Doing much better today. I got my voice back, and can even sing again!    Though there's still a lot of throat junk in the way, so I have this constant little cough. But that's pretty normal for me, unfortunately. 

Yesterday was just a basic wash & condition routine, as I had the early shift at work.

Today, I actually had some time, so I mixed up my very first batch of Snowy's Deep Moisture Treatment. Had to let it sit in the fridge while I was in the shower because I heated it up a little too much. Whoops. 
    Washed with Suave Daily Moisture shampoo, finished shower, then squeezed all of the excess water from my hair with a towel.
    Retrieved the thickened Snowy's Deep Moisture Treatment from the fridge & applied it in the tub so it wouldn't get everywhere. While I was doing that, my boyfriend marched right into the bathroom & proceeded to *ahem* use it while I was still in there.      Man!!

Let the treatment sit in my hair for an hour. It got really thin & ran down my neck a lot. The back of my neck stung like crazy because it's still raw & peeling from the rash.

When I finally rinsed it out, I was pleasantly surprised to find that my hair wasn't the least bit sticky from the honey. Just quite soft. It all rinsed out very well.
    Followed that with Suave Daily Moisture conditioner. I still want a bloody handheld showerhead! 

Leave-in's were TRESemmé Detangle & a new oil solution that I just mixed up today. It consisted of baby oil, aloe vera gel and water. As a result, my hair has been an oily mess all day. 
    Note to self: Either don't use aloe gel next time or use wayyyy less oil!

As for Snowy's Deep Moisture Treatment, overall good results so far as I can tell. I might have to use it a few more times to know for sure. If nothing else, though, it's a good way to use up my Suave Deep Conditioner. 

I may have figured out a way to make Pantene work for me again, though I'm not going to test this theory until all of the other products lingering under my bathroom sink & in the shower have been used up. It will take a few months to burn through all of it, and by that time, who knows? Maybe Pantene will have fixed their greasy shampoo problem. *crosses fingers*

In other news, I'm finally done ab training. Woohoo!!    The results are about the same as with my arms: tighter, more definition and definitely more muscle mass, but still under a faint puffy layer of flab. That part will be the last to burn off, but when it does, I should have some wicked tone. 
    Tomorrow I begin working on the next zone: the gluteus muscles.    Can I say that? 

Lately, I've been eating as if I have a tapeworm or something. I just can't seem to get enough food! And when I do, it's such a short time before my body burns it off. Yesterday, I ran to Subway between my 1st and 2nd jobs and got a 12" turkey sub on Italian herb & cheese bread with all kinds of stuff on it, Baked Lays chips & a raspberry iced tea. All of it disappeared fast...as in less than an hour.
    The past few mornings, I've woken up with a gnawing, empty stomach ache. The kind that tell me that my stomach is digesting itself because there's nothing in it, and that it's only a matter of time before I start shaking, sweating and possibly passing out.    This isn't "weird," I'm just a touch on the hypoglycemic side.
    I think my metabolism may be speeding back up (finally!!). It was insanely fast before I started taking Ortho Tri-Cyclen. I could eat truckloads and not gain a pound. Maybe one day, it will be there again.

Emotionally, well, I'm a mess right now. So what else is new?    Stoic without, turbulent within. As usual.

Anyway, that's all for now. Peace.

Hi Angelspun, glad you got your voice back. BTW, i used to use the Ortho- Tri patch and it really messed up my body. Also my metabolism. Goodluck to you. The side effects are bad and i will never use it again.

Quote:

Yup, I've replaced him with an elderly Jewish New Yorker.    But at least I can sing.

Curlygirl22: Yeah, I had to learn the hard way, too. But any hormonal drugs have the potential to mess you up big time. Because hormones control everything in the body, something that alters, regulates or changes them in any way can change the way your body works...and it changes everything!
    One of my aunts takes Prednisone for her Still's Disease and it messed her up in all the same ways, just on a much larger scale. Poor gal. 

longhairdreams: Nope, no thyroid disorder. Just a body that's struggling to reclaim its old self...and winning. 

Yesterday I did a Snowy's Deep Moisture Treatment and used up the last of my Suave Deep Conditioner. Oh man, it smelled funky, but at least it's gone now.

Today I did it again using Pantene's Intensive Restoration Treatment. Much better smell and much better results. And I made enough to use tomorrow also.

I washed today with Suave Daily Moisture shampoo, squeezed out the excess water with a towel, then left Snowy's Deep Moisture Treatment in for well over an hour (yesterday, I left it in over 2 hours). After rinsing, I chased it with Pantene Daily Moisture Renewal conditioner, then with Suave Daily Moisture conditioner. My hair was soft and strong afterwards.

