Following your inner voice

So get this. I was struggling to get to sleep last night. I'm a light sleeper, but last night was really hard. I was tossing and turning trying to convince myself that I'd fallen asleep. Not!! It was awful. What happened next was quiet odd.


I switched on my bed lamp and next to it lay my bottle of lavender that I use for my hair. Never had I thought that this little bottle was my magic potion. A little voice in my head said, 'Pour a few drops on your pillow.' I didn't hesitate, I just did it. I would've given all my toes just for a good nights sleep.

The smell was immediately relaxing. The next thing I knew it, it was the following morning. Not only that, I was feeling pretty dam good. So I decided to Google lavender.

Some of the many benefits are:

Helps with sleep: it induces sleep
Pain relief: Headaches, back pain, sore muscles etc.
Urine Flow
Skin Care
Hair Care helps hair growth, effective on nits and lice.
Blood circulation
Immunity
Digestion

I had no clue all the wonderful things it can do. And of course I was a bit sceptical but the I way felt this morning, well lets just say I didn't know I was missing anything until I woke up. I feel great. Was I depressed and didn't know it? Where had this good feeling been all this time? I love it and I'm glad I listened to my inner voice.

Always listen to yourself, the more you do the more you'll hear.

Be Blessed.

Loving my hair

So, my hair's feeling lovely. I've started a new hair care regime. It might sound strange but I've got rid of all my hair products. Yes all of them. I know I took the big step of getting rid of the relaxers but I took it a bit further. For the past three weeks I've been treating my hair with products you find around the house and I must say I'm loving the results. My hair is sooooo soft, none greasy and isn't stripped of all its oils after a wash.


The first week I did the natural yogurt treatment. Left it on for about three hours. It kind of loosened the curls a little. It gave my hair its life back. I've only done this once; it's quite the messy business. The following week I treated my hair with virgin olive oil. Did it on the Friday night and covered it with a shower cap and my night cap and left it on over night. What I did was warm the oil for a short while in the microwave, then parted my hair and massaged the oil into my scalp then worked from the root to the tip of my hair. The result: soft shiny hair. The following morning I washed it out with my shampoo then deep conditioned it with virgin coconut oil. The results were fantastic.

The following week I went a step further. I didn't use any shampoo at all and cleansed my hair with baking soda and rinsed it with apple cider vinegar. Boy, don't like the smell of the vinegar but it did wonders for my hair. I added a drop of Lavender to the water for fragrance then finally deep conditioned it with coconut oil. I must admit that it felt weird washing my hair without the foam but the baking soda didn't strip my hair of all its oil. I've noticed less breakage, less dandraff and my hair is getting healthier as I let it air dry instead of using any type of dryer unless it's absolutely necessary.

These have all been trials that have worked perfectly for me. So not only is my new hair care doing a great job, it's damn cheap :-).

If using home products is not your thing, always try to use organic products. Especially for afro hair as it easily dries out. There are a number of online stores that sell great hair products that are chemical free.

Beauty4ashes.co.uk is one. They have absolutely fabulous hair care products for all hair types.
Harmony curls is also a great for curly girls.

If you are looking to loosen your curls without wanting to use chemicals then try naturalaxer. It won't straighten the hair or perm it. It will just make your beautiful afro manageable ;-).

So keep loving your hair!!!

Transition

I finally did it. I got rid of all my relaxers and unnecessary products that just build up grease in my hair. I must be honest, going back to an afro is not easy. I've never really had one except when I was really young and once when I thought I could go natural. I've always weakened and gone back to the relaxer. But this time I'm determine to stick it out.


It is hard work though, what to do with your hair every morning is a mission on its own. Sometimes I wonder if I've made the right decision but I know I have when I hear my daughter say, ' I'm loving that afro!' This is what it's all about, loving me. As I am. There is nothing wrong with straight hair, but the chemicals that go into making it straight can't be any good. For me I think going straight was deeper than I'd like to admit. It's true, society paints a pretty picture about straight hair, that it almost alienates you when you go natural.

At first people look at you funny or find it strange to see you with your natural hair, but hey, this is me. So I'm rocking my afro with pride. Each one of us has a choice of how we choose to live our lives. For me, it's going natural and learning new ways of how to manage my hair. It has opened up new ideas that I would never have got otherwise. You see, it's like being introduced to myself all over again, but this time I'll actually learn how to manage my hair in its natural state.

