Shaving the head for Charity!

And not because I'm having a Britney breakdown. It's for charity.

I'm participating in a St. Baldrick's event. St. Baldrick's raises funds for children's cancer research and provides grants to researches at hospitals and universities across the U.S.

My goal is to raise $1000 by March 12, 2010 (the day the clippers go to work).

You can visit my page here: www.stbaldricks.org/participants/baldheather

Yay, I'm so excited ... it's a great cause and I've always wanted to shave my head! Any and all donations are encouraged, every dollar makes a difference.

Exercise

I'm getting lazy. The weight has stayed the same since I dropped it all (all 80-ish lbs) back in 2006/07 ... but I'm getting soft and de-conditioned. I bought a bike, a recumbent bike ... one that will let me watch bad movies whilst I condition. One that will allow me to pedal away my non-smoker angst. A new friend and companion. I call it Schwinn:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000MXMK94/ref=oss_product

It's a tad pricey, but the reviews are good and apparently if you stare at your Amazon shopping cart for a long time before making a decision their computers get scared. After a good 10 minutes of debating on whether or not to hit confirm ... a message popped up and offered me free two day shipping on the bicycle IF I hit that confirm button within the next 2 minutes. Well, that was all the push I needed (if you read the reviews, the shipping is the biggest concern ... boxes get busted while out on the road, I figure a faster shipping time might increase the odds of a nice tidy shipment).

I was suckered by Amazon's marketing into finally making a good purchase for myself. I love tax returns.

Used my Epi-Pen

I used my pen on Monday. It was a foolish gamble on my part, Ezekiel hamburger buns. Frankly, I knew better, but since it said 'fresh yeast' I got excited. Anyhoo, about 40 minutes after eating I was slurring my words, my tongue and throat were swollen, and I was stumbling and having trouble keeping my balance. In the past, this is where I would have said, 'I'll probably be okay' - but after reading more in the last few weeks and talking to my allergist I was better informed about how dangerous this can really be and how quickly it can turn.

My husband was with me and he administered the shot into my thigh. It didn't hurt at all (I actually assumed it had malfunctioned and didn't have a needle). Within about 3 minutes of the injection I was shaking all over, but the foggy headedness was gone almost instantly. I shook for about 15 minutes and then settled into feeling very wide awake, but not shaking. It took my tongue about 20 minutes to return to its normal size.

We didn't call an ambulance as my allergist had indicated it wasn't always necessary (particularly if you are conscious). About 2 hours after the injection I was exhausted and my head hurt. A two hour nap set me right as rain and aside from a lingering pain in my thigh (felt like muscle pain) for the next day or so, I was fine.

It's not nearly as scary as I thought it would be and I'm really happy I did it. I know now that I could administer the shot myself. I know that it's not a big deal to take the injection and that 'better safe than sorry' is absolutely true. I feel a lot safer now having used the pen, there's something about experiencing that makes me feel secure in knowing what to expect.

Now I have to put in a call to my allergist to get a new epipen refill.

castille w aloe + rice vinegar

I discovered that I can use rice vinegar (Marukan brand). Delphi peeps have had good success. Apple Cider Vinegar leaves my roots looking greasy even when they aren't but I need to balance the ph on my scalp or I get dandruffy bits... So, I used the same old standby shampoo (castille and aloe juice) which is still working wonders on my hair. For a rinse I followed up with roughly 2tsp rice vinegar diluted in about a cup of water (measurements were inexact since I didn't have time to prep beforehand and had to eyeball while in the shower).

My hair is soft and really shiny. My roots are a little greasy looking, but I could prolly pull back the amount of vinegar a smidge and be thrilled.

I'm going to keep this up until I have an issue. The results are reminiscent to my early love of white vinegar before the hives drove us apart (I miss you my darling WV)!

Castille/Aloe Vera Juice (Round 3)

Same recipe as here: http://cornless.blogspot.com/2010/01/castillealoe-juice-shampoo-w-acv-rinse.html

After rinse in the picture.

You should know that I made maybe 1/4 cup of this mix when I first started and I'm still using it. 3 Shampoos later and I've maybe used 1/4 of the 1/4 cup. It's ridiculous.

I used alot this time as I didn't feel I got my hair adequately clean last time. I had lather flying everywhere. I may modify the ratios a bit and pull back on the soap as I clearly don't need quite this much.

