2014 Recap: The Good, The Bad, & The Growth

I haven't washed my hair yet.  I'll do that tomorrow after the gym or after my mother's doctor's appointment cause setting up appointments on New Year's seems like oodles of fun right?  Yeah the joy of raising you parents.  Tomorrow when I'm done ripping and running I will prepoo my hair.  Either for the rest of the day or for a few hours.  I will be using my Hot Head heating cap again because I super duper love it.  And I will let it loosely let it air dry like I did last week.  That actually turn out badly so I didn't blow it out or put any heat on it the last week.  I will after this wash day because I want to take a current length and potential damage shot for New Year's.  I also want to have a weight loss progress shot since I am now down 25 pounds.

Good: I know my hair won't fall out if I go swimming
Bad: Chlorine is still really hard on your hair
Growth: I'm still trying to make it work even though I admittedly started slacking at the end of the year

Good: My hair rebounded from the massive chop from last year
Bad: I didn't do enough to prevent split ends
Growth: I'm ready to get it popping again this year

Good: I bought a Mia to help with my skin regimen
Bad: I haven't used it regularly
Growth: It's reboot time and if I just get up 20 minutes earlier I can get everything I want to do in the morning done

Good: My hair is good and gray lol not everywhere and not all the time but woosah it's gray
Bad: Since that last perm didn't take my hair is ridiculously thick right now
Growth: I'm about 20 weeks post now and my hair hasn't crawled off my head and sought out a relaxer

Good: I worked out at least 45 times more than last year
Bad: It's still not as much as it could have been but I am getting better
Growth: That whole six weeks to make it a habit thing is true, I'm getting it in and I love it

Good: I am not remotely depressed about turning 40 next year
Bad: I have no idea how I want to celebrate that
Growth: I have developed the celebrate me mindset so it will happen

Good: I am really enjoying my life
Bad: Mad it took me this long to get here
Growth: If I'm lucky I have at least another 40 years to be loving me

I'm taking all of my Growth moments as things to move with me into the new year and will pad them with a bit of the Good stuff.  The Bad are lessons to learn from so all in all no matter what it was this was a GREAT year of self exploration, self care and growing into a better me.

FItness Friday: Sweaty Saturday Summary

So my Fitness Friday post is late again this week.  I did hit the gym as scheduled this week so now I'm three workouts away from 100 for the year.  Much as like last year though, the vast majority of them came at the end of the year when my brain and body finally said enough damn it.  I'm still learning my body and what works and what hurts and instead of just plugging along at something I'm not interested in doing I'm speaking up and making changes as needed.  My trainer is helping immensely and I'm figuring out that some of my old food wasn't so bad as long as it's not a daily kind of thing. Next week it's homemade pizza time--I'll try to take a photo, actually that's tomorrow so yeah I'll try to take a photo before I slice it up.  I had pot roast for Christmas and last night, I'll probably have that again tonight instead of a twice baked potato.  I do like potatoes but yeah not in the mood for one today.  That is something I have noticed over the last few months.  Even food that I love can either feel too heavy or just not what I'm craving.  Thankfully there's a lot of flexibility in the meal plan so I don't ever get too far off calorie count.  Trying to balance the dairy and protein and what not is a challenge some days but it's better than it used to be.  I'm not going to claim it at this point but it looks like I'm back on the losing end of things again after a week of flat weight loss.  If it holds I'll be down 25 pounds since I started this whole reboot two months ago.

I did just find out that my yoga class is moving to the same time as my swim lesson so I'm going to have to figure out when to sneak it in during the week.  Yoga this morning was different cause we had a new instructor for the day.  I got in a good sweat which is always nice but I really liked having yoga then scooting down the stairs to swim.  Ahh we'll see. 

Oh and I had a doh moment at the gym this week.  Remember I'd been having trouble with my heart rate monitor.  The readings would be all over the place like the sensor was losing its mind.  Well I was washing my hands and trying to get the sensor to read normally when the band came unhooked--again.  Why this didn't occur to me before I really can't say but I have NEVER tinkered with the band ever since I bought it.  I've been losing and gaining the same 10-15 pounds over the last year until recently.  There is actually less of me to wrap around so I had to make the band tighter.  Yeah for tangible proof of weight loss but damn that was an easy fix that had I just thought of earlier I might not have been checking out other fitness bands.

How goes the sweaty life for all of you?

