SILK18 Shampoo

A little over a year ago, I was contacted by Maple Holistics to review their Tea Tree Shampoo, which they sell in a shampoo/conditioner set with their Argan Conditioner now.  Since then, they have branched out offering a variety of shampoos, conditioners, and skin care. I was contacted again, this time to share their new shampoo: SILK18. 

The first thing I noticed about this shampoo was the packaging.  The packaging is a great size, not too bulky to sit on the side of the shower or in the back. Some of the bottle that I had would fall off, driving me up the wall. It's easy to store in any area in the bathroom. The bottle is made out of recycled packaging as well. One reason I like the company if that they are for holistic and healthy products. If you do not know about the company, all their products are natural and cruelty-free.  

Their products also are safe for color treated hair and paraben-free. According to the Organic Consumers Association, parabens are used to extend the shelf life of products. It helps prevent the growth of fungi and bacteria in a number of products we use everyday including deodorant, soaps, and moisturizers. For me, I tend to buy products now that don't have a lot ingredients or chemicals in them and this shampoo fits the bill.

The are ingredients used in this shampoo that have found separately in a few shampoo but never together all in one before. With SILK18, I love the small of the it, being a big lover of vanilla. They use natural vanilla to achieve that smell. It also contains argan oil, jojba oil (used to make the hair soft and give it shine), and botanical keratin in the product. 

With this shampoo, a little goes a long way. Since my hair is on the shorter side, I use a nickle 

instead of a quarter (as is suggested). If you have longer hair, I would say to use the quarter size. I have been using the product for almost a month and still have over 90% of the bottle still. Starting at $12.95 for the shampoo, I think that is a great invest for a great product. As I have gotten older, I realize that sometimes you have to spend more money for a quality product.

You can find the shampoo on Maple Holistics website here or on Amazon here. It comes in 12oz and 16oz. If you go through the companies website, you will be able to get a coupon to use on Amazon. Next, I'm going to try the conditioner. If anyone gets a chance, I would highly recommend trying this shampoo and some other products from Maple Holistics. 

Peace and blessings, all and have a great Wednesday.

Disclaimer: I received this product from Maple Holistics for review. This opinion is and mine alone. I received products as compensation for my opinion. 

Fitness Tuesday

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Happy Tuesday!!! Yes, I'm a total slacker and have been blogging once a week....... Better late than never. Anywho, for my Fitness Tuesday I want to talk about something that we all must do: sleep. For the past few months, I have been researching and looking into sleep. This means what to do or not do before bed, lighting, temperature of the room, and so on.  I also have been listening to podcast that give some great information about sleep. One piece of information that I found interesting is that the 7-9 hrs that is suggested for adults is not necessary for all.  Here are a few articles that I found pretty helpful about the topic:

Why Am I Always Tired?

Can’t Sleep? It May Be Affecting Your Memory.

New Research Shows Your Weekend Sleep in Can Actually Make You Live Longer.

A Blood Sugar Crash + 4 Other Reasons You’re Waking Up in The Middle of the Night.

Do You Really Need Less Sleep as You Age?             

 And if you are wondering how I look when I'm going to be?  The picture below I think is pretty accurate:

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I hate being cold so I am usually wrapped up in a blanket or my snuggie looking like a human burrito. Plus, due to my underactive thyroid, I am cold more than your average person. Research has suggested that we should sleep in a cooler temperature room. The amount of sleep we all receive affects all of our bodies are different. The older you get, the less sleep you need (hence why children need more sleep). It is interesting reading all the information out  because there is no right or wrong answer with sleep. We all have to do what is best for our bodies, not a one size fit all program. On a future Fitness Tuesday I will share some tips on how to get better sleep.

Until next time, Peace & Blessings all & have a great Tuesday!!!

Life focus for 2019

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The last two weeks has been busy for me. I am trying to get back into the swing of blogging regularly. Between all my health issue and some other events that happened last year, saying that I'm glad it is 2019 is an understatement.  With that said, here are some of the areas that I'm going to focus on this year along with life updates that go along with them.

Health

Last year, I decided to focus on my physical health: exercise, eating better, etc.  This year I want to pay closer attention to my mental & physical health.  For me, this means finding and doing activities that will help with my brain fog, focus, flexibility, & strength. I have been mediating now for over two years. In late November/early December I found out that I have a number of big & little allergies. Two of the main allergies I have now to Rice and Chocolate.

I have been dealing with ear issues that I have figured out are from my allergies. There are a couple of books that I have read on the subject of nutrition impacts on your physical & mental health (a few podcast as well). The correlation of all nutrition, physical activity, & mental productivity are extremely interesting. Those three topics are going to be seen more on the blog this year.

Finance

In 2018, I did save a bit of money. A few things came up where I had to use a little of the money (tuition & getting my car fixed were two of the main things). Steps have already been made to save for a newer car in the next few months. I set up goals in three month increments. March will be the first update on this topic, be on the lookout for those post.

