Protective styling refresh

I am in the middle of a protective style jaunt and am missing my hair already. It's about 2 and 1/2 weeks. I am aiming on leaving my hair in for 4 weeks, then taking it out and washingmy hair then putting it away for another 4 weeks.... phewww not sure if I can do it.

The front of my hair was looking a little messy and I noticed I had to use a lot of the edge control to smooth it down. The closure also looked like it needed "tightening" so last night I took the hair down, re plaited the perimeter canerows/cornrows/camroes moisturising  with Shea Moisture Coconut and Hibiscus Hold and Shine and Curl Enhancing Smoothie and sealing with Enriched Grapeseed Oil as I went. I also oiled my scalp with Hairlicious.
I was amazed at how soft and well moisturised my hair was when I un-did the plaits. That SMC&H stuff is fab!!

I sewed the unit back on and set the hair on flexirods for church the next morning.... well it ended up being very late so more like for later *blush*
I have to say I am impressed with the look of the hair. Being synthetic I was sceptical of how long it would last but I do remember using synthetic hair alot back in the day as a teen when I couldn't afford more with my pocket money lol.



Here's the packs of hair. The bundle pack was on special offer whoooop. I thought it wouldn't be enough so I picked up a pack with two coloured bundles they didn't have the exact same texture but it was close enough:

Janet Natural Brazillian Bundle and Weaving Net

I decided to try a weaving net instead of a dome cap as it was quite hot last time. I don't know which one I prefer to be honest. I did like the dome cap with holes before but the nets are thinner so look flatter but then they don't last as long.


I love the colour and it reminds me of the natural colour you get from using henna:

lovely colour!

The top and closure are 1b and the bottom is the lovely red colour so it has a kind of ombre effect.


When I first made the unit the hair was a tangled mess and I didn't even want to put it anywhere near me but I threw leave in and Silicon Moisturiser at it and it tamed it right down lol.

I do like the hair but it gets tangled very easily and sheds like crazy but I did expect that, with it being synthetic and all. I just set it up at night and keep it moving.


I'm thinking about getting a curly style for the next round after I wash my hair..... hmm not sure though.

Hair Journey Tips - Conditioners for moisture.

The next video in the HHJ Tips series. 

One of the most important ways I add moisture into my hair is with Conditioners.I use conditioners for Deep Conditioning treatments, pre-poos (pre shampoo treatments), cowashing (conditioner cleansing) and also as rinse out conditioning.

I show my fave Conditioners for each section with small reviews on each in this video.

Homeschooling??!

This week sees the start of Homeschooling for our 7 year old.

He has been going through a terrible time at school. Without going into too much detail here, he has been treated poorly (I really wanted to use a string of different words here but I'm trying to exercise self control lol)
We have gone through what seems like a nightmare time and after the last straw have taken him out of the school. He left at the end of the term before Christmas. He is happy to leave the school but not his friends. While we are looking into a school near our new place, I will be homeschooling him.

I NEVER would have thought I would be a homeschooling mum..... I have gone through sooo many changes in the last year or so and have become a different person in so many ways.

I had so many preconceived ideas but after much research am at a different place.

I want my son to be happy, that's the long and short of it and he was far from happy at school. I saw his whole character change to a sad, unhappy, tearful boy.

It is a HUGE change to get used to - for both of us - and I am learning as I go. It's been 3 days so far and we're still getting into the routine of things. The youngest is also getting used to sharing me in the daytime.... I can't say he's too impressed lol.

I have had to really look at how I organise my day and it will deffo be a work in progress to get everything done and in some kind of order (haaaaaaaa what is that again?)

Blogging has been one of the back burner stuff but I'm sure I can work it into my day if I try.

I am enjoying the new change but it is very tiring. I'm hoping to find some bloggers who homeschool so I can get info etc.

"New Year, New Rule"

Picture borrowed from web

When I was growing up, mummy would always, and I mean always, without a fail start the New Year by saying "New Year, New Rule" about a kerzillion times.... any time someone would do something not to her liking she would tell us off and LOUDLY cry the phrase. I mean for about 10 days after the New Year started.

It used to drive me crazy..... then when I left home it became a joke. I even laugh about it with hubby.
It's one of those funny family sayings that becomes legendary.

I have actually secretly adopted it to look forward to the New Year and set goals, plans and challenges to achieve throughout the year.
This year is no different and I am determined to make this year a great year for achieving.

I will put some goals in black and white so I can look back and evaluate my progress.
For easy reading I will put them into catergories.



