Holy Braidlocs Batman!

Has it been a couple weeks since I've blogged...ooh must be a case of the holiday heebee geebees! Okay it has been extrememly busy, a loved one in the hospital, Christmas, New Years, party throwing,business functions, lots of get-togethers and the list goes on and on. Is this what it's all about? There's something about the holiday season, even for people that don't celebrate, that makes people act different. What is it? Anyway I've been tagged...again. Seriously by now yall are probably like c'mon sis...more random facts about yourself...lol. Anyways here are the rules.
1.Link to the person that tagged you..... I was tagged byNiki
2.Post the rules on your blog
3.Share 6 non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself that have not been shared already
3.Tag 6 random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs
4.Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

I'm tagging

1.RockinLocz
2.Mai-ty
3.Dr.LocsII
4.Fuchsia
5.Iasade
6.Bored Nappy

Now for the foolishness...

1. I'm going to be a millionaire one day, not because I want to buy fancy stuff, because I want to help a lot of people and need the funds to do so.

2. I love painting. So much that my husband refuses to paint when it's time to paint a room in the house. Honestly I feel like it relaxes me. Maybe it's the fumes...lol

3. I love ethnic food. Please don't eat at my house if you don't like seasonings..especially garlic.

4. I like reading self improvement books. If you don't like where you're at right now it's because of decisions you've made in the past. Why not educate yourself on how to get your most potential.

5.I multi-task too much. Sometimes it prevents me from getting stuff accomplished.

6. I can't wait to see how my kids will be as adults. They're pretty awesome now just imagine how they'll be in 20 years.


I have noticed more changes in my hair. It's been 4 months and I didn't even realize it! I think it's grown a bit as well. Most of the ends are sealed. I've continued with my same routine of weekly washes on Mondays and daily water moisturizers. I have not used any products....at all. Just water. I'm sticking to it unless I find some other miracle solution that makes my hair grow down to my butt in 3 days.

That's all for now.

Happy 09 People!

Random Pics

So I just happened to look in the mirror today and realize that I need to latch my hair. It will be four months on the 16th of December. Typically I'd be itching to latch, being very impatient and wanting to do it too early, but something has changed. For some reason I'm not so worried about latching now. I've stopped styling it, the HILD has gone away and the most I do to my hair is wash it once a week and spray it with water daily. I've had the chance to connect with some loc'd sisters over the weekend and they too use only water. Seems the more product you use the more your hair becomes dry and brittle and full of dirt. I guess it's true what they say. Less is more.



Me and Snoopy

Why thank you !

Are those Sisterlocs? One of my volunteers asked me today. She actually has Sisterlocs but wears her hair wrapped up so I couldn't tell when questioning her about her hair. I told her that my love of Sisterlocs led to my DIY loc quest and the discovery of braidlocs. I've met more women and men this year that are loc returners, meaning they're on their 2nd set. Many of them either complained that their first set was too small or too large and opted for the opposite for their 2nd set. This is funny to me because I catch myself getting nitpicky over a loc or two that isn't the size I wanted it to be and my Snoopy reminds me to calm down and leave my hair alone..lol "You're hair will never grow right if you keep bothering it" he yells at me. I need that tough love sometimes.

Also to keep my hair moisturized I keep it simple. Water mixed with conditioner in a spray bottle shake it up and spray it on. Also my hair was feeling weird this week so I did my 1st ACV (apple cider vinegar) rinse. Due to the trial and error of many other nappies out there including my mother, I knew better than to use a lot. 2 tablespoons to 32 ounces of water in a basin. My hair felt much better, less weighed down.

I'll post pics this week I promise guys !
~Blessings~

Getting down to business

Has it been two weeks since my last blog ???? Oh my goodness the holi-day-itus must have taken over. I won't blame it on that, it's just I've decided to do something I should have done a long time ago. Take my business serious, instead of treating it like a hobby. Things are great ! Family is coming over for Thanksgiving, I'm really excited because I love entertaining. My hair is just doing it's thang. Honestly I'm forgetting about it more and more, which is good. I wash, moisturize and go. I haven't even styled it for 3 weeks and my HILD is lessening due to the fact that I have other things racing through my mind. Alas I must go and finish my collard greens... I will catch up tomorrow. Blessings to everyone and enjoy your Thanksgiving !