I read a finance book or two this past summer that I will talk about when I start my book reviews. The books range from managing money in a relationship to how to budget as a single woman. I did make a spreadsheet for a monthly budget. I am trying to see how I need to track my spending on a daily basis.

Personal Growth

Summer 2018 was suppose to be about me learning about fields and areas that I was interested in. I started my CPT course but........ I am so busy with school that I am not finished yet. I have until March to finish it. I have been writing in a journal again. Also, I wanted to get back into reading for fun/leisure again. Part of the reason that I have so many books that I have not read. Since last October/November, I have bought about fifteen books that I have not gotten around to reading yet.
One of the main goals to like so many other people: to try to read a book a week for the 52 weeks of 2019. So far, I am three weeks into the new year & three books in the hole. I am going to try to catch up. Most likely, I will do a book review of the books I read on the last Monday of every month.

There are some other things that I want to focus on in 2019 too. I decided to not call them goals or resolutions. For some reason, those two words I feel set people up for failure. I know, in the past that I have put pressure on myself to try to finish all the task in a timely manner or I just give up. This year, I am going to not be so hard on myself. Oh, and I was going to pick a word for the year for myself but I have not narrowed it down yet. If anyone has suggestions or the word they are going to use this year, I would love to know it & why you chose that.

Everyone have a great Monday!!! Peace & Blessings, all!!!

Thoughtful Thursday

Happy new year and Guess whose back!!! The last part of 2018 (starting in mid -September) I felt completely burnt out. Between school, work, and my personal relationships, I needed to disconnect from blogging among other things. Last year was a rough one of me physically and mentally. That being said, since it's a new year, I thought it would be appropriate to post some thoughts to get the new year off to a good start.

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On Monday, I am going to post some of the goals/improvements I want to make personally and professionally. Here's to 2019!!! 

Peace & Blessings, all!

Thoughtful Thursday

     What a last couple of weeks (in my case month or so) it has been.  I have been busier than usual, which I am coming to learn is the excuse for me to not blog to an extent.  In all honesty, I have been a big funk partly.  The other part is that I feel lost a bit.  I have been blogging for six years now. To say that I am frustrated about my vision for the blog and where I am compared to others who started when and after I did is an understatement. 

On my part, I admit that I am different from a lot of people that blog: I work full-time, go to school full-time, and try to blog somewhere in between studying, working, and other social commitments I have. There are not enough hours in the day to do all the task I want and have to do. I have been stressed out to the point recently that I am breaking out in hives. My doctor said that is one of the ways that my body is showing how I am handling stress externally.  Trying to figure out how to balance and spread my time out better is something that I am still looking to do.

 I am going to start posting on slowly again on Thursdays and work my way back up again. At this point, I may post four times a week or one time a week. It is going to depend on how I am feeling and what my life outside of writing looks like. Until then, here are some quotes for this week:

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Coming to terms with where I am blogging-wise is the first step of my changing how I approach what I post and social media in general. Staying optimistic is something that I have been doing off and on for sometime.  Looking forward to the next step in my blogging journey and thank you to all of the people who have taken time to visit over the last few years.

Peace & Blessing, all!!!

Thoughtful Thursday

Hello again!!! This summer has been super busy & crazy compared to other ones. There has been a lot going on. I've  been working 40+ hours a week along with trying to finish studying for my summer class (which I got an A in). Earlier this year, I decided to get my personal training certification. I'm going to "try to" finish the course in the next few weeks along with finding a CPR class.  Lastly, I'm planning a wedding for March, looking at locations (having a destination wedding in a place we both want to go to), bands/DJ, and all the other planning involved in a wedding. I have been trying to kept a float and find time for everything. 

Hence the reason why I have not been blogging as much.  This week has been a strange one including me stepping on a stool Monday a work when I was getting up from my desk and twisting my ankle. Life and accidents happen sometimes, which I'm most definitely living proof of. Somethings get put on the back burner (in my case,blogging). I don't know about anyone else but who else is glad the weekend is almost here. This girl right here, that's who. School starts tomorrow #mylastfallsemsterEVERRR. Here are some quotes that are helping me push through this new school year and rest of the week:

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Peace & blessing, all. Have a great Thursday and stay positive all!!! 

Thoughtful Thursday

Almost the end of July and I have been slacking on the blog really badly.  Between my summer class about legal issues in sports, work, trying to workout, and having a sinus infection (a regular summer occurrence at this point) I have been busy. At the moment, I am trying to finish my personal training course on top of studying for my finally next week in my class. Next week, I am hoping to start blogging regularly again (fingers crossed). Until then, here are some thoughts for this Thursday:

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Peace & Blessings, All. Everyone have a great Thursday and try to keep cool in this summer heat.