Grad Girl Moxie

Update. Medical School, Weight loss and Hair

2012-08-19T20:05:00.001-04:00

I wanted to drop an update about life and other things going on.

I'm finished with my Masters Program, YAY!

I'm re-applying to medical this cycle, Boo...

I planned on taking the MCAT this September, but due to time constraints I have to push it back to January 2013. Since I paid for a Kaplan course, I'll be starting that up again pretty soon to prepare. That's gives me a butt-load of time to prepare and room to fall behind a-little.

I got a job as a Tech in a local Operating Room and lost 15 pounds so far since starting that position, YAY! Thank goodness, this past year was full of taking medical school courses that required being in class for 2-6 hours and studying for at least 6 hours additionally, everyday. That's ALOT of sitting. Before that I spent about 4 months prepping for the MCAT in 2011. So in total I gained 25-35 lbs in the past 18 months. :( From this experience I learned that I cannot push exercise off because of studying, I need to stay active and watch what I eat especially when I get accepted in to med school next year (crosses fingers) 2 years of non-stop studying. I want to plan my food and exercise. Hopefully I can lose this last 20 lbs of extra weight and get to my starting weight at least and lose more from there. I have Jillian Michael's Body Revolution that I want to restart very soon. I love that with Jillian's routines I build muscle pretty fast.

Apparently there's a rumor out there that 3b/c naturals cannot grow long hair unless it's heat trained. I have a good mix of 3a/b/c (mostly b/c). I know it's NOT true because I can think of 2-3 naturals with 3bc hair that have long hair.

I figured out more things about my hair that help me ALOT in retaining length and moisture.

1) My hair is VERY porous aka high porosity. (my hair soaks up and loses water very fast)

2) Quite a few products that I tried and tossed aside have other uses my hair likes.

To address my porosity issue, I've been using the Roux porosity control conditioner after every wash/condition it helps. I wash/rinse and condition my hair in twisted sections rubber-banded at the end. It helps alot with my hair staying untangled during wash sessions.

I can use hair milks. I've tried Carol's daughter hair milk and pudding, Shea Moisture's Curl smoothie, Karen's body beautiful hair milk and nectar and none of these worked so I assumed hair milk wasn't for me at all. For moisture, I found that for me it seems to be better to let my hair get damp or dry completely then apply a moisturizer. I realized one day when my hair was extra dry, I could just apply certain hair milks and it added moisture back to my hair. There are only two hair milks that really work for my hair Oyin's hair dew and Pura Body Naturals Murumuru hair milk.

I was really surprised to figure out that yes even though I have thick, tightly curled, non-silky, dry hair my hair reallly likes the lighter hair moisturizers. Oyin's Hair dew and PBN's Murumuru milk are light moisturizers that really soak into my hair and make it feel more pliable. The heavier milks don't work for me at all like PBN's Sapote Hair Milk or KBB hair nectar, what does work for me is sealing with shea/evoo/coconut the absolute best sealer is Oyin's sugar pomades! I set them aside thinking they were just finishing pomades.

Oh was I wrong, those sugar pomades are the best for holding moisture in after a moisture and seal session. My hair felt so moisturized and soft for the first time, ever. I found my staple products hiding out in my closet. I've honestly been telling everyone I possibly can for the past week about it..lol.

With all this info I've found about my hair it really helps me with the new products I try. For example, in this months curlbox I got two full sized moisture products the Carol's Daughter Hair Milk Pudding and Cantu coconut curling cream. CD did nothing for my wet/damp hair , I still have to try it on dry hair. Cantu CCC worked better for me on wet/damp hair. If these products don't work better then my staples then I'll be swapping them.

Staples:

DIY water/glycerin mix

DIY hair butter (with shea, tacuma, coconut oil, argan, beeswax, evoo and castor) *

* I may leave the castor oil out since the oyin products have alot of castor

Oyin hair Juices ( I use sparingly 3 bottles last me over one year)

Sta-Sof-Fro Spray

PuraBody Naturals Murumuru Hair Milk/ Oyin Hair Dew

Oyin Sugar Pomades (sealant)

Review: Shea Moisture Deep Treatment Masque & Moisture Retention Shampoo

2012-04-27T14:35:00.001-04:00

I scored this Shea Moisture Mini-Repair and Transition kit from Target for $5! I've just heard about Shea Moisture products this past week and I thought I would give them a try sometime soon. Then I saw these marked down at Target so I bought some. There are 2 kits from Shea Moisture under the same name that has 4 products. In this kit there were only two products: Shea Moisture Deep Treatment Masque and Moisture Retention Shampoo. Im surprised to say that these are the best and WORST products I've ever tried for my natural hair, ever.

Moisture Retention Shampoo
This shampoo is amazing. Its the only shampoo I've ever tried that lathers like crazy, smells great and leave my hair clean and moisturized. If your hair is moisturized pre-shampoo and not excessively dry this shampoo will not strip it. Also, this shampoo has NO SULFATES! I was pretty shocked to see that because of the lather. I don't particularly avoid sulfates, but I've tried some no-sulfate shampoos before and the lather was no where near this lather.

