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Power in Prayer

Posted on by Savannah Coaker

Hey Everyone! Happy Tuesday! Today’s post is written with extremely high spirits because TODAY it hit me hard that I am Cancer Free. Not only am I Cancer free, but last Monday, May 10th 2021 I found out that my post cancer scans are clear! I guess it took me a week to finally believe it. I was in my car belting out Morgan Wallen’s “Bandaid on a Bullethole” and my voice cracked then I was just overwhelmed with emotions based on how I survived so much this year.

It is such a relief to be able to say that after such a long year of fighting for my life. Geez, that’s so crazy to put it like that in words, but that’s every bit of what it was.

I have heard all kinds of things on this journey but I’ll tell you, no one can prepare you for the fight that you will endure. The main thing that stuck out to me was that people kept telling me “Oh, you’re so strong” or “You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met”. Which is crazy, because I’ve always been mentally weak. I know this because I have inspirations such as my husband and beautiful sister who amaze me at their mental toughness.

But I say that to say, when you are fighting the fight of your life, you are merely surviving. You do what you gotta do to make it day by day. That’s it. You keep pushing and lean on God for your strength. So the strength that you see is of God.

Because what you don’t see is the breakdowns knowing that for God knows how long, you will have to continue to fight for your life. The hard look in the mirror at your freshly bald head. The chemo. God, the chemo is Satan’s handiwork. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. It’s feeling hungry but nauseous. It’s your mouth creating this weird saliva texture that only allows you to taste Gatorade and spicy things. But don’t get me wrong, even those things will taste absolutely terrible. For atleast a week for me. It’s being so tired of fighting that you want to give up but that isn’t even an option. The realization that this is your new life. Fear of scans for the remainder of your life at age 23. But see, that’s where God intervenes. He humbles you with peace and insight. I know of people who didn’t make it to year 23 fighting the same fight. So I am thankful and blessed to be where I am today, all thanks to Christ.

The day I found out my MRI results I immediately prayed. I knew something wasn’t right. I often have a gut feeling and it never fails me. It’s the weirdest thing. But I just knew something wasn’t right. They said I had a spot on my left humerus. I knew that was a bone in my arm but I had no idea what would be coming. I read “Underlying malignancy/aggressive lesion not excluded”. When I read those words I broke down. Have you ever felt SO hopeless that you just pick up your bible, land on a page, and just let it speak to you?

That day I opened my bible and landed on Psalm 5:7. I read from page to page looking for something that spoke to me. I came across Psalm 6:2 which reads:

“Have mercy on me, O Lord, For I am weak; O Lord, Heal me for my bones are troubled”

Now I know this is meant in a larger sense, but it spoke volumes to me when I was worried about my actual bones. That day I folded my MRI results into fourths and left it there in my bible, where it will most likely stay. I want to say that something in me knew that day that things weren’t right. I felt that that was a message from God that, yes, my bones were troubled but he will prevail and carry me through.

Prayers played a huge part in getting me through this past year. I have FELT all of the prayers. Thank you to all that have prayed for and supported me during this time.💓

Sincerely,

Vanna

When a hairstylist has to let go of her hair

Posted on by Savannah Coaker

So today’s post is s tough one. I’m gonna get real, real with y’all. So for those of you who do not know, I have been diagnosed with osteosarcoma which is cancer of the bone. They warned me right away what was coming. Seeing that I am a hair stylist, I would get pitiful pitiful looks because people I guess just knew the impact that hair has on my life. Its my livelihood. Its what I get excited about when I wake up and go to work! I’m around it every single day.

I know, I know. I’ve heard it several times from comforting friends. Its just hair. It’ll grow back.

But it isn’t just hair.

I See the impact hair has on a woman. It can be a game changer in the confidence a woman has about herself. Women use their hair to express how they are feeling and to keep up with the trends. We use hair to make a point. When we feel like completely changing our look? We turn to a total hair transformation.

I know you’ve heard ” You can always tell when a woman is going through something when she drastically changes her hair!” Or something along those lines.. But why is that? Ill tell you why. Because we use our hair to express who we are!

Sometimes, when nothing in life is going right the only thing we women know to do is change our look. And that’s not a bad thing. I love that I work in a profession that allows me to connect with people about their hair and what makes them happy. Because it does that. People get so excited about their hair. And I under that now more than ever before.

I used to get SO frustrated when I would have a bad hair day. My total mood for the morning would be offset. And I know I’m not the only one who has been there! Hair is a mood. Its a conversation starter. Its a security blanket when you choose between hair or makeup that day. It has the ability to make you feel safer and secure to be hidden behind it.