Fitness Fridays: Food and Flexibilty

So it's Friday and it's time for an update.  I have to say December has been the best gym month period so far.  I went to the gym three time this week and will keep up my two workouts tomorrow even though swim class is over until mid January.  Yoga and back to Planet Fitness.  That will make 14 workouts in 20 days.  That will pull me up to 92 for the year with 11 days to go for the year.  Considering when the holidays actually fall I MIGHT make it to 100 but they weren't as consistent during the early part of the year.  There's definitely been an uptick since I hired my trainer which is good cause I would seriously feel like an ass to paying someone to get me in shape and then not following through.  I am losing weight so that's good.  Just as I was thinking I was hitting a weird plateau with the working out and weight loss I got my new plan for next week and two new workouts are in play.  I get to test some new stuff out and see how that goes.  It's a good week to test it out since there's no work and I am expecting a light gym crowd since Christmas is next Thursday.  We'll see but I'm excited.  I'm starting to hate my Polar fitness watch.  It is glitching out or I have a heart murmur.  I don't think I would have missed the second one as much as I have been to the doctor as of late.  Some days it's perfectly fine, others it's always recalibrating to read the heart sensor.  I've changed both batteries recently but I know when it doesn't register that correctly it doesn't register the calorie burn correctly either.  I'm going to keep working out regardless but I'm wondering if it's time to upgrade my tracker.  And my right calf is a little sore today but I think I must be putting more pressure on that leg during workouts.  I'm sure it will feel better in the morning when I get to do this.

Part of that is also making sure I eat properly.  I didn't lose as much weight last week because I was hitting the bread again.  The sandwiches were within my calorie count for the meals in question but yeah bread hasn't really been on the menu.  We'll see how the next weigh in goes but I did want to share some of the most recent meals I've had that have kept me happily fed and staying on track.  These were taken with my camera phone so yeah sorry the quality isn't better.  The top dish is Cajun spiced salmon (I LOVE salmon), a side of corn and chicken flavored brown rice.  My recipe for the night included asparagus but I didn't have any so I switched in corn instead.  The second dish is seriously one of my new favorite meals.  It's a beef stir fry with red and green onions, ginger, garlic and a few other things.  The original recipe called for pineapple chunks and juice but both of those make me unhappy lol.  I nixed the pineapple and use orange juice instead.  Still has the citrus tang and has a wonderful overall flavor and smell while it's cooking.  It's served on brown rice and is the bomb.  Working on portion control is just amazing.  I'm not as hungry as I used to be and I'm not snacking to fill time.  I do get snacks but they are planned out and things I want.

All right I'm done for the day.  What's up with you ladies?

Pre Birthday Wash Day

As I mentioned yesterday, my birthday is on tap.  This week I wasn't sure what if anything I was going to do with my hair.  I have a few weeks off from swim class so it will just be normal gym sweat for this week.  The more I think about it the more I think I'll be heading to the day spa and getting rubbed down and dolled up.  But in the mean time I had to take care of my chlorinated hair.  It didn't feel as good today in terms of my hair in general.  It's a little rough to the touch.  I should have grabbed the Roux Porosity Control shampoo I bought at Sally's to see if it helped but I was on a mission today and it wasn't worth going off my rhythm.

Washed with: Moroccan Oil Moisture based shampoo, Organix Moroccan Oil and Rusk Bright shampoo to minimize the brassy

Conditioned with: Moroccan Oil, Aphogee 2 Minute Reconstructor and Mizani Moisturefuse

Deep conditioned with: Dr. Miracle's this week since I finally repurchased it and for the second wash day I used my new heating cap, the Hot Head that I got from Etsy.  It was totally different from the old one with the gel inserts and really soft wrapper.  It still heats up in the microwave but seems to heat better and since it fits like a bonnet I never feel like there's a spot not being touched.  I gave up on Hair Therapy Wrap.  No matter how I stored it or heated it the gel packs kept bending or doing something funky.  I have to say this feels much better and I really do like it.  It shipped quickly and arrived within five days of purchase.

I put my hair on flexi rods since it's finals week and I don't really have to look stellar the next few days.  If I go in for a spa day I will take photos of that as well.  Here's one of me after the t shirt drying and detangling.  One side always behaves in photos and the other is like chick please.  Ahh well.  There were minimal tangles and knots this week so that's great but I'm still not sure about what protective style to shoot for before swim classes begin again in mid January.  How was your wash day?

