Trisha: lol    *splashes some water on you*

La Diosa: Thanx! Though I can't say that I'm as thrilled with the new avatar as I am with the showerhead.    The latter of which, I've learned, does indeed have a swivel ball thingy in it. So all's well there.

Yesterday: Clarifying day. Again with Pantene purity shampoo (twice), a vinegar rinse, Pantene Daily Moisture Renewal conditioner and lots of cool water. I usually don't detangle my hair while it's wet on clarifying days, but yesterday I forgot and started spritzing the length with Pantene Light Spray Conditioner. Then I realized my mistake and wrung my hair out with a towel.
    My hair looked and felt parched and frizzy after it dried, but at least it dried straight. When I came home from work, I gathered a comb, a brush, a hand mirror and my fabric tape measure and headed into the bathroom to measure. I'm now at a disappointing 24¾." 

Last night, I went out all by myself for some dinner and shopping and I ended up buying 1.) movie tickets, 2.) a hair band made of small satin rope and tied in Celtic knots, and 3.) a new 100% BBB for $10!
    The bristles on the new BBB are much softer than my old one...but then, I suspect that my old one had nylon bristles mixed in. I rarely use BBB's or any other type of brush for that matter, but I figure that if the urge to use one ever strikes, I should have good ones in my possession.
    I'm not as impressed with the hair band. I'd had my eye on it for awhile, but it's too big and the knots are in the wrong place. 
   The movie that I saw last night was called Fracture. Anthony Hopkins is my favourite actor and he plays one of the main characters in it. But it was only ok, IMO. The other main character reminded me of a young stage actor that I once knew (and had been emotionally involved with), and that really weirded me out. Weirder still is that the guy actually e-mailed me today out of the blue after a long silence. But that's a road I no longer travel.

Last night, I did a heavy EVOO, but kept waking up every hour or so because of the infernal sleep cap. I don't sleep well to begin with, but I guess putting something on my head only makes matters worse.

Today: The new showerhead rinses out overnight EVOO treatments much more effectively than its predecessor. I did the usual WCC with Pantene Ice Shine shampoo, Ice Shine conditioner, then Daily Moisture Renewal conditioner.
    Speaking of Pantene S&C, while I was out yesterday, I noticed that their bottles have changed. The caps are now a lovely midnight blue with a silver band and the logo is different. Very nice.    I'd known that the Pantene bottles in UK looked like that in the UK, so I'd wondered if the US would follow suit. I wonder if all of the US formulas will change to become like the UK's new lineup as well.
    Anywho, detangled today with Pantene's Light Spray Conditioner, my oil solution and my broken RS #45. Didn't oil the ends separately. But it's dry and braided now. And I have a big trim scheduled for Sunday.

Things are awesome on the romance front, and today is my 2 year anniversary with the company that I work for. 

So yesterday was the big trim. I didn't bother washing my hair yesterday, as it was just going to end up covered in oil anyway. I rinsed it a lot in the shower, squeezed the water out with a microfiber towel and spritzed away, using Pantene Light Spray Conditioner and a pretty heavy oil solution.
    On trim days, I always oil my hair heavily because my scissor lady likes to pull a fine toothed comb through my hair and rip out whatever tangles occur.    The oil lets her comb slip right through without any tangles.
    My measurement before the trim was 24¾." After, it was about 23¼." Not too terrible, but now I'm only ¼" ahead of where I was at the beginning of this year. Ah well. My hair needed it. And instead of the usual $5 for my trim, I left scissor lady $10. I might not be back.

Upon returning home, I rinsed my hair again, trying to get at least some of the oil out. I started the temperature out cool, then gradually made it colder and colder. The kind of cold that my ex bf used to call me insane for liking. 
    After wringing the water out with a towel once more and letting my hair air dry, I found that it was still heavily saturated with oil. So after some struggling, I finally twisted it into a double bun updo and left it. It looked pretty terrible, but whatever. 

