Natural Journeys: My Sisterlocks and stuff

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7:34PM EST - I completed my OWN SL retightening session!! WHO'S BAD! I'm so happy with myself. It's done! I did it! YEah!! It took 4 days including real-life happening during that time minus working outside the home. (I guess I SHOULD have logged my hours...oops...next time I suppose. I guess I didn't want to overwhelm myself with specifics.) Honestly, I'm NOT very proficient with the SL tool... if I may say so, a common hair pin was my savior. I kept snagging other hairs with my SL tool doing my own hair. I bet I COULD, however, retighten my kids' hair with the SL tool IF they had SLs in the same #4 retightening pattern. Check out my pics my daughter took... [upper, left] After so many hours of my kids watching me retighten my hair, my 6-year got into the act with one of her sisters (my husband captured this photo); [upper, right] Me just happy to be DONE; [lower, left] Showing my work on top; [lower, right] Showing my work in the back ...well, kind of......

Yesterday, I visited Locks4Life to have a few "corrections" made to my DIY retightening by Paulette who had taken the day off to celebrate Archie II's birthday-- her husband. So, Certified Sisterlocks Consultant Robin Simpson was holdin' down the fort. THANKS Robin! She patiently fixed my messes, encouraged me to continue the process, reviewed my work and pointed out for me to be careful not to repeat the same rotation on the same lock resulting in very thin weakly retightened loc using some examples in my hair that I had done (YIKES!) She assured me that after correctly retightening this same lock NEXT time it should correct itself. (I sure hope so!) Robin, demonstrated how I might address my frustration with sectioning my hair off and away from the area I'm working in and even gave me a few stronger clamping hair clips. (What a huge help! Having the right tools is half the battle! Thanks AGAIN Robin-- you ROCK!) Locks4Life Natural Salon has the most profic...

(First of all, I got smart y'all and began my day with a good attitude, breakfast, supplements and a Motrin for my arms...) DAY 3: I am struck with frustration with separating tightened sections from those not tightened. My clips are slipping. I can't see. What was a cleared area somehow sneaks another hair or whole another lock in to the area I'm attempting to tighten. "AWWW!" Yet, on a happier note--- I am VERY proud with how far I've come and how neat it looks! Of course, I have a WHOLE LOT of time on my hands now to do my own retightenings being that I'm a teacher and school's out for the summer. I'm thinking that I will probably STILL be going for retightenings with Paulette as long as I have the cash to do so just for the sheer amount of time it takes me to complete this task. Now, I am a bit of an overacheiver... I've got this whole top of my head to complete. (The part in the big knot in the center of my head) ...and the very back o...

Day 2: The Pain-- Oh, my aching arm! I'm right-handed and to my surprise my left arm in the area just above my elbow is swollen and sore from bending it while retightening my hair. My right arm is fine. OMG... what have I gotten myself into?! Wow... BEFORE Pic I'm going to naturally try to cool my body's inflammatory response by eating green leafy vegetables, take supplements-- a good multi-vitamin, omega 3s, glucosamine–chondroitin, then take a Motrin and get back at it today. Wish me strength, endurance and success!

Wow! Today, I completed the Sisterlocks Retightening Class at Locks4Life- Oak Park (Metro Detroit) with my SL Consultant Paulette Brown. It was just Paulette and me in today's class. "Excellent", I thought, "one-to-one training" and it was. The time went by fast. I felt pretty good about learning the moves for my #4 pattern so quickly. But the true test begins NOW... on my own. No more readily available assistance when I'm screaming, "Help, Paulette! I've got the tool caught in my hair!!" ...or, "Ahhhh, I forgot what rotation I'm on!" As I gather my stuff to section off a single row of my 500 or so SLs... how do I feel right now after taking the SL Retightening Class? Well, I am proud of myself for taking this step. Honestly, with every properly pulled through rotation I smile inside. Only INSIDE, though...LOL... recognizing that I've got a lot more hair to do. It is kinda overwhelming too as I'm hopeful I shall improve my...

  Been there done that! Braid extensions, relaxers, Leisure Curl, Jheri Curl, teeny-weenie afro, BIG afro, afro puffs, press & curl, natural twists What's up now? - Sisterlocks! Where ya' goin' next? HTT (Hair To There) Sisterlocked for life! ...and my hair growth End is not yet!

DON’T QUIT When things go wrong, as they surely will, When the road you’re trudging seems ALL up hill, When the funds are low and debts are high And you want to smile, but you have to sigh When care is pressing you down a bit, Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit. Life is queer with its twists and turns, As everyone of us eventually learns, And many a failure turns about When he might have won had he stuck it out. Don’t give up though the pace seems slow, You may succeed with another blow. Success is failure turned inside out, The silver tint of the clouds of doubt, And you never can tell how close you are, It may be near when it seems so far. So stick to the light when you’re hardest hit. It’s when things seem worst that you Must not quit. Gal. 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Let us each be reminded of the BLACK FAMILY PLEDGE by Dr. Maya Angelou: Because we have forgotten our ancestors our children no longer give us honor. Because we have lost the path our ancestors cleared, kneeling in perilous undergrowth, our children cannot find their way. Because we have banished the God of our ancestors, our children can not pray. Because the long wails of our ancestors have faded beyond our hearing, our children cannot hear us crying. Because we have abandoned our wisdom of mothering and fathering, our befuddled children give birth to children they neither want nor understand. Because we have forgotten how to love, the adversary is within our gates, and holds us up to the mirror of the world, shouting, Regard the loveless. Therefore, we pledge to bind ourselves again to one another; To embrace our lowliest, To keep company with our loneliest, To educate our illiterate, To feed our starving, To clothe our ragged, To do all good things, knowing that we are more than k...

I'm such a daddy's girl! Here's daddy enjoying our gift to him on Father's Day this year.   My dad looks great! Back in the day --before his greying hairline-- people would mistake my dad and me for boyfriend and girlfriend! HE USE TO LOVE THAT! ... Me not so much... He really did look young for his age and then there was me who was very mature acting for my young age at the time. I love my daddy. I have ALWAYS known that HE LOVED ME as well!

Make a Smilebox photobook Ken, your 3 daughters and I love you so very much! You are a beautiful symbol of manhood and what it means to be a gentleman. I appreciate you and I'm glad you are my husband and father of our children. Happiest of Father's Day 2008! TheWife- Kecia Your female namesakes- Kendal, Kennedy, and McKenzie

Orginally, created at Animoto.com and uploaded to YouTube...pretty nice, huh? You can do it too! Visit this link ANIMOTO.COM and upgrade your personal still pics from slideshow to full music video. It is sooooooo EZ to do. Leave me a comment about Animoto and certainly about my hair! (My husband did an awesome jobs capturing my natural beauty... I luv HIM! )

Father, in the Name of Jesus, we lift up your son Sen. Barack Obama in our prayers and praises. We thank You for a time such as this and for sending a man such as Sen. Barack Obama to fulfill Your work in our land. We prayer an increased sensitivity to Your Spirit for Sen. Obama and his family that they each will hear Your voice and a stranger they will not follow. We blanket Barack, Michelle, and their daughters with prayer, God's love, our warm thoughts, and our positive energy that the mighty effectual works of the Spirit shall manifest in this lifetime for grace and help in the time of need. We stand resolute in prayer against any and all negative forces or spiritual wickedness in high places-- like ignorance and hatred that would seek to come against Your handiwork. We declare that no weapon formed against Sen. Barack Obama shall prosper. O Lord, Sen Obama is Your Handiwork. And we praise, worship, and honor You for the great things You do, have done and will do through his h...