Mali's Sisterlocks

After my retightening and a few other pics

2009-08-17T13:06:00.004-04:00

Me and My Little (er..not so little anymore) Artist on July 15, 2009.

Me and Hubby on July 15, 2009.

After my retightening. Taken August 17, 2009

During my retightening.

Summer Update

2009-08-17T12:39:00.006-04:00

Hi everyone! To those that still follow my sporadically updated blog, thank you for your loyalty :-).

I have a few updates regarding my hair as well as my life. Things have been very busy for me and I am very grateful to God for His blessings. In my last posting, I uploaded pictures of my first Sisterlocks® installation. Well, since that post, I have completed 4 installations with another scheduled in September! I have been blessed with a total of 15 clients in less than a year from my taking the Sisterlocks ® class. I have not applied for my certification as of yet because of the last two installs I completed, one was for large locks at her request, and the other (that was done standard-size) was that of a 12 year-old and in order to submit pictures, the client must be 18 or older. As far as the large locks, instead of going back and forth with Sisterlocks® Home Office, I will just wait to use the pictures of the install I have scheduled in September. Please check out my client album if you wish to view. I have all but two of my clients' pictures up, and they are both retightening clients. www.fotki.com/malikatt

I am also HAPPY TO REPORT that I finally have a new laptop. THANK GOD! I had been without one of my own for more than a year.

And last but not least…MY HAIR! If you read my previous post, I mentioned that I did not have anyone to do my hair. Well, I had found a wonderful lady who I was bartering Sisterlocks® services with that does a great job on my hair, but our schedules are completely different…she is off on weekdays and I would still have to complete some portion of my hair myself. With my scheduled being so tight and me finding it increasingly difficult to work on my own hair, I just called someone off of the Sisterlocks® trainee registry. She did my hair this past Saturday and though it took her 10 hours (I had a tremendous amount of newgrowth) and I got home at 3am…MY HAIR IS COMPLETELY RETIGHTENED. It has been a year and ½ since I've had my whole head done at once. I am just elated. It's the little things. I can finally say that I am seeing some real growth in my hair. It just seemed to me that it wasn't showing any growth at all, but I can't say that any longer.

I took these on Friday, August 14, 2009 before my retightening.

My First Sisterlocks(tm) Installation

2009-02-15T18:21:00.007-05:00

Hello everyone! I pray that everyone reading this is well. I haven't had anything exciting happen since my last post. OH...I did finally complete my retightening. By the time I got done with the back (I started in the front), it was about time to do the front again (sigh.) So I see that I just need to do my hair on an ongoing basis, that way it won't be so daunting to do it all at once. OH HOW I wish I could find someone to do my hair!

Anyway, I wanted to share my first Sisterlocks(tm) installation that I completed on New Year's Eve. Ms. B is a family friend, and it took me about 30 hours total due to a number of interruptions! At first I brought her to my house, but because she smokes, she kept getting up to go to the garage to take a few puffs of her cigarette (because there is no smoking allowed in the house.) When I finally finished the section I was working on while she was at my house, I made up my mind that I would just take my chair to her house for the next session, otherwise, at that rate, we would have never gotten finished. Then we get to her house and she still had to cook and run to the store and take care of her family, so the various interruptions sort of broke my momentum, but we did finally get done. The results are beautiful and she absolutely loves her hair. She has the kind of hair Sisterlocks(tm) trainees and consultants dream of. It's got all of the characteristics of perfect locking hair. When I did her first wash and retightening, (I will also post pictures of her first retightening) she had absolutely NO slippage whatsoever! I wish my hair had been so well behaved! Anyway, without further adieu, I present to you, Ms. B! Please leave comments and feedback about my work. Be honest and thanks for your time!

My God...The Dead has Arisen/ Happy New Year!

2009-01-08T21:31:00.006-05:00

HELLO!!!!!!!! Look what the cat drug in! Happy New Year to those of you that still visit my blog! I pray that those that are reading this are blessed, in good spirits and in good health! WOW...have I got a TON of updates since last posted. Let's see here...

My locks are now 1 year and 7 months old and boy have they changed! They are very much locked on the ends but I also have bunching so it is a little irritating. I love them, but they are also at that awkward length that is driving me crazy. This is not a good picture of me, but it was taken just yesterday and it shows my hair pretty well.
My husband and I went to New York shortly after my last posting. It was my first time visiting and it was a beautiful experience! We traveled via subway and did it the way we were supposed to so I got the full experience of it all. Though I did love visiting, I would NEVER EVER want to live there! Talk about congestion and commuting! (Please find the pictures below.)