TAKE TWO !

Well I must say that for a very long time I've tried to avoid it. I pretended like it wasn't bothering me. However being the semi-structural person I am, it ate away at me every day. Yes folks I redid a loc. Took it down and did it over. It's one right over my temple, for some reason it started to bother me. I kept telling myself you'll get over it, just leave it alone,it's been three months it'll get better. Yeah right ! That thing was driving me insane. So down it went. Took me about 10 minutes to unloc the lil bugger. This made me realize just how far my hair has come ! Yes they still look like little braids but they're getting there and I'm seeing some length because I constantly have to move them outta my eyes, but a sista is NOT complaining about that ! Hopefully this will be the last one I have to take down and redo. Honestly this WILL be the last one I will take down and redo.

Granny don't like it

My daughter has asked for me to loc her hair on and off for the past 3 months since I've started my journey. I know most of you are like "So what's the problem ???". Personally I know my child, who is only 6 and who changes her mind like she changes her chapstick with seems like a new flavor every hour. My spirit is not moving me to loc her hair at this point, however we have talked about it quite frequently and in due time she will have them if she wants. Recently she told me how my grandmother told her that she would not want her to get locs. Honestly I was not surprised. I can't even escape a comment about letting my daughter wear an afro or afro puffs. First thing to come out of her mouth is "Oh my gawd it's nappy !" To that I always reply "I didn't know it wasn't supposed to be ?" I have had numerous talks about certain subjects mainly hair that really should not be discussed negatively with my daughter. Yet she is from the old school, the if it ain't white it ain't right school. I don't think my daughter has decided to not get them because of her grandmother's remarks. I've always taught her that what ever she was given was a gift, curly hair, big lips, wide hips whatever. Just today she asked could she wear her fro...I smiled and thought to myself how proud I am of her to have so much positive self love. It reminds me of how when I think I could be doing so much better as a mom that I'm not all that bad after all.

Some changes

I've committed to leaving my hair alone for the past month. I've done my bantu knot-outs about twice, keeping in mind the more I mess with this stuff the longer it'll take for it to loc properly. I've also been wearing hats, one because it's friggin cold and two for HILD prevention. I have a serious HILD problem. Are there any clinics out there for this???


It'll be three months soon November 16th and I can see a huge difference. Also I've had time to focus on more things besides doing my hair, I mean even when my hair was natural I'd be fed up with doing it daily. This wasn't because I didn't like my hair, I just never felt like I had enough time to do it in the morning. Anyway with winter creeping up on me I've taken immediate action to moisturize with olive oil, castor oil treatments and drinking more water. My skin gets so dry in the winter its ridiculous. Drink your water ladies and take vitamins !

Oh and here are the costumes I made for my kids, African princess and a dinosaur Thank God it's over !

Sew busy

I've been really preoccupied these past weeks, there is a lot going on. It seems that with Fall arriving I'm playing catchup with a lot of things. Home and work both have unfinished tasks and with the decision to learn a new trade just adds more quirkiness to it. My kids decided this year their costumes would be a dinosaur and an African queen. Of course me being the artsy weirdo I am decided to make these myself. So my DH bought me a sewing machine for my birthday and I've been getting used to it...slowly...lol. Besides that my DH also decided to redo our bathroom so for over a month now things have been a bit hectic, one day I came home to no walls and no sink, then no floor ( did I mention I have small kids ) Can you say disaster. I never felt so dirty after getting out of the shower in my life.

Also for the sake of my blog my hair is growing like crazy, I just latched it a week ago and already there's some new growth, funny I don't remember it being this way when i wore it in an Afro...hmmm. With the weather changing to a colder climate I'm anticipating the dry scalp and hair and here it is. I've started doing hot oil treatments, Castor oil that is. The regimen goes as follows :
1. 2 Tablespoons of Castor Oil
2. Warm in microwave for 15 seconds
3. Rub into hair and scalp
4. Wrap hair in plastic cap or towel
5. Sit for 10 minutes or longer
6. Let air dry
7. Carry on with daily duties

Really simple. You can get Castor oil from your local pharmacy. Who knew that nasty stuff was good for your hair ! I'll be blog stalking..I mean searching for more winter remedies to share, until then stay happy and nappy !

Who's that talking ?

