Curly hair

Read my first post on curls!

So, when I listed 7 things about myself .. one of them was that I used to straighten my hair with a clothes iron. I realllly wish I could find a photo of this moment. I can't even find a google image of this. I think that means I'm officially stranger than I thought. Oh well.

This was the end result. I'd sleep on it so it looked more natural.

I was such a curl hater but I did totally rock the straight hair!

So .. if you read my first post (you should) then you'll understand that it's been a long time since I had this look. Now I follow a method called Curly Girl. It's pretty great. It all started with a book written by Lorraine Massey.. but that's awkward to put into conversation. 'I love your hair, what do you do to it?' 'Oh I curly girl it'. Yeah .. no. So I've taken to saying I'm simply embracing the curl! Aside from the awkward name, the actual method as far as I can tell is pure genius. Here I'm going to go over the basics you need to know for starting this whole ordeal without including any of the more complicated things (google it .. there's tons of information, I'm just not explaining it right now).

Me and the book!

And a strange photo edit that I hit on my phone by accident.

Sorry about that ..suck at using my smartphone still.

1. Cut out silicone and sulfate. I bet you don't even know why they are bad or how to find them in your hair products. I didn't either and I secretly think they are partially responsible for so many curly heads fighting genetics. Thankfully, instead of memorizing a huge list of 'no nos' ingredients wise, you can find lots of lists of Curly Girl approved products out there!

2. Do one last shampoo. Yup you heard me right, it's like the last supper. Use your regular shampoo for one final wash and then prepare to throw it (and all other unfriendly products) into the trash along with all your frustrations.

3. Only condition. From now on, you're a no shampoo using kinda folk. I know, it seems scary because if you don't use shampoo then how will you clean your hair?! Trust me, conditioner works just as well and your hair won't be greasy or dirty or anything else horrible you can dream up.

4. Throw away your brush. You DO NOT NEED to brush your hair. Buy yourself a wide tooth comb. Or use your fingers. The only time the comb or fingers should be near your head is when your hair has conditioner in it and is soaking wet.

5. Apply friendly products ONLY and apply them IN the shower while your hair is still dripping. At first I thought this was stupid advice but I tried it anyway. It wasn't stupid advice. After applying product, take an old cotton tshirt or microfiber towel and use that on your hair. NEVER use a regular towel, only cotton or microfiber. This alone will make an awesome difference in the amount of fuzz you have, aka little to none (even on humid, hot days).

 Here is a photo. 

Stolen from Wikihow.

6. After you've scrunched your hair with the microfiber or cotton, you can let your hair air dry (which is the best and really does result in the nicest curls) or you can blowdry with a diffuser. Either one works pretty well, and obviously a blowdryer wins if you're pinched for time.

Best diffuser ever!

Couldn't live without it.

7. Be patient. Some people see immediate results. Some people need a few weeks. Some even need a few months. Sometimes you may notice it seems to look a bit messier after starting this routine, but that's normal. It just means your hair has been treated particularly harshly and needs a week or so to recover (but it will get better, I promise!).

So now that you know the process .. want to see the results?! I bet you do ..at least a little bit.

This is an old school photo of me and my favorite person from my town!

This is before I started Curly Girl.

This is shortly after starting it.

Much improvement already!

This photo always cracks me up. I look like a loser!

But it is a GREAT hair photo :D

Last one! One of the more recent photos of my hair.

So, that's enough photos of my face for the next year or 10.

Hope you enjoyed! If you have curly hair ..I hope you're now considering trying this, at the very least :) Or else I just spent a lot of time watching Buffy& writing a post that is going to waste.

Sunday Afternoons

I had a glorious, glorious sleep last night. It started almost immediately after I submitted my post and lasted almost 12 hours. I guess the reason I have been feeling so crappy& chronically tired lately is because I was actually tired. What a novel concept! Who would have thought ..so for now, I'm feeling much better and wishing that I had of just been able to get such a long sleep about a week ago. If I hadn't been so tired, I would have run a 5k in Sydney today. As it stands, I'm going to get back on the fitness train tomorrow, for real this time! I'm going to restart Insanity and keep going for the full 60 days. I am promising this time.. no more slacking.

