October #7--Natural Hair and Me

Last year, I decided I was getting a little sick of my hair and decided I needed a change. While my hair was quite cute and suited me well, it wasn’t very strong. Since my mid twenties, my hair texture has changed. I no longer have the strong, do anything and I still maintain the curl kind of hair. It had gotten to the point where all I could do was primarily wrap it and hope that by the end of the day it didn’t look like a stringy mess. I don’t know what happened, but I couldn’t hold a curl anymore.

I sought out the help of a stylist and she really helped me in keeping my hair well maintained. Unfortunately, it did nothing for my ability to hold curl. But, my hair was looking the best it had in years and I was thrilled. She was also a very good colorist and I loved, loved, loved the pretty streaks I had below.




By the good times didn’t last. I started traveling more for work and my hair at the crown started to break off. It was a mess. I was still able to style it to be cute, but the possibilities were definitely diminished. My hair could no longer stand up to being relaxed and colored.

So, a year ago I decided not to chemically process my hair anymore. My last perm was in September 2011 and my last color was in November 2011. While I can say I will never perm (relax) again, I am dying to put some color into my hair. Right now, I do a henna treatment every 6 weeks or so and that gives me a nice, deep red with my grays showing up as copper highlights.



I have been trying different products over the last year and I’m just about settled on a core staple of products, but we’ll see. I think you have to be natural for at least two years before you truly know what will work for you. Last winter I was transitioning so I don’t know what products will keep me moisturized and healthy in the cold just yet. And next summer, I will be dealing with longer hair so who knows how the heat will truly affect me then.

I’m taking it day by day and hairstyle by hairstyle, but at the end of the day, I do love my natural hair and I’m so happy I stopped with the chemical straighteners.

October #6--I am the Girl that Loves a Good Storm

Storm clouds, a photo by aldorris105 on Flickr.

I really do need a camera that can capture the world as I see it. Most times my cell phone camera is very good, but when needing to capture the storms rain.

A very hard rain fell the other night and it was so great just to sit on the patio and take it all in. I love rainy days and I quite enjoyed this little storm. The photo didn't capture everything, but I do love the warm look of it. I really do love this neighborhood. It's nothing like being back home but its a nice (temporary) substitute.

October #5--Catching up

Catching up, a photo by aldorris105 on Flickr.

When I look at the lanscape of my life and assess the clutter that has accumulated, most of that clutter turns out to be paper related.

I'm terrible about going through my mail. I had a stack of magazines, professional and otherwise, that I needed to go through and read/purge. I flipped through quickly and yanked out the articles I wanted to read later and the rest is on it's way to the recycle bin.

Next up is the rest of the mail. I have about 3 months to go through. I'm a terrible procrastinator, but I'm able to do this because all of my regular bills are on automatic payment directly out of my checking account. I do get tripped up when I use a credit card. I don't use them often and I tend to forget that I used it and need to watch out for the bill. I must improve on that. As much as I detest the credit industry, I still do need to maintain good credit for any future large purchases, like real estate.

So, this is the call to you to join me in clearing some of the clutter of your life. How much mail do you have laying around waiting to get your attention?