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Posted on December 20, 2011 by

 

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Joyce Meyer, Evo 3d and My Hair Reggie!

Posted on November 7, 2011 by


So my sister and law (and a lady she works with) and I went to see Joyce Meyer over the weekend. Yay!! Let me tell you though, we are complete nut jobs! I am still recovering from the sleep deprivation. I worked Friday from 11:30 am to about 11 pm. Came home, got everything squared away for our road trip, and fell into bed for a two hour nap. Up at 3:30 am, we were on the road by quarter to five. Got to Cleveland at 8ish, seated for Joyce by quarter after nine. The even started at 10. Afterwards we got lunch at Carrabba’s (if you have not had their Chocolate Dream dessert, well what are you waiting for?) and got on the road at about quarter to four.  We were back home about eight, and I hit the bed about 12:30. All told I was up about 40 hours straight.  Was it worth it? Yes! Joyce is awesome! Will I ever do that again? Probably not, I’m too old, lol!

I got an Evo 3d about a month ago.  Yay! Graduated from Metro, lol! Its a great phone.  The main thing I’m excited about is how much app storage room I have! At this point in time I am thoroughly satisfied with the stock phone as is, no plans to root.  The rumor is the 3d will get the upgrade to Icecream Sandwich (Android 4.0) around February.  I do not use the 3d feature at all, I got the phone for all the other amazing qualities, like dual core processor.  My battery life is amazing, although I contribute a lot of that to the Juice Defender Ultimate app and toggling wifi/3G on and off as I need them.  The phone is 4G, but we don’t have 4G in our area yet.  I will add that I initially got a Motorola Photon, but I returned it for the Evo 3d because the Photon I got suffered from the Sleep of Death.  Basically it shut off several times a day and the only way to turn it back on was to remove the battery and put it back in.  Bottom line, do I recommend the Evo 3d? Absolutely!

And finally, my hair regimen.  I relaxed a week ago.  No pics, I’ll take some next time, which is scheduled to be January 7th.  I plan to be BSB/BSL (below shoulder blade/bra strap length) by then,  Woo-hoo! I got between one and a half and two inches of growth in two and a half months, which is awesome. I’m getting a lot of questions about my regimen and routine, so my smart and handsome husband suggested I put my regimen online.  That way if I get questions, I can direct people there.  Great idea!

My Regimen:

Daily Sunday night through Friday morning: I section my hair in four and detangle each section, using Mane and Tail detangling spray and a wide tooth shower comb.  I spray my homemade moisture mix on each section (Scurl, Aphoghee Green Tea and Keratin and Shea Butter Restructurizer), followed by Garnier Fructis Sleek and Shine leave in.  I seal with my homemade oil mix (castor oil, protein oil, grapeseed oil, and a moisturizing mix of olive oil, almond oil and mink oil).  If its before bed I put my growth mix on my scalp first (castor oil, jojoba oil,olive oil, peppermint oil, rosemary oil, eucalyptus oil and sulfur). I brush through all four sections with my Denman brush, and then brush them all together.  Am before work I put my hair in a low, coiled bun, and pm before bed I put it in a high coiled bun on top of my head.  I cover the bun with a plastic bag (sandwich bag or processing cap), and I cover that in a wig cap or other piece of fabric.  Am I just head out to work in my covered, baggied bun! Pm I tie a scarf around my edges and hit the sack.

Friday Night: I follow the same steps as above, but I use a prepoo in place of my moisture spray and leave in.  Usually its Burts Bees Avocado pre shampoo treatment, or whatever deep conditioner I have on hand.

Saturday: I shampoo and condition and style my hair without direct heat.  I plop, or bantu knot, braidout, caruso rollerset, something like that. I rub some Chi Silk infusion through it at night and put on a bonnet.

Once a Month: Color rinse with Bigens light copper brown.