About a month after my installation, I made another major life decision. As I was standing over a skillet cooking some ground turkey for spaghetti...it was the strangest thing...I was just looking at the ground bird particles and was suddenly repulsed. I said outloud "I don't want this mess!" I did make the spaghetti and ate it, but I had already decided that I would become a vegetarian. I have not eaten any meat since that date! I was already beef and pork-free for 12 years. I am what they call a "pescetarian," which means I only eat fish/seafood. I can't let that go yet and I don't see that day ever coming! I thought that my new lifestyle would help my acne. As you can see, IT HAS NOT. (Siiiigh)
God has blessed my husband and I with a HOUSE OF OUR VERY OWN! We have lived in our new home since December 1, 2007.

As you all know, the wonderful and talented Paulette at Locks4Life installed my locks and at first I was riding back and forth to Detroit for my retightenings. I did that about three times until I could find someone here in Cleveland...well, I did. She did my hair three times and all was well because I was pleased with her work. Then one day she sent me an email telling me that she could not do my hair anymore. OH I WAS DEVASTATED. I IMMEDIATELY looked for a retightening class at Locks4Life and got enrolled. I had to BORROW half of the money for the class since it was coming up so soon. I have been doing my own hair since March of 2008.
After I got my locks installed, two of my good friends wanted their hair done, too. They immediately went to Locks4Life got their locks done. They were also riding back and forth to Detroit for their retightenings until I shared my good experience and they started going to the same lady that I was. Well, when she turned me down and I took the retightening class...my two friends wanted me to retighten their hair. They both have the same pattern as me so it wasn't a problem. I started doing that and the Sisterlocks bug bit me real good. I found that I enjoyed doing their hair and decided to attend the Sisterlocks class..so guess what? I AM OFFICIALLY A SISTERLOCKS TRAINEE as of August of 2008! I am ELATED!
I got a good digital camera for Christmas, so now I have no excuse not to have plenty of pictures to share.

Trip to New York June 21, 2007

2008-01-08T21:30:00.002-05:00

From the Archives: Brian McKnight Flyaway February, 2005

2007-06-17T01:20:00.000-04:00

I mentioned in my last post, "tagged" item #6 , that I would post pictures of the trip I won to see Brian McKnight in Chicago. Well, here they are. As you can see, this was before I had even heard of/discovered Sisterlocks. I was wearing my favorite style - the twist-out. Hambone and I (oh yeah, and if I haven't told you guys already, her nickname for me is "Chickenbone") had such a wonderful time staying in such a nice hotel with the MOST comfortable beds ever, cruising Michigan Avenue and buying things. My money was rather funny since the trip was so last minute, but I was able to buy a few things thanks to financial assistance from hubby. Needless to say, it was an experience I shall never forget!

Since I LOVE to eat, I thought it appropriate to have my first picture in Chicago taken in front of the Cheesecake Factory! I wish I could brag and say how great the food was here but I can NOT! This was the absolute WORST food we had ever had in ANY restaurant (yes, both my AND Hambone's dish was a disaster and we got two different things. I even let her taste my dish and I tasted hers and they were equally bad!) It was so bad that it was inedible. We asked for our money back! We were shocked at the quality of their food being that this was the first and original Cheesecake Factory. Cleveland's is much, much better! They had to have just been having a bad day otherwise they would have been shut down!

This is Hambone standing in front of Tiffany and Co. happily clutching a freshly purchased heart pendant bracelet!

Here I am patiently waiting for Brian's performance. My hair looks nice and shiny in this picture. Then again, it was loaded with Paul Mitchell "Wax Works" so, I am sure that helped.

This picture isn't great in terms of clarity and color, but it gives you an idea of how close we were to the action. It was very, very nice. He looks much better in person that he does in pictures.

Hambone and the man of the hour.

And here I am...rubbing elbows (ha!) with Mr. McKight himself. I do NOT like how me OR my hair look in this picture but who's looking at me anyway?

First Wash and Lock Count / I've Been Tagged!

2007-06-10T11:16:00.000-04:00

Well, I washed my hair for the first time on yesterday. I carefully braided and banded my hair on Friday night with every intention to do it thereafter. NOT! I fell asleep all crumpled up on the couch as if I had been drugged! So, I woke up on Saturday morning to finish the job. Although I fell asleep, I did get the chance to count my locks! I actually discovered a better way to do it compared to the way I did it with my first set. With my first set, I made bundles of 9 locks each and then counted the bundles. This time, I didn't try to bother with making sure I had exactly 20 locks or whatever amount in a bundle, I just grabbed some locks, counted them, braided them together, then wrote down the amount I had counted. I did this until I was finished and then added up the numbers with a calculator. The grand total is 480 +/-! I am so pleased! That is a whole 210 more than my first set! I knew that I wouldn't have 600 or any huge number like that, but almost 500!? Oh boy...I hardly know how to act! Woo hoooo!

These pictures were taken yesterday (6/9/07.) The ones in the car, I took while hubby and I were on our way from seeing Spiderman 3. Boy, was it good! I was all into it! That movie is one that I would keep in my movie collection (when I get one) and I am really picky when it comes to movies that I would consider having on hand.

