End of December Pics

...Till next year!

30 Something

What I have learned:

Relationships are important... knowing how to maintain them is equally important.

What people do carries more weight than what they say.

When you love yourself... I mean truly love yourself, others will follow suite.

Quality is better than quantity.

If it doesn't fit... well, you know the rest!

I read, retain information and study better alone. Not a group person.

I'm an introvert with extrovert capabilities... and that's perfectly fine.

It's not easy being green... it's even harder being black.

No one owes me a darn thing!

Work smart... not hard. (works for me)

I was born to teach.

I'm attracted and intelligence. (I break for nerds)

I don't understand why but... I don't tend to care what others think.

My fav colors are the colors of Fall.

I'm a healthy size 12 and have no plans to change it... why should I?

I will always love junk foods.. .even after 15 years of being a vegetarian.

I will always luv my first love.

I'm never too old to learn.

Titles mean nothing to me. It's all about the person behind the title.

I except that I'm not great at math...but ask me any English or History question.

I love to laugh but I am in no way silly or goofy.

I'm always perceived as being too serious... I did mention I love to laugh right?

In my home I run a dictatorship. Period.

There are some things I will not compromise on. (no swine comes through my door and I will not allow my daughters to relax their napps) But I am flexible on others things ;-)

Just because I have undying love for my people doesn't mean I love some of our ignorant ways! (Lawd hammercy!)

What have you learned?

Month 7

My, how things have changed!

I haven't blogged here in a while but I'm back. Since I last posted here, I have relocated (work & home), started school (doing great!)and am on a journey to reconciliation (more about that later... perhaps).

Things are still going well with my locs. Nothing new under the sun though. I did have the pleasure of starting my eldest sisters locs. I even styled them for once and it was sooo cute! It was hillarious how confused she was about how to wash them... I simply told her "err.. umm... you just wash um like normal hair girlie! LOL" It's been cool watching her journey and helping too. I started hers with small braids like mine, and they actually look just like mine.

Well... Don't have any pics right now, but I will in a few weeks. Stay tuned.

Mid Journey

Most of the back portion is sealed. I have been clipping a bit here and there to keep things looking the way I want it to... Nothing drastic though. I have been pretty defiant along this journey so far, in that I style often. The only negative (I don't perceive it as such tho) would be that it's taking longer for the front and sides to seal. No biggie. They will in time just as the back has.

I am enjoying the journey and having fun doing whatever the heck I want! But don't get it twisted though.. I am taking very good care of my baby locs. I wash once a week and am currently doing a deep condition after every wash. My routine has been working perfectly for my hair. I haven't experienced any dryness so far. I have switched from using caster oil after washing, to using evoo. At first I found it was very oily, but now my locs seem to just soak it up. I am using about a quarter size amount in the palm of my hand. I will go back to caster as it gets colder. I don't latch very often. I think maybe it's between every 3 to 4 weeks that I maintain.

I haven't found the need to use all the fancy on-line products lots of folks rave about. My staples are: evoo, water, caster oil, and whatever I choose to use for a deep condition, which is currently ORS Replenishing Pak with added evoo.

I haven't been doing a lot of spritzing lately. Just a little sometimes in the morning to wake up my hair a bit.

I don't miss my loose napps as much as I did at the beginning of my journey. I guess I am nearing the end of my mental transition from loose naps to locs.

I know for sure that I have made the right decision in choosing to lock again and the method of bradlocz. I am grateful for all of the information I was able to find on-line and all of the ladies who shared there experiences and pics that allowed me to make a final decision on what method to choose. I luv doing it myself... plus I get to take all the credit when I get a compliment ;^)

To date, I have not received one negative comment about my locs. Not even a nasty look (well... not to my face anyway). I think perhaps it is partly because of my resolve, confidence and the fact that I will let folks know who inquire, how much I luv nappy hair. Also, I am not the influential type, so ones opinion carries very little weight with me.

If your thinking about locking or going natural or locking, and your getting flack from family and/or friends, remember... you need to be happy with self first and foremost! Make a decision that you will be pleased with at the beginning and end of the day, and those who truly love you will follow suit... sooner or later ;^)

BTW, the pics in the previous post that you cannot view currently, will be back on-line very soon.

Purpose Driven Life

Today I received the ultimate compliment (that a teacher can get IMO)from one of my students. She said with much sincerity, that she is learning soo much in my class and that I am a good Instructor. She explained that she had taken the course b4 with very little success because, in her opinion the other instructor did little more than write things on the board. Of course I came to the other persons defense because I know full well what it's like to be blamed for a students lake of comprehension ;-)

Her words put a smile on my face, but I felt very humble. It is of course my goal to reach each and every student in a positive way, but of course we know that doesn't always happen... but to know that I touched even one lets me know that my choice of career, is the right one (for this moment in my journey) and that again proves to be very fulfilling!

Here are a couple pics of a roller-set I did a couple days ago:

Progress (month 4)

The Beauty Of Change

Often times, we scoff @ the thought of change. Were comfortable in our current state. Thought of the unknown alone, is enough to send us into fits of hyperventilation... but change is good.

We don't always see the why of it, and don't always welcome its arrival, but hindsight proves that there is beauty in it none-the-less.

Of course the in-between stage can be difficult and awkward like a teenager, but in the end we are (often times) able to say we are stronger and more wiser because of it.

Can you imagine being upset every time the Seasons change? We know it's inevitable. If we learn to embrace it, things would flow much smoother... If we don't, it only leads to depression, anxiety and a host of other possible mental ills.

I am going through a host of changes currently... My decision to embrace them and not fight them has made for an easier transition. I thank the Creator for growth and maturity!

I see so many folks going through the phases of their loc journeys. Many have angst, because they want the journey to be smooth and predictable. They see the end results of someone who has gone through their up and downs and get excited at the thought of what they want theirs to look like in a matter of months. When it doesn't, they get discouraged and some even give up.

What I would like to say as a sister who has been there and done that, and is now doing it again... is that, THERE IS NO SHORT CUT! You must embrace the journey... or at least learn to. Other wise, as I stated above, you will be constantly frustrated and unhappy with what you see in the mirror.

In a world that hasn't learned to embrace natural hair, we can't afford to be unhappy with what we see in the mirror beloved sisters (and brothers). We need to have confidence if we are to change this society's standards of so-called beauty. If you go out unsure, trust and believe, someone will change your mind with just a few ill comments and you may just find your self falling prey to that "creamy crack" yet again.

Be strong, embrace change, and 'except your own and be yourself'!