I will mention that my hair going into the shampoo moisturized and was coated with a bit product from yesterday. I really think this makes a difference. I don't know how my hair would have behaved if it was crunchy dry mess of about a month ago.

Final Thoughts: I know I throw around the word amazing alot. But this shampoo is the best, best, BEST!
I will be repurchasing it when I run out and it will probably be my staple shampoo.
My hair type: 3c/4a a lot of shrinkage, very small and tight coils
Price: 12oz for 9.99 at Target and Walgreens (also found online)
My score: 5/5

Shea Moisture Deep Treatment Masque
The ingredient list for this conditioner is star-studded. Almost any ingredient a natural could want in a conditioner: deionized water, butyrospermum parkii (shea butter), argan oil, cetyl esters, sea kelp extract, panthenol (vitamin b-5), ammonium salt, essential oil blend, avocado oil, lonicera caprifolium (honeysuckle) flower and lonicera japonica (japanese honeysuckle) flower extract, tocopherol (vitamin e), hyssopus officinalis extract, salvia officinalis (sage) leaf and equisetum arvense extract, soybean oil, daucus carota sativa (carrot) seed oil.

I just KNEW after that great shampoo, this was gonna be the bees knees.... Nope. Not one bit.
I started to liberally apply the masque to my hair and I felt that this was not going to work because of the texture of the conditioner and then way it felt on my hair after 5 minutes. I felt like I put way too much leave-in product in my hair, I rinsed it out and my hair felt drier then when I put the conditioner in. I'm pretty disappointed right now, I had to go to my usual moisture conditioner and recover the moisture that this masque stole.

I looked around at others reviews and it seems like this product gets good marks from others with non-curly/kinky hair and a few loosely coiled people. Most people with my hair texture seem to end up using this as a leave-in or as a sealant.

Final Thoughts: I will be not be repurchasing this, the worst thing I've ever put in my hair and I've put some strange things in this hair.
My hair type: 3c/4a a lot of shrinkage, very small and tight coils
Price: 12oz for 9.99 at Target and Walgreens (also found online)
My score: 0/5

Weekly Weigh-in

2012-01-23T19:56:00.000-05:00

I stepped on the scale and lost zero pounds this week. Ugh! Not even .1 lb. LOL! I'm glad I didn't gain anything though. I kept up with my weight training plan except I didn't do my lower body on Friday or over the weekend. That's really weird for me because I love doing squats and squat variations, I don't know why..I just do. :) It gives me something to look forward to after I finish unpleasant ab work days. I hate hate ab work, it just sucks for me. I've been thinking that I probably should really do Jillian Michaels 30 day shed when I feel like cardio. The only issue that I would have is that it would kind of work the same muscles I weight train. Eh, I'll see. I like JM because those 30 day shred workouts are 20 minutes! I feel like a wet noodle afterwards, but I do it over and over again because I get intense cardio in in a short amount of time.

Update!

2012-01-16T07:22:00.001-05:00

I underestimated the simpleness of keeping both of my blogs under the same profile so I'm going to table my other URL until I have the time to move both blogs over. I'll continue to post here and get the template here, too.

Update: Done!

Fitness Plans.

2012-01-15T15:15:00.000-05:00

Since late December 2011 I've been trying watch what I eat. Specifically the amount of salt I'm taking in, the amount of protein and fiber. I haven't really been paying too much attention to the fats, carbs or sugars which I really need to do. I might just start tracking again, its tedious but I have a better idea of what I've eaten.

Instead of me starting out with cardio, I'm going to start off with strength training so I have stronger muscles going in when I start cardio up again in about 2 weeks. I think my whole downfall of last year was that due to inactivity, I lost most of my muscle mass. I lost my job, which wasn't extremely physical but I was constantly moving and lifting things when I was at work. Before last year I would lift weights at least 2X a week, that doesn't sounds like alot, but I can definitely tell the difference.

So my plan is to find some great exercises and lift MWF and do any cardio that I want, if I want.

I have a great set of exercises from the February 2008 issue of Oxygen Magazine Buy this issue here! that I love to use for getting back into strength training. The series is called build your dream body. These exercises are killer and not complex. I'm going to be using the Upper Body push/pull and Lower Body from this series. I hate crunches but that's what I'll be doing until I find more alternate ab exercises.

I wish there was a really good exercise database where I can look it up really quick, instead of having to search through each of my favorite fitness blogs. Its takes time and usually I get distracted by something else right in the middle of my search.

Perform two sets of 12-15 each set.

Monday: Upper body Push
Dumbbell bench press
Dumbbell Flye
Seated dumbbell press
Seated dumbbell lateral raise
Dumbbell extension
Dumbbell kickback

Wednesday: Upper Body Pull and Core
Pull:
Pulldown
dumbbell pullover
barbell row
barbell curl
incline dumbbell curl

Core (my own thing)

1. Alternating Arms Supermans
2. Crunches
3. Need an oblique exercise
(They suggested 1. bicycle crunches and bench V-up)

Friday: Lower Body
Squat
Lunge
Stiff legged deadlift
Unilateral calf raise

New post up at Grad Girl Moxie!

