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Nerd in the Country!

Back in the country this weekend for a long Memorial Day holiday. I've been enjoying all my favorite country things so far today, which mostly involve farm animals (and dogs, of course!).


I started the day out early with a walk in the fields...

...and said good morning to the cows! Cows are one of my top 3 favorite animals and I haven't eaten beef in 3 years for that reason. Now that chickens have joined the ranks I feel like I need to stop eating chicken as well, but at this point I mostly continue not to eat beef because I feel healthier without it in my diet and I've gone so long without a cheeseburger I figure I may as well just keep going.

Here are some of our hens, just hangin' out, getting in their morning girl talk across the wire :)

Here is our one remaining rooster. He's a bantam Blue Wheaten Ameraucana, but he thinks he's more like a Jersey Giant!
Here also is one of our 6 chicks we just hatched. They're about a month old now and growing fast!

That's all I've got for now. I've been busy all day enjoying the scenery and the 70 degree sunny weather with the dogs and just cruising around loving the laid back feeling of being back in a small town away from the big city (I'm trying to embrace it but truth be told, I'd take days like today over city life ANY DAY!). Off to soak up some more sunshine and listen to the cicadas!

No-Poo Hair

I just made it to four months on the No-Poo hair routine! For those who may not know, “No-Poo” means you don’t use chemical shampoos or hair products AT ALL. (Some people opt to go Low-Poo, meaning they only use chemical shampoos every few days or will use hair products with less chemicals). I’m definitely not an expert on any of this, but I did a lot of research before I started it and everyone seems to approach a No-Poo hair routine slightly differently. 

I wanted to try a more natural approach because I’ve ALWAYS been at war with my hair. I have a lot of dye damage because I’ve been dyeing my hair regularly since I was 19. It’s a tough cycle to break, especially when your hair tends to turn a scorched reddish-brown color after a few weeks, no matter how dark the dye you use! I have thinner hair with a natural wave/curl to it and I can’t get it to stay straight or shiny or tame the curls no matter what hair products I use. Lately even my curls had been looking damaged and tired. I just wanted fuller, healthy, shiny hair, and that’s exactly what No-Poo promises. 

This was the process I chose: 

1. First wash your hair with Suave clarifying shampoo to strip the silicones completely. In the same wash, condition with a mixture of 1/2 TSP honey diluted in 1/4 cup water (microwave and stir to fully dilute). 

2. The first week is tough and nasty! It’s recommended that you go 2-7 days before “washing” your hair again—the longer you can wait the better. During this time and any time after that your hair feels greasy, you can brush in some natural dry shampoo—equal parts baking soda and cocoa powder (if your have darker hair. Lighter hair can just use baking soda). Keep it in a glass jar and brush it on your roots with a makeup brush.

3. Another important part of a No Poo routine is how you brush your hair. To avoid breakage, only comb wet and/or tangled hair with a wide-toothed comb. A boar bristle brush is essential to distribute natural oils from your scalp to the rest of your hair.

4. When you wash your hair, use a baking soda mixture of 1 TBSP baking soda diluted FULLY in 1 cup HOT water (I found out the baking soda won’t mix in if the water isn’t hot, and if it doesn’t dissolve completely then your hair just gets really greasy, because you’re essentially just washing with water). Keep it in a squirt bottle with a tip. I use a kid’s small water bottle. Use the tip to part your hair to the scalp and squirt. Rub the mixture onto your scalp and roots, trying to avoid the length of your hair. It should have a slippery feel if it’s working right. Leave it in for about a minute then rinse thoroughly. 

5. To condition use a mixture of 2 TBS apple cider vinegar in 1 cup of water. I found the vinegar really gives my hair a waxy/greasy feel so I started just spraying about 2 squirts on the very ends of my hair, leaving in for about a minute, then rinsing. 

At first I did this every 3 days. Now after 4 months I do it about every 4-5 days. Eventually they say you can stop the washing step all together! 

I’m used to a lifetime of uncooperative hair, so the last few months of funky hair hasn’t been that bad to me. Some days were greasier than others (I invested in some wide stretchy headbands!) and in general, I’m a little frizzier than usual. But around the 3 and a half month mark there was a huge change in my hair. It’s now rarely greasy and my curls are looking more lively than they have in a while. My roots that have grown out look really healthy and shiny! I’m thinking once I grow out my dye damage it will be worth the tough transition period! 

I also invested in some hair clippers so I can trim my own hair and avoid trips to the salon where they’ll use “real” shampoos etc. on my hair. Another perk to healthier hair is that it seems to be growing faster than it used to!