July Curlbox & Product Review

Herbal Essences 'The Sleeker The Butter' & Pantene Hair Masque and Custard Product Reviews

If you're not getting a curlBOX, you might just be missing out!!

Getting these boxes is like getting Christmas presents full of goodies each month! I wouldn't try a lot of these products if they weren't being sent to me but (like I've said before) you can't find what you like unless you try different things! I'm still getting over split ends but most of the products are treating my hair well, so I'm not complaining about that part.

July's box was a Beach Box theme! This box was packed with a trip to the beach in mind. All you'd have to do is throw this box in your suitcase and you wouldn't need much else. It included:

• Herbal Essences 'The Sleeker The Butter' Shampoo
• Herbal Essences 'The Sleeker The Butter' Conditioner
• Herbal Essences 'The Sleeker The Butter' Creamy Hair Milk
• Pantene Pro-V Stylers Texturizing Sculpting Wax
• Aussie 3 Minute Miracle
• Covergirl Queen Collection Jumbo Gloss Balm
• Olay Ultra Moisture Body Wash
• Secret Clinical Invisible Solid Antiperspirant
• Crest Be
• Ivory Soap

Halfway Mark

So far so good!!

If you read this post, you'd know I was a little skeptical about this project. I set out with the purpose of completing this challenge so having faith in myself helped me put my best foot forward. I didn't want to be in that 71%.

This post is to catch you up to speed on what's been going on!

Days 1-25

Days 26-50

I'm glad I'm still on track to completing this challenge. It's definitely been hard trying to keep up with this thing...and a little annoying at the same time. I don't really use Instagram that much so having to use it every day is a task! I'm sure I've had more exciting periods of time in my life but despite that I'm always able to find at least one picture to show some type of happiness in my day. That makes me smile. It's been an emotional, busy, hard, activity filled 50 days...but I've made it through. Time passes so quickly and things change in an instant. Gotta stop to smell the roses.

As of today I have a little over 40 days to go. Check out my Instagram (@allnaturalmi) to follow along...and to see what the first 50 pictures are about!! You'll enjoy every minute of following me ;-)!

Have a great Monday.

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He Has Not Forgotten

I know this is a late post, but I felt compelled to share. The message I've consistently gotten over the past couple of weeks is this:

#SheReadsTruth

God has not forgotten about you. Whatever you might be going through in this season of your life (good or not so good) remember that one thing and you can gain peace and strength! Be content with where God has you right now. Know that He has a plan for you. You're not just out here aimlessly roaming around through life. Your path was made for you before you were even born.

Relax and enjoy life! Enjoy God!!

Have a great weekend y'all and be safe!!

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Maxi Dress OOTD

Forever 21 Maxi Dress

As you know from previous posts like this one, shopping is still giving me a tough time!

However, there are times when I get a win. Here's one!!

Dress: Forever 21

I love everything about this dress! It's nice, cool and super cute!!

I especially love the cutouts around the neck and the sheer bottom (below the knees).

The back is completely closed with a split towards the bottom of the dress.

This look can be dressed up for date night or down for an afternoon out on the town!

Either way you'd draw eyes as you prance around, ready to conquer the world!

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Softball 2014

I'm sure you guys don't know this about me, but I used to play softball. My mom was an all-star back her day. In high school she played volleyball, basketball, and softball and she was extremely good at all three. She actually got a scholarship to play ball in college. Everyone me and my sister would meet from her hometown or that went to school with her would ask if we played ball like our Moma! Her jersey was retired at her high school, so she's something like a celebrity! LOL



My mom back in '07

I said all that to say that she's played softball all of my life. She plays rec ball with ladies in the area and she's continued to play to this day! Matter of fact, I'm sure she has a game tonight!! Every year she says she's not going to play anymore, but she never stays true to that. She's an athlete. She simply can't just watch the game, she has to play!

