Progress

* Thursday, September 24, 2009 *
Yes, my hair is straight-ish! Thought I'd change it up a bit w/ the Chi ceramic flat iron!

Progress is going to my brother's wedding, with all of my family there, eating out every meal and sticking to my pre-cooked meals and workouts!!!! I am really proud of myself for sticking to it and doing so well! Everytime throughout this process that I have done something I never thought I could do, it has been great! I'm learning so much about what I'm capable of and it's awesome!

I also felt awesome at the wedding. I didn't feel bloated or controlled by food. I didn't feel pissed that my clothes wouldn't fit. I didn't have to dress around the possibility that I might eat carbs and get so bloated that I'd have to cover up. I felt great. I didn't have to wear Spanx to the wedding and I felt comfortable in my own skin at the alter and in all of the pictures. It was a great experience AND I know that I only have further to go in my leaning out and will only feel BETTER in the coming months. What a cool place to be??!!!

I did discover that when I'm tired, it's like being drunk and I lose my ability or ease to control what I eat! I was drunk dialing Domino's when I got home! I'm trying not to beat myself up but good grief it was like an out of body experience and when I woke up the next day I couldn't believe what I'd done. Moving on.....

The only pic I have so far of the wedding week - at the rehearsal dinner with my brother!

My Hair Throughout the Years

Childhood 1

Childhood 2

Childhood 3

Middle School

High School 1

High School 2

High School 3

High School 4

College 1

College 2

College 3

College 4

College 5

Engagement Pics ~ Summer 2004

Wedding ~ September 2004

2005

2005 - 2006 A

2005 - 2006 B

January 2008

February 2008

March / April 2008

Summer 2008 A

Summer 2008 B

Fall 2008 A

2008 - 2009

I have a friend from college who did an album like this and it was the coolest thing!! I wanted to do the same, but as always, I'd LOVE feedback from you ladies!! What do you think on length and color? I'm thinking I need to keep growing my hair out for my competition next year. I also think that with a tan on stage, that blond will be the best. I also plan to stick with my curls on stage, because that's me! What about with my pale skin??!!! Should I stick with my natural color or add some more blond? I added some blond but feel like I need to add more blond to make it show up with my curls. Keep in mind the tan vs pale differences when critiquing the images!

Self portrait

While I was taking pictures of my hair for the previous post, I decided to steal Shawna's idea for a self portrait. I always take photos straight on so I thought it'd be neat to see a photo of me from a different angle. Again, I'm stealing Shawna's idea...thanks friend!

Product

I was asked a while ago to post on curly hair products but haven't yet! I got some new products and thought I'd post those products as well as how my hair looks w/ them...both in the morning and after a full day at work!!! True test, right??!!

Above photos - LEFT is in the morning and the RIGHT is after all day at work (without touching my hair...don't touch curly hair once it's styled...that creates frizz!!!)

I use Redken Fresh Curls as my shampoo and conditioner. I have used their styling products in the past and liked them ok. I felt like some of them weren't strong enough and others made my hair too crunchy....it's always worth a shot to see if you like them or not!
Here are the products I used this morning. First, I put on the Extreme Protein, then the rootful to lift my roots and then the layer lift as a spray gel. Finally, once dry, I always use that spray! I love that spray! It's perfect....thank you Renee for that product. I love it now and can't go anywhere without it!

I'll try to keep doing this when I try new products (or old ones).

Keith Urban: Defying Gravity

Another great album out yesterday is Keith Urban....I went to his concert last year (Thanks, Dana) and it was GREAT!!! This album is AMAZING like all of his other albums!!! I have so much new music to listen to....I'm so excited!!!!

with Dana at the Keith Urban concert this time in 2008
Dana looks fabulous while I'm sweating up a storm! This is the day after I cut all my hair off!!!
I really shouldn't look at these pics b/c when I do, I really really want to cut off my hair again...THAT SHORT!

Blond again?

