Sally’s Haul & Hair Update

I just realized that I totally could have put two of these items in my empties, because I used them up. Being coloring boxes, I put the used tubes in there and throw the whole box out. Hence why I didn’t save them. Oh well! I made my first order on Sally’s website and spend $27 on my hair stuff. I also had a 5 dollar coupon, so I treated myself to some no heat hair rollers that I have yet to try. I will be doing that soon though, don’t ch’you worry and I’ll document the before and after on here as well. So, for the hair update part. I thought that I would share with you what my hair looked life before and after each step with the stuff that I purchased.

Before:

As you can tell, all of the silver rinsed out of my hair and it was left with a yellow and slightly ashy tone with white pieces. I needed a toner really bad to get my hair down to a more ashy, grey tone. Grey needs to be ashy or white. Over yellow, the hair can appear green. I remembered hearing about Wella so much on Youtube, so I purchased that.

Wella Color Charm T18: Lightest Ash Blonde

A little too late, I realized that the 050 would have been better for my hair needs, but this one did a great job at getting my hair to that nice white ashy base. I needed a developer to go with it so I bought a 10 volume, which is for depositing color only, no lift. After bleaching my hair twice at the salon, I did not need anymore lift.

Clairol Pure White 10 Volume Developer

This bottle is huge and will last quite a while. I used a half a cup of developer per one bottle (1/4 cup) of Wella T18. The mixture was white but started turning blue on my head. It took me about 10 minutes to apply it and I let it sit on my hair for another 20 minutes before rinsing it out.

I had white ashier hair. My hair where it was bleached twice, because it is stuborn is still more blonde than the rest of it. It is still a level 8 or 9, so it is a pretty light blonde. The rest of it that is white is a level 10, the perfect blonde for grey hair. I bought the color Chrome from Ion for my grey color.

Ion Color Brilliance Demi 7VA Chrome

Again, I used one whole tube of color to about a cup of developer. You always want to use double the developer to color, a 2:1 ratio. I also didn’t want it going dark, because I didn’t see many reviews on this color. All of the videos on Youtube (2), it didn’t look good on the person and I was looking for a purple smoky more true grey color. Well….I got it.

It is so multidimensional! In the light, it is a gorgeous light, true grey and in the shade it is a cool grey with purply tones to it. I absolutely LOVE my grey hair now. It is exactly what I wanted and I couldn’t be happier. BTW, this is after 2 shampoos! It didn’t rinse out. I put the color on for 40 minutes with a shower cap. I am hoping that it lasts at least a month, so I don’t have to do it more often than that. Coloring is still damaging. I feel more like me now. For once, I love my hair. It matches my eyes PERFECTLY. It feels authentic. I found a me color that I am going to be sporting for a very long time.

With Love,

 

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Life Has Been Crazy

Life has been so crazy and hectic for me lately as you can probably tell from my sporadic posting these last few weeks. My work was testing working at home, my son was sick, and more work craziness with 6 people being added to my unit. I’ve been disappointed, depressed, and then, elated and carefree. It really has been a roller coaster ride for me lately. I have decided to talk in charge of my health this year and I will be subscribing to a fitness box and a tea box to help balance out my life. I am buying a treadmill and going to be serious about getting healthy and eating healthy as well. I am getting 4 cavities fixed in between my teeth. Apparently, my teeth are packed in so tight that not even flossing everyday worked in not getting cavities. These are the only types of cavities that I get, but one MIGHT MIGHT be a root canal and crown. I couldn’t afford to fix them last year, because I had shitty insurance. It is super affordable now, so that is good.

I’m bleaching my hair and I will be dying it. Not letting you know the color yet, just that it’ll be super cute! I am done with beauty boxes this year and I am trying to use up the makeup that I have. I am doing a nail polish project pan, but didn’t paint my nails the whole month of February. I had a man in my life, but now he isn’t. Things don’t work out when one of you has a child. Never mind a child that is different. I’m not blaming Dean for why things didn’t work out, don’t get me wrong, the guy wasn’t right for us. It just feels like I’ll never find “the one”. To finish off this update, here is a poem I wrote.