Yesterday was my mother's birthday, and we went to Applebee's for dinner. Not that spectacular and I had to go with greasy hair.    My father also brought home an ice cream cake.

Sleeping was troublesome with all of that oil in my hair. I couldn't wait to get up this morning and wash it all out. Of course, I had to wait until everyone had left the house. I wanted to wash my hair twice, but that takes a bit longer in the shower. And taking longer makes people scream at me and shut off the water mane. Ahh, my loving family... 

In any case, I did get to do a WWCC today. Detangled with Pantene Light Spray Conditioner and my broken RS #45. No oil! And after it air dried, wouldn't you know it? It still feels a little bit greasy! So I'm totally not feeling the oil thing anymore, and won't be using any (at least as little as possible) for awhile. To be honest, I haven't really noticed a critical difference in my hair since I've been using it. So maybe my hair just doesn't need it. 

When I got into work this afternoon, I asked my mother if she noticed anything different. She looked at me blankly. So I brought my hair up over the front of my shoulders and pointed to it. She asked what was different about it, and if I'd gotten it cut. She said that the ends looked like they'd been trimmed, but that my hair didn't look any shorter. She didn't believe that I'd lost any more than ½." 

So all in all, I guess it really isn't that bad. 

Hair: Today was my first day doing a CWC this year. First time in a long time. I had to break a New Year's hair resolution to do it, but I haven't been keeping up with the other ones either. Oh well. But I haven't gone completely off the deep end. I'm still not allowing Suave shampoo to touch my hair at all. Just the cheap conditioners.
    Anyway, on Friday, I bought a bottle of Suave toasted vanilla & sugar conditioner (which smells great! I'm on a total sweet-scented kick these days) to use as a light conditioner for CWC's. It seemed to work well enough. My hair didn't seem to suffer. And I was reminded that you can use less shampoo than usual when doing CWC's. I used my Ice Shine S&C and didn't have to worry about conditioning a 2nd time...I think it might have even saved me some time in the shower. 

However, I didn't really have time to see the full effect because my hair was swept into a double bun updo as soon as possible. The buns turned out better than usual...in perfect little cinnamon roll shapes. Then I clipped a black rose barrette with long black ribbons streaming from it on either side of the buns. And I did it all while viewing my head from the back with hand mirrors, rather than looking at it from the front. It actually turned out much better than usual. Everything just seemed to lay right (or at least good enough) and the overall effect was a lovely, gothic, Victorian-inspired updo.    I even got a compliment on it from my sister.

Life, or lack thereof: Today, I reminded myself of a very important lesson: sunblock sucks!    For whatever reason, I felt like putting myself together today and went into full summer goth mode...hair, clothes, makeup, jewelry, and lots of sunblock. Everywhere that flesh was exposed. But it still felt clammy and gross on my skin, it masked the sweet fragrance of my cotton candy body mist and made applying makeup difficult. But the big tip-off was when I'd moved the bracelets on my wrist and noticed a few black spots. Then I inspected my bracelets and found that the sunblock was literally eating the finish off of them!    It had also eaten the luster off of my nail polish...thank goodness I'm due for a new manicure anyway.
    But in any case, one more reminder that, pale as I am and easily as I burn, sunblock just isn't the right choice for me. Not unless it's absolutely mandatory and there is no other alternative. For now, I suppose I will just continue to stay indoors during daylight hours and venture out at night like the nocturnal beast I am.    Perhaps I'll get a custom made parasol...or two!

Tonight is a walking night. I'll probably take the rose barrettes out of my hair, but I might try to leave the buns in. My walking clothes aren't clean. My parents have been home all day, so I really haven't had time to wash them. I can oly do so when they're gone. *sigh* Don't ask.

