My Smile Has Never Been Brighter.....

I am SOOOO excited! Sisterlocks has added links to their website to advertise that they are doing photo shoots in several cities. They've advertised by placing pictures online of some of those who participated in the shoots a couple of weeks ago. I MADE THE CUT!!

I am so excited that my picture is online. I feel so glamourous. It's amazing how something as simple as your hair can boost your overall self-image. I feel more beautiful now than I think I ever have. Everyone that took pictures looks wonderful!

There just may be a photo shoot coming to a city near you. Click here for more information.

And of course.....see my pictures here.

The hair is the richest ornament of women.

~Martin Luther

Meeting A Legend And My Sisters...

This past weekend, the sisters in the northern California area came together for a consultant training class, potluck, and individual photo shoots. While I'm far from ready to take any SL class yet, I did enjoy my own little personal sex kitten supermodel moment when I had my photo shoot.

Once you have Sisterlocks, you hear about the disease...you know the "hanzenthehairitis", "whitegirlatoma", and "slapurgia", but no one told me that I would need to go to rehab for a "phototectomy" (my definition of needing to be pulled away from the camera). Before I got my locks, I thoroughly enjoyed being behind the camera taking pictures and I still do enjoy it, but now I have this thing where I like to be in front of the camera as well! I had a lot of fun doing different poses in different settings, and our photographer, John, was spectacular! He will be at the SL Homecoming in July so start planning your poses now....

I also got to meet and speak with Dr. JoAnne Cornwell...our SL mother, motivator, and friend. It was so exciting to meet her and for her to tell me that she loved my hair!!! Super Kudos to Wendy and hey, congrats to me for working the Caruso curlers! ha ha I think what was most valuable was to hear from the real source of it all, exactly what things should or shouldn't be done with my hair. It was a great compliment to Wendy that not only did Dr. C. think my hair looked very nice, but also that every instruction that Wendy has given me is exactly as Dr. C. said in answer to questions that I and everyone else proposed.

In looking at all of the beautiful locks around the room, no two heads looked alike, but there were a few common bonds...everyone embraced each other as family and friends. I didn't see anyone giving the infamous scan up and down on anybody with the tell-tale, "who did it and what for" face. Second, everyone exuded self-confidence and took pride in how they carried themselves. There was an air of class and elegance from one end of the room to the other, and third, sistah's know how to cook!!

I'm excited to be a part of this warm and growing community and can't wait to see everyone again in San Diego for Homecoming. See you there!!

Special thanks to...

Dr. C.

Wendy

Chloe
(for doing my makeup)

Sandy and Carolyn
(for helping to choose my jewelry)

and of course John
(for taking such spectacular pictures!!)

Here I am with Wendy and Alicia (aka Chocolata)

A sister can be seen as someone who is both ourselves

and very much not ourselves

- a special kind of double.

~Toni Morrison

I've Been Tagged!

Yay, I finally got tagged!! Now I really know there's some other SL crazies reading my blog and I feel special! ha ha

Okay, 6 non-important habits/things/quirks/facts about me....

Ready......set.....GO!

1. So far, I've lived in Michigan, Florida, California (twice), Minnesota, Connecticut, New Mexico, Virginia (twice) and New York.


2. I have a desire to live outside of the U.S. for at least some portion of time


3. I AM the black sheep of the family.


4. I read incessantly be it online or books and magazines. I could be referred to as a walking library (i.e. NERD)


5. I love watching tennis grand slam tournaments and they're the only sporting events that I'll really watch on tv.


6. I boycotted sports in college. If you have an academic scholarship and don't perform well academically, you lose your scholarship. If you have an athletic scholarship and the team doesn't perform well athletically (aka the team sucks and can't win) you still get to keep your scholarship.

Once you've been tagged, you have to do the following things:

• Link back to the person that tagged you. Bless you Amba!!


• Post the rules on your blog


• Tag 6 random people at the end of your post by adding links to their blogs


• Let each random person know that they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog
  

I'm tagging.....

Aqueelah

Paulette

Sisterlocks Convert

Sisterlock Adoration

Natasha (aka Black Russian)

and

CloudNine

As far as an update on my locks..... I just had my 3 month lock-a-versary!! I'm still just as happy as ever with them and have almost forgotten what my hair was like before them! They've puffed up a bit and LOVED the humidity of Trinidad. I don't have any great new pictures yet but I'm excited because a photographer and some other guests from the Home Office are coming up to northern California this weekend. I will hopefully have some great shots to show soon!

Another Type Of Freedom...

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love Love LOVE Suze Orman. She is the financial guru lady that sometimes appears on Oprah, has her own column in O magazine, writes lots of bestselling books, has her own show on CNBC every Saturday night at 9pm, and oh yeah, has changed my life where my finances are concerned. Suze used to be a regular on Oprah back in the late 90's and I liked watching her then, but it wasn't until a couple of years ago when her book, The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke (YF&B) was published that I really felt she had written a book that was for me. I was a number of years out of college, working hard with a good job, but was so broke I couldn't even pay attention!

