I'm starting this year off on a stupid note.  Yesterday I got some bangs cut in.  I think my brain doesn't work correctly anymore.  I guess one of my quests this year it to figure out why I do thinks like this to myself and another will be to stop doing these things to myself.

I am happy to have gotten my hair reshaped, and plan on getting trims every 8-12 weeks.  I had been getting the minimum trimmed, but it looks like I need more like 1/2" off to get rid of all of the splits.

The Chinese New Year is the day after my birthday this year, so I'm referencing the Year of the Ox.  Hard work this year, hopefully big payoffs.

Tomorrow is the read through of the script for "The King and I".  I'm so mad at myself I'm finding it difficult to get excited.  I'm sure that will change once I meet everybody and we start working on the show.

I went with my hubby and folks to a new casino Saturday and had a bit of luck!  It was fun, but smokey so we didn't stay very long.  We ate at the fancy restaurant there and the food was really good.  Whoever wrote up the menu didn't make it sound appetizing so I was very pleasantly surprised.  I ordered minestrone soup and ceasar salad-they were some of the best I've ever had.

Friday we took my car and dropped it off to get the oil changed.  We use this small garage out in the boonies.  Well...they weren't home until Sunday and I forgot I need my car to drive to the read through tonight so hopefully it will be done today!  Hubby has my yoga mat in the back of his car, my spare one is in the back of my car and my dad is borrowing my new mat that I  haven't used yet!  Today is one of the few days I don't have anything planned during the daytime and I thought I'd do some yoga.  The tile floor is too hard and too cold by itself.  Bummer.

Now my workouts have been moved to Wed. and Fri.  I was so sick I didn't workout for 3 whole weeks and I think its starting to show.  :P

I really like how Mop Top's deep conditioner makes my hair feel-you can do a deep treatment in 5 minutes in the shower and with this winter weather my hair is loving it!

Hey, I think I'm an ox, so maybe this will be a good year for me!!   :D  


Quote:

Posted by: Sakina Posted on: Yesterday at 3:50pm I'm starting this year off on a stupid note.  Yesterday I got some bangs cut in.

*gasp*faint*

Trisha wrote on Jan 5^th, 2009 at 3:08pm:

Hey, I think I'm an ox, so maybe this will be a good year for me!!   :D   *gasp*faint*

1 My mother-in-law is an Ox, she's a great lady.  I like her a lot, I just wish I spoke better Indonesian so I get to know her better.  I am working on the language, hubby's kind of slow to teach me.

2 Yeah, I know.  Stupidx1000.  I think I need to work on my impulse control.  I bought a bunch of stretch headbands and bendy clips today.  I am an idiot sometimes and I'm starting to think some part of me likes to be miserable.  I'll be wearing beanies for awhile...luckily I look cute in them!

I'm looking into silk sleep caps to use when I've got oil in my hair overnight.

Sakina wrote on Jan 4^th, 2009 at 6:50pm:

I'm starting this year off on a stupid note.  Yesterday I got some bangs cut in.  I think my brain doesn't work correctly anymore.  I guess one of my quests this year it to figure out why I do thinks like this to myself and another will be to stop doing these things to myself.

this is like the story of my life!  :P ::) LOL
Hang in there, bangs always bring a fresh change and grow out faster than you know it!

I did the same thing (cut bangs) about 2 years ago.  I wish that I hadn't, but it was a lesson learned. :P

It's cool that you at least know some Indonesian.  I only know how to say the word for goosebumps. An Indonesian friend that I had in Vegas taught me that. ::)  I'd love to learn a truely exotic language. Although, it's been ages since I've even worked on my Spanish.  

Waiting4longlocks, thanks for your encouraging words.

La Diosa, I hope this is a lesson I learn and it stays learned!  I think I need to start a lessons learned note book to keep track of things that don't work out so I don't do them again later on.  The last time I had bangs was 4 years ago.  Enough time for me to forget what I really wanted, I guess.  I'll have to ask him to teach me the word for goosebumps, I'm pretty sure I don't know it.

Tonight was the read through-3 hours!  I have to go back tomorrow for working on the songs.  I think the show will be good-I got to hear everyone's voice and everybody sings really well.  I wore a beanie all the time 'cause its cold out and I don't want to show anybody my stupid bangs.

I hope I can get to sleep soon, or I'm going to have trouble with my work schedule and wanting to sleep too late!  In addition to our librettos, they gave each of us a Hale Theatre water bottle, which I thought was nice.

Quote:

I think I need to start a lessons learned note book to keep track of things that don't work out so I don't do them again later on.

That would probably be a cool idea for everyone, to keep a notebook of their lifes lessons.  It would be nice to look at and reflect on from time to time.


Quote:

I'll have to ask him to teach me the word for goosebumps, I'm pretty sure I don't know it.

:o Well, you'd better get on it. That's the most important word to learn. It would be absolutely impossible to complete any sentence in Indonesian without it. ;)  

Actually, it's pronounced sort of like bintabinta.  I don't even know why I remember that. ::)

Well, he's not sure he can remember the word.  Maybe I'll be able to look it up in the dictionary.

We got a new digital camera today so I had hubby take a new pic of my hair.  Not showing my bangs, though!  I managed to hide them in my top knot.  This is a really nice camera!!

Had a nice voice rehearsal tonight-and short at only 2 hours.  Hubby goes to Vegas tomorrow for the CES so I'm glad I get to spend more time w/him tonight since he has to go to bed early.

Congrats on your new camera. I can't wait to see your pics! :D

Thanks, LD.  The new pic is in the Show Us Your Locks topic.

Tonight I went to Casino Arizona w/my parents for dinner and we all came home with money.  My mom won a jackpot on a nickel machine-just under $2,500.00.  Woo hoo!

Now my hair smells like smoke so I'm going to wash it before bed.   I think I'll do a deep treatment while I watch the season premiere of Damages.

Whoa! :o Go, Sakina's mom! :D

Thanks, Angel-it was really fun to watch and I'm really happy for her!

I had a bit of a blonde moment last night, and put coconut oil/neem on my length before braiding for bed last night.  The dumb thing is that I can't wash my hair until Saturday afternoon and I meant to get a new picture taken today for the show program.  Poop.  I had to use my headshot pic, which is a bit pink 'cause the digital camera was dying.  Oh well, I hope it doesn't turn out too bad!
I wore my hair in 2 strand rope braids to work out in, they worked quite nicely.  Guess I'll be wearing a braided bun for dance class and rehearsal tomorrow morning.  Duh.   ::)

Hubby gets home sometime tomorrow-I'm so happy!!!!

Have you guys seen any of Torrin Paige's clips on YouTube?  She has awesome long, healthy hair and she gives very good instructions for styles.  I decided that this year I'm going to learn how to do a 4 strand braid and she has a nice tutorial on it, and then I watched all of her other clips.  She even owns some LongLocks Hairstix!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WLxiME_moI&feature=channel_page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vwr0ZMPOEMk&feature=channel

Oh yeah, looks like I'm singing the Ballet scene instead of dancing it.  Part of me is very happy to be not dancing and another part is a teensy bit sad I'm not dancing.  We get to wear kabuki makeup for this scene, which is kinda funny-I've got to get spray tanned to play Asian and then put on white face for the ballet.  I've heard our costumes are really gorgeous, and I get to do the whole show barefoot.  Well, unless they put us in shoes for the "Western People Funny" scene where we wear English clothes.  Hmmm-lots of details I don't know yet.

Well, I survived my first week of rehearsals.  I'm pretty beat today, though.  I had 27 students in my 10AM yoga class today!  I think that's a new record for me.  Only 2 of them had never done yoga before and the rest were mostly my regulars, a few I've taught before but hadn't seen in a while and then some who have done yoga but not taken it from me before.

Yesterday at rehearsal they were talking about using black hairspray for the show.  I need to double check to see if they are buying me a wig.  If not, I'm seriously considering doing cassia on my hair for protection.  I'm going to talk to my fancy hairdo lady to see if she's used it before and would be willing to apply it for me.  I am not going to try and color my own hair.  No way!!

I have 3 out of the 4 main songs memorized, tomorrow we put the ballet together.  Since I'm not dancing it I thought I wouldn't have to be at the dance rehearsal but they decided that they want us to sing as the dancers learn the choreography.   :P

I think for the time being I will continue to use coconut oil on my hair.  My skin likes it and it seems to me that in winter the camellia oil isn't moisturizing enough.

I did accomplish a 4 strand braid on one of my pigtails yesterday.  I think I need a little more length for the pattern to really show.  Just a couple of inches, so I should be really good at this braid by the time I get there.  I think I prefer the flat 4 strand as opposed the the round one.

Now I think I'm going to go take a nap!

Wow your a busy bee! :)

I think you're wise for being leary of the black hair dye.  I'd go the wig route, if they'll allow it.  And thanks for posting the link to Torrin Paige; she has amazing hair.   :)

Lisa, I have gotten quite busy!

Trisha, I hope to find out at rehearsal tonight about a wig.  I'm glad you enjoyed Torrin's links, she is a hair inspiration for me.

Today I wanted to really sleep in but its too sunny!  I hope to catch a nap this afternoon after my 2PM workout.  I hope I'm going to like this new time slot.  I plan on working out, nap, shower and go to rehearsal.

I have a few errands I need to get out of the way so I'm off for now!

"Praise to Buddha", sorry, that's totally stuck in my head.  We finally got through the whole ballet tonight, twice.

I got back on my scalp massage schedule and I brought coconut oil mixed with neem oil.  Pam, my scalp masseuse likes this new oil and I think my hair absorbs it much better than sunflower oil.

Mondo exhausted, especially since I'm back to working out w/my trainer 2 times a week.  I really need some black out curtains for my bedroom-I haven't been able to stay asleep for as long as I need with the rehearsals.  It takes me quite a while to wind down and get the music out of my head so by the time I get to sleep its much later than usual.  Sorry, I think I'm rambling.

I have started showering before rehearsal so my hair is dry by the time I go to bed.

Oh, yeah, that reminds me of the whole reason I started this post.  My birthday is coming up and today I bought myself a present: a Mason Pearson hairbrush.  In the past I always bought myself some new yoga clothes for work in honor of my birthday, and now I have plenty of those so I've invested in good haircare.

Must sleep now.

Quote:

a Mason Pearson hairbrush

Major hairbrush envy coming your way   8-)

Trisha, I'm not sure how to respond.  After f-ing up my hair by getting bangs I've decided to be more serious about my mission to grow long, healthy hair.  I think this brush will be extra handy to minimize damage from wearing a wig in the show.

Tonight we do the "Getting to Know You" sequence, choreography with the singing.  I'm wife #6 and I have a son, Nathan.  He's super cute and shy so I think we'll be a good team.

I'm totally craving Jack in the box eggrolls tonight.  Since the kids will be at rehearsal and its a school night we'll be done at 9PM instead of 10PM.  So I'm snackin' on eggrolls before rehearsal.

Tomorrow I'm getting spray tanned for the show.  This will be a trial run...the lady is a friend of my personal trainer and she does this out of her house.  Its like airbrushing.  I hope it turns out good.  Tonight after I get home I'm going to soak in a hot bath and scrub my skin really well in preparation.  I'm thinking I'll bring a shower cap along, just in case.

Well...I'm gonna go run to JITB and get me some eggrolls so I can be early.  Our director is super strict about punctuality!

So I got spray tanned today.  It overall was a pleasant experience, the lady is very nice.  The spray is really cold!!  Right now I'm really dark, and have to wait 8 hours before washing the excess off.  I hope I get a nice result because this would be very easy for me to do for the show.  She lives like less than 10 minutes from my house (she has a gorgeous house, BTW) and it only takes about 20 mins. to do and lasts for about a week.

I did a braided bun to keep my hair out of the spray, and I wore a shower cap-my bun looked so pretty today.  Its moments like these that make me happy to be having long-ish hair and looking forward to longer lengths.

Gotta go finish laundry!

Hey-I just joined Facebook.  If you want to be my friend, PM me!

My hands, feet and face got pretty dark but the rest of me barely got tan.  I think I used too heavy of a moisturizer the night before and that kept the color from developing.  So, tomorrow I'm going again, for free!  I hope it works out better...

Now I get some news that finding a wig in the style of the show is difficult and most likely they'll want to spray my hair after its up.  I've been trying to find neutral henna (no color) to put on to protect my hair.  I'm concerned that my hair will hold onto the color.  My dry texture sucks up color like crazy!  Another thing I'm considering is a cellophane, again no color.  It coats the hair, makes it shiny so it could help block the hairspray from absorbing.  We've been talking about a test to see what happens, and trying baking soda to remove any color.  Looks like I'll be doing deep treatments possibly 2 times a week!

Today, though, I watched a documentary called "Goth Cruise" and that got me thinking about trying indigo.  I told my hubby on the phone and he just about shot me!

Anyway, more rehearsal tonight but I have tomorrow night off!!!  Yay!!!  I plan on doing henna Friday night for my b-day on Sunday.

I love my Mason Pearson brush-my hair feels so soft and my scalp is really clean.  No flakes!

I've started seeing a Naturopath, I see her again on Friday.  I hope she can help me get back on track!!!

Quote:

Today, though, I watched a documentary called "Goth Cruise" and that got me thinking about trying indigo.  I told my hubby on the phone and he just about shot me!

Sorry to say it, but I don't blame him! Natural blondes do NOT look good with dyed black hair. Your skin tone, eyebrows and all other body hair (if any) are a dead giveaway and it comes across as just looking cheesy and fake.
   Black is not the only colour in the Gothic subculture (though it is indeed the main one). A real documentary should have illustrated this. Actually, some of the most breathtaking hair I've ever seen was on a fellow goth at Bats Day...blonde, wavy and almost floor length. ;)

Quote:

Posted by: Sakina Posted on: Jan 16th, 2009, 4:12pm Hey-I just joined Facebook.  If you want to be my friend, PM me!

ooo, me!!   :D  Sending you a pm...

Midnight Angel, it was just a thought!  There were quite a few other colors of hair on the documentary, I was just thinking indigo because they want our hair to be black in the show.  I do look pretty awful with black hair.  In high school we did "Guys & Dolls" and I had to wear a black bob wig, I looked like death warmed over!  :P
Actually, one of the guys on the cruise had waist length, blond, wavy hair that was very pretty.

Trisha, got it!

This morning, bright and early I got re-sprayed.  I hope we've figured it out, and I get an awesome result this time!

Yay, no rehearsal tonight!!!  I'm going on a date w/my hubby!!!

Quote:

Midnight Angel, it was just a thought!  There were quite a few other colors of hair on the documentary, I was just thinking indigo because they want our hair to be black in the show.  I do look pretty awful with black hair.  In high school we did "Guys & Dolls" and I had to wear a black bob wig, I looked like death warmed over!  :P

*nods* I know exactly what you mean. :P I don't have the colouring for it either.


Quote:

Yay, no rehearsal tonight!!!  I'm going on a date w/my hubby!!!

Ooh la la, girlie! ;)

Hubby took me out for dinner at Chipotle's.  YUM!  I was so tired tonight I just wanted to eat close to home, so we ate and talked and it was really nice.  He's not a night person, so he's been struggling to stay up until I get home from rehearsal and I'm wound up and he's ready for bed so we haven't connected so much since rehearsals started.  I don't think I have many rehearsals next week, 2 remaining this week.

I'm planning on doing henna tomorrow night so the color will be fully developed by Sunday, my 39th birthday.  I'll have to do it after rehearsal, but I don't have to get up early on Friday so I think I'll manage.

Oh, yeah!  I did something different when I washed my hair yesterday and I wanted to write it down!
After finishing my usual wash, condition, deep treat, condition, rinse warm then rinse in cold water head down then squeeze out excess water I applied my leave in.  The difference here is that instead of finger combing the leave in through, I pulled my waves apart from the middle-horizontally.  Then I applied the usual styling products and plopped my hair.  The result was much stronger wave and more even pattern.  I can't wait to try it again w/o the deep treat!!!  I'm soooo excited.

My spray tan turned out better this time than the last.  I think the next time I'm going to quickly shower before I go w/o moisturizing.  Right now I moisturize the night before because I'm bathing and exfoliating and my super dry skin cannot go w/o moisture!  The spray tan liquid is really moisturizing and I think I'll make it from my house to hers without drying out too much.  I tried it on my face this time and it took the color much better than before.  I think I'm still a bit too light, thank goodness we have time to perfect this before we do dress rehearsal!

So, being ignorant about these things, I have a question:  Do you have to stand there, naked, waiting for this tan stuff to dry?  Or does it dry almost instantly??   :-?

(hee hee) Basically the answer is yes, but it takes only about 5 minutes and you stand in front of a fan to speed the process.  ;)

*la-la-la-la* I did henna on my feet last night for Sunday and I'm going to take it off in about 20 minutes.  I hope it turns out pretty!

Rehearsal was kinda grueling last night, did have some fun w/choreographing "Western People Funny", I hope I can remember the dance again!

This afternoon I meet with my Naturopath again for the second half of my intake interview.  I think she will help me a great deal and I'm very optimistic and happy about that!

I cannot find anyone around here who knows what cassia is or where to get it.  I'm considering doing a cellophane instead.  I've used them in the past and its great on my hair.  We'll see...

No rehearsal tonight, sorry but I'm happy to have the night off!!!  Getting excited for my upcoming birthday.  I get paid an hour for having a birthday, and will eat Dim Sum (one of my favorite things in the whole world) and I can't wait to see what my presents are!!!

I misread at first and thought you wrote, henna on your "hair". :o

I'd wondered about cellophane in the past.  I was afraid to use it because I thought it wouldn't allow moisture to get to my hair and would be drying.

Sakina, you can get Cassia from Catherine on her website at www.mehandi.com,just thought you'd like to know! :)

LD, hee hee.  I bet you were shocked!

The cellophane is conditioning and smooths the cuticle.  It washes out gradually.  I never had it be drying to my hair.

Curlgirl64, that's the first place I looked but it seems to me that her Cassia is mixed w/stuff that would turn my hair yellow.

I picked up a box of Light Mountain Natural hair color & conditioner Neutral.  Ingredients are Neutral Henna (Cassia auriculata and Lawsonia inermis).  Well, I got home and looked it up and am confused.  Lawsonia inermis is henna henna-the red kind.  I did find Cassia auriculata, but senna auriculata.  I'm thinking about returning it.  It says on the box that this is just conditioning and will not change my hair color.

Ack!  What to do???

Really?   I guess I should go back and re-read that on Cassia! :-[  Thanks for the heads up!

Curlgirl64, I was slightly mistaken.  Apparently, Cassia does deposit a bit of gold color.  I read so many things I think I got my wires crossed, but that often Cassia is mixed w/rhubarb root and that's what causes the brilliant yellow.  Guess what??  Today in my mailbox I got a newsletter from Henna Caravan.  I usually get all of my mendhi henna from them and they're starting to carry hair stuff and they've got the Cassia I've been looking for!!!  Yippeee!!!  Now I just have to wait until I can order some.

