My 1st Carribean Cruise!

Hello all!

Carnival Vista Ship at the Port of Miami

View of Miami from the ship

I just came back from my first Caribbean cruise this past Sunday and I had a really good time. Fourteen of us from my family went on a 8 day Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Vista line. We flew into Miami boarded there. We had two sea days which was pretty fun. From 8 in the morning til 2am the next morning, there were activities for everyone all ages. There was a camp for kids during the day, dancing on the main deck in some afternoons to movies at night time. The food on the boat really good. Everything to burgers and fries, Mexican food, Seafood, Italian food, Asian food and a whole slew of dessert options.

Margaritaville in Grand Turk

Our first stop was Grand Turk. The port was right on the beach which was absolutely perfect. Walked
straight off the ship to the beach. Here, me and my family enjoyed some drinks from Margaritaville and cruised up and down the beach. I got a chance to go horse back riding on the beach and in the water which was so much fun. Talked to the natives of the island who were all so kind and got to learn a little bit about the island. In all, we spent 7 hours in Grand Turk before we boarded the ship to the next island which was La Romana, Dominican Republic.

View of the ship from the beach in Grand Turk

View of Grand Turk from the ship

The Dominican Republic was fun. We took a $5 round trip bus ride downtown to where all the

La Romana, Dominican Republic

vendors selling art, food and other souvenirs were being sold. Here, the natives were extremely nice, especially when I told them that I was from Boston, the same place where David Ortiz aka "Big Papi" played and retired from the Red Sox. I heard that the beaches here are really nice, but it was about a hour away by taxi both ways, and I didn't want to take the chance going and get back to the ship too late or worse, miss the ship.  I bought some beautiful souvenirs and drank some Presidente beer which was oh so satisfying.

Dancers downtown in D.R.

Curacao was the next island we docked. I absolutely loved the bright colors of the buildings and homes on this island. I walked about 15 minutes into town to take a ferry across the way to get downtown. Downtown is where all the different restaurants, shops and vendors were located. Here I learned to speak a few phrases in their native language which is papiamentu that has elements of Dutch, English French, Spanish and Portuguese. Bon Bini, means welcome! :-)

Rif Fort in Curacao

View from Ayo Rock Formation

Aruba, our very last stop on our cruise was really nice. We went on a three hour tour of the island. Our first stop was the Ayo Rock Formation where we got to climb to the top and got to see a beautiful view of the island. Our second stop was the Aruba Aloe Balm museum they have. There we took a tour of the factory and got to see how aloe is harvested and used to make different products such a soaps, lotions, shampoos and other products.
The museum smelled absolutely wonderful. The tour ended with us going to the gist shop where I purchased some Kiwi soap which I loved a first smell! LOL. Next, we rode over the the California Light house where fresh coconut water was being sold straight from the coconut. Our last stop on the tour was Palm beach, I've never seen water so blue before. Absolutely beautiful!

Aloe Balm Museum

Our tour bus

The last two days, we were at sea and I took advantage and got some well needed rest and packed up all my clothes and souvenirs.  Overall, I had a really good time on my first cruise. The only thing I did not like is the motion sickness I got from the boat rocking back and forth at night. There were only a few nights that the ship would rock, but when it did, boy it rocked!
Everyone that I came in contact with that worked on the ship were always nice. The food was really good with a lot of variety to choose from. The activities on the boat were a lot to choose from and all really fun and the rooms were nice and clean and the beds REALLY comfortable. I would definitely go on another cruise in the future, less than eight days though.

If you are interested in going on a cruise, or just want to find any information about them click here!

More pics below...

Bright beautiful buildings in Curaco

Curacao

A view from the California light house in Aruba

Art work in Curacao

A statue in D.R. 

Map of Curacao

Map of Turks and Caicos Islands

Natural Hair Decision

Hello All,

Hope you all had a good weekend! I wanted to come and share with you guys about a decision that I made recently. For the past 6 years I have been natural (my hair that is) and it definitely has been a journey. I went from being a product junky spending a lot of money on so many different hair products. Over the years I have had my hair braided in micro braids, Senegalese twists, marley jumbo twist, crochet hair styles you name it, I have tried all of the protective styles. For the past few months, I felt like taking care of my natural hair has become more of a chore. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my natural hair and the many ways that I can wear it, but taking care of it is very time consuming. I  made the decision to get sisterlocks installed on my birthday weekend.

