I'm Still Alive

It's been a long time but as I trolled through a few of my other favorite blogs, I saw that I was not alone... So here I am, dark roots and all. I can't wait to be able to color my hair again. I am at 6mos now in my 2nd set. I'm not really doing much with my hair these days. Just trying to be patient with it.

This blogging thing is really a commitment that I am failing at thus far. My goal was to keep up with it and really document what was happening but I lost the momentum with the re-installation drama. I received a comment from someone the other day that prompted me to log back in and see what was going on. I have to admit that I think I am petered out with it all. Have not forgiven myself for making such a costly decision... Nuf said.

A lot has happened since my last post, one of them being that my 16 year old son Ryan, decided that he wanted to go to the same boarding school that I attended in high school. I was shocked and had to kick into gear to get things moving so that took up most of my summer along with travel and summercamp for my youngest who is 10. The school is called Pine Forge Academy and it is a Seventh Day Adventist boarding school in PA. It is one of only 4 historically black boarding high schools in the United States. I had the privilege of attending for 4 years and graduated in 1979. Now my son is following suit but he is a Junior so he will only do his last 2 years. He loves it and is having the time of his life. I miss him terribly but I know it was the right decision for him. I won't have to worry about the transition to college for he is getting a taste of dorm life now along with time management and all that goes along with being responsible. The pics were taken over the Labor Day Weekned which is when the school celebrates it's annual Alumni Weekend. I have several other schoolmates who now have kids there as well so we were just hanging out in Ryan's dorm room. It was my girlfriend's 30 year reunion(the one with the turban) for her class so we had a ball all weekend seeing old friends. I love the fact that our children are together up there just as we were back in the day. It's a wonderful legacy to give to them.

On another note, I have gotten back into one of my favorite things to do and that is reading. I read a book this summer called "The Shack" by William P. Young and it was awesome. I recommend it highly. You can log on the http://www.theshackbook.com/ to read more about it. It truly changed my perspective on a lot of things and reinforced the fact that we cannot put God in a box. It is fiction, a novel about a man who's youngest child was abducted and murdered on a camping trip. (sounds horrible, I know) 3 years after her abduction, he receives a letter asking him to come back to the shack where her belongings were found and the rest of the story is about his encounter with God there. Deep book, easy read and life changing.

I guess I can summarize by saying that I will take a stab at this again. We can get so caught up in life that things go by the wayside. Be patient with me!

Feelin Pretty Good

Click on for a larger view.


Had a fantastic weekend with family celebrating graduations and just being family. There is nothing better than that in my book. My cousins came up for the weekend and we had a blast. My spirit needed filling up and spending time with them did that for me. We laughed, talked, cried and reminisced about everything. We talked about all of our hair drama as well and boy did we have some stories from bad weaves to crappy color.

The time spent put me on a high so I decided to blog tonite. Just came in from the dinner given for my cousin who graduated from HS and I'm tired but still feeling good about the whole event. I can't believe that it's all over. I have 2 more years before my son graduates from HS and I can't wait. These past 2 weeks have been packed with graduation activity for about 6 friends and fam and we will be in Boston this coming weekend for the last one.

It's late but I wanted to show the look I achieved by setting my hair on the sponge rollers with satin. Not too bad. I've been out since 7am and it's about 11pm now so I know I'm looking rather whipped in these pics. I still feel the need to braid out or curl. I'll be brave enuf to post my free style look a little later on. I get tightened up on June 25, maybe I will do it then.

In the meantime, I am pretty tired so until next time..............

INSPIRED BY THE GREAT BLAQKOFI

I'm back and ready to show my face again! While trolling the sites last nite I was inspired by Blaq's video of MJB's "Work That" How did she know that was one of my current favorites and why the heck didn't I think to do that first?? LOL! Whateva the case, it truly made me smile and I needed to smile last nite.

Truth is, I really don't feel good about my hair. It looks and feels so different to me. I hate how it looks when I free style. I either need to do a braid out or set it on rollers in order for me to really feel comfortable. I just wish I didn't have the comparison. I am in my 7th week and just had a retightening on last friday. It has grown some and my gray is sprouting at the roots. You can still see a lot of parts as well especially in the front. I am hoping that as it grows back in and begins to expand that I will get the look I am looking for which is fullness and volume. I still mourn my volume, I lost a great deal of hair on that takedown fiasco. Okay enough of that negative talk.

