Wash day rambling: I'm goin to Canada this weekend!!

A two-week twist out so that I'm tired of reviving

 Today's wash day!!

 I haven't washed my hair since July 2nd in preparation for my mini-twists that weren't meant to be. See,what had happened was...I originally wanted to do some regular sized two strand twists, but as I continued to twist, the twists continued to become smaller and smaller. I eventually had split the regular sized ones into two mini ones which created even MORE work for me to do (which I wasn't feelin). 

It took me a whopping 4hrs to finish the twists-that-weren't-suppposed-to-be-mini-twists-but-became-mini-twists-anyway...but that won't happen to me today cause I need these puppies to be done before tomorrow.

I'm currently sitting here already washed, but deep conditioning w/ mayo and olive oil and I didn't have any plastic caps left so i had to get "innovative" and use a plastic bag (times get hard, don't judge me). Yall know when it's raining outside and you don't have an umbrella you'll be quick to throw on that plastic bag, don't get all bougie on me now...this is what my blog's all about: making something outta what you have!

Pretty Masquerader

 So I am OFFICIALLY headed to Canada this weekend for Caribana!! YAY!! =D

I haven't been to Caribana since I was 7 and, no. I do not remember it. I'm really excited to go! If some of you may not know, I'm Trinidadian (well, my mom is) and I've been in Carnivals since I was 3 months old (yeah, I said 3 months; don't call CPS on my parents..) so this is nothing new to me. Growing up in Brooklyn, you KNOW I was right there on Eastern Parkway every Labor Day for the West Indian Day Parade. I miss those days =/

...but i digress.

While I'm up in Canada, I'll be meeting family I've never met past Facebook, so this should be interesting! I can't wait to meet everybody though , cause they make it seem like living up in Canada is easy life! It looks like fun up there, minus the cold. So pics and stories will be coming your way once I get back; stay tuned for that...

 ...in other news...

 I bought this dress for freakin $16!! I got it from this store called Easy Pickins and they have ALOT of cute clothes for $30 and under. I saw this dress and was like, "Hmm, this could be cute," and when I tried it on in the dressing room I said "DAMN! &This is only $16??" You know I had to scoop it up right then and there cause I wasn't about to leave it just to come back and find that they're only sold out in my size -__- (you know how it goes). Now I just need for the boyfriend to take me somewhere so I can wear it!

After the Couples' Dinner at church

Oh yeah, this handsome fellow over here in this picture right here is boyfriend =)

 I won't get into details about our story or anything, but the most simple way to put it is...

I LOVE this man!! And I DO mean "man," even though he's younger (say whaaat?? Yeah.) <3

 In cooking news...

 I've been home cooking up a storm, so much so that I haven't been able to keep up with myself. I do have some simple recipes for you guys coming up, just give me the chance to write them. LOL

I have this DELICIOUS behind Carrot Soup that I made cause we had so many carrots that had been sitting in the fridge like, "Eat mee," so I was like, "Okay!" Plus, I wanted to try out the emersion blender that my parents got me for my birthday!

I was trying to get all fancy with my plating here & it looked so good until the whipped cream would start melting, *sighs* I need a photographer. Anyway, it tastes good both cold and hot so feel free to serve it as you please. I'm gonna try to have this recipe to you guys by next Monday...

My GINORMOUS ravioli

Alright, don't make fun of my ravioli 

(that's ravioli?? Yeah.) 

They're freakin HUMUNGO! LOL

See, what had happened was...

..I was in the grocery store, right? And i was walking down the produce aisle, and you know how they have all the "organic" stuff and tofu on the refrigerated side, right? So yeah. I saw these wonton wrappers...

(those are wonton wrappers?? Yeah.)

...and I was like, "OOO! I'm gonna make wontons!" And when I was reading the pack it says, 

"Can be used for wontons, ravioli, etc.." so when I saw that it was like,

 "Challenge Accepted!" *Meme face*

So, yeah. That's how that came about. I haven't cooked them yet, so I don't know how the dough holds up or tastes, but once I DO cook them, I will let you guys know ;)

 It took me about 2hrs to finish this post...so I'm pretty sure my hair is deep conditioned by now. ;)

 TIME TO RINSE!

