Last Post of 2009 - Year/Decade in Review

Significant events in my life during the past decade:
1999 - bought a 1996 Land Rover Discovery
2000 - read poetry at the now defunct Troy's On The Park (in STL)
2001 - nothing memorable
2002 - no journal entries
2003 - nothing significant
2004 - went to Jamaica alone
2005 - got a hysterectomy (poof poof be gone ugly periods!); traded the Land Rover for a 2005 Mini Cooper
2006 - started working on "The Saint of Truth"
2007 - found myself (through "A New Earth" by Ekhart Tolle")
2008 - read "The Power of Now" by Ekhart Tolle and met the love of my life (Amgib!); witnessed the swearing in of our first black President of the United States; Colbi graduated from TSU.
2009 - moved to California, and on the way, saw the Grand Canyon on a heliocopter tour; went to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; got my last haircut on April 19th; blog and YouTube channel were successful; my twin brother finally got married.

The past decade proves that my life is pretty boring (according to my journals). I did meet some great people, and have cultivated some great friendships. As the decade rolled along, I've learned to stand on what I believe, regardless of if people think I'm selfish. A lot of my life depended on that I cared what other people thought. Going forward, I will be considerate of others, but my priority is ME. If I'm not well, mentally, physically, and emotionally, nothing else around me will be. My relationship with my daughter is not where I want it to be, but I can't be responsible for how she feels about me. All I can be is me. Hopefully, she will come around, because I love her with all my heart, but I have to do me, as I'm letting her be herself.

Looking forward to 2010, I'm excited about my hair journey. I took the last application of 2009 off today. I'm curly with unruly roots, which I love:



I see where I'm going to need a textlax touch up, but I don't dare do it until February, March, or April... trying to hold out until April. The white around my hairline is from A&D ointment. No word from Rex about the progress of my custom. I may have to tone my haircolor down to the honey brown rinse to blend better with the custom. I still don't know how I'm going to sew it on. Hopefully no more glue or tape in 2010, but I may get a hankering to wear a straight unit... not too soon I hope!

As for knitting, I've learned that the style I'm using for Colbi's scarf is called "domino knitting". There are books, of course. So far, it's what I wanted:




Now that I've got that started, I've resumed the brown "monster" (aka Jeri's scarf):



I'm going to repeat the process and make myself one in a lovely lilac color to go with my Lime green peacoat that's on backorder.

So, out with the old and in with the new. I hope to get back to STL more than once in 2010, I hope to get much further in my book, and I hope to get a job. I have hope for 2010, and that's really all I can hope for.

Happy New Year everyone, and thanks for reading my blog.

Wrapping Up 2009!

It's nearly here. 2010. The New Year. Where the heck did 2009 go?! It's been a crazy one, that is for sure.

I'm not really big on setting resolutions. I always end up breaking them. Instead, I like to have a general idea of the BIG picture goals for the next year.

Last year I set some goals, so let's start off by revisiting those and see how we did, shall we?

For 2009, our goals were ...

Gio
- finish his CARO Rally-O Excellent title
- begin working on his CARO C Stream Bronze title
- finish his CKC Novice Obedience title
- begin (and finish) his CKC Advanced Rally title
- continue on with therapy dog work

Gio did not complete his CARO Rally-O Excellent or C Stream Bronze titles ... there were only 3 CARO trials in the province last year, and we had to miss one because Gio ended up having a bad bout of seizures right at that time.
He did complete his CKC Novice Obedience title, though.
He also finished his CKC Advanced Rally title, as well as his CKC Excellent Rally title, again with a handful of High in Class ribbons along the way.
He continued his therapy dog work, as planned, with a total of 38 visitation hours in 2009.
In the midst of this, Gio had a horrible battle with pancreatitis induced by his epilepsy medication. I nearly lost him in March, the vets were not giving him a good chance of ever coming home again. Recovery took months, so there was quite a long down-time in there where we were only focusing on improving his health. My boy is such a trooper!

Romeo
- finish his CARO Rally-O Excellent title
- begin working on his CARO C Stream Bronze title
- CGN test (if there is one offered locally this year, there weren't any last year)
- begin (and finish) his CKC Advanced Rally-O title
- continue to train towards competition in agility (master those contacts!)
- continue to train towards CKC Open Obedience title
- continue visiting as a SJA therapy dog

Romeo completed his CARO Rally-O Excellent title with Magna Cum Laude. He also completed his CARO C Stream Bronze title and earned 4 legs towards his C Stream Silver title (one more leg to go).
There was no CGN test in the province again this year, though I hear rumor that there is one planned for spring of 2010.
He completed his CKC Advanced Rally-O title as well as his CKC Excellent Rally-O title, with a handful of High in Class ribbons along the way.
We continued to train for AAC agility, and he has some really beautiful contacts now! He competed in his first trials at the end of the summer of 2009 and earned 1 qualifying score in Jumpers with a 1st place in his class.
Open Obedience got put on the back burner when Romeo advanced so far through CARO Rally-O. Our focus was switched to the next level there, Versatility.
He also continued volunteering as a therapy dog with a total of 67 visiting hours in 2009.

