Well, I'm not usually one for diaries or journals, (way too personal), but I figured if I was serious about growing my hair, I better start a journal to record my progress. This is recommended by the hair pros on the board so what the hell. Well, about a month? ago, June 2004, I decided that I am going to grow my hair out. This is rather ambitious of me, as my husband says, & he is right. I haven't had my hair long & all one length since 4th grade. Usually i dont care much for "hair styling" (the 80's was a major digression), but I always LOVED color & have tried numerous attempts at swedish ash blonde. Needless to say, Native American women are not designed to have platinum blode hair no matter how much bleach you can get your hands on. My last attempt at this was November 2003. I cut off most of my hair in August because I was going on a SCUBA dive & it kept getting caught in my goggles & I just got fed up. It looked cute, But I tried the blonde thing AGAIN. Gave up in DEcember 2003, I just couldn't get any hairdresser to get me the color I wanted, so I relinquished to the fact, God doesn't want me to be blonde. So, here is a picture of me in November 2003, Thanksgiving. Last known photos of me with the blonde highlights
http://mediaservice.photoisland.com/auction/Jul/20047244040840017626540.jpg

So then here is a pic of me a month later in December 2003. Dyed back to my regular brown
http://mediaservice.photoisland.com/auction/Jul/20047242045497495506584.jpg

Okay, I like my hair short, its okay, but I love my hair longer. I have had to keep cutting my hair these last 7 months to free myself of the bleached damaged hair, so I havent gained any length. I love long hair, but I only like long, healthy hair. I hate to see long hair thats a frizzed, damaged mess- eeewww. Thats why theres so many great inspirations here because so many of these women ( & men) have gorgeous, healthy looking long hair. Thats what I want. 2 years ago, as a new years resolution my husband bet me I couldn't go a year without cutting or coloring my hair. I accepted the challenge & at the end of the next year, I remember thinking- "I didnt do a thing to my hair & it still looks like crap"- so, I cut it.

Well, lets see, Ive armed myself with new shampoos (mostly natural, no cones), jojoba oil, LHL conditioning treatment, Hairtopia vitamins, MSM, some deep conditioners , Oh & of course Apple cider vinegar. And thanks to SnowyMoon's hair disaster experiment, a chelating shampoo. I have super-hard well water out here in the boonies. I learned alot through her salt water experiment gone wrong.

Lets see, heres a pic of me in the begining of the month to gauge my future progress.
http://mediaservice.photoisland.com/auction/Jul/20047244052776421328928.jpg
gawd, dont mind the bags under my eyes. getting up at 4 a.m. to go to work is kicking my ass. Thanks Purple Bubba for educating the masses on this picture thing- Im really getting carried away!!! whoo hoo!

Oh, Ive decided not to measure my hair because 1)I have a zillion layers & 2) its like when I measure my hips, a little slip here, a little slip there & voila! I can manipulate my hips to be what I want, not what they really are. I think pics will be a better guide for me. Keep me real.

My hair grows slow, but I have a couple of greys that I have measured & since I havent colored since December 2003, I seem to be the averge 1/2" a month.

Okay, enough of this rambling on for now.

Date- July 25, 2004
Well today I bought a smaller pair of hair scissors to do the dusting. I am very sorry to say that I have so many white dots in my hair, Im not sure I can grow my hair the way I want. I guess Ill try my best. I thought I had most of the damage on the top of my hair cut out. Guess not.
I went out with one of my best friends last night (Jim). I told him that I was on a mission to grow my hair waist length. He said he'd be chasing me from here to kingdom come if I did that (in a complimentary sense). His hair is down the middle of his back. It looks ratty, but, he's a guy & pretty much doesn't care (not that all men dont care, but hes not one of them for sure- hard-core hillbilly).

I wore my fake hair last night. I have 3 of those Toni pony hair clips. They are so much fun for me & weirdly it matches my hair perfectly. I took some pictures. Here's the "curly" Toni Pony:
http://mediaservice.photoisland.com/auction/Jul/20047258241410914036464.jpg
Its probally not good to wear, but they look cute & are fun. I only wear them for going out or something like that. Instant hairdo.
Today I took the dogs for a ride, I usually dont when its hot because "Moose", my St. Bernard does not tolerate the heat. Here's Moose:
http://mediaservice.photoisland.com/auction/Jul/20047255492335500724448.jpg
"Kira" loves to stick her head out the window. Here's Kira:
http://mediaservice.photoisland.com/auction/Jul/20047257471126695997850.jpg
And then ther's poor "Flea". He goes for rides , but doesn't really *like* it. It took me awhile to get the dog even near a car when I first found him (limping in the road- a whole other story). Here's Flea:(ambushing the cat bed)-
http://mediaservice.photoisland.com/auction/Jul/20047254774736009079559.jpg
Let's see everyone can see Sharkie in my avatar, but I have another cat. His name is Tomato. His unofficial name is "Mr. Potato Head". He is truly a special gift from God. Here's Tomato: (Hes not a Scottish Fold, he just has no ears from frostbite):
http://mediaservice.photoisland.com/auction/Jul/20047255524758030985008.jpg

Okay, so I think I covered everyone but the hubby.

I'll probally try to enter once a week. I put some Jojoba oil on my wet hair today. I think it was better than putting it on dry hair. I also used Burt's Bees Avocado hair treatment. It was hard to spread & if I had long hair I would've needed quite a bit, but when I shamppoed it out with my Kiss My FAce shampoo, my hair felt silky.