Behind The Mask

The room pulsates

leaving me with the feeling of heavy weights

that bring me down,

even with everyone laughing around.

There is a pressure inside,

the fear of being left behind,

and then, I realize

that life is not even idealized.

It will never be the way I want.

As you leave me in the dark,

I almost forgot

that you have left your mark.

I put on my mask of lies,

let them see nothing but my eyes.

Something that I

can hide behind.

Maybe I could even fool my mind

that there is nothing to fear,

but I shed another tear.

This is just one verse of my poem, but I would love to share more poetry and writing posts. What do you all think? I think that my blog could be more than just makeup, reviews, and Dean updates. I feel like I want to develop myself more as an author. I have almost complete my first novel and I would love to share my favorite bits of what I have been writing as well.

If you wonder why I am writing this update, I have been running around all day. Getting Dean’s hair cut, getting my teeth cleaned, and going to Dairy Queen. Pretty much a full Saturday for me. Tomorrow, I am going grocery shopping and later in the afternoon, some mall shopping. I have SO much new things to share with you. So get ready for hauls, hauls, hauls. I also have some posts that I NEED to get up like March Empties, Sephora PLAY, and my project pan update just to name a few. So, expect ACTUAL content this week instead of simple reviews. We will get back to the reviewing sporadically, because I have a shit ton of reviews to post as well.

With Love,

 

Dean’s ABA Week 1/5/18

I am really happy that I really like the HMEA representatives that come over to work with Dean. They are reliable and always let you know ahead of time if they will be missing time and when they can, someone fills in for them. I wish his OT would arrange for that. It would be so much better for Dean. He missed Thursday this week because of the snow storm, but otherwise, he had a full week.

1/2/18 – Anne (The regular ABA worker Tues, Thurs, and Fri)

Dean did great remembering routines we started last week. Came to sit with me as soon as he saw toys. Starting with a runny nose. Tired after first hour.

1/3/18 – Joyce (Supervisor, does 3 hours during the week generally: Wed & Fri)

Deb getting to know Dean. Practicing “all done”, “more”, pointing, beginning toy play. Runny nose – allowed staff to wipe. Very interested in staff and toys.

1/3/18 – Deb (In-Training ABA, does only Wed)

Played with Dean today. Worked on pointing, “all done”, and “more”. Dean had a runny nose today. Went over a few items with Joyce.

1/5/18 – Anne

Dean liked ring stacker toy. Looking for my hands to complete toys for him. Worked on pointing, more, and all done. Sat for longer durations on my lap.

Dean had a great week with his ABA girls. To say he is a major flirt wouldn’t be saying enough. He loves his leading ladies. I’m looking forward to more progress in the next week. I have to say that I have noticed that he does sit with me for a longer period of time than he did before. He can sit with me for 10 minutes flipping through a book before wanting to run around again.

With Love,

Dean’s EI Week 1/2/18

Once again, Dean’s OT cancelled one of her sessions with him. I keep saying that I’m going to do something about it and I don’t. Dean really likes her a lot. I’m going to just pull her aside and ask her if she can really handle him in his schedule. He needs consistency. Maybe, she just needs to hear it from me. I’m hoping I can get a second OT person for when she can’t make and keep appointments. I hate that he’s missing out so much on much needed sessions.

1/2/18 – Speech

Dean’s sleep has gone back to normal. Dean was seen at home during part of his HMEA session. He is starting to understand that he works to complete a task and then break. He works well for 1st hour. Dean made nice eye contact, more sounds during play, turned pages and watched signs for animals and more. Dean is getting a cold again and was tired by end of session.

• Continue to name animals and animal sounds while looking at animal books.

1/2/18 – OT

Dean had ABA this am 8-9:30. He gets ABA services Tues – Friday 8-9:30. Lisa (Speech) comes on Mondays. Dean did well today despite having a busy morning of ABA 8-9:30 and speech 9-10. He is more socially connected when I came in, he gave great eye contact and ran right over today. He did well transitioning to working chair. He was able to consistently exert enough force to pull apart pop beads 5/5 times. He also enjoyed swinging and bouncing today.