This was taken Friday at work as we celebrated the Cavs' first finals game. Since I don't have any Cavs gear, I had to scrape up some wine and gold. I thought my hair looked pretty cute in this pic. I wonder what I'll wear on Tuesday for our first finals home game? Well, if I can't find anything, I am doing my nails in wine and gold as soon as I finish this post so that should suffice. I will take a picture of them, too.

I'VE BEEN TAGGED!!

I'm so honored! Now that I've celebrated...what shall I write about? Hmmm...

Here are the rules: Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to then report this on their own blog with their 7 things as well as these rules. They then need to tag 7 others and list their names on their blog. They are also asked to leave a comment for each of the tagged, letting them know they have been tagged and to read the blog.

I don't know how interesting these facts will be, but here it goes!

1. I am an only child and so is my mother. When I was growing up, kids use to be so envious of the fact that I was an only child and would assume that I was so spoiled. That has never been the case. Being an only child is not so great. I still wish for a sister or a brother.

2. My husband and I met on the internet! Not on a match-maker type service or anything like that. I was in chat room (somewhat of a computer newbie and still fascinated by the chatroom...now I can't stomach them) reading all of the garbage they were talking, not in on the conversation...just reading and I received a private message. It was not unusual for me to receive a private message whenever I was in the chat room so I responded to him nonchalantly and didn't think much more about it. A few days later, I received an email from this same person talking about how he wanted to meet me and how nice I was and all this and that. I thought he was stone crazy so of COURSE I declined. We exchanged emails a total of about 3 times in a span of a year and 1/2...just brief emails like "How are you?" "Have a great holiday..." type stuff - nothing deep. Well, one evening I was online again and receive an instant message from this mystery man. He expressed that he wanted to meet me and asked for my phone number. I told him NO...he was not getting my phone number, but that I would give him my pager number and he could page me whenever he got to his friend's house (he did not have a phone at the time) with their number that way. When I first heard his voice, it was deep, pleasant and HEAVILY ACCENTED. OH MY. So much so that I had to really listen in order to understand him. He told me he was from Uganda. Our conversation was brief and he promised to call me again. We talked and had numerous, but brief conversations over the course of about 2 weeks. He wanted to meet me and frankly, I wanted to meet him, too. He asked me if I wanted to attend a baseball game with him because he had tickets. I told him "NO...if we meet, we are going to meet where I want us to meet." I told him to meet me at a local mall. Well, to shorten this already too long story, (if you guys are even still reading at this point) he had told me what he'd be wearing so, I walked up and saw this tall, (well, taller than me...I'm 5'5", he's 5'10") handsome, bald (voluntarily,) chocolate man looking at shoes. I smiled and introduced myself. He smiled in return and revealed the nicest smile with a deep dimple in each cheek! He fit the description of the man I had been asking God for every night before I slept. From that day on August 9, 2000, we have been together and got married on March 9, 2001, exactly 7 months from the day we met. We have been married 6 years! It seems to get better with each year as we learn each other more and more each day. But I am so grateful to God for blessing me with a good hubby.

3. I love to sing. I have been in a choir for as long as I can remember except for lately, as I do not have a church home. In my high school choir, I had 2 different solos, "How Excellent" and "No Greater Love." I also sang some opera which I thoroughly enjoyed. I sang "Porgy and Bess" (duet) "Summertime," and "Ave Maria." Oh, how I miss those days. :-)

4. I am a former track star. LOL. I ran track in 7th and 8th grade. My events were 100 meter hurdles, 400 meter dash, and I was the anchor on the 1600 meter relay. I even got MVP for which I still have my trophies! I tried to run in high school but I couldn't deal with that gloomy indoor track. DEPRESSING!!!!

5. I have never, ever had my nails done professionally. I have always done them myself. I always have people approach me and ask "Who does your nails? " and I always proudly say "Me!" I guess if I had acrylics to do, it would be more of a challenge, but thankfully my natural nails grow well as long as I keep them protected with polish.

6. In 2005, I won an all expenses paid "Bryan McKnight Flyaway" trip to Chicago on the radio! I couldn't believe it because I wasn't even trying to win! I called in to win some Cavs tickets and got qualified for the grand prize drawing. They called me on Monday to tell me that I had won. The trip was that Friday coming up! (can you tell it was a black radio station? Giving away prizes on CP time!) The trip included a round trip flight for two, limousine service from the airport to the hotel and back, a hotel room at the W, and seeing Bryan McKnight perform. I had less than a week to prepare and request the time off! I hadn't even been on my job a year, but my boss was gracious and kind enough to allow me the time off! Well, the first thing I did was called hubby to let him know where we would be going. He couldn't go because he was finishing up police academy and could not miss ANY days. So he ws out. I called Hambone to tell her and she hit the roof! OH she was so happy! So was I! Hubby would have gotten on my last nerve anyway because he wouldn't have wanted to cruise Michigan Avenue and linger in different shops like girls do. Needless to say, we had a ball! And to top it off, we didn't even have to leave the hotel for the performance because he was performing only a few floors up IN the hotel! It was such an intimate affair with maybe 60 people in attendance. It was just so nice as waiters and waitresses walked around serving us hors'deourves (sp?) and drinks. We then were invited to another room to mingle and talk with Mr. McKnight himself. Well in actuality, that was only a opportunity to stand in line, get a signed photo of him and snap a picture with Mr. McKnight. It was great! When I remember, I will add the picture to my blog so you see that I'm not telling a tall tale! ;-)

