Hair: Brahmi Powder for strong roots and Growth

Hey Guys!! So I have been constantly trying to correct this issue that I have been having with my hair. Due to the frequent dye/relaxing of my hair, it has caused slow growth in certain areas of my head.  I have been looking for ways to help this area achieve its maximum growth potential with minimal breakage, so I opted to try this Powder application. The powder I use is called Brahmi. Research has protested that Brahmi Powder is an outstanding hair nourisher. It furnishes long, dense, black and lustrous hair, relief from hair fall and premature graying. It is the best therapy for people who have chronic hair problems. 
Here is how I use this powder weekly to streghthen my roots and promote hair growth.

1. Get the brahmi powder 
2. Pour the powder into a bowl and add  water. ( I use rose water instead of tap water)
3. Mix the powder and water until it forms a paste as thick as yogurt.( I guesstimate the ratio)
4. Apply the past to my scalp and leave on hair for 45 mins.
5. Then Rinse and Wash my hair.

This process can get messy but the ticker the paste, the less mess. I usually try and do this application once every 2 weeks. 

D.I.Y Scarf Organizer

Hello All! Its been a while since I posted and I have so much stuff that I would like to post for you guys. Over the last weekend I had 3 whole days off and I was able to do some fun DIY projects. One of the mini projects I did was a scarf organizer. Its so simple yet so important, especially if you are a scarf lover like me. Once winter hits, I am the first one to whip out a scarf. They are not only trendy but they really do keep you nice and snug. 

Before I would just put my scarfs where ever but now that I have so many, I tried to think of a way to organize them. This was the fastest DIY project I have done thus far and it is really effective in keeping all my scarfs in order.

Here are the things I used:

Chrome shower curtain rings (Ebay)

Hanger (One of my Husbands nicer looking one lol)

Scarfs

This is how the shower rings look

Here is a close up on the shower curtain rings.

Hang the shower rings onto the hanger

Then hang each scarf one by one through each ring

Here is the final result. If you have more scarfs, use as many hangers as you need to hang them all.

Hair: Benefits of an Oil Rinse

Sometimes when we wash our hair with shapoo, it can be quite drying. I know for me, I love using sulfate free shampoo because it is less harsh and drying to my hair but lately I have switched up my shampoo. The shampoo that I have been experimenting with lately contains sulfate unfortunately. Now I am not a fan of sulfate but the shampoo I use contains UV protection (protects hair from sun damage) and rosemary (which soothes my itchy scalp). After I wash my hair, it has been a little dry so I have found a solution to conteract this issue with-out having to switch shampoos. In between washing and deep conditioning my hair, I do an oil rinse with either grapeseed oil or olive oil. Both of these oils are amazing and work wonders for my hair. By doing an oil rise after using a harsh shampoo helps restore moisture into your hair. This prevents breakage and helps with detangling. Here are the steps that I use when oil rinsing my hair:

Step one:
         After shampooing my hair in 3 sections, I apply the oil of choice using an applicator bottle. Making sure that I keep the hair in 3 sections to prevent SSK's and it also makes it easier. Coat the section with the oil and work the oil into your hair.

 Step two:
         Once each section is coated with the oil, I then take my wide tooth comb and De-tangle my hair. Because my hair is coated with the oil, it creates just enough slip to comb through the hair with minimal breakage.

Step three:
        After each section is DE-tangled, I rinse my hair  with water and then move on to my deep conditioning. Afterwards, my hair feels super soft.



I absolutely love oil rinsing my hair and have added this step to my weekly hair regimen. I have already noticed a difference in my hair. Some of the advantages include but are not limited to:

• Aiding with moisture retention by ensuring that moisture remains locked into the hair;
• Allowing the hair to remain supple, smooth and soft by improving its overall texture;
• Aiding with DE-tangling;
• Improving the manageability of the hair and giving it a natural shine.

Next time you experience a dry hair spell after using a shampoo, before throwing the product out the window consider doing a oil rinse afterwards.

