Allie tries Maple Holistics: Degrease Shampoo

Hi and welcome back to the blog!
The past month the or so I've been trying out a new hair product. For this of you who don't know my hair is super fine, pretty oily, color treated, and I have a ton of it. I'm quite protective of it so I only wash it about every three days and I'm picky when it comes to what I put in it product-wise.

So when Maple Holistics reached out to me about trying their tea tree shampoo I was intrigued but not completely sold. First, I'm not a fan of how tea tree oil smells. I live the benefits it provides but it has a serious medicinal smell to it. More than that many of the reviews seemed to come from customers who needed help with a dry scalp. Since I have the opposite problem, I relayed my concerns to the company and they suggested the alternative. That's good customer service!

Once I received the Degrease Shampoo in the mail I was super excited to try it out, but I did have to wait a day or two because I was only on day one of my hair being washed. But once that was over it was time to put this baby to a series of tests to see how it faired against my finicky hair. (Rhyming is fun 😆)

For the first wash I went all out and lathered it up on all of my hair. It did suffer the same problem many of my other shampoos have, where it doesn't really later the first time but after I rinse and repeat it gets really bubbly. I don't know if that's because the first go around has to cut through three days worth of oils before the second wash can really work it's magic, but that's my theory.

With this first wash I did notice that using the shampoo from root to tip made my ends dry out a ton. Since my hair is bleached it's already got some damage down there so that didn't feel great, but I will say that my hair stayed pretty matte at the roots and I was a fan of that. By day three you could see some oil build up but not quite as much as I usually have.

For the next wash I decided to try only washing my hair about halfway down with the Degrease Shampoo, and then finishing off with the purple color treatment conditioner I use. This felt a bit drying too, but that could be due to the amount of chemicals in the conditioner. This method worked pretty well and wasn't quite as drying on my ends as the first option.

All around I did enjoy using the shampoo. I added it to the rotation and I've been trying it with different varieties of conditioner to see what I like best. Because I wash my hair infrequently, and every other wash is usually the purple stuff (gotta keep the brassiness at bay) I would say I've probably used the Degrease Shampoo about 4 or 5 times. It does smell like you would expect an natural shampoo to smell (kinda plant like but not in a floral way that you would find with cheap drugstore soaps), but it has some hints off lemon that help make it more pleasant.

Overall I liked the shampoo. It's a bit drying but I think with a conditioner that is hydrating my ends could he much happier. I'm thinking of trying the argan oil conditioner they offer to test out that theory.

The Maple Holistics brand also promises to be all natural, sulfate free, safe for colored hair, made in the U.S.A., and cruelty free. <---- big points from me. I've already touched on their great customer service, but they also offer a 100% money back guarantee if you purchase something and don't like it for any reason. The prices aren't bad. Most of the individual shampoos and conditioners run between $9 and $12 (Degrease is $12.95) but you can also buy some of the sets they offer for around $20.

If you'd like to learn more about the products they offer, or find out how to try out some of the products for free, visit their website at MapleHolistics.com

A Year After College

It's hard to believe it's been a year since I walked across that stage to accept an empty diploma cover. Even harder to believe that it's been over 6 months since I wrote on here last. I can't say it's been an uneventful year, but definitely an adjustment.

Back in college, life was simple. Wake up, go to class, work on projects, eat in the dining hall, socialize with residents, plan events, stress about classes, go to bed, and repeat the next day. Adulthood isn't nearly as predictable.

In the last year I started a job at a corporate portrait studio, realized I hated it, searched for a new job, found a new job, moved in with Ian, bought a car, and got a cat.

His Name is Tobias (Toby for short)

It's been a good year. A different one, but a good one. I'm still getting the hang of this whole "adulting" thing. A lot of it is new, like car payments and whatnot, but so far I'm not doing too bad.

To all my friends and peers out there who are graduating this year, Congratulations. You've worked hard to get here and I know you'll do amazing things from here on out. Be warned though, while real life may not be as stressful as having four finals and three research papers all at once the things you do start to matter. Credit scores and debts galore. Keep your people close because they will love you and support you through it all.