I have the habit of reading more into stuff than neccessary. This has worked in my favor most of the time. It has given me the abillity to see the light at the end of the tunnell even when it sometimes seems so dim. Some call this intuition or your conscience talking to you. I see it as God's voice gently and sometimes not so gently showing us what we need to see even though it may not be clear in the beginning. How many times have you thought,I should have listened to myself from the start. I believe we recieve red flags that we either choose to ignore or pay attention to. These are warnings like yield signs along a highway. We cruise along carelessly never thinking that an accident could occur...But when it does we somehow realize just how foolish our actions were. Some want to blame the other car for the accident and angrily lash out. Some blame themselves and carry it as a burden and become so depressed. Then there are those who see the accident for what it was. A mistake. They tell themselves that is was an accident, and from now on they'll be more careful and cautious with their ways and hopefully they are.

I know personally I have about 100 pages of accidents and mistakes...thank God for redemption and having enough compassion to look past our blemishes. I do wonder at times that without those accidents and mistakes would I be the person I am today. I don't think so. Most blemishes give us a story to tell and wisdom to pass on to someone else. Nothing is a coincidence everything is going as planned. Gosh I love life and all the wealth I've been given. We are truly blessed.

Before and After

Wigged out photo shoot


The Press and Curl

Installation of Braidlocs

Braidlocs Bantu Knot Out Month One


Natty Dred Month Two

Yowzers, have I come a long way. When I look back on these pics I can remember what exactly was happening in my life, is it weird to say that my hair was a reflection of it ? Does locing one's hair mean something more than its just another hairstyle or is it a reflection that you on now on a different path ? How is this different from wearing your hair natural in general ?

I was approached at work yesterday by a woman who said she loved my hair and she wish she had enough courage to do hers the same. At the same time another woman asked "What are those ?" I replied "I'm letting my hair loc." she gasped and said " You want your hair to look that way,Locs make you look different !" I replied "How much more different than I already look now?" It's already started to loc in the back I'm just waiting for the front to catch up. The woman who complimented me said " I love locs and I want them I think they're beautiful." She went on to say how her cousin has them and her hair is down to her bottom.

When I first cut off my permed hair I was only 17, ten years later people's criticisms don't have the same effect. Ten years ago I would've questioned myself as to whether or not I made the right decision. However I notice that no one with their hair in excellent condition has ever made a negative remark. It's always some bald around the edges, weave too tight, braids hanging by the strand woman who questions my hair decisions. I'm not biased against any one's hair choice. You do what makes you happy and what feels right to you. I personally choose to wear my hair natural, there is nothing that anyone can say to make me change my mind. I hope that others out there have the courage to stick it out and not fall under pressure. If you can't do locs at least do it natural get to know the real you.

Is 30 the new 20 ?

I don't know but I'll soon find out in 3 years. Until then I'm going to continue to happily live my life. Today I turn 27 and I'm grateful to still be here living the life. I know God has major plans for me some of which I've yet to embark on. I'm so thankful to have the wonderful life that I have and all those I share it with especially my lil ones and Snoopy. I don't know where I'd be without them....

Walmart, Dinosaurs and Madness

Disclaimer: Political views mentioned on this page are strictly the opinion of a well educated black woman and do not represent the views and policies of all locs wearers. lol

I've tried hard to stay away from speaking poorly about this election that is coming up but when I hear poppycock like .Walmart having meetings about not voting for Obama, that's when I get p'd off. Of course Walmart has denied these accusations saying that it would not pressure their employees in such a way but I beg to differ. Why would Walmart the glorious corporation do such a thing in the first place you ask ? Well it's simple, Obama is co sponsoring the Employee Free Choice Act, which would allow labor organizations to unionize workplaces without secret ballot elections. Allowing their workers to unionize causing hefty dues, the possibility of a strike without compensation and causing fewer jobs with the rising cost of labor according to Walmart.

What I find interesting about this is that if Walmart can make time to have meetings to discuss politics with their employees why can't they find solutions to their already existing problems. As far as fewer jobs....um when did they start paying the employees so heftily there in the first place and treating them fairly, giving workers a reason to stay . Walmart has been in the news constantly about their discriminatory practices and policies Now all of a sudden they care about their employees, please spare me. The only reason why most employees stay is because they have to and face dire times without that paycheck not because they are on the Walmart Bandwagon. I will not be shopping there again,instead I'll hit up some other stores that probably treat their workers the same...uggh We need a black Walmart, maybe Jamalmart.

