DJT on Sisterlocks and Freedom.....

Photo Update

2010-07-23T19:38:00.005-05:00

This is right before a retightening with a 4 day old braidout!

Recent pictures are a coming

2010-07-04T04:47:00.002-05:00

I haven't blogged about my locks in a while and miss it immensely. The locks are still my dearly beloved but for me the blogging was so much more exciting when the locks were new. Since the novelty has worn off and they have matured, at this stage, all I can showcase is the new length. I am primarily a freestyle wearer because to do anything else with the locks by way of styling is such a huge chore. I am so cheap too that I din't want to pay anyone to style my hair either. Even washing it is a big chore. All I can say is that the hair is just a growing and a growing. At this stage, the changes are really just length, length......and believe it or not, more length. It is a blessing and a curse too! I love long hair, but I am finding it to be a bit of a pain at times too. I recently purchased a new camera and have some pics in there of my hair these days which I will post soon, perhaps will show some comparison shots from years 1, 2, and three. I can't believe that 4 years is almost here since my locks were installed! stay tuned......

It Grew Like Wildfire!

2010-01-24T23:03:00.005-05:00

The night before I was retightened. I am 3 now, this is after a fresh wash! I really have hair past my shoulders don't I? In another year...I am going to be in trouble...at this length it is still quite manageable but I am beginning to understand how much work longer hair is...For instance, air drying takes a whole day, well in NE weather..summer time is different. it takes me an hour (if I am lucky) to roll my hair. I have a hard time gathering it all in a neat ponytail because my hands are small, I always have to remove it from under my coat. If someone is sleeping with me, they tend to lay on it...including my cat! (No cat hairs either) This was pre highlight. I feel like the highlights gave it added dimension too. Now y hair is officially 4 colors...but I like it. My color doesn't have to be perfect...each lock isn't perfect either. It is definitely unique though.

Happy Late 3rd Lockversary

2010-01-24T22:45:00.011-05:00

I got highlights and I love it!!My hair is set with small lock loops! day 1 set, I used motions extra firm hair mousse and voila!!! I am 3 now, very mature and just growing....oh yeah, and VERY HAPPY!!

Jada's Braidlocks are 26 Months old!

2010-01-24T22:41:00.006-05:00

jada freshly retightened! She wouldn't let me touch her hair! She actually told me.....I WOULD MESS IT UP! Thats when you know SL's build self esteem and brings out the best of us! Big and little sisters alike

Sisterlock/Natural Hair Gathering

2010-01-24T22:09:00.030-05:00

Ok..I am going to apologize immensely for the very long post and sorry for the dupliactes, I could not remove them once they were uploaded, I barely have time to post pics let alone figure out how to make slide shows and collages and all of that Jazz...since I've turned 3 on 1/17/10 and got a fierce new highlighting job, I wanted to make sure I posted pics becausewho knows when I will post again...So we have a semi-annual Natural hair gathering here in Beantown. It was so much fun! We this time we had raffle drawings for free and even watched Good Hair... so enjoy these pics The first pic from L->is consultant Jacqueline Ashby, her client (I believe) Sharon, and Muah.. we all had out hair set with soft spikes..well I have loc loops but the concept is exactly the same. The 2nd and 3rd pic is my home girl Bern and I, she is getting her install on dones at the end of March by my new consultant Sheryl. She won a giveaway and got $100 off services by Jackie..so Jackie will bless her babies at her 3rd retightening. Once Bern gets her install she will be the 6th person I converted in 3 years! Not a bad track record since it is all passive conversion...just leading by example! 4th pic is Martine and Bern..she is still my consultant and Boston area SL icon, she installed me and will retighten me when Sheryl relocates at the end of the year. Look at my archive and see Martines 1st set of locks..they were 6 in those pics. Last year, Martine had to cut her hair from damage from dye and tension thinned the front of her locks.. Her current set are 3 months old. The 5th pic is of 3 SL sisters...Yvonne, Sheka, and sheryl, my current consultant. Now look at sheryl's babies back in August, and look at them now. they are growing like wild flowers! 6th pic is angela and I. I met her in BJ's when my locks were 4-5 months old! She is lovely. Both of our hair grew like crazy since and I discovered I went to high school with her daughter. Pics 7-9 is my new hair piece. There was a vendor there who sold leather hair accessories. I wish I had more money with me. I was able to get myself 1 and my daughter Jada 1 but I have her number and will be her new #1 customer. The quality of her work and craftswomanship is on point....don't you agree. as you can see, I dye my hair about once per year. Constant dying ruins the integrity of your locks. I could care less about black roots as you can clearly see.

Showcasing another hair piece.

Showcasing Yvonnes hairstyle by Sheryl with a hair piece. I was trying to get Yvonne to buy it but I am not sure she was feeling it...I was though.

Mohawk done by Sheryl. This sister's SL's are babies..a few months old. Isnt she cute though?

This is the back of Angela's hair with a hair piece. Gorgeous huh? I think Angela mght be 5 years old now.

This is the creator of the hair pieces...we were watching Good Hair. It was excellent even though alot of SL wearers were disappointed that it left us Nappy and Proud women out of the loop...Imagine if they would have had a bunch of FINE SL women in that film...WE WOULD HAVE CHANGED THE FACE OF THAT MOVIE!!!

Sheryl when she was doing Yvonne's hair! Little Amari waiting to get her hair done. she is Jackie's daughter, she's 8 and have been SL'd for about 2 years!

Ms. Amari after Sheryl worked her magic!

By Sheryl

Back view!

Me again...look at those naps!! They are BEAUTIFUL!!!! I LOVE MY PIECE!

This is Jada my daughter! jada has braidlocks. They turned 2 in November. Look closely..she only has tiny bits of braids at the ends. This is her new hair piece I purchased. She loved it!

Hey there!

2009-10-15T20:00:00.002-05:00

Me in the ATL. I am wearing a braid out casue it is easy and breezy!

Annual Sisterlock Potluck

2009-09-06T13:21:00.012-05:00

Not sure why I never published these pics but this is at our semi-annual Natural Hair gathering that we have in Boston. Behind me is my soon to be consultant Sheryl. In this pic, I hadn't realized that she was even going to be my consultant but shortly after this event, I called her and she has been retightening me ever since. She typically sets up a booth at the events and styles anyones hair...for FREE. you can't see it in this pic but she also just got herself a new 2nd set of SL's due to dye damage..the second picture is my daughter Jada's almost two year old braidlocks!! The final picture is of Jada and another little sister with braidlocks as well! The 2nd to last pic is of my girlfriend who I met two years ago because she loved my hair! as you can see she got herself a new set of SL's herself..they turned 1 in november!

End of Summer Blues!

2009-09-06T13:05:00.004-05:00

I LOVE MY HAIR! I can't say it enough really. My cousin set my hair on permed rods. it had taken her about 55 minutes to do so and she was not too happy about that at all. That was about 4 days ago and it has a nice loose curl pattern to it which I love, love, love.....Did I say that I love my hair?

Hi out there!

2009-07-06T18:36:00.007-05:00

I dont blog regularly anymore because not much changes with my hair other than the length and my love for it. I did recolor my hair since I originally did it becasue I couldn't take the black roots anymore. I did forget what color I originally used so I just put a copper on top and this is how it came out! In 5 months I will have been locked for 3 years. I am starting to be a source of lock envy to those with either no locks or younger locks! That is a pretty awesome deal too!

Long time no Blog...