• Continue to intersperse sensory play with movement, bean bucket, etc with time to work chair
• Continue to try to have him point to objects

I am happy to report that we have flipped through the book a few times, but no animal noises since my throat was scratchy from a cold. I have him chose and point to what he wants. I let him run around and free play before doing 5 to 10 minute activities in his work chair 2x a day.

With Love,

Dean’s Update Week 12/26/17

So, Dean’s OT didn’t makeup that session and she didn’t come Tuesday or Thursday. Apparently, she went on “vacation” and didn’t tell us. So, she said she would come in on Friday and then cancelled that too because she got “sick”. I think I might be getting another OT. Dean really loves this one, but she has cancelled as many times as she’s shown up. She has only once made up a missed session. She’s holding Dean back by not being consistent. I understand that things happen, but this is way too much. I’m going to be talking to his Speech therapist which is his coordinator and see what she can do. He only gets EI until he turns 3 and I want to make the most of it.

12/26/17 – Speech

Yelling “mom, mom” from crib. Working on shape sorter and he is doing which ever shapes are covered. Difficulty with sleep started last week. Dean was seen at home with mom. Hannah says he does more for her and Mike than he does for others, but pointing he is only doing with Jen. Worked on more, stop, & all done signs during bouncing. Repeated up, up while climbing and he said “up” once.

• Work in seat on shape sorter and use pointing to request shapes.

I am disappointed that I didn’t get to witness his OT sessions and that she cancelled without telling us. Technically, that was two no call, no shows which is against EI policy. So, technically, she broke the rules and should be replaced by the company. Dean really likes her though, so I am stuck in a dilemma.

With Love,

Dean’s Update Week 12/18/17

I miss being home with Dean instead of being at work. I know it is a necessary evil, but I miss my boy after spending so much time with him. I almost got my room organized during my vacation. I still have to finish up my closet, but then, I will be done. I will be moving onto Dean’s closet and cleaning it out. I want to get rid of the junk and store all of the consignment clothes in there and keep the toys that Dean has grown out of. I don’t want to have it all in my closet. Dean’s has so much junk from my dad and us just shoving things in there. After I do Dean’s closet and dust Dean’s room, the rest of the house is relatively easy. I just have to dust and organize here and there. This is my “Winter” cleaning. I try to do a complete cleaning every season. Hopefully, it will get easier as I go along and quicker now that I’m slowly purging what we don’t need.

12/18/17 – OT

Dean had ABA evaluation last week. Services to start tomorrow. He will be starting with 1.5 hours 4 days per week 8-9:30. Dean did well today. He sat for an extended period of time to work through three different activities. He was able to pull apart pop beads when only two were together. He did it independently 5 times, which he had never done before. He was able to place ball into pig popper.

• Continue to have him point to choices

12/18/17 -Speech

HMEA meeting today to add to services to IFSP service delivery page. Dean was seen at home with Mike and Anne from HMEA. Services will begin 12/19 at 8 am. 1.5 hours Tuesday through Friday with 3 hours supervision per week. Services will be increased as Dean tolerates sessions. Dean placed a few shapes in shape sorter and looked when toys were brought up to therapist’s face.

• 12/19 Services to start w/HMEA

He only had two sessions on the same day that week. His OT cancelled on Thursday and then cancelled her makeup session on that Friday. Hopefully, she can make up the day next week, because OT has been doing wonders for Dean.

With Love,

Don’t Hate Me

Heya Aspiring Gurus!

My post is late again! And I swear, it won’t get the last. lol. I HAVE MY CAR! Yup, I have Pearl in the driveway right now and yes, I named her Pearl after her color: iridescent pearl. I am going to have a post tomorrow or Sunday dedicated to her. I have a lot of posts going up this weekend, so here is the breakdown: Birchbox unboxing video, Birchbox haul, Pearl post, Entertainment Monthly, and my thoughts on the January Ipsy Bag. I’m hoping to get the both Birchbox posts done and the movie post tomorrow. The car post and the Ipsy review will be Sunday. So, lots to read this weekend to make up for all of the craziness this week. I’m also looking for a lease or rent to buy home that I want to move into by the end of the summer. I am going to two showings this weekend. There is so much going on in my life right now, but I love that I am so busy with so much stuff to do. I’m organizing my closet for Spring and I’ll probably post before and after photos.

