Cow Town Is Coming: Prepare for Branding

alternate title for this post: "This one's for you, Candice."

So, upon hugging me goodbye (for what may be the last time for a while), my friend requested that I put more personal updates on my blog. While I think we definitely have a difference of opinion about what is personal, i know what she means. She wants me to update more on the goings on in my life..which is understandable. SO, since I do not have pictures of my unborn children to post, I shall tell you the update on my upcoming move to Ft. Worth. So without further adieu, Candice, this one's for you:

Habitat:I have found an AWESOME 1 bedroom 625 sq ft apartment 10 minutes from campus for a phenomenal price of $399 a month (300 of which will be paid by TCU). This apartment find is a RELIEF and while I always like myself better when I have a roomie (I like the idea of being forced to be considerate of another), I have decided to live alone. I think its a good choice for the current season and I really look forward to quiet contemplative times of being, as well as Pizza Nite 3.0!

Up Next:I will be headed up to Fort Worth on the 6th and 7th of August for an Orientation to my position type of experience. I'm really looking forward to this b/c I have the opportunity to meet Kate, my new Americorps colleague and recent TCU graduate. It will also be really enlightening to speak with Amy (the current VISTA) about the day joys and challenges of the position.

The Big Move:JT and friends will be loading up a UHaul with many of my personal belongings that I have not seen in a year and bringing those things to my apartment for move in. I look forward to spending that weekend unpacking, reuniting with my matching dishes that Hannah bought me, writing lists, visiting a church I have been cyber-stalking, and settling in, before I go back to Waco to crash before my work officially starts.

The Oath:August 25th, I head to Albuquerque, New Mexico to attend Americorps* Public Service Orientation, to learn some things, make some friends, and take my oath of service. Following my oath, my year of service will officially have begun..da da duuuuuum...what do you think about them apples?...mmm I love apples...

COMING UP IN THE BLOG: Tales from a Birthday Scavenger Hunt...
here's a teaser photo taken towards the end of my birthday evening...

Summer Hair Regimen

The summer heat and sun can really stress my hair. It also doesn't help that I decided to dye my hair earlier in the summer. To show my strands some love I had to play around with differnt regeime in order to find out what works for me.

I try to keep in a protective style for at least 3-4 days. I love wearing my hair out in the summer-the wind feels so going blowing it all over the place. After wearing it out I perform my wash & deep conditioning ritual.

An average week looks like this:

Sunday - Wear out

Sunday night - Shampoo/deep condition/Protective style

Monday - Wear protective style

Tuesday - Still Wearing protective style

Wednesday - Wear out

Thursday - Wear out

Thursday night - Co-wash/Protective style

Friday - Protective style

Saturday - Protective style

Products used:

Shampoo - Organics Olive Oil Shampoo

Conditioner - Suave Organics or Aussie Moist

Moisturizer - Shea Butter/Olive Oil Mix

Hair Spritz - Water/Peppermint Oil

Hair GTG Save The Date

The hair gathering has been planned so far in advance that we decided to send out a save the date for all ladies that have expressed interest. We still have not come up with a title but this is what we have come up with so far(suggestions are welcome):

Beautiful Artwork!

I frequent a lovely Sheltie message board, Circle of Sheltie Friends, and on that board they have a feature called Mascot of the Month where two Shelties are named MOTM each and every month. Their story is written up and posted for all to see. Additionally, one of the resident Sheltie-a-holics compiles submitted photos of the MOTM to accompany the story.

Romeo has been chosen as one of the MOTMs for August 2009!

I checked out the board this morning to see that his story has been posted along with some absolutely stunning photos by our resident computer image guru, Mo. I've received permission from Mo to post them here and show off her wonderful work to the world!

Sporty Romeo

Romeo Candids

Yet another package....

...arrived today. You must think I'm shopping like mad, but I've been waiting for this to arrive for two weeks now. Also I suppose I am making a habit out of buying pretty underwear from Agent Provocateur every time they have a sale. Their prices actually aren't that bad then, and I'd rather pay a little extra for quality underwear that also makes me feel like a princess.





So, so beautiful.

On another note, Sam of Daily Fashion Boost interviewed me about my style. Check it out here! Thanks, Sam.

Inspirational quote of the day

"Saying no to negativity also means not being around negative people. Negative people deplete UR energy." - Deepak

Amen to that!