2011-12-30T13:43:00.000-05:00

Its a pretty off topic post, but I want to do a few round ups of my favorites of 2011.

Grad Girl Moxie- Top Albums of 2011

My Top Albums of 2011!

2011-12-30T13:40:00.000-05:00

I wanted to start of this blog with my top 10 albums of 2011!

My top albums are the albums that I've been pretty much playing non-stop this year some of these albums were released earlier then 2011, but just came on my radar this year.

In no particular order I have

1. The Pretty Reckless- Light me up (2010)

I have been following this band ever since they started touring in 2009 with the song I F**king Love you. I used to watch Gossip Girl and when I heard that Taylor was trying the music thing I checked it out. The first song I heard was pretty annoying but it had promise. What I remember the most about listening is that Taylor Momsen's voice at 15 was amazingly mature (it could have been due to the ciggys) and reminiscent of courtney love.

Alot of people think that Taylor Momsen (Jenny from Gossip Girl) is spoiled and is trying to hard. It DOES seem like she is trying to hard, but she IS talented. You can't deny her singing ability.

Give this album one listen and you will totally agree with me. This album has me remembering the awesome girl (punk/alternative) rock bands from the 90's. Veruca Salt, Hole, etc..

2. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals- self titled (2010)

I don't like country music, I don't even like Taylor Swift. But I LOVE Grace Potter, I wasn't until I stopped and really listened and asked someone, that I realized that she is definitely country or at the very least country influenced and I really really like this album. Its soulful and I can play it again and again.

3. Marsha Ambrosius- Late Nights and early Mornings

Finally! A really good classic R&B album. Well written, Superbly sung (yes I think I just made that word up)

4. Janelle Monae- The Arch-Android

After listening to her EP Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase) in 2007, I was anxiously awaiting parts II, III and IV because she mentioned that it was to be a four part series. I encourage you to check out her EP it tells a story in a far away planet.

I doubt she is going to finish that up anytime soon, but she did release a full album. Its great, its perfect if you like soulful music is get inspiration from many different places, a friend of a friend dubbed this black music that black people don't listen to.

5. Adele- 21

Adele! I can't even write anything about her, she is the queen of break-up music! LOL, her music is awesome and I'm glad that many more people have caught on to her.

I was stuck on "someone like you" since her album was released until about a month ago (Yup approx 10 months!) when I decided I needed to start listening to the rest of 21 again.

6. Lady Gaga- Born this way (Special Edition)

The lead single from this album "Born this way" is my least favorite song on the whole album. This album totally reminds me of 80s pop, the music videos for "marry the night" and "edge of glory" take me there. I can use this whole album as a workout album. Most of the songs are upbeat, I wish Gaga had at least one ballad, I love her ballads speechless and Brown eyes from her previous albums. Oh well, this album is so good. I forgive her.

7. Asa- Beautiful Imperfection

8. Siji- Adesiji (2008)

I like finding music from people from Nigerian backgrounds, I love it even more if they sing in Yoruba and English. Both Asa and Siji do this effortlessly and there music is awesome. Asa, I would classify as Neo-soul with and afrobeat twist. I discovered Siji when he released the music video for the song "Ijo" which was filmed in Lagos, Nigeria BTW. I was watching and I recognized the yoruba, so I looked for his album.

Siji's music is very contemporary with a afrobeat twist. I love the drums, I don't think I would find many people that DON'T like drum beats. I would recommend him to anyone that just wants some chill music, even the songs that are 100% yoruba will draw you in.

9. Drake- Take Care

It's pretty sad that this is the only Hip-hop album on my list. I love hip-hop and its getting harder and harder to find artists and albums that I genuinely like beyond just catchy beats.

After his very hyped up first album, I wasn't expecting too much from this one. But I REALLY enjoy this album.

Honorable Mentions

1. Ed Sheeran - + (Deluxe Version)

I just discovered this guy after I stalker spotted Rupert Grint in his most recent music video for lego house. I was on Youtube minding my own business, and I saw the side of a unknown's face and I thought that looks like Ron from Harry Potter somehow I KNEW it was him. I shrugged it off and played the video because I love a cute redhead and it WAS him, I was ecstatic. After I got over my Ron crush, I realized that the song was pretty damn good. Looked up this ed sheeran kid and checked out his album. I've only listened to it once, but its love at first listen. I'm sure this will be on my list next year!

2. LMAFO- Sorry for Party Rocking

This album is great! They combine rap, rock, dubstep, club and fun all in one album and it sounds great! I don't listen to this album alot but I'm never disappointed when I do. This album would also be very good for workout music.