Hey,good for you!  If they have a website,I'll check it out.

www.hennacaravan.com

So, about my birthday:
yoga class was big, 23 students.  They all sang "Happy Birthday" to me, I blushed.
Dim Sum was suuuuuper yummy!  There were 7 of us at the table, one of my students gave me an awesome card.
Got grocery's from LeeLee supermarket-a full Asian market, approx. the size of a Wal Mart.
Took a nap, after all that Dim Sum
My parents came over to the house and we grilled burgers, sausage and chicken.
I opened my presents, I got 3 pairs of fuzzy pj's, a real pashmina, and some $$$$ for my upcoming trip to Singapore.

I wish I could stay in bed all day and just laze around.  I don't have rehearsal tonight or tomorrow night.  I do have a lot of appointments this week, so at least I'll be able to sleep in a bit.

Cool!  Sounds like you had a great time!  What is real pashmina btw?  Let me know when you do the Onigiri's ;)

Aww, glad your b-day plans went well. :)

Thanks, Isabeau and MA!

Isabeau, I love your new avatar!!  I think Pashmina is a brand, they're silk and cotton wraps.  I have several wraps that are all cotton, hence not real Pashmina.

I did make onigiri on Monday and they turned out great!  I hope to make some more today-they're perfect to take to rehearsal.

I've ordered some Cassia Obavata, and asked my fancy hairdo lady to apply it and she will.  Yay!

I have a scalp massage today!

Yesterday I had to have blood drawn for my naturopath and I almost passed out.  That's never happened to me before, but I guess its pretty common.  That fasting for 12 hours and the room being hot made it difficult.

My henna turned out really nice, took pics and will get around to posting them hopefully Friday.

Thank goodness rehearsals are finally on the upswing.  We're 3 weeks in and Wednesday night was rock bottom!

I got my cassia today, so I'm going to get an appointment to have it applied- hopefully tomorrow!!!

I had some MFR work today and my left leg feels awesome.  Kneeling on the hard wood floor for 30 mins.+ had my leg messed up!

One of the girls in the cast has waist length black hair.  I taught her how to finger comb and rope braid last night.  I love being able to share long hair care w/people!

Today I'm starting a new project w/my hubby.  I'm making a relaxation/meditation CD.  Today's our first session, so I'm not expecting much...but its a start!!

I need a nap-laters!

Well, I never got my nap and I had 1-1/2 cokes at dinner so now I'm wide awake.   :o

Hubby & I are going to a Super Bowl party Sunday so I did some henna on his left hand (he only wanted me to do the palm of one hand-I'm happy he let me do it at all) and both sides of my right hand.  I'm typing this w/my left hand 'cause my right hand is in a sock!  Please excuse any spelling errors I miss!!!

The recording went awesome.  I didn't really have a game plan going in and this first track turned out great.

I'm thinking about making a crazy Cardinals hair decoration-will check the craft store for small bird.

The meds from my naturopath are working well and I'm looking forward to my blood test results to feel even better.  

Well, this typing w/one hand is annoying so I'll sign off-I have dance class @ 9:30AM so I gonna try and get some sleep.

Last night I tried the mousse, it did make my hair darker but not dark enough.  I have a lot of hair so I didn't get it all through, I'll try a different method tonight.  The color did completely wash out which is good!

I did another spray tan session-extra dark.  I hope it turns out good.  I have to wait until 5:30PM to wash it off and then get my hiney to rehearsal.

Nap time!

UGH!  I'm sooooo tired.  I even had a nap today!  I feel like I need another one!!!

I discovered that an ACV rinse will take out all traces of coloured mousse!  Yippee.  I made a happy mistake yesterday.  I went to Ulta to buy more One Condition and accidentally bought No Poo.  Well, I think its a happy mistake (I still have to go get more conditioner!) because if I have to wash my hair ever night after performing the detergent free Poo will not dry out my scalp or hair.  So, at about midnight last night I was doing a deep treatment since I have so little conditioner left.  Hair is super soft today.

The show opens two weeks from tomorrow.  I'm looking forward to having more nights off than on!

I got my cute HK bento stuff and am too tired to make rice!!!

Well, there's only 2 weeks left (10 shows) so I guess its time to start journaling again.  Its a bit routine now, so I feel less tired I guess.

The shows have been going extremely well, and I plan on making the most of the time remaining.  

My hair is holding up nicely, thanks to my monthly cassia treatments, acv rinses and some great hair products.  I found a new shampoo/conditioner at Whole Foods called Alaffia.  Its moisturizing for curly hair and the conditioner is a leave in.  I may continue to use it in rotation w/Devacurl and Neem Therapy.

I plan on auditioning for more shows in the future, after I get back from my Singapore/Indonesia trip in June.  I'm looking forward to getting away, although it kinda suxx that I have to fly by myself.  Guess it will be an adventure!!

So much for my return to journaling, huh?!  I'm still going to Singapore/Indonesia-leaving May 24th.

The show was great and I want to do more.  Now the question is when will I be available.  My mom has cancer for the 3rd time, and started chemo last week.  Its a roller coaster of her feeling totally horrible or slightly less horrible.  I plan on going to see her in July, so I don't know what my schedule will look like this fall.

I hope to audition for the Arizona Renaissance Festival in September.  My auditioning for Beauty and the Beast and She Loves Me are out.  :'(

Right now I have cassia on my head.  I mixed it with orange juice and a bit of water instead of all water like the previous times.  I'm leaving it on for at least 3 hours.  I hope I get a good result.

Last time I did it I left it in 4 hours and was really happy-all ashiness was gone and my color was brighter.  No one but my self and the lady that does the application for me could tell the difference.  I'm curious to see if using OJ will make my hair lighter.  If it doesn't, I'll probably go back to all water for the mix.  As I drove away from the salon this afternoon I started thinking about trying stawberry blonde-50/50 cassia and henna.  Just a thought.

I'm still using the Allafia and DevaCurl.  Happy hair.  Oh, yeah-I just got some Ojon styling creme.  I tried it once and think I didn't read the directions too carefully so I'm looking forward to trying it after I wash out the cassia.

I gotta go lay down on the couch-my head weighs a ton!!

My cassia turned out great!  The orange juice and letting the mix sit overnight brought a lot more yellow gold to my color.  Last time I mixed it with water and eo only and got a bit of a darker gold.  Next time I will not use so much oj-it made the mix runny after it was applied - the the heat from my head and the shower cap made it melt so I couldn't comfortably lay down during the 3 hours I left the cassia on my hair.  I couldn't leave it on for more than 3 hours because the runny-ness was annoying!!!

One note, I forgot that hubby bought oj w/pulp.  I never drink that kind so I don't buy it.  When I added it to the cassia powder I was so focused on mixing it smoothly that I didn't notice the pulp until...you guessed it...trying to wash that crap out of my hair.  Ugh!!  What a pain!  I washed twice, which is normal to get the cassia out, and then globbed lots of conditioner on and let it set while I did my other shower stuff.  Then I combed it through and rinsed.  And rinsed.  And rinsed.  I decided that most of it would come out when dry so I put in my leave in condish and plopped it.  It was a wise decision not to put any styling stuff in my hair so it would be easier to comb and then brush through.  I waited until it was dry and used my Ric's comb, then the M&P brush and essentially its all gone.  Yay.

I want to try adding a bit of amla to see if it will encourage my curl without adding too much brown color.  Maybe if I mix it with water and add that to the cassia mix right before the application so it isn't mixed with the acid for too long.  Trial and error, again!

Oh, gah! Try pumpkin pulp! Or better yet, DON'T! :P

Pulp juices should just be banned. ;D

Sorry about your mother.  I hope she gets over her recent bout quickly.

How long will you be in Singapore?  Are you excited to go?  

Thank you, LD.  I'll be there for about 2 weeks.  Part of me is excited, part of me is feeling anxious.  I'm going by myself, so its a big adventure!

So now I'm excited to go 'cause I went shopping today!!!  Got some super cute dressy shoes, underwear, a comfy nighty that won't embarrass me in front of his family and some makeup.

Still loving my new cassia.  I even wore my hair down today, with a simple alice band.

Cool! :)

Is your husband going to meet you there are will you be totally solo...well, besides visiting his family?

Whoops-sorry LD, I missed replying to you.

I am going all by myself besides visiting his family.

I have nearly everything purchased for the trip-SIL and niece's presents still need to be bought but otherwise done.

I've started brushing out my hair at night w/ my M&P boar bristle brush.  I have so much fewer tangles this way.  Still sleeping in pigtail braids.

I'm a bit too preoccupied to get those hair pics posted.

Good news is that my mom is doing better, sounds much more like her usual self.  Two more rounds of chemo to go before the next assessment of her treatment.  I'm looking forward to seeing her in July, and a little apprehensive as well.

I must say I'm liking the Ojon styling creme, still getting the hang of application.  I have more hair on the left side of my head and it is a little less wavy than the right.  I'm trying to get the right amount of product on both sides to get a mostly even amount of wave.  Its a bit annoying, I wish the top was as wavy as the underneath.  

I plan on deep treating on Saturday, so my hair will be very moisturized on the plane.  I hope I don't get too poofy or frizzy with the humidity in Singapore.

Oh yeah, had to return that comfy nighty-when I tried it on at home it suddenly became quite sheer.  I've decided to take a t-shirt and pj pants and maybe I'll find some awesome pj's over there.

I hope your mother continues to improve and get better.  I've always naively thought that if I'd had waves or curls I'd suffer less in humidity.  I thought it would somehow lift my hair away from my scalp. ;D

Thank you very much, Drear!

In humidity I do get poofy and my waves will droop if I don't use good stuff on my hair.

Found some Amla oil at the aromatherapy store today-gonna give it a try!  I hope it enhances my curls.  If anything, it smells awesome, like fresh jasmine flowers.

Did my CPR re-certification today.  Had a good teacher so it was more fun and went fast.  Yay!

I'm going to go take a nap.  Maybe later I'll shower and try my new amla oil.  Whee!

I wish you a wonderful trip, and can't tell you how envious I am.  

(((hugs))) Melusine!  I know I'm realllly lucky!  Thanks for your well wishes, they're always appreciated!

Well, tomorrow's the big day!  I've already checked in online for my flights.  I fly from Phoenix to LAX, then Tokyo to Singapore.  We added it up, I'll be traveling for a full 24 hours.  Gah-gonna be a long trip by myself.
I've got a pretty extensive list of places to go and things to do when I get there.

I don't know what kind of access to the internet I'll have so I won't be around as much as usual.

I oiled my hair w/amla oil last night and will wash and deep treat w/Ouidad Deep Treatment today.  I think my hair really likes this oil-it is Vadek brand and it makes my hair very shiny and wet looking, not greasy.  I hope it will enhance my curl!

So, till we meet again-everybody take care!!!

Have a good and safe trip sweeite!!!   ;)

Bye, Sakina! Have a fun, safe trip and try to bring back loads of pics to share! :D

24 hours of flying! :o  :P

Have a good trip, hon.

Awww, thank you all-you're so sweet!

I arrived safe and sound!  It is tropical and beautiful and I'm really glad I'm just as sweaty as the locals.  Had to buy some cotton handkerchiefs so I can mop my brow!

There's a 15 hour time difference, so I have not been able to keep track of the days!  Yesterday we saw some temples in Chinatown and Little India.  Did a bit of shopping and ate at a famous Chinese restaurant-famous for soup dumplings.  Super yum-we ate there last visit and it is still a favorite!

Today I'm relaxing at home, will explore a new mall close to home.  There's a Starbucks close to the condo, so I can get my fix!!!

I've got some pics...hubby usually takes the pics when we travel so I'm trying to remember to take photos!

Hope you all are well...laters!

I'm glad you arrived safely! :D

Ooh, I would love to go to a Little India.  I bet they have really nice things.


Quote:

I've got some pics

Yay!!! :)

I'm glad you arrived safely and I hope the jet lag isn't going to be too bad.

Very glad to know that you arrived safely and I hope healthy, too.  Have a good time.

Thanks, LD, Drear and Melusine!  So far no jet lag.  I take ginger capsules 30 mins before each leg of the flight and it works great!

Yep, I'm healthy except for the occasional heachache.  The first one was from caffeine withdrawl-until I found the near by Starbucks!  The other one I think is from adjusting to the humidity-quite a change from the Arizona desert.

Did some more shopping yesterday-hoping to meet friends for a bit and schedule some spa time.  I am in need of a massage.  And a facial, and ...

Sounds like you're having some much needed fun and relaxation.   8-)

Ahh, yes, 2 hours at the Ayurvedic spa and I am a new woman!  I liked it so much I'm going to go again before I return to AZ.

I am starting to think I could live here...several months at a time anyway.

With all the humidity and sweating I feel like my hair gets more dirty, I'm still only washing every other day.  Everyone takes 2 showers a day here, now including me!!!

Quote:

I am starting to think I could live here...several months at a time anyway.

That's a sure sign of a good vacation! ;)


Quote:

Everyone takes 2 showers a day here, now including me!!!

Sounds like you're in Georgia!  I have to take two showers a day now too. ;D

Its funny, I never have to shower that much in AZ.

Had a very nice sushi lunch yesterday w/s-i-l, nephew and niece.  Then a bit of shopping and home.

Today I'm taking it easy and hanging out while everyone is out.  Ahhh, a bit of alone time.  Too bad I've read all the books I brought and some of my niece and nephews!  Napping it is, then!!!

I might go out later, and if I feel up to it take a yoga class.

Hope everyone on LL is staying healthy!!

Quote:

Its funny, I never have to shower that much in AZ.

Because AZ has a dry heat just like Vegas.  It's the humidity that makes you feel dirty.

I wanted to ask you if you get stared at a lot in Singapore?  

When I went to Mexico, from the minute I got off the plane everyone everywhere I went stared at me as if I had 2 heads.  Once, I even overheard a man telling someone in Spanish that I was a "tall sister". ;D

I love that dry heat!

Yep, everywhere I go!  Its worse in Indonesia, and they're a bit more aggressive in their stares.

It used to really bother me, I felt kind of threatened and wouldn't go anywhere w/o one of my brothers in law as an escort.
One day I had a conversation w/some girls and they told me what everyone was looking at: first, large, round blue eyes, second, straight small nose (I don't think my nose is small) and third my fair complexion.  I feel better knowing that, even if its not what everyone is looking at, I just think about that and how I would look at someone who looked so much different than I.

There are many more whites in Singapore in comparison to Indonesia, but they are few enough in our area that I can go all day and only see one or two.  My s-i-l says its 70% Chinese, 20% Malay and 10% Indian in Singapore.  See, so few whites they don't even count 'em!

Sakina wrote on May 30^th, 2009 at 10:54pm:

Ahh, yes, 2 hours at the Ayurvedic spa and I am a new woman!  I liked it so much I'm going to go again before I return to AZ. I am starting to think I could live here...several months at a time anyway. With all the humidity and sweating I feel like my hair gets more dirty, I'm still only washing every other day.  Everyone takes 2 showers a day here, now including me!!!

This is a late reply but you must be some sort of saint!

Regarding travels in some Asian countries - I've been told by others to be prepared for stares and "rude" comments and laughs because they don't actually consider it rude.  In some (to me) strange way they feel you ask for it if you in any way stick out regardless of whether it's due to nature or choice.  I only have others word for it though.  

When we visited Thailand when I was a child in the 1980s they would laugh, point, and touch me.  I don't know why I stuck out. :-?  

I can bear the dry heat in CA but I absolutely hate it when it's just a bit warm and humid here.  

That's me, Saint Whackadoo! lol

Very interesting food for thought.  I agree that there is a prevailing thought pattern in Asia about punishing those who stick out.  Something about a nail, and a hammer...

I think that's strange that they would touch you, but maybe because you were a kid.  I was in Costa Rica on a singing tour when I was 14 and remember getting swarmed.  Most of the time they wanted to touch my very blond hair and get my autograph.

Dry heat is so much easier...I think AZ will still be in monsoon season when I get home so more heat and humidity for me?!

Sounds like you are having a wonderful time.  I wish it were warmer here in Chicago.  It is unseasonably cool, so much so that I couldn't wear sandals today.  And humid.  Clouds and rain predicted for all week.  When I left Springfield on Monday it was 70 degrees and sunny.  Sigh.

Got back to Singapore from Bandung, Indonesia today.  The water there is very hard and my scalp and skin are now flaking.  Blech.

Jeweled claw clips are quite popular there, unfortunately they are not usually large enough to accommodate all of my hair.  Bandung is considerably cooler than Singapore, so the humidity and heat felt good-except now I think its getting ready to rain so the humidity is building to uncomfortable levels.

I was only in Bandung for 4 days this time and, to my surprise was much less bothered by the stares than before.  I know we were talking about this previously...I'm glad it isn't so unsettling.  Of course, something I ate yesterday gave me a bit of food poisoning so maybe my lack of sleep and feeling unwell made me not care.

I'm still feeling a bit off, so back to bed for me.  BTW, in case you were wondering, there is a  15 hour time difference between Singapore and Arizona.

I have a jeweled claw clip and it's pretty tiny too.  I only use them to pinch the top of my hair.

I could never get used to being stared and pointed at on a regular basis, it would drive me nuts.    

Aww, it must suck to get sick on vacation...hope you feel better in no time.

Have tried enough stuff while travelling with my parents as a kid to not be bothered by much but with kids now I'd probably feel more anxious.  I know it sucks getting sick on vacation and I hope you have a speedy recovery.  

The clips here hold all of their hair up.

I am feeling much better now, thank you both.  Slept most of the day Saturday after returning and have slept most of today.  Had to go out to get more toothpaste so I did a bit of shopping before dinner.

I have been taking some pics, got some of the bathroom signs for you, LD.

I love it here, and would like to live here for a time...am just starting to look forward to going home.  Really, its about seeing my husband and cats.  Otherwise, I need to move in.

Quote:

Really, its about seeing my husband and cats.

I understand.  It would be tough for me to be away from my husband and cats for a long period of time too.


Quote:

I have been taking some pics, got some of the bathroom signs for you, LD.

Yay, pics! :D

Went to the Ayurvedic spa for the second time-I love this place.  I had a package, body scrub, massage and shirodhara.  My hair is totally soaked in oil, even after washing it twice at the spa.  I'll be showering again anyway, its really humid today!

Got asked by the Indian spa lady if I was Italian.  Whee, that's never happened before.

Shopped at the Tekka Mall, which is now called The Verge as of a month ago.

As I was walking back from the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) I was thinking I could totally live here!  Just wish I had my home to come home to.

Got some ACV yesterday from a health food shop, in need of a vinegar rinse.  Since I'll be leaving the rest of the bottle here, I'm teaching my s-i-l how to do vinegar rinses.  She's in the banking industry-keeps her hair collar length.  At least it will be soft and shiny!

Sounds as if you're being a good hair ambassador.   :)

Yeah, I even bought some hair friendly stuff for my niece.

Sakina wrote on Jun 9^th, 2009 at 3:49am:

She's in the banking industry-keeps her hair collar length.  At least it will be soft and shiny!

I thought the days where they could dictate something so specific was over.  A tidy updo could look professional too.  I'm not here to impose anything on anyone though.  If she prefers it that way, then that's right for her.

I think the truth is she's lazy about her hair.  I agree, Drear, that an updo can be totally professional.

I'm back home and have slept most of the day.  Doing laundry and checking in w/emails and longlocks.

