Mixology || Organic Lip Balm and Lip Scrub Set

Makes a great Holiday gift set!

Recipe originator: Fran (HeyFranHey on Youtube)

LIP BALM ...
Ingredients (all organic):
cocoa butter
shea butter
castor oil
beeswax
extra virgin coconut oil

LIP SCRUB ...

Ingredients (all organic):

dark brown sugar

jojoba oil

Instructions: See the video below ...

(Liebster Award) A "Darling" Nominee

Thank you Random Nesha for nominating me for the Liebster Award!!!

(Liebster means darling or favorite in German)

 How the Liebster Award works ...

1. Each person must post 11 random things about themselves.
2. Answer the 11 questions that the tagger set for you.
3. Choose 11 bloggers who you would like to give the award too.
4. Create 11 questions for the bloggers you have tagged with the award to answer.

1. What do you enjoy about blogging?
Sharing ... whether it is sharing information, sharing a story, or sharing a small (just a small) part of my world.

2. What guilty pleasure makes your day go right?
Hmm.  This is a tough one.  It varies with the "season" of my life.  Right now, I'd say catching up on "Once Upon a Time" while eating banana nut bread.

3. Who is your hair influence?
It is a tie between Sera252 and Kemi21.  They are two kinky, long-haired naturals who indirectly inspired me to transition years ago.

4. Do you have kids?
Does my cat (she's six years old) count as one? *smiles*

5. What do you want to be when you grow up?
Working on my engineering doctorate so that I can be a professor at a university.

6. What's your favorite fruit?
I honestly don't have one, but if I had to choose, it would be strawberries.

7. What's your favorite vacation spot?
Tulum, Mexico.  It's near Cancun, but less touristy and more gorgeous (in my opinion).

8. What charity would you like to contribute to?
Any that benefits the poor or disadvantaged children.

9. What would you like to see change about the world?
Self-absorption.  I would like to see more empathy in the world.

10. What's your favorite season?
Summer all the way.  I get cold easily, so warm weather is what I love.

11. If you could go on a date with any person in the world, who would it be?
Michelle Obama.  (No homo.)  I think a conversation with her over dinner would be very enriching and worthwhile.  Maya Angelou would be a close second.

My Nominees
1. The Natural Haven
2. Ok Dani
3. Sofull Sista
4. Just Grow Already!
5. Keep It Simple Sista
6. Finally Natural!
7. Glamazini (I'll try to notify her since she's a celebrity. *smiles*)
8. Lilia's Healthbook
9. Living Joyfully
10. Natural Selection
11. Confessions of a Blog Vixen

Nominated Questionaire (the same great questions as above)
1. What do you enjoy about blogging?
2. What guilty pleasure makes your day go right?
3. Who is your hair influence?
4. Do you have kids?
5. What do you want to be when you grow up?
6. What's your favorite fruit?
7. What's your favorite vacation spot?
8. What charity would you like to contribute to?
9. What would you like to see change about the world?
10. What's your favorite season?
11. If you could go on a date with any person in the world, who would it be?

"Soul" Food Mondays || Love Covers and Heals

"Let LOVE be your life's compass.  You can let "like" leave you at times, but never, ever let LOVE leave your heart.  Love covers and it heals.  Keep love buried at the front of your heart and all things are possible." ~ Sophia A. Nelson

Love covers and it heals.  Hate eats at the soul.  Let go of hate, but also greed, jealousy, resentment, self-absorption, and all things void of love.  Let love be your life's compass ...

Topic of the Day || Dry Hair

Here are some previous posts addressing "dry hair":

1. Reader's Question: More on Moisture ... Dry Ends
2. No Poo Review: Baking Soda with Conditioner
3. Chapt. 6: Moisture, Moisture, Moisture
4. Oh Honey, Honey ... Deep Conditioner Recipes
5. Winterize Your Conditioner!

For more, check out the labels "Dry Hair" and "Moisture".

Protective Style Lookbook || Vintage Updo on Stretched Hair

By popular demand, this is a series showcasing various protective hair styles.  Protective styling does not have to be boring. :o)

Model: MsVaughn

Style description: Updo incorporating side flat twists into a vintage roll.  Pinned side bang.

Difficulty level: 2/5

 

Healthy Eating || Bananas and Lowering Blood Pressure

Lately my blood pressure has been lower than usual, which isn't a bad thing at all in this case.  The systolic pressure normally ranges between 101 and 110 while the diastolic pressure between 65 and 80.  However, my two most recent tests were 91/60 and 93/57. I don't recall my blood pressure ever being this low ... at least not in recent years.

So, I thought to myself, "What have I been doing differently?"  And then it occurred to me, "Well, I've been eating a lot of bananas [in smoothies].  Could that be it?"  Then I went to the internet, did some digging, and learned that there are dozens of references to the high potassium in bananas helping to lower blood pressure.  Here are a couple of abstracts worth reading:

ROLE OF POTASSIUM IN REGULATING BLOOD PRESSURE
EFFECT OF BANANA ON COLD-STRESS INDUCED HYPERTENSION

MORE READS:
BLOOD PRESSURE CHART AND TIPS

DISCLAIMER: Please speak with your doctor before changing your diet.

2013 Plans for My Hair, Body, and Soul || Part I

(Left) Stretched puff in 2009. (Right) Braid-out on flat-ironed hair in mid-2012.

This year flew by sooo fast!  With a new year quickly approaching, it's that time (again) to map out some plans.  Here I go:

2013 HAIR PLANS:

Show more length.  I'm officially going the heat route because I want to enjoy my length more.  February will make it five years that I've been natural, and a huge majority of that time, my hair has looked shoulder-length (and sometimes, neck-length) because of major shrinkage.  I didn't have a problem with that, but I'm just ready to enjoy (and show) my length now.  From January through February, I will wear box braid extensions again.  Then from February through December, I plan to heat style monthly (or bi-monthly) and wear a mix of jumbo twists and braidout updos.  This will obviously impact the running of my usual 3in6 Challenge ... more on this later.

Maintenance over length.  Up until now, I've been focused on growing my hair to it's maximum length potential.  After grazing waist-length for some time, I believe that I'm approaching (or have reached) my terminal length.  Also, after almost five years of being natural, I've grown less obsessed with length.  That being said, I'm going into this heat routine knowing that length retention and heat usage may not mix well.  So, 2013 will be more about maintaining the length that I do have.  If I can also add to my length, that will be great, but it is not my priority.

Maintaining my kinks.  I want to make it clear that I am not going into this heat routine with the intention of changing my coil pattern.  I love my "kinks" and still want to wear them from time to time next year.  The challenge will be using heat without altering my pattern too much.  

To be continued ....

Do you have any hair plans or resolutions for the New Year?