Sister locks are similar to traditional dreads, the only difference is that they are installed by a special tool and a loctician who has been certified to install sisterlocks. Sisterlocks were created by Dr. Joanne Cornwell back in 1993. To keep them maintained, you got every 4-6 weeks to get them re-tightened.

I got my sisterlocks installed over the weekend of February 10th, 11th and the 12th and it took 72 hours to install! My loctician has a space in her home that is very comfortable. She has Netflix and Hulu which made the time go by so quickly! I went prepared with my snacks, lunch, neck pillow and my tablet.

Getting sisterlocks was the best thing to do for my hair. No more spending money on buying all those different products to put in my hair, no more worrying about what to with my hair when I go on vaca and most of all the low maintenance  of the locks. Unfortunately, I did not take pics of my hair when I got it installed. In the future I will post some pics of them.

To find out more information on sisterlocks just google it and plenty of pages with info on them will pop up!

✌

Vacation in Playa del Carmen

Hola Amigos!

I went on vacation to Mexico last month (mad late, I know) and I had THEE best time. I stayed at

5th Avenue in Playa del Carmen

Occidental at Xcaret Destination in Playa del Carmen which is an all inclusive resort. It is a HUGE, beautiful resort.  Me and a couple of my friends went from May 5th to May10th. The hotel was in the middle of the Jungle which was pretty cool. There were monkey's deer, iguana's and other little creatures that would roam freely around the resort. That is that part that I didn't read about the hotel, but I didn't mind at all, I love animals.

The hotel rooms were nice. They provided both a bottle of champagne and tequila which was nice. The hotel staff was so friendly and helpful. The restaurants that they had on the resort were also very good. They had a 2 different buffets, that served breakfast lunch and dinner. One buffet was located on the beach, the other buffet in the main area of the resort. They also had an Asian, Italian and of course a Mexican restaurant. They also had a steak house which was so so good.

Every night they had entertainment in the main area of the resort that included magic shows, dance numbers and also had kid activities during the day. They also have their own club on the resort that was open every night from 10pm to 1am that played old school music, top ten list music, 70s, 80s and 90s music.

Love this pic! Located in the hotel lobby

This was my first time going out of the country and it has inspired me to travel even more. This summer I will be going on a family reunion cruise to Turks, Dominican Republic, Curacao and Aruba. I am too excited!

Her are some pics from my vaca..

The beach on the resort

The beach

Another shot of the beach on the resort

The Buffet on the beach

Parrots are only out during the day

One of the Iguana's chilling

Catch yall on the next post!

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🎉🎉Happy New Year🎉🎉

Happy new year to all! Hope you all had an amazing, safe holiday!

It's been a while since I last wrote a post for my blog, I've been doing some major slacking on that. Anywho, I  had a good Thanksgiving , Christmas and New year.

I went out for the first time on new years eve and went to Mohegan Sun casino in CT which was cool. Pigged out at the buffet, danced to the countdown to the new year and threw a few dollars in a couple  slot machines. Didn't win anything tho..lol.

I am definitely looking forward to 2017! New outlook, new attitude, new confidence and new beginnings.

This year, I am going to try my best to write weekly posts on my blog. I have a good feeling that it is going to be a good year and would love to share it with you!

Catch you on the next post!

My Skin Care Routine

Hey everyone!

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. I wrote a post about my weekly wash day routine for natural hair last month here, so this week, I would like to share my daily skin care routine with you. The skin products that I like to use is the Alba Botanica Hawaiian line which I absolutely love. The line of products are all natural and work and smell fantastic! The Alba skin products can be purchased at Whole Foods, CVS, Walgreen's or you can purchase it at Marshall's or TJMaxx like I do, and save a few bucks by doing so, almost half the price!

