No more waiting till Monday.

Hiya!! I have had a slight issue with plans and making changes.

When I initiate a change, I like to start at the beginning of the week. So every time I have an idea  to start something, and it's in the middle of the week, I make a plan to wait till the next week and start then.
Sounds good so far right? Well the issue is, when Monday comes, I'm often quite tired from the weekend or I have bits and pieces I need to do that causes me to put off my new changes/ improvements.
Sometimes I don't get a chance to visit my new idea until the middle of the week, but as I mentioned, I like to start with a fresh week....... so I get caught up in a cycle that has me waiting for Monday to start, not being able to start then, waiting for the next Monday and so on and so forth.

Last week Thursday I had an idea of a change I want to start and I told myself I'll start it on Monday (today) but as soon as I had that thought, another thought came to me and said - don't wait for a fresh week, start it now.... so I did!!!

Well I know it's probably such a small thing to some, or an obvious one but for me it was actually life changing!! Yes as dramatic as that sounds it changed my life as I was able to start initiating well needed change and I had such a feeling of achievement, it helped with my often low self feeling of failure.

So.... I'm no longer waiting till Monday, if I want to implement a change I'm going to start right there and then and if I needs be, I will start the following day.

I felt so much better just by making this small change, I am determined to get my life on track. It's been a hard few weeks but I am trying not to allow my low moods/ depression to dictate my life.

I'll be back with this months goals soon xxx

Kiddie Oreo Challenge

Hiya!!

Here's another video with my kids.

This time it's the youngest two with an Oreo Challenge.


Enjoy xxx

Starting from.......

.... NOW!! 😫

Sooooo....... I have a slight confession to make.... I may have failed my no buy ban already.

I may have went to TK Maxx and I may have purchased a hair product... or 2. Also maybe a makeup item.... or 3😫😫

To plead my case, it was some CHi Items and they are quite pricey elsewhere so when I see them in TK Maxx I like to pick them up.
Plus.... One was a gel and I didn't know they did a gel so of course I wanted to try it... and I didn't follow my previous bad habit of picking up more than one *just in case* and.... I do need some gel as mine is running out, I have like two wash and go's left.... ok I have two different gels I could use but they flake on me.....
The other item was a hair treatment and I don't actually have a protein treatment so technically I followed the rules.... kind of.... but not really.... GAH!!!!

I was trying not to buy make up too.... was gonna post about that and extend my no buy to include makeup with the exception of the new Too Faced Ginger Spice eye shadow palette that's due here in UK on the 5th of October.

But I failed there too as I picked up a couple bits..... I think I have to ban myself fromTK Maxx as I always get sucked in.... they're prices are so reasonable and I made the mistake of watching a Makeup video where the lady showed some Too Faced sale items and mentioned that TJ Maxx would have some there, I decided to look in TK Maxx as they often get the bits from their US stores and they did in fact have some.... Oh dear..... I really must NOT go to look for now because a look becomes a grab!!

Soooo..... I'm restarting my no buy...... I'll do better, I promise. I do need a few skincare items though. so ... yeah.

Bye for now xxx

Hair Product "No Buy"

Hiya!! (told you I'd be back tomorrow lol)

I have put myself on a Hair Product buying ban.

I knew I had a whole load of hair stuff, I have been a product junkie and have back ups of my back ups.
Don't even get me started on my conditioner addiction gahhh!!!!
I have been in a decluttering frenzy and found so many bottles, tubs and packets of hair stuff I could open a pop-up shop 😣.

I decided that until I use what I have am NOT to buy any more.

It's ridiculous - I mean how many heads of hair do I have? granted I use my hair products on the boys, three of whom have quite a lot of hair but still!!

I will only buy something if I absolutely need it for example a condition based item or if I haven't anymore of it's type. I probably won't need to buy conditioner till way into next year (the shame).

I will be blogging as I go and I can't promise not to moan when I want to try something - I nearly bought the Paul Mitchells conditioner as I have wanted to try it for over a year!!

