Motivational Monday

Happy Monday...Enjoy!!!

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And the journey begins... Let's Go!!!

Be Blessed!

Simply Natural

Happy New Year!!!!

Exit 2013...Enter 2014

If you are anything like me, you are looking forward to 2014.  2013 has been filled with good times, bad times, high times, low times, happy times, sad times, and all in between.  I can't wait to see what God has in store for me in this coming year! I say that with nervous anticipation.  One thing I am sure of is that it is perfectly designed for an imperfect me. I am excited to see where things go with this blog, my life, my job, my family and my friends. My only job is to ready myself to receive and walk into what he has already prepared!  See you in 2014! :-)

 

 

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May Your New Year
be
Prosperous
and

Blessed!!

 

- Simply Natural 



Merry Christmas 2013

Merry Christmas! 

 

Last year, I spent the holidays sharing my favorite movies, and music.  This year I plan to keep it simple.  Mostly because I'm not feeling well and would rather be under the covers and sleep. :-(  Regardless of how I currently feel, I wanted to wish EVERYONE a very Merry Christmas!  

 

I thought I would share some of the Christmas songs I love from the soundtrack of one of the movies I  recently added to my all time favorites.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are your favorite Christmas songs?

 

 

 

Be Blessed!

 

Simply Natural

 

 



Hair: New Product trial

I tried a new product while visiting home a few weeks ago.  I walked into a store called Dollar General not really needing anything in particular. I decided to check out the hair products while waiting on a friend. Although I didn't need anything, I wanted to find something that had a little more hold than the products I brought with me.  All hair products are not created equal in all weather climates(if you know what I mean?). After looking at a few products, I settled on this one.

 

Here are the ingredients:

Aqua (Water), Glycerin, Glycine Soja Oil (Soybean Oil), Polysorbate 80, Triethanolamine, Oleth-2, Carbomer, Phenoxyethanol, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Fragrance, VP, Dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate Copolymer, Polyquaternium-39, Limonene, SodiumBenzoate, Methylisothiazolinone, Hydroxycitronellal, Geraniol, Amyl Cinnamal, Linalool, CI 17200 (Red 33)

 

NO Alcohol

NO Mineral Oil

No Petrolatums

(That's what it says on the container.)

 

Initial Reaction:

I really liked the product.  It gave my hair hold while not feeling hard.  My hair was still very soft to touch.  This was perfect for the warm days. I'm not sure how it will work in the Pacific Northwest weather but for warm day/cool night weather, it was a jewel and did what I needed it to do.  These pictures were taken after I took down the twist and put my hair up. I personally liked the results.   I think I'll try it for a while...

 

 

Have you ever used this product?  What did you think?

 

 

Be Blessed!

 

Simply Natural

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know this post is a day late(by a few hours) but the sentiment is still the same. I am extremely thankful for life and every person, experience, and thing that has contributed in any way to the person I am or am not.  Life is not certain and I thank God that he has entrusted me with another day. From my heart to yours...HAPPY THANKSGIVING! 

 What are you thankful for?

Be Blessed!

Simply Natural

Upcoming Movie: Mandela, Long Walk To Freedom

Hi World!  I recently saw the trailer for this movie and I can't wait for it to hit theaters. I must admit, my initial reasoning for watching this movie was because I heard Idris Elba would be in it. :-)  I'm sure you guys would agree.   After watching this particular trailer, I was sold not by the actor but the story. 

What are your thoughts?  Do you plan to go see it?

 

 

Be Blessed!

 

SimplyNatural

Life: Lessons from a 5K Experience

I recently achieved a goal that I didn't think I would ever do.  What you ask????  I completed my very first 5K run/walk.  YAY!! <<insert happy dance>>  This might not be a big deal to some but anyone that "really"  knows me understands that this is a big deal.   This wasn't just an ordinary run...It was a color run.

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For those of you who are unfamiliar with a color run:  You come dressed in a white shirt and leave very colorful due to colored corn starch being thrown/sprayed when you get to color stations throughout the 5K. VERY MESSY but FUN!

