Completely

Tonight on my way home from work I heard a new song.  The words hit home as I could relate to this song.  No matter how many times or how bad I've screwed up God never turns his back on me and is always there to offer forgiveness. http://www.klove.com/music/artists/among-the-thirsty/songs/completely-lyrics.aspx

First Dinner Guest

I've been in my apartment for a little over 2 months.  I've had a few friends but not for a meal.  If we did eat it was take out and we sat around my coffee table.  I love my apartment however there really isn't room for a table.  If I put a small one in the space provided it's in the way of the laundry doors.  On another note my kitchen has an extended bar area and the apartments provided 2 bar stools.  Since it's just me I always eat in my chair.
Tonight my friend Cynthia & I got together to try some new recipes for a new show idea.  It's Dinners done with Pampered Chef.  We will hold workshops where those who come will  take home 10 complete meals to freeze and cook when ready.  It's about saving time and getting everyone to the table for a family meal.
We wanted to try a few recipes ourselves so we would have a bit of a testimony.  We made 2 to freeze and 1 to eat.  I was amazed at how fast it was to put them together.  For dinner we chose honey dijon chicken.  We had rice, corn and green beans for sides.  We were expecting the chicken to have more of a thicker sauce instead of a broth.  We decided to turn it into gravy.  Oh my word....the honey just added to it and then over the rice....mmmm just the right amount of sweetness!  I cant wait to hold my first workshop!  Cynthia suggested we eat at the bar and as I sat down on the stool it hit me..."oh my word you're my first dinner guest!"  I was thrilled it seemed like my apartment was coming together finally!  Can't wait to have more dinner guest over!

Lookin' Fabulous!

The first day I tried the natural hair wash I let it air dry.  I had amazing curl on the top layer.  My bottom layers seem to want to just be straight no matter what I use.  I just wish all of my hair would decided to do the same.  I did notice that even as it was damp I could still smell a faint vinegar smell.  When washing my hair it felt squeaky clean.  I also noticed when I poured the solution over my head some of it ran down my face which made it feel slick.
That night  I met up with my friends for coffee and asked one of them to smell my hair.  That was an odd reaction...But what else would you expect?  She smelled it and said "I smell something but I just don't know what it is."  I replied "It's vinegar" and then proceeded to tell her what I was doing.  The next day I had to pull my hair back.  While it was soft, when you don't have product in your hair for the curls it tends to not do so well on subsequent days.  Another bonus factor is that my hair didn't look dried out like it normally does with the curling gel I use.
There was no doubt about it I had to wash it yesterday so I could dry it.  The vinegar smell goes away as the hair dries.  It seemed to dry a little faster.  It had some frizz to it but not as much.  I curled my hair and did use some hair spray.  I think it turned out good however the curl held better on one side than the other.  Last night when I got home I put it up in a twist which looked good.  This morning I was running late so I did the twist again however I think it looked  better last night.  We'll see how it is the morning.  Maybe I can do curl it again.
You're supposed to be able to go about 5 days in between washes.  I'm not sure if I'll be able to do that.  Maybe 3.  It might do better to if I straighten it.  That'll have to be done on a day when I have time to do it.  All in all so far I'm liking it.  We'll see how long I keep it up.  Here's a thought though...the whole idea is to not have chemicals on your head...but what about highlights....Will that send my hair into shock?  Will it last if I go back to washing it this way after I get them done?  I still have another month or so before I do them again.

No poo challenge...say whaaaat?

A few days ago I saw a post on friends wall about a"no poo challenge."  I read it and was intrigued as I had all of the ingredients and it supposedly produced amazing results.  I thought it was worth a try but wanted to wait when I had sone down time just in case something went wrong.
While I was laying out at the pool looking at my feet I thought "my word I need a pedicure." So i came home to get ready as I'm meeting friends later on.  I decided since I was going to do a pedicure I might as well try the challenge since I had been in the pool. Are you wondering what this is about?
No poo means no shampoo.  Washing your hair with natural products not chemicals.  So i grabbed the apple cider vinegar and baking soda.  Other post had said it might feel gritty from the baking soda.  I mixed the soda & water stirring.  I poured it over my head and scrubbed...I didn't feel like I was getting my hair clean.  I think because there weren't any suds.  After scrubbing I rinsed it out then added the vinegar and water together.  This is used for conditioning and detangling.  They said the smell doesn't last long.  All I could think about was deviled eggs and if my bathroom was going to start smelling like vinegar.  I decided to do a quick facial so I wrapped my hair up in a towel while I applied the mask and did my pedi.  About 15 minutes later I took the towel off and combed my hair out.  I still had a few problem areas with tangles but nothing major and they seemed to come out easier.  While I was combing it out I could faintly smell the vinegar.  I hope this goes away as I don't want stinky hair. ;) I decided to let it air dry to see how the curl does.  They say this is supposed to restore your hair to the way it should be, cut down on frizziness and reduce the frequency you wash your hair.  As of now I've got beachy curls going on and it seems that the drier pieces don't have the scent of apple cider vinegar.  Maybe I can apply some lavender oil to it.

One night after work I had to run an errand.  It was late at night so I asked a co-worker to follow me just to be on the safe side.  I pulled up to my destination and rolled my window down.  All of the sudden this thing flies into my car.  Startled, I grabbed a piece of paper and flung at it.  I didn't see it any more and felt it was safe to proceed.  I glanced down and on the side of my left knee I saw these spider like legs peeking up at me.  I screamed in horror.  Again I took the paper and swatted at it while still screaming.  I couldn't see it anymore in which fear begin to set in.   I couldn't see anything that resembled the blurred image.  I thought quickly.  My door was too close to the wall I couldn't open it.  I drive a small car with a stick shift.  I didn't want to drive up any as I didn't know where it was.  I drew my legs up in the fastest way possible as if giving birth to a child.  I hopped over the clutch and flew out the door.  I danced a jig making sure the creature wasn't on me.  I screamed my co-workers name.  My voice trembling with fear.  I could see her laughing at me.  She was laughing so hard her head flung back and forth in a headbanging motion.    She finally was able to muster the words "It's just a bug".  To which I replied "NO! it's not!"  She climbed in the passenger side grabbing the piece of paper.  She peered down then in a panicked voice said "This thing has horns!"  I let out a disgusting squeal as my body clinched.  She tried to get it but was unsuccessful. That's when she said the words I didn't want to hear "Oh no it went under your seat!"  "WHAT?" I yelled.  Fear set in again.  How was I going to get home?  "Oh no here it is!  I got him" she said.  CRUNCH!  "What was that?  Did you get him?" I asked with a sigh of relief.  "That was my finger!  This thing wont die."  She successfully got it out of my car and onto the ground.  I glared at it...It was still alive!  Is it like a cat that has 9 lives?  It looked to be some sort of beetle about 3" long with horns / clippers.  It was the ugliest thing I've seen to date.