New Traditions

So, it is not even Thanksgiving yet, but y'all know that I LOVE Christmas.  It is never too early.  There are only a few years in my adult life that I have been able to resist setting up my Christmas tree before Thanksgiving.  Honestly, I would prefer to have it up at Halloween.

This year my Christmas obsession is being fed by The Pintester.  I am participating in the latest installment of The Pintester Movement.

CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS! I LIKE YELLING!!

Here's the deal.  Find an ornament on Pinterest.  Make it. Blog about it.  Follow the instructions here. Done.

Now for my ornament(s).  Back in the summer my friend told me the very exciting news that she is pregnant. I am so thrilled!  I am borderline obsessed.  I almost immediately started looking for craft ideas.  Lots of onsies, blankets, and booties.  I also ran across this:

I bought a pack of four frosted ornaments and some paint pens and shamelessly copied this pic.  The Pinterest Pin didn't link to anything but a google image (super annoying btw).  My friend isn't really a dress wearing kinda gal so I modified the design a bit.  I think it worked.

Here is my finished product:

I'm at the airport right now, on my way to the baby shower so I hope she likes it.

Now, because I was then stuck with 3 other plain frosted ornaments and a challenge from The Pintester, I returned to Pinterest to get some new inspiration (and to use the expensive paint pens I invested in).  I found several pins for inspiration.  There are some really cute ones on frosting & glitter. Now I didn't buy the cute pastel colors, nor did I buy a very big variety of colors.  Paint pens are really expensive.  I'm going to be using paint pens on everything from now on.  I may carry one in my pocket so i can graffiti, 'cause dang.

I gave cute a try:

Frosty doesn't have a nose.  I didn't have an orange paint pen :(  ...Or, now that I am looking at it, a mouth.  Crap.

I guess the blue heart needed to take a pee.

Then funny:

I didn't plan out the words very well.  "Snow" is a little wonky.

The snow flakes are ok though.

And then it hit me. A new tradition was born.  My family is kinda funny.  I will be making "This Barlow Life" ornaments for my fabulous Christmas tree for as many years as the fam will provide material.  I have quite a backlog, so I ain't runnin' out of ideas any time soon.  

First installment: This is a family joke which has endured for decades.

When I was a child, my parents, two older sisters, and I were camping in the mountains of New Mexico. My oldest sister was a teenager and not thrilled by hanging with her parents and two little sisters.  One night, we were all getting settled in our sleeping bags and she announced, "I'm going outside to read."  Dad replied, "If you see a bear, run the other way."  And then he commenced laughing at his own joke.  He laughed so hard , I thought he was going to die. She did NOT think it was that funny and the rest of us were laughing at Dad as he giggled and wheezed. You had to be there. :)

I hope my sister isn't insulted by my lack of artistic ability.  It isn't a very good likeness. 

OMG a bear with no mouth or nose!

Bonus:  Sleeping PS

Extra Bonus: Traveling PS

To Poo or Not To Poo

I gave up Shampoo!

I've been meaning to write this post for a while, but I really wanted to get a little more experience under my belt before I did.  A few people have asked me about this and here is my answer to all of those questions.

First of all, I need to confess something.  Long before I went No Poo, I was only washing my hair once or twice a week.  Yes, there were times that things got pretty (or not) oily and gross, but I was in a bit of a depression and I just didn't care.

Anyway, I decided to give up shampoo ages before I actually did it.  I bought a brand new bottle of shampoo and I said, "this is the last one."  I promised that I wouldn't buy another bottle of shampoo after that.  It took foreeeeever to finish that one bottle due to the once a week washing thing I was already doing. I actually still have a little of that bottle left, but I jumped into No Poo anyway.

I used the instructions found here to get started with the No Poo Method.  She gives great detail and answers tons of questions about No Poo.

The transition period for me was virtually non-existent.  I didn't experience overly oily hair...I had already gone through that due to the infrequent washing in the preceding months.  The only negative experience I had was a little dry scalp on the first day after using baking soda to clean my roots.  My scalp was itchy and flaky but only for one day.  After that, smooth sailing!

I have mainly used the method of mixing a little baking soda with water in a squirt bottle.  I have only once used the paste method.  (Before you ask, all of this is described in detail in the link above, no I will not repeat it here.)  I used the paste because I noticed that my hair was feeling a little greasy, even after using the baking soda/water solution.  The paste cleared it right up, so I will probably use the solution regularly and the paste for when I need that extra cleansing.

The apple cider vinegar as conditioner is good too.  It won't give you that slippery feeling of commercial conditioners, but it definitely works.  The smell goes away when your hair dries, so don't worry about smelling of vinegar all day.  On a related note, coffee grounds will work as conditioner too, but it can be a pain to get the grounds out of your hair.

Now for the question of hair falling out.  Honestly, there isn't anything about putting baking soda and vinegar on your hair that would make more hair fall out than normal.  We lose tons of hair every day.  It doesn't necessarily mean that baldness is nigh.  I lose a huge amount of hair!  I mean it.  Tons!  Every time I take a shower I could clog up the drain.  Now, that is a normal thing for me.  It is amplified by not washing my hair everyday.  I also keep my hair pulled up most of the time.  That means all that hair that is continuously falling out is stuck in my ponytail and can't fall out throughout the day.  So, have I noticed a difference?  Yes.  Do I think it is a problem? No.  If you brush your hair more often than me, you won't notice as much of a difference.  If you rinse your hair in the shower between washings more often than me, you won't notice as much of a difference.

I am loving this.  It is cheap.  It is responsible stewardship of our planet.  We really need to consider the consequences of what we put in and on our bodies, as well as what we put into our water system.

Go forth and be free of nasty chemicals!

Bonus: PS sleeping in the car.  She was tired and had to share the backseat with another doggie.  There were limited headrest choices.  :)