2009-04-05T16:30:00.003-05:00

It has definitely been a while since I've blogged. I've fallen off largely because of my new job, I am at a computer 40 hours per week so that when I get home, I have no desire for logging on to the computer, much less up date my blog. The other part of it is pure laziness. I still love my hair and it is growing like crazy. These pictures are a few from my Birthday weekend away with my best friends. We went to Maryland and DC. We had a blast.
I don't do much to my hair due to lack of time. I love curls but can't stand the two hours it takes for me to roll it. I enjoy the braid out but can't stand having my hair cornbraided....I am not complaining at all I am just really beginning to appreciate the time it takes to style my hair as it gets longer. In fact, I went back to letting Martine retighten both my hair and Jada's. DIY is soooo last year! No really, it is just so freakin time consuming I am never in the mood for it anymore. In the third picture, that is my girl from NJ who is rocking 4 month old SL's. Yes, I was her hairspiration!

More pics of jada's 1 year old braidlocks

2009-01-22T21:10:00.004-05:00

My Sisterlocks' 2nd Birthday!

2009-01-22T20:59:00.009-05:00

January 17, 2009 My locks turned 2! I just washed them with Carol's Daughter new black vanilla shampoo. I like it alot too! I love all of her products actually, I still Aveda's Rosemary mint shampoo, but lately I've been wanting to have a variety of scents in my hair. I am showing off because I can finally get a ponytail well mostly, a few locks from the tippity top manage to break free so I stuck a bobby pin in it for the picture however. I am certain that once I am retightened by my consultant whom I haven't had the privilege of sitting in her chair for a whole year, my ponytail will be more official. I will certainly take pics of my hair because once it is retightened.....stay tuned.

Jada's Braidlocks Turn 1 Year Old!

2009-01-22T20:51:00.005-05:00

Look at my locks! They are getting so long! My mom tightened them using the nappy lock tool ever since I got my locks November 21, 2008 but she decided that Martine should retighten them because she said they "grow like weeds." If you look closely you can really see the lock clearly seperate from the braid. Martine and my mom said that one day, the lock and the braided portion will fuse together...i'm not sure what that all means but I surely do love my hair even if I get teased from time to time.

Almost two years old

2008-12-23T00:13:00.005-05:00

In less than a month I will have been locked for 2 whole years! Time flies when you are natural and free! Since I started my lock journey, I have converted three dear friends of mine from perms to Sisterlocks. Seems sort of like a small revolution to me. It feels great to be a bit of a pioneer within my intimate social network and to also be a lock idol to them. Not too long ago, it was I who was "idolizing" everyone else's locks and wanting mine to look just like everyone elses, now it is happeneing to me. I have maintained my locks independently for this entire year too! I have done a good job but as I journey through this year, I may utilize my consultant a bit more, I love saving money, but sometimes, I just don't feel like being bothered. Often times, I join a few of my locks and by separating them I have caused one to be thin or even cut one or two off mistakenly...While I certainly don't like doing this, I don't totally mind because I feel like I have so much hair I can't even notice...... but still. I just want my consultant in my hair to work her magic. In any event, here are a few pictures of my hair as of late. The freestyle pic is immediately after a fresh wash and retightening and the othe pic is of me with a braid out. As you can see, my hair is truly shoulder length. Short to some, but long to me, it even gets caught in my coat....While I always had a good amount of hair, I don't remember ever having to pull it out of my coat. To think this is the beginning...What is a girl to do when it is REALLY long?

Feeling Punky!!

2008-12-03T22:05:00.005-05:00

I've always wanted a mohawk so one of my co-workers gave started me off and I fine tuned it a bit for this funky do...What do you think? I like it....

Happy Turkey Day!

2008-12-03T21:56:00.010-05:00

Thanksgiving with me as hostess with the mostess....so much so, I barely are that day!! But I am still eating!! Yup. I cooked all the food too, even down to the red velvet cake!!

My New Couches

2008-11-03T21:47:00.002-05:00

These are my new comfy couches! They are chocolate brown leather recliners! Perfect for my little animal kingdom to climb on and not destroy! All I need are some curtains, a coffe table and an area rug and my new place will be all set for a while...

I Can't Believe it.....

2008-11-03T21:43:00.002-05:00

I can't believe my hair has evolved so quickly! I love it! Even though it is just shoulder length. I am amazed at the amount of thick hair on my head!

Weird...I know

2008-11-03T21:36:00.004-05:00

The pictures are weird I know but I have this thing where I like ot see what I look like with my eyes closed. Maybe a juvenile fascination with how I may look when I am asleep. I doubt I look this good sleep...maybe a little drool is missing or my mouth should be open a bit. Who knows....maybe one day, I will remarry and can then ask my husband how do i look when I am asleep.....I know, I need a life! It was cheap entertainment if nothing else!

Out and About.....

2008-11-03T21:31:00.003-05:00

I had gone out to a club this night...I just set it on loc loops again and pinned up the sides. You can't see it the top photo but I had a snowflake pin in it. I was a pretty cute accent if I say so myself.

Jada is soo cute

2008-10-27T22:45:00.002-05:00

Jada was getting ready for her first day of school! She had a braid out! Too cool for school!

Gigi

2008-10-27T22:39:00.008-05:00

Another reason why I haven't had a moment is because of this little baby!! this is Gigi my new Jack Russell/Chihuahua mix. She is 4 years old and I rescued her from the MSPCA. Stories of her adventures will come ata later date. Just look at how cute she is!!

Feeling So Pretty.....

2008-10-27T22:36:00.003-05:00

Loc loop spiral set day 3...I was feeling soooo cute this day! I loooooovvvee my hair!!!

Spirals with Loc Loops

2008-10-27T22:32:00.005-05:00

Day 1 loc loop spirals. It took me about 2 hours to roll my hair in spirals. I never tried spirals I usually just roll it backwards but I wanted to experiment. I like!!!

Retightened!

2008-10-27T22:27:00.002-05:00

It's been 2 months since my last post because blogging takes sooooo long. I have been snapping pics but just haven't posted them. I just finished retightening again and washed me hair. It is definitely getting long.

Are Those MY Locks?

2008-08-22T21:49:00.004-05:00

I just went through my blog and was so amazed at the changes that my locks have gone through over the last 20 months! The color has changed to my pleasant surprise it's kind of brownish now, maybe the sun did that, pero me gusta, mucho (I like it alot) and it has grown alot (don't ask me why I am speaking spanish). I am almost fully locked with most of my ends being sealed, especially in the back. Probably 90% of my ends are sealed! There are very few curliques. Most of the locking process has happened over the last 9 months, since I've hit my first year mark. So, for those of you who are watching your locks like watching the grass grow, relaje (spanish for relax) the changes will happen before your very eyes. No, I still am not done retightening, I may have about 40 or so locks to finish but I am sooooo lazy.....I will probably finish them tomorrow and use my lock loops afterwards. I am feeling like a roller set but want to finish torturing myself with procrastinating on my retightening. My sistas out there who have given me shout outs and feedback on whether or not I should listen to my kids and tighten up my dye jobs, I've decided to leave it alone. I do like it better than keeping it all the way dyed. It gives me more character! i'll post pics of my set whenever I'm done! Thank guys for the support.