I also wanted to see how you guys felt about some upcoming changes on my blog. Yes, the time has come where I think that I can finally check out on my own and move away from wordpress. With my growing success and platform, I have decided to move to my own little real estate on the internet. My own url and I will be designing my own blog as well. I think this is a month to three months ahead. I will be moving and I hope you all will join me and subscribe to my new site. I will let you all know when I will be moving and I will stop posting on this site. I will not be deleting this site. I am going to be keeping it up. I’m not disappearing from WordPress. I will still be reading all of your posts and discovering new bloggeristas to follow. I am going to be adding a store to my blog as well. I make the cutest things like this,

 

that I am sure people will love to buy.

Let me know your thoughts and concerns!

With Love,

Update Thursday

Heya Aspiring Gurus!

Well, I signed the papers to buy a new car yesterday. Pictures to come soon! I get to drive my baby home on Wednesday at the latest. I bought insurance for my car today and I am getting my permit tomorrow. I have Good Friday off and I’m going to be celebrating Easter with my boyfriend and dad. It will be fun. I’m making a roast! I’m looking at all of the recipes on Pinterest to see what I want to do. I’m sorry for not posting yesterday. I didn’t get home from the dealer until 8pm and I was too tired to take a shower never mind blog. I bought McD’s to be lazy and it was yummy.

I am still on my beauty ban, except for necessities and my monthly Birchbox. I went through a lot of stuff in March and I am hoping to go through just as much stuff in April. I have a big stockpile of reviews, so I might be uploading a few more reviews on Update Thursdays if I have nothing really to report that I could just tag along to the end of a review. Let me know what you guys hope to see next on my blog. I might replace Update Thursday temporarily with my Beauty Stash Series. We will see.

With Love,

Update Thursday

Heya Aspiring Gurus!

Okay, so a quick life update for all of my readers. My beauty buying ban is still underway and I have decided to only splurge on one non-beauty item for my birthday. I have decided that I will be in the market for buying clip in hair extensions for fullness. I don’t know what brand or anything yet, so if you know of any good ones, let me know in the comments. I will of course pop into Lush for one of their fresh face masks, go to the movies, and go out to dinner for my birthday. Don’t worry! You will be spending the day with me [post goes up after the fact]. Shadow’s results can back from the blood test. Her counts are lower, but the vet wants to see them even lower. Her kidney indicators are still high. Her blood will be retaken in four months to see if that changes. The vet says that so far so good and to keep up with just feeding her her Prescription Diet wet and dry food. My toe still looks beaten, but there is no more pain. I cannot trim the nail though, so it is crazy long. It hurts if I finagle with it.

I also wanted to give you all an update on what I am doing in regards to writing. Most of you probably do not know, that I am a published author under an assumed name, a nom de plume if you will. I am working on writing a second installment of poetry and short stories under the name of Selena Hannah. It will be a short collection of poems from the first book [which I am considering pulling from the market but I’ll probably leave it as is for now], a selection of new poetry, and a collections of excerpts from the four novels that I am currently working on. Would you guys like to know more about this, along with status updates? I’m not trying to plug in my goods [I never even told you the name of the published book]. I’m just to share more of what I love, which is writing.

With Love,

Life Update

Heya Aspiring Gurus!

I don’t have much to say today. My ban is still going strong after buying GlamGlow. I might need a moisturizer next week, but I will be buying another Cetaphil one. I have fallen in love with the brand and really think that their products are amazing. My cat is getting blood work tomorrow to see how the diet is working for her hyperthyroidism, so keep your fingers crossed for that. Otherwise, life is going good for me. I’m concerned about one of my friends, because I do not know what is going on with her and I’m worried. She told me not to, but when you love someone, you can’t help but worry about them when they are hurting. I just want her to know that I’m here for her whenever she needs me. That I wouldn’t hesitate to come to her if she needed me. I finished another book, so I am finishing writing a review about it. I just started another book and I am about halfway through another. It seems like I am back into the swing of reading. I’ll be posting up a review every Friday this month! And maybe a bonus one as well? We will see. What have you guys been up to?

With Love,