Happy New Years 2013

Happy New years guys! I am so Happy that 2012 has come to a close because the new year is going to be very prosperous.  This past year, a lot has changed and many lessons have been learned. Each and every experience you endure is a lesson and never a mistake because how can we learn from something that we never experinced? Its time to get motivated and set new goals. Knowing that I have progressed in the right direction each year is so comforting. I know that new year resolutions/goals are corny but I love to do them with my husband because its a bonding experience for us and it also helps to keep one another focused. I have so many goals and I am excited to put them into motion. There is no better feeling than knowing that in 5-10 years, the dreams that you chased together, will finally be a reality. 

Fitness: Update!

Hey Guys, So I have been dreadfully awful about updating my blog on my diet and workout routine that I have been struggling to maintain. During each semester of school, I began to stress out and eat everything. I gain so much weight so fast its crazy. So during the last 2 semesters, I became proactive in making sure I kept my stress level at bay, in order to prevent myself from indulging into the refrigerator. I tried to stay organized and calm when the semester was getting tough. I mainly tried to eat minimal portions of food and workout out in some way. My last update regarding my "its time for a change thought" was when I stated my measurements  and put it into motion to meet my weight goal. Here is my progression over the past few months since setting my goal.

Here are the my measurements from 4/12:

Weight- 147

Waist-30.5

under umbilicus-35.0

Hips-41.5

Here are the measurements from today!

Weight- 130

Waist-27

under umbilicus-30.5

Hips-39.5

I have made great progress over the months, yet I still have not reached my goal. I will continue my workout routine which consists of:

Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday:

-Early morning 2-3 fitness videos from youtube. My favorite fitness guru's youtube channel is Blogilates. She is so fun and bubbly, so that makes the works outs that much more fun. also I have a app called Nike training club that I try to do once per day. Its tracks your progress which is really nice.

Then, I

stretch and take a break to rehydrate. When my husband wakes up he has me do tons of different squats and abs.Then I am done for the day.

That is really petty much it. Sometimes, my husband and I will go to the gym and do a workout, but no matter if I work out effectively one week or not as much another, the number one way I was able to loose the weight was portioning my food. It is really hard to be married to someone who has the opposite eating style as you, and this is the constant battle I

 have to deal with. My husband is an athlete and he requires a large amount of calories. He also loves to eat a lot, so I find my self cooking all the time. I am always looking for new dishes to try because he loves food, but I on the other hand, would rather stay away from food. I do not calorie count but I do eat half of all my meals. For example if we are eating spaghetti and garlic bread, I will eat one serving of spaghetti an 1/2 slice of garlic bread. My husband on the other had will eat 3 servings and 2 pieces of garlic bread. It is very hard to not pile up the goods onto my plate but I have to constantly tell myself its not worth it. After a while my stomach has become adjusted to the portions that I have grown accustomed to eat and it is very hard for me to eat anything over. I takes time, dedication and hard work, but it is well worth it in the end.

I do plan to turn it up a notch in 2013 to meet my desired goal for our vacation later on this year.

Here are a couple of pics showing the progress.  Its best to take tons of pictures because its the best way to document your progression.

Pic one: 2011

Pic two: 2012

Merry Christmas

I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas. I think my husband and I really enjoyed this Christmas most of all because our daughter is 2.5 and old enough to unwrap her gifts. She was ecstatic with each new gift and I couldn't have been any happier to just see the look in her eyes. God is so good! It truly is a blessing to be her mommy :)

Hair: Vividlocksboutique haïr turned into a 3/4 wig

So this is how the hair came packaged.

This is the net cap that I use to make my wigs.

The Finished result.