Almost Done

2008-08-17T21:47:00.002-05:00

I have been maintaining my own locks for the past 8 months by myself and doing a fine job if I say so myself. However, I hate doing the front! I hate it with a mad passion! Look at the top front, see all of the new growth? I finished all of the back and sides but I leave the bang area and half the crown for a while as I complain and moan about needing to finish it. My locks are soooo small in this area though. Not soo small thay they are weak, but the parts are soo small. It seems like it takes forever to finish tightening them all. I feel like for every 10 locks I tighten in this small area, I grow another 20 locks! Me doing it myself is alot better (as in economical) than paying Martine in this market. Besides I do get the bragging rights associated with maintaining my own do. But these teensy eensy locks on top gotta go. I really don't want to combine them at this point because I might regret it later. But I think they look fab even unstyled I just bobby pin it up and keep it moving. I do want to use my lock loops but i refuse until I finish tightening it all. I am not really complaining though, just lazy,really. I love my hair more than ever though. My kids keep telling me to tighten up my dye job too but then my eyebrows seem too dark and I can't be bothered trying to keep them colored to match the locks so I only dyed it that one time back in January. Maybe when the weather is cold and I am bored and have cabin fever i will hide my roots...but then again, maybe I won't. What do you think?

My Family

2008-08-17T21:36:00.004-05:00

This is my Mama and me at the train station going downtown to dinner......

Jada, Jasmine, Mama, and Gracia jr. my lil' sis after we ate pizza and had cannoli's for dessert(a few of us even had the nerve to eat ice cream on top of that).....we had a great time just hanging out on a Saturday night in the Bean.

Stylin and Profilin

2008-08-14T21:30:00.005-05:00

My hair is tightened up and I wanted my hair a little styled. I usually freestyle and make the locks come into my face. My mom hates this. She wants my locks to go backwards like hers but I hate that. My mom just leaves my hair alone and let me be free with them until she wants to wash them and retighten my locks. I think I look cute. Do you?

A Closer Look

2008-08-14T21:26:00.002-05:00

From the scalp to my moms fingers are the "sister" locked areas and the rest are the braidlocks. My hair is growing so much, my mom says I will eventually have double the amount of sisterlocks because of all of the new little hairs that are growing in between my locks. Can you see them?

Braidlocks Doin Their Thang!

2008-08-14T21:12:00.005-05:00

Freshly washed and getting ready to get tightened. It has been 9 months since my braidlocks were installed and my hair is getting so long. I love my braidlocks. I like to call them sisterlock like my mom.

Jada's braidlocks are locking faster than my SL's had. She is actually fully locked in the areas that I tightened with the nappy lock tool. If I were to pin her hair up one could not tell that she has portions of braids in her hair at all. She loves them and even has the hand-in-the-hair-itis. It is soo cute to watch. She loves the bumpiness of the locks too. She is definitely developing her sense of self awareness and a strong sense of self love that is coming from her locks. Today she and I were driving in the car and she stated that she hates it when people treat those with nappy hair mean just because their hair is nappy. Then she followed that with "having nappy hair is the best hair to have. I'm glad my hair is not straight." I am so proud of my daughter.

Its Been A Long Time

2008-07-26T20:58:00.008-05:00

It has been 4 months to this day since I've last blogged because of some life changes. I love change! I will post another day about my journey and believe me I have been on a journey! But I just wanted to get some up dated photos on my blog of my SL's that are doing GREAT! They are growing like weeds and I am loving every bit of it. These pics were taking 4th of July weekend in New Orleans while I went to the Essence festival. My hair attracted alot of attention from fellow festival goers!

Happy Birthday To Me

2008-03-26T11:45:00.006-05:00

Today is my 33rd Birthday! So this was me as I was about to leave out the door for a blind date that I had last night. One final look at my appearance and I thought my hair looks great let me capture it, so of course with Jada as my dedicated photographer random pics and hair shots are always capturable.......This is the same braidout from my last post too! I'm loving it more now with the soft wave. My date went very well too! Well enough to go out on a 2nd date with him this weekend......that is all I will say about that for now, who knows if the future holds anything more then maybe more will be posting about it. For now, I am just going with the flow. I am open to meeting someone but I am in no rush. 2nd time will be a charm so if it takes me 100 years to find him then so be it. In any event, I have no birthday plans today. I am just thanking God that I am healthy and alive. With my kids being at school I went for a jog, something that I have been so lax about it felt really good too. I also just had a beautiful conversation with a dear friend of mine who I can always count on for encouragement and support. So, here is to another joyful year on this earth........

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

2008-03-21T14:10:00.005-05:00

Here is my braidout! I like it even though I feel like I have a Jheri Curl! i lightly spritzed it with Carol's daughter Black Vanilla Leave in conditioner and........ voila!

I Love Washing My Hair!

2008-03-20T23:57:00.005-05:00

All of a sudden I've fallen madly in love with washing my hair! I think it may have something to do with the vast changes that have been happening in my hair since I hit my 12 month mark. For instance, weekly I notice more and more of my ends are sealing up causing my hair to hang to it's full potential. Also, I love changing the styles of my hair. I just set it last week with my Loc Loops. My hair was still quite curly and looking good but it got a little old within 5 days. Well, I just got tired of the curls. So I washed all the curls out and was just going to moisterize it and keep it freestyle but my birthday is next Wednesday so I want to try a braidout. I have't done one in a few months and I haven't done one since I've colored it so here is me with me braids waiting for Jada to come on so I can tighten her up. She is taking forever so I am feeling annoyed. This time I did sit under the dryer but I will still leave them in overnight for a real tight crinkle.

Jada's 3rd Retightening...My 2nd DIY

2008-03-20T23:43:00.005-05:00

It's been roughly 5 weeks since Jada's last retightening and she was looking a bit rough and with it being Easter an all I figured what the hey let me retighten it and not just set it like i had originally planned. This will be the first year in 14 years that I have not spent Easter with my daughters but now that we're divorced and it is my weekend to work, I forgot about Easter. Well, I didn't actually forget but since the time will not be spent with me. For the first time I didn't have to buy dresses and Easter baskets and all of that. In any event, I am retightening her. To my pleasant surprise, it took me three hours to completely tighten her up and to braid her down. I guess the amount of time it took me to tighten my own hair gained me a little more efficiency with the Nappy Loc tool! She adamantly refused to be roller set even though it is Easter weekend! She drives me crazy sometimes but she wanted to make her daddy happy and wear cornrolls! You can see here the amount of growth that had taken place. She didn't seem as dry since i started moisturizing her weekly with the Sisterlock Moisterizing cream.......

All Done

2008-03-20T23:39:00.004-05:00

Her hair is starting to touch her shoulders!

Jada's Braidout....Before the braids are out

2008-03-20T23:30:00.007-05:00

Jada and her sister will be spending Easter weekend with their father so she wanted to wear her hair in his favorite style presuming she doesn't take out the braids. Either way she will have a cute little braidout with a fresh retightening....I will post pic of her braidout when she returns on Easter night providing that she does not wet her hair in the shower like she always does.....UUUGGGHHH!