In other new I have taken on the task of making my children's Halloween costumes, um not really thinking about what I was getting myself into. So my son wants to be a dinosaur and my daughter an African Queen. I have managed to sew the pants and shirt to his outfit so far...by hand. The Queen outfit should be easy some fabric for a dress a head wrap and some jewelry. My outfit will be a tired mom complete with food stains on clothes and bags under my eyes with two dolls taped to my legs...I think it's creative.

Last but not least I have just been informed that I've been chosen to be a Maid of Honor for someones wedding...um yeah bring the madness on. Can i help incorporate traditions of St. Lucia and it's Caribbean atmosphere into an outdoor space in lovely Philadelphia ? Stay tuned to find out...

Hey Thandi I need some help on doing this head wrap properly help a sister out.

Weight off my shoulders...well off my neck to be exact.

The results are in. My wash condition and latchin' session took me about 2 1/2 hours to complete. Of course in this time I was running after my 3 year old, cleaning up and talking to Snoopy. So approximate time it took to latch I'm not sure. I only have around 120 something locs on my head, my head is really small...lol so it never takes me long to do my hair. Oh and I was tagged....again...I know you folks reading this are thinking...hasn't she told us just about everything the last two times she was tagged ?!?!?

1. Link to the person that tagged you.....

2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Share 6 non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself that have not been shared already
4. Tag 6 random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.


I was tagged by BrownSuga

I will try my best to find 6 random people to tag.

Okay here it goes...again:
1. I am named after an African country
2. My daughter is named after an African tribe.
3. I have no tattoos and only my ears pierced.
4. I love dipping french fries in milkshakes.
5. My favorite number is 7
6. I am an only child however I do have half siblings
(Papa was a rolling stone)

I am going to tag : Bougie,
Everything but the kitchen sink,
Chinuelocs
Party of Five. These are all awesome bloggers and you should defintely check out their blogs.

I will also ,for the next week, be dabbling in more vegetarian dishes. I used to be one long before I had kids and sometimes think back on how if I'd had better knowledge and guidance I probably would've stayed one...ah well I'm off to make spinach and potato curry YUM !

P.S. All my vegan and vegatarian bloggers out there hit me up and send me some good recipes ! Bless.

I think it's time.

To Latch away that is. I've been walking around for the past week looking like a natty dread. Which is good, just telling me that it's time for a latching. As you can clearly see the naps have taken over.

Since I've never gone into detail about product use, and there's a reason why, I might as well do it now.

Products: Water, Olive Oil, Dollar store shampoo. The green bottle contains water and conditioner which I mist on my hair daily. And my daughter's pony tail holders,also a dollar store find that works very well, I might add.


And of course my handy dandy latchin' tool It's a little paper clip that I bent to form a needle like shape and then used tape to secure the edges down. I actually got this idea froma MsButterfli on youtube Thank God for people who are willing to share their secrets, I'm sure it's saved me hundreds of dollars. Bless up to all the DIYers out there, the way things are going nowadays there will be a whole lot more of that DIY going around. Stay tuned for the latched results...

Just Desserts or just wrong ?

I found this video a two weeks ago, I believe I was browsing for something about Africa and locs and somehow this video about the poor whites in South Africa. I was a bit surprised. Of course being American and ignorant to so many things that occur in other countries, I've always had this assumption that the whites in South Africa were living quite nice. This video shows different. Accusations against the government who fought against racism are now using it against the poor whites that live there. Is this trues ? Well I'm not from South Africa and I cannot certainly attest to those who are speaking for themselves in the video. If what they're saying is true it's interesting. Does the government there believe that these people are getting what they deserve because of what has happened in the past...What goes around comes around, but when does the cycle stop ?

History, Hurt and Healing....

Found a great little site that goes in depth about the history of dreadlocs. While it's a style that has become somewhat mainstream and I mean that in a positive sense it's still a style that many don't understand fully.

Now I'm a firm believer in choice. However you want to wear your hair is your decision. I don't condemn those who wear their hair relaxed, wear weaves or wigs. I don't think that constantly nagging someone on how they should live their life, wear their hair, or what foods they eat, will get them to change. From watching this. video there are some upset and hurt people out there. If you want to convince someone that what you've done works then simply live by example. War does not achieve peace.

