~I am fascinated with the power of words~ Words have the power to elevate you (lift you up) or depress you (bring you down). The right words can lead you in the right direction or the wrong direction towards weight gain or weight loss
towards poor self esteem or self confidence towards anger or happiness towards wealth or poverty towards the right faith or the wrong faith.
Words have power to inspire your next thoughts, influence your next words and in turn your results.
Who has inspired you to live the life you live now?
Are you in a path of positive growth or a path of struggle?
Whose words has influenced you?
I fall in love more and more with caring and styling my hair in its natural state especially with results such as the photo above. These were fresh twists with straw curls the day after I did them. :) Giovanni Gel is a must for me for such a great shine!!!
Before my curls were completed here are pictures of my growth!!! I photo'ed after I detangled my hair with water and coconut oil. :) I am very excited with the height of my hair.
Check out this link to one of my first posts of my journey to natural hair...It's a photo of my version of the "big chop".. I Believe I Am Officially Natural The fifth photo in my blog shows how much shorter a height I had
Here is how it looks when I finished curling my twists on the straws and photos the next night after removing the straws in the morning.
The photo of my right profile shows too much of a gap in between my twists/curls, I'm working on that...
*********************************************************************************** I went to a wedding a week later with the same twists and later that evening I untwisted them heading to a BBQ and Club. Unfortunately I can't stay to complete my post...I will post photos of them when I get a chance. ENJOY!
Here are the first photos of my experience with natural hair since my post on my last chop of permed hair months ago!!! A mix of twists and straw curls*!!!! I rocked the style at my cousin's party celebrating her son's 1st bday which was entertained with face painting!!! Fun stuff!!!
I definitely had fun with it and went to club afterwards with the face paint!! I want to do it again. It felt so fun dancing with it on...I highly recommended doing it when you go to the club for a unique and fun experience :)
I detangled my hair from my previous style of straw curls spraying water on a few curls and smoothed coconut oil per curl to untwist and comb out...the coconut oil and water makes it really easy for me to avoid unnecessary breakage ..
After my hair was indulged with coconut oil and smooth from curls, I washed with Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps - 18 in 1 Hemp Peppermint Pure Castor Oil.
I would start my twist and curls from the back to the front.....I would part a line of hair from the right to left which is not to thick or too small...you can judge the amount of hair you want to work with by your preference.....and leave the rest of my damp hair covered in the shower cap....make sure to keep a spray bottle near by with water or your own mix nearby
I would smooth African royale Hot Six Oil on my parted hair and scalp and starting at the right I would part a small amount of hair that was thick enough for me to twist to my liking....i would pin the rest of my hair on the left to keep aside...
I would twist my damp and oiled hair with Giovanni L.A. Natural Styling Gel (strong hold) then curl my twist on a straw almost an inch of length...(the length of the straw will be judged by the length of hair)....I would curl my twist around the straw keeping them close together so they won't loosely spiral when I remove it after it dries.
Continue the same method throughout your whole head....
It takes time and patience, my experience was relaxing...for me it took at least 3 hours....."3 hours???!!!" (<-- was that what went through your mind?) heh heh well it is worth it when the style lasts for a week!!! It's very low maintenance all thanks to Giovanni's gel!!! You will have a great sheen as well!!!
************************************************************************************ While riding the trolley on my way home this morning, a chill came over me when I caught a glimpse of a bug slowly crawling my left jean. I relaxed once I realized that it was a ladybug. I just stared at it and my mind kept juggling the question...:"is this good luck?.... how is a ladybug good luck in the first place? how can i tell?"....
I said my farewell to my ladybug doing my best to gently brush it to flight so it wouldn't get trapped in Shaw's supermarket but it still had the interest of walking so it was on the ground doing it's thing....maybe to pass it's luck on another fortunate person. Entering Shaw's, I was directed to the right as I searched for the restroom and caught my eye on a display of flip flops....it was evident that they were on sale.
I nonchalantly walked over to check them out and found Okabashi sandals 75% off....my thoughts were "75% off??"... "that's over 50%"... "so the cost most definitely have to be a good deal".....
It turned to be very much so....enough for me to purchase sandals for my whole family. At this very moment I am wearing these deliciously comfortable sandals which is presented to your right. What a deal indeed! $2.75 each!! I bought 7 of them for my father, mother, lil sister, my twin, cousin, myself and a male friend of mine which is the reason for me encountering this ladybug :)
*********************************************************************************** As I fantasized some more on the ladybug being a brush of luck for myself and my family....I fantasized how I never would of came across the ladybug if it wasn't for B...let's name him B....I'm developing mixed feelings for him...