Pre Birthday Updates

So I am now on countdown to my 39th birthday.  I'm not sure what I thought I'd be doing at 39 but I can almost assure you my current life isn't it.  That's a good thing though as I am genuinely enjoying my life right now.  Are there things that need to be improved on?  Well most assuredly but I also have the passion and drive to continue to improve.  The best part about being nearly 39 though is that next year, God willing, I'll be 40.  If things keep going the way they are going it will be the best birthday ever but then again I'm making plans to make sure every birthday gets that distinction.  Just because this is more of an introspective post about lots of things not just my hair I'm going to insert a page break here.  If you don't want to go any further not a huge deal as I tend to be wordy sometimes.  Just know that I'm in a good place and enjoying life.  If you are nosy and got time to kill continue after the break.

Final Firmoo Review

I have been meaning to get this up for a while and keep forgetting.  So as I mentioned in my earlier post I got a pair of glasses to review from Firmoo.com.  I wanted to wait a few weeks after I started wearing the new prescription to give an honest review. 

Quality: The glasses were just as sturdy and well made as the glass I got at the local store.  Both frames were plastic and while that was disorienting from the metal lenses I had been wearing but something easily gotten over.  The lenses looked about the same and darkened as they should have when I went outside.  They were probably a little too big for my face but that's my fault for not measuring my current glasses before picking them out.

Prescription: This is where things go off for me a bit and I think it's because my prescription is on the stronger side.  The firmoo lenses continue to feel much more intense than the local lenses I bought at the same time.  The new script hangover wore off within an hour with the local lenses.  The firmoo still causes a bit of a headache that just gets worse if I need to be active.  If I want to sit and read not a huge deal but if I turn my head quickly it's back and not so much with the fun. 

Overall feedback: I think if you want fashion lenses or need a weaker prescription then they would be a great option.  Also if you have to wear glasses regularly make sure that you measure your face well and pick a frame that suits you.  Firmoo makes a good product though and I think you will be happy with your purchase.

Hair Updates & Other Stuff

So if you track my hair and weight loss updates you will see the numbers have been adjusted in both cases. I will get to the weight loss piece in a second but let's start with my hair. My poor tired hair.  I wasn't bone straight when I left the salon a month ago.  I was going to roll with that since my plan post this round of swim classes was to be braided or weaved up and try to enjoy some stress free time with my hair as the temperature continued to be crazy.  However, 10 days later after swim class you wouldn't have known I had a relaxer at all.  Now don't get me wrong my hair is never bone straight after swim class.  I don't expect it to be.  The level of tangles and knots though was ridiculous.  I thought maybe it was a one week fluke but nope there were more of them this week after swim class as well.

That's also why I haven't taken that many photos of this travesty.  I do have some to share today of working through wash day but without some serious heat my hair is going to be fluffy.  I have considered doing a corrective relaxer after swim classes end next Saturday (the 13th) but haven't decided for sure.  I'm also thinking about just going with braids.  I'm worried about what that would do to my hair and that could mean I'm in a styling chair on my birthday instead of relaxing which is what  I would like to be doing.  And this will be the most shocking.  I've even considered doing it myself because I'm tired of haphazardness with who does my hair, how they do it and what happens post relaxer since I know what my hair should feel like and the last two relaxers it has definitely not gotten there.  Input please oh and if you use Affirm Fiberguard relaxer where do you get it.  Can't buy it on their website and not sure about Amazon.  On the upside I was able to roll my hair without looking at a mirror and keep it symmetrical the entire time.  Photos in order: hair loss, rollered up and a pseudo close up of nothing resembling straight roots.

I am nursing my hair right now.  Keeping my ends tucked away as much as I can.  I'm moisturizing daily at the moment and resuming my vitamins.  Soon enough I hope to see some progress.

As for the weight loss, can we just say that is rocking right along.  I'm down almost 15 pounds since Nov 2 when I started training with Elizabeth.  I'm not eating much more/less than before but pulling that together with the working out at the same time has been stellar.  As of today, I'm 28 workouts past last year.  I may not hit 100 like I wanted but at least it won't be flat and barely equaling last year.  Even going out to eat I'm being more cautious and while I've had a day of less than stellar snacks it hasn't derailed my progress.  My pants are getting a little roomier which is different but now I need to grab my belt and make it work.  Even though no one believes me when I say it I'm still over 200 pounds and that's not good for a number of reasons.  My target goal right now is to hit 180 and see what I feel like.  I don't envision going too much smaller but maybe I'll become one of those goofy fitness nuts.  How goes life around your neck of the woods?  Yoga, swimming, gym rats anyone?

