My one month locaversary

What better way to celebrate one month than by posting pics enjoy.

Brunsli Hair Tie

I just placed my order for the Paua!!! Can't wait 'til I get it.

Nikki Giovanni

I love her!!!! She is so outspoken and bows down to no one. My idol. I went to see her last night at the Oakland Museum. My biggest take away was "Don't change who you are for anyone, be you!" One of my strongest beliefs!!! Check her out!

***** Hair Update*****

I had my installation follow-up appointment last Saturday. All is well. It took her an hour to retighten my hair, She recommended that I get my hair retightened every 5 weeks and it should only take 2 hours. I'm juiced about that.

I have yet to wash my hair, partly because I don't feel I need to (no smell, no itching or flaking) and partly because I have never been an advocate of frequent washing. My consultant told me that when I do decide to wash I don't have to band and braid as she doesn't anticipate any slippage. All I have to do is dilute my shampoo and spray it on my scalp and massage it in, then just rinses out in the shower. I don't anticipate washing it until right before my next retightening so I'll give an update on how it came out then.

Failed styling attempts

So out of boredom I started playing with my hair the other day...

As I was rummaging through my shelves looking for some setting lotion.... I stumbled upon this.

This was my grandmothers old electric rollers had to be from the late 80s or early 90s. So I figured, everyone in the SL network is so jazzed about those Carusos, these cant be too much different, what the heck and tried them out. I pulled the unit out the closet and plugged it up... After the smoke settled (lol) they where warm so I put them in my hair and left them until they cooled and this my friends is how I looked after,

Not so hot.

But it got me to thinking if you are using steam/heated rollers on locks that aren't mature won't that retard/delay the locking process? Riddle me that.

So after that failed attempt and after rummaging more I found some small perm rods. I wet my hair and put it in 5 small pony tails and then applied the rods to the ends. I slept on this and went to sleep. The next morning I took the rods out and the curls were tight but cute because they where only on the ends. However my hair still looked sectioned from the ponytails so I figured I just loosen it up in the shower. Well when I got done it didn't look too different from my freestyle so posting pics wasn't necessary. Failed attempt #2.

So after another bout with boredom I decided to plait my hair and do a braid-out. I put my hair in about 10 plaits and put the perm rods at the very ends and left it overnight. That's the look I am wearing today. I like it but still doesn't look too different from my freestyle.

Before

After



So I decided that until my locks mature I will just rock the freestyle (unless I get bored again). Because my hair has such a natural tight curl to it I figured it will lock quick and I'm extra paranoid that if I keep on playing in it it will only sow down the process.

Wino

I'm what you call a professional wine taster... lol, not really but I love me some wine.

Living in the bay area has its perks and being in such close proximity to the wine country (Napa Valley) is definitely one of them. But believe it or not I have never set foot in Napa/Sonoma or the likes and I am still privied to some of the best wines that the world has to offer.

How, you may ask? There are several wineries (where they distill the grapes and make the wine) in the East Bay and are within a 10 radius of my house.

This past Saturday was a great day for wine lovers in the East Bay as the East Bay Vinters Alliance held its 1st annual "Passport to the East Bay Wine Trail." It featured 13 local wine makers at 8 different locations in Oakland, Emeryville, Berkeley, and Alameda.

To say the least I had a blast... I would have been more fun if I didn't have to be the designated driver. Hopefully I can get some pics from the event and post them soon.

The Premier

OK... so I posted pics but didn't write about my experience.. Like to hear it? Here it go.

Prior to Installation

So after my consultation I had a few reservation but nothing too major. So after getting feedback from my fellow blogger and the LockItUp community, I decided to go full speed ahead. So, after waiting 11 days I got locked by my original consultant and I can't be more happy. But let me back up a bit....
Though I said bye bye to the perm in 1999 and haven't looked back since... I have never really rocked my hair in it natural state. I'm use to pressing and weaving and after all these years I hadn't really known that my hair was really NAPPY. I mean that in the best way possible because I love nappy hair. so when I took my hair down and was rockin the puff for the day and a half before my installation, I found myself with my hands in my hair all day. So out of fear the I would alter my nappy state., I decided that after the consultation I would put my weave back in. This would be an absolutely costly and stupid decision if I didn't do it myself... so I did. I also didn't want to have any last regrets so I looked at it like I was making a life-long commitment (which I am) similar to marriage and what more appropriate for the last shebang but a Weaverette party for myself. Here are the pics:

Me and my lil cousin Nia after a long day of cooking for Easter.

Rockin it straight.

Installation day (March 30, 2008)

I couldn't get any sleep because I kept on thinking that I would oversleep and miss my appointment. It was set for 6am bright and early that Sunday morning. I kept on having a dream that my alarm didn't go off, only to pop up and realize that it was only 2am... 2:45....4:30... and just when I was finally comfortably in sleep mode, the alarm went off.

Damn... after hitting snooze a few times I got up. I had showered, washed my hair, and got everything ready the night before so all I had to do was wash my face, brush my teeth, throw on my sweats and get ready to spend GOD knows how long getting my locks installed.

I looked in the mirror and wanted to scream. Under the strict instructions of my consultant I was only to wash my hair, try not to comb it and DO NOT apply conditioner. Gulp... I was scared. I had washed my hair with a clarifying shampoo to make sure to get out any gunk and laid a towel on my pillow and let it dry overnight. My reflection was not pretty. My previous shoulder length hair had swivelled into a TWA. A lopsided one at that. Another gulp. I kept myself entertained on the 10 minute drive to her house by imagining her saying "Damn, I said that your hair should be as nappy as possible but DAMN that's nappy" HAHA.

When I arrived she had me pick out 5 movies and she went right to work. She started by sectioning my hair into four sections and started in the upper right quadrant. We watched movie after movie and before I knew it, it was almost 1pm she had finished the majority of the front of my hair. I was hungry as ever. We took a break and went over the community center at the religious school we used to attend together and got us some good ol home cooking. I was tearing up my chicken wings, grits, cheese eggs and waffle. After a lil over an hour we got back to work. I picked out five more movies, a friend came over to keep us company and the whole event was over at close to midnight.

I had promised myself that I would take pictures of the process and the final results but I just wasn't in the mood (SORRY). Long story short, I had my doubts and fears, but the end results left me speechless. I loved my tiny starter locs and the length. I had to be at work at 8am the next morning, so I did two french braids, tied them up and called it a night.

Rave Reviews

They like it... they really really like it. When I got up for work the morning after my install, I felt like a new woman was born. I took my french braids down, let the moisture of the shower mist my hair, got dressed and you couldn't tell me nothin.

I felt strong, proud, beautiful and energized. I walked into work and to my surprise everyone was pleasantly impressed. Even the janitor, who vowed to never be my friend again if I wore short hair, said that I was "Muy Bonita." I couldn't stop looking in the mirror or through anything that showed a reflection.

Then the real test came... My boss (the director of nursing and a Jewish princess) walked by. She's always in a rush but when she say me in passing she grabbed her own hair then proceeded to give me two thumbs up while saying "I love your hair."

I am so happy. Even my guy friend loves my hair... Everyday he looks at me and tells me how happy he is that I got my locs and how they are great and look better every day. But I don't really pay him too much mind because he always gives me compliments. HeHe.