In total this year, the boys collected 7 new titles in obedience and Rally-O and amassed 105 total volunteer hours for St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog Program!

Goals for 2010:

Gio
- keep plugging away at that CARO Rally-O Excellent title
- continue therapy dog visitations
- get out tracking more and aim towards competing for a tracking title
- keep the seizures down to the low frequency that we have achieved at the end of 2009

Romeo
- finish up the CARO C Stream Silver title
- begin actively competing in CARO Rally-O Versatility level
- continue training in agility, improve the weave poles, and try for a couple more qualifying legs
- continue therapy dog visitations

Normally, I don't like to make specific goals, as in "I want to get a perfect score at the Rally-O trial in June". Rather, I make goals I strive to complete by the end of the year. ... This year, it is a little different, though. There is the Canadian Shetland Sheepdog Association 2010 National being held in conjunction with the Hub City Kennel and Obedience Club (the dog club for which I am a trainer) being held here in Saskatoon in April/May. They are having Sheltie-only trials in obedience, Rally-O, agility, and conformation, in addition to the all-breed competitions that go along with the normal show. I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to take a High in Class with at least one of the boys in the Rally-O trials at the Sheltie National! I'm still contemplating whether I want to go for the Most Versatile Sheltie award with Romeo by competing in obedience, agility, and Rally-O. I think we might pass on that one, though, and just aim for Rally-O. Both dogs routinely get perfect scores in CKC Rally-O, so it is just a matter of being the fastest dogs to do so. So our training regime is all about SPEED in addition to precision.

Now that we've tied up loose ends in terms of goals, let's take another glance back at 2009. This time with pictures and music. (All together now ... "oooooooohh!" ... nicely done.)



And finally, our wishes to you!

Thank you for traveling with us through 2009.
We sincerely hope that you will stop by for a visit again in 2010.
Wishing you a year full of happiness, good health, wet noses, and warm toes!
Oh, and don't forget, lots and lots of Sheltie hair!

2009 - A Look Back

2009 has been a great year for the Naturally Beautiful Hair Blog. I found a common bond, friendship, humor, joy, understanding, and a gained a wealth of knowledge because of this blog. It is a joy chatting with you all and exchanging stories and opinions. I am very proud of not only myself, but of you all for being so honest and open with your own experiences, questions, excitement and love of being naturally beautiful.

Here is to wishing you all a wonderful New Year. To remembering to be proud of our napps, curls, kinks, afro's, locs, twist, dreads, braids, cornrows and more. I hope your lives are filled with enrichment, family, friends and happiness. And here is to another successful, informative and fabulous year for the Naturally Beautiful Blog.

Outfits throughout 2009

Like so many other bloggers I've decided to make a little (or maybe not so little) post with some of my outfits throughout this past year. It's always so fun to look back and see what I used to wear both because it gives me inspiration again and because it makes me memorize the moments in which I wore them.

January:



The year started with me being in Israel visiting my boyfriend. The first one is from a trip to the beach where it was quite cold and I cuddled up in two cardigans. The white cardigan and tights are from Vero Moda and the skirt from H&M. In the second photo I am wearing my new top from Cala (an Israeli shop) and a skirt from Zara).


When I came back home again it was cold and snowy. I am wearing my mom's knitted cardigan, an H&M skirt and blouse and shoes from Benetton.

February:


In early February I moved to Sweden for two months to have my teaching experience at a high school there. Coat from Mango and bow from Glitter.


It was a bit sunnier than here there, but still cold. Everything is from H&M.

One of the things I used to do while being there was going for walks in the area. Dress from Zara, top from Noa Noa and tights from Filippa K.

March


In March the snow disappeared and it got a little warmer. Coat from Burberry, blouse, socks and skirt from H&M, vest from Zara and shoes from Benetton.


I had fun posing with clothes and an umbrella that I'd bought on a trip to Malmö. Blouse from H&M, tights and skirt from Gina Tricot, shoes from Din sko.


My sister came to visit me at the end of March and that was a lot of fun. Skirt, hair band and tights from H&M, blouse from Noa Noa.

April:


In April I went to Israel again. My boyfriend had bought me this dress from Cala.


We went on a trip to northern Israel. It was so nice to feel summery weather there... Top from Vero Moda and shorts from Tjallamalla.

...and dresses without tights. Dress from Dahlia.


My last day was spent shopping in Tel Aviv. Dress from Cala and shoes from Topshop.


At home it was still pretty cold, but it was wonderful to see Tassus again. Dress and tights from H&M, trench from Dahlia and shoes from a shop in Germany.

May


Despite the cold, I tried to wear summery outfits by incorporating tights. Vintage shorts, Mango t-shirt, shoes from Topshop, and tights from H&M.


I explored places I had not been. Skirt from American Apparel, vintage top, shoes from Benetton and tights from Noa Noa.


I got a lovely 40s vintage dress with the cutest lace and bows.

June


Summer finally arrived - the sort of summer we're used to so far north. Dress from Noa Noa, tights from Cubus and cardigan from H&M.