The face wash that I use is the  pore purifying pineapple foaming face wash or the deep cleansing coconut milk face wash. They both work really well, the pineapple face wash is more foamy  and sudsy while the coconut milk face wash is more frothy. When using those facial cleansers, I use my Bella Beauty facial cleansing brush that I also purchased from TJMaxx which was $9.99.

After washing my face, I follow up with using the complexion balancing hibiscus facial toner. I use a cotton round and apply the toner to my whole face and neck. After applying the toner, I use the aloe and green tea oil free moisturizer which makes my skin oh so soft with a nice cooling sensation after I apply it.

Once a week I use the pore-fecting papaya enzyme facial mask and the pineapple enzyme facial scrub which are both really good. I also have the pineapple enzyme 3- in 1 clean towelettes which I use before applying the papaya enzyme facial mask and times where I just want refresh my face.

If you want an all natural skin care line that is inexpensive, works well and also smells really good, I would recommend using the Alba Botanica Hawaiian skin care line. I have been using it for over a year and I love it! Another good thing about using these products is that, a little goes a very long way! I always use small amounts of the facial wash, the facial mask and the facial moisturizer, I use the toner generously, but it still goes a long way when I use it.

Thanks for stopping by, catch you on the next post!

End of Pescatarian Diet

Hello all!

Hope everyone had a good weekend. I wanted to give my last update on my 30 day pescatarian diet and my overall results from it.  After 30 days, along with exercising, I had lost a total of 10 pounds! During those 30 days of the diet, I really didn't have any strong cravings to eat any meat or any of the other foods that I took out during those 30 days. 

After those 30 days, I have decided to drastically cut back on eating red meat, bread, potatoes and pasta. I didn't really miss having those foods, the only thing I missed for a quick minute was chicken. I will also say that my grocery bill has also been a bit lower during those 30 days too.

Overall, I actually enjoyed the challenge and loved the results that I had got from it. Maybe next time around I will try a 30 day vegetarian diet and see how that would go.

Catch you guys on the next post!

 

Free Online Classes

Hello All!

     Hope everyone had a good weekend! I wanted to write a post about the free online courses that I have been taking for the last month. I learned about these free courses while I was browsing for books on Boston Public Library website and saw a link for online free courses and went from there. 

The website is called Gale Courses and they offer over 50 different courses that range from Accounting and Finance, Language and Arts, Technology, Writing and Publishing and many more! One of the classes that I recently completed was Learning how to Blog and Podcast which I enjoyed, and as you can see learned a lot from the course. I am currently taking an Introduction to Natural Health and Healing which I like so far. The courses are 6 weeks long with the instructor releasing lessons twice a week with a final exam at the end of the course. Once you complete and pass the final exam, you receive a certificate of completion for the course. 

I highly recommend checking out the Gale Courses website and register for a class or two! You cannot beat taking an online class for free and also adding your certificate to your resume! Right after I post this blog, I am going to head over to the website and start reading my next assignment.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think about the website and the different classes that they offer. 

Catch me on the next post!

Update on Pescetarian Diet

Hello all!

Hope everyone had a good weekend!  I wanted to give an update on my 30 day pescetarian diet.  I started this diet on July 5th and have been strictly eating fruits, vegetables and seafood and the foods that I cut out for thid diet are white potatoes, sugar, pasta, red meat and chicken.

So far, the diet has been good. I haven't had any temptation to eat any of the foods that I had cut out, not even once. I feel that one of the keys to sticking to the diet  is the weight loss I have had.  After one week along with exercising, I had lost 5 pounds! I couldn't believe I lost that much just from changing my diet.  I'm excited for these next few weeks to come and to see the physical changes that come along with it.

Thanks for coming by!

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30 Day Pescetarian Diet

Hey Everyone!

Hope all of you had a fun, safe long weekend!

Last week, a family member of mine announced that she was going to eat fruits and vegetables for a whole month. I was inspired to do the same, but I decided to add seafood to my diet. So the foods that I am going to cut out in addition to red meat are, chicken, pasta, sugar, white potatoes and bread. 