Every… (I’m stretching an extra week each time, I’m at 11 weeks for my next one) Relaxer.  I usually use Dark and Lovely Regular, but I’ve used a variety of no lye home relaxers and I’d say that the results are in the technique.  I blow dry and flat iron with John Frieda 3 Day Straight (this stuff is amazing!) and dust with my Splitender.  I use Chi silk infusion and do a silk wrap with Saran Wrap under my hooded dryer.  I’ll wear my straight style for a week and a half to two weeks, and then I’m back to my daily bun baggy routine.  While straight, I apply White Sands Porosity The Fix to my hair (that stuff is outstanding) and wrap it at night, and in the morning I simply brush it down.  It stays shiny and moisturized and straight the entire time!

UPDATE: I am transitioning out of my relaxer as of January of 2012.  I will not be doing a Big Chop; just slowly cutting off the ends.

I drink a soy milk/eggbeater drink every morning, and I try to eat salmon three or four times a week.  I take garlic pills, biotin and a good multi, usually a prenatal.

This is my regimen, and I’m getting amazing growth.  What works for me may not work for everyone, but my hair is growing like weeds, and its so healthy.  My ends are amazing.  If you’re not getting the results you want, give my routine a try! Let me know how it works and contact me if you have any questions.  God bless!

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What’s up! September Edition!

Posted on September 26, 2011 by

Just a lot going on lately, so I haven’t been able to update. Lets see.  Lost about 30 pounds on the Weight Watchers Points Plus Program, just in time for my 35th birthday.  Yay! Looking to lose another ten and I’ll be good. My hair is growing like weeds, and I’m so excited. Had to can the MSM pills because they were giving me bad breath.  I’m currently taking biotin.  Some people report breakouts with biotin, so if I have issues I’ll stop.  Also using a sulphur/MN/capsaicin oil on my scalp again, and bun baggying day and night five days a week.  All this in an attempt to get to BSB length hair (below shoulder blades) by the beginning of next year.  I’ll keep y’all posted!

Finally got an official start on writing Make Me a Bird.  Tis all on that front. How to be a Better Restaurant Customer is continuing to sell, although I’d definitely like to see more sales, so I plan on kicking up my marketing efforts.  Also getting into internet niche marketing, so I’ll keep y’all posted on that. First niche? One near and dear to my heart! Black Hair Care. Stay tuned!

Really starting to get a lot of email from my I’m Saved in the 21st Century website ( http://im-saved.com ).  Comments, questions, encouragement, its really awesome. Keep it coming! I invite feedback from any of my sites, books, and endeavors! Well, that’s about all for now. Got about ten hours worth of stuff to do in about six hours. Talk to y’all later! God bless!

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Length Check and New Dark and Lovely Review

Posted on June 27, 2011 by

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmFTJYlhFKE&feature=channel_video_title

I reached APL hair length (pictures below)! And I review the new Dark and Lovely relaxer with silk keratin serum.

 

 

   

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Weight Watchers, MSM, A New Relaxer and Some Books

Posted on June 20, 2011 by

So this is kind of a review type post, if you will.  First of all, I’ve lost about 15 pounds with the Weight Watchers Plus system.   Not bad, since I’ve been able to eat out (Mongolian BBQ! Shout out to our favorite waiter there, Vinnie!) and eat ice cream on occasion (we’re talking a pint in a sitting!).  The only money I’ve spent is 99 cents for the Points Plus Diary and Scanner android app by Frippware, which I highly recommend.  It keeps track of the points you eat, the activity points you earn, your weight loss, it has a barcode scanner to obtain the points in an item simply by scanning it; and listings for foods that don’t have a barcode.  Plus many more features I haven’t listed.  I believe this guy designed the app initially for his wife, and I’m glad he did! I highly recommend the Weight Watchers Points Plus System.

MSM.  I’m taking this in capsule form, three grams in the morning and three grams at night. I feel that it is doing the things my research said it could do.  I am experiencing a lessening of my chronic back pain.  I am experiencing more hair growth (a video or photos and my detailed hair growth regimen to come shortly).  My skin looks better.  Breast shrinkage due to weight loss is no longer a problem.  This is a product I highly recommend.  You can get it over the counter at any drugstore.  If you’re not a big water drinker you’ll have to start, as this supplement has a detoxifying effect as well.