As stated earlier, I still look at everyone's blog and Blaq's is always so inspiring and positive. Talk about loc envy...... the words to MJB's song got me to thinking that I just need to work what I've got and it's not bad, just different from before. I have going thru a true transformation when it comes to my health and body so it's all new and I feel good about the changes that I have made and continue to make. I have lost 13lbs and I am walking everyday (well almost, my girl Gina had to drag me out today) I have not had any animal flesh or dairy since March 30. My sugar intake is minimal, I have not had caffiene or any such substance and I feel great! I still have quite a journey but I am committed. I am waiting for my lab results from the program I was in to see if my cholesterol decreased in number.

Summer is coming (I think, hell, it was 51 degrees this morning on this late May Day) and I just would like to be able to shed a few more lbs and wear some armless stuff! Been longtime since I was able to do that. I have been drinking my wheatgrass smoothies each morning and taking Biotin???? Maybe that will do something.

So, here's the deal. I am going to STOP lamenting about my perception of my "look" and embrace all that I am right now. God is good and has blessed me tremendously and I just need to stop but I had to get it out one more time. The fact that I posted pics is a miracle. I am back and prepared to blog consistently again.

Thanx to all of you that encouraged me along this particular phase. I pray that I can now turn the tables and be an inspiration to someone else along the way.

Haven't Been Able to Blog

I am having a bad hair day or should I say I'm truly just not feeling my new look at all. I don't know what the problem is. I haven't been able to blog or let DH take pics of me because I am just not feeling it anymore. I feel like I made a huge mistake taking my 1st set down. Why did I do that? To get straight parts?? That is crazy. I should have just gotten the locs fixed and kept my full head of hair. I used to say "I am not my hair" but truly, I think I am because I feel like my hair looks straggly and ridiculous. I can't get over the difference. In a little over 4 weeks I still feel like it is the 1st day. I went to have my 3 week check up and she washed it and had to do a full re-tightening due to new growth. That was interesting...

The locs are going every which way and they don't cooperate with me. It looks thinned out and has no life whatsoever. I have never experienced that before and I am very self conscience about it. I keep trolling other's blogs, especially Blaq's. Her hair is truly da bomb and I keep looking and telling myself that one day...... but I don't believe that because my progression is vastly different. The "filling in" is not happening, especially in the front. It just looks flat and drab. I hate trying to freestyle because that is the worst look. I have curled and braided out and it still looks crazy. It feels hard and strange. The so called curly cues look like afro puffs on the ends to me. It's like this is not the same head of hair. I still grieve my loss of over 100 locs from the 1st set which confirms that a lot of hair was lost in the take down, not to mention the damage. It looks fuzzy and down right bad.

So much has occured since my 2nd installation. My girlfriend Daena's mom passed and that was horribly fast. She was diagnosed in Jan and passed in April. Too much to swallow. It seems that everyone is being diagnosed with cancer these days. In the grand scheme of things, I should not complain at all when I look at what is happening to those around me. I ought to be ashamed to lament about hair.

On a good note, I did start a program thru my church called the CHIP Program. CHIP stands for Coronary Health Improvement Program. It is a 4 week program geared towards helping people fight disease basically with a knife and fork. Focus is on lowering cholesterol, high bp, coronary artery disease and diabetes and fighting obesity. My cholesterol was much higher than I thought and I am overweight. I decided that I wanted to change my lifestyle once and for all. I have done the yo-yo thing for too many years. I know how to lose weight but have failed miserably at keeping it off. This was my last ditch effort to do what needed to be done years ago. The program endorses a vegan lifestyle. The Seventh Day Adventist Church already promotes a vegetarian lifestyle but that doesn't necessarily mean that one is eating "healthy". There is still a high percentage of folk that suffer from ailments that could be avoided just by changing the diet habits. I am thankful that I do not suffer from any disease, however, I can afford to live a healthier lifestyle and knew that I needed to get moving again.

I am pleased to say that I successfully completed the program in the 4 weeks and lost 9 lbs in the process. I can truly say that I am done with meat and dairy (for now......) I hate to say never again but after everything I gleaned from the program, I am convinced that it is not for me. There are so many different alternatives to use and still feel like you are satisfied and eating well. I am loving all of the new recipes and have even tried some raw food recipes. This is a new concept and journey for me and at 46 soon to be 47 it was long overdue. We have our formal graduation this coming weekend and I am looking forward to it. Just hope the hair cooperates!!!!