7. I am embarrassed to say this, but I had a Jheri Curl until I was in 10th grade in high school! (1992.) I guess because of my skin color and because I didn't wear it dripping with moisturizer, people used to think that my hair was naturally curly. I finally grew it out it by getting braids.

Stop laughing.

My New, Beautiful Babies!!

2007-06-03T23:25:00.000-04:00

Well, after my mom finished with my hair I had to go home and wash it AGAIN to remove the grease that was used in order to get it straight. OH MY GOD. I must have washed my hair 15 times. That damn grease would NOT come out! I even used apple cider vinegar! After all that, I still needed to blow dry it and braid it, find some clothes for my son and I and pack. By time I did all that it was 4:00am! I closed my eyes for 30 minutes and got up to get ready for our 3 hour trip. I bought myself some Red Bull and we were on our merry way. Amazingly, I did not feel sleepy while driving, Thank GOD!

We arrived to Paulette's shop at 9:00am! A 1/2 hour after my scheduled appointment due to an exit being closed which took me 7 miles out of my way. It was great to see her in person! Her locks are absolutely beautiful and fitting for her. They are so micro and tiny. Stunning! I introduced Hambone and My Little Artist, and shortly after that, she went to work. Well, we only breaked for the restroom and for lunch and 16.5 hours later, my hair was completely locked and beautiful! Actually, it would have taken more like 19 hours if Paulette hadn't solicited some help from one of the ladies that works in her shop and they worked on my hair simutaneously. She also has beautiful locks done by Paulette. Oh the relief when she told me that she was finished!!!!!! They look great! I don't miss my length AT ALL!!!! I should have had it cut into a nice shape long ago! And that awful, dull, dry-looking color is GONE! So, without further ado, I present my new locks...check them out!

I am amazed at how un-scalpy it looks!
Looks nice and full already!

The wonderful and talented Paulette and I.

Preparation

2007-06-03T21:54:00.001-04:00

This picture was taken Friday night. You'll have to excuse me because I am looking particularly greasy in these pics. My skin is very oily AND it was hot!

Anyway, I arrived to my mother's kitchen at about 8:30pm. MUCH LATER than I intended because I wanted to get enough sleep so that I could feel rested for my 3 hour drive to Michigan but Hambone had gotten into a time crunch herself when she left work later than she intended. Luckily, I had gotten off early because of a team-building event (bowling) my department went to. So she had a hair appointment at 4:30pm and needed to get her car serviced and ready for our trip to Detroit (oil change, tires checked, wheel alignment.) She was stressed because it was 4:00pm and still hadn't been able to have her car serviced. Well, I dropped her off at the salon and took the car to be serviced. So we got that taken care of and that took a big load from her plate. Okay so by the time that was done, she took me home and I jumped in my car to go to mom's.

I got there and immediately washed and blow dried my hair. My mother then began straightening my hair in order to prep it for the cut. I need to add, my mother is NOT a hair stylist, nor has she ever been or had any type of training. After she got my stubborn hair straight enough to comb through, she began to cut. I was so pleased with the shape! Mom did such a great job! I had more hair left than I thought! I thought it would be much shorter than this! Check it out.

After the blow dry------------ After the cut

After she hot curled it for fun. Mom wouldn't
let me leave without putting a few curls in it to
see how it would look. My son said I looked
like the girl in Austin Powers (Beyonce)...lol.

EASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!!!

2007-06-03T21:31:00.000-04:00

It was quite unfortunate that I was in Detroit having my new locks installed and completely unable to watch the game!! All I have to say is I am so proud of our Cavaliers. Being in Detroit took away from some of my elation as I watched and listen to Detroit residents sulk through the streets and on the radio. Dare we look happy as we drove around with Ohio plates in enemy territory! But now that I'm home, it's a different story!!!! WOOOO HOOO! Go Cavs!!!!!!!!!!

Confession - CAVS UP 3-2!!!!

2007-06-01T00:28:00.000-04:00

My name is Mali and I have a crush on Lebron James. He's my hero. He's Cleveland's hero. He has given me a reason to watch basketball and has made it worth watching. He's an angel sent from Heaven to save our dingy town from mediocrity. He's sexy. He's humble, yet confident. I just think he's great! *Dreamy sigh* I just had to get that out!!

