Extra, Extra! Read all about it

I finally sat down and typed out the bulk of my hair story. Stuff many close to me don't even know about. Check out a blog feature on me at Black Girl with Long Hair. Aside from blessing me with a great interview, that blog is super informative and inspirational. Check it out.

Part I

Part II

Love and Eternal Light to all!

The Creators have been so good to me!

Though this post won't be solely dedicated to my fly sistah over at Flytieonline, I need to give her the respect, love and appreciation she deserves. I can't even recall when exactly I found myself drawn to her. Probably the first time I saw something she had created. No, a matter of fact I think I first saw something she created for another sister and I AND to find out who it was putting all that creativity in one garment. Whatever or whenever it was I just know that now I have so much admiration for her and her work. And I think the rest of the world (or whatever part of it that reads this blog) should take note. And if you're feeling really good, go ahead and buy something of hers. I promise you will never regret it!


So just before Thanksgiving I received THE BEST HOODIE ever in the mail. I was ecstatic! See, I had been drooling over her Steppin Razor hoodie for quite some time. And as the Universe would have it I finally have one of my own. Please people forgive me for not having better pictures f the hoodie right now. But as I said before it's about time I openly let her know how much I appreciated not only her generosity, but her thoughtfulness and talent. The hoodie fits perfectly, it's in the most perfect colors a person could make it in. IT'S REVERSIBLE. Yes you heard right! Please somebody pinch me. What I most appreciate about it is the intricate hand stitching details she put into it. I know how much that sucks. But she didn't half ass it. Everything looks so professional and perfect. I only wish she had put her tag on it somewhere. I wouldn't care WHERE, but I would want folks to know immediately it's hers. I *heart* my hoodie.



Once I got it in the mail I immediately put it on. Then I proceeded to wear it three days in a row. Once on the green side and twice on the purple side. Since then I think I wear it at least once a week. Probably more, I just don't want yall knowing how much I repeat clothes. lol

T, thank you so much! I can't tell you enough how much I love this hoodie and how much I appreciate you. You are an amazing designer. Keep doing what you do.

In other stylish deliciousness I bought some fly earring from another etsy shop call www.Lunaversoul.com. People please peep the Dragon Fly Remix!
Take note of the asymmetry. Oh.Em.Gee! I wear these earrings with everything. They are quite the conversation starter. What I appreciate about this seller is that she was more than accommodating to my pesky metal allow sensitivities. And she substituted the hooks with gold plated ones at no additional charge! Go head nah! Excuse me while I rock 'em real hard like:


Also take note of the new hair do. I finally put some braid extensions in my hair. It took me 4 days! It normally would have taken me maybe one full day including breaks for food and bathroom. lol. But I was extremely sick. I had to take a two day break because walking pneumonia would not allow me to move very much. Being ill is no fun at all. And it reminded me once again I need to take care of myself. I was M.I.A. from work and got a late start in my new position in the Training Department. I'm feeling like so much has transpired since my last post. I hardly know where to start! Tis late in the day and I wanted to get these thoughts and such out now before my busy week started up.

I give thanks to my Creator for good friends, good family, LIFE, LOVE and Joy.

Disturbula

I haven't combed my hair in weeks. And I keep telling myself I'm going to do it, but every time I wash this luscious fro, the tiny coils get all soft and springy, I just can't mess 'em up. But at some point I HAVE to do something along the lines of detangling because I don't intend to rock one big loced fro.

I went on a lil road trip this past weekend with some ladies I went to high school with. We visited an apple orchard that also grew raspberries, pumpkins, and grapes. At the orchard we went on a hay ride that actually did not include hay. But the beautiful horses made up for the lack of hay. And I likely would have complained about itchy hay anyway. Later we went to a winery and it was equally as beautiful. Those are two things I intend on doing again with my family before the end of this year. They are suprisingly inexpensive and enjoyable. We had huge amounts of fun and I laughed more than I have in a long time. All the while I could not stop missing my Kingman. I REALLY missed him and looked forward to seeing him once I returned home. Absence really did make my heart grow founder. I even bought him a gift from Victoria's Secret, which he quickly unwrapped and enjoyed. *wink*

My little one seemed to have thought I was in a different continent, rather than a different state. I spend about 5 minutes on the phone with him trying to explain that I'm still in North America and Wisconsin is right next to Minnesota. He kept asking "mom why didn't you take me with you? I wanted to go to another continent, you said you'd take me". How cute and misinformed? Love that kid.