Spritzed on Pantene Light Spray Conditioner (trying to avoid the crown so it wouldn't get greased) before detangling with my RS #45. I think I am going to have to retire that faithful old comb soon.    One of the teeth is breaking off and hair gets caught in the crack & pulled off! I try to avoid using that area of the comb when wet combing, but it still gets me sometimes.
    It's even worse with my boyfriend, who rips it through his hair repeatedly...from the top down. I swear, that boy isn't going to have his new long locks very long at this rate! I've tried teaching him how to take care of it, but do you think he listens? Does any guy? 

Anywho, I diluted my oil solution yesterday and used it today. It's better but still on the heavy side. I guess the aloe content really does make that big of a difference, given that it suspends the oil in the water longer.

Ah well. Hair dried nicely with the ends just slightly oily, so I put it up in a neat scrunchie bun.

The past 2 ½ days have been spent in a blind, mad rush of cleaning. Especially the bathroom, which hadn't been touched since before the dæmon ex-roommate left. It's quite a relief finally doing away with the evils he left behind.
    Speaking of evils, bleach has been a necessary one for removing his ghastly traces.    And that is never good for someone who wears nothing but black. I've already destroyed a towel & 2 pairs of pants. Maybe more. Oops. 

My boyfriend has actually helped out quite a bit, selling things at the swap meet or donating them, hanging mirrors and straightening up the living room. He says we will eventually get new linoleum flooring and repaint the walls.
    In time, it will be almost as if his idiot cousin was never here. I'm not even so upset about my ruined bookcase anymore, because I'll eventually get rid of it.

So I've been thoroughly exhausted and aching for the past few days, but my apartment is looking way better. Plus, I love the idea that I'm burning zillions of calories in the process. Reaping the double benefits. 

That's all for now. C-ya!

Been using Suave Daily Moisture shampoo, Pantene Daily Moisture Renewal conditioner (since I have tons of it under my bathroom sink still) and Suave Daily Moisture conditioner in that order.

Hair feels soft when wet but still frizzy & funky when dry. The Suave shampoo is most certainly not doing as much for my hair as Pantene's former DMR formula, but...what can ya do? *shrug*

For now, I'm just using what I have, getting rid of everything before buying anything new. What's the point? I already own everything out there that appeals to me and all of it sux.    Just for different reasons.

What confuses me is why my hair has been so frighteningly frizzy lately. I swear, ALL of the shorter pieces are sticking out like crazy & giving me that stylish "electroshock" look.
    The weather is clear & hot, so it's not a humidity thing. And it can't be a cone (or lack thereof) problem because it does that whether I use them or not. My hair just seems to want to do its own thing for the moment, so I just keep it up with the usual velour scrunchies.

For now I'm trying to just do what I have to do (wash, condition, treat, detangle, oil) and just forget about it and get on with my day. If none of the things that I have lying around my bathroom can help it, then it just can't be helped.
    Right now, I'll just give it what it needs & wait for better things.

Thanx, Sakina...I suppose that's possible.  ???

Today I washed with Suave Daily Moisture shampoo & left Pantene's Intensive Restoration Treatment in for an hour. After rinsing that out, followed with Pantene Daily Moisture Renewal conditioner, then Suave Daily Moisture conditioner.

Only one leave-in today: TRESemmé Detangle. I like the way it smells, but it's leaving my roots pretty greasy too.    Not as bad as Pantene...

Today I was able to finish off my Suave Daily Moisture conditioner and get rid of the bottle. Also got rid of one little bottle of Pantene DMR conditioner. Yay! 2 down! 

I plan to find alternative uses for what remains of my Pantene DMR shampoo. A household cleaner, a bodywash, etc. and only use it on my hair as a last resort, after everything else is gone.

Today I finally washed all of my combs & brushes in the dishwasher, as I've been meaning to do for about 2 weeks. It's nice to have them all clean & gunk-free.
    My boyfriend has taken to using my seamless combs & leaving lots of scalp particles stuck to them & hair wrapped around the teeth.    Shameful the way he "takes care" of his hair. I've tried teaching him the right way so many times & he just doesn't listen. *sigh* Like with most everything, really.

My faithful RS #45 finally lost its loose tooth today.    It broke off so cleanly that there don't seem to be any harsh edges or anything, but I'm not letting that side of the comb touch my hair anymore, just to be on the safe side.
    I tried detangling one side of my hair with my Conair seamless comb...and sadly, it doesn't work as well for the purpose as my RS #45. It's better for dry combing.

Didn't have time to oil today, as I was in something of a rush to get out of the apartment. Plus, my oil comb was still drying anyway.
    My boyfriend had one of his buddies over, and both were chowing down on burritos and trying to watch Jack eat the mice that my boyfriend had brought home for him. I reminded them that Jack doesn't like it when people watch him eat.
    Honestly, I don't get it. Snakes eat rodents every day. What's the big deal? I certainly don't feel the need to watch every single time it happens just to watch something die....ya know?    But some people do...

We won't give pause until the blood is flowing

I need to watch things die... from a good safe distance
Vicariously I live while the whole world dies
You all feel the same, so...

Why can't we just admit it?

-Tool, Vicarious

That song plays through my head every time my boyfriend and one of his buddies gather around the terrarium to try and watch Jack eat. *sigh* That poor snake...

Anyway, it's late & I've worked all day. Time to crash.

Angel-

I have all these little hairs that stick straight out too, only mine are thick, wiry, and grey.  If yours are your hair color, count your blessings!

Hope things are going better....Later.

The wedding yesterday was beautiful. The ceremony took place in my favourite part of town and the reception was held in the bride's parents' backyard. Everything was quite elegant, but with a kind of contemporary feel. The bride arranged every detail herself from bussing guests to and from the ceremony to the catering to the centerpieces on the tables at the reception. It must have been a pretty easy (yet still stressful) feat for her, being that she is a hotel concierge and arranges parties for a living. Beautiful job on her part.
 
I ended up just putting together a simple skirt, sleeveless top and boots. Minimal makeup and jewelry, and twisted my hair up almost to the top of my head, securing with 2 bobby pins and letting the ends do whatever they wanted. Not my favourite style, but it worked.
   90% of my "makeup" was actually high-powered sunblock, and I ended up being the only person at the end of the night who hadn't gotten sunburned. Ironic, of course, because I was the palest person there.

It was good to see so many people that I'd been close to while growing up, whom I hadn't seen in years. The bride's father even remarked that I looked younger now than when he last saw me, and asked if I'd taken some sort of anti-aging potion.    I get that a lot, actually, given that I admittedly don't appear a day over 19. Aquaintances often mistake me for being younger than my 22-year-old sister, which makes both of us laugh.

Years of estrangement between the bride and I had definitely taken their toll, and we didn't find much to talk about. I did spend more time hanging out and talking with her family. Her older sister gushed how she hadn't seen me in years...she is usually so stoic and mature that her moments of pure sentiment really catch me off guard. Like I never know how much she likes me until then...I wonder if others get the same impression of me.

Anyway, all in all a good night (except for my wisdom tooth which hurt so badly, I had to OD on painkillers  ). My parents and I sayed fairly late, but not as late as others because we all had to work the next day.
   When we arrived back at my parents' place, my father took care of my ailing car and told me to visit more often. I agreed to do so, aware that distance tends to make us miss one another.

It was about 11:00 pm when I finally returned home, worn and tired after a long day exposed to the elements. My boyfriend came home just as I was going to bed...said he'd been out with a friend. *eyeroll* I was tired and figured that I could just take care of everything the next morning, so I ended up falling asleep with my makeup on et al. Fortunately, I did remember to take the pins out of my hair.  

Today was my day to recover. I did a simple wash and condition with Suave Daily Moisture shampoo and Pantene DMR conditioner. Spritzed TRESemmé Detangle leave-in conditioner on the length of my hair before wet combing from the ears down. The crown of my head doesn't really need to be touched.

I exfoliated and masqued my face today to compensate for not washing it last night and to completely eliminate any leftover traces of sunblock or makeup. Today I'm just going to let my skin breathe.

While my masque was on, I oiled the ends of my hair, which is now almost dry. After brushing my teeth, I suppose I'll head out and pick up something to eat before going in to work.

Once again, I have no idea where my wayward beau has gone. Probably playing disc golf again, rather than doing what needs to be done. *sigh* But...whatever. I'm just going to worry about myself for now.

Yesterday, I wrote all of my new contact info on a piece of paper and slipped it into the bride's wedding card box. I really need to have personal calling cards made up like they used in the Victorian era. They're classy and convenient...and really help in situations like yesterday's. I wish I could have given one out to everyone there. I should look into that...

Another thought: I must give my Scissor Lady a call to schedule my trim for July.

Until next time.