Look out for some more reviews as I start to actually use what I have instead of admiring them.... or placing them in bags and forgetting about them *sigh*

I am ashamed to have rediscovered some items I was kindly given to review and although it's way late... I will review these too.

Anywhooooooo..... gonna have some dinner now, a break in healthy eating meal (don't like the term cheat meal... who am I cheating??

Bye for now xxx

Goals and life overhaul.

Hi Everyone, I hope you are having a great week so far.

I am always setting goals, challenges and tasks for myself. I have mentioned before I like to set challenges to keep me motivated to reach goals.

Many of my goals are long term and I often get disheartened or demotivated and I find making smaller goals work well in keeping me focused.

I started a "boot camp" of sorts at the start of the 2016 summer holidays. I upped my food management and activity levels and did an overhaul in many areas of my life that I needed changes in - My Weight and Physical health, Emotional and Mental health, Spiritual Wellbeing, Relationships (God, Hubby, Kids, Family and Friends), Marriage, Parenting, Ministry, Business and others - a real life overhaul.

I did not know how much of a change that would make but wow!!

By the end of October, my life was almost unrecognisable. We left our church, I lost another chunk of weight and dropped a couple dress sizes, Hubby and I had a sparkle... I started Therapy and made so many changes with my emotional, mental and behavioural wellbeing, my mindset had a huge shift and I cannot actually put into words how different I actually feel inside.


I have to admit that will all those changes came some negative backlash. We faced a difficult time as a family and I personally went through sheer..... well I was gonna say hell but it sounds dramatic.... let's just say sheer sunken blackness.... still dramatic but you get my drift.

My character was put to the test, slander and lies were commonplace but I thank God we came through stronger as individuals and as a family,


Looking forward I am as determined to make changes as I was before the summer. I love the person I am becoming.... that takes much for me to say as I have been living in the shadow of my better self for so long, I know who I want to be but She always seems to be far beyond my reach, now I can see her getting closer every day.

I have started another set of Therapy sessions which are more intense and look more at thought processes and "unpacking" the root causes of behaviours, anxieties and moods. It is quite hard too be completely honest and part of me wants to fight it and stay in my clouded state but I have to push through if change is to truly happen.

My weight continues to be a major goal and I am so glad that the changes I have made to not only my food intake but also my eating patterns continue and the pounds are going. 

I didn't achieve my business goals but it's a new year and I'm rearing to go.

I will post more about specific goals and areas of my life in later posts to keep me on track and to share my journey.

Id love to hear what goals and changes you have for the upcoming year and beyond. Let's motivate each other xxx

Using My Stash: Curly Kids Curly Creme Conditioner.

A couple years ago I started a little challenge to use up my Hair Stash products.
I called it Product Junkie Rehab you can find the first post HERE and the used items HERE and HERE .... yes I blogged only two items.... I did use up items (obviously) from then to now but I also bought lots of stuff too.

This time around I am using my stash without buying anything else (on the whole I have been great but I must confess to buying three items since I started around March this year - quite good considering my past pj tendencies).
This is part of my general house declutter and also I plan on using all the products I have and then using more natural products especially my Kokolicious goodies.

Anywhooo..... I thought it would be great to document my stash use up for interest and added motivation but also to review the items I use. If I need to purchase an item in the future I'll be able to choose an item I know is good and works for my hair.
Hopefully the reviews will be helpful for you too :) .

Okaaaayyyyy......

The first item I'm talking about is Curly Kids Curly Creme Conditioner - (Leave in Conditioner)

I have purchased this many times in the past, in fact I had one in my "to use" pile in the posts.

 Definition from official site:

Excellent leave-in conditioner that adds vital moisture and shine. Hair will become noticeably healthier and easier to manage. Minimizes breakage and damage due to dryness.
This product does not contain petrolatum, mineral oil, sulfates or paraben!

 Ingredients (from my tub):
Water, Cetyl Alcohol, Stearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Glyceryl Stearate, Cetereath-20, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Olea Europea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Cetrimonium Chloride, Panthenol, BIS (C13-15 Alkoxy) PG Amodimethicone, Fragrance, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Citric Acid, Tetrasodium EDTA, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Phenoxyethanol.