So I say that to say that it’s not just hair. It is not having to wear a sticky, heavy wig because all of your hair has dissentegrated. Your brows, your eyelashes, everything. They are all coming out. And it’s extremely hard to wear makeup without eyelashes to put mascara on. lol

Having my hair was something I definitely took for granted. Now I find myself wearing du-rag type covers and baseball caps. Which I have gotten so many lovely compliments on that it is heartwarming!

I hope this post wasn’t too much of a downer, I am very much looking forward to my hair coming back. I go next month for scans to make sure that my tumor has shrunk enough to remove. Hopefully, it has and we can go ahead with the surgery and last rounds of chemo!

This picture is very hard for me to share because of the obvious balding, but I love it all the same. I feel like there is a lot of power in this sweet picture ♥️
Sincerely,

Vanna

Game Day Guacamole

Posted on by Savannah Coaker

Today’s post is obviously a recipe, and I have been working on it for quite some time now! For those of you who really do not care to hear about the story behind this recipe, I am conveniently sticking it at the top of the page for you guys! You are very welcome lol

Ingredients:

  • 3 Avocados
  • 1/4 c. chopped onion
  • 1/4 c. jalapeno peppers, finely chopped
  • Heaping Tbs. Cilantro, finely Chopped
  • 1 Roma tomato
  • 1 Lime, juiced
  • 2 Cloves of garlic
  • 1 tbs. of Frank’s Hot Sauce
  • 2 tsp. of Paprika
  • Salt to taste

Directions:

  1. Start off by peeling and seeding your avocados. Go ahead and put them in a medium sized bowl.
  2. Mash the avocados together. If you like chunkier Guac. do not mash as heavily.
  3. Chop up your onions, peppers, Cilantro, tomato, and garlic. Add them to the bowl.
  4. Mix in your lime, hot sauce, salt, and garnish with paprika!

So anyway, I actually came across this recipe by happenstance. I was working at a restaurant that sold Guacamole dip and I used to absolutely love it when they would make it themselves! As a matter of fact, that’s where I first tried Guacamole.

One day, I had two men at a table I was waiting and they asked how good our Guacamole dip was. I like to be as honest as I can be so I told them that ever since we switched our recipe, I didn’t like our Guacamole as much. It tasted really limey- like. lol Which to me, was almost sour-tasting!

One man went on to tell me that he was a retired army chef and guess what….. yes girl. He had the perfect Guacamole recipe. At this point in my life I was moving into a new house so some friends were throwing me a housewarming party. And I NEEDED a good recipe. I ad tried one out that I found on Pinterest but it just was not what I was looking for.

So this kind man asks to borrow some pen and paper and he just writes down his recipe off the top of his head. He was so so nice and I couldn’t even tell you if he tipped because I was so happy with that recipe. I realized that fresh cloves of garlic make a huge difference compared to garlic powder. lol So i tried the recipe, and it turned out great!

Now, I have altered the recipe a bit just for fun and to keep my taste buds on their toes, but every time I make this Guacamole dip I get asked for the recipe!

So here you go! I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I surely have!

Sincerely,

Vanna

When life knocks you down

Posted on by Savannah Coaker

Do you ever feel like no matter what you do to get ahead, life keeps knocking you two steps back? Or maybe you aren’t even trying to get ahead but just get by and life seems to want to hold you back.

In today’s post, I’m gonna talk a little about what I am going through right now in this season of my life.

“Have mercy upon me, O lord; for I am weak: O lord, heal me; for my bones are troubled”(Psalms 6:2).

On October 1, 2020 I went for a follow up on a surgical biopsy that I had done. I made the trip to Birmingham thinking the worst part of my day would be them taking the tape off of my incision. I am a HUGE baby when it comes to incisions and all things blood. I’ll pass out in a heartbeat. Turns out, there wasn’t much to be done after all. The tape would come off by itself , no problem. I was waiting for a prescription for physical therapy and I asked my nurse about my biopsy results. I was then sent back to a room where I would get the most terrifying news of my whole twenty three years of life. And thanks to covid I received the news all on my own.

“Based on your biopsy results, we have diagnosed you with Osteosarcoma”.

Talk about a soul crushing moment. How are you supposed to react when you get news like that? Especially when you are receiving it all alone. I was absolutely terrified. The doctor went on to tell me what my next steps were depending on the CT scan I was about to have done. You hear about cancer and it may affect you throughout your life with friends and family, but when you hear that word and it pertains to your own life… It changes you. It truly does. I thought I was too young to have cancer, ya know?

