Knitting and Crochet during the summer.

I am very proud of my knitting and crochet.  Particularly my crochet, as I only learned to crochet since last May 2013 and I am a right handed and I taught myself to crochet with my left hand.

As for my knitting, I can do fair isle knitting, something I have always wanted to do.

What is happening so far!

The top picture was taken 2nd March and the bottom was taken on 16th June 2014. My hair has got a lot thicker, in the bottom picture,  it appears more dense.   I have been using rosemary, sage and horsetail spray and leaving it in the fridge and I try my hair at least spray my hair regularly.

Also I have been walking quite a bit, I have lost some weight, but there is still a long way to go.

The story so far

I have been juicing regularly, the green juice, contains coconut water, 1 pear,  a hanbdful of kale, 3 Pak Choi, 1/4 cucumber, ginger and honey to taste.

The red or brown juice contains coconut water, 3 leaves of Iceberg lettuce, 3 leaves of Pak Choi,1 apple, 1 carrot, 1 handful of black grapes, 1 handful of blueberries and ginger.  So far that has been one of my favourite juices.

I drink at least 250 ml of juice daily, the amount juice I make lasts me for three days, which I store in the fridge.  As the weather is getting warmer and brighter, I will be buying more soft fruits, particularly strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, which I will freeze, so that I can use them in the colder months.

Trying out new things

Spring will be coming soon.    I am still having  a green smoothie at least once a day daily.  The ingredients are usually, kale, spinach, 1 carrot, a banana, apple, 1 lime, ginger and cinammon.   The lime seems to really liven up the taste, which I am now enjoying.  I enjoy the process of preparing my smoothie.  I have noticed tiny hairs are growing on my sides. I will review my process probably the end of February.

For six months, I have been using Nanogen Hair intervention supplements.  You take 2 tablets a day.  I got very good results.  In the past, I had also taken Viviscal Extra Maximum Strength and also took Viviscal Professional.

The ingredients are Nangen Intervention for Women are the following :- Marine Cartilage 640 mg, Cysteine 100 mg, Pine Bark Extract 50mg, Pantothenic Acid 12 mg, Curcumin Extract 50 mg, Resveratrol 100 mg, Horsetail Extract 100 mg, Iron 48 mg, Vitamin B12 12 micrograms, Vitamin B6 2.8 mg, Caffine 50 mg, MSM 150 mg, Vitamin B7 (Biotin )1 mg, Zinc 30 mg, Copper 4 mg, Magnesium 150 mg.

With Viviscal Maximum Strength, you also had to take 2 tables,  ingredients are Marine Protein Complex (AminoMar C) 600 mg, Vitamin C 77 mg, Niacin 16 mg, Biotin 156 micrograms, Iron 13.6 mg, Zinc 14.9 mg, Horsetail Extract 49 mg, Millet seed 10 mg.   Nanogen's Intervention for Women cost £40.00, whereas Viviscal Maximum cost £49.99.  With Viviscal Professional, the ingredients are Vitamin C 40 mg, Biotin 196 microgram, however the AminoMar C has 700 mg, the new professional Viviscal Professional will have 900 mg AminoMar C, which is the important marine complex from deep sea fish.   I took it, because I started losing my hair at the crown. It cost me £59.99, but after 2-3 months, there was a definite improvement and I was very pleased.

I have been thinking of colouring parts of my hair red, the colours I like are L'Oreal Preference Dark Red, shade number 3.66 and Babylon Red shade number 6.66. I used Babylon  Red before, but  I used 40 vol hydrogen peroxide, instead of using the peroxide provided in the package and the colour came out really lovely.  I did not have any problem with dryness, I add extra virgin olive oil and castor oil to the colour mixture. I will also visit Sallys the hair and beauty outlet to see what other reds they have available.
                                                         

Green Smoothie Challenge

I have set myself a challenge.  To drink a green smoothie for 30 days.   More information about the green smoothie challenge is on www.simplegreensmoothies.com.  Also if you go on youtube, there is a lot of information about green smoothies.   I made my first one today.

Ingredients
I handful of spinach
1 banana
1 apple
1 carrot
1/2 grapefruit squeezed
1/2 lemon squeezed
Leaves of mint
Ginger finely chopped

It had a fresh taste, nothing too unpleasant, it had lots of bits, because at the moment,  I don't have a high powered blender.   I also realised that I should have added a cup of water first, before adding the vegetables, whereas I added the vegetables and the fruit, then the water.    I also learned that when adding lemons, limes and grapefruit, I should cut out the rind and leave some of the outer white skin as it as a lot of nutrients.  I think it will be very good for me health-wise, as I will be getting more greens, vegetables and more fruit.

I also plan to add Romaine lettuce, chad, cucumber, beetroot, coriander (known as cilantro) in the US, and other greens.

Another reason, why I am doing this. because I had a very bad cold and cough, which lasted me 2 months. something I had never experienced before.  The coughing was just awful.   I need to take care of myself.   Ideally I would prefer more organic fruit and vegetables, however if it is too expensive, I will buy the conventional or regular fruit and vegetables, but make sure I wash them properly.

Since the beginning of January, I have been drinking a cup of hot water and lemon.  I squeezed half a lemon and added hot water. That has greatly helped with my chest infection, that I may have had.

New Year New Hair

 I am very pleased with my hair cut. It was cut just a few days before the new year on Saturday 28th December 2013. Last year February, I had my hair texturised and although I did not regret it. It is something which is not suitable for me. I like how my natural hair feels in my fingers, after transitioning for 10 months, I decided to cut it. I cut between 5 and 6 inches of the texturised ends. I was going to wait until this year February, but I decided why wait.  It is a length, I can easily cope with, not too short. I know that I will be adding colour at some point, but at the moment. I am enjoying my new hair.