Protective Style :: Washing Loc Extensions

Hey All!

So I've had my Locs in for a two weeks now and i love it! I really do, my only thing is that with getting back to my yoga and all my hair is full of sweat and just has been a bit of an itchy mess lately. So I stopped by the Vitamin Shoppe/Drug Store and picked up a bottle of Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar, Rosemary, Tea Tree, and Grape Seed oil.

For those of you that don't know, i do an ACV Spray.. where i mix a 3:1 ration of water to ACV, than add a mix of oils in there as well. Originally the bottle contained peppermint and tea tree oil with a few drops of olive oil. But this time i wanted more of a cleansing, less tingling mix. so i put the rosemary and tea tree, and added the grape seed for a light moisturizing oil.

(yea im still adding peppermint but wanted to see how this mix worked first)

Thursday night,  before i hopped in the shower, i sprayed my scalp only, with the mix, and vigorously rubbed it in with the balls of my fingers (not the nails...we don't want an irritated scalp when vinegar's involved!) to help alleviate the dirt and buildup gained over the last week and half (especially after the work out i had in yoga yesterday!) I let it sit for a good 5-10 minutes and separated my hair in sections.

While i showered (which was awesome by the way after that workout) my hair was able to steam while i cleaned .. (hey that rhymed!)

So the ACV mix was in my hair for a good 15 minutes more, before i rinsed it out. I just used a cup, tilted my head over the tub/sink (pending on how you want to do it) and just let the water flow over my scalp. I of course rubbed it n around my edges and such to make sure that it really got out.

No one wants to smell like vinegar all day.

So after i finished my awesome shower and towel dried my hair i sprayed it with the Alikay Naturals Lemongrass leave-in conditioner and rubbed my oil mixture (horsetail, castor, jojoba, sweet almond, evoo) on my scalp after. I tied it with my satin scar and called it a night.

My scalp feels so much better and yea some itchy parts still (cause i know i didnt do a great wash just an alleviation of sorts) but yea its cleaner than it was before and the next time i wash is when these locs are coming out.

Pissed, Stunned, and Slightly Morbid...

One helluva post title right?

Well that's how i felt when i the news settled in about one of my family members...after a good laugh because it was so unexpected and just an all around immediate reaction..

I mean how often do you hear about a dude being woken up to feeling that every, and i mean every bit of him, being sore and there's a video going around that stars him?

Granted looking at what i wrote now, i feel like a terrible older fam for laughing at my family memebers misfortune and just straight shit luck... but like i said it was unexpected info and the way my mom was relaying it to me was not helping but here's the thing in general:

My family member was drugged and gang raped, and the shit was caught on film. He was supposed to be in a hood music video shoot.. but ending up being the star of a video he was not expecting.

Now his friends are avoiding him like the plague, showing him signs of disgust and contempt in the streets, and for 3 days he didn't know why, until someone started making jokes about the video.

Did i mention it was 3 guys that did it to him?... No.. well, like i said my family member was drugged and gang raped.. again, my reaction was not the best but we laughed at it cause like i said before its unreal and unexpected.

So does my post title seem right now?

I can honestly see my family member going back to jail indefinitely if he ever watches the video and catches the guys who did it to him.. even after years of therapy i don't see him ever letting it go. For now we haven't spoken of it much to anyone inside the fam but i really needed to get this out and writing is my release.

Honestly, i don't even know where or how to begin to deal with this info...

Ok, So 2 Things!

1. So in my last post the other day when i talked about him, i mentioned the 'L' word right.. mind you that convo happened about two weeks or so ago. still havent posted that post up but from the last bit, the general gist is i let loose the idea that i loved him... blah blah blah .. he goes awww really.... i go yep i told you before.. end of story

2. So we have a three day weekend coming up and i was like hey, why dont i text him about going up to see him for a day, maybe even spend the night.. i honestly mulled over that idea for a good two days even had the text sitting on my phone waiting for me to hit 'send'. So when i finally sent it I was kind of banking on the idea that he would be free but there was a small part of me that knew he might be busy...

