wonders for my wellbeing in every way.

Today I went to Helsinki to do some shopping. It feels like forever since I've been there. I bought some pretty yarns for crocheting scrunchies, and some satin scrunchies and an interesting wooden hairstick that looked good for making Chinese buns.
  I'm wearing a scarf bun today- a style that I've worn way too little lately. It isn't affected at all by the difficult stage my hair has entered, and it's also so good and protective for hair.

I found out that T has consumed almost all of Rosemary Lavender Aloe shampoo bar. He washes his hair every day, and his conversion to CV bars makes them shrink fast. Which is good, since I need so little shampoo, that consuming them in time started to seem difficult. But, I need to make shampoo bar and soap order soon. In beginning of March, I think, when new batch of the divine Chocolate Almond soap is ready to be shipped. This time, I also plan to try Ida's Java soaps. They are supposed to be (and I've heard that they are) especially good hand soaps.

Health: Good news! My weight loss goal this week was simply to maintain whatever weight I had before going to birthday dinner, but today the scale showed that I've lost a whopping 1½ pounds/almost 1 kg. Which brings me to total weight loss of 5 kilos/11.02 lbs!  ;D ;D ;D It means also that I've earned my first "reward". Since there aren't any interesting movies in theatres right now, I decided that as my reward I want to go to Sea Life instead- an exhibition about tropical freshwater fishes has just opened there. So, we're going this weekend.
  I've managed to eat more than last week, and feel actually a lot better than I did before beginning this diet. I've started to really enjoy my new lifestyle- I get to eat surprisingly much, and as I have an opportunity to prepare almost all of my food at home, it's tasty too. I haven't started enjoying of extra exercise yet, but it's tolerable. I'm hoping that I will start liking it better (and in any case, when spring comes and snow begins to melt, I have to change my exercise).

Congrats on the weight loss, Galadriel! Your trip to Sea Life sounds dreamy. I love marine biology, and a trip to Sea World or the Birch Aquarium out here would be fascinating to me!

I've been trying to get back into shape too after the medication I was taking a few years ago messed me up big time. Using the wrong level of synthetic hormones suck-diddly-ucks.  :P

Best of luck in quickly burning off every last pound that you intend to lose. You'll look & feel like a new person when you finally get there.  :)

Thanks for support, Angel Spun. :D I have a lot of weight to lose, but I take it one day at the time. I believe that the key to weight loss is to stay motivated and focused, and so I'm working to strenghten my motivation every day. :) The diet I'm on is wonderful, and I already feel that I have so much more energy than before.  :) I totally believe that you're right in saying that I'm going to feel better yet when I get closer to the goal.
  I love aquariums, both visiting public ones and taking care of my own little piece of underwater world in living room. It's so educating and interesting.

Today is another cold midwinter day. Hair feels a little blah- I guess it's combination of getting dirty and reaction to winter air. I'm wearing a knot bun with center part and Flower Power MT hairsticks. I remember this being my favorite pair last this time last winter.
I think I'll take my hair down soon and mist my hair with rose water. That could take care of the blah. And, if it doesn't, tomorrow is washing and deep treatment day anyway.

Washing day:
Wore French braid for visit to Sea Life. I think my French braid is getting longer. When I came home, I finished the scrunchie I crocheted. I guess I should start braiding my hair more often- I wear my homemade scrunchies very seldom though they are so pretty. But crocheting them is so fun. Maybe I should start giving them more as gifts to my few longhaired friends.
  Did S&D mission, and washed my hair after sauna with Lavender Spice. I didn't have time to do a "real" deep treatment, so I just deep conditioned my hair for a few minutes with XZ deep conditioner.

Health: Today's my "free eating day" of the week, and I must admit that baking chocolate chip cookies (according to meal plan  ::)) made my eating maybe even a bit more free than necessary. I decided to go for a walk tomorrow to soothe my conscience. Good thing is, that I've consumed my water and besides chocolate cookies, managed to eat well.
Scale says that I haven't lost any weight at all since last week. Stupid scale. Or stupid me who must weigh in in successive days. ::) But, I try not to worry about that and concentrate more on the positive facts of this week- the best of them being that I've followed my diet plan really well.

Hair is happy and clean. I'm today on one of my rare "minimalist" moods, and made a knot bun secured with just Amish pins. Result is simple, nice and secure.

Health: Took my longest walk this week & have once again lived perfectly according to the plan. I'm quite happy with my weight loss success this week- I've stayed motivated, focused and have managed to "behave well". :)

After a little "accident" that had to do with washing machine and one of the kerchiefs I wear when I cook and bake, I came to a conclusion that I finally need to try to come up with a better covering for kitchen work. I've been thinking about if for long, but now I really must do something about it. Some time ago I posted a poll to LHC in hopes of finding some ideas, but instead of giving me what I had hoped for, I only found out that most ladies find it much easier to combine long hair and kitchen work than I do.If my goal is to prepare food that doesn't have a hair or two as extra spice, just tying hair back or bunning it isn't enough. :-X I cook a meal from scratch almost every day, and in addition to it I bake bread and goodies about twice a week. So, I have more chances of shedding hair to food than those ladies who believe in convenience foods (most people, it seems!), and my hair seems to just need an excuse to drop a strand delicately to whatever I'm preparing. I don't think that I shed much. But, if a single strand wants maximum attention for its departure, food is the best choice for landing area.

After the LHC poll I haven't given this issue much thought, hoping that one way or another it will eventually solve itself. But now one of my kerchiefs is no more, and I'm to survive with just one. And I'm not even upset (much) because I didn't like the things in the first place. So I'm back with browsing sites like Christian Coverings, trying to find something that doesn't look terribly silly but would still cover my hair well when I need it. I found a site called Prayercoverings.com, and they have some "less traditional" styles. I'm still pondering on my exact order, but it's likely that I will try a couple of types of coverings and see what suits my needs best. After all, they can't be much sillier than those kerchiefs I now wear.  ::) Anyway, I've decided to place my order right in the beginning of March, alongside with my soap order. :)

Hair: Low knot bun is the style for the day (so far). Today I made it with a couple of Amish pins and France Luxe chignon pic. The combination seems to work well.

Health: I ended up binging last evening. I think the root of that lies in those chocolate chip cookies and me getting just too much sugar, which paradoxically makes me gobble for more sugar before I even realize what I'm doing. So, though both I and T love homemade cookies, they won't appear back to the meal plan for a long while.
 But, today's a new day, new week, and I can stay away from too sugary stuff and move on again. This day has started well according to the plan. A good start for week 8. :)

WOOHOO! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
My hair has reached BSL!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Finally!!! I checked from the mirror. Once, twice, thrice. And it's really true! My hair hangs well on my bra strap when pulled straight (since I keep my hair contained almost all the time, my hair is seldom as straight as it is naturally). I'm so excited! I've been between shoulders and BS for so long that it feels marvelous to finally BE THERE. This is the longest my hair has ever been, and this is also best looking it has never been. I don't think it's a coincidence... I'm so happy! We still have problems with digicam, but I've told T that it needs to be in working order soon when it's time to take my yearly comparison pictures.

And, just in time to put some sparkle to my newly arrived BSL length, a Longlocks shipment arrived.
Gilded Raven D'Or stick pair is my first black pair. Since I started collecting LL hairsticks, I've been hunting for a nice black pair. But, this pair was worth the wait. Vermeil beads are so pretty- and decorated with S-shapes, which is bonus since my real name begins with S :D.
 Then there is Rare Butterfly SE Gemstix pair that is just too beautiful to behold. I have probably named a ten or so pairs as "one of my most beautiful pairs" so far, but this pair truly deserves to be called that. I'm on cloud 9.

Other hair stuff: Hair is getting slightly dirty, meaning more manageable. Making a knot bun with hairsticks (Caramello) was so easy today.

Health: Week 8 of my diet has started well, and even my scale is cooperative once more, showing once again that I have reached the goal I set for February. My goal was to take three walks this week, and I've already taken two of them...if I have time, I'll probably do one "extra" walk. On eating front, all is well again. My motivation is still high- I know I can do this.

Congratulations!!

Congrats Galadriel :D :) :) :-*

I hope waist length will come soon..very soon :D

I'm still totally excited about hitting BSL. My next goal, waist is a much shorter journey. As you know, my hair has entered a new stage recently, and now that I finally feel that I've accommodated to the challenges that have come with it, I notice also many new niceties. Hair brushing my upper arms or midback in the short moments when it's down. Braid getting better and better looking and being long enough to have some movement. And all these little nice things seem to promise that it will get even better when it grows. The only thing that worries me a bit is hitting a resting phase. That seems to happen to many people around BSL. With my new resolution to measure only 4 times a year, I hope that if it's just a month or two, I won't even notice. But, there's not much I can do to prevent it...so I try not to worry and to focus in positive things.

Today my hair can be best described as a greaseball. I've worn a knot bun with my new Rare Butterfly hairsticks at home, but for going out of the house I had to change to a French braid (did I mention it looks longer?!  ;D ). My hair wasn't particularly greasy yesterday...weird behavior... After I finish baking, I'll take a shower and wash it. I haven't used a CV soap as a conditioner for a while, but today I will...reading of Anais's and LJ's experimenting has reminded me again of how wonderful they are.

Yay-rah for you!  Man, reaching BSL must be so exciting!  Congrats!   :D

Thanks, Trisha  :)

I washed my hair yesterday with Lavender Spice SB & Chocolate Almond soap. It dried quickly, so I had time to oil it before going to bed. Today my hair is absolutely lovely- the ends are so soft and shine is great.
My BSL is here-celebration continued today. I had to go to Helsinki, and in spite of cold, I decided to do a segmented ponytail with nice, colorful elastics. I was actually surprised of how easy it was to handle: no fuss at all. Regular ponytails and winter clothes don't mix, but it seems that segmenting the tail makes all the difference. As usual, I checked hairtoys in a couple of shops, but there was nothing interesting. All I bought was some pretty elastics that came to real need.

Health: I had lunch in Helsinki with my mother, chicken caesar salad and Shrovetide(?) bun for dessert. Most of my calories were spent, but at least I did stay within limit (I'm almost sure of that anyway) and even have enough calories left for a small evening snack. In any case, I'm glad that I didn't order any yummy looking pasta or cake (we had lunch in a spaghetteria).

Other news: I got an email from BPAL- they shipped my order in Tuesday. Can't wait to get my imps!
      My friend and colleague P's husband is a silversmith and jewelry artist, and P said that they'd like me to design some silver jewelry for production. I have never done anything like that, but P has seen my artwork, and likes my style. I'm very excited about this new opportunity. And, to be honest, my financial future isn't so secure that I couldn't use any extra that is practically thrown on my path. I have a few ideas already, and one thing is certain- one way or another, I will will sketch one or two hairtoys. ;D

Jewelry artist!  Fantastic!  I'm sure your designs will be beautiful.  Good luck.

Thanks for encouragement, BB. I'll certainly post pictures of finished designs. :)

Hair has been behaving very well since last wash. Today is a washing day again, but it doesn't look dirty at all. Too bad that my Chocolate Almond soap is now used up. But, March and time to place new order is near.
 Since entering to this new stage on my hair growing journey, I've noticed that my styles have more day-to-day variation than before. The knot bun is wonderful (in fact, I'm wearing it right now with lovely Gilded Raven Stix), but so are my other new favorite styles, log twist with claw and segmented ponytail. Add an occassional braided style or a scarf bun, and all I can say that I have more variation than in a long time. I'm now glad that cinnabuns stopped working. If they hadn't, who knows when I would have started to experiment with all these exciting new styles?

Health: Diet-wise, this week has been a good one. I lost one poud/0.5 kg:s, which brings me to total weight loss of 5.5 kg:s/12 pounds. Yay! I'm very confident with both my weight loss strategy and my ability to continue to follow it. Now that it's weekend, I've planned heavier meals, but I'm also happy to have both time and good weather to take extra walks. But, the most important thing is, that I feel great and full of energy.  :)

My throat became suddenly a bit sore on Saturday, and I postponed washing until Sunday. Taking weekend easy was a smart move, I think, because now I'm healthy again. There has been a really nasty influenza around (in fact, so far I've been the only person who has escaped it with only mildest symptoms). On Sunday, it was just a quick wash, and instead of deep conditioning I just washed my length with Honey Butter soap.

The clips I've been using to secure my sleeping cap had caused sore spots to my scalp. So, I decided that it's time to take a break from using the cap, no matter how my hair loves it. For two nights now, I've been wearing a new style. I braid my hair in an English braid that I secure with an elastic, then fold the braid in two, and secure the folded hair with a hair hosiery so that it becomes a compact lump. It is really more comfortable than it sounds.  ;) And T is happy. ::) But, I'll keep wearing it only until I come up with a more scalp-friendly solution to secure my night cap.

My BPAL imps have arrived!
The sample vials are tiny, but the scents are so strong that I expect one vial to last longer than it looks. I'm going to have some wonderful time testing all of my imps! And they all need to be tested on skin before anything about them can be said- the scents are so strong that just sniffing the vials doesn't help a bit. They sent me two free imps: Salome and Yew Trees...so I have 14 imps to go! I started right away, and am wearing Tzadikim Nistarim at the moment. I first applied some almond oil to my skin, and then the scent. I'll review all the scents in this journal...be warned!

I also decided that it's finally time to start ordering new stuff. I placed my shampoo/soap/soap deck order to Chagrin Valley (yes, Anais, I ordered Chocolate Orange Twist along with my old love, Chocolate Almond). I also finally stopped procrastinating and placed an order to PrayerCoverings. I'm not quite sure, whether a scarf style or cap style would suit better for my needs, so I ordered both styles: "short veil" thatlooked really cute (hope it will look cute on me too ;D) and  "Daisy covering" which is supposedly not associated with any particular church, but is basically a full cap made of soft fabrics. It certainly looks like something that has a good chance of keeping my hair in order at critical times- I just hope it won't look too weird. But, the only way to find it out is to try it out, and now I'm finally about to do just that. I ordered both styles in black and white: white for baking and black for everything else.

Hair is doing fairly well. Yesterday I wore a scarf bun, and misted my hair with rose water before bunning it. Weather is quite cold again, cold and dry, and I know my hair doesn't appreciate that. I think my ends are just a tad dry- maybe I'll do an extra oiling later today.

Health: Winter Fast is over and Great Lent has started. I don't know how I rename my weight loss journey after Easter yet, but it's certain that I can't be on Winter Fast forever  ;). In any case, Week 9 has started well. Commies are expected to arrive late this week, so I'm not going to expect any great weight loss prior to that. But, I expect to follow my plan as religiously as ever. I've already taken a long walk yesterday, and will take my second walk later today. Doing my "compulsory" walking as early as possible gives such a nice sense of having accomplished something and that's a nice vibe. Drinking my water has become easier- I guess I'm starting to get used to drinking a lot of water every day.
Eating...well, that's always the tricky part, but I'll just plan, plan, plan ahead and then stick to it. I have a good start for this week, and no matter what my scale will say, I'm going to make sure that in the end of it, I'll feel successful.

T is having absolutely horrible stomach illness, and I'm tending him hoping (probably in vain) that it isn't contagious.

Yesterday was a washing day, I washed with Honey Beer& Egg shampoo and Honey Butter soap. No time and energy for anything more complicated.

Today I had a meeting about my research, and in an attempt to look presentable I made a low knot bun with just Amish hairpins. Minimalist look felt so strange, but not bad. Made with Amish pins and hair net, it also lasted very well.
  I've been watching season 4 of Babylon 5 from DVD, and feel like having found a real treasure chest of everyday hairstyles. My most recent promising discovery is double bun: a little cinnabun made from half the hair up to crown and another similar one made low to nape. It looks a bit unusual, but very nice at the same time. I tried it this morning, and liked it quite a lot. I just have to learn to secure it better. But it's a very promising style.

I've also been busy sniffing my BPAL imps.

Here are my first reviews:

Tzadikim Nistarim

Very powdery, floral scent touched with melancholy. First resembles vaguely of fluor paste dentists apply to teeth after cleaning them (yuck!), but luckily softens soon to a pleasant and balanced soft, flowery scent. Scent of a clean bedroom at night, windows opened to let a soft breeze from the garden to blow in. Lasts well.
Final verdict: Totally wearable, pleasant scent, but just a little indifferent so...3½ out of 5 pts.

R'Lyeh

This is great! Spicy, yet aquatic, with a hint of powdery softness. Fresh and warm at the same time, underneath just a tinge of something "not quite right". Beautiful and serene like a forgotten underwater city where dark green seaweeds grow form ruins of ancient towers sheltering small, brightly colored fish...but a city where geometry is strange. Lasts for a few hours.
Final verdict: Enigmatic, enchanting, fascinating and slightly strange. That is to say: perfect! Seems to smell slightly different at every sniff. 5/5 points because I keep sniffing my arms again and again. I'm definitely going to order a bigger bottle of this.

March Hare
Rich, sweet scent, fruits and flowers with a warm undertone, like vanilla sauce. Reminds me of summer.Final verdict: 4/5

Bliss

Smells like milk chocolate. I like it. Certainly not wearable for every occassion, but sometimes, I think, it's good to smell like that. 4/5 points.

Salomé

Oriental scent that unfortunately reminds me of cheap "bazaar" shops: incense sticks, old clothes, patchouli soap and cheap perfumes. Bellydancers and fat men with huge moustaches. Not totally awful, but not something I'd use to anything except to last rinsing water of my bras. Final verdict 2/5 pts.

Magdalene

Wonderful, wonderful scent of a huge bouquet of flowers and just a hint of fine soap and clean linens. Like a summer day in rose garden where noble ladies walk under old oaks and elms in gorgeous cream and pastel walking dresses carrying delicate parasols. A very fine, very expensive-feeling and feminine scent.
I love this. Doesn't last very long.
Final verdict 5/5 pts.

Eos
T loves this one, so I'll go ahead and give this 5 pts, though if you asked just me, I'd give it "only" 4. A nice, floral smell with some depth. Wearable and ok, but, like Tzadikim Nistarim, this one doesn't have whatever little thing it takes to make a scent spectacular (like R'Lyeh for example). But this certainly makes a good "everyday scent" for work and such. Lasts well.
Final Verdict: 5/5 pts.

I love your descriptions! You are a talented creative writer.  :D

Thanks, BB! I'm planning to write a novel one day, but so far I haven't had much time to develop the story.

However, in near future I will certainly write philosophy:
I RECEIVED A GRANT!
My very first grant application was successful, and it means that I can begin working with my Doctor's Thesis next month.

Hair: Nice and manageable. I'm wearing a knot bun again, this time with hairsticks (Caramello).

Health: T has still fever and pains, but is otherwise doing slightly better. I'm not having any symptoms (yet!), but am still eating carefully. I haven't noticed any weight loss yet for this week...but I'm not really expecting to have it, and will be totally happy to maintain.      

Last two imps I've tried haven't been as good as the ones I wrote previously. But, here are the reviews.

Magus
Smells like a room furnished with ancient bookshelves full of old papers and rotting leatherbound books, lit with smoking candles...and somewhere under the table there's an old coconut, once necessary but now just gathering dust and occassional fly. And dust, it's everywhere. Stone walls of the room remain cold and moist even in the summer here, two floors below ground level. Cold breezes coming from endless narrow hallways just manage to make the candles smoke even more, but fresh air is just as far as sunshine, almost unimaginable in this kingdom of bookworms. For the bookworms and brown beetles are the true rulers of this place, feasting forever on secrets long forgotten. That is, forgotten by everyone except one man...the Magus.
Final verdict: 2/5 pts. Certainly inspires imagination, but I don't want to smell like that! Would suit well in adding an air of mystery to a potato cellar.

Kyoto
This is the scent of teenage girls getting drunk for the first time. Spring evening in a park, flowers, cherry and licorice liquors -the only, horribly sweet drinks the girls have been able to get their hands on. Hint of powder, mascara and fruity pink lip gloss that must be applied every 10 minutes. Spring flowers are blooming, girls are giggling, the bottles of yucky liquors are slowly but oh so surely emptying. Soon, drunken confessions, tears and nausea will follow. Not to mention angry parents.
Final verdict: 1/5 pts. I don't really, really care to smell like a drunk teenager.

I decided that I need to finally to do something nice for my hair. Cold weather isn't seeming to go anywhere and I feel it's Ages (that is, at least two weeks) since I've pampered my hair. I remembered that I've last clarified before Christmas, and so started my hair pampering effort by clarifying with baking soda/Urtekram conditioner mix. Now I'm sitting with a generous dose of Snowy's Deep Moisture Treatment simmering under my new deep treatment cap and waiting for sauna to warm.

Shopping: I've done some internet shopping: new shoes from Gudrun Sjöden and new hairsticks from Rapunzel. ;D My shopping for the month is almost done...
I've (almost) decided that I'm going to order larger bottles of Bliss, Magdalene and R'Lyeh. Different scents, but all lovely. But only after I've dropped a couple of more kilos, as I decided that a new BPAL order is a fitting way to celebrate 10 kg milestone.

Health: My lower back is hurting and my so is my stomach. Impossible to say yet, whether I'm getting ill or whether it's just the commies moving in. I hope the latter, of course. I've taken my third walk today, drank my water and eaten lightly, so diet-wise, everything is going well.

My hair has been behaving well since clarifying/SMT. Not dramatically better though -I think it means that my hair was doing pretty ok before treatment. :)

I've been wearing segmented pony as my sleep style for two nights now, and am quite satisfied with it. Somehow, it feels better than braiding.

Today, I tested Mennonite bun that I found from PrayerCoverings site. The bun on the site looks quite ugly, but I used bobby pins instead of small barrettes and a fine hair net instead of the super thick one the model uses. To my surprise, the result was very nice: the big bow clip was completely concealed by hair. The bun ended up being of a beautiful oval shape, fairly (but not totally) flat, and very well distributed. Promising!
I also tested Anais' bun, but didn't have success with it. Maybe my hair is still too short...

But, I had also some work-related stuff to do in Helsinki and had to look professional once again for that. I made a low knot bun with my darkest Blondiesturn fork. Bad, bad idea. I had to redo it twice before getting back home. The fork poked my neck all the time- I suppose it's just not the tool for low styles. :-/ Oh well, next time I'll wear LL sticks. Or some other style.

Health: Back with diet. Had to do some extra planning as I was in Helsinki at lunch time. I ended up eating a late breakfast (just before leaving), and had my main meal after I came home. I managed to stay within calorie limit and take my first walk of the week. A good start. :)

Hair: Soft, manageable, very nice. Today's style is a knot bun with Rose FuturiStix. Knot bun is fast replacing cinnabun as my staple style. I hope my hair won't get too dirty by tomorrow. I'm going to have a long day, and should look somewhat presentable.

Health: Two of this weeks' three walks are already done  :D , so exercise-wise this is going to be another GREAT week. I decided that I need to pay extra close attention to my calories for a while. I really want to get that scale moving again. So far, I'm doing well though, and I hope that this week will turn out just fine as soon as the commies start packing.
 Weather is still cold -the winter isn't admitting its defeat easily this year! I kinda enjoy of being able to do long walks in nice weather, but I'm neverthless starting to get anxious to try something new. My upper body would probably like a few weeks of working out at a gym. But, I'll be patient- this nice winter weather won't last long and soon I'll miss these walks.
    T suggested last night, that I should finally get a kickbike this year. He has some idea there...

Started the day with a dentist appointment. Not fun, but it was last appointment.  :) Next year, I expect this to be a lot easier.

When I came home, I found a nice smelling envelope from my mailbox. ;D Soaps from Ida!
I received: two oak soap decks, one bar of each: Rosemary Lavender Aloe shampoo, Rosemary Mint shampoo, Java Orange Mint hand soap, Java Spice hand soap, Chocolate Orange Twist soap and Chocolate Almond soap. Everything except Rosemary Lavender Aloe shampoo and Chocolate Almond soap are new acquintances to me. They all look and smell fabulous. I'm so happy to have a washing day today (though it'll be late evening until I'll be able to wash). I think I'll test Rosemary Mint shampoo right away...

My hair is quite dirty- it always seems to get dirty during the night between 3rd and 4rd day. ??? I'll have to change my hairstyle again before leaving to Helsinki (right now I'm wearing a braid that suffered much during dentist visit). I guess I'll do a French braid/bun combo and just hope that it will last. Gah, though I have cute winter clothes, at this point I'm starting to get really impatient. I want to go outside without wearing a bonnet/ear muffs/hood . Styling will be so much easier (and I'll have so much more variation) when weather warms just a bit. But, that's not really in sight right now- the weather forecast says that temperatures are staying low until the end of the week. I hope that next week will bring a change to that.

Then, more BPAL reviews. I have only one scent left.

Yew Trees
Old sauna in backyard: wet stone floor, a hint of smoke from hot woodstove. Wet rugs and wet old wood, plenty of bubbly plain soap and cool water, wet birch leaves of fresh bathing whisks, clean towels that have dried outside, and freshness of first breath of evening air when you step to a porch from burning hot sauna. When the scent dries, it becomes scent of a dry old sauna: smut, fresh air and sweetness of life itself. All in all, a nice scent...but a scent that is not at its best when taken away from its context. Final Verdict: 2/5. To be worn after sauna maybe?

Sea of Glass
Lily of the valley and sweet orange combined to create a fresh, yet juicy scent, like a glimpse to Plato's world of ideas. Bright and clear like sunshine on crystal, yet deep like blue sea. Scent of human thought at its best: bright and piercing, swift yet deep. A scent full of unexplored potential, laced with a touch of sorrow that inspite of all the light and love. It also has the same side effect that most really brilliant ideas: in spite of all its wonderful qualities, you can't really like it.
Final Verdict: 3/5 pts. I'd love to like this more

Sophia
A floral scent with a hint of musk to deepen it. Nice, ordinary, doesn't annoy anyone. This is the scent for people who want to be like everyone else. They probably imagine that they're expressing their femininity and sensuality while any man could tell them that all they really manage to express is that they smell just like every other lady in the block. A celebration for women who are concerned about looking age-appropriate and whose life is worse theater than 6th graders' school play. Goes well with dark cardigans and white blouses, pearl earrings and a soccer mom haircut.
Final verdict: 3/5 pts. Because, this is a totally nice scent.

Magus
Smells like a room furnished with ancient bookshelves full of old papers and rotting leatherbound books, lit with smoking candles...and somewhere under the table there's an old coconut, once necessary but now just gathering dust and occassional fly. And dust, it's everywhere. Stone walls of the room remain cold and moist even in the summer here, two floors below ground level. Cold breezes coming from endless narrow hallways just manage to make the candles smoke even more, but fresh air is just as far as sunshine, almost unimaginable in this kingdom of bookworms. For the bookworms and brown beetles are the true rulers of this place, feasting forever on secrets long forgotten. That is, forgotten by everyone except one man...the Magus.
Final verdict: 2/5 pts. Certainly inspires imagination, but I don't want to smell like that! Would suit well in adding an air of mystery to a potato cellar.

Kyoto
This is the scent of teenage girls getting drunk for the first time. Spring evening in a park, flowers, cherry and licorice liquors -the only, horribly sweet drinks the girls have been able to get their hands on. Hint of powder, mascara and fruity pink lip gloss that must be applied every 10 minutes. Spring flowers are blooming, girls are giggling, the bottles of yucky liquors are slowly but oh so surely emptying. Soon, confessions, tears and nausea will follow. Not to mention angry parents.
Final verdict: 1/5 pts. I don't really, really care to smell like a drunk teenager.

Veil
Mild but really nice. As the site says: quiet, calm, soft and enigmatic. To me this smells clean and peaceful, gentle, very balanced yet not boring. This scent would be perfect for meditation or church. Doesn't really smell "perfume-y", only slightly clean and sweet.
5/5 pts. Absolutely lovely scent.

First, new CV reviews.  :)

Chocolate Orange Twist soap

This has got to be the most beautiful soap ever! It looks almost too good to use...but just almost. The scent is a bit weird when the soap is dry, but when I started to wash myself with it, I had a pleasant surprise: it smells like fresh oranges! Not the stuff that you think of when you see a product that says "smells/tastes like orange". Nope. This smells like the real thing, spiced with dark chocolate. Lovely soap! Neverthless, I have to say that I prefer Chocolate Almond just a little. It has slightly richer lather, and I just love the marzipan and chocolate smell.

Rosemary Mint shampoo bar

Very nice, invigorating fresh minty smell. Wash result was good. This goes to came category of "lighter SB":s along with Rosemary Lavender Aloe bar.


Hair: Hair is nice and clean, and up with a brown claw clip. Yesterday's style, French braid with a bun, stayed very well, and was comfortable (braid hanging down and winter clothes don't go well together).
  Today it was time to do one of my favorite chores: cleaning up my combing table and rearranging my hairtoys. Outside it might look like a midwinter, but I selected a new selection of hairtoys spring in mind: pastels and soft browns, and even the little clippies I used with "down with twists" style that I haven't been able to wear since I switched to heavy winter coat and bonnet.  

I just realized that I forgot to do the routine update for March. Not that anything really interesting has happened. My routine has been pretty set for a long time now, except for hairstyles. Even style-wise, I think I've adapted to my new length now and am have a nice selection of basic styles: knot bun, log roll with claw, braids, segmented ponytail (or Bubba tail as some say) and scarf buns. I'm content.

Health: I expected yesterday to be a real challenge for my diet, but it went really well. :) I stayed within my calorie limit with no problems. So far, this week has been a really good one. I'm feeling great, and the fact that this is my 10th week on Plan boosts my morale even more. While my progress in numbers isn't terribly quick, it is still steady- if only I keep going, I know that I will reach my goal. Besides scale readings, I also try to enjoy of my "non scale victories". This week, I'm especially happy of how well I've managed to meet (or more accurately, to EXCEED ;D) my exercise goals every week. Exercise has always been the difficult part for me, and I'm so happy that I've managed to stick to it so well.

Yet another new style discovery! :) I've not used any of my Ficcares since I became "French Twist disabled". Yesterday, however, I played with my hair a bit and discovered a way to insert a Ficcare into a knot bun so that it secures it very well. It's so comfy and stylish, and the best part of it is, that it works with even my medium Maximas. That's really great since it's months since I have last been able to wear my Mediums with French twists, and I was even thinking of putting them for sale. Glad I didn't do that! I'm wearing a "Ficcare bun" right now with my matte gold clip, and it's really pretty.
  Which reminds me...a while ago an LHC member had found some gorgeous Maximas-lookalike Fakkares. She ended up doing a group order of them, and of course I participated. Now, two beautiful pearlescent clips, a teal green and a purple are on their way home. Just in time to decorate my newly found bun style!

Health: This weekend is going to be a busy one, so I weighed in early. It turned out, that I have already lost one pound/ ½ kilos, which puts me to total weight loss of 6 kg:s /13.23 pounds. ;D I was so happy that I went ahead and rewarded myself with a pretty pair of earrings (besides hairsticks, I almost never buy myself jewelry).
  Today has been a good day so far. I have taken a walk (extra!!!), and have stuck to my eating and water drinking plan. I'm ready to declare week 10 as a week of wonderful success.

Congrats, Galadriel!  :)

Looks like all of your hard work & diligence is really paying off. Your success is inspiring. Way to go!

Thanks for your kind words, Angel Spun.  :)

Since T went out this evening, we decided to have sauna day yesterday. I also decided that it's time to have a trim. So, now my hair is clean and I have neat, thick hemline. I suppose that it's impossible for me to grow my hair super quickly...but then, I really like having thick-looking ends, at least at this point of my journey.
Today was another busy day, and I didn't have much time to think about my hair. I just put it up to a Ficcare bun. After dinner, I have done some experimenting with hair down styles though. Though it's still exceptionally cold, the amount of light is increasing fast and I know that spring is just around the corner...and this spring my hair is finally long enough so I can enjoy wearing it down, at least sometimes.  :D

Health: Weekend is here, and it shows  :P! Today, we had a delicious homemade dinner: cheesy baked chicken breast, rice, feta salad and American apple pie with vanilla ice cream for dessert. It's late, and I'm still full...but content. It's much easier to diet if one can have some homemade apple pie every now and then (not to mention that making that pie from scratch without resorting to "work reducing" appliances certainly burns a few calories)  ;D .
Eating like I have today may keep me from losing weight very fast. Doesn't bother me at all, because I'm all too familiar with trying to lose weight fast and "get it done". I always used to be miserable after a month on a diet, and only once made it to 8 weeks. After quitting, I always changed my diet right back to my old habits I had missed so much, and the weight I had worked so hard to shed was back before the year had passed. I think I've finally learned a lesson from that!
    I've come to the conclusion, that I failed (partly) because I pressed myself way too hard and made too big changes, all at once, expecting that I would adjust to them...for as long as I could make it before giving everything up. I had too little patience and couldn't rejoice of having a week of maintain or even a loss of one pound. After all, my goal was to lose 2 pounds a week, and anything less proved that I was a big fat failure. I became miserable and decided that since I couldn't keep starving myself, I was doomed to fail.
   Now, on days like today, I feel a bit shocked of the things I have written into my meal plan. Of the things I allow myself (when the Plan says so) even though I'm trying to lose weight . But, then I remember that I write goodies into my plan because I'm trying to lose. It has happened to me for a few times now, that I've suddenly got a craving of something "extra good", like hamburgers or pear cake. Then I've gone to my computer and written that thing to next month's meal plan -and the craving has always passed. I haven't denied myself anything. I have essentially just told myself that I can have it- when it will fit into my meal plan. If I hadn't done that, I would have done just what I did before: gone to the fridge and binged. Instead of that, I'm finally in control. (Can you say "10 weeks with Just One Binge"?  ;D  ;D  ;D)
  And the best part is, that I still lose weight. Not at top speed, but at a steady speed that I can keep going. Already, small weekly losses (or even a maintain or two) have grown into a whopping 6 kg:s/over 13 pounds. In retrospect, it doesn't matter much whether I've lost one or two pound on a particular week- even now I can't recall how much I lost on say, 3rd week of January. All that really matters is what I do *now*, and that at this point I can look back and say that I certainly have lost a whole family of pounds sometime during past weeks, and am still motivated and able to keep going. A failure couldn't say that.

My hair is getting a bit dirty. That's what you get for messing up washing schedule. ::) Oh well, I have a busy week and an extra shower feels probably great. My poor skin that detests water right now may complain a bit though...
  This year, it seems that as far as styling goes, I've gone to some sort of "period" system. For a while, I wore claws only, then I switched to knot buns, now it's been knot bun with a Ficcare ever since I discovered the style. Maybe the coming spring will help me to be a bit more creative on a daily basis.

If weather forecast is right, the spring is finally starting to come this week- temperatures are finally getting above freezing point. I hope so- I miss going out without covering my head. I've also walked so much lately, that I'm actually getting a bit eager to switching to gym exercise. Who would have believed that?

I'm sitting here comfortably, hair drying in Aquis towel turban. Today has been a busy day for me...well, this whole week is like that and after a period of more peaceful life I'm trying to adjust. I wore my hair in a French braid/bun combo style, which is very comfortable and pretty. When I came home it didn't look terribly dirty, but I washed it anyway with Lavender Spice -just because I need to look professional tomorrow. Lots of looking professional for me lately. I'm trying to enjoy it (though I suspect that once this week is over I'm going to enjoy of returning to less professional look again).

Fakkares arrived, but ended up being short-lived. I opened the package, took the clips, and managed to drop them. Both broke.  :( And I didn't even get to try them. One more reason to remember my old rule: avoid buying cheap toys just because they look nice.

Health: Because I'm in Helsinki every day this week, I have needed to adjust my diet schedule and plan things even more carefully. I have written down to my organizer exercise times (two walks already done, yay!) and meal times. It has really helped, and I have been able to follow the Plan perfectly so far. :)

Time to measure! My hair is now 61.5 cm/24.2 in long, which is a nice result considering that I just had a trim.
Today's "professional style of the day" was a knot bun secured with France Luxe chignon pic and Amish pins. Very elegant...and I noticed that my bun isn't exactly small any longer. :D It also stayed neat with no problems, which is quite an achievement for 1st day hair.

Health/Diet: Just following the plan. Extra careful planning seems to be worth the trouble and I'm beginning to have some confidence in my ability to survive this week on plan, challenging as it is. :) I'm hoping that the scale will reward me, but you never know...

Quote:

Fakkares arrived, but ended up being short-lived. I opened the package, took the clips, and managed to drop them. Both broke.   And I didn't even get to try them.

Awwww    :-[    That stinks!  
That means you get to buy replacements, though!   :)

You're right, Trisha. Only real Ficcares will be good enough! ;D I decided, that one of my "rewards" for weight loss will be a huge Ficcare order- one that I couldn't otherwise really justify. I have still way to go until that point, but it's certainly motivating! ;D

Today I haven't had much time to think about happy hair thoughts until now. In the morning I just put it in a knot bun with a Ficcare (gorgeous 3-tone lilac). After a long day, it's still neat and feels secure. It's very soft and doesn't look dirty yet, so it's presentable enough for tomorrow. I guess I can make it until Saturday- that would normalize my washing schedule again.

Health: Third and last "compulsory" walk of this week is done- I did it almost first in the morning.  :) Had a lunch in Helsinki with my mother, which is never a good thing (though I tried to make healthy choices), but I suppose that this day's total is on the positive side.

Weeks' work is done, and I'm officially exhausted. But, I was very productive for a chance. Incredibly productive, in fact.

Hair: Today's hair: third day hair definitely on dirty side since the morning- too bad since the washing time is tomorrow evening. Tomorrow's going to be a French braid day, I can just tell that... But, dirty means also manageable for me, and my hair stayed well in a Ficcare bun all day.
   The weather today was sunny, and (very, very relatively speaking) on the warm side, and so I chose not to wear any headgear. It felt wonderful to go outside bareheaded (though my ears felt a bit cold as the temperature still was around freezing point). Spring is really late this year...