Love: All's well there, at least. *He* has found a new fire and sense of urgency about visiting me in SoCal. Usually, he would shy away from big challenges...but he isn't letting that happen this time. He's going to overcome everything that stands in his way, taking control of the situation instead of letting the situation control him. I haven't seen this sort of determination in him before...but as I've said, that child amazes me every day. He's grown, evolved and matured so much just in the few years that I've known him. It's great not only to see him realize himself and to help and guide him in any way that I can along the way, but also because of what it spells for us as a couple and for our future. I've said it many a time, but I do have a very good feeling about this...
 
*crossing all fingers and toes*

Lisabelle: Oh the veils sound lovely! Too bad they offer zero actual sun protection.    My style is decidedly more vintage-influenced, so I'm going to give the parasols a try. If that doesn't work, I'm going completely nocturnal. SoCal summers always make me want to. And lol @ the little bat graphic. How cute! 

Hair: Decided to wash the entire length today - my hair just felt like it needed it. Especially after the sunblock day. Blegh!    Conditioned twice afterwards with Daily Moisture Renewal conditioner, since that was the one that I had the most of.
    Got distracted as I was getting dressed, dancing to Baby Got Back, and rather neglected my hair. It was so dry by the time I went to detangle it that it almost wasn't worth it. But I sprayed and sprayed and fought the tangles anyway. I used my oil solution on the length, so my hair was rather oily after it dried completely. Tomorrow is clarifying day, schedule permitting, so it should be ok.

Work: Crazy. 

Health: Weight still fluctuating a bit, but I am slowly getting lighter. What I really need to do is go on another junk food strike...or five. Nothing would motivate me more, of course, than to have a set date when my guy was going to be here. 15 lbs. in 2 weeks? Done! I'd take whatever measures necessary.
    Took my measurements last night and was horrified. I miss my little rock & roll figure...and I'm beginning to realize that I may never have it again. *sigh* Keep the faith, Angel.

Life: Meh. 

Love: Still the same...strong, committed, amazing...and terribly far away.    No date set for *his* impending visit.

Today's routine was a CWCC with Suave toasted vanilla & sugar conditioner, Pantene Ice Shine shampoo, Ice Shine conditioner and Daily Moisture Renewal conditioner.
    Detangled with Pantene Light Spray Conditioner and my broken RS #45. Whoa. My hair was very straight, soft and perfectly aligned. Each strand worked in harmony with the other. For whatever reason, my hair just seems to behave better when conditioned to the max. As if it has weight and substance, I suppose.
    It did feel a bit strange, having not washed the length, but that might be something that I just have to get used to.

Of course, I still wash all of my hair on days when I clarify or deep condition. But I figured that I would save my ends the trauma of being washed every single day and see if that affects the texture/colour/overall health of my hair. Hopefully, I will notice a difference by the end of the year. I'm also hoping to reach at least 26" by then...so we'll see. 

Hair: Well, the past 3 days have been CWC's, and I must say that I am liking the results. The length is noticeably softer and more agreeable with just conditioner and water passing over it. Who knew that all of that washing would be unnecessary? Oh hush...I'm still relatively new at this and stubborn in my old habits.    I still think it's rather dirty not to wash every last inch every single day, given everything that hair comes into contact with on a daily basis. In general, I'm a very clean person, so the idea of not washing all of my hair each day is...taking some getting used to.    But this CWC thing seems to be working alright, at least for now. I like how soft it feels in the shower now too. Ahhhh....
   Today I actually oiled the ends while my hair was still wet, and they dried without being too terribly greasy. I have been considering using a different type of oil when all of my baby oil (with aloe & vitamin E) is gone. The bottle is nearly empty now, and I'm wondering what other sort of oil I should use. EVOO has proven far too heavy for daily use and has been all but confined to heavy overnight oilings. Perhaps a light olive oil? Something that I could pick up at a grocery or chain store would be ideal since I shop there anyway. I'm not taking a separate trip to a bloody health/specialty/organic food store and paying out the nose for jojoba. That just isn't my scene.
   So what else? I've more or less decided that an accurate description of my hair colour is "peanut butter and honey." lol Demure light brown with just enough gold and red to keep it from being "mousy." And that's just fine with me...although I pray that if heaven accepts me when I leave this world, the good Lord will finally give me the long raven waves that I'd pined for in life. With a silver halo and a set of black wings to match, eh?  

