I'm Back!

Wow!  I'm back from my Christmas vacation in Buffalo, NY.  As I was getting over my cough I got on the airplane and breathed recycled air and was sick the entire week in Buffalo.  On the bright side I have never lost weight the week of Christmas!  This is the first time I have spent Christmas in Buffalo and there was no snow.  When we got home, MN also has no snow.  Last year we had the 3rd most snowy winter ever and this year, nothing!  I took some pictures of how I wore my hair on Christmas day at my mother-in-law's house.

I'm blessed to have been able to spend a week in NY with my husband's mother, sister, and extended family.  My son took advantage of me being sick and being on a different routine.  He acted basically like a brat the first couple of days, but after a day of many time outs he got his act together.  A quick tip for those of you who may travel with small children.  Take the juice boxes out of the diaper bag or TSA will delay you as they search everything!  Until next time...
Blessings!

Blessed to have a savior!

Hello to all my beautiful readers!  I am leaving for Buffalo tomorrow morning and I wanted to make a quick post about the blessings of the birth of our savior.  We are all blessed to have a savior, Jesus is the reason we do everything we do at this time of the year.  I'm so blessed to be saved and to have a forgiving God!  If you don't have a gift to give you can always give the gift of prayer.  I much prefer prayers on my behalf than any material things.

So, my prayer to all of you is that you and yours are healthy and vibrant this season.
I pray that this time with family and friends be joyful.
I pray that your life be blessed and full of blessings.
I pray that you may receive your hearts desires.
And finally, I pray that all of you to have a very blessed and safe Christmas.
Merry Christmas!

Blessings!

Afro Puff

I have been playing with my afro puff and yesterday I was too tired to do the flat twists in the front like I wanted to, with a puff in the back.  Instead I just did the puff with a cute pink headband.

With my TWA growing out nicely I really like that now I kinda have a real puff.  This will probably be my go to style when I have very little time in the morning to do my hair.  What are your thoughts?  Until next time...
Blessings!

Afro puff with bangs

Today I decided to try an afro puff.  I pulled some hair in the front and presto my first afro puff.  I refreshed my hair with some water and a little Aussie Moist this morning added my band and then I saw my purple ribbon.  It was perfect with my purple blouse that I had to wear it.

Check out my texture!

I used my Denman brush to define my curls in the front.  After wetting with some water and adding some conditioner all I did was run my brush through my bangs and those curls popped!  I loved this look and it was so easy!  So, what do you all think?  Until next time...
Blessings!

Almost done shopping and wishing for some sun!

Christmas is a week away and all I have left is to get a couple of gift cards for my younger brother and my daycare provider.  This Christmas my family will be going to NY to spend Christmas and my hubby's birthday with his mother and his older sister.  Now, I have family in ND and my hubby is from NY, but not just NY, Buffalo.  At these occasions I wish we were spending thousands of dollars to visit some family in a warm location.  It doesn't have to be Hawaii, but I could settle for California.  What do you all think about spending Christmas on a cruise?  I have been thinking for several years now that a cruise in the Caribbean would be lovely.  No gifts, just the cruise.  Is this wishful thinking?  Does Christmas need to always be about cookies, turkey, ugly sweaters, and fighting with relatives you only see once a year?  I live in MN and with family in cold snowy locations it would be wonderful to get some natural vitamin D the good old fashion way.  I think a little sun, sand, and buffet style dinners would be very relaxing for once.  Let me know if I'm way off here.  Has anyone ever done something like this with family for Christmas?  Until next time...
Blessings!

Still sick, but very blessed!

I really wanted to call in sick today, but couldn't because I'm the only teacher on my team who's not at the IB training today.  I really wanted to stay in bed and sleep, but I rolled myself out for the kids and dragged myself to work.  So, I went to minute clinic at CVS yesterday and was told I have viral bronchitis.  For $15 I was told that nothing besides some strong cough medicine could help.  For $5 I got the strong cough medicine with codeine.  I am literally sick and extremely tired and I have decided that I really need to count my blessing since my head feels like it's gonna explode.

I am blessed to have insurance.
I am blessed to have the resources to buy medicine.
I am blessed to be needed at work and not easily replaceable.
I am blessed to have teaching tools like videos that allow me to snooze in some of my classes (lol).
I am blessed to know that I will heal and this to shall pass.

Last year at this time I had Pertussis aka whooping cough.  Please remember to get your kids their vaccines.  I know that some people are against this, but remember that not only can your child get sick, their peers and teachers are exposed to preventable diseases like Pertussis.
 
It's the Christmas season and remember to take a moment to take care for yourself.  I think I will be calling in sick tomorrow if my cough doesn't get better.  At this point I will simply take my head not hurting and several moments without coughing, but I know no matter what I am blessed.  Until next time...