I started my walking program again with my girlfriend Regina who is quite the little motivator. She calls me faithfully each day to get my tail out of the house to walk the streets of Laurel, Md. Lots of ground has been covered and it's paying off. My b-day is in June and I would love to be able to experience a different size at that time. Hair, body, what can I say?? This is crazy.

I am going to try and wait this out (the hair that is) but I have been known to be very impatient. I need to feel better about my appearance in general but the hair is the focal point at this time. If my hair is jacked, I am jacked. At least that's my motto. Even being overweight, I feel like if my hair, nails and feet are done, I've won half the battle. Right now, I feel like I'm losing. Just being honest ladies. I have made some bonehead decisions in my day but I think this one takes the cake. You live and you learn. I might post some pics this week, depends on how I'm feeling. Lost my zeal for posting since I am so self conscience. Bear with me.

Finally Getting Used To This

I am exactly 1 week locked in this pic. My new date of being locked is March 29th. I decided to curl my hair for church and see how it would come out. I am still getting used to the length and lack of density. To my surprise, it came out pretty nice and I actually liked the cropped look. I need to embrace this new journey once again and do what I can to feel comfortable. I know it sounds like I am tripping but ya gotta admit it's different.

Drumroll Please.......

Click on pics to enlarge and view the full slide show with captions. These are pics of installation, my consultant and the 2nd day of being newly locked.

Well it's been a week since I had my new set of SL's installed and my has it been a week. My emotions have gone up and down about my new look. I think I'm over it now. It is what it is and it's really okay. I just read a comment from someone that really put it all into perspective so I decided to go ahead and post pics and move on. The installation was done over 2 days. 11 hours on day 1 and 9 hours on day 2. I have less locs now and I figure it is due to the take down and loss of hair, I also had it trimmed but I see now that it was actually cut. I feel like I should have waited to have them reinstalled to give my hair a chance to recover from all of the shock. In 1 week I had it taken down, colored, cut and then reinstalled. That's trauma.

I think I was truly wrapped up in the # of locs and the thickness of my hair and not having to go thru the scalpy stage. What is that all about? I was really tripping. I lamented to my close friends and even DH got nervous and thought I was going to take them out. NO WAY! I will never do that again. Natalie's work was impeccable and I know that I have true SL's now. I think I was just tripping that I had to go thru such an ordeal to get it. I was so ready back in Dec to start the new year with locked hair. My hair was in great condition and just the length I wanted it to be starting out. This was so drastic a change in every way that I just couldn't enjoy it.

I am ready now for the new phase. Thanx to all for all of the comments and support.

What Ever Happened to Good Service??

So, I had a scheduled appt today to get my hair colored prior to getting this new set of sisterlocs. My appt was scheduled from last friday for 3:30pm. I went to work early just so I could get off and be done for the day. I called the stylist (I am a longstanding client, loyal and have sent her many referrals btw) to see if she was ready for me. No answer... not a problem, she is busy with someone else and can't get to the phone. I get to the salon and lo and behold, the door is locked with a closed sign on it and the clock saying will return at 3:30. Okay, take a deep breath because at this point it is 3:42 and no sign of her. It's dark in the shop that I am now peeping in and there are no signs of life. I get back in the car. I fidget, I say to myself, she's just running behind. I call my girlfriend Daena and we have a running joke... We start the converstion by saying "Note to self".......blah blah blah. Well my note to self was "when you make an appt and you get there and no one is waiting for you, how long do you wait?" It is now 3:55 and I am getting pissed. We lament about folk and how they do ya and I decide to just wait. After all, what else is there to do?? I have a afro puff that I can't even comb thru and my SL "consultation" is tomorrow at noon and I have dark black and gray roots that are NOT cute. I need some color!!! So, I wait. I proceed to call 2 other friends that share in my grief and whoa is me. We swap stories about hair stylists and nail technicians and people who just have no consideration for your time but God forbid you are late!!! Major attitude and such.

I call my DH (who at this point thinks I am insane over this hair drama but still loves me just the same). I don't know what I expected him to say but he listened as I went off. I went so far as to tape a note on the door because after all, at some point I would have to actually leave ya think?? Then, a young guy comes to the door and is looking for her as well. I roll down my window and badger him as to what services he was expecting and what time. He stated that she had been there earlier and told him that she would call him when she got back to the shop. I guess he didn't get a call and decided to just come because surely she must have forgotten. He said that she was supposed to color his hair as well. Meanwhile, I'm saying to myself, well at least she was here at some point and the clock is still ticking........... Finally, I'm on the phone again with yet another friend and she drives up and leisurely gets out of the car. I roll out of my durango and this is how the conversation went.