Unfortunately the latter as true. Le sigh... so i mentioned us trying for another day, and he goes yeah i guess.. which obviously did not sound so enthusiastic to me at all.. so i go 'or not' and he just now hits me up saying 'why not'... i mean how do i exactly respond to that without sounding clingy or naggy or just bitchy in general. So you know i go 'nothing just saying'... apparently i think too much on these things but im a girl its what i do.. everyhting you say can be taken out of context if one feels they arent said in the right tone..

again, LE SIGH (my new fave saying)

the story of my love life 'nothing just saying' there really is nothing going on but words right now

and i feel a cold coming on

yay

Protective Style :: Loc Extensions with Marley Hair

8-9hrs...
a few random breaks.. a trip to the bank, a girls night/meeting, sleep...
9 packs of marley hair (@ $4.99/each)...
and my weekend

Thats how long it took me to achieve this style.. do i regret it (well my arms did at some point) but nope i, along with many others lover how my loc extensions came out

I got the idea from my friends yarn extensions but after her complaints from washing the hair, the weight of it, the length and such i was not a fan at that point. I knew i was going to get something done either the marley twists, senagalese, or havana but i wasn't set on anything in particular just yet. so after a post on curly nikki on loc extensions i just said alright next weekend after i get paid im getting that shit done.

 

It took my 4 hours and little over 4 packs of hair to put the marley twists in and i wanted to start on the wrapping of the same night and got i good portion of the front and sides done since i had to go out. I originally bought 7 packs of hair but had to buy 2 more to finish wrapping it around for the loc look. I know some didn't come out right with my not wrapping it completely. Some took one piece of marley hair in the way i wrapped others took 2 and a bit. all in all the end result is fine!

my goal is to keep them in for a month.. i use my whipped shea butter and my oil mix on my hair to keep it moisturized cause like she said, no product buildup for me!. i have a spray bottle with aloe vera, grape seed and avocado oil so im good. to keep it clean i have another spray bottle with acv, tea tree and peppermint oil.. so i must say that i am prepared!

my only issue is the little burnt hair pieces that keep coming off.. its annoying but i know it'll stop eventually... ill have my 3 year length check come nov 6! im excited. that sunday before, nov 3, is when ill take out the hair and wash, treat and cut. Ill leave it out for the week before i decide to twist it up again.

Bud, Bowling, & Attempted Bonfires

Alright, so last weekend, I went bowling! you have no idea how i excited i was to go bowling. I didn't know that it was the same pace Thania went like 2 years ago for her birthday but its a nice spot called Frames Bowling Lounge and yes it is a lounge as well. I like it they have a small lounge area and a larger dining area and of course an even larger bowling area. They play good music, have good food and drinks, and a bar smack dab in the middle of the place and a pool table. There is a private bowling room i noticed by the entrance. We got crazy and had a ton of fun. The lounge area was nice but they slowed the music down and went old school on us so we decided to leave and they changed it from the last time i went.. the stripper pole was gone! =(

The next day was the "Empowering our Youth" event for Purposefully Pretty and what an event that was. The turn up wasn't what they wanted but the speakers did and awesome job. Like i said in my last post ASOM tabled and we made a bite of profit. which was good for us. Me and Krys was excited!

Later that night for my girl, Shani's bday we headed over to Brighton Beach in BK for a bonfire. I call it the attempted bonfire cause being as it was a first for most of  us we didn't really know how to build the fire. Of all the things we looked up, we forgot to look up how to keep the firing going.

I guess you guys are wanting to know how i ended up with the blunt right?

Well i just happened to be next in line when it was being passed around. The girl was trying to pass it to the guy in between us but he was busy trying to stoke the fire and she didnt want to end up smoking it all so i said let me take that off your hands. I held it for a bit before i put it too my lips and inhaled. Did i let that shit fill my lungs.. no. Just let the smoke swirl around in my mouth before i blew it out and take a longer drag. I was just trying it out remember so knowing how to smoke the shit right wasnt a priority.

I told my boy Sid, Shani's bf, and he looked at me like WTF, you dont smoke, i know you dont smoke what the hell is wrong eith you woman.. i was just like hey i wanted to try it. He was rolling a new blunt and was like ugh i feel so bad, like he was corrupting me or something.

Hey a girl can try something new now and again and you tell me, in what universe is weed a bad thing?

So yeah, bowling, attempted bonfires, and trying a bit of weed.. that was one helluva weekend.

Slacking a bit!