I plan to use the new Dark and Lovely Healthy Gloss 5 Shea Moisture Relaxer system this coming weekend for my 8-week touch-up.  It features a silk keratin serum which I am a fan of.  Chi Silk Infusion is a staple of my straight hair life. I will do a review on it shortly as well.

Last but not least, I recently finished reading Knit Together by Debbie Macomber and I highly recommend it.  I haven’t read any of her fiction work, but I plan to. This is a book about finding God’s pattern for your life.  Not only did I find practical advice to apply to my life (check out her goal-setting work sheet!) but she lead me to another book I’m reading right now called Let Prayer Change Your Life by Becky Tirabassi. I am still reading this book, but it has already impacted my life, and caused me to strive to spend an hour or more a day in prayer and communion with God.  Highly, highly recommend this book as well, and I’m not even done with it yet!

So there you have it, some of the stuff I like right now, and what I’m about to try out in the near future.  What are you reading right now? What new product are you about to try?

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Anthony Weiner, Android, Kindle, Weight Watchers Plus and Infused Olive Oil

Posted on June 6, 2011 by

So lets start with the breaking news today, the Anthony Weiner thing.  For those of you who live under a rock, let me break it down really quick.  Last week a lewd photo of him was  tweeted from his account to a woman (not his wife).  Instead of being sent by DM (direct message) it was tweeted publicly.  Weiner claimed he ‘happened to be online at the time’ and was able to take it down immediately.  His official position last week was that someone must have hacked his Twitter account as a prank, which seemed plausible.  Weiner is an extremely vocal politician (Democrat Representative from New York) who regularly lambastes the Republican party for their lack of integrity.  Then today more of these photos surfaced and Weiner tearfully admitted that he had tweeted the picture to a woman (one of 6) that he was conducting online relationships with.  He insists that there was no physical cheating on his wife.

I am disgusted.  First of all, as a married woman this bothers me, and of course I believe that adultery is a sin.  But I am also upset because my husband and I were politically becoming Anthony Weiner fans.  We were sure he would win the mayoral race in New York City in 2013, and we saw potential for him in the  White House one day, and I’m sure we were not alone! I just feel that, knowing what he was up to behind closed doors, he should have kept his mouth shut instead of calling the Republicans all kinds of (true) things, because he ended up looking like a hypocrite.  As a public figure, you have to choose your words carefully.  Or just quit doing messed up things that can blow up in your face.  Whatever. I don’t think his tears were contrition, I think he was upset he got caught.  Just goes to show that there is literally nothing left to believe in except this: Man is sinful and God is the only constant you can count on.

On to lighter things.  I got a Kindle. Yay!! My book has been available on Kindle for close to a year, and yet I didn’t have one.  I love to read, and our place is not huge, so storing all of my books on a slim, small tablet makes perfect sense.  I downloaded a Bible, my book (of course, lol!) and several how-to writing books as well as a few novels I’d like to read.  A lot of these were next to nothing on Kindle (like my book, currently 99cents, what a steal!!). There is also a Kindle for PC app if you don’t have a Kindle but would like to take advantage of the crazy low prices.  Oh, and an Android app! Yay!!

How’s that for a segue? I got an Android phone.  Yay!! With Metro! And its actually a great phone! Looks like this:

its the LG Optimus M.  (M stands for Metro, there is an LG Optimus V for Verizon, S for Sprint, etc).  So its Froyo, aka Android 2.2.1, which is the latest Android available to the Optimus and to a lot of phones although I understand Gingerbread (2.3) has been released.  I got this for $149 on sale, it is generally $199.  I jumped on the internet and got a crash course in all things Android, and in less than a week I found an .apk for Netflix (the app is not yet available for my phone on the market) and I rooted my phone with Gingerbreak so I have complete control over my droid versus the factory preset control the carrier allowed me to have.  Now if only I knew what to do with all that control…rest assured I will figure it out.  My next plan is to educate myself on root only apps and flashing custom ROMs.  Look at me! I’m a technogeek! Lol!