3. Nickelback- Here & Now

I love Nickelback, they seem to have gone back to their grittier side with this one. (Which I love, BTW). I would often forget that Nickelback's popular songs are the slower, sad and forlorn songs. Its easy to forget that they have great angry uptempo rock songs (Ahem) Side of a Bullet.

I've never listened to a full Nickelback album before so I'm not sure if they normally mix their balleds and more uptempo songs but this albums seems to be more uptempo songs.

4. Ellie Goulding- Bright Lights (2010) (Re-release of Lights)

A friend put me on to her album, I like it but it feels like most of her music on this album sounds very similar. I like her single that most people have probably heard by now "Lights", its a pretty popular song for end/beginning credits for movies, TV shows, etc..

What are your favorite albums of this year?

Waves..Hey there!

2011-12-29T07:21:00.001-05:00

Happy Holidays! (even though most of them have passed already) I hope everyone got to spend time with their loved ones, I know I did! :)

I'm starting a new blog! I've been wanting a URL change for awhile but the blog is going to cover pretty much the same topics as this one but mostly natural hair and fitness. I fell wayy off this year on both and writing down things helps me feel like I'm making a dent on my mental checklist.

I will be adding hair and beauty product reviews especially on things that I buy/mix that haven't gotten alot of reviews. There are never enough cosmetic product reviews/swatches for dark skinned girls and I don't think there are a lot of product reviews from people with 4b/4c hair. I've found that a few things that work for other people *cough Giovanni Smooth As Silk Conditioner cough* work a little differently on my hair.

I'm going to keep recipes and such over at my cooking blog Yoruba Girl Cooks, I have some new recipes I want to share in the near future. Stay tuned! My new blog is Grad Girl Moxie. I haven't made my first post yet but I will in the next few days.

Kemi

Goodbye Dry Hair..

2010-09-26T23:10:00.001-04:00

I mentioned changing up my new hair routine and for the past three weeks, I've been using it and now I know what my hair really likes for keeping moisture in.

Likes
-water
-non-oil conditioner
-oil as a final sealant only over water based conditioner

Routine:

Prewash
When I do an updo or any hairstyle with gels or other hair products I used Aloe Gel under a conditioner cap overnight or for 30 mins to one hour before shampoo

Wash
I wash with any good moisturizing shampoo

Clarify
Depending on how clean my hair feels post-wash, I dissolve 1/2 cup of baking soda in a 5 quart bucket and rinse to remove any remaining residue (done every other week)

Condition
With a moisture conditioner or protein conditioner

Moisturizing Humectant Spray
with a self mix or bought spray

Leave-In conditioner
Light conditioner or leave in

Oil sealant
Coconut oil (straight) followed by Shea product

I usually do this in sections as I twist

Style:

Doing all this and then twisting my hair and misting it with the honey-water spray has kept my hair feeling very moisturized.

The products I use for each step are as follows.
Products:

Prewash

Lily of the Vally Aloe Gel under a conditioner cap

Wash

With Giovanni smooth and silk shampoo or Joico K-pak shampoo

Clarify

Joico Phine-you MUST use a deep moisturizing conditioner after this otherwise hair will feel like straw.

or I dissolve 1/2 cup of baking soda in a 5 quart bucket and rinse to remove any remaining residue

Condition

With Giovanni 50:50 conditioner my hair likes this the best or Smooth as Silk

Protein: 911 conditioner

Moisturizing Humectant Spray

I use a honey/water spray that I mix up I notice that my hair feels ALOT more moisturized with this spray then with my Oyin Greg Juice.

Leave-In conditioner

Right now I use Giovanni Tea Tree Treat conditioner, I used to use suave tropical coconut

Oil sealant

Coconut oil (straight) followed by Shea product usually whipped shea

I'm trying to think ahead for Christmas and I know quite a few of new naturals and transitioning folks I'm thinking about making them a care kit with some hair stuff I've been piddling with

1) Moisture Spray

2) Whipped Shea

3) Detangling Lotion

4) Light daily hair conditioner (maybe)

5) a 3 x 5 card with my favorite natural hair websites

#4 is the only one that I've NEVER made so it will be fun researching and mixing up things. I normally dabble in making B&B stuff and soaps but I haven't done alot of making hair stuff for other people. I'm looking forward to it!

Update Post!

2010-09-26T22:25:00.000-04:00

No exercise since the Tuesday the week before last, when I injured something in my right groin area. Then I was getting headaches (which i think were from dehydration--drinking coffee and hardly any water)
There were a few days in between where I should have done something, but I just was not motivated. Towards the end of this week I came down when some sort of stomach bug..
I really need to take better care of myself and make sure I drink enough water. When I backtracked and thought about what I've been eating drinking for the past two weeks I know there are days where I only had one cup of water all day..from 8am to midnight or later.

Tomorrow I will be getting back into the swing of things.

Two weeks ago when I did 3-4 days straight of hour-long cardio, I noticed that at the 45 minute mark I would get a bit weak and lightheaded.

