Update.

So my first post of the New Year.

Hair News: I flat ironed for the first time this month and so far it's been ruined my my new obsessions with baths...yeah not much a bath person, used to be when I was like 8 but recently I've been getting back into them because it's been so cold in my apt I find that they are the only things that truly warm me up. That and a hot cup of tea, more so the bath because the Tea heats up my armpits...odd.

Anyway, I've been pretty good with moisturizing and keeping up with my hair. Which was my goal for the year and well my goal in general.

I tried a new way to go about flat ironing this time. Instead of rocking some twists and then detangling them completely to start my flat iron session. I decided to keep them in and flat iron each twist. So take out the twist, apply the protectant and use my wide tooth comb to detangle and there we go. That way I only got a small section and it wasn't all wild and crazy and poofed.

Like this lol. I found that it was much neater to do my hair this way, faster and my hair overall just came out better.

My hair has grown a little lol. Still needs to be the length I want it. I still feel like it's awkward to style

That is the hair from the front looks alright but I think I look odd with really straight hair...I've been curling my hair with the flat iron for months now and not ready to rock just straight lol.

Anyway that's all my hair news. 

In other news, I've been really into eating healthy which I want to do lol and cooking my meals from scratch. I Made Salmon the other day and it came out amazing.

I marinated it in garlic,Soy Sauce,Lemon juice and seasoning salt cut up some lemon slices threw it on there and BAM!, came out perfection. It was surprisingly good. Had a side of Broccoli and Brown rice on the side.

This is a trend I can keep up haha. 

I've also been into baking, I intend on making a cheesecake from scratch soon, hopefully that comes out as good as the Salmon.

In other news, life has been pretty boring lol. I applied to school and am awaiting my acceptance letter in the mail. The weather around here has been great, hardly any snow and it hasn't been that cold so yay for me!.

Anyway I guess I shall retire to the rest of my day.

Another News Years Eve, Ramble

So it's that time again. It is December 31st and I am sitting at home doing nothing. Sounds boring? sure, but is it? not really. I am dead broke and just want this weekend to be over so I can get paid on friday, pay my bills and go shopping haha. To most 22 year olds sitting at home on a New Years Eve sounds lame, but I'm not most 22 year olds. I honestly don't care for New Years. To me it's just another day. The only difference is I have to get used to writing 2012 down instead of 11. Another year older. A full year of life, that is 70% of the time ...Sucky lol.

So as I did last year, I want to make some goals.

1. Be more patient. Especially when detangling my hair. 

2. Master a Twist out and when my hair stops growing like it's on crack, master a Braid out.

3. Attempt a Bantu Knot out.

4. Keep up with my ends, buy new shears to Trim them.

5.Be Patient lol can't say it enough.

Body Wise

6.Eat more healthy, I've done so well with that this year so I hope to keep it up.

7. Cardio and Strength Training. Yep.

So those are my goals. Sure I have plenty more but that would be ten pages long. So I guess I'm off now, to watch reruns of Boadwalk Empire and Full house. What a night this shall be.

To Jump on the bandwagon or not to jump...that is the question.

So I sit here, waiting for my Oyin products, which are in my apartments office. Smart cookies stuck my package notice underneath my door after 6pm when the office closes, so now I must wait until tomorrow to get it!. It's been about two weeks the longest I've had to wait so far for Oyin since the overload of Black Friday. So it got me thinking. As a natural I spend a lot of time online looking at different blogs and sites that are all about the Natural hair movement. From sites like Curlynikki, to Curltalk to blogs of by my favorite natural hair youtube gurus, everyone has their own regimens and list of products they believe work.

When I was transitioning I spent hours online looking at reviews of products, now don't get me wrong I still look at reviews now but at that time it was more about, "Hey this worked for them, it should work for me?" and having that mindset didn't always work out for me. Sometimes we can get so caught up in what works for everyone else and we can lead ourselves to believe that if it works for them it can work just as well for us. From buying every product they use or recommend to copying the exact same styling routine.

So to bandwagon or not?, I say not. I will always look at reviews on products but at the end of the day it's best to decide for yourself if a product is worth buying. You honestly have to find what works best for you. Some naturals have regimens that a professional organizer with OCD couldn't touch. I'm not that kind of person and have accepted that I never will be. My hair works best when I keep it moisturized and simple, and when I don't have thirty different products in it.