I lost 12 pound in 3 weeks with Weight Watchers Points Plus! Tyson and I found all the information online, so the only thing we’re really missing by not signing up is the meetings, and we’re each others meetings. “How many points do you have left? 23? Cool! I’ve got 14.” And, duh duh duh duh! There are tons of free android apps for that! In a nutshell, you eat what you want, but you can’t go over your points allowance for the day.  You can eat all the fruits and veggies you want without expending any points, so I’ve become quite the fruit eater, and my water intake has soared! I had some success with the Full Bars, but I got sick of eating two or three of those per day.  I highly recommend this, because you can still eat what you love, you just have to be smart about it.

Finally, my hair growth project is going great.  I relax in about three weeks, and I can’t wait to see my progress, but I can tell I have tons of new growth! I found a way to order all of the ingredients for my hair growth cocktail on Amazon.com in bulk for cheap, except for the Capsazin HP.  Its pretty much $15 a tube anywhere you try to get it.  However, the important ingredient in the Capsazin is capsaicin.  That is the component in hot peppers that make them, well, hot.  The capsaicin stimulates the blood flow to the scalp.  So now, instead of using Capsazin, I’m infusing olive oil with cayenne pepper and adding that to the mixture.  All you do is get a dark glass bottle, a funnel, a cup of olive oil, and 2 tbsp of cayenne powder.  Put the powder in the bottle.  Heat the olive oil for 15 minutes on the stove (low heat!!!) and then pour in the bottle with the funnel.  Store in a cool, dark place for a week, and voila! Infused olive oil! You can use this for cooking and for hair growth potions.

Alright, I think that’s about it from me for now.  What do you think of the Anthony Weiner fiasco? What exciting new purchases have you made? Any weight loss milestones you want to brag about? And what hair growth secrets are you sitting on? Dish, dish!

Posted in Being a Girl, Media, My Books, The Bible | Leave a comment

So I Got Recognized…Sort of…

Posted on May 26, 2011 by

So a couple of nights ago at work, I got recognized…sort of.  I went to a table of two ladies, and began my usual spiel “Hi! My name is Marta-” One of the ladies interrupts me and asks “Is your last name  Daniels?” I said “Yes, yes it is?” She looks at the other lady and says “Told you it was her!” I’m thinking, wow, I’m not at that stage in my career yet, am I? Cuz if so, I need to quit this job right now!

So anyways, here’s the story.  A manager I worked with the first couple years at my restaurant moved out of state for a better job opportunity.  He came in to the restaurant a couple of months ago, and I told him about my book.  I gave him my card (yes I have cards) and asked him to check it out.  The two  ladies  were his mother and sister. While home on a visit he  rummaged through his cards to find one for his brother and he must have dropped mine at his mother’s house.  A couple days later she found it and showed it to her daughter.  Fast forward another day and they came  in to eat at my restaurant and just happened to be in my section! And recognize me from my card.  So now they are going to read my book and keep in touch  since they have my email address on the card and all.  Cute story, right? Hopefully the next time I’m recognized it will be a fan of my book!

Have any of you writers out there been recognized yet?

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Reviews, Weight Loss, and Homemade Beauty Potions

Posted on May 19, 2011 by

So, I’m starting to get more reviews on Amazon for my book, and so far they are all positive (yay!) which is nice for a couple of reasons.  First of all it means more people are reading and enjoying my book, and second of all, it means more people are likely to read my book, due to the positive reviews.  I would like even more of them, so if you have read my book, even if you didn’t buy it from Amazon, please head over and review it for me.  Especially if you loved the book. And if you haven’t read it, please head over and buy it, read it, and then review it!