Okay, so aside from my good sleep& lack of exercise, today is gorgeous! The weatherman tells me it's cold out, but all I can think is:

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SPRING :)

Or fall, if you live in the southern hemisphere!
The sun is shining, there are no clouds and it seems warmer than it is! What more can you ask for?! Oh yeah, that is stays this way! I want warmer weather and to enjoy some ice cream. I also want to get my motorcycle license.

Why, you ask? Yesterday Garret made the trek to Ingonish to pick up a motorcycle so that I can learn to drive! I'm so excited. Last night was my first official lesson. I sat on it, started it, shifted it out of neutral and into first (maybe?) .. let out the clutch and .. WENT FORWARD! Wooohoo .. I survived my first attempt at driving at motorcycle 4 inches! I also learned how to gas it while it was in neutral. I survived that as well (already doing much better than anticipated)! It was so exciting ..I can't wait to get a new leather coat and pants with studs on them. Also, to try to drive it outside of the garage. You guys just wait until you see me flying around downtown on my bike! I made Garret take a photo& send it to me so you guys could see just how awesome I am:

*Had to blur the background ..so many other bikes, couldn't tell what one I was on!

Isn't that awesome?! I love it. I don't even care that it's super dorky and Garret tells me it isn't very cool! Now, I need some suggestions for my awesome bike.
1. Name?!
2. Color?!
3. Decals?!
4. How awesome (1 - 10) is all this?!

I'll give you a hint for 4 .. the answer is 10 (incredibly awesome!). I'm so much a rebel that my mom even tweeted this:

Thanks Mom!! Definitely made me laugh out loud when I saw that ..too cute :) So, now .. what else is on the agenda for this day? Soon, I have to head to work where I will study for my foodborne test. If I get enough done there, I will write it tomorrow. If not, I'll write it Wednesday. Easy enough game plan ..as long as I don't get sidetracked by Buffy or Easy A! I am hoping for a quiet night -then again, I'm always hoping for a quiet night.

I also have to make myself some lunch in a few minutes and am busy wondering why I ate all the cake earlier. Baking is dangerous for my waistline. No more cookies or cakes for me! I am also promising to start eating healthier again. Such a slacker these last few weeks. Oops.

The only thing left to include in my post for this afternoon is TWO photos of the day, but I have to be honest; I'm not going to include them yet. I need to upload& photoshop them still. Too much work for me right now so on that note, keep waiting. I will add them later this evening when I get in from work.

Oh, before I leave this post go. I have one more thing to talk about:
Roll Up the Rim to: lose, in my case. I have yet to win a single thing on this stupid game. To make matters worse, Garret is constantly winning!! I think he has won 15+ times so far and I'm pretty sure I was there for every. single. one. So not fair .. Tim Hortons, why can't you pour my tea into a winning cup?! Just one .. I just want a free stinkin' tea. Please, can you make this happen before Roll up the Rim is over? Would really appreciate it!

So,for now, I am off to hang out with my puppy and make myself some lunch! I hope you all take advantage of this gorgeous day (or not so gorgeous, if that's your luck!)! At the very least, happy change of seasons boys& girls :)

My current location

Can you hazard a guess?! It is at the corral in downtown Sydney. I'm hanging out in the Jeep while Garret talks about cars and things that go vroom! I decided to take this opportunity to update my blog. It will not an include a photo of the day, for the obvious reason of I'm updating on the iPhone and not my laptop!

So how did I spend my day? First off I went to work, where Creepy made good on his promise to show up. He purchased some proline tickets and scratch cars. Ayer that he tried incredibly hard to purchase me something from Tims, but true to my word I wouldn't allow him. Wastes efforts on his part. Better luck next time, Creepy!

Aside from that, I rotated between watching Buffy and studying for foodborne on Monday. It was entirely thrilling and helped the day pass quickly, aside from the weird customers. They really manage to slow time sown and make it feel like I have to interact with them for
Hours. That may be due to the fact that they stand there and talk and talk and talk. I am not your therapist and I'm not interested in your personal life or problems.

So now boyfriend has left the corral and so I will stop typing! I apologize for the typos, of which I'm sure there are many and will update later :) Enjoy your Saturday evening ladies and gentlemen!!

A whole weekend!

With no posting! And now it's Monday ..why was I too busy to post you ask? Good question. I think I was just exhausted, sitting down& uploading photos, writing a blog, being witty, etc just wasn't appealing to me. Not that I need energy to be witty, really. That just comes natural ;) So, now onto the important questions of how I spent my Saturday& Sunday!