I went to England to see a good friend. It was a really lovely holiday. Vintage blazer, Tjallamalla shorts, H&M blouse and Topshop shoes.


Had a picnic with my little sister in a field full of buttercups. Dress from Traffic People.

July


Most of the time I was working, but I also found the time to enjoy summer. Skirt from H&M, blouse from Noa Noa, shoes from Topshop, tights from American Apparel and Marc by Marc Jacobs bag.


I also manged to turn my days around - staying up in the night, taking pictures in the midnight sun. Dress from H&M, tights from Cubus, shoes from Chie Mihara and a flower crown from a flower shop.


I bought a straw boater hat. Skirt from Gina Tricot and blouse from Vero Moda.


And fixed a vintage playsuit I'd purchased months earlier. Top underneath from Benetton and parasol from Kremerhuset.

August


In August we had lovely, warm weather for three weeks. Then it's nice to sit in trees and just relax. Dress from Vero Moda.


And just enjoy the last weeks of summer. Shirt from H&M, shorts from Tjallamalla and shoes from Topshop.


I took advantage of the sales and got this lovely dress from Lover. Shoes from Noa Noa.

September


In September it quickly got colder. My aunt gave me this vintage jacket that I still haven't fixed. Skirt and tights from Gina Tricot.


My boyfriend also came to see me. Sweater from Cala, skirt and tights from H&M and shoes from Topshop.


I bought this wool, long sleeved playsuit from Sea NY, which is great for colder weather. Tights from H&M and shoes from Noa Noa.

October


My boyfriend and I went for a walk in the cold woods. Shirt from Bikbok, playsuit from Primark, tights from my boyfriend's mom and shoes from Benetton.


Soon the mountains were covered in snow. Skirt and cardigan from Gina Tricot, scarf from my grandmother.


I bought a fun hat from H&M, which I hope to be able to wear more. Top and tights from Oasis, skirt from H&M and boots from Bronx.

November


In November life got really stressful due to my thesis. Blouse from Vero Moda, shoees from Din sko and skirt from Asos.


I tried to wear bright colors more as the days got shorter. Jacket, tights, and skrirt from H&M, shoes from Noa Noa and beret from my sister.

December


This is the only outfit I have to show for December, which has been such a long, dark, uninspired and cold month. Skirt from H&M, cardigan from Oasis and tights from Topshop.

I suppose all that remains is to wish all of you, my lovely readers, a wonderful, inspiring and eventful new year!

Back to the drawing board!

Okay, I kept staring at the Entrelac pattern.... it's too puffy and I don't like it. Maybe it would look better with the same color. I've decided to do Colbi's scarf as such:


still in the grey/pink colors. I've already made one diamond:

Now I'm working on the grey ones. For this scarf, I have to make all the diamonds first, then knit them together. Oh well, such is the life of a writer who knits, and is supposed to be writing, but is knitting for now!

Favorite Hair Things of 2009

This year has been great for my hair. I learned a lot about caring for it and I am happy that all the time and dedication is showing by my hairs health. I have regain love for some old things and developed love for some new things.

I can't believe that I went so long without know about coconut oil. It has worked wonders for my hair-it is so much softer. Shea butter has been a constant in my life for years and my hair still loves it. I mixed coconut oil and shea together- my hair said WOW.

The EZ comb is a great invention-I wish I would have thought of that. Buns have been an awesome protective style, this is the first time in my life wearing them and I have never depended on hair pins so much. I used to not care if I owned any at all.

Giovanni.....where have you been all my life. Most of my products just get the job done but that Tea Tree Conditioner actually made me say WOW. I never thought about using castor oil on my hair...I never knew it was good for more than...well you know.

I am finally an owner of a satin pillowcase and guess what....I am not raking little broken hairs out of the bed anymore. I even got one for my hubby. Lustrasilk is my staple deep conditioner I haven't even tried another one. Olive oil....never purchased it before I started caring for my hair. I didn't even cook with it. Now I do everything with it. Goody headbands....great for those bad hair days :)

If it wasn't for my shower comb....I would probably be bald. Detangling is not fun but that comb makes it easier. Aloe Vera gel is just great. I just need a plant now and I will feel complete. LOL

Beatriz Sandoval, Joseph LP -- Ausencia (REMIXES)

     

 Artist(s) ...... : Beatriz Sandoval, Joseph LP
 Title .......... : Ausencia
 Genre .......... : House
 Cat.No ......... : SFM017
 Label .......... : Southouse Music
 Source ......... : WEB Release
 Quality ........ : 320kbps / Full Stereo
 Store.Date ..... : 2009-11-25
 Size ........... : 92.90 Mb
 Duration ....... : 38:39
 Url ............ : http://www.beatport.com


Tracklist
---------
1    Ausencia (DJ Quinn Remix)                                                                 6:00
2    Ausencia (Erick Da House Remix)                                                           5:09
3    Ausencia (George Palmer Remix)                                                            6:08
4    Ausencia (Jesus Balza Remix)                                                              6:28
5    Ausencia (Jose Lopera Remix)                                                              8:01
6    Ausencia (Original Mix)                                                                   6:53

 

Rapidshare.com

       Uploaded.to