Me: Hey, what's up, I had a 3:30. It's now 4:45..

Her: Oh, I thought you were gonna call me...

Me: Call you?? We made an appt on friday nite. I sat in your chair while you combed me out and trimmed me and we decided to wait to do the color since my head was so tender from the takedown.

Her: Oh, I forgot to write it down and I don't even have your color. If I do it , it will be dark.

Me: (seething now with much attitude and tone) What do you mean you don't have the color and no, it won't be dark. I want the color that I have. My initial appt was for last Sat morning. What were you going to do then? (I'm thinkin she's trying to play me now)

Her: (With absolutely no remorse or feeling) Well, let me see if I have enough. Sit down and let me see your new growth. (she's fiddling and sectioning as my shoulders are hunching)

Me: Well?? Whats the deal?

Her: (she goes in her room of tricks and shuffles things around) I don't have enough. It's only 3 ounces and that won't be enough to do it properly. (then nothing)

Me: Okay, here's the deal. I made an appt with you. You forgot, didn't write it down, whateva. This was the day that was set aside for me to get my damn hair colored and I don't have time to reschedule or any such thing. Now I'm not sure what's going on with you but this is not a good week for me and I am ready for it to be over. Coloring my hair was part of the process so tell me what you need. Where do you get the color?

Her: In Laurel at Davidson's.

Me: (desperate now for real) Do you need me to go and get it???

Her: (hesitantly) I would have to call and see if they have it in stock (does she really want to do my hair??? Does she hate me?) I also have a 5:30 client coming in so I really can't go.

Me: Okay, go ahead and call. (standing now with lips poked out and a scowl on my face.)

Her: (On the phone) Blah blah blah, oh, you don't have it?...... Okay....

Me: (In my mind WTF??) Is there another store in the area?

Her: It's too far.

Me: I'll be the judge of that. Where is it?

Her: Rockville..... I have to call and see.

Me: Hell, I can get to Rockville. It's only 5pm (rush hour....beltway... hell.) What time do they close? Call them.

Her: (on the phone) Blah blah, oh you do. Okay what do you need ? Oh my card number and license. Oh... well I'm sending someone to get it. Can I give her the info?

Me: What's the address? Oh okay I know where that is. (snatch the card and jump in the car)

I'm high tailing it on the beltway and I'm cussin mad. I can't beleive that it has come to this. I'm a slave to the system. I am jacked all the way around. I had some fake out SL's that have been taken down and I can't even get this steel wool colored. I've reached a new low. I called my girlfrend back and told her to just go buy a gun and shoot me the next time she sees me and not to worry, just tell them at my funeral that I asked you to take me out of my misery. It's ok. You won't go to jail. That is truly the way I felt. I am 46 years old with all of the hair drama... What does this mean?

So, I pick up the stuff which btw, only costs $5.99 per tube... They then charge you $100 to apply it... but I guess that's the American way. I drive back around the beltway in traffic (it was moving thank God) to her shop. There is no one there in her chair..what happened to the 5:30 client. Did they ever exist? I've been played for sure.

Her: Come on and sit down. Thank you for doing that Wendi. Go ahead, cuss me out. I'm just not having a good day. I didn't write it down.

Me: Whatever, I'm not having a good WEEK, let alone day. Just do my hair please.

And the rest as they say, is history. Hair colored. Chit chat. She charged me $5. I paid $22 for 2 tubes of color and some other stuff that she had them set aside. I am glad it's over but I felt like you know what. The things we do in the name of hair.. or is it vanity? I think it's survival. When your hair is jacked, so are you. That's my story and I'm stickin to it.

I'm Back and Have Plenty to Say/ Sisterloc Nitemare

Hello All,
It's been over almost 2 months and a lot has occured. I think my last post was in early Feb and at that time, my girlfriend's father was battling lung cancer and lost the battle on Feb. 7th. I stayed pretty close to her during that awful time and blogging went way down on the list of priorities. In addition to that, another girlfriend's mother was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer as well and it was completely unexpected and a shock to all. The doctors have given her 6 months to live and it was just a devastating blow. She is now caring for her mom full time and preparing for her life to end. It's just that simple. You live and then you die. Gives you much to ponder on, those of us who still take life for granted. The dynamics of my relationships with people have changed just over the course of these last 2 months and I am trying to cope with all of it.