Health: I feel I've behaved like a saint. I knew this week would be difficult to manage since I couldn't follow my normal daily routine even for one day. But, it seems that it only managed to make me extra determined to succeed, and to my surprise, that's just what happened. :D

Yesterday was washing day. I was quite tired, so I just washed my hair with Lavender Spice shampoo (almost used up, I need to make another CV order soon) and did a couple of minutes' deep conditioning with XZ deep conditioner. Better deep treatments next week, I hope.  
   Today I'm wearing a segmented ponytail. Have I mentioned that I really like this style? It's so comfortable and nice and good for both daytime and nighttime wear. It's also one of the few styles that look neat even on my first day fluffy and unruly hair.

Health: In spite of bad weather, I managed to do 4th walk of the week. I hope it will compensate some of the banana pie & ice cream I've eaten. ;D
  Weigh in yesterday was a happy surprise. I only wished to maintain because this was such a hard week, but to my pleasant surprise, I had lost a whole kg, which puts me to total loss of 7 kg:s/15.23 lbs. :D
  The spring is VERY late this year, but even though the temperatures are low in principle, the snow is beginning to melt. I decided to go and buy that gym card next week- in any case, I suppose it's time for me to intensify my exercise a bit. So, my next week challenge (besides sticking to the Plan) will be to go to gym 3 times and exercise 1 hour each time. At first, my plan is to concentrate on my upper body and stretching.

Hi Galadriel!  I'm so impressed with your exercise regimen. I have such a hard time keeping to a plan!  I keep having to start over again.  Good luck with it!

Thanks, silvermane! :) Let me assure you- exercising regularly is not in my character, far from it. But, taking baby steps helps. Mild desperation about my BMI probably helps too  :P.

Health: I decided to tackle my this weeks' challenge right away and marched to the gym. I upgraded my gym card to 1 years' membership. Not only is it much cheaper, but it also has free instructor services and free swimming hall on Fridays. Now, my job is just to make this investment pay off.
  Since I was already at the right place and had my exercise outfit with me, I decided to have my first workout session right then and there. To be honest, it didn't go too well. I didn't expect to be in any great shape, but I quickly learned that my shape is terrible. I couldn't meet my goal of working out for 1 hour- after a bit over ½ hour I was exhausted. But, the only way is up. If my muscles aren't too sore, I'll be back tomorrow. If (which is quite likely) I'm too sore, I'll have my second work out on Wednesday.
  On the bright side, this should really surprise my body, so maybe this will help me to avoid some plateau.
Besides, when the snow is gone and I'll start exercising outdoors more often again, I will be in better shape. That's the plan. :)

Hair: Hair is soft and nice. Before the gym, I wore it in a knot bun with Spring Forsythia sticks. For exercising, I switched to a segmented ponytail. It worked well.
    The ceremony where I'll receive my grant will be next Monday. I'm still trying to decide how to wear my hair. I suppose that I'll decide it 10 minutes before going out of the door on that day, but it's fun to think of different pptions. Long(ish) hair is so versatile.

Oooo - a gym membership!  That should help you define your exercise routine.  Good luck and I hope you reach all your goals with minimal pain.  ;D

I'm very proud of you, Galadriel.  You're doing a great job of taking care of yourself.  It inspires me to do more for my health.  So, thank you for posting your journey to health-it is benefitting others as well!

Be sure to drink plenty of pure water and some electrolites to help deal with sore muscles.  The mineral magnesium is a natural muscle relaxant, so you could take it as a supplement and if you can take a bath in epsom salts there's magnesium in there, too.  A whirlpool, hot bath or sauna will all help in decreasing soreness.  It really is best to rest in between days of lifting weights so your body can recover.  If you don't give it time to recover you will actually loose muscle, get fatigued, irratible and possibly injure yourself.  Recovery time is very important!  Oh yes, stretching also helps to decrease muscle soreness.

I hope you feel great tomorrow!!!

I'll pop in a few suggestions from my body building and running days.  Either eat a banana or sweet potato for the potasium.  This helps with any lactic acid in your muscles from working out.  Always cool down and stretch afterwards,too your body will thank you.

Thanks for support, everyone! :)

Health: No gym today. I was hoping that I could have made it as I'm used to exercising on both Monday and Tuesday- that way I can get most of my exercise done in the beginning of the week. But, it seems that my comfy old schedule will have to wait.
    In spite trying to take every precaution I could think of, my muscles hurt. "Luckily", not all of them since I managed to complete only half of my program. ::) I'll complete the other half tomorrow...then I'll have some new muscles hurting. But, no worthy goal is ever achieved without any pain. And I really need to get in shape so I'm ready to do all fun stuff outdoors when summer comes.
 Right now my long term exercise plan is, that for a month or two (depending of the weather) I will exercise at the gym three times a week and try to improve my overall shape. I don't like going to the gym on weekends when it's crowded, so if weather allows and I feel like it, I might take a long walk for extra exercise.
 When it gets warm outside, I'll start Nordic walking and will also buy a bike or a kickbike (haven't decided yet which one). I might also start swimming laps once a week. If it rains, I just go to the gym. I'll talk about more about my plans with my instructor. :) I guess I might even enjoy being active when summer comes- but in order to do that, I must first do some hard work. Better be panting and miserable in dark corners of the gym than out on the streets ;D .

Hair: Today's style is knot bun with Twisted Springtime hairsticks. It sure doesn't look like springtime outdoors, but who cares. In any case, hairsticks with twisted ribbon beads look gorgeous anywhere.
   Forgot to mention yesterday, that I completed yet another hairstick order...including my first two pairs of SwingStix. I had hoped to complete my order a bit earlier so it could have made it to Monday's ceremony, but just couldn't find a perfect pair until now. Guess I'm getting picky. :P
 

Health: Today I went back to the gym, in spite of arms still hurting. So I concentrated mainly on pedaling exercise bike and doing a very thorough stretching. When I trained Tae Kwon Do I learned this very effective stretching that I've loved doing ever since.
I spent nearly 50 minutes exercising this time, and in the end wasn't nearly as exhausted as on Monday. A lesson to learn there, obviously. :)
  My mood & motivation have also improved. First, I checked from energy consumption calculator how much ½ hour of gym burns calories, and discovered that it consumes a LOT more than a whole hour of brisk walking. :D I didn't know the difference would be THAT big. So, even ½ hour at gym is great work of me and definitely an improvement.
   Another positive thing happened when I visited my Department. Now, it is located on a building on top of a rather steep hill, and it's on 2nd and 3rd floor (three longish flights of stairs). I've always been out of breath when I've reached the Department. But, this time, I was nearly on top of the hill when I realized that I wasn't even breathing harder. So, after all, I have become fitter (is that a word?) during past weeks. :D So I'm all happy again.

Hair: Dirty. I did a French braid for the gym, and changing the style for later day just doesn't seem like a good idea. To pamper my poor muscles, I'll warm the sauna in the evening...I bought some aloe vera gel yesterday and am thinking of doing SMT.
    Oh, and I have to tell that I had a lunch with my mother again. She told me again how well long hair suits me, and admired my hairsticks (Gilded Denim pair). She said, that she is seriously thinking of growing her hair long too so she could wear gorgeous hairsticks in it like I do.  ;D

Hair feels wonderful- must be SMT! ;D It was quite late when I washed it and when it was still quite damp, I decided to wear a sleep cap for night, hoping for those pretty "sleep cap ends". For some reason, that didn't work and instead of pretty ends I had something resembling vaguely a year old birds nest.
Today the weather is warm (=a degree or even two above freezing point) and sunny and so I have been outside without any headgear. After long winter, it feels great.
Since I didn't have to think of where to fit my hair, I put it simply in a single braid.

Health: Thanks to stretching and sauna (I suppose), my muscles are a bit less sore today. Neverthless, this week shall be remembered as "the week of pain". However, pain is temporary but results are not!
  T is gone to a work trip and will be gone until tomorrow. Usually, a night alone has meant for me watching movies and munching goodies. This time, I didn't do my old mistake and think that I will survive the evening without cravings just because I'm on diet. I have planned eating low fat popcorn and grapes as my evening snack, and since they do get me just past my calorie limit, I'm going to take an extra walk. I hope this plan will be successful.

Blah. It's cold and snowing again. I'm starting to think that spring has been cancelled and new Ice Age is coming. :-/

  Yesterday I tried to order a pair of hairsticks, but they were already sold to someone else. That's the second time I've been beaten- given the size of my collection (now when did THAT happen?) and the speed Rapunzel's creations sell, that's not too bad. And. I should think that 3 new pairs on the way are enough ::). But, sometimes it's just impossible to resist the temptation!
   Hair is still soft and feels very nice. I wore a segmented ponytail to the gym, and after that switched to a knot bun with Capri Moonlight pair that matches nicely with jeans.
    I'm thinking a bit whether or not I should wash my hair when I take my after work out shower. So far, I haven't done that. Washing my hair (or even just the scalp) would mean that I'd have to deal with clean hair almost every day, and I'd much prefer not having to do that. But, I'll to see how my hair and scalp continue to behave.

Health: This is a very good day: I'm not hurting anywhere at the moment. I've been super active this week: besides gym*3, I have taken a long walk, and have done walking more than usually on all the other days. And it shows! I've lost this week 1 kg/2.2 lbs, making my total loss 8 kgs/17.64 lbs. ;D This is the first time I lose this much on successive weeks. It's just 2 kgs/4.4 lbs until I pass 10% loss mark.

EDIT: typos ´n such

;D You go girl!!!

wrote on Mar 24^th, 2006 at 9:58am:

I'm thinking a bit whether or not I should wash my hair when I take my after working out shower. So far, I haven't done that. Washing my hair (or even just scalp) would mean that I'd have to deal with clean hair almost every day, and I'd much prefer not having to do that. But, I'm going to see how my hair and scalp continue to behave.

I know just what you mean.  During my biking season, it is a tough decision on whether to wash every day or not.  I have found that just rinsing my head helps me feel a lot cleaner, but not as harsh on the hair.  I know another biker gal who does a vinegar rinse after biking to help remove the sweat and freshen the head and hair.

Glad you are getting over the soreness, now you just have to keep up the good work!

Thanks for support, ladies! :) It really means a lot to me and makes it easier to keep going.

Thanks for ideas, BB. I'm a bit suspicious with plain water rinses- I remember from years ago when I tried that and it always seemed to turn my almost clean hair into a greaseball. But, that's a long time ago and I've since adopted a whole new haircare regimen.
When the weather gets warmer so that going outside with damp hair is not a problem, I think I'll start experimens. If plain water doesn't work, ACV rinse could be a good alternative.

Galadriel congratulations on your health plans! You have already achieved so much! I admire you for your weight loss determination even more than your great intellectual achievements!  :D :D
Keep up the good work lady!

Thanks for your kind words, G_L!  :)
    Right now I think that the biggest secret to my weight loss success is that I approach my task of losing weight just like anything else: with my analytical brain. My major discovery was realizing, that I should not focus on eating right or getting the right exercise. These are good things to do, but...the only thing that is REALLY necessary is to take care of motivation and focus. If I stay motivated and focused, I will succeed sooner or later. If I don't, I will fail. It's really not different from any other long term effort. Long term motivation just won't "happen". So, right now I focus on staying motivated. I try to do several things that keep my spirits up and determination strong every day. The rest follows quite naturally.
  I still have a long way to go until my goal weight (25 kg/over 50 lbs at the moment, I think). I don't know how or why it happened, but I'm not just the happy overweight person I always used to be. The time for change has come. But I don't think much of how long a journey I still have ahead of me. In any case, the only way to make it is one day at a time. That's just how I intend to do it.

Hair: A bit dirty, but definitely nice. Perfect updo hair, so I wore a knot bun with Romantic Interlude hairsticks that sparkle so beautifully in bright spring sunlight (the only thing that looks like spring outside). SMT has really made it wonderfully soft. I'm going to sauna again today, but not going to do anything special with the hair. A simple wash should be enough. This would also be a good time for s&d. I've not been dusting much lately. I have had only few splits lately...I know it shouldn't lull me into thinking that I've somehow become immune to them...


 

Today I "officially" received my grant (my first special occassion since graduating!). I ended up wearing a knot bun with my Blondiesturn birdseye maple forks. I also got a couple of good updo sightings- a rare treat!

Health: I felt a bit tired so didn't go to gym as planned- I'll do that tomorrow instead. I got plenty of walking in Helsinki though. In spite of cocktail party, I managed to stay within my calorie limit. :)

Phew! I just finished today's work: translating a grant application to English. At first I thought I'd get it done in a couple of hours, but it took almost whole day instead. But I got it done in time. I'm so happy of being able to work from home so much (not to mention -when I want to).

Hair: Hair is doing well, in fact very well for a third day hair. I didn't feel like playing with it too much, so I kept styling simple: a segmented ponytail for the gym and a log roll with claw clip for the rest of the day. I remember a year or two ago every other lady seemed to have her hair up with a claw clip. That isn't nearly as common in these days- maybe it's going out of fashion. I wonder what will be next...somehow I think it's not hairsticks and stylish updos. I'll settle for hoping that the mysterious "they" will come up with a new and innovative clip design or something.

Health: I was sooo tired this morning, but managed to haul my hiney to the gym neverthless. I'm so glad I did- it woke me up wonderfully, and I've been feeling all happy and fresh since. It's not possible that I'm starting to actually *like* regular exercising? Is it? 8)
     My wardrobe will soon need a spring cleaning. Some of my clothes are definitely getting too big. I don't have a huge storage of smaller clothes, so when I shrink, I will need to go shopping. I'm trying to avoid it as long as I can though- I have a long weight loss journey still ahead of me and if I am successful the next set of clothes won't be final. But even in best case, another 5 kilos and I'll be done with at least half of my wardrobe. I guess I'll have to start preparing a shopping strategy... 8)

What a wonderful accomplishment that you will soon need to replace your wardrobe.  Congratulations.  Your perseverance is inspiring.

Yes, it's wonderful to go shopping new clothes because my old ones are getting too big (though there are a few pretty white tunics I'll miss terribly  ;) ).

Hair: Today was washing day, so I washed my hair right after gym. I've usually washed in the evening, but with my poor skin, taking shower twice a day is nearly suicidal. Prolonging winter means also extra dry skin- even in spite using CV products my old troubles are appearing: flaky dry skin that starts bleeding from smallest scratches. :( But, at least my hair is doing quite well. I washed it with Rosemary mint shampoo and Cucumber Lime Yoghurt soap. I also did a small s&d.
I put it up in a scarf bun before it was completely dry hoping that a little extra moisture would be "locked in".

Commies are behind the corner and I need my PMS chocolate (no, PMS chocolate can't be substituted with fruit salad or light chocolate ice cream or hard fruit candies). Good thing is, that I didn't buy chocolate with my other groceries so in order to get it, I'll have to walk to the grocery store again.  ::) This balance may be an illusion, but a dear one.

Health: I came to the conclusion that though I can under favorable circumstances beat PMS chocolate craving, and also beat my old habit of eating something good when T is away, I can't beat them both at the same time (yet, anyway). So, I spent last night indulging in Fazer's purple chocolate and cheese puffs and reading an entire novel. It really made me feel better.
   This morning, I found commies moving in, my stomach felt queasy and back hurt- all in all, I felt like crap. But, the principle "no quilt & move on" applies just to moments like that and so I ate my banana, drank some water and headed to the gym. As this day's exercise was extra, I didn't do any "real" workout, just spent a bit over 30 minutes pedaling exercise bike (have I mentioned that our gym has WONDERFUL recumbent exercise bikes that are so much more comfortable than regular ones?) and spent a few moments stretching. It made me feel SO much better, and I feel renewed and happy. I'm strong and confident on my ability to stay on Plan for a long time still.
    I really have to keep in mind how great a bit of exercise made me feel- usually when commies have come, I've been resting as much as possible and felt miserable. Next month, I'll hopefully remember that there is another option that will make me feel much better. Live and learn!

Hair: Clean and nice. For a chance, I braided it for the gym. When I came home, I did a Chinese bun with one of my Mamacat sticks.
   Weather is strange. It snowed heavily yesterday, and today it's raining a little. The result is gray, wet, mushy and miserable. I'm wondering how it will affect my hair that seems to react so strongly to changing of seasons. I suppose that doing a deep treatment on Saturday wouldn't hurt.

Exercise releases endorphins that make you happy!  :)  Congratulations on discovering that.  Yes - recumbent bikes are MUCH more confortable than "wedgies".  Believe me - when we do our 6 day bike trip, by day 3, the wedgie riders are looking at us 'bent riders with envy.  Our butts, necks, shoulders, and wrists do not hurt like theirs!  ;D  We ride until our legs are tired, not our butts!

  I had to do a google search on recumbent bikes- I remember seeing such only once. However, I found out that there is a shop in Helsinki selling them. Interesting! I guess that I'll start my biking hobby with an ordinary citybike, but if I ever develop an interest for longer trips on bike, recumbent sounds like quite attractive a choice (looks cool too  8) ).

Recumbents are soooooooooooo much  more comfie! :)

Today I went to arrange my new working room at the Department. I don't know how much time I'm going to spend in there- at the moment I'm thinking two or three days a week. I like working from home way too much to give it up entirely.
  Anyway, maybe because I haven't had a need to hang around at Dept lately, I also haven't worn my "thinking clothes" much. I found out that my favorite white tunic has magically grown during the time I haven't worn it. I could really use a size smaller one. 8) One never knows about fashion, I just hope that I can find something similar enough in smaller size when I go shopping. But, at least my hair was very soft and behaving well, and looked just like it's supposed to look in a nice knot bun decorated with pretty hairsticks (Violet Pinks pair).
 
I feel I haven't received *anything* nice in mail in a long while (I don't count those unlucky Fakkares as something nice). Hopefully the newest additions to my hairstick collection will arrive soon so I'll have something new to play with  ;D. I'm also still waiting my new kitchen headgear to arrive- they warned me of prolonged shipping times because of some troubles, so I'm going to be patient with them though.

Health: Gym in the morning plus lots of walking when I went to Helsinki. I ate a healthy lunch at student restaurant- probably the only place in Helsinki downtown where one can obtain decent healthy meals in reasonable price. They even have healthy desserts in small enough portion sizes!
   I have been so active this week I can't believe it. But next week is going to be busy- I can barely fit in 3 exercise times for weekdays (as always, I prefer to not to have any "compulsory" exercise left to do on weekends). In spite of Wednesday's binge, I consider this week successful.

T bought the new Star Wars: Empire at War computer game, and we've been playing it all weekend  ;D. Well, today I went to the gym to greet the exercise recumbent and to stretch, but that's all.

Hair: Yesterday was sauna day, but I was so busy playing that I forgot to do a deep treatment and ended up just washing it with Carrot Milk& Honey shampoo bar. Today's style is scarf bun, I didn't even bother to change style for gym and it worked well in there too. I found a pretty light yellow scarf with red and orange flower print from my scarf collection.

Galadriel, while buying a whole new wardrobe in a size quite smaller one's earlier one is SUCH a wonderful and fun experience  ;D ;D ::), there still exists the option of having one's clothes reduced/altered by a professional tailor/seamstress ;D  :D
Hahahaha
I felt like teasing you  ;) I am soo happy for you!

Shopping is fun, though I plan to shop as little as possible during the diet- my goal involves shrinking more than just one size. I actually thought of having a couple of my clothes reduced by a seamstress, but comparing the price I paid for a piece of clothing/ price of seamstress's services I quickly abandoned the thought. I really, really must learn to sew one day...

I've been so busy all day today. Haven't had much to think about my hair- I just put it up in a knot bun with a pair of MT hairsticks (Pistachio Parfait, to be exact) and forgot about it. Haven't thought much about health either: my calendar said that I need to go to the gym today, so I started my day with that, and my monthly Menu said that we'll have tomato soup, cottage cheese, garlic bread and citrus salad today, so I made that for the main meal of the day. Not much thinking involved. Days like today go on autopilot.

I ordered some more soaps and shampoos from Ida: Lavender Oatmeal Spice soap, Sweet Basil soap, Lavender Spice shampoo bar, Summer Sunshine shampoo bar and Avocado Shea sample sized soap. Old favorites and something new! I ordered last time just a month ago, but everything I wanted wasn't available back then. This time, she had new soaps curing, so I made just a small order  ;D. She has been really creative lately! I have to keep coming back to her again and again... I guess I've become soapaholic. ;D Sounds like something that goes well with hairstick addiction...

ok, I'm really tired and guess it shows. ::) More to come tomorrow.

My kitchen coverings arrived today  :). Before anyone starts to wonder: the ones I ordered are not associated with any specific church as far as I know (not that it would matter much since 1) I'm not going to wear them outside my kitchen and 2) no Christians cover around here). So, I hope that they are in every way suitable for secular use. ;)

I had ordered: two Daisy coverings (pleated style), one black and one white and two short veils also one black and one white. I couldn't decide, whether I'd prefer something that resembles a scarf or cap style, so I decided to order both. I also received a black cloth snood as a gift because processing my order had taken time.  :D

None of my coverings have seen action yet, but of course I had to try them all right away  ;D. I was quite positively surprised by how they felt. Compared to those hateful scarves I've been wearing, they are all lightweight and fit well. No knots in the nape, no need to secure them tightly. So comfortable! They also cover my hair well- even the tricky "inbetweenies" in the front (I suspect that those hairs are the ones that most easily find their way to my cookings). In principle, they stay in place without pins or clips, but I guess it's wise to wear them secured with clips or straight pins. I use the latter- just one pin is quite enough.
Right now I think that I like the cap style better. But, more about that when I've tested everything properly. But I'd already say that these are a huge improvement to my old kitchen scarves.

Your head coverings sound very interesting.  I'd love to see them "in action"!

 Me,too.

Our digicam hasn't yet been repaired, but I pestered T about it again. I have SO many pictures to take!
  More about headcoverings: I am really positively surprised about the cloth snood. When I saw it on their site, I didn't much like the way it looked in the pictures. But now that I received one as a gift, I've been quite impressed. It is really cute after all! It is the only one of my coverings that I might wear outdoors. It also sits on the head very firmly. I'm so glad I finally bought these coverings. Since I mostly wear my hair up, it's a persisting difficulty for me to find headgear that accommodates my preferred hairstyles. But these things are *made* updos in mind, and it really shows and feels. :)

BB is not the only person who feels like it's Christmas. My hairstick shipment also arrived. I've been collecting items for this shipment for a while so it's been a long wait. I'm certainly getting pickier... ;D But here they finally are, including my first pairs of SwingStix!
   I received:
Citrus Shine SE Gemstix. A lovely yellow pair with genuine citrines set on silver beads. The beads are so beautiful, and I love the combination of energic yellow and calm silver.
Periwinkle Wave SE SwingStix. An incredibly beautiful pair in shades of seafoam green and sapphire blue. Lampwork beads are just amazing. This is one of my most beautiful pairs. I guess I keep saying that often- but beholding this pair, I just can't help saying it once more.
 Spring Rain SwingStix. The name says it perfectly: more sapphire hues. Simple, elegant, really beautiful pair.

Hair: Today is washing day, and I'll just keep my hair French braided until that. Day 4 is the perfect day for braided styles. I have a feeling that when my hair gets just a little longer I might start enjoying dirty hair days more.
  To keep the flow of foreign envelopes and boxes steady, I ordered some swimming caps from Headcovers.com. This site offers wigs, scarves, hats and such targeting primarily people who suffer of hair loss for various reasons. Their selection of funky swimming cap is good. In Finland, all you see and hear of are plain silicone caps. Not my style! Retro caps with texture and flowers and cute colors are a different thing, and that's what I'll be wearing the next time I go to swimming hall.


Health: My motivation seems to have taken a walk, and I've gone the past few days on autopilot. I follow the Plan, but am not so excited about it. I'd like to be. I guess that perceptible weight loss would help, but so far the scale sits firmly in -8 kgs. Ok, it's not my official weigh in day of the week yet, but since I didn't lost any weight last week I was having this tiny hope of seeing some loss by now. No such luck. I'll just continue on this autopilot and on Saturday we'll see if it has worked.


 

Those LL sticks are beautiful - I can imagine how much fun it was opening them up!  Enjoy!  :D

LL sticks (and packages) are always beautiful  :D , and receiving them makes my day. I'm wearing the Citrus Shine pair right now- it's a perfect pair for early spring.

Today I was at Helsinki again, doing some necessary shopping and continuing to settle in at Department.
I can't really start my research until my university personnel card arrives as I can't get researcher loans from the library without it. But, it should arrive soon and it's nice to have all the other little things taken care of before that.

Hair: Said and done- I wore my new cloth snood on Helsinki trip. I love how comfy it is and how well it sits on my head- I don't recall ever wearing anything quite like it. When I'm wearing I feel like I have the things I liked best about having short hair: hair neatly out of my way without me having to always worry about escaping whispies or any other little things I tend to worry when I'm wearing even the simplest bun. I still think the snood looks very cute, and inconspicuous enough not to attract attention. The best part of it is, that as it's made of thin cotton blend fabric, I don't have to take it off when I'm indoors. It's even more carefree way of wearing hair than my old favorite scarf bun! (though with scarf buns, I do have more color options ;) ). I'm already thinking of getting more of these. Soon.
    I don't exactly know what is it- except maybe my love for simplicity in all matters and ever on-going rebellion against fashion standards and the ever-present "if you got it you got to show it off" mentality, but I really like being now able to wear my hair in such extremely simple, yet neat way. I realized that though my everyday way of styling (make a bun, insert hairtoys and go) is very simple compared to what most people do, I have still longed extreme simplicity. In a way I achieved that when I had shaved head, but as you all know, there are not many other things that favor shaved style! Now I feel that I've regained that ultra simple option for the days I want it. For rest of the time (most of the time), I can enjoy playing with my hair even more. I feel that the last teeny weeny bit of me that liked short hair has been flushed away from my system.  :D

Health: I think my feeling a bit down and unmotivated has something to do with wetting my feet too many times lately. It's impossible to walk from my home to the train station (or anywhere else, for that matter) with dry feet. I'm still waiting for the sunny, proper spring weather to come and do its job. Until then, I'll continue on autopilot and hope that I won't catch a real flu.


 

Playing with my new accessories continues...

Today I had to visit Department again. I found my chinese style suit- it was a little tight last time I tried, but now it fit perfectly. I made a Chinese bun to go with it, using my new Spring Rain swingstix as the hairstick. The result was just incredible! Growing my hair long enough for updos is surely one of the nicest things I've done to myself, and so is collecting new accessories to adorn my locks.
 
  As my meal plan looked way better than what Unicafe had to offer, I headed back home early enough to shop groceries and to cook my own lunch. A time to test my new cooking gear! I tried the Daisy cap. I secured it as instructed on prayercoverings website: a snap clip to the middle, under the brim of the cap and a straight pin in front of the clip. The cap was already well fitting, and this little trick made it completely secure. Conclusion: These caps are great for cooking- much more comfortable than bandanas. I wasn't sure how I would like a cap that covers ears along with everything else, but this concern was totally unjustified. The fabric is so lightweight and the cap sits on the head so lightly that it doesn't bother me at all. The knot and tightness that I dealt with when I wore bandanas were much worse.

Health: Went to the gym this morning and had a good exercise dose. I have also eaten according to the plan and drank my water...but generally, I feel still a little blah. It might be the weather- getting snow every day when spring should be coming fast is depressing. I decided to set doing something that boosts my motivation every day to my next week's goal.

It's late, so just a quick update.

Hair: Sauna day, and time to do SMT treatment. I also dusted quite a bit. I should really start to be good again and dust regularly, even if it's just a little at a time. I don't want to discover one day that I have lots of splits again.
   I also had my weekly baking marathon today. Usually, I bake something twice a week, but I try to do most of my baking on weekends when I have more time. Besides making cheese muffins, a week's supply of rolls and a panful of tasty garlic bread sticks, I also tested my new headcoverings. My conclusion about them is, that short veils are just as good in action as the little caps. They look quite a lot like regular scarves, but since the securing doesn't involve knots and pulling the veil tight (they have a small piece of elastic in the nape, and I also secure them with a snap clip and pin on top) , they are much more comfortable.  :) They cover most of the hair, but do not cover ears. I guess that in future, I will use whatever I grab first. All of my new coverings were good buys. :) I asked T, which style he liked better, but he said that both styles look very cute. We both agree that black ones look better (which is weird since white is my favorite color), but whites are more practical for baking.

Health: I weighed in this morning. This week I have lost ½ kilos, about 1 pound. It brings me barely below 90 kilos, but since it's just barely, I don't feel like celebrating. Besides, this week wasn't a very good one. I haven't felt good on most days, and have eaten a few extra snacks here and there. I know I'll need to focus better to what I'm doing. I hope next week will be better! I'd really, really like to hit that 10 kg/10% mark soon.

Second day in a row when I don't have time to check new posts on boards, just to write a little here. I promise to arrange more time tomorrow!

Hair has been incredibly nice today- it really liked SMT treatment. I haven't done much with it today- segmented pony for the gym and up with claw clip for the rest of the time. Snow has melted quickly during the past few days and it seems that spring is coming after all. Next few days are supposed to be rainy and rather cold, but I'm hoping to be able to wear my hair down or in a pony during the Easter.

Health: Today was half-good: for the lunch I had leftovers from yesterday, so not exactly diet food. But on the other hand, I had a very effective exercise session at the gym and also did a lot of housework later, so maybe it will balance a bit. This is the first time I took a large garbage bag and now some of my largest clothes are waiting to be taken to nearest UFF collection point.  :D Some of them were really nice...but not worth the weight I'd need to gain in order to look good in them.
  Next week is Easter week, and I'm not sure how well I'm going to be able (or willing, to be more honest  :P ) to eat as little as I should in order to lose weight during the latter part of the week. But, I have already marked exercise time to the calendar, and will also try to work hard to improve my motivation, so however the eating part goes, I hope to be able to move towards my other health goals during next week too. I have come to the conclusion, that if I can't follow one part of my Plan, it's not a reason to abandon the whole plan- the more "parts" of it I will be able to follow, the easier it will be to get 100% back on track again.

Today I wore my hair in down with twists style. It's a long time since I've been able to do that! :D Not during the winter coat season, that's for sure. Spring is still advancing very slowly, but I'm hoping that I won't need to wear winter coat any longer. So it's time to take out ribbons and little crocodile clips!

CV soaps arrived today. I can't wait to get to try Summer Sunshine shampoo! So many people seem to like it a lot, and it sure smells nice.

Health: Week has started well on weight loss front- I've followed the Plan with no problems so far.

Health/Life: Today's been an active day: first to the gym, then to Helsinki to do some shopping and to visit Department and its library. So besides workout, I've got plenty of walking today. To keep things from slipping to overly healthy  :P I had lunch at McDonald's. The nutrition calculator on their website told me that a meal consisting of a Big Mac, side salad and light coke is just 550 calories- well within my limits. So, that's what I had. The hamburger might had quite a lot of fat in it, but it improved my mood (and I'm planning to avoid fat for the rest of the day). It's so nice when I don't have to stay away from any food completely- just to plan ahead and eat goodies in moderation.

Hair: Got a really good long hair sighting today. When I was on my way to Dept, there was this young lady on the street. She had most gorgeous reddish black (hennaed?), healthy looking hair that she wore in a wrist thick hip length braid. :o :D Amazing! I didn't get to see her face, but I doubt she was an ethnic Finn- we just aren't blessed with a hair like that. Great sighting- healthy very long hair is so rare to see here. :)
    I wore my own, surprisingly slightly dirty hair in a bun that I secured with my 3-tone Lavender Ficcare- I discovered that it matches perfectly with the cute blue linen suit I'm trying to wear as much as possible before I outshrink (is that a word??? :P) it.
     When I got back to home, I washed it with Summer Sunshine shampoo bar. The smell of this shampoo bar is pleasant, and much milder than I expected. My hair is still drying, so I don't know how it worked yet. I also tested Avocado Shea soap. Now there's a soap that has an interesting scent! Very invigorating, herbs, pine needles and lemon with a touch of mint. My skin seemed to like it a lot. T also liked its scent, so maybe I'll order a bigger bar of it.        

Summer sunshine shampoo bar is great! It equals Lavender Spice (though I still like the scent of the latter a bit better)- perfect for my hair! My hair is now incredibly shiny and soft! :D I'm wearing it in a bun, with Dragonfly Dreams pair that suits perfectly for this sunny day.

Health: I have tried quite a few Weight Watcher's recipes, and I have to say- they are very tasty. I recommend! Today I'm making WW lemon meringue kisses for dessert. Yum! I'm planning to go to the gym tomorrow, but the weather today is so great that I'll go for a walk. I haven't been on my old route for almost a month now- it must look very different now.

Hee hee- my swim caps arrived. They look fun! :) I got a plain white silicone cap, and three waffle weave caps: hot pink, light yellow and aqua. The aqua one has three flowers in it, very cute! I've always loved to "dress up" a little when I go swimming. I love things like pareos, anklets, fancy sandals and cool bags, and these swim caps look like they'll fit well in my beach style. I'm already thinking of ordering also a blue cap (I've been eyeing certain blue swimsuit for a couple of weeks now) to complete my swim cap collection. Headcovers.com also has some nice scarves and "headwraps" that look like something between a scarf and a cap. They look cute and I can't help thinking that they just might help me with my eternal summer hat problem...

Today, hair feels just normal. I wore it in a scarf bun for  gym (where I had a great fatburn exercise). My big task today is making carelian pastries, which naturally means wearing one of my nice new kitchen caps. I have experimented a bit with different styles with it- by usually just pinning the cap over whatever bun I happen to be wearing at the moment. All the styles I've tried have fit so far, but there are differences. Today I remembered the general idea of some Prayercovering website's styling instructions: making the bun as flat as possible. Those styles aren't exactly pretty, but under the covering that doesn't matter much. So, I became curious and tried my version of the Mennonite bun. Wow! The cap just "fell" in place and fit so comfortably! The extra effort of making a flat bun for cooking is worth it, especially if there is a long cooking session ahead, like today.  :)

Health: I lost ½ kilos this week- a normal loss. I'm hoping to be gaining some muscles too... :) at least, I've been very active this week. I plan to go to gym tomorrow, but won't restrict my eating during Easter- it's the end of Great Lent after all. On Tuesday, however, I'll start to prepare for beach season. Tee hee-this is already third name change for my diet. Feels great to have managed to stick with this so long. 8)

Numbers:
This week's loss: -½ kg:s/1.2 lbs
Total loss: 9 kg:s/19.84 lbs
Weight: 89 kg/196.21 lbs

Hair: Today's washing& sauna day, and my hair is quite dirty. I keep it bunned- mennonite bun for cooking and otherwise knot bun with Citrus Shine sticks. Must wear yellow hairsticks for Easter. ;)

      Easter Menu:
      Lamb with garlic and herbs
      Mint jello
      Garlic in marinade
      Mashed potatoes
      Green salad
      Carelian Pastries & egg butter
      Easter Birdie tart & whipped vanilla cream
     

Congratulations on your success, Galadriel!!!

Your Easter menu sounds yummy!  Enjoy  ;D

Thanks, Sakina! :)

Hair: I'm quickly falling in love with Summer Sunshine shampoo bar- it gives me such a wonderful hair! ;D When I washed last time, I thought the scent was mild, but yesterday I felt as if my shower had been taken to a citrus grove! Maybe it was something with my nose...
  I made a French braid for the gym, and managed to make it so firm that it still looks good. That's rare, especially with first day hair. Rare but great. :D
   
There's a Ficcare group order starting at Longhaircommunity, and I'm finally able to participate! The new catalog hasn't been posted to the LHC yet, but a member who received her catalog early posted a couple of pages of the new items they have. There are some seriously gorgeous Maximii in there! I don't know how will I be able to restrict my order to a size I can afford...

Health: I went to the gym again. I've been so active this week I can't believe it. And I'm enjoying it!
I decided though, that I will need to concentrate better in not eating little bites and nibbles between meals- that bad old habit has raised its ugly head a few times during the past two weeks. Nothing serious (obviously, since I'm losing just fine), but I want to get 100% back on my eating plan. So, that's my little project for the coming week.
   My this week's project -doing something to boost my motivation every day- went well, and I feel much more inspired and motivated to continue than I did in the end of the last week. Lesson learned: one really needs to work to maintain & strenghten motivation just as hard as with everything else. With these thoughts, I'll start to prepare for beach season! ;D

Allergy & Asthma Foundation of Finland released news that number of people allergic to cosmetics or hair dyes has dramatically increased in the country during the past few years. They claim, that especially hair dye allergies have increased because coloring hair is so common in these days and people start coloring younger than before. It's kind of sad news, because until now, all you have heard in the media is pro-color talk, on how *everyone* looks better with colored hair, how modern hair colors are so gentle and conditioning  ::). Right...
   I talked with my mother in phone, and she mentioned seeing this news. She's been coloring her short, naturally 100% gray hair while occassionally dreaming of letting her hair grow to long and gray. It seems that this little news got her thinking...maybe soon she'll convert. ;D
   Needless to say, I'm once again happy for having found this board and learned about natural haircare. :D Of course, I'm also very lucky in having a natural haircolor that I like.

Hair: Today I spotted this spring's first butterfly, a small tortoiseshell. Now I finally feel that spring is indeed reaching us here in North, though it has taken incredibly long this year! ;D In honor of this lovely occassion (I enjoy spotting butterflies and have even studied about them a little), I'm wearing the gorgeous Periwinkle Wave Swingstix pair with my bun.
    I'm still trying to put together my Ficcare order, but am not really much closer to succeeding than before. The difficulty of choosing is bigger than ever!

Health: As usually, I started the week at gym. Though it's still technically Easter, I'm back on dieting track- I really really really want to reach that -10 kg goal soon!
   

Hair: This morning I noticed that my hair definitely had some waviness (besides the wave from night braid). Even when I combed my hair for a bun, hints of wave remained at my temples. I guess I'm still 1b, but I've definitely moved from "not quite 1a" to "almost 1c". I've always admired wavy hair, so I'm quite thrilled about this new development.
   I also did some experimenting with different buns. I can finally make a decent high bun (such that there aren't awfully many wispies around my neck). But, it didn't look quite as nice on me as I expected, so I guess I'll stick with my usual "medium" buns and occassional low buns. I like the look of low buns best, but wearing hairsticks is a bit difficult with them. I ended up wearing a low bun with tortoise Ficcare for today.