Black (and Silver) Sports Bra Fitness Friday

Hmm that looks way more awkward than I planned in my brain, oh well. So I held to my annual tradition of avoiding all things Black Friday shopping like the plague.  I lounged around longer than I should but after breakfast and a bit of time on Farmville 2, yeah I know, I got up and went to Planet Fitness.  Turns out it was the only parking lot that was not packed today which is saying a whole lot because most days that gym parking lot is like the Hunger Games with slightly less violence.  I got a spot right down front with no hunting.  I went in and there was no line, no crowd in the women's locker room, and no fighting whatsoever for any of the equipment.

In short, it was a great day and I loved the sweating.  I had an epiphany later too which is just that I'm getting comfortable in my own skin again and I'm kind of loving it.  Now the workout totals haven't been ticking up as much as they did a few weeks ago an that would be my fault but for a different reason than you would might expect.

Last week I was having the mother of all cramp fests which killed the Wednesday workout.  Thursday I thought I'd make it up but I was just exhausted after the cycle of work.  And Friday I followed through with a major decision that had been looming.  I'm no where near menopause apparently, gotta screw the family curve there too, and all of the birth control options are contraindicated for me based on age, possible risks (blood pressure can be wonky every now and then), and whatever else the universe wants to include.  That left me with the option of an IUD or the Novasure Ablation.  IUD seemed scarier than the ablation so I went with the ablation.  I did debate it for a few months before I made a move.  The ablation basically moves there will be no little Southern Girls or Boys springing forth from me.  I kinda knew that already but it was confirmed that if I moved forward that was where life would end up. So yeah last Friday ablation won out.  Which wouldn't have been so bad except I couldn't eat all day prior to the procedure which wasn't until 2.  But by about 1:55 I was doing the happy drug express and by 3:30 I was up again and hungry.

My trainer gave me the go ahead to skip that workout since I'd be damn near a zombie by then and we weren't sure who the drugs would impact me.  Turns out I slept a lot.  I felt better in the morning but not good enough to trust myself in the pool so I slept in.  I did get back on track workout wise on Monday but I have to say that I haven't slipped up on the diet.  As of my last weigh in on Tuesday I think it was I'm down 12.6 pounds from where I started at the beginning of the month.  So yeah I'm totally endorsing the trainer option.  I'm learning better options for food, better ways to keep myself busy in the gym and better ways to just enjoy me.  I've just gotta slip by my birthday and Christmas without sliding completely back into dessert hell lol.

How was your day folks?

 

Influenster SUPERstar!

Okay so yeah I have been an Influenster kind of girl for a while.  I read about the site on someone's blog and while I couldn't snag an invite from them, a few weeks after I initially tried to sign up I was sent an invite.  Not too long after that I was sent my first VoxBox and could say without a doubt that the program was super duper free and legit.  There's never been a dime exchanged between us and I have managed to get a fair number of products to review, use, and in quite a few cases make part of my staple products.  The food in particular has been great.  Even the things that I haven't loved someone in my house (usually my mom) or network really enjoys them.  We all LOVED the Nonni products.  We were sent the THINAddictives and woosah they were amazing which led to the biscotti and other things.  The hair care, skin, and nail products have been good as well to see how my mood and palette work with things I wouldn't have normally bought myself.

I think that's one of the best things about Influenster truth be told.  They don't send you things you'd never use but they attempt to push you beyond your standard fare.  As someone who was committed to doing better this year in that regard Influenster is a big asset to that.  Even when I had an issue because I moved to like super small town in not a Wal-mart kind of state they worked to get me the product so that I could review it and I have to say it's been the best foot care product I've had in a while.  My feet are always silky smooth after I use Freeman Barefoot Spa line.  I heart it. 

I have invited quite a few friends to join and I'll be honest for some it's harder to commit to the process of getting products, reviewing them and trying to speak about them in a good honest way.  I talk too much as it is so there's not a huge issue there for me.  I was worried that a negative review would smack me on the hand for future boxes but in my experience they want honest feedback  While the CC cream I was sent didn't match my skin tone in the slightest I was able to say that AND talk about what it was able to do for me regardless.

Best product from them EVER is probably not one that anyone else would think of really.  Last year I was sent a Goody product, I've gotten those before and like the brand outside of reviewing, that was a new Dri Wick like product that was made into a headband.  Now I'm not a super pink kind of gal but i was excited at the idea of this headband as I tend to sweat a LOT and mostly in my scalp when I workout.  If little baby angels could have descended from heaven and sang after that first workout they would have.  While the rest of my body was definitely in sweat mode and my face was glistening no sweat came from my scalp onto my face.  No it doesn't stop my scalp from going yeah exercise and downpour but it definitely isolates it and makes me less of a mess post workout.