Hot new shoe from Loubou's

Painfully cute shoes from Loubou's. I feel a little bit of a dominatrix vibe from this design. I'm just saying... :-P. But if I had an event to go to, and they weren't so expensive, I would rock 'um.

- Source: Maneandchic

Singer Carmen Liana

Check out Loc'd singer artist Carmen Liana. Lovely voice. Click below for songs, videos, pictures and more:

Raining Cats and Dogs

Okay ... maybe there aren't so many cats around. But dogs, wet dogs, we've got!

Tonight was our regular canine strength and conditioning class and it was raining. Not over cold and not a torrential downpour, so we worked through it. A good idea to get the dogs used to working in the rain anyways, and something Mr. "I'm made of sugar and can't get wet" really needs to practice! He is getting better, and will work in the rain, I just have to pull out the good treats and pile on the encouragement.

Big success of the night (aside from me not falling down or collapsing from lack of oxygen to the brain), Romeo pulled his bag of rocks ... err, I mean highly sophisticated and accurately calibrated doggy weight system ... across the whole field without me having to "help". When I got Romeo, he was overly aware of his leash, to the point that he couldn't even function if, Dog forbid, the leash draped on the wrong side of his body. And don't even THINK about trying to drag the leash behind you! NO WAY! I worked quite hard on desensitizing him to the leash and he is stellar with it now. But we took a couple steps backwards when I then hooked that leash to his harness and added 2lbs of rocks to the end. Back to square one with the training. But he's been doing pretty good, to the point where I just have to "pretend" to hold the leash and he will pull the full weight. Tonight I started him off jogging beside him while holding the leash, and then eased it down so that he was pulling the full weight of the bag, and he kept happily running beside me. YAY! Of course, he only did it one time out of four attempts, but we'll take the small successes!

Afterward, in addition to being tired, we were both also very VERY wet. I would like to think that Romeo looks somewhat more pathetic than I do while doing the drowned rat impression, but I think I might just be flattering myself there. Either way, I'm the one with the thumbs, so I get to stand behind the camera. So here is a very wet and unhappy Romeo.

"Not cool, dude. Definitely not cool."

Off-Topic.... Cute Hammer Pants!?!

I never thought I would see the day when I would be inspired to wear some "Hammer Time" type pants. But this outfit, worn by Kim Kardashian, is cute! What do you think?

Take it or leave?

Photo Source: Bossip

Leland McVilliams -- Shango (REMIXES) [ 30.07.2009 OUT NOW ON BEATPORT ]

Leland McVilliams -- Shango (REMIXES) [ 30.07.2009 OUT NOW ON BEATPORT ]

Exciting package.

Look what arrived in the post today:



I love getting things in pretty packages... it's almost like having a birthday.



Something pretty from Lover was inside.



More precisely this wonderfully gorgeous dress!

(As you can see, I decided to go with larger photos. Most of you said that you preferred the larger ones, and so do I. Frankly, I quite dislike the way my blog looks with smaller pictures - at least on my browser - and I think that has to play a significant part. I hope those of you who had problems with the large pictures aren't too unhappy with this decision!)

Natalino Nunes -- Won't You Come (REMIXES)

Encoder ....: Lame 3.97

Source .....: WEB

Quality ....: 320kbps/44.1kHz

Tracks .....: 04

Genre ......: House

Year .......: 2009

Release Date ...: 25-07-2009

Label ......: Renno Records

Url ......: www.beatport.com

Tracklist ....:

01. Wont You Come (Original Mix) : 09:12

02. Wont You Come (Rhythm Lx Remix) : 07:14

03. Wont You Come (Mundeep Remix) : 08:00

04. Wont You Come (Jimmy Villa Remix) : 07:00

TOTAL TIME : 31:32 min

TOTAL SIZE : 72,2 MB

http://www.sendspace.com/file/63l65y

102 degrees

all-time high temperature record for Seattle was set today.


posted at 10:43pm, when it's 95 degrees IN MY HOUSE.

Fun With Eggs!

Raw eggs are a great treat for dogs, either as a special snack or part of their regular meal. Lots of really good vitamins, omegas, and protein, and they are great for the skin and coat. Not to mention, tasty too!

