Wow. It has been a while since I've done a Hair Care Update. I wish I had kept up with this, now this post is much longer than I'd like. I was just so used to my routine and such that I didn't feel like there was much to blog about at the time. That, and when you're in the middle of a setback you really aren't in the mood to post pictures, LOL.

JBCO results (my first JBCO update): The Castor Oil Challenge was from September 2^nd to December 2^nd. I was doing the basic level of the challenge, which was to use it at least twice a week. Occasionally I used it more, and once or twice mixed it in my deep conditioning mix. I know that if I would have increased my usage I would have ended up with better results; however, my results were still wonderful! The challenge was announced at a perfect time. It was when I did my last relaxer in August and noticed that the headaches I was getting while stressed out were all in places my hair was falling out. This made my hair noticeably thinner. I had some thinning in the back, and on both sides. The left was worse than the right. Two areas in the front, where I thought I was just having migraines, looked pretty bad since the rest of my hairline was doing well. The biggest area, where I got the most intense headaches, was the top of my head, towards the middle. Right there for the world to see. THAT spot is the first I noticed, it tipped me off that something wasn't right. Many people have had excellent results with castor oil helping hair regrow (making your hair look thicker, since there's more strands on your head). My results were pretty good! Those posts in my hairline are almost back to normal. It's at least not as obvious. The sides of my hair improved, as well as the area in the back. The top of my head? It still needs time (and JBCO!), yet it had the greats recovery of all! I plan to continue using the JBCO. I'm still not too fond of the smell (some describe it as a "BBQ" smell, I disagree because I actually like BBQ, lol) but I'm willing to ignore it if continue to see results!

Last Relaxer: I started my relaxer on December 13^th, one day shy of 18 weeks post. What's that? Oh. No. No I couldn't wait another day.

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Yesterday I shampooed the bedroom carpet. I'm waiting for it to dry so I can get under the bed, then the rest of the apartment comes next. One of my goals on my 1001 Days List is to do this or something similar once a year. As you can see, I'll barely make it, lol. It's actually a part of my goal to reorganize the whole apartment. I plan to divide off a part of the living room (with a bookcase or room divider) for just my daughter's toys. =) Anyway, here are just a few updates. You can check the full list to see where I'm at.

In Progress
find ten new drinks, desserts, or meals I can make in my blender or crock pot and LIKE (3/10)
Orange chicken. Yes, in a crock pot.

start a weekly routine for face care, follow for two months straight
I've had a routine down for months, I just find myself, some days, being a bit lazy, lol. If it weren't for a couple of days this month, I could have crossed this goal off for the "two months straight" part. Blah.

organize everything better
See the beginning of this entry.

clean carpets (steam or something similar) at least once a year (1/3)
See above. I should be changing this to 2*3 in the next day or so.

clip coupons on average of twice a month (32/64)
From 24 to 32 between September and today. Not counting the latest coupons I have waiting for me. Now I need to learn how to use stores that do overage and the like.

do a picture post once a month, for a year (1/12)

and
try Project 365

I was going to start 365 last month. A brand new year sounded like a better starting point. The goal is to take a photo everyday, for 365 days. I combined the picture post goal with this one. I don't plan on posting every last photo, so every month I'll share some in a blog entry over at Smells Like Rain. I'll have another post on this in a few days

donate old clothes/items (0/3)
I've done this a number of times. I'm sure at least one instance fell within the time I started this list, lol. Oh well. Part of organizing the apartment involves this (my trunk has a few boxes of clothes and toys to donate), so I'm on it.

blog at Smells like Rain at least 143 times (averages out to one post a week) (30/143)
From 20 to 30 since September. It sounds great, but I'm actually really behind.

LOL! I was supposed to post this list back in October (it's part of a draft), to replace my monthly goals for the rest of the year. I ended using a notebook for my weekly lists, which included a last of 2009 list. So, let's see what I happened to finish up from the draft!

Hair

Stretch to at least 16 weeks

I hit 18 weeks on December 14^th. For years I've stretched my relaxers for months on end with the help of individual braids. It's not really a problem. Since joining the JBCO challenge to help thicken my hair since the possibly stress related thinning, I was getting too excited and wanted to see my results.


Actually, I relaxed one day early (no, I couldn't wait ). Speaking of which, I need to do a post updating my hair progress. I took before and after pictures, and will take more after I wash tomorrow and press my hair.

Touch APL

My goal was full APL, but after several trims later from bad habits last year, it may or may not happen. Just touching APL will make me happy since my ends are looking better. We'll see tomorrow.

Organize my products, again.