I was heading home from his house after spending the night...it wasn't intentional....we've hung out since 11pm and fell asleep by 4a,....which was pretty close to leading to a certain level which is found when a male and female is still up in the wee hours with the ambience of a room lightly lit by a shade of red....2 candles lit atop candle stands...romantic zouk and kompa music playing in the background....shadows of a wine bottle and 2 wine glasses on the window curtains gently blown within due to winds of a gentle thunderstorm followed by the calming sound of thunder and rain....very tempting ambience indeed.
We've been talking for a short period of time and I had to control myself not to let it lead into anything when it was too soon to tell where our relationship would develop....
He is an adorable 30 yr old bachelor, who knows how to dance zouk love* and kompa music to the point where it blew me away the first time we met at a little dance club, a really good dancer always peaks my interest in him...and he was definitely on point. :)
Tonight we may be able to dance again at the Sheraton Hotel in Braintree, I can't wait :)
************************************************************************************ FYI *How to dance Zouk
The video below is a more intimate..sensual style which almost had me fainting when dancing with B. :)
While helping my sister find a song which had the words melody in it on youtube we came across this video which was totally random!! But cute and you can't resist a smirk...I can imagine teaching this to the kids during a birthday party to entertain them as well. Would you?
Did you find yourself humming...singing or dancing along? :)
I can't help but envision someone spending the time to deliberately take my meal replacement shake canister, my bottle, jacket, sweater and last but not least my duffel bag....digging into my exterior pocket and pulling over 20 bucks broken down in dollars and fives out of my unlocked locker leaving me 3 bucks and spare change and taking the time to reposition all my items back in their place.....
Thoughts have been reeling with questions...Did someone really steal from me? Did someone really go in my locker, dig into MY bag and take what didn't belong to them? Who was around when it was done? How quickly did they dig in my bag and find the money? Who was it? Why would they be so heartless to dig into another person's belonging?......I even doubted that I may have put the money in my little bottle...but I am positive that I left at least 20 bucks in my bottle since being in a budget; I wanted to make sure that my bus money was saved in a different place so I wouldn't spend it. Normally I would of left the rest of my money home but due to not wanting to miss the bus I carried my cash bottle with me....tsk tsk tsk.. I could have prevented this....
Well...all in all.... my locker was unlocked so for one I will take the blame for taking it lightly to believe that I could trust that my items were safe in an unlocked locker. Although the six almost seven months that I've trained at the gym 5 to 6 days a week.... majority of time leaving my items in an unlocked locker have been safe...
When I shared this with my friend Suzanne; who does physical training along with me at the gym, we discussed how she herself lost her cellphone no more then 3 days before which she left charging in the bathroom/locker room and 10 minutes later found it missing! So it is evident that we must guard our items well!
My emotions are torn between thoughts of "....Lynda, you have just been given a reality check...that you can't leave your money in an unlocked locker assuming that people can be trusted at the gym anymore!" and "what would the person spend the money on? a meal for their child(ren)? a meal or junk food for herself? how would she justify her wrongdoing? how many times will I see this person's face pass by me?" "what would karma do?"
I myself did my best to restrain any bitter feelings toward the other person because logically it wouldn't change the fact that I am short 20 bucks....so I just smiled and shook my head telling myself that I can't live in cloud nine believing that everyone is trustworthy in the locker room.... 100% of my attitude at the gym is to trust everyone until given reason not too. So now I have to guard my trust....to be honest I don't wish to go through the trouble of having to use a combination lock or keyed lock every time I need something but the extra few seconds to lock and unlock my locker will save me from a little financial distress....because every dollar counts for me as of this moment...
Has anyone stolen money from you...how much?...did you react negatively or positively? Last year an acquaintance of mine shared that she had lost money herself one day and said that whenever money was lost something good was going to happen to her....which was a fascinating perspective....has something great happened to you after your loss of an item or money???
Just asking because I am curious....
************************************************************************************* Recommended Track Of The Day The reason why I trust so much
This morning I had me a PB & J sandwich on wheat bread. After I had my sandwich, I made a thorough but short read on the Nutrition Facts and Ingredients of the jelly. Which led to the question....What did I just put in my body?????
The brand is called "Family Pantry - Grape Jelly"
The Nutrition Facts are
Serving Size: 1 TBSP Calories per serving: 50 Calories from Fat: 0 Servings Per Container: 45
Total Fat: 0g --------- Saturated Fat 0g ------ Trans Fat: 0g Cholesterol: 0mg ------ Sodium: 10mg Total Carbs: 13g ------ Dietary Fiber: 0g Sugars: 13g ----------- Protein: 0g
I can't see any nutritional value on what this grape jelly can do for me based on it's "Nutrition" Facts more so from reading it's ingredients:
Grape Juice, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Fruit Pectin, Citric Acid and Sodium Citrate.
I googled how to read nutrition labels and came across this information on the U.S. Food and Adminstration Site*
Ingredients are listed in descending order of weight (from most to least).
Which means there is more of grape juice than high fructose corn syrup...more high fructose corn syrup then corn syrup.....more corn syrup then fruit pectin and so on...right?
