CHERISH THE TIME and

LAUGH OFTEN

My high school classmates (1991)planned to get together last Friday night and go to our high school's basketball game and then for happy hour afterwards. A great time was had by all though we had just learned of the untimely passing of one of our classmates (a young woman whom I have known since 1st grade AND whose family lived across the street from my parents as kids...who are still there by the way). It seems unfair that someone so young (34) should leave so soon. Have fun, enjoy life, laugh and let the bulls$%t of life roll on! We will miss you Dee!

DELTA SIGMA THETA SORORITY, INC.

13 JANUARY 1913

HAPPY FOUNDERS' DAY!

a few of my lovely sorors posing for a photo op during a breakfast at work on Friday, 11 January 2008
yours truly in front with jacket

DROP IT LIKE IT'S HOT!

Now, let me explain the title. The sides of my hair, literally, seem to have just dropped over night! I mean, length is occurring, but the sides appear longer all of a sudden. I take most of my pics while at work during my planning period and this is the best shot of the length.

This 2nd photo, though not clear, shows just how long it is. I go back for a retight in January. My last retight was in November. I go every 8 weeks and I ALWAYS see a difference in its length. And interestingly enough, my sides were not the longest section of my hair when relaxed. How could you not love natural hair?

(taken 6 months before installation)

2.5 YEARS...

...and the love affair is still going strong!!! I hit the 2.5 year mark on 14 November. I can remember at the beginning of my journey visiting blog after blog, drooling over pictures of healthy, long and gorgeous locs with anticipation. I used to think "I can't wait until my hair is long" or "Will my hair ever grow?" Well, I am here to tell you, it's doing its thing! I started with 2 inches of new growth and relaxed hair. My hair has NEVER grown so fast, so quickly! That's not to say that I have not had my share of issues (losing locs, thin locs, slippage) but the positives so outweigh the negatives! So for all my newbies...just relax, be patient, and enjoy the trip. The length will come!!

(these were taken

november 8)

CAN LIFE BE ANY SWEETER?

I really don't think so! Needless to say this is halloween with the only REAL men who matter in my life. I am pictured with a mini, much cuter version of Shrek and a police officer for whom I would intentionally cause an infraction just to be pulled over. This was taken at my baby boy's in-home daycare center prior to going to the mall. And while ALL parents think their children are the cutest, absolutely most adorable coagulation of cells on this earth, mine were truly all the rage! Check out the photo of complete strangers (shoppers) clammering for a photo opt with Shrek and his sidekick cop. :-) We ended the evening with dinner, a bath, a few pieces of candy and snuggle time with mommy in her bed. All in all, it was a sweet day!

all natural at work

These are a few of my lovely colleagues, one in particular is most lovely (note the photo above)! They are recent converters to the natural life. Aisha, my soror, has loc extensions and Sam (a member of the pink and green) is in her 4th week of sisterlocks. She has been natural for a while now, but finally made the commitment to the life. I've wanted to put their pictures on my blog sooner, but never got around to taking any photos until now. Aisha has had her extensions for about a month and a half. I have been sisterlocked now for 29 months or 2 years, 5 months. There are other natural folks at the job, but these are by far a few of the coolest natural people at work! :-)

I HAD TO DO IT...I JUST HAD TO!

I have been (had) been tinkering with the idea of re-coloring my hair for a while now. After having it dyed the first time, I pretty much 86ed the idea of dying it again because I didn't want to become a slave to coloring it. See once you start, ya gotta keep it up. Well after many sleepless nights and several questions about my roots (from those less vertically challenged than I) I decided to go for it, as you clearly can see. I got more highlights than before. For this reason, I am sooooo stocking up on Taliah Waajid's Protective Mist Bodifier which I just absolutely LOVE and using the Sisterlocks Reconstrutor Conditioner (as a leave in) every two weeks (which happens to be my current ritual). Oh well, I guess a slave I shall be after all cause I so LOVE my color! Go Joy (colorist at EcoColors) ! You rock!

"EXCUSE ME, BUT ARE THOSE SISTERLOCKS?"

While playing around with the camera (yes like most folk, I have become a wee bit narcissistic), I noticed just how much my hair has grown in 27 months. I started with 2 inches of new growth and have, oh I don't know, a lot more!!! Monday, 6 August was my first day back at work (I'm a teacher) and 4 women asked me if I had sisterlocks. One woman was in such awe of my little locs, she trotted me around the breezeway to show my hair to a few of her friends. One was in the early stages of sisterlocks and another woman just had to know what I did for my hair to have so much bounce! Isn't it amazing what some cheap, beauty supply sponge rollers can do! OH, HOW I ADORE MY SISTERLOCKS!

HIGH SCHOOL CLASSMATES

These are a few of my friends from high school. We met up a local restaurant to discuss and plan a gathering for our graduating class (1991). The cute chick on the left is my cousin / BF Leronica, the handsome dude (who was cute but not as in high school BTW) is Chad, me and my bestest friend, Godfather-extraordinaire to my two boys, James! Not a great shot of my hair, but I had supa-dupa tight curls earlier in the day. It rained and was humid that day, but I think it held up okay considering the weather. Another reason to get locked up!

LIKE AN ONION

This is a shot of my hair after a wash and condition on 26 June. I took it (forgive the glare) with the help of a mirror. The conditioner allowed for a better view of my layers. I have been asked by several people on different occasions about my hair...Did you cut it in layers? Was your hair layered when it was relaxed? Why is it growing like that? I can answer with no, apparently so, though I didn't realize it, and I have no idea. What do you think?

