This morning I was informed that May 4th is Star Wars Day. Even though I’m more of a Trekkie, I’ve decided to commemorate the day with a question: What if absentee dad, Darth Vader, actually took an active role in raising his son Luke?
Jeffery Brown has written a book called Darth Vader and Son, aiming to answer that question. The book is filled with endearing and funny illustrations that depict Darth raising a young Luke Skywalker in a galaxy far, far away (awww… he even takes Luke trick-or-treating).
At the time of this post, the 64-page hardcover book seems to be out of stock (probably due to various Star Wars fanatics), but I’m sure if you really want a copy you can find one used online.
For all you fellow geeks out there, this weekend also marks the tail end of the Toronto Comic Arts Festival which will be taking place at the Toronto Reference Library. This event features hundreds of comics creators from around the world, as well as readings, workshops, gallery shows and more. Check out http://torontocomics.com for more info.
As for me, I’ll be letting my inner geek out this weekend by watching Marvel’s The Avengers.
Since I made the decision to go natural over a decade ago, I’ve been trying to find the perfect products that would work best on my hair to keep it soft, strong, manageable and growing.
I usually have a rotational period of styles I typically go with: Jeri curl weave, two-strand twists with extensions, rock the head wrap when I’m too lazy to style, or chiney bumps/bantu knots, an afro, or I add some Kinky Curly in when my hair is completely natural.
I’m lucky that I’ve got a talented sister who is able to style my hair (and for free… thanks sis!), so I can’t really complain too much when I have to waste an entire weekend when I have to remove styles like my usual two-strand twist. It literally took me 6 hours to untwist all the extensions and then another 2 to untangle my natural tresses, because I didn’t want to make the mistake of having a deep shampoo without detangling first (I’ve heard horror stories).
After getting a few tips from another natural colleague, I decided to try a homemade deep-conditioning recipe to add some strength and manageability to my hair, since it was in the twists for about two months.
I took a look in my kitchen pantry and concocted a recipe that worked wonders on my hair.
EVOO (Extra-Virgin Olive Oil) and Egg Yolk Deep-Conditioning Treatment
Ingredients:
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp honey
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp of pure shea butter (available at natural food stores like The Big Carrot or hair supply stores like Honey Fig in Toronto)
6 drops of lavender oil
Directions:
Pour the olive oil into a bowl. Whisk in the two egg yolks and honey.
Melt the solid-state shea butter in the microwave on 60% power for about 1 minute (or until it turns into a liquid state, should not be too hot).
Gradually pour the shea butter into the olive oil mixture and stir until combined. Add in the drops of lavender oil.
After your hair is shampooed and towel dried (blot, don’t rub), part your hair into sections and apply your deep conditioner treatment generously, combing through from root to tip (twist completed sections if desired).
Cover your hair with a plastic cap (in order to retain heat and moisture as your hair folicles work with the conditioner) and leave on for about 30 minutes to an hour. If you don’t have a plastic shower cap, you can do like I did and use one of those plastic bags you find in the produce section of the grocery store.
Remove plastic cap and rinse your hair in luke-warm water (not too hot, unless you want scrambled eggs in your hair) for about 5 minutes, or until the conditioner is properly rinsed out.
Comb and style as usual.
After using this homemade conditioner on my hair, I noticed it felt a lot softer and looked a bit shinier than usual. The best part was that the comb went through it so effortlessly! I usually run into knots when I’m detangling (even after I try to comb through my hair during shampooing), but the conditioner made my hair so manageable.
After I rinsed out the conditioner, I towel-dried my hair and twisted it into my ‘trademark’ chiney bumps/bantu knots. This style should last me a couple of days, then I can untwist and pull off another style with a curly, twist-out.
Reasons why you should try a homemade hair deep-conditioner treatment:
It will help you take better care of the health hair
It’s cost-effective
You know what ingredients are going into the product:
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil: Great on split ends, adds moisture to dry scalps, adds shine, softness and manageability.
Honey: As a natural humectant it holds on to water molecules, which is what you want if you have dry or damaged hair.