Good Luck,

Allie

Off The Grid: Mount Scott

In my last post I talked about my trip with my boyfriend, Ian, to the adorable town of Medicine Park. Well like with most places, you check out of your lodging arrangements in the morning or the early afternoon. After a quick pancake breakfast, we packed up our things and said goodbye to Grandma's Cabin.

Seeing as it was only 9AM, we weren't quite ready to head home yet. We decided to do some exploring of the areas surrounding the town. First on the list was Mt. Scott. We could see it from the cabin, and I was incredibly excited to go up a mountain for the first time. The mountain was a few miles from the town so we drove to get there and, even though we could have parked at the bottom and walked up, we drove up to the top too. Ain't nobody got time to walk three miles up a mountain.

Once we got to the top I was overwhelmed at how beautiful the view was. You could see everything from the lake, to the plains, to thousands of trees that looked like tiny bushes. We climbed around on some of the rocks around the observation deck and talked to an elderly couple who took a picture of me sitting on a rock. His words were "You can't get a proper perspective of how big these rocks are unless you have a person sitting on them." They were so nice, but man I wish I got him to send me that picture!

   

View from the top of Mt. Scott

After about 30 minutes on top of the mountain we drove back down and decided to check out the wildlife reserve. The visitors center had a little museum that told us about some of the animals we might encounter while we were out there. Then we tried to go on a little hike down a trail we found; this lasted approximately five minutes before I got scared because I'm pretty sure I heard a rattlesnake. Ian says it was probably just an insect of some sort, but he didn't want me to freak out so we just went back. I feel kind of bad though, because the landscape really was beautiful.

At this point we weren't really sure what else to do and it was only 11:30, so we considered going to Lawton to see what there was to do there. After a quick Google search we saw that we weren't too far from The Holy City of the Wichitas. I had completely forgotten that my co-worker, Cassie, had recommended we go there. She described it as feeling like you were going back in time to biblical times. This intrigued us enough to we decided to stop by.

The Holy City is apparently home to the longest running Passion play in the nation. Many of its structures are used as backdrops for the play, but it is open year-round for visitors to explore. I climbed up the stairs of some of the structures and we walked around the city for a while. For the most part we were very confused. We weren't really sure why this place existed until we figured out about the play, but then we weren't sure why it was placed out in the middle of nowhere. It seems like something that would be closer to a town or city in order to draw in a bigger crowd. However, after my Google research I discovered that they have no problem bringing people in. One year, they had a congregation of 40,000 people to view the show. Go figure.

He's making a silly face, but still not a bad picture together.

After the Holy City, we were both pretty tired so we decided to turn back towards home. It was a fun and rewarding trip. We got to experience new things, see new places, and best of all we got to do it together. I truly can't wait to see what other adventures are in store for us.

-Allie

Off the Grid: Medicine Park

I don't go on full blown adventures often, but when I do it is always an amazing experience. This time a had a few days off work, and Ian (my boyfriend) and I went on a little trip. Since we only had a couple of days we decided to go somewhere nearby that neither of us had been before. At the suggestion of Ian's co-worker, we went to a little town called Medicine Park.

Medicine Park is a long-time resort town where many of the structure are built mostly out of cobblestone. It is home to many friendly locals, a charming swimming location called Bath Lake, a cabin where Bonnie and Clyde reportedly stayed while they were on the run, and the Old Plantation Restaurant that has a rich history of its own

Bath Lake

Ian and I decided to stay in Grandma's Cabin. It was a quaint and adorable setup that actually reminded me of staying at my grandma's house when I was little. It was complete with an antique eagle claw bathtub, a wood burning fireplace, and a deck overlooking the dam and Mt. Scott. To be honest I would totally live in a little house like that, provided I could replace the "grandma" decor with a bit of my own flair.
*Credits for the cabin photos go to Medicine Park Rentals

We arrived on Sunday night, which is not a great time to visit the town if you're looking to see all of the shops and attractions it has to offer, but Monday and Tuesday were my days off. After we settled into the cabin we walked down the street, past all the empty storefronts, to Park Tavern. Lucky for us it was open until midnight that night. This is where we really got to spend time with the locals. They were all friendly; they took our suggestions for the jukebox, bought us shots, and spent a few good hours getting to know us. Ian and I indulged ourselves in a game of life-sized Jenga (I won by the way) and really had a fantastic time. Needless to say the walk, or stumble, back to the cabin was interesting.