Health: Today I finally started to rearrange my wardrobe: I took 2 big plastic bags of my old, too big clothes to Salvation Army and bought some new clothes. I was just a bit sad seeing so many of my favorite clothes go, but as I said before- not quite sad enough to keep them "just in case" I gain weight.
The new clothes I bought fit me just barely and are made of stretch fabrics, but buying something perfectly well fitting would have been waste of money...I know I will shrink in no time enough for these to become too big. 8) . Besides everyday clothes, I also bought a new wind suit- something to enable me to start Nordic walking even earlier (or rather, as I planned in spite of lingering cold weather). If weather gets just a bit better, I could take my walking poles out before the week is over...
  Diet-wise, today has been a good day: I've had plenty of walking and have managed to eat as I'm supposed to.

Hair: I washed my hair when I got home from the gym- rather early. Used Summer Sunshine shampoo bar again- guess I'm a bit hooked to it right now. ;D My hair didn't have time to completely dry before I had to leave the house, so I put it to a scarf bun with a nice navy blue bandana. Hope the ends like the extra moisture!
   I'm fighting the urge to buy a certain pair of SpiralStix...I haven't bought any hairsticks in April, but OTOH, there is this certain Ficcare GO...aargh! Too many temptations!

Health: Another active day right on Plan- another day moving towards Goal! I've bravely dared hernia  (:P) and worn my new jeans. Tight as they are, they look sooooo much better than my huge old jeans. Now, if I just get another 5 kgs or so down, I might even feel comfortable in them.
  I bought some firming body lotion. My skin is doing just fine at the moment- but there's just a lotion bottle sized room for improving my skin care. After all, if my plans continue to success, poor skin has still a lot of adjusting to do!

BREAKING NEWS in

Metaphysics Today

FINNISH PHILOSOPHER SEEN NORDIC WALKING - IS THE END OF THE WORLD NEARING?

Järvenpää, Finland- Our sources reported recently, that a Finnish philosopher, known in some circles as Galadriel, has recently been spotted Nordic walking on shores of Lake Tuusula. We sent our inflatable office and a reporter to investigate this strange behavior right at the scene.
        Galadriel was found right on the scene of events, but our reporter had some difficulty in catching her- she walks really briskly in these days! It seems that she has completely abandoned her former slow and dignified manner of walking.
"I have been exercising four times a week for months now." said Galadriel when inquired about her behavior. "I want to improve my health and get rid of my extra weight, so this seemed a logical course of action." she explained to our reporter.

"Not a field test", she says

But why Nordic walking? "If you are going to walk, why not Nordic walk? It's same amount of trouble but almost twice as effective as regular walking." Galadriel assures, that this interest in exercising isn't a byproduct of her recent studies in applied ethics. "Absolutely not. This is not a field experiment of any kind. I'm just concerned of my health." she assures, but adds:"However, I certainly recommend regular exercising and a healthy diet to everyone." When asked, whether this means after all a new development in her ethical thinking, she said that it's too early to tell. "It seems clear to me though, that in the past, I have paid way too little attention to taking care of my body. I suppose these things are more important than I have previously thought." Very well, but how long is she planning to continue this behavior.
"As long as I have extra weight, I suppose." she says calmly. "I have now lost about 10 kgs and have maybe 20 more to go. It's going to take some time."

Beating the famous Paradox?

   Obviously, she isn't at all worried about getting caught in Zeno's turtle paradox (the one where famous Greek runner Achilles could never reach the turtle who started a little ahead of him because no matter how fast he ran, he had an infinite number of tiny distances to catch before he could reach the turtle). "Oh, I'm not worried about that at all. I certainly can lose all the grams that are between me and my goal weight. My goal weight isn't moving anywhere. Besides, the Achilles paradox happens in objective reality whereas my weight loss is very much a subjective matter." Galadriel says. We'll see about that, as readers probably remember that some distinguished professors find this practical view more than a little questionable. "G.M Moore couldn't make everyone happy with his so called commonsensical proof of reality, and frankly, I don't think that Galadriel does any better." says professor El Analitico from University of Nothungham. Galadriel isn't put off by this. "We'll see. As long as my bathroom scale agrees with my subjective experience of losing weight, I'm happy whether or not professor El Analitico likes it." she says.

"Not sure if it's logical, says El Analitico"

    El Analitico is rather worried of Galadriel's thoughts. "I think it's rather sad to see a young philosopher pay so much attention to corporeal matters. I'm not sure if it is completely logical. I certainly hope this isn't a prelude to some weird attempt to assess mind-body problematics."
Professor Aufheebo from Miskatonic University has a more understanding view. "I'm sure that the changes she has initiated in her subjective reality will provide her interesting ideas about objective reality as well. I'm waiting for her contribution to philosophical discussion on these matters with great interest."
   So, in spite of this unprecedented behavior, the world isn't ending after all? "I wouldn't say so. It might well be nearing as far as I can tell. " Galadriel says. "You never know about worlds. I'd simply like to be thinner whenever that happens."

Metaphysics Today will follow Galadriel's progress and continues to report about any new developments.
;D

Yes, my imagination is running a little wild today. Bear with me. ;D

An excellent report !  I look forward to future editions.  ;D  (and congrats on your progress  :D )

[glb]*applause*[/glb]
*snort*
Wonderful!!!

Ok, I'm back to normal again. 8)

Hair: Incredibly, amazingly soft and well-behaving. It must be the Summer Sunshine bar. I like most Ida's shampoo bars I've tried, but Lavender Spice and Summer Sunshine are really divine. This is true love...
  I had lunch with my mother yesterday. She seems to be really serious about getting her hair dyed back to grey and then growing her natural color out. I can't imagine what she is going to look like- she has always kept her hair dyed.
   Couldn't resist ordering those lovely LL sticks after all...the thought of letting Spirals go when the whole line is about to be retired was just too much! Good news is, that there is hope that there will be 25% discount instead of 15% in Ficcare GO. I keep my fingers crossed that Ficcare will be nice and the GO will succeed.
    Temperatures outside have risen a little, but the weather isn't still getting nice- it's rainy, grey and windy. I'm wearing a knot bun with Glittering Seas hairsticks- besides being beautiful and uplifting, they also go wonderfully with the new shirt I bought this week.

Health: Weigh in day is tomorrow. I'm happy about my performance this week, though I plan to extend "no snacks" theme for next week too. It's a difficult lesson, but I'm convinced that I need to learn it. For some people eating a little every few hours is a good option, but I'm not one of those people.

Spring is finally here!  :D It's sunny and getting warmer, and nature seems to be in a hurry to catch up the calendar. Birds are singing and my mood is getting brighter.

Hair: Yesterday was sauna day and I did a small S&D -could have done bigger, but I just couldn't find many splits. ;D After that, I did SMT treatment. The result was normal: incredibly soft, shiny and beautiful hair.
     Today, I had another great long hair sighting: a girl with a hair that must be near waist length, shiny and healthy -and THICK. She was blonde too- it's really, really rare to see a natural blonde with super thick hair. In fact, I think this girl was the first person I've seen since I started to notice these things. Boy, did I feel a pang of major hair envy! ;D Lack of thickness is probably the only thing I dislike about my hair. I realize that it's very relative though: my hair is well in ii category, which is still a very good thickness for a Finnish blonde. While my hair isn't absolutely perfect (in my opinion), really, it's close enough for me. Besides, I'm sure that as it grows, it will also grow in beauty. But, I guess that no matter how much I like my hair, I will always admire thick, silky long hair that my hair "almost could be" (maybe if every night I jumped on one foot and flogged my scalp with seaweed while chanting a long hair mantra as some LHC member put it).  :)
      I'm wearing a bun again, secured with Citrus Shine pair that is just perfect for a sunny, lovely spring day. I think I'll clean my combing table later today. Lately I've started to think that I'll soon need to improve my hairtoy storage again...

Health: Weigh in went well: the scale wavered a bit, but settled to 88 kgs convincingly enough. It means that I've now lost 10 kg/s/22.05 lbs! :D I rewarded myself by completing my Ficcare order of 4 clips. Next goal is 85 kg:s, and when I reach that, I will buy a new bike. That's a huge reward, but then, I can't even really remember when I have weighed that little. I hope to get to that reading on first half of June- I should be able to do it if I keep losing average of 0.5 kg/s (1.2 lbs) in a week. Of course, as my body is not a clockwork machine, I'm not counting on it. Doing my best while keeping my lifestyle such that I don't have to dramatically change it when I stop dieting must be enough sooner or later. No matter when I succeed, reaching 85 kgs will feel wonderful!
    Yesterday, I had the goodie day of the week, but today I'm 100% on diet again. In the morning, I went Nordic walking again. I prolonged my walk again- it's the second time I've done that! But I think it isn't still long enough- I suppose I should take a good look at the map and do some route planning. Though I've lived in this town for 3 years now, besides downtown area, I don't know the place too well.

The Ficcares should be here some time during May- the order will close on 8th+dealing with the company+shipping here...in fact it sounds like it could be the end of May before I see my clips. But I'm sure they're SO worth the wait. Ficcares are the best clips, and the colors I ordered must be luscious.

Hooray! Digicam works again, so here are a couple of pictures.

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/4497/huhti20060iv.jpg

http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/9643/huhti200625yd.jpg

My hair today. It seems that I haven't quite reached the BS lenght I had before February's cut. But my ends have improved tremendously. Wave is probably from bunning, though lately I have noticed some natural waviness too. Different camera settings affected the color quite a lot!

http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/964/aukiwo2pieni1fr.jpg
For comparison: My hair in February 2005.

Now that the digicam problems are solved again, I'll post soon more pictures I've been wanting to take.

Wow, you have such nice hair!  I love the color! ;D

Nice, Galadriel!  :)

Beautiful hair and I can even detect weight loss between the Feb and April pictures.  Congratulations on both!

Thanks, ladies!  :) BB, I don't remember how much I weighed in February 2005, but it certainly was quite a bit more than what I do now. I was surprised to see how much my hair had grown - I didn't expect the difference to be so clear! I wonder what next year's progress picture will look like...hopefully I'm well on my way towards waist length.

T has promised to take some more hair pictures soon: my current styles, kitchen caps and of course a couple of hairtoy purchases I've made during past months. If I wish to have any photo record of my journey, I have some catching up to do.

Hair today: Nice, french braided with a pretty light blue and yellow scrunchie I crocheted myself.
  A LHC member posted some pictures of hairstyles she had made with Ficcare beak clips. I've thought that beak clips aren't my thing, but now I'm tempted to try them neverthless. Maybe I'll include one to my next Ficcare order. If it doesn't work, it won't be difficult to get rid of it anyway...  ;D    

Helsinki day again- among other things I went to Glitter where I haven't been for a while (at least I think so...) I saw there a black Fakkare Maximas clip. Of course I needed to buy it- it was so pretty and under 4€:s. It's plastic and the spring is weaker than in the real things, but for the price it seemed like a good bargain. So nice to find something locally.

Speaking of finding things, I completed another order to Headcovers. com: a blue swim cap, and a couple of pretty headwraps. I'm hoping the latter will make good summer headgear. Last summer I wore bandanas on hot sunny days, but it'd be nice to have something prettier and more "hat-like".

Emily of Blue Heron Woodworks appeared to LHC to discuss her business practices. She is a maker of very beautiful hairtoys, but many people have been very unhappy of her customer service and extensive shipping times. She makes really lovely hairsticks, so I'd be happy to see her resolve her problems. As things are, I haven't dared to order anything from her, and gaining even a little trust to her will take time -shopping via internet, especially internationally requires trust and good communication. But I'm hoping for it especially now tha SpiralStix are to be retired here at LL.

Health: I made an appointment with gym instructor. It's on next Thursday, so getting my exercise program will probably take a couple weeks. Until then, my exercise week looks something like this:

Monday: weight training at gym: 15 min on exercise recumbent, 30 min weight training, especially abs and arms, 15 min stretching
Tuesday: rest, walking to grocery store, library, Dept etc.
Wednesday: at least 1 hour Nordic walking
Thursday: rest, normal walking
Friday: Weight training at gym, same as Monday
Saturday: really restful day! Watch movies and eat.
Sunday: depends of weather: gym if it's bad, Nordic walking if it's sunny and nice

I'm quite happy with this- the only part that probably needs some adjusting is the content of my gym exercise. It's interesting to see what the instructor will come up with!
     T said that he wants to start taking evening walks with me a few times a week. He is in worse condition than I am (!), so the walks aren't very long. But, it's a little extra anyway! :)
    On eating front, I'm not doing that good. Yesterday I ate two snacks. Granted, both were healthy and I stayed within my calorie limit, but they were still snacks and therefore a no-no. Obviously, this is something I must focus in really hard!
 

Funny that you mention Emily from Blue Heron.  I've been ordering Ketylo sticks from her and the reason I think the shipping problems have been apparent is because she and her son were sick for a few weeks and she needed to hire an assistant who "dropped the ball" and her orders got screwed up.  I was a victim of that and I called her and the situation was taken care of .  I got my sticks and am quite happy with them.  I have about 3 -4 pairs of long Ketylo sticks from her and a couple of other pairs from her before I started buying from Susan.  I waiting for a 2 pronged hairpin from her and 2 pairs from Susan should be here anyday now.  
Anywho,that's the reason for her shipping problem.

Curlgirl, she has a reputation of being an unreliable seller- her business has been reported to have extensive shipping times (several months) for years, and many people have reported that she doesn't answer to emails from customers. If you want to look into details, check LHC's product reviews board. :) I'm glad to hear of your good experiences- maybe in time I can work up some courage too!

Anyhoo...I hereby begin my picture marathon with some hairstyle pics.

http://img283.imageshack.us/img283/2207/beakclipfigure81fz.jpg

Lookie! A real figure 8. Not a very lasting one yet though. The clip is the awesome beak clip with teeth. I found it from Accessorize some time ago.

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/2844/chinesebuncitrusshine8qi.jpg
Chinese bun. I love to wear Chinese bun with
SwingStix, but I wanted to show my Citrus Shine pair- I'm in love with it!

http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/4479/cinnabunrarebutterfly7sm.jpg

Here's cinnabun. Not very secure either- see how the coil ends in a point where it's pointing upwards. Rare Butterfly GemStix are beautiful though.

http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/9851/flamencobun0hf.jpg

Flamenco bun secured with a zillion short Amish pins and decorated with a flower bobby pin.

http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/3937/herringbonepony7ev.jpg

Ok, I admit that I don't have patience to make a herringbone braid. So I like this herringbone pony a lot. Ribbon is from Tenderheaded.com. This color is called Laura's Garden.

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/4379/lavenderficcareknotbun8ea.jpg

Here's a hairtoy I've wanted to show you for a long time! 3-tone large Lavender Ficcare with knot bun.

http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/8307/periwinklewaveknotbun4bp.jpg

Here's another knot bun, with Periwinkle Wave
hairsticks. You can see the shape of the bun better than in previous pic.

http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/1053/ropebraid10sk.jpg

I've definitely made better rope braids once or twice. But this has the cutest scrunchie I've crocheted myself!

Those hairstyles look awesome!  I really like the chinese bun!  I would love to give it a try!

G-I love your pics!!!  I think the chinese bun is my favorite.
Thanks for sharing!!!  Its a great record for future comparison  :D

Thanks for the info on Blue Heron!  Glad I found you and this site for info :)  Your hairtoys,sticks,hair and styles are beautiful!  Wish I had the know how and talent to do something other than a braid :P
I think I will check out that site you talked about,too

Yipee!!  I love looking at your hair pics.  The hair is beautiful, the accessories are beautiful!  Thank you for sharing.

Thank you, thank you, ladies  :D .

I've been feeling crappy for the past couple of days (still do, in fact). Commies around the corner, depression over my relationship crisis (yes, the same that started back in November, though recently things have been going to better direction and the depression I feel is just "general depression ove everything related" :( ), and just this general not feeling physically well are not a fun combination. Good news is, that I was yesterday very productive at Uni -ended up spending there hours longer than I had intended, and now I have just some reading to do for the rest of the week. So, I decided to dedicate this day for making myself feeling better: long Nordic walk, good food, a couple of exciting books from library, maybe later taking some hairtoy pics etc. I think this should help!

Hair: When I was in Helsinki, I checked the hairtoy selection of my favorite department store. I was happily surprised to find some very interesting clips (I have no idea of what they are called in any language, but I'll post a picture later). Of course, I had to buy three. My experiments suggest, that they would work ideally for a hair thicker or much longer than mine, but I can use them to hold buns and French twist type of styles. They're very comfortable and seem nice for being so cheap. Besides, in a place where most hairtoys are clear
       Yesterday was a washing day- I used Summer Sunshine again. It's so perfect bar that there just doesn't seem to be any reason to rotate. I think I could be forever happy with just it and Lavender Spice bar.  :)
      I have also discovered during the past few days, that I can use a satin scrunchie to secure my night braids. Until now I have used elastic, and though the elastics I use are good and hair friendly, I'm sure that using a scrunchie will be even better.

Health: Due to feeling not so well, I decided to take a break from dieting until May 2nd. This week hasn't gone too well diet-wise, and when I'm not feeling well, I don't want to stress about it. I'm doing well with the exercise part though, and have kept drinking my water. I haven't been exceeding my eating plan badly either, so I'm sure that when I start feel a bit better, it won't be difficult to return 100% back on Plan.

Here are hairtoy pictures I promised:

http://img278.imageshack.us/img278/9530/maximii6gg.jpg

My Maximas clips. The sizes shown are large and medium. The brown clip is 3-tone mocha (Ficcare has also other brown 3-tone clips). Black clip is the fakkare I bought this week. Looks just like a real Ficcare in the picture, but IRL the difference is easy to tell.

http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/6135/mamacats8rj.jpg

Here are mamacat hairsticks I ordered last fall. I haven't used them often, but in some situations like traveling they are a must have.

http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/151/clips2lv.jpg

Finally, the interesting nameless clips. I bought the golden one earlier, the three others are from my yesterday's Helsinki visit. The photo is a bit weird- the colors are not as neon-ish bright IRL.

http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/8968/weirdclip9as.jpg

A side view of the clip. Top part is very similar to my fakkare Maximas, the big downside is like some futuristic comb. You can't really tell from these photos, but between the U-shape on down side, the clip has four thin, shorter spikes like a comb.

oooOOOoooooo, NICE!
(hair toy envy)

Very nice!  Hairtoys are always good!!  I went crazy and am now waiting for 4 more pairs of LL hairsticks,Stainless Steel sticks from Ron Quattro,a hairpin from Emily and ketylo sticks!!!  WooHoo this is fun!!!! ;D ;D

wrote on Apr 27^th, 2006 at 3:14pm:

oooOOOoooooo, NICE! (hair toy envy)

I second that!   ;D

Money invested in hairtoys is money well invested, I say. :D

Today, my new LL hairsticks arrived. I'm still not feeling well, so the timing was (once again) perfect. I had ordered two pairs: Lemonade Pink SpiralStix, which is an incredibly cheerful pair. Combination of rose crystals and pretty yellow is just perfect for warm time of the year. Pretty Pastels DuetStix is a pair I've drooled for a while, and I felt so lucky when I finally was able to buy it. Cute, funky, delicious...once again Rapunzel has done amazing work. :D

Hair: Good. Right now I'm wearing in a bun secured with one of my new clips. I'm still figuring out how to use them. Everything still indicates though, that these clips will show their best qualities when my hair gets longer.
 

Where did you find those mamcat hairsticks,they look funky,too!

Galadriel;
You have a beautiful collection of hair toys!  You really did cash in on Mamacat's special orders, didn't you?  I picked up a couple of pair then as well and love them in my hair.  

With all your LL sticks, we need a picture of that collection too!  

Curlgirl: I became interested on Mamacat's hairsticks once I learned that she is an LHC member. I tried to order from her last spring, but she told me then that she was unable to do custom orders at the moment. Last September, she announced that because she was so busy, in the future she would sell her work via Ebay only. However, she graciously accepted custom orders for a couple of weeks before moving to Ebay and that's when I was able to order directly from her. :D I suppose my order was quite a big one- her stuff was too beautiful and my luck in bidding at Ebay hasn't been too good. For a while, her hairsticks were quite expensive on Ebay, but now it seems that the prices have settled down again and most of her sticks sell around $30/pair. It is still more than before, but it's still a reasonable price for quality work. :)

BB, I'll take the picture  :D . I found out that last "group photo" of my LL sticks is from last spring and my collection has grown quite a lot since then. ;D

Hair: I decided that I've lived long enough unable to do French twists (since January, I think), and resolved to learn a new way of making them. I'm now practicing on the techique Madeleine shows on her webpage. I feel her way of doing a French twist is quite promising, though so far my attempts have been far from elegant. But, that's how it is in the start. I keep dreaming of elegant French twist styles I could make with my France Luxe comb, Ficcares, hairsticks, forks... I just love how versatile French twists are.
    Today is ideal day for practicing, as my hair is slightly dirty. Later, we have sauna again. I don't think I'll do any special treatments this week as my hair seems to be quite happy already.

Just a quick picture update from middle of carnivals of May Day.

Here are some pictures of my French twist variations. Changing technique slightly has made doing French twists possible, but they're not lasting (and the results aren't always neat...) Need to continue practicing...

http://img484.imageshack.us/img484/9773/frenchtwist19ov.jpg
French Twist with a red Taiwan clip.

http://img484.imageshack.us/img484/9784/frenchtwist29es.jpg
French Twist with France Luxe comb. This produces neat results most constantly, and the comb is very comfortable...until it slides out of my hair.

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/8520/frenchtwist35gd.jpg
Ignore the stray strand- this picture is historical because this is the first time ever I managed to make a secure French twist with a hair fork (from Blondiesturn).

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/702/frenchtwist44fm.jpg
French twist with large red 3-tone Maximas clip. This used to be one of my favorite styles- now making smooth French twists with a Ficcare is quite challenging.


Health: I'm feeling better both physically and mentally, and am ready to move 100`% back to diet tomorrow. In spite of May Day, I didn't break my habit of starting the week at gym.  :) Motivation is good once again, and I know this week will be better than the last.

Nice French twists, Galadriel. How do you make them now? You've mentioned using a new technique...  ???

Good luck getting back on track with your diet & exercise plan. You can do it!!  ;D

the pics are beautiful.  Nice job on the hair! :)  How did you do it??

Great French Twists!  You are quite talented.

Thanks for compliments! I followed instructions from Madeleine's webpage . Now that my hair is longer, I need to fold it carefully in order to make a smooth lump that fits inside the "seam". It is also difficult to make the "pouch" just the right size. I'm still very much in learning stage...now if only I could figure out how to make my twists last... :-/

And here's update on my haircare routine:

WASHING: I wash my hair twice a week, on Wednesdays and on Saturdays. I use Chagrin Valley shampoo bars (favorites Lavender Spice and Summer Sunshine) followed with a mild ACV rinse. I shampoo once, just the scalp and never the length. Every now and then I may use one of Chagrin Valley's soaps for my ends, but usually they get just suds& water. After shampooing, rinse and apply ACV rinse, then rinse some more. Finish with cool water rinse, comb gently and dry with Aquis microfiber towel. This washing method is very simple and quick.
CONDITIONING:No regular after wash conditioning. Oil with jojoba after wash, once hair is dried. Deep condition about twice a month, usually with Snowy's Deep Moisture Treatment or Winter Hair Food (protein treatment). I do my deep treatments on Saturdays, when we go to sauna, in order to benefit from the heat.
DETANGLING: Combing when taking a style down, which happens at least in the morning and in the evening. My favorite comb is still the wooden BodyShop comb, but usually I detangle with whichever of my combs happens to be closest.
TRIMMING: I do S&D:s whenever I remember. Lately I have had very few splits. :D This year, I plan to trim my hair 4 times. T does the trimming- he is super gentle and precise. I am experimenting to find the best trimming schedule. In 2005, I trimmed only twice, which was too seldom.
VITAMINS: Multivitamin+ acerola-silica-biotin .
DAYTIME STYLES: Contained styles, knot bun variations are probably most common. I also like segmented ponytails. I wear my hair down very seldom.
NIGHTTIME STYLES: Most often a braid or segmented ponytail. Seldom a sleep cap. I have recently discovered that satin scrunchies are great for night styles.
PROTECTION: Because my hair is fine and fragile, I am very protective about it. In sauna, I wrap a towel around my head. In winter, if temperature is below freezing point, I wear a headcover of some kind. I normally wear my hair up. When I'm doing something messy, I wear a scarf bun (a bun covered with a bandana scarf folded into a bun cover), and when I cook, I wear a special headcovering that also protects food from my hairs. I also protect my head from hot sun. All in all, I wear some type of hair protecting head covering often, and have grown to like them.
I have also bought swimming caps that I plan to try soon.
FAVORITE TOYS: Longlocks hairsticks, of course! Now that the spring has come, I've been playing with colorful elastics and ribbons a bit, as well as interesting clips (Taiwan clips & Ficcares).
HOW I FEEL ABOUT MY HAIR RIGHT NOW: I'm happy with it- it seems to get better and better all the time (this must have something to do with growing, I think). Splits have become rare- all the pampering and protection is paying off! :D I'm still growing my hair, but I'm not in such a hurry with it as I was before. My hair is already nice and people refer to it as "long". :D

And here is something that BB requested: my entire Longlocks hairstick collection in pictures! ;D As always, pictures don't do justice to these, but I'm sure you have great imagination.

It all started from just one pair...

http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/7797/yellows7iu.jpg

http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/7186/whites6fq.jpg

http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/3889/pinks6wg.jpg

http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/5734/neutrals1hb.jpg

http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/8592/moregreens3io.jpg

http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/1306/lightblues3cv.jpg

http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/1371/greens6yh.jpg

http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/889/blues0mx.jpg

:o  Holy cow.

*envious sigh*   :)

Holy crow indeed!!  They all are beautiful!!

When you have enough sticks to group them by color, you know you have LOTS!!!  :o

:: another envious sigh ::

wrote on May 2^nd, 2006 at 7:56pm:

When you have enough sticks to group them by color, you know you have LOTS!!!  :o :: another envious sigh ::

lol, yeah.

.i think i'll be the third envious sigh, so............*envious sigh* ;) :D

Now, I'm just waiting to see Sakina's and Greek Lady's collections in pictures *hint, hint*  ;D

work/hair: A philosophy conference on evil will be held in Helsinki in a couple of weeks, and so I've been preparing for it this week. Today, I've spent my whole working day contemplating evils of the world.  :o While I find philosophy of evil interesting and a very important field of study, it is certainly among those areas of philosophy that are not good for one's mental health (no, we're not wondering why I seem to find those areas most interesting in philosophy...). Once again, it has come to my mind that hair obsession and things that come along with is is one of the nearly perfect antidotes for too heavy thoughts.
     So, I took some time to shop in Helsinki. The department store where I obtained my Taiwan clips had now new colors available: tortoise, orange and tortoise brown with leopard spots. I bought just the tortoise, plus some pretty elastics and a cheap beak clip. The last is for some experimenting as I got rid of all my beak clips last year after deciding that they just don't work for me. Lately, I have read and seen some pretty neat updos that are made using beak clips (not to mention gorgeous pictures of Ficcare beaks). So, beaks will get another try. If the cheap clip I got works at all, I'm going to invest in a Ficcare beak the next time I order Ficcares. I'd just hate to go ahead and order something gorgeous only to discover that it won't work.
     When I came home, I found that the scarves I had ordered from Headcovers.com had arrived. They're sooo pretty. In fact, they are not quite scarves but things that look like half soft caps and half scarves. They came in beautiful summery floral prints. I quickly tried them and they all seem very comfy- my old problem of finding headgear for sun protection is at least a big leap closer to solution! And just in time too- the weather forecast says that the temperatures are going to leap up to summer readings and it will be sunny for the rest of the week. :D I also got a dark blue swim cap, to go with my new dark blue sporty swim suit. I hope I can make it to swimming hall on Friday...

Today was also washing day. I washed with Lavender Spice. I thought my old bar smelled nice, but in the brand new bar the lovely scent is even stronger. Pure luxury! 8)

Lastly, a small raving note about my kitchen headcoverings. I washed them for the first time and was happily surprised to see that they don't need ironing at all. They just dry into the right shape, and very quickly too! So, on top of all other wonderful qualities, they are also easier to care for than bandanas. I'm ready to call these the hair tool discovery of the year- had I known how superior they are to kerchiefs, I had ordered them a long time ago.

Health: Rest day from exercising, though I have got plenty of walking & climbing stairs. The negative thing is, that I'm feeling more hungry than usual- maybe I've managed to mess up my eating schedule or something. I need to focus hard to keep myself from wandering to kitchen to have that notorious "just a little snack".

It feels strange to go outside: temperature is in summer readings, but otherwise spring has been late and trees are still leafless. I have tested my new headgear I got yesterday, and once again I'm in awe.  :D The items I got from Headcovers.com are well made, the prices were good and the scarves/headwraps I got are both pretty and super comfortable.  :) Just what I've been looking for summer for at least two years! My favorites are Deluxe Kerchief scarves- unlike the name suggests, they are nothing like kerchiefs but very comfortable and cap-like little things. I like especially, how well my coverings go with casual clothes and how well they accommodate hair. Since regular hats and caps are so uncomfortable, I've experimented with scarves (esp. bandanas) but never liked them much: difficult to secure, require lots of ironing, not to mention that they are most commonly seen on little girls.
  However, at this point I feel it's safe to say that all this headcover experimenting I've been doing since last fall has paid off well, and I'm finally in happy, having something suitable to wear in most of the situations I want to keep my head covered. With my protective attitude towards my pretty but fine and fragile hair, such situations are a part of everyday life.

  I think that the best hairstyle to go with my new headcovers are low buns held with pins or Ficcares, though the coverings appear adjustable. Experimenting continues...

Health: I met the trainer today, and on Tuesday, I'll have a new, improved gym exercise program! :D The trainer asked lots of questions about my exercising and was really impressed when I told her what I've done so far. Her reactions were certainly among the best motivation boosts I've had!
  Now, I am supposed to follow my new exercise program until early August, and then meet her again to start customizing my program more.
  I dared to step on scale today- it's early for this week, but I did skip weigh in last week so I had to sneak peek. Right now, it appears that I have MAINTAINED during my difficult time!  ;D ;D ;D I was certain that I had gained, but no! Another motivation boost!

Life: I'm getting engaged again -second time with T and my third engagement. I feel really weird. Getting engaged three times is certainly something I hadn't planned for my life, and as my troubles with T aren't still entirely over, the situation is even more strange. But then, love can be very strange. Especially the loves of my life. And life can't be really planned much ahead. So I try not to let the strangeness of it all to disturb me too much and hope that this time we'll get it right.
   We went shopping rings yesterday- same design as the last time, just the dates will be different.

Congratulations on your engagement, G!  I wish only the best for you and your intended.   :)

Another congrats on your engagement.  I wish you both much happines..

Congrats on the engagement!!!  Don't feel weird,I gotcha beat on that!  I've been engaged 4 times and the 5th time will be within a year!!  This time makes me nervous and have butterflies so this guy is "the one"!
Keep us updated!!!  I think we all would agree that this will be very very nice for you!!!

Congratulations, Galadriel.

But honey....be careful! I don't mean to impose upon your happiness or anything of the sort it's just....I care about you, as all of us here do, and wouldn't want to see you do something that you'll eventually come to regret.
   Take it from someone who's been there and done that...that "weirdness" could be a red flag, and if things don't work out, you'll likely look back on it as exactly that. An early warning sign that should have told you not to go there.
   Of course, I know you're your own person, have your own mind, make your own decisions and are in love and all that. Just...proceed with caution, ok? It's like you said...life can't be planned too far in advance.

I'm not trying to be a downer, just speaking from experience.

Whatever your decision, know that I wish you only the greatest happiness and the fullest satisfaction. You deserve it, amiga.  ;)

Thanks for congratulations, ladies, and thanks for sharing your thoughts, Angel Spun. :) I wouldn't describe my feelings as "red flag"- I guess that most of them are just result from my relationship having been recovering from crisis for nearly 6 months. I've tried to analyze my feelings and thoughts as well as I can, and though the risk of failing exists (ha, doesn't it exist in every relationship...), it is worth taking. If certain events in past weren't still shadowing us, I'd be very happy. I feel very strongly, that we are on the right path...

Then to the events of past few days. It's very warm- the temperatures are closer to July than May temps, and it shows- spring is rushing in. Flowers, leaves to the trees, butterflies- everything seems to appear overnight. I got my summer clothes from attic and noticed new trouble: while most of my shirts still fit more or less, all my pants had magically grown in storage so much that I couldn't wear them at all. So, I was forced to do some emergency shopping again. I've also got many chances of wearing the stuff I got from Headcovers.com, and they have been a bliss.

On Friday, I went to swim (my gym card includes free swimming hall on Fridays, yay! :D). It's a few years since I've last been in a swimming hall. The last time I was there, no one wore a swim cap, and so I was very surprised to learn that now there were only a couple of people who didn't have one! I fit right in. The swim cap was good, and protected my hair well. I first wet my hair thoroughly and then put on the cap. When I came back from the pool, I washed my hair with Summer Sunshine shampoo bar and followed with mild ACV rinse (I carried diluted ACV in a bottle with me). My hair ended up being lovely and soft- I didn't detect any harm from chlorinated water.
As for how the swimming felt, I enjoyed it, though it felt surprisingly effective. Especially my arms felt a bit "soft" afterwards.

Saturday: Sauna day: I washed my head with Honey Beer Egg shampoo & ACV rinse as I figured that on successive washing days it might be a good idea to treat my hair with extra nourishing shampoo. I think it was a great idea...

Sunday (today!): Morning at gym where I had a good exercise. Too bad that I haven't lost any weight this week- and it's entirely my own fault since I haven't managed to stay away from snacks and ice cream as well as I should have. I hope to do better next week.
    Went to meet a real estate agent (a particularly annoying one...) and to take a look for an interesting building lot. The site was big and cheap, but consists partly of very steep slope. So I'm not really sure about the place. T seemed to like it though...we'll see. I took time to dress nicely, and wore my Forest Sanctuary hairsticks. I've not been wearing hairsticks much this week- when it's this hot and sunny, I like to wear my new headwraps. They go best with Ficcare buns or segmented ponytails...boy, I'm glad of participating in certain Ficcare GO...

I've been in a minimalist mood for the past few days. Maybe it's the warm weather, maybe it's me being suddenly so busy with everything, but I have found myself doing something that I have been never attracted to before: keeping my haircare at bare minimum. Basically, I just put it up with something sturdy that doesn't need readjusting during the day and forget it. Suddenly it doesn't feel boring but quite relaxing. Funny...
     

Sometimes ya just gotta do what ya gotta do,even if that means nothing!!! ;D

Congrats on your engagement and i like your longsticks collection. Goodluck!

Thanks, Curlgirl64 and Curlygirl22  :) .

Just a quick update from middle of workday. I begun the day with a brainstorm with a colleague, and from there I've proceeded to read some material for coming symposium on evil. Now it's afternoon, and my brain is fuming.

It's still hot (supposedly this is the last very warm day this week), and I'm loving my headwraps. They are so comfortable and look cute (T says they look a bit funny, but I'm just ignoring him  ;D). Today I'm wearing the one with pink and red flowers.

Ficcare GO is closed now- I'm keeping my fingers crossed for everything going smoothly and that I'll get my clips soon.

Congratulations Galadriel! I am sure you both are wiser now and if you weathered a serious (?) crisis relatively intact, then your bond must be much stronger now.

I loved your collection! That first stick you mentioned, that awesome pink/rose gossamer pair. I still remember you snatching it from under my... beak! LOLOLOLOL
;D ;DJust joking ok?

Now to more important matters, like: what pair will you be wearing for your betrothal/wedding?  :D ???

Hi, G-L, I was anticipating to see  you in this thread ;D . You have to admit that that gossamer pair went to good use: after all, it can be blamed for my addiction!
  As to your question, I have two pairs for romatic special occassions in my collection: Vintage Chic BridalStix and Sapphire Heart SpiralStix. First is more formal, and Sapphire Heart is "something blue"  ;) . I'm sure that with these two pairs I'm well prepared for both informal and formal parts of betrothal/wedding parties. :D That is, unless Rapunzel posts some amazing RoseStix or something like that so that I'd have 3 romantic pairs to play with ;D

Health: I've got GREAT news! *bounces* Today I went to see doctor about my allergy medications, and while I was there, I asked her to take my blood pressure. I was excepting for a small drop, but was so surprised that it had gone down 20 mmols- to borders of normal! :D :D :D That's some dramatic progress- and I couldn't have had better motivation kick!
   Speaking of motivation, today I received my new exercise program and had my first exercise on program. It's really effective. Short and simple but very effective. I'm excited to see how much progress I'll make with it (I'm supposed to meet instructor again in early August).
   
Life: Yesterday we went to see a house -first house we deemed worth seeing for a long time. We were so used to disappointments that it was a surprise to see a wonderful house. It's built 1911, but is very well kept and in excellent condition. We are going to see it again tomorrow with T's relatives who know more about buildings than we do- if they say it's a safe buy, we'll start worrying about the money. The house is quite a bit more expensive than we have thought, but T thinks it might just be possible for him to get a loan. We'll see...
if it won't work out, it's not a disaster as right now there are quite many building sites for sale. But I admit that after having looked for a house so long, it'd be nice to be able to skip the building process...

Hair: This morning my hair was quite greasy (but super shiny!). I wonder whether my previous wash with Honey Beer & Egg had something to do with it. I wore it in my traditional hide-the-greasies-style, French braid, with one of my self made scrunchies.
   When I got home from gym, I washed it with Summer Sunshine+ some Cucumber Lime soap to the ends. I also did a small s&d.

Hair: Typical 1st day hair: soft and beautiful, but not very cooperative. I'm wearing a bun with Glittering Seas Glitterstix pair.