I have a unique group of friends that I am very close to and as I stated when I was tagged, I am loyal almost to a fault. I try to treat people as I would like to be treated but that is not always healthy for me. I absorb other's grief and issues and I feel very deeply. As a result, I neglect the things in my life because I am so engrossed in everyone elses. Don't get me wrong, I am probably fulfilling some sick need I have to be needed by others. (that's another story) When I say neglect, I really mean that it gives me reason not to deal with my own issues that face me every day. Oh well, I figure when I go outta here, folk may just have some nice things to say......
I digress..

Now on to the drama at hand. It kills me to say this but I have taken down my sisterlocks. This occured on Thurs and Fri of last week. Long story, wanna hear it? Here it go:
You have seen pics of my friend Daena. Well, she started to have some real issues with her locs and wound up cutting them off and having them re-installed about 4 to 5 weeks ago. This was quite stressful and needless to say, very expensive and time consuming but I will tell you that the new set looks totally different and she is very happy now. Meanwhile, I had a banquet to attend on March 2 and I was chomping at the bit trying to figure out how to style my hair with the fabulous gown I purchased. I was happy about the gown because I am overweight and had finally found something that camaflouged my big-ness. I wanted an up-do. I go to a shop where I used to get my hair done with extensions and the loctician that styles there was exploring my hair and the first question she asked me was "who installed your locs?" I immediately cringed and became annoyed with the way she asked. I proceeded to tell her who and she went on to tell me what was wrong. Mind you, I had already figured that there were some issues but now they were being confirmed. My parts (or lack of parts) were not in a pattern. It was like hair had just been grabbed and a loc formed. The new growth was meshing together and it was hard for me to seperate the hair. I was also able to literally stick my finger in the middle of most of my locs because the hair was so loose. Now, to the naked eye, my hair looked fabulous but for one who was lurking thru it, the truth came out. Needless to say, I was sick.
My next step was to go to another sisterlock consultant to get a second opinion and lo and behold, she said the same thing. I did NOT have the true sisterlock pattern blah, blah, blah. I must interject that as I am writing this, i am finding it difficult to even write about it because it has truly been horrible. I really did like my hair and the way it looked but deep down, I knew it wasn't right and I had to face that fact and make a decision. I went to the original girl that did the initial consultation but couldn't get me in as fast as I wanted. (See Zaharah's blog titled "look before you leap") She gave me a couple of options. She told me she could fix the loose locs by doing a technique called a "pull down" but even with that I would still have jacked up parts or I could just take them out and start all over. Well, what a choice right?? I made an appt with her because my original consultant was recovering from surgery. I haven't had the chance to really speak with her about all of this. I had about 2 weeks to think about it. My appt was last Thurs at 9 am and when I got there I still had not made a decision. After an hour of going back and forth. I decided to take them out. I sat there for 8 hours and had several mini breakdowns. Daena came and held my hand as she had just gone thru it herself. After 8 long hours only about less than half were out and she used her tool to do it. I went home and from about 7p to 3 am only managed to get about 1/4 of it out. That was with the help of my girlfriend Regina aka "gettin hot" who graciously offered her services at about 10pm. She came over and really worked on my head and allowed me to rest for as she so bluntly put it " What's the point in having friends if they can't do sugar honey iced tea for ya" that was at abput 1am when I could barely raise my arm anymore and she suggested I just lay down and let her work. I love you for that Gina!!! You are the girl. I proceeded to go back to the consultant for another 5 hours on Friday and she managed to get it all out. Mind you, I paid her by the hour!!! You do the math.
I then went to my old hairdresser and she blew it out, combed it and trimmed or should I say cut it for you can imagine that I lost quite a bit of hair after not combing it for 3 months. Today would have been my 14 week mark. I still can't believe it. I am sitting here with an AFRO puff as I type and I am still trying to figure out what just happened.
End Result: I will be having them re-installed at the end of the week by the consultant's consultant who if flying in from Jamaica. Her name is Natalie and she is supposed to be really good. She did Daena's second set and it looks great, parts and all. I'm not sure how I feel. I think I am just numb and broke of course. I go for my "consultation" on Thurs and she starts on Friday. I will post pics sometime this week. This has truly been an experience and I just want it to be over.
I will say that I am still a diehard sisterloc girl and I am determined to be done correctly. I will not bash anyone, all I will say is truly do your homework and if you want it done right, stick with the certified consultants and make sure you SEE the work and look for the right things. I will talk more about that later.......