I DID THURSDAY'S WORKOUT FOR YOU GUYS!!

I woke up this morning and was like, "Hmm, I feel like making a workout video," ESPECIALLY since I've been neglecting my poor YouTube subscribers after not posting videos for YEARS and deleting the videos I used to have up there..it's all love though! =D

So check it out you guys..I worked freakin HARD on this video!! For HOURS!! HOURS!!!!!!!!

Here's the link to the Thursday Workout that I'm talking about..

ENJOY!!

Why I do not like fast food, AT ALL.

This post is a very STRONG opinion. 

I don't know how many of you have actually watched the documentary, "Super Size Me" by Morgan Spurlock, but it really disgusted me when I saw it. This man ate McDonald's 3x a day for 30 days straight and as a result, gained 24 1/2 lbs, had a 13% BMI increase, fat accumulation in his liver and steady stream of mood swings and other physical malfunctions. It took him 14 MONTHS to lose the weight it had only taken him 1 month to gain!! And even after that movie made it clear to the nation of what people are doing to their bodies DAILY, our country still continues to produce and promote things like the Bacon Sundae (Burger King) and would rather buy processed foods packed with salt and preservatives as opposed of making them from scratch. 

The bottom line says: The other 85% is meat filler  cleansed with ammonia
which causes stomach and intestinal cancers.

Eating fast food makes me feel sluggish, makes me flegmy, and overall is just unsatisfying. I remember when I first came back from school for Christmas and my mom stopped at McDonald's to eat and I was so hesitant about ordering ANYTHING because of the stories my chefs had told us. I just simply got a McDouble and small fries and it was honestly, disgusting. I could taste every preservative in the fries...I could taste every ounce of sugar in the ketchup...so I just stopped eating.

Although fast food is cheap and easy, you have to realize that the ONLY reason why it's cheap is because it's cheap product. Do you REALLY think that they use ACTUAL Pork rib meat for the McRib? Do you honestly believe they use prime cuts of beef to grind to make those little brownish/grey patties?? And DON'T GET ME STARTED on Chicken Nuggets....

Being a college student, I understand the need for food you can just throw in your mouth and go, but you gotta realize that after you throw that processed meat patty slathered in ketchup in between two sesame seed buns..that it's doing horrible things to your body. 

Now that I have more knowledge about food and the food industry, I always find it hard to believe that people would rather have people cooking for them rather than cooking for themselves. The people behind the counter don't care about your health or your well being, they're only doing their jobs- serving their billions of customers. But when you sit back and think about all of the disgusting preservatives, additives, meat filler and pesticides you're consuming just on that one burger ALONE, you'll find yourself having a change of heart. 

I mean, look at the news..McDonald's JUST announced in February of this year that they're going to "end the use of pink slime in their burgers," but how many decades has McDonald's been doing this?? How many years have these corporations been pumping this disgusting additive into our food without us even knowing it? It's a shame that the ONLY reason why they're stopping is because they've been exposed and they don't want to lose their customer base! I find news like this extremely disturbing because even though they had that light shone on them about the pink slime, people still continue to consume their food without giving it a second thought. 

I have a question for you guys....

Why do fast food chains have such a strong hold on us as a country?

Why is it that even when the disgusting truth is exposed to us, we just shrug it off as if it's no big deal?

Why don't we believe that these corporations would rather pump their food full of artificial filler and make more profit, than give us the real thing?

Why are we so gullible??

I have a video that I just recently watched on YouTube that was pretty unsettling to me...

If you wached it, you'll see why it disturbs me... 

It's a shame that we're so wired to eating these things that we don't even care what they're made of, let alone what they're doing to us. It's actually coming to a point where a kid will know the taste of a chicken nugget before they know what spinach tastes like. 

We all need to learn that food in it's natural form will ALWAYS be better for us than food from a package. It doesn't matter if it says "Low fat," "High in fiber," or "diet" on the label, if it isn't from God's green Earth, it's not supposed to be in your body. 