So, I’m still plotting Make Me a Bird .  I know, I know! But the preliminary outline I’d done, just didn’t do the concept justice.  The emotional aspect of a work of fiction, especially one with this subject matter, well, it just requires more in depth pre-writing work than I did for How to be a Better Restaurant Customer (nonfiction).  So I’m doing all kinds of getting-to-know-you writing activities with the characters, and I have to tell you, the story line is getting better and better.  Plus its a lot of fun! I had an expected drop date around Labor Day, but now I’m just shooting for the end of the year.  In this current self-publishing gold rush (I read that term in an article recently, it was catchy) its tempting to just get something out there asap.  You think, with the sales I have with one book, imagine if I had two? Or three? Or ten? But I’d rather put better written stuff out there slowly.  So there it is.  I’ll keep y’all posted.

So hubby and I are kind of messing around with an online/free version of the Weight Watchers Points Plus system based upon stuff we were able to find online for free. Too early to tell if we’re losing weight, but I feel healthier already! Since most beverages cost valuable points and all fruits and veggies are free, we’re naturally eating more nutritionally dense foods and drinking a lot of water.  Yet we can still splurge (a little) if we manage our points right.  As a result, I’m back on my supplement kick too.   I re-upped on Flaxseed Oil, vitamin e and beta carotene, and I’m going to start taking MSM, which is supposed to help your hair grow faster and thicker, your skin get softer, clearer and younger looking, and, in some, your breasts get bigger! I don’t really need the help in that department.  However, I’m not Dolly Parton, so I won’t turn it down either, lol!

Speaking of growth aids, I started using a homemade growth potion last month, and my hair grew an inch in one month! That is huge for me, because I am a slow grower.  Usually about 1/4 a month at best.  So, without further ado I shall share the formula with you.  Okay, maybe some further ado.  Listen, I am not a doctor nor am I a licensed cosmetologist.  If you decide to try this, it is at your own risk! It may grow your hair like weeds like its growing mine; but it may make your hair fall out, or some other complications.  I have no idea how it will work for you, I only know it has worked for me.  That’s it for the ado.  Here’ s the formula:

1 tube (1.5 oz) of Capsaizin HP

2 tubes (2 0z) of miconazole nitrate

2 0z of MSM lotion

1 oz of Wild Growth Oil (or growth oil of your choice)

1 oz of carrot oil (or nourishing oil of your choice).

Mix it all together and put it in an applicator bottle.  Apply it to your scalp every night and massage it in for 5-15 minutes.  I recommend applying your hair moisturizer, sealing with oil, and baggying your whole head afterwards, and heading to beddy-bye.  My results (an inch in a month) have been amazing, and I plan/expect to have hair to the middle of my back in no time!

Do you have any growth potions or other homemade beauty aids you like to use?

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Twisties and I’m International, Baby!

Posted on March 31, 2011 by

This has been the worst winter for me as far as illness goes; I just got over another bout of something (I was sick in January too!).  For me being sick is not just a problem because of the actual being sick.  It holds up my writing, which makes deadlines harder to keep.  When it comes to your online presence as an author and as a witness for Jesus, you don’t want your websites, Twitter accounts and Facebook pages to go dark for any serious length of time. And then there are my hair, skin, and fitness goals, all of which suffer.  I was sick for like two weeks, and when your in your thirties, any serious strides you’ve made in your weight or muscle tone seem to go away in two weeks.  Arrgh!

But enough complaining! I’m back to exercising, back to my youthful skin regimen, and back to my long/healthy hair journey.  The latest things I’m trying out? Aloe vera gel as a face serum (I love L’oreal Skin Genesis but I can’t keep up with the price of the line), garlic pills to reduce hair shedding, and miconazole nitrate and capsaicin combined with sulphur for hair growth.  Growth aids have been known to cause shedding, which is why I sought out the garlic pills.  So I’ll keep y’all posted on how all that works out.