My hair throughout the years...well kinda

So I was skimming through old photos from Photobucket, which were filled with me doing random "Myspace" poses. Hilarious I might add. Looking at the pics made me go wow at how far I've come with my hair. I don't think I was that versatile or imaginative with my hair dos I feel like I've always been kind of safe when it came to hair, compared to other people. But I still think it's fun to look at my hair lol. Most of these pics are from 09 a few from 08 and 07.

Have no idea what year this was, I believe it was 07 before I cute my hair, my hair was a mess back then and that length...awful lol.

My hair the day after prom, first time I used Redken. One of the first times in a long time my hair was somewhat even.

A fake bob, this is after I cut my hair and it was growing out.

Another fake bob, my hair was at such an awkward length I pinned the back underneath.

 Sideswept mess

Well there's the date 09 lol, hair still growing out

Tried to do half up half down

Both of these are my short hair. Tried to do Rihanna didn't come out that way. The first pic that is just awful what the heck is that little hair situation in the back lol. As for the bottom pic, one of the only times my hair acted right lol.

 This pic is from last year I believe, curled it and that's what I got lol.

Frizzy Fall hair?!

Seriously...

So on this day before Thanksgiving, weather crisp and cold, I go out with my friends to her barn to visit her horse. I threw on a hat  in the pic below (excuse the face, I thought the horse was going to bite me)

Anyway I didn't feel like doing my hair so I threw on the hat and only straightened the hair in the front. For some crazy reason after being outside for like 45 min my hair went poofalicious!!, like seriously?? it's freezing out, how does that even happen?!. I was sooooo annoyed!.

Anyway I've been on the serious hunt for products. My inner product junkie is on fire. I have officially run out of all my products I use on my curly hair, so I am searching far and wide the internet world and natural hair community to find products to buy. I haven'y decided what to get yet but there will definitely be some Oyin action in my cabinet. So until next time. Adio.

Natural hair inspiration time!

So at the moment I'm feeling a little...inspired and decided to share my fav natural hair pics.

When I look at these people, it makes me like being natural even more.

From her hair to her makeup that's a whole lot of Africa goodness. Absolutely stunning.

                                                                   
So...maybe I didn't choose this pic because of his hair, although very gorgeous hair, I prefer the rest of him haha.

I can only dream to have that much hair to sit on top of my head.

Both these ladies have adorable fros!

Eye,eyebrows,lips and hair, gorgeous lady.

Black women and working out?

  

So after my intense half hour workout yesterday consisting of elliptical action and the sound of Lady Gaga's Edge of Glory in my ears, I stepped off the machine feeling like I had just been kicked in the chest, but a good kicked in the chest feeling. Since I started working out I have come to appreciate a good after workout feeling. I love the feeling of accomplishment that I've just helped my body out. I don't understand how anyone can not like that feeling...

So that brings me to Black women and NOT working out. So lately I've been researching a lot about Black women and not wanting to workout because of their hair. So many Black women are choosing their hair over their bodies and that completely baffles me!. How on earth are you going to say, Screw my body as long as my hair is great!. You are basically deciding  to sacrifice your body and your life for some hair sitting on top of your head. That is ridiculous to me.

What I also can't grasp is women who are clearly overweight and have the nerve to call themselves curvy? when did curvy become fat? a roll of fat on your body is not a curve, it is in fact just a roll. this delusional mindset is not healthy. Now I 'm no health professional or some vegan eating, extremely active, yoga loving (besides the pic above ) health freak, but I do care about being healthy. As we all should. 

I feel like in the  Black community curves are appreciated and that is great but so many women mistake being curvy or thick when really they are just fat and none of that PH nonsense.

I'm not going to go on about what you can do for your hair so you can workout because there are countless articles on how to. As a natural I have no problem sweating away my hair because I can wash it later, even when I wear it straight I still workout. All I'm going to say is get your big arse up and workout!. Nothing is more important than your health!, you won't care about hair when you are on TLC doing a special on how you are 600 lbs and are stuck in your house.