Curly Girl Handbook

  I had mentioned yesterday that I would be making a post about how my hair saw the light a few weeks ago.

  It all started on a sunny morning when my Mother handed the fateful Curly Girl Handbook to me. I somehow instantly felt that my life would be changed. I took the book and curled (sorry) up on the couch ready to read the book. And read it I did, every single last page.

  I felt as if I had just opened my eyes to caring for my curly hair. That night was the first time I gave my hair what it deserved. I threw out all of my shampoos and started anew following every direction the book gave me, from identifying what hair type I have, to how to wash that type, and how to style that type.

  I was smart enough to take before and after pictures so that you could see the amazing results too.

  This is a picture of my hair BEFORE I started the hair care program, on one of my better hair days.

  And this is a picture of my hair AFTER I followed the hair care program.

  Just in-case you would like to find out more about this book, here is the link.

Disclaimer. No one asked me to review this book, I just felt I needed to spread this wonderful thing to the world because I know there are girls out there who are not happy with their curly hair, and because I know just exactly how it feels to hate your hair. I wanted to let everyone know that there is a way that you can heal your hair and learn to love it, just like I did.

Simple Woman's Daybook

For today.....  July 25, 2016

Looking out my window.....  I see one of our tennis rackets leaning against the porch railing waiting for someone to play with it.

I am thinking.....  That music and blogging go very well with each other.

I am thankful.....  For fans that keep me from dying in this heat.

One of my favorite things.....  My purple pair of earbuds that I am using right now.

I am wearing.....  A white summer dress sprinkled with blue and purple flower print. A royal blue butterfly top, and a pale blue flower crown that my sister made.

I am creating.....  A book filled with my favorite eccentric words.

I am reading......  Since I am not the fastest reader, and I really don't sit down to read that often I am still reading " The Fellowship of the Ring."

I am hoping.....  That it won't be quite this hot (96) tomorrow when some of my friends are coming over.

I am learning.....  How to work with crochet thread, it really is impossibly horrendous.

In the kitchen......  I'm wanting to make Cowboy cookies, but I don't like the thought of heating the house up more.

Picture thought.....  Though I don't  have the pictures for it right now, tomorrow morning I will be showing you my hair transformation from horrendously frizzy curls, to the much prettier defined curls I have after applying things I learned from a guidebook I got a few weeks ago.

Idea Generators

  I have had my blog for a little more than one and a half years now and throughout that amount of time I  have had an unbelievable amount of writer's block. That's why when I discovered a blogging idea generator I was excited and pretty sure my blogging career would be changed for the better.

  I excitedly opened the generator and followed its direction of writing a topic into an empty space and hit enter to reveal a blogging idea. I was both a bit frustrated and a little amused at the same time. The blogging ideas that they suggested were hysterical. Take these for example: My topic was back to school, their ideas were; 11 of the most inspiring back to school bloggers, 21 events about back to school you should definitely attend, where back to school companies fail, and what Spock would say about back to school.

  I was thoroughly amused and their suggestions are even funnier when you give them a strange topic such as toenails, 19 toenail books you have to read, what Abraham Lincoln would say about toe nails, 29 toe nail influencers you should follow. And if all that isn't weird enough their lists go on and on, and on, and on.

  I actually found that I would quite like to read some of those blog posts that the generator suggests as in what exactly would Abraham Lincoln have to say about toenails? It truly is a riveting idea.

  Just in case you would like to check out the generator yourself I am including the link. Blog Post Idea Generator

Sticky Notes

Wednesday Hodgepodge

 1. Do you find yourself influencing your world, or is it more the other way around? 

   I don't think I become influenced by the world that easily so I would say I'm the one influencing the world, one day at a time. Not through monumental things, but through the little things, a smile here, a word there.
 

2. July 14th is National Tape Measure Day...the device was patented on this date in 1868. When did you last use a tape measure? Do you always know where to find one in your house? Tell us one way in which you feel blessed 'beyond measure'.

   Though this may sound a little strange, I last used a tape measure to measure the spring factor of my curls, it was because I am following "The Curly Girl's Handbook" and I had to determine what hair type I have.

  I feel blessed 'beyond measure' because of my family, and friends, and my life in general.

3.The Plaza Hotel (Eloise), The Land of Oz (The Wizard of Oz), Narnia (The Chronicles of Narnia), The Hundred Acre Wood (Winnie the Pooh), Wonderland (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland), or Never Never Land (Peter Pan)...which storybook land (on this list!) would you most like to visit and why? 

   I positively love The Plaza Hotel from Eloise, it just happens that "Eloise at Christmas-time" is one of my favorite movies.

4. Where and when do you get your best ideas?

   I always get my best ideas when I'm laying in bed at night thinking.

5.  So what have you been watching on TV this summer? Anything good?

    I am enjoying watching the Christmas in July tradition that Hallmark has.

6. 'Don't swim for an hour after you eat', 'Dog days of summer', 'Knee high by the Fourth of July'...choose a summer saying from the list or share one of your own, then tell us what image or memory comes to mind when you hear it spoken.
 
  Now this is hard since I have a bunch of favorite summer sayings. I suppose one of my favorites is "Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability."

7. In a single sentence, sum up one life lesson you've learned. 

   I don't care what people think about me.

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

   I love summer. I love how compared to winter when everything is violent, and compared to spring when everything is busy awakening, and how compared to fall where it feels like the world is restless, that summer is where the very world seems to relax and enjoy simply being.