She's definitely inspired me to play!! Me, my sister (who played softball throughout high school), and other family members watch her play every year. She just makes it look so easy. I wanted to get back out there so bad! I intended on playing with her before I left, but I didn't get the opportunity to do that. The opportunity presented itself here and fairly early on, so I took it as a sign.

The first time I met my team's coach (which was probably like the 2nd or 3rd week after I started) he invited me to play on the company team. Mind you, I started in August...the softball season had just ended and he was already recruiting for the next year! He says he asks all the new employees to play and usually people don't. I told him I would, but I'm sure he hears that from other coworkers who end up coming up with excuses later on...but I was serious about my commitment!

Time came around for softball to start and we had our meeting. Everyone was made aware that this was a competitive team and while we want to have fun, we also want to win too! We practiced and we started our season in April. We did very well and went undefeated until we had two bye weeks back to back. We lost our rhythm and ended up losing the next 3 games we played. Now we're in a position where we have to win the rest of the games in our season to be considered for the tournament.

I've enjoyed every minute of playing. The last time I played softball was in the 7th or 8th grade, so I was a little rusty. I've gotten better as the season has gone on and now that I feel like I'm at my peak, the season is almost over!!

The name on my jersey says "K-Town Tarheel"! K-Town for my hometown of Kinston. Tarheel for the greatest school in the world...The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I'm a representer of both, so I felt it was very fitting! Also, I use number 4, which is the Henderson number. Every sport we all play, we all use the number 4.

It's been good to get out and be active and I've met some great people! There's a fall league that I'm considering playing in, but I'm not sure. Fall is a busy season! We'll just have to see.

There are three games left. Wish us luck!

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Water Challenge

I drink at least one soda a day!!

Alright, I've confessed. Some would say that's a lot, but I think that great moderation on my part! My favorite soda used to be Mountain Dew, which is laced with tons of sugar...I know, I know. I've heard it all. My downfall is that I HATE water. I've never been one to drink a lot of water. Ask my mom...her solution to every ache or ailment used to be 'drink water' (or take a nap)! LOL. I also have a baby bladder and I hate getting up to use the bathroom; it's so inconvenient. Water makes me do just that, so that's a negative in my mind...unless I'm at home.

source

Now that I'm trying to live a healthier lifestyle, I'm trying to drink more water. I've gotten up to a bottle of water a day, so now my goal is to drink 2 bottles a day. My boyfriend, the health nut, has become just like my mom with this water thing. He goes through spells where he drinks nothing but water and he tells me how much better his body feels when he has no soda in his system. So, he decided to issue me a challenge.

Drink only water for a week!

I almost passed out at the sound of the words coming out of his mouth! I'm not one to back down from a challenge, so I took him up on it. To be quite honest, I was curious to see how it would affect my body. Nothing but good things could come from it, right?!?!

The first day wasn't too bad, it was like a regular day. Usually I drink my one soda at dinner time so I was good the first day. Second day, the struggle was real! Instead of drinking more water to take the place of the soda I wasn't drinking, I wasn't drinking anything at all. I would eat my meals without drinking anything. I wasn't doing that on purpose, I just wasn't thirsty for water! By Tuesday night I felt horrible!! Needless to say, I was dehydrated! My girl Erin (at Life Beyond the Well) suggested I try drinking water out of cup with a straw as opposed to out of the bottle and wouldn't you know it, that worked!

The most water I drank the whole week was three bottles. Lol. I was having a bad week anyway and the fact that not drinking soda was physically affecting me made it even worse. I hate to say it but I must be addicted to the caffeine. My boyfriend felt so bad for me he gave me a break from the challenge on Wednesday to have a soda...but on Thursday and Friday was back to struggle city.

I must say that I didn't notice any difference between the week I was drinking nothing but water and any other week. It's not like I'm not drinking no water. I drink water almost every day. There are some days I forget. For instance, the reason my boyfriend challenged me was because he hadn't seen me drink water all weekend. I'm not perfect...I forget some times! I've even tried to trick myself by trying infused water. It didn't work but I tried it!

