Milk crates!

I'm struggling with what to write or even if I want to write.  I'm afraid it's still the mono talking but who knows...I guess a simple blood test would tell the truth, but of yeah, that's right, the doctors office is closed since my doctor died.  Second one in 5 years.  And both were young women...one had stage 4 breast cancer that hit her like a freight train going 90 and the other had a blood clot that shot straight to her heart.  So sad....both women were phenomenal!

Last week, I spent some time at the Alabama Gulf Coast in good old Orange Beach.  The weather was perfect, high 80's, slight breeze, not a cloud in the sky.  We only left the condo twice and both times it was to meet up with friends that live down there.  So we were incredibly lazy.  I was so lazy that i didn't take a curling iron, a flat iron or a blowdryer.  Heck, I didn't even take my make-up!  Well, except lipstick, eyeliner and mascara...and no, I'm not one of those girls that looks fabulous without it.  I just didn't feel like putting forth that kind of effort.

So anyway, while we were packing the car for the trip, I'm trying to figure out where to put some of the grocery staples (salt, pepper, mustard, crackers, trash bags, paper towels, etc.) that we always take with us so we don't have to buy big new packs of it to throw away or bring back home.  So I'm standing there in the kitchen, thinking, when Chris walks by and asks what I'm doing, just standing there (knowing I'm excited about beach time and was ready to leave hours ago).  Then it hits me...I need a milk crate! 

I see the perplexed look on your face, let me explain.  Chris cooks in BBQ competitions and we are always lugging stuff here there and yonder and milk crates stack well, have handle, you can see what's in them and they are free at the butcher shop that we have to go to to get the meat for the competition.  So, anyway, we have amassed quite the milk crate collection and we use them for just about anything.  Chris brings them home and we spray them down with cleaner and water and they are stacked and stored in our garage and storage unit. 

Back to the story...I need a milk crate!  So I respond to Chris that I think I'll need a milk crate to tote my groceries in.  And he grins and says...and that's use number what for a milk crate?  And you mocked me when I started using them....ha, I have converted you!!!!  Thus, a new blog has been born:  Your Milk Crate Does What? (which you can check out here)

Back to the hair...

I guess I've been a little lax in posting about the hair stuff lately, so here goes:
I'm still using AND loving the Avachi Replenishing Shampoo.  I think my hair feels stronger for having used it!
I started using the Avachi Immerse Conditioner which seems to be combating the dryness I had going on there for a bit.  And it smells great too.  Again, just a clean scent...not really any one particular thing it reminds me of other than clean.  And I like clean.
When I straighten my hair, I'm using the Avachi Kiwi Miracle oil, a little of the Avachi Boost (Volume Spray), my handy Chi blow dryer, and my Chi ceramic flat iron.  And my hair feels good.  My scalp isn't dried out.  My hair isn't oily or dried out.  No flyaways.  Just clean, straight hair.  However, let me note that the Volume spray isn't like something that I'd imagine you'd find on a runway models hair, it's not that kind of volume.  I'd almost refer to it more of as a thickening spray...you see, I have tons of pieces of fine hair, which when freshly dried looks thick, but usually without the Avachi Boost, my lunch time, my hair has completely fallen flat to my head.  With the Boost spray I have nice all over, realistic thickness all day.  I'm sure I could style and tease and curl (and maybe even dry) my hair to create some major volume with it, but I'm not complex with my hair.  The Boost spray holds the thickness, holds any curl I may sneak in every now and again, but it's not sticky. 
When I don't straighten my hair and I go for the natural look, I use some of the Avachi Conditioner of choice as a leave-in, I use more (than above) Avachi Kiwi Miracle Oil, quite a bit of the Avachi Boost Spray (for volumizing) all over and I scrunch, wrap, twist while my hair is still wet but then I leave it alone to dry on it's own. 
So far, I haven't found an Avachi product I don't like....have you?

Paying attention...

Pay attention to where you lay your bag down.After I changed into my work out clothes yesterday, lightning struck a nearby transformer and blew the power in the gym. I was in the bathroom stall, mid-pee when this happened. I had no clue which bench I had set my bag with my cell phone, wallet, keys, clothes on! AND IT WAS PITCH BLACK in there! Fortunately, the back-up generator kicked on and I was able to find the sink AND my bag!Pay attention to the instructor.When doing tricep extensions and the instructor says (MULTIPLE TIMES) to allow the bar to touch your forehead, there is a reason for that.
When doing tricep presses and the instructor says (MULTIPLE TIMES) to allow the bar to touch your stomach, there is a reason for that.
When doing bicep curls and the instructor says to allow the bar to graze your thigh, there is a reason for that.
When class is over and you are looking at your arms and complaining that you see no change yet you've been attending class for 2+ months...well, see the above and THERE'S A REASON FOR THAT!!!!!!Pay attention to your body.I have been out of the gym for a little over 6 weeks from the lovely mono. So this week I've been cleared to revisit the gym and I am uber-excited! BUT I've been down this miss it for a while road before and I knew that I needed to be careful. I am so glad I did...I was using less than 1/2 of the weight I normally use and I am sore today. It's a good sore, the kind that isn't debilitating, just lets me know I worked it out - AND I LOVE IT!!!!That is all.