Health: Finding a promising house continues to stir this week's schedules...so, eating 100% on Plan isn't in sight. But, I'm glad that I'm at least able to meet my exercise goal for the week. I'm not expecting any real success on weight loss front this week, but I keep telling myself that as long as I follow the Plan as well as possible in these circumstances, it's easier to get back 100% when I am able to eat more regularly again (next week, I hope).

Hey Galadriel,

Pardon my cluelessness, but could you tell me about this Snowy's Deep Moisture Treatment that you always use? It sounds really interesting, but I've never heard of it before.  ???

Snowy's Deep Moisture Treatment (SMT) is a very popular homemade deep treatment.

Here's how I do it:

Recipe: 1 part favorite conditioner (moisturizing, preferably no cones) I use XZ Deep Conditioner.
            1/4 part clear aloe vera gel
            1/4 part honey

Mix all ingredients in a cup and put into microwave for 5-10 seconds- just until it's nice and warm and easy to mix. Wash your hair as usually, blot dry. Apply the treatment. I usually let it sit under shower cap or heat cap for a couple of hours. Then rinse well. Enjoy wonderful hair.  :)

Here's link to relevant thread on Longhair Community:
http://www.forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=14635

Life: Life's getting exciting! We are seriously considering making an offer for the house in Vihti. We took T's parents and brother who studies construction to see it yesterday, and they all agreed that it seems to be in good condition with no apparent big flaws. T is contacting the bank later today- I'm keeping my hands, toes and elbows crossed. The house is so expensive that we are not certain whether we can afford it. If we can, we'll have to make up our mind during the weekend. If the financial burden isn't too much for us, this house seems just great. It would save us the trouble of constructing, and though very large, it is a very nice house. The location is also good, and the garden is nice and big.

Hair: The weather is not hot anymore- just nice and warm. Buns with hairsticks are back: Sapphire Hearts pair is getting a lot of wear now! Right now I'm wearing Pretty Pastels pair though. Nice, happy designs.

Health: Had this week's gym exercise #3 today. I'm not sure about whether I'll have time for gym in the weekend- new developments of house situation have rearranged my schedule pretty effectively. If I can't make it to the gym, I'm hoping to be able to do some other exercise instead.

OMG, Galadriel, thank you so much! The SMT looks even more appealing now that I know something about it. I will totally have to try it out!  :D  What a relief to learn that it doesn't require oils. Stoke!  8)

I have a great many conditioners that I could try it with...lots of possibilities!  ;D

Best of luck with your house prospects...I know that can be a nerve-wracking experience.  :P  I know you'll make the right decision.  ;)

Phew! That was one busy weekend! The House was nice, but in the end we figured that we couldn't afford it when we counted all the "little" repairs that would have come with it. Oh well, better figure it out now than after making an offer! In any case, we have already another one in sight...I wish so much that this house hunt would be OVER, but finding a suitable one seems to be incredibly difficult.

Hair: My hair was dirty on Friday evening, and as we didn't have time for sauna on Saturday, I washed it. I guess I'll wash it tomorrow and then try to endure until Saturday evening. I guess I should do a deep treatment some time...
    Interesting observation: most ladies in the birthday party we attended on Saturday, were a couple of years younger than me. I noticed that everyone except one had their hair between just brushing shoulders to BS. I guess that in general, ladies' hair has grown a bit- now that I think of it, shorter hair is more rare in 20-30's age group than it was even a few years ago. Neverthless, I was just a little pleased to see that I had the longest hair in the party. Not by much, but who cares! ;D I wore my hair down with just a side part, so I'm sure. Not only is my hair the longest it has ever been, but it's also slowly but certainly making its way to the land of "uncommonly long"!
  I wonder though, whether everyone still has longish hair the next time I see them: in Finland, it's quite common to grow out hair for wedding and then chop it off, and more than one of the ladies is in the process of making wedding plans. We'll see...
Health: I managed to exercise 4 times last week, but besides house hunting, weekend's most prominent character was eating too much: T took me to a 3-course dinner on Friday, on Saturday we went to a birthday party and on Sunday we went to have lunch at T's mother. So I have some dieting to do even to balance it out.
   Though I have worn my hair down twice lately (once just because T likes it so much and for the bday party), it's still far from my favorite styles. Looks great, but I hate the hair flying on my face and the way it just seems to have a life of its own. Probably it's just good as I think that my hair couldn't remain healthy for long  if I wore it down every day. In general, right now I have basically two favorite styles: knot bun and segmented braid, and 90% of the time I wear one or the other. I suppose that in the end, I'm very lazy...
...though isn't that just one more good reason to have long hair?

Health: Hard work ahead on dieting front! Birthday party, a 3-course fine dinner in restaurant and a lunch at T's mother on Sunday total to a calorie count I don't even dare to contemplate any closer. For me, it's just enough to know that I need to do some serious dieting this week just to balance it. I think that I can do it if I focus hard.
    My diet has turned out to be such a struggle lately- no progress and there's no reason to wonder why. But I believe that if only I won't give up, sooner or later I will have success. Today a new week, with new chances of success, is beginning.  :)

Life: Went to see a house yesterday. It was a nice surprise- for once, the pictures on the website didn't do justice to it. There seemed to be very little need for repairs in the house itself. On the other hand, the garden could be most benevolently be described as "nonexistent". There wasn't even real grass growing- it was just a large area of dirt and weeds. The family living in there was obviously anything but gardeners. But, it is spacious and after two summers of tilling and planting it could become beautiful. So, we'll be in contact with real estate agent on this one! :)
       Because of intensive house hunting, we haven't been able to do much at home. I'm so glad my job isn't regular. I'm dedicating this day for housework...and am very glad of being my own boss. Anyway, there's relatively little I could do at University before my personnel card arrives and I can get researcher loans. When I do get that card (should be soon now!), I'll have to make up for this time, but it's ok. Right now, this flexibility is a true bliss.

Health: I'm happy to report that yesterday was my first 100% on Plan day for weeks. :D :D :D I went to the gym, and managed to control my eating well. I have high hopes for this week!

Hair: Dirty. It was dirty already last evening, and now it's worse. Yesterday it looked still neat in a bun (with Plumeria Pink hairsticks), but today I took just one look at it and grabbed my cloth snood. Inside that, it is free to brew until evening and to become as greasy as it ever wants. ;D Then I'll wash it, and if I have any extra energy, a SMT would probably be a good idea too. Last week my hair also became dirty quicker than usually. Weird.

Hair: When the evening came yesterday, my hair was hideously greasy. Just unbelieveable. :-X Plus, I shed a chinchilla. I always shed more when my hair is dirtier than normal. OTOH, I've shed very little today, so maybe it balances some... Anyway, I washed my hair as usually with Summer Sunshine shampoo + ACV rinse. Then I proceeded to do a Snowy's Deep Moisture treatment. Not only did it help me relax after a day of doing chores, but it also gave me a great hair today.       I'm wearing it now in a sleek, beautiful low bun with Spring Daisy hairsticks.
       Today's news: A great hair sighting at Helsinki Downtown! When I was standing in traffic lights, I saw this older lady who had beautiful flaxen & silver hair that was up in a neat little roll, secured with what looked a high-quality claw clip. Incredibly elegant- that's what I want to look like in 30 years! :)
       Checked Helsinki's hairtoy selections. In my favorite Dept store, new Taiwan clips had arrived. They are now available in smaller size (for some reason the smaller clips are almost €2 more expensive than large ones  ???). After a long pondering and comparing the clips, I concluded that the small clips would probably be too small from me. Apparently, I'd need a medium size  ::). So, I got out of the store with just a few interesting looking elastics/hairties.
         I also completed yet another LL hairstick order. ;D I always think that I have already so many pairs that I can't possibly need more...and always Rapunzel posts something I just can't resist.

Health: Going strong on Plan today :) . I went Nordic walking this morning. Only one "compulsory" exercise left this week!

Hair: Not much happening, except that I guess I'm in the middle of a shedding season- last night was washing time, and again I shed exceptionally much. Otherwise, scalp was a bit less greasy than the last time...maybe things are normalizing! Nothing new on hairstyle front either: buns with hairsticks and segmented braids.  

Health: Good exercise week, and I've also managed to eat a bit better than last week. Next week, I promise to do even better- I'm going to get serious about diet journaling again etc.

It's a sunny and warm, lovely day today. I managed to get up quite early and head to a nice Nordic walk- so, I have just two more "compulsory" exercises to go. This week is going to be a bit busy though as I'm attending to the Evil conference on Friday and Saturday.

Hair is a bit dirty already. I hope it doesn't mean I must wash it tomorrow as I'd love to be able to stick with my normal weekly routine.
 Started the day with a Dutch braid, and since it was still neat when I came home from the walk, I just coiled the "tail" part into a braided bun and secured it with Amish pins. Very cool style. :)

In internet version of today's Helsingin Sanomat (biggest newspaper in Finland) there was a short article where stylists warned about coloring hair too often. The article said that coloring should be done no more often than every 5 weeks and that one should be extra careful when doing children's and teenagers hair. It also reminded that haircolors contain poisonous chemicals like ammonia and hydrogen peroxide.
  Of course, this is no news to me, but it's a  :o to see stylists saying things like this, and in a main media! Now, I can only hope that natural color starts gaining popularity once again. I guess I've said this a few times before, but hair coloring is so common here that it's rare to see a woman with natural hair. I suppose I'd better pick myself up of this "thin hair blues" I've been having (no matter that my hair isn't even really thin but perfectly good ii thickness) and start rejoicing the fact that nature has given me such a nice haircolor.  :)

I went to the gym today, and experimented with a ponytail loop style. I haven't been completely happy with either segmented ponytails or buns- both seem to get to my way. Ponytail loop wasn't a perfect style either, though it is quite comfortable. I hope my hair will be one day so long that I can braid it and wrap the braid around my head... When I came home, I changed to a Ficcare bun with large 3-tone brown clip. I've started to wear Ficcares more lately- they make the most lasting buns. I sorely miss clips in light colors though...like, say, the clips I ordered via Birdie. But, I'm hoping I will get them soon- the GO seems to be going smoothly. Birdie should get the clips any day now, and seeing how efficient she has been, I have no doubt that from there on, it won't take long for me to see my summer pretties.

Hair isn't significantly dirtier than yesterday- I think I will make it until tomorrow night! I've started to wonder about scalp washes...my hair is probably long enough so I could do it. Maybe I could start experimenting...

Health: Yesterday went very well eating-wise, and today I'm well back on track as well. I measured my waist, and it seems that though my weight hasn't dropped (for obvious reasons...), I have lost 2 cm:s (almost an inch!) of my waist circumference. I wonder what will happen after a week or two of eating on Plan!

It's late, so just a quick update (I hope to be able to browse the boards more soon :) ).

This week ended up being even more busy than I had thought- but I'm still alive. I spent today in the conference. I have to say it was a little disappointing, as there were only two presentations I really enjoyed. I'm not sure if I will go there tomorrow...it's not like I didn't have anything else to do...

We are going to see Da Vinci Code tomorrow, so we changed sauna day to today. I was too tired to do anything but the basic wash with Summer Sunshine+ ACV. All in all, I haven't had much time to think of hair today. I just put it up in a Ficcare bun (with 3 tone Lavender clip) and forgot about it until sauna time. It was easy as the style held like a glue and was very comfortable for the whole day. I can't wait to get the new clips (now how many times have I said that? ;D).

Phew. If I survive until Wednesday evening, things should get a bit easier. :P Until that- I'm just trying to hang on and to accomplish most of the things I should have accomplished yesterday. On top of everything else, both I and T have felt a bit flu-ish. It's been cold and rainy, so no wonder.

Hair: Getting lots of benign neglect since I don't really have much time or energy to think about it or care about it. Simplest possible wash with shampoo bar+ ACV rinse, a little jojoba oil, and Ficcare buns. Not very imaginative, but I'm just glad I can get away with a routine as minimal as this. A short hair that would require blowdrying and 15 minutes or more styling every day would probably drive me crazy right now.

I was very productive yesterday evening, and as a result, I now have a little time to relax, drink hot tea to cure my sore throat and to think of soothing long hair thoughts.  :)

First, bad news: I took a good look at my hair. I've been shedding a lot lately (guess it's the stress) and have thought that it looks thinner, so I measured it. I was right- I have lost a bit over 1 cm of my ponytail circumference. :( I've decided to start scalp massages and decided to order Moonchaser's Sweet Success oil (sold on Ebay and via LHC). Many people have raved about it, and it is supposed to reduce shedding and promote hair growth. I hope it will work!
   Another possibility, of course, is that my hair has gone to "replacement" stage. Many people have reported this to happen when they reach BSL: first they experience lots of shedding and/or slowed growth, and there's a period of lots of new growth. I hope, of course, that this would be my case because it would mean that my problem would cure itself. I'm not counting on it though, so it seems that it's time for another experiment (how convenient that my hats, scarves and headcoverings experiment is virtually over  ::)).

Hair sightings: I made an interesting observation in the conference I attended. It really seems that though hair coloring is very common in society in general, at university, the majority of ladies has natural hair (uncolored and of natural texture). Also styles are different. Really long hair is just as rare as everywhere else, but the styles tend to be simpler and maybe a tad longer than on most ladies. I have noticed this at our department a long time ago, but it's such a small place that it's difficult to make generalizations. But, in the conference I saw more people from different fields and universities, and it seems to be true. Interesting...
     
Hair today:  Right now I'm wearing a single braid and a bandana kerchief tied for cover. This is a style I wore a lot last summer- except that now my hair is a little longer and the braid looks a lot better, even though it probably was a bit thicker a year ago. ;D I'll probably change it to something less casual when I leave the house though. It's a bit dirty, so I'll probably wash it in the evening.

I just came back from a Nordic walk where I got 20 minutes rain shower  :-X . I had proceeded halfway when it started, so I chose to go on, hoping that it would be just a little shower. Well, it wasn't, and I came home dripping wet. But I got my exercise done!

Hair: Shedding continues. :( Interestingly, I noticed lots of new growth all over my head (baby hairs sticking straight up to every direction), so maybe the replacing stage theory is right. I hope so...
        Ficcare buns are still my favorite hairstyle of the moment- I love how secure they are. My hair feels like it's glued in place and needs absolutely no readjusting during the day. This morning, Birdie posted the list of people whose Ficcares she has already shipped- and my name was on the list! So, I hope my Ficcares will arrive next week. I'm so excited! :D I'm also expecting new hairsticks to arrive late this week or during next week...I'll be one spoiled lady! ;D

Health: I've been eating a bit better this week, but it's struggling. Obviously, I need to start doing even more if and since I'm not done with my dieting.
   I stumbled upon some new information on dyscalculia. Also called number blindness, it's a genetic disorder related to dyslexia. Supposedly, it's not terribly rare (about 3-6% of population has it), but it's been researched very little. I've known that I've got it for years now, but otherwise, there hasn't been much information or help available. I have had to cope with it by myself, with the little information I've been able to scrape here and there. Had I known all the stuff I have just learned, my highschool years would have been a LOT easier!
   Nowadays, my dyscalculia is a lot less trouble than it was when I was young: I need only basic math in my life, and if there is something more complicated I've got kind people around me to help me out. Studying philosophy has also helped, especially in helping me to realize that I am capable of understanding complex reasoning and abstract relations -as long as they are presented to me in a form that my brain can process.

Dyscalculia - that's a new term for me.  I have mild dyslexia - I invert/flip letters and numbers. It was difficult to learn to read and do basic math.  Knowing you have the "problem" can help you to work around it - adapt to it.  It sounds like you are coping well - congrats.

Just like in dyslexia, there are different degrees in dyscalculia. I guess I am a medium case: I can do simple calculations with reasonably small numbers (though I make more "dumb" mistakes than an average person), but highschool level math is for the most part beyond my abilities. However, university level basic formal logic is ok, because in it symbols and sentences or words are interchangeable: it's possible to do the operation using words and then "translate" it to symbol language. Takes a bit more time than for those who can use symbols only- but it can be done!
     I also have difficulty in telling right from left and reading maps- very annoying when T is driving and I'm supposed to instruct him, bad face/name memory and difficulties in remembering events in correct order. On the other hand, my linguistic skills are exceptionally good, which is common with people with dyscalculia. I seldom think that there is something "wrong" with me- after all, I don't know how else things could be. Sometimes I get frustrated- and sometimes people who don't know me, get frustrated with me. But, I get all the time better in coping with difficulties. I'm also happy that slowly more information is coming available. :)

Hair: Still shedding- though I got a little comfort from learning that quite a few LHC'ers are also going through exceptional shedding.
       Yesterday I had some time to check my favorite department store's hairtoy selections, and once again, they had treats for me. I saw these very interesting clips that resemble a little claw clips, but are shorter and wider, with horizontal, wide teeth. I don't know what they are really called. You first make a bun and then put this clip around it- it's like a bun cage that adapts to the size of the bun. They were available in two sizes, of which the larger is suitable for my buns and even has a little room for growth. Very cool! I bought two to start with, and tested them right away. After almost a day's testing, I am very impressed. These clips hold the bun very securely- like Ficcares. They are very comfortable, and I like how they look. The price is good too. Perfect hairtoys for my busy/lazy season! I'll try to get T to take a picture soon...
       Today is June 1st-  a new month in my hairtoy budget, that is. I had already decided that I order certain hairstick pairs from Maiden's Treasures. Kathy has done some beautiful work that I just had to have- telling myself that in practice I really prefer LL hairsticks didn't help a bit.
      Then I came to LL boutique and discovered some beautiful SpiralStix that were calling my name. Using the "excuse" that Spirals are my big favorite and retiring, I just had to place an order.
       
After all this, I feel like I'm swimming in hairtoys. Which, of course, is a wonderful feeling. ;D Shedding like there's no tomorrow or not, at least my hair is long enough to play with so many pretty toys. My ends look quite thin, but I'm going to request T to do only a small trim in the end of the month. Why cut the hair that I enjoy of so much (especially when thin ends aren't even visible in updo)...?
     

Life: The flu that has given me vague symptoms for several days, has finally really arrived. I guess that two parties I had to attend yesterday, plus soaking in that rain shower on the other day just were too much for my system. The parties were from afternoon to around 19 in the evening, but when I came home I was totally exhausted and feeling bad. Tomorrow T's cousin has her high school graduation party where we should attend. She lives a couple of hour's drive from us...which means that the visit will take us most of the day. I have just a couple of work-related tasks to take care of, so I can dedicate most of today to resting and trying to heal myself effectively during today.

Hair: Yesterday's schedule was such that I decided to party with a knot bun with side part and Keylime Pie hairsticks. The hairsticks were complimeted by a strange lady I saw on my way to the first party. That was fun!
      I had planned to wash my hair late in the evening, but was so tired and felt so sick that I decided to wait until morning. Then I did just a quick wash (I believe that one should avoid washing hair when having a flu) with Summer Sunshine bar+ ACV rinse. If I feel like going to sauna in near future, I'll have to do a deep treatment.
      I also measured my hair. Haven't done that since last trim. It's now 64 cm/25.5 in, which means that I've had nice normal growth during past months. Slowly but surely, my hair is getting longer! My ends look thin again (I guess the shedding I've experienced shows mostly in the ends where there wasn't that much hair to start with...), but I'm determined to have just a small trim. I want to reach waist length as soon as possible and then keep my hair in that length for a while trying to improve my horizontal volume a bit. For some reason, right now I am really anxious to reach waist length as soon as possible.

Hope you feel better soon!   :(

Hope you feel better soon!!  I always pretty much have flu-like symptoms after I take my shot(medicine) once a week.  No fun to feel crumby,so just feel better soon!! :)

I did feel better on Saturday morning, and was able to attend the graduation party. The visit took all the day, and during it I hadn't any chances to adjust my hairstyle. So I was glad that I had chosen to wear a Ficcare bun (with Primavera Gold clip). It was comfortable and secure all day, and when we came home it was just as neat as it had been in the morning.
   After busy week, we decided to keep Sunday as resting day. We warmed the sauna in the evening and I tried a new deep treatment, Coconut Milk Soak (recipe below). It's a really simple and nice treatment that made my hair wonderfully soft and shiny. As usually, I didn't manage to wash all the oily stuff away, so I had to wash my hair again this morning. But that happens with every oily treatment.

Coconut Milk Soak

Take canned coconut milk and apply generously to dry hair, until your hair is thoroughly wetted with it. Add a shower cap and apply heat whichever way you like best (blowdryer, hot towels, sauna etc.). Wash your hair as normally.
 Caution: because coconut milk is liquid, this treatment is very runny and prone to cause some mess even if you are careful.

Today: Shedding is continuing.  :( I will give Moonchaser's Sweet Success Oil one month (which should be plenty since most people have reported immediate improvement), and if it won't help, after that I'm off to see a doctor. I hope it doesn't come to that- but now that I've shed so much for weeks, I've accepted that it's possible.
          Now that I am shedding more than normally, I have also done some thinking on my routine. Though my hair routine is good and gentle, there are still a couple of things I could improve...
      1) Silk pillowcases. I thought I'd get away from buying these by wearing the silk sleep cap I ordered from Tenderheaded. But I haven't worn it much, mainly because the snap clips I had to use to secure it, started to irritate my scalp. Right now I'm sleeping on plain cotton pillowcases, my hair usually in a segmented pony with satin scrunchies. This is my most obvious "hair sin".
       2) Start rinsing my hair with water after exercise. I'm almost 100% sure that not rinsing after exercise isn't damaging to my hair. My scalp is doing just fine, there is no gunk etc. But the general opinion seems to be, that not rinsing hair after sweating is bad for hair, so I keep thinking that maybe I should start rinsing...
   
I don't know how much about these concerns are valid and how much is just my obsessing and being overly worried. My hair is in excellent shape- it just doesn't want to stay attached to my head. >:( That would suggest that I'm not currently doing anything terribly wrong...yet I keep thinking...

On a more positive note, I'm anxiously waiting for all my new hairtoys to arrive ( 2 shipments from LL, three pairs from MT and four new Ficcares). Being able to make beautiful buns and other hairstyles makes me feel happier about my hair, even through this shedding stage. I have worn my new bun clips (I think they are called "instant bun clips" or something like that), and am still very pleased with them. They are so secure and nice, and feel more comfortable than normal claw clips. I'll try to get T to take a picture of such clip in action.

Health: I've come to the conclusion that I just can't get away and expect any results from being 80% on Plan. It just doesn't work. So, as of today, I'm back 100%: eat only three times a day (except waters and fruits if I must), write diet journal, drink all the water etc. I am motivated to do all this, and now I must just do it if I want to get any results except being in better shape in general. It's a bit disappointing that losing weight requires so much, and that so small deviations from Plan result in failure, but that's how it is and I'm now trying to deal with it.

No hairtoys yet- I'm starting to get worried that the Customs has intervened again. I don't mind paying the taxes, but extra delay is a different thing: first they'll send me a notification that my parcel has arrived to Airport Customs, then I have to call them to request that my shipment is moved to Helsinki City Customs which is far more convenient location. Then, a couple of more days of waiting until I get a new notification form, and only then I can go to declare my goods. So, I'm very much hoping that this is just the mail being slow.

I am perfecting my skill in folding bandana scarves into little cap-like things. I have a nice selection of bandanas that I have used for scarf buns, but as I haven't worn that style lately, the scarves have been left virtually unused. So I decided that I should seek a new way of wearing them.
This is how I make a bandana cap:Fold the scarf in a triangle, put it on the head, tie and tuck the hanging part neatly under the ties (the most difficult part).
My caps are quite neat, but I'm still experimenting in finding the optimal way to secure them. And they need to be secured- otherwise they slide off the head in minutes. At the moment, I use two snap clips behind the ears, one snap clip/straight pin combination in the front, and one or two additional straight pins to keep the folded part securely where it's supposed to be. I guess that someone with less slippery hair would manage with less, but I seem to need all these clips and pins in order to keep my cap neat and secure. In reality, it's much less hassle than it sounds and I'll have a lot of fun (and sun protection) with my bandanas this summer. :)

I washed my hair early today, right after gym. I still had a little oily residue from the coconut milk deep treatment I did on Sunday. Lasting stuff! As you can probably guess, I've been wearing bandana caps quite a lot. I hope that I have completely mastered the style when the really warm, summery days come.

Hi Galadriel! I can't remember what washing method you use, but I've found that the best way to get rid of the oil from coconut milk (for me, at least) is to first wet the hair and then work cheap conditioner into the areas that were soaked in the coconut milk. I use the CWC method, so I leave the conditioner in while I shampoo my scalp and then rinse off the conditioner and shampoo. I've used this method four times before and the only time I noticed an oily residue was when I missed a spot with the conditioner.

Not sure if this will help you, but I just wanted to share what worked for me. :)

Thanks for the tip! I don't normally use conditioner when I wash my hair, but I own one for special situations. It's sulphate free so it should work with my shampoo bars. I'll try that the next time I do the coconut milk treatment.

Life: Exciting news! We have made an offer for a house. We found a really nice little house from a small village near the city of Lohja. It is built in 1930 and is in beautiful shape -all the modernization and repair work has been done so that the spirit of an old house has been preserved. It has a large, beautiful old-fashioned garden. The only downside is, that a bus travel to Helsinki takes almost 1½ hours. But I don't need to visit Hki every day and long-distance buses are really comfortable, so I suppose I can deal with it. Now I just hope that everything goes well- if it does, we could move during the summer! :D We are trying not to get too excited before the deal is closed, but it's difficult- this house is such a treat.

Work: I haven't STILL received my personnel ID card, but I have managed to update my library card to researcher status. For the past days, I've been scavenging libraries of Central Campus for books to empty shelves of my workroom. Now I've got a huge amount of reading to do. But, I'm happy for finally being able to really start my research.

Hair: O hair, how beloved you must now feel. 8) Receiving of one package from Longlocks makes any day, but today I got two! ;D As I had suspected, Customs had taken one of the shipments. For some reason, however, it had been taken straight to City Customs Office, and retrieving it was a simple thing to do. Turned out, that I didn't even have to pay anything. This time the officer was a young man- I wonder whether it's just a coincidence that I wasn't asked to open the package... :P
   When I came back home, I found another note from my mailbox, stating that another shipment from US was here. I first thought it was the Ficcares, but no, it was my SpiralStix shipment! So here I am, sitting with no less than 4 shiney and new, sparkling pairs of LL hairsticks. Talk about hairtoy heaven...
    I think I've shed a bit less during the past couple of days. I hope it is a good sign...

Reviews: Rainbow Night Holostix: Gorgeous! Just like I imagined, the holo finishing of the sticks coordinates perfectly with rainbow rhinestone rondelle. Gold accents and Jet crystals complete the design that is subtle yet fascinating- more fascinating the closer you look.
Blooming Pear RoseStix: I snatched this pair in 15 minutes after it had been posted to the site, and what a smart move that was! When I took this pair from wrappings, I just *thud*ded. Rapunzel really knows how to sculpt little, pearlescent roses! Stunning, lovely pair!
Negative Spiral SE SpiralStix: There is something very Art Deco in this pair. Black, silver, white swirls on clear and black...here is a very beautiful pair with definite character.
June Meadow SpiralStix: Olivine green is one of my favorite colors in hairsticks, and it's great to have a pair of Spirals in that color. Delicious West German olivine teardrop crystals have deeper color than swarowski's olivine crystals- I keep thinking of Fazer's Balls (pear marmalade balls) that we buy for Christmas. A very beautiful pair that is simple enough for everyday wear.

ooo - how exciting - a house!!  It's been over 20 years since we bought our house, but I remember how excited we were.  Hope everything works out for you.

So YOU are the one that got the Negative Spirals.  :(  I had my eye on them, but then, poof! they were taken.  At least I know they went to an excellent home where they will be appreciated.  ;D

Galadriel, I'm so happy for you.  I hope you get the house.  It sounds wonderful!!!  I hope you'll post some pics of the garden when you get it.

Yay!!!!!!!!

You're welcome! I hope it works. I haven't read the coconut milk soak thread on LHC in a while, but it seemed like a bunch of people had success with that method.

The house sounds great! I hope you get it!! :D

So, now our offer has been passed on to the seller and we are bouncing of excitement. We would probably be able to move in early August.

The weather has become warm, so I'm experimenting with rinsing my hair with plain water after exercising. I've rinsed twice now, but can't tell the difference between rinsing and not rinsing. Now that it's warm having wet hair so often doesn't matter, but I don't know if I am going to continue this rinsing when cold weather comes (esp. since I prefer to exercise early). I also washed my hair yesterday evening and put some XZ deep conditioner.
  I also did a s&d mission, or rather tried to do. A careful search produced less than 10 splits/knots/broken hairs. If my hair continues to look this good, I'm not probably going to trim it yet at the end of the month. My hair is healthy to the ends and a tiny trim would do little to thinness of the ends. But I'm going to keep an eye on the situation- I really want to find out a "working" trimming schedule.

Styles: buns with hairsticks or bun/headwrap combinations depending on weather and occassion. The bandana caps are very good- lightweight, have fun colors and protect my hair from the sun (I really dislike how my hair gets hot in sun). For exercising at the gym, low bun with instant bun clip seem to be the most comfortable style.

A scrunchie is a scrunchie, and that's about all there is to it. Right? Wrong. Scrunchies from Ebuni.com are something different from the cheap satiny things imported from Far East you see everywhere. I received the 4 I had ordered today- fast service, even though they are an UK based company and therefore relatively speaking close to me. The pictures on the Ebuni site don't do much justice to the scrunchies- they look certainly pretty, but that's about it. IRL, the fabrics are sturdy and pretty, and all my new scrunchies are beautifully finished and detailed. All in all, these have the look of quality product down to the smallest detail. They are large, so for me they suit best for ponytails and buns. I'm happy with these- though I first thought that they were a bit expensive for scrunchies, IRL it's easy to see the reason.  :)

Today was a gym day again, and so I had an opportunity to continue my rinse after exercise- experiment. Yesterday was a warm day, but today it's hot, so having a damp hair is only a good thing. My hair doesn't look greasier than usual- I'd say that it's perfectly normal.
   Since it's so sunny, I've worn simply a bun and a headwrap. Sun hats, scarves etc. seem to be a bit more popular among adults this year than they were last summer. I wonder if it's the fashion or if more people have just learned to like wearing hats.

House news: Good news! our offer has been accepted!!!  :D :D :D The seller didn't even want to negotiate about the price- we were almost certain that our initial offer wouldn't be enough, it was so much below the requested price. But they are happy with it, we are happy with it and all is well so far. Now we'll just have to arrange the financial stuff, the seller has to complete some paperwork and then we will be able to proceed. At this point, things can still go wrong...but it's looking very good. Very, very good. :D

Hair & Life: Temps are STILL climbing, and I'm cooking and consuming cool drinks like there's no tomorrow. Rabbit, who is supposed to like temperate, even cool temperatures, is however sitting happily in a spot of sunlight.  ::) I'm envious.
   Today my Maiden's Treasures hairsticks arrived. Kathy has improved her designs- the tips of the wooden sticks were already filed smooth and I didn't have to do anything to them. I got three pairs. Lemony Snickets is a lovely pair featuring lemon crysophrase beads. Very stylish, "antique" looking pair. Amazon Garden has carved Amazonite roses are of a beautiful, cool green shade. And little amethysts- I love amethysts! Very Berry is a pair I've been drooling since it first showed up for sale, and it seems that I got the last pair! It has beautiful lampwork beads. The sticks are lacquered bamboo sticks that work so well. Once again, Kathy has done nice work. I'd love to wear my new sticks (I still haven't worn even any of the LL sticks I got a couple of days ago), but it's so hot that I'm stuck with scarves and headwraps that protect me a little from the sun.
When the temperature drops to more tolerable levels, I'll have so many new hairtoys to wear! OTOH, it's just good: if we are moving soon, I probably won't have a good chance to order anything for a while.
     My hair is slightly dirty today- I'll need to take a shower anyway in the evening, so I'm going to wash it. I suppose it's a bit dirtier than usually on day 3- it might be the rinses I've been doing, but it might be just normal variation too. Hard to tell.

Still stalking the mailman for: Ficcares from Birdie (two people from GO have already received theirs!), kerchiefs and pins from Christian Coverings.

How exciting that your offer on the house was accepted!  I hope everything continues to go well with your transaction.  :D

House: We are going to see the house again tomorrow. There is some paperwork to do, and we will meet the sellers and get a chance to ask them questions about house and the garden.

Hair& Life: Today is a warm (in a nice way!) and sunny day, so I put on my long seafoam green summer skirt, added some strawberry lip gloss and big summer earrings- and let my hair down.  ;D I enjoyed how the wind made it dance around my head (never mind the detangling afterwards!), shone in sunlight and tickled my upper arms. It is really getting longer- and more fun! 8)
   My shedding is back to normal level or even below it. But it will take some time until I gain back the thickness I lost during the period of heavy shedding.
    I rinsed my hair after this morning's Nordic walk. It's so warm now that it dries incredibly quickly.

Health: I had the feared gyn appointment today. It went well: my BP is still a bit high, so I'm not done with my health quest yet. But my doctor was happy with my progress anyway, and that's the main thing. :) Now, if only I could resist mint ice cream a bit better so I could lose a little more weight...I haven't really lost anything for a while, only gained muscles (which, of course is great).

I've tried to start writing today's entry 2 times today...maybe I'll finally be able finish  :P.

House: Things are proceeding well. We were seeing the house yesterday and met the current owners. They seemed nice people and besides all the "technical stuff", they talked quite a bit about the history of the house- it has been in their family since building- 3 generations!
We have been furiously making budgets for everything. It's already clear that at least for a while, our economy will be strained- I'll need to keep a break in ordering hairsticks. :-/

Hair: No Ficcares yet- some people in GO have already received their clips, but none of international participants. Must be patient, must be patient...
      However, I received yesterday the scarves (+ heavy bun net + pins) I had ordered from Christian Coverings. Once again, I'm very pleased with Diane- the scarves are nice and way better quality than bandanas. And the timing was perfect! Hottest days of summer are still ahead, and I have just learned to fold kerchiefs into little caps.
      I haven't still got to wear my new hairsticks. Yesterday was a long and busy day so I chose to play safe and wore an instant bun clip all day. Today it has been a hot day again, and so I wore one of my new scarves folded into a cap.
      I saw my mother today, and once again we talked about hair. A friend had told her that she should get some curls (a perm). I pointed her a few ladies with poodle perms and that was quite enough to scare her out of the idea of getting her hair double processed. I guess I can  consider that as the good deed of the day. ;D

Hair: Rinsed after exercise, and will go to sauna later in the evening. In spite the continuing hot weather, my hair feels good and moisturized- my protectiveness and gentle care is paying off! :D

Health: Had a good, effective exercise at the gym today. I've made great progress with weights! Part of is it because beneath all my fat I have an athletic body that builds muscle quickly, but part of is it just because I push myself to my limits every time. It seems that I just can't exercise leisurely! ;D

Hair: I did a Snowy's deep moisture treatment last night and it gave me a wonderfully soft hair. It seems that I've had a growth spurt. I wore my hair down for a while yesterday, and suddenly realized that I felt it tickle BELOW my bra strap. Of course, I needed to measure it, and it seems that in just a couple of weeks it has grown whopping 2 cm/0.8 in!!! :D My hair is now 66 cm/26 in long! Yay! If I manage to keep it in good condition through hot and sunny season and can get away with minimal trimming, nothing can stop me from reaching waist length next year.
   The weather remains hot, and my styles have been limited to buns worn under a headwrap or a scarf and ponytails that I wear when my hair is drying (it seems that I get to rinse it almost daily now).

Still no Ficcares for me! *wail* Or for any other international participants for that matter. They MUST arrive this week!

Weather is still hot and I'm still wearing nothing but buns under scarf caps or headwraps. Especially the kerchiefs I got from Christian Coverings have been wonderful to wear. The other items I got from there have been great too and I've used them every day since they arrived. :)
 
House: I've been done some studying of my future home city (technically, the place where we're moving is part of a city, though in reality it's a small village in countryside). It appears to be a lot nicer place than the one where I'm living now- public services seem good, and because the city has a little bigger population there are more culture services and activities available at close distance. Even the climate seems to be great (in Finnish scale of course  ;) ), and it should be perhaps most favorable area for gardening in continental Finland (and who counts the archipelago of Ahvenanmaa -one can't even move in there unless she passes Swedish exams  :P ). The deal will be closed on next Monday- so in theory something can still go wrong and we remain a little scared for this week. At least the house doesn't show up any longer on real estate search services in internet.

Ficcares: Still no Ficcares, but at least one Londoner has received hers. Makes me hopeful of getting mine soon!

Hair:
Heat wave isn't going anywhere, so there isn't much news. I have to take showers often, and I have rinsed my hair with plain water every time. I still haven't got a chance to wear my new hairtoys- but I'm not willing to give up the extra comfort my scarves and caps provide in hot sunshine...or to give up enjoying the sun.  After all, sooner or later there must be a rainy day or two...

I read my old hair journal a little, and was surprised (and a little bummed) to notice that since the last November, I have gained only 0.4 in. Sure, there have been two big trims in December and March but still! It's especially annoying because the goal of those trims was to get rid of my thin ends...and that plan worked quite well until I had that crazy shedding phase. ::) Now my ends are as thin as ever again...maybe my hair is just that way. So yeah, from now on, I'm going to just forget about trying to get thicker ends and try to grow to waist length (31.5 in/80 cm, 14 cm to go) as fast as possible. Then I might try working with the ends again by maintaining there for a while and doing microtrims. Neverthless, I don't except my net growth for this year to be very good...but, at least there will be growth.  :)
   

Picture time!

First: Kitchen coverings in action

I've been meaning to have T take pictures of these since they arrived...but here they finally are.

http://img371.imageshack.us/img371/3013/shortveil6hh.jpg

This is called "short veil". It is easy to put on, but somehow I don't like it that much. I also have this veil in white for baking. It's a bad idea to play with flour when wearing a dark headcover...