Eggs: As a natural emulsifier, it helps bind all your homemade conditioner ingredients together. Egg yolks have protein and that add strength to your hair.
Shea Butter: This fat is extracted from the nut of the African shea tree. It’s rich is fatty acids and vitamins (A, F and E) which help condition the hair and reduce breakage.
Lavender Oil: This regenerative essential oil has a sweet, soft scent and aids in hair growth.
I strongly encourage anyone wearing their hair natural and if you want to help promote growth, to try a do-it-yourself conditioning treatment. Your hair will love you for it.
When I called Beck Taxi this morning in hopes of securing a cab, I didn’t expect that I would’ve stepped foot into what would seem like a psychedelic dream. As soon as I opened the back door, I knew this would be a ride to remember.
The back seat area was decked out from top to bottom in a wide array of various action figures, toys, and figurines. Mini chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and a holder housed a variety of current magazines for my reading pleasure.
The cab driver’s name is Akber Batada, a middle-aged man who immigrated here from India years ago. My fellow passengers and I were greeted happily, and were equally shocked at the interesting interior decoration of the taxi.
Akber offered us gum (we had our choice of flavours with about 6 packed rubber-banded together). He asked what type of music we’d like to listen to. I opted for some Michael Jackson. He popped a DVD in and we were able to see old school music videos on the two LCD screens that were facing the back seat (“Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough”, in case you’re wondering).
I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a cheerful and hospitable cab driver. Akber told us to feel free to take photos inside, explained his passion for the state of his cab, and how happy it makes him to see his passengers happy.
This really made me think about the state that some people are in during the day: frequently we’re stressed out, rushing, and in a foul mood… usually because of work. But it’s important to take some time out of the day and just smile, remembering the joy and simple pleasures in the little things in life.
It’s sheer coincidence that I called up a taxi and struck luck with the Cosmic Cab. Stressed out myself this morning, but by the time I left after the 15 minute cab ride I was totally relaxed, happy and eager to start my day. Definitely brought a smile to my face.
Just as I hinted in my previous post about my wisdom teeth removal, I will start to document my progress using Invisalign. I’ll try my best to do an update at the end of every tray, but some posts may be combined (like this one).
Initial Consultation
I decided to go with my current orthodontist based on great reviews online: he’s a premier provider of Invisalign and a member of the Invisalign Clinical Studies Group, so I’m thinking he knows his stuff when it comes to orthodontic work (plus his wife is my current dentist).
I got a lot of valuable information at the initial consultation, about the typical framing of smiles (I didn’t realize I showed so many bottom teeth when I did), and the personal concerns I had with my own. He told me that I would be a good candidate for Invisalign… on my upper teeth, but I would probably have to get braces for the bottom, since they would need to be moved downwards and back. In my head I was thinking that I really didn’t want to look like the students I taught, but I sucked it up and signed the forms and booked my first appointment for a mold.
Now my teeth are pretty much straight (with the exception of one of my canines), it’s just the gaps that have caused me to be so self-conscious about my smile over the years. The fact that they’re smaller than average, doesn’t help matters any.
Why decide on braces now after all these years? We’ll I finally got partial coverage from my day job. Still costing me an arm and a leg though (looks like that iMac I wanted to purchase is going to have to wait for this year).
Appointment 1
An early-morning appointment, I was looking forward to getting the orthodontic process started. The dental assistant gave me two types of impressions: upper and lower for the Invisalign and braces that I would need on each. It was kind of like putting silly putty in my mouth (not that I ate silly putty before). Initially I was only supposed to have a scan for the uppers, but the machine was getting serviced that morning. I was told to wait about 4 weeks til the Invisalign lab south of the border do their magic and my trays come in.
Tray 1
When I got the call that my trays were in I was so excited! I was on my way to a more beautiful smile. The dental assistant unzipped the Invisalign pouch and took out two aligners. Wait a minute? I thought I was going to get braces on the bottom? Looks like my orthodontist managed to work wonders and I got the upper and lowers I wanted (hopefully they’ll do the job well enough). She showed me how to put them in and pop them out, and told me all the tips I needed to keep in mind when using them:
They must be worn at least 22 hours of the day for them to be effective – You can take them out to eat, floss and brush.