Additionally....
If you are concerned about your intake of sugars, make sure that added sugars are not listed as one of the first few ingredients. Other names for added sugars include: corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrate, maltose, dextrose, sucrose, honey, and maple syrup.
Ok....I'm totally turned off by this Jelly since it's first few ingredients did consist of high fructose corn syrup and corn syrup*....my mother is not so open with me preaching to her healthier alternatives when it comes to the expense of feeding a household of 6 but I plan to make an effort especially after reading this. But then again I might not have to result to that since I caught a glimpse of a large jar of Smucker's perserves in our other fridge. Will into the ingredients later. :)
Learning about this lead to the question of what's the difference between jelly and jams? And which one is healthier?
o Jam is made from pureed fruit ********************************************************************************** o Preserves are made from whole fruit
********************************************************************************** o Spreads are made from whole fruit and/or pureed fruit
This information has helped me decide that I am better off consuming jams, preserves, and spreads rather then jelly. I miss spreading the actual strawberry on my toast, it must of been preserves. Can't wait to open the Smucker's. :) I hope this was helpful to you as well. Take Care.
~~ I am soooo happy today!!! Very glad to have finally had the free time and energy to bring this recipe to life from 101 Foods That could Save Your Life by David Grotto; who is a Registered Dietitian*. I consider this book to be my Nutrition Bible!
I enjoyed eating it a lot more when my little sister and I had it for lunch today :) It was the first time in a long while that we have spent quality time together and we both enjoyed our lunch and each others company! :)
I've owned this book since February of 08, intensely reading and advising the benefits of the foods listed to family and friends and I have had my eye on the Vegetarian Polish Cabbage Roll recipe for months which you can prepare with Boca Crumbles or an alternate choice is Lean Ground Turkey. I purchased Ground Turkey :) which means I should call it Polish Cabbage Rolls since it is no longer Vegetarian! lol Since it was my first day off on a Friday! I found the opportunity to do some grocery shopping and purchased the ingredients. The yummy smell of tomatoes was mouth watering!
The stuffing inside was OMG!!! Out of This World!!! it is still teasing my tongue even after 30 to 40 minutes of eating it. My mother is coming home soon with some Ice Cream for dessert! I can't wait for the rest of my family to try it!
Voila! The photo above was googled. Now that I have a good picture of how the rolls are created, I intend to make my cabbage rolls a lot tighter for a more attractive look but then again I can't complain too much about my first attempt! Still was tastee! Mmmm Mmmmm
I wish I could share the recipe* but out of sheer and grateful respect to David Grotto for his time and efforts of sharing the many benefits of 101 Food That Could Save Your Life.; I personally highly recommend to the HIGHEST degree! to add this book to your personal Library. It is definitely worth the knowledge on knowing what foods are great to feed your body.
Please share when you do purchase the book... Do you have your own nutritional bible that you can't live without? Have you already made Cabbage Rolls before and what is your favorite way of preparing it? I definitely intend to get more creative with this recipe. :)
*I am so excited to have received permission from Dave himself to share with all of you! :)
Here it is!
Vegeterian Polish Cabbage Rolls
by Ma Tomich
Servings: 6 Prep and cooking time: 90 minutes
This recipe contains eight powerhouse foods.
Filling Ingredients: 2 cups brown rice, cooked 1 large head of cabbage 1 pound Boca crumbles or lean ground turkey 1/2 cup yellow onion, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 1 teaspoon black pepper 2 omega-3 eggs 1/2 cup vegetable broth 2 tablespoons olive oil
Sauce Ingredients: 1 can diced tomatoes 1 can tomato soup
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Core Cabbage, place in pot, and cover with water.
Bring to boil. Lower heat to medium and cover with lid and cook until slightly softened.
Remove cabbage (smells refreshingly yummy) and place on a dish to cool.
Meanwhile, in a large pot, saute onions and garlici in olive oil until transparent.
Add crumbles or ground turkey, rice, egg, vegetable broth, and pepper. Mix well. (I continued to mix until properly cooked)
When cabbage is warm to the touch, peel leaves and place on a cutting board. Divide mixture into six equal parts.
Fill cabbage leaves and roll. Place rolls with folded end down into 9 X 13 baking dish.
Combine soup and tomatoes in a seperate bowl. Ladle over rolls. Cover rolls in aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes or until cabbage is easily pierced with fork.
Break It Down.... Calories:360; Total fat: 11g; Saturated fat: 2g; Cholesterol: 60mg; Sodium: 760mg; Total carbs: 46g; Fiber: 11g; Sugar: 14g; Protein: 23g.
Enjoy! I would love to learn how your experience was! ")
********************************************************************************* Recommended Track Of The Day
This is how Happy I am TODAY! :) Magic System's rhythm never fails!!! Can't wait to dance to this at a party!!