I saw a PBS special of Suze talking to an audience of young adults and recent college grads and I started to learn how to free myself of my ball-and-chain....DEBT! I learned about finances the hard way. Buy now, pay later to me meant buy now, pay the minimum each month until it was eventually paid and if you missed a payment you might just have to pay double the next month. I didn't know anything about that magical concept of INTEREST and the fact that even a small purchase on a credit card will cost you about 10 times the original cost and years to pay off if you only pay the minimum. By the time the YF&B came out, I'd paid off all of the credit card debt that I had and learned that lesson, but I still hadn't learned about the power of the almighty FICO score. I'd maintained a laxed "they'll get theirs when I get mine" attitude about paying bills because it was all I ever knew. I'd destroyed my credit rating without having any idea of what a credit rating was.

Enter Financial Savior Suze....the YF&B book is geared toward young people who really don't have any money that may or may not have debts to pay off. It was so nice to learn about all of the financial stuff that I needed to know way back, and get a plan to get me on a path toward my future that I could wrap my head around. It was in what my boyfriend likes to say "pwain engwish".

I've followed Suze's advice ever since and read other books to increase my knowledge as well. Suze's show is TIVO'ed on my machine every Saturday and it's gotten to the point now where I'm able to answer the questions of some of the people that call in because I already know what she's going to say. My favorite segment is called "Can I Afford It". People call in and tell her about something they want to buy and how much it costs. They then have to tell her what their take home income is, how much their mortgage or living expenses total, any debt they have, and how much money they have in savings and retirement accounts. As you can imagine, it can get pretty outrageous. I'm at the point where I have a little voice in my head that says "what would Suze say?" whenever I want to buy something.

This week, Suze was on Oprah again with a woman who's husband committed suicide leaving her with 4 small children, no life insurance, no savings, no retirement funds, and mountains and mountains of debt. It was an incredibly sad story and my heart just sunk for this woman. The story became even more heartbreaking when you found out that while this woman was busting her butt at home with the kids, her husband had been hitting her and emotionally killing her. Her 4 children had been all sleeping in bed with her for a year because it was the only way that her husband wouldn't come in to beat her. Now that's some S***!

The focus of the show was for women to learn how to provide for ourselves and for our futures. It wasn't the "in spite of a man" type of attitude as much as it was are you providing and planning for yourself in every way possible? Are you making sure your children are provided for should something happen to you?

Last year, Suze released her newest book called Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny. Of course I bought it and have already read it and I believe it's a book that absolutely EVERY woman should read and heck, there's stuff in there that men should know too! The book is written in pwain engwish and lays out a plan for every woman to learn about everything from her FICO score to what documents she needs to have in place should she pass away or become incapacitated. Let's face it, we're all going to die someday and only God knows when that day will be so we have to be prepared so that we don't leave loose ends for those we love and leave behind. So many times, I've heard people say "I'll be dead so who cares what happens once I'm gone" but the problem is, if you own anything, yes, it might go to your next of kin but not without the government getting their hands on things first. You may think that your house will just go to your kids for them to raise their kids in, but nope, it doesn't work that easily. The court fees, if you don't have the right documents drawn up before your death, may put your kids out on the street, no matter if they are your next of kin or not.

I felt like blogging about this because if you didn't already know, my boyfriend and I have a long distance relationship. We've been together for almost two years and although he can drive me crazy sometimes (like any other man wouldn't?), I love him very much and want to spend my future with him. He is a very good man that loves me in a way that no other man has. He spoils me rotten and I have to sometimes remind myself not to take him for granted. He believes in the romantic things like flowers and chocolates and breakfast in bed, but he also believes in taking care of me, keeping me safe, protecting me both physically and emotionally. Some of my friends have given me a little push asking how long I'm willing to wait for him. When am I going to stop traveling and settle down? I want to get married someday and he's not sure. He's sure about me, just not the whole marriage concept (you know...the it's just a piece of paper thing). He witnessed his parents' very painful, messy divorce and has lost faith in marriage because of it. Okay so he has some issues, so do I.

I started to talk to him about the whole idea of settling down and setting a timetable within which we'd make that decision, then I saw that woman with Suze on Oprah's show. It reminded me that I travel for my job because the company pays my living expenses. It reminded me how much my student loan debt (my only debt thanks to Suze) has diminished because of my traveling. It reminded me that I've been working to take care of and protect myself no matter what happens. I let go of my momentary thinking that the company and my student loans were dictating my life and reminded myself that my traveling is my way and my wonderful opportunity to take control of my life.

Over the years I've learned to respect my money and I have to say that I respect my bills. It may sound silly but if I don't respect the cell phone company, they won't respect my need for a phone. The U.S. Dept. of Education provided a way for me to earn a great education. I respect them enough not only to pay my debt to them, but to try to pay it off early. After all, it only benefits me to pay it off. If I settle down and have to pay for all of the expenses that go with it, I can't focus as easily on providing for myself and my future.