Jada's Update

2008-03-18T00:34:00.002-05:00

The pics are not the greatest quality here but I wanted to share Jada's progress. her hair is growing quickly and some fo her lcoks have cury Q's at the ends. She seems like she can be due for a retightening but I really want to wait another 4 weeks, I just can't stand looking at her new growth (WTF? I know) More importantly, I wanted to reach out for support regarding what Jada has asked me regarding her braidlocks.......(Sigh) As a mother I have no reason to believe Jada does not like her hair. she since my SL's were put in she wanted some of her own. Even though I can cornbraid hair. I've always had a difficult time keeping Jada's hair looking nice prior to her getting braidlocks. So any way one day about two weeks or so ago she came to me and asked me if she can take her hair down in about a month. Because my mother always used that phrase "children are to be seen not heard" I try to always encourage my girls to use their voice however, I do not want to force my styling preference on my daughter because what if she grows up to hate me?? In any event, I told her no. I waited for like 5 minutes before engaging in the conversation about her hair. So the long and short of it is that she told the kids at school she was groing dreadlocks and they started saying stuff like "white girls can't get dreads!" WTF is that all about??? Jada point blank told me that she loves her hair but if she could just get a perm then her hair could grow down her back like one little girl in her class (who has a perm???). I reassured Jada that if I were to take down her hair, then she is not getting a perm, period. But then I asked her how many of my friends who have perms have hair down to there (point to my ARSE, rather right above it) She correctly said noone. Then I asked her to tell me how many SL'd women has she seen with here down to there (pointing at the ARSe again) she appropriately stated alot. (DING, DING, DING: she gets the prize for that answer Fa sure). She then asks if I promised that her hair would grow as long as Martine's. I was happy and proud to promise her that by the time she is Jasmine's age, 14 is she just left her hair alone then it would be very, very, long. Then I washed and moisturized her hair with the sister lock conditioner and set her with the loc loops. Later on when she was done she said "I love you mommy because you teach me how to love me!" PRICELESS......

On the flip side, my childs hair is DRY! I can't use the same regimine of doing nothing on her hair like I do to mine! it looks dull and lifeless! I can't stand that. It is also smelly. I have to wash her hair weekly instead of every 2-3 like my own! I have some SL moisturizing cream which is really good on her hair. I wash it and let her sit under the dryer for 10 minutes and it looks better but her hair drives me crazy. Even though I was patient with my own, for some reason I am watching hers every second waiting for it to do something. What is up with that? I think I'm rushing her to catch up to mine but that is crazy, I locked mine a whole 1o months before hers. In any event, I can't style it for the life of me one because she really wont let me and two because well, she really won't let me. I guess the freedom of having it locked means that you can be freestyle even if your 8...........

Loc Loops Part II: Other Views

2008-03-16T13:37:00.003-05:00

This set is Da' Bomb!! I am loving how they lay this time. ......thanks Salkis' for sharing that technique!

Loc Loops Feedback

2008-03-14T23:02:00.005-05:00

Here is the first day after I took down the Lopc Loops. They are not as tight as the first time I used them using Salkis' setting technique. I opted not to sit under the dryer at all because I was in for the night but I defintely like how I am not too tight at all.....

When I used my loc loops for the first time and they lived up to their expectation, I wrote Carole of Coils and Curls and the creator of Loc Loops a letter telling her how I loved her product and their effect on my tresses. I also sent her some snapshots of my hair. For me, I think with sisters and brothers embracing their true selves through natural hair and entreprenuers who encourage and foster that love of self and self awareness by creating and marketing a product, it is great to give them praise and support for their efforts. Also, it gives them quality control feedback on the product that they are marketing. So in return this was her reply to my letter and this is what she wrote to me in return:

"BEAUTIFUL!!!! You made my day!!I have your email and photo in a special folder and each time I readit, it makes me smile.My favorite is the one with the sides up because your smile is soooooomuch like someone who just knows they look good!!! :)I love it!I had to thank you for sending this to me.I will most likely add it to the website sometime this weekend... it is too good not to! :)Thanks again,I can't tell you how great it made me feel." ~Carole

Not only that she posted my pics and letter on her website. Check it out on the loc loops website. I feel like such a mini web sisterlock celebrity in my own right!! Now I wish I had been dressed with my eyebrows waxed and some makeup on but my hair looks good nonetheless. I guess that'll teach me to share just any 'ole photo!!

Loc Loops Again....

2008-03-14T17:12:00.005-05:00

With a fresh retightening and a little more length to my SL's I wanted to try the technique that Salkis Re uses when she sets her hair. She pulls it into a high bun so that her curls are not tight to her scalp. My hair cannot be pulled that high as to I don't have alot of length in the back to keep the locks in the bun. Also, it saves on drying time because the hair that is pulled back is not damp at all! Now I loved the curls that the loc loops gave me the last time however they were a little too tight and I didn't feel too cute until the third day or so when they began to fall. I actually really like the way the locks look within the loops itself, I think the top picture reminds me of alien bantu knots! Even though I can't wear these babies out to work or anything like the wrap a locs I still like the way they look in a weird kind of way. Because I am keeping them in overnight I went to Walgreens with them in my hair and people were giving me odd stares, they probably thought I was "special." I didn't care at all, to me it is no different than when women wear hair scarves in thier hair to protect their perms when it rains except I think I look kinda cute! So I will post pic when my hair is taken down.

My First DIY Retightening!

2008-03-14T16:50:00.005-05:00

So I had an appointment with Martine on March 18 for my 8 week retightening however, I had a tremendous growth spurt possibly from the hair, skin, and nails supplement I had been taking three times per day for the last month. This was the first time since I had been sisterlocked that I had been truly bothered by the thick roots! Maybe it is the fact that I had dyed my hair? Who knows but I was growing increasingly inpatient at the sight of my hair and couldn't wait to see Martine. So last saturday after I had worked 12 hours and was trying to fall asleep and couldn't, I pulled out the nappy lock tool and started to retighten my own hair. Now I had only done Jada's once and on one of my previous posts I swear I would never try to do my own hair but I did! Once I started it was like a very strange obsession to keep going. So over five days two hours here and there, I finally finished!

It was really tedious but not hard. As I got to the top I was about to go stir crazy because it seemed like the locks just kept multiplying in number and getting smaller and smaller! A few locks around my temple were ridiculously small so i joined them as well as the two fron and center on my forehead to hid the part down the middle. Now that I am done maybe I will attempt to do them again!

Loc Loops Still Loopy

2008-02-29T07:04:00.006-05:00

So here are some shots of me with my Loc Loop Curls after three days. One is of me with the sides pinned up and the other is immediately after taking down the sides and rubbing a generous amount of the Sisterlocks moisterizing cream on it. At night I sleep with a satin bonnet, wake up shake the curls free and go.....I have been heavily manipulating my curls since I've set them and the curls seem to be here to stay....

Inquiring Minds Want To Know

2008-02-27T00:07:00.004-05:00

I received an anonymous post asking me what type of rollers I used for my first rollerset in the post "Bored No More". Thank you Anonymous for complimenting my hair! I used the hair foam by Motions and this roller. This roller uses those plastic straight pins. I hate this roller. I like the look that it gave my hair but it hurt like hell. I used to use these weekly when I was permed but I guess the fact that I don't manipulate my hair that much caused me to be so tenderheaded!! I also think that my BFF who is permed pulled them so tight in an attempt to "get my roots straight" I think she was doing it out of force of habit but I had to keep reminding her that is the beauty of locked naturalness. You do not have to have straight roots!!! In fact I hated the way my spiraled ends were lying all stretch out after using this roller also. I mean my hair did look really good but it did not last probably because she should have used a smaller roller but also because I like the styling of the lock but I am not a fan of them being really soft or feeling too silky and I felt like I put conditioner in my hair for a few days after. I am not saying I wont set my hair with these again, because I will try my hand at using the yellow roller all over with the Lotta Body setting lotion for the better hold but if my hair feels too "straight" again I wont use the rollers ever again.......who would have ever thunk that I would have ever been saying that??

