Falls Bone Chilling Preview

I am a sucker for cute shoes and handbags. I love shoes that are especially unique. These 160MM Nappa Spine Heel Ankle Boots by D.Squared are no exception. They are set to be release this fall.

These shoes are way out of budget for me....But a girl can dream

If you want to see this and other shoes by D.Squared click the link below

http://www.luisaviaroma.com/index.aspx#getData.aspxCallType=Product&prodId=L4Z2&des=117&cat=&gender=women&group=&vendorColor=MjA=&season=actual&seasProdID=52I

Heat damage

Heat damage is prevalent in many new naturals because some tend to be at a loss of how to style their hair. I know that for me this is the case. Although I have cleaned up my act, I have suffered damage in only one spot. It’s a small patch in the front of my hair. It’s completely damaged. So now, what I do is use two heat protectants and a serum. The serum I use as a finishing product.
I deep condition with my Cholesterol and use a leave in conditioner then I use:
John Frieda Frizz-Ease Heat Defeat Protective Styling Spray followed by GVP Thermal Protection Spray and finish up with John Frieda Frizz-Ease Hair Serum, Thermal Protection Formula.
It may be excessive for some but it has truly helped me combat heat damage. It doesn’t matter what protectant you use as long as you use one.

To Weave or Not to Weave

Ok...I think I have finally gotten a true handle on being natural. Most important things that can be done for natural hair is Moisture and Protective Styling (protein is necessary as well). I'm still struggling with finding protective styles that I like to wear. My protective style as of late has been weaves. I love the versatility. Wearing a weave has its advantages and disadvantages.

Advantage: It’s a good protective style if you are constantly moisturizing the hair underneath, which I do with SCurl spray.
I only leave my weaves on for about a week. Take it down deep condition my hair with Cholesterol use a leave in conditioner like H.E. Long Term Relationship or Giovanni Direct.

I seal my ends with Shea Butter, braid my hair up, and start again.

Disadvantage: People (I’ve been guilty of this in the past) tend to neglect their hair underneath. If you aren’t moisturizing your hair, the weave and thread are sucking out additional moisture making this an unfavorable environment for your hair. Not deep conditioning and not handling the weave with care puts extra stress on your hair.

Disadvantage: If you get a straight, weave and you leave your hair out. You are compelled to straighten your hair. This can lead to heat damage, especially if you aren’t using a heat protectant and straightening dirty hair.
Therefore, if you are looking for a good protective style weaving is an option but it has to be done with care. Just because your hair is natural, it won’t just grow on its own if it not taking care of, a weave is not a hair neglect pass. So good luck and happy weaving.

Favoritism

The issue of favoritism is one that truly gets under my skin. I feel that it puts a divide amongst children, which can have long lasting effect. I’ll use my family as an example. My grandmother favored one of my cousins because of the length of her hair and the complexion of her skin. It put a wedge amongst the cousins and between her and her siblings. My grandmothers comments, which she thought were innocent, hurt feelings and made some self-conscious. As a parent, I have sworn never to do this to my children or future nieces and nephews. Although my husband agrees with me on this issue and see what a negative impact this can be others aren’t so “aware”. I have heard comments made and actions displayed that have made me uncomfortable and I feel may lead to future issues when my child and his cousins are more able to understand the magnitude of the comments being made. Sometimes I wonder am I being overly sensitive when comments are made comparing my son to others, for example his complexion or hair texture or the fact that he’s the only boy. I don’t want there to be any animosity. So do you believe favoritism is an issue? If so how do you deal with it?

You're Just Not "Together"

Have you noticed that there are some of your friends, who have no kids or aren’t married, that can’t seem to understand you anymore? Well the other day I was having a frustrated mommy moment. I called my friend up to vent and as we were talking the conversation led to the idea of having more children. I do want more children and would love for my children to be close in age. My friend stated, I was being “unrealistic” and SHE didn’t think I should “lie down” and have another child since my life wasn’t “together”. WOW, Really?! My life may not be idea for some but I wouldn’t trade it. I love my son and I would love to have more children. I am blessed to have a husband to support me through any endeavor I would like to embark upon. My friend has a bachelors is working on her masters and has decided this is not what she wants to be doing. Therefore, she’s going to start a new path, which will take her another 4 years. That’s fine FOR HER! She is not married, in a relationship nor does she have children so she’s free to do as she pleases with worrying about how her actions affect anyone but herself. Although I want to have a career, I want be a mom and a wife as well. I want to enjoy my child(ren). I want to give my son as normal of a life as possible. My friends comments did hurt my feelings a bit but whether she or anyone else thinks my life is together or not, is irrelevant to me I know who I am and what I want and I intend on getting it.

Sex And The City II....

LOVED IT!
I am a big fan of SATC. I was so excited about the new movie. I have heard mixed reviews about this movie. I enjoyed this movie. I think people expect too much of the movie. Seriously, the movie is an extension the show that followed everyday women in the daily lives. The movie has to remain true.
Ok as far as fashion in this movie, it was to DIE FOR! I swear the movie make you feel like you need to have a pen and pad to take notes of all the fashion do and don'ts LOL. I was able to relate to so many things in this movie.
What I got out of the movie was this:

First, don't allow anyone to define you or your relationship. There are so many ways to have a successful relationship you find what works for you and enjoy.