Normally I don't eat before I work out first thing in the morning so that I can use the stored energy in my body. I might have to now..In the past week I've read three opposing reports one article suggested eating a small snack (150-200 calories) before AM workouts is better then not eating.
Another article suggested eating any non-carb snack, so that you will still use up stored energy (glycogen --i believe) while doing cardio.
Then another one supported the no eating at all theory again..

But I need some more hour long workout DVDs because the WATP 2 mile walk is about 30 minutes and doing it back to back is making me sick of it FAST!

I've heard that her 3 mile walks are really good.

I definitely think that I need to eat preworkout, maybe some egg whites, I can't think of any other snack that has NO carbs in it..

On the eating side of things,
Early last week I had alot of sweets I was thinking it was getting near that time of the month I really hope so because I was craving really bad..I can't do another week of sweets eating like that.

In the medical school side of things..
I've been thinking that after my current Master's program I will enroll in ANOTHER one but this one will be a Master's in Medical Sciences..basically a program where half of my classes are with first year medical students (MS1) the other half of the classes vary.
Also I've really been considering applying to Caribbean Schools the next time I apply. In the past two weeks I found out that alot of people from my graduating class who ended up not getting into med school ended up applying to Caribbean school and are about to graduate and that alot of graduates from one school in particular feel that they were very happy with their school. So I will be adding this school to my arsenal.

MCAT study time: zero
Workout hours: zero
Eating score: 2-3

Hair Revelations, a fitness update and I made a new blog!

2010-09-12T20:10:00.000-04:00

Since my permie days I've always had moisture issues with my hair. Since I've been natural I always dread an unwelcome hand copping a feel of the fro and them pulling back their hand because my dry, dry hair cut a finger. But ever since I twisted my hair this Tuesday, I haven't had dryness issues! I'm hoping to repeat this process to see if this is the key to my hair staying moist.

What I did: I read over at The Moptop Maven that dryness issues can sometimes come from product buildup and that the solution is to clarify.

1) So, I used a clarifying conditioner--Joico phine chelating conditioner ( that I scored at TJ Maxx for $1!) and deep conditioned afterwards because if you don't your hair will be a dry, hot mess..

2) I deep conditioned overnight with a clear cap with Giovanni 50:50 plus a dash of the smooth as silk conditioner

3) I twisted my hair the next day and sprayed with a weak tea/honey mixture when it got dry and sealed the water in with coconut oil first then shea butter.

4) Everyday or every-other day I sprayed my twists with the honey water/tea mixture.

Now my hair doesn't seem to dry out so quickly..it may be claryfing plus the honey mix holding water in my hair but I am loving my hair not being a crunchy mess!

As far as my fitness update goes is that I worked out for an hour for the past two days- yesterday I learned some of a new belly dance choreography by my favorite instructor, I did the 2mile walk (35 mins) (Walk Away the Pounds) back to back and today I did the 1 mile walk (20 mins) plus the Chris Freytag walking workout (48 mins)..and I can say that it definitely feels different when I work out for a whole hour (the massive amount of sweat the comes off my body)... but at the end of the day, I am really glad I worked out 3 days straight. Hopefully I can keep this up.

I just created a food blog @ Yoruba Girl Cooks where I will be featuring healthy recipes and some no-so healthy recipes..LOL

Updated Vintage Hairdo Tutorial--Pt 2

2010-09-10T17:12:00.001-04:00

I was over at BGLH and she featured Loquacious85's vintage pin-up hairdo and I remembered I had this post that I had to finish up..

I just would like to preface this tutorial and my pics with in my pics
the hair looks kinda messy but when you see it in person it looks as
smooth as Janelle Monae's hairstyles. The my pics here amplify the
poufyness. I couldn't get a good pic of the last bun part of my hair,
it basically looks like Loquacious85's after I let it set.
For me the key is to do this when you have some time to let it set under a scarf.

Also I found the links for where I initially thought to even try and
do my hair this way, my hairstyle is a mish-mash of these two. I was
attempting to do the vintage pin up and for some reason my hair will
not do what her's does in the front, it would just would not hold and
fall apart in the front so I ended up rolling it and liking :)
1st:
Check out Loquacious85's vintage up-to tutorial here:
Part I
Part II
And coilycrown's rolling method here (I love her blog BTW)
Her rolling method.

watching/reading these first will make my written tutorial here so
much easier to understand.

Here are pics of my hair.. preset

Sorry about the Bluetooth headset in this pic..