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http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/1092/blackcap12wo.jpg

My favorite kitchen covering! A pleated "Daisy" covering from prayercoverings.com.  Super comfortable, covers well, and I think it's cute too. The fit depends greatly on how the bun is placed; in these pictures I'm wearing my bun quite high. I have also one in white, and that's what I use most often when baking.

Summer Elegance...or not

Here are some examples of the things I wear for sun protection.

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The cloth snood I got from Alicia as a gift. Really comfortable and easy to wear- I like this one much better than crocheted snoods.

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Deluxe Kerchief Scarf from Headcovers.com, in cute violet floral print. This resembles more a cap than a scarf, is lined and great to wear in hot weather.

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This is one of the kerchiefs I got from Christian coverings. I have folded and pinned it into a cap. Doesn't cover quite as effectively as above scarf, but is still great to wear on hot summer days. This "cap" can be made of ordinary bandanas too, and when pinned properly, it lasts all day.

Finishing the show with a couple of pictures of some of my new hairtoys.

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A treasure from local store: instant bun clip. Can't praise them enough!

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One of the scrunchies I got from ebuni.com. Makes even my thinned ponytail look nice.

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Finally, a knot bun with LL Negative Spiral Spiralstix. I finally got to wear them, just for having this picture taken. ;D The beads are amazing.

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Great pictures!

Yay pictures!!!  Your hair looks so gorgeous!  I know you mentioned thin ends, I didn't see them in your very pretty pony tail with the lovely scrunchy.

Thanks for sharing!!  ;D  ;D

That ponytail picture is a flattering one. :) Spring shedding thinned my hair overall, so the ends aren't very obvious if my hair isn't down. I'm hoping that my growth spurt means that I'm getting new hairs too. (Of course, I'm still going to get some Sweet Success oil and find MSM somewhere ;D ).

Today...well, it's still hot, hot and humid like in a jungle- I bet the monkeys we saw on Sunday in Amazonia House of Helsinki Zoo are happy outdoors today. People are a different matter  :P. Weather forecast says that there will be thunder soon- maybe that will bring a little relief.
I headed to my Nordic walk early, right when I got up in hopes that the temperature wouldn't be too much so early. When I got back, I was soaked in sweat and owner of four more blisters in my feet. Ouch. I get blisters easily during summer, but this is starting to get annoying- on this weather even switching between several pairs of old, comfortable sandals/sneakers doesn't help. It seems that during the next few days, I need to consider carefully where I'm going to walk.  :-/ Today was also the first time I didn't encounter any other Nordic walkers, or even joggers on my route. Suppose they were smarter than I was and went swimming.  ::)
  I washed my hair when I came back, just the usual wash with Summer Sunshine shampoo + ACV rinse. While my hair was still a little damp, I put it up and into a pinned "scarf cap". I'm still not getting much style variation... :P But right now, comfort is more important and I try to remember that this summer I'm equipped better than ever. :)

I pm'ed BB yesterday about adding my hairstick collection to the new Collections board. Since my collection has somehow grown to quite big, I left it up to Admin team to consider how many pictures post. When I checked the collection board today...wow! 47 pairs were posted! :D :D :D  I'm so happy to be able to share my treasures with everyone. Thank you, mod/Admin team! :-*

Weather has cooled down a bit and we've even had a few rain showers yesterday and today. Which means that I've been much more comfortable (except for my feet- they got worse when I wore shoes to Helsinki yesterday...but I can only blame my own stupidity for that). I've been playing with my hairsticks. I missed them! Right now I'm wearing Twisted Springtime pair that matches perfectly with my new summer skirt.

House: Our current home has now been sold, to T's father. The deal on the new house is done on Monday, so we'll be "homeless" over the Midsummer weekend. Eep! We have decided to start packing right when the deal is done hoping that it will spare us a little during the actual moving week.
   It also seems that I will lose my internet connection for a while (could be as long as a month!). I still have internet access from my workroom, but I doubt I'll visit there more than a couple of times a week.

Still waiting for Ficcares...

Yes, your collection is quite impressive.  Congratulations.  

And congrats on the new house.  Being "homeless" - oh my!  At least you know it won't be for too long.  And better your situation than one hubby and I were in many years ago - owning TWO homes (and paying mortgages).  We had moved from Iowa to Minnesota and were unable to sell our house.  After 3 years, it FINALLY sold - on contract with us holding the contract.  So for another 5 years we still had 2 mortgages, but at least we had income to cover one.

Being without internet  :o.  Oh my!  We will miss your daily musings.  Be sure to keep us upto date when you can.

I agree- the whole process of buying a house has gone very smoothly. T's father is one who deserves a big thanks for it, as he made selling this house so easy for us. When the deal is done (tomorrow!), I will start also looking to the internet issue. But, even in the worst case I will be able to check here occassionally- there's no threat of becoming completely cut off this place. :)

Life: We've been celebrating Midsummer peacefully at home: on Midsummer Eve we were barbecuing with friends, and in generally we've tried to relax to our best ability- if tomorrow goes as planned, it will be a long while until the next opportunity!

Hair: On Saturday, we went to sauna as usually, and I did Snowy's Deep Moisture treatment. It's impossible to do too many of those! This morning I went exercising and rinsed my hair afterwards. I'm starting to think that extra rinsing makes it look and feel cleaner for a little longer. I still have no idea of what to do with all this rinsing when fall comes...
Weather -the thing that has the biggest affect on how I decide to wear my hair for the day- has been nice, and I've worn buns with pretty hairsticks to my heart's content. Right now I'm wearing Gilded Denim Majestix pair.
   I still haven't made up my mind on what hairtoys to wear to a wedding we're attending on July 15th. Everything else is in order: gift, my dress, shoes etc. It will be a long day, so I'm probably going to wear just a nice low bun. But will it be with hairsticks or a Ficcares, that's the question...

Quote:

It's impossible to do too many of those!

I agree!  ;D  Thanx for sharing the recipe. Snowy's Treatments are the only ones I do these days.

If it's a daytime wedding, Ficcares. If it's an evening wedding, hairsticks.  ;)

wrote on Jun 25^th, 2006 at 5:33pm:

I've worn buns with pretty hairsticks to my heart's content.

Reading that really makes me smile.  I'm glad you're enjoying your hair and accoutrements.  ;)

Hmm, the wedding begins at early afternoon and lasts until about midnight. It must then mean that I need to wear both a Ficcare and a pair of hairsticks! ;D One of the nicest things about long hair is that there are so many variations and so many hairtoys to wear- it's never boring or really ugly.

Life:  :D :D :DWOOHOO!THE HOUSE IS OURS!!! :D :D :D

Deal is sealed, and now there's just the physical work left to do!

Hair: Rinsed after this morning's exercise. Now it looks and feels good, in a bun with Butterfly Meadow hairsticks that fit the day's joyous moods. My decision to postpone the trim stays still, though I doubt that I will be able to pay much attention to my hair during the moving period. When the dust has settled (some time in August, in case we won't be completely overwhelmed by harvest activities), I'll consider a mini trim.

Still no Ficcares- many people in Europe have already received theirs, and it seems that I'm one of the last to get their clips. I know they will be totally worth the wait (even more so since this GO got a very generous discount)...but I'm certainly getting impatient. I'm glad I have all this other stuff going on in my life- otherwise I'd stalk the postman all day. :P

Woohoo! Congrats on the house, Galadriel!

An all day wedding, eh? hehe I'd probably just go with the hairsticks. Or whatever matched my outfit best.
   The last wedding I attended was a similar deal. It started around 2 pm and went until about 9 pm. I just twisted my hair up & pinned it in back with bobby pins, letting the ends fall loose & do whatever they wanted. I had about 2 seconds to "do" my hair, so that worked. Hopefully yours will look better.  ;)

Yay!!  Congratulations, G!!!

Congratulations on getting the house, yay!!   :D

Welcome to the world of home ownership!  :D

Congratulations on getting the house, Galadriel!! :D

Thank you, everyone! :)

Today has been a rainy day, so I've spent it at home reading. Since I switched my research subject, I've got a huge amount of reading to do before I can even begin any writing work with my Doctor's Thesis. Luckily, most of it can be done at home!

Hair: While shopping for more XZ deep conditioner, I noticed oil treatment of the same brand. The ingredients list looked promising so I bought it- I'm planning to test it this weekend. I'm going to pamper my hair while I still can- somehow I see a season of "benign neglect" looming in near future. ;)
I've also now ordered some Sweet Success oil from Moonchaser. I hope it will arrive before we move.
   This morning I had some nice braid waves, and so I started the day with a low ponytail. When I started to cook, I switched it to a bun with Amish pins. A minimalist day.

hee hee.. yes, when you move, hair seems to be the last thing on your mind..  :-X

That's okay!  This may give you the chance to deep condition!  Just oil up your hair and throw it in a bun for the couple of days you're moving, and cover your hair with a neckerchief.... Tada!  Moving day hair...  ;)

Congrats on the new house!

Ooh, your idea of "moving day hair" sounds absolutely great, novusfemina! I think I'll try that- I had planned on wearing a scarf bun or a scarf cap for hardest working days anyway, so it would indeed be the perfect time for some oiling!

Still no Ficcares here- they're making their way to Europe, but slooooowly! New Mexico USPS mail is just as bad as Birdie warned.
I'm still obsessing about my thin ends. My hair has grown visibly during June, so I'm hoping that part of my thin ends misery is just some hairs growing faster than others. I'm still determined to resist scissors this time though- thin ends or no thin ends, I want to make it to the waist ASAP! My ends are very healthy and the hemline is neat, so I'm going to just rant about my ends here in my journal  :P in hopes that a little verbal venting will keep me strong in my resolution to stay away from scissors.

Yesterday was my washing day, but since we went clubbing in the evening (there's a blues festival in the town for this week), I had to wash it this morning again.
I saw two ladies with gorgeous long hair at the club- both had their hair around hip length. I wore my hair down, and was happy to notice that on my long hair journey I've already made it to the land of "unusually long hair" ;D . From here, it's just a couple of years of growing until I can join the "freakishly long hair" club.
   Even after washing and air drying, my hair some cigarette smell left in it, so I spritzed it with rose water. Now it is in a bun decorated with Rare Butterfly GemStix, and I'm hoping that its smell will improve towards the evening. On days like today, I hope that the new smoking legislation that Parliament is working on will end up prohibiting smoking in restaurants altogether. :-X

wrote on Jun 29^th, 2006 at 9:07am:

:P in hopes that a little verbal venting will keep me strong in my resolution to stay away from scissors.

Scissors?  What scissors?  *hides them*  I think they got lost in the move...  ;)

;D LOL!

Bad news: No Ficcares for me this week :( .

It seems that my hair is at least a little damp all the time, due to frequent showers and my new habit of rinsing. It's ok though: hot weather is coming back, and damp buns cool nicely. Time for scarf styles again.

Health: With all this moving stuff going on, I haven't been able to focuse to dieting as well as I should have in order to lose weight. BUT, though I weigh the same, I'm happy to announce that I have lost 2cm/0.8 in from my waist during the summer. I have also gained lots of muscle everywhere, and it shows!  :D I'm so glad that I've stuck to my exercise plan and haven't given up everything just because I haven't managed to eat just right.
   I came to the conclusion that if I am to lose any weight during this summer, the best opportunity would be the moving time. I'm almost positive that if I only could eat sensibly (=stay away from pizza, cider, sodas and other traditional "moving day food"), the increased physical activity would be enough to result in a nice, small weight loss. I told T of my plan and he was very supportive. I hope it will work? (But even if it won't, I'm not going to be upset as I have made good, measurable progress already- just not on scale.)

We've started to pack and get ready to move. I hope to be able to post and update this journal as often as I've used to, but I don't know how realistic this will be.  :)
But in any case, it seems certain that I will be able to visit here every now and then through the moving process- so no worries.

Washed hair last night. I didn't have time to do a full XZ oil treatment, so I resorted to my old remedy: a quick application of XZ deep conditioner. I seriously think that this brand should be availabe in US too so you guys could try it out... :) I also did s&d mission- finally there were some baby splits. Nothing bad though. I wonder, if the sudden appearance of the splits had something to do with the fact that this week I've worn my hair down twice. Not whole day, but for several hours at a time. Could that be enough to cause damage? Even if the answer is yes, I'm going to continue to wear my hair down every now and then. I want to enjoy my hair, and for years I haven't liked how it looks down. That has finally changed, and a couple of splits are a small price for the fun that wearing hair down in selected occassions now brings me.
  My CV soap shelf is emptying quickly of my favorites. In a way, it's a good thing since every piece of soap means less stuff that I need to pack and unpack. I'm going to place a new soap order only after moving. In fact, we came to the conclusion that before we have announced the new address to post office, it's probably not wise to order anything internationally. No hairsticks, no furniture...I've become so accustomed to doing a great deal of my shopping via internet that even the idea of the month or more of no parcels at all feels already strange.
    Weather has become hotter again, though not as bad as the last heat wave (yet!). I haven't been much outdoors during the past couple of days though, so it hasn't bothered me too much. The hottest month of the year has just begun though, so we'll see how everything goes.

Heat is back.

I hope it won't be this hot when we move (though there is a good chance that it will be...) Even sitting indoors, reading and thinking makes me sweat, and the thought of having to haul furniture and boxes full of books is just scary.
  Choosing a hairstyle poses no difficulty at all: a bun under the scarf cap beats all other options 6-0.

One less thing to worry about,eh Galadriel? :)

lol, I suppose you're right.

The hot weather combined to my new habit of rinsing my hair often has had a strange side effect: suddenly I'm toying with the idea of WO (water only). I'm practically wearing some sort of cap or a scarf all the time anyway so it doesn't matter much whether my hair looks clean or greasy, I am rinsing my hair with water what feels like all the time too...so my hair habits are quite "WO friendly" at the moment.

OTOH, I am not ready to go completely WO, and some things in WO regimen (all that brushing, combing, scritching and massaging) seems like much more trouble compared to my current routine.
But neverthless, I feel that now would be a good time to do some experimenting. I am not unhappy with my current washing routine, but neverthless it would be interesting to see if I could get away with little less (it would be GREAT to be able to wash my hair just once a week, for example). I have noticed that after I started rinsing my hair, it seems to take a little longer for it to become really dirty. I have a "scheduled" wash this evening, and my hair is just slightly dirty. Maybe if I just rinse it and comb really well this evening...hmm...

Started my experiment yesterday. My goal is to see, how long I can stay away from shampooing, and to see how my hair will respond to my attempts to clean it by plain water rinses.

Instead of washing with my usual shampoo bar+ ACV rinse routine, I just rinsed my hair well with water last night: first with warm water, then I rubbed my scalp (the way I do when I shampoo it), then followed it with cooler rinse. Result: my hair turned out very clean looking and feeling, and also scalp felt clean.
  Today, I started the morning with a sweaty exercise, and when I came back home I rinsed my hair like last night. This time I noticed, that when I handled damp hair, my hands felt "waxy". Not greasy, waxy. The feeling disappeared as my hair dried though.
Hair now: No smells, gunk or anything else I associate with dirty hair. Scalp feels clean. Hair itself looks so clean that I could wear it down if I wanted. Very shiny and soft. I added a drop of jojoba to ponytail part, but that's it.  Definitely not a normal 5th day hair! It does behave differently from freshly shampooed hair though: my hair is now more tame and manageable than on a post-shampooing day. All in all, I have a positive feeling of this so far, and my hair seems very nice.

My current plan is not to wash my hair before Saturday- that would make the washing interval one week, which is a record. Besides, if something unexpected happens, my hair should make it until then easily.
If my hair still looks ok on Saturday, I won't wash it even then though- I'll follow the development one day at a time and will see how long I can survive without shampooing. In future, I hope to be able to modify my washing routine to such that I would have to shampoo just once a week or even more seldom, and I could use plain water rinses the rest of the time.

Today is a warm in a nice way- day. It's cloudy, so I'm wearing my hair in a bun with hairsticks (Twisted Springtime that goes so well with my green summer skirt and has lovely twisted ribbon beads). This is nice because every time I see a mirror I need to check my hair and that it really doesn't look greasy at all. ;D
 

Quote:

I would have to shampoo just once a week

That's my dream, too, so I will anxiously await your findings!   :)

Day 6 of Shampoo Strike

Morning: I noticed faint sebum smell while combing- but that was quickly taken care of by a little rose water spritzed to scalp area. Hair also looked a tad more dirty than last night. I shed a bit more than on an "average" day- however, still in normal limits though.
It's a really hot day today. As my exercise, I took only a shortish walk, but was pouring sweat when I came home. So, quick scalp massage and rinsed my hair again along with normal showerly duties. Now my hair felt clearly greasy when wetted, but nothing of shows. It's now completely dry and looks to me maybe 2nd day hair.  :D The sebum-y smell is gone- my hair smells fresh and clean just like a rabbit's fur.
  Thoughts at this point:
-Rinsing hair in between shampooing days definitely helps the hair to stay clean-looking longer. Granted, it's the hottest time of the year now and I'm rinsing my hair all the time (no extra trouble though- I'd need those showers for my body anyway), but I still believe that for me, rinsing between shampoo washes will be a part of my routine in future. Even in normal conditions I haven't been able to go this long without washing (I think it happened once and my hair was really dirty), but now that I rinse, there seems to be no problems whatsoever.
-I'm very positively surprised to how my hair looks and feels at this point. It's very nice and shiny.
-So far what I'm doing has already kept the amount of scalp gunk and sebum smell at minimal levels. It seems that plain water is enough to take care of most of them.

I'll probably go dip myself in Lake Tuusula later today. Soft Finnish lake water is supposed to be great for hair, so I expect no problems.

Strike Day 7

Another very hot day- I've been busy, took a shower in the morning and went to beach in the evening so I don't have any good idea what my hair is like when it's dry. So I'm going to continue my strike.
Sauna is warming now, and I'm going to just rinse my hair (2nd time today+ swimming).

I still haven't figured out the best way to wear my hair at the beach. Yesterday I wore a Dutch braid and it was a mess. Today I tried octopus clip, but the result wasn't any better. We're probably going to beach again tomorrow...maybe I'll figure out something new.

Just a regular ol' braid works best for me at the beach. I wouldn't want to try unbraiding the hair on top of my hair while it's wet.

Is your hair all one length? Mine is, and I can pull a regular braid through huge waves all day without a problem.  ;)

You could also try a swim cap. I have no experience with those, but I know they're recommended for us long-haired folk.

Strike Day 8

Angel Spun: I noticed that braids were quite popular among the longhaired beach folk. However, I suspect that I better forget them: when I tried the French braid, it was ruined all over, not just the the French part. It's incredible what a mess my Scandinavian hair can create when it wants to! Swim cap would be an option, however, since our beach is by a lake, and lake water is good for hair, I wouldn't want to resort to it. My today's plan is to wear a segmented ponytail and bobby pins to keep my side hairs in some semblance of order.

Today, my hair is greasy- my hands felt greasy/waxy (very weird, that is) after morning combing. I suppose that lots of rinsing and all the combing have helped though: my hair feels greasy evenly, which indicates that I have managed to spread the sebum all over the hair well. At least it isn't sitting at my roots- by now I have read enough about how especially awful dirty blonde hair is. My hair is covered with sebum, but it's not awful. Not super clean looking, but definitely not awful.  :) It feels strange, but still looks perfectly ok.
 I also shed a ton. Not worried about it though- I suppose it's normal to shed more than usual when one starts WO- I just hope it will even out.

So, I've passed the 7 day mark and from now on, my experiment is continuing until I decide I can't stand my hair any longer. :) I have no idea of how long that will be- I think that living without washing my hair for 7 days is already good. Today is another very hot day, and besides going to the beach again I expect to find myself from shower at least once.

Strike Day 9

Things are pretty much the same. My hair feels very greasy (now I feel I need to wash my hands after handling it), but it looks totally ok. It's now difficut to detangle while wet. Scalp is still happy and feels clean. I still shed a respectable amount, but definitely less than on past 2 days. :)
  Today there's thunder in the air- though the temp isn't quite as high as yesterday, I'm sweating even more (if that is possible...  :P). I've already rinsed my hair today, and am hoping that I won't need another rinse later today. But that remains to be seen.

Since it's cloudy, my style of the day doesn't involve caps or scarves- I found a pretty rose pink claw clip from my collection and am wearing that.  

Still no urge to wash, so hairwashing strike will continue! :)

Go, Galadriel, go!   :)

Go girl go!  The regular rinsing sounds like it is working!  Congrats!

Thanks for encouragement, ladies!

Strike Day 10

I see improvement! :D Shedding rate is down to slightly below normal now. My hair feels still waxy, but less than yesterday. There is a greasy spot at my crown, otherwise my hair looks good enough to wear down. Scalp is still feeling clean. So I'm doing pretty well- and my motivation to continue this "strike" is strong. I'm curious to see how things will develop. Weather is still very hot, and I have already done today's rinse. I'm wearing a scarf cap made of a dark blue bandana- I remember reading somewhere that dark colours protect better from sunlight.
  Forgot to mention, that I've found a solution to my beach hair problem. A segmented ponytail + bobby pins holding wispies worked well at the beach on Sunday.
 

Excuse me for asking a potentially silly question, but: What's a segemented ponytail?

Congrats on your hairwashing strike!  Those are very interesting observations.  I also noticed that I have a waxy phase after several days.  I didn't know if that was normal since people usually describe that they get oily or greasy.  So good to know!  :)

Strike Day 11

novusfemina: A segmented ponytail is made by first making a regular ponytail, and then placing additional ties to the tail part 3-4 in apart. Keeps hair in control and looks quite nice. ATM, I need 3 ties for my ponytail.

khrome: Based on what I've read from LHC' WO thread it seems that experiencing waxy hair at some point is quite common.  :)

Well, today it's not so good day. I shed more than yesterday, though within normal limits. Many people who go WO experience radical decrease in shedding- for me that hasn't happened at least yet. But, the adjustment period to WO is also supposed to be fairly long- well over a month. I have no idea whether I last that long. One day at a time. If I don't manage the adjustment, I am happy to start working on changing my washing routine to shampooing once a week plus one or two rinses in between.
I noticed grey gunk in my wooden comb and had to clean it  :-X . I have never cleaned that comb before, so probably all the gunk isn't from this experiment...but I'm pretty sure that a good part is.
  Hair is still somewhat waxy and the greasy spot at my crown hasn't gone anywhere- all in all it's clearly worse than yesterday. In a bun, it looks ok though- and when I wear my headwrap it's even better. ;D It's funny how quickly things change.
   Positive side effect of experiment: first time ever, I'm able to make neat braids and have them last over 5 minutes. :D

Strike Day 12

I opened my night braid only to discover, that the most waxy part of my hair is now bulk of my length. The ends are fine, the scalp is fine, but oh what a mess the hair in between is! I shed quite a lot while detangling the mess.
  Today I went to Helsinki. I had a good thinking & writing session at my workroom. I also did some shopping in summer sales. I found a blue stole to wear with my blue dress on Saturday, and an extra beautiful (is that a word? ;) ) instant bun clip from Accessorize. It is black and decorated with little painted flowers- very cute!
 When I came home, I noticed that my Sweet Success oil from Moonchaser had arrived. However, I was so sweaty that I had to hurry in a shower and I didn't have time to try the oil right away. Maybe I'll massage a couple of drops to my scalp later in the evening. I hope it will help to reduce shedding- at least it has a nice fresh, herbal smell that is muchly welcome during this experiment!

Do  you have the address for Moonchaser for the oil?  I used www.moonchaser.com and I don't think that's it!!  

Strike Day 13 Good news, but why?

Curlgirl64: I think you can obtain SS hair oil from Ebay. Just try typing Sweet Success Hair Oil to search box. Her username there is Moonchiald.
  I got my oil via Longhair Community where she is a member. I just pm'd her and all went smoothly from there.  :)

I've been almost two weeks without shampoo now  :o ;D. Amazing that I'm still doing this. The wedding is tomorrow, and yes- I'm going there with my hair in whatever condition it chooses to be in tomorrow. If I shampooed it now, I would get just a slippery mess (aka. 1st day hair) that would be impossible to put into a neat updo that would last all day. T was quite shocked when he learned of my plans. "You HAVE to wash your hair, it's a WEDDING we're attending." he said. "Does it look dirty?" I asked. "Umm...just a bit." he said in a lot more hesitant voice (which means that my hair looks very good to him- his mind is so wrapped around the idea that if I haven't shampooed for a while, my hair MUST be a dirty grease pit, and because of that it MUST look dirty whether or not he actually sees it). ;D So that about settled it, especially when I reminded him of the fact that my hair is not really that dirty- I've rinsed it at least once every day, combed regularly etc.
   I really shed a chinchilla yesterday- it was just awful. After my hair had dried, I did a scalp massage using a few drops of SS oil. I also applied a couple of drops to my length, hoping that it would help in detangling.
  Well, so far today I've shed just a couple of hairs- really, less than on ANY day ever. Also detangling was a breeze. I'm not saying that it's all because of the oil- at least part of the decrease in shedding is probably because I shed this days' share in advance. I suppose that next days will help me to discern how much praise SS oil deserves. I have decided to use a tiny amount of it every day for a while.
    I'm having a very good hair day today. My hair is nice and cooperative. Not totally clean-looking, but not very dirty-looking either. Hair still feels a bit greasier than normal- not much though, even there I feel some improvement. I rinsed my hair after exercise, and when it was almost dry, I applied SS oil and did the 3 minute scalp massage, and then oiled my ponytail (I reason that oil to scalp is ok, oil to length is ok, oil to root are of hair is to be avoided). Now I smell faintly of herbs and am happy. The weather today is quite pleasant (not terribly hot, and cloudy that is), so I'm able to wear pretty hairsticks.

Still no urge to wash, so experiment continues! I haven't decided whether I'll wear a simple knot bun or something a little more complicated to the wedding tomorrow, but because of this experiment, my hairstick buns are very stable at the moment. Now, I just need to be able to choose one pair out of a few excellent candidates. :D

Thank you! ;D  Enjoy the wedding!

Strike Day 15

The wedding was very nice. Traditional, but definitely nice. I put my hair into a knot bun with Zircon d'Or hairsticks. I've never worn that pair in public before- but it was worth the wait. Late in the evening (when my style wasn't in top shape any longer  ;) ) T added a flower to my hairstyle and took a picture:
http://img71.imageshack.us/img71/3593/haavierasfz2.jpg
For a hair that hasn't seen shampoo in 14 days the whispie population is still quite perky.

Anyway, both yesterday and today my hair has been quite greasy. The waxiness is totally gone. There has been some grey gunk in my comb but not much  :-X. I wonder if that was what caused the waxy feeling...
Shedding was low yesterday, today it's back to normal. Because of the wedding, I didn't do anything besides styling to my hair yesterday. Today I've massaged a few drops of SS oil into my scalp, and will rinse it later when I go to the sauna. In spite of the greasies, I feel my hair is doing pretty ok, and so I'm going to continue this experiment. I'm beginning to think that I just may be able to go through the WO adjusting period (~6 weeks). Maybe.

Great Googly Moogly!!!   :o  :o

Your hair doesn't look greasy at all, Galadriel!

I'm now totally envious...  ;)

You hair looks fantasic!  Those sticks are perfect for you.  

Wow, that is freakin' amazing!  

Thanks, both!

Moving: We arranged the internet connection stuff today. I will be without a home internet connection for approx. 3 weeks, starting from next Monday. I'm not sure how often I will visit my workroom during that time. But I hope to be able to check in at least weekly. So I won't be completely out of touch...just mostly. :(

Strike day 16

Yep, still hanging in here. Hair feels (and looks!) suddenly less greasy. I've rinsed and done the scalp massage thing with SS oil, and that's about it. I don't know how much SS oil has affected to my shedding- bad me, for doing two experiments at once! But I can tell that it's a great product, it absorbs well and I like its fresh, herbal scent. So I consider it a good buy.      

Three weeks?  :-/  What are we going to do without you?

:( keep in touch when you can!  We'll miss you,but know you'll be back lickity split!

We will miss you!  Stay in touch when you can.  I wait anxiously the final results of your water washing only.

Your hair looks fabulous!  

That comment you made about shedding a chinchilla really made me laugh!

Happy moving!

You're all too sweet! :D

Moving: We're BUSY now. It turned out that we'll be able to move already on Sunday -which means that T's father and brother can help us with moving stuff, which means that we really move (mostly, at least) on Sunday. It also turned out that T's grandmather celebrates her 85th birthday on Saturday, and we've been invited to the party- which will be in central Finland, so that's where Saturday goes and we're left with just Thursday and Friday for packing. To top it all, T said that he's not feeling well. I have my period starting, and a huge load of work to do (though I've given up all hope of being able to work until I've survived the moving and set up my new workroom). So, everything seems to be a huge mess right now, and my goal is just to survive it.

Strike Day 18

Hair is "steadily greasy"- I haven't noticed any big changes during yesterday/today. Which is good- as the days pass by my hair could well become worse day by day. At least that isn't happening, and I'm happy. Not that I have had time to make much observations- just to do what's absolutely necessary. Yesterday I was so busy I didn't even have time to rinse, comb or scalp massage properly. Today I'm planning to do better though.
  Weather has been nice this week- the little gardener in me misses rain though. But the temps are pleasant and I've been able to wear buns with pretty hairsticks (MT's Lemony Snickets pair today). Small joys count! ;D

Moving: We're making good progress with packing and making arrangements. Today we managed to pack all our books- an accomplishment that gives some hope!  :)We knew we had a huge amount of books, but the amount of boxes needed for all of them surprised us anyway. But we made it!
  Scary news is, that power company told T that transferring our contract to new house can take up to 14 days. That's a week and a half without electricity in worst case! :o I really hope that they will be faster than that! Summer nights aren't dark, and we do have a cool cellar and a wood cookstove but neverthless...  :o

Strike Day 19

Hair is still pretty much the same- greasy, but perfectly tolerable. Definitely not even near of my idea of "hair unwashed for three weeks". I ended up shedding a lot yesterday, but as usually, today I shed very little. Haven't done anything to my hair today except combed it in the morning & put it up with an instant bun clip. I hope to have more time tomorrow and to be able to rinse it then.

Moving: Tomorrow is the big day, so this is my last "regular" update for near future. We have been busy packing, and right now I feel good and confident about that we'll be able to move most of our belongings during tomorrow and after that we'll just need to clean this place up- which isn't a big deal after the place has been emptied. And then there is of course of furnishing the new place. Since it's so much bigger than this, we'll have to buy a lot of new furniture- but that's just fun, especially since T is a dream friend for furniture shopping. I'll try to remember to take some pictures when we are settled a bit.
 
Hair/ Strike Day 21

Hair is greasy, but for the next couple of days it won't matter much, so I'm planning to continue the WO experiment during moving time. :) The water in the area where we are going to move is a bit harder than in Järvenpää -it's soft, bordering medium hard while here it was very soft. I wonder how that will affect.

I'm going to miss this place and all the wonderful people here. *waves*

We'll miss you in your absence, Galadriel.

Be sure to take good care of yourself, your stuff and your hair. We'll all look forward to hearing from you again when things are settled.  :)

Hope the move goes smoothly.  We will all anxiously wait for your next update.

A quick update!

Our internet has just been connected- the internet company was way quicker than it promised to be (and was the last time...) :D. We've spent the last week mostly carrying, cleaning, shopping furniture and assembling it, and so far this week has been pretty much the same. The amount of stuff that needs to be handled (not to mention assembled  :o) is just unbelieveable. I now look my last update with a sort of sad amusement- little did I know how hard would this be! Neverthless, we are making steady progress and hopefully soon we will able to relax a little- an hour or so would be nice. ;) Slowly, this place is becoming a pretty and cozy home.

Hair: Still on WO, though I am probably going to end the experiment soon. Besides spending every minute in hauling and assembling heavy things, we had trouble with our heater for the whole last week, and so all I was able to do was a couple of quick rinses. Now the heater works, but I'm still busy. Hair is greasy, but as it's been under scarf cap all the time, it hasn't mattered much. On a positive note, I noticed today some growth. My hair is now definitely past BS- barely, but still past it. :)

G, glad to hear from you!  I know you'll enjoy your new home and new stuff very soon.  Hang in there!!!

I hope you'll share some pics of your new house...when you get a chance, of course.  ;D

Grats on your new home AND your new hair growth!  New beginnings is always a fun time.

I hope to be able to take a few pictures in coming weeks.

Our garden

Our garden is an old-fashioned Finnish garden, established at a time when Finland was a poor agrarian country and people needed large gardens for cultivating as much of their own food as possible. Times have changed, Finland has become one of the richest countries in the world, and also gardens have changed. Nowadays most people have much smaller gardens where they grow mostly flowers and small, decorative shrubs. In public, large gardens are portrayed in a rather negative light- it's always remarked that they require too much work and are in every way unsuitable for a modern lifestyle.
    But our garden cares little for fashions of outside world. Over 10 apple trees and almost as many plum trees and a couple of cherries provide pleasant shade, and lawn is dotted with lush shrubs: red, white and black currants, European gooseberries, blueberries and some raspberries. Vegetable patch features flowering dill and potatoes waiting for reap, and tiny pretty violets flower in between. Now that reap season draws near, one can see ripening fruits and berries everywhere, and a mild, pleasant scent fills the air. The atmosphere is a charming mixture of tranquility and peace of an old place and joyfulness- once again, the garden will fill the cellar of its keepers.
    Besides learning the secrets of canning, juicemaking and preserving, we have been busy planning the future of our garden. We have decided to tend it gently and to preserve its style and spirit. Due to bad health and old age of previous owners, the garden has been receiving only minimal care for the past few years. We wish to establish a few new flower beds (mostly to place the ones that haven't survived years of neglect), as well as to add some variety by introducing two new pear trees and experimenting with some less hardy plants like peach and sweet almond- you never know, they might survive after all! But even in future, I can see our garden still being easily recognized as a remnant from the past.

Garden Today: The effects of the worst draught in 50 years can be seen in the garden. Previous owners didn't water the garden in the beginning of the summer and now it's too late to do much. But considering the situation, our plants are producing a good amount of fruit. Only cherries and blueberries will be completely lost, but that's not a big deal.
    What I did today: -Started our compost. We bought a compost unit a couple of days ago, and today I officially started it. Along with our unit that is capable of processing also bio waste from household, we have two additional dump-style composts for garden waste.
        -Started turning the old strawberry patch. We will plant strawberries next summer to a new place. Haven't decided yet what will come of this patch, but in any case it needs to be turned first.
        -Collected apples from the ground and took them to compost. Last night was windy, and though we did "the apple round" yesterday, it needed to be done today too.
        -Picked black currants for jam experiment. I also picked and dried blackcurrant leaves- they are supposed to make a nice tea.
Wow. This looks like quite a lot of work, but it didn't feel like that much- our garden is such a pleasant place to be in. T cut down a dead plum tree. He hadn't ever held an axe before, and was excited of his accomplishment. He was a bit hesitant about getting a garden this big, but now he has fallen in love with it just like I have and enjoys working in there.

Hair: Not much news in the hair front. Rinse when in shower, otherwise bun it and forget it. I have decided to continue WO for next week- many people say that week 5 on WO is quite bad but after 6 weeks it should get better. We'll see. Right now I'm not that happy with my hair. I'm thinking of starting to wash it once a week in future, with rinses in between. I should also resume using SS hair oil- just now it just seems that I don't have that 3 minutes that a scalp massage takes.
 

Your garden sounds WONDERFUL!  The way you described it made me feel like I was there.  I'm glad the garden has found new, caring owners.  How sad if all those plants and trees had died off from neglect!  Looking forward to the pics!

Thanks, khrome! I haven't yet been able to take pictures, but I found couple we took before moving in. The draught wasn't here yet, so it looks all nice and green.


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Our well.

Health: Due to heavy physical work, we both are incredibly sore. Neverthless, I decided today that it was time for me to get back to my exercises. My home gym isn't complete yet, but there was enough equipment to construct a nice, effective exercise: a fitball, a gymstick and exercise rubberband (or whatever it's called in English). Since the crosstrainer hadn't arrived yet, I did the warmup downstairs, doing aerobic exercises with accompaniment of a Rammstein cd  Great fun and very effective! Overall, I enjoyed also the rest of the exercise, and have a feeling that this might evolve to something way more fun than gym.
I'd probably be wise to schedule an extra stretching exercise or two for this week though-  my stamina and muscle fitness are ok but otherwise I'm one big cramp on two feet.

Hair: Nothing to report on that front. I still feel that unless a miracle of some kind happens, I will end the WO experiment at Saturday's sauna.
 I need to order some new stuff from Ida- unfortunately three of the soaps I had planned to order have temporarily sold out, so I must wait.
 The urge to cut I had before moving seems to have passed! Maybe it's the lack of big mirrors (before we find a nice one, there are only bathroom mirrors and my hemline falls below their edge  ;D) or maybe I've got a good dose of long hair from the Lord of the Rings movies we've been watching lately.
   It's been hot and the greasy spot at my crown is hideous, so I've still worn mainly scarf caps.

EDIT: Pictures of the house have been removed.

How nice!!!  Beautiful pics!  Best of luck and a long healthy (cramp free!) life in your new home!! ;D

Great pictures!  Your garden sounds lovely... when we lived in Iowa on a farmstead, we enjoyed having an apple and cherry orchard.  Harvesting the fruits and processing them was a lot of work, but we loved to enjoy the sauces, baked goods, etc from our own land.  I'm sure you will as well - good luck!

Hey Galadriel, does Ida have a new website address for her soaps and shampoo bars?  I had saved the original address in my favorites, but since having been without a computer for a time, then swtiching all the info. from the old computer to the new one, the web address I have doesn't work anymore..  :(

Does she have a new ip address?

Thanks, ladies!

BB, since the day we arrived we have harvested berries from our garden. Because we have so much going on right now, we aren't too hard for ourselves. We're happy of every bottle and jar we're able to preserve. So far, one of our three freezers is already almost full of berries... :D

novusfemina, I have no idea what could be the problem. ??? I use the same old link and it works:
http://chagrinvalleysoapandcraft.com/index.html

Today I went for an early Nordic walk. The temperature was still pleasant, and besides exercise I got to see many gardens of this village. After the walk, I stretched -or rather, tried to stretch. I just don't bend right now! I hope that I'll get better now that most of the carrying is done. OTOH, I suppose that my body is just going through an adjustment period- even without the extra work caused by moving, our new country life seems to be much more physically active than city life. But that's just a good thing, and after the soreness will pass, I'm certain that this new lifestyle will be good for me.
   