After I cried for many days following to the point where I was tired of crying and my eyes hurt, I realized that I am very lucky for the twenty three years that I have gotten so far. There are so many people who have not been as blessed as I have, and has been through the same exact thing but did not make it to their twenties. News like that makes you appreciate things like the feeling of sunshine on your skin, which sounds stupid. I would have read that two weeks ago and probably cringed at how corny it sounds.

Luckily, my dad was with me on this visit and he was let into the room after they broke the news because he called the doctor back in for more questions. I could barely remember our conversation except for the word “Osteosarcoma.” I tried to hold my tears in because I do not like crying in front of people, but I was alone in that room and all I could think about was the time I had left on this Earth. Whether I would be able to have babies of my own someday or if I would lose my hair due to chemo.

When my dad came through the door, the floodgates opened. I was dreading telling him that I have this disease called cancer because I knew he had been through it with his brother, twice. But then, he would have to tell my mother which has been through it with her mother who lost her battle to uterine cancer. So not only was my heart broken, but I knew that it would break the hearts of the people who love me.

That same day I got a CT scan of my lungs to see if the cancer has spread. It was the longest day of my life to date. I was there for nearly five hours for what was supposed to be a follow up. By the grace of God, my scans came back clear! It’s the best news I could have asked for in my situation, and I prayed hard for it.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you”(7:7).

Although life is knocking me down, I have faith in God that he is making me stronger in my later seasons of life. Because I do believe that I have a purpose and that he is not finished with me yet. I’m not saying all is well and everything is fine, but I’m choosing to seek the good that will come of all of this.

If you are reading this, thank you for your concern. Or if you are just being nosy, then that is perfectly fine too lol I hope that you will take away something from this post, whether it is empathy, gratitude, or pure appreciation for where you are in life.

Sincerely,

Vanna

Top 3 Favorite purple shampoos for blondes

Posted on by Savannah Coaker

Hello Everyone! Todays post is about my favorite purple shampoos for blondes or anyone who has highlights and wants to achieve a bright blonde!

There are SO many purple shampoos out there that you can purchase but I am going to recommend my favorites that I have found do not dry my hair out as much. As with any toning shampoo, purple shampoos tend to have a bad rep of drying your hair out but they are critical for maintaining a bright icy blonde rather than a dull buttery blonde. These three products have all been tested by me personally so this post is based off of my experience using these products.

Now, why are purple shampoos critical to someone who wants to maintain a bright blonde? While some people love the butter/ golden blonde, others want to be Khaleesi herself. In order to achieve this brightness you basically have to cancel any golden tones. Blonde hair tends to look dull when it turns a warm golden tone. So in this case we are talking about people who are already a bright blonde, maybe a level 8-10. Levels this bright are more likely to be yellow than orange(brassy) so you would need a purple shampoo rather than a blue shampoo.

With that being said, purple is complementary to yellow on the color wheel so it neutralizes or cancels each other out. I know you guys have probably heard your stylist trying to explain this to you while in the chair and you’ve probably never paid attention to a color wheel. LOL But it does make sense and there is definitely some science to it!

  • Pureology Strength Cure Purple Toning Shampoo

This shampoo is literally my obsession right now. I have been using it for about two months and it keeps my blonde so bright. I am the type of blonde that doesn’t mind a little bit of silver tones in her hair so I like to leave mine on longer in the shower. Now, Pureology has changed their packaging so the product that I tagged is in a blue bottle whereas mine is in a purple bottle. BUT they are the same product, just newer versus older packaging. I usually do not recommend purple toning conditioners just because they are mostly not as pigmented as the shampoos so I feel as if they are almost useless. With that being said, the Pureology purple toning conditioner is amazing. It is just as pigmented as the shampoo which is awesome because most purple toning conditioners are lavender colored and seem to work the same as a regular conditioner.

  • Pulp Riot Barcelona
I could not find the link to this shampoo but here is what the packaging looks like♥️

I love using this brand. They are so fun and creative with their products. This toning shampoo of course smells good which is important for me! It is vegan and sulfate free so it doesn’t strip color which is great if you are just wanting to brighten your highlights! This particular formula contains quinoa, rice protein and conditioning oils which basically means you don’t have to worry about dehydration in your hair!

  • Wella Invigo Blonde Recharge Shampoo

I first used this shampoo when Influenster sent it to me to review. Wella is definitely one of my favorite brands all around. I love using their color products, and all of the shampoos and conditioners that I have used smell incredible….and the scent lasts. Even after you blow dry. Crazy, right? So when they sent me this purple toning shampoo to try out I was ecstatic. Let me tell ya. It did not disappoint, plus they sent me the conditioner as well! Now, I will say that the wella conditioner works perfect but it’s one of those purple toning conditioners that you could definitely just replace with a regular conditioner.