Saturday - work til 3. Read magazines .. learned the new trends for spring .. how to do an at-home manicure .. how to straighten my hair so I look pretty (that is a rant for an entirely different day. I try to stay away from my hair on this blog.) .. and various other things I've promptly forgotten. Afterward, I proceeded to not attend hot yoga (oops!) and made 45 jell-o shots. Then, off Karli& I went to Lindsey's to enjoy some shots& skull vodka :D It was all delicious. Then we headed to Daniels, where we met up with public health people and headed to Capri. It was fun .. then I went to Garrets and fell into delightful sleep.

On Sunday, Garret& I did nothing much of anything. I actually can't remember what happened, and that's sad because it was only yesterday! Oh, wait. No, we got Tim Hortons (I didn't win. I haven't won yet. Frig you, Roll Up The Rim. You suck.) and then headed to my house where I fed him his favorite meal -Mom's lasagna! Yum for him. Then he went home, I went to work& it was annoying. I watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer because I love Angel and wished all my customers would stop being annoying. I must have sold about 150 - 180 $2 crosswords. WHAT. THE. HELL. So then I ran out, of course. Life was great. After work, I came home& curled up to watch Breakout Kings. Instead, I got sucked into something else that I can't even remember now. I am going to watch it tomorrow.

So then, I couldn't sleep until 2 and woke up at 3.45AM to take Matthew to the airport ..I did. I met Mom there .. we saw the child off .. I went to Garrets .. blah blah blah ..exciting part?!
So. Lunchtime-ish .. we go to the SPCA. It was CRAZY in there, so many barking dogs. None of them really appealed to me (which was nice, because I'm not getting a dog and Garret refuses to get one.), until I turned the corner. Oh. My. Love. A beautiful little American Staffordshire was just sitting in her cage, waiting for me to save her from her overstimulating life at the SPCA. She was the sweetest, kindest looking dog I've seen in a long time& she was just so calm amid all the chaos. How could I not love her?! So, I fell in love with a dog that I cannot have ..this is my plea to someone to go rescue her. She deserves a great home& I truly wish more than anything I could give it to her. Seriously, if you can help out in anyway.. so sad to see so many animals with no love in their lives. Then we hit up Boston Pizza, where I had a delicious pasta. Then we went to his garage, where we decided to take his bicycles for a ride.

Yes. In this weather. It's 50km/hr winds and -13C with snow falling. I rode his amazing road bike and have decided that I'm definitely going to have to upgrade sooner rather than later. It was amazing. Then I was very cold and headed home to visit Mom before she left for work and catch up on my blogging / TV shows / posting of photos / hanging with my own puppy / etc. So, now here I am, getting caught up on my blog& photos .. puppy has been given lots of attention and soon Intervention& Heavy will be on. This will be an excellent evening all around :)

So, this post is seeming incredibly long and I still have to add 3 days worth of photos! So, here we go. Starting with a photo from Saturday. This is the album cover for a record Matt has. The record is the soundtrack to Alice in Wonderland! So much fun ..Matthew's stuff is neat to photograph because it's all so peculiar.

After that, I have yet another photo of something that either Matthew or Dad owns. It is a Sherlock Holmes guitar pick. I don't particularly like this photo, however I was in a rush to get jell-o +myself ready for the evening, so it's all your getting!

And, then lastly? There is my photo for today! Guess what it is? There's no way you'll ever guess. I took the photo and I don't even know, really. It's some type of wind up robot that dances back& forth. It's cute. It's Matthews. Yes, 3 days of lightbox photography of items that Matthew owns. Enjoy!

And now my excessively long 3-day catch up is done. I hope you enjoyed it and feel like you know what's happening in my world again. My world really IS that exciting ..most days, anyway. I also decided that's time to get back on the fitness train, my foot is mostly healed. I'm restarting Insanity tomorrow .. plus a run. Eventually, I'd really just like to be a professional surfer in Hawaii or New Zealand or something. Dream big, right? For now, I'll be happy with some muscle, ripped abdominals and a better diet!

Oh, also, I feel like it's time to share another song with you folks. It's Andrew Allen -Loving You Tonight. I'd prefer to share my favorite song by him (Sooner) ..however, it doesn't appear to exist except live. I hate live versions of songs when they are recorded with all the talking / background singing from those around the person filming / the person themselves. On that note: