Phew. If I survive until Wednesday evening, things should get a bit easier. Until that- I'm just trying to hang on and to accomplish most of the things I should have accomplished yesterday. On top of everything else, both I and T have felt a bit flu-ish. It's been cold and rainy, so no wonder.

Hair: Getting lots of benign neglect since I don't really have much time or energy to think about it or care about it. Simplest possible wash with shampoo bar+ ACV rinse, a little jojoba oil, and Ficcare buns. Not very imaginative, but I'm just glad I can get away with a routine as minimal as this. A short hair that would require blowdrying and 15 minutes or more styling every day would probably drive me crazy right now.

I just came back from a Nordic walk where I got 20 minutes rain shower  . I had proceeded halfway when it started, so I chose to go on, hoping that it would be just a little shower. Well, it wasn't, and I came home dripping wet. But I got my exercise done!

Hair: Shedding continues. Interestingly, I noticed lots of new growth all over my head (baby hairs sticking straight up to every direction), so maybe the replacing stage theory is right. I hope so...
        Ficcare buns are still my favorite hairstyle of the moment- I love how secure they are. My hair feels like it's glued in place and needs absolutely no readjusting during the day. This morning, Birdie posted the list of people whose Ficcares she has already shipped- and my name was on the list! So, I hope my Ficcares will arrive next week. I'm so excited! I'm also expecting new hairsticks to arrive late this week or during next week...I'll be one spoiled lady!

Health: I've been eating a bit better this week, but it's struggling. Obviously, I need to start doing even more if and since I'm not done with my dieting.
    I stumbled upon some new information on dyscalculia. Also called number blindness, it's a genetic disorder related to dyslexia. Supposedly, it's not terribly rare (about 3-6% of population has it), but it's been researched very little. I've known that I've got it for years now, but otherwise, there hasn't been much information or help available. I have had to cope with it by myself, with the little information I've been able to scrape here and there. Had I known all the stuff I have just learned, my highschool years would have been a LOT easier!
    Nowadays, my dyscalculia is a lot less trouble than it was when I was young: I need only basic math in my life, and if there is something more complicated I've got kind people around me to help me out. Studying philosophy has also helped, especially in helping me to realize that I am capable of understanding complex reasoning and abstract relations -as long as they are presented to me in a form that my brain can process.

Just like in dyslexia, there are different degrees in dyscalculia. I guess I am a medium case: I can do simple calculations with reasonably small numbers (though I make more "dumb" mistakes than an average person), but highschool level math is for the most part beyond my abilities. However, university level basic formal logic is ok, because in it symbols and sentences or words are interchangeable: it's possible to do the operation using words and then "translate" it to symbol language. Takes a bit more time than for those who can use symbols only- but it can be done!
     I also have difficulty in telling right from left and reading maps- very annoying when T is driving and I'm supposed to instruct him, bad face/name memory and difficulties in remembering events in correct order. On the other hand, my linguistic skills are exceptionally good, which is common with people with dyscalculia. I seldom think that there is something "wrong" with me- after all, I don't know how else things could be. Sometimes I get frustrated- and sometimes people who don't know me, get frustrated with me. But, I get all the time better in coping with difficulties. I'm also happy that slowly more information is coming available.

Hair: Still shedding- though I got a little comfort from learning that quite a few LHC'ers are also going through exceptional shedding.
       Yesterday I had some time to check my favorite department store's hairtoy selections, and once again, they had treats for me. I saw these very interesting clips that resemble a little claw clips, but are shorter and wider, with horizontal, wide teeth. I don't know what they are really called. You first make a bun and then put this clip around it- it's like a bun cage that adapts to the size of the bun. They were available in two sizes, of which the larger is suitable for my buns and even has a little room for growth. Very cool! I bought two to start with, and tested them right away. After almost a day's testing, I am very impressed. These clips hold the bun very securely- like Ficcares. They are very comfortable, and I like how they look. The price is good too. Perfect hairtoys for my busy/lazy season! I'll try to get T to take a picture soon...
       Today is June 1st-  a new month in my hairtoy budget, that is. I had already decided that I order certain hairstick pairs from Maiden's Treasures. Kathy has done some beautiful work that I just had to have- telling myself that in practice I really prefer LL hairsticks didn't help a bit.
      Then I came to LL boutique and discovered some beautiful SpiralStix that were calling my name. Using the "excuse" that Spirals are my big favorite and retiring, I just had to place an order.
      
After all this, I feel like I'm swimming in hairtoys. Which, of course, is a wonderful feeling. Shedding like there's no tomorrow or not, at least my hair is long enough to play with so many pretty toys. My ends look quite thin, but I'm going to request T to do only a small trim in the end of the month. Why cut the hair that I enjoy of so much (especially when thin ends aren't even visible in updo)...?
     

Hope you feel better soon!   

I did feel better on Saturday morning, and was able to attend the graduation party. The visit took all the day, and during it I hadn't any chances to adjust my hairstyle. So I was glad that I had chosen to wear a Ficcare bun (with Primavera Gold clip). It was comfortable and secure all day, and when we came home it was just as neat as it had been in the morning.
    After busy week, we decided to keep Sunday as resting day. We warmed the sauna in the evening and I tried a new deep treatment, Coconut Milk Soak (recipe below). It's a really simple and nice treatment that made my hair wonderfully soft and shiny. As usually, I didn't manage to wash all the oily stuff away, so I had to wash my hair again this morning. But that happens with every oily treatment.

Coconut Milk Soak

Take canned coconut milk and apply generously to dry hair, until your hair is thoroughly wetted with it. Add a shower cap and apply heat whichever way you like best (blowdryer, hot towels, sauna etc.). Wash your hair as normally.
  Caution: because coconut milk is liquid, this treatment is very runny and prone to cause some mess even if you are careful.

Today: Shedding is continuing.  I will give Moonchaser's Sweet Success Oil one month (which should be plenty since most people have reported immediate improvement), and if it won't help, after that I'm off to see a doctor. I hope it doesn't come to that- but now that I've shed so much for weeks, I've accepted that it's possible.
          Now that I am shedding more than normally, I have also done some thinking on my routine. Though my hair routine is good and gentle, there are still a couple of things I could improve...
      1) Silk pillowcases. I thought I'd get away from buying these by wearing the silk sleep cap I ordered from Tenderheaded. But I haven't worn it much, mainly because the snap clips I had to use to secure it, started to irritate my scalp. Right now I'm sleeping on plain cotton pillowcases, my hair usually in a segmented pony with satin scrunchies. This is my most obvious "hair sin".
       2) Start rinsing my hair with water after exercise. I'm almost 100% sure that not rinsing after exercise isn't damaging to my hair. My scalp is doing just fine, there is no gunk etc. But the general opinion seems to be, that not rinsing hair after sweating is bad for hair, so I keep thinking that maybe I should start rinsing...
   
I don't know how much about these concerns are valid and how much is just my obsessing and being overly worried. My hair is in excellent shape- it just doesn't want to stay attached to my head. That would suggest that I'm not currently doing anything terribly wrong...yet I keep thinking...

On a more positive note, I'm anxiously waiting for all my new hairtoys to arrive ( 2 shipments from LL, three pairs from MT and four new Ficcares). Being able to make beautiful buns and other hairstyles makes me feel happier about my hair, even through this shedding stage. I have worn my new bun clips (I think they are called "instant bun clips" or something like that), and am still very pleased with them. They are so secure and nice, and feel more comfortable than normal claw clips. I'll try to get T to take a picture of such clip in action.

Health: I've come to the conclusion that I just can't get away and expect any results from being 80% on Plan. It just doesn't work. So, as of today, I'm back 100%: eat only three times a day (except waters and fruits if I must), write diet journal, drink all the water etc. I am motivated to do all this, and now I must just do it if I want to get any results except being in better shape in general. It's a bit disappointing that losing weight requires so much, and that so small deviations from Plan result in failure, but that's how it is and I'm now trying to deal with it.

Hi Galadriel! I can't remember what washing method you use, but I've found that the best way to get rid of the oil from coconut milk (for me, at least) is to first wet the hair and then work cheap conditioner into the areas that were soaked in the coconut milk. I use the CWC method, so I leave the conditioner in while I shampoo my scalp and then rinse off the conditioner and shampoo. I've used this method four times before and the only time I noticed an oily residue was when I missed a spot with the conditioner.

Not sure if this will help you, but I just wanted to share what worked for me.

ooo - how exciting - a house!!  It's been over 20 years since we bought our house, but I remember how excited we were.  Hope everything works out for you.

So YOU are the one that got the Negative Spirals.    I had my eye on them, but then, poof! they were taken.  At least I know they went to an excellent home where they will be appreciated. 

You're welcome! I hope it works. I haven't read the coconut milk soak thread on LHC in a while, but it seemed like a bunch of people had success with that method.

The house sounds great! I hope you get it!!