Complaining does not achieve desired results. Instead that negative energy pushes people,places and things away from you. If I think that I can help my girls who still wear their hair relaxed into transitioning with less fear and more ease then why not do so by showing them.

And with that being said...I am slowly counting down the days to my latching. This time I will incorporate a pedicure, manicure and massage into this monthly ritual. Mmmmmm can't wait.

Random Amusement

Side Cheese
Me and Double E

From Untitled Album

From More Summer 08

You can feel good about HOOD milk....ha ha

And so now it begins...

Last month as you might recall, I cheated and latched my hair about a week early. Here I am now with about an inch of new growth and it's driving me nuts. My latch date is October 16th which just so happens to be my birthday...which means I will not be latching on that day but I at least am going to wait until that week to do it. I read somewhere over the weekend that the more you have your hands in your hair the longer it will take to loc. This also includes styling it as well. I'm not sure if this is true or not but I'll see. For the next 2 months I will be wearing it in less styles. Just my trusty ole headbands, and possibly some head wraps that will insure my HILD lessens. The International Locs Conference was a beautiful event and definitely a needed gathering of strong minded folks. The main focus was not solely on Hair, but moreso a unification of our people. Some of the speakers were Junious Ricardo Stanton,Dalani Aamon,Batin Ashante,AndElizabeth Wellington,among many others. I did enjoy the demonstration of the Wrap a Loc and also the discussion of Eating Healthy with Cherron Perry. It was absolutely enlightening. So what did I get out of this you ask ? Well for starters I've always wanted to find out so much more about my heritage and african roots and thus my journey has started with finding out the truth about African history. Which here in the U.S. consists of two pages in our history books if even that, oh and they only talk about Egypt...like that was the only African Kingdom ever...*rolling eyes* Also giving more of this knowledge to my children. Over the weekend I asked my stepchildren what did they know of Africa...2 of them immediately replied "Nothing", 1 replied that Islam originated there, because he is Muslim and he has been taught this. This is scary. Our children know hardly anything of their past ! We certainly cannot rely on our school systems no matter how good some of them are to teach our history ! It's time to wake up.

International Locs Conference

The International Locs Conference Is today in Philadelphia in the Northern Liberties neighborhood. I'll actually be meeting up with some other women in a Natural In Philly Groupthat I found while websurfing for women in the area who rock the natural style. I'll post more about it later on. Until next time..

The Pony Ta !

Hoo hoo lookee who has a new updo. I wore it to work today. I think it looks cute and keeps the locs outta my way, well I'm not tripping over them yet. However they do get crazy every now and then so this is a good way to tame the lil beasts. I hope no one had a seizure looking at these pics cause my sweater looks bright as heck !

Goodness Tagged again.....

I know you guys are wondering seriously another six things that we need to know about you...I'll try and make this more interesting than the last. If that's possible.

I was tagged by Babydoll

The rules are, you must list 6 non important,quirky,crazy things about yourself.You must also show the link of the person who tagged you. And last but not least you must tag 3 other people....I think...but I'm only tagging two, because most blogs I've run across lately have cobwebs on them....

Here we go...

1. I must admit that I have a weakness for men with locs, I've been known to stare,it's a horrible, horrible flaw of mine that I'm working on. There is something majestic about a man with locs in his hair, I really don't know how to explain it. Snoopy knows this so it's no big secret,maybe I can convince him to get some...*fingers crossed*

2. I really enjoy helping people and am choosing to stay in my line of work because of that reason alone. I could easily obtain a job where I'd make 2x's the amount I'm making now, however I believe that helping a greater good will benefit me much more in the long run.

3. I realized this year that what we want is not always what we need, and vice versa. I have learned to trust my intution aka my spidey sense.When it starts to tingle thats my cue to get to steppin.

4. Keeping negative people around for the sake of having company isn't worth anyone's time. I'd rather be alone and be happy than to have associates always whining and crying about how they're a victim of today's society

5. I will to live to see a day when black people are just considered people. When we hear of breaking crime news, and instantly hope it's not a black person, a time when we'll realize as a people that we're ok as teachers, and homemakers just as much as a basketball player and a rapper. A time when the victim mentality will cease and the empowered mind will replace it. When we'll realize that our families being together is important. Other cultures get it why don't we ? I could go on and on but I'll just end it there.