I hope you guys have enjoyed learning a little bit about these purple shampoos and what they can do for your hair. I always love talking about some bomb hair products so if you have any further questions, you know what to do!

Sincerely,

Vanna

7 books to binge read this summer

Posted on by Savannah Coaker

Hello again! I’m glad that you are here because that probably means that you enjoy books as much as I do! This topic makes me so excited. I could literally talk about books allllll day! No joke.

So in today’s post, I’m going to go over some books that I absolutely enjoyed reading so much to the point that I lost sleep. They were that good. I’ll be going over a couple of different genres as well to fit everyone’s reading scale. I personally love thrillers, mysteries, and romance. I find that I gravitate to those topics more, but I love stepping out of my comfort zone as well and trying new topics.

Ok, so my first four are a series that I loved so much I didn’t want to finish reading them. Have you ever loved a book or trilogy so much that you did not want to finish because you were going to miss the impact it had on you when you were done with it? Please say yes so that it’s not awkward lol Awesome, so yeah that was definitely the case with these books. I could not recommend them enough!

  1. Red Queen

This series is listed in the young adult fantasy genre authored by Victoria Aveyard. This is the first book in the series and let me tell you… I was hooked. I love my sleep, but it was really hard to put this book down at night to get some rest. It kept me guessing and introduced me to a totally different world than I have read about before. It’s about a girl named Mare who lives in a poor village basically because her blood is red. That makes her common rather than having “supernatural” abilities.

  1. Glass Sword

This is the second book to the series! It picks up exactly where the first one left off. It continues through the perspective of a young girl named Mare Barrow who is just trying to survive in a world that couldn’t be more against her. She has to learn to deal with the loss of love and ultimate betrayal.

  1. King’s Cage

This is the third book in the series, and at this point I was sleep deprived. This series was very hard to predict. There are so many twists and turns that it keeps surprising you. This particular book begins to show you perspectives from different characters. I love when authors choose this style of writing. I think it is really awesome that they offer you a look into the thoughts of different characters! I feel like it just spices things up a bit. Especially in romantically involved characters!

  1. War Storm

This is the fourth and final book of the series. I was so sad to be reading the last book! This one also dives into different character’s perspectives, which again, I love! It has a whole lot of betrayal, love, and self discovery. I loved this series so much, and I couldn’t recommend it more. If you liked “The Hunger Games” or “Divergent” you would most likely love this series as well. With that being said, it will be like nothing you have read before. It is so unique but absolutely amazing!

If I happened to have persuaded you to read this awesome series then this set is also offered as a whole, which is possibly cheaper depending on if you prefer paperback or hardcover!

  1. The Chemist

The author of this novel is Stephanie Meyer, who is best known for her “Twilight” series. She is an amazing author and it really shows in this well-written thriller/suspense novel. This book is about a woman on the run from the government because she knows too much. She never stays in one place and always checks over her shoulder. She is forced to change her identity to better her chances of not getting caught. Thrillers definitely excite me, and this one did not disappoint!

  1. The Obsession

So I’m not gonna lie, I was obsessed with this book from the beginning! . Seriously, some books are a slow start for me. I really have to push through those first few chapters to get to the part that really hooks me in. That wasn’t at all the case with this book. It is a suspense thriller that keeps you on edge. I love a good murder mystery that is unpredictable, and I gotta say the ending completely got me. I also love that I gained some knowledge through this book on a psychological level. Now, to get down to it, this book is written by Nora Roberts. It is about a girl named Naomi who is a photographer that is just trying to to escape a childhood nightmare that is her past. There is murder, suicide, new begginings, and Romance. I mean what else could you ask for to make up an epic novel?

  1. The Sister

For my final recommendation, I have a psychological thriller written by Louise Jenson. I thoroughly enjoyed this book all the way through. It is a story about friendship, family, secrets, and regret. The story line is different from any book that I have ever read. Its about a girl named Grace who misses her best friend, Charlie, that has passed. She meets a girl that claims she is Charlie’s sister and everything starts going south from there. I have no doubt that you will enjoy this book if mysteries and thrillers are your thing. It definitely kept me guessing, and the ending is a real twist that I absolutely did not see coming!

I hope that if you choose to purchase one of my book recommendations that you truly enjoy them like I have. I absolutely love to be able to get lost in a book when there is too much going on in my day to day. If you have any questions about this post, don’t hesitate to comment or email me! I would love to communicate with you guys!

Sincerely,

Vanna