It's good that you've made a safe return home. :)   How do you feel about being home?  Do you think that you, your husband and your cats may ever decide to move to Singapore?  I know I want to move to another country...I think it would be exciting to start a new chapter in life.  Learning about and adjusting to another culture, learning the language...seems so exciting to me right now.  


Quote:

Its worse in Indonesia, and they're a bit more aggressive in their stares.

Hmmm... I wonder if I'd get stared at there? :-?  In Las Vegas, I had a really good friend who was Indonesian.  Everyone always assumed that we were sisters.  It was funny to us because we weren't even of the same race, let alone sisters.  Our skin color was the same, we were both thin and tall, and at the time, I was dying my bsl hair black. So because of those few similarities, people thought we were related.  ::)  Perhaps I could blend in over there...maybe. :-/  Not that I'd want to move there...just a thought.

The Ayurvedic spa that you went to, did they give you treatments based on your dosha?

Welcome back, Sakina.
Glad to hear you had such an interesting trip. I've always wanted to travel overseas.
The blatant staring in many Asian countries probably wouldn't bother me much since I'm used to being stared at anyway. ::)
Not that I'm excusing it...

The spa experience sounded lovely too.

Thanks, LD and MA.

Sorta getting adjusted to local time.  Had a nice long hot shower this am and feel pretty much back to normal.

Worried over an upcoming trim I have scheduled.  Last time she didn't stay true to the CG method, and I did find someone closer to home but I haven't spoken to them yet.  I think I'll cancel the current appointment and talk to the other person before getting my trim.

Had some serious build up issues while in Singapore.  Once acv was not enough so I did another today.  I hope my hair will be happy and its usual less tangley self today.

Watched "Grand Torino" last night and really enjoyed it.  Also watched "Seven Pounds", meh.  Hubby picked out the movies when he went out for groceries.  Better go w/him next time!!!

Oddly, I find myself craving Chinese food this morning.  Maybe I really did get acclimated in the few weeks I was there.

I think my cats are over making sure I'm not leaving again-they're so cute and loving.

Welcome home.  I am glad you had a good time.

Thanks, Melusine.  It is good to be home.  I'll be home for a few weeks before I go to Michigan to help out my parents.  Guess what???  They both have cancer right now.  Yep, dad got diagnosed last week.  His prognosis is really good, and mom has her 3rd chemo this week.  She did much better with the second than the first and I hope her 3rd is the easiest yet.  Then the drs. will reevaluate what's going on and figure out what to do next.

The thought of them both having cancer at the same time and my going to Michigan has me kinda down today.

To cheer myself up, I'm going to try two new bento recipes and try out my newest Hello Kitty red bento box.  Nice and healthy, and cute (kawaii).

Aww, Sakina, I am sorry, hon. :(

My mother just went in for her screening this morning. Stay strong, sistah. :-*

I will keep you and yours in my thoughts and prayers.  My sister's husband was diagnosed 3 wks ago with a recurrence of cancer.  It is in his lungs, very close to the esaphagus.  Her previous husband died of esophageal cancer 3 yrs. ago.

Welcome home.  It must be hard on you when both of your parents get hit and at the same time at that too.  I'll keep your parents in my prayers.  

Welcome home!  I'm sorry about your parents.  I willl keep them in my prayers and hope for the best!

Thank you, Midnight Angel, Melusine, Drear and Curlgirl64.  You are all so sweet.  It is difficult.

I heard today from my dad that mom's doing really well and has had her 3rd round of chemo.  I think the next consult is early July.  No new blood clots, so she can now walk w/o a walker and has a good appetite.

Today I talked to Bari, the new Devacurl stylist that is in Scottsdale.  She is definitely what I'm looking for in a stylist and I've booked an appointment for next week. Suuuuuuuuuuuuuper YAY!

Had a massage today and am now recovering with motrin and tiger balm.  In high school I played volleyball and one summer my folks sent me to Olympic Volleyball Camp.  Our coaches were women from the US Olympic Volleyball team and they ran us poor, regular humans through their athletic conditioning and volleyball drills.  One of the drills injured 3 people, including me.  I tore the gracilis on my right inner thigh and other than getting it iced never received proper therapy.  Yep, we worked on that today in my massage.  I know its good for me and I'm willing to go through the discomfort (read: pain!).  I'm looking forward to the day when I can just have normal, everyday kind of muscle tension and not have to have these intense therapeutic treatments.  They're not particularly relaxing.

Sakina wrote on Jun 15^th, 2009 at 1:45pm:

Thanks, Melusine.  It is good to be home.  I'll be home for a few weeks before I go to Michigan to help out my parents.  Guess what???  They both have cancer right now.  Yep, dad got diagnosed last week.  His prognosis is really good, and mom has her 3rd chemo this week.  She did much better with the second than the first and I hope her 3rd is the easiest yet.  Then the drs. will reevaluate what's going on and figure out what to do next. The thought of them both having cancer at the same time and my going to Michigan has me kinda down today. To cheer myself up, I'm going to try two new bento recipes and try out my newest Hello Kitty red bento box.  Nice and healthy, and cute (kawaii).

Holy *bleep*, Sakina, I'm just now reading this.  I didn't know your father had also been diagnosed with the big C.  *hugs*  Sometimes life likes to kick us when we're already down.  Keep your chin up, baby.  

LOL, Trisha.  Crazy, huh?  It is a bit stunning.  Your support and friendship helps me keep my chin up and I thank you!

It is overcast today so that makes me sleepy.  Hubby is getting off work early today, which is a real good thing since they're sending him to Taiwan tomorrow night until Wednesday.  Sheesh, I'm just getting over my jet lag and he'll be gone.  Guess we'll just have to make the most of the time we have until he leaves...

The two recipes I tried for my bento were super yummy, and hubby liked them, too.  I have some other new recipes I want to try, from the show "Cook Yourself Thin".  Its on the lifetime network.  They do a calorie reducing makeover on a person's favorite high cal/fat foods.  Sounds really good-I'm going to try sesame noodles first.

Today I got my trim from a new curlygirl stylist.  I am very, very happy with my trim and with the service I received at the salon.

I am going to be in Michigan July 5-16 to take care of my mom.  We'll find out on July 9th what her next course of treatments are.

I'm finally over my jet lag, and now I have to start getting ready to leave again.  At least its only a 3 hour time difference instead of 15 hours.

I hope I can get in and have a cassia application done before I go.  It is definitely helping my hair be more healthy.

I didn't try the sesame noodle recipe yet-I decided that without my hubby to help me eat it would make too much food.  He gets home tonight so I'm very happy about that!

I am glad you found a stylist you liked.  I found Kirstin totally by accident, and she is one of the few people/things keeping me here in this abysmal climate.  There's almost winter, nearly winter, WINTER, late winter, late, late winter, almost spring, and too @#$**ing HOT and humid, which is what we are experiencing right now. :)

I hope your time with your mom goes okay.

Thank you, Melusine.  I spoke with my mom yesterday and she sounds really good.  When I spoke with my dad later on, he was worried I'll freak out when I see them.  This ordeal has changed both their appearances.

Today is the second time I've tried a new styling product: Kinky-Curly Curling Custard.  OMG-it smells like angel food cake and feels like snot.  

New things in my routine:
condition ends
cleanse
spray w/detangler, comb through conditioner
spray set it free moisture lock on hands and scrunch
scrunch out water w/curls like us towel
scrunch in KCCC
plop
pin roots, diffuse
remove pins and air dry
when dry scrunch in Ojon animated styling cream

Today I put the KCCC in and combed through before scrunching out excess water.  I think it works better to apply after water is scrunched out, hair is still drying right now so final verdict isn't in yet.

I am loving my new haircut!!  I got a few face framing layers, and can still put it up in a bun.  It really makes a difference and will even more so as my hair gets longer.  Keeping it one length was dragging my face down.

I hope things keep improving for your parents.  I'm glad you're happier with your hair now.  I'm thinking about the lose layers vs. keep side layers.  I'm ready to lose the bottom layers.  The shortest ones at the front are now below my chin and the front never grows as long or fast as the rest.  I think layers can be less of a bother in longer hair than in shorter hair but have a subtle, positive effect on some women's facial features.  The way the humidity is here I keep fantasizing about a move to AZ!

Thank you, Drear!  Well, you could always come for a visit-I'd recommend the winter time since we're in triple digits right now.

Once I get to BSL, I may have some long layers in the back to improve my curls.  Bari (my new hairstylist) wanted to layer the back like she did the sides but I told her I wasn't ready for it yet.  I think it will look great when I have more length.  It was funny, I'm sure she's right but I want to take it slow.  Also because this was my first cut with her and I wanted to see it through to be sure I felt I can trust her for future cuts.  

Now my hair is almost dry and it looks really good.  I had hubby take some pics.  My top layer, which is my greatest complaint is more evenly wavy than usual.  I would actually wear it all down if it looks this good now!  Sometimes, anyway.  Unless I'm being uber lazy I don't leave my hair all down and even then I'll still wear a headband to keep it out of my face.

The KCCC is all natural, silicone and paraben free.  I'm really liking this, two tries in.  For a bit, I'm trying the get my hair wet everyday experiment.  I'm rotating between Lo-poo, water, no-poo, water, Lo-poo, etc.  I did a water wash today and am surprised that it wasn't horrible.  Some of the people using KCCC have mentioned that their hair seems to be growing faster since using it.  That would be a nice benefit!!!

Ugh.  Day 3 of my experiment and I'm feeling lazy.  I don't feel like the whole routine:
dry brush skin
brush teeth
apply coconut oil all over body
shower
hair routine
apply body/face lotions
wait for hair to dry

Blah.  Yesterday was my last day teaching.  Maybe that's why I feel this way.  Maybe after I eat something I'll feel better.  My hair has been looking more awesome since I started this, and my skin does feel good since I started doing this and maybe I'm just feeling a bit down.

I have a MFR appointment at 1:45pm today, maybe I'll do my routine after that.  Or not.  Ahhhh-I'm driving myself crazy!!!!!!!!!

It's brave of you to put your whole routine down.  I'm sure mine would look like an awful bother written as a list than it really is.  

I think I'm feeling a little depressed without my job.  That makes me feel lazy.

My compromise yesterday was to do the body stuff and I was planning on doing my hair separately.  I always do my hair separately when I do a deep treatment and finish with a shower.  I had a MFR session yesterday afternoon and I didn't want to go w/wet hair.

I got home and never did do my hair.  Today I had a pedicure and still didn't do my hair.  Maybe after I have a nap.  It is really hot today.

I did manage to cook last night so I made bento boxes for lunch for me and hubby.  I think it will be good for me to do on a regular basis since I think I'll eat out less if I know yummy food is at home waiting for me.

Eating at home is always better--cheaper and healthier.  Up here, you get such enormous portions.  Enough for 2 or 3 people, and not everything reheats well.

Tonite we are going out to celebrate my hubby's birthday.  It's not until 7/6, but the coupon for the restaurant expires today.  :)

I am sorry you depressed without your job.  I am teaching summer school and wouldn't have minded having the summer off.   I could have spent time in Spfld with my mom and sis and aunts, or done some daytrips here and there, or sewed up all the material I have on hand.  ;D

Hope you feel better soon.

((((hugs))) Hang in there Sakina.

Thanks, Melusine and Isabeau.  I think I do feel better today.

I decided to treat my scalp to some Thera Neem and some Mop Top deep conditioner.  The TN works best by leaving it on the scalp for 5 mins. so I washed my hair over the bathtub w/the shower wand and clipped my hair up.  I set the timer on the microwave and started checking emails.  I put a towel around my shoulders so I don't drip too bad.  After rinsing it out, I applied the MTDC, combed that through and clipped my hair up for another 5 mins.  This time it was pretty drippy!  Now I've rinsed that out, applied the TN conditioner and am waiting the last 5 mins. before getting into the shower to rinse it out and bathe.

I'm skipping the dry brushing today.

That's a big life change and I hope you can find the motivation to stay strong and that you have support around you.  The heat is draining me of all energy too.  

Thank you, Drear.  I have a very supportive husband!  Its a loss, and like any it will just take time.  Gah!  Its windy, hot and overcast: please rain!!!!!  Its really uncomfortable today-I feel bad for my kitties in their fur coats!  Thank goodness we put in tile, the carpet was even hotter!  :P

My hair is super moisturized!!!  Today, instead of combing through the KCCC, I raked it in with my fingers.  Better result on my ends, but I didn't get enough product on the very underside of my hair so it didn't hold the waves like the rest of my hair.  Oh, yeah, I plopped for about 30 minutes.  Also, my top layer had quite a cast to it, and I didn't scrunch in the Ojon like I had been doing.  Dry scrunching took most of the cast away, and my hair didn't turn frizzy!!!  Woo hoo!  My hair looks very nice w/o the Ojon, but I like the softness it provides.  Learning, learning!!!

Is it possible to have hair length distortion, like body morphic?  Recently some people have said my hair is long and I don't feel like it is yet.  Maybe because I'm not quite to my BSL goal, or because my curl makes my hair look shorter when dry.  Hrumph.

It never did rain, got close enough to give me a headache.   :P  Its gone now!

I hate the smell of the Thera Neem conditioner.  Maybe that's what gave me the headache, or a combo of the two.  I think I'll do a water wash and use One Condition-that smells good.

I'm amazed that the KCCC can give me more wave on top than the AnGell, or any gel for that matter.  I have some other products to try...I'm giving KCCC a full two weeks of use before I try the new stuff.  My hair always acts weird when I visit my family 'cause they have well water than has a water softener.  Ugh.

I don't about hair distortion, but I know what you mean.  My hairdresser marvels at how long my hair is getting and how fast it grows, but it doesn't feel long to me, either.  Like you, the curl makes it look shorter when it is dry.  And, of course, the layering doesn't help.

I just bought the L'Oreal deep conditioner and anti-frizz leave-in and am going to try that.  I used the Goldman Shine and Vitality spray and really liked it.  You were right about serums and cremes being better than gels or mousses.

Where do you get MopTop?  I haven't seen it here.

I got my Mop Top from their website:

www.moptophair.com

and you can also get it from:

www.curlmart.com, the shopping sister site of www.naturallycurly.com

I hope the L'Oreal works for you.  I've never tried any Goldman's products.  I bought a bunch of stuff from curlmart recently so I'll be trying all of that stuff out before buying new.  My new rule of thumb is to try one new product for 2 weeks at a time.

I had a shirodhara treatment today, so my hair is full of sesame oil, neem oil and ashwagandha root.  I think I'll sleep with it in and wash in the morning.  I think I'll have to sleep w/a shower cap on-we'll see if I can manage.  Better put a towel on my pillow case just in case it slips off!

Thanks.  I will check that out.  

You're welcome!!  I tried their travel kit first, and the deep conditioner.  My hair doesn't love the shampoo, daily conditioner or gel.  For me, the Devacurl overall is better.

Today I went against my own rule by trying the AG:recoil at the end of my haircare routine.  I used it in place of the Ojon.  I've got a headache and the Ojon smell can be pretty strong.  The recoil works fine so far, and doesn't have a strong smell.  We still haven't had a good rain, it just keeps building.

Working on laundry today for my trip on Sunday.  We're slowly decorating the bedroom, bought a fancy curtain rod and will be getting light blocking deep red taffeta curtains soon.  The rod is up, I hope hubby will get the curtains while I'm gone.

Today when I put in the KCCC, I only scrunched it-no finger or comb combing.  My waves are less uniform, so I think I'll go back to combing it in.

I'm back from Michigan, until the 28th anyway.

My parents have well water that is treated with softener (salt) and my hair was getting pretty red while there.

Since I've been home I did a cassia treatment and my hair looks more brown to me.  Hubby didn't notice a difference.  My length is improving, so that's good.

My mom had her 4th chemo, and will have her 5th on the 30th.  She won't be having surgery (YAY) and will continue on chemo 2-4 more times before they rescan to see what the tumors have done.  The cancer marker had dropped to 43, doc wants it to "normal" levels of 0-35.  Even with those levels she could still have cancer and may have to have a chemo maintenance.

Yeesh, cancer is no joke. Hang in there, girlie. :-*

Thanks, MA.

Its hot, hot, hot!  I'm doing my best to stay covered up, today I wore a 3/4 length sleeve blouse with one of my Indonesian tube sarongs in the Peranakan style.  My sun blocking umbrella got a lot of use today!

I've tried some new products:

http://www.curlmart.com/Oyin-HoneyWash-p-846.html

It made my hair feel funny after rinsing, but it dried just fine.

Also:

http://www.curlmart.com/Curly-Hair-Solutions-Curl-Keeper-p-28.html  and http://www.curlmart.com/AG-Recoil-p-24.html

I'm not sure how I like these last two.  I think I haven't figured out yet the exact amounts my hair needs.  They definitely boost my curls, but I think I might like the results of the KCCC better.  Maybe I can try KCCC and AG:RC together.  I think my hair is so healthy that I don't need a leave in, which is what CHSCC is.

My hair still smells faintly of hay, from the cassia.

I bought some new movies from Target today: Pan's Labyrinth, Donnie Darko and Darko 2.  I'm going to enjoy watching them!!!

Glad you are back.  And it's really good that your mother is doing so well.

I know about the leave-ins.  I sorta like them, but am not sure that they are worth the time; my hair dries faster without them.

Thank you, Melusine.  Its so good to be home.  I'm really happy to be able to help my mom during this trying time of chemo.  I tried to talk her into coming out here to AZ to continue her treatments but it didn't work.

You know, I haven't found anything that makes my hair dry faster, other than a blow dryer.  When I did my recent cassia I washed and lightly conditioned prior to application and it was still damp 6 hours after washing.  I got up really early that day for some reason?!

Today I give myself a gold star for getting my very first mammogram.  Ouch! and Ouch!

I'm going to do a deep treatment today after my pedicure at 3pm.  I'm trying a new product from Karen's Body Beautiful.
http://www.karensbodybeautiful.com/product_p/llhm.htm

I hope I like it!!!  It smells really good in the jar.

I want to pose a question to all of you who read my journal and have been to a Renaissance Festival or Faire:
Who was your favorite character and what made them so memorable to you?

You can PM me your answer if you prefer.  You see, I'm going to audition for the AZ Renaissance Festival and I'm working on some character development so I'd really like your input.  Thank you in advance!!!  Huzzah!

Forgot to mention I made an awesome soy and dairy free strawberry smoothie today:

1 cup So Delicious original Coconut Milk Kefir
1 packet Sweet Leaf Stevia
Frozen Strawberries
Talenti Malaysian Mango sorbetto (talentigelato.com)
1 heaping Tablespoon Brown Rice protein powder

Stick it all in a blender and blend until smooth!  I probably used 1/3 of the bag of frozen strawberries.  Its hard to tell 'cause they were all stuck together and a little icy.  I got the sorbet from Whole Foods-its really good and I can't wait to try their other flavors!

I've never been to a Ren Fest, but I'm sure that you'll be great! :D

I hope your mother is doing better.

Thanks for the recipe!  It sounds delish! ;)

Thanks, LD.  

I hope you try it out, Curlgirl64.

Tomorrow I fly to Michigan again, and I won't be back until the 15th of August.  I hope I'll have better access to the internet, although I won't know until I get there.

