Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa

First off, I have come to the conclusion, my titles will never be clever plays on words or probably anything ever relevant to my blog.  So, I decided they will likely be extremely random (like my blog content) - possibly a song title, quote from a movie, something I read, who knows.  I will disclose it's source at the end of every blog.

I’m totally going to show off my yummy meals to you guys today.  So tasty and HEALTHY!  Go ME! (btw: am clearly not food stylist/photographer)

Breakfast:

One slice of Rye bread toasted, 1 tablespoon almond butter, and 1 sliced banana – insanely easy; I had one (successfully) peeled and sliced mango for a late morning snack

Lunch

Tuna Salad (tuna, red grapes, slivered almonds, fresh mint, pepper, lemon juice, and oil olive) in a whole wheat pita; I will also be having some fresh strawberries

Side note:  I also make a delicious tuna salad using the following: tuna, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, garbanzo beans, feta cheese, olive oil, lemon juice, salt & pepper.  I add to a spinach tortilla with some fresh spinach – DELISH!

Dinner will more than likely be a 6” turkey sub from Subway with apples (I LOVE that they have this option for your meal deal).

I woke up today a little tired, but after a short while, I felt freaking awesome!  So much energy and just so happy and full of life!  God sure is amazing!

The Keratin went well.  Here was the procedure: She washed my hair, and then dried it with just a vented brush.  She applied the treatment with a brush.  It did not burn, itch, or smell bad at all.  It had a distinctive scent, but I could not put my thumb on it – maybe suntan oil-ish, certainly not unpleasant.  AND my hair lady is 3 months pregnant, and she said the product is perfectly safe.  She put a shower cap on me and it worked its magic for 20 minutes.  Then she dried my hair again using the same procedure.  Then she got out the BIG GUNS!  The specific brand of Keratin is Coppola and they have a special flat iron to use with this treatment that gets up to 450 degrees – YIKES!  She utilized that and flat ironed my hair seriously, probably 20 strands at a time.  The whole procedure took 2 hours from start to finish.  I go back Saturday and she will wash it out and dry it and then I’m good to go!  I was paranoid about the not getting it wet or creased or anything today, I almost brought my flat iron to work...almost.  It looks awesome!  One of my best friends, Heather, has the most beautiful long brown hair.  I remember back in middle school when I lived at her house (practically) and she would shower and then just casually dry her hair – no sectioning off, no metal barrel brush, no tugging to get it straight (all the horrors us wavy headed girls deal with)!  Of course, she told me time and again she wished her hair would hold curl, while I was painstakingly trying to get mine board straight!  So my hope…I can still shower at night, casually dry hair and it will be straight.  Then wake up in the morning and flat iron a few pieces if needed, and then be on my way.  We shall see how it goes….

I’m pretty excited about Saturday!  My mom and I have a “Mommy/Daughter Date”.  We do this pretty frequently, especially since she lives closer to me.  She got her hair cut last night while I was getting my treatment and she looks freaking awesome!!!  She is going to court next week to finalize her divorce (hopefully - it’s been delayed twice already!).  I’m going with her for support.  But she doesn’t need it.  Since she left her husband (I will reserve my opinions of him – just know, I was NOT a fan), she has been so much happier and confident, it just makes me heart so full of joy to see her like this!  Good grief, back to Saturday – see with short attention span?  She is going with me to the salon.  Then we will probably get pedicures – yay!  I am on the lookout for some dressier-ish sandals, all I have are flip-flops, so a Target trip is likely in order.  I ordered some clothes yesterday for summer – linen pants and a bunch of simple tops – so I need some sandals for work.  I also plan to buy a scale at Bed Bath and Beyond.  Then we will probably grab some dinner.  After that, we are off to the Artisan Theatre in Hurst to see Phantom of the Opera.  This will be my second community theatre experience.  Mom and I saw Annie a few months ago and it was awesome!  This version is not the Andrew Lloyd Webber version that most of us are familiar with (Mom and I saw that one on Broadway several years ago!); it’s based closer on the book.  I can’t wait!  We have tickets to see the Wizard of Oz at the Casa Manana in May too!  I am loving embracing all the fun things in the Metroplex.  I will make sure to take some photos so you can see my hair and my DIVA mom’s hair too!

Reading update:  I am currently reading (actually almost finished with) – Leaving Dirty Jersey: A Crystal Meth Memoir by James Salant – sounds delightful, huh?  I read a lot of memoirs about addiction, for the obvious reason - I can relate (thankfully I never sank never as far as most people do).  But it is also an interesting subject.  I have actually looked into going back to school to become a Chemical Dependency Counselor – but that story is for another day.  I tend to buy my Kindle books in bulk, read all those, repeat.  So probably my next 8 books will relate to addiction in some fashion.  However, if you know how quick I read, I will probably have them polished off in the next month.  I know the first book I plan on purchasing the next round: Sweet Valley Confidential by Francine Pascal.  Cindy and I were talking years ago about how we used to read these books.  Well, a few days ago, she sent me a link that this book was released.  It picks up ten years after Jessica and Elizabeth (I didn’t even have to look up their names, I totally remembered – sad?) leave Sweet Valley High – so stoked!!!

