Thanks to one of my YouTube subscribers for alerting me to this, so I thought I’d share. The video is of an interview done with Amy Dacyczyn known as the “Frugal Zealot” in the 80’s I think. She is the author of the “The Tightwad Gazette”. This is another book that I used as inspiration on my way to becoming debt-free. Some of her methods are a bit extreme but I feel that it is a springboard to be used to stimulate ideas of your own. Many times we just give up, thinking it does not make a difference when looking at the whole situation. But a journey is made manifest by taking one step at a time. That leads to the next step and another one comes after that and on and on. I totally agree with her when she says in this interview that frugality should not just be practiced when in recession but when times are good as well. It may not prevent the recession from occurring but I believe things would not be a hard as they are right now if this had been done.
Loc Star Poetry You Tube Tag
ShaggyLocks7 on YouTube did another great tag video for all of us loc wearers to recite a poem about what our locs mean to us. Now I had never written a poem before but here is what popped in my head.
My locs, my locs
Oh how I love thee
You’ve come into my life saying to me…just be
The Ram, the Lion, the Healer , the Rebel and some even say the Devil
Just be who I am
My locs, my locs
Oh how I love thee
For they have set free the real…me
TTYL
Age Ain’t Nuthin But A Number
Here’s another one of those good emails that is forwarded amongst friends. He was one of the few comedians that told you what we may not have necessarily wanted to hear but what we needed to hear. RIP George Carlin.
George Carlin’s Views on Aging
Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we’re kids? If you’re less than 10 years old, you’re so excited about aging that you think in fractions.
‘How old are you?’ ‘I’m four and a half!’ You’re never thirty-six and a half. You’re four and a half, going on five! That’s the key.
You get into your teens, now they can’t hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.
‘How old are you?’ ‘I’m gonna be 16!’ You could be 13, but hey, you’re gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life!become You 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony.YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!
But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There’s no fun now, you’re Just a sour-dumpling.. What’s wrong? What’s changed?
You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you’re PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it’s all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone…
But! wait!! ! You MAKE it to 60. You didn’t think you would!
So you BECOME 21, TURNPUSH 30, 40, REACH 50 and make it to 60.
You’ve built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it’s a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!
You get into your 80’s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn’t end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; ‘I Was JUST 92.’
Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. ‘I’m 100 and a half!’
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!
HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay them.
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning. ! Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever, even ham radio. Never let the brain idle. ‘An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.’ And the devil’s family name is Alzheimer’s.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it’s family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever.Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don’t take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,
but by the moments that take our breath away.
We all need to live life to its fullest each day!!
Definitely share this one!
TTYL
18 months
18 months today and I could not be happier with my locs. I think they are still condensing in the back. Definitely it is the case in the top. Most of my ends are pretty much sealed but there are a few curly Qs which I think give them character and pizazz. I’m still lovin the journey though. Y’all know I’m hooked on comparison pics so here goes. lol
The Freedom of My Locs-cont’d
While shampooing my locs one day, a continuation of the “Freedom of My Locs” post came to mind.
- Using the natural soaps, I can also use my mix as a body wash or break off a piece of the chunk and use it as is. This is great because I don’t have to have soap and shampoo which has freed up a lot of cabinet space. In a small bathroom, that makes a huge difference. It also cuts down on the number of chemicals absorbed through my skin. Don’t know if this is related but I have not had as many colds as I’ve had in the past. As emotionally trying this past year has been I have not had one cold. This is very unusual for me because when my emotions are taken through the fire, that’s when I get sick. I was doing the same with Dr. Bronner’s though I’m still using it as a body wash until I use it up. Then I’ll decide whether to go with the black soap for head to toe cleaning. It’s looking like I will be doing that.
- Since the African Black Soap leaves my locs clean and soft, I don’t use a rinse out type conditioner. Again that’s one less bottle of product to go in my bathroom cabinet.
- My shealoe mix that I’ve tinkered with, serves as my leave-in conditioner and moisturizer for my locs. It also serves as an all over body moisturizer including my face. That’s a minimum of 3 bottles/jars of product eliminated as I used to have all that stuff in the cabinet.
Less stuff to have to buy. Ahh, the freedom of my locs! Have I mentioned that I’m lovin my locs?!