Kevin and I have however much time for our future that God will give us. If we're meant to be, then it will happen in God's time and truthfully, I think that God's time includes my desire to stand on my own even if only for one day and be able to say that I am debt free. I'd like to be able to do that BEFORE I get married.

Below are the covers of YF&B and Women & Money. I've also included the cover of one of my other favorite books that I refer to often, Financial Planning Demystified. I know that alot of us sisters are out here wanting to get married, but whether that day happens or not, you still have to provide for yourself for today and for your future.

We can tell our values

by looking at our checkbook stubs.

~Gloria Steinem

Alive, Well, And Back To The Land Of The Blogging...

Wow! I feel like I've been out of the lock community wayyyy too long. My trip to Trinidad was a success! The surgeries all went well and to date all of the patients are recovering nicely. It was pure joy to see the kids again and give them all of their toys. They were stunned, politely browsing the toys and books etc, not quite sure what to think When I explained that everything was for them, they realized that they could touch things and open the boxes. They smiled and said, "CHEEEEESE" to me when I held up my video camera. I felt like a real life Santa Claus!!

The flip side of the trip was that the country was getting ready for Carnival. If you're not familiar, Carnival is Trinidad & Tobago's version of Mardi Gras on steroids! For several weeks before Carnival (Feb. 4th & 5th), there are festivals (or fetes as they call them) galore. While I was there, the steel pan band competition was going on. There are huge bands and the sound of all of these steel pans together was amazing. The bands have what they call "pan yards" which basically look like old scrap yards where they rehearse and put the finishing touches on their songs while people watch and drink beer.

Trinidad reminds me of the saying people sometimes give to different universities when they call them "party schools". Trinidad is most definitely a party country! Between all of the music, beer, and rum, I'm amazed that anybody gets any work done! I told my friends there that I'm slowly becoming a Trini because I've got my Sisterlocks now and I'm learning all of the different expressions they use and absolutely loving all of the foods and drinks that you get there that aren't available here......and I've become obsessed with the beats of the steel pan and the soca music. Soca is a combination of soul and calypso. I got to go to a private party and some of Trini's legends were there. My favorites were Mighty Sparrow, whose songs are more like funny stories, Black Stalin, and Denyse Plummer whose song Woman Is Boss is one that every man should hear! Ha ha

I spent a couple of days in Tobago relaxing on the beach, and trying to improve my skills driving on the wrong side of the road. I think I'm really starting to get the hang of it now. It's not so hard to remember to drive on the left, it's trying to remember that all of your controls, windshield washers, lights, turn signals, radio, everything is on the opposite side of what you're used to.

One of the funny things that I find when I'm in Trinidad is that whenever I open my mouth people look at me funny and ask me where I'm from. To them, I have an accent so I tell them that I'm from the States. What I found out later is that most Trinis are used to tourists being white so when they hear this weird accent from another black person it throws them for a loop. The most hilarious instance of this was from the mouth of one of the kids. I'm hanging out and talking to the kids after their school day was done when one kid says, "Miss, where are you from?" One of the other kids tells him that I'm from America and his response is, "How is it that you're from America and you're not white??" I laughed so hard!!! I guess it's true that kids do say the darndest things!

Here’s how some of the other conversations with them went… A kid comes up to me and says, “Miss, you got any money on you?” I say no and ask what he needs money for and he says, “An iPod!” So another kid chimes in and says, “All of these Americans are walking around with iPods. I want an iPod but they’re too damn expensive!!!” I told the kids that I live in California where Disneyland is and one boy says, “DISNEYLAND, THEY MAKE ALL YOUR WISHES COME TRUE!!! So if I want a motorbike, I can get one there because THEY MAKE ALL YOUR WISHES COME TRUE!!”

Yes, I wanted to adopt them all and bring them home with me. When I came in for surgery in the morning, the children were all lined up and getting ready for school. I gave hi-fives to all of the boys, and kissed all of the girls on their foreheads. Later in the day, I found myself sitting on the floor surrounded by wheelchairs, with one little boy curled up on the floor with me under my arm. We were chatting, playing games, and singing songs when one little girl comes up to me, gives me a kiss on my forehead and a hug. I put her in my lap and felt what it must be like to be a parent, feeling the love of their own child.

It was such a rewarding experience and I pray that God will continue to allow me to return over and over again. I was reminded by friends there that they each have a place where I am welcome to stay and open invitation to come down for a visit whenever I want. I think I just might have to take them up on that. Carnival 2009 definitely sounds like a great idea!!

Children make you want to start life over. ~Muhammad Ali

While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about. ~Angela Schwindt

Childhood is the most beautiful of all life's seasons. ~Author Unknown

These pictures are from one of the trucks on the side of the road where you can buy fresh coconuts. The guy chops off the top and gives you a straw so you can drink coconut water from directly inside. Then if you want to eat the meat, he will chop the rest of the outer coconut away.

The pictures further above are of Black Stalin performing.