Hair: I had to rinse my hair twice yesterday, and today I've rinsed it once so far. For some reason, it suddenly feels much better! It also feels longer- it seems that BS marked the border between medium length (aka. blah length) and longish.
  Yesterday evening I also wore LL hairsticks (Pretty Pastels)- first time after the move. We haven't found a good combing table yet, and until we do, my hairsticks reside in a cupboard. Today is a hot day, and scarf cap is once again the style of the day. I keep dreaming of a little cooler weather and little cleaner hair that I could wear down.

I don't know what it was about the link I had, either...  ???

At any rate, thanks for providing a working link!  Now I can dream about shampoo bars...  ;D

Hey Novus, any favorites in Ida's shampoo bars?

Hair: I wouldn't talk about a miracle just yet...but my hair is definitely getting better. The greasy spot I've had at my crown area for weeks doesn't seem as greasy any longer.
 I suppose that at this point (almost 6 weeks of no shampoo) you are interested to know, does my head smell. Well, I asked T that yesterday evening. According to him, my head/hair doesn't smell anything. Which is great, because my head is in its natural, very unwashed state! I haven't used rose water, SS oil or anything on it.
Obviously I still have some way to go until I reach the state where my rabbit's in: her fur smells like a clean laundry right out of laundry line. But for now, I'm quite content.
  I'm wearing a bun with hairsticks (Prismatic Sun) today. It's a luxurious feeling after all the days when it's been necessary to wear a scarf all day long.

Health: Crosstrainer arrived yesterday, and I spent this morning assembling it. Then I did my 2nd muscle fitness exercise of the week. It went well, though I feel I need to find good dumbballs ASAP. The gymstick I use is black (for strong women and men), but for some exercises the max resistance it gives just isn't quite enough. Quite annoying, and I can't even rant to T about that- he doesn't exactly enjoy any reminders of that I am quite a bit stronger than he is. ;D
  Neverthless, I'd say that our gym equipment is really nice and effective for the most part. Already, it beats gym any time!

Garden: I read yesterday from the news that this draught that Southern Finland is experiencing at the moment is worst in a hundred years. Pretty scary, but though our grass is all burned and most plants show some signs of suffering, I'm amazed on how well we are doing.
  We have harvested over half of white and red currants, as well as some gooseberries- first of our three freezers is almost full.
Yesterday I harvested the rest of potatoes- way too early, but the stems were all dried and dead. So we got small potatoes with peels too thin for months of storaging. BUT, they taste excellent and I'm sure that we don't have problem in consuming them.

wrote on Aug 9^th, 2006 at 11:23pm:

Hey Novus, any favorites in Ida's shampoo bars?

Curlgirl, I haven't ordered one... yet.  :D  But I plan on ordering the carrot, milk & honey bar (because my hair responds really well to milk and honey) and the Egg & Beer bar, because I've heard all good things about that.

Another quick update. I don't like being this busy- I'd like to browse the boards more, but right now, I just don't have the time. I hope I haven't missed anything big. I'm thinking of all of you guys and wishing that soon I'll be able to spend more time in your company. :-*

Anyway, here's a quick look to what I've been up to lately.

Hair: Strike is over! I washed my hair on Saturday evening with Lavender Spice shampoo bar & ACV rinse. I'm glad I stuck out with WO - at least my scientific curiosity on the matter has now been satisfied. The good: Obviously, if I stop washing my hair with a product, it won't just get dirtier and dirtier. My scalp did well throughout the experiment, and my hair looked ok when bunned (as you may remember, that's my favorite style anyway). The bad: Though I started to notice some improvement during week 6, my hair didn't turn really self cleansing, and it was greasy. I couldn't have worn it down after 1st week.
What did I get out of my experiment: An idea for another experiment, of course! ;D One that I start immediately. My first week on WO was the best week, so I'm interested to find out, whether I could get away with shampooing only once a week + rinsing with plain water whenever I've sweated.
  Right now my hair looks and feels good- I love the clean feeling it has now!

Moving: We're still busy furnishing our home, and there is still a respectable amount of boxes full of stuff. But we're making a little progress each day, so I'm happy. Though things are far from finished, it already looks lovely here. Must be something about this place. ;D

Garden: Yesterday it finally rained. Not much, but I'm overjoyed of every drop. This week has started promisingly cloudy and windy, so I'm hoping that more rain is on the way.
  First summer apples are ripe. It's just two trees, so we're hoping to be able to manage them without resorting to nearby juice station.
  It appears that we have miscalculated the amount of our plum trees. We haven't made official "cencus" of the occupants of the garden yet, but it appears that the number of plum trees even exceeds that of apple trees- there must be nearly 30 of them! :o So if you know any good plum recipes, please share!

Health: I'm happy to announce that I managed to do all my 4 scheduled exercises last week. I've also done this week's first "gym" exercise this morning. I'm still enjoying my new way of exercising, and am also pretty sure that a change is good for my body too.
I still have some pains- now they seem to change place by day. Right now my plan is just to ignore them.

Quote:

What did I get out of my experiment: An idea for another experiment, of course!  One that I start immediately. My first week on WO was the best week, so I'm interested to find out, whether I could get away with shampooing only once a week + rinsing with plain water whenever I've sweated.   Right now my hair looks and feels good- I love the clean feeling it has now!

I do this when I am on my bike trip and water is of questionable quantity, volume and pressure.  I start the week with freshly washed hair, then just rinse with water the rest of the week - even after biking 70 miles in 100F heat.  I leave my hair down to dry and amazingly, it does not look dirty!  I wear my hair in a braid while biking and have a helmet on most of the day, so appearances are not all that important, but hubby has even mentioned that my hair does not look greasy even at the end of the week without washing.

I'll be watching to see how your experiences are with this method.

I was reading about your plums.  I don't know if you can get it there, but the Everyday Food Magazine (a Martha Stewart Mag) has quite a few plum recipes for  this month.  (Sept.)  Hope this is of some help.

As you can see, having a moment to sit down and write something that is not my Doctor's thesis is a true luxury in these days.

But, here's again a quick look for you to how things are going with us.

Hair: Doing well with my new washing method. It did get a bit greasy before washing day, but after WO experiment, nothing that I couldn't handle. The water here is harder than in Järvenpää. Bad luck for me, I guess, since almost whole country has very soft water that is great for hair. It's not really bad here, the hardness is soft bordering medium hard water, but I can see the difference when I use my shampoo bars. They don't lather as well as they used to, and I feel it's more difficult to get my hair clean with them. Neverthless, I've decided to just deal with these little difficulties- I'm not ready to trade all natural, nourishing ingredients to sulphates. Once a week, I can be extra careful with shampooing.
   I guess that on style department there is a bit improvement- I hope it is a sign that though I don't feel like it, our life is settling down a bit. I don't wear a scarf cap almost every day any longer- I've "graduated" to instant bun clips, claw clips and I have even worn hairsticks on a couple of days.
   Speaking of hairsticks, though my budget is tight right now, I succumbed and ordered a pair of hairsticks (Arabesque in Green) from Maiden's Treasures. I just received them and -wow! Kathy has really improved the quality of her products (though she hasn't raised her prices). The sticks are now smooth and gently shaped- absolutely lovely. The beads are gorgeous and...well, I just love the pair!

Moving: Last weekend saw some great progress on that front. We visited a local antique/old furniture store, and found a couple of great pieces. We also managed to assemble a huge cupboard- the assembling instructions were incredibly bad so it took some time to figure them out, but in the end the result was good.
    My little sewing corner is also ready now. I didn't get the modernized version of treadle sewing machine that I had drooled at Lehman's. The ordering process for such a big item just seemed too difficult to handle along with everything else. But I did get a treadle machine and a modern machine that sits nicely on top of it. The old machine is broken, but I found its manual so maybe one day I'll see if I could fix it... in any case, once I figure out how to use the new machine, I will start to sew curtains. That shouldn't be too difficult even for a novice seamstress.

Garden: It's raining, and green is returning to the garden. First plums are ripe now, and first apple pie made of apples from our garden has been baked and declared delicious. I love American style apple pies, and the only way to get one in here is to bake it. It's a rare goodie (everywhere except in our kitchen, that is).
 We have also conducted the census in the garden now. We have 52 plum trees, 26 apple trees and various berries on top of it. That's a lot, but so far we have been up to the challenge.

Health: Aches are finally going away. T is still sore, so I'm glad that I started to exercise when I did. I've settled back to my weekly exercise schedule. I still miss dumbballs and a couple of more items. I've spotted a few, but they are always too light. Maybe home exercising is an old ladies' thing- at gym, I was among the strongest women, but many men were quite a lot stronger than I was, so one would imagine that it would be profitable to offer weights in "mens" sizes...hmm...oh well, sooner or later I'll find them.
I just hope my current exercise regimen is enough to keep me from losing muscle while I hunt for gymthings in correct sizes. Certain cupboard proved during the weekend that I dearly need every ounce of muscle I've got.

I'm at the workroom, my brain said tilt...so I'll take a moment to update here. :D

Moving: There's still a few things to take care of, but I'd say that for the most part we've done it! More and more parts of life are settling down, and soon I hope I'll be even able to have some free time!
  I've been practicing with the sewing machine each day, and I'm now fairly comfortable with the it . Today we're going to look for some curtain fabrics and then I'll sew curtains as my first project. I've sewed last time when we had compulsory sewing at elementary school. I remember absolutely hating it- for some reason, I don't learn sewing stuff quickly and so trying to learn it at school was just torture. I'm doing much better this time, though. Now I can take my time, read instructions, try and retry things and just proceed slowly. So far, I'm happy with my progress and am certain that it I continue the same way, I will learn to sew well enough for my needs. :)

Hair: I've taken at least one shower every day, and have rinsed my hair with plain water every time (except on sauna day). Today it's day 6 and my hair is just slightly greasy. But it's ok in a bun, and Flower Power MT hairsticks make it just perfect. I've been wearing MT hairsticks a lot lately.
  I'm becoming more and more aware of the fact that I've been really neglecting my hair. Which, of course isn't necessarily a bad think. I just begin to remember the existence of things like deep treatments and trimming scissors.

I guess that's a good sign.

A busy weekend is behind. It's really hitting us, that we have not only moved -in the sense of just changing the place where we live- but we are also undergoing a major lifestyle change. For the better, it seems... :)

Moving: Hooray! The house looks finally neat! We have now unpacked almost everything (just two boxes left!) and cleaned and arranged the place. There are still a few pieces of furniture missing (most notably benches from the kitchen- it appears that no one sells those things!), but finally this place has the look of a real home. It's soon time to take pictures for you! :D
 
Learning to Sew: We bought curtain fabrics during the weekend, and ever since I've spent most of my spare time making curtains. I'm so glad I picked this as my first "real" sewing project- sewing curtains gives me in a short time experience on handling different fabrics. And it feels great to be already able to make something as much needed as curtains!
    How difficult?: Depends on the fabric! Cotton is easy, knit lace almost makes my hair turn grey. All in all, I'd say that this is a great beginner project- since I'm new to sewing, going through the stages of a simple project from washing the fabric to finishing the seams a few times is an important lesson. I'm having fun, and am already thinking of what to sew next...

Hair: The weather has turned rainy, but housework has kept me indoors most of the time. I still haven't found time and energy for a deep treatment- I just hope that my new washing schedule counts as an improvement in my haircare regimen. Some variety is definitely returning to my hairstyles/toys. On Saturday I wore a french braid/braided bun. Sunday was a hairstick day (Asian Moon MT pair), and today I'm wearing a log roll with a claw clip. Considering my activities, it's still best to keep the hair up and out of the way, but variation is great!

Health: I managed to exercise "only" 3 times last week- I just couldn't make time for an exercise during the weekend. But I'm sure that all that cleaning and garden work counts as something!
  Today, I did my first muscle fitness exercise of the week. I'm comfortable with my program now, and am already planning my next program. When the bad weather comes, I now plan to increase my muscle fitness exercises to 3/week and do with just one aerobic exercise. There's got to be one beautiful day in a week even in November. If not, I'll just do my "Walk to Lórien exercise" with crosstrainer: play Fellowship of Ring soundtrack and run whenever the music indicates that Black Riders or orcs are nearby. ;D I refuse to do boring aerobic exercises. :P

Update time!

Hair: My hair hasn't been too nice this week. It turned greasy looking on Monday, and rinses haven't helped much. Once again, I've also become a bit depressed about how thin my braid is. Solution to both is, of course, to bun it and add pretty hairsticks or to cover it with a cute scarf. I suppose that the thinness problem might be solved somewhat by finally doing the trim I've been postponing for two months now. Getting a better hemline really helps. But still the fact is, that the fluffiness (?) of my hair while it was shorter made it look thicker back then and now that it lays flatter, it looks just...well, thin. And of course I have a halo of hair that contributed nicely to my volume in shorter lengths but just won't grow past certain point. I have still some work to do in accepting that... Don't worry though, I'm not least bit tempted to cut even though it would improve my volume. My longer hair may not be what I thought it would be, but it's still far nicer than shorter hair in so many ways. (In these days, I count hair above BSL as short on myself).

Moving: Not much new on that front- I have started serious work during the week. It seems that we have a lot more chores in this place than in the last, but that's ok. I just have to figure out how to balance my day so I can have a bit more free time. :)
  My throat is a bit sore right now- the weather has started to cool and it's been rainy, so I guess it's that. I hope I won't develop a real cold for weekend. We still have to work with furnishing a bit, and then there is the great apple harvest to do...

Garden:  I haven't spent much time in garden this week- it's been so rainy. It seems that we'll have to mow the lawn this weekend. It's the first time- until now it's been so dry that the grass was mostly dead and there wasn't need.
  Apples are ripening, and plums are wonderful. I should find some time to preserve some of them.

Learning to Sew: Curtain Project is now ready. I'm quite content. My sewing isn't perfect, but I tried to do careful work and so the results are totally serviceable and pretty. It was also a good learning experience.
It will take time for the patterns I ordered from US. to arrive, so I'll spend some more time doing really simple projects. I have to shorten a kitchen curtain I bought (since the house is on a gentle slope, one kitchen window is lower than the other and one curtain needs to be shortened to suit that ), make a pincushion out of fabric that got left over from bedroom curtains and then find some use for an interesting piece of organdy we found on sale... little things, but necessary, and I'm happy to proceed slowly and gain confidence as a seamstress.

Woohoo! I've finally got some pictures for you!  ;D


Fruits from our garden:

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Apples

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Kriikuna (pronounces something like kreekunah), a subspecies of plum that is peculiar for this region. Small, late and tasty!

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Ripening plums. Divine plums.

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Apple trees, European gooseberry, raspberries and a kriikuna tree

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A shady corner: apple trees, blackcurrant, white currant, wild raspberry

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Inside the house: my "meditation place" in living room. For relaxation and when I need a quiet moment. Ancient symbolism (that no one seems to notice!): Incense is for Air, little bowl for Water, stones for Earth and plants for Life. Fire is represented by a tuohus prayer candle (both candles and holder bought from last Christmas' trip to Monastery of Valamo). When requested, I light one of these special candles. :)

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Our wood cook/baking stove. Unique piece, and totally functional! It even has a small water reservoir (see the little tap?). I haven't used it yet- a woodstove produces lots of heat and the weather's been too warm. But when it cools, I'm going to learn the secrets of cooking and baking on this stove.

***

Hair today: Greasy, really greasy. I put a scarf cap on and am just trying to ignore it. Tomorrow is sauna day, and I'm not going to give up before that!

Health: I've developed a problem with my wrist nerve- must be all this writing. It's not the first time, but wearing wrist support (that I'll have to wear a full week!) is already annoying. I've also got flu symptoms that T's had for a couple of days now, so I postponed today's exercise until tomorrow. That annoys me too. Not to mention that my brain feels clogged though I really, really should review my writings and think. Argh. But I just can't bring myself to think philosophically when my head feels like it's stuffed with cotton balls.
Boy, am I complaining today or what? :P
  I think I'm going to find something to do that will improve my mood after I finish this. That's best for everyone.

Cool pictures!  I really love that stove.  Hope your feeling better! :)

How wonderful to have so many different fruit trees!  I miss the apple orchard that we had at a previous house.

The wood cook stove is fantastic!  My grandmother used one for all her baking.  I used to love to sit in the kitchen and basque in the heat of the stove in the winter.  It was a real treat when Grandma would let me feed wood into the stove.  Good luck learning to cook/bake with it - it is a real art.

Health (and why I've been absent!) So, I was last time complaining about having to wear a wrist support in my right hand, wasn't I? Well, on Saturday our new sofas arrived, and while carrying them I hurt my left wrist. So, since then I've been wearing supports in both arms. Not fun. Today is the first day I'm trying to survive with my left hand free at least for most of the time. My right hand is getting better though more slowly than I'd hoped- the numbness disappeared quickly, but was replaced by aches, and those have just begun to go away. Right now it seems that I'll be wearing the right wrist support for over the weekend.

Hair: My hair seems to have adjusted well to my new washing schedule. I still have some problems with shampoo bars- it seems that I have to wash my hair way more carefully than I've used to in order to get it clean. It's the water...
   On style front, I've rediscovered my hairstick collection. No more plastic, practical things- I'm happily back with beads and gemstones. Not my LL collection though- every day this week, I've reached for a pair of my MT hairsticks. Which is good- I have neglected them more than they deserve in the past.

Work: I made a small representation on "what I've thought during the summer" (not quite that title  ;)) for my mentor, and went to discuss it with him on Wednesday. The idea that I'm supposed to construct a whole new theory has hit me and hit hard (Who do you think you are anyway??? etc) , and I was rather scared to present my thoughts and ideas to a professor.
But my mentor was very supportive and just gave me some literature tips. He seemed quite excited about my ideas. I was so relieved! I've now resumed reading and planning another presentation of some other ideas...

Home: My learning to sew project has been on hold because of me being "handless", and I've just done what I've been able to do around the house. It's been raining heavily all week, so I haven't had a chance to spend much time in the garden.
   When August turned to September the fall arrived in what felt like overnight. Yesterday was the first time when we put a fire to living room's stove (should take a pic of that too!). Not because we really needed it, but because we realized that the weather had become cool enough that sleeping wouldn't be too uncomfortable. We managed to light the thing and didn't even trigger our carbon monoxide alarm in the process. :D

I'm so sorry you have injured BOTH wrists.  Sorta sounds like me and my ankles!  ;D  Hope they heal quickly so you can return to your sewing and other new house activities.

Good luck with your theories/thoughts and your progression with them.... new, original concepts are always difficult, but I'm sure you will do fantastic.

Thanks, BB! My wrists are better- at least I don't have to wear the nasty supports. But I still have hard time taking it easy enough and letting them heal.  :)

Here's some news.

Hair: Just before I had to head to University, today's mail arrived, and my soap order with it! I got a nice mix of old favorites and new, interesting soaps. For hair, I got two bars of Summer Sunshine and one bar of Rosemary Mint shampoo that T likes so much.
   Otherwise, hair is doing well. I bought new hair scissors on weekend, but haven't trimmed yet. Anyway, I'm planning to do just a tiny trim. My hair feels now really past BSL, and I don't want to lose that feeling, not even for thicker ends.

House & Garden: Plums are ripe and apples aren't coming far behind. We have been busy with them: T made plum liquor, I made plum jam and together we picked the first ( :o) 100 kgs of apples and took them to juice station. We fetched the pressed and bottled apple juice yesterday evening and oy, it's heavenly!
     We have also made successfully coffee and tea on our wood cookstove. Next, I'll approach it with a soup kettle.
     I haven't had time (or hands) to sew, except that I repaired my garden jacket. That went well, and it means that I don't have to buy a new one for the foreseeable future- which is great since my post-moving and pre-wedding budget isn't doing too well.

Health: I'm feeling well for a change. Due to flu and my wrist problems, I didn't exercise at all last week. This week is rather busy, but I'm determined to get back on track. Only three more exercises to go. I'm well motivated though.      

Well, turns out that Tuesday (when I wrote my last entry) was the only day this week I felt well. The flu that had been annoying us last week and then worsened for T during the weekend, hit me with full strength on Wednesday morning. I've not wandered far from bed since- though I'm hoping I'm recovering now as I feel a little less crappy than I did yesterday.

Hair: No rinses due to flu, and my favorite style have been segmented ponytails secured with satin scrunchies (the same style I usually wear for sleeping). Now I've just remade it in the morning. Today I was well enough to fetch some grocceries from the small store across the street, and am therefore wearing a claw clip.
    Noticed that Susan has posted some absolutely stunning Sugarstix. Guess if I could resist ordering... ::)
    I still haven't trimmed. I think I'll have T to do it tomorrow if I feel any better.

Haven't checked on you for a bit,sorry :-[  I do hope you and T feel better real soon!   That flu is the pits!  I used to get flu like symptoms everyweek for a day or two with the meds I was taking for almost 7 years!!!  Now it's a change in meds and rarely a the symptoms!  So I know you wanna crawl under the sheets and blankets and not come out for a bit!!

Thanks, Curlgirl64! We're recovering but slowly. It's the same thing every fall and spring here- when the time of rapidly changing temperatures and wet weather comes, catching a flu is just a matter of time. At least, this time we have nice woodstoves.

Then to the news.

I'm overjoyed! I FINALLY had a bit of extra time to post to forums other than this journal.  :D So this flu has brought at least something good with it.

Hair: Today would be a sauna day, but my body tells me that that would be a bad idea, so I think I'll settle for a shower and a quick wash. I really need to wash my hair- it doesn't look too bad (when bunned, anyway), but my scalp is gunky. That's what you get when you skip the rinses. :P A gunky scalp is, of course, much preferable to otitis, but the WO experiment still in near history I'm officially tired of gunky scalps.
     Inspired of yesterday's hairstick order, I "remembered" that I have 50 pairs of stunning Longlocks hairsticks. I also remembered that wearing them is an excellent way to repel crappy feeling, and now I'm now wearing Pastel Butterflies pair (that will make a great mix with Blue Wings once they arrive). It's still true that it's incredibly difficult to feel like a three times recycled zombie when wearing one of Susan's portable artworks.

This flu is amazingly persistent- neither of us has yet fully recovered. But, we are getting better, if slowly, and that's the main thing.

Hair: T trimmed my hair on Saturday- he took just 1 cm (~0.5 in). My hair falls still just below the lower edge of BS. From here, it's about 10 cm/4 in to waist...so even if I keep trimming regularly, I should be there by the end of next year. I've come a long way- I remember all too well when waist length felt almost utopian, and now it's my next goal!
  To speed my recovery, I've worn LL hairsticks every day (now wearing Caramello pair). I'm getting better, so obviously they work.

Garden: Apples are ripening. They're the only fruit we have left- after they are done, harvest season will be over and all there is to do is to help the garden to prepare for winter.
  We bought a new lawn mower, and spent a couple of hours yesterday mowing. From behind the mower, our lawn seems huge! :P But I love the way the garden looks now...and of course, mowing the lawn is so big a task that I decided it counts as one exercise. Because of the flu, I haven't been able to exercise, so the exercise "earned" in the garden came in real need.

Learning to Sew: I'm proud to announce that I have sewn my first garment! It's the "traditional" first project, a nice, long skirt (just the kind I've tried to find so far from stores). I got a bit ambitious and added pockets and a blind stitched hem, but it turned out good neverthless. I have fabric for two more skirts, and am confident that assembling them goes even more smoothly.

I managed to work today a little- just reading, but reading Kant is not something that one can do leisurely while lying in sickbed. So I suppose I am getting better. Yay!

I've also started taking showers whenever I feel like it, and so I have also rinsed my hair both yesterday and today. It's now dry and feels just like freshly washed.   Another nice thing is, that for the past few days I've shed visibly less than normally- that's nice for a change. I wonder, is it just natural or have I been doing something very right during this illness.
 
Country Living: Nights have cooled, and we have starting to use our woodstoves daily. Yesterday I made soup on our cookstove. It turned out well, though I still have to figure out how to regulate and maintain temperature accurately. It's all about practice, especially since there is so little information available on how to cook on a cookstove. I think that once I and T launch our website (we have considered doing one, since there isn't too much detailed information on practical aspects of simple living available in net, almost nothing in Finnish), we will add a page about woodstove cooking there. Once I figure out how the thing really works, that is. :)
   

Cooking on a wood stove has become a lost art.  My grandmother did all her baking in a wood stove.

I have a wood stove in my house that we use for heating.  It has a cook surface, but it was not intended for regular cooking.  I just leave a cast iron kettle on it to add humidity to the house when we keep the fire going.  

Hubby and I do a lot of cooking over an open fire when we camp.  Our son makes a mean lasagne on the fire when we camp.  I'm sure you've figured out that the key to cooking is having a good bed of coals to keep the temps consistent.  Burning hardwoods give the best coals and burn at a slower rate, which is better for cooking.  Adding small amounts of wood to the fire while cooking will also help to keep the temperature from fluctuating too much.

To test the surface temperature of stoves or ungreased pans, observe how a little water dropped on the surface behaves. If the water beads and rolls while sizzling, the surface is 450 [deg.] to 650 [deg.]; you can easily bring foods to a boil or pan-fry them on this heat. If the water drops spread out slightly and sizzle steadily, the stovetop is 300 [deg.] to 400 [deg.] and hot enough to simmer or bake foods. If the drops of water flatten and bubble, cooking will be slow, but perhaps adequate for long-term steaming.

You've probably already figured all this out, but thought I'd pass it along, just in case.  ;D

Thanks for the info! I didn't know about the water trick, but it makes sense. I also remember that my grandmother cooked and baked exclusively on woodstove, even though they had electricity. Too bad that grannies still around don't use internet or even write books. :-/
  We burn almost exclusively birch that is most commonly used heating wood in Finland. There's not much choice anyway as there aren't that many common species of trees with leaves and conifers are unsuitable for burning in stoves.

Hair Today: Not much to report: hair is doing well, bunned as usually, today's hairstick pair is Caramello.  
   
Health: I'm doing a little better today- well enough to go to my workroom and do some "workroom work". I'm still going to be very careful for this week.

Cooking with birch.... I'd just be careful with the bark when you add wood while cooking.  The bark will flare up and could burn your food.  The young bark can be peeled off the wood (and used later to start your fire) so you don't have the flare-ups.  Avoiding conifirs for fires is good - the pine tar build up can cause dangerous chiminey fires.  Be sure to clean your chiminey regularly to prevent this.

Do you have other fuels you can use in your stove?  Around here we can get corn cob fuel and pellets (a pressed wood/corn cob).  These burn very efficiently and work well for cooking as well.  Do you cut and split your own wood?  We cut most of our own wood.  But since it is not our primary heat source we don't obsess over having enough.  If we run out of wood, we can usually buy a truck load to get us thru the rest of the winter.  This year we will have plenty.  Our neighbors had a huge oak tree cut down 2 years ago and the wood is now perfect for burning.  The oak combined with the birch from our land up north will give us a great mix for our stove this winter.

I haven't noticed problems with birch so far. I've been adviced that before burning wood, one should let it dry in a storage for at least one year- preferably two. The wood we are currently burning was left here by the previous owners, so I'm sure it's dried well. I prefer to insert the pieces with most bark in the beginning as they catch fire more easily, and when the stove is already hot I proceed to add the splinters with less bark.
  Here, the law requires that chimneys must be checked and cleaned by a professional chimney-sweeper every year. At our house, this year's check was done just before we moved in. So in that regard, all should be well- the previous owners even had him to check the baking stove that they hadn't used, and it too was in good condition. :)

There are pellets available, but all I've seen are small pellets that wouldn't work in our old-fashioned stoves. I think they are exlusively used in modern heating stoves or stoves that can burn both oil and wood.
    Our wood is bought from a local farmer (previous owners gave his phone number) who sells wood as a side-business. He sells both pre-splitted and unsplitted wood. I think that this year we are so busy with everything that we must buy pre-splitted wood. Next year...who knows! :)
     This house has a double heating system: we could keep this place warm just by heating our stoves, but there is also an adequate electric heating system installed. We haven't yet decided what the wood/electricity heating ratio will exactly be, but as heating with wood is cheaper and not too much trouble, I think we'll be using it quite a lot. Once we'll get rid of all the cardboard and packaging material we've stuffed to our storage house, all the wood we could possibly need fits there.
            It has never crossed my mind to use the word "oak" in same sentence with "heating"! :o :) Oak trees do grow here in Southern Finland, but they are rare in nature, and most specimens you can see have been planted as decorative trees or they are trees that have escaped from gardens. They are admired trees that may be kept alive by supporting them even when they have clearly started to rot.

Hair: I got lucky yesterday in Helsinki and found two Fakkares from H&M. It seems that Fakkares have become fashionable! Now I'm a happy owner of a matte satin silver and a matte satin rose pink one. They feel relatively sturdy for Fakkares and are very beautiful.
      The Ficcare GO that I participated in May, however, has gone very badly. My package that was lost in NM mail, then found in an internal audit (along two thousand other packages that they had somehow lost), and finally sent to me (supposedly), hasn't arrived. I've lost hope of ever getting the clips, and though it's good that I got my money back, I'm still a bit down because there's no way I can use it to get Ficcares. *sigh* I am also a bit doubtful about there being Ficcare GO:s in future on LHC, as most of them have gone horribly wrong for one reason or another. I'll have to think of something...

Oak is a special wood - it is very hard and makes beautiful furniture.  We have several oak trees in our back yard that I love.  We are very lucky to have the oak trees.  But, when they have to be cut down, they do make wonderful firewood.  You are right, wood needs to be "seasoned" at least a year.  We prefer to let the hardwoods (oak, maple, etc) season for 2 years, and the softwoods (birch, poplar, pine) season for a year.  We like to use birch to start fires because it burns quickly.  The bark of birch has a resin in it that will burn even when it is wet.  We like to peel the thin bark off the wood and keep a supply of it for starting fires.

What hardwoods (if any) grow in your area?  Do you know if your wood supplier offers a mix of woods?  Once you get all organized, you can think about cutting/splitting your own wood.  We always talk about wood warming you twice.  Once when you cut/split it and again when you burn it.  

I'm sorry your Ficcare GO went so badly.  I've followed a few of those orders at LHC.  What a mess.  I've been lucky to have never been stung on a GO - my purchases have all gone smoothly.  Hopefully your package will eventually show up.

Our "tree selection" is really small. Many species grow in gardens and parks, but the amount of naturally occurring species is pitiful. Most common trees are pine, fir, birch (two species), alder (also two species), rowan, and willows. Of these, pine, fir and birch are most common by far- they are the only trees that are dominant species in forests and the only ones that have commercial value. I think we have only one real oak forest in Southwest.
  In Southern Finland, we have also maples, oaks and some lindens. There are also few elms and ashes, but I think they all have originated from gardens or parks. When one travels just two hour's drive to north, the amount of tree species drops dramatically, and the northmost part of the country doesn't have trees at all.

Wood suppliers sell usually birch, mix that may consist of birch and alder or birch, alder and pine, or alder which is rather expensive because there is less of it available. Of these, birch is the best all-purpose wood and most people buy it. Alder is bought mainly for warming sauna stoves.
  I think that next year we will split at least some of our wood by ourselves. T likes his axe as well as cutting wood. ;D

My cooking improves! Today I made an entire meal (soy chili, rice and apple fritter) on our woodstove/baking oven, and it went much better. Besides being more vigilant with the fire, I fine-tuned the cooking temperature by moving my pans and pots around on the cooking surface. That kept the food cooking steadily, and the result was very good.

This Ficcare GO is my first GO gone badly. The organizer has been a real trooper, but there's only so much one can do for a lousy mail service. NM mail system is just straight out of a nightmare (I mean, how is it humanly possible to just "lose" two thousand packages and need an internal audit in order to discover them ??? :o). It seems that it's common there that things shipped via USPS take several months to arrive. So, I guess it's still possible that my clips will eventually show up- the excitement comes from wondering whether or not that is going to happen before I die of old age.

Congrats on your woodstove cooked meal.  I'm sure in no time, you will be giving me advice!  Keep up the practicing!

I'll send positive vibes out for your package, that it will find its destination quickly.  8)

Thanks for encouragement! :)

My flu is worse today- yesterday I was hoping that I'd be totally healthy today, but alas, that's not the case. We've been in contact with some relatives and friends, and it sounds like everyone's got this horrible flu that lasts for 2 weeks or more- it's like a epidemic of some kind. Nothing to do but wait it out, it seems.

Hair is remarkably clean for a 6th day hair. The rinses really help. I'm back with wearing a segmented ponytail with satin scrunchies. Hopefully tomorrow I'm well enough for something prettier.

Sorry you are still feeling under the weather.  Don't forget to drink lots of fluids and get plenty of rest!

Woohoo, the boards are back and look improved! :D I'm a bit worried of that I have stopped being a nice, solid diamond and have exploded into tiny bits of stardust. Is that what happens to people who post too much (1000 posts)? :P

I'm happy to report that I'm almost ok now. Well enough to work effectively, at least. I also felt healthy enough to go to sauna on Sunday. After two weeks of quick showers, bathing properly felt wonderful. I would have made a Snowy's Deep Moisture treatment, but it turned out that we had consumed all our honey with tea. Instead, I remembered to measure my hair. It is now 67 cm/26.5 in long, with half an inch of net growth since last measurement in June. That's not much I guess, but with all the stress going on and a trim I'm happy of every millimeter.

Wedding: We have resumed wedding preparations and with speed! We have decided to get married in the beginning of December (just the two of us), and then have a party for friends and relatives in January. So far we have made the necessary official arrangements, ordered the ring, made invitation cards, done all the planning. And most importantly, I feel that during this past year we have talked more than during all the years before. Though we had our share of hard time, it now seems that good things have come out of it.
  I still want to style my hair by myself. I found a lovely lace trimmed wedding veil, and my hairstyle will need to accommodate that. I think that the veil is a good idea anyway as a simple hairstyle probably goes best with it.

Garden: Harvest season is nearing end: we have winter apples in two trees, but otherwise our apples are done. 200 kg:s of apples went to juicing station, and now we have excellent pressed applejuice for winter. On top of that, come the apple pie ingredients, frozen berries and homemade jams so I'd say that for novices, we did pretty well! And now we have still plenty of time for preparing the garden for winter and making the new flower bed we decided to start this year.

Congratulations Galadriel!

A wedding - whoo hoo!  I wish you many, many years of bliss together!

Woo Hoo!! I'm excited for you and the wedding plans and stuff!! :)

Congrad!  Hey, I got married in December too! And it was just Colin and I as well!  ;)

Thanks, ladies. Lisabelle, I'm very excited about our plan to have a "runaway" wedding ceremony. After the ceremony -which is very simple because it's a civil ceremony in local magistrate- we escape to a good spa for the weekend. Another thing is, that arranging the wedding in two parts gives us more time and flexibility. It also divides the workload nicely since we are doing everything by ourselves. Right now, things look good and I'm sure that the party part will also be memorable and fun.
    I've almost decided that I'm going to wear a french twist for the ceremony. It is a smooth style (goes well with the veil), elegant and easy to dress up with accessories. The only downside is, that I'm not all that good with French twists- especially stylish and secure ones. But I've already started practicing. Since Ficcares are not an option, I have done my french twists with FT combs. The France Luxe comb is gorgeous, but its teeth are blunt so I have difficulties with it. So far, my cheap combs make the best twists. I am going to wedding dress fitting tomorrow, and am hoping that the store has some gorgeous FT combs I could use. If not, I probably just decorate a cheap comb by myself and add some floating jewels to finish the style. Either way, it will be great, I know it will.

Garden: We have ;D badgers ;D in our garden! When T went to fetch Liina an apple late last evening, he saw two badgers. How fun is that!? Some gardeners are not all that happy about badgers since they can be destructive, but we delight the idea of having animals in there. Badgers eat snails and mice too, as well as leftover berries and fruit, so their prescence has its benefits too. So, now we are thinking of how to make the stripe-faces feel welcome. Maybe a strategically placed corn cob or two would help..?

Hair: It seems that my hair has turned from clean to clearly greasy overnight. I haven't rinsed it in a couple of days though. It's not all that bad anyway- practicing French twists is much easier when my hair is clearly dirty.

Wedding: Yesterday was an exciting day- I shopped my wedding dress. One good thing about having a tight schedule is, that there is no time to start obsessing about trivial matters or touring all wedding gown shops of Southern Finland.... My strategy was very simple: after an internet search I went to the shop that seemed most promising. I found a very simple yet very flattering wedding gown that will fit wonderfully with a lace veil. Since I learned the specific color of my gown, I was also able to order the veil from weddingveils.com later in the evening. Now I'll just have to try not to bounce out of my skin before 19th day when I'll get to try my dress on!
     Of course, there is one little complication left. Since the gown I chose has long, flowing chiffon sleeves, I don't have any hope of fitting into a winter coat while wearing it. So, I decided to just wrap myself into a gorgeous mohair shawl. After discovering that such shawls cost well over €100 in the bridal store, I decided to knit my own shawl. I found gorgeous deep wine red mohair yarn and it cost less than €20, so it was quite a save... but yeah, now I will have to knit it. And there isn't too much time. ::)
     It seems that we have a theme in our wedding: roses. We certainly haven't talked about themes, so it has just emerged from somewhere. I think it started with T telling me that his favorite color is deep red, the same you can find in dark roses or wine. Then came the invitation cards: deep red and roses. Then I found pretty paper rose petals that I thought would make nice decorations... and at that point I decided just to surrender and quietly bury my original idea of having "Lórien colors like white, sage green and gold" for the wedding. Now it will be roses...but what the heck, I love roses and at least there is a theme and not just a cocktail of random ideas.