Nursing: Getting through MedSurg

I am no expert when it comes to studying for nursing school but I have been hanging in here and I have finally found a studying system that works for ME. I think it is good to hear how other students study because you can learn from one another. Nursing school is HARD and it will continue to challenge you in every way possible. The way I studied for nursing school in my first 2 semesters changed once I got to med-surg drastically. Only one person passed the very first exam we had, if that can give you a glimpse of how tough this semester was. If I had someone really explain to me why med-surg was so hard, I maybe would have understood. Most people I asked would just say "its tough so be prepared to not have a life" or "the only thing I can say is READ". I honestly wanted to know why. Boy did I get a clear and definite answer to my question after my first day of lecture. ITS TOO MUCH INFORMATION with little time to study. We had 2 weeks or less on some occasions to learn the material with 4+ chapters on each of our exams. Ugh I am glad its over so here is an outline of what I did to make it through:

• I know its understood when they say you have to read the material, but I mean READ! I have never been a reader, in-fact, I went through my first 2 semesters not reading much at all. I mainly took notes, reviewed power points and made flash cards(they worked for me). But in Med-surg, you HAVE to read! There is no way around it and anyone that says they didn't read is probably not being truthful. It is a must!
• Study with some type of NCLEX prep book that can condense the information when your thick text book is too confusing. We use Lewis and it is HUGE but the Nclex book that I used along with it was the yellow book by Saunders. It helped a lot with the material that I just could not understand.
• For Pharmacology, I used flash cards which helped the most. With each section I would make flash cards of the medications listed on our syllabus. Just make sure you keep them in order and together. For example I kept my cards together with rubber bands.
• Record your instructors lectures. I find this very helpful because some instructors make questions for their test from the lectures.I know our teacher did and those are easy questions that you can get just from listening to the lecture at home.
• Teach the disease processes to a family member or friend. In my case I accidentally found this helpful because I am an auditory learner, when I am the one talking ha. I have to read out loud in order to understand something. I would lay in bed right before it was time to go to sleep and I would talk out loud what was in my head. My husband would jokingly ask why is this? why is that? what happens with that? to everything I said which helped me understand what I was trying to learn/teach. Asking why is key in nursing, so because of my husband's annoying way to bother me, it actually helped me learn a new way to study. 
• Last tip would to be to do questions after questions after questions. I am not kidding when I say doing practice questions is what helped me 60% of the time. When you do 200 practice questions  per day, for a section along with reading the rationals, you will more than likely get the gist of the important information each question is trying to get you to understand.  I tried to do 50 per day and then increase by 10 by the end of that week. Its important to not only answer the question right, but to read the rationale regardless if you got the question right or wrong.

I found it beneficial to have the semester's study plan mapped out prior to school starting.For example: I had a section that I needed to study for each day, wrote out exam days, care plan due dates and case studies.

This was my studying plan that I used to keep me on track( I am OCD when it comes the organization)So I had all this mapped out 3 weeks prior to school.

 I knew this semester was going to be really tough so I printed calendars and on each day, I wrote down exactly what I was suppose to studying.  It also helps to put important dates for care plans and exams of this calendar as well. This helps me not to forget anything and stay sane lol. It helped me stay focused and organized. I hope these tips can help someone in any kind of way because I wish I would have had some specific tips besides read. Obviously these are just my tips and things that worked for me. Everyone studies and retains information in different ways. Find yours :-)

Hair: How I detangle at 15 months post

So as you guys may know I am 15 months post relaxer and it is becoming difficult to keep my hair to behave. I MUST ADMITT THAT I A Excited to actually see my curl pappern and watch the overall health of my hair get better. I like to wash my hair every morning and I usually detngle my hair before or after, but the key is I have to have a relaly good conditionr in my hair to help prevent as much breakage as possible. Her are the steps I take once aa week and detangle my hair:

 Step one:

 Part hair in to 4 sections then Lightly fincome the section that I am working with.I love and am a supporter of all Aussie moist products because their product are very moisturizing and they smell amazing. So this is what conditioner I use to pre poo, detangle or co wash my hair with.

Step three:

 I put about 2-3 pumps of aussie condiier in my hand

 Step four:

Apply the conditioner in the hair. Them detangle the section with a wide tooth come starting from the bottom and working my way to the top.

Step five;

Once  my hair is detangles I will either braid or twist the section to keep it out of the way.

 When I first started my hair journey I had no clue which method to detangle my hair. There are millions of ways to detangle your hair so what I did was watch tons of videos. I read  a numerous amount of blogs and I just started to experiment with products and techniques that I learned.  Eventually, I figured out which products work for my hair and what technique works best for me. It takes some time but it can be done.