Quick Hair-dos and Pet Peeves

Hi guys,

I'm a bundle of emotions right now and none of them positive. It just sucks that my Monday is so messed up. In a bid to defocus off my foul mood, I have come to find succour in the internet. The worldwide web always distracts me from everything. Bless Tim Berners-Lee's creative heart.

 

I'd just be showing you a few photos of yesterday and today's hair-dos and posting a mini-rant.

 

Yesterday, I had a barbeque party for a friend's birthday to attend so I wore my hair in something of a Fro-hawk. Here are pictures of yesterday's hair.

I wasn't sweaty. I don't know why it looks like I was

These pictures were actually taken when I returned home at about 9pm. I made this hair-do early at 8am because I wore it first to church before going for the Come Chop. I was glad the style kept for those hours and shrinkage didn't really affect its look.

 

All I used to create the hairstyle were bobby pins and my Organics Root Stimulator Edge Control. I'd do a review on the product in my next update.

 

Yesterday, I was pleased to discover that I can now cornrow my whole hair in one straight French braid (didi). Yaaaaaay? It meant my hair had grown some and it was a pleasant surprise. I think this is long overdue though. I didn't take any pictures though because last night was such a queer night. 

 

Here are some pictures of today's look. I sprinted out of the house in a rush early this morning and had no time to fuss over hair. I just loosened the French braid and used my fingers to fluff my hair into an afro and then wore my pink hair band on it.

There. These pictures too are of after my return. I'm hardly thinking of taking pictures when I have a hectic day ahead.

 

You know what my peeve about my hair is lately? It's the fact that my hair seems to be growing at a really slow pace. Seriously. I thought I was being paranoid before but now, I think it's true. This is what? 1 year 6months hair, thereabout. I should honestly have had much more growth than this. And it is certainly not full. I had my natural hair on until after secondary school because my mum insisted on it. So I have a very good idea of how full my natural hair can be. This present hair is certainly not full. Even more thought provoking is the fact that I remember I was hardly taking care of the hair back then. I desire volume. Perhaps even more than I desire length!

 

I'm probably and most likely doing something wrong but I don't know yet what that thing is. I try not to be a product junkie as I keep thinking that's not what my hair necessarily needs but I think I may need to start buying some off-the-shelf products pretty soon. I usually have my faith in natural goods but maybe I should see if other products will give me some much more desired results. One thing I'm most certainly going to get is a good leave-in conditioner. That Profectiv stuff I use is just not doing it. And the other day, when I looked in at the ingredients, I found that it's just basically an oil mix. Suggestions are welcome on any tried and tested good leave-in to use.

Another pet peeve? My edges. WHY WONT THEY GROW????

Just look at that. Ugh!

Upper part of the sleeked section

After all of the castor oil I've bathed them in, one would think they would have made better progress than that! Yes, it's improved but not enough! This is about a year of castor oil devotion. I Am Not Impressed!

I need suggestions:

1) What products do you suggest I try out for length and volume?
2) My edges!
3) Where can I get henna? I need to dye my hair, biko!

Ciao guys!
Be beautiful and in a good mood!

Oils to Smooth the Grind...and Itch!

Hi guys,

 

I'm so excited about the new additions I've made to my hair products collection. I got some new oils courtesy Twentysix85 some days back and I'm impatient as to seeing the results. I bought the Grapeseed Oil, Haitian Castor Oil and Organix Moroccan Argan Oil.

 

For a while now, I've been trying to get my hands on any essential oil especially Tea tree oil as I heard it is really good dandruff and I have always suffered from that. Luckily, on Sunday, I strolled into a HealthPlus pharmacy and discovered a wide array of carrier oils and essential oils. Honestly, it was like oil heaven. I couldn't believe such a place was so close all this while! As I had already made an order of oils from Twentysix85, I didn't want to overdo on the spending. I bought Tea Tree Oil and the pharmacist on ground even helped me further by selecting one from an organic range of essential oils! I probably should take my camera there one of these days and show you guys all the wonderful oils they have on display.