Notes: After washing my hair felt a little dry and tangly. I used a small amount of the Dr. Bronner rinse and it came out beautifully. (Note: I didn't dilute like you are supposed to because I'm lazy. I put about a tsp into the middle of my hand, got my hair real wet and combed this through my length with my fingers. It's easier and just as effective for me).

Results:
Day 1 (01.13) - I like this shampoo so much. My hair was gorgeous all day, soft and shiny. Happy me.
Day 2 (01.14) Hair still looks great. I'm going to have to wash it tonight since I have court tomorrow and can't run the risk of it looking even slightly yucky. I'm not going to experiment this time since the last one went so well. More experiments will follow shortly.

Castille soap/Aloe Vera Shampoo (second use)

Okay, I'm shampooing tonight. Same recipe as here http://cornless.blogspot.com/2010/01/castillealoe-juice-shampoo-w-acv-rinse.html but I'm not going to follow up with the ACV rinse, we'll see how it goes. Shampoo only on the scalp and a concerted effort to keep it off the lengths, that's tricky (unless I grow a few more arms on the way to the bathroom) ... but I'm gonna try. Update soon.

Notes
--keeping it off the ends wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. The shampoo is liquidy so I dispense it in a little squeeze bottle. I simply sectioned off my hair and put the shampoo right on my scalp like I was applying hair color (*wistful sigh*). Once I had put a few stripes on my scalp I used my fingers to gently work up the lather. It went pretty well.

--this has absolutely no smell in it's 'virgin' formula. I may add some grapefruit oil to it as I like to smell fruity - but for those sensitive to smells, this is perfect.

Results
day 1 (01.11) Nice. The length isn't tangly at all. My hair is fluffy and a little staticy (but it's -a gagillion degrees outside and my heat runs nonstop), lots of body. Feels a little thick at the roots, but that's likely due to no ACV rinse. I think I'm going to have to toss in an acid rinse periodically or i'll get soap scum. I'm happy. ... oh and so far, no itchiness YAY!
day 2 (01.12) I'm greasy today. It's not awful, but half way through the day I was dreaming of a good wash. My best guess is that I didn't get it washed as well this time since I was trying so hard to keep it only on the scalp. I'm gonna lather like a madwoman tonight and see how it goes tomorrow. I have court on Friday so I figure if I do it tonight I can wash again on Thursday night and have fresh hair for court and still be able to skip a day. it's funny that washing everyday now seems verboten.

Skin Care - Cornless style!

Moisturizers suck! About a year ago I started using only Jojoba oil on my face, no soap (barring a catastrophe that required a soaping). Here's what I do (this is for you ma').

Required items:
Jojoba Oil (I use NOW brand)
Vitamin E Oil (I use Jason brand)
Aloe Vera Juice
Water
Spray bottle
Washcloth

Daily Maintenance Recipe:
Mix in spray bottle
1 part Jojoba Oil
4 parts water
1 part Aloe Vera Juice

Each morning I spray about 4 squirts of this mixture into my hand and rub on my face, neck and chest area. You can monkey with the ratio based on your own needs. If I notice dryness throughout the day, I simply do the 4 squirt process again. Use as often as you need.

After shower care:
Pat face try and put about 4 drops of pure Jojoba into my hand. Slather on face, neck and chest (I do this full body on occasion, it's heavenly). If my face is REALLY dry I follow up with a few drops of the Vitamin E oil and let it all sit until it's soaked in.

Oil wash (two/three times a week, works well when your kids are in the bath and you have to stay in the bathroom with them):
Washing your face with oil is all kinds of good. It was good enough for the Romans, so why not us? eh? Here's the process.
1. Pull your hair back and get a washcloth very warm with water (not scalding, you aren't trying to cook anything).
2. Hold the warm washcloth on your face until it's room temperature.
3. Warm the washcloth again and repeat. This opens the pores on your face and let's gunk out. 4. Use 4-5 drops of Jojoba oil and slather on face. Rub gently for a bit while you contemplate the value of your skin and the joys of being alive.
5. Warm washcloth a third time and hold it on your face until it's cool.
6. Splash cool-ish water (not cold, you aren't a salad) on your face. This closes the pores and helps seal in the good oil you've just slathered on.
7. Pat face gently with a towel and let dry.