Last week I went to Trader Joe's and bought frozen fruits for my breakfast smoothies that I will make with unsweetened vanilla almond milk and a protein  powder that I also purchased from TJ's. I also purchased some talipia fillets, some cod marinated in a ginger sauce and different types of frozen vegetables for the 1st week of my diet.

I am kind of excited for this 30 day pescetarian diet and to see the physical changes that come from it!  I start this diet on July 5th and will end it on August 5th. I will definitely keep you all posted on this journey!

Thanks for coming by!
Catch you guys on the next post!

Wash Day Routine

Hey Everyone! 

This week I want to share my wash day routine for my natural hair. The last time I had a relaxer in my hair was about 5-6 years ago. I grew out my relaxer for about a year and did the big chop, it has been and still is a journey. I am still learning new ways to wear my hair in different protective styles, doing protective styles on my own and sharing these things that I learn with others.

PRE-POO 

I usually wash my hair on either Saturday or Sunday weekly. Before I actually wash my hair I do a pre-poo which is when I do most of the detangling of my hair before washing it.  I take my hair and section it off, I use my spray bottle which has a water and oil mix and dampen my hair section by section. I them apply a small amount of coconut oil and apply it to my hair, as I do this I detangle my hair with a wide tooth comb.  After I do this to each section of my hair I put a plastic cap on my head and let it sit for about a hour or two. This process makes my hair extra soft and is easier to wash since it is detangled.

SHAMPOO

After rinsing out my pre-poo, I start to shampoo my hair. I also have my hair sectioned in two when I wash it, parted right down the middle to wash each side at once. The shampoo that I usually use is either Suave naturals (purchased from Target) or African Black Soap shampoo that I purchased  from Whole foods.  When I wash my hair, I also use a scalp massager/invigorator that I purchased on this website here. It helps stimulate the blood flow to your scalp which help promotes hair growth.

CONDITIONING

I have my own deep conditioner that I like to make and use. I use the Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingling Conditioner (click here) and I add honey and Jojoba oil to it. I section my hair into four sections and apply the conditioner very generously. After applying the conditioner to my hair, I put a processing cap  (if I have one) or I just a plain old plastic bag and I put on my soft hood head bonnet (that I also purchased from Amazon  and use the medium heat setting and sit for about 30 minutes and then rinse out the conditioner with cold water.

STYLING

My go to styling products are Cantu Leave in Conditioner and Shea butter, I've been using those two products to style my hair for the past couple of years and it leaves my hair feeling and looking healthy and very moisturized.

Thanks for stopping by! Make sure to check back next week to check out my next post and please feel free to post a comment or any questions!

How I Use Coconut Oil

I absolutely positively love coconut oil!  There are so many ways that you could use it and it has great benefits. I mostly use it in my daily beauty regimens and always have some stashed away in my pantry. Here are different ways that I use coconut oil.

My hair: I use coconut oil every week as a pre-poo for my hair. I section my hair and use a spray bottle with water and my favorite conditioner and apply a small amount of coconut oil and detangle my hair. I put a processing cap on and let it sit for about 15-20 minutes, rinse it out and then wash my hair as normal afterwards.

Nails: I rub coconut oil into my cuticles a few times a week and give my nail beds a nice massage with the oil.

Skin: I like to use coconut oil on my hands, feet and during the winter time, I get a small container, put some coconut oil in it and use at as moisturizer for my lips.

Oil Pulling: Oil pulling over time helps naturally whiten your teeth. At night time before going to bed, I put 1 tablespoon of coconut in my mouth and swish it around for about 5-7 minutes. . I read somewhere that the recommended time to swish the coconut oil is from 15-20 minutes but after about 5 minutes, my mouth gets tired, soooo...that recommended time doesn't work out for me.

Cooking: I have used coconut oil while cooking. I've used it to fry seafood and chicken and used it to cook in my wok.

Now all coconut oil isn't the same. I usually buy mine from Trader Joe's and it is organic, virgin, cold pressed and unrefined. For more info on the coconut oil that I use, check it out HERE.

Thanks for reading! 

Come and visit again!