I can't stop touching my hair

At least, that is what I "used" to say....

This post is about the "transition" waxy period and my current saga of going without commercial sulfate shampoo to more natural methods and shampoo bar cleansing for my hair.  So this not an official "no-poo" post, but close.  At the very least I am dealing with the same issues as those in transition for completely no-poo hair care.

I have always been a fanatic about hair care.  I take pride in how my hair looks for the day and it has always been a top rated item in my list of "to-do's" for personal hygiene. This was true even before I was 15 and started working in a hair salon as a shampoo-girl.  But those few years definitely enhanced my hair faring obsession.

Now at the tender age of having two teenage children and 3 stepchildren, I am still going at it, trying to better my care of hair.

So with my current fetish with cleansing sans "bad chemicals," I started to try all-natural hair cleansers and moved on to the all-natural, made by hand, shampoo bars.  This is where the waxy gunk started to accumulate in massive proportions on the shafts of my "down-to-my-waist" length of hair.  There were days I was going to work and felt like I hadn't washed my hair in weeks. Even though I just washed and dried it.

I tried the diy-vinegar rinses, distilled water rinse, and even purchased a shower head filter (because I knew we must have hard water).  But I was still being left with the "waxies."

Those who have conquered their transition phase say this period of the waxies will pass over time. And yet, I have an important conference out of town next week where I will be working and I do not want this new "heavy waxed state" to be my hair's tale to tell. So I have decided to start again AFTER that event is behind me.

Admittedly I have already used some sulfate induced clarifying shampoo to get me past the waxies during this phase, so when I start again, I hope to be able to steer away from that temptation and take the time to weather the storm of the waxies and just wait it out.

I have continued to do a lot of research of trial and errors that people have done to get through this transition phase, whether they were using the shampoo bars that were all natural or going completely 'poo-free,' we all seem to be dealing with the same waxy buildup and the same description of our hair-mess.

So when I found this link:  http://no-poo.livejournal.com/586755.html, I was happy; and yes I do plan to try eggs next because she found them successful as a treatment in her attempts of many recipes. And here's another link: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/archive/index.php/t-73056.html   which is from a thread of responses about the same problem, and their find? Club soda! So I want to try that too!! (And here's a link for how to use the club soda on your hair.)

But if I have to carry sulfate shampoo with me to my conference next week, no judging, eh?

And when I get back and can restrict my hair care to the non-chemical methods, I will keep you posted of my journey to more natural tresses.

MINI diy MOM

Formerly SOLO dot MOM

Watermelon drinks for Memorial Day!

I wanted to find a recipe for a cool watermelon drink, and found this (but i subtracted the alcohol reference, since i don't need that added).:

Can't wait to try this weekend...

Watermelon Coolers with NO alcohol

PREP TIME 5 Minute/s

Ingredients

• 4 cups cubed, seedless watermelon, chilled
• 1 cup ice cubes
• 1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lime juice
• 1/4 cup coconut milk

Instructions

1. Blend all ingredients together until smooth.
2. Rim glasses with granulated sugar and serve up watermelon lime coolers!
3. Garnish with a lime wedge or small watermelon slice.
4. Enjoy!

This above is a modified version of a recipe found from Style Me Pretty Living.  

Or you can make it with lemonade and 2 tbsp honey and use these instructions:

• Freeze the watermelon in a ziploc bag until just frozen, about one hour.  Add the frozen watermelon to a blender, along with your lemonade and honey.  Process until blended, and pour into frosted jars or glasses.

Decisions, decisions!

This and more can be found on the links from my Pinterest Board:  SUMMER.  Check it out!

MINI diy MOM 

formerly

SOLO dot MOM!

Happy Holiday Weekend!!

Save Money: Wash clothes with no detergent?

It’s not January (budget crunch month) but when Mr. M shared this video clip with me from Money Talks, I  was intrigued and had to share it with my readers.  According to tests referenced by www.MoneytalksNews.com you can actually get mildly soiled clothes clean by simply agitating them in a modern washing machine.  And if you do need soap – they have a recipe/formula for making your own that literally costs 2 pennies a load! Yeah, that’s right two cents!

Another tip for saving money with laundry they don’t mention (that I personally put into practice) is don’t wash every piece of clothing after just one wear.  Now this only works if you bathe daily. (I know you do, right?)  But think about it – if the jeans you just wore are not soiled – wear them two or three times before throwing them in the laundry.  Other dress slacks and tops can be done the same way if they don’t have dirt on them and no odor. 

So try one or two of these tips and start saving money – this week on laundry.

Here’s a link to go watch the video: Just click here.

I know at the very least I am going to start cutting back on the amount of detergent I measure out per load and start saving today.

Find yourself… keeping it real.

Technorati Tags: laundry,saving money,finances,budgets,videos,cutting costs,money talks news

Photo Credit: photoXpress.com \ Charles Jacques

Saturday Night Blog

I'll share more about Mr. M very soon, I promise.  But first this is what I did last Saturday night. Now it may sound like an old timey recipe… but don’t knock it till you try it. I promise it is exceptional. Oh, what is it? Bread Pudding: Now I know it doesn’t look like pudding and it’s more like a moist cake consistency; but it is so tasty! My mom’s recipe is what I still use today… improvising sometimes by adding in choc chips, pecans or even bananas to kick it up a notch. But Saturday I made it just like it is… plain bread pudding with cinnamon and nutmeg. MMMMMMhMMMM good.

Oh in case someone out there MIGHT want the recipe, here ya go:

BREAD PUDDING

2 cups milk

2 cups bread crumbs

1 ½ cups of sugar

3 eggs

½ cup butter (melted)

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

Mix up your liquids and the spices first then add in the bread crumbs. Continue mixing everything and then pour into your 9 X 12 baking dish. Heat at 350˚ for 45 minutes (don’t forget to preheat). It’s done if a toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool or eat warm with ice cream.

Now you know I am not much of a cook, but it’s not that I can’t do it; I just have to get inspired. You know like for a big family get-together or such. But when I wanted to taste this treat… I didn’t mind pulling out the ingredients and getting to it. Plus it takes about 15 minutes to get everything mixed together and another 45 for baking. You can’t beat that.

I like to put it in a bowl and add a little milk while it is warm. But I can eat it cold, hot, lukewarm, on a summer day or a winter day, by myself or with family, watching the super bowl or watching a movie, standing on my head or laying on the couch, talking on the phone with a new friend (while they are talking, of course) or while working on my blog. Yeah I like it that much.

What do you do on a Saturday night at home?

Find yourself… keeping it real.

Technorati Tags: bread pudding,dessert,baking,Saturday,recipes,cinnamon,nut meg

Photo credit - my bread pudding