Blessings!

Church Hair

Last night I decided to flat twist my entire head of hair for a twist out today.  I washed my hair yesterday and used my Aussie Moist as my leave in.  I then applied my It's Perfectly Natural Root Food to my problem spot and started twisting.  In the front I made more precise parts and in the back it's basically willy nilly.

I love that one curl that escaped the flat twist.

So, I would of worn this look to church today if I could of spent more than a minute without breaking into uncontrollable coughing.  The hubby went to church without me and he took the baby to Sunday school with him.  I'm home sick blogging and napping and thinking I would of rocked this look at church today if I had gone.  I like how this twist out makes my hair big!  I like having some bangs and I really like the wildness of my hair.  Until next time...

Blessings!

4th month anniversary of big chop

Well this past month I have been trying some new things.  Most recently I have been rocking my fro!  I haven't been doing the wash n go's this week because it has been sooo cold here in MN.  Today I went to work with a temp of 4 degrees!  My length is 4.5 inches in the front, so I have had over 2.5 inches of growth in 4 months.  I'll take it!  So check out the pics below.  I'm rocking my fro with the ringlet bangs in front.

Next month I think I will start to try to take pictures of the back of my head.  My length has not changed much in the front, but the sides seem much longer.  Until next time...
Blessings!

First attempt at a fro hawk and my first video!

This evening I decided to fluff my hair out into a little fro.  I liked it so much that while my son was in the tub I started to play with some combs and attempted my first fro hawk.  I liked it and then sprayed the front down with some water and twisted some quick curls in the front.

The front is still wet.

From the side.

I thought that it looked cuter in person so I made a quick video.  My voice is hoarse because I think I have Laryngitis.  Four teachers at my school have been out sick with Laryngitis in the past week.  Yuck!  So, what do you think of this really quick style and my fist attempt at a video?  Until next time...

Blessings!

I'm down 22 pounds!

I had my son almost 2.5 years ago, but due to some medical issues in the past year I have been struggling to take all the weight I gained off.  I have lost a total of 37 pounds since my son was born, but most recently I have lost 22 of those pounds since August 2011.  My husband and I are both doing the South Beach Diet and it is really working for us.  Basically lots of veggies with lean protein like chicken and turkey.  So, I was browsing my blog pictures and I noticed that my face looks thinner.  Check out these two pictures.  The left picture (purple print shirt) is from my one month anniversary back on September 7, 2011 and the right picture (white shirt) was just taken a couple of days ago December 2, 2011.  If you look closely at my chin, neck and cheeks you can see the weight difference.  To me this is really cool and helps focus me to get through the holiday season with my eyes on the prize.  Until next time...



Blessings!

Church Hair

I came up with this look in literally 3 minutes.  Of course the hubby and I were fighting with the toddler to get his hair brushed and his church shoes on so my time was really limited today for church.  I had 9 minutes to do my hair and make up and this is the final result.  These pictures were taken after church because I didn't have any time before we had to leave.

Check out those curls!

This was so easy!  I co-washed this morning and used my usual Aussie Moist conditioner as my leave in.  I added some Aloe Vera gel after I put my It's Perfectly Natural Root Food on my problem spot.  I then brushed my edges on the sides of my head by my ears, pulled my headband into place, pulled some hair out of the band, used my Denman brush to separate the curls, and lastly I twisted a couple of the curls that had started to frizz to define them.  Presto!  Cute new style for church today.  What do you think?  Until next time...
Blessings!

Flat Twist Out to Work

Well I finally did my flat twists out and went to work wearing them.  I got a mix reception at work.  From "wow check out your fro" to "what happened to your hair?".  I loved it!  I thought it gave me some length and some bangs.

Can you tell I'm really tired.  My son is finally starting to feel better and now I have what he had.  I can't take sick time because I have to save it for when my son is sick.  My hubby works with medically fragile students, so he stays at home when he's sick to not infect his students.  So, that leaves me with staying with the baby.  Anyway, I liked this look.  It was easy and after seeing Krys look I wanted to see if I could do a variation of her style.  I liked the twist out look on her and next time I will see if I can do some flat twists with a twist out look sometime next week.  Until next time...
Blessings!

It's Perfectly Natural Root Food One Month Later

I have been using It's Perfectly Natural Root Food for over a month now and I wanted to give you all a quick update.  I haven't noticed much growth in my problem area that thinned out this past March after my last relaxer, but I have noticed that my edges have filled in.  I didn't know that my edges had lost hair until I noticed hair growing around my forehead.

My head is now getting fuzzy.