1. Start with freshly washed, towel dried hair (for me it is best if
hair is damp)
2. Part hair in three sections 1/4 in the front (the bangs/pompadour)
2/4 in the middle (the updo part) and about 1/4 in the back, back for
the rest of the hair that won't fit in the updo.
*note* Try and see if the back can fit into the updo part before you
have the back section. I recommend trying Loquacious85's pin/tuck
method it alot faster and I think it looks better but I end up redoing
it almost daily-no me gusta

3. For the front:
You can use the rolling method and just roll the wet hair inward and
bobby pin down as you go. That doesn't work for me because my texture
is looser in the middle and tighter on the sides.
Or you can do it this way--
What I do is take the front section and pull it into a pony tail with
the hair band close to the end of the hair.
Then tuck it back into the part of the ponytail that is loose and
secure with bobby pins if needed. (it doesn't usually look right at
first, sometimes you have to play with it before it dries)

4. For the middle:
I pull the hair up and at the very ends I french braid making sure I
get all the edges in then when I get to the end I tuck the free part
of the braid back into the "french braid" so it is invisible. The
trick is, when the hair dries it will puff up giving you more
texture/volume.

5. For the back:
Option 1
This is the part I have to redo almost everyday, I just pull into a
low ponytail and tuck the ends under (making a little bun in the back)
so that my ends are protected.

Option 2
Recently, I've been braiding or flat-twisting the back/bun portion from the base of the neck upwards and tucking the ends in..

enjoy!!

Weekly Reads 9/10/2010

2010-09-10T16:00:00.003-04:00

Weekends Reads

photo from KWESI ABBENSETTS

The Moptop Maven discusses methods to combat hair dryness

Lifehacker shows how to create the ultimate workout playlist

Yoga poses for back pain

I always thought that men were immune to the clothes sizing issues in clothing--I was wrong.. When a size 36, doesn't equal a 36 inch waist..

Style on A string shows diffrent organizaation techniques for your wardrobe's Purses, shoes & heels

For better study recall change your surroundings every once in awhile

WSJ reports that a salary of 75,000 is the perfect salary for happiness

Over at Yes and Yes-- Living your life on purpose

Over at the A Brilliant Brunette winged eyeliner tutorial and tips for long lasting red lips

Quickie Post! Weekly Weigh-in (down 14)

2010-09-10T10:49:00.000-04:00

Overall I gained about 3 lbs since the last time I weighed in.. I remember hitting at least -17 lbs at some point during the summer. I was so close to 20!

This morning I got my walk on with Chris Freytag on Exercise TV and got 48 mins of exercise, it was pretty intense for me, I'm kinda glad I didn't go to cardio classes this past week I would have been overwhelmed. I didn't do BD drills today but in Kris's cooldown there were yoga stretches included in her cool down.. I really like that.
I didn't reach my goal today (2 out of 3) but I came close..baby steps..

Gaga Ooh la la...artist commentary & review of The Monster Ball Tour 2010

2010-09-10T08:00:00.002-04:00

As far as the concert, I give it a B+/A-. Let me preface this with saying that this was my second official concert. The last one I went to was the backstreet boy's Into the Millennium Tour (1999/2000) at the same venue. The stage for the BSB tour was HUGE, it took up the whole floor. Gaga's set-up was maybe one third of that. So the stage was smaller then I expected.
There were too many interludes between sets, because there were alot of costume changes and stage set-ups. The concert in it's entirety lasted about 2 hours. That being said the performances were great! I loved all of them and if her concert was coming to a city near me soon, I would definitely buy a ticket to see it again.

Lady Gaga is a polarizing figure. Ever since I made it public knowledge that I would be attending her Sept 4 date at Auburn Hills, I've gotten people that love her and people that hate her--with very few in-betweens. Also, I've been asked indirectly many times why I would pay good money to see her perform and why I even like her in the first place.

By just listening to her singles you would think she was simply a pop artist that had a passable voice an artist that makes hit songs made for dancing. A few months ago I came across a YouTube video of Gaga, then as simply Stefani Germanotta playing the piano and singing her songs Captivated & Electric Kiss for a talent show at NYU. If you pay attention to what one of the judges say, they put her in the same category as Norah Jones.

It all started for me when I picked up The Fame in the Summer of 2008 and I haven't stopped listening to it. The Fame is still in rotation in my CD/MP3 player to this day. I enjoy Gaga's up-tempo songs but I find that I love the softer side of Gaga--the ballads! My favorites are Brown Eyes and Speechless, I just find myself drawn to these songs and listening to them over and over again. Here are clips of her singing Brown Eyes (from the Monster Ball Tour) and Speechless (from the Ellen show) LIVE
**Disclaimer**
There is strong language in the Brown Eyes performance towards the end and also in text in the post after this point where I'm quoting Gaga and here asterisks.

She definitely has a great voice and unique lyrics "you popped my heart seams, on my bubble dreams" After singing this song at the concert Gaga said "I don't do that lip-singing shit, you didn't pay all the money just to watch some bitch stand here and rub her breasts together" As she proceeded to sing and rub her breasts together..LOL.

That is when I realized I was a true fan..I may not like all her videos (BTW Telephone is my favorite Peep the analysis of the Telephone Video HERE ) but I can say that I enjoy all of her music..I haven't heard a Gaga song that I don't like... (yet)

The catchy singles and the extreme exaggeration/interpretation of fashion trends drew me in but Gaga's quirky, realistic lyrics and her amazing talent is what has kept me as a Gaga fan..not just a person that kinda likes her music.