Tea and Toast

Last week I conjured up a single workout day. The rest of the time I was either too busy or unmotivated. Today is a new day starting a new work week and I’m focused. The key for me is to remain focused. Sometimes I get too dependent on the fact that I’m a pretty fly mama already. Lol. I forget I need to MAINTAIN this physical flyness. Especially as my body changes and reacts differently with age. Over the last few weeks I've seen improvement in the middle area. I want to keep that up as well as get my arms leaner. The middle area is usually the first to go. No complaints there!

I started this morning with some deep breaths and appreciated the fact that I had no neck or back pain. For me that means no stress. For the last few years I’ve noticed my stress shows up in neck and back in the form of pain and muscle tension. Today I’m free of that and its confirmation that my mind is at ease.

I’m committing myself to focus on my breathing again. And I may as well add some stretching in with that. I’m now afforded the time each morning to have at least 30 minutes to myself. That is assuming I’m to bed at a decent hour. But when I awake it will be MY time to BREATH.

These summer mornings have reduced my appetite. In the winter I look forward to turning on the stove and making a wholesome breakfast. Now it’s so hot that my hunger does cry out for wheat pancakes, eggs and morning star sausage. Tea and toast are enough to waken my digestive system. However by the time I get to work my stomach is literally calling out for food. I think it just said “feed me Seymour!”

My hair is certainly growing. Now I’m beginning to wonder how much longer I can take it. I tend to fantasize about cutting my hair around the time my hair gets past 4 or 5 inches. I’m past that mark and still enjoying growing my hair but feeling a bit stifled creatively when it comes to how I style my hair from day to day. While at work I don’t want to draw TOO MUCH attention to my crown with large afros. And I tend to keep it pretty tame (based on my own tastes) since I

despise going into conversations about how my hair does that “cool” thing without hair spray with my coworkers. Also I’ve chosen not to wear my head wrap since being promoted because it does not fit into the professional image I wish to display at this time. So I’ve limited myself to mostly shrunken fros, stretched puffs and the occasional twist styles. Twist styles take more time and effort than I’d like to exert right now. What I’d really like is a fly cornrow style. Something that can easily translate to the professional setting but still gives me the creative outlet with my hair. Now, if I could just find someone I trust to style my hair for me...

This summer I want to continue to get out of the apartment as much as possible. My little one loves it. He’s always asking “mama what are we going to do today?” During the week he’s occupied by his summer program. So I know he gets plenty of activity then. So most of those evenings we come home, have dinner and maybe hang out in the yard a little bit. But on the weekends I have no excuse. Out of the 24 hours in a day I know I can spend some of it out in that sunshine. Besides, I love the chocolate glow my skin gets with a lil UV radiation. Lol. Which reminds me, we need to pick up some sun block. This shea butter only provides so much UV protection, and I’m no fan of melanoma.

Creatively I've been sew busy. I finished the shirts for my sis, mom and another young lady at the church. My older sis and the other young lady have actually performed with the blouses on. The following is a picture of my sis after her praise dance. She did SOOO good! Had me in tears.

In the next photo you'll see my younger sis, myself and older sis again. The dress I'm wearing looked a little different when I bought it (yet another thrifty find). The neckline is LOWer than I'm comfy with so I sewed a panel across the front with a stretchy cream fabric. Now I can wear the dress as is and not have to layer another tank underneath. Cool huh?












I had this idea for a shirt and just went with it. The following is the result. I still have some work to do in order to make it look more "professional". So far it's looking much how I envisioned it. And I just adore the color purple!


Finally I refashioned an already cute (at least I think so) vest into a more trendy one. I figured if it didn't turn out quite right at least I only paid a couple of dollars for it at the thrift store. But it turned out super cute. I only have the before picture right now. The after will follow soon.

Sew Inspirational

Last night I managed at least 45 minutes of workout in the attic. The majority of that time was spent on the punching bag. What got me through was my playlist of “workout songs” which had some high, medium and low tempo tunes to keep me motivated. A must for my workout music is the ability for me to sing along. I don’t know exactly what it is about being able to keep up with the song. I know that I have a good time when I know the words. The music gives me a rhythm to move and swing punches to. Having music also helps the time pass very quickly. My Kingman says he thinks I was going at it for at least an hour. I didn’t pay much attention to my start time, so I’m not sure.

The entire workout was so fun that I’m looking forward to squeezing in at least 30 minutes tonight. I plan to do my workout as soon as I get home. maybe while the lil one is doing his homework and my Kingman is preparing dinner. Then I’ll take a shower and wash my hair because today my scalp stinks. I have this thing about rubbing or scratching my scalp and smelling my fingers. I know I’m not the only one! But it’s a way to keep scalp stink in check. lol.