I find it truly ironic that I will be in Detroit at the same moment that the Cavaliers and the Pistons will be engaged in one of the most important games in Cavs history. Oh the tension! I hope that Paulette will have the game playing while my hair is being done because I might die if I am not able to watch!

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!!!

2007-05-29T10:53:00.000-04:00

I am proud to annouce that as of 1:26am this morning I had picked out my last lock!!!!!!!! OH THE RELIEF! I was determined to finish with my hair this weekend and I was certainly grateful for the long weekend. On Friday evening, still had 130 locks left to undo but we got it done! I want to publicly wish Hambone a happy belated birthday, her birthday was on Saturday and for all of her help with my hair on last weekend and this past Sunday! She was helping me on a day that she should have still been celebrating her birthday! I couldn't have finished this up this weekend without you, gul!

Okay, so my hair was officially loose at 1:26am...7 hours and 4 minutes before I had to be at work. Now what? What to do with it!? My hair is sooooooooooooo uneven there is NO WAY I could wear it in a puff. There are some spots on my hair that are 3 inches, 5 inches long and some that are 12 (due to an unwelcomed grooming session on my last retightening visit.) YES. I've measured it with a ruler!!!!!! Well, luckily as I was shopping for an extra fine-toothed comb on Sunday, I happen to pass some weave ponytails. I saw one that looked JUST LIKE my hair when I used to wear it in a twist-out and it was only $7.99! I snatched it up! Oh how I loath wearing weave, but I have to do what I have to do for one week. I knew that I would end up getting done in the wee hours of the night and I would not have time to twist my hair and even if i did, it is so uneven, it would look a HOT MESS like creatures had been feeding on my hair so I abandoned that idea. My husband even saw my purchase hanging in the bathroom and said to me. "Whot ees that wiv een thee bothroom fo? Why deed you buy that sheet fo??" So I had to explain to him that this was only temporary until I got my locks installed this coming weekend. Boy o boy. I guess he wasn't feeling my outer hair, huh? He'd had enough of my wigs that I was wearing while letting my hair grow out 3 years ago and I suppose he started having flashbacks!

Anyway, I must say, it was no fun wrestling my hair at 2:30am with an already sore scalp from the constant picking into a gel-tail. I didn't even TRY to comb it thoroughly. My scalp wasn't having it, so I did the best I could and gelled it up and put it in a ponytail holder. Just good enough to clip the outer hair onto it.

I know that I am looking rough in this picture. I didn't go to bed until 3:40am!

Take-Down

2007-05-25T22:22:00.000-04:00

Well, great progress has been made with this take-down effort but as you can see, I still have a long way to go. Hambone and I made a big dent in this on Saturday night. I cooked a dinner of shepherd's pie (my first time, it was pretty good) to feed my My Little Artist, as well as to feed my friend for her help. We ate, and then went to work. We started around 8pm and stopped at about 2am! Whew! What a miserable task! I don't care how thick of a pillow you sit on, your hindparts still fall asleep and start feeling as if you are sitting on a bed of concrete!

I am also seeing the my hair is going to be pretty darn short. All of that hair she cut from my locks during my "grooming" did a whole lot of damage. My hair is really long in spots and REALLY short in others. I know that my hair grows at different rates on different spots on my head, but this is ridiculous. I hope I will have enough hair to achieve at least a LITTLE length! We shall see.

Here are a few pictures of my transitional hairstyle. The locks are getting fewer and fewer by the day because I come home after work and peck away at my hair for a few hours a night so I don't know how long this style is going to work, but it's going have to!

Natural Hair Gathering in Cleveland - Late Post!

2007-05-15T00:22:00.000-04:00

NATURAL HAIR GATHERING
I first want to thank Tanya for inviting me to the gathering here in Cleveland on April 28th. I had a most wonderful time! It was great meeting Tanya in the flesh and she is even cuter in person! I also met Lovinitnappy who has now gained a new blog visitor since I had never visited her blog until I met her. It was so nice to meet you beautiful ladies and I felt so welcomed and comfortable amongst such spiritual, intelligent, well-spoken women of all ages. There were so many great stories and experiences shared and it was so good to be there in all of that positive energy. I can't wait to attend the next!

I apologize for the fuzziness of this picture!

Today is the 2nd Anniversary of my 29th Birthday!

2007-05-12T14:53:00.000-04:00

Your Birthdate: May 12

You're a dynamic, charismatic person who's possibly headed for fame.
You tend to charm strangers easily. And you usually can get what you want from them.
Verbally talented, you tend to persuade people with your speaking and writing.
You are affectionate and loving, but it's hard for you to commit to any one relationship.

Your strength: Your charm

Your weakness: Your extreme manipulation tactics

Your power color: Indigo

Your power symbol: Four leaf clover

In case I have confused anyone, that means I am 31 today! I can't believe it!

