Happy Holidays!!

Above is my rendition of Mrs. Claus (smile)! I've been locked now for 2 years and 8 months and the journey has yet ceased to amaze me! You can faintly see my two-week old twist-out style in the pics. Also, you will note that my dark brown-almost black hair dye that I had done a few months ago lost its battle (smile).

Let's see...this month....aaahh, December, the month full of vicarious joy and love ALONE I have been stopped many many times and asked the same FOUR questions:

1. Is that your real hair?
2. Are those "twisties"?
3. Who does your hair?
4. If you wanted to change your 'hairstyle', you would have to cut them off, huh?

The conversation generally ends with, "I really like those a lot; it's exactly what I'm looking to do with my hair but I like to change my hair too much!" After hearing those same questions repeatedly and my efforts to educate those inquiring minds; I relentlessly give in and refer them to the Sisterlocks web site and internally shake my head.....boy, will we ever stop being a slave to all of that negative rhetoric, false beliefs, and misinformation about our beautiful nappy hair? In the meantime, to all of my fellow bloggers...Season Greetings and I hope 2008 will be you much love, peace, and joy!

Monica

Lordy Lordy Look Who's 40!

Can you believe I made it Over the Hill October 5th? Where did the time go? Well I must say it looks a lot better on this side of the hill! My oldest left for the Marines last month and is now realizing the depth of parental guidance and sheltering (smile). One down and three more to go....smile!

2.5 Years Locked

Fortunately, I managed to make it over the hill without any traces of gray hair! What you will notice, however, is that I dyed my hair back to its original dark brown color. You can see the light brown color in the pic on the left. My hair almost looks black in the pic on the right. It was quite a shock when I first did it. I looked so pale, but in time, I've managed to appreciate why God blessed me with my dark brown hair color.

Since I last posted, I've experimented with various styles. I even curled my hair with a hot curling iron! I suppose I was missing the relaxed hair for a bit--crazy, huh? My hair looked flat and stringy....needless to say, I didn't like the look and I have no plans to abuse my hair again. In the end it only helped to solidify my reasoning for continuing on my natural hair and locking journey! In the meanwhile, I'm content with roller setting my hair. At night I'm still sleeping in my lock scrunchie (i.e., lock sock) from http://www.lockscrunchie.com/ . I think I have one in every color and pattern (smile).

17 yr old son with hair blown out!

Oh, almost forgot. My second oldest son pictured above is now locked! Woo Hoo! He's a football player, and mom was tired of cornrolling every 2 weeks (smile)! So, when I went for my last retightening I asked Elaine to start traditional locks on his hair. This is our second attempt at locking his hair. A few years ago we tried with the palm rolling method, but because he has loose curl pattern like me; it failed to lock in a sufficient amount of time. Elaine started his locks with a "brother-lock" similiar pattern to reduce slippage. He's extremely happy and so am I!!!

Braid Out--Take Two

<Take Two>

3 Day Old Braid Out

It had dawned on me that I hadn't corn-rowed my hair, or at least, attempted to do so in quite a while. To my surprise and delight, I was able to do it without looking like Scarecrow on the Wizard of Oz (smile). The pics you see posted are 3-day old waves from the corn-rows.