Since I’m planning to make the workouts a daily thing, I need to get a better hair washing schedule in place. I’ve been shampooing once a week for the last few months and holding off on rinsing. Now I’m anticipating more sweating (and my head gets its sweat on) and I think I need to up my mid-weekly rinse game. Shampooing daily is out of the question. And wetting my hair daily is too much of a hassle as it gets longer. I don’t do the soaking wet hair while i’m sleeping thing. I figure a mid-weekly rinse or conditioner wash, followed by some fat twists or bantus should do the trick. It should keep my scalp relatively clear of sweat buildup and my hair smelling fresh until my weekend shampoo.

The sewing momentum has slowed. I first jumped in ready to sew up a storm just because I have two machines and knew the basics of how to USE the machine. However as I searched my mind and heart for a first project I realized that I wanted to create quality, wearable, and sellable items. So I started researching more into all the different stitch options and why they would be used. I started reading the owners manual for the Kenmore machine I was gifted. Then I started researching patterns and how to read them because I want to verse myself in garment construction and pattern making in hopes that I would be creating my own patterns some day soon. Well of course being the instant gratification loving craftster that I am, I was feeling as if I haven’t accomplished much since I had nothing to show for my efforts over the last few weeks. However today I feel encouraged because I’m confident that once I start finishing some sewing projects they will be up to my standards as far as quality. So right now there is less focus on quantity. Especially since there IS no quantity. Lol

I’ve been devouring information and wisdom from various carft sites and sewing blogs. I’ve added a few new sewing blogs to my “Places I Like to Go” link list. I’ve always been inspired by the Sewl Sista #1 and flytie, and now I’m hooked on the Neo Sew Mama. I have a preference for Sistah blogs or in other words, blogs by black women. That’s not to say I don’t like sewing or craft blogs written and updated by white women. On the contrary I have several of them listed and hyperlinked. However I am most inspired by black crafters.

The time has come for me to make myself an alter. It will be my meditation space. I’m not quite sure where to start besides finding a space at home that will go undisturbed. I talked with my Kingman about this and I’m thinking I’ll take over a corner in our room and set up my alter. This weekend I hope to go thrifting, Saturday morning perhaps. I want to search for a scale for home use, a night stand or small table for my alter, a few skirts or dresses for work and fabric.

*update*

I ended up coming home a little later than planned, watching netflix and THEN working out for almost an hour. I concentrated on my lower body and lower back. I'm so proud of me! Still no washing or rinsing of the hair. I'll have to let my Ginger Juice & Berries hair dress mask any funk for another day. You MUST get up on that La'Vida Given by Nature.

Today I was blessed to run into a Goddess I attended college with. I stopped by the grocery store on my way home to grab some juice. Somehow between going down the wrong aisle and making sure my lil one didn't run anyone over I glanced up and saw a familiar face. Instantly her name came to me. I surprised myself with that one. I'm use to people remembering MY name, not the other way around. She had her handsome little prince and told me he had an identical twin. A double blessing! My spirit was very happy to have seen her. I remember admiring her creativity with words and her proud, confident spirit back then. We exchanged contact info and I plan to link up with her soon. I hope she brings the babies!

Stirred, not Shaken

The other day I made the most delicious stir fry ever . The aroma drifting through the house was enough to make my Kingman grab the camera and snap some (really unflattering) pictures of me.

The stir fry was comprised of noodles, lots of veggies, onions, cilantro, red and yellow bell peppers, other seasonings and teriyaki sauce. Good stuff! My lil one gobbled up all his broccoli first. I had to make him eat some of the chicken breast pieces. He's never been big on eating meat, which isn't really a bad thing, in my opinion. In an effort to get the family back on track with eating I've been preparing vegetarian meals for breakfast and lunch. And reserving meat for the dinner meal. No one has complained just yet. And this week, we've eaten primarily vegetarian because we had pinto beans for dinner two of the nights.

*note to self: buy a wok asap*

I started off this week still in a slump. I called in sick to work Monday. Wait, did I already blog that?? Well Tuesday I came to work still not feeling great emotionally. My motivation was non-existent. So much so that my nearby co-worker (Katie) was absorbing some of the negative energy. She convinced me to go ahead and treat myself to a pedicure for lunch. I love Katie. That was such a great idea. I came back to work on cloud 9. I must start pampering myself on a regular basis. I did the foot spa and pedicure. I think my toes look pretty.