InBLOGnito, Starting Anew and 10 Month Lock Anniversary!

2007-05-09T23:54:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone! Boy, have been inBLOGnito! It has been 6 months, 8 days since I have posted a message here! In the time I was gone I...

- started school
- learned to latch my own hair with instructions from locked blog exchange!
- latched my hair 3 times!
- had my hair retightened by my Sisterlocks trainee (to my dismay, but I'll talk about that in a bit)
- attended my first natural hair gathering!

LOCK ANNIVERSARY AND STARTING ANEW
I can't believe that I have been locked 10 months as of today(Yay me!) However, this anniversary is bittersweet because I have decided to restart my locks. I am not happy with the size and parting of my locks at all. In my opinion, they do not have the true look of Sisterlocks. My locks are all kinds of different sizes and I am one that likes uniformity and neatness when it comes to my locks. I can't STAND that they are so variously sized. I even have some locks that are not round, but FLAT due to the section of hair being parted in a rectangular shape instead of a square (square parts = round locks.) So, I have already made an appointment with Paulette! No more trainees botching up my hair! June 2nd is my installation date and I am so excited to be on my way to getting the size locks I wanted to begin with! I will be losing about 1/2 of my length due to the fact that I want my hair to be cut into a nice shape. The shape I have now is now is non-existent! It's just all over the place.

I am currently in the process of picking my locks out. I have taken down 2.25 bottom rows. Would you like to know how long it took me?

You ready?

Huh??

You sure!?

10 HOURS to take down 17 measly locks! OH. MY. GOD. What a long road I have ahead. My friend has declared that she will help me in the take-down effort (Thanks Hambone!) She and my son will be accompanying me to Detroit for my locking session.

RETIGHTENING DISMAY
Okay, I expressed "dismay" at my last retightening experience and here's why. I had done my last 3 retightenings myself and they always take me SOOO long. I had a formal event to attend (our Annual Dinner Dance) and with school and homework I just didn't have time to do it myself. I decided to treat myself to a retightening. Well, I sat down and I started hearing scissors. Everything was going fine until I started hearing the sound of scissors. I asked what she was cutting and she said that she was getting rid of some "fuzzies." I still didn't like the idea of putting scissors on my 9 1/2 month old locks, but I let it be...I thought maybe she saw things that I couldn't. Well, long story shortened, I realized when I got home that she cut more than just fuzzies! She was just cutting ends indiscriminately! My hair seemed shorter and some of my ends were very blunt, letting me know they had been cut. Well needless to say I was really furious. This incident only exacerbated what I had been feeling in the back of my mind - MY LOCKS WERE TOO BIG. So, it was only after this that I made up my mind to restart my locks. In a strange way, I'm grateful to her because if it hadn't been for that incident, I probably would have just put my feelings on the back burner because I have so many other things going on. Well, if you want to know what I said to her? I said nothing. She will hear me loud and clear when she never sees my hindparts in her chair again. She is a great person and a woman that I admire, but she will no longer do my hair.

Although I've been away, I have been taking pictures since I did finally get a new phone that has a 2.0 megapixels camera. Check them out.

After 3rd homemade retightening

Notice how large my locks have gotten in the back

Here is the length I have after taking down some locks (no need to get happy because it's getting cut!)

And the Winner of the Cubicle Decorating Contest Is...

2006-11-01T09:20:00.000-05:00

...me!!!! (Applause) - and every other person that decorated their cubicle!! It was a teambuilding thing, so we all got a prize just for participating...a little award within my department called "Time Out and About" that entitles us to coming in an hour late, taking an extra hour for lunch, or leaving an hour early. So far, I have accumulated 4 so I can take a 1/2 a day off if I please! My award was given the "Most Creative" distinction. Now since I can't share my award with my little artist, I will have to get him something of his own for his hard work. I'm sure money will do just fine! Check out his masterpieces. Please disregard the mess of my desk!

This is the small "Grim" that he made some time ago...I challenged him to make the large one for this contest and he did a great job! Can you see the pipe cleaner rat above Grim?

Here is the "Grim" in all of his construction paper glory that my son made with a backdrop of his other drawings that he's done and characters he has created. Grim was a hit with the office staff! I even got two "orders" for a Grim from two co-workers. I wonder if they are willing going to pay an hourly fee for my son's hard work?

And last but not least....the sweetest Grim Reaper you'll ever meet...My Little Artist all dressed (with 3 sweaters on underneath!) up for trick-or-treating.

Homemade Halloween Decorations and Scary Kitty

2006-10-29T01:51:00.000-04:00

We are having a Halloween cubicle decorating contest within my department at work. I found it to be the perfect opportunity for my son, the artist, to flex his artistic muscle because I knew that everyone would come in with their little store-bought decorations that everyone has seen 1000 times. There is a fabulous "mystery" prize (they've promised that it's NOT a lunch card to our cafeteria - a popular prize around there) as well as a mystery judge. I'll let you know what the prize is and if we won it or not!