Starting a HHJ means you're probably going to try more than a few products. Before you know it, you have more than you need. I organized and now I'm finding ways to use up my items outside the staple pile.

General Health

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There are a number of things I need to work on. Based on my current situation (being laid off) it seems like money is one I worry about the most, yet the one I don't do enough about. I have been trying to keep up with tracking my expenses so I can pinpoint key areas to cut, it's just difficult with inconsistent income. With my car needing repair and unemployment catching up on my payouts (it was on hold for a phone interview, which meant no income for over a month!) that's been difficult this month. I have been trying very hard for a job. Things are just slow in my small town. There's layoffs in other companies which makes the competition even higher.



Earlier this year my main goal was to cut expenses to start saving for a house. Obviously my new goal is to cut expenses so I can live comfortably until I find another job. I made a list of tasks that I hope will help get me started.



Job Search As Often As Possible.
I have been doing this since being laid off in February. I just need to keep my hopes up despite things looking gloomy.



Keep Up With My Budget Spreadsheet.
I thought I was lazy with this, but the truth is I'm depressed over it. I need to take a deep breathe and work through it. This is very important for my next task.



Cut Back Current Expenses.
Based on the times I did track my spending (despite falling off), it made it so much easier to see where too much money was going. You can have an idea of where you need to cut back, it just has a bigger impact once you see the real numbers.



Shop Better.
There are things I need to buy, but I need to work on buying them the best way possible. I always check tags to see what's truly the better price per lb/oz/cup/etc. Sometimes the $2 product isn't the best deal compared to the $5 product. Of course, I can't stock up on more than I'll use!



I'm pretty good with coupons. I clip them several times a month (thanks dad!), organize them, and make a habit to use them. My problem at first was clipping things I didn't need or coupons for things I needed but could get cheaper under another brand. Once you take time out to compare prices and brands (sometimes even with a coupon, you're better off with another brand) it becomes a quicker process. Even after having all of my coupons clipped and ready to go, I'll give them another shift through and ask "Do I really need this?" I need to go through my receipts, but I think I save at least $5 a month with coupons. It doesn't sound like much; however, once place I purchase groceries from has a free club card where I get a ton of savings, and another brags that you get club price savings without a card.



Aside from coupons, I'm still learning how to play the shopping game. I'm talking about people who throw hundreds of dollars worth of groceries (no, I never spend that much in one trip, lol!) on a belt and after coupons, club cards, and rebates cut their bill in more than half! Another part of this strategy is stocking up when prices are low so once you need the item, you're not running to the store to pay full price. My parents have always done this with frozen items. Their deep freezer is always full! My problem? I don't have room (or money) for a bigger freezer, and the one I do have is a struggle to close with the food I do have. Blah. My mom said she'll let me store things at their house, so that's a big help. Well, not if I decided to cook something spur of the moment. I did stock up on cheaper canned goods before my job closed. Which brings me to my next goal.



Use What I Do Have.
I stocked up on a few things I like, grocery wise. Of course, eating the same thing gets old. My goal is to learn new recipes and work through the stuff I have. Even with non-groceries I do the same. I hardly ever replace things that are still perfectly fine. I've always been like this. If it does what it's supposed to and is in working order, why replace it just to have a newer model? Okay not with my computer, but in my defense I could afford a new one at the time, lol.

Blog Stuff
Revamp: I'm cleaning up current pages and adding a lot more content.

New Domain: New layout or not, start using the domain name.

1001 Days List: Upload an updated list. (monthly task)

Hair Section: Type up reviews of Aura Rosemary Mint shampoo and conditioner samples.

Avatars: Come up with an avatar to top posts for each section of the site (1001 Days, hair care, money, etc)

Health/Beauty


Start Working Out Again: I started last month but headaches put it off.

Castor Oil Challenge: Keep up at the basic level.

Money/Other

ChaCha: I just want to do it at least 1 hour a day, and an extra hour for each day I miss, just to see how much I can make with it.

Back Up Computer

Start Budget: Started. Now I have to stick with it.

PurrMeow Designs: Upload work to the MySpace (since most of my work for Noel was for his) and start on the official site.

Smells Like Rain: Blog at least 10 times this month.

Noel: Edit and put up his videos from the album release party.

At the end of the month I'll do an update on this list to see what I managed to complete. I'll be adding a few more things later on this week.

DONE:

1001 Days List: Complete a new goal.
See below.

1001 Days List:
Upload an updated list. Will upload today. It's updated; however, I completed a few more.

Relaxer: Figure out when I'm going to relax, and if I'll go to texlaxing or not.
I relaxed on August 10^th. While I didn't try to texlax, some areas in the back came out that way... Again.

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