All Retightened & Ready To Lime!!!

I finally got in with my consultant yesterday for my 1st full official retightening!! THANK GOD!! I was experiencing some pretty severe slippage to the point that some locks had come out completely. I looked kinda funky because my hairline had the most slippage so I was wearing a headband pretty often to cover it up until my retightening....the rest of my hair, however, was very random in its areas of trouble. Ahhh...but that's all in the past and we're going to wish nothing but great things in the weeks and months to come.

The big day has finally arrived...tomorrow I leave for my mission trip to Trinidad. I was feeling overwhelmed by all of the things that I needed to get done in order to get packed and ready when I was finally reminded by God that this trip isn't about me having to get worked up to be something that someone else expects me to be. This trip is about me being myself to help someone else. I don't have to worry about being judged by what clothes I wear or how I wear my hair (although I know everyone is going to love it). This is a chance for me to be thankful for what I have and for the opportunity to allow God to use me to bless others. Allowing that thought to sink in has taken away more stress than I can tell you!

When the missions team and I made the trip to Trinidad in July, we asked the facility staff what things the kids were in need of and they told us that they needed recreational items, such as games, toys, etc. They had already been given a DVD player so DVD's were also a good choice. Being that I didn't have any Christmas shopping that I had to do this year, I went a litte crazy with the after-Christmas sales in the Toy and Media departments at Target! I had a blast!! A VERY VERY special thanks to Lynda for donating some awesome toys to add to the collection!!

I've included a few pictures below of the items I bought on my crazy spending spree. I don't wanna grow up; I'm a Toys 'R Us kid! Did you know that they still sell Easy Bake Ovens???

In Trinidad, their saying for hangin' out is "to lime" so....it's time for some hard work, then time to lime!

Warm Fuzzies From Me to You....

I've received several comments on my post A Bipolar Christmas and I just want to say how much I appreciate not only the encouragement, but also the knowledge that I've been able to possibly help others to be aware of the issue, and let people know that there are others out there dealing with it.

We, as African Americans, tend to neglect our personal health and I'm not sure why. I've known people that have died from cancer knowing that they had a tremendous tumor, but refused to go to the doctor because they said that they "didn't want to know." By the time they finally decided to go to the doctor, there were no treatment options left as their cancer had spread out of control. Our stigma when it comes to mental health is no different, if not worse.

I was apprehensive about writing my bipolar post but I just needed to write as I find that my blog is very therapeutic for me and I love the feedback. I'm so thankful that I did indeed write the post and I will continue to blog about the disorder. I praised God when I read your comments as it did my heart good to know that if I can help just one person, then I am doing work that he has called me to do. If you ever have questions or need help, please don't hesitate to ask me. I've lived with this for 15+ years now and am happy to share. You can email me by going to my profile if you'd like to ask a question privately.

Thank you all so much for the warmth and acceptance that you have given to me!!! May God bless you and keep you in perfect peace.

My Nappy Is Not So Nappy....

I've been noticing quite a bit of slippage each time I wash my hair. My first official retightening is scheduled for January 16th but I called my consultant because I was concerned. She fit me in to come in and take a look and see if she could figure out what the issue might be.

I absolutely LOVE my consultant Wendy. She's been doing Sisterlocks for 8 years and really knows her stuff! Not only that, even though she works from home, she runs a tight ship. She is very professional and I truly appreciate that. When I arrived on Thursday for her to look things over, I was immediately panicked as I'd just washed my hair again so that I'd have a clean head for her to look at.

I told her, "Wendy, I promise you that I've been doing everything that you told me to do to the letter! My Friday ritual is to braid-n-band so that I can wash my hair at some point over the weekend. I don't take the b&b out until my hair is dry. I haven't put any products on my hair other than distilled water, and I haven't gone crazy with hair accessories. I've used my Carusos but those are harmless as they are only using steam, and I haven't used any shampoo other than the Sisterlocks Starter Shampoo!"

As she took a look through my hair, Wendy said....."Take a breath!! Breathe!!" It turns out that the issue is simply the texture of my hair. Apparently, the texture of my hair is softer than we originally thought so she retightened what she could in the time that we had, and I'll still go back on the 16th so that she can finish.

I guess I would call this my first bump along the way, and it's good to know that sometimes even though you are maintaining your locks perfectly, there will be issues that come up that are out of your control. Wendy said that she installed my locks with the tightest lock pattern available but sometimes the texture of the hair dictates what changes you have to make in your daily regimen. So now, I will wash my hair every 2 weeks instead of every week, but other than that, I'm doing okay. Darn, I'll so miss those other 2 Fridays of braiding and banding!! Yeahhhh right!!!

My 1 Month Lock-a-versary....

Today is my one month lock-a-versary!!! I am so pleased with how my locks are coming along so far. This is just a Caruso roller set. I originally bought the 30 roller set but I also indulged myself with the 14 roller traveler set too because I needed some additional medium and large rollers. I don't like tight curls so I use the larger rollers but of course the trade-off is that the curls don't last for very long. Without starting out looking like Shirley Temple, how can I get my curls to last longer? I can't use any setting lotions or anything like that because my locks are still such babies.....well that and my consultant would kill me!! Ha ha!! Any other suggestions?