I've Been Tagged

I have been tagged by Lakia. I have not been blogging for a while, a lot has been going on with friends and family so I have been quite distracted. Bear with me while I attempt to post the rules and tell you a little about myself.

Rule #1- Link to the person that tagged you

#2- Post rules on your blog

#3- Share 6 non important things/habits/quirks about yourself

#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.

As for me, here are a few items that may or may not be of interest...

1- I attended a boarding high school in Pennsylvania. I consider that special because it was like being in college 4 years earlier than I should havebeen. I learned so much about myself, became independant and still have the same friends to this day and we are very close.

2- I was in Essence Magazine in the September issue of 1973 or was it 1974?? I was 11 years old, sporting an afro with Richard Roundtree (John Shaft). The spread was intoducing plaid as the fashion statement. Susan Taylor was our neighbor in NYC She and my mother became very good friends and to this day she calls me "Wendi Cakes".

3- I served in the US Army and was a true Private Benjamin when I entered. I met my DH of almost 20 years while serving. We will celebrate 20 years on Feb 14, 2008.

4- I was supposed to be the first black Barbara Walters! Where the heck did Oprah come from?? That was really my dream in HS. I went off to college and majored in Communications but quickly realized that folk that had a degree in Communications were not working in their field. I didn't like school that much to spend 4 years and not have the job of my dreams so what did I do?? I changed my major to Nursing. Not as glamorous as Oprah's job but just as rewarding!

5- I do not have a middle name. That is something that has always bothered me. My mother has one and my father does not. It plagued me so that at the age of 13, my uncle Stephan gave me one and I have used it officially on some occasions. The middle name is Caulette which he and I both thought sounded good with Wendi..... As a result, I gave both of my children middle names Ryan Alexander and Ross Avery. Love that!!!

6- I am a loyal friend, almost to a fault and I love to share good finds and information and give people things that I think will make them happy and it doesn't have to be an occasion. Is that so special? I don't know but I consider it one of my better qualities.

Well that's it for now unless someone tags me again. I am tagging Salt and Pepper Diva, Onyxcherry, Goodnapps, Aminacake, Chocolocs and Sophia.

I Finally Washed My Hair

Okay, so in a few of my other posts, I admitted that I was afraid to wash my own hair due to anxiety with this braiding and banding procedure. Well, last friday, I had no choice but to tackle it. After all, it had been too many weeks and I was beginning to feel ashamed.

I decided early on to set it on smooth curlers to see what effect I would get. I loosely braided my hair in sections and banded the ends as instructed. I was using the knotty boy soap bar for the first time so I wet the bar and my hair and attempted to rub the bar into my hair to get some good lather going. To my disappointment, there wasn't much lathering going on at all. Trying to scrub and lather when your hair is all twisted up is and was almost impossible for me. I had my girlfriend on speakerphone while I made my feeble attempt and I was getting more and more frustrated. I wound up undoing my hair and going for it! I saturated my head with water and proceeded to wash it like I would have with it out. That totally worked for me. I am now joining the group of "I don't braid and band and never will" women. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Meanwhile, after washing and not having any slippage, I proceeded to roll it up on my smooth green and yellow curlers that I had originally given to my girlfriend and like an indian giver asked for them back. (thank God for friends that understand you) The set was fabulous but when I was done, I looked in the mirror at all of these rollers and realized that I was NOT going to sleep in them nor did I feel like sitting under the dryer for it was now going on 10pm. So what did I do you ask??? I took out each roller and replaced it with a sponge roller that I new I could sleep on. ( I never gave those away) My hair had already started to dry to my surprise so I figured I could get away with the overnite hair dry thing. You may be asking why I didn't use those in the first place?? I have several answers for that but they are all stupid so I will spare you. The bottom line is that it's done and the next morning it came out quite nice, tight but nice. I worked with it trying to get ready for church. My DH was being consecrated as an Elder that day at church so it was a truly special day. We had a lot going on and never got to take any pics of the do after all of that! Oh well, it was his day, not mine so it's all good. Just know that when I came to work on the following Monday, my co-worker and fellow sisterlocked friend called me Little Orphan Annie... I will leave the rest to your imagination.