Simple Woman's Daybook

 

For Today.... Monday, July 11, 2016

Looking out my window....  I see rays of sunlight splashing through the big maple tree in our front yard.

I am thinking.... That even though my Summer just began, it's almost time to go back to school shopping.

I am thankful.... For my life in general at the moment.

One of my favorite things.... My lacy, blue, summer dress that I wear to church.

I am wearing.... A black and white peony printed, off the shoulder shirt, and a denim midi skirt.

I am creating.... A blog post...... if that doesn't count, a sketch.

I am reading.... The Fellowship of the Ring.

I am hoping.... That I can go swimming at least several more times before the summer's end.

I am learning.... That in order to understand what I am reading in "The Fellowship of the Ring" I need to read the same paragraph at least several times.

In the kitchen.... Chicken is cooking in the slow cooker awaiting my Mom to turn it into homemade chicken and dumplings.

Picture thought.... It's always fun being barked at by a neighbor's bossy dog who quite obviously thinks he owns everything. Sean was excited when he came for a visit, but the rest of us didn't mind too much when he went back home again.

Competitions

  I have been fortunately blessed with a bunch of fun-loving relatives that never fail to give us good times every time they visit. My Uncles are the best considering how mischievous and competitive they are and I was delighted to be able to capture a few moments from one of my Uncle's last visits.

  Every time my Mom's brothers come over my Dad is immediately sucked into a world of competitiveness and hilarity.  Seeing what my Dad and my Uncle (s) will go through just to reign victorious is hilarious and by far one of my favorite things about being visited by my Uncles.

  The following video is just a glimpse of what really goes on when we get competitive. (Sorry for the shakiness, apparently I can't hold a camera steady.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. How did you welcome the month of July, and tell us one fun thing you did to celebrate the 4th. (or the weekend for any non-USA residents playing along today)

  I welcomed the month of July by making an Awk+Awe post, and this year for the 4th of July we didn't really do anything, I was fine with that. 
 

2. Right now..what's your favorite red thing? white thing? blue thing?

  As of right now my favorite red thing is strawberries, favorite white thing is the clouds in the sky, and favorite blue thing is the water in the pool we go to.

3. Wave the white flag, raise a red flag, fly your freak flag...which 'flag' have you flown most recently? Explain. 

  I have most recently flown my "freak" flag, by letting all of my outrageously curly hair loose to do as it pleases.

4. According to Cond Nast Traveler these are the seven best places to visit in July-

a boat safari in Botswanna's Okavango Delta, Riviera Maya Mexico (it's whale shark season and apparently you can swim with them), Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, Pamploma Spain, St. Petersburg Russia, the Fuji Rock Festival at Mount Naeba Japan, the Salzburg Festival in Salzburg Austria

If time and money weren't factors would you want to see any/all of these? Which would you most like to see and why? 

  Even if time and money weren't a factor I would still only want to go to the Salzburg Festival in Salzburg, Austria. Only because one of my favorite musicals is based around it!

5. Grilled cheese, pimento cheese, or mac and cheese...your favorite from the cheesy treats listed? 

  I used to love grilled cheese as a kid but now not so much... I still love mac and cheese though and nothing quite beats the homemade, made from scratch version!

6. What makes you sweat? 

  Summer cleaning my sister and my room in the 80 degree heat, realizing I have a lot more junk than my sister does, trying to get rid of my junk, coming to the conclusion I am a sentimentalist.

7. Your favorite movie with a 'patriotic' theme of some sort?

  Though this is not American patriotism I still think " The Sound of Music" counts.

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

  When we first moved to where I live now, Diane and I had been delighted to find a stray cat hiding under our chicken coop (we don't actually have chickens though)  after adopting that cat as our own we were thrilled when it formed a strong attachment to us, and day after day we fed it and stroked its' fur and were only too happy when it had two little kittens that we named Chocolate and Vanilla, then it had Pom Pom, followed by Tiger, Penelope, and Princess, and as of recently she gave us Piper, Weston, and Jasper. I think we have quite enough cats now!
   

Awk+Awe ~ June

 Even though we were not as busy this month as we were last month I have still managed to have several humdingers of awkward moments and I shall proceed to let you know what they were.


Awkward

Dashing out to the garage to yank the plug to my brother's blaring radio when my Mom's brother came to visit (he's Amish).

I was sitting in the back seat of our mini-van while my brother was driving cautiously. After he makes a remark about how a car is tailgating him I turn to glare at whoever it was and find myself pretty much face to face with some young dude who glared right back at me.

After talking for a while with my Dad's boss in her office I turn around to leave and march right into her private bathroom chambers instead of out the office door...... Much to not only her amusement but also to the employee she was talking to.

Being caught staring out the window by our mailman as he was putting things into our mailbox..

Tripping and flying on Sean's toy car out of the living room effectively ruining the dramatic exit I had been making in front of my parents.


Awesome

Learning how to swim.

Feeling like a boss marching down one of Food Lion's aisles to Katy Perry's "Roar."

Getting to help my Mom make grape nuts in a very pioneer fashion.

Running out in the rain till I'm sopped.

Climbing with the help of a ladder into a very high but "safe" (My Mom thought otherwise) tree branch that I designated as a reading spot.

Having a picnic on our balcony (my fancy word for our top porch) with two of my best friends while it  was pouring down rain around us.

Reading "Last of the Breed" by Louis L'Amour.