Shake Dem Dread/Locs-Oh Yes I got ta…
ShaggyLocs7 on YouTube has a fun tag for all loc wearers to shake dem locs. Here is my entry I did last month so get ready to move for a minute, it really is a minute! You’ll see what I mean. lol
http://www.youtube.com/get_player
TTYL!
African Black Soap
Hey everyone! Here’s a product review of sorts. I have been using Raw African Black Soap since October ’09 and I love, love, love it. I wanted to give it a good long test run before I wrote about it. It gets my locs very clean but not stripped even with 2 times a week usage. Needless to say I’m no longer using Dr Bronner’s castille soap as shampoo. I will use the remainder of the Dr. Bronner’s that I have as a body wash and DH has started using it as well. Once that’s gone I just may use the black soap for all over hygiene.
Why did I change? I was noticing a greasy film on my locs right after washing while wet and there was buildup on two of the nape locs. This seemed odd to me because at that time I was not using anything else on my locs. No oils, butters, gels styling products. Just a few drops of essential oils and I mean just a few in a pint spritz bottle and I was using ACV on my scalp and washing weekly. Plus, I was diluting the soap with long rinses after shampooing. Also they were kinda rough and scratchy once they dried. So I was on a quest to find something else that was natural and budget friendly.
So, I purchased the bulk raw soap from Butters-N-Bars.com after being given a bottle of their black soap herbal shampoo by BearneseBrown on YouTube as a contest winning. 
It arrived in 4 big chunks that look like meat loaf and are in sealed in zip lock bags. Thanks to LaLoced, who so graciously did a tutorial on her YouTube channel showing how to make a liquid version from the raw bulk soap. It’s been almost 4 months since getting my order and making my first batch of shampoo. The chunk pictured above is the 1st one I’m working on. I’m on the second batch of shampoo, ending up with about 32 oz this time. I made it 1 month to the day ago and I’ve got 24 oz of shampoo left. I know this because the bottles I’ve got to put it in are 24 oz, so that means I had to use 2 bottles to house the batch. It looks as though this is going to be more economical than the Dr. Bronner’s.
The result has been soft locs. When I put my homemade shealoe butter mixture that I have tinkered around with…OMG, super soft locs. Even the “kitchen” and hairline areas, y’all know from the creamy crack days, where the beautician laid that stuff on first ‘cuz it was supposed to be the nappiest, roughest hardest hair on your head. Well I’m finding out that those same areas are loosely curled and wavy. As a result, the shorter hairs in those areas don’t want to stay in the loc especially since I need to wash my hair 2 times a week. There are some pics below. But that’s alright with me. One part of the loc mission has been accomplished as I was determined to have soft locs using the goodness from Mother Nature. Now I’m patiently awaitin‘ for the length to show. Y’all, I am so lovin‘ my locs!!
Happy Valentines Day!
Snow where it usually does not
Here’s the view into my backyard from my window this afternoon. For those of you in the northern states that have already been inundated with snow are probably saying that’s nothing compared to what we’ve got going on. I’m originally from your neck of the woods as I may have mentioned before so I’m all too familiar with snow. Familiar…but still don’t like it. But I now live in here in the South where this is not a normal event. It’s finally stopped snowing but the temperature is going to be below freezing tonight and that’s going to cause major problems on the roads. However, I’m grateful for shelter, warm clothing and heat and that I don’t have to get out in it.
How’s the weather where y’all are?
Happy Birthday Blog!
Just a quick post to note my blog’s 1st birthday! YAY!!. Thanks so much to all of you who have made this experience a pleasurable one and for helping to break me out of my shell. If someone would have told me 5 years ago I would be writing stuff on the internet for all to see I would have told them to check their drink ‘cuz you must be on something talking like that!
Now back to the task that I’ve been dragging my feet on…the monthly re-ti! lol
TTYL
Rapid Refund- Say No, No, No
Rapid refund services are just another hand that reaches deep into your pocketbook. Your money or refund is being given to you and I use the term “given” very loosely, as a Refund Anticipation Loan. This service to get your money quicker, is not offered out of the kindness or benevolence . What that means is you pay a hefty fee plus interest for this convenience. I’ve mentioned here in an earlier post of how to get your money in your check each month if you are one who consistently get large refunds back every year. Now I would venture to say that 70% of employers don’t issue W-2s until Jan 31st. So you’ve already had to wait 13 months and unless it’s an emergency and I do mean an emergency, save yourself some money and say no, no, no to rapid refund.
CeraIsis 