I've been feeling fly the rest of the week. Check out how black and fluffy my fro is below! An elder woman approached me today and complimented my hair and went on to say how she has never been able to achieve the style. I explained to her the simple process to achieve a chunky twist out and she was a bit in awe. She also told how she recently cut her afro down to a TWA (teeny weeny afro) because she just couldn't figure out how to style it. She had an endearing vibe about her and I was moved to offer some assistance. Beautiful woman, she was.

Oh ya like that yoda speak?

I gave her my card and jotted down my cell number and 2 different website addresses. I gave her the addy for www.nappturality.com and www.LavidaGivenByNature.com

Nappturality has a wealth of information on how to care for, style and enjoy your natural hair. And Lavida Given by Nature has some of the best natural bath and beauty products I've ever tried.

Speaking of hair, I was pleasantly surprised when I realized my hair had grown a healthy length from last summer when I cut my locs off. I've been rocking puffs and chunky fros for the past month almost exclusively. On the weekends I usually have my hair wrapped in a scarf. I'm looking forward to rocking some fly fro styles this summer with my pretty toes.

I TOLD YOU!

Well I made the corn soup last night. Very yummy. My lil Prince ate most of his. The last time I made this dish I added the amount of cilantro called for in the recipe. Well, it was a bit much for the child. He told me, "mama, the soup was ok except all the green things in there". So this time around, less cilantro. Other modifications I made were to reduce the amount of cheese used by half a cup. And I increased the amount of vegetable broth by half a cup as well. As I did on the first go round, I left out the flour and sour cream. I added a little bit more of the black beans since my family likes them. Finally, I added curry powder to the mix. If you didn't know, curry is good on almost EVERYTHING. I was so proud of how the dish looked. And I snapped a quick picture before digging in. Those are white corn tortilla chips with a hint of lime. I wanted flour tortillas with a hint of lime. But my Kingman could not find them at the store.

Today for lunch I had leftovers. I'm telling you, that soup is even better reheated! Tonight's dinner will be simple. I'm not sure WHAT yet. But I'm so tired that I don't want to put too much effort or time into dinner.

In hair news, I'm rocking a twist out from large twists I put in my hair Sunday night. What I ended up doing was rinsing out the honey and olive oil mixture. Then I proceeded to shampoo my hair with Aveda Mauve something or other to try and make the black color that is growing out pop more. Note to self, that shampoo cleanse just fine, but does nothing for the black hair color. I used my cheap suave conditioner. I believe it was Honey and Coconut scented. I put loads of conditioner in my hair then proceeded to de-tangle using a wide tooth comb and my fingers. I concentrated on getting shed hair out of my head. The reason for this is because it tends to gather at the tips of my hair in balls and knots. It makes de-tangling more of a hassle than it needs to be. But that is what happens when I go weeks without de-tangling while still rinsing and washing daily.

As I de-tangled sections of my hair I put fat twists in my head. I ended up with about 20 fat twists. I rinsed out the conditioner with the twists still in place. I used a t-shirt to blot my hair dry of excess water. I grabbed my container of Ginger Juices and Berries hair pomade (http://www.lavidagivenbynature.com/) and used that to (gasp!) oil my scalp. Ok people I have not done that in at LEAST 10 years. Maybe even more. But lately I've noticed I have a dry scalp problem and something needed to be done. I can't continue to wet my hair EVERYDAY in this cold weather and expect my scalp not to suffer. The air is so dry at home and the office so I had to do something t combat winter dryness. So I used the pomade to oil my scalp and moisturize my hair.

Wait, I take that back.... The hair pomade is oil based. So the oil doesn't really MOISTURIZE, but it does help lock in moisture that is there. After the shampoo, conditioner and water the oil pomade helped to keep that moisture in my hair. I used very small amounts on may scalp and each twisted section. As I took down and oiled each fat twist, I split them into 2 to 4 smaller twists. These twists were still rather large. I think I ended up with about 50 total twists when all was said and done.

I wrapped my hair in a satin scarf and went to bed. The next morning I unravelled each twist, then separated each unravelled twist with my fingers. This process was easy and quick. My hair, even now, is very soft and light. I have a fluffy black cloud on top of my head. I plan to wear this twist out all week and hopefully put some flat twists in this weekend and wear head wraps until Monday. This is a picture of what my hair basically looks like today. I've wanted to achieve this style every since I cut off my locs months ago. Now I need a new goal to reach for.

Big afro, here I come!

I give thanks to my Creator for another day. Bless up!