Posts

Posted on

Poo-Free Attempt…

… or if you prefer, Going Shampoo-Free Attempt 1 – abandoned!

That’s right – i’m throwing in the towel on my efforts to go shampoo-free after 2 weeks of trying.

OK let’s back up why do i wanna go shampoo-free?

Well, because a few of my friends were trying it with mixed results and because i read this post from Simple Mom and was inspired. It sounded easy enough, switch from using shampoo which is filled with detergents and chemicals to a natural way of cleaning / conditioning your hair with ingredients which you use to cook with. If you can eat it, it can only do good – yes?

Now i wanna say upfront that i was really very happy using commercial shampoo and conditioner and actually love my fine and quite thick Asian hair, which was soft and easy to manage. The only thing that it lacked was volume or body and it doesn’t hold styles very well without tons of product, which i hate and do not use.

i’m the kind of gal who likes to wash and conditioner every other day and leave to air-dry (don’t believe in using the hair-dryer as the name suggests it would dry your hair literally and leave you with split ends – at least i believe so). i was happy with my easy hair-care routine and didn’t really set out wanting to change the ease of it. i wanted to just improve it and have nice shiny hair which has volume and holds styles better, which looks like the one in this post (another poo-free lady).

(You should read this entry to learn more about going shampoo-free, the whys and how-tos before going on to read the rest of my post.)

This is my unwashed hair before going poo-free.
This is my unwashed hair before going poo-free.

That leads me to the first reason i am abandoning this attempt. Because it is no longer easy hair-care. i have to think and analyse what is going on with my hair. i had to decide if i was using too much baking soda? too much vinegar? should i skip the vinegar rinse today? Why is my hair so greasy? There were days i could not decide if it was too dry or too greasy. Some dry bits stick out when combed through and other oily bits clump together. The oil seems to stay at the top, leaving my ends dry and hard to manage, which, to me, seems ridiculous for this length of hair.

After a week, i decided to change the formula and method of washing a little, that’s when i got white residue which as i read was a result of too much baking soda, the results of which i am still trying to wash out and correct after a week.

The second reason i’m quitting this after 2 weeks: i have suffered 2 weeks of helmet hair! It has been greasy, which i expected (the transition period those blogs pointed out). But i didn’t expect it to feel like wearing a helmet all day. Styling became difficult. After the first wash, i could not pull my brush through my hair easily, there were tangles at the ends which is uncommon for my previously long hair, let alone my currently short hair.

i am used to wash, brush, air-dry and done for the day. i don’t run a comb or a brush through my hair more than a few times a day before going poo-free. Since starting this experiment, i have had to switch from a brush back to a comb so my hair doesn’t sit in greasy clumps and i have had to comb so much more. Because it is greasy, it tends to get messy and stay messy. Before all i do to smooth out messy hair is run my fingers through my hair.

This is my hair after a week poo-free. i don't think the greasiness shows well in the photo. But trust me, it was greasy!
This is my hair after a week poo-free. i don’t think the greasy-ness shows well in the photo. But trust me, it was greasy!

The third reason? Well, all that greasy hair is giving me pimples! My skin is temperamental at best, a T-zone that seems to never go away. But i have had it under control and was able to be pimple free for at least 2.5 weeks of the month. The other 1.5 weeks i blame the hormones. But now, even during what is supposed to be my clear weeks, i have a huge pimple on my nose bridge (nope, not going to show you a picture of that!) and a few on my forehead and temples!

Now i know i am being impatient and that if i stick to it just a few more weeks, i might, i just might, get poo-free beautiful hair. And i was in two minds about giving up… BUT then i read this blog entry from The Herbwife’s Kitchen.

There was another way to poo-free – without the yucky transition period! Sure it would take longer but no helmet hair, no pimples from greasy hair. A gentler way! i say Yes! to that.

So i’m going to stop my current attempt at going shampoo-free, which was stressing me out (my only vanity is my hair – really! i’m not vain about anything else). And i will attempt the gentler way in a few months.

All that said, please if you have tried and were successful, do share below and good for you! And to others who have not tried this and are interested to, please don’t let me put you off. This is just my experience and everyone’s hair is so different. And in my opinion, the less chemicals you have in your life, the better. Which is why i will certainly attempt this again, just using the ease-into-it method.

syc

Posted on

It Has Been 11 Years!…

Yesterday was our 11th Wedding Anniversary!

i have been married for 11 years – that is … WOW!