I received this delivery today!

I love tea!  I mean I really love tea.  I quit drinking coffee over a year ago because I was drinking a ridiculous amount.  I switched to tea and a co-worker turned me onto Yogi Tea.  I order it from Vita Cost, they have the best prices (boxes for half-off retail!) and to save on shipping, clearly, I order in bulk.  Yes, that’s approximately 30 boxes of tea, but it will last me many months.  So, I slipped and started drinking coffee during Provision (tax talk for HELL) and will have some occasionally at a nice restaurant (it seems the coffee is always better!), but I usually ask for decaf.  Other than that, it's tea all the way!

Oh!  So Jerod and I bought a fancy camera.  I believe it is an SLR.  I really do not know what that means only that it takes super cool photos.  We went to the Botanical Gardens last weekend and he got some really excellent shots!  I even took a few too, but I fear/know I will not have the patience to learn all the modes or settings or whatever they are.  He is also doing some editing too!  For such little experience, I think he is pretty talented and doing some awesome stuff.  Check out his Flickr site!

That, my friends, is all for today.  I probably will not write again until Monday.  I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Ps.  For any of my friends reading, if you would prefer your name not mentioned in my blog, please send me a private message J  I love you all and would only have good things to say, but I can understand you might not wanting me rambling on about you. 

Title Disclosure: This is the title of a song from Vampire Weekend's debut album.  Cindy got me hooked on this band.  She even got us tickets to their concert in October for my birthday - we had a blast!  They are such a fun band, their music is upbeat and actually kind of funny, you can tell they certainly do not take themselves too seriously - I'm all for that!

First "Real" Blog

Ms. Britney Jean Spears


Last week my awesome boyfriend, Jerod, procured the latest Britney Spears album.  Savvy people that you are, probably caught on that Britney's album was not released till this past Tuesday.  Well, notice I said "procured" not "purchased".  He, of course, burned me a copy noting that my enjoyment was the sole purpose of his endeavors....

I finally listened to the entire CD today.  Now, being the great boyfriend that he is, Jerod "previewed" the CD for me.  You know, just to let me know how it was, etc.  So when he said it was very "Club-ish and Techno-y", my first thought was "Wow, clearly he has been spending too much time with me as he is making up words - which I am notorious for" --- my next thought was uncertainty...

I have long loved Britney Spears.  Not when she first came out.  No sir, she got "big" when I was a senior in high school (I think) and I was WAY too cool for school to listen to her.  Some years later, I saw the error in my ways...and jumped to the other end of the spectrum....

When poor Brit Brit fell apart emotionally a few years ago; sadly, I could relate.  And no, readers, I never shaved my head or attacked an automobile with an umbrella.  However, I was always pulling for her!  Blackout was the beginning of her comeback which culminated with Circus.  I saw her in concert in 2009 during her Circus tour and she was UH-MAZING!  So you can imagine my conflicted feelings about this new album...

Until I remembered that Jerod and I have pretty different tastes in music.  Femme Fatale is awesome.  It is a bit club-ish and techno-y.  But it's also extremely fun and pop-ish.  I was bopping my head at my desk.  So do yourself a favor, dear friends, listen and LOVE!

Keratin Hair Treatment

Back in the day, I was what you could call, high maintenance.  Nails, tans, wax, hair, etc.  My "dark" period ended all that when I really did not care nor could afford that kind of lifestyle.  Lately, I have been adding some elements back into it.  A few weeks ago, I went for a hair trim and color.  I have not highlighted my hair in a few years, so I thought I would bring it back.  I did and I love it!  My  hair lady is freaking awesome.  My base color is still brown, but there are some darker brown lowlights and caramel-y highlights intertwined...

I have heard all the rave about the Japanese/Brazilian/(insert applicable country here) blowouts.  And I have been curious.  My hair is very thick and very wavy.  And I am very lazy.  I have no patience to deal with my hair in the morning.  This takes away valuable sleeping time.  I typically wash my hair every other night, apply product, and let it air dry overnight.  So, pretty much, whatever it looks like in the morning is what I get.  This frequently results in my hair being in some type of bun...

I was perusing my salon's website - Mouton's (check them out - they are amazing, ask for Ali) and saw that they offer a Keratin straightening treatment.  When I saw Ali last, I asked her about it.  She said it will take away a lot of the frizz and relax my hair.  And it fades away more than the Japanese/Brazilian kind, so my roots will not be so obvious when they grow back.  She said it typically lasts 4-6 months.  It's not cheap.  In no way is it cheap.  However, if I can shower at night, blowdry my hair before bed, and wake up with amazing hair for 4-6 months, it's worth it to me!

