Day 5 - A song that has a new meaning to you every time you hear it

Groove Thoery's "Keep Tryin'" from Groove Theory (1995)



I've mentioned my love of this song before.

Day 4 - A song that reminds you of something sad

Heatwave's "Always and Forever"  from Too Hot to Handle (1976)




Here's a live version:




During the end of my father's fight with lung cancer, he had a stroke and lost most of his capabilities. He couldn't walk, feed himself, or use the bathroom without assistance. And his speech had become hard to understand. On top of that, he had become grumpy and mean. He wasn't himself. But one day he sang along with the radio and smiled. It was to this song. I wasn't in the room at the time but just hearing that he was happy for a few minutes made me happy. Within a week of his stroke, my father had passed away. Although this song signified a happy moment while he was still living, after his death, it just stood as a reminder. It was difficult for me to listen to this song for a few years. Every time that I heard just a few seconds of this song, I would burst into tears. It doesn't happen every time I hear the song now, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't catch me sometimes. "Always and Forever" is truly a beautiful song and now instead of crying when I hear it, I dedicate it to the love I have for my father.  

I'll always love you forever, forever...

Day 3 - A song that makes you laugh

I couldn't think of any songs that made me laugh. I thought pretty hard and nothing came to mind. And I'm certain that there are songs that I like that I bust out laughing every time I hear them. But I just couldn't remember any :(

So instead here's a couple of songs that made me giggle when I first heard them. I was pretty young when I heard these songs so their concepts were a bit strange to me. 10 years later and I no longer giggle lol

Missy Elliott's "Toyz" from This Is Not a Test! (2003)




Kandi's "I Won't Bite My Tongue" from Hey Kandi (2000)

 

Mýa's "Sophisticated Lady" Moodring (2003)

Day 2 - A song that helps you clear your head

"Beautiful" by India.Arie from Acoustic Soul (2001)





As I stated before, I absolutely loooove this song :)

Day 1 - A song that makes you happy

Rufus & Chaka Khan - "Do You Love What You Feel" from Masterjam (1979)

Here's the video:



But I prefer the longer version :)

30 Day Song Challenge

Since I've been home, I haven't had much going on with me. So just like I did last summer, I found a challenge to keep me occupied for a bit. And what better topic to have a challenge on than music?

30 Day Song Challenge

Day 01 - A song that makes you happy
Day 02 - A song that helps you clear your head
Day 03 - A song that makes you laugh
Day 04 - A song that reminds you of something sad
Day 05 - A song that has a new meaning to you every time you hear it
Day 06 - A song you can always relate to
Day 07 - A song that is your guilty pleasure
Day 08 - A song you liked when you were younger
Day 09 - A song that makes you want to dance
Day 10 - A song that makes you cry
Day 11 - A song that reminds you of summer
Day 12 - A song that reminds you of your best friend
Day 13 - A song you sing to in the shower
Day 14 - A song you like hearing live
Day 15 - A song people wouldn’t expect you to like
Day 16 - A song that holds a lot of meaning to you
Day 17 - A song that annoys you
Day 18 - A song you have as your ringtone/want to be your ringtone
Day 19 - A song you’re currently obsessed with
Day 20 - A song from a new album you are waiting for to come out
Day 21 - A song you want to dance to at your wedding
Day 22 - A song that would be the theme song to a TV show about your life
Day 23 - A song that makes you angry
Day 24 - A cover song
Day 25 - An acoustic song you love
Day 26 - A song by your favorite band
Day 27 - A song you make fun of
Day 28 - A song that reminds you of your boyfriend/girlfriend (if you don’t have one, make one up :])
Day 29- A song currently stuck in your head
Day 30- A song that you haven’t listened to in awhile

Next To Me

I can't get this song out of my head! Her voice is beautiful, the lyrics are great and I'm just in love with the overall feel of the song. This song has been out for a while but recently it has just stuck with me.
Check it out :)




"Next To Me" - Emeli Sandé - Our Version of Events (2012)

Hair Update

 Last week I finally clipped my ends. It was long overdue. I flat twisted my hair and did bantu knots with the ends. I just used olive oil and the pink Eco Styler gel. Since I didn't go anywhere, I kept my hair twisted for a few days. When I took my hair down, it was very curly and defined but I didn't like the way it looked. So I tried to do an updo. I played with my hair in the mirror for a while and this is what I came up with:

I received a small bag of Taliah Waajid samples monthsssss ago. I used the Curl Cream as soon as I got it and was unimpressed. My hair looked nice but felt horrible...kinda like straw smh. So I was uninspired to try the rest of the stuff in the sample package. Last week, out of boredom, I decided to use the Easy Herbal Comb Out, which is a part of the children's haircare line. I washed & conditioned my hair, towel dried it and raked the product through my hair. I used aloe vera gel with castor oil to seal and I braided my hair in the usual 10 braids. It came out soft, defined, shiny and sexy.

That night I braided my hair again, without adding anything. And it came out just as nice the next day.

Twistout (Sorta Kinda) Goodness

Tuesday night I washed and conditioned my hair and used my Cantu Shea Butter Grow Strong Strengthening Treatment and aloe vera gel & olive oil mix to twist  my hair. I had 12 twists that I kept stretched with pipe cleaners. When I took down my twists the next day the definition was great. My hair was soft, it looked shiny, felt moisturized and I had the best stretch to twists that I've ever had.  But I wasn't happy with it. I was missing volume. Since doing braidouts I have become used to having big, full looking hair. 

Here's some pics:

Juicy looking curls

I liked it but I think if I try it again I may have less twists, maybe around 5-6. Maybe that will lead to more volume and the bigger look that I prefer. I did like the combination of products that I used though. I will definitely be using them again.

Yes I'm still alive: Hair Update

It's been a minute since I've written anything and that's because I have nothing to write about. Absolutely nothing. I haven't found a job yet and my life has become kinda monotonous. However, I have gotten the chance to play around with my hair a little bit.


A couple of weeks ago I washed my hair then flat-twisted it. But instead of two strand twisting the ends, I made coils. I didn't go anywhere for a few days so I kept it twisted. I wasn't quite sure what I was expected but when I took out I was content with the look.

 The next day, the part that was flat-twisted shrunk from all the humidity but the coils were still intact.

I like doing coils on my hair because my curls don't form like that. I have S and U shaped curls that don't like to coil up. Although I like the look, I hate the take down. Detangling is a slow and tedious process after I have coils in my hair. I'm pretty patient though so it's not that big of a deal.

After I washed my hair I decided that I wanted to do a twist-out. I rarely ever do them anymore because I prefer the stretched look of a braid-out. But I found a technique that leaves my hair stretched with the definition of a twist-out. Here's the video that I got my inspiration from:



Yes, I used pipe cleaners to stretch my hair lol. I didn't use any rollers or rods for my ends because I didn't see the point. But it did come out pretty good. Unfortunately, the day that I wore my hair out was a pretty hectic day and I didn't take any pictures. But I will be doing it again very soon.

Instead of re-twisting my hair, I braided it up using a mix of aloe vera gel and olive oil. My hair came out big and fluffy...just how I like it :)