Has all been happily ever after? Nope! We are not a fairytale. Has it been frustrating? Definitely (at times), as every relationship is. Has it been loving? Yes! Why else would we have gotten married in the first place. Has it been challenging? Of course! After all we are taking two very different people and getting them to live under the same roof and build a life together. Has it been exciting? Yes! Exciting to get to know each other more, exciting as we move to a whole new country together, exciting as we became a family of 3 and we look forward to more exciting years. Has it been wonderful? Yes! It has been wonderful knowing there is someone in this world who would be there for you, someone who would come home and be happy to see you there, someone who cares enough to let you finish the last ice cream on a hot summer’s day, someone who would let you talk his head off and look interested even if it’s a topic he doesn’t understand, someone who makes you smile.

11 years isn’t a long time but it isn’t a short time either. And through the years i have learnt lots.

Picture from one of my favourite movies, Up, Words credit: lovequotesandsayings.com
Picture from one of my favourite movies, Up, Words credit: lovequotesandsayings.com

The article below sums up my thoughts on a lasting marriage:

7 Thoughts that Will Change Your Marriage | To Love, Honor and Vacuum.

1. God is Your Father-in-law.
While i tend to think of God as Father to both of us, it works the same work. Being accountable to God for your actions as a spouse gives one a sense of … for lack of a better word… awe; an awareness of the need to give your best in this marriage.

2. I Can’t Change Him; I Can Only Change Me
This is so very very true. No one can make another human being change. Only God can do that. But we can make a decision, a conscious effort to change our reactions, our responses to the other’s actions/words. i pray daily that God grant me patience and understanding in being a wife.

3. Marriage is More About Holiness than Happiness
i have never thought of it this way. But my point of view is that marriage is a 2-way affair so there is always give and take. But if we keep count of how much we give and how much we get to take, then there is no true love; true love as described in the Bible does not “keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Cor 13:5). Keeping no records! And focusing on the needs of the other above our own. God’s training ground for us to love the world more by learning to love in a safe environment.

4. You Will Never Drift Together; You Will Only Ever Drift Apart
While we try our best, most of the time his work travel schedule and my housekeeping/child-caring schedule leaves us little time for actually going out for a date type thing. So we settle for the next best thing, being with each other at home, after the kid has gone to bed. As long as he is here (i.e. not travelling), we also eat dinner together once a week (since kid started Judo a few years ago).

5. The Marriage Comes Before The Kid
i don’t think we ever sat down and talk this one out. We are Asian after all. We know that the other is important and we need each other to make this family work. So we take care of each other in little ways. Sometimes i do feel more could be done, BUT… i know he tries his best and i do too and that is all that matters.

6. If You Win a Battle, You Often Lose a War
i’m a non-confrontational person. i had the opposite problem; being unable to express my anger about things which really bugged me. i eventually exploded. Over the years i have gotten better and i think now i’m at a good point where if things really bother me, i think it through clearly for a few days and then i tell him i need to talk and we sit down and he listens. He is a man of few words and generally happy to go with the flow so there is little which bother him BUT if he is bothered, he does let me know, then i know it is really important to him. So i listen.

7. I Can Determines My Thoughts
This one took me a long while to learn. But i am getting good at it. i have an active imagination and it tends to run away, taking me with it. i’m getting good at telling it to stop and come back. Little by little imagination calms down and i can see the silver lining; the good things, which are so so so many many many.

My husband sometimes drives me insane but he is a most amazing, wonderful man who makes me laugh! And i love him!

syc

Posted on

It Is All God…

Less than 11 months left for these sweet boys to get a family. Please help.
Less than 11 months left for these sweet boys to get a family. Please help.

Yep, it certainly is and it isn’t easy for me when God tells me to back off and let Him do the work.

But i bit my tongue and i did back off and well… the results are not exactly what i imagine it to be. In fact, the results are very far from where i would like them to be but! God is God and He is Good , All the Time!

The Birthday Online Auction for Shane and Wesley ended 3 days ago, on Thursday, 5th September at 10pm.

We had 18 items on the auction and 17 items had bids on them with a few having some real bidding action. We raised a total of US$201.

i had all these publicity plans so that we can get the most out of this event, have more people take part, raise a large amount for their adoption grants. But God said no. He said set it up, run it on Facebook and the blog, then let it be.

My personal target for this fundraising event was not met. BUT! Facebook stats say that over 1300 people have seen my posts about Shane and Wesley!! Which means 1300 more people know about them and if just a percentage continues to pray for them, we would have gained prayer warriors for them. If just a percentage shares their stories, we would have gained more exposure for them. And right now, exposure – visibility!! is what the boys need the most! Because they have LESS THAN 11 MONTHS! to find a family!

So while the amount raised is small, i praise the Lord for the exposure and supporters these precious boys have gained through this event. i continue to pray that the Lord will bring their forever families to them real soon and that He will take care of their daily needs. Will you pray with me? Will you share their stories?

Thank you all for participating in our event for Shane and Wesley. You can find out more about them by clicking on their names.

syc

Some verses which God gave me through this time:

Proverbs 19:21 
Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

And for the boys:

Romans 8:38 – 39
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.