Life-Sized Jenga.
Sorry for the picture quality. We were drinking.

The next morning we slept in because that's what you do when you're both hungover and on vacation. When we finally got around we went to the Old Plantation to grab lunch. The food was good and the atmosphere was nice, but what really interested me was the history they had printed on the back of their menus. Apparently the bar and restaurant was a popular place to go in the 20's. The main floor was used for dancing while "pretty ladies" conducted business entertaining men upstairs. In the basement people gambled, and there are rumors that there were tunnels leading out of the building for those running from the police.

Since we were visiting the town when everything is basically closed, we spent the rest of the day walking around and exploring the scenery. I loved jumping around on the rocks surrounding the river, and the waterfalls were beautiful. I was also amused by the number of abandoned cobblestone structures. I don't know if they used to be homes, or cabins, or attractions of the town when it was in it's heyday, but never have I seen that many abandoned, broken down buildings in such close proximity to each other.

After our walk we ate dinner at the Old Plantation; it was the only place open in town and we still had plenty to try on the menu. When we got back to the cabin we sat down to relax and watch Tiny House Nation before going out on the deck and lighting a fire in the wood stove and making s'mores.

The trip was such a blast, I do wish that we were able to go when the town was awake and bustling, but I do think we will go back again to experience more of what Medicine Park has to offer. This time, it was just nice to get away from the city and have a quiet couple of days alone together.

The town was great, but that wasn't the end of our trip. Tune in next time when I recount our exciting trip up Mt. Scott and over to the Holy City of The Wichitas.
See you next time!
-Allie

Nutrition Nut: Smoothie Recipe

So many of you may be asking, What happened to "Weigh in Wednesdays"? Well, like with many challenges, I failed. I stopped working out, I started eating junk again, and it was a bad thing. However, as I've been growing into a adult-ier adult, I've been trying to live a healthier lifestyle. I re-downloaded MyFitnessPal, I've been eating better for about ten days now, and I've started working out either at home, or at 10Gym with my friend Addison, and I've been enjoying it.

I've resolved that working out to be 'skinny' isn't getting me anywhere. Now I'm working to have a healthier body that I am both happy and comfortable to live in.
That being said, I've started making smoothies to replace a few meals. It's quite nice when I don't feel like cooking, or when I'm not too hungry but I know I haven't reached my calorie goal yet. Today I'd like to share the recipe I've been using to make a quick, easy, and delicious smoothie.

What you'll need:
1 1/2 cups of Frozen Strawberry
1/2 cup of frozen broccoli
1 scoop of strawberry flavored Whey Protein
Water as needed
Optional 1/2 cup of Frozen Carrots (add 26 calories)
Optional 1/2 cup of Frozen Blueberry (add 40 Calories)

It's pretty self explanatory. You'll add all of your ingredients, then a bit of water and blend. You may have to add more water depending on how thick you want your smoothie. I usually add a little bit of water at a time until it has a tornado in the middle of the blender and the mixture looks smooth. Without the optional ingredients the smoothie is 295 calories. Not too bad for dinner!
I like this recipe because it's yummy while also being a good source of protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, and potassium.

Feel free to try it out and let me know how it turns out. Send me some recipes of your own. I'd love to see your creations!

-Allie

P.S. For those of you who are curious, I recently weighed in at 179 lbs!

I Graduated College!

This post has been a long time coming. About a month ago I graduated with my bachelors degree in Professional Media from the University of Central Oklahoma. For those of you who don't know, a class I took during my time here was the birthplace of this blog.

I know I looked bad. I was moving out of my dorm that day as well as graduating. on the bright side my brother and sister look fly AF.

During my four years of college I joined nine student organizations, held seven different jobs, took over 124 hours of course credit, learned to kayak, and met some of the most amazing people I've ever known. Sounds like an adventure to me.