Should I go blond again?? Many of my friends, including my BFF will say absolutely not. My mother would say absolutely yes. I'm thinking about it. I really started to think about it after my mom continued to push me to do it and I told her it was a waste of money and she offered me, her adult daughter, a check every month to pay for my hair to be blond...incentive? Yes! Then, Brooke White (who many have said I look like) made an appearance on American Idol a month or two ago singing and playing the piano and looked fantastic with blonde hair and a similar skin tone as mine (pale). I am growing my hair out again for next year's competition and think I'd like to go blond for summer. What do you all think?

Here's what I'm thinking....
Me as a blond....(I was a little tanner than I probably will be ever again)....
My natural color....
My hair a little darker brown....
So, what do you think???

DRYING curly hair

This is the morning of my wedding as my best friend and maid of honor assisted me in drying my hair. You can't even see the diffuser on my hair dryer because it is inside my hair :) Beauty is painful. That is my best friend rubbing my neck from the strain being caused by drying my hair!!! I put a picture of my hair that day, before I got into my wedding dress (as I was putting on my bridal shoes), so you can see that it dried beautifully!

Drying curly hair is VERY important! A diffuser is a MUST....not a maybe, a MUST!!! I found a great YouTube video about styling curly hair that I cannot embed but is perfect information. Click on my link to see it. There are TONS of videos that are just like it that you can use to get info. Just try different tips and tricks and see if they work for you!

Tips I like for drying my hair:

• Use an Aquis Super Absorbent Towel (You can find these at many retail locations. I got mine years ago at Bath & Body Works )
• Do NOT brush you hair. I don't even run my fingers through my hair. I try to keep my curls together and touch it as little as possible
• Put styling product in by scrunching it in (I plan to blog about different product ideas later). DON'T be afraid to use a lot of product!!! We curly girls need it!
• Use paper towels to scrunch hair after putting in product to take all the excess moisture out. Your hair will still be wet but not dripping and ready to dry
• Use a "finger" diffuser on the best hair dryer you can afford. I believe in expensive hair dryers. I have a Chi that I love ! It comes with a "finger" diffuser attachment. (I also plan to blog later about straightening and my Chi flat iron is another product I swear by)
• When using your Chi, use the lowest setting for speed. You want the least amount of air to hit your hair. The more air, the more you look like you came out of a wind storm and get the "wind blown look"....not the look we are going for here :) You will have less frizz if you have a lower power setting on your hair dryer. That is a MUST for any hairdryer of any cost for me!
• TAKE YOUR TIME! Hold the diffuser at your ends and treat it as a cup, then slowly raise the dryer and let your curls ring around the "fingers" until you reach your scalp and let it rest. Let the dryer do the work. Don't move it around a lot! Let the blow dryer DRY your hair! It will set the curls. Turn your head to each side for a few sets of drying (each time for a few min) and then tilt to the back and the other side.
  
• Finally, flip your head over and dry it from the top. Don't be frightened! When you flip back your hair will be wild!!! But, you can put more styling product in and get it to lay down. Better to try and tame extra volume than have your hair too flat...in my opinion!
• When done, DON'T TOUCH YOUR HAIR! Throughout the day, touch your hair sparingly. The more you touch it, the frizzier it will get!

Future curly hair post ideas:

• My hair throughout the years
• Straightening
• Products
• Curly Celebrities
  
• Styling
• Know your type of curly hair
  
• Curly books
  
• To wash (shampoo) or not to wash...
• My curly hair inspiration and instructors

Naturallycurly.com

There are a lot of curly hair resources out there that I have discovered throughout the years of my curly hair trials! One that I have found very useful is naturallycurly.com. Looking for a new product? or inspiration? or a curly friend? It's all here....

There are some great resources on this site. I have used the CurlSalons feature in all of the states I have lived in. When I lived in Denver in college I found a fantastic hairdresser in Boulder. (Side note: I also found someone to wax my eyebrows there...ruined me for life! It was the best wax I've ever had and now will not allow anyone to wax me because they don't compare.)

CurlPix has great ideas for hairstyles. When have you tried to find a new hairstyle (as a curly girl) and not been able to find any pictures online? Try looking up short hairstyles, for instance, in a hairstyles book at a salon or online. You will not find but 1 in 100 pics of curly hair. Kinky curly hair? Forget it!