Cute hair style to try if you have ethnic and/or curly/wavy hair.  I say it that way because I feel as though this hair style can work on other ladies besides just African American, however I just don’t think it would work on someone with naturally stick straight hair or super fine hair.  So.  After you wash your hair (I recommend sulfate free shampoo and an extremely moisturizing conditioner), put a moisturizing leave-in conditioner on wet to damp hair, a light oil for sealing in the moisture, and a setting lotion.  Do about 30-40 two strand twists (until whole head is in twists), spraying hair that gets dry with water (I recommend adding a little leave-in conditioner to the water and mixing together). Twirl the ends of each twist around your finger to lock, and add a tiny bit of pomade for hold (I’m currently using raw shea butter as a pomade). You can sit under a hooded dryer for 45 minutes or so, or just let your twists dry overnight. Untwist and you will have a gorgeous curly style that people will think you had done at a salon! I put this description up on Facebook and was asked for pictures; next time I do this hair style I’ll have my husband take a picture of the twists and the finished product.

So, I had my first international book sale for How to be a Better Restaurant Customer; someone bought the Kindle version on Amazon UK.  Yay!!

So, that’s about it, just a quick update.  Love you all, God bless!

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Whats Up!

Posted on March 14, 2011 by

So, I have been so incredibly busy.  I am blessed to work four days at my job (although two of them are generally twelve hours, lol!) which allows me to fit in all the other obligations and commitments I have, but there still aren’t enough hours in the day, days in the week, etc. Its funny, because when I was leaving work last Friday, one of my bosses says to me (in my opinion) somewhat sarcastically, “have a nice holiday”, referring to the fact that I won’t be back until Tuesday.  The Christ in me let that go right away, I’m not going to let that get in my head and destroy my peace.  But I did think it was funny! I believe that I do more in one day off of that job then quite a few of them do in a week of days off, lol! Most of them are quite young. Oh well, it is what it is.  My availability has been exactly the same since the day I hired in almost five years ago, and it will be the same until I am no longer there.

I have two new favorite products! Aphogee Keratin Green Tea Restructurizer and the Full Bar! So the Aphogee is this leave-in/heat protectant/restructurizer dynamo! I have heard people talk about Aphogee products for quite awhile, but there are so many brands out there that get hype, you can’t really jump on every bandwagon.  However, I happened upon some for a really good price at the store, so I decided to give it a try.  As you know, I’m currently on a heat diet- no direct heat except for dusting and length check after my relaxer touch ups every eight weeks.  So my purchase of the Aphogee coincided nicely with my relaxer date. I sprayed it on liberally after my leave-in and before my usual heat protectant.  I still used all of the products in my flat-ironing regimen, I just added the Aphogee.  The results were amazing! Soft, straight. silky and bouncy, just how I like a good flat iron.  I highly recommend this product.

My next discovery is the Full Bar diet system.  Essentially, you eat two Full Bars a day six days a week, and attempt to eat sensibly the rest of the day.  You drink at least 8 oz of water with each Full Bar, and they expand in your stomach and make you feel full, so you eat less! I started out eating three a day, but had to scale back, because on three a day you will not be hungry for any other food, not healthy.  Especially if you are working a twelve hour day, and exercised 45 minutes prior to coming to work.  The only real drawback to Full Bars is the price.  They are incredibly expensive to incorporate into your lifestyle, at least for me.  The main ingredient is puffed wheat, so I’m making my own version kind of like rice krispy treats! They don’t work quite as well as the real Full Bars, lacking a lot of the other ingredients, so I have to go back to three a day.  But its definitely worth it! In one week of regular exercise and Full Bars I’ve lost a good five pounds and you can see a visible difference in my stomach, the main area of my concern. So I highly recommend the Full Bar if you are fairly wealthy; if not I highly recommend making your own.

Well, that’s about it for now, I need to get a lot of work done today, a good ten to twelve hours worth, and I need to squeeze it into seven or eight.  Pray for me! Lol! God bless!

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