Obviously, this post would be entirely too long if I mapped out every little thing I did in my time at school. Honestly it would probably be too long even if I broke it up into four parts (one for each year). So unfortunately we will just settle for a few of the highlights. These are the things college taught me.

1.) High School is not the best years of your life.
And THANK GOD for that. Who wants to live in a world where everyone peaks before their 20th birthday. Like, what am I supposed to do with the remaining 80 years of my life? That being said, I'm not sure college is the best years either. Don't get me wrong, they are AMAZING years. Even now I find myself wishing I could take a few classes, immerse myself in coursework, and spend my evenings longboarding around campus or talking to friends until the sun came up. That being said, there is so much more AFTER college to look forward to. We are each given the continuous opportunity to learn and grow. As long as we remember that and keep striving to achieve the lives we all want, then we can take solace in the thought that the best years of our lives are still yet to come.

2.)College is NOT easy.
I will admit that I called it easy a few times in my four years. To be fair, I'm a natural student and it seemed to come fairly easy to me. However, in my last semester I realized just how detrimental distractions can be to a college student. Thousands of students drop out every year because they feel they have let things slip too far. I almost lost my footing in my last remaining months because I was focus on my family rather than my schoolwork. Luckily for me, I had done enough earlier in the year that I was able to graduate with one A, one B, one C, and two Ds.
I know a lot of times life gets in the way, but my advice is try and stay focused. Your GPA will thank you.

3.)Get INVOLVED!
I can't stress this enough. Whether it's Greek life, Housing, a multicultural organization, or your schools resident nerd organization (UCO had a few of those), Organizations are where you will meet life long friends. Those people will make the whole experience worth it. I know there are a million statistics about how students who get involved are less likely to drop out, but just to hammer in the point I have anecdotal evidence. (YAY, story time!)
I knew someone who started their freshman year at a different school than me. He knew a few people there from high school so he didn't feel the need to get to know anyone else. Of course at this point his high school friends had already built their college lives and made friends and they didn't want to spend all of their time with him. He basically sabotaged himself by limiting his options so much., and sure enough he became isolated, suicidal, and dropped out before the end of his first year.
Like it or not people make college amazing, not classes. Whether it's a professor, a classmate, or a roommate, it always feels better to have someone on your side when navigating the harsh waters of higher education.

4.)Live on Campus
I may be biased here because I lived on campus for all four years of college, but I can honestly say it was well worth it for me. I met some of my best friends, learned what kind of people I can't live with, learned how to balance hard work and a social life, and I had an amazing time. I can't count how many times my friends and I wandered the campus at night or took naps in each other's rooms between classes. I know living on campus for the entirety of college isn't realistic for most people, but I have to recommend doing it at least once. It can be a little cramped, but where else can you roll out of bed five minutes before class and still be on time? I rest my case.

I still need to add my photo and my real tassel to the frame, but that is my actual diploma!

5.)Finish Strong
I know I make this all sound amazing, but I'll be the first to admit that some days you can't be bothered to go to class, and others you wonder if you should drop out. DON'T! If my student loans are any indicator, college is too expensive and way to helpful to give up. Besides, there is nothing like opening that envelop and seeing your degree for the first time.

In the end your college experience is whatever you want it to be. Take advantage of the time you have and the opportunities that it can give you. They may not be the best years of your life, but they can still be amazing years in your life.

Good Luck
-A

Adulting.... Or Something

There is no way to put all that has happened in the last few months into one post. Perhaps that is why I've been absent lately. I will say that it has been an exhilarating, but also exhausting few months. A short list of recent happenings include

• Almost failing college in my last semester
• Graduating college
• Moving into my first apartment
• Paying bills
• Getting a full time job
• Playing Pokemon Go
• Falling in love
• Smoking
• And navigating the world of medical insurance

I wish I could say that has been everything, but to be perfectly honest I'll be keeping a few stories to myself. Making the transition from a broke college student to and even broker college graduate has been a complete whirlwind. I could never give it a proper explanation, but I will do my best.
So here's to a new chapter and a new opportunity to give this blog and it's followers the attention they deserve.
Stay tuned.
-A