Put some SHOUT on this...

Sunday, my dear sweet boyfriend, wore a brand new white t-shirt that he'd gotten it the day before at a 35th Birthday party for one of our favorite bars, Gallette's.  Anyhow, in true Chris fashion, he wore the shirt for exactly one meal before getting something on it. 
As I was walking past him, heading into the laundry room, he quickly pulled the t-shirt over his head and threw it at me, saying "Put some Shout on this". 
I caught it and thought..."hmmm, he didn't say please"...
OK...so I wadded the shirt up, put it up to my face and screamed as loud as I could.
The look on Chris' face was Price-less, his eyes got huge and then he just started laughing at me.  For being such an idiot.
But I did what he asked...
I put some SHOUT on it!
And I nearly peed myself in the process...

So I'm still using the Avachi Replenish Shampoo and still LOVE it beyond belief.  I'm not so sure about the Sunflower Nourishing Conditioner though.  I like it for the versatility.  I love the smell.  And for most days it's awesome.  But I think I need something that works a little more deeply for every couple of days...my hair is really long and has a tendency to dry out in this lovely Southern Summer weather.  So, I'm trying the Immerse Conditioner starting tomorrow....
And truly, now that I think of it...it's been acting all weird and freaked out ever since the Florida trip...see?  I knew there were more reasons for my move away from there!

Diet Dr. Pepper, Peaches and Humidity...

I love it!  Diet Dr. Pepper, that is (well, among other things, but if I'm drinking a caffeinated beverage that's not coffee, it's DDP - see?  I even have a nickname for it!)...so I was really bummed when I could not find any on my weekend jaunt to Florida - I .

Florida?
What was I doing in Florida, you ask.  I was taking peaches to my Grandpa! 
He absolutely loves these peaches that have the pit that literally falls right out from Chilton County, AL.  He also usually plans a road trip (he's almost 90 and still drives from Florida to NY and Texas once a year...well, until this year) around the time that the peaches are ripe so he can travel hours out of his way to see me...yeah, right!??!  He's traveling to get peaches...not see me!  I'm here 12 months of the year!  But it's cute and it gives him an excuse because he doesn't like to impose. 
And this year, he can't make the trip.  In the past 81/2 months, he's had a heart attack, fell and broke his hip and had a minor stroke...needless to say, he's not doing well, so I decided that even though his health may not be the best, he could still enjoy some peaches!  (I had a great picture of a peach cut open with the pit out, but my phone decided to be a turd and I had to get a new one...guess I lost THOSE pictures!)
So I drove 5 1/2 hours to take him 5 bags of peaches (they weren't all for him - he gave 1 bag to my mother, 1 to my aunt, 1 to his neighbor and of the remaining 2 bags, he kept some for himself and divided up the rest between some Bridge ladies - how cute!)!!!!

Now, on to the matter of my hair....
in Florida...
on humidity. 
How did it go?
Well, to preface this, my traveling plans changed 3 times before I actually got on the road.  There was all sorts of packing, unpacking, repacking...there was a death in the family that sparked the potential for funeral attire to be a necessity.  Then there was the realization that we were either scrapping the trip to Florida in order to go to the funeral (ummm, no, Grandpa is not well...I'm afraid this is the last peach run) or I was dropping Chris off in South Alabama for the weekend so he could attend the funeral while I went to Florida and could pick him up on the way back.  Then Chris had a work crisis that required his immediate attention and demanded that he remain in Tuscaloosa for the weekend, so I unpacked the car of both his and Bonnie's (the dog) bags and I traveled alone.
So, my hair. 
I packed a small container of Avachi Replenishing Shampoo - the more I use it, the more I LOVE it! - and a small container filled to the brim of the Nourishing Conditioner - which turned into an IMPORTANT new discovery!  I also packed my handy dandy pink bag that contains my traveling hairdryer and flat iron, some rubber bands and bobby pins and a comb.  I know I'm supposed to check before every trip to ensure that I have products and a brush and any other doo-dad that I might need, but for whatever reason, I failed miserably at that...and ended up in Florida, sans product!!!  Yikes is right!
So Saturday, mid-afternoon, I washed my hair and conditioned it.  This is when I made The Discovery of no Hair Products in my bag.  
~And here you are probably thinking: Raid your mom's stash!
Right? 
Ummm, no. 
My mother has incredibly short hair and only uses Redken Rewind, which if you've ever ventured there, you would know that it would be a mess that I'd probably have to cut my way out of!~
So, I thought for a moment, then I decided that using my Nourishing Conditioner as a leave-in would be a good place to start.  So with my hair still wet, I applied a small amount as a leave-in.  Then I used the hair dryer...and let me just say this was not my brightest moment, it was hot and humid, I should have let it air dry for the curly look!
So now it was dry and somewhat *puffy*...and hot and humid.
I had to take a break, so I pulled it back into a low bun and cooled off in front of the AC vent, but shh, don't tell Mom; she hates when I do that!!
Back to the hair...I took my hair out of the bun, brushed it and went over it with the flat iron and it looked FABULOUS! 
~I was shocked...if only I had known about the leave in trick and had Avachi when I was in high school...!!!!~
Even better, it felt healthy!  Yay!