6. Last but not least If I can reach at least one person a day and make them smile and show them that they have so much to be greatful for then I'm happy.I've been blessed to have people in my life that have shown me things to get me back on track so I'd like to return the favor to the world.

With all that being said I'm tagging:
My girl Thandi And
JustCharlotte

Soo Addictive

I ran across this game over the weekend, it's soo funny. You'll have to copy and paste the link in your browser.

http://www.mcvideogame.com/

Wondering.....

I'm not starting to trip about the fact that it's going to be a while until my hair looks like locks and that people are looking at me like " what in the world ???, when is she going to take those little braids out...?" Lol

Or the fact that lint in my hair bothers me and my hair bonnets are escape artist...I find them laying under by bed in the morning laughing at me....

I'm not going to get mad at those little lint balls that I pick out of my hair or that I catch trying to get embedded into my locks, I will gently toothbrush them out and keep it moving.

I'm going to laugh at the fact that people say "But what if you want to change your hairstyle ?" Because I've worn it in a different style just about every other week, while they've had the same style since I met them..

I'm going to take my sweet time walking in the rain with no umbrella while other sisters scatter in fear. I'm going to remember that I was given this beautiful hair for a reason, and be greatful that I even have hair on my head to begin with. I'm going to be happy that I can have a simple yet plentiful maintenance plan with my hair and know that water is not my enemy...lol

I'm going to reflect on my decesion with locking my hair and know that it's more than a fad and that they ain't going nowhere

I will know that my options are only as limited as my imagination, which by the way is unbounded with creativity. I can only say to those thinking if they've made the right decision to know that they have and have courage to advance gracefully to the unknown domain of lockdom.

Book of the Month.

The 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management. by Hyrum W. Smith

I trained my self about three years ago to speed read, well not super speed reading but I can finish a book in about a day or two. I realized that I had not be utilizing this skill to my advantage and have taken on reading this book. I have until Sunday to finish it, because I have a million more books to go ! Anyway it's very good for those of you looking to get some things in order for your life. I always suggest some positive reading back up by your spiritual beliefs with these two things in retrospect you're always on the right track.

Law 1 is You control your life by controlling your time. Enough said right there. How often do we use excuses as to why we can't accomplish tasks, spend time with our loved ones,take a vacation or most things in general ? Number one answer is not enough time. When actually we have unlimited time.

The defintion of time in the dictionary says

Time is a continuum in which events succeed one another from past through present to future

So my focus for this week is to better learn how to control the events that occur in my life,instead of constantly reacting to the events. Granted there are things that we have no control over like sunrise,weather or death. However we can control how we react to these events that occur.....

I challenge you to focus how you react to events that happen this week, if you don't like your results then do something about it starting with changing your thoughts towards something positive.

Braidlocs Month in Review

It's Been a month ! Here some pictures from this month in review..

You can definitely see a difference especially in the back of my head before and after latching in the pictures towards the end.

The Misinformed

It's amazing how many people women and men are so misinformed about their culture. I realized just how blessed I am these past few weeks to have a spouse that's supportive in everything I take on, crazy or not this man has got my back.

I had a chat with a friend about the dreaded perm. I was explaining to him or at least trying to about how they were bad. We started this discussion over a "Just for Me" kids perm . I stated that it's a shame how people bring their children up thinking that it's okay to burn out their hair. He assured me that nappy headed children needed help, because their hair was too hard to maintain. It was much easier to just throw a perm in a child's head to make it more manageable. Okay by this point I was so upset, then he went on to say that his kids luckily had his good hair.

I asked him "So nappy hair is bad hair ?" and his response was " No I'm just saying it'd be easier on the kid and the parent if they had nappy hair to just get it permed !". Now if this brother was educated a little better about "our" hair, I'm sure he'd feel different. It's a shame how we bring up our children thinking that something is wrong with what they've been given. Just imagine having a child born with a disability and reminding them constantly that something is wrong with them, how is telling a child that the hair on their head be it not straight, is wrong, any different ?