Goals--Weekly Evaluation

2010-09-09T22:45:00.001-04:00

Cardio Time: 0
MCAT Time: 0
Healthy Eating: 4 (1-10 scale)
Budgeting: 8 (1-10 scale)
Other workouts: 0

I would have taken my MCAT today. Thank God I cancelled it...
I haven't studied any MCAT stuff since two weeks ago, I feel like such a bum. In regards to studying I attempted to study with a study group last week but I quickly realized that I would not be doing anything productive because one person in the group talks aloud while studying and I find that I cannot concentrate. That plus parking at this library is hellacious so I will not be studying there. I had a backup study person but they are not reliable for a study wing person.

Soo I'm kinda at a loss..but I do think that I will start studying at the local public libraries..usually the study areas are nice and quiet..
But, I study better if I know that someone else is studying near me, it is very weird, but I dunno that's what works for me..

Part of the no-study problem is that I was too ambitious in thinking that I will actually go to a noon cardio session because by the time noon rolls around I'm already busy doing something.
I would actually stick to early AM workouts and start my day better when I workout, eat then work (study) It allows me to have a set routine..I think I'm going to start tomorrow and perhaps add daily yoga and belly dance drills to my morning routine.
Also, I have a bunch of fiction books that I've been reading in the morning between 6a-10a this usually takes 3-4 hours and is sucking up my workout time, so I'm going to try and break myself of this new habit..

I must, must, MUST manage my time better..

I know I rated my budgeting at 8, but that was before this afternoon's shopping excursion.. I dropped ~$300 on goods from TJ Maxx..boo hisss!!
Some things were not needed (ie the Cuisinart Oval Enameled Cast Iron pot for $60--on amazon its $99) But alot of things were not purchased randomly I got Christmas gifts for the baby cousins, a Birthday gift for a friend and some much needed home items, etc...

Goals to work on for next week.
1) Stop re-reading books in the morning
2) Workout in the morning for at least 1 hour (not including yoga (10-15 minutes) and BD Drills
(10 mins)
3) Study after my workouts

Ghubar Magazine's Africa Issue Sept 2010

2010-09-03T13:09:00.006-04:00

This is the first time I've heard of Ghubar Magazine but these covers are amazing!

Here are the covers for the Africa Issue

And last but not least.. I love this headwrap!! I've been raiding my mom's closet for all her old lace and wax print outfits, I can't seem to find a headwrap that I really, really love..

I spotted this at Afroklectic! I love her blog!
Here is the link to Ghubar Magazine's blog post about this issue

Hiatus Over and a Spiffy renamed blog

2010-08-29T18:28:00.000-04:00

Back with a new name!

I wanted to change the name because I felt that having my name in the title was a bit self-centered. I don't know it just didn't feel right. Yes, this is a personal blog but I don't want it to be narcissistic.

I chose this name because if I could only do two things to feel pulled together, it would be black mascara and red lips. I would like to incorporate more of my interests into this blog instead of making 50 different blogs. I'm more likely to keep up with one. Weekly weigh-ins and link love/weekly reads will still be ongoing.

I didn't take my MCAT. During my two week vacation where I visited Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Williams, AZ ) I wasn't able to study enough to stay on track.

So with this new semester, I would like to stop doing things that do not work and focus on the things that have helped me in the past. An example is that for the past 3-4 months I've been been attempting to do intense studying at local coffeehouses where it is often noisy instead of the quiet solitude I get at a library. I love the atmosphere of our local coffee shops, but I cannot do any serious work (like ahem-MCAT study) there.

And I didn't realize that until I read a comment on this blog post at lifehacker.com "If you can do your work well in a coffee shop, let's be honest, you're not working that hard."

Another example is with my weight-loss goals, I've been at a standstill. What worked before was 6-7 hours of activity per week so -- I need to exercise for at least an hour everyday and track my calories--period. I've already put ongoing cardio classes into my Gcal for every day of the week because I need variety and I only have so many workout DVDs.

I'm going to try and do a personal (better yet a blog post) weekly evaluation on my goals this whole semester like this one I read about on Lifehacker.

1) continue to study for my MCAT so that I can take the January or March one next year

Get through and understand 2 lessons a week, in addition to my weekly school work.

Ban coffeeshops from my study spots

Go to the library before class or work.

2) Get my booty to the gym (or wherever) I can sweat it out at least 6 days a week.

Sounds like a good start :)

2 days down!

2010-05-18T23:19:00.000-04:00

I'm officially two days down in my unofficial challenge to myself. I cannot buy anything to eat this week. I have to make everything myself. I've done pretty good.
I've been eating Chicken Malai Curry and vegetable Korma that me and a friend made over the weekend and also making quick little tibits to eat. I made (healthier) chilli dogs yesterday (2-100 cal turkey dogs, little bit of hog dog sauce with alot of mustard and onions on one pair of 100 cal sandwich flats). About 350-400 calories for the whole meal.

