Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Words of Wisdom
Well, if you are reading this post, I made it through Hurricane Sandy. We just got the winds and heavy rain here in Western PA, but still it was an experience. Just some encouraging words to get you through the day =)
Thursday, October 18, 2012
My Decision To Stop Taking The Pill...
After much debate, I have decided to stop taking birth control pills. There were several things that brought me to this conclusion and I am hoping that it was the best one for me. Nothing against my gynecologist, because he is very supportive in options to help regulate my period and other things, but I am just tired of pumping myself full of hormones that may be hindering more than helping me.
My first and foremost reason for wanting to go off of the pill is that sometime in the near future, I would love to conceive a child. My one friend once told me that being on the pill saves your eggs. I later learned that a woman is born with all of the eggs that she will have for a lifetime, so saving some or losing some really wouldn't make a difference for me. The quality of the eggs is what matters.
One thing that sticks out in my mind are some of the side effects of being on birth control for an extended period of time. I have been on birth control a total of 6 years since the age of 18yrs. Since then, I have noticed that I have had migraines! I mean, sitting in the dark, give me Excedrin, don't bother me, migraines. My mood swings are crazy. I will cry at the drop of a hat, sometimes worst than others. I've been on that roller coaster of weight gain and loss. My lowest weight in years was when I was not on birth control.
As if all of that wasn't enough, I just didn't feel like a woman. My sex drive is extremely low. I read somewhere that our hormones attract the opposite sex, and birth control blocks these hormones. The last thing that I need is to not attract my soul mate due to a tiny yellow pill! My body, as a whole, was off. Remember my posts about natural deodorant, well my body chemistry was going wacky. I am not going to stop using natural deodorant, but my birth control could have something to do with this.
Now, I know that without birth control, I have horrible periods that last for weeks at times. This is mainly due to my hormones being out of balance. To help assist with balancing my hormones naturally, and get myself back to a normal-naturally- I am going to be taking Vitex Chasteberry. Its a natural plan found in the wild that is shown to help balance hormones in woman. Its basically the equivalency of taking a vitamin. But it takes a while to show the effects of Vitex, so I will be updating in about 3 months and let you guys know if it made a difference in my periods, moods, headaches, ect. I have been tracking my periods using an IPhone app, so I have a good base of how my periods worked, or are supposed to work, while being on birth control. I will continue to use it and see if there is a pattern or if its all off.
I am working towards living a more natural lifestyle, so there will be more posts to come with my vitamin regimen, whole foods/trader Joe's food reviews, and the development of some homemade products that I have been working on.
Sources: The Daily Beast, Vitex, Facts about Vitex,
My first and foremost reason for wanting to go off of the pill is that sometime in the near future, I would love to conceive a child. My one friend once told me that being on the pill saves your eggs. I later learned that a woman is born with all of the eggs that she will have for a lifetime, so saving some or losing some really wouldn't make a difference for me. The quality of the eggs is what matters.
One thing that sticks out in my mind are some of the side effects of being on birth control for an extended period of time. I have been on birth control a total of 6 years since the age of 18yrs. Since then, I have noticed that I have had migraines! I mean, sitting in the dark, give me Excedrin, don't bother me, migraines. My mood swings are crazy. I will cry at the drop of a hat, sometimes worst than others. I've been on that roller coaster of weight gain and loss. My lowest weight in years was when I was not on birth control.
As if all of that wasn't enough, I just didn't feel like a woman. My sex drive is extremely low. I read somewhere that our hormones attract the opposite sex, and birth control blocks these hormones. The last thing that I need is to not attract my soul mate due to a tiny yellow pill! My body, as a whole, was off. Remember my posts about natural deodorant, well my body chemistry was going wacky. I am not going to stop using natural deodorant, but my birth control could have something to do with this.
Now, I know that without birth control, I have horrible periods that last for weeks at times. This is mainly due to my hormones being out of balance. To help assist with balancing my hormones naturally, and get myself back to a normal-naturally- I am going to be taking Vitex Chasteberry. Its a natural plan found in the wild that is shown to help balance hormones in woman. Its basically the equivalency of taking a vitamin. But it takes a while to show the effects of Vitex, so I will be updating in about 3 months and let you guys know if it made a difference in my periods, moods, headaches, ect. I have been tracking my periods using an IPhone app, so I have a good base of how my periods worked, or are supposed to work, while being on birth control. I will continue to use it and see if there is a pattern or if its all off.
I am working towards living a more natural lifestyle, so there will be more posts to come with my vitamin regimen, whole foods/trader Joe's food reviews, and the development of some homemade products that I have been working on.