I know how important water is for my body. I'm working out; I'm having trouble with my hair; I'm getting older; My health is important; and these are all reasons I why I need to be drinking water and will continue to try and increase my water intake.

What are some of your suggestions for a non-water-drinking woman like me??

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Working Out

I've started working out again! I know, I know. I haven't talked about working out in a very long time but that's because it's been a very long time!

Trying to make a long story short. Before I moved, I had a gym membership to a gym close to my house that I used faithfully. I've never been afraid to work out and I would work out alone, on a consistent basis. I kept myself motivated with pictures of the end result in my mind! Transitioning to DC was rough in the gym department. We don't have a gym at my job and there were no gyms in close proximity to my house or job making the search even more difficult!

Now that I've begun working out again, I'm trying to create a steady routine. I started working out for about three weeks straight until I got my hair straightened. That put an immediate halt to any progress I'd made. I always stop working out when I get my hair straightened. What wants to spend $50-100 to get a hairdo only to sweat it out within days?!  I know I don't, but this time was different. As the weeks went on, I noticed all the muscles I gained had disappeared. The initial gains are the quickest to come and I had some serious gains I was very proud of. I have this thing called 'skinny girl complex' (where I'll do anything in my power NOT to be skinny or frail, but that's another story for another time) so when I saw all my gains disappear, I knew something had to give!

The weekend before my next hair appointment I decided to get back in the gym. The kicker is I was getting my hair straightened again at the next appointment, but I was going to figure that out when the time came. I decided to keep working out, straight hair and all. I compromised with myself by deciding to only exercise my legs while my hair is straight instead of my whole body. No need to sweat my hair out working on something like arms or back, right?! LOL!! BUT, like I knew it would, my hair severely puffed up at the roots. Working out is just reason #2 why a sew-in is ideal for the summer.

What I'll be doing here is documenting my progress. I'll report the workouts I've done for the time period (most likely once a month) by naming the workout along with the max weight and max number of reps I accomplished for the time period. With that said, here's what I've done so far!

• flat bench press: 65 pounds, 4 times
• super set (skull crushers & tricep extensions): 5 pounds, 20 times & 15 times
• squats (w/ bar): 105 pounds, 1 time (I hurt my knee a while back, so I didn't wanna push myself too hard, just wanted to see if I could do it)
• straight leg dead lift: 95 pounds, 12 times
• lunges: 70 pounds, 12 lunges
• burnout squats (w/o bar): 10 pounds, 15 times
• backward curls: 5 pounds, 20 times
• rack pull: 135 pounds, 8 times
• pull-up (assisted): bodyweight, 8 times
• 90 degree rows: 55 pounds, 8 times
• rows: 50 pounds, 10 times
• single arm rows: 25 pounds, 10 times
• shrugs: 70 pounds, 10 times

I'm also finally getting into the hang of drinking protein shakes as a supplement to my workouts. If I'm going to be drinking protein, I at least want it to taste good! I'm tweaking some recipes I've found now so be on the lookout for recipes! If you remember this post, things have changed a bit since then. I completed my "diet" by losing six pounds. When I got that weight off, my 'skinny girl complex' kicked in so I stopped being as concerned with my numbers. I think I do a good enough job of keeping an eye on what I eat and I'm eating healthier overall. When it gets to the point where I'm trying to manipulate my body (by bulking/cutting weight) then I can always start that routine again! We'll see how my current routine goes this summer, so keep an eye out!

Pain (and puffy roots) are only temporary! LOL

Do you consider your hair when working out? How do you avoid "sweating out" hairstyles?


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June curlBOX & Product Review

Lottabody Product Review

You guys know I get a curlBOX every month and every month curlBOX hosts a chat to talk about the items in the box for that month. I always participate. Most times the brands participate and it's a good opportunity to connect with the brands and other naturalistas about that months products.