Spiritual Life
Continue and complete study on Nehemiah.
Step out of my comfort zone.
Expand on the teaching about Prophetic Worship.
Draw closer to God.
Step into the promises God has made to me.
Expand in my ministries.
Be obedient to God's instructions.

Home
Continue to unpack and work on each room.
Keep up with the cleaning and tidying plans/schedules.
Get a dressing table and set it up.
keep my home open to visitors


Children
Continue to make myself available for each of the boys.
Ensure the boys feel loved always.
Be more patient.
Have more "Mummy and ......" days where I spend the day or part of it with each boy seperately.


Marriage
Date more.
Be more patient.
ensure hubby feels loved by me always.
Spend more time together.
Pray together more.


Body
Continue to live a healthier lifestyle.
Join and go to new Gym closer to new home.
Work on loving myself even if I haven't become what I want to look like.
Keep taking vitamins.
Drink more water daily.
Workout more.
Eat sensibly.

Hair
Continue with HHJ.
Make efforts to achieve 6 inches or more hair growth by the end of the year.
Continue to transition to natural.

Business
Continue to work on website.
Find ways to reach customers.
Sell at at least 2 street/farmers markets by the end of July.
Hold at least 4 events by the end of July.

Mind
Work on ways to fight the "black cloud"
Have strategies in place to keep the "black cloud" from keeping me locked in.
Finally get rid of the broken and lost little girl inside.




Whoooooaaaa that's a lot of goals but I really feel that they are attainable.
I will start to make monthly goals to ensure they are being met and include challenges as usual to keep me motivated.

Healthy Hair Journey Tips - Moisture, Moisture, Moisture

One of the biggest tips I learnt on this HHJ is how important moisture is to not only length retention but keeping your hair healthy.


I go in depth here in the next instalment of my HHJ tips video:

Christmas season baking

I think I must have baked more over the past week than I have for the past few months!

Along with the Christmas Eve baking frenzy I baked some Gingerbread in a star shape for our lovely Church Sister on boxing day, she generously invited us over as we moved into the area. Being a big family it really is humbling and I am always so grateful to be invited over as a family and she fed us too lol, it was scrumptious and we were also well watered. I baked the Gingerbread while I got ready and it was still warm when I handed it to her, she was so surprised and appreciative.

My eldest requested some more Star Ginger Cookies and as I had some more of the left over dough and icing in the fridge I rustled some up on the day after boxing day.
The boys enjoyed them very much, they didn't even notice the wholemeal flour I added lol.

I also had requests for mince pies which I made while the cookies were baking.

We had a bag of carrots left over from our mega veggie shop so I baked a carrot cake on Monday.... hmmm or was it Tuesday? my days have gotten all mixed up with the holidays lol. I used coconut oil and margarine instead of butter and added wholemeal flour too. I am trying to make the goodies healthier than "normal" treats.

All the baking has given me he baking bug again. I think the lack of space and low mood kept it at bay but it's back in droves. I have to be careful though as the baked goods are very tempting and I have a loooong way to go to shift this chub for good. I will continue to swap not so great ingredients for better ones.

Happy New Year!!

Wowwwweeeee!! Where did the end of December go? It was a whirlwind end I tell you.

2014 was quite a year, hectic, hard, fun, exciting, sad, happy...... down times and enthralling times.
Rollercoaster doesn't even come close.
I am glad to close the door on 2014 and looking forward to a new year. I am excited by the new opportunities it will bring and also the good times. I am sure there will be difficult times to come, but I am sure God will help us through it.

I have learnt so much about myself over the last year and have changed so much. It is amazing. I am glad God showed such loving kindness towards me and allowed me to grow as a person and change my life for the better. I know there's still a ways to go in all areas of my life but I am willing to keep up with the self improvements.

I will continue to set goals and challenges to keep me motivated and focused.

Our family is going through some changes that I am thinking about documenting here but I'm not sure how personal to get on this blog. My old blog was VERY personal and one of the reasons why I made a clean break and started this one. But I can't help it lol, I get into a ramble and end up deleting the over personal bits.
I thought this blog would mainly be a place to document my HHJ but I miss the versatility of my old blog where I just blogged and I have learned from past efforts that trying to maintain more than one blog at a time doesn't work for me. hmmmmm I'll see over the next few days what to do blog wise. I can always make use of tabs and labels to organise the blog a bit.

With all that being said I would like to take this opportunity to say Happy New Year!! May this year bring Love, Joy, Peace and Growth. I pray God's many blessings to you and your families. May He grant you favour xxx