All in all I can say it's been a great ride with Influenster and if you are interested and not part of the program yet please let me know.  I'd be happy to invite you.  We can review off into the sunset together.  Like for serious, just let me know.

Have a good night all.

Fitness Friday: First Full Week of Training

So I officially started with my trainer on the 2nd but I totally forgot about the 90 million things I had on tap for last week so it meant I didn't really get a full week in on the training schedule and managing my diet without a lot of distractions. I'm going to give you a sectional update as I think I will make more sense than blabbing for the next few paragraphs.

Meal Plan: Is actually really flexible and is helping me work on eating 1) on schedule and 2) enough so that I'm not starving and 3) not so much that I'm overindulging.  Tracking everything I eat has shown me some days I'm hungrier than others but have managed to stay within my allotted daily calories all but one day and I was 20 ish calories over that day but really who has ONE fajita and goes to bed?  Best of all I'm learning a lot of fantastic new recipes that still indulge my major food craves but aren't horrible unhealthy.

Workouts: When I was having a better time of things at the gym this year I was there three to  four times a week for at least an hour and while I got a good sweat in I was also getting bored and losing motivation often.  I've managed to make it all three scheduled days this week and each was a different challenge but perfect at the same time.  Although I'm slow sometimes it seems like Monday is more of an ab and upper body day plus cardio.  Wednesday is a good general workout day.  Today is a butt and cardio day.  All of it was good.  I think I was sore a few weeks ago because I hadn't been at the gym regularly in a WHILE.  This week my body feels great, I can tell what the exercises are honing in on and I feel accomplished when I'm done.  Sweaty too but accomplished.

Trainer/Elizabeth: She rocks, not a lot else to say but who am I to stop talking prematurely.  She's very encouraging, supportive and answers my questions about workouts and food like super fast.  I know it's early in the process but she really is fantastic.  And if nothing else it seems like I'm losing weight.  Things aren't fitting the same and six pounds isn't enough to account for all of it.  Can you lose weight in your feet?  Cause really shoes are feeling a little BIG lately.  Regardless this feels like the best present I've given to myself in a while.

How goes your journey to healthy?

Fitness Friday Late Update

So I haven't checked in for a few days my bad.  I mentioned in my last posts (October 31 and today) that I had hired a trainer from fitorbit.  I need the guilt/encouragement/guidance of my trainer.  Yep I'm claiming her.  Before our week together really started I made sure to start cutting back on what I was eating and how I was eating and I made sure to get into the gym because I was pretty sure I wasn't going to be able to squeeze in the full workout this past Friday and Saturday because of work stuff.  From that sad weight I posted a few weeks ago I am officially down six pounds.  I have already had six workouts, including abbreviated ones on Friday and Saturday when I was in conference mode.  If I hadn't stumbled upon the brownies I MIGHT have done better with the weight loss this week but any weight off is great at this point.  This week I can focus again and attend to both diet and workout.  Today felt great and while I'm a little sore but feeling great.  Back to the gym on Wednesday and Friday and Saturday.  Let's see what the next weigh in gives us.  How's life treating your workouts?

And she had gorgeous curls upon her head

Well except I don't.  If I'm being perfectly honest I'm glad there is still hair on my head.  Ulta is the only salon that has my preferred Affirm Fibre Guard relaxer.  And I had found a great hairdresser that I trusted to do it.  When I went in for a random styling I found out that she was gone and likely would not be back.  Turns out most of the staff has bolted from Ulta.  I know that kind of thing happens but seriously my hair and patience were at an end so I had to trust a new girl with the process.  Issue #1 came with them having my relaxer but nothing else to take care of it.  None of the other components were there so I had to go with Mizani which my hair fights like it's a robber trying to steal something from an old lady.  Even leaving it on much longer than intended there was still a bit of texture that I wasn't wanting as I do like my hair BONE straight post relaxer.  She did listen to me about that part though and was pliable if that is the right word.  She clearly hadn't done very many relaxers and was even more out of sorts when it came to the blow out and flat iron process which to me seems like a no brainer.  I coached her threw that and left satisfied if not bone straight.