Hair: I discovered that 5th or 6th day hair is not the best hair for French twists. So, on the wedding week I will have to wash twice. All in all, my French twist skills are not all that good at the moment. I manage to make them lumpy, insecure or just plain weird. Oh well, there is still time to practice.
   Today I gave up wearing a French twist well before we went to do the weekend's shopping. Instead, I made a scrunchie bun I secured with a big, rose red velvet scrunchie. The result was surprisingly pretty- I thought I didn't like the look of scrunchie buns, but buns made with these velvet scrunchies actually look great. Not to mention that it feels quite nice to wear a bun without any pins. This is definitely another style to keep in mind.
     The flu is still lingering, so no playing with showers and deep treatments for me yet. A quick sauna it will be. At least I'll get to wash my hair.

Garden: Today we bought lots of flower bulbs. We decided that as our first "reconstructive act" in the garden will be restoring the front yard and its flower beds. Now there are only a few remains of flowers, and the front yard is the least attractive area in the garden. Preparing the soil and planting spring flowers are a good start, and during the winter we'll have time to plan what perennials and shrubs to plant.

Ahhh, the fun and excitement of planning your wedding.  It sounds like you have things under control.  After helping with my son's wedding just 2 years ago, I know all about the little details.  Just don't forget to enjoy the time as well and don't get over stressed.  

I love spring bulbs.  When they pop up in the spring, it is a true sign of new beginnings.  They are so fresh looking.  I love the tulips and daffodils I have in my garden - I am sure you will enjoy yours as well.

I am feeling quite positive about the wedding at the moment. It helps a lot that the ceremony is on one day and the party over a month later. We try to focus on the main things and most of the details seem to arrange themselves- like the theme thing. Not worrying about every detail also helps to keep things fun and light-hearted. I think that is important since there's just the two of us preparing the event- even our parents don't have an idea of what we are up to. I think everyone believes that we are so tired of moving and reap time that marrying is the last thing in our minds. Hee hee!  ;)
   I am in a hurry with the shawl -it's going to be so big that it will be almost as good as a coat, and the yarn is quite thin. But I am enjoying the knitting. My knitting history consists mostly of colorful socks and everyday sweaters and I don't think I have knitted a shawl or a scarf since I was a kid just learning to knit. So it is fun to play with luxurious mohair yarn instead of familiar wool and to create something different. Especially on a rainy day like today.

Hair: It's been raining all day, and I've been healing my flu, knitting and doing random chores. Hair is clean, and even my scrunchie bun is a bit unstable. I am wearing a bigger scrunchie today though, maybe it has something to do with it.
  I think CV bars are starting to work a bit better for me again- maybe the reason for the weird period was in WO experiment and not in change of water quality. In any case, I'm happy. I checked the CV website again, and it seems that during her so called vacation Ida has in fact been busy mixing new wonderful soaps. The Babassu & Marshmallow shampoo and Pomander Spice soap sound particularly interesting.

Woohoo! My new, gorgeous hairsticks have arrived! :D
Time for review!
Ribbon Blossom is my fourth pair that features Bill Grout's twisted ribbon beads. This time the beads come in sapphire blue and white, and are just stunning. I remember seeing a long time ago a pair that featured similar beads. That pair wasn't otherwise my style so I grudgingly skipped it. And waited. And waited some more. And finally Susan posted a pair that featured these beads, and in one of my favorite (if not THE favorite) styles, SugarStix! This is an absolutely lovely pair that I anticipate to wear often.
Blue Wings is a pair that has butterflies- also being fourth "flying insect" pair in my collection. It matches wonderfully with Pastel Butterflies pair (also Sugarstix), but has also a distinct "personality" of its own. The beads with little blue glass flowers are incredibly beautiful, and below them sit pretty margarita crystals. This is my only pair that has those! Blue butterfly design that decorates the sticks couldn't possibly be any more beautiful.
To sum it up: I'm one overjoyed little hairstick collector right now! :D

Hair: Clean and poofy. I wore it down with twists style for my quick shopping visit to Helsinki. I haven't worn that style for a long while. It was kind of fun, but hair cathcing under the straps of my backpack and flying in the wind was also kind of annoying. So, up it went when I got back home, and has not bothered me ever since.
   

Hair: Yesterday was the perfect French twist day: my first attempt succeeded well and lasted for several hours. Today, however, is a very different day. Hair is clearly dirty at the roots, which makes a rather annoying contrast with slippery clean length. The only thing to do was to bun it and forget it. I did seize the opportunity to try Ribbon Blossoms pair though, and just like LL hairsticks always do, they make even my weird bun look gorgeous and special.
   In order to make tomorrow a better hair day, I think I'll wash my hair later this evening.

Life: It's been raining heavily both yesterday and today, and weather forecast promises no change. I'm almost well- only a stuffy nose advices still caution with some activities. Not that I even want to be very active: I've got plenty to do right where I am: work, knitting, cooking, baking, and I should also try to find time to do some sewing and for planning how to plant all the flower bulbs we have purchased. Wedding-wise there's not much for me to do right now (except to knit, knit, knit)- next things on the list are ones that T has promised to arrange. I'm content.

Garden: Instead of continuous heavy raining, today is "blessed" with rainshowers. I've tried to go to the garden a couple of times now, and each time I'm ready to go, it's pouring water again. Hopeless, I tell you.
   But, in spite of us having had too few chances to work in the garden lately, our fall seems to proceed well. We have only four major tasks we'll need to accomplish. Preparing the large front yard flower bed and planting the bulbs we have bought is perhaps the most urgent one- mainly because it's a big task. I tried to order soil yesterday, but it turned out that the local seller was accustomed to selling much larger quantities. So, crazy as it might sound, we now have the task of buying at least twenty sacks of soil.  ::)
   Second task is to tear down the ugly old toolshed that sits right where we would like to build our patio. T's father promised to come this weekend, but as the weather is what it is we'll probably have to postpone this for next weekend. We'll need to order a skip for all the waste this project will produce, and so we decided to combine our third big task, emptying the storage building of all the cardboard and plastic wraps our moving produced. We really have an entire small building full of that waste! Once the storage is empty, we'll order firewood and spend a lovely evening or two storing it. And that's all! Well, besides occassional smaller tasks like picking winter apples...but who counts small tasks?

Hair: I washed my hair last night, and today it's much better. I've been doing a lot of housework today, so today's style has been scarf bun. It's been so long since I've worn that style that at first I didn't remember how to tie the scarf. Bad me, I can't afford forgetting how to my most practical hairstyle.
  I think I should buy some styling goos soon. I haven't used anything but aloe vera gel for over 1½ years, and don't own anything. However, for the wedding I'm going to need something with strong hold -probably a couple of different somethings. And lots of practice. Not to mention a generous amount of baking soda and SMT treatment afterwards.

Wedding: My veil order has been charged, and it turned out that the price was very good- even with shipping costs to Finland added, the total was cheaper than the veils that "my" bridal shop offered at half a price. Of course, I think my veil will be prettier too.
We have now scheduled the party, and also made a schedule for both the wedding day and the week before the party. Since we are going to prepare all the food for the party except the wedding cake, there will be a lot of work for the whole week. I'm sure it will go well though. We have good plans and kitchen that any catering service would be happy to have (well, any catering service that appreciates woodstoves, anyway  :P).

I'm also making progress with my shawl- I'd say I've knitted 1/3 of it now, and I can already tell that it's going to be beautiful. Besides the shawl, my other wedding craftworks include making my French twist comb (yes, yes, I promise to post a picture or two of that one ;D ) and sewing a tablecloth or two.

Health: This morning I decided that I was finally healthy enough to resume my exercise. I had a good session with my weights, and was also relieved to notice that over three weeks of rest hadn't affected too badly. I'm a bit less flexible than I was before the flu, but that's all. :) In spite of the "sick leave", I am still planning to review my exercise plan at the end of this month. As the worst weather of the year draws close, my plan is to concentrate more on lifting weights for a while and less to aerobic exercise. Right now I'm thinking of  three times weights and one aerobic exercise per week. I'm also thinking of modifying my diet. With wedding preparations on the way and everything, I don't think I can manage a strict diet, but I'm sure I can start once again paying some attention to my eating habits.

Hair: I rinsed my hair after the exercise, and it's still a bit damp. The sun is shining, and since I'm planning to head to the garden, the style of the day is a scarf cap.

Wedding: It turned out that T knows exactly what kind of cake he wants. I was a bit surprised of his idea- I would have bet that he'd want to have something with chocolate, but it turns out that in this matter, he's very traditional and set to have a strawberry cake with lots of cream for the wedding. So, finding and ordering the cake is now his responsibility- I'm totally content as long as there is a cake.
While I was shopping flowers at our village's florist, I asked about when we should order the flowers. Good thing I did it too: the florist said that the order should be made a month in advance. If I hadn't asked I might have assumed it's more like a week in advance... Yet another nice thing about having a small wedding is, that we can afford beautiful flowers for the party- just four bouquets are enough for decorating the house, and on wedding day we'll just need the bridal bouquet and T's flower. What's even better, in December - Januare my favorite flowers, cymbid orchids, are readily available and their price is lowest. So the flower situation looks great. In addition to the flowers, we have decided to use candles for decoration and that's it. If there will be snow, (thanks to the greenhouse effect, it's not all that certain that we have snow in January  >:( ) we'll also light parts of the garden. Our decorating plan doesn't sound too complicated. Now I'm just hoping it will go as smoothly as it looks on paper.

The past couple of days have just flown by. But I've had good time, and am feeling so active.

On Sunday, T's father and brother came to visit, and helped us to tear down the old shed. It went more quickly than anyone anticipated. Yesterday I went to Helsinki. I had to visit my workroom and to chair a meeting. I've now resigned from the project I've been leading for the past three years and am feeling wonderfully free now.
Today, the skip arrived and instead of going to my Nordic walk I spent some time hauling junk into it and counted that as an exercise. It's always nice to be able to gain my exercise by doing something useful.
The weather is rather grim -it's not raining all the time any longer, but it's cloudy and damp and cold. Nothing like a bright mid-fall day you would want it to be when you have to work outside. But, handling heavy items at brisk speed kept me warm, and I even enjoyed a physical work. I guess I've spent too much time indoors lately.

Hair: I guess you're not surprised when I tell that I haven't given my hair much attention. Out of the way, out of my mind. I had to wash it yesterday evening because it felt so greasy, which is a bit unusual.

Wedding: The ring has arrived! It's absolutely beautiful and I love it.
I'm going to Helsinki once more this week to do some wedding-related shopping, but otherwise I don't have much to do right now.

Quote:

It's always nice to be able to gain my exercise by doing something useful.

I agree. I get quite a workout from washing my car over the weekends! My muscles are always sore the next morning.
   It's sort of funny doing things like that because your mind focuses on what you have to do & you almost don't realize that you're exercising. Plus, you get to reap the double benefits: the task is done & you've burned plenty of calories.  ;D

Angel Spun: Exactly!

Garden & Health: This week looks like it's developing into a really busy one. The weather is cooling rapidly and it looks all the time that it's going to rain in the next 10 minutes, so we have decided to try and prepare the garden for winter ASAP. There aren't too many tasks but they are quite heavy work, so I suppose that I can skip the remaining Nordic walk of this week with good conscience. I'm not going to skip my workouts though- I need those muscles!
    T is going to come home early today, and we named this the gardening day of the week. Tomorrow we are both busy, on Friday we'll have to do the weekly cleaning of the house and on Saturday we have guests. On Sunday...more gardening! But I really hope we manage to do most of the heavy work today so that Sunday will become a relaxing day and not a work camp. Last weekend was a nice one, but it all was spent working hard so one day of relaxation would be perfect. But we'll see how it goes. :)

Hair: Those Fakkares I bought from H&M are really good- not just good for the price, but in general. They are much sturdier than my old black fakkare, and I love the colors. Of course, I hope to be able to find a way to get real Ficcares, but I need some thinking time to figure out how to do that...in other words, I'll postpone that task until after the wedding party. Having good new Fakkares lifts my spirits though! I'm wearing the matte silver one right now over my bun.
       Hair is happy and clean-feeling, it has taken the months of neglect really well. I've started to think my new length as "elf length" hair, because in LOTR movies many elves (except Galadriel, of course) seemed to have their hair somewhere between BS and waist. So, though my hair will still need some growing before it is a real Galadriel hair, at least it finally resembles the locks of the right race. :D

Crafts: I realized I have so many projects on my to-do list:
          bridal shawl: Halfway done! I suppose there's no way I could finish it by next Thursday when I'm going to fit my gown, but at least it will be ready by the wedding day. Considering its size, I'm quite proud of that.
          kitchen curtains: Crochet project, 2/3 of the first curtain is done. Until the shawl is ready, this project is on hold though.
          sewing projects: I haven't yet sewn the third and last skirt of my skirt project. After that, I should sew a duvet for our bed, a fine tablecloth for the wedding, and most importantly, some aprons.
          embroidered tablecloths: smaller, embroidered tablecloths for living room
          socks and mittens: When the winter comes, we'll need these. So these are another high priority.

Hmm. It seems that almost everything on my list is either a high priority or "would be very, very nice to have"-item. I guess that all there is to do is to be patient and to work steadily. It's nice to see how different all these projects are- I'm in no danger of getting bored!
         
           

Wedding: I dedicated yesterday for wedding shopping. Among other things, I bought liquid hair gel and extra strong hairspray. They look really scary, but this one time, I need them. I also bought supplies for making my own French twist combs. The selection of combs in bridal shops didn't please me, the prices were outrageous -especially when the combs they sold looked just like something one can make herself with ease.
   So, in the evening I just sat down and started to play with my supplies. I didn't have a clear idea of what I wanted, so I just basically played with my materials. I had bought two combs in order to allow myself room for mistakes, but instead of messing things up, I soon found myself with two beautiful combs. T liked them both too and suggested that I wear one comb at the ceremony and another at the reception. I'm not sure what I will actually do (guess it's one of the things that I'll find out on the last morning) but I am sure that I am going to wear them both.
   I suppose I *may* have overdone a bit with my wedding hair accessories- besides these combs, I have two pairs of LL hairsticks that deserve to be worn in the wedding. Since the hairsticks probably don't go with the veil, I have now resolved the issue by deciding that I will wear hairsticks on the evening of the wedding day. We're not having an actual honeymoon -it would have become just too complicated. But after the ceremony we're leaving to a good spa, and will spend the wedding weekend there. We have booked a romantic dinner in a fine restaurant there for the wedding day evening, and that is just the perfect occassion for hairsticks!

And, before you ask, here are pictures of the results.

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/3358/rosecombee8.jpg

The comb with roses.

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/5527/pearlcomb2kt2.jpg

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/9383/pearlcombfp6.jpg

The comb with pearls.

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/2735/bridalcombsdx5.jpg

Both combs. The combs are ordinary plastic French twist combs that I sanded.

Country living: We have increased heating, but have still been able to survive without turning electric heating on. The price of electricity is climbing, and if we warmed our house solely on electricity it would cost A LOT. Or, at least, what seems like a lot in our strained budget. But right now the wood heating suffices well, and my goal is to do without electric heating until November. I'm pretty certain that even when the weather gets really cold, the woodstoves will still be able to provide most of the heat we need.
        Besides the price, the heat produced by woodstoves has a very pleasant quality. I suppose it's much less dry than heat produced by central heating. That is good news for my dry skin that never likes wintertime.
       Our poor garden requires still lots of work. I hope we'll be able to finish with vegetable patch this weekend, and I hope that we'll get everything done by the beginning of November. That's when the weather turns really unpredictable here and temperatures start dropping below freezing point regularly.
       
Hair: I don't know why it is, but my hair suddenly seems to get dirty faster. Rinses don't help like they did during the summer. Maybe my hair has entered to one of those weird periods it sometimes goes when seasons change. My plan is to wash it as needed and just outwait the weirdness.

Your French twist is fantastic and the combs you made a beautiful!  You are quite talented.  Maybe you could make combs for those bridal shops.   ::)

We too are avoiding starting the furnace.  We had our first fire in the stove the other night.  We are dropping into the mid-20's at night (about -15C) and daytime highs have barely exceeded freezing, so a fire is necessary to keep the chill out of the house.  I had to clean out the kettle that I keep on the stove so I could put the water back in it.  If you don't already have a kettle to keep on the stove, I would highly recommend getting one.  We use a cast iron kettle - looks like a tea kettle, but it is intended to be used just to put humidity back into the air.  Good luck making it to November before turning the heat on.

Thanks for sharing yor combs!  They're gorgeous and your twists look fantastic.  Well done!!!

I like BB's idea of you creating those combs for your local shop.  [smiley=tekst-toppie.gif]

Thanks, BB & Sakina. Making the combs was fun. I don't have any time to expand my production at the moment, but you never know about the future. ;) .

BB, wow, it's cold in there! I don't think the temps here have gone below freezing point on any night yet.

So, a busy weekend is behind. I think this was my first week here when I've earned all my exercise points by working in the garden. I don't count light garden work (picking apples, weeding & such) as an exercise that would free me from doing my regular workouts. However, the things I've done this week have been far from leisurely gardening. But I'm happy: the garden will be ready when winter comes, and I have had some different exercise. Hope my body liked the surprise!

For my hair, the weekend has been normal: wash, bun and go. Today, when we visited T's mother I enjoyed of the chance to dress nicely and to wear pretty hairsticks (Caramello) instead of garden scarves and cooking caps. I still keep dreaming about doing a SMT treatment, but for some reason I just never seem to get into it. Or to oiling... I keep telling myself that I return back to all my good haircare habits when the winter comes. However, lately I have notice myself telling that about so many issues that I have started to doubt whether the coming winter will be nearly as peaceful as I'd hope it to be.  

Cinnabuns are back. After a fashion. Today it occurred to me to try my old favorite style that so suddenly stopped working early this year. Now that my hair had grown a little, the bun held better together. Now it just insisted on going to beebutt instead of laying nicely where I wanted it to. That, of course, is a problem easily solved, but the fact that my hair just doesn't look that nice in a cinnabun (yet, I hope!) isn't. The thin end that forms the second coil is just too weird. So, I'll stick with knot buns as long as possible. When they stop working (I suppose that will happen one day when the tail becomes too long to insert under the knot), I'll see if the situation has improved any.
   With figure 8 buns the situation is pretty much the same: in principle I can do it, but in practice the result looks bad and besides falls apart quickly because the tail escapes from under the bun. I guess there's a little improvement now: now I can make a similar miserable infinity bun, which wasn't possible a few months ago.

Today I'm wearing a scrunchie bun again. I found a pretty dark brown velvet scrunchie that is just perfect for the season. Now that all my hairtoys aren't in the good order they used to be, it seems that I make these exciting discoveries all the time. :D

Health: I made a new exercise program for myself. I made some pretty big chances, and am excited to see how it will start to work. Today, however, I'll earn my exercise point by doing some shovelwork in the garden.

A GROWTH SPURT!!! When I was combing my hair after the shower, I noticed that it was not just below BS as it was just a month ago, after the trim. Now it was clearly WELL PAST BS. So, I grabbed nearest tape measure and guess what- in barely a month my hair had grown from 67 cm to 70 cm/27.6 in! That's over an inch of growth! Wow. That really made my day. I haven't even been taking all my hair supplements (I told you I was in a neglect stage, didn't I ?  :P ). I guess this is just a rare occurrence, but neverthless, I've made a leap towards waist length and that's incredibly exciting. You would think that after growing my hair for years, I'd get used to seeing it grow, but after I passed the "longest it has ever been" mark, I find my excitement renewed.
In order to celebrate the event I decorated my locks with Spring Forsythia hairsticks -IMO, olivine green and jonquil yellow suit quite well to fall too and felt like a queen.

Wedding: My veil arrived! That was very quick of them, and what's best, now I can take the veil when I go to fit my gown on Thursday. :D It's a drop dead gorgeous thing- a mantilla veil in waltz length. T was a bit hesitant about the length, -in vain. It's not one millimeter too long (in fact, I found myself thinking that it'd be cool to have my hair that long  [smiley=laugh.gif] One can only wonder whether my love for long things hanging from my head has just expanded to a whole new area). In any case, I love it. When T comes home, I'll start playing with hairstyles. Since it's just one tier veil, there should be some options...

Health: Today I did my first workout following the new program. It sure felt effective! I think I have said it before, but I have worried about how to replicate the efficiency of a real gym at home quite a lot. But I think it's now safe to say that things are just fine in that respect. It can be done! Now, if only I could pay a bit more attention to my eating habits. As it is now, it seems that my weight is stable but I am transforming fat into muscle very effectively. Can't say that that makes me look cuter when I look in the mirror, but it feels good. That, and the fact that T still loves me are enough to keep me happy about my body.  :)
Inspired by my new program I also ordered some new exercising equipment from a Finnish web store. Once the things I ordered arrive, the home gym is perfect. More fun too, I hope.

Hmm. It seems that I was wrong about French twists. I was so sure that they'd be the perfect thing to wear with the veil, but now it seems that a simple low bun decorated with plain pearl pins looks better and that my FT combs will have to go to the growing pile of "hairtoys I'm going to wear some time during our wedding celebrations".  ::)
Today my hair is strangely dirty again. The lack of rinsing can't be it, so I'm just blaming the seasonal change. Or perhaps my scalp just pushes out extra grease along with extra growth. In any case, I don't want my head to look like a grease ball tomorrow, so I'll have to wash tonight.

Health: Yesterday's workout with my new program went well. A couple of my muscles are slightly sore -a sure sign that I managed to pay attention to some new parts of my body. Nothing uncomfortable though. Today I'm just going to spend some time working in the garden and that's it. I don't think that we have too many sunny days like today left, so it's best to enjoy it while I can.

If someone described me her life saying that her spouse is leaving his dissertation early next week, we have just moved and have curious friends and relatives visiting almost every weekend, have our jobs to attend to, have a big garden and are also in the middle of making wedding arrangements, I'd thought they are either crazy or begging for an early heart attack. But, that's my life, and it's really not bad. Granted, I have little time for hobbies (I guess that journaling here is about the only genuine hobby I have at the moment), but I enjoy every aspect of my life. The different things going on seem to balance each other very nicely.

Wedding: Yesterday was a busy day on wedding arrangement front. We left to Helsinki quite early. First we fetched my shoes that had been dyed. T wasn't too shocked about the heel, though with the shoes on, I am a full 10 cm/4 in taller than he is. While the sales lady was packing my shoes, T noticed the men's wear. Up until that moment he had been undecided on whether he wanted to wear simply a dark suit or a dress coat. My choice of wedding gown wasn't any help either as it would have matched with both. But, in a short while he was set for buying a dress coat. It'll have use later too in formal occassions. So, the month-long pondering came to end very quickly. We'll just have to fetch his attire some time next week, and that's it. Couldn't have been simpler, really. There wasn't even any of the sizing problems we had feared -they had small enough size on the rack and it was a perfect fit. Shopping his wedding attire was way easier than buying a pair of pants has been for him!
   Then we went to see my wedding gown. What can I say? It was just perfect. Not a princess dress, but very much a wedding dress. Its chiffon sleeves turned out to be very elvish.  Hee hee! The veil couldn't have suited better. Now they'll just make the final adjustments and then there's the final fitting and that's it. So, this part of the wedding preparations is now done, and we can turn our attention to other details.

Hair: Not much to report on hair front. It's just hanging with me and hopefully continuing to grow. I'm wearing Plumeria Pink hairsticks (go well with colors of my pajamas  ::) ). Yes, I'm wearing Longlocks sticks with pajamas- in these days, I seem to wear them mostly at home. Sure, they'd all deserve to be worn in balls and cocktail parties, but neither of those is a part of my life and I think Susan is very right when she says that they are too beautiful to be left in a drawer to eternally wait for one of those very rare occassions to happen. I rather match the colors of my hairsticks with my pajamas and feel like I'm a queen spending one of her more informal days.

Health: Yesterday I stepped on a scale- and couldn't believe my eyes. I have gained several kilos! The strange thing is, that my body measurements have not changed, and when I asked T, he said that he hasn't noticed any change either. So, most of the weight must be muscle. I can't believe how I manage to build that stuff. Forget about me getting feminine curves...when I lose some fat that now covers the muscles, I'll just turn into a fine specimen of an East German hammer thrower.
    But no matter what that new stuff in me is, it is making the scale go up and therefore bad. So, I have decided that until the wedding, I need to watch my eating. Then there will be wedding, Christmas and New Year and then...it's traditional Winter Fast all over again.

We have a new baby bunny in the house! :D :D :D

That happened fast. We have been talking about getting a second rabbit to reside upstairs every now and then since we moved, but not that seriously. Then yesterday, we went to a pet store at Lohja -"just to look the bunnies". It was midday, and according to their daily rhythm, most of the bunnies were very sleepy. Except one. There was this one little iron-gray girl who was having a superdisco in her cage. All alone, in a toyless cage, she was hopping and bouncing and stretching and just seemed so happy of being alive. We watched her for a long time, started talking about the idea of getting a bunny right now. Soon we became certain that we just couldn't let her end up being some reckless little child's pet doomed to live in cage all her life- she clearly was very special and deserved a good home. For example, like the home we could provide. Soon we were carrying the little one to her new home telling each other that we'd have a good ten years to consider what we'd done.
   At the moment, Little Rabbit (no official name yet) is still quite scared of people, but with a little of time, patience and treats we'll win her trust. She's incredibly cute. Pictures coming, when the domesticating process allows. Also, later on we'll try to get her befriend Liina, but as rabbit relationships are complicated, we don't really expect that to succeed. It's likely that we'll just have "upstairs rabbit" and "downstairs rabbit".

Hair: Another sauna day, no deep treatment yet because the arrival of the Little Rabbit messed my head completely. So, more hair neglect.

ongrats on the new bunny!!

Thanks, Curlgirl! :) I'm happy to report that Little Rabbit has settled in well. She seems very bright (not to mention super cute) and has adapted to her new life very well. We named her Lumi (Snow), because her coloring is gently "frosted" on her sides, and above all, because her huge fluffy paws resemble snow shoes.

Here are some pictures.

http://img313.imageshack.us/img313/5700/lumistandskr5.jpg

http://img313.imageshack.us/img313/4742/lumimarchesro7.jpg

http://img313.imageshack.us/img313/6299/lumikenguruct6.jpg

http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/9923/lumiinvestigatescn7.jpg

I haven't felt well today, but neverthless I managed to be quite productive with my last grant application of the month. I hope I'm better tomorrow- there's so much to do: work, chores and of course my weekly exercise.

Hair: Hair feels clean and looks clean, which is nice after the weird weeks. I remembered that I bought this handy tape measure that measures both inches and centimeters, and measured my ponytail circumference with it. My career as a frequent hair board member has caused me to think my hair in inches... Anyway, I measured twice and got 3.5" as a result. A happy surprise that was, as I have recently felt that my hair is so thin. Obviously, I'm wrong and would be wise to stop worrying over something that is a) perfectly normal and b) not in my power to change in any way.
My hairtoy shelves are in terrible order- an ordinary cupboard is definitely not the place to store one's hairtoys. I really hope we have time to shop that combing table soon. That's just a rather faint hope though, and probably I'll have to survive with what I have until after the wedding. When I get the combing table, it'll be fun to discover all the toys that I've buried to the cupboard.

Feeling better today, and also happier (after finishing writing the grant application).

Hair: Hair became weird and dirty yesterday so I washed it. At the moment I just don't seem to have much tolerance for dirty hair. Some belated reaction to WO experiment? Today hair is clean. I'm trying to wear it in a bun without using a ponytail base. Gilded Denim hairsticks hold it reasonably well, but I'm pretty sure that this wouldn't last the whole day. Neverthless, I suppose that my hair wouldn't mind if I went elastic free at least on the quiet days at home.

Wedding preparations: I'm so relieved having completed the shawl. Besides finishing it, I have done just a couple of little tasks. On the weekend we're going to continue with preparations. It's not much more than a month until the big day, after all, and two and half months until the big party day. Considering that, I am happy how smoothly everything has went so far.
   
Here's Lumi picture of the day. As you can see, it's quite difficult to get good pictures of her. :D
http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/2549/lentolumigi1.jpg

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!  Lumi is SO KY-OOOT!  :D :D :D

Glad you are feeling better.

:) @ berkanna. Lumi sends greetings! T built her a huge cage that occupies a big part of our workroom. But she likes it, and it keeps both our furniture and the rabbit safe.
  We have tried to introduce the rabbits to each other, but the results aren't too good. Just like we expected, Lumi tries to attack Liina. I wonder whether her aggressiveness will improve when we have her spayed... until then, it doesn't seem very likely that the two of them will become friends.

Hair: Neglect season continues. The wedding is just a month away, so I feel I should at least do a dusting and a clarifying/deep treatment before the big day. If I take it as my goal now, maybe I'll manage to do it during November. Hope so.

Garden: For us, the end of the week was busy. First, the fall's first big storm passed over us. It was milder than anticipated, but neverthless I was happy to be able to spend the time at home.
  Then -just as we turned our clocks to winter time- the weather cleared, but became very cold. We spent the better part of Sunday at the garden, and I'm happy to report that as far as I am concerned, the winter may come now. We managed to do all the big tasks we had left. If the weather allows to, I'd still like to do some minor work there, but if it doesn't I won't be too unhappy.
 
Country living: I've started to knit mittens. I found this very nice thick wool blend yarn that is just perfect for knitting mittens. And how quick it is to knit a pair! I have already knitted one pair for T, and now I'm knitting for myself. I'll post the pictures when my mitten project is complete.
      We have had to turn the electric heating on at upstairs. The woodstoves are effective, but the distribution of air became noticeably uneven and created draft between the floors. So, we're now about half and half wood and electric heating.
      I still cook most of our food on woodstove -everything except dishes that need oven. When I feel scientific, I'm going to find out how to use both of the cooking ovens we have too.

Spirituality: I've come to the conclusion that I should improve this area of my life. I've been doing little more than burning a tuohus candle every now and then on my meditation table. And of course, the table has been set so that it requires care. Doing these little things always makes me feel better -somehow more balanced and peaceful, and it makes me think of whether I could improve things even more.
Being a logic-loving agnostic however poses its challenges! After some thinking, I ordered pretty tarot cards from internet- perhaps using them would guide my meditations. Another thing I'm experimenting with is music- perhaps adding some calming music would also help. We'll see what comes out of these experiments.

It's snowing! Heavily, I might add- the forecast says that we could get as much as 20 cm (8 in) of snow and as the weather will remain cold for a few days, it will stay at least for a while. I can't remember when the winter has arrived so early -or with such force. All I hope is that there will be enough snow to build a snowman or two to the garden. I have always loved building snowmen, but in the city it's usually not possible. Hee hee!

T is out of town on a work trip, and I have the whole house for myself. Yesterday ended up being a very long and tiring day, so I decided to stay at home today. In any case, the first heavy snowfall of the year always messes up the traffic completely and since bus trips to Helsinki are long in best of circumstances, I'm happy to stay here.

Wedding preparations: Time is passing quickly! We have still some preparations to make for the wedding day, but everything is still remarkably well in control.
  We finally found a text we'd like the registrar officer to read in our ceremony- a passage from Nichomachean Ethics. We feel it's much better -more dignified and solemn- than some romantic poem that people usually have in civil ceremonies.

Hair: Last night I did a little experiment: tried sleeping with my hair loose. Normally I have worn segmented ponytails secured with hair friendly satin scrunchies, but as my hair has grown that style has become a bit uncomfortable. Sleeping my hair loose was more comfortable, and to my surprise my hair wasn't even tangled in the morning, nor was there any more shedding than usually. I think I'll try this again. I suppose that if I'm really going to make this a habit, I may have to order some silk pillowcases.
  In any case, today my hair feels great. Because of the snowfall and wind, this is also the first winter bonnet day of the winter. Ponytail season (that never really begun this year) is coming to an end!

Snow!  I love that first blanket of white.  :)  We've had our first white-out for the season, but we've not yet had ground cover.  I'm looking forward to snow.  We've not had a good snowy winter in a number of years.  I'm taking our cars in to have their snow tires mounted this weekend, so I'll be ready!  :D

Turns out that the snow cover we have is far from calf high cover we were promised. It's not even a blanket really - just a white veil. It seems that the rest of Southern Finland got more though. It snowed heavily yesterday, but almost everything melt away. Now the weather has cooled again, and it has snowed a little so the ground is still white...which, I suppose is the main thing though there isn't enough snow to build anything out of it. At least it's not dark any longer. I hate the dark, cold, wet Novembers we usually have. In that respect, this year is much better! Now, if it snowed just a little more I could take Lumi-rabbit to see the thing she's been named after, for the first time in her life!

Wedding preparations: I ordered the flowers from this village's flower shop today. It felt good to support a local business like that -besides, the prices were very good compared to city prices. I was also happy to hear that the prices of my favorite flowers -cymbid orchids- will drop during November and therefore including them to our order didn't raise the prices through the roof. The florist was a very nice lady- it seems that everyone in this village is so nice and friendly. It seems to be true after all that city people are different.

Hair: I don't know if I'm going to rinse or wash my hair today, but something needs to be done. I slept also last night with my hair loose. No tangles, no nothing, and I was much more comfortable than when I have a tail with lumps of scrunchies to deal with. Experiment continues- tonight we'll find out whether it's safe to sleep with my hair loose when T is around. He loves to crawl into my lap during the night...we'll see what that cute habit of his does to my loose hair!
  Otherwise, I'm trying to remember my favorite hairstyles of last winter. The center parts are coming back, that's for sure. The bonnet just works and looks best with parted hair.

Spirituality: I redecorated my meditation table a little. I took the rose that wasn't doing too well away, and put two white candles on it instead. I also found three pretty little gemstones: a citrine, a carnelian and a green stone that I don't recognize. I quite like this "winter setting" and how it brings light and warmth to this darkest time of the year.

I'm just now catching up on my reading of your journal and I must tell you, I think Lumi is absolutely darling!     :)

Trisha, Lumi thanks for your nice words.

Hair: I finally have hair news. Maybe my long hair neglect season is ending..? My hair is now freshly s&d's. There were some splits and white dots, but nothing too bad. I now keep my s&d scissors by my computer so I can snip a split or two when reading the news. But that's not all- on top of s&d mission I did a SMT treatment. It made my hair so silky.
   I've continued to sleep with hair over the pillow, and it's still comfortable. I guess that my hair stays in order better now that it's longer. I'm going to go on with this experiment a little while longer, and then maybe order those silk pillowcases.

Health: My home gym is finally complete! The only problem I have is that now that Lumi has occupied most of the floor space in my working room, my exercise equipment is now all over upstairs. I need to think about it... but, neverthless it feels great to know that nothing except my own possible laziness can keep me from staying in good shape over the winter. I doubt that will be an issue- just looking out of the window is a good reminder of that when the spring comes, I better be strong and healthy.

Wedding preparations: Less than a month to go. Eep! Everything is still going well though. The only thing that worries us, is T's grandmother. She's a lady with very strong opinions, and T I sure that as far as she thinks, our wedding will go totally wrong: no church, a reception at home a month after the big event...oh, she isn't going to like it alright and she's not a shy person when it comes to stating her opinions on matters like that. She has also had a habit of hinting me that we should make grandchildren for her, and as we marry, I suppose that I really have to think up some polite but VERY firm comebacks that will stop the hints from developint to harrassment. It doesn't make things any more easy that most of our friends who have married have had children about an year after the wedding. But, we're not going to follow them, for the simplest reason of all: I don't want children. Not now, and very possibly not ever. Besides, I find it rude when people inquire on such personal issues, no matter how good their intentions are. [/rant].
Happy to have that one out of my chest. Besides, I think that all the other people on our invitation list will like the event and hopefully appreciate us arranging the party so that we can be good hosts and not just concentrate on making the party day "our perfect day".

I HATE it when people are so presumptuous to assume that children will follow a marriage.  There are so many unwanted children in the world, no one should feel compelled to have kids unless that is truely what they want (and when they want them).  Good luck in dealing with T's grandmother - it could be a tough road to go down.  I've dealt with it to some extent with my hubby's family - they all thought that having only 1 child was being selfish and we should have had more. There were sooooo many reasons we only had one, some of the medical, some of them emotional; but I always felt it was our decision, not theirs and I shouldn't have to explain or justify any of it to them.  Stick to your decisions, and don't feel you have to justify anything to her.  It is a personal decision between you and T.  

Quote:

Health: My home gym is finally complete! The only problem I have is that now that Lumi has occupied most of the floor space in my working room, my exercise equipment is now all over upstairs. I need to think about it... but, neverthless it feels great to know that nothing except my own possible laziness can keep me from staying in good shape over the winter. I doubt that will be an issue- just looking out of the window is a good reminder of that when the spring comes, I better be strong and healthy.

I'm sure Lumi will be assisting you in your workouts!   ;D  Do you enjoy listening to music while doing exercises or do you prefer quiet?  I find some noise helpful when I'm walking on my  treadmill.  

I've been married 18 years and childern were never on the agenda.  I got picked on too but it passed.  I hate when family does not mind there business >:( I say do what YOU want girl, its your life. :)

Bikerbraid: You're so right. Besides, there are today so many couples who can't have children no matter how much they wanted to, and endless questions must hurt them deeply. I suppose that never enters to nosy little minds of some people...
    I just wonder how doing anything that isn't the "norm" in this matter is called selfish so easily. Don't all major lifestyle and family decisions involve many personal reasons? Ahh, if someone dares to tell THAT to me... [smiley=evil.gif]let's just say that after I've finished with him, his ears will be so red he can seek a new job as a traffic light.
   I talked today about this with T too, and he assured me that we'll deal with the grandmother together.  :)

Trisha: It depends. Sometimes I like quiet, sometimes I enjoy music. Lately I've listened music: mostly heavier as it fits the grim determination I feel when I push through the last reps.  :P
I think that one of the nicest things about exercising at home is that you can have it whatever way you like.

Lisabelle: I suppose it will pass once I hit 40  ::). Worst times are just right ahead- a recently married couple living in a cozy house, both just hitting 30. Everything would be just perfect for a baby or two...except that so far in my life there hasn't been a single day when I have wanted to have a child of my own. Maybe that day will still come. But as years have passed, I have started to doubt it.