If I had known that I would have gotten so much growth around my edges I would have taken some before pictures to compare to my after pictures.  So, my verdict is that it works.  I think my thinning area just needs some more time to fill in, and I believe that will come with more time.  I plan to do another update sometime in January giving Root Food three months to work on my thinning spot.  I don't consider myself a product junkie (more like a recovering product junkie), but I plan to use this product everyday.  If you have had some damage to your edges I'm suggesting Root Food by It's Perfectly Natural.  I'll get back to you about my thinning spot.  Until next time...
Blessings!

Why my hair seems to have stopped growing!

October 7, 2001

I have been keeping close tabs on my hair growth since I BC back in August.   Lately, I have noticed that my bangs in the front seemed to be stuck at the bridge of my nose right between my eyes.  Now, the good news is that I appear to have no split ends and my hair isn't breaking and I have had some growth, but hardly anything to jump up and down about.  When I big chopped in August 2011 I had almost an inch of growth the first month.  So why isn't my hair growing at the same rate?

So, I did some research and found out that hair grows slightly faster during the summer season.   Basically, this increase is due to certain hormones being released during the warmer summer months and overall better circulation of blood during the summer season.  Overall your hair will grow about 10% faster during the sunny warmer summer months rather than the cold winter season.

November 27, 2011

My research also uncovered that with the extra growth in the summer your hair will also have more shedding in the warmer months.  This is due to the natural hair cycles we all go through.  Now this can vary from person to person and depending on your own genetic hormonal levels and things like pregnancy.

I think we can all relate to this added growth by looking at the hair on our legs.  I don't know about you all, but I need to shave my legs more often in the summer months than in the winter months.  Not just because I want to wear a cute skirt or shorts, but because that hair seems to grow faster.  This is true with the hair on our heads.

The Pro's and Con's 
In the summer your hair may grow faster, but you may shed more hair.
In the winter you may experience much slower growth, but you may shed less hair.

So, the next time you do a length check and noticed that your hair hasn't grown much note the season.  It could be simply the winter months and the natural hair cycles our hair goes through.  Until next time...

Blessings!

Changed plans, but still a blessed Thanksgiving!

The hubby and I had plans to travel to visit my family in North Dakota today, but we ended up in the doctor's office instead.  Our son threw up multiple times Tuesday night (twice on me and once on the hubby) and he had a fever of 103.5 degrees.  So, after calling our clinic and talking to the doctor on duty we ended up having a very late Tuesday night, but we avoided going to the emergency room.

This morning instead of packing for a trip we took our son to our clinic.  The good news is that he doesn't have an ear infection or anything else serious, but he is clearly sick.  We were told that he can travel, and to make sure he drinks a lot of fluids.  So, we will try to leave Thanksgiving morning for ND if he is feeling better.  I have packed like we will leave tomorrow morning, but told my mom not to get her hopes up.  With all the stress and hassle I feel like I really need to focus on giving thanks.

I am thankful for my clinic that was able to squeeze us in today.
I am thankful for my husband, who without him this situation would of overwhelmed me and destroyed my holiday.
I am thankful for my beautiful son who reminds me everyday how precious life is.
I am thankful because, even though I may not have turkey tomorrow or be able to see my family, I am blessed to have a family to see.
I am thankful because I am blessed to have a God who works miracles and I know he will heal my son!

I pray that you all have a blessed holiday and remember to always give thanks in all situations.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  BTW if I don't get to have any turkey tomorrow eat some for me and have that piece of pie, because that's what I would do for you!  Until next time...

Blessings!

It's Perfectly Natural Black Friday Sale!

 I have  exchanged a few emails with Denise at It's Perfectly Natural and she informed me that she is having a Black Friday sale!  Now, I love sales and especially on hair products that I know I will use.  I have been using It's Perfectly Natural Root Food since October 27, 2011 and so far I believe that this product does what it says it will do.

So, if you want to support a small growing business that makes all natural products check out It's Perfectly Natural webpage.  Now, remember that I am not a professional and all reviews on this blog are my opinion.  If you suffer any conditions please speak to your health care provider before buying and using any products.  Until next time...

Blessings!

Hurt on my heart...but still blessed.

This is a different kind of post then usual.  My heart hurts right now.  If you have read my profile you will already know that I am a special education teacher (autism) in a high school.  I also teach a small special education social studies class.  Our school is gearing up for History Day and I was paired up with a young teacher to do the kick off meetings.  I was told and confirmed with this other teacher that the kick off was scheduled for tomorrow.  He sent me an email today telling me that they had the kick off this past Monday.