 

Tisserand Organic Tea Tree Oil

 

I have said a couple of times here that I love using coconut oil for my hair as it is very agreeable with my hair. Well, I am going to have to cut out coconut oil and shea butter for a while. The reason is because I suffer from scalp eczema. I guess it was inevitable that I was going to get some scalp eczema as I am always battling dandruff (eczema is caused by the same fungus that causes dandruff). I have found out that coconut oil, shea butter and olive oil fuel scalp eczema. Add castor oil to that mix. Those who have read about my regimen know that those are all I use! You can read about scalp eczema on Natural Haven's blog here. When I see it on my scalp now, I just sigh. I have battled eczema since I was a kid. FYI eczema is a skin allergy and most times, hereditary. Mine's definitely hereditary. Everyone on my mother's side is saddled with it. There is probably nothing that I haven't used to treat it. And I always found that if I used something that worked for it, after some time of consistent use, my body grew resistant against it. I really don't want to have that battle with my scalp too.

 

The last time I had scalp eczema some months ago, I used Damatol. I was well aware that it had lanolin and mineral oil but I was desperate enough to use it. It worked. But now, I don't think I want to do that and set myself back again. So, I've decided that since Tea Tree Oil is well acclaimed to be good for dandruff, then it'll work for scalp eczema. I know that Natural Haven said one should stop all natural oils but I can't really see myself doing that. How else am I expected to lock in all that moisture? So, I'm switching to my new Grapeseed Oil mixed with Tea Tree Oil. Grapeseed Oil is known for its moisturising and conditioning properties. It is a hair loss remedy and also aids in the relief of dandruff and is absorbed into the scalp. Perfect, eh?

 

I am also stubborn enough to use the Haitian Castor Oil mixed with Tea Tree Oil. I will update you guys on the results.

 

Haitian Castor oil 4oz/118ml



Grapeseed Oil 2oz/59ml

 

 

I was a bit let down with the Organix Moroccan Argan Oil when it arrived. I actually thought it was the real pure stuff. Whereas, this came with several things mixed in. More concerning was the fact that it contained cones :(. I have always avoided silicone products whenever I am shopping for hair products. I read that they're bad and cause build up on your hair so I stay away. I don't particularly know if my hair hates them. You can read about the effect of cones on your hair here. Well, the good people at Twentysix85 assured me that hair is relative and encouraged me to try it out before discrediting it. So I'm going to try out the Organix Argan Oil for a while and see how my hair responds to it.

 

 

I fear I may have rambled on for too long. This post was supposed to be very brief. Laters people!

Stewed Gizzard and Tagliatelle in Spinach

Hey y'all!

 

Here's a recipe I came up with last week. It's nothing dramatically new. I just had a day when I felt like eating pasta. I had some macaroni at home but at the last minute, I decided using the Tagliatelle in Spinach that had been sitting in my kitchen for a while. When it was time to think of the animal protein to accompany the meal, I gave that a long thought. You'd think it was more than a normal meal I was pondering on. Thing is, I'm not much of an animal protein fan. I can well eat my meals and do without it. But in this environment, people tend to frown on that. I eat them mostly because I know my body needs them. I like fish/seafood a lot and like beef the least. For chicken, I'm just indifferent although I have a little love for turkey. So this day, I had no animal protein at home and I really did not feel like doing chicken seeing as I seemed to be having that too many times. I have this belief that poultry goes best with pasta, actually. And since I eat a lot of pasta, well, I was tired of all that chicken. It then occurred to me that Wait a minute! I love Gizzard! That's one of the few animal proteins I just cannot pass. So, I went off to buy half a kilo of Gizzard. I wanted as little as possible as I was the only one eating it. So, I came up with this meal:

 

Gizzard - Half a kilo

Tomatoes - 7

Scotch Bonnet (rodo) - 10 (I eat a lot of pepper. Reduce yours if you don't)

Onions - 2

Olive Oil - 2 tbsp.

Italian Seasoning - 1 tsp

Garlic (powdered) - 2 tsp

Maggi chicken cube

Cayenne powder - 1 tsp

Salt

Granoro's Tagliatelle with Spinach 

 

I washed the gizzards of dirt. I was pleased to discover that Half a kilo of gizzard was so much that I had to keep some away. I even took some time admiring this particular gizzard. This was nicely pink and I just bought it from one of these neighbourhood frozen food shops. The packed ones I've been getting from those popular big chain supermarkets were not even as much or pink or fleshy or lovely looking before being cooked.