I'M GOING BACK TO CALI

I recently took an all expense paid trip to California (Oakland, San Francisco, Napa, and other surrounding areas) and had a WONDERFUL time! It was my first visit to California and I LOVED it! I am planning another trip for the Spring. The natural air conditioning was yummy, the citizens were friendly and most of all, I didn't have to worry about hairstyling!!! Oh what freedom Sisterlocks bring!! Freestylin' was the theme for the vacation...No cares about hair, no cares about time, no cares about what was or was not happening at home and no cares about the weather. It was gorgeous. The scenery, equally as gorgeous. The view of the mountains and hills was breathtaking. .I am soooo in love with this new place. Though I took a zillion pictures, I selected a few for your viewing pleasure. They are photos of me at a winery (Chateau St. Jean, I especially liked the Riesling and I don't drink and I don't like wine) in wine country and aboard a defunct trolley at Fishermans Wharf and at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (freezing by the way @ 58 degrees). And lastly a special thanks to my dear, dear friend who made the trip possible and unforgettable! Love ya lots! :-)

TURNING MY BACK ON THE PAST

1. Wow! It's been a while since I posted but I am back! Without getting too incredibly personal, one of the worse things that a husband (ex now) could do to a wife with two small kids happened. I was sad, hurt and stricken with the overwhelming feeling of betrayal. Though I am not quite where I want to be, I am in a TOTALLY better place thanks to the love and support of friends and family :-). Through all of the unwarranted chaos heaped onto my children and I, I have learned that I must turn my back on the past, accept the things that I can not change, and focus on my promising future! :-) HAPPY TWO (5.13.07)YEARS (locs) TO ME!

OUTTA SIGHT, OUTTA MIND or ABSENCE MAKES THE HEART GROW FONDER?

I personally think it's a little bit of both. This blogging business can be time consuming. I just knew that I was going to be one of those who blogged faithfully on a consistent basis...yeah right. My blog had become like my tatoo, fun upon first getting it, but forgotten about after a while until someone comments about it. I hadn't given it much thought until a co-worker inquired about them, thus the creation of this post. And since my last post was about my weight loss (which is 26 lbs as of 16 jan. yes, thank ya very much), I decided to keep with the weight theme. The first pic is a post workout and the second is a pre workout shot. I wanted to show my preferred 'do of choice when I prepare to sweat. Anytime one takes a photo of themselves, it never really captures the real details...at least when I do, it doesn't. Maybe clicking on it will make it larger for you to see what's really going on with my hair.

I'M SUCH A LOSER!!

I figured the title would captivate you! It's true... I am a loser... of weight that is! If you don't know by now (I mean, if you haven't read my introduction) I am a fairly new mommy. My son will be 9 months on 1 December. And like most new mommies, it is my desire to return to my pre-pre baby weight (the weight before I had my 3 year old). In this photo, I had lost 14 lbs. My total weight loss to date is 20 lbs ! (well at least prior to Thanksgiving it was). While my sisterlocks are not the highlight of this entry, it's definitely worthy of sharing!

THE HIATUS IS OVER!
Well, it has been a while since I posted (like 20 July or something). I have not had a lot of time. My maternity leave officially ended (started 28 February) when the school year began (sigh). Working full time, parenting all day at work and then at home doesn't allow much time for blogging. I took this picture at work Thursday, 2 November after many of my students (and some I don't know) commented that my "dreads were fih (fire)". Of course they and I look so much better in person.

I participated in a photo shoot for my stylist this past Sunday. I will post pictures from the shoot. The pictures really came out pretty. Check back and check 'em out!

RITES OF PASSAGE

There comes a time in every man's life when he...must get a haircut!!! This is my 3 year old getting his first ever haircut. I've been braiding it since he was a little over a year old and figured it was just time. No, I don't have photos of me crying (which I did). My husband's response after laughing at me was you could've paid somebody to do it every week. Well you know what, even if I could, I thought "neh". I just had another boy 5 months ago on the 1st of August, and realized that I was tired. While I absolutely loved his braids, it was his time to transition. Maybe when he becomes a big boy {bigger :-)} he may decide to revisit his old style. Oh, this was before the barber started. This is his "You are not my friend" expression. And yes, the cut turned out cute, my baby is not quite a baby anymore. He really looks like a young man now!

STOP STRINGING ME ALONG!

I felt compelled to share a few pictures of a

couple of my damaged locks. This is a lock

next to one along the hairline. I discovered

this fragile one the day prior to coloring my hair. I showed

the colorist and told her to tell me if it fell out during

the coloring process. Suprisingly, it didn't. It literally

is hanging on by like 3-5 strands...at least that's how it looks to me anyway.

The lock above is the immediate neighbor to the pic of the 1st lock. As you can see, it too is threadlike, but further down the lock. The pic to the left (taken after completed installation 5.14.05) is the wee lock that would not stay put to save its life, and now is like thread. I have been so nervous about it falling out that I just want to cut it and just start over from there, but I am gonna chill. I usually retighten my own hair but uh, uh not this time, no way. I am gonna let my girl Dee take care of it for me due to these issues. I am getting it done on Thursday.

LET THE BLOGGING BEGIN!

Well, this is my first post to my blog. I am hoping to maintain it. I took this pic while chilaxing in my most favorite chair and watching Noggin (not by choice). I have photo documentation of my journey, which began 5.13.05, and hope to post photos of it soon.