My First Re-Tightening Jan 27,2008

Click on the photos for a larger view.

Went for my first session at 6 wks. It took exactly 3 hours at $35 per hour. Not to bad I guess. My head feels like I just had my weave tightened up so I'm a little tender but it didn't hurt. I know I will not be able to go beyond 6 wks for maintenance. She had to pull some of the new growth apart and that was not too pleasant on the head. She reported my locs have a good base and are doing fine. I was happy about that.

Confession: on previous posts, I stated that I was afraid to wash my hair. Well, I did not wash it prior to the appt because I was too tired the nite before. I received my Knotty Boy Bar so I will attempt the braiding and banding drill tomorrow nite. I'm just not feeling that at all. I don't see how my hair will really get clean. I guess the concept is that you are really just focusing on the scalp. We'll see. I am way too tired tonite to take that on. My scalp is fine, I have been using the Knotty Boy peppermint anti-itch spray and that does the job. I am also using the rosewater daily. No issues thus far. I'll be sure to blog the results of my wash attempt.

Learned How to Use Picasa

It's friday nite and I was really quite tired from the week. My DH comes home and insist on shooting some pics because he had a lighting system he was checking out. All be it nice to have a personal photographer right at my fingertips, it sometimes gets annoying especially when I am tired. I have my pj's on and I'm saying no and he is steady snapping.

When I saw the results I said hey, lets figure out how to work with this picasa feature that Lakia told me about. Well needless to say, now he is tired and getting impatient with me and my non techy self. Here is the result of our tired venture. I still have no idea how to do it but at least I know it exists.

We first came upon the slide show feature so that is somewhere on this blog as well. One of these days it will click for me. For now, thank God for my DH. I'm trying to convince him to let me post a pic or 2 of him but he refuses for now knowing that I won't be able to figure it out. My children and I are his practice hostages for right now but he's getting better each day and I'm proud of him.

One Month Locversary Jan 15, 2008

Well, as promised, I am posting to mark my 1 month anniversary. Time is zooming by quickly. It will be interesting to see how things progress. I really have not had any real issues. I have one that has slipped out in the front and that is it. The following few photos just show the ends and the black and gray roots of my new growth. I hope I can stand not getting color while the loc process is happening. Scary thought..... I think I am going to look a bit crazy. I wonder how long my retightening will take. I hope not more than 3 hours for my pocketbooks sake. My parts are not showing straight but I am not concerned about that. I didn't look in the mirror to see what I was doing. I know people are really sensitive about the parting thing. I do see the advantage of having it in a perfect grid but on the other hand, I'm not sure that it will matter with the particular choice of styles that I prefer. We'll see as time goes on.

Good Hair Day Jan 14, 2007

This is the 3rd day of the braid out take down and I really like it. It is much fuller than the first day. I had not planned on taking any pics today. I was actually blogging and DH decided to take some so why not post. This is actually the eve before my 4 wk anniversary so I may just post 1 or 2 tomorrow just because. I seriously doubt if I will look any different but I simply must document!

I tried to do the photobucket thing and failed miserably. Even DH couldn't quite figure it out. I will have to try it another time when I have more patience. I truly admire those of you who have so much creativity and savvy with this stuff. Oh well, it will come. Until then, this is what the blog is.

Results of Single Braid Take Down January 12, 2007

This was the result of single braids taken out. I am really anxious to style my hair so I am experimenting with braids. I spritzed it lightly with rosewater and grabbed sections and just braided it. The take down was quick and I just ran my fingers thru it. Did I say how much I like my sisterlocks??? Talk about hand-in-the-hair-itis...what about look-in-the-mirror-every-time-you-see-one-itis? I am really feeling free these days.
Actually, it was kind of flat that day. I really liked it the next day. It was fuller and looked a bit more natural.

Blog Clean Up

I just sat here for 2 hours trying to clean up my blog. As you know from previous posts, I am very new at this and tonite I was ready to delete my entire blog. I wrote to Maryee (Super Blogger Wonder Woman) a few days ago to ask for help in cleaning it up. I had not titled all of my post and had no clue how to label and make things look pretty like all of the other bloggers out there. She wrote me back and I looked at her response for 3 days before I could attempt to try. Well, tonite was the nite! It was either delete or figure it out. DH is not here and I think he may be sick of me anyway. I was determined to figure this out.