Mom's 5th chemo is on Thursday and I hear she's doing better in her rehab.

I'm very near my BSL goal, less than an inch away now.  Of course, my spring factor still makes it look shorter but I'm getting excited just knowing I'm getting sooo close.  I'd love to have much longer hair by the time the AZ Renaissance Festival (http://royalfaires.com/arizona/) starts in Feb-whether I'm in the show or not.

I tried the Karen's Body Beautiful deep conditioner today, and I think I will really like it.  It was moisturizing without being heavy and a little goes a long way, which is unusual since I have thick hair.

My favorite characters were a group called The Queen's Consorte, women who did madrigals. They were phenomenally good.  The group broke up last year because some of them went off to college or moved out of state.  They dressed appropriately, but with a sexy edge, like skirts caught up to show bloomers.

Have a good trip, Sakina. All the best to your mum. :-*

Thanks, Midnight Angel.

Melusine: I love madrigals.   I sang with a madrigal group in college.

I tried a new shampoo and conditioner I think I really like.

http://www.curlmart.com/Max-Green-Alchemy-p-1-c-120.html

Also, I think I've got a good routine for styling-b'leave in conditioner, KCCC and Ojon after I plop.  My waves are well defined and more even.  The Ojon takes away the cast from the KCCC and my hair is really soft.

My bangs have grown out to an inch above my jaw.  I'm glad they're growing out, eventhough they're quite ackward and requite containment.

My folks have a dsl now so it is a bit easier to be online at their home so I hope I won't be as absent as my last trip!

See ya 'round!

Safe journey, Sakina!  *hugs*   8-)

Thank you, Trisha!

Sorry I haven't been around...my dad took the laptop to MO so I was totally w/o a computer until today.

Mom's doing pretty good, she's starting to have extremem fatigue from the cumlative chemo but she had lot of energy today.

I just went through 645 emails that were waiting for me, ugh!  I've got so much catching up to do here but I think I'll have to wait until I get home.  They only have one phone line here so I can't keep it tied up.

I hope everyone is well!!!

Quote:

I just went through 645 emails that were waiting for me, ugh!

Whoa!!! :o

Good to hear from you!  Glad everything is going okay. :)  

Welcome back,Sakina!!!

Thanks, Curlgirl64!

Tomorrow I'm coming home!!!!  I can hardly contain myself.  I miss my hubby and kitties soooo much I could burst!

I hope I can sleep tonight.  I did a deep conditioning treatment and facial, so I plan on being very hydrated for my flights!

See y'all tomorrow...

Yay, for you! :D  Have a safe trip! :)

Welcome back.  Good to hear your mom's doing good and I hope she continues to improve.

Thanks, LD and Drear.

Mom's next chemo ( and hopefully her last) will be on the 20th.  She may have more chemo ahead of her as a maintenance plan.

I am in love with my Green Alchemy shampoo/conditioner.  I'm so happy I tried it.  It makes my scalp clean and exfoliates the dry skin.  It smells really nice and my hair comes out really soft, too.

I slept so well last night, and dreamed tons of dreams.  I think I slept about 12 hours!  The plane ride home was one of the worst ever-screaming children!!!  >:( >:( >:(

I've got a new do I'm starting to rely on.  Its a half up, taking the pony to the crown and rope braiding it.  Then leaving it down.  The rope braid looks really cool with the waves in my hair and the half up keeps my hair off my face.

I'm so lucky...hubby's making my breakfast today.  Poached eggs, bacon and biscuits.  YUM!!!!!  I could eat breakfast every meal of the day!  Ahhh, its good to be home!

I'm feeling very sad today.  Hubby has to go to China for 10 days and he leaves tomorrow.  This has been the weirdest summer on record for us-we've never spent so much time apart and I'm not liking it very much.  Of course, the circumstances surrounding my most recent trips aren't fun, either.

I hope we can do a weekend or weekday getaway when he gets back.  I was thinking Disneyland.  I know he wants to go, too, so I hope we can make it work.

It was so nice to take a shower here at home.  We have a rainfall shower head and I love it.  Also, its nice to shower in water that doesn't smell like sulfur.  I mentioned it to my dad in passing just before I left MI and he said that they don't even smell it.  Yuck.

I've got to get going-appointments and errands to run today and I'm still not dressed and my hair is in a towel, plopping.

I hope everyone has a nice day today!

I totally relate to the missing hubby thing! C was setting up a booth or building for the PGA in Lodi,so he was gone all last week.  He came home Friday night,but was fried from the heat,undesirable hotel room and busting his hump in the heat!  He's gone again this morning,but will be home tonight.(Thank God)
Hang in there with hubby gone!  I hope you guys get to go to DisneyLand when he gets back!!!  Have fun and kiss Mickey for me! ;D

Quote:

hope we can do a weekend or weekday getaway when he gets back.  I was thinking Disneyland.  I know he wants to go, too, so I hope we can make it work.

Woohoo! Lemme know if you guys go. ;) I promise not to pester you long, but I'd love to stop and say hi. ;D

Thanks, Curlgirl64 and Midnight Angel.  I'm salivating at the thought of having a vaca w/hubby and it would be so nice to see how the park has changed from my last visit.

I guess my hair's getting longer-its getting caught in ways it didn't before.  So, now I'm careful in a different way until it becomes a new habit.

I'm annoyed that every time I go to my parents house my face breaks out like crazy.  I've only been home a few days and its already clearing up but jeesh!  why can't it not break out in the first place!?

I was looking in the mirror this morning at my length and I think I'm going to want my hair longer than waist length, more like lower back.  I think hip length might be too long, so somewhere in between.  When I pull my hair straight it just reaches the top of my BSL, and I have a trim next month.  So close to my current goal!!!!

I guess my hair's getting longer-its getting caught in ways it didn't before.  So, now I'm careful in a different way until it becomes a new habit.

I'm annoyed that every time I go to my parents house my face breaks out like crazy.  I've only been home a few days and its already clearing up but jeesh!  why can't it not break out in the first place!?

Oh yes it getting longer!  For me it gets caught under my arm or wrapped around my wrist!

Hmmm.... it could the air quailty at you folks house..or stress..

I get my hair caught under my arm, too.  Its a bit weird and I'm sure my breakouts are from the stinky well water and STRESS.

This morning I woke up with a sore throat, which I expect is from the stress of my recent schedule.

I dropped hubby off at the airport last night.  I hate being sick when he's gone.  I like it better when he will shop for me when I feel like crap.

I'm living in braided pigtails until I feel better, so I can nap whenever I feel the need.  Too bad I finished the books I just bought.  Dean Koontz has got a trilogy of Frankenstein-I read all three books and really enjoyed his re-imagining.  Apparently, the first two books were a screen play that Scorsese was going to direct.  When the project collapsed, he turned them into these books, adding the last one this year.

I love drinking hot tea.

I am sick too!!  Awww honey feel better!! :-*http://freesmileyface.net/smiley/Manga/japanese-051.gif

Thanks, Isabelle.  (((hugs))) You feel better, too.

I'd still be in bed if Jupiter hadn't started meowing, pulling out the wood thing that goes under the door and clawing the carpet.  They're all watered, fed and the litter has been cleaned.  Now I'm going back to bed-I hope he will not disturb me.  If it gets really bad I will probably sleep in the guest bedroom where he's allowed on the bed so we can hang out while I sleep.   ::)

I was planning on a home spa day.  I guess I should wait, especially on the hair treatment.

Aww, hon. Get lots of rest and drink plenty of tea. :-*

Feel better soon!  *hugs*

Thanks, Angel.  Thank goodness I went to Whole Foods before he left.  I am gluten sensitive so I got lots of things I can eat - like Ezekiel bread.  Also, I have Manuka honey, which is made from the Tea Tree plant so it has extra healthy benefits.  I like tea, toast and honey when I'm sick.

I was just speaking with hubby in China on Skype.  Its an awesome tool, and good thing we have it, too!  Apparently, the government of China has blocked Facebook.  When I was in Singapore we chatted via Facebook, but can't while he's in China.   >:( censorship.

Since I'm sick and by myself I've decided to go back and watch some of my favorite movies with the commentaries.  I often forget to do that and hubby isn't interested.  One of my favorites is the commentary from "Hellboy".  They really had some good stories to tell.  "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy is good, too.

I'm avoiding looking in the mirror until I feel better.   :P

Thanks, Trisha!!!!!

Ugh, I'm so stuffy.  And my skin is itchy and hair is greasy.  Somebody shoot me and put me out of my misery!

Just go back to bed, hon. :(

I did go back to bed.  I was deep asleep and dreaming when the phone rang.  It was my mom.  She completed her 6th chemo yesterday and they didn't schedule any more sessions.  Her CA125 is at 25 two times in a row.  This is very good news.  Bad news, I couldn't go back to sleep.

So I watched more TV and a movie.  I lit some candles and incense when it started to thunder and we did get some rain-YAY!  Unfortunately the rain didn't last long.  Fortunately the storm didn't get too bad, 'cause it knocked out the satellite and I'm out of new books.  Satellite is back on now.  Candles are still lit.  :)

I think I might take a bath tomorrow and wash my hair 'cause I think it might make me feel better.  I got two more Curls Like Us towels today so I'm feeling inspired.  You can check them out here: http://www.curlmart.com/Curls-Like-Us-Curl-Cloths-p-960.html

I'm glad things weren't worse for you.  As long as it doesn't knock everything out I wouldn't mind some more serious rain like we had two nights ago.  I like lying in bed and just looking at it.

Thank you, Drear.  The only thing about Michigan that I miss are the long rain storms.

I'm still stuffy and sneezing like crazy.  I'm coughing a bit but not too bad.

I stayed up until 3 in the morning watching an awesome movie "Music Within".  I was really moved by it and think Michael Sheen did an amazing job.  This movie is based on a true story.

Hair is still in pony braids.  I watched "Memoirs of a Geisha" last night and dreamed of amazing hair dos.  I watched it with the costume designer's commentary so I was able to look at the hairstyles more closely than if I was just watching the story.  These styles aren't historically accurate-apparently the accurate hairstyles didn't light well for the film.  I'm still inspired and got some ideas, I probably need more length to pull them off as well as some falls.

Any way, hubby comes home on the 29th and I'm counting the days...

Hope your feeling better! http://freesmileyface.net/smiley/Manga/flower-032.gif

I love Memories of a Geisha :)  I have the book on audio and love to listen to it when I am doing house work :)  

I've always loved rain and the way things look right after it's rained but I appreciate rain in an entirely different way now!

I'm with Lisa on Memoirs of a Geisha.  I have the DVD and book,saw the movie in the movies when it came out and thought it was a good movie!

Thanks, Isabelle.  I'm still pretty miserable, though.  It must be allergies.

I've been lining up movies to watch and I think I have a fairly decent collection.  I wanted sushi for dinner last night, so I got some take out, watched Memoirs of a Geisha again w/o commentary and drank a little bottle of sake I had bought to use in a recipe.  I am very uneducated about sake, and I was surprised to find I enjoyed it.  It was a dry type and I drank it cold.

Today I plan on watching Copying Beethoven and I want to eat German food, but our local German restaurant is quite expensive and I usually split a dish w/hubby.  Mmmm, Saurbraten!  I'm not sure they're open on Sundays.

Ever since we got broken into and had our computer stolen I don't want to go to sleep at night when hubby's not here.  I'm a night owl anyway, and it isn't too difficult for me to do it.  I always go to bed later than hubby but not as late as when he's not here.  Jupiter woke me up around 11am just to sleep on the couch and keep him company.  I would let the cats sleep on the bed w/me, but hubby doesn't want them in our room.  I went to bed at 3am and woke back up on the couch at 3pm.  I think I need to eat something.  Nothing sounds good when you can't smell food.  I was hoping the wasabi would help clear my sinuses but they're as stuffed as ever.

I did manage to shower yesterday and tried a new styling product. Curl Junkie Coffee Coco Curl Creme ( http://www.curlmart.com/Curl-Junkie-Coffee-Coco-Curl-Creme-p-488.html )  I don't really like how it smells in the container, and I think I didn't use enough to really enhance my curls (although my hair is thick and heavy so the hold might be too light) but I did have completely frizz free hair.  Yay.  Also, there was no cast-no crunchiness and there was no yucky smell in my drying/dry hair.

I'm glad your mother got some good news! :D  

Too bad you aren't feeling well.  But you seem to be having good movie nights while your husband is away.  Sounds like fun! :D

Thanks, LD.  This bout of cancer and chemo has been really hard on her.

I love movies.  In high school I'd hold movie marathons w/my friends, like watching the Star Wars movies back to back.  Most of my friends were boys, so we had pizza and soda, popcorn and chocolate.  It was really fun and a pleasant surprise that my folks would let my friends stay over.  Of course my parents were home and I wasn't romantically involved w/any of them.  We were in a vocal jazz group together so my parents knew them.  Its nice to remember!

Hubby isn't as much into movies as I, so its bittersweet to watch alone.

Quote:

Thanks, LD.  This bout of cancer and chemo has been really hard on her.

Well, let's hope that she won't have to go through it anymore.


Quote:

I love movies.  In high school I'd hold movie marathons w/my friends, like watching the Star Wars movies back to back.  Most of my friends were boys, so we had pizza and soda, popcorn and chocolate.  It was really fun and a pleasant surprise that my folks would let my friends stay over.  Of course my parents were home and I wasn't romantically involved w/any of them.  We were in a vocal jazz group together so my parents knew them.  Its nice to remember!

I watched the Star Wars movies back to back when I was in high school too, although I watched them alone.  

See, you even knew how to throw a good party in high  school. :D

I also used to entertian male friends at my house but there would always be at least one other girl there.  I wasn't romantically involved with my male friends that would stay over either, but unlike you I wasn't necessarly the model teen.  We didn't watch movies, my gatherings were typically b.y.o.b. ::)


Quote:

Hubby isn't as much into movies as I, so its bittersweet to watch alone.

Not sure why, but I don't mind watching movies alone.  Especially if it's something that my husband would consider "girly".  I'd rather watch that type of movie by myself and enjoy it than sit through the whole thing worried about his comfort level.

Add my WOO HOO to your mother's CA125 results.   8-)

Thanks, LD.  I hope she is done having cancer forever!

I did love to throw parties in college, too.  My favorite was the Fancy Dessert Party.  The idea was that everyone brought a dessert and dress up fancy.  Usually I was the one all dressed up, but it was fun and yummy.

Wow, I was really afraid of drinking around other people.  I was molested by a family friend when I was really little, so I never want to be in a diminished capacity position.  I definitely have trust issues!

Thanks, Trisha.  I'm happy to add your WOO HOO!!!

Last night I made some awesome pasta sauce for dinner.  I used brown rice pasta-Pasta Joy! is my favorite brand.  I got some Muir Glen organic tomato & herb sauce and boosted it with sauteed onion in olive oil, halved grape tomatoes, one piece crumbled bacon, mushrooms and artichokes.  I seasoned all of the add ins with sea salt and black pepper.  I also put in about 2 tbs of tomato paste and some sugar.  I added a bit of chipotle pepper flake for a smokey deep flavor.  I would have used red pepper flake, but we didn't have any.  To the finished plate I added parm cheese and plain goat cheese.  Super yum!!!  A totally gluten free dinner!!

I am so pleased for you mother's results.  That's wonderful!!

Hope you are feeling better.  Hot tea with honey always makes me feel better.  Since I was sick last May the week before my concert, I've been taking Emergen-C every day, and my allergies are much better, altho' I still take generic Zyrtec every morning and Mucinex DM morning and nite.  In years past, the meds didn't work all that well, but seem to be more effective now.  I attribute that to the massive vitamin C dosage.

Your pasta sauce sounds yummy!  I want some.  :)

Quote:

I hope she is done having cancer forever!

Amen to that, sister!


Quote:

Wow, I was really afraid of drinking around other people.  I was molested by a family friend when I was really little, so I never want to be in a diminished capacity position.  I definitely have trust issues!

Bad things happen to intoxicated women...it's a fact. And bless you for being brave enough to admit something like that. I'm so sorry that happened to you. :(

Quote:

I did love to throw parties in college, too.  My favorite was the Fancy Dessert Party.  The idea was that everyone brought a dessert and dress up fancy.  Usually I was the one all dressed up, but it was fun and yummy.

That sounds like fun.  I used to love throwing parties as well.  I miss that sometimes.


Quote:

Wow, I was really afraid of drinking around other people.  I was molested by a family friend when I was really little, so I never want to be in a diminished capacity position.  I definitely have trust issues!

There's nothing wrong with trying to keep yourself safe.  As a young girl, I definitely put myself in situations that had the potential to go wrong.  Sometimes when you're young you don't think.  Or you just don't believe that anything bad can or will happen to you...until something bad happens.

I'm sorry you had such an awful experience. :-[
Quote:

Last night I made some awesome pasta sauce for dinner.  I used brown rice pasta-Pasta Joy! is my favorite brand.  I got some Muir Glen organic tomato & herb sauce and boosted it with sauteed onion in olive oil, halved grape tomatoes, one piece crumbled bacon, mushrooms and artichokes.  I seasoned all of the add ins with sea salt and black pepper.  I also put in about 2 tbs of tomato paste and some sugar.  I added a bit of chipotle pepper flake for a smokey deep flavor.  I would have used red pepper flake, but we didn't have any.  To the finished plate I added parm cheese and plain goat cheese.  Super yum!!!  A totally gluten free dinner!!

Wow, that sounds good!  I may have to try your recipe. :D I'd really been in the mood for turkey bacon lately anyway, so I can use some for this.

Midnight Angel, thanks for your sympathy.  I've been really fortunate to find a psychologist that specializes in childhood abuse.  She has helped me a lot.

La Diosa, thank you for your sympathy. I hope you will try my recipe-it was really good.  I forgot to mention that I added 2 chopped cloves of garlic as well.  Have you ever cooked your bacon in the oven?  We do it all the time, and cook the whole package at once so we can enjoy the bacon all week in lots of ways.

I washed my hair today and tried the CJCCCC again.  I used more of it and really don't like the smell.  I would totally use this product if it came unscented (I'm going to check) and am going to give this jar to hubby.

Quote:

I've been really fortunate to find a psychologist that specializes in childhood abuse.  She has helped me a lot.

That's good that you were able to get help through that.


Quote:

I forgot to mention that I added 2 chopped cloves of garlic as well.

That's funny, I was wondering why you didn't add garlic. :)  I would've done that anyway. I'll try it later this week and let you know how mine turns out.


Quote:

Have you ever cooked your bacon in the oven?  We do it all the time, and cook the whole package at once so we can enjoy the bacon all week in lots of ways.

No, I ususally cook it in the microwave.  I'll try it in the oven.  Maybe it'll come out crispier.  Making it all at once and putting it in the fridge sounds like a good idea, I'll try that too.  I'm sure it will all get eaten. :D

The trick with cooking bacon in the oven is to heat it gradually.  Take a broiler pan or cookie sheet w/sides and place a bake-able cooling rack in it.  Place your bacon on the cooling rack.  Put it in the cold oven and turn the temperature to 400 degrees.  Once it reaches temperature, set the timer for 15-20 minutes, depending on your oven and how crispy you like your bacon.  I've never done this w/turkey bacon so keep an eye on it.  It may take longer if the bacon is thick cut.  I hope it turns out for you.