Here are just a few items (spiders and a spider web) that he made out of pipe cleaners. Aren't they cool? The best of his creations are at the plantation (work, that is) and I will take pictures of them to post as soon as I can.

After watching Babyboy, I made the spider on the end, however, when I was done with it, it didn't look like a spider at all! Babyboy took it from me, added a few bends and curves, and voila! It looked like a spider! Can you see the homemade spider web it's hanging from?

Of course, I can't forget about Scary Kitty.

And since this IS a hair blog...Guess what? I've been freestyling as of late! I haven't set my hair with bantu knots or braids in a few weeks now. This is a picture of my everyday hairstyle. I absolutely can't stand to have hair dangling in my face, so I keep it back in this little clip. I hope they aren't damaging to my hair. I do try and take them out every night but I do forget on occasion.

Who is that in my picture? It's my little artist saying hello!

Texture Shot

2006-10-12T18:39:00.000-04:00

Welp...I finally BROKE DOWN and replaced the lost battery charger for my digital camera. I bet I find the old one now that I've finally bought another - that's just life. Anyway...now I am able to upload some good quality pictures instead of that fuzzy mess I take with my phone (85% of the pictures on here.) Here are 2 texture shots...

Look What I Found!

2006-10-05T10:18:00.000-04:00

Here is a picture of my son (then 4 years old), husband (then boyfriend) and I (relaxed and hating it) visiting with a friend of mine in 2000. I remember I had just washed my hair and my friend had complimented me on it. Even when I relaxed I never put any type of sheen or oil in my hair because my scalp has always been naturally oily and by day 4, my hair was looking as if it had oil in it! My baby boy has grown so much since then!

Are You Still Braiding and Banding? If so, read this....

2006-10-04T21:04:00.000-04:00

Hello my fellow braid and banders. I just wanted to share something that I discovered early into my locking journey.

The first time I washed my hair 1 week after my locking session, I used the black rubber bands included in my Sisterlocks Starter Kit. I had the most difficult time removing them after washing my hair, I vowed that I would never used them again because I felt that I had done some damage to the ends of my hair trying get them out. Telling my friend that has three little girls about my dilemma, she suggested that I used scrunchies. I said that they were too big and she showed me the very small ones that she uses for her daughters' hair and gave me a bag full of them. She said they are only $1 for a package. My friend said that she purchases them from "Save a Lot" if that store is in your city/state. I will ask her what brand they are when I talk to her again. I used them and it made my life SOOOOO much easier! They are also reusable, so please don't throw them away. Many of the bands in the bag have been used and they almost completely return to their original size. Thanks V!

If you see them somewhere, be sure to pick them up. They are soft and much gentler on the hair than rubberbands and they will cut your "unbanding" time tremendously!

First Bantu Knot Set 10/2/2006

2006-10-04T20:15:00.000-04:00

Well, I am 5 days away from reaching my 3 month mark. This time has really flown! I went to wash my hair on Sunday night and could not find my mini scrunchies that I braid and band with. I decided to wait until Monday night to look for my bands. I did and didn't find them, so I went ahead and washed my hair WITHOUT BANDING!!! I must say, I was a bit nervous, and I washed it very carefully without manipulating the hair much...just concentrated on my oily (no, I don't put anything in my hair, it's just naturally oily!) scalp. It came out fine! However, I did discover that I now have a lock that has a BIG hole in it. I don't know if it was a result of my "freewashing" or if it was already defective. I think it was the latter because the other locks are fine.

Here are my Bantu knots. I put them in while my hair was still damp from the wash and left them in overnight covered with my satin scarf.

Here is the end result two days later...it looks just like it did when I first took it down.

It doesn't look that much different from when I take my hair down from the braiding and banding, but it looks fuller. I prefer this look. I think it even takes me less time than the braids so that is even better!

Still Damp from Wash - 9/23/2006 (SL'd 2 months 2 weeks)

2006-09-24T00:11:00.000-04:00

I had just washed my hair and taken down my braiding and banding...I had braided it the night before and took it down after about an hour after getting out of the shower - I usually leave it braided until the following day after the wash, but I had to go to a birthday party.

Here is my feline family laid out in his usual position - his name is P Kitty.

Homemade Style -- 2 Months and 2 week-old SL's.

2006-09-20T19:19:00.000-04:00

I took this picture with a Sprint phone in the Sprint store as I waited for my phone to be serviced, hence the frown of concentration on my brow. I sent it to my phone from the display (tee hee) and it is obvious from the top two pictures that the resolution on the store camera phone was much higher than my phone - the two bottom pictures were taken with my phone. So these aren't the greatest of pictures - my hair was retightened 3 days ago and this is a little style I came up with just so that it wouldn't be down all over - nothing spectacular. Please disregard the shining acne blemishes on my face! The medicine I got from the doctor last week hasn't started working yet!

