Hello All!Yes, I've been absent from the blog for a little while but not without good reason.

I took some much needed R&R in the great state of Colorado to visit my boyfriend's family and friends. Man, o' man did I have a great time in Colorado! Who would have thought? With those huge mountains and clean, fresh air as a constant backdrop to all of our daily activities, even something as simple as grocery shopping felt lively and exciting when I was there. I walked through trails in the mountains, rode bikes and viewed some great scenery. I never thought another city could inspire depression about my current living situation but Denver, Colorado sure did; I was truly sad to come back home to Washington, DC.Though it took a few days to shake off the extreme urge to pack up everything and move out west, I can say that my hiatus in Colorado inspired me to get busy in my own life. Everyone in Denver was so active and in to living the life of their dreams, so I took back a piece of that mindset as a souvenir on the plane ride home. Armed with pen and paper, a window seat and 3 and a half hours to kill, I came up with some really exciting things I will be doing with this blog. You all will see most of them as they unfold, but as a little heads up, here's what's going on at thinkandgrowchick.com next week:Articles for the week of September 13, 2010:Monday--"The Basics of Building a Great Hair Regimen" (Hair)Tuesday--"How to Get a Handle on your Finances NOW!" (Personal Finance)Wednesday--"Discovering the Business of You" (Entrepreneurship)Thursday--"Self-Sabotage-What to do When You are Your Own Worst Enemy" (Personal Development)Friday--The first-ever Think & Grow To-Go Podcast episode will be available for download!Think & Grow To-Go (TG2G) is my new podcast/radio show that allows you to take all the self-improvement goodness you get from the regular blog with you on your iPod or mp3 player. TG2G also provides listeners with great ideas to "take-away" and apply to their own lives. This Friday's podcast will feature Jacquette Timmons, founder of Sterling Investment Management, regular contributor to DailyWorth.com, and all around personal finance guru. She also rocks a fabulous 'fro, you can check her out here.

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So I hope you're as excited to get back into the groove of Think & Grow Chick as I am! If you ever have any suggestions for the blog--topic ideas, podcast suggestions, whatever--leave a comment on any of the posts or email me any time at Courtney [at] thinkandgrowchick.com (You can get to me quickly by clicking the contact button up top).As final parting gift, below you'll find the technique to the really great twist-out I ended up rocking all week in Colorado. Enjoy!

1. Wash and condition hair with moisturizing products of choice.
2. Apply leave-in conditioner and heat protectant if desired.
3. Section hair in to four sections and blow-dry each section on medium speed, medium heat until the hair is adequately stretched, but not "bone" straight.
4. Apply a moisturizing hold product of choice (shea butter, gel and leave-in conditioner mix, Carol's Daughter Honey Mimosa, Jane Carter Nourish & Shine, etc, etc) to medium sections of hair and two-strand for medium twists. Twist entire head until you have anywhere from 20-30 twists, depending on hair thickness.
5. Leave twists in for several hours at least. If you prepare this style at night, you can simply go to bed or, if you prefer, you can rock the twists all day.
6. Gently unravel each twists, starting from the bottom and being careful not to separate the strands too much.
7. Fluff to cover up the parts, then go! Feel free to ride a bike or go mountain hiking with your new hairdo.
8. To maintain at night, for the first 2 days or so you'll probably only need to wear a satin bonnet to bed. After the third or fourth day when it starts to get a little frizzy, simply re-twist the frizzy parts with a little moisturizer before bed. If you are in a hurry and want to freshen this look up, re-twist hair with a moisturizer then get in the shower with your hair uncovered. Be careful not to get your hair wet, but let the steam "lock in" the twists. Get dressed and do your make-up; when you take your hair down, it'll look as good as the first day. :-)

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