How many women out there are longing to go natural but because of poor support systems choose not to out of fear. I've had sisters tell me that they can't go natural cause they're man doesn't like it. I don't mean transitioning with braids or weaves natural, I'm talking about my hair is 2inches long and I want to wear it out today natural....the Afro puff natural, the hair doesn't even fall past my ears yet natural...

How sad is that, Is it really that bad out there my sisters. Are we afraid of what's underneath the weaves and braids and wigs ? Is wearing our natural hair more than just a hairstyle is it seen as as statement, why ? Why can't it just be a hairstyle. When the caucasion girl next to you at work dyes her brown hair blonde do we think she's making a statement or that she just wants blonde hair right now. Why should it be any different for us ? Do we form our own prisons with self afflicting negative thoughts of our own hair ? What can we do to change this projection and help others ?

I cheated....

I was supposed to wait until the 16th of this month to latch...but...I did it on the 8th *smacking hand* Bad girl Tunisia, bad girl. Lol !!! I just really got tired of fooling with it and I had enough new growth to latch until the cows came home, So I latched away.

Also I got tagged by three people over the weekend :
http://divalareine.blogspot.com/
http://ofoslocs.blogspot.com/
http://yooforea.blogspot.com/

So here it ladies...

The rules state that you must

1. Link the person/people that tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Share 6 non important things/habits/quirks about yourself

• While I was pregnant my husband told me that my stomach jiggled like Santa Claus' stomach.
• I used to be a size three(sickly), now I'm a nine. Thick and lovely
• I love to create things of art, paintings, jewelry, clothes, pillows just about anything.
• I named my daughter after the Ashanti people of Ghana, I have to remind her every now and then and explain why.
• It was supposed to rain on my wedding day, I mean really really bad, T-storms heavy winds, however my faith told me that our wedding would be just fine. Turned out to be over 80 degrees that day Sunny and clear. Worrying means you have little or no faith in God that he'll work out your situation no matter how bad you think it is.
• I believe that people will only go as far as they believe they can go. Everyone's viewpoint is different and it makes no sense to fight against what someone else believes. People will change when they believe they are ready for change. You cannot have a war on drugs, peace or anything else and expect it to have a positive effect.

Now with all that being said, I'm tagging the following people MUAHAHAHA *evil laughter*

• LocMocha

• LocJourney

• Eyedinity

• Akire

• HannahRay

Sheesh this was kinda hard I think I need a nap... I tried to tag people who have braidlocs and or are early in their loc stage. Hopefully I did this thing right...I was under so much pressure..lol

All in all keep in touch ladies :)

In such a short time

First week...

I've got two more weeks to go and I feel like my hair is growing like a bush weed. I have urges to latch my hair, and they're spontaneous. I'll be watching TV and look over at the tool I created out of a paper clip (throwback latch) and have to stop my self. Ok I'm lying I latched four braids in the back. just to see how'd they come out. Um can you say {awesome} I have a week left until I can do the rest of my hair. Anyways I've noticed some things in this short time.

• Is there a natural hair revolution going on ? Maybe it's just in Philly but everywhere I go I'm noticing more and more women who've either taken the big chop and are rocking short cuts, have locs, or some other natural hairstyle. This is great !






• Learned some things about my hair. 1. it's not as dry as I thought it was. 2. The more simple the product the better, I got my white rain shampoo $1 and some olive oil $4 and call it a day.

Twisted in back&side




• My hair is in different lengths all over my dang head. 4", 6" I think it adds to the uniqueness of my hair.






• Some of my parts aren't straight, and that's okay cause it's too late now. I can still rock a fly style with crooked parts.






• People are starting to ask me questions about my "little braids". How long did it take ? How will they turn into locs ? Was it hard to do ? Can you wash it ?






• The back of my head feels like it's locs than the front. I've read that in many blogs, not that I'm a blog stalker or anything.....ok maybe just a little.






• This hair is more than just a fad, more than just a style for me, it represents a whole lot more.
  
  
  
  
  

It's a virtue

Patience.

Something that is spoken of so often when reading blogs of people with locs. What's most common is the phrase " I though I had patience...but...". Patience is one of those things that progresses and matures as time goes on. Before I had kids I was very impatient. After having just one I thought I was a pro. After the second one was born I realized I was a coo-coo for thinking that I was a patient pro. I know with two kids both young ages my patience quest is still ongoing.