My Experience/Review:
As mentioned before, I have repurchased this item many times. I love the way it makes my hair feel. I use and recommend this as a cheaper (money wise) alternative to Shea Moisture's Cocout and Hibiscus curl enhancing smoothie.
The branding reminds me of Mixed Chicks.
I love that it's parben free and also no mineral oil/ petroleum


Texture:
This has a rich, creamy consistency that I love. It is thick but not too heavy and has a whipped like feel rather than a dense one.

Fragrance:
A sweet, tropical smell, Coconuts and pineapples. I really like the fragrance it doesn't smell like a fully natural smell but neither is it highly synthetic. The smell isn't sickly and it lingers on the hair long after application.


Value for Money:
Approx £3.99 for 170ml/ 6fl oz -The price is really good. It is very affordable especially for the quality




Pros:
No parabens.
No Mineral Oil.
Great Price.
Lovely fragrence.
Hair feels moisturised when using.
Has a thick and creamy consistency which really works for my hair.
Can be found in local Hair Shops I have looked in. (its in all of the ones I've looked in)



Cons:
Can cause build up if used for many days or too much.
Jar is smaller than I would prefer (although the price is so good, repurchase isn;t an issue just a little inconvenient.



Would I repurchase?
I would and have repurchased again. I would and have recommended this product to others.
My only issue would be that I looked online for ingredients (I was too lazy to get the tub and type out the ingredients) and many stores had Dimethocone and Paraffinum Liquidum (paraffin oil) listed, I knew for sure my one didn't have that so double checked my tub and they definitely are not listed on there.
The manufacturer website claims - This product does not contain petrolatum, mineral oil, sulfates or paraben!
I'm not sure why there is discreprencies there.... makes me wonder. Maybe the ingredients have changed?
I will have to check the tub if I go to purchase in the (very distant lol) future.

Curly Kids Curly Creme Conditioner -  can be found in local Hair Shops (beauty supply store)

Hiiiii and New Hair Growth Challenge.

Hello Stranger.... Ok I know I'm the stranger and have been AWOL .... again!!

I wont bore you in this post about the whys and wherefores but I'll deffo do a update post soon.

I just waned to quickly post that our next round of the 90 Day Hair Growth Challenge is up and running. Whoooop Whooop lol.

It will be great having you all join in again, I love seeing and hearing all about your progress. Please let me know what methods you will using during the challenge.

If you have any ideas an/or hair growth hacks for me to try please let me know.

I will be doing a Q&A and info video as I have had quite a few questions re: the growth challenge so let me know if you have any.

Here's the Start and Length Check Video:

Pescatarian Challenge

Hi there, I hope you are all well.

As you may know, I started a healthy lifestyle journey a little while after my healthy hair journey and have been doing quite well, I always look to push myself a bit harder and as I have mentioned a few (ok many) times, I love challenges to motivate and inspire me along my way.
For a long while I have been wanting to include more fish into my diet and I went through a time of only eating fish during the day and no meat.
I felt like I wanted to up it and remove all meats and poultry for 30 days so Pescatarian it was.

This was in July and I started my challenge in August. It was much easier than I thought and I got through August feeling great. I had a couple gatherings to attend including a BBQ (arggghhhh lol) but got by without too much longing for the yummy meat dishes.

The most difficult part of my challenge wasn't actually eliminating the meat/poultry or the cravings, it was purchasing ready made foods that were suitable for pescatarians and with no dairy added. I often just chose Vegetarian items but I noticed that these were often laden with cheese, milk and/or cream. I have often had to look for vegan foods to be "safe".