So lately ive been slacking on my posts but for good reason, life has been a bit hectic for once.. i'm  back in school, i have work (many complaints about that coming up!), i joined my girl Diamond's Purposefully Pretty non-profit organization (will explain more on that too!), i am working on an online class for a friend and her friend (yes i'm getting paid for doing the work for them), ASOM Designs got a new vending opportunity for November, and a slight change of things with Josh (nothing major just something that slipped up once again (the 'L' word)....

1. Ok... so i have a post coming up Bud, Birthdays, and Bonfires (i think thats what i titled it) where i gave weed a try for the first time in 24 years.. dont see the hype and my other friend that smokes is telling me that i did it wrong and i should try again ::rolls side eye::

2. Also, at the last Purposefully Pretty 'Empowering the Youth' event (again another post coming up), we sold 3 of our womens necklaces! and 2 earrings! which is a hell of a lot better than selling nothing at the the CLP FLea Market (epic fail for that one!). We've had one online sale in the last month or so, but its fine. We're picking up little by little. I just wish Kizz was more into it. She's been off lately. ::sigh::

3. The Josh thing, like i said before is another post that i'll have to do separately cause i wrote it on my phone and its just a lot to take in. I hinted at the fact that i loved him by the old 'love you too' comment and he goes.. 'awww, do you really?'.. i could've let it slide and be like no or whatever but i'm at the stage where we need to de ourselves a bit more or just leave it a lone.. so i simply told him that 'i've said it before' and left it at that.. he has to figure out what that means or ask me about it or just leave it alone... you pick which one he did -___-

4. Ok, my food/budget/exercise diary i've taken to keeping it written instead of posting it online. i felt that that was a bit more personal and i should do it on my own. i'll keep you guys updated on how im doing and what not but yea. i'm making an actual journal. I see where my problems lie, and im setting a time limit for when i eat throughout the day 9am-9pm.. in the mornings before i leave for work i'll have tea and a fruit or a waffle if its there but nothing heavy til i get to work. Mondays are the only days ill eat after 9pm because i get home late from class. I have to be consistent on weekends because i'll wait til 12 until i even think about breakfast and that cant happen anymore. So yep, im a work in progress.

5. I did loc extensions as my protective style for the next month.. ive gotten great reviews and some offers for me to do other peoples hair (getting paid of course by food and $20-30 pending on who you are!) Again another post for later.

6. I'm still working on getting my ebook together for book of poetry, i just haven't had the time to really get into it lately.

7. And of course my ass is looking around for a new job cause i feel like people are way to dependent on me here and take advantage of that as well. These heifers are lazy as shit and y'all know which one i'm talking about specifically cause she has her own title when i post "this bitch". its like she doesn't even work distribution most of the time, never answers the window for pickup, and i'm getting pissed cause i feel like she doesn't do any work other than those damn direct deposits. Even on distribution days where we have to stamp and sort, she busy doing other things an i end up doing the most work. like she'll stamp a stack or two, put away the grants, do the mailers, put away the ones for the pouches but what else? not a damn thing.. like the checks and stubs dont have to be put away in the boxes. like they dont have to be checked off as well. so irritated and annoyed with this shit its unbelievable. ::whoooooooosaaaaaaa::

but such is my life in a nutshell these past few weeks.

Food/Exercise Diary II Day 1

Hey ya'll today embarks the first day of my food and exercise diary (mind you I almost forgot that i was going to start keeping track this month!) Any who this is to help with my poor eating habits, in terms of regulating it and my digestive system. No more of eating when i want to or not eating when i dont, im keeping myself on a stricter time limit. Granted it wont always work out that way, i need to start disciplining myself. So like in my Breaking Bad post, im going to break my bad habit of poor eating.

My diet in general is good, i dont consume fast foods often (pretty rarely, like ill munch on lil bros fries, get a sammich from subway, some chipotle, a blt, a breadbowl from dominoes, a philly cheese steak, pizza, a burger n fries... and thats my lunch options around hunter if im not bring food from home)

But today i did good...

Breakfast(1- 7ish): A glass of water, a cup of tea and a (meaning a single) chocolate chip waffle at home
Breakfast(2- 10ish): In the hour or so i was at work i started feeling hungry again, instead of buying from Dunkin i ate frosted flakes
Snack (11ish): Again in another hour i had a pack of nature valley granola bars