With my newly find love of braidlocs I'm finding myself wanting to latch my hair, I run my fingers through my hair and across my scalp and love the fuzzy feeling ,but also want to latch this growth badly. Has anyone else felt this way so soon ? I've only had my braidlocs in for 2 1/2 weeks. Why does it feel like it's been so much longer than that ?

So far my hubby loves them but he's always loved my natural hairstyles. What's interesting is that my grandmother who is not from the peace love and nappiness generation, has complemented me on a few of my hairstyles. What's more amazing is that my daughter is crazy over nappy hairstyles. Our ongoing theme is Work whatever God gave you whether its big hips, full lips, nappy hair and blackness everywhere...WORK IT GIRL ! WORK IT !

She's already asked about braidlocs, I told her to wait and see how mommy's turn out and then tell me if she wants them. I would hate for her have them in her hair and then after being hounded by family members decide to take them out. What age is a good age for locs for a little girl ? We need to have a Loc Convention in Philly soon......I have lots of questions for now beads and braids and fro's will have to do.

Short hair has many possibilities

Short hair is very flexible and what I'm learning is that with my hair locd , it's extremely easy for me to style it in a short amount of time, and it stays in the style the whole day ! Here's some styles I've worn so far....

I look forward to having long locs to have swaying across my back, However having short locs is just as nice and I still have lots of bounce. Did I mention how much I really dig these braidlocs...*smiling*

The missing pumpkin

Came home today and as always before entering the house, the kids and I glance at the garden (which we planted in the neighbors yard) to see any there are any surprises. Well today there was a big one. The pumpkin that my daughter planted disappeared. Now I have a couple of suspects and though I really, really, really want to just knock the crap out of who I think the culprits are instead I'm going to leave some seed packets in the same spot that the pumpkin was in, I'm choosing not to be negative about the situation and just letting it be. My daughter didn't seem so phased she has plenty of other things in her garden to be grateful about and maybe that's the attitude we should all have.

Anywho, today I realized that I'd forgotten to wear my bonnet on my head last night and also did not braid or put curlers in my hair it was a free flowing day, I like it :)

It's Been a Week and so far so good...

My braidlocks were born on August 16th at 8:45pm I've never counted all of them. I do know that I have over 100. It took me about three 1/2 hours to do them myself. This is one of the best decisions I've made in 2008. I'm not new to the nappy hair styles. In 1999 I cut off all of my permed hair and went natural through college. In 2002 I decided that I wanted to perm my hair....I think I went a little nuts after having my first child....very soon after I went back to natural *but* wore braids, hair weaves, wigs, and got my hair pressed often. All in the name of being natural...supposedly. Earlier this year in 2008 I decided that enough was enough. I got tired of going to sleep on my afro and then waking up the next day to find it looking like an ice cream cone that had been licked too much on one side. The morning rush gave me little time to create masterpieces with my fro, so I just did the afro puff....which got tired.

When I did make time for my hair I did it in two strand twist or braided it into a hairstyle....I loved it...until it was time to take it down...good lord ! I've always, always, always, adored locs and was not aware until recently of the many styles of locs. I started doing my research and fell in love with braidlocks....If I'd known about these I would've locked my hair in 1999 instead of struggling all these years with the decision. With my braidlocks I have unlimited options, styling flexibility, and yet a care free sensibility with my hair, it's only been a week and they've started to fill in ! *i've been telling my hair that it grows an inch a week* I can wash it as much as I want and braid it up at night and roll out in the morning...God is soo good I've never felt this good about my hair before :)

So why now....

My Decision to blog has been a laborious one. At first I really didn't see the necessity, then after hours upon hours and days upon days of reading others blogs and getting valuable information that would eventually alter my life forever I decided....why not.

This blog will contain information on transformations on many things, being Black, a woman, having a family, having natural hair, living in Philadelphia just to name a few. After making so many decisions in my life, some good and some bad I've decided to take everything that God has given me and make more out of it.

So lets talk about NappiNish...
I'm 26 years old married with two kids a boy and a girl. I live in the beautiful city of Philadelphia and I currently work for a pretty well known nonprofit organization that is helping people in need receive more food. I believe that what you put out into the universe you will definitely receive back and for over two months now I've made some life changing decisions and do not regret any of them. One major decision was to get braid locks *YEAAAAAHHHHH*