Sources: The Daily Beast, Vitex, Facts about Vitex,
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Monday, October 15, 2012
Budgeting 101: Analyzing Where It Goes..
Alright, so the next step in the Debt Diet is finding out where it all goes! Analyze you statement and find out where your money is going. Continue to write it all down for the two weeks. After this month separate your finances into the following categories:
I think that you will be surprised at where your money actually goes. And if you are not saving anything but you are spending money on entertainment, shame on you!
- Food (this should be separated into two parts-grocery and eating out)
- Entertainment
- Living Expenses (Fixed-Rent, Car Payments, ects)
- Living Expenses (Variable-Phone, Internet)
- Savings/Retirement
- Cash/ATM transactions
- Clothes, Hair, Misc.
I think that you will be surprised at where your money actually goes. And if you are not saving anything but you are spending money on entertainment, shame on you!
Friday, October 12, 2012
The Best Chicken Ever...Right...
Pintrest has been on my mind and in my pockets as of lately. I came across this recipe for The Best Chicken Ever. Their words not mine. Then it was also called Man-Pleasing Chicken. Either way, I decided to give it a try. I brought all of the ingredients that were needed and this is what I came up with.
Was it good? Yes. The best that I have ever had [in my Drake voice; insert music here]? Ummh, not really. I mean the way that people were talking about it on Pintrest was like it was the greatest thing ever. I used everything the recipe called for and even went out and brought the real, 100% maple syrup, which costs about $3 for 4oz. Overall, I would make it again, since most of the things needed are already in my kitchen. The one thing that didn't happen with this recipe is that my chicken didn't brown like in the original recipe. I am not sure why, but it just stayed the same color. Oh, I turned the oven down because I used chicken with the bone in and I didn't want it burn before it cooked.
Want the recipe? Click Here. If you try it be sure to let me know how it turned out and how you liked it!
Was it good? Yes. The best that I have ever had [in my Drake voice; insert music here]? Ummh, not really. I mean the way that people were talking about it on Pintrest was like it was the greatest thing ever. I used everything the recipe called for and even went out and brought the real, 100% maple syrup, which costs about $3 for 4oz. Overall, I would make it again, since most of the things needed are already in my kitchen. The one thing that didn't happen with this recipe is that my chicken didn't brown like in the original recipe. I am not sure why, but it just stayed the same color. Oh, I turned the oven down because I used chicken with the bone in and I didn't want it burn before it cooked.
Want the recipe? Click Here. If you try it be sure to let me know how it turned out and how you liked it!
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Vitamins...
Vitamins! My first true love. Ok, that is a little extreme. I am starting back up my vitamin regimen for the fall season. The cold and other things weaken our immune system and instead of leaning on conventional medicine, I going to start back taking my vitamin. They consist of the following:
GNC Woman's Energy & Metabolism: This is an essential multi vitamin, kicked up with lots of B vitamins for energy and metabolism. One of the side effects, it turns you pee a bright yellow color.
Omega 3-6-9-: This vitamin is supposed to be good for a plethora of things. I will let you know what the outcome or lasting effects.
Vitamin C: Good ol' fashion, chewable vitamin C. I have to have the chewable one. I have also tried the ones with Rose Hip, but didn't notice a difference in anything other than price.
Vitex: The newest vitamin/herb on the block.This takes a while to see the effects, so this will be updated at a later time.
Are you taking any vitamins? What are some of your favorites?
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Monday, October 8, 2012
Negative Natural Hair Reactions...
Originally, I wanted to do this post as a vlog, but my Iphone was acting a mess and the lighting was horrible. You never know how hard it is to make a video until you try to do it yourself. YouTube makes it look easy.
The first week of me being natural was hard. I'll admit it. There is nothing to be ashamed of. I am dealing with completely new hair texture, length, styles, everything. I tried a couple of different styles, but there were so many things against me--including rain/humidity, which equals frizz and afro-like texture no matter what. So, the first day I wore a twist out, which I thought looked fine. The look on the co-workers face was like 'What is going on with her hair?!?!' Normally, she'll comment and say, 'Your hair is cute.' On this particular day, that wasn't the case. There were no words needed.
The next day, I went down to the central office and one of my superiors asked me if I did my hair like that 'intentionally'. Then he proceeded to question me about why I did my hair like that. Then he stared at it for period of time, that made me slightly uncomfortable because he was really trying to analyze it.