It's that simple folks. 

Much love.

OPERATION COCONUT MILK

So, I went to the produce store and saw that they had coconuts for $1 and OF COURSE I had to buy one! I think the most challenging thing about this whole operation was removing the meat from the shell, but other than that the process was fairly simple. 

• Crack the coconut and reserve the water from the coconut in a bowl.
• Strain the water through a cheesecloth to remove any shell fragments and put water in blender.
• Remove all the meat you can from the shell and rinse it off to remove any more shell fragments. you don't want any shell (brown stuff) left on the meat (white stuff)
• Place all the meat into the blender and blend on low speed for 1 min and then at top speed for 3 mins.
•  (OPTIONAL: Add about 2 C. warm water to mixture as it's blending to thin it out) 
• Take a cheesecloth and spread over the top of a very large bowl.
• Pour mixture onto cheesecloth slowly, ensuring that no meat gets into the milk. Wring out the milk from the mixture and store in a sanitized bottle/jar.
• Let the mixture cool FULLY before placing the lid/cap on.

It felt like powder...and had NO flavor.

Coconut fragments (left), Coconut milk (right)

TADA!!!Coconut milk at your fingertips!

 The coconut fragments that were left were very powdery and tasteless. I had the brilliant idea to try and toast them...but that didn't do anything. -__-  The milk lasted me longer than i had expected..about two weeks to be exact. I drank it, i used it on my cereal, I used it in some curry, I even used the fat solids that rise to the top for a deep conditioner! *sighs* so many uses...so little time. ;)

Some health benefits of coconut milk, according to Livestrong.com, are:

• Aids in Weightloss
• Immune System Health
• Helps to prevent Heart Disease
• Healthy Skin and Hair

More details here.

So, OPERATION COCONUT MILK = success!!

The 100 Workout!!

I challenged my boyfriend to this workout and it WHOOPED. HIS. BUTT.  And he's athletic! Hahaha! =D

I will admit that it's WAAY more strenuous than the daily workouts I posted before, but well worth the effort. 

You'll feel yourself getting stronger ALONG with losing the inches...and when combined with healthy eating, you should be working your way to your perfect body in NO time. 

If you find yourself getting winded or light headed, don't force yourself- take a 1 min break and drink some water...but be sure to get back to it! I suggest setting your timer on your phone for 60 secs so that you don't take too long of a break. ;)

Alright guys, tell me how it goes!!

The dreadfu...I mean, DARING 100 workout!

::Personal Achievements:: Finally got the BALLS to wear a bikini!!

At the beginning of the month, my family and I had our family reunion in Myrtle Beach and let me tell you, I had already worn this thing about 3 times before then!! Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'd actually have the confidence to wear a bikini!! My friends have always told me, "Oh, you're not that big! You can wear a bikini!" and I'd be sitting there like -_________- Really. Wearing a bikini isn't about the physical, it's ALL about the mental. If you don't feel good in a bikini, you won't look good in a bikini..and that pretty much works in all aspects of life. I'm just thankful to actually have the confidence to feel comfortable even WITH my stretch marks & cellulite, I DON'T CARE!!

While we were in Myrtle Beach I managed to get in a few good workouts in between all the eating out, BBQs,  hearty cooking & beer! I would power walk down our block and jog up the block where the beach was (yeah, we were a block away from the beach). Each morning I went out, I would always go walk on the beach when I was done...it was almost like HEAVEN. I've always dreamt of bein able to wake up, workout and go to the beach and relax and then come home to my big master bedroom that overlooks the ocean and take a bath in my porcelain tub...*sighs*

 ...but I digress.










I took this picture on our last morning here, and I almost cried at how beautiful and good God is to give us these simple pleasures. I walked a good two miles down the beach before I decided that it was time for me to head back to the house..I really didn't want to, but I had no choice. =(









Apart from the fact that it had to end, my Family reunion was a BLAST. Our house was gorgeous and the beach was breathtaking. *sighs*  if only it could have lasted forever....