We don't often eat bacon and if we do it's turkey bacon (I've gone off the taste of the greasier types and I always used to prepare it in the microwave.  

Quote:

Midnight Angel, thanks for your sympathy.  I've been really fortunate to find a psychologist that specializes in childhood abuse.  She has helped me a lot.

That's good. I never had such a luxury, but I can definitely sympathize.

Mmm, turkey bacon... ;D

Everything's better with BACON!!!

Lat night I watched "Copying Beethoven".  I love that movie.  I always cry during the concert performance, when the choir comes in.

I'm feeling anxious about my hair.  Maybe its boredom.  

I just ordered the cutest sweater and purse from www.babygirlboutique.com.  Both have Dios de los Muertos themes.  I have an awesome sugar skull belt buckle from www.howcool.com.  I'm feeling skullish, I guess.  Maybe its because fall is approaching, I feel like revamping my wardrobe.

Later, when its cooler, I'm going to Michael's to buy a sketch pad.  I've got a burning desire to practice henna patterns.  And sugar skulls.

Edited to add:   OMG!  There's only 65 days left til Halloween.  Ahhhhh!

Quote:

Everything's better with BACON!!!

I think you're right.  

I made the pasta sauce and put it on spaghetti.  It was really good but I think it would've been even better with real bacon instead of the turkey bacon that I used.  I think the turkey bacon gave it an odd flavor, but my husband really loved it. :D

Thanks again for sharing the recipe! :)

I'm so happy you tried my recipe!  I used penne pasta and piggy bacon.  Glad your husband loved it.  Oh, and you're very welcome!!!

I went to Michael's at 7:30pm and it was 100 degrees out.  I got my sketch pad and some pencils.  I looked at the Halloween stuff-bling!  Very different from last year, silver bling and lots of skulls.  

Gotta go, watching "The Prestige" and talking to hubby on Skype.  He's in China until Saturday.

Quote:

I looked at the Halloween stuff-bling!  Very different from last year, silver bling and lots of skulls.

Black & bling, baby. 8-)
About a month ago, I bought a black, glittery skull with rhinestone eyes, a long, black, triangular apothecary bottle with a skull top, a short "organic bat brain" apothecary bottle with the bat top and the large, silver rhinestone skull. They're faaabulous. 8-) I can't wait to see what sort of Halloween merch Target launches this year.

I've been staying away from shopping for Halloween this year since I'm not having a traditional (for me) party and I have pretty much everything for my pirate themed front yard haunt already from last year.  I saw all of the items you purchased, Midnight Angel-I especially liked the apothecary bottle.

I've decided to hold a pumpkin carving party.  It's fall themed, Halloween-y and something I've never done before.  So, now I'm excited about planning and research!!

After watching "The Prestige" I watched "Perfume, A Story of a Murderer".  Wow.  Look it up.

Gotta feed my face, laters!

"Perfume, A Story of a Murderer".

That was a really good movie!!!  :)  

Isabelle, I'm glad you like it, too!  I've shared it with a few other people and they just don't see the beauty in it.

I'm in a stupor right now-finally sleeping really deeply now that hubby's home again.  YAY!  And all this staying up late and going to bed at 3AM has a side benefit-the compressor went out on our refrigerator Saturday early AM.  Luckily I was awake to mop up the melt and get the ice cubes dumped in the sink so there wasn't a pool of water in my kitchen!

Grrr, I'm getting so close to my BSL goal but I'm just an itty bit away and that itty bit is driving me mad!  I'm looking forward to my trim in 2 weeks as my ends need a sprucing up.  Is that contradictory?

All the while hubby was in China I had been eating quite healthily (yay me!) and now that we don't have a working refrigerator I'm eating crap, which means I will soon be feeling like crap and then looking like crap.  I hope we can get it fixed soon and not have to buy a new one.  I want to spend that money on my trip to Paris.

Misery!  I'm feeling very depressed today.  I think I'll go to the book store.  Funny, with the refrigerator dead, I can't got eat a bunch of crap.  That won't stop me from buying some, but at least I can make some better food choices to make me feel better.

Sigh.  Sometimes I hate being me.

I hope that you get over your depression really soon.  I had lot's of junk last night so I know first hand how bad that can make you feel. :-[  
Quote:

Sigh.  Sometimes I hate being me.

You're such a wonderful person!  I know you can't really mean that.  (((hugs)))

Oh, I forgot to mention, that pasta sauce was soooo much better on the second day.  All of the flavors really got a chance to blend.  I was almost tempted to lick my plate. ;D

Thanks.  Its actually a good thing, part of the healing process with my naturopathy.  Today was just a really, really difficult day.

You're very kind, La Diosa.  Some days I do really mean that.  Comes from my childhood.

I'm so happy you enjoyed the sauce so much.  When I was at my mom's, I made sauce and then the second time we had it I added spinach to change it up a bit.  Mmmm, I wish I had a refrigerator so I could make some sauce and pasta since all this talking about it is making me hungry!  We had KFC for dinner tonight.  :P

LD, do you like spicy food?

I don't think I've measured my hair since July-with all my crazy traveling this summer I have no idea where I'm at length wise.  I'm actually feeling excited about measuring!

Quote:

Thanks.  Its actually a good thing, part of the healing process with my naturopathy.  Today was just a really, really difficult day.

I had to look naturopathy up to see what it was. ::)  It's great if it works for you.  Sorry about your day.  


Quote:

You're very kind, La Diosa.  Some days I do really mean that.  Comes from my childhood.

It isn't kindness, just calling it like I see it. ;)  It's unfortunate that you feel that way sometimes, but I'm well aware of the scars that childhood events can leave on one's life.  :-[  
Quote:

When I was at my mom's, I made sauce and then the second time we had it I added spinach to change it up a bit.  Mmmm, I wish I had a refrigerator so I could make some sauce and pasta since all this talking about it is making me hungry!  We had KFC for dinner tonight.

When I was buying the base sauce for your recipe, my husband suggested getting one with spinach in it.  I decided not to because I didn't want to stray from the original recipe too much.  Now I'm getting hungry too. ;D  


I like spicy foods, but I can't eat foods that are too spicy. When I order spicy foods at a restaurant, I'll ask for medium spice.  Are you asking because you have a spicy recipe?  If so, I'm interested. :)

Good luck with your measurement!

Sakina, I don't know if you're still looking for ideas for you pumpkin carving party.  But if so, there are a few tips in the Martha Stewart Halloween magazine.  One cool idea, is using the seeds from the carved pumpkins to make pumpkin seed brittle.    

I don't like to give unsolicited advice on depression, various health conditions and diet besides, what works for me or someone else might not work for the next person.  I hope you have tactics you know work for you or can improve the way you feel.  I know there isn't much you can do about a broken fridge if you can't afford to fix it/replace it right now.  


I second that you're not a bad person.  I've actually not come across anyone on this forum whom I perceive as "bad" in any way. :)  

La Diosa, thanks for the info on MSH.  I'm actually changing my mind-again.  I'm back to hats being the theme, and now doing a picnic in the back yard w/a buffet and old fashioned Halloween games like bobbing for apples, pin the tail on the black cat (no real black cats will be harmed!), how many eyeballs are in the jar, stuff like that.  I want to have it in the afternoon so I won't go all out w/the decor and I'm going to wear an amazing Victorian outfit and hat that I wouldn't want to get pumpkin guts on.

Drear, you're very sweet.  I'd bet most "bad" people don't think of themselves as being bad.  For me, I've grown up feeling very bad about myself and getting down to those feelings is part of releasing them.  Its actually a big deal for me to be truthful about my feelings, instead of putting on the "oh, everything's fine" face when things aren't fine.  Writing it here in my journal allowed me to be honest with myself in a way I haven't been in a long time.

We're still living on fast food and the cooler.  I hope we'll get a new fridge this weekend!  Hubby's coming home early today, so we're going to Texas Roadhouse for ribs.  YUM!!!!

I used to have so many online journals and sometimes I'd just need to write the same thing several times to really be able to deal with it.  There are people I'm comfortable with being skinlessly honest with while those who usually stick their nose into my private feelings usually aren't the ones I want to share with. ::)  It puts such stress and strain on me to try to keep those people from finding out too much because it's my experience that there are people it isn't wise to leave myself vulnerable to.  

Besides reading others journals and discovering that I'm not alone with some of my problems, I really need a place to vent my spleen at times even if no one reads my rambling rants.  Of course I don't really wish for any of you to suffer.

Not to worry! I vent sometimes too and everyone here is just the best (((hugs)) :)

Drear and Isabelle, (((hugs))) to you both!  Thanks for writing in my journal.

I just got back from walking w/hubby in the neighborhood.  Its quite windy and we had an awesome lightning show to entertain us.  Finally it was a bit cooler!  Someday we'll get out of the triple digit temps.

I have a hair cut in a week.  My hair would hardly hold its wave today, which is tempting me to have her layer it a lot.  Maybe if I do a deep treatment my hair will behave better.  The styling combo I used is too light for the weight of my hair and I think that's why I didn't get the desired results.

I groomed my brows and threaded my lip so I feel good about that.  My brows have grown in nicely, and thank goodness!!!  No more waxing for me.

I think tomorrow I'm going to do my hula hoop for exercise.

My mom had her scans and tests today-I hope the results are awesome.  I'm going to call her tomorrow to see how it went.

Lazy, lazy, lazy.  That's me.

I'm looking forward to seeing "9" soon.  I love Tim Burton films.  I've been watching "Charley and the Chocolate Factory" and drinking either hot Milo or cold chocolate almond milk w/gluten free lemon almond biscotti the last few nights.  Oh, its so funny.

This Sunday we're going to Casino Arizona to watch the season opening of the Detroit Lions.  Hubby is a very loyal fan and I love how he gets into the game.  I got a Lion's shirt w/bling to show my support.  I think it will be a lot of fun.  Cheaper than going to Vegas to see the game.

My hair definitely needs some shaping.  I think I'm glad I've got a trim coming next week.  Too bad the idea that getting your hair cut makes it grow faster isn't true.  Besides, I get my trimmed every 12 weeks anyway.  More scalp massages are in order!

Drear  "skinlessly honest" -- I like that description.   8-)  
I think it's very important for all of us to have at least avenue of being skinlessly honest, be it a person or a journal of sorts.  I spent too many years hiding behind the everything's-fine-mask.  No more.  

Sakina  You've certainly had a year, haven't you, love?   :P  Know that we're all here for you, in whatever capacity you need us to be.  *hugs*

I love "Charley and the Chocolate Factory"! :D  Johnny Depp is really good in that movie.


Quote:

This Sunday we're going to Casino Arizona to watch the season opening of the Detroit Lions.  Hubby is a very loyal fan and I love how he gets into the game.  I got a Lion's shirt w/bling to show my support.  I think it will be a lot of fun.  Cheaper than going to Vegas to see the game.

Have fun! :D  

I've gone out with my husband to watch football games, donned the jersey and the whole 9.  My intentions were always good, but I can never get into the games. :-[

Trisha, thanks for the hugs, I needed them today.  Since I started the homeopathic treatments I have been journaling my "adventure".  What a nice word for an extremely challenging and difficult task.  Its interesting.  For me, its like Alice falling down the rabbithole.  I'm somewhere around Middle School, headed toward elementary.  Despair resides here, I never had a name for it before.

La Diosa, I really like how his dentures changed the shape of his face and the voice he uses.  I've decided I want some goggles for sunglasses.  Seems like they're not making the magnetic sets right now so I'll have to get separate glasses and sunglasses.

My hubby is adorable.  He's Asian, almost exactly my height (5'6") and really laid back.  Except when he watches the Lions.  I love to watch him jump around and pump his fist in the air and holler, thoroughly enjoy the game.  I've learned a lot about what's going on which has increased my enjoyment of the game, but I really just love to watch him-he shines with joy.

Oh, cute!  A chipmonk just ran down our wall.  It has a nice fluffy tail and a striped head.  Jupiter has just noticed it-he's sunbathing behind my computer looking out the window.  Hee hee.  Wow!  Now we have a bunch of mourning doves in the yard and he's talking to them.  Here, birdy birdy.

I like the voice that he uses too and his expressions are priceless!


Quote:

My hubby is adorable.  He's Asian, almost exactly my height (5'6") and really laid back.  Except when he watches the Lions.  I love to watch him jump around and pump his fist in the air and holler, thoroughly enjoy the game.  I've learned a lot about what's going on which has increased my enjoyment of the game, but I really just love to watch him-he shines with joy.

It's so nice that you get so much joy just from seeing his excitement. :)

I recall seeing his picture.  I used to date a guy who was part Chinese part Black.  He was exactly my height too and I'm 5'8".  Size doesn't matter to me though.  I even wore heels when we went out, neither of us thought it was an issue.


Quote:

Oh, cute!  A chipmonk just ran down our wall.  It has a nice fluffy tail and a striped head.  Jupiter has just noticed it-he's sunbathing behind my computer looking out the window.  Hee hee.  Wow!  Now we have a bunch of mourning doves in the yard and he's talking to them.  Here, birdy birdy.

Aww... :)
 

I wear heels, too.  Sometimes really high ones and he doesn't care if I'm taller.

I'm kinda excited right now.  I just made my audition appointment for the Arizona Renaissance Festival.  I think it would be very good for me, not only to do something I've never done before but also to make some new friends.  So, think of me next Saturday around 11:15am Arizona time, please!!!

*squeee*

Sakina wrote on Sep 11^th, 2009 at 7:27pm:

I wear heels, too.  Sometimes really high ones and he doesn't care if I'm taller. I'm kinda excited right now.  I just made my audition appointment for the Arizona Renaissance Festival.  I think it would be very good for me, not only to do something I've never done before but also to make some new friends.  So, think of me next Saturday around 11:15am Arizona time, please!!! *squeee*

Good luck!  That sounds really exciting!

Thanks, MichelleR!

I have a pair of heels that makes me taller than my husaband and he's 6' tall! ;D

Good luck with your audition, I really hope you get it! :)

I have quite a few pair that are over 4" high.  They're fun!

Thanks, La Diosa, I hope so, too!!!

Good luck! :)

Curlgirl64, thanks!

Man, I hope it is going to rain 'cause I'm getting a killer sinus headache.  Feels like the front of my face is being squeezed real hard.

Tonight I wrote the poem for my Halloween invitations.  I also found the stationary I want to buy.  Got get on it-I think the list of guests is nearly complete.  I wish I could invite you guys to come, that sure would be fun.

I got complimented on my swingstix twice today, which I think is a record.  Usually no one says anything.  Funny.

We are going to be there in spirit!

...And every year we all want to come. ;)  Congrats on finishing your poem.  I'm sure your party will be "a stone groove!" (like the guy said about the party in Trading Places). :D

Hope you feel better! :)

Quote:

I wish I could invite you guys to come, that sure would be fun.

;D We could have a scary hair contest and see who would arrive with the freakiest 'do. The smartest of us would use wigs, of course...

I rarely wear heels but I could wear them as high as you can get them and still never be taller than anyone else. ;D

Quote:

I rarely wear heels but I could wear them as high as you can get them and still never be taller than anyone else.

;D

The highest heels I wear are about 2.5 to 3 in.  Right now I am wearing black half-boots (the ones that are open in back, like mules) with 1/2" platforms and 3" heels.  They are very comfortable and sexy as hell with jeans cuffed up to show the hardware on the vamp.  I love heeled boots.  ::)

I agree with you Melusine, I love high heeled boot's too, as well as high heeled strappy sandals.  I have platform shoes with heels that are 4 or 5 inches high.  When I wear them I feel like an amazon, but I love them. :D

I now have some layers in the back I didn't have before.  My hair feels less heavy and it lays better when its all down.  I'm not used to seeing my hair like this, I think I'll grow to like it.  I can still make a bun and my sleeping braids are fine.

I heard my mom's test results today.  The doctor said she has 5-10 years.  She has some options for treating the cancer, but she will not be cancer free.  I'm still a bit stunned so that's all for now.

I'm really sad.  :'(

I'm sorry to hear that!  Might she get a second opinion?  

OMG, Sakina, I feel so sorry to hear of your mothers diagnosis.  Hopefully, your mother will survive this and prove the doctor wrong, as that does happen sometimes.  Of course, I won't have to tell you to just cherish your mother for however long that you do have her around. (((hugs)))

UGHHH!! Sakina, I am so sorry, hon. :(
*hugs*

(((((hugs))))) I am so sorry hon.

:(   >:(   :P   :'(    *hugs*

((hugs))

I'm sorry Sakina!  You are both in my prayers.

:'(

Thank you, everybody.  I really needed those hugs.  After getting the bad news, I'm working on thinking positive which is about all I can do now.  Still sad, though.

I almost decided to cancel my audition.  I am still going to go, hubby's going to drive me.  Its hard for me to accept support-it is foreign to me.

I had my first panic attack yesterday, a few hours before my mom called.  It seems that this is part of my healing from suppressing my pain and anger from childhood.  If anybody has suggestions on how they handle panic attacks, I'd appreciate it.  I hope this doesn't last long.

I'm now thinking about moving my Halloween picnic to the Friday night before Halloween.  I think I'll set up the yard like a cemetery.  That'll give me another week to get invites out.  The paper and envelopes hasn't arrived yet.

Thanks to everyone who thought of me today as I had my audition.  It was an adventure, and a new experience.  Since this is interactive theatre there are no scripts, only characters.  For the audition, after filling out the usual paperwork, there is a bowl based on gender filled with folded slips of paper that have a character on them.  You choose three slips and choose one of the characters to do your audition as.  My three were: Juliet, milkmaid and Leech Breeder Sister.  I chose the last one since I thought that sounded the most interesting.  When they call your name, you enter the room as the character and address a panel of four people sitting at a table.  They ask you questions about your character for a couple of minutes.  Then they say they want to talk to you, not the character, about general stuff.  

They typically need 300-400 people in the show, so most of the people who audition get in.  Everyone who was helping out at the audition were super friendly and helpful.  It was kind of like being home again.  Its been so long since I've been around goofy theatre people, and that was only a handful of people.

They'll post the casting on Wednesday.  Ta-dah!

This was bittersweet to read your post and then see the post of you mom's results.  I am so sorry.  I hope she proves the doctors wrong and stuns them all!
I'm hoping you get the part you want for the play!  Couple more days to find out,hang in there!  Suspense can be a killer!

Thanks, Curlgirl64.  The suspense is getting to me today!

Today I've decided I'm going to work on saying "You're welcome" when people thank me.  I have a bad habit of saying things like "Sure, no problem" or "Uh-huh" and not truly acknowledging their thanks.

Another thing, I've recently started having tea.  In the English sense.  I plan on eating around 3pm and its working nicely.  Since I plan on it, it helps me not overeat at other meals.

We've been adopted by a cat.  It has been hanging out in our backyard for at least a week or so.  It sleeps against the block wall (block walls are very common in Arizona and typically are in every newer neighborhood) in 3 regular places.  It has eaten some of the birds that hang out on top of the wall.  Its odd, this cat is marked like a cat I had as a child.  Lilac tipped Siamese.  We aren't going near this cat because our cats are totally indoor and they don't have rabies shots.  I hope it doesn't get eaten my a coyote!

