Photo Dump Wednesday

Happy hump day!!! I am so ready for the weekend :-).

Here are some pics I took in the last week.

I was sick last week so what better way to get over a head cold than to sit under a warm dryer to deep condition my hair? :-).

Finished outcome after a deep condition and c-wash.

JOE loves her selfies! She got this hate from her grandparents who recently came back from Disney world. Her name is embroided on the back. So cute! She calls it "me me"

Its official! JOE loves my nutella banana crepes! :-). Check out her mastery of the use of a fork :-). We eat breakfast as a family on weekends and clearly, JOE was enjoying her breakfast.

My baby turned 17-months on Monday. Here she is practicing her blinking skills. Future flirt in the making.

And there she is rubbing noses with her dad. So cute!

ALMOST made my goal of 2.25 miles in 30-minutes. Oh well. Can I use the excuse that I forgot my socks so I had to run without? Is that a legit excuse? I still did the jog though so I count that as an accomplishment.

I decided to flat twist my hair last night after I got home and took a shower. Yes, I took this pic in JOE's room since she was playing in there :-).

The end results. The back.

The end results. The front. I love the way it turned out. 

And then I got on the train and BAM! This lady sat smack in front of me. Not even sure of what to make of the hair style. Makes me wonder if others have done the same to me. I know my hair isn't always well done. Hmmm...

 Hope you are having a great week so far!

"Thanks for stopping by!" <---Mickey Mouse

DIY: A very horsey skirt for JOE

I decided to horse around with some leftover stuff I had in my fabric box and ended up making this very horsey skirt for JOE. Yes...a Zebra is a type of horse :-).
I wanted to use fabric I already had on hand because I didn't feel like going out and getting more fabric. It worked out great. I love when I think of something and it actually translates into 90% what I was thinking. I just heard Special Agent Oso say "its all part of the plan...more or less" in my head! Gosh...I am spending too much time watching Disney Junior!!!

Anyways, like I said, I used materials I already had on hand from past DIY projects.

I cut out 2 strips and sewed them together. I already have JOE's 12-month measurements from a skirt I made for her earlier. So I added about an inch to the length and 3/4 inch to the waist.
If you want a more precise tutorial for measurements, here is a link to a site that might be helpful.

Then I hemmed the edge of a third strip to use for the waist.

Then I joined the horse fabric to the "zebra" fabric.

I did a double hem so it won't have any "poking" areas that might scratch her.

Then I added the other zebra piece to the bottom of the skirt.

Finished skirt.

I immediately went up to JOE's room to see if I could pair it with something in her closet. I found this Mickey Mouse vest she got from her grandparents for her birthday!

Since its still cold here (come on Spring!!!), I figured black leggins will have to be worn with the skirt until it gets warmer outside. 

JOE finally got to debut the skirt when we went out with J's family to celebrate March birthdays.

I was trying to take a picture in her outfit but my little princess wasn't having none of that.

Finally, she walked over to see what her dad was doing and I was able to snap a picture of it.
I know I know...we're working on the binky (a.k.a. the binxter...aka the bah).

Expertise needed: A comfortable beginner. As you can see, I make stuff that's easy :-).

Total Approximate time: 90-minutes? I know it was less than 2-hours. I was also working on a couple of other things so I got distracted sometimes.

Total spent on sewing materials: $0. I didn't have to get anything from the store since I already had everything on hand.

Feedback: Its almost Spring and JOE will be wearing a lot more skirts!!! I wish I could make skirts I can wear, that look good on me and that I like. Perhaps that'll be my next goal.

My next DIY sewing project will be a refashion item. Hopefully, it turns out good.

Foolery: Things that make me go hmmm...

TGIF!!!

Not even sure how to react to this. It is comical but also disturbing at the same time. SMH. Desperate much?