Jada's First DIY Retightening

2008-02-26T23:49:00.006-05:00

It is time for me to DIY with Jada's 3 month old braidlocks.......I am excited about taking control of her hair........I mean I have always maintained her tresses myself but obviously this is the first time using the nappy locks tool! The following pictures are of the front. I had to do it over two days because of my work schedule. I could have waited the full eight weeks but it looked like she had a ton of new growth but once I was in there, I could see many places where her hair grew alot slower than others.......I can't exactly remember by looking but I think that the first picture of the back is the amount of growth that she had in the back of her head before I actually started working on her head at all. The front shots are after I finished retightening her. I think I did a pretty good job if I was to say so myself. All in all it took me about 4 hours over two days to complete. Not bad for a first time.....I'm sure Jada would beg to differ but she really didn't complain at all.

I'm Very Curly......

2008-02-26T23:38:00.005-05:00

So I got my loc loops and Jada and I played beauty parlor Au' Natural and we washed and set our hair on Loc Loops with Lotta Body setting lotion. These pictures were actually taken the night after. I did sleep in the loops because some of the locks in the back were still wet after 2 hours of sitting under the hair dryer. It was very comfortable sleeping in the loops too. I did not take a picture of Jada because she fell asleep.......so as you can see, the loops makes your hair very, very curly! I like them. But I will like them better as they loosen up a bit!

Loc Loops

2008-02-26T23:23:00.004-05:00

So after my BFF roller set and dyed my hair, I have been fantasizing about roller sets and the high maintenanceness of keeping my locs styled. I've beeen thinking about this so much so that I researched some of my options from other fellow lockers who tried their hand at Entrepreneurship. I really love the way Creyole's Sisterlocks look in the wrap a lock spiral however, I feel personally that if I have to purhcase either a guide or a DVD just to learn how to wrap my hair when I can use a complicated perm rod for free to achieve that particular look maybe I an explore some other options first....now I tend not to be so frugal but we are entering a recession here......maybe after a while I will splurge on the WAL's bundle. But I know me...if i have a hard time the first time, I will give up and waste my money. I am not known for my abundance of patience at all. Needless to say that I purhcased Carol from Coils and Curls Loc Loops!! What really got me sold was the You Tube video how to which can be viewed here:
So you can see that the video is really informative and the Loop works very well. Also, with Jada's braidlocks being 3 months old now, I want to have alot of styling options for her especially when she has to dress up for special occasions.

Bored No More!

2008-02-18T23:05:00.006-05:00

So as I've mentioned in my last post, that I am so bored with my hair, I kept asking my BFF to dye it for me but she was afraid. She is even queen of DIY but she is permed. I kept telling her how easy it would be for her to dye my hair. Finally, we hooked up today and well, I've finally gotten it dyed!! The color is by Creme of Nature Textures and tones "Ruby Rage" and while I was at it, I had her roller set it!! It was so full of volume and body, I loved it. She loved it too, so much so that she took a bunch of pics of me. I felt better than I did when I was permed which was at least 5 years ago. The only thing is I need to get my eye brows waxed which I will do this week so please ignore the mustaches at the tops of my eyes. Boy, I'll tell you, it will take me forever to get bored with my new look. Who knows, maybe I will invest in some soft spikes or the wrap a loc package...can't keep this color freestyling....that was so 2007! So without further ado here is my new look for 2008......

Random Pics

2008-02-04T17:06:00.001-05:00

Lately, I am really bored with my hair because probably becasue I really want to color my hair but it is way too much work for me to do alone!! There really are not many salons that deal with natural hair in this area let alone SL's so I'm left with trying to dye it all by myself. I tried once before and got overwhelmed by the amount of work it took to get the dye throughout all of my locs so I ended up with some highlights on one side of my head!! You can see the lighter areas where the dye had taken and other areas where it had not. Nonetheless, I felt like capturing some pictures of my hair now that is has been two weeks since my last retightening.....so here are some pictures of my impromptu photo shoot.......

Happy Birthday!!

2008-01-17T00:01:00.000-05:00

Time has flown by and I am so blessed to be part of such a wonderful community over the last 12 months.....thank you to all of you who have stopped by and shared in on my journey with me and I look forward to sharing 2008 with you all!

I Am A Woman

2008-01-14T23:12:00.000-05:00

Stare me down if you may
Insult me if you like
Try to clip my wings
So I can't fly
But the key to my beauty
Lies deep within
In the small of my back
The dimple on my chin
bulging with intellect
My waistline is perfected
because I am a woman
Amazing and blessed.

Contain me if you will
Behind the gates of negativity
In the land of all those insecure
Try and hold me back
If you're that unsure.
But the secret to prosperity
Shines deep inside
Near the crooks of my knees
And running like rivers down my thighs
Glistening with happiness
My hair grows thick
Because I am a woman
Strong and ethnic.
-Jasmine, 13

Jada's First Retightening

2008-01-07T18:56:00.000-05:00

Look at my baby getting her hair retightened....it took a whole hour for Martine to work her magic and give me a lesson on retightening which I got the hang of rather quickly. that little area by Jad's ear is what I managed to do without interlocking any of the neighboring locks.....

Martine's Mane

2008-01-07T18:53:00.001-05:00

This is a rear view of Martine's locks. They are 7 years old and I believe she told me that she started with 2-3 inches of hair. Yup she is Da Bom because she maintains them herself and keeps the color tight! No wonder Sisterlocks are making headlines..(see post below)

EXTRA EXTRA.....READ ALL ABOUT IT

2008-01-07T18:37:00.000-05:00

My consultant, Martine and consultant trainee Jacqueline Ashby have made the Boston Globe talking all about Sisterlocks. The title is "Black Women Find Freedom With New 'Do" The article describes SL's as a national movement..."built around the wearer's pride a African-American women and their love of their hair." (The author did forget to say and the love of themselves, more importantly) The article does go into a little more depth and detail even giving a shout out to all of you bloggers....if you want to check out the actual article here is the link: http://www.boston.com type in Sisterlocks for the full length article.

A Comparative View

2008-01-03T19:20:00.000-05:00

The Picture on the top was taken at around the third or fourth month or so.......What a difference 8-9 months make!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2008-01-03T19:05:00.001-05:00

I would like to wish all of you Au' Naturals' A blessed and Prosperous New Year!!

So this is me with a braidout!! One of my Brunsli hair ties broke when it fell and hit the hard marble tiled floors. I am looking a little puffy freestyle but since the only other Brunsli tie I have is red, I can't wear it everyday like today with my pumkin sweater so I decided to attempt this easy styling option. I love it!! I tried this after the first month and looked like a sick poodle and vowed to never try it again. I figured what the hey and I feel so beautiful. At work today, everybody loved it!! I can really appreciate the growth over the past year!

Other views of my braidout

2008-01-03T18:50:00.000-05:00

Jasmine was snapping away while I was cooking supper......

UUGGGHHH!!!