2 Years Sisterlocked

Above Photo: Soft Spiked Curled (2 Days Old)
2 Years...
April 2007

Happy Belated Easter Everyone! Can you believe it actually snowed in Texas? Yes, I mean snow, the white fluffy stuff that makes snowballs! We received close to 3 inches in Killeen! By the end of the week it'll be back up to the 80's! That's the Lone Star state for you. Wow, I can hardly believe two years have gone by already!!! Last month I had Elaine touch up the color, it had been approx. one year since my last coloring. It looks fabulous! Elaine's hands are definitely annointed with God's grace. While browsing through one of the groups I belong to, LocItUp, one of the members was raving on an on about these rollers called, Soft Spike Curlers, and how . Curious, I decided to do some investigation and found that they were founded by Ellen Kelley in 1996, Soft Spikes began after a long search for a better curler for Ellen's Irish dancing daughter, Robin. Soft Spikes generates the best curly hair styles around and is a leader in the area of curly hair products (http://www.softspikecurlers.com/). According to many of its users, the curlers are great for sisterlocks and will give you long lasting curls. Most of the members recommended the original size, as opposed to the larger size curler because it gives a tighter curl. Anyone who knows me, knows that I will try "almost" anything once, so I ordered (3) packs of the original size curlers. What's cool about Soft Spike Curlers is that they come in all colors (i.e., over 60 color combinations)! I currently use the gold Solar curlers, but over time the gold material covering the sponge roller and pipe-cleaner has a tendency to shred. I had previously purchased the Caruso curlers, but the curls do not last long, and because I've been blessed with thick hair, I end up with a lot of body and less curls.

I'm enjoying my much needed break from school; however, I knew I wouldn't rest for too long because I recently applied and was accepted into an alternative teaching certification program. Yes, that would mean back to school once again (smile). The program doesn't begin until June, so I still have some leisure time left. Now that summer is approaching (I think), and I normally sweat very easily, I was thinking of investing in some colorful hair wraps to keep my hair off of my neck. Wow, did I actually say, "keep my hair off of my neck?" Who woulda thunk, huh? Anyway, if anyone can point me in the right direction on where to purchase some really good ones, I'd love to have your input. Thanks to all those who've been supportive in my two-year crawl towards freedom! One Love.

Monica

21 Months

21 of the Most Wonderful Months...

Happy New Year Everyone! I call this shot "diamonds" because of the sparkling effect that bounces off of my necklace. You may not be able to see it in the pics, but my eyes are scarlet red (irritation from navy blue eyeliner). Since my last post so many things have happened. I finally finished my Masters in Counseling and have started the Ph.D program in Psychology; however, after attending school for the last six years straight, I've discovered that I am truly burned out and need to take a "Monica Break". I've acclimated myself so much into the collegiate environment that my personal social skills have weakened, and thus, I'm off to rediscovering me and spending quality time with my four children.

On to my hair....most of it is fully locked, but still the crown remains stubborn for the most part. Overall, I haven't had much slippage in the past several months. My scalp is extremely dry and still flakes, which is expected during these colder months. However, I'm beginning to wonder if my setting lotion is a contributory factor to this condition. I've tried a variety of setting lotion products, but I still end up with "frosted flakes". I've noticed that curling my hair with solar rollers aids in the locking process because I don't play in my hair as often, it keeps the ends from frizzing, and the curls generally last 1-2 weeks if I take special care in tying my hair up at night. So if you see me walking down the street, don't be surprised to see me sporting curls as opposed to flat twists or a straight style.

News flash: This month I am finally able to pull the top half of my hair completely into a pony tail! This is cause for celebration because over time Elaine (my consultant) cut my hair into layers and it proved to be very difficult to pull all the locks together. I can hardly wait for the day when I can pull ALL of my locks into one beautiful pony tail! I would imagine that won't be for another year or so (smile). Oh, I almost forgot, Elaine hot curled my hair during my last retightening. She curled it towards my face, and because it's been cut into layers the hair style created a beautiful silhouette of my face! Unfortunately, it was extremely rainy that day, so the style didn't last too long. I must admit, it's been so long since I've used a curling iron on my hair, I was a little uncomfortable and concerned about potential damage on my natural hair.

Not much else has changed. I'm still doing the single parent thing, as my husband has decided to work another year in Iraq (that's a whole other blog in and of itself). I still religiously take the Super Biotin daily, and occasionally when I remember; women's multivitamin. As part of rediscovering me, I've started exercising--something I've neglected since starting college. I am soooooo out of shape it's pathetic. Those late nights doing homework made it very difficult to get up in the morning to exercise. So, everyone, until next time; thank you for reading, sending me your comments, and sharing this wonderful journey of a lifetime with me!