OK, I must admit that my new layers make my hair look great when its down.  The layers stick out a bit in my buns but I guess I can't have it both ways.

My mom will know on October 20th if she's fit for surgery.  I'll possibly be going to Michigan early November to help her during her recovery.  I was going to cancel Halloween.  Now I think I can still have my picnic!!!

Sakina wrote on Sep 22^nd, 2009 at 7:22pm:

My mom will know on October 20th if she's fit for surgery.  I'll possibly be going to Michigan early November to help her during her recovery.  I was going to cancel Halloween.  Now I think I can still have my picnic!!!

I hope you do go ahead with your Hallowe'en picnic plans.  I think it will be good for your spirit.

I hope being able to include hopefully good experiences into everything else that's going on, will make it an "easier" time go get through for you.  I wish the best for your mother.  

Quote:

Today I've decided I'm going to work on saying "You're welcome" when people thank me.  I have a bad habit of saying things like "Sure, no problem" or "Uh-huh" and not truly acknowledging their thanks.

That took me back to when I was a little kid.  Whenever my grandparents did something for my sister and I, we were always well mannered and truely grateful enough to say "thank you".  However, my grandparents would always say "uh-huh".  It really did feel like they were just blowing us off in my opinion.  So, as a young child of maybe 7 or 8, I got into the habit of correcting them and telling them to "say you're welcome".  ;D

I'm glad that you had a good time at your audition and that you won't have to cancel your Halloween party.  I'm sure that you can use the distractions.

Thank you, you gals are great!!!

Sound the trumpets!  Make way for Viscontessa Superbia, Lady Pride.  Carry on.

Yay!  We have a cast picnic October 3rd so I'm looking forward to meeting everyone.  I'm excited to get started on costuming, but they haven't decided what my colors will be yet so that's on hold.  My character is Italian, so I've got my research cut out for me.  Eeep!  Its so good to have something to be happy about.

I made a really cute 1/2 do today.  Renaissance inspired, of course!

That's wonderful, congratulations!  Sounds like it will be lots of fun.

I am so pleased for you!!!  Have lots of fun.  I am dying to hear about your garb as soon as you know your color.

I have been keeping your mom in my thoughts.  I am sending strength and health as much as I can, to both of you.

Thank you, MichelleR & Melusine.  I am hoping it will be lots of fun.  I'm hoping my color will be peacock.  I heard there was some discussion on carnelian or amethyst.  I think they're concerned about purple being royalty only, I don't know if amethyst counts exactly.

Melusine, thanks for keeping us in your thoughts.  Your sent energy is much appreciated!!!

I'm squirmy in my guts about my costume and accessories.  BTW, its a really good squirmy!!!  Whee!

Hi Hon!

Here's a link to some really neat Renn style hair do's!  I have tryed the Italian Hair taping and its really nice! :) http://www.dreamweaverbraiding.com/braid_examples/braid_examples_ribbons.htm

*sigh* I love those styles!  Can't wait until my hair is long enough to do stuff like this again.

Sakina, I want to see pics when you have your final costume!   :D

Thank you, Isabelle!  I had forgotten about that page.  I might be able to incorporate some of it, it will be fun to experiment!  I have an idea to rope braid the front w/ the ribbon and put a snood on the rest of my hair.

MichelleR, I'll do my best to get pics.  I've been bad about it lately, I have a bunch of my hair that I haven't downloaded yet.

I've decided to go back to doing Cassia, especially since I'll be outside from 10-6 Saturdays and Sundays of the faire.  Our faire runs 19 days.  I hope I can protect it well!

Woo Hoo!!  Congrats,Sakina! :)

So when and where is your faire set?  Bristol is Elizabethan England, and St. Louis is 16C French.  You said your character is Italian. Is the Faire Italian?  I would love to see that!

Belated congrats on the casting.

Sorry it's late, but I've had a whoooole lotta http://www.smilieshq.com/smilies/sign0055.gif to deal with lately.

Just wanted to wish you the best. http://www.smilieshq.com/smilies/sign0201.gif

Thanks, Curlgirl64.

Melusine, the Arizona Renaissance Festival (http://www.royalfaires.com/) is set in England.  I am one of the Seven Deadly Sins, Italian Courtiers.  At this point, that's all I know.

Thank you, Midnight Angel.  I'm sorry you've got so much unpleasantness going on lately.  You're wishes are appreciated.

Congrats on getting the part.  You must be so excited! :D

Wow!  That Renn fest looks really good!  The one we had up here blew in conparison! ;D  Wish I could go.  Don and I would go as Henry and Anne  :D  Enjoy, don't let them work you too hard and always have a quick way of getting out of your stays :)

La Diosa, thanks!  I am excited and curious how this will unfold.  Instead of "rehearsals" we'll really be having workshops and exercises that create interactive theatre, along with learning the lingo and manners of the times.

Isabelle, this is a particularly nice faire.  Sorry your local one wasn't so great.

I have been hunting for grey nail polish.  I bought one from China Glaze which turned out to be quite silvery, which isn't what I want.  I'm currently sporting Suede nail polish by OPI.  It is strange, its supposed to look and feel like suede.  You don't use a top coat so it doesn't last as long as regular polish.  I got a grey color, though it looks like there's black underneath.  It goes on quite thick, which I think mimics the suede look.  Still not quite what I'm after but its interesting.

I'm feeling very lazy today.  I had designated Sunday as my deep treat and facial day.  I think the problem is its really hot today so maybe I'll just do it later.  I don't have to get up early tomorrow or anything anyway.

 
Quote:

Instead of "rehearsals" we'll really be having workshops and exercises that create interactive theatre, along with learning the lingo and manners of the times.

Well that's a good thing.  I wish that we had classes like that when I did Cleopatra at Caesars.  They were very strict about our weight, our makeup and about us characters not having personal conversations with each other while visible to the public.  However, no one ever told me how to act. So for the most part I'd just smile and nod, and let the guy who was Caesar do most all of the talking. ::)  


Quote:

I'm currently sporting Suede nail polish by OPI.  It is strange, its supposed to look and feel like suede.

That is odd.  One of the things that I like about getting my nails done is how smooth and slick they feel afterwards.  

Awesome grays = Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Gunmetal & Revlon in Steel-Her Heart.  ;)

La Diosa, yeah, I'm really glad we'll be working on how to converse in character w/strangers.  There's one book by Gary Izzo that is on the subject of interactive theatre, but its hard to find.  He's been doing renaissance faires for years.  I guess if you were Egyptian, you wouldn't have much to say to the "commoners" who are English speaking!

Midnight Angel, thanks for those suggestions.  I'll check 'em out!

I have so far managed to do my deep treatment, I think I'll leave the facial to tomorrow.

I'm going to try doing Cassia at home, I ordered some from henna caravan.  I also got some more henna for my mehandi.  I'm looking forward to it!

I used Karen's Body Beautiful Luscious Locks Moisturizing Hair Mask yesterday (http://www.karensbodybeautiful.com/product_p/llhm.htm) and I love how it makes my hair feel and look.  It says to use once a month, but I'm using it weekly since my hair tends to be dry and I live in the desert.

I usually put in my leave in, Kinky Curly Curling Custard and then plop before adding Ojon's Animated Styling Creme.  Yesterday I tried a new Devacurl product called MirrorCurls instead of the Ojon. (http://www.devaconcepts.com/products/curl/MirrorCurls)
Wow!  It really enhanced my curls and there's no silicone!  Its mainly for shine, but I got a lot more out of it than that.  I'm not crazy about the smell, but it doesn't linger on my hair and I love the results, especially no frizz!!!
Woohoo!

I'm hoping my henna stuff comes today, I'm itching to do some mehandi.  I've got the picnic for the ren fest this weekend, and I'm starting to think about what to wear and how to do my hair.

Halloween's on again, and I've sent out the invites.  I decided to do an evite since it took forever for the paper I ordered to arrive.  I'll use that next year.  So, I'm also envisioning my hair for my hat.  I'll be in full Victorian dress with this awesome hat: http://eastangelharbor.com/_wsn/page2.html Scroll down to "Miss Ivory Crystal Fairy".  I don't know if I want to do a Gibson Girl hairstyle or what.  Hmmm.

Wow, that's some hat!  I definitely want to see pics of your completed hair and costume!

Those hats are just eye candy!

What a cool site!  The hats are beautiful!  ( I like the fans,too)

MichelleR, Drear, and Curlgirl64, I know, right?  I have 2 of Darna's hats and they are great.  She's a super nice lady to deal with, too.  I was thinking about doing rag curls and leaving some down in the back but they'd be covered by the tulle that hangs down the back of the hat.  Of course, I could pin that up onto the hat and then they'd show.  

I just saw an audition notice for a haunted house.  I kinda want to go for it, its just 12 days in October.  Its about an hour away and the performance is from 6pm to midnight.  God, that sounds like fun!  Or, I could do makeup and costuming although I don't know how elaborate they go so my meager skills might not be enough.

Ugh, I woke up with a headache this morning.  I got out the trusty ACE cold pack and noticed it felt weird when I adjusted it on my head.  Low and behold, there's an itty bitty tear in it so it has started leaking.  Luckily its non toxic 'cause I think I got some in my hair.

I had some major body work done yesterday, and I suspect it could be the cause of my headache.  So, on to the next layer of trauma.  Whee. ::)

My henna and cassia arrived, so maybe later today I'll play with the mehandi.  Might do the cassia on Sunday.

Well, I did some henna last night but I don't think I like this applicator bottle.  Its different from the other one and I think its too big for my hand to use comfortably.  Next time I'm going to try a pre-filled cone.  Then I'll have tried every kind of applicator they sell at henna caravan.

I'm super happy w/how my hair turned out today.  I've been thinking about trying this style but just didn't until today.  I put my hair in a fairly high ponytail (still have bangs growing out) and secured it.  I divided the pony into two sections and did a 2 strand rope braid with both sections so I wound up with two braids.  Then I gently twisted the braids together and looped them into a bun.  I think it looks much better than a single 2 strand braid bun because you can see more of the pattern.

Today I picked out new prescription glasses and sunglasses and ordered more contact lenses.  It was fun, though difficult to choose my frames.  I went to the Target optical, and after all the rig-a-marole I went to look at the Halloween stuff.  Man, I'm really disappointed!  There wasn't really anything that caught my eye.  I did buy 2 packs of goody bags because it turns out to be much cheaper than the little buckets I was going to buy.  I mostly intend to give them to the kids that come to the picnic.  Gulp!  Yep, I invited our friends offspring.  THAT makes me totally nervous!  I put on the invite that only well behaved children are welcome.

I got this for one of our games: http://www.victoriantradingco.com/store/catalogimages/1a/i13482.html
and some ghost stories for reading aloud.

I'm waiting for hubby to get home to measure my hair for me.

Oh, you should've taken a photo of your hair. :)  Wow!  I wish there was an optical chain here that could actually provide quality, service and fair prices so a pair of glasses wasn't something that had to be planned 3-5 years in advance.  

As a matter of fact, Drear, I did have hubby take a pic.  Now, if I could just remember how to download from this newer camera you could see it!

I'm sorry getting glasses is a hardship over there.  I've never thought about it being so difficult to get glasses.  I've been wearing them since I was 14 years old.

Ugh!  I'm up early 'cause I took a 9am appointment across town.  What was I thinking?!?

http://www.zennioptical.com/cart/home.php

Now, I have not ordered from this site but I know a lot of folks at the Fedora Lounge have and they seem happy with the end results.  The next time I need new frames, probably in 2010, I'm going to order from these folks.

Wow, Trisha, I hope it works out for ya!  I looked online for vintage frames before going to Target but since my current glasses are a cat's eye kinda 50's look I opted for a copper metallic frame with really interesting lens shape.  I hope I like them!!  I tried on some sunglasses that are goggle-ish, and while they're cute they make my fat face fatter looking.  Can't have that!  The frames I ordered are really cute tortoiseshell, with a nice contrast curly detail on the arms.  Both really compliment my hair and skin tone.

I think I'm going crazy.  Do they have internet at the crazy house?  I'd hate to miss out on LongLocks just 'cause I'm loco.

Today on Rachel Ray they cut a woman's hair from knee length to about chin length.  Apparently she hadn't cut her hair in 30 years.  The last foot looked a bit thin, otherwise it appeared healthy.  I guess she wanted to do it, but I was yelling at the TV "No!  Don't do it!".  See, crazy!?

I'm glad its cooled off, though I don't expect it and wind up hunting for the comforter in the middle of the night.  I hate the transitions.

Wednesday is my first rehearsal w/the AZRF first year peeps.  I hope I haven't bitten off too much.  Now there's talk of my costume being white.  Ugh, white.  Will know more later, I guess.  I'm hoping I can talk my hair into growing faster until Feb, when the AZRF starts.

I was going to do my cassia treatment Sunday night, even recruited hubby's help.  I always make up my cassia the night before so it will be really smooth when applied.  Well, I mixed the powder with water and covered the bowl w/plastic.  An hour or so later I went to stir it up and noticed it looked dark, almost black.  Hmmm, never saw that before.  An hour after that the mix was inky black.  Oh-oh, its indigo not cassia!  I emailed the company and they promptly responded.  Their supplier mislabeled the box and sent them all indigo.  Thank goodness I didn't put it in my hair.  They'll be sending me the cassia when they get it in stock.  Disaster adverted!!!  I think I'll do a regular deep treatment tomorrow.   ::)  And count my blessings!

Quote:

Today on Rachel Ray they cut a woman's hair from knee length to about chin length.  Apparently she hadn't cut her hair in 30 years.  The last foot looked a bit thin, otherwise it appeared healthy.  I guess she wanted to do it, but I was yelling at the TV "No!  Don't do it!".  See, crazy!?

No, not crazy.  I think all of us here on this board would've had the same reaction...perhaps we're all crazy?  Just joking. :D

Quote:

Oh-oh, its indigo not cassia!  I emailed the company and they promptly responded.  Their supplier mislabeled the box and sent them all indigo.  Thank goodness I didn't put it in my hair.

That's happened to me before too.  They sent me indigo instead of henna.  Fortunatley, for me it was labeled indigo.

I'm glad that you averted that potential disaster...I couldn't even imagine you with black hair.  Your natural color suits you perfectly.

:o :o I just had to tell you!................if you used straight indigo without henna in a mix or doing henna first and then immediately indigo,you'd have green hair!!!!!!!!

Holy Sh*t!  I had no idea it would turn my hair green.  Might be cool for Halloween, but not the rest of my life.  Wow-I wonder why it does that.  Thanks, Curlgirl64, now I'm really counting my blessings!!!

La Diosa, black hair is super not flattering on me.  I look really ill, unless I have Geisha make up on.  In high school I was in a musical and had to wear a black bobbed wig with regular makeup.  Ugh, Gross!!!

;D I know exactly what you mean. My colouring doesn't lend itself well to black hair either. I can get away with very dark browns and reds, but not black. *shrug*

Growing out green hair wouldn't be particularly fun either.

Curlgirl64 wrote on Oct 6^th, 2009 at 4:14am:

:o :o I just had to tell you!................if you used straight indigo without henna in a mix or doing henna first and then immediately indigo,you'd have green hair!!!!!!!!

My goodness!  I wonder if that's what happened to Anne of Green Gables?  Remember when she wanted to dye her hair and get "beautiful raven hair"?

Hmmm,the horror of it!  Imagine wanting beautiful black raven hair and getting something that looked like the color of swamp nasties!!!!!!! :o

Quote:

I just had to tell you!................if you used straight indigo without henna in a mix or doing henna first and then immediately indigo,you'd have green hair!!!!!!!!

I wanted green hair so badly in the 80s.  I wish someone had told me back then. ;D

Hmm...I like the idea of my hair with a green cast.  Am I wrongly assuming that it can't dye really dark hair green? :-?

Well, the pics that I saw on Mehandi.com a few years ago showed someone that had done it,but it was just before she applied the indigo.  It was green,but not an emerald green.  I think it depends on your hair,texture,how long you leave it in,etc.  That's why a harvest test is your best bet to see what exactly you'll get!

Today we started pulling the Halloween stuff out of the garage.  The weather's perfect so it makes it more fun, and the soundtrack to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory makes it go quickly.

I tried the less intense of the deep conditioners I got from KBB.  At first I thought it might be too heavy, but my waves turned out quite nice and there wasn't a heavy cast from my styling products.

We're taking a break now, and will go back out for more when it cools off a bit.  Nap time!

Man, I think this party's gonna be here before I know it!  I'm so happy hubby's taking 2 days off to help me decorate before the party.  In October we get some really strong winds so I try to not do too much in advance to avoid damage to the props and having to do it twice.  I hate having to do things over!

I'm knocking around the idea of darkening my hair a little, by mixing cassia and amla.  The amla is supposed to add a brown tint and enhance my curls.  The cassia can pull out the curl a little.  Haven't made up my mind yet.

Are you using the Indian Amla hair oil or some other source?  I never tried it but now I wish I lived near an Indian shop.  Please post photo results if you go ahead with it. :)

The amla I'm talking about is a powder that I would mix with the cassia powder to make a paste and apply to my hair and leave on for about 3 hours.

I've tried amla hair oil, its always mixed with other herbs and fragrance.  Its a nice oil, the one I have smells pretty perfumy, but I don't mind the scent.  Its almost more of a hair decoration oil, in my opinion, like you'd oil your hair to go out.  I would do that if I lived in India and had black hair.  I haven't oiled my hair in a long time so its just sitting in my cabinet.

Man, the October winds are upon us!  I wish they were November winds because they usually mess up my Halloween decorations and ruin any hope of a decent outdoor fog effect!

I've been uncharacteristically lazy with my hair lately.  I've been leaving it in two low pigtail braids.  It works to keep my hair contained and there's no stress on my scalp.  Yesterday I put my hair up in a fairly low braided bun.  The thickness of my hair makes it stand off the back of my head.  My braid at the top is at least 2-1/2" across, and then tapers because of the layers.  I guess it will look better when its longer.  I always tuck the tail of my bun under.  Do you all do that, too?

Anyway, I'm trying some herbal teas and supplements to make my kidneys healthier to see if it makes my hair healthier.  Been juicing almost daily and making fruit smoothies to shift some of this yuck.  I think I'm through the worst emotionally with the homeopathy, getting into the rebuilding.  That's just scary.

I had to go to the doctor today because my prescription for my high blood pressure medication is up.  Now my blood pressure is right on the boarder of being too low.  I'm feeling it, too-weak, dizzy and low energy.

I made an unfortunate smoothie today.  Water, blueberries, pineapple, 1 packet stevia, 1 tbs. coconut oil and 1 tsp of wild blue green algae.  Its is an awesome purple/black color, but tastes like crap.

I'm getting an adjustment later this afternoon, I haven't had one in many months.  With the homeopathy and emotional work I've done my physiology has changed, too.  I need to be re-aligned.

I don't know if its the low bp or what, but I still haven't washed my hair this week.  Just don't feel up to it.  Dr. said it will take up to 2 weeks for my bp to normalize.  My Halloween picnic falls in that time frame, so now I might have to forgo my corset or at least not lace it as tight as usual.