2007-12-10T21:41:00.001-05:00

I just wanted to share something that annoyed me. Yesterday, I was minding my business at the local grocery store and a woman and an employee of the store just walked up to me complimenting me on my hair and asking me who "twisted" my hair in "all those twists" While I was in no mood for a sisterlock educational seminar right at that moment it was all good because they were admiring my hair and that is always a blessing. The annoying part for me came when the woman begged for Martine's information and then begged me for the start up cost. Now my reply to her was this
" it is alot but it is worth it, why don't you give her a call because the consultation is free." My thought process was when she meets Martine and sees her future 6 years down the line, she would be begging Martine to take her annual salary! Anyway, maybe that is just me because i have vision.......Anyway, this woman kept right on begging for the cost. Because I was at the deli waiting for some dang cheese and honey smoked turkey for the kids lunchboxes I couldn't really escape telling her. After all of that begging she had the nerve to look absolutely disgusted at the fact that I paid the price for my hair and proceeded to act like I was the one all up in her face badgering her to get SL's.

Mind you, this lady had some half assed attempt at traditionals that were so bad she had to keep her hat on (yup she did show me) but yet and still she would rather walk around like that than to at least go and experience a free consultation and see for herself. To each is own but I don't get that about some people..........and yup, that annoyed me.........

I Love These Pics: Our Photo Shoot!

2007-12-10T20:51:00.001-05:00

These are some of the pics from our photo shoot. These pics are special to me for various reasons 1) We are all in good heath and spirit 2) The last family photo i had was when Jasmine was 7, Jada was 2, I was still married and was very overweight, not to mention the perm that i had on my head!) 3) This is This is my first home since my divorce became finalized and my FIRST home EVER!!!!! So I wanted out pics to be taken in it! 4) Look at my hair!!!!!It is Da Bomb-Diggity Baby.......I love my hair so much that I don't even mind my little jelly roll belly, hell the way I see it a little gravy goes a long way........well, maybe it will if ever I get a boyfriend.......But I digress, I think the shots came out great....What do you think? Before I go, people often wonder if jasmine's hair is permed...it is NOT, she gets a warm comb throught it once every month or so but she just has the type of texture like her father. She is not really interested in Sisterlocks which is fine by me. She likesthem on me and she likes jada's braidlocks but she says maybe she will sisterlock her hair when she is older. She is a Mommy's girl and I am willing to bet that she will but for now, let me get Jada locked and me well skilled at retightening before Jasmine takes the plunge otherwise I'll need to refinance my home to pay for out maintenance!

A Little Leave in Conditioner.....

2007-12-10T20:23:00.000-05:00

Just becase I just posted that I do not Ever put any conditioner or anything else in my hair I spritzed it with Carols Daughter Black Vanilla Leave in Conditioner. I purchased it for Jada's hair when it was loose I would use it to soften before I blow dried it but now that she can't have anything in her hair until after her settles a bit I decided to treat my hair to some good scents. I love the way it smells but I actually hate the way it softens my hair. My hair is so soft without anything I like it to feel a little "scratchy" makes me feel like my locks are more mature than they are...(weird I know) On an entirely different note these pictures really magnify my botched dye job. About three months ago I was going through some THANGS and decided to dye my hair but noone told me that my locks were going to devour the ONE (yes I know I totally underestimated the amount of hair I have) bottle of hair dye so I did the best that I could and this is the end result. The bottom picture is indicative of how insanely fast my hair goes because those front locks were actually dyed to the roots. I did learn a valuable lesson though, I will NEVER try to dye my own hair again without the assistance of a friend or two to help me work the dye thoroughly through all of my locks AND I promise to buy at least five bottles next time!

Just Washed....

2007-12-10T20:13:00.000-05:00

Forever, i wanted to take a picture of my hair freshly washed but I had never gotten around to it. So I hopped out tof the shower after washing my hair with Aveda's Rosemary Mint shampoo. I like this shampoo because it has astringent properties and my hair feels really clean! My hair produces alot of oils and it looks shiny all the time like I add oil to it. I never add anything to it for that reason! I hadn't even squeezed all of the water out of it yet and you can see the droplets just hugging my locks......I love how you can see the full length of my hair! Ahhh, it feels so clean and smells so good!

Jada's Braidout!

2007-12-10T20:07:00.001-05:00

Jada's hair is really cute and she loves it too! But she is already "tired" of me snapping pictures of her hair already so that is why I opted for the hair shot only because she looked like she had a bit of a tude......so I ordered the nappylocs tool because I will maintain these babies myself! I don't want to have to shell out the bucks for her maintenance as well as my own but also, Martine says I can use the tool to start to retighten myself......Not really interested in the self maintenance thing but I think I can handle Jada's.....w ho knows maybe I will get really ambitious and tackle my own head one day............I doubt it but I will keep my edges tight! The way I see it, the more money I save on hair maintenance the ore I can spend on the hair ties and lock charms for my "little natural diva!"

Jada's First Wash!

2007-12-10T20:01:00.001-05:00

Jada is getting her hair washed for the first time! I didn't count the number of braids but I am going to let her hair dry in the bundles to see if she likes this styling option! You can see how neat Karen Williams have installed these braids. She is a natural salon owner and also a proud Sisterlock wearer so she knows Jada's locks have to be perfect like Mommy's. I am forever grateful to both my consultant Martine and to Karen for hooking us up!

The Love of My Life!

2007-11-30T19:02:00.000-05:00

Jasmine and Jada are my most precious gifts........

Look At The Difference......

2007-11-30T18:58:00.000-05:00

The top photo is of me with my first Brunsli hair tie, The Maddox, about 2-3 months into this journey and below are the most recent of me......my, my how my hair has evolved.....Still lovin' it!

10 Months...But Who's Counting?

2007-11-30T18:54:00.000-05:00

I was on my way to work and was retightened about a week prior. They seem to be starting to lose the battle against gravity. What do you think?

Working My Brunslie Hair Tie!

2007-11-30T18:52:00.000-05:00

I am so feeling these shots, from the front I feel like I have a poytail!! They are not long enough to get a decent one but they look damned good! Look at the lose one by my ear, it is getting nice and thick (for a Sisterlock that is) and got some definite hang time!
I love this hair tie, it is slightly to big for the length of my hair but it is gorgeous (Thanks Brunsli!)

Too Close for Comfort

2007-11-30T18:50:00.002-05:00

I had Jada take a picture of the back and this is whatI got......I like what I see though!

Back of Newbies Head!

2007-11-30T18:50:00.001-05:00

I through a few perm rods in them for a little pizazz! she loves them!

Braidlock Newbie!!

2007-11-30T18:47:00.000-05:00

So Jada wants Sisterlocks so my consultant suggested to put some braids in and she will show me how to maintain them and retighten them! Jada loves her braidlocks. They are super cute! It will be quite interesting to maintain them myself but I can't afford to le my consultant maintain both of us and I can't imagine maintaning my own so we will see how this goes. We are waiting for the photographer to come to the the house for our holiday photos but I curled them with perm rods and put a head band on! Isn't she lovely?

I'm back!!

2007-10-01T21:02:00.000-05:00

So I know I've been lost forever to the blogging world but that is because alot has happened since my last post. Now that I have managed to move forward since a little minor obstacles I can focus on some of the things that i;ve done for enjoyment such as blog.. So here I am in my new home after a fresh retightening almost 9 months into my sisterlocking journey and marvel at my experience and how good my locks are faring!

I will add to this posting my progress at the weight loss post from way back in June. I did manage to lose about 10lbs from the fat-free stress diet that has managed to overwhelm me since june. So Yes, I did get that weight off but not from exercising. Now that I have moved and have reestablished myself and kids and placed my treadmill in fron of the TV and the stereo to avoid excuses, I should be able to keep off the weight!

The Side

2007-10-01T21:01:00.000-05:00

Just got my doo done up and am pleased with the progress so far.....