Most of the time I just crack an egg on top of the boys' normal food (raw diet in my case, but good on kibble, too). But it is always fun to let them try to figure the egg out by themselves now and then.

WARNING!

If you are going to give your dog a whole raw egg, please do so outdoors! Things can get messy.

Note that the egg shells are completely edible by your pooch as well. Not all dogs will readily eat the shells, but if they try, let them! I also save up the shells from eggs I use for myself and crush them over meals or bake them into dog treats. Yum yum calcium!

When offering raw eggs to your dog, I wouldn't give more than 1-2 a week. They are pretty rich and can lead to some rocket-butt in some dogs.

Now please enjoy some egg-y fun!

Two Updo how-to's

Franchesca, aka - Chescaleigh on Youtube, has posted a new hair how-to styling video. I like that she gave two variations, and the styles are quick, easy and cute. Check them out:

$400 Standard size Evening gowns (incomplete sizes, please ask)

All dresses in this catagory priced at $400. Free delivery offer do not apply to dresses in this catagory. Sizes of the dress in this catagory are showed for your information. Please ask size available for a particular dress.

Inspirational pictures of the day!

Very cool pictures from model and actress, Nerissa Irving. To see and read more about her, go to her myspace page.

E-Advice & Questions: More info for....

I received an email from Joy, with the following question:

"I have become a huge fan of your blog and website, but I noticed that for those of us with short, natural hair, there is not a lot of info given or styles demonstrated. I love reading your tips on how to care for natural hair and the encouragement you give women and men to be natural; could you possibly add some advice for those of us who are just beginning our journey?"

YES!!! I am so sorry that I have not been giving a lot of attention to so many woman out there that are just starting out with short styles. Or woman that just love having their hair short. I would be very happy to start sharing more photos, tips and information for woman with shorter hair styles, and woman that are transitioning. Thank you for bringing this to my attention Joy. Your opinion counts!

The temperature hit 97 degrees today, so what did I do? I finished a quilt! I'll be giving it to baby Maja this weekend.

specs: 50 x 50", the colorful fabrics are from the Noveau line by Moda. Orange and yellow flannel backing.

This is quite disheartening!

I've realized that the middle of my nape is bald! On my new unit at that! That's where the shedding is occurring. I'm trying to debate on if I'm going to cut it in a upside down V or painstakingly reventilate the area myself. I'm leaning towards cutting the V. Once my own hair is longer, I can cover up the edges of the lace with my own curly hair. I'm not too worried. I don't know whether to blame Rex or what. My next unit will definitely be a stock, with the PU strips, not because I'm all of a sudden in love with PU, but that now I remove my units with the oil sheen (that's a revelation, like the iPod or caller ID). What's worse, is that now the new kitten, Dagny Taggart Sephora likes to sit on the back of the couch while I'm blogging and claw at my nape... not helping. She's doing it now... declawing sounds really good right about now. I've forgotten what having a kitten is like. I digress.

I just remembered... before I put this app on (last Saturday?), I loaded my hair with Silk Elements MegaSilk Moisturizing Treatment and wrapped my head in saran wrap. Then I put my sleep scarf on, and slept in a deep conditioning treatment overnight. My hair was really soft the next morning, then I put my lacefront on. I've decided that I'm transitioning to only wearing my own textlaxed hair... when it hits shoulder length.

Trying (blogging) Again

With my hectic schedule keeping up with a blog is actually pretty hard to do. However, if I blog about something that is in my schedule then that should make thing easier right? We'll see.

Recently, a friend and I decided to start something like a support group on our area for natural/transitioning/thinking about ladies. This is the start of that process. So far we are planning our first meeting for September 12, 2009. I will be tracking our planning process and gathering hair tips to share along the way.

Pink heart buttons and lace.

Do you remember this playsuit that I sew heart buttons on to? Well, a few days ago I wore it, and I absolutely love the way it looks -especially with soft, neutral colours and small hints of pink!






Playsuit; vintage, top; Benetton, tights; Kapp Ahl, shoes by Irregular Choice and umbrella from Kremerhuset.

I also wanted to ask you if you prefer medium sized pictures like these on my blog, or rather larger ones (a few posts down)? Personally I prefer the larger ones as they look the best on my laptop and my browser, but someone alerted me to the fact that they couldn't view the large photos properly. Therefore some feedback on that is much appreciated!