I have to say I may be buying a cupcake from my fav cupcake shop Friday and possibly getting some froyo from Michigan Saturday but this is preplanned so I don't think it counts ;).

Quickie Post! 5/16/2010

2010-05-16T21:41:00.000-04:00

My week was busy, more so then I expected. I didn't get a chance to workout very much this week. I swam Sunday got sick Mon-Wednesday. I did watch my eating habits and I stepped on the scale to see that I was down -17 lbs! I can't believe it. I lost 2 lbs and I really wasn't trying. I will say that I am motivated this week so get back on the wagon.

I've just been slacking: budgetwise-I kinda forgot about my shopping ban and foodwise--It kinds ties into my budgetslack i've been buying (not making) and exercise ..very little of that. So next week I will be working on all three. I will make 90% of my meals and I will exercise more. Hopefully my next WI will be close to -20!!

Quickie Update--down 15!

2010-05-09T13:45:00.000-04:00

I've been extremely busy with the end of the semester things and in the crazyiness of everything this semester I've realized that I have way too much on my plate. I've been putting off taking the MCAT for almost two years and its time to stop. I need to buckle down drop down to part time work and do some other things to strenghen my medical school application and put my process on hold until next year. Me taking the MCAT June 17 is to early I've only have ~5 weeks to prepare and I'm starting from scratch any MCAT date later then that is to late for me to be applying.

In other news, I haven't worked out swam in about a week, but I haven't been eating horribly. I found out that I have gallstones and that greasy/fatty meals make you feel horrible, so I've been avoiding those like the plague. Since I'm finally done with this semester I'l have alot of free time. I lost one more pound, but I really think its due to the stress of the past two weeks. I just thought about it, being down one more pound takes me down to -15!! I can really feel a difference in the way my clothes fit..

I'll be back with a major weekend reads this upcoming weekend. I have barely checked on any of the blogs I normally do. I can't wait to catch up!!

Weekly Reads 4/23/2010

2010-04-23T14:51:00.004-04:00

Check out these neat owl cupcakes!! I know totally NOT healthy but a neat idea for decorating foods.

I know I'm late..but there is controversy over this Lane Bryant, lingerie commercial..WTF?!? Vicky's secrets commercials show more skin and are MUCH longer!! View the "offensive" ad here..

If you would like to chat about it you can join the convo on fab finds under 50 here

I just commented on Josie's Blog about finding more recipes that use Greek yogurt as a healthy alternative, I came across this Alfredo Recipe over at the Glamourous grad's weekend reads

I've been looking for nice vintage inspired skirts and dresses lately. Luckily, I just found out from Musings of a fatshionista that JIBRI online have just revealed their newest line a vintage-inspired Spring 2010 collection!! I'm smitten!! I especially like the striped pansy dress..too bad it only comes in a 14/16.

The Autodesk homestyler renders your home blueprints in 3D.

From the simple dollar, How much do you really save by air drying clothes? Its more than you think..

Sorry this is a link lite post this week!

Weekly weight in Down -14lbs

2010-04-23T12:57:00.001-04:00

Its kinda sad that i'm just down 14lbs and its about to be May, but I tell you this swimming thing plus my normal workouts is working out pretty well.. I feel muscles where i forgot I HAD muscles! I'll end on a positive note that I lost 1+ this week :)

swimming+excercise & MCAT ramblings--quickie post

2010-04-21T14:19:00.001-04:00

One of the other perks from my TJ Max shopping spree was that I was able to buy two workout DVDs for $5 a piece, they were Walk Away the Pounds 2miles and a 3 mile DVD but i think each DVD has 2 workouts on it. I did the first 2mile workout on yesterday after i went swimming on Monday and boy--I was so sore 6 hours later and I remember the same thing happened to me last time. That's okay, I just have to keep that in mind and maybe workout on day one then swim day 2 then day off day three..its no biggie if it doesn't kill me it will only make me stronger..

I've chosen a day for my MCAT June 17..I have to drive all the way to Pennsylvania..I'm pissed but I have a friend at Pitt so I will be visiting her for sure.. With the end of the semester around the corner this is going to be interesting..

Weekly Reads 4/17/2010

2010-04-17T18:48:00.001-04:00

Another picture taken with my Nokia N900

Cece at the Big girl Blog ponders what do guys think of big girls after overhearing a man convo..

Learn how to pronounce unfamilar names/words, by hearing them spoken

Got a stubborn laundry stain? Check the University of Illinois's stain removal database.

Learn basic culinary skills from chefs themselves by video

Budding green thumb? Learn to grow plants indoors. I'm going to try this with my kitchen herbs..

Lifehacker featured this neat photo sorter that goes through unmanageable photo collections (I know I'm not the only one that has a mishmash of misc photos in folders dumped from my SD card)

Got DIY home projects on the mind? Use lifehacker's guide to find useful design tools for your project.

Do you use over the counter medication frequently? Kevin MD compiled a list of OTC drugs to avoid.