The top

2007-10-01T20:59:00.000-05:00

This is the only place where you can see any scalp at all once it is freshly retightened. Thank goodness, the days where all my scalp are showing for all the world to see are almost gone forever!

The back of my freshly tightened locs!

2007-10-01T20:54:00.000-05:00

A Sisterhood Reunion

2007-10-01T20:50:00.000-05:00

Sasha came to check out my new home and warm it up with me and my family. We had a great time. She no longer works with us as to she moved on to bigger and better things for herself but it is always my pleasure to be graced with her warm presence. As usual we both have our cameras but we somehow can only manage to get one shot of us together. We didn't even bother to take pics of my new place or the other guests......

Trying out a bang....

2007-10-01T20:41:00.000-05:00

Here is the head shot. My locs have begun to lay down so I have been pulling up the sides for a little versatility.

The Day Before I Get Another Retightening

2007-10-01T20:38:00.000-05:00

I will be getting retightened tomorrow and because I have not posted in 3 months or so. I had Sasha take a quick snapshot of my locs so to post for all to see. They look amazing to me!

Just Me

2007-10-01T20:34:00.000-05:00

Here I am trying a new styling option. I have been twisting one side and leaving the rest to hang freestyle.....I can see the amazing growth since I've last posted.

My New Best Friend!

2007-06-29T17:46:00.000-05:00

As I searched for fellow blogger to tag, I read a post by NaddiiHeadz, "My Own Personal Celebrity Fit Club" and she spoke at length about her quest to get back to her pre-baby weight. I was inspired by her particularly since I put on quite a bit of weight over the last year. Now since I started my blog, I really hadn't delved to deeply into anything personal about myself because my life is pretty boring so it is quite easy to keep my focus on my locks. However, now I'm reaching out to the blogging community to cheer me on from cyberspace to help get me back on track. But before I give my statistics, let me start with own weight loss story......

I was never a fat child but was always a self proclaimed, bootylicious, thick chick. Now before jeans sizes shrunk, and Americans became more obese than ever beforeI was always a true size 8-10 and lovin it. As a youngster, I was able to never exercise and eat anything I wanted until I became a mother. Now, my youthful metabolism plummeted at 19 when I had my first child as well as my waistline....I'm sure that sounds familiar to many mothers out there. Anyway, 2.5 years after the birth of my first child, I started to learn about weight management and exercise. I learned so much that I lost 40lbs. I was flying high and returned to my old lazy self and old, junk-food diet. So less than a year after I lost the first 40 lbs, I gained 20lbs right back. But I was okay with that was until 2.5 years later, I gave birth to my 2nd child and gained 42lbs on top of that. Now when I give birth, I do not bounce back at all. I may have lost 15lbs at most and the rest stayed put. I hadn't exercised in so long that I was totally unmotivated to restart besides, how was I going to be able to fit all of this fitness/nutrition stuff into my hectic life? So needless to say, with a fulltime job, two kids, and a failing marriage, I gained another 20lbs over the course of a few years. I hovered at 190lbs for 3-4 years.....Until.............

The tragedy of 9/11 ocurred and I lost my job. Because I was gainfully employed for the last few years since I graduated college the first time (1999) I hadn't realized that the job market was dismal. I was faced with no employment and no dough...Yeah, the ex-husband had a job but he kept his loot for himself, yeah I know what your thinking but I told you the marriage was failing didn't I? So the only job I was able to find was at LA Weight Loss. I took the commission based job and let's just say among so many other positive, life changing events that I lost about 50lbs and like 23inches all around. I went from a size 16 t0 a size 6 in 4-5 months.

Initially I was super skinny and I was definitely not bootylicious. Based on how the program is designed, I was given a chance to reintroduce all foods back into my life. I also knew what is was like to regain weight back that I had recently loss and I was determined to not go there again. I also was starting Nursing school at this time and I usually am a stress eater so, I taught my self how to jog moderate distances and started to strength train. So over the first three months after I lost the weight, when I re-introduced all foods back into my life I did move up nicely into a well toned, bootylicious fox......I was all of that and a bag of hot popcorn, a dime.....but my head is not big though.....this was also during this time that I lopped of my healthy shoulder, length, bleached blonde, perm. I adopted a fade, and was loving life. My new natural look kept me very motivated to stay thin because who wants to be fat with no hair? Not me......I was straight for three years which brings us to the winter of 2006.

So now, the ex and I are threw and I was out of school but I had completely given up jogging amd strength training. I went through the expected ups and downs associated with the divorce process. While my self esteem hadn't taken too much of a hit, I noticed my jeans not fitting qute right and my love handles slightly returning, but I was okay with that. After all, I wear scrubs to wrok, it's cold out, etc. I know my body and I guesstimated about a 10lb weight gain. Note, since I lost the weight I never had a scale at home. That is because when I worked as a weight loss counselor I realized the insignificance of what the number on the scale reads. Some of you reading this may rejoice at that and some of you hard edged athletes may say, what the hell is she talking about. But my rationale is that there were some very thin women who weighed more than me and some very fat women who weighed less. And when I was at my thinnest, I weighed alot more than one would think I would weigh so as I went through my own journey, I used the number to quantify my goal, once that was reached I gave it up for the look and feel of my body in my clothes and how comfortable I felt in my skin (i.e, Is a fine brotha that I may find myself dancing with going to feel rolls when he touches me while we are boogying on the dancefloor, are my thongs creasing where my love handles are, can you see my thong from the side or can you only see gut and butt, are my thighs rubbing together? Among some other unpleasant realities, but I digress.) Come on ladies, you know what I'm talking about. That is with exception to the monthly spot checks on my mothers scale.

So, since I've been locked I've been trying to remotivate myself to get rid of my guesstimated 15-20lbs that I've regained. Now I have maintained some lifelong benefits of my time at LA as well as my Nursing background that attribute to my longterm success. These things are:

1) I only drink water, and coffee but no cream and sugar, I'll take mine with skim and splenda, thank you

2) I never fry food

3)I'm an avid friend of bread that is 45 cals/slice

4) I eat the RDA of veggies/protein

5) My complex carb intake is minimal

6) I bring a healthy lunch to work everyday and never buy fast food

I know your wondering how the hell did I gain 15-20lbs over the last year then, huh? tell the truth.....that is because I do have some hangups....

And they are....

1) I stray from the right dietary habits more than ever and that is at least 2-3 times per week

2) I get away with it because I use my job and the fact that no man is currently seeing me naked as an excuse to stray and be lazy

3) I haven't been able to figure out how to get my head out my ass long enought to exercise regularly.

4)Did I mention I'm an avid fan of martinis? Well, how else am I to get rid of my daily stress of an ex that needs to step up his game in the fatherhood department and my save a life job?

I'm definitely not a raging alcoholic and I do not drink daily but enough to count them as carbs that attributed to my weight gain.

With all of that being said.....I hope you are still with me. I'm still loving life and I feel so free, beautiful, thick, bootylicious, and sisterlocked and it is a total plus that babydoll shirts and dresses are in vogue so I'm totally able to hide my kangaroo pouch, (my ex used to call it gravy, I think that is a riot) I was at my BFF's house and her husband asked me if I was pregnant last night. UUUGGGGHHH!!! OMG!! I shrieked as I was about to cut him in half but instead I released the knife and gasped for air and my world suddenly looked bleak. Noone has asked me that in over 4 years. WAKE UP CALL!!! Bigtime, That was all the motivation I needed........I woke up, went jogging today, and did not stray at all. I went to the grocery store and stocked up on wholesome nutrition. During the course of my day I did meet my new best friend......