After the last relaxer did kind of the same thing cause she was rushing I am feeling more texlaxed than anything else.  My hair fully on my shoulders but does need to be evened out some more so that's the plan for the next few months.  I am pretty sure that after swim classes end I'm going to shoot for some braids so I can work out without it being stress on my hair trying to style and put up out of the sweat.  I'm still uneasy about swimming in braids but want to check with a few people to make sure I'm not freaking out unnecessarily. I refuse to let my growing and graying hair slow down the fitness train.  More on that in the next post.  How was your last wash day?

Fitness Fridays: Getting in Gear

So this blog is meant to document both my hair journey, which I am usually pretty good about, and my fitness journey which let's face it has been hit or miss.  I have lamented many times that I would love a trainer.  Preferably one that was already at my gym so I didn't have to travel to yet another gym to get trained. When I joined the Y so that I could take classes in addition to the swimming I thought I could find a trainer there but literally no one has ever called me about it so I was getting discouraged again.  Yep I had added the yoga classes to my swimming classes but two hours a week of sweating and moving my body wasn't putting a dent in the spare set of tires around my belly.  I was still wanting plan B to come together but I wasn't putting much effort in after getting no where with local folks for months.

As I was tending to Influenster and my participation in the Vidal Sassoon campaign, I noticed another relatively new thing on there called VoxPerks.  I clicked on it and actually paid attention to the one I had scrolled over before for a website called FitOrbit.com.  Influenster was offering a discount on registration so I said what the hell let me check it out.  Turns out I was pretty impressed with the program and went through the registration.  The sign up is easy enough and actually more detailed than I would have thought.  From there you are given your top three matches but can keep looking at others if you don't think you will click with the ones they suggested.  Oh and if you hate your trainer you can switch to another one which I thought was great too. 

I chose my trainer, Elizabeth, because she seemed to be good at all the things I wanted to work on and was friendly.  We started narrowing down my wants, interests, routines and habits even more as well as any food limitations I have.  She's been great in the few days we've been working together so that I can officially start on Sunday.  I spent part of the day working on part of what will become my Friday workouts.  I went partially because I haven't been in a while and partially because next Friday and Saturday I will have to work to get a good workout in because I will be at a conference.  I totally forgot about that when I picked the 2nd as my start date but I will do something even if it's a short workout.  It was great to be moving again at the gym that got my lazy behind off the sofa in the first place but woosah it was a killer and I didn't even finish it all.  It's good to know that it's set up to be a good sweaty workout and as feared I need to mix them up instead of doing them in order because my upper thighs hate me right now lol.

I spent the rest of my afternoon/evening shopping for the things on my new meal plan--that's right no guessing what to eat on top of the workouts--that I didn't already have at home.  I did switch out a few things that were allowed switches (yeah I kinda hate broccoli) but for the most part I have the ingredients I need to start things off well.  I will still hit the pool and yoga in the morning.  And then Sunday morning both Maroon 5 and I will be singing a new tune.  In case you have no idea what I'm talking about with my estranged scruffy tattooed yoga enthusiast Jewish rockstar husband I will leave what I mean at the end of this post.

Who has a trainer?  Or had one?  Or has questions?  See ya for the next wash day.

300th Post: Three Wash Days in one week oh my

This week, as I mentioned in my Fitness Friday post, has been ridiculous.  You would think with having two days off I would have had some down time to unwind and let my brain go to happy places but yeah not so much.  The end of the week was filled with meetings and exams and awkward conversations, I mean DAMN they were awkward.  However, that was done and I was looking out for the weekend workout so that I could get to the last wash day of the week.  I'm sure you're wondering what it was the last well let me get to that in a second.  I would be remiss to say that the weekend ended up much better with a massage, mani/pedi and that wash day but let's just say I earned it lol.

First wash day was Monday/Tuesday when I had to wash out the results of the previous Saturday's trip to make my body more active.  It wasn't bad but because I had been a lazy bum the days following the pool there were way too many tangles and I lost the most hair I have in this stretch.  I was sad but knew it was temporary because I was going in for the second wash day to make my hair straight with some heat.

Second wash day came on Wednesday night with someone who seems comfortable with black hair but did mine not so great. Mind you I'm ten weeks post so I'm not expecting miracles but she was giving me volume when I needed straight.  The first day afterwards was a mess cause it felt like it was growing by the hour.  I set it on flexi rods that night and my hair looked great on day two.  Made me mad I hadn't done something to it when I got home and knew it wasn't quite right.  That left me primed and ready for Saturday's outing to the Y.

