Contest - It's Nice to be Important but it's More Important to be Nice!

As you may be aware from reading my last blog post on Wednesday, my Tuesday of this week didn't start off on a good note but during lunch that day, my friend Katie dropped a gift off to me at my office, just because. After Katie gave me my gift of NARS Turkish Delight my day immediately started to pick up which made me happy because as a very firm believer in good karma, I know that with goodness comes goodness.

Throughout the remainder of the week I experienced so many positive things not only at work, but outside of work as well. For instance, two other people that I work with shared something with me that I thought was absolutely amazing about goals that they have. Such positive goals can only bring positive results!

Yesterday while I was shopping at Winners I was held up at the cash that I was checking out at because the cashier had to get assistance to make a ticket for an article that I was purchasing. She was so apologetic for taking up my time. I smiled and told her that I wasn't in a hurry and advised her that she could take all of the time that she needed. The "thank you" that she responded with was so sincere. It made me wonder if she regularly deals with a lot of rude and hostile people constantly in a hurry. I'm certain that that must be the case because I think that every single one of us can recall a time that we have witnessed the hostility of fellow shoppers.

As I was leaving Winners, an elderly couple who looked as if they were in their 80's were walking in front of me. They were of course walking extremely slow, the man helping his beautiful wife because she could hardly walk. They were so sweet. As we reached the outside doors of Winners I could have walked around them but I didn't. Because the parking lot is always so busy and the man was so engaged in trying to assist his wife, I stayed behind them to make sure that no one hit them as they crossed from the curb out to their car which was parked in the handicapped space near my truck. As we neared our vehicles, the man noticed that I was behind them and actually said "I am very sorry" because he thought that he and his wife were in my way. I stopped in my tracks, looked him right in his eyes and said "please, don't ever be sorry. Not ever". His wife beamed a beautiful smile at me, the man's eyes welled up with tears and he thanked me with the most amazing "thank you" I have ever heard in my life. I replied with a smile and "you're welcome". As I got to my truck I looked back over my shoulder and he and his wife were still standing at their car looking at me with smiles on their faces. I will never forget that little couple and the gratitude that they showed me for not rushing them along.

When I got into my truck, I sat for a minute thinking about the two "thank you's" that I had just received from the cashier and the elderly couple. Because I wasn't in a rush. Because I wasn't being hostile and pushy. Because I smiled. Because I was kind. It is so, so important to be kind. I didn't know my Grandma Olive, but I have been told that one of her favourite sayings was "It's nice to be important but it's more important to be nice"; which leads me to my favourite story of the week...

Yesterday morning at 9:15am my daughter's school had a themed assembly about "Acceptance". A guest speaker by the name of John Hastings, an Olympic kayaker was present to speak to the students about how important "acceptance" is and how important it is to be kind to one another. One of the stories that he told was about about how at the age of 16 he was training in Europe. One of his fellow athletes, by the name of Pierre was from Quebec and only spoke French, or so they all thought. John said that no one liked Pierre and everyone made fun of him, never having anything nice to say about him. One day John heard Pierre speaking to their coach in English which made him ill because clearly, Pierre spoke English and knew all of the terrible things that they had been saying about him. To make a long story short, John and Pierre are now the best of friends and John credits Pierre for helping him face his dreams and aspirations of becoming an Olympian. During the same assembly my babygirl was presented with a Student Recognition Award for "Acceptance" from her teacher and her principle. It's amazing that at the age of seven, she knows the importance of being kind to her fellow peers and accepting everyone regardless of their differences.

So, in the spirit of kindness and good karma, I want to challenge you!! And I want to hear about it!!
The challenge is simple. Do a good deed for someone or a bunch of someone's. Something thoughtful and kind to bring a smile to the face of another. A good deed can be anything from baking a batch of cookies and giving them to a friend or relative, buying someone a gift, writing someone a letter or sending someone a card. Volunteering, supporting, helping!! Be creative and show your appreciation to someone that you care about - or even a total stranger!!

This contest challenge involves a prize (prizes are always fun, right?) and there are only three rules!

Rule #1: Do something kind!! Once you have done your good deed, in the comment box below, please tell me what it was that you did!! You have to comment below to be entered into the draw. Only one entry per person will be entered into the draw, but don't let that stop you from doing more good deeds for people!

Rule #2: Share this contest and post with your friends and family. Below you can see that you can share it via Email, Blogger, Twitter or Facebook - or even word of mouth. I know that kindness and good karma are definately things that we want to spread the word on!

Rule #3: Subscribe or Follow my blog via Email Subscription or Google Friend Connect. You can sign up right over there ---> FYI: by signing up via Email Subscription, you will receive my blog posts straight to your email any time that I post something new. If you are already an email subscriber then you are good to go. Easy peasy!