So we all know that true friends tell the truth and not just what you want to hear so what my new BFF told me was that I need to lose 15lbs (See I told you I know my body) So if you're reading this, please check back and offer your words of wisdom and encouragement, I decided that Saturdays will be my weigh in and I will track my progress weekly....thanks for listening...Peace

Sand Scultpure Exhibit

2007-06-27T18:21:00.000-05:00

Apparently, this exhibit is an annual feature at Hampton Beach in New Hampshire and is quite impressive...The entire thing is made of sand.....

How Did They Do That?

2007-06-27T18:20:00.000-05:00

I am amazed at the detail in this sculpture....

Sand Sculpture Exhibits

2007-06-27T18:18:00.000-05:00

More Amazing Sand Sculptures...

Testing My Sisterlocks at the Beach

2007-06-27T18:12:00.000-05:00

It was a really hot day in New England somthing like 96 degrees of heat and humidity so the kids and I packed up and headed to Hampton beach in New Hampshire. My hair seemed to really like the salt water.....no sand in them either......

A Sisterlock and Natural Hair Potluck BBQ

2007-06-25T17:04:00.000-05:00

I spent my day being blessed by the presence of so many Queens. These Queens all looked regal and sophisticated with their natural tresses. They gave me much to look forward to as I venture on my journey. This was my first natural hair gathering since I've only been locked for 5 months, I was definitely one of the (lock) babies of the bunch. I had a great day enjoying fellow Sisterlockers and hearing about their journeys, and hair care tips, and whatever else folks were willing to share. There was even a sister there selling her beautiful creations of ethnic jewelry too. Also, we had great food, Sisters (and brother) threw down on the spread. A most inspiring moment was when the one brother there with Brotherlocks was asked by one of the sisters how long that he had brotherlocks his comment was, "I'm okay with my sexuality, I actually have Sisterlocks, there are no such thing as Brotherlocks." His locks were gorgeous too, I'm sorry I don't have a picture to post....But for all of you brothers out there, take heed!

2007-06-25T17:03:00.000-05:00

To see Sisterlocks in person are to be impressed by them, but since you were not able to see these ladies up close and in person, I tried to capture their true essence by offering a back view of some of the guests that were in attendance at the Potluck.

Aren't They Lovely?

2007-06-25T17:02:00.000-05:00

Ladies representing Boston at the Sisterlock and Natural Hair Potluck BBQ!

Smile Pretty for the Camera

2007-06-25T16:59:00.000-05:00

Yes, these ladies are very pretty with Sisterlocks, I had a great time chatting with all of the ladies at the Sisterlock and Natural hair Potluck.

Say Cheese....

2007-06-25T16:55:00.000-05:00

Check these ladies out lookin good in their Sisterlocks! JLMAshby on the right has well over 600 sisterlocks in her hair. To check out her journey and her photos, see her link that is listed. She is also a consultant in training and maintains many clients. She has also retightened my locks before.

Boston Beauties!

2007-06-25T16:46:00.000-05:00

These lovely ladies are representing Boston with their beautiful sisterlocks. Martine, my consultant, is in the middle in orange. Her locks are 6 years old. The other ladies have all been locked for at least 3 years. For those of ya'll who say that locks look good on everyone else but you, you can see here that Sisterlocks look great on everyone.

I've Been Tagged!!

2007-06-20T12:55:00.000-05:00

Fellow Sisterlocker/blogger Sony Tagged me!

What this means is I need to give 7 random facts/habits about myself to those who tagged me and then report these things on my own blog with my list of 7 things as well as these rules. Then I have to tag 7 others and list their names on my blog. I also need to leave a comment for each of the tagged, letting them know they have been tagged and to read the blog. So.....

7 Things About DJT

1)I'm deathly afraid of heights

2) Someone I met recently convinced me to ride on a motorcycle...and I did it!!

3) I used to have my nose, tongue and labret pierced (labret is on your face, not private parts for those of you who don't know!)

4) I used to drive with my right foot

5) I'm very sensitive

6) I love petting zoos

7) I have 2000 slow jams on my Ipod

Now I tag........

Seedofeve
naadiiheadz

Sasha and I

2007-06-20T12:22:00.000-05:00

This is Sasha, a beautiful woman in person and spirit! I'm trying to convert her to the world of Sisterlock sisterhood! Any shout outs for Sasha, particularly for those of you who have transitioned with a perm? That would be great. Thank You.

Wake Up!!

2007-06-20T12:14:00.000-05:00

I'm at Jada's awards ceremony that was hosted by Jada's after school program for which I am also a dedicated board member for. My good friend and co-worker, Sasha is also a very talented journalist and was covering the event but has also been following my journey. (Sasha is transitioning from perm to natural and is considering Sisterlocks) I worked for the entire night and only slept two hours so that I can be there for my baby so the result is I had a hard time opening my eyes wide enough for the picture. Thanks Sasha!!

2007-06-20T12:11:00.000-05:00

I always try to give a broad view of my locks each month for those of you pondering whether or not to get Sisterlocks. Martine says they are totally settled and have definitely started to lock. I think they look great!

2007-06-20T12:08:00.000-05:00

This is just a closer look at mt locks without pulling them back right after they were retightened. My ends are closed and naturally curly-Q'd but I did keep them braided just to see if I was going to like the crinkle look with a fresh retightening and I do, I don't look like apoodle at all!

Retightened!

2007-06-20T12:04:00.000-05:00

This is right after my hair was retightened. I put on my hair tie so you can see the detail associated with the wonderful artistry done by my consultant, Martine. I love her work. She makes my journey so enjoyable for me!

A Growth Spurt

2007-06-20T11:55:00.000-05:00

This picture is the night before my third retightening. I've been locked for now 5 months! I've waited eight weeks from the last retightening until this one. At first I thought my hair was slipping but this picture confirms that it has indeed grown quite a bit.

Reflection of the Day

2007-05-16T12:40:00.000-05:00

Free of limitations+++++++++++++++++++
Any limitation you encounter is not in the situation itself. The limitation is in the way you choose to interpret and respond to the situation.As such, you have power over every limitation. Because those things that appear as limitations are powered by your perceptions.Yes, the difficult situations and challenging obstacles are indeed real. Remember, though, that you can decide to see them and to respond to them in a positive, empowering manner.There is always a way to reach the destination you have chosen. Focus not on those things that appear to be limitations, but rather on the goal you have set.It is easy to blame this limitation or that for your lack of progress. It is far better to find a way to move beyond the challenges, for that is where you will experience the success you are meant to create.Decide not to be a slave to your limitations. For you can always choose to be the master of your possibilities.
Ralph Marston

Have they grown?

2007-05-15T21:09:00.000-05:00

Not sure, my hair was at least 5-6 inches to begin with but with all of the shrinkage and stuff I couldn't tell once the locks were installed. The growth part does not make a huge difference to me at this point because it is getting warmer and I'm used to being faded. I really can't tell if it has grown at all.
But speaking of hari length... I was picking Jada up from afterschool and a lady with beautiful shoulder length traditional locks was exiting the building and she said to me "locks at that length are the best!" So I say, "yours are gorgeous too" She then says, "thanks but they're not your length!" It was one of the best compliments I could have received because a year ago I was suffering from lock envy and now someone was publicly returning the favor. Who wudda thunk? Not me.