With much pain and frustration and no wine to drink in the process (just kidding), I think I figured it out. It was tedious but I am actually proud of myself. It looks much better and I hope the rest of you think so as well. I needed to write about it because I thought I was going to lose it. It's the little things in life that get to ya sometimes and this was it.

As for the hair, no real changes. Made 3 weeks on Tues, Jan 8 and I look exactly the same. I am enjoying reading all of the other blogs and keeping up with the Lock-it-Up digest. I have spent hours navigating sites and that is what made me realize that my site looked junky.

I made my 1st re-tightening appt for Jan 27 which will put me at about 6 weeks. So far I have had one loc in the front come out and my consultant says that is normal. I also ordered a knotty boy soap bar and am anxiously waiting for it's arrival so that I can wash my hair on my own. I have the SL starter shampoo as well but I am actually afraid to try it due to the mixed reviews. My consultant is not an advocate of it so I purchased it just to have it but have not tried it yet. I am hearing stories that range from hair hardness to headaches. What is that all about. I don't want any issues. I am trying to learn from all of the other bloggers and there are some real stories out there. I am praying for an uneventful journey. My nerves can't take it.

I will post pics at 4 weeks so that my "archives"/ "labels" will look good. After all that work in clean up I can't stop now. Thank you all for your patience.

Valdomene Butler (Val) loc'd since August 1999

Introducing Val..... this is the other sister at my church who was the 1st set of SL's I had ever seen. I knew there was something different about her locs and it was always so neat and well maintained. Val and I sing in the choir together, she is a Soprano and I am an alto. The way we sit for practice always places me behind her so I was always staring at her locs and asking her questions. At that time I never thought about locking my hair but I new if I did, I wanted them small. She never told me they had a "name" She just said she knew she wanted them small. It was not until my girlfriend Renee (in previous pics)was lamenting about what to do with her hair that I told her about Val and how different her locs looked, that is when we started searching the web for "small locs" and such. Lo and behold we came across the sisterlock site and the rest is history.

Val is a sharp young lady and to this day is my SL idol. She got to church later than me today so was not around when Jacinth, Daena and I took pics but as soon as I saw her I grabbed her and asked her permission. She graciously said yes and I thank her. I am so happy to be a part of the Seventh Day Adventist Church that I belong to. The women are open and willing to share. We have so many ladies that are wearing their hair natural and traditionally locked. We are embracing our heritage and what God gave us naturally. I am loving the journey and being able to share it with others is so fulfilling. I just wanted to share with the rest of you ladies some of the beauty that I am surrounded by every Sabbath that I attend church.

Back view of Val's lovely locs.

Val does her own maintenance! I can only imagine how long that takes. I don't think I will ever be interested in doing that myself.

My DH and I are both talking to her at the same time!

3 Loc'd Ladies

And there you have it.

DH likes to make sure he gets every angle!

I'm so glad my friends are allowing me to share their pics. They are all so beautiful.

Jacinth Green SL'd since March 2006

This is another loc'd sister at my church. There are 4 of us total now. I admired her from the very 1st time I saw them. I conversed with her prior to my installation just to get her perspective and of course it was positive. Just another confirmation for me.

Loc'd Friends

It's amazing how all of us look so different. I love the uniqueness of SL's!

Results of Cornrows Taken Out

Well, this was the end result after my first wash. I was happy with the results. I'm sure it will fall as the days go by. We'll see how long it lasts

Lorryn Daena Logan

This is my girlfriend Daena who has been SL'd since March '07. I also have pics of her installation day - but I need to find them. She is not the type to blog so she has given me permission to post her pics on my site.

Pre New Year's Eve Party

My DH found a few more snapshots.

Pre- New Years Eve Party Dec 30,2007

Some friends decided to have a party on the day before NY's eve so that folk could do what they wanted on the actual eve. Most of our friends choose to be in church on NY's eve so it was nice not to have that conflict.

This is not in order but my DH reminded me that I changed my style to an up-do for the and had not documented it! Who's into this more??? Him or I? I think he is just as excited as I am about this whole loc journey.

I use one leg of a pantyhose to pull my hair up. It works very well because it is invisible to those trying to figure out how your hair is up. I never use pins. Too much on my scalp. I know he took more pics that nite but not sure what was happening with the camera.