Workout went fine, great even but then I was rushing for the 10 minutes I had to get from the Y to the day spa.  Day spa was fantastic and even though I had a new girl doing my hair it felt and looked great when I was done PLUS she gave me a few samples in order to help maintain that during spells between stretches that may hair started looking a mess.  I would have taken a photo but I was flipping exhausted at that point and it was time to sleep as much as possible so I did.  It would be unfair to take a photo now with sleep all over it but trust me it was good.

Fitness Friday: the Fallback

So I meant to write this post last week but life got away from me again.  I haven't been working out much during the week because it's been ridiculously busy more days than I care to remember right now.  But most weekends I've made up for it by hitting the Y for longer than normal workouts.  I do yoga for an hour and then go to swim class for 45 minutes at least but I try to stay for an hour.  So I have been doing that when I'm not working on the weekend.  It's fantastic and I feel great when I get back home.  I need to get back to work on the mid week workouts, either by hitting some classes or just doing my solo workout at the gym.  I need some more motivation because my levels all came back a tick above the acceptable range when I just had some blood work done.  And I need to get back on my better eating habits.  Anyone have any suggestions.

Firmoo Review Part 1

I was contacted a few weeks ago to give a review of an online eyeglass store, Firmoo.com.  In exchange for a free pair of glasses I was just asked to give an honest review of the process, glasses themselves and so on.  I was also asked if I knew any bloggers that my like to partake in the offer and honestly I wasn't sure if anyone would or if anyone needed a pair of glasses so I have yet to follow up with that piece.  However, if after seeing these glasses you are interested let me know and I'll pass on your name.  Even if you don't want to do a review, Firmoo has reinstated their free first pair program so if you want to explore their options please do.

I was due for an eye exam otherwise I would have probably gotten these before the end of September as I was contacted early in the month.  I got a new script and the change was negligible again but I felt better having a more accurate view of well my vision.  That night I came home and ordered my free pair of glasses.  They would have totally been free had I not upgraded the lenses to progressives and the fingerprint resistant coating.  All told though even with those upgrades the glasses themselves were 45 bucks.  Compared to the pair I got at the store, totally cute retro glasses lol, I paid about a fifth of the price for the same type of glasses.  The process was pretty seamless but unless you are good at measuring things like your pupil distance or are fairly certain of your prescription I would recommend having all that measured by a professional before you start.  Payment is through Paypal so you don't have to pony up a credit card.  The company is based in China so while the glasses are made and shipped quickly it could take a few weeks for your glasses to arrive.  By my estimate it was under two from shipping to delivery, maybe a little over a week.  They are shipped well in a hard case and protected in a wiping cloth.

This review will focus on my current glasses and the new firmoo pair but when the others come in I will revisit the whole shebang.  Now the first thing I noticed was the difference in weight between my old glasses and the firmoo pair.  I haven't had plastic frames in years so I was unprepared for how light they felt.  These frames are also wider than my current pair so I would need to have them adjusted to wear long term so they stayed in place without me readjusting them.  Other than that though the prescription was a tiny bit sharper as it should have been and thus gave me the requisite headache that always comes with new glasses.  This is another reason why I am holding off on the final comparison.

The lens thickness looked about the same as my current glasses.  There was a little overhang I think because the lenses are plastic but it wasn't something that would make the glasses unwearable.  And they also included replacement screws and nose pads which is great as well.  So far so good on the firmoo glasses.

There was only one thing that I wasn't expecting and it could be the result of the new coating, or using my camera phone, that is not on my current glasses.  As I was preparing to take the up close and personal shots of the frames on my face I noticed that I could see myself in them and their was a green haze to it that I couldn't explain.  I walked around the bedroom and through different parts of the house to see if it got better and for the most part it did not.  I finally had mom take a photo of me in the new frames to minimize the green thing the most.  I only saw that when looking through the phone though and didn't notice it otherwise.  I will check it out again when the new lenses come as they have a similar coating on them.  I look asleep in the top photo with the new frames and cranky in the photo with the old frames lol.

All in all I think these are decent glasses and as soon as I'm ready to transition over to the new script they will be part of the rotation.  I think Firmoo.com would be a good option for those that want a glasses to go with their personalities without having to break the bank when a new mood struck. Or for those that are in need of a new pair but not wanting to shell out a few hundred on designer frames.  Be careful with fitting and measurements but otherwise I can see why others have used the site repeatedly.  I seriously had no issues from the start of the process to the end.  The new glasses should be in hopefully this week and then I can follow up with the more complete review.

Who needs a new pair?