So...my first appointment is this evening.  I will go and have it applied (1/2 inch by 1/2 apparently - thus the 3 hour time estimate) on Day 1.  On Day 3, you return and she washes it out, dries, and flat irons.  In between the two dates, you can not put your hair back, clip it, wash it, get it wet, anything!  Needless to say, I am going to be looking *pretty* by Friday morning at work.  I'm pretty excited though.  And the worse that can happen -- it does not work as well as I hoped and it just wears off.  I will post some "before" and "after" photos soon...

Have a fantastic week and this is turning out to be fun!





ps. I have read that some of these treatments contain Formaldehyde. I called the salon and researched the specific products they utilize. Yes, it contains very trace amounts, but they have not had anyone report any problems associated with this.

Greetings and Salutations!

Hi there!

My name is Nicole.  I'm 31 years old and live in the DFW area. 

I have had mixed feelings about blogs over the years.  I have always thought them to be self-indulgent - not the blogs of others necessarily, more so, I knew my own would be.  And then I figured people would judge me based upon the content.  I still think my blog will be self-indulgent, but if you blog-stalk and judge people based upon their content - well, you have bigger issues to tackle.  Plus, if you do not like it, just do not read it  :)

As you can obviously tell, my blog designing skills are rather elementary at best.  That being said, that's pretty on par with my computer skills.  I will probably be able to figure out how to add photos, but to be truthful, my design skills will probably not get much better.

Before I moved to Washington DC in 2004, my wonderful friend Michelle bought me a journal.  I have written in a journal faithfully since then up until the past year.  I like the idea of keeping a record of my thoughts, feelings, moods, etc. at a particular point in time.  This is probably why I have kept every planner I have had - they are somewhere in a box and I'm probably going on 10+ years of keeping one.  So, why the change to a blog?  Well, for about four years, there was a lot of pain, struggles, and all-around hell I went through - not suitable for public knowledge.  My life the past few years has been amazing!  I found Jesus again, met the love of my life, and can honestly say I am HAPPY!  So going back to the journal, I would like to look back in ten years and see where I was at.  And you can turn blogs into books! 

One caveat: I more likely than not (any of you accounting nerds catch that?  Pretty pathetic I can bring accounting lingo into my everyday conversation - but I digress) have an undiagnosed case of Adult ADD and lose interest in things VERY easily.  So this may or may not be an on-going project.

So...what will this blog contain???

Honestly, in my opinion, my life these days is pretty boring.  Boring is good for me.  Boring keeps me out of trouble and on the right track.  I spent so many years being a party girl and living that life.  Well, I finally grew up.  So, doing "normal" things: going to work, going to church, reading, seeing movies, etc. are the things that define my life now.  And I LOVE it!

I am an avid reader.  AVID.  I read all the time.  And I read all different types of books: Fiction, Chick Lit, Memoirs, Christian Books, etc.  So, I will probably keep you up to date on what I am currently reading.  Same with music.  My taste in music is quite eclectic.  My main genre is definitely indie rock.  Some of my favorite bands are: Mumford & Sons, Bloc Party, Vampire Weekend, and Band of Horses.  I also enjoy good ol pop music: Britney Spears, Madonna, Lady Gaga to name a few.  I also really enjoy Early 90s Alternative (Nirvana is my fave) and 80s music (Depeche Mode and Duran Duran are at the top of my list).

I recently started a new meal plan if that's what you want to call it.  I am diabetic - Type 2 (thanks Dad!) and am trying to eat healthier to control my blood sugar and lose some weight.  I will probably let you guys know how that's going - meals I am enjoying, etc.  FYI..am sort of half-assing this plan right now.  I am following the Breakfast and Lunch for the most part, Dinners - not so much yet.  Oh yeah, it's called The Carb Lover's Diet.

I will keep you updated on the day to day bizarre things that happen in my life.  My brother always said that I was the smartest BOOK smart person he knew, but I missed the common sense train.  I am well aware of this.  Jerod (he's my awesome boyfriend) is well aware of this too!

I'm sure Jerod will make some cameos into the blog.  We are planning our future together and me, having never really been in a "serious" relationship before, well most of it's new to me.  We will be moving in together at the end of the summer.  There are some other things we may be planning for as well, but I shall have to wait to tell you the details until he does his part.  :) 

Well...I certainly have a lot to say!!  I'm not sure where this blog will take me, but hang on and enjoy the ride!!!!



ps.  5 points for naming the movie (and person that said it) my blog title is from.

pps.  Did you guy see my fancy signature?  I did that all by myself!