Over the weekend, I didn't have time to wash my hair, but I decided to run to the mall and meet up with a friend. She seemed to like it...until she started to question me about it. Then today, I received a text message from her that stated 'U want to get ur hair done on Saturday, they are having a $20 for wash and set'. My initial reaction wanted to be like, 'Bleep are you getting your hair done? Why would you ask me some stupid bleep like that. If I wanted to get my hair done before I went out of town, I would! Ugh!'
All of these comments have really taken a hit to myself esteem. And even though, I get those bright spots where someone asks me about my hair or my mom says that she likes it. It takes time to master styles. You don't always just get it right. A twist out seems easy, until you have to do it yourself and the first day is cool, but the next days is ewwh. Its so hard not having a support system or anyone who actually knows how it feels, other than the people online. As much as I want to give up and go back to the creamy crack, I can't! My one day of a successful twist out or puff makes it all worth while. Also, showing the haters what I can do with my hair no matter what the texture, or making you want to have hair that is as thick as mine, isn't my goal, but it will sure feel good!
Sorry, this is just a rant, so it may not be really coherent.
The first week of me being natural was hard. I'll admit it. There is nothing to be ashamed of. I am dealing with completely new hair texture, length, styles, everything. I tried a couple of different styles, but there were so many things against me--including rain/humidity, which equals frizz and afro-like texture no matter what. So, the first day I wore a twist out, which I thought looked fine. The look on the co-workers face was like 'What is going on with her hair?!?!' Normally, she'll comment and say, 'Your hair is cute.' On this particular day, that wasn't the case. There were no words needed.
The next day, I went down to the central office and one of my superiors asked me if I did my hair like that 'intentionally'. Then he proceeded to question me about why I did my hair like that. Then he stared at it for period of time, that made me slightly uncomfortable because he was really trying to analyze it.
Over the weekend, I didn't have time to wash my hair, but I decided to run to the mall and meet up with a friend. She seemed to like it...until she started to question me about it. Then today, I received a text message from her that stated 'U want to get ur hair done on Saturday, they are having a $20 for wash and set'. My initial reaction wanted to be like, 'Bleep are you getting your hair done? Why would you ask me some stupid bleep like that. If I wanted to get my hair done before I went out of town, I would! Ugh!'
All of these comments have really taken a hit to myself esteem. And even though, I get those bright spots where someone asks me about my hair or my mom says that she likes it. It takes time to master styles. You don't always just get it right. A twist out seems easy, until you have to do it yourself and the first day is cool, but the next days is ewwh. Its so hard not having a support system or anyone who actually knows how it feels, other than the people online. As much as I want to give up and go back to the creamy crack, I can't! My one day of a successful twist out or puff makes it all worth while. Also, showing the haters what I can do with my hair no matter what the texture, or making you want to have hair that is as thick as mine, isn't my goal, but it will sure feel good!
Sorry, this is just a rant, so it may not be really coherent.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Natural Hair!
Hey Ya'll! Ok, not the best introduction...reminds me of Paula Dean. Anyway, just a quick post on my natural hair journey. On Saturday, I had so many plans, some of which involved washing my hair. I wanted to try a wash and go, but it was a little cold outside to be walking around with soaking wet hair. One of my friends asked me if I wanted to go to the mall and I had to do something quick with my hair. [Insert Puff here. Oh wait, its too big to fit.]
These pictures were taken at the end of the night...hence the lack of lip gloss.
I never realized how thick my hair was. I need to lay off of the castor oil hair for a while because its ridiculous! I doubled the hairband twice and it was tight!!!
These pictures were taken at the end of the night...hence the lack of lip gloss.
I never realized how thick my hair was. I need to lay off of the castor oil hair for a while because its ridiculous! I doubled the hairband twice and it was tight!!!
Monday, October 1, 2012
Money Mondays...
It's October 1st, and you know what that means...The start of the Debt Diet 2012! Ugh! Are you dreading it as much as I am?!?!
In my prior post, I stated that I wanted to save $5,000 in a year. I did some research and I found that most of the websites talked about doing things like cutting your cable bill, food costs, utilities, ect. While it all sounds good in theory, you have to take some steps additional steps to get there.
To kick off the Debt Diet, we are going to start with the basics. We are going to write down every single thing that we purchase for the next month. Sounds easy right? Well, once you write everything down, you will be shocked at where your money goes. One important note, checking your account balance online doesn't count. Why??! Because you will not be conscious about what you are spending your money on.
Get going! Dust off that checkbook ledger and get to tracking! Don't have a ledger, go to your bank and ask for one--its free!
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