 

 Here's my experience:

The week of the 5K was very stressful.  It was stressful for a number of reasons...

1.  I was exhausted from working 5 weeks of my summer vacation.
2. Friday's fieldtrip to the beach drained  my energy.
3. I was concerned about protecting my protective style(Senegalese twist).
4. By Friday evening, I was exhausted but realized I didn't have everything I needed for Saturday. So, to the store I had to go.
5. I hadn't worked out in the three weeks prior to the 5K. 

Needless to say, by Friday evening, I was excited about the idea of the 5K but there was a  percentage of my mind that said "Girl, you don't want to do this, so stay at home".   I made a conscious decision to dismiss those thoughts and continue preparing what I needed for Saturdays run/walk.  I woke up about 6:30 a.m. in order to have time to eat and be "on-time" meeting my friend.

In order to make this post shorter...FAST FORWARD(Although, the car ride was hilarious) :-) LOL

We got to the park around 9:30 and instantly, I started getting even more excited.  The energy of the people was magnetic.  If you weren't excited, you wanted to be excited because everyone around you was so amped.  Once our wave started, I paced myself and started walking. Once I did start jogging, I could totally feel that I hadn't been to a gym.  I thought it would be better if I walked for a while longer.  Which, I quickly learned that when you go through these color stations, you get way more thrown at you when you walk. Eventually, I started back jogging and am unsure where my burst of energy came from.  I jogged a longer time than I said I would.  Thank you God for muscle memory! :-)    My friend jogged longer times but would wait for me before color stations.  I didn't mind this because I knew what I thought I could do and didn't want to hold her back. Eventually, we were walking/jogging together. After more walking and jogging...we finally made it to the finished line. What a great moment!  I was actually feeling like I could go longer. I was slightly disappointment that it was over.  I had so much fun.  Not just before and after the race but DURING the race was equally as exciting.

Here are lessons I realized:

1. Don't give up before you start! 
    -I was so close to not going.  Not because I thought that it wouldn't be fun.  But because I knew I hadn't prepared as much as I should have and wouldn't  meet my other goal of jogging the entire time.

2. Don't be afraid of the unfamiliar!
    - Not doing something because you've never done it means you'll never do it.  If I hadn't had this 5K experience, I would've never done it.  And wouldn't be looking forward to the next one.

3. Preparation and Perspective are Paramount.
   - I realized taking those 3 weeks off was not beneficial to me achieving my goal.  Because I didn't properly prepare, it began to affect my perspective.  Having these two things in check are so important.  They can make and/or break a person.
 
4. Things that seem big in the moment are not so big when you look at the bigger picture.
  - I was sooo concerned about protecting my hair. They were not about to get that in my hair. In the words of Sweet Brown, "Ain't nobody got time fa dat". LOL :-)  I wasn't sure how or what would be the best method to protect but I committed to something and just went with it.  Looking back...this was not a big deal at all.

 Also, I almost didn't show up because I felt that I wouldn't reach what I deemed as a goal.  Sometimes, life has a way of twisting things.  I thought my achievement rested on running the whole time.  It didn't.  I was successful in my eyes just because I showed up, didn't stop and finished..  It's not whether you're the fastest or slowest.  Just stay in your lane, give it all you have, Keep your eyes on the end goal and God will do the rest.  Hallelujah!  ;-)

5. In life, it's always great to have a friend who will not leave you when you're behind.
  - In this day and age, good friends are hard to come by. As I've gotten older, I realize that not everyone is your friend and within friendships there are different types.  When you have friends that won't leave you when your down but will encourage and wait, you know you have a true friend who cares. 

6.  Have fun in the process!

I'm sure while reading this you will get other nuggets(at least I did) to take on your journey.   While coming to the end of this post, I thought about lyrics to a song.  These lyrics resonated with me from the moment I heard it in 2001 on the Oprah Winfrey Show. They have floated in and out of my life through the years. It's called "I hope you dance" by Lee Ann Womack. 

 

"I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance,
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Livin' might mean takin' chances but they're worth takin',...I hope you dance".

Be Blessed!

Simply Natural