Brush the aligners with cold water and a toothbrush to keep them clean – Using warm water might warp them eventually.
Use an alcohol-free, fluoride mouthwash – Because your teeth are constantly in the aligners, they aren’t exposed to your saliva which contains the minerals that your teeth need to stay strong. In order to prevent decalcification, a rinse with something like Crest Pro-Health Complete twice a day will help against this.
Each aligner is worn for about 2 weeks – switch them out at night so that your teeth can get used to the pressure by morning.
No gum – They can be a pain to clean off the aligners.
Use the “chewies” – Little pieces of pliable plastic that you chew with your aligners in, in order to get your aligners fitting properly against your teeth for about 5 minutes a day.
No sugary or dark drinks with them in – Drinks like coffee or tea can cause staining, and sugar-filled drinks can lead to plaque/cavity formation if you don’t take care to brush/rinse afterwards.
I could eat with them in (again, just be sure to brush often)
I’d probably talk a bit funny (e.g. with a lisp) for the first few days, until I got used to talking with them in.
Now having been hungry throughout the day, I decided to go and buy a sandwich from Subway. Knowing that I could eat with my aligners, I tested the theory (because I didn’t want to starve, and at least keep them in until later on in the evening. It took me 10 minutes to try to chew a piece of lettuce. Felt like I was chewing with dentures sans Polident adhesive. So I think I’ll be removing them before eating from now on.
The trays go on and snap off easily enough. I didn’t experience any painful discomfort with them, like some patient reviews I’ve read about online (some had said they had to pop an Advil before bed). No pain for me, rather just a tiny bit of pressure/discomfort.
They are pretty invisible. When I wore them to work, no one noticed that I had them in, until I actually told them. 16 months and 34 trays to go…
Tray 2
Switching to the second tray went well. Felt a difference in fit right away. Again, no real pain putting them in the first night, just that my teeth were getting used to the new fit. About a week into the second tray, I noticed a bit of discomfort in my right canine when I took my trays out to eat… I hope that means that it’s just moving into it’s new place!
I have become extra vigilant in my oral care… I think I’m brushing upwards of 3 times a day (making sure to floss and rinse as well!). I’m getting used to having them in for all those hours of the day. I actually notice more when they’re not in my mouth. Been noticing that without them in, my bite seems to be a bit different… which is a good thing, because it’s proves it’s working!
After seeing my case graphics of how my teeth would look after this Invisalign process, I almost shed a tear of joy, because I was amazed at how the computer and Orthodontists were able to plan out the movements, tray by tray. Obviously the actual results are going to vary, but as long as I get close enough to this, I’ll be satisfied.
I’ve been trying to cut down on my sugar intake over the past year or so to get on the healthy train, but every time I see these tiny morsels in the grocery store, I’m tempted to pick up a package (and as you can tell, I obviously succumbed to the temptation).
This particular brand is called Pizazz. They are “fancy fruit flavoured slices”, that try to trick you into thinking that they contain real fruit by shaping each piece into a tiny orange slice. They even have a photo of real fruit on the bottom of the package! Plus a red and bold “Fat Free” notice is printed on the package (as if to make you feel not-so-guilty downing a whole package). It’s evil, I tell ya.
They taste like an easier-to-chew gummy bear who just rolled itself in honey and ran through a sugar cane field.
With 13 grams of sugar per 3 pieces, that’s over half of the recommended daily intake.
I need to practice my self-control. Fruit slices anyone?
I’ve been there a few weeks ago and I’m from The Netherlands so i should know how it would taste and I got a apple crumble pie and it was the best I’ve ever had little expesive but okay it was delicious!
Since I made the decision to go natural over a decade ago, I’ve been trying to find the perfect products that would work best on my hair to keep it soft, strong, manageable and growing.
on August 11, 2016