More along those lines, imagine calling 911 for a bad stomach ache only to deliver a baby a short while later! I bet this woman certainly didn't think it would happen to her! But then, it can't beat this woman who thought she was having triplets and got another surprise during delivery! I would love to see the face of the dad when he found out.

How cute is this? This dad definitely wins the "fun dad" award in my book.

Have a fabulous weekend and remember to be kind to strangers!

Photo Dump Wednesdays...on Thursday

I know this is a day late but better late than never :-).

So here are pictures from PDW this week.

I LOVE my BCBG shoes! They are just so comfortable! I can wear them for hours carrying a toddler and not be in pain. I wore these to Church on Sunday.

Not sure if you know but I LOVE Indian food AND mango lassi served in Indian restaurants! I bought some mangoes a week ago and decided to make some mango lassi. I still can't believe how easy this was to make and how tasty it was!

In addition to now climbing out of her crib, my little princess has learnt to climb on the ottoman! Here she is feeling quite happy with her achievement!

 I made this for a very dear friend. I hope she likes it.

 Sticking with my healthy eating/living. I have been running during my lunch break at work.

 My newest acquisition. Yup, I am serious about doing my own hair!

My goal this week was to run 2.25 miles in 30-minutes. I didn't quite hit that but I'll take 2.23. That's about 13.5 minute miles. Next week, my goal is 2.4 miles in 30-minutes. My ultimate goal is to get back to running 12-minute miles. Wish me luck!

I am very much looking forward to the weekend. 

Have a fabulous day!

Hair Update: So far so good

I have been reading a number of articles about how more and more women of color are going back to their roots. This article was for women in West Africa and the movement to get back to their natural roots. It really has been inspirational because even though I started out not really knowing if this was a journey I wanted to take, I have decided that it is one I definitely want to take.

The last few weeks have gone really as well as can be expected. I have mastered the art of doing flat twists. I am still working on doing 2-strand twists. I have managed to not become a product junkie and so far, I haven't lost all my hair. I count it all positive.

AND, I actually purchased a bonnet dryer! All part of my plan of doing my own hair at home.

Taken 3-weeks ago..

You can see my natural hair is growing in nicely. 

 After watching a number of YouTube videos, I THOUGHT I could be one of those people who would be able to do a flat twist and go on my transitioning hair. Umm...FAIL!

So the following day, I decided to just re-twist it for church and accessorize it with a flower. 

A couple of Saturdays ago, I got my hair done and liked it but I think I'll be doing my own hair for the next few months unless I am going out for a formal event.
My hair stylist is awesome and I love her but I am VERY tender headed and after my last appointment, I decided it would be best I not go back too often or else, I'll leave there crying ALL THE TIME since my head still HURTS 10-days later!

In anycase, I plan on keeping the flat twists in front through the end of this week. I added flat twists to the back of my hair and will be putting the back in perm rods over the weekend to kind "refresh" the look for next week.

Excuse the work space mess. Clearly, lunch breaks should be taken in the lunch room. But there are people there and they'd think I was strange if I started snapping  pictures of the back of my head! :-).

For this week, I added the perm rods to the back to "freshen it up". I like the way it turned out.

And because I couldn't resist, here are pics of my 5.5 months growth. I have about 3-inches of new growth in some areas and more in other areas which is consistent with about a regular 1/2 inch growth per month.

I started taking MSM supplements last week for 2 reasons.
- I have been running again and MSM is supposed to help with muscle healing and connective tissue so I figured it would be a good supplement to take. I did my first 2-mile run since being 4-months pregnant last Tuesday and it felt great! I think I can definitely go 3-miles but I will build up to it. My goal is 2.25 miles next week.
- My second reason is that MSM supplement is rumored to help with hair growth. Not sure if I believe it but I'll let you know if I notice any difference.

I was initially going to try Hairfinity but since J & I still want to have more kids, I don't want to put anything that might mess with my body when the time comes.

Anyways, there you have it. My hair is growing nicely and so far, I am enjoying it.