Second, you don’t have to be perfect. Charlotte's character aims for perfection, I’m known for this. It’s ok if everything isn’t perfect and as a mother, you need a break. The truth of the matter is that you're not going to be happy with your children 100% of the time they will frustrate you and that’s ok. It doesn’t make you a bad parent it makes you human.

So this will be a DVD added to my collection when it comes out.
If you haven’t seen it, get dressed up go with your girls and have a good laugh...

I'm Back...

I have really neglected this blog. There have been so many changes in my life.I am going to get bette because writing really gives me an outlet. Well as for updates:

Fitness: I fell off my regimen slightly

Hair: I have been hiding my hair by wearing weaves. I was caught in the comfort of weaves where you sometime neglect you own hair. As of late, I have been making sure to take my hair out once a week. Yes, you read right. I remove the weaves once a week wash and deep condition my hair. It has been doing well. My hair feels good. I recently trimmed it. I was due for a quick trim.

Career: I have been in school since March working towards my goals. I am very proud of myself for being able to manage a household, toddler, husband and elderly person and still maintain good grades. I am one-step closer to my ultimate goal and very proud of myself.

Faith: I have returned to church. I am becoming better with my faith. I feel that I am truly evolving into the woman I always wanted to be.

Slimmer in 7 Days - Fitness Magazine

Slimmer in 7 Days - Fitness Magazine

Best Mommy Advice

It seems that women become pregnant in packs. LOL. Yes, its true do you ever notice that you never just hear of only one person you know being pregnant. When I was pregnant with my son, my sister-in-law and three of my other friends were pregnant. Not to mention two of my hubby's friends' wives/girlfriends were also pregnant. Now about 2 years later I have four friends that are pregnant. I always give women the same advice. Be patient; develop a schedule with your child early (it truly does help) and most importantly BREASTFEED! Yes, I emphasize the importance of breastfeeding, whether a friend is just finding out they are pregnant or at the end of her pregnancy, she can guarantee that I'm going to tell her to breastfeed, and I will keep reminding them. I encourage them to utilize lactation consultants after giving birth and reading books prior. When I was pregnant, I had 2-3 pregnancy books on rotation, not to mention my weekly updates from the Babycenter.com. Reading is so important being informed it key. I have seen so many of my friends give up on breastfeeding because they were ill prepared. I’m not saying that I was entirely prepared for motherhood (seriously who really is) but I knew many of the things that could happen. With breastfeeding, women expect it to be blissful from the beginning, it is and it isn’t. It’s beautiful to connect with your child, but the first few days to weeks of breastfeeding can be painful because the suckling of the baby causes contractions of the uterus that can be uncomfortable. There is the swelling and gorging of the breast, ice packs work wonders. The place I see so many mothers go wrong and the reason the give up breastfeeding is because they start wrong. They do not get their babies to latch on correctly. Although I had read a lot I still requested a lactation consultant to come in and she corrected my sons method of latching she even informed my hubby of how to help me open the baby’s mouth wider (by placing index finger on chin and slightly pulling, not hard). With hubby, assisting me the first 24 hours with baby’s mouth positioning, things started and remained great. Improper latching can lead to so many problems the baby not being able to get the milk easily, mom uncomfortable thus making baby uncomfortable, which in turn results in giving up and moving on to formula. I have heard of people giving up in 2 weeks, cracked nipples, the list goes on. Thankfully, I didn’t have any of these issues. Actually, the hardest part about breastfeeding for me was weaning. LOL. I nursed for 15 months. So to all my first-time moms and veteran moms (LOL) if you haven’t done so, consider breastfeeding. The benefits for mother and child are outstanding.

Be good to your hair....

Ok, I know I'm all for taking care of my hair. Making sure the moisture/protein scale is balanced, use of more organic products and low manipulation. All of these are great for my hair. Yet the other day I had to trim my ends because I had a few split ends. Now why would I have split ends you ask? Aren’t you doing everything you're supposed to do? The answer is NO.
My diet isn’t the greatest but its getting there and my fitness level is finally back on track. So what am I missing?
Patience....
Yes patience, I am guilty of not being patient with my hair. I know I'm supposed to take my time and detangle section by section. I don't always do it. Why? The answer I have a busy life, a 22 month old, a husband, housework, errands and my grandfather to take care of. My plate is on the full side and come a few months (god willing) we can add student back in (had to take time off to deal with some family issues). So sometimes, I'm guilty of ripping the comb thru my hair and not fully detangling. I am trying to get better and the fact that I had to trim my hair made me realize it’s necessary for me to take my time. I know that there is a debate on how often a person should trim their hair. My personal opinion is trim ONLY as NEEDED.
Here’s why I say this: Ok the average person grows about 1/2 inch hair a month, so that’s about 6 inches a year (this is only an average). Therefore, if you are trimming 1-2 inches of hair every 4-6 weeks, how will you ever see length or progress, you're cutting it off. I think trims should be used to alleviate split ends, other than that they serve no purpose (in my opinion) Our hair grows from our scalp not our ends so why would certain people believe that trim their hair helps it grow. The only way trimming helps your hair grow is because it stops split ends from travelling up the shaft and causing major damage.

So I say all this to say be patient and take your time when dealing with hair, and trim as needed. Good Luck and Happy Growing