One winner will be chosen randomly to receive the following prize which includes some of my favourite things:

One (1) 10 ounce bottle of Macadamia Natural Oil Rejuvenating Shampoo
One (1) 2 ounce bottle of Macadamia Natural Oil Curl Reviving Cream
One (1) 1 ounce packet of Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Masque
One (1) tube of Soap & Glory's Sexy Mother Pucker lip gloss
Two (2) Pairs of handmade (by moi!) Rose Earrings (Colour: Black - one for you and one to give to someone else as seen in the side picture)
One (1) knitted scarf handmade (by moi!) - Please note that I will determine the style, width, length and yarn used for the scarf but upon winning the contest the winner will be able to choose the colour.

The contest starts now, Saturday October 29th and will end on Saturday November 12th at 1:00pm EST. This contest is open worldwide.

Let's see the good karma, my friends!

xTx

Disclaimer:
This contest is not sponsored. This contest is open from Saturday October 29th, ending on Saturday November 12th at 1:00pm EST. This contest is open worldwide. The winner must be subscribed to Tawny. Just Tawny. via Email Subscription. One(1) winner will be chosen at random via www.random.org. The winner will be notified via email on Sunday November 13th. If they do not respond within 48 hours the prize will be forfeited and another winner will be chosen via www.random.org and will be notified via email. The prize will be shipped to the winner via mail depending on the best way to deliver to their particular country of residence.

Macadamia Natural Oil - Reviving Curl Cream

My Babygirl has some serious hair. Hair that extends all the way down her back and hair that is loaded with curls. I'm talking serious curls. Serious ringletty curls that take on a mind of their own. They are full of attitude and are completely untamable if they aren't cared for. A couple of years ago her ringlettes would spring into place with ease but since her hair has gotten so long and thick, the weight of it now pulls the rings down. Each night I comb and braid Babygirl's hair so that we are able to fix it up with a 15 minute ease each morning before school. Normally, I simply take the braid out, comb it through with my fingers, spray it with water and then brush it through with a wide toothed comb. To finish, I twist each curl around my finger to try to keep them as defined as possible with the spritz of a frizz tamer. Of course, when she comes home, even with a tamer, her hair is a frizzy, hot mess from her busy day at school.

Again, as we all know, I (alphabetically - LMNOP) love Macadamia Natural Oil products and have had the opportunity to try the Reviving Curl Cream on Babygirl's hair. Because these products are healing and not harmful, I have no concerns using them on my daughter's hair at all. After I spritz-spray her hair with water in the morning I run about a quarter sized amount Curl Reviving Cream through, focusing on the lower half to start; ending off at her roots. I haven't been twisting her ringlettes at all but I have been gently scrunching them into place and they turn out beautiful. I have found that this product is best used on damp to wet hair so I wouldn't suggest applying it to hair that is dry. It definately has a holding agent in it but it's certainly not a strong gel-like hold; just a nice soft hold. Babygirl's curls stay soft, defined, frizzless and shiney all day long, regardless of the amount of running (which she does a lot of) and playing (which she does even more of) that she has done at school that day. It is so nice to see her come home with the same pretty hair that she went to school with.

I can't say enough about this line of hair care and style products. To be honest, the only thing left to say is; if you haven't tried Macadamia Natural Oil, there is no question that you should. It's a simple as that.

xTx

Full Disclaimer: The product I have spoken of was provided to me by Macadamia Natural Oil. No further compensation was received and no guarantee of a positive review was promised nor expected. All opinions expressed are my own - we all know I have one! Thank you, Macadamia Natural Oil for providing my daughter and I with the BEST hair care products possible.

I Love Family Weekends!

Given that I live about 9 hours (driving distance) away from my parents (and most family), I don't get to see them very often anymore. We speak on the phone daily, Skype, Facebook and MSN but no technological means of communication is quite the same as being with them in person. I may be bias but I must admit that I have the most amazing family. We always have so much fun together!

This weekend we all travelled to my parents' house down south to surprise my Mom for her 69th (she will probably kick my ass for posting her age online LOL) birthday! at 7pm on Saturday evening when she finally found out that we (her family), along with about 60 of her dearest friends were all there to celebrate an early birthday for her, she was in absolute shock, flashed her beautiful smile and broke down in tears.

My cousin Ashley is a chef and made 140 of the most amazing chocolate cupcakes that you could ever imagine, with five different types of buttercream icing - Vanilla bean, fresh raspberry, cocoa, coconut and caramel. Not only were they beautifully decorated with sparkles and sprinkles but they were a tastebud heaven as well. We had a great dinner, live entertainment, games, drinks, beautiful company and a very happy birthday girl!

One of my favourite things to do is to sit with my family and talk. We literally talk and laugh for hours. Some of my fondest family memories are of all of us gathered around my parents long kitchen table laughing and talking over dinner or a game of some sort. It is too sad that our weekend couldn't have gone on longer. The next time we will all be together is at Christmas time - which is one reason why we had an early birthday for Mom this year.

Although I am happy to be back in The Twa, I miss everyone so much already!!

I will post some pictures from our weekend later on :)

As a side note - As you all know, I have been raving about Macadamia Natural Oil hair products. My Mom had been aching to try them so for her birthday, one of the gifts that we all gave her was the shampoo, conditioner, hair mask and oil treatment. Well, she is now in love with these products as much as I am. After we did her hair yesterday, she spent the rest of the afternoon running her fingers through her hair and having everyone touch her pretty locks! Her hair went from its "straw" state to soft, silky and full of life - in just one use! Unbelievable! Mom was stoked!