:'(

I hope you feel better soon! Low bp is really terrible; I have a friend who gets low blood pressure, and on some bad cases, it knocks her out for a day or two.

Maybe some gentle walking will help you feel more pepped and energized? Maybe try some outside walking, while the weather is still marginally nice.  :)

Hope your feeling better!! ;)  I live with low BP myself due to my medication.

Hope everything balances out soon Sakina!  

I know the balance with blood pressure can be tricky and I'm glad you're seeing your doc about it.  My husband has hypertention.  My blood pressure is naturally low, if I get really worked up into a rage I may be able to get it up into the "normal" range.

(((hugs))), KNS, Isabelle, MichelleR, and Drear!  Thanks for your well wishes.  As a matter of fact I've got a screaming headache.  The doc said this would be a big deal for me because when they put me on the hbp meds my bp was seriously high, so this low is super low for me.  Today my bp was 107/80.

Somehow I've managed to not wash my hair for almost an entire week.  I guess its break time.  I've been giving my nails a break too, they've been polish free for a couple of weeks.  I've got a mani/pedi scheduled for next week.

Yesterday at CVS I picked up Sally Hansen's Xtreme Wear in Gunmetal.  Thanks for suggestion, Midnight Angel.  I probably wouldn't have looked at that color otherwise.  CVS has these cool eyeball bouncy balls, 8/$2.  I bought 2 packs to give away at the party and of course wanted one for myself.  My littlest kitty, Jupiter, stole it from me.  He's a hoot, when you bounce the ball down the hall he first flips in the air and then jumps along as it bounces until he catches it.  Way too funny, I wish I had video.

I'm off to order hubby around with more party decorating.  I'll be sitting in a chair 'cause moving around makes my head hurt too much.

Quote:

Yesterday at CVS I picked up Sally Hansen's Xtreme Wear in Gunmetal.  Thanks for suggestion, Midnight Angel.  I probably wouldn't have looked at that color otherwise.

Anytime, love. ;)

Feel better soon.

Thank you, Midnight Angel.

The headaches have subsided and my bp has gone up slightly so its closer to normal.  My fingers are crossed that I'm feeling normal for the party.

We started decorating in the back yard around 5pm and I somehow managed to get a light sunburn on my face.  Dammit!  I'm usually so careful about sunblock and since I've been feeling crappy I've been making my self do things just to get them done and now I have a sunburn.  I hope its gone by morning.  I'm planning on being fair and lovely in my Victorian costume on Saturday.

I finally washed my hair tonight.  I was filthy after tying twine to the gazebo frame.

Hi, Sakina, haven't heard from you lately.  Are you okay?  Hope to hear from you soon.

*pounces on Sakina*
Whee!
Good to see you around, Sakina!
Hope you're feeling all better now, and I hope your party was a blast!  ;D

*joins the crowd of people hanging onto the thread awaiting pictures of Victorian Sakina the Fair*

Melusine, I'm around.  I'm in an Eeyore state of mind lately.

KNS, thanks.  We did have a lot of fun at the party.  It was smaller than expected, but everybody had a good time.

I've got to turn in a sketch for my AZRF costume this Wednesday and work on my vocabulary.  Officially my color is PURPLE.  Yay!  I'm freaking out about this, 'cause I'm not an experienced sewer and I think I'm going to have to hire someone.  I kinda wanted to make it myself, but since I have to go to Michigan for a couple of weeks I don't think I'll have the time.

My mom's surgery is now scheduled for Nov. 11th.  This will be major exploratory surgery and I think if they find more cancer they'll take it out at that time.  Then she'll be in hospital for up to 7 days and then home, which is when I plan on being there to help.  As soon as possible they want to start her on another 6 rounds of chemo.

I wish I didn't have to go-I hate the cold and grey so much.  The fact that I live in Arizona now and love it here only makes it worse!!!

Oooh! Purple is a lovely color.  Do you have to design your own costume?  And make it?  I wasn't aware it worked that way.  If we were anywhere near each other, I would do it for you.

Hope all goes well with your mom's surgery.  I will keep good thoughts in mind for both of you.

I hope your mom's surgery goes well and she has a speedy recovery!

I wish the best for your mother and I hope she'll eventually have a full recovery.  It must be hard on you.  I was wondering about your bp and how you are.  Glad to see you back.

Thanks, Melusine, MichelleR and Drear.  Your good wishes are really appreciated!

Yes, we have to design and make our own costumes.  The design and fabric must be approved by the entertainment director.  I found my pattern at www.alteryears.com, I'm using the Italian Renaissance (Romeo & Juliet).  I've ordered the patterns, so I haven't decided which design I'll ultimately go with yet.  I would love for you to make my costume, Melusine!!!  That would be awesome!!  I'm waiting to hear back about accessories, so I don't know what headcoverings will be approved. 

I have ordered a pair of tights in purple from the Faire Pair, I'm looking forward to getting those.  I'll order a second pair if I love them, and I need to find a couple pair of cotton purple knee high socks.  I need 2 pair of all undergarments!

Thursday the entertainment director and I are going fabric shopping.  We 7 deadly sins girls will be in jewel tones and she wants us to have the same fabric type for a unified look.  She mentioned poly chantung?  I think we'll get to be a hybrid historical/fantasy since we're the mortal embodiment of the sins.  We get to wear nail polish and makeup-I hope I can wear some purple dreads to make a huge crazy hairstyle.  I am Pride, after all!

Wow, those patterns look awesome!
Btw, for some reason, when I think of Princess-y girls in jewel tones, I mentally see each of them wearing this kind of cone-type hat, kinda like a party hat? But longer, with like a floaty veil at the tip. Anybody else know what I am talking about? Or am I just insane?  :D
Let us know how you ultimately decide to do your hair! I think Pride would have huge imposing hair! Of course, that might just be my Chinese side peaking through. I'd can totally see a "powdered wig" type 'do, too.

I'm looking forward to getting the pattern into my hot little hands!  You could be insane, but you are also right about the conical hat typically going with a Princess-y costume.  Actually, I wore a hat like that as Princess Multiplication in elementary school.  My mom had this awesome turquoise dress with sheer sleeves that I wore and my hat was poster board cone covered in foil with a blue X.

If you google the seven sins and look for an image, there's a pic of all seven together that shows the jewel tones, and Pride's hair is really big.
I've been considering the double netted and beaded buns (like Amadala) with ribbon headband with the back either hanging free or braided with Italian hair taping in purple ribbon.

Ugh, I ate a sandwich from Paradise Bakery for lunch and I think it made me sick.  I actually missed my rehearsal tonight-and I'm super bummed 'cause we were supposed to do some dancing!  I drank a bunch of water and slept so I feel a bit better, but fragile.  I hope I wake up all better tomorrow so I can go fabric shopping with BellaDonna.

Aw,feel better!  What a crappy feeling to have! :(

Wee! Yet another sign I might not be entirely insane. Thanks.  :D


Sakina wrote on Nov 4^th, 2009 at 11:12pm:

If you google the seven sins and look for an image, there's a pic of all seven together that shows the jewel tones, and Pride's hair is really big. I've been considering the double netted and beaded buns (like Amadala) with ribbon headband with the back either hanging free or braided with Italian hair taping in purple ribbon.

Mind if I put in a vote for Italian hair taping? I think that would look positively awesome on you.
And I'm really sorry to hear about the sandwich making you ill.  :'(
I know from personal experience ( I got camphylobacter last Valentines day that completely ruined the romantic date DH set up for us) that food poisoning is NOT FUN.  :-[

Hope you are feeling better.

I vote for the Italian hair taping. If would be fab with your hair.  The Italian garb is lovely.  I am sure whatever your choose will be beautiful.  I have some patterns from Alter Years and have been pleased with them.

Thanks, gals.  I am feeling better.  Luckily it wasn't severe, I was sick for 8-10 hours.  I've had worse food poisoning.  Sorry to hear about yours, KNS.

Also, thanks for your input!  I appreciate it.  I plan on getting ribbon and a needle to start experimenting.  Yesterday I experimented with 2 purple silky clip ins from Sally's.  I braided them and added them as accent braids to my bun.  Hubby took pics, I'll add them later when he downloads them.

Last night I went next door where my neighbor's daughter was having her 14th birthday party.  I did henna on her and 7 other people.  My wrist is pretty irritated today.  I've got to switch to henna cones from the jacquard bottle and have more than one.  I have healing hands, which melt stuff like henna or icing if I hold them too long.

I can't remember if I mentioned that I'm going to MI Nov 19-Dec 2 to help my mom with her recovery.  The surgery is Nov 11.  I hope it goes well.  I think this is the first time in more than 10 years I'll be up north for Thanksgiving.

I hope I get my cassia done tomorrow.  Hubby's going to help me apply it.  I'm using the limes from my backyard for the acid.  Having citrus trees is totally cool!

Glad you doing better!
I'm going to try lemon juice with my henna for the first time when I do my touch up.   I usually use ACV but thought I'd change things up!
Yes,having citrus in your backyard is way cool! 8-)

Curlgirl64 wrote on Nov 8^th, 2009 at 2:20pm:

Glad you doing better! Yes,having citrus in your backyard is way cool! 8-)

Co-sign! ;)

When I washed my hair yesterday, I added honey to my acv and I do think it lightened my hair slightly.

Today I did the cassia w/hubby's help and it went quite nicely.  The only issue is that I need more than 200 grams now, the top didn't get all of the coverage it needs.
I am a bit lighter, I think.  The KBB moisturizing mask that I liked so much has shikaki herb in it and I think that was darkening my hair.  I plan on using more honey in my rinse and see if I can't get back to what seems more like my natural color.  I really want to try amla powder since its supposed to enhance curl (the cassia loosens my waves more than I like) but I've read that it imparts a brown color to the hair.

Looked around, and it does look like amla could darken your hair, though some people seem pretty undecided on it. Henna+amla looks like it darkens, but some people swear that cassia+amla lightens.  :-/

Honey has very small amounts of peroxide in it. About a third of that of regular bottled peroxide (I think, I'll have to go check).

Good luck with lightening and curling! I'll keep an eye out for natural curling/lightening remedies for you.  :)

Thanks for looking around, KNS.  I've been hunting around and trying to get a definitive answer, without finding one.  I think I'm going to order some for skin use and try adding small amounts to my cassia and see what happens.  Maybe regular use of the honey in my vinegar rinses will keep it from getting dark and still give me the curl enhancing result I really want.

Seems like I'm all about the multiple braids lately.  I make a pony, divide in two and braid each section then pin them in some configuration.  So far, it makes very different looks and large buns and the weight is nicely distributed.

Today I went to Sally's and got more purple clip ins for accent braids.  My hubby's such a good sport, I clip into his hair so I can do the braiding.  Hee hee.  My first pair I did a 3 strand braid, and next I'll do a rope braid.  I might leave the 3rd pair unbraided for now.

Tomorrow's rehearsal we're to going to be learning songs!  I'm so happy!!!  I can't wait to get my patterns and fabric-I'm antsy to get my accessories.  I've ordered earrings and a necklace that I will wear whether or not they're approved.  Everything about my appearance must be approved for my participation in the show.  Frankly, its driving me a bit nuts not being able to just choose and go.

The approval thing is always important in Faires.  It's almost bad as SCA.  The costume Nazi at Bristol even comes after the merchants.  We had words last year a couple of times.  Good luck.

Thanks, Melusine.  I'll know more tonight at rehearsal.

Today I tried a lace braid and Italian hair taping.  I'm waiting for hubby to come home and take pics before I have to leave.

Speaking of pics, I got some of my most recent pony w/two types of braids, 3 strand and 2 strand rope.  I wound one braid clockwise and the other counter clockwise.  I don't know why I wound them weird.

---

I forgot to mention that these pics are after my cassia.  Seems like the older I get the more coppery my hair is getting.

Here's a pic of the purple accent braids w/another double braid pony, this one is just two 3 strand wound counter clockwise.

---

So pretty!

Very nice!

Ooh la la, Sakina!  I love your buns!  Your buns always make me envious.  Er...wait, that doesn't sound right. :-?  But, of course you know what I mean. ;D 

I'm going to try and replicate the first ones for tomorrow. :)  I'll cross my fingers.

Godyssey wrote on Nov 13^th, 2009 at 11:42am:

Ooh la la, Sakina!  I love your buns!  Your buns always make me envious.

*snort*   ;D

Godyssey wrote on Nov 13^th, 2009 at 11:42am:

Ooh la la, Sakina!  I love your buns!  Your buns always make me envious.  Er...wait, that doesn't sound right. :-?  But, of course you know what I mean. ;D .

Heehee. That made me giggle!

But I agree, the buns do look quite awesome.  Only one comment I could make is, your hair is so thick and glossy that your bun kind of overpowers the accent braids. Maybe if you wove a bit of your own hair into the colored streaks to make them a bit thicker?  :-?
Not sure, but both styles still look wonderful.  :)

EDIT: Just looked this up, out of curiosity. It seems that flowers attributed to "pride" are tiger lilies, orange lilies, and amaryllis flowers. Pretty cool!

Oh, La Diosa, you say the sweetest things!  LOL!!

KNS, the purple hair is very narrow and attached to a wig comb.  I agree, they don't quite work yet.  I haven't figured out how to incorporate them into my ren fest hairdo, I was just playing around.  They do kind of disappear, though.  That's cool about the flowers!!  I've been trying to find info online to help me build my character, other than a mirror I haven't found anything that I could use as a prop.  Thanks for sharing that, KNS!

Here's an idea.
Lace braids starting at the temple and gathered in a ponytail in back. Insert purple accent braids into the lace braids about halfway back, sort of inside the lace braid, so they are trailing out. This may need to be done sort of during the making of the lace braids.
Use the ponytail to make a sockbun very similar to your sig.
Loop the accent braids, and attach them to the center of the sock bun.
Insert a big amethyst brooch, or some other big purple sparkly stone in the center of the sockbun where the dimple and accent braids are attached.

Another idea.
Same as above with lace braids to sock bun. Braid remaining hair in 3-4 braids radially around bun and attach  the purple accent braids.  Wrap all this around the sock bun, twisting to cause the purple braids to peep in and out. Or.
Take a yarn needle with wide purple ribbon and wrap the sock bun (In through center and out the sides) a la Italian hair-taping. Finish with sparkly purple hairgems scattered around bun.

Of course, for all of these, extra brownie points for super-huge hair sock.  :D

Not sure how well any of these would work, but they were the first ideas that came to mind.  :)

Other prop ideas I can think of would be a glass of deep red wine (or grape juice), a peacock feather, a silver spice/snuff box, or a purple-tassled sandalwood fan. Not sure if they'd be approved, though.

KNS! Whoa.  I had to read that twice just to get a pic in my mind!  I like your hairstyle imagination!
BTW, that's no sock bun in my avatar-its just my hair. 
Yesterday I did another style, two side lace braids and a top french braid.  I braided the lace braids all the way out, but I pinned the french braid (which was only the top hair to the crown and then I finished with a 3 strand) right above where the pony elastic would go, unbraided the tail and included the loose hair into a ponytail.  I wrapped the pony into a bun and took the side braids around the bottom of the bun and secured at the top.  This one I decorated with a 2 prong kanzashi I got at the Narita airport this summer.

I've been looking at a hand mirror that has a purple dyed handle, and I'll have a purple parasol.  The fan I want has peacock feathers in it.

*sigh*

I'm packing for my trip to Michigan.  I hate to pack.  It will not be warm there, so I'm bringing layers and hoping it will be enough.  I am packing my coat, but no boots so I hope it doesn't snow!

I'm in a quandary about how to wear my hair while traveling.  I often do two low pigtail braids but I don't feel like doing that.  I'm considering two high pigtail buns this time.  I have to be able to rest my head back as I have some neck problems from my accident a zillion years ago.

I've been washing my hair once a week and I think I'll continue with that.  I hope it will help my insanely dry skin not be so uncomfortably dry.  I've been splitting up my hair washing and bathing and that seems to help.  I always use lukewarm water to bathe and that helps some.  The cold weather kills my skin, no matter how good the oils and butters are that I use.  I've recently begun taking Omega-7 supplements and I do think I see a bit of improvement-obviously I have a long way to go to get to "normal" skin. Sure wish that they weren't so expensive, but I guess if it works I'll save on lotions and cremes that don't work on me. This I'm adding to the fish oil and borage oil I also take.

I've borrowed a portable dvd player and I'm excited to have it with me.  I have a cd case full of dvd's and I've burned lots more cd's onto my phone and have a good book so I hope I'm set that way.  I cannot sleep on airplanes-too many energies around me for me to relax enough to sleep.  Ugh-my flight's early too so I should be lots of fun on Thursday.   ::)

So, once again, I don't know what kind of internet availability I'll have 11/19-12/02 so you may not see me around much during that time.

I hope everyone has an awesome Thanksgiving, whatever form it takes for you!

Hmmm...maybe I should adopt your washing/hairwashing regime.  I'm only taking omega3 supplements.  What's the difference.  I can't prove it but I know my skin got better when I began to use the omega3 supplements and worse when I had to go off them for surgery.  What do you use to moisturize your body?  Do you otherwise have sensitive skin?  I spend a fortune on body cremes that won't cause irritations and hives.  I hate that.  I use an oil when I get out of the shower before applying cream but that's not enough.

I hope you have a good and safe trip.

I'm sorry you're going to be facing the cold weather! I love cold weather, and wouldn't miss the snowy season for anything!  :)

Some hair ideas for on the plane that I can think of:
Ones I've personally used.
1. low pinned infinity bun. It should be balanced enough that you can rest against it.
2. two low french-braided pigtails wrapped around each other in infinity coils, pinned. It's what I've been using for hectic martial arts days. If you wrap up the whole thing in a head scarf, I think it'd be pretty comfortable for resting against.

Ones I've seen but haven't tried (can't vouch for how comfee they are):
1. 2 stick woven bun - 2 sticks in X behind a ponytail, split ponytail into 4 sections and weave them around the X's. Makes a big flat platform to rest your head against, theoretically.
2. 2 stick sailor knot bun - 2 sticks horizontally above and below a ponytail. Divide ponytail and wrap like a figure 8 around the sticks so that the coils are flat.
Both of those are like Chinese buns on steroids!
Not sure how well those will work, and I'm also not sure if they'll let you use hairsticks on planes, considering how much they freak out about bottled water and laptop batteries these days.  :P

And last idea, a low bee-butt bun wrapped in a head scarf. Maybe you can even arrange the hair into a small neck pillow inside the scarf!  ;D

Anyway, hope you have a great trip and a great Thanksgiving!

Drear: Here in the States, I use Body Butter from the Body Shop. I find that if I get the neutral ones, they don't cause my hives to break out. L'Occitane also has some really nice shea butter creams, but they're way too expensive for me.  :-[

I'm pretty sure I remember reading a post of someone doing this in the past. I thought it was you, Sakina?

At any rate, this looks like another pretty comfortable style for going on a plane.
http://www.tznius.com/cgi-bin/bun.pl
They have a bunch of other styles, too.

http://www.tznius.com/cgi-bin/tying.pl

Good luck on your flight & have a great Thanksgiving, Sakina. :-*

Have a safe trip Sakina, and best wishes to your mom for her continued recovery!  I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Safe trip,Sakina!  A blessed and happy Thanksgiving to you and your mom!