During August, my husband watched with interest as I did the challenge and the boys were very happy to taste my dishes. As August drew to a close, I thought about doing another 30 days and a friend who was going to join me at the start said she really wanted to try so I told her I'd go another month to keep her company The Hubster often spoke about how nice my meals looked and decided he wanted to try it also.
Now that was a big thing!! Hubby enjoys meat and loves chicken..... and that's an underestimation lol.
While I was happy for him to join me, I knew it would mean more work as I could just make do with whatever I had but for him I would have to prepare meals properly, that would mean two different meals and maybe three if his would contain dairy. I can have my meals with out fish at all, but I knew he wouldn't want that.

The second month for me was even easier and I have to admit I didn't miss meat and didn't crave chicken on a day to day basis. I missed certain dishes but I was fine. Hubby on the other hand found it very difficult bless him.

I tried to be creative with the meals but he really missed meat and chicken... A .... LOT!! He said I made it look easy LMBO!!! He found having me prepare his meals at home and sometimes his lunch was great but he found it hard to purchase food while out.

I am proud of his efforts and he did last the month.. hoorrahhhh!!! Now that he is able to eat meat and poultry, he has found that he chooses not to most days and that chicken tasted different to him.

I on the other hand have chosen to go another 30 days/month. I actually cannot believe I have gone 67 days being Pescatarian!!

I realise that I haven't posted about this whole thing on here till now...(oversight and busyness) But I plan on doing many more posts on my Pescatarian challenge with meals etc.

I would love to hear from any of you who have chosen to be Pescatarian or even Vegetarian (ooohh or Vegan) and your thoughts. Also if you have any meal ideas.

90 Day Hair Growth Challenge round 2 - Starting Date

Hi Everyone, I hope you are all well.

Round 2 of our 90 Day Hair Growth Challenge is starting on Monday 29th August.

Here's the video with information about what I plan to be doing during the challenge and my starting length check.









Video's from the first challenge that you may be interested in:

First challenge video information:
https://youtu.be/JzPTh4lS6mo

First challenge final length check and why I stopped taking MSM:
https://youtu.be/CM1k9mU6pUU

First Challenge Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiYfa_ngzAYtp9NdgVth7y_PerVZflXEx

New 90 Day Hair Growth Challenge!!

Hiiiiii!!! Just a quick heads up that a new 90 Day Hair Growth Challenge on the 1st August!!
Whoooppp!!
I will try to get a video out to chat a little bit about it but I wanted to remind those who wanted another one and inform anyone who would like to join this time around.

I actually cannot wait to get started, I have been protective styling since the last one finished and I'll probably be doing the same for the first week or so of this round.

Let's do this!!!

90 Day Hair Growth Challenge - Update and Length Check.

Hiya!! Here's an Update for the 90 Day Hair Growth Challenge and a Length Check.

90 Day Hair Growth Challenge - Starting Length Check

Hi!! Here is the video of my starting hair length for the challenge.
I plan to do length checks probably monthly. I will do general updates more often though.
I am happy on the whole with my trim although I am missing the length. My ends look and feel much healthier and my twists stay in better too.

90 Day Hair Growth Challenge - Wash day

Hiya!! I completely forgot to post the wash day videos I recorded for the 90 Day Hair Growth Challenge. I have had a few questions about my wash day process so thought I'd do a video. It was quite odd doing wash day in front of the camera so please excuse me lol.

This wash day was specifically aimed at the challenge so I hope it helps.

Part 1 - Cleanse, Coffee Rinse, Protein Conditioning Treatment.




Part 2 - Moisturising Deep Conditioning Treatment




Part 3 - Style and Trim

90 Day Hair Growth Challenge!!

I have mentioned before (a trillion times lol) that I love challenges to keep me motivated and inspired and stop boredom setting in. I started a new growth challenge on 1st March. I have done growth challenges in the past but this one is for a longer time and I will be adding vitamins into the mix.

I normally just take a multivitamin and some added vitamins but I thought I'd give some Hair, Skin and Nail ones a try along with MSM.

This challenge is also different from my others as I will be doing it with others whoooopppp!! I am soooo excited that people have joined up.

Here's a video with info, it's a little long as many who joined up are new to Healthy Hair Journey stuff:








If you'd like to join in I'd be so pleased to have you.