Wedding Updo

2006-09-16T16:10:00.000-04:00

I liked this and I did it in literally 5 minutes. It stayed put all day even through dancing, sweating and just having a good time. I just love my locs. They are great!

First Soft Spike Roller Set - July 29, 2006

2006-09-16T16:06:00.000-04:00

My Sisterlocks are 2 weeks-5 days old in this pic. This was my first attempt at rolling my hair with the soft spikes. TOO CURLY! I would like to try the larger ones because I did not like this look ONE BIT. But it made for a nice updo.

2 Week, 4 day-old Sisterlocks

2006-09-16T15:53:00.000-04:00

I look rough in this picture -having an outbreak with my lifelong acne battle! But you can see my hair pretty well. I took this with my phone.

At Walmart - July 14, 2006

2006-09-16T14:38:00.000-04:00

At Walmart just before turning in the camera that contained this very picture, as well as all of my Sisterlocks shots. My son, pictured there at the top, took this...you can see my hair a little.

My First Sisterlocked Hairstyle - July 10, 2006

2006-09-16T14:34:00.000-04:00

Here is my first Sisterlocked hairstyle. I did this to camoflauge the frizzy ends until they settle and maybe after my first wash, they will curl up, but for now, they look like little brown tufts of cotton! I love them already! I can't wait for them to settle so that I can roll them with my soft spike rollers that are waiting in the wings.

Day 2 - Finished Product!

2006-09-16T14:23:00.000-04:00

WOW! Talk about elation! I was soooo tired, so pardon my weary face, but I was sooo happy at the same time!

Sisterlocks Installation

2006-09-16T14:05:00.000-04:00

In the Salon. By this time I was feeling rather miserable!

Let the Sisterlocks Installation BEGIN!

2006-09-16T13:57:00.000-04:00

My hair after 8 hours of Sisterlocks installation! I had about 1/4th of a head left to be SL'd.

My Last Twist-out taken July 2, 2006

2006-09-16T13:50:00.000-04:00

7 days before my Sisterlocks were to be installed. I was SOOOO anxious to get them!

MY VERY LAST BLOW-OUT! May 20, 2006

2006-09-16T13:41:00.000-04:00

Here is the most recent picture of my husband and I taken on May 20th at my job's yearly "Prom" - our annual dinner dance. This is my very last blowout and I did something with the front...don't ask me what, but it involved angled parts and rubberbands. I can't wait to get my Sisterlocks!

Trip to Maryland - June 25, 2005

2006-09-16T13:25:00.000-04:00

This is my husband and I and a picture of my son and I that we took in DC. I didn't have time to do my twists, so I was sporting my puff.

Rollerset Gone WRONG - March 23, 2005

2006-09-16T13:13:00.000-04:00

And I had a Jill Scott concert to go to...I called myself rolling my hair with rods the night before for a different look. Well, it took me FOREVER and I fell asleep while I was still rolling. I woke up with the front of my hair UNROLLED so I had to cover it with my head tie. I was looking like Bo-Bo the clown. Just looking a hot mess. Hence the disgusted face. LOL

Twisted Highlights - November 16, 2004

2006-09-16T13:06:00.000-04:00

Here are my two-strand twists that I did myself. I really loved my highlights, but they grew out so fast! I think I will want my Sisterlocks highlighted, but I haven't decided just yet. I've got plenty of time to think, because they have yet to settle!

My Colored Puff - October 4, 2004

2006-09-16T12:37:00.000-04:00

Here is my Afro Puff (one of my favorite styles) with some homemade flat twists shortly after I had added highlights. LL Cool J was my inspiration to color. Why, you ask? Because I was going to see him in concert and I wanted to be FLY! He was awesome once he finally brought his hindparts out on stage!

A New Way of Life Emerges...Summer of 2004

2006-09-16T11:27:00.000-04:00

I had just left one job to start another a few weeks before this pic. I had made up my mind that wanted to stop wearing the wigs that I had worn for two years for the purpose of growing my hair out and was anxious to start experimenting with the full head of natural hair waiting underneath. However, I had to change jobs because, due to budget cuts, the job I had for 4 years was laying people off like crazy and I was not going to sit around and wait to be the next casualty. I had to act! I interviewed wearing my wig, I got the job, started the job and within three weeks, this was my new do. People that had met me on my first day saw me and didn't know who I was. LOL...I had to REINTRODUCE myself, but over all, my hair received positive feedback. This is the very first natural style I wore to work. I would wear my hair in twists over the weekend and wear the twist-out during the week. I eventually became confident enough to wear the twists to work, but it was not easy in the beginning. I did know that it as the best hair decision I had ever made!

Here is a picture of me at Dillards trying on a suit for my job interview. I was wearing my "outer" hair in this pic, though it's hard to see.