Stay true to yourself. Love to all.

OMG

I can't believe how long it's been since I last wrote on this blog. I have been writing though, my book. It's finished and I'm actively seeking an agent. Got my first response, not negative, just not what they are looking for at the moment. I'll wait a while yet before sending it off to more agents.

Life has been great, I've done some amazing things. I'm training for the Leeds 10k at the moment. Will be running for cancer research, which is pretty cool. It's seems like divorce was the best thing that happened to me. Sometimes your life begins when you are rid of the heavy load.

Have I found love? Well that's a story for another post. I have met some interesting people though, each one with a lesson to teach. I must say that the past three years have been a wonderful experience. Life has so much to offer and sometimes at the time you don't realise it, but each downfall brings with it a triumph.

So, I can't wait to share all my new experiences with the world. I'm at the beginning of transitioning with my hair. I'll be sharing that too. But for now, I'm just saying HIYA. :-).

Take care, be present and in the moment. Today is all we've got. Peace.

Count down

I feel the excitement mixed with fear building up as the day of my departure draws closer. I'll be flying over the Atlantic on Tuesday, what a wonderful thing that will be. It's all preparation this week, can barely make time to write a post and when I do I'm always exhausted.

I was thinking this morning about me traveling, it brought back what the fortune teller told me the day I walked back from my interview in Leeds (earlier post simply be), she'd said that I'd be flying over waters....well it seems she got that one right, she might be a fortune teller after all- that doesn't make me a belly dancer,I was bluffing - maybe she has something or maybe she made me believe and it sort of happened. Not sure really, doesn't really matter I just hope the thing about the three children stays a misinterpreted fortune.

Well tomorrow I'll be doing the last bits of my travel arrangements and then it's off to NYC. I promise to capture it's beauty. I won't forget the camera, that's a promise.

I Wonder What Lies Ahead??

I spent the whole day on my laptop looking for hotels in NYC. Pricey like I expected but then again it's just one of those things.

I'm looking forward to going to an unknown place, exploring all possibilities meeting new people, people you never knew existed. I remember the first time I arrived at London Heathrow, I was filled with both fear and excitement. Just being in an unknown place wondering how life is and what would happen. I remember meeting a girl on the plane and teaming up with her to find our way around. We were soooo excited about getting the underground, on the tube we felt like children with new toys. Although we parted at Victoria station, I've never forgotten her.

At Victoria I realised that my next mode of transport would only set off the next morning and it was 12a.m at the time. I went out onto the buzzing streets of London. People everywhere at the time, a city that never sleeps and I met a girl who had come from France. It wasn't her first visit so she knew her way around. We spent the night snacking on high fat foods and black coffee to stay awake and keep warm. It was freezing, I'd chosen such a "perfect" time to land in England.

Anyway we spent the night walking between the train station and the coach station because I couldn't make up my dam mind which I preferred. And since she had nothing much to do herself until the next morning didn't mind my indecision. Fact- I was coming from SA, rand to pound ratio at the time was R10 equaled £1, so I had to go easy on the £200 I had. The train would cost £60 to Leeds and the bus was £20 at the time. Now you can imagine my dread, the down side to the cheap ride was that it would mean another 4hrs travelling after a night spent at a station and not to forget a ten hour flight. The train though was a quick two hours.

We chatted about it and we talked about living in the UK until 6am when the station opened and I wished her the best and headed to get my £60 train ticket (It was worth it). So I wonder what lies ahead for me in NYC, at least this time I'll have the exchange advantage and I've made better plans but it's still so exciting, I wonder who I'm going to meet!!!

I have plans

I have a plan or I had a plan. My plan was to go to New York next week. I'd sourced out everything I needed to know and today I was on the verge on getting my ticket when I get a temp job offer! Why at this time, why when I'm feeling content with my life does this job suddenly have to spring up now and it's an immediate start.

I've recked my brain about it and tried not to seek advice outside myself. This decision has to be mine and mine alone. I want to take total responsibility for the actions I'm going to take. I know what my gut is saying verses my head. The reasoning mind is telling me to go for the job. I came across a blog http://opensourcemarketer.com/blog/ The article posted on the 20th August titled Do you ask why not me, gave me the answer I was looking for. I think I've made me decision.

There is a saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I want change so I'll go the road less travelled and like Alice in wonderland see how far the rabbit hole goes.