It's snowing, and the scenery outside looks weirder than ever: there are still trees with green and yellow foliage, covered in a blanket of sparkling snow. As far as the amount of snow goes, it could well be January...only little details in the picture aren't quite right. Probably I should go take some pictures outside.

Just a quick update: length pics!

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Bed head.

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A little neater picture.

WOW!

thanks for the pic!! ;)

I found a length pic I had taken in April. In spite of two trims in between that pic and this recent one, I have gained some great growth, and judging from the pics it is starting to look long! Doesn't feel like long, but maybe it will soon.
  I like the bed head picture- the tendrils climbing around my back are the way my hair loves to be whenever I don't keep it contained.

We still have snow and cold, and I'm enjoying every moment! We have had more snow- fluffy, sparkly, beautiful snow that makes me feel I'm walking in a fairytale. I know it will melt soon and who knows when it will snow next time...but everything is now so beautiful and serene so I'm just trying to live in the moment.
   I washed my hair yesterday and today after exercise I rinsed it again. I just realized that I have forgotten oiling during this neglect season- another good hair habit I need to resume ASAP.  

Great pictures!  I like the "bed head" pic.  That is a natural picture!

Heh, I like it too.

To say that yesterday was a hard day at work doesn't even begin to describe it.  I did a "field trip" to educate myself about the animal tests in medicine. What I saw and the conversations I had with the professionals of the field made my blood boil. Before I started this research, I didn't have strong opinions about the subject and believed that most of the medical research done by animal experimenting is necessary. Duh, well, yesterday broke those illusions. What I experienced resembled a time machine visit to Germany in early '40:s and talking about theorethical ethics with people from the Party. Nice, ordinary people -certainly, as long as you look as Aryan as they do and agree with them that in the great project of gaining Lebensraum you are entitled to do whatever you like to to those you deem to be "lesser" beings. It seems that humanity has learned very little from near history- except to cover its gravest mistakes under the name of science instead of the name of ideology.
Today, my goal is simply to calm down and bring myself back into the calm state of mind where I can transform my experiences into good philosophical thoughts that have some small hope of changing things. [/venting]

   So, I'm enjoying a free day at home: doing chores, enjoying my beautiful, peaceful enviroment, exercising and meditating. I feel I've totally earned some time to paint my toenails, decorate my bun with extra beautiful hairsticks (Blue Wings with their blue little flowers and butterflies seem to be the perfect therapy sticks) and play with Lumibunny. She has become absolutely adorable- besides bouncing around, she enjoys being stroked gently. I know it's the calm before the teenage kicks in, but I'm enjoying it!
My hair is a little dirty. It seems that I've slipped back to washing it twice a week. But, if that's the schedule it prefers then so be it.

Spirituality: My tarot cards and the accompanying literature have arrived. I did my first, simple reading. I had a bit difficulty in determining the method as I'm not interested of the fortune-telling aspects of tarot divination. But, I got some food for thought from the reading and it was a positive experience. It seems that it is possible to use the cards to bring new thoughts to my mind. Without an external aid like that, I have sometimes felt that my thoughts are sometimes focused to just few aspects of a given issue. My hope is that sometimes using the cards will bring new points of view to my mind and help me see things in wider perspectives. Nothing too mystical in that, I suppose, but then- my path of spirituality is quite a down-to-earth one.

Galadriel-which deck did you get?  I have a big collection of tarot decks!  8-)

I got Zerner-Farber's Enchanted Tarot. Right now I'm in total awe -I really connect with it. I've done a couple of more readings about different issues (I have questions in storage!), and my meditations have been truly enlightening and comforting.
When I visited Helsinki, I bought two other decks, Classic and Castelli's Art Nouveau that featured so beautiful artwork. But reading them was difficult. I suppose that me being a total beginner explains it, but it doesn't explain how effortlessly I read Zerner-Farber and the quality of answers I gain from it. These are strange things indeed. Strange enough to be magical, I suppose.
     So far, I'm glad I chose to ignore my preconceptions and to approach tarot with open mind. I'm definitely going to learn more about this and to work more with the Zerner-Farber deck. Maybe, when I gain practice I will also have success with the other two decks. If not- at least they have interesting artwork and may work if I ever read for someone else.

Life, Hair and Everything: I'm happy to tell that I'm feeling today much better. I've even been able to work with my seminar essay and to draw inspiration from my experiences to my writing process. That's a good sign. I am still going to take this day easy and pay attention to relaxing.
I'll still have to visit That Dreadful Place twice, but I'll arrange it so that there will be only one visit per week. I can handle that, especially now that I know what to expect from the visits.
      After yesterday's exercise, I took a shower and washed my hair. Soon I'll have to place a shampoo and soap order to Ida again. I checked her webpages, and it seems that for this winter, she has quite a few interesting new products. I have a strong feeling that I'll end up ordering the full 8 bars again!
       I found some small pink and lilac claw clips, and secured today's bun with them. Resulting style is far from stylish, but it is cute and fun- I like it! Speaking of hairtoys, I hopefully have some time to shop for Secret Santa exchange tomorrow. I already have some ideas, but now that the stores stock up everything for Christmas, who knows what I'll find.

Wow, your hair's gotten so long, Galadriel!!!  :o It looks like you've been taking extremely good care of it!

Quote:

...doesn't explain how effortlessly I read Zerner-Farber and the quality of answers I gain from it. These are strange things indeed. Strange enough to be magical, I suppose.

Sounds to me as if the deck chose you, and not the other way around--things happen for a reason.   :)

I find that the decks "speak" to me, and I may use one as a primary and then the others will jump out when I'm doing certain work.  Once upon a time I was doing readings in a metaphysical bookstore and I would choose the decks based on the "vibe" of the person I was reading for.  If I'm doing personal work, I place my hand on the deck and will feel heat from the one calling me or I look at them and one or two will really catch my eye and I'll feel drawn to it.  I have a favorite book, The Intuitive Tarot, that encourages you to develope your inner awareness.  I think the cards are a wonderful tool.  Sorry I can't remember who wrote the book-my copy is packed away at the moment.

Trisha & Sakina: /More Tarot talk
Thanks for your comments. Sakina, the book that came with Zerner Farber deck talks a lot about using tarot for developing inner awareness. I like that aspect a lot- just what I ordered. I get very strong positives vibes from that deck- which is good because otherwise I might be a bit disturbed of getting so good answers from it.  ;) I'll try to search the book you recommended.

Today I was at Helsinki, at an informal seminar with other graduate students from my Dept. It was a great little philosophical gathering and I still feel refreshed by it. I also had a little time to do some Secret Santa shopping, and in fact, I found something interesting. I hope to have my SS present ready to go some time during the next week. Hee hee!
  I hope that besides doing wedding preparations I'll have time to check a few more hairtoy stores in near future. Now that the Christmas and party season in general are nearing, shops always have best selections.
 Otherwise, I haven't paid much attention to my hair today. It's been a perfectly normal hair day I suppose- bun it and forget it. During this fall I've become pretty good in the forgetting part I suppose. I'll probably have to make Stop Neglecting My Hair as my New Year's promise.

Wedding preparations: We fetched both my wedding gown and T's suit today. Now that the last reparations were made, the gown is just perfecct. I think it looks quite Galadriel-ish... and though I hadn't that look in mind when I started my gown shopping, I'm happy to see that it looks good on me. :D
We also arranged the photographing today and so, as far as the actual wedding day goes, we're almost done! Of course, there is still plenty to do with party arrangements and we'll turn our attention next to them. But right now, I have very good feeling about everything.
   
Hair: Washed yesterday, down today! It seems that my hair has become a bit more manageable and I have enjoyed wearing it down. Growing still seems to bring only improvements with it. :)

It seems that this snowy period is going to last. THe few warmer days we had during last week weren't enough to melt it all, and now it has snowed more. Trees still have their leaves though- it looks as if the leaves have frozen to the trees. If winter has really come this early, I wonder what will happen to them.

I'm sure my Secret Santa would like to know that I have now done my shopping and hope to be able to send the gift tomorrow. ;)

I've had a rather busy week- lots of work, chores, and wedding preparations. But all is going well. Preparations for the wedding day are almost done, and then we'll start really working with the party part. We decided that we are going to see if we can arrange some fireworks for the end of the party. Fireworks are sold around New Year so obtaining them wouldn't be too complicated/expensive, we have a good place very near...all we really need is a permission from local fire department, as according to the law fireworks are allowed without permission only on New Year's night. But I'm sure that won't really be a problem either...we'll just need to arrange it. It'll be fun...
Hair-wise I have still kept things simple. Except, that I have played a little with hairtoys. Right now I'm wearing Plum Sophisticate RapunzelStix pair. Worth mentioning, because my hair is today 1st day hair but long hairsticks have kept my bun well in place.  

Well, I didn't make it to the PO on Friday, but today I will! :D

Wedding preparations: We have been busy! We have done more shopping, taken our engagement rings to jewelry shop for polishing and have worked with invitations, guest list (short!), menus. Our focus is shifting from the ceremony day to party day. Today I have arranged fireworks. I have been in contact with the City about permissions required, and though the process seems to require some bureaucracy, the officials are nice and helpful. Though our things to do- list seems to never end, we are getting things accomplished and I have a very good feeling about everything.

Hair: I have finally tried my "final" hairstyle, with styling products and everything. The products seem to work fine. The result wasn't a "hair helmet", but I'm sure it will last well enough. The veil was a really good idea, as a relatively simple style goes best with it. Add a few pearls and tiny flowers, and it's just perfect. And most importantly- my hair gets saved from teasing, hot irons and other nasty things that a stylist would do.
  I think I'm going to have T do a small trim before the wedding. There are some white dots I want to get rid of. All in all, I think that this year I have succeeded in my goal in trimming less. Trimming more often has meant that I have had no urge to do large trims. So, until I reach waist, I'll stick with four annual trims also next year. When I hit the waist, I'm still planning to maintain for a while and see if I can improve my horizontal volume at all. If not, I guess that I'll let it grow past waist in any case.
   

Update time!

Life: The seminar has pretty much dominated this week: first, finishing my paper, then presenting and defending it and finally recovering from resulting brain overload. I guess I'm still suffering a little of brain overload, and therefore I'm avoiding philosophy for today too. Tomorrow, I can hopefully start reviewing the comments and try solving the problems pointed out in the seminar. Brain overloads are interesting phenomena- essentially the set of symptoms one gets after thinking way too much. Headache, exhaustion, mind running too fast even when you're asleep. I've heard that if one ignores the warning signs, it can get more serious. So I have always been careful to take a day or two off when I feel the symptoms and during that time keeping myself busy with unintellectual activities and it always helps. It's important to do something though- if one "just relaxes", the poor overworked mind will start pondering all the unsolved problems, and that's not good. So, I spent yesterday cooking, baking a cake, exercising and planning what to take on "honeymoon". It was a good day, and now I feel much better.

Exercise: Speaking of health, I'm still going strong with my exercise program. Divided program seems to work quite well and during the week my whole body gets a pretty thorough exercise. Of course, it seems that I'm building muscle even faster than before, but I suppose that it can't be helped. In any case, I think I will keep this divided program in future too. Maybe next I could dedicate one session in a week for improving flexibility. I'm naturally quite flexible, but with my current exercise program, I haven't seen much development in that area. Hmm...

Wedding preparations: We still have them- it's amazing how much little things there are even for a wedding day as simple as ours. Our engagement rings are back and shiny, fireworks permissions have been taken where they belong, we are still figuring out how to arrange the care for rabbits. Still no panic- except the little panic resulting from realizing that at the end of next week, I will have a different name and be Mrs. T  :o Eep.
   I'm trying to avoid thinking of weather- all snow has been gone for days, and we're dealing again with a perfectly ordinary November: dark, wet and cold. I don't dare to hope that it would get better during next week. But, as T said- since our party is in January, we'll get a second chance to have snow and a nice weather. :)

Hair: Nothing new there. I think the growth spurt is over. Neverthless, it looks that if I don't get overly scissor happy during the winter, I may well reach waist by next summer.

A busy weekend is behind. As the weather is mild and the snow is gone, we had a chance to revisit garden and to work there for a while. Now it looks a little less bad than it did when the snow came. It seems that the sudden mild weather has messed up some of the plants though- I found a few flowers, and it looks as if one crazy shrub really thinks that now is the perfect time to bloom.  ::) I hope it won't be damaged too badly when the real December weather arrives.
    My SS gift has arrived safely! I was so happy to receive a pm about it. :)
My own hair, however, is still in the sad state of neglect. Our weekend ended up being so busy that I didn't have time to clarify, to do a SMT treatment or even to have T trim the ends. Today is a bit better though and after exercising, I'm planning to pamper myself.

Wedding preparations: Now it seems that our rabbits will be separated: Liina will go to my mother and Lumi to T's mother. It's really not much extra trouble and the bunnies will be happy for not having to be close to each other. T wanted his mother to have Lumi partly because then we can collect her on Sunday evening and announce the big news at that time. I guess T would like to have his mother to attend the ceremony, impractical as it would have been (not to mention that I'm so excited that having guests might just have been the thing to push me over the edge...and considering certain size difference between the bride and the groom, on this one occassion the famous "fainting bride" scheme would have been too much drama...) But this is a good compromise.
   T has tried his suit on. I knew it's the type that one can't dress without help, but it was a surprise to discover that while wearing it, he can't move much better than I can in my gown. Which caused us quickly to bury the idea of using our own car for going to the ceremony/photographer. Instead, we'll order a van-sized taxi. T may be able to help me a little in managing the veil and shawl, but not as much as we had originally hoped. Essentially, the wedding wear reduces us to dolls.
  Even in best possible weather, the life of a doll can be a bit challenging, but as the first forecasts of Friday have arrived, it is becoming very clear that we are not going to get the best possible weather. Instead, it seems that Friday will be "more of the same"- mild (read: wet and muddy), grey weather where protecting a white gown will be hopeless.
   At least, after these struggles relaxation will await: we have booked more treatments from the spa. The weekend, at least, will be spent in luxury.

Ooooooo!  You are in the final days before the BIG day!  I hope the weather breaks for you and at least you don't have rain. (We wouldn't want the two of you to melt! ;) )  It has been so much fun following your preparations.  I hope we get to see a picture of the two of you dolls!

Now they have added a scary little raindrop on Friday's weather chart. Lovely. But not unexpected at all- this kind of weather is SO typical for this season. Anything else would have been a small miracle.
You'll get pictures soon- we thought that it would be a nice idea to let people attending to the party "participate" to the ceremony afterwards by having a photo album of the Big Weekend ready. We are going to take a digicam with us everywhere and have people take pictures of us.

Are you surprised to learn that I'm finally sitting here as a paragon of a hair journal writer -Snowy's Deep Moisture treatment simmering under a shower cap?! I have even clarified my hair with baking soda! Yes, I finally got to the "Pamper the Bride Day". Not a moment too early, I'd say. :P A wedding board where I've searched information a few times had this great "beauty program" of what a bride should do before wedding and when...I think it started about three months before the wedding. Me? I'm going to just be efficient and take care of everything essential during today: a quick facial (peeling & mask & cream), even quicker little pedicure, shower & shaving and haircare. That's it. My fingernails are hopeless, so on Friday I'll just glue fake nails on.

T has sneaked around in his workplace after his coworkers left home, and has printed the program and invitation text. Invitations are now ready to go, and if I may say so myself, they ended up being really pretty. We'll deliver the first cars (to our bunnysitters/mothers) by ourselves, and send the rest as soon as we have all the addresses. We tried to collect them beforehand, but it seems that it's one of the tasks that are much easier to perform when we can enlist help of eg. T's mother.
In general, we have enjoyed all the sneaking and secrecy and giggling greatly. Today, we'll take Liina to my mother and tomorrow Lumi will go. T is taking the day off from work, and we are going to clean the house (so that we won't have to start cleaning the moment we arrive from the spa) and do other last minute chores. Then- no more giggling, just wide smiles.

I'm not sure if I will have time to update tomorrow. If not, I guess I'll be back when I've updated myself to Mrs. Galadriel. 8-)

I'm glad you are taking the day to pamper yourself.  We will anxiously await your return as Mrs. T.  ;D  Have lots of fun!

I'm not sure when you read this, G, but I just want to wish you all the happiness in the world as you head down this new road of being Mrs. T   8-)  Congrats and have fun!!

Galadriel's Enchanted Wedding


First, the pictures!

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Homemade wedding hair. Easy to make and lasted very well.

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With veil

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A pretty picture- me panicking in the living room just before leaving

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The Kiss  :-*

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A rather bad picture of the ring and the flowers. Both are very pretty.

ETA: I will remove some of the pictures the next time I log in.

EDIT: Done!

THE STORY BEHIND THE PICTURES:

There's not much to tell about the big day before we left for the magistrate: we got up, got dressed, T fetched the flowers, I did my hair and make up and both panicked. The weather was better than we had anticipated: no rain, and even the sun peeked up from behind the clouds- first time in two weeks. A good omen!

While the lady who took our order was a bit puzzled of our order, we were happy about two persons wanting a van-sized taxi, we were happy about the idea. I don't remember when I've been as nervous as I was in the taxi to magistrate- except of course in the bride's room where we had to wait for a while. It was nice to have a little room to squirm...
  I wasn't any less nervous when the ceremony started, but it really didn't matter as it was perfect anyway. We had witnesses from magistrate, and one of them took pictures of the ceremony. The registrar read a passage from Aristotle's Nichomachean ethics that we had selected before. She was really good, and it was all very touching and romantic. It was the best wedding ceremony I've ever attended, and I swear it wasn't just because it was my own. I was almost sorry that we hadn't invited any guests... but only almost, as the ceremony being so intimate was probably one of the things that made it so incredibly romantic.
 
After the ceremony, we headed to photographer to take the official wedding pictures. The photographer was so goofy that I forgot to be nervous. We'll get to see the shots tomorrow and will select the official pictures then.

After photographing, we had to wait for a while before our taxi picked us up. On a gray December day we drew quite a lot of attention from people who passed by. Many congratulated us, and there was this old lady who stopped and said that "It's so wonderful to see such beauty in the midst of this time of the year!" *happy sigh*
Finally the taxi came and we went back home for a quick lunch, to change clothes and pack. It didn't take too long, and early in the evening we were on West Coast, in the most luxurious spa of the country. We had reserved dinner in a fine restaurant. Somehow the restaurant knew about our wedding too, and they carried us "greetings from the kitchen" and extra sparking wine. Dining took all evening, and the extra pampering the kitchen offered us made it really special.

On Saturday and Sunday, we had luxurious treatments, more fine dining and just relaxing. We agreed that this was the best honeymoon we could have hoped for- after all the nervousness and stress the luxuries of the spa felt wonderful. On our way home, T's father called and T informed him of our marriage. Later on the evening we went to pick Lumi up from T's mother and handed her out the first of our official party invitation cards. Both T's parents were surprised, but happy for us and happy of our decision to have a party too. T's mother and her spouse weren't too eager to give Lumi back though and so we spent there the rest of the evening, drinking tea and having good time.

So, everything went just perfectly and was even better than we had anticipated. If the party will go half as well, it will be wonderful.

Yea!  I'm glad everything went so well.  You made a beautiful bride, everything looked perfect.  I'm sure you an T will have many, many years of happiness together.  Congratulations to you both.





Now it is time to PARTY!

Oh, Mrs. G, you were such a beautiful bride.  Your veil and gown matched perfectly.  The sleeves on your gown are awesome!  I really loved you hair-is it a braided bun?

I'm really happy for you and your hubby.

Congrats!!!

Congratulations!  You looked so beautiful!  I loved your hair and gown.  You reminded me of when I got married and how nervous we were.  We had a town hall wedding on the fly.  We eloped, but we were prepared! I had a borrowed wedding dress and got a friend to take pictures.  Thanks for the memories and best of luck!! :) :)

Thank you, everyone!  :D

Sakina: No, it's not a braided bun. I just made a ponytail and sectioned it (I think I got 4 sections) and wrapped and pinned each section around the base. I used strong liquid hair gel and about half a liter of hairspray. The result was very nice- not a "hair helmet" like updos made by a hairstylists usually are, but still firm.

Wedding preparations: Well, we still have the party to prepare so "wedding preparations" section is still around in this journal. :P We have started to inform friends and relatives. Everyone's been happily surprised so far. Poor T has now flu and fever, but once he gets better, we'll send the invitations.
  Official pictures weren't ready yet (slow studio!) but Thursday will do fine -hopefully by then T is doing better.

Hair& Life: I RECEIVED MY SECRET SANTA GIFT. THANK YOU, SS!  :D The gift was huge and I love it. I can only wonder how on Earth is it possible that I get always so perfect gifts from Secret Santa Exchange while my own parents have resorted to sending some money since I was a teenager. :P Fetching the gift was also quite an event: while I was gone, also another package had arrived to PO -on my maiden name. So, there I was, signing two cards with two different signatures. I really need to start the process of changing my ID papers this week.
  Hair is doing fine, though during the past few days I have detected quite a few white dots. This is rather weird right after trim. Of course, I have neglected my hair ever since moving here... I need to repent and resume my good hair habits. I think I keep saying this all the time, but maybe this time I really do something.

INDEPENDENCE DAY

I'm glad that our Independence Day celebrations are rather quiet. T is feeling better today but the flu is trying to get me as its new host. And, since there was the wedding, we haven't had too much energy to think about how to spend today.
We ate a Finnish meal that I prepared on our woodstove: reindeer with mashed potatoes and lingonberries and Finnish chocolates and gooseberry tart for dessert. And, of course we watched President's Independence Day Reception from TV. A rather boring event, but it did provide some interesting hair sightings. I think the hairstyles have improved greatly over the years- this year I even spotted a few ladies who wore hair jewelry. :D I hope it's not just this year's fashion. Some ladies had also quite creative hairstyles and there were at least two whose stylists had used ribbon to accent the hairstyle.
For the rest of the time, I mostly knitted and rested. My condition hasn't worsened, so there's hope for tomorrow. I have a few good thoughts that I need to write down.

I realized that it's the time of the year when I choose a character development task for next year and reevaluate the past year. I have done this for several years now, and it has proved to be an excellent habit. I have not always succeeded with my projects, but most of the time I have. And, when I haven't, I have learned something valuable about myself anyway. Another reason for why I'm doing this, is that as I see it, in these days most people seem to pay way too little attention to developing their characters. They see self-development mostly as learning something -reading an inspirational book, learning Spanish etc. While these are valuable skills, I don't think that they quite catch the essence of self-development and truly lead to permanent improvements in one's character. While I see that I still do way too little in that area, it seems that setting a yearly task is one good method of improving oneself. The nature of the project, of course is, that there is always something to improve. And I have a feeling that in the course of my life I will find myself selecting the same tasks many times. But that's ok, I suppose. I don't demand triumphant success, just that for the period of one year, I try my best to improve myself in a certain area.

My task for the year 2006 was to learn more self discipline by starting to exercise regularly. I think I have succeeded well- I have kept to 4 weekly exercises except when I have been sick. I am in a FAR better shape than in the beginning of this year and that is great. There were a couple of times when I could have easily given up regular exercising, but I didn't, and seeing now that I didn't has also boosted my self-confidence. So, this was a successful year.
My additional task was to learn how to be polite yet firm. This was a task I adopted after graduating. In my profession, people often turn out being quite arrogant and even a little rude, and I have had a bad habit of getting lost in my thoughts in middle of conversations and in other social situations where it might be interpreted as impoliteness. On the other hand, there have been people in my life with whom I have been way too soft because I have mistakenly believed that to be firm would be rude. This year, I tried to pay attention to these situations.
A good thing is, that at least I have become aware of these faults and that alone has helped a long way to overcome them. I can't say that I have totally put these things behind me- old habits are hard to weed out. But I think that I am doing better than before setting myself this task.

Next year, I have also decided to appoint myself two tasks. First, is quite appropriatedly frugality. My income is small, and during the moving/wedding time I have spent more than normally and I'm well aware of that it could turn out to be a new bad habit. Another thing is, that our new lifestyle provides more chances to be frugal and environmentally friendly and I want to become aware of these opportunities. I think that that requires that I start to look around with a new perspective. That should be interesting. I except this task to be actually quite a lot of fun (except for the part that includes calculating things, anyway.)

My second and more difficult task -that is a little related to the first one- is, that I have become convinced of that I need to do something about my dress. I have actually known this for a good while, but as I have struggled to change, I have found that exceedingly difficult. I am as convinced as a person can be that clothing myself in modern way (that is tied so closely with exploitation, fashion industry and all things I oppose) is something that a philosopher should do. Heck, I could probably easily write a scientific article on all the wrongs related to fashion and observing it. But though I know better, I still find myself wanting new stylish clothes and thinking that I "can't wear" some old item because it's 5 years old and therefore totally out.
The worst thing is, that I don't really shop for things I truly need or even like- I shop things in order to look nice in the eyes of the infamous THEM, in order to avoid looking too different from THEM. It has become abundantly clear to me that THEM is dominating my life and my mindset way in this area too much, and therefore preventing myself from being the person I know I should be. It seems that I am unable to do this if I keep it low-priority. So, next year, side by side with my general frugality attempt, I will start being serious about starting to dress the way I know I should. At the moment, I am not exactly sure of what that will exactly include, but I do have a few good guidelines from where to start.

Hair: I placed a soap order for Ida. Some of my favorites were sold out, but on the other hand there were a few new interesting soaps. I ordered three bars of Summer Sunshine shampoo, one bar of Lavender Spice shampoo, Orange Creamsicle, Pomander Spice and Rhassoul Yoghurt Complexion. I have still a couple of soaps from my last order left so I'm dreaming that I might be able to give one of the new ones as a Christmas present to someone (yeah, rrriggght, ask me again after I have smelled them...)
  I washed my hair last evening, so today's a Very Clean Hair Day. I have to say that after I found instant bun clips, these days have become a breeze compared to what they used to be.  :)

I think it is wonderful that you set goals/tasks for yourself each year (and then review your progress!).  Your efforts "show" here and I applaud you.  Your goals for next year sound like good ones.  I understand what you mean about fashion.  It has taken me years to find my niche for clothing.  I am not a fashion oriented person, but I don't want to look bad either.  Once I found the basic look I was comfortable with, I have been able to keep my clothing costs to a minimum and still be reasonably in style by adding one or two items that use the current colors.  (However this whole concept has been blown out of the water now that none of my clothes fit me anymore - but for a good reason ;) )

I look forward to reading on how you achieve your goals this next year.

On a general note, my pm system shows an error message when I try to pm something, so those of you who have pm'ed me, please be patient! I hope this problem will be gone the next time I log in.

Thanks for your kind words, BB. :) Because of everyone's encouraging feedback, I'll go on here a bit more about my plans.

Frugality Well, I live according to my income but that does not make me frugal. I don't buy many things that I come to regret, but I'm not very aware of prices either and taking the financial perspective of things into account is difficult to me. I think my dyscalculia doesn't help either... while I can do simple math, I don't like it and therefore tend to avoid it as long as I can. Not good.
What I will start with:
-I will try to become aware of the prices and to choose cheaper alternatives unless I specifically need the more expensive variety. When that goes well, I will try to become aware of the difference between stores and adjust my purchases accordingly. I don't want to pay high prices for things that I can get for cheaper by just walking across the street. Implementing this principle...that will be hard, though!
- I will try to be mindful of little things as they add up. Learning to turn off the lights when I leave the room would be a start... ::)
-I will learn to do small repairs so I don't need new things so often. I will also try to set aside time at least weekly to do craft projects. Doing things by yourself does not necessarily cost less than choosing cheap ready-made products, but the quality is superior. I still have items I have made when I was 16, and they look almost new.
-I will try to find creative ways to use and preserve more of the products of our garden this year. I have already started to hunt recipes!

Dress Issue
At the moment my style is quite simple and classic and judging from the compliments I get, it looks good. I have, already managed to weed out some of my worst habits and my wardrobe has improved over the years. Yet, it is still full, and though Finland's four distinct seasons justify some of that, they don't justify it all. Why do I need "formal clothes", "working clothes", "casual clothes" and "home clothes"? Essentially, because my home clothes are not neat enough, and because I like to justify buying something I fancy by saying to myself "Oh it's true that I have 9 good shirts, but I don't have enough casual shirts". KWIM? I have come to realize that these categories exists 90% in my head only, and serve no reasonable purpose.
What I want to do for starters, is to start combining these categories and blur the distinctions between them. I don't think I truly need to invest in so many different "looks". I don't need to purchase "home clothes" that I can't wear anywhere else- I'm sure that it's possible to find things that are both neat and comfortable. Second, some categories need to be reduced (I'm not going to throw anything away at the moment, just not to replace items). I have maybe 2 occassions each year where my working clothes are not formal enough. I don't really need three suits to cover them...and so on.
I also keep sewing and knitting on the list of important things- just by sewing myself, I can avoid quite a few ethical problems associated with clothing industry.

Galadriel wrote on Dec 8^th, 2006 at 1:49am:

On a general note, my pm system shows an error message when I try to pm something, so those of you who have pm'ed me, please be patient! I hope this problem will be gone the next time I log in..

This error is not just you - it has been happening since the upgrade in software.  We are trying to find the cause and get a software patch for it.

Hey Galadriel, or should I say Mrs T?  :) ;D

CONGRATULATIONS for your wedding. :)
I wish you both health and happiness for many,many,maaany years to come!
What a joyous note in here, your wedding!

P.S. I just saw that, haven't been around that much, lately.

Congratulations on your wedding, what beautiful pictures!!  Although, the picture doesn't show too much of your shawl, I'm still able to see how amazing the color looks with your dress and flowers!

I really enjoyed reading your journal, you definitely seem to be on the right track and I can completely relate to everything you've mentioned!  I also take stock every year to figure out what I may need to work on as well.

I feel that I have my dress issue (finding my own style and not needing to be trendy or "in") somewhat licked, except for the fact that I can't sew.  I feel that with learning to sew, I would be able to drastically cut my consumerism down.

Congrats again, and I hope you find success and happiness in all of your future endeavors.:)

BB, thanks for the info.  :) Today, unfortunately, all I have time for is a quick update, so please continue to be patient.

g_l  and La Diosa, thank you! La Diosa, I have just begun learning to sew. It is difficult, but I believe that if I just won't give up, eventually I will learn to sew well enough to my needs.

Speaking of sewing, I have done a little of it again. I had this old coat that had a broken zipper, so I thought that I will try to repair it. I had nothing to lose and a serviceable coat to gain. This little project was A LOT harder than I had thought- the main reason being that my sewing machine just hated  four- sometimes 6-fold thick wool fabric. BUT, I fought like a madman in the War of Clubs and finally succeeded. My seam is not as neat as the old one, but it holds and the new zipper works. So, now I have a perfectly serviceable "country coat"- good enough to wear to grocery store and to garden in cold weather.  :) Hadn't I been able to fix it, I would have had to spend another €100 to getting a new country coat, so I am quite happy. Encouraged of my success, I have now started working with my 3rd skirt. I have also bought fabrics for my next project: aprons. I am going to finally have decent, practical aprons that fit nicely and cover me well. A long time dream -and one that I haven't been able to fulfill by shopping since stores just don't carry this type of things.

I have also some great work-related news: I have been INVITED to give a speech in a very interesting and a rather important international conference. Now, young researchers like myself just don't get that kind of opportunities, so I have been extremely lucky and apparently have managed to make a very good impression on a certain occassion. This will go a long way in improving my puny CV, and what's more important, I will get an opportunity to voice my opinion on rather important matters on an excellent forum. I have already started to prepare my speech... Right now, I feel like a lottery winner and find it almost impossible to erase a huge grin from my face.

Hair: Clean, and as today has been a very windy day outside, it's been a mess all day. My fakkare bun has been wonderful, but my baby hairs just go wild in the wind and by the time I got to my workroom, my look was far from professional. Even aloe vera gel was powerless. So today was a great day to work in a place where looks truly don't matter at all. :P For tomorrow, the forecast promises heavy rain, so I suppose that I can forget wearing a pretty hairstick bun to seminar session too.

Congratulations!  How exciting that you were invited.  :D  You have obviously made a very good impression on some very influential people.  

The past week has been incredibly busy for me, but I think I'm finally getting things back to order again. Let's see what I have been up to:

Work: I have been busy preparing my conference representation, with my Doctor's thesis and a few other things. I don't quite get it how it has seemed during the past week that everything imaginable has required attention right away. But at the moment I'm quite happy of seeing that things are getting done.

Wedding preparations: We have picked them up. Cake, flowers, invitations etc. Besides the cooking project we have only a couple of things on our to-do list. I think we'll make it.

Country living: The snow is here on "on and off" basic- right now I think it's melting again. Before the last snowfall, there were a couple of warm days and we were able to finish the last of our garden works and now our garden is in great shape.
We have been heating the house every day now, and in addition to that I use the woodstove to cook. Our electric stove is mostly gathering dust in these days. We haven't done many Christmas preparations this year- in the middle of wedding celebrations and preparations we just don't have that much energy for yet another celebration. So we're going to take it easy.

Sewing & crafts: I have sewn a lot. I started with my third skirt that ended up becoming the best of all. Then I ambitiously took aprons as my next project. I had this Edwardian apron pattern that looked just what I had been looking for, and decided to start with it though it looked a little complicated. It was a positive surprise though- I managed to complete it with no great difficulties and it has proved to be a wonderful apron. I am going to make more. I'll ask T to take a picture of this creation.
Besides sewing, I have also knitted and crocheted...in fact, whenever I have had a free moment I have done something with my hands. It's been fun.

Hair: Of course, all this productivity comes at a price. I have returned to my hair neglect habits (read: lack of hair habits). I think I will have to make a point of reviving my old good habits when the new year comes.

Christmas just seemed to fly past us, and now we are busy getting ready for New Year, for wedding party and for my conference trip. On top of everything, the flu we've had for a while now has made some comebacks. Wet and cold weather doesn't probably help. Now I just hope I will be well by the end of next week when I will have to leave.

Hair: Just before Christmas, I received a soap and shampoo bar shipment from Chagrin Valley. I feel that I just need to give some special kudos to Orange Creamsicle soap- it's divine! Chocolate Orange soap has temporarily disappeared from selections, but I think this new one will make the wait more than tolerable.  :D If you are Ida's customer- try it!
I think my hair has grown since the trim- sometimes I feel the ends tickle my back way below BS! Otherwise, I am still neglecting it. I am planning to do a dusting soon, right when I find my dusting scissors. As far as styles go, there's nothing new: plain buns with various hairtoys are still my favorites for the daytime, and for the nighttime I haven't yet decided a new favorite style. Everything I try seems to be difficult one way or another.

Craft projects: I have sewn my second apron, a white apron for baking. It turned out well -I'm definitely getting hang of this sewing thing, and am even enjoying it! Being able to work at my own pace, at the peace of my sewing corner seems to make all the difference. My seams are not perfectly straight yet, but otherwise my work is neat. My biggest difficulty at the moment is finding fabric. Many fabric stores in Helsinki have closed during the past decade, and the few left sell mostly curtain and interior decorating fabrics (is that the right term?). There are a couple of stores at Lohja, but they are very small. And everywhere, clothing fabric sections are full of fancy fabrics for things like evening gowns and wedding gowns. So, plain fabrics good for sewing simple everyday clothes are the hardest to find! I have now located a couple internet stores where the prices are so good that it is reasonable to buy from there- I just need to make sure that I buy enough for several projects so the shipping costs per yard become low. Neverthless, I am glad I decided to learn to sew -homemade clothes are simply great, and I know that as I keep on learning, they will become even better.
I also finished crocheting the kitchen curtain that I have been working with almost since we moved in here. It wasn't a big project, but it has been a secondary project all the time and therefore it has progressed slowly.

Country Living: Lumi went to see a vet for the first time in her life. It was just a check, and went very well. We talked about neutering operation, and decided that the best time to perform it would be in late April or early May unless no big difficulties (like false pregnancies) develop.

I am going to start a new journal again in the beginning of year 2007 and am now in the process of thinking a good name for it. Haven't come up with anything good yet though.

Wedding preparations: Trouble! My flu is almost gone, but T has a fever. My mother's arthritis has worsened so much that she can't help us with baking. So, it's just the two of us and I have the conference trip in the middle of everything!
On the positive side, I have now tested freezing some baked goodies, and it seems that at least cakes and pies stay just as good as freshly made ones. So, next week I'm going to do some serious baking and freezing!
   T's father is going to buy us star binoculars for a wedding present. Exciting! We have been talking about starting observing stars since we decided to move to countryside, but our budget hasn't allowed for any extra buys. Excellent quality star binoculars will be useful even after we get a telescope (good telescopes are EXPENSIVE!), so they are a good buy.

Hair: I'm just about to start warming the sauna. Do I have enough energy to do a Snowytreatment or do I not, that's the question.
I'm once again going through "my hair is so thin, I'm depressed" period. A mild one, luckily- they always are. My hair may be thin in the ends, but at least it isn't short. But sometimes the fact that my single braids look like a rat's tail gets me... not that I would wear them THAT often, but neverthless... *nagiti nag* :-X
Or...could this be a sign of that I just haven't worn enough buns with gorgeous LL hairsticks lately?

Work: I'm more than a little worried about my next year's funding. At the moment the situation looks bad and it may well be that I will have to look for a job in spring. Funding of scientific research (except maybe in engineering and medicine) in this country is inadequate beyond description. About 50 well qualified people are fighting for one grant- that's the estimate I've heard. And, they say that the real difficulties start at post doc level. ::) [/rant]
I understand why everyone is talking about moving abroad...unfortunately, for me that is not an option.
I and T have decided that if my last application will fail, I will try to search a part time job from near home. It would be hard to continue developing my theory while doing a full time job, and it wouldn't do any good for our family life either. Some things that we have now that I've been able to be mostly at home cannot be compensated with money.

But, tomorrow's New Year's Eve and we have fireworks  :D. In any case, my current troubles are small potatoes compared to the troubles I had in last New Year. I survived then, and again, I have a lot hope that solutions will present themselves when the time is right.