The June curlbOX was full of goodies. It included:

• Cantu Sulfate-free Cleansing Cream
• Cantu Sulfate-free Hydrating Cream Conditioner
• Softee Extenshine Morrocan Argan Oil Perfecting Serum
• Bee Mine Luscious Balanced Cream Moisturizer
• Lottabody Control Me Edge Gel
• Organix Kukui Shampoo and Conditioner

4th of July OOTD

So, I like doing outfits of the day, but I'm pretty certain that I just like showing off my cute outfits!!

Half the time I can't even remember where I got most of the pieces from,

so I've decided to do just that...show off my outfits!!

If you see something you like, hit me up and 

I will be more than happy to let you know where I got it from...

if I can remember, LOL!!

This ensemble is what I wore for our trip to the National Mall to watch fireworks.

I love this dress because I've dressed it up and I've dressed it down. Either way I wear it, I look fly...LOL! Most of all, I love being festive and looking like the day of celebration!! This dress was very fitting...and did you peep the fingernail polish! I was able to pull together all parts of this outfit from things I already had around the house. Don't you just love it when things fall together??

Red, White, & Blue everything!!

...and yes, this is my last July 4th post :-)

Have a great day y'all!!

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New Twitter Handle

I'd been thinking about changing my Twitter name for the longest time until yesterday! I just recently got on Twitter and I did it solely for blog purposes. Of course I had to learn how to use Twitter, even though I had a general understanding; I had to engage with people; I had to find people to follow and get people to follow me; and during that process I found out how entertaining Twitter could be.

I use it to say whatever's on my mind at any given moment. Some of the things I say make me think, "Hmm, is this something "justmiblog" should say?!" LOL. I mean, I tweet about the shows I watch, I tweet out tons of articles and Buzz Feed quiz results, I mean really! It's fun...my most favorite thing of all is live tweeting during my favorite TV shows. If you haven't tried it, DO IT! It's so much fun watching a show with other people and reading what they're thinking. The people of Twitter are hilarious!!

Taking all that into account, here's my new handle. If you're already following, GREAT! If not, click below to do so!!

Follow @allnaturalmi

If you're not on Twitter, join it, then follow me :-)
Thanks y'all!! :-)

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4th of July Festivities

If you remember this post from last year, you would know what my goal was. Who knew I would accomplish it so soon!! Let's get into these pictures because they are amazing!


Before

A cool GIF

Some of the beautiful fireworks

Panoramic Shot...Look at all the cell phones!

Of course we took the Metro and surprisingly getting to and from the fireworks was no hassle at all. There were so many firework shows going on in the DMV area that no matter where you were at any given time you could see and hear fireworks! In NC Fireworks are illegal, apparently they're not in DC. There were people on street corners shooting fireworks, people in businesses parking lots shooting fireworks...and not the baby fireworks, but the industrial kind! Don't believe me?!

Street corner...lol

However, I was happy with the show we saw and this was definitely apart of my #100happydays! I would recommend everyone see it...put it on your bucket list!!!
This post was brought to you by us (because I think we look darn good in this pic)! :-D

Sorry for the pic heavy post, but I had to share...and I had to do it my way! Have a good week y'all!

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4th of July

Enjoy your day and weekend!

My prayers are with everyone back home as they hunker down for this hurricane...

Be safe y'all!

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June '14 Length Check

28 Months Natural

Let me preface this by saying, I took pictures in April like I was supposed to, but I didn't post them because my hair was in wash-and-go mode. It wasn't stretched enough to give an accurate read, so I waited. I'm not exactly happy with the most recent length check pictures that were taken because it's been very humid and my hair is doing all of whatever it wants to do!...but it's overdue, so I bring to you the half year check.

March 2 = 105 weeks natural (2 years, 1 month, 2 days)

64 weeks since the BC (1 year, 3 months, 17 days)

 

June 8 = 122 weeks natural (2 years, 4 months, 9 days)

81 weeks since the BC (1 year, 6 months, 26 days)