Thank you all very much for your wishes-they came true!  I had a fine trip and my mom's doing really well considering she recently had major surgery.

It was cold and my layering worked out well.  Most happily, it did not snow at all while I was there.

For my flight there I wound up twisting my hair on both sides, starting at the part and adding in until I made rope braids from the ears down.  Very effective and comfortable.

KNS- you wrote in your journal about flying w/hairsticks.  I always do, and I keep them in a box for makeup brushes.  I usually have more than 5 pair plus assorted forks and prongs.  I have gone through the metal detector walk through with Amish hairpins in and it didn't set if off.  I also travel with the hairpins and have never had trouble.  Sometimes I carry them in my bag and other times I pack them in my rolling carry on.  They're too precious for me to pack in my checked luggage.

For Thanksgiving we ate at Ponderosa.  At first I was worried that the food would be over cooked and way over salted but it wasn't!  It was a very inexpensive way to feed 8 people and there were no left overs.  Eating at the restaurant made very easy to not overeat.  My hair turned out super good that day and I had my dad take pics so hopefully I'll get them from him so I can post it.  My sister complemented me several times on it-a rare event!!!

After lunch we went to visit my grandma at her new place in the Alzheimer's facility.  She didn't remember or recognize me.  I cried the whole time.  I really miss her.

December 8th my mom finds out if they found a new chemo treatment for her.  If not, there isn't anymore medical treatment for her cancer.  I'm feeling very sad about it-I was optimistic while I was there but now that I'm home I just feel sad and scared.

I did manage to continue my routine of washing my hair only once a week.  My parents keep their house pretty cool so that worked out really well.  That way my showers for my body only take about 10 minutes which helps a lot.

Drear, I take fish oil caps and Omega 7.  Without a doubt I can tell a difference if I don't take the fish oil and my skin has improved so much I can hardly believe it!  In the winter I swear by The Body Shop coco butter body butter. http://www.thebodyshop-usa.com/body-butter/prod4010024 and I often apply oil to my skin while its still wet, before drying off and then apply the body butter.  Dry skin brushing also helps as it gets the dead skin off and helps the moisture to absorb.  I am finding that it matters for me to wear silk or cotton.  My skin retains moisture better with silk in the winter and cotton in the summer.

Sorry to hear about your grandma, but I'm glad your mom seems to be doing well.  Sounds like on the whole you had a nice time.  :)

Thanks, MichelleR, it was good overall.

I have a trim next week and I think I need a bit of shaping.  Even though I seem to have only gained 1/4 of an inch last month I can tell its longer.  I see that I got my bangs cut in January and now they're a bit past my chin if I pull them straight.  Soon I can wear lower buns without them falling out.  YAY for that!

I had some body work done today and I need to go lay down for awhile so that's all for now.

Good to hear from you, Sakina and to know that your mothers surgery was a success! :)

Sorry about the experience that you had with your grandmother though.  I've never had a family member with alzheimer's but I'm sure that's difficult.

The Ponderosa!:D  I used to love eating there as a young girl, my grandparents would take us.  I loved their ice cream sundae bar and I'd always get a steak and baked potato. Didn't even know that Ponderosa's still existed. :)

Thank you, La Diosa.  Alzheimer's sucks big time.

Yeah, Hastings, Michigan still has a Ponderosa.  Glad I could stir up a good memory for you.

Today we had a meeting for all of us "Deadly Sins".  I'm super glad we did 'cause I was getting a bit stressed out.  We've been given a lot of leeway in our costuming-especially the accessorizing.  YAHOOOOOOOO!  You all don't know how difficult its been for me to look for things and have to wait to get them approved.  Whew!  Let the spending begin!!!!!

On a hair note, I'm really beginning to tell that my ends weren't trimmed last time-so they've gone 6 months.  I feel like a shaggy, shapeless mess.  Of course I'll gave a good hair day the day before I go for my trim.   Grrrr.

It has rained all day here-and while I like the change of pace, I'm freezing!!!  We turned our furnace on a few days ago and I've got the scratchy irritated sore throat that usually accompanies it.  Got the humidifier out yesterday so I hope this discomfort is gone soon.

Got some leads on seamstresses and am waiting on a quote from one.  I'm feeling very anxious about getting my costumes made-and wishing my sewing skills were up to snuff so I could be working on them already.  I've decided I'll stick to my crafty creations and hire a pro, and I'm still feeling nervous.  I want to look AMAZING!!!

Glad to see you got back safe.  Good your mother's surgery was a success. 

So glad to hear your mom's surgery went well, and I am very sorry about your grandmother.  That is so hard to handle.  I will think good thoughts for you and yours.

Thank you, Drear and Melusine.

I'm under the weather at the moment.  Canceled my haircut today-I was afraid I would cough and loose a chunk of hair!  Also, my throat is swollen so I'm not speaking today.  So, I'm staying home in my pj's drinking hot tea and sleeping a lot.

Quote:

I was afraid I would cough and loose a chunk of hair!

Oh my...that would suck! ;D

Feel better soon! ;)

Quote:

I was afraid I would cough and loose a chunk of hair!

Eep! Perish the thought!

Glad to hear that your mother's surgery went well. And I'm so terribly sorry about your grandmother. I think we have Alzheimer's in our family, but fortunately I haven't had any family members close to me so afflicted.  :'(

Hope you feel better soon. Would chicken soup help? Whenever I'm under the weather, I make cheater's chicken soup. I just stick a rotisserie chicken from the local grocery in a pot, cover it in water, simmer on low, and an hour and a half later, chicken stock!

Get well soon.  I wouldn't go to the hairdresser like that either for eveyone's sake.  It's supposed to be an enjoyable experience to go to the salon. 

Thank you, La Diosa, KNS and Drear.  My symptoms have morphed into a pretty nasty headache-I think this is a sinus thing.  Still sucks.

KNS, I hope you never have a close relative afflicted with the disease.  It is awful.  My grandma was the only person in my family to be supportive and encouraging of me.  It just hurts so bad to see her, her bright blue eyes and hear her voice that now has no love for me in them because she doesn't know me.  I hate it.  Makes me cry and feel alone.

My hubby makes chicken soup from scratch for me when I'm really sick.  I always keep a couple of cans of it in the pantry.  I never thought of using a rotisserie chicken to make soup.  Mmm, maybe for tortilla soup-hubby would love that.

Other than my hair looking out of shape, its in pretty good condition.  I'm probably due for another cassia application-which will have to wait until hubby returns from China on the 20th.  Maybe I'll wait until next month to get that trim.  I've been braiding it mostly anyway-I hardly ever wear it all down.

Oops, hubby's coming back on the 17th, hopefully.

I,too have a Grandmother who has Diemntia that doesn't recognize me anymore.  I totally relate to how you feel.  She'll be 98 in Feb. and got her wish of staying in her own home so even though she remembers little occasionally,she's loved and well cared for!

Curlgirl64, my grandma just turned 87.  She has to be in a full time care facility because of the advanced stage of her disease.

*sigh*  I had to drive hubby to the airport at 6am this morning.  I miss him.  Its lucky I got up, 'cause as he was pulling out of the driveway the "service engine soon" light came on in his car.  Yikes!  So I drove him.

Going gluten free:This morning I tried Glutino brand gluten free cinnamon raisin bagels.  The taste is good, but I think I needed to toast it longer.  I split it with hubby and he agrees.  My biggest complaint is that they're really dense and hard to cut.  They are not fork split like wheat bagels, but I think that's because they are sold in the frozen section and must be kept refrigerated.

I need some help:In the past my record for housecleaning is pretty sad.  I'll admit it, I'm lazy.  My mother was not a positive example of good housecleaning habits.  I have decided that I want to work on improving my housecleaning efforts. 

I'm interested in what some of you do-hints and tips and the like, including what products you use whether store bought or homemade.  Thanks in advance.

A coworker of mine has to do gluten and egg-free stuff for his son, who is allergic to wheat, eggs, dairy and a whole slew of other things. Can you still eat eggs? A good bread machine can whip up some tasty bread or bagel dough using gluten free flour and eggs, if you want something fresh.

The only tips I have for housecleaning are vinegar and hot water. Vinegar is really great at getting rid of calcium deposits that cause water spots or white residue on things. Hot water is great for getting dishes and pots really clean. I'm a fan of the scrubby-bubbles tub scrub thing. It's a green handle that you stick a scrubby pad to. It's really fast, cleans a shower and tub and a sink, and you don't have to touch anything. I'm still working on the vacuuming part.  ;D

I do eat eggs.  I'm not sure if I just have a gluten sensitivity or mild celiac disease.  I just know I feel better if I don't eat gluten.  I'm just starting to really research all of the foods it is in-it is hidden in all sorts of common foods you'd never suspect.

Thanks for sharing your tips.  Ironically, I'm good at the vacuuming part-that was always my chore growing up.  Its the other stuff I struggle with.

Sakina,

I can identify.  I procrastinate terribly when it comes to house cleaning.  The best (albeit not foolproof) method I've found is to divide up the house by days.  Don't try to do it all in one day, or else you'll end up getting tired of it and then procrastinate for weeks before doing it again (that's what happens to me, in any case   ;) ).  Do the living room one day, then bedroom the next, laundry the 3rd day, etc. etc., and just rinse the dishes and stick them in the washer as they're used.  Or just wash them if you don't have a washer.  Doing it in bits helps me to maintain my momentum.

I agree with KNS about the vinegar.  It cleans everything. 

I used to live with a girl who had Celiac disease.  She had to cook every single thing she ate.  She ate a lot of a sort of casserole stuff made with ground beef, tomatoes, onions, and eggs.  Of course, she was also allergic to soy, milk, and...uh...something else I can't think of right now.  She ate jar upon jar of peanut butter and bags of Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips (at least you know chocolate is ok, right?) and a lot of fresh fruits and veggies.  She was probably fairly healthy, since she couldn't eat any kind of boxed or prepared meals.  She actually did pretty well, considering how limited her choices were.  I do know from  talking to her that there are a lot of Celiac websites with lists of 'safe' foods.  You could try that.

The most important cleaning advice that my mom gave me as a child was not to let things get too cluttered to begin with.  She told me to "clean up as I went along", making sure that things are in their place. 

YIR, thanks for your suggestion.  I was contemplating assigning a task to a day as I do get overwhelmed and then do nothing.  I will take a look at some websites-good suggestion-I hadn't gotten that far yet.

La Diosa, that's some good advice your mom gave you!  My mom grew up in clutter and then so I did I.  Hubby helps me keep fairly on track with that issue.  Thanks for sharing!

Definitely the do-a-little-bit-at-a-time thing is the way to go.  I'm terrible at housework too.  For me it's not so much how to do it; I do know how to clean stuff, it's the procrastinating.  I try to keep things tidy, and then do the bigger stuff like mopping or vacuuming once a week or so.  I do get obsessive about keeping the kitchen clean every day since we live in an apartment and I'm afraid of getting bugs. 

Sakina,I think of how lucky my Grandma is to still be at home with two excellent home attendants.  We are very fortunate.  I try always to remember not to take it lightly and am thankful.  I truly hope your Grandmother receives excellent care and that gives you much peace. :)

The housecleaning discussion made me laugh, sort of.  I have married 2 packrats who both suffered from nearest convenient flat surface syndrome (whatever your have in your hands when you come in the door, drop it on the nearest convenient flat surface and leave it there ad infinitum).  I am a compulsive thrower-outer: if it isn't in its assigned place and I don't know where it goes, I throw it out.

Quote:

I am a compulsive thrower-outer: if it isn't in its assigned place and I don't know where it goes, I throw it out.

I'm the same way! Wether items are thrown out or donated. 

Although so many times over the years, I'll throw something away and only to later regret it (just recently that item turned out to be a 5 year old michael  jackson shirt that I made).  But anyway, I'd rather be a thower outer than a keeper of stuff that I don't need.  Although I regret it sometimes, I get over it in the end...or I'll replace it. ::)

I'm sure I get that from my mother too. As kids, if my sister or I left our toys on the floor, my mom would throw them away, no questions asked.

I'm guilty of both the flat dropping and compulsive throwing out.

I think my husband suffers from the same syndrome! ::)  Whether its a piece of paper or larger,it stays near the garbage or a flat surface until it grows legs and finds its own way to the garbage or it waits for me. >:(  I'm learning quickly to apply the rule of "If it has a place,file it.  If not,throw it out!

Haha, you guys would hate me.
I'm not quite as bad as a compulsive hoarder. I toss stuff that I know without any doubt that I do not need.
However, if I can possibly conceive of a slight glimmer of a possibility that it might eventually be a potentially vaguely useful object MAYBE... then I will keep it.  ;D

What can I say? That inane scrap of paper, metal, plastic, or fabric might eventually be the pivotal part of some project I'm working on. And DH can't complain, because all too often, I DO find a use for it.  :)

There ya go,creativity at work!  Gotta love it! ;)

Last night when I got home from my ren fest workshop my scalp was really tight and heading toward a headache.  So I took out my pony tail, rope accent braid and flower clip and started to massage my scalp.  My skin was tender in some spots and then it started to itch.  Real bad.  So after a long massage it was still itching, I did some scritching w/ a horn comb.  Now the itching was getting worse.  At 11:30pm I'm itching so much there's no way I can go to sleep so I'm washing my hair with my Max Green Alchemy scalp treatment shampoo & conditioner.  I did an acv rinse with a generous dose of honey and then used my Kinky Curly Knot Today leave-in/detangler (I rinse most of it out 'cause I'm wavy) and put in my KCCC.  After plopping for about 20 minutes I applied some Deva Curl Mirror Curls to let it air dry and I turned out very wavy/curly.  Its been weeks since I did an acv rinse and I guess I really needed it.  My hair was still damp at the roots when I woke up at 8am.

Earlier this week I did a scalp massage w/oil, and added oil on the ends which I left on for an hour before washing it out.  Maybe the eos in the oil were too irritating or I didn't get my scalp thoroughly cleansed with my No poo.  Its nice to not be itchy!!!!!

I had a major Myofacial Release treatment today-got into stuff going all the way back to my original injury...almost 19 years ago.  I hope I'm not sore tomorrow.

My mom's recent surgery didn't get all of the cancer.  At this time in cancer treatment they don't think they can cure the type of cancer she has.

F*ck!

Sakina, I'm so sorry to hear that.   :(

*sigh* I'm so sorry, Sakina. :( *hugs*

I'm sure you'll find a way to relish the time your mother has.  *hugs*  She's lucky to have you for a daughter.

MichelleR, Midnight Angel and Trisha, thanks for your support.  It sucks beyond words.

Monday I'm meeting with a seamstress who has done renaissance costumes before.  I was really starting to stress about it.

I think I'll reschedule my trim for next month.  My hair is in good shape as far as damage goes, the layers are getting a bit out of shape though.  I almost feel like my hair is long.  I've caught glimpses of myself in window reflections and I think "Wow, my hair's getting pretty long".  When I try certain braids I still think my hair isn't long.  I don't know how long it will be when its long enough.  Maybe I just need a new hair toy.  I've been eying these for a few months now: http://stores.ebay.com/QueCraft .  I've been holding off 'cause I've got such a large collection all ready.

Hubby got me a Garmin for xmas.  I used it today for the first time and I really like it.

Ooh, Craig Ferguson is on-gotta go!

I'm so sorry to hear the news about your mother's cancer!  Trisha is right,your mom is lucky to have you as a daughter.  I bet you're thinking you're the lucky one though. *hugs*

I'm sorry about your mother and curgirl is absolutely right. *hugs!*.

:'(
I'm so sorry to hear about your mother! That really really, well. That just sucks. The words, they just fail me.

Hope your dress fitting goes okay, though, and that you get some holiday cheer in the next couple of weeks.

Thank you, Curlgirl64, Drear & KNS.  I've been avoiding thinking about it so I haven't written in my journal lately.

As for holiday cheer-hubby gave me a Garmin nuvi 205 for Christmas and I love it.  He was so funny, once he got it he couldn't wait to give it to me-he didn't even wrap it!

We spent most of today doing two things: putting away the rest of Halloween decorations and making French Pot Roast.  OMG-this is the best recipe ever!!!  Sooooo goood!

I finally got around to ordering some amla powder-I can't wait to try it out with my cassia.  I might do my cassia tomorrow w/hubby's help again as I am way overdue, then do cassia/amla in about 3 weeks.

I've been invited to a birthday/NYE party-I'm thinking about doing some henna on my hands for it.  I don't have any particularly cute outfits so I might wear one of the samping I got in Indonesia this summer with a sweater.

Got my trim rescheduled for Jan 5.  I'm actually looking forward to it.  I'm going to teach my hair person how to plop!

Ugh...I'm sorry about the news in regards to your mother as well.  (((hugs)))

I'm glad you and your husband are enjoying the holidays.  The party sounds like fun. :)

Thanks, La Diosa.

I'm looking forward to the party.

I'm sitting here with cassia mud on my head.   I think I'm going to get a nice gold color on my *gasp* greys!  I've never had greys on my head before this year.  Within the last 6 months more have shown up.  I want my hair to be shiny and healthy so I'm not really worried about covering my grey hair, only that they'll show the color the most.  It is quite subtle.  I'm leaving it on for at least 3 hours, perhaps more depending on how runny it gets as it heats up under the plastic wrap, turban and bamboo wrap I have on my head.

Hmmm.  I used 300 grams of cassia and it still didn't give total coverage.  I'm going to use only water next time and possible add some amla.  I might do an amla treatment by itself to see what happens before adding it to the cassia.
The hair on the top of my head has a gold hue, my ends are quite coppery.  I left it on for 3 hours.

Last night I did some henna on my right hand.  The back of my hand turned out quite pretty, but I started to run out of paste as I got to my palm so I'm not very happy with what I was able to accomplish while squeezing the crap out of the bottle.  My hand was shaking 'cause I had to squeeze so hard.  Oh well.  I don't feel like paying for express shipping to try to get more paste by Wednesday.   :P

Today I got an ekg at the doctor's office.  In a couple of weeks I'll have a 24 hour monitor and then a stress test.  Yippee.  I've been having palpitations for 4 or 5 days now.  I'm really not enjoying them.  Doc says my heart is healthy but with my super lousy family history of heart disease we're gonna do the tests just to be sure.

I'm bummed they had to cancel rehearsal tonight-I was looking forward to it.  Was supposed to be improv games.

We got a wii for Christmas with our points from the MC.  Played bowling and tennis last night-much fun!

My amla arrived today, I think I might use it on my hair in another week.  I also want to try it on my skin and see what that does for me.

My hair has massive volume right now.  I tried on an old snood today and it was so full it looked like a pillow.  I think my hair looks weird-like there's an imbalance of volume to length. 

I'm going to go take a nap.  Laters, and Happy New Year, everyone!!!  Enjoy the Blue Moon.

Sakina, I am sorry about your mother. I know what it is like to have a relative live with cancer. Make the most of the time you have and try to focus on the positive. There is always support from your friends here.

You have a happy new year! :)

Thank you, brunette85.  I hope you have a happy new year, too.