Now, I know that I only have ten students, but they are living breathing human beings.  They may not be like the typical individual but they want to be included and treated just like everyone else.  My heart broke when I told them that we missed the kick off.  You see, I love my students and I really love my job.  So, when they are excluded and basically treated like second class citizens I take this very personally.  As a black woman I know what it feels like to be excluded.  So, since I don't want to cry at school I have decided to list the blessing my students are to me.

I am blessed to work with some of the most interesting students.
I am blessed to have students with a very unique perspective on life.
I am blessed to work with students that rarely lie to me, and when they try they do it so badly I kinda smile at their attempt.
I am blessed to work with students who really live in the moment.
I am blessed to work with students who always tell you what's on their mind.
I am blessed to work with students that don't play mind games.
I am blessed to work with students that have taught me as much as I have taught them.

So, now I got to get back to work.  I have realized that I can't expect others to love my students like I do, but they will respect them!  I'm gonna try to fix this situation and get them to a kick off even if I have to bus them to another school in the district.  Until next time...
Blessings!

Flat Twist Out

I took out my flat twists to moisturize my hair and I was surprised at how much I liked this look.  I have been wanting to do a twist out look, but my hair is still to short to get any real twists.  This style stretched my hair out a little and I kinda have bangs.

I kinda like the wildness of this style and it makes my hair in the front look a little longer.  For an accidental style I think next time I will sleep on my twists and do this look in the morning.  Until next time...
Blessings!

Church Hair

Packed full of confidence from my last attempt at flat twists I decided to do two flat twists in my hair for church today.  Instead of the Bantu Knots I just used a hair clip to secure the ends.  I got several compliments at church today.  Surprisingly, from two ladies who were against me going natural and cutting off all my relaxed hair.

Wet hair. Front view.

Wet hair.  Side view.

Wet hair before church.

Dry hair after church.

I am very pleased with the results.  I did try to do some flat twists going to the back of my head, but I need to practice going in a different direction.  I find that my conditioner makes my hair very slippery when wet, so learning to flat twist in a different direction will require more practice.  I love how shiny my hair is and this style show cases the curls in the back.  I'm gonna rock this style this week and continue practicing my flat twists before I move on to learning how to cornrow.  Until next time...
Blessings!

Flat Twists and Bantu Knots

This morning I decided to try my flat twists again with Bantu Knots on the ends.  Following some advice I read on another blog (can't remember the site) I did my flat twists on wet hair.  I am very pleased with my results this time and considering this is my first attempt at Bantu Knots I'm considering this attempt a success.

Wet hair.

First attempt at Bantu Knots and I had to use hair bands to secure them.

Dry Hair

When I do Bantu Knots again I think I am going to try my flat twists going back to the crown of my head and then end the twists with Bantu Knots on top of my head.  So, what do you think?  Until next time...
Blessings!

It's snowing!

So, this morning on my way to work I noticed a few snow flakes drifting around.  Now Minneapolis is not slated to get any real snow, but this has me concerned.  I have been doing wash n go's every morning and besides adding It's Perfectly Natural Root Food and my oil mixture I have been doing nothing different with my hair.  Besides the "cold" factor, should I be doing anything different?  I don't want to wear extensions or a weave and my hair isn't long enough to twist or braid, so am I alright with my current routine? 
Blessings!

Second attempt at flat twists

Okay, so they say practice makes perfect.  I'm still far from perfection, but this time around I think they look better.  Now my flat twists still aren't flat, but that's because my hair is still very short.  I decided to part my hair and do just one flat twist from my part to my ears.  This time around they came out looking better.

You'll notice that I have "no look of disgust" on my face this time.  I love being able to see progress and I feel like this attempt was an improvement from my first attempt.  Until next time...
Blessings!

Three month anniversary of Big Chop!

It's now November and time for another length check.  My 3 month anniversary of my big chop is tomorrow, but I will be busy so I decided to do my monthly length check today.  I measured my hair again and found out that my hair at my crown is about 4 1/4 inches long while the hair in the front is 4 inches long.  When I measured my hair after my big chop my length was 1 7/8 inches long (just under 2 inches).  I did some math and figured that I have had 2 3/8 inches of growth since my big chop that's almost two and a half inches of growth in 3 months.  That puts me just under an inch above the average hair growth most people experience.

Regular shrinkage without any fluffing.

Hair fluffed with my fingers.

One thing that I have noticed in the past month is my curl pattern.  I really love how my hair curls up and my new length is allowing me to do some different styles.  I have updated my hair regimen so check out what I am doing now that it's colder here in Minnesota.  I'm gonna try to do some flat twists again.  I did some more research and found out that I was doing it right, I just need to practice to make the twists look neater.  Watch for the results of my second attempt at flat twists.  Until next time...
Blessings!