Life: Dentist appointment on Thursday. I'm looking forward to it but am somewhat afraid of what they'll say.
   The weekend was pretty lame. My face exploded with blemishes and I didn't wish to be seen in public. I spent all of yesterday cleaning...to the point of total exhaustion, and nearly starved myself into a hypoglycemic attack.    I was supposed to walk last night but just didn't have the energy.
   I finally did get the mirrored closet doors in my room clean though. They hadn't been touched in a good 3 years at least...and I didn't even want to think about what my ex had gotten on them while he'd lived there.    And just as I'd convinced myself that my room was finally purged of his presence, my father walked into the hallway and announced that my ex was there! He'd just shown up at my house at random! Talk about coincidence...
   But it actually turned out to be somewhat convenient, as I got to give back his old camera that my father had found in one of our sheds and given to me. I was either going to sell it or ship it back (though I didn't have the address of his parents' house, where he'd been staying). So his visit saved me the hassle.
   As many of you may recall, he nearly killed himself in a motorcycle accident last year. No one was really sure what would become of him, but he has now made a near complete recovery. He said that he still has some vision and memory problems (granted, his memory was crap before the accident), but otherwise he seems fine. He can drive and get around normally, and is actually moving back to San Diego and looking for work. Today, he's going back to his former employer to visit and see if they might possibly rehire him.
   All of this probably sounds like great news. My mother was quite sentimental yesterday, gushing about how he was a "walking miracle" and "second family," etc. etc. But I really can't get behind that. I'll admit that he's very lucky to have survived and recovered. I won't say that he doesn't deserve that kind of luck because Someone obviously thinks that he does. All things happen for a reason, I guess. But that doesn't take away from the fact that he brought all of his misfortune on himself. I bear him no ill-will, of course...I just think that it's important to acknowledge the choices he has made and the consequences that resulted.

Love: Still going. Probably always will. Regardless of whatever obstacles come our way, we manage to stick together. *He* is my partner and best friend, and somehow, what we have is stronger than anything else. In the bible, Corinthians 13:7 says that love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things. I need look no farther than my own faith and my own heart to know that we have love as it's meant to be.
   Trust is slowly coming back around, although it never completely disappeared. It gets strained and weakened at times, but the trick is having it strong enough that it bends rather than breaks. I want it back completely, like it was before, but I also understand that I cannot rush it. It will come back as it's meant to with time, patience and much nurturing. Oh yes, and faith. I pray that my feelings will all return 100%, as they were in the beginning, by the time *he* finally makes it out for a visit. Still no date set...

Quote:

Yes I do. 

Just a few quick notes.
    Today was clarifying day. The usual routine of Pantene Purity shampoo, vinegar rinse, 2nd Purity shampoo wash, then a combination of Pantene Ice Shine and Daily Moisture conditioners. I put the last of each in the same bottle to finish them off.
    No leave-in's or wet detangling. Just air dried.

A few effects I have noticed since I've begun CWC-ing regularly are 1.) softer hair!! 2.) the disappearance of the chemical rash on the back of my neck. It has completely healed! 

OMG, never buy Wal*Mart's own brand of microwave popcorn!    I just tried a bag in the microwave in my office and rather than popping normally, the kernels fused together in black charcoal chunks, terribly burned and smoking when I took the bag out.   Now the stench of burnt popcorn hangs thickly throughout the entire building! I placed the bag outside and opened the door so the place can air out, but omg... 

Maybe I'll go hang out at the cove for awhile after work so my hair doesn't smell like burnt popcorn all night. 

Bye for now.