I wish you all a beautiful week! Be sure to spend time with those that you love. And don't forget to laugh. A lot.

xTx

Lina loves M.N.O. <3

After 6 long, long weeks of visiting her Grammy and Papa during her summer vacation, Lina finally came home this weekend!!
She has heard me talk about my new hair products for a month and was super excited to try them out tonight.
Just as suspected, her pretty long locks are so shiny and silky smooth. She was stoked that we were able to comb through her hair without and tangling at all. Much like I, that's also a
plus in her books!
I really can't say enough about these products!! You have to try them out!!
xTx
Sent from my iPhone

Macadamia Natural Oil

This I must share with you because if you know me, you know how I baby and love my hair...

For the last month I have been using a line of products on my hair called Macadamia Natural Oil. I was in desperate need to find a new product that would bring my hair back to life after a mishap that I had with a drugstore hair dye.

Rarely do I dye my hair, I mean rarely. My hair is about 3/4 of the way down my back, so it's pretty long. Ever since I had my daughter I no longer have curls, my hair is almost bone straight and it has thinned out a lot. I pamper my hair and have literally done everything that I can to care for it the past 7 years since my pregnancy. This is why I do not dye it.

I don't know what the hell I was thinking but about 4 or 5 months ago I had a sudden urge to dye my hair black. It's naturally a blackish-brown colour, but I wanted to go really dark. So off I went to Shopper's Drugmart to see what kind of black dye I could score. I purchased two (because like I said, my hair is pretty long) boxes of black dye and went to town on my head.

Immediately after rinsing the dye out my hair turned really dry and brittle. The dye that I used completely ruined my hair. So much so that I was terrified to brush it out, not only because I could hardly get a brush through it but because every time I did my hair would break off.

I started researching hair products that would help to nurture my hair and bring it back to life all while trying all sorts of different types of shampoo's and conditioners. Nothing at all was working and my hair was getting worse - possibly because I had gone wild spinning a product wheel trying to find something decent to use on my hair. I was losing my mind and was terrified that amidst losing my mind I would lose all of my hair as well. After a couple more weeks of late night researching on youtube and reading up on any hair article I could find, I discovered a product called Macadamia Natural Oil. I knew that macadamia nut oil was excellent for hair but this was the only product that I could find that used it as a main ingredient. Not only did it house Macadamia nut oil but argan seed oil as well. Argan seed oil is another of Mother Nature's beautiful gems.

The only store in Ottawa that I found to sell Macadamia Natural Oil was Trade Secrets - they carry the entire line! I purchased the Healing Oil Treatment, Rejuvenating Shampoo, Moisturizing Rinse, and the Deep Repair Masque for less than $100. As a side note, I received a free nail polish for spending over $50 - Fun!

I drove home like a crazy person so that I could jump into the shower to try my new products out.  

I washed my hair two times using only a small amount of shampoo - literally about the size of a quarter each time. Normally I use a whole handful, clearly I am an over-doer! Once I was done thoroughly washing my hair two times over and because it was my first time using the products I decided to try the masque; rather than the rinse (conditioner). Note that before I applied the masque I was already feeling a difference. I applied the masque - about the size of a loonie - and starting at the roots ran it through my hair really well. I gathered a bit more of the masque from the jar and applied more of it, focusing strictly on my ends. I got out of the shower and wrapped my head for 30 minutes. You can leave this masque on your hair over night if you'd like but all of the intensity is in the first 30 minutes - there is really nothing more to the product after that.

All joking aside, this is when I began to cry...

I got back into the shower to rinse my hair. It was literally like silk. Literally. It was almost scary how soft my hair was. Once I was out of the shower I towel dried my hair and applied a quarter size amount of Healing Oil to the lower half of my hair before attempting to comb it out. This, my friends, was going to be the real test. If I was able to comb my hair without squeezing my eyes shut and scrunching my face I would be happy. Well, my comb didn't comb through my hair, my comb slid through my hair. No face scrunchies at all!

I dried my hair with a blow dryer and straightened it with my flat iron (after spritzing on my favourite heat protectant) and the final product was brilliant. My hair was beautiful, silky smooth and ultra shiney. It has never been so gorgeous!

These products do not weight my hair down at all and leave it feeling wonderful. It no longer breaks off, I have no split ends, my hair feels like silk and it glows with health. 

Over the past month I have suggested these products to every single woman that I speak to and every one that has taken my advice to purchase the line is forever thankful that they did. I will be bringing the entire line to my Mom when I go to visit her next weekend as well. My poor Mom has hair that she claims to be like "straw" but I'm coming to the rescue with my little bottles of lovely! I can't wait to use it on Lina's hair as well! LOL Hair is seriously way too exciting.

Simply Heaven. Trust me, you will not be sorry - You will love it!

xTx

Photo courtesy of macadamiahair.com