Wash Day: Lace Em Up

So I didn't have swim classes yesterday so wash day was confined to a late night prepoo and early morning wash.  Wash day went mostly like it would normally:

Prepoo with my Organix and Moroccan Oil deep conditioner with scalp coverage provided by the Strong Roots.  I slept with that on my hair and got up about 9 and started my wash day.

I did one wash each with Organix Macadamia Oil and Moroccan Oil moisturizing shampoo.

I mostly follow time directions with the Moroccan Oil and Aphogee 2 minute conditioners and my hair was feeling pretty good. I let the Mizani MoistureFuse stay on a bit longer as I was showering at that point but everything went off as normal.

I deep conditioned with Dr. Miracle's for about 90 minutes then rinsed it clean.  I t shirt dried from about 11:30 to 2 when I stopped being lazy.

I have been meaning to try new styles but have been too distracted to do so.  I saw these new rollers a few months ago and bought two packs when I caught them on sale at Folica.  You could think of them as less bendy flexi rods but they tend to give a different curl pattern and after having laced my hair through them are dramatically lighter than the flexirods.

At least for this first time I didn't need both packs but this is a test run so we'll see how it goes.  Here are photos.

 

Me after the hair was all good and detangled

The lacers.  They come 20 to a pack.  As you are working your hair through them it kinda sounds like you are playing with foam rubber.  The longer your hair is the more this will feel like a massive chore to do but it was actually not too bad for me.  Mizani recommends pinning the end of your hair with bobby pins.  Another hair blogger was using rubber bands which I think I like better but I need to grab some.

And this is me before the bonnet went on and the hair was pinned as well as I could get it.  Taking the photo let me know where one bobby pin had come undone.  All in all not bad and not much longer than a flexiset to do.   I will try to take a photo tomorrow when I take my hair down.   How was your wash day?

Update:  So I managed to not rush out the door today and took photos, albeit not the best ones lol, of the results of the lacers.  I can say I loved the shape of the curls and how much easier it was to sleep on them than the other rollers I've used.  I may use more setting products next time for the comb out process cause it felt a little loosey goosey but surprisingly for me, considering the rain today, the curls are still holding well and they feel pretty defined.  I am thinking about making the sections bigger next time just to see how that turns out but we'll see.  Here are some photos.  What do you think?  Side note, I look slightly deranged in that first photo lol sorry.

The Weekend Just Won't End & Other Jokes

So this has been one of those standard there is no down time to be had.  Friday night I just needed to let my brain decompress but since then I've been on the go.  Let me just start this by saying I didn't even get closed to the gym before yesterday.  But as I had planned I got up a little earlier and climbed four flights of stairs to go to yoga before swimming.  The twisting wasn't as bad as thinking about my breathing.  I tend to always breath the exact opposite way people tell me to do when I am learning something the first time.  Turns out I started out that way again.  But I caught on soon enough and started to enjoy the stretching and the new challenges my body was trying to respond to.  I was glad there were fans in the room (and that the woman next to me turned the on) cause it felt like I was out in the Texas sun for a bit based on the amount of sweat that came off of my forehead.  Got a makeshift massage towards the end of class which was nice and was told I had done a great job for my first class.  I took her at her word because really I had to scoot on down to the pool.  It was a good lesson.  We spent most of the time in the deep end and trying to swim around without feeling like I was going to drown.  I enjoyed myself and did a few laps in the shallow end before coming home to start on my hair and promptly falling asleep.



As I alluded to before my brain was tired as hell.  My body joined the tired ranks after my workout.  I did manage to coat the length of my hair with conditioner and my scalp with Strong Roots before covering up my hair in a plastic bag and bonnet.  My intention was to wash it out quickly and then get to the other stuff I had to do.  No such luck.  I woke up a few hours later and just got to work on my grading after I grabbed a bit to eat.  Seven hours later I was done reading two classes worth of painful reading and giving feedback.  I nodded off a few hours later after debating washing my hair at 2 in the morning.  I woke up around ten, washed my hair including my chlorine stripping combo before letting my hair deep condition for about 90 minutes with the Dr. Miracle's.  I rinsed my hair out and t-shirt dried from about noon to 5 when I finally finished grading all tests, another class's writings and given them feedback along with doing early alerts for school.  5 is way too late to do anything with my hair except let it air dry so I got up, LOC'd, detangled with my 4 combs lol, took a few photos and am now relaxing.  My dinner is marinating now and sooner or later I'll get up to cook it lol.  Depending on how my hair dries I may blow it out slightly and then flat iron it before work.

 The hair loss for this week.  Seeing a lot of gray in there lol.

This is me with freshly dentagled hair