 

Yummy gizzard

 

Seasoned the gizzard with some Italian Seasoning, a bit of Maggi, a teaspoon of Garlic powder and a teaspoon of cayenne pepper. Add half an onion and a quarter cup of water. Let cook. Then put aside afterwards.

 

While that's cooking, clean the tomatoes and pepper and onions. Put in a blender and pulse. I didn't puree as I always like my pepper to be rough and not smooth.

 

Blended pepper

Next, pour the olive oil in the pan or wok. Then add some chopped onions. When the onions turn transparent, pour in the blended pepper and let cook on medium heat for about 15minutes.



 

When cooked, add all the dry ingredients and the juice from the cooked gizzard. Let cook for about 5minutes. Add some more chopped onions then add the cooked gizzard. Cover and let cook for another 5 minutes then take off the burner.

 

While the sauce was cooking, boil some water in a separate pot. Add a bit of salt. When it's boiled, put in the pasta. I used 4 rolls of the Granoro Tagliatelle in Spinach.

 



Tagliatelle pasta with spinach

Let the pasta boil for about 5mins as tagliatelle cooks quickly then drain in a sieve or colander. Look how beautiful that is.

 

 

I at first tried to mix the sauce with the pasta but I found that to be unnecessary as the strong green colour of the pasta did not let the colour of the sauce come through. So, I served the meal this way.

 

Yum!

 

My personal opinion is that this meal is suitable for weightwatchers. The pasta is infused with spinach to make it healthy. Kinda like wheat bread, I think. Gizzard too is known to be a healthy source of protein as against red meat.

 

Oh yeah! It tasted fantastic!

 

NB: Writing this post tonight has helped me none. The plumbing is bad in my flat so there's no running water. I didn't want to cook anything that'll cause me to have dirty dishes so I'm stuck with eating bread for dinner. I now went to write this post. Now, I'm hungry for real food. Just swell!

 

WHITE HOUSE DOWN - A Review

Source

Directed by Roland Emmerich known for his movies, Independence Day, Day After Tomorrow and 2012. John Cale (Channing Tatum), a security detail for the Speaker of the House (Richard Jenkins) gets a Pass to the White House for his 11-year old daughter, Emily Cale (Joey King) and attends an interview at the White House to join the Secret Service. He is refused the job by his interviewer, (Maggie Gyllenhaal) after which he and his daughter join a White House tour and shortly after, the White House is attacked by right-wind militants who wish to get the black president (Jamie Foxx) because they do not like his policies on withdrawing troops from the Middle East. John Cale has the responsibility of saving the president and his daughter.

 

Basically Olympus Has Fallen with laughs. Just have that in mind when going to see it. This is a comedy-action movie flick that has its own share of clichés and patriotism. Although the patriotism may be called into question as Emmerich is European. Never been much of a fan of Tatum but I think he did good this time and has fixed himself safely into Hollywood as a top Action flick actor. The humor is good. Tatum and Jamie Foxx's combination blend just okay into character. Did I hear Foxx trying to play an Obama accent? I didn't like it. Maybe he shouldn't have bothered. Still, it's fun in the midst of all the gun-totting. Tatum managed to look tough-guy hot as compared to his usual soft-guy-soft-palms type hotness.

 

The main movie took a long time in starting, in my opinion. It dragged for a bit. But I think that was due to Emmerich's taking the pain to let us see the hatching and action coming together. Many of which was unnecessary as it gave too much away. Due to this, we already knew the Head of the Secret Service was the bad guy even before it was revealed. No surprises for the viewers. This is a movie you going in watch knowing absolutely what will happen but in a good way. Only one interesting twist which I noticed at the end and which was the revealing of the real bad guy. Lots of action to keep your weekly/daily action quota satisfied.

 

The fact that this movie comes so shortly after Olympus Has Fallen means you cannot help but compare the two. Example is the White House in both movies are widely different. But then, we'd likely complain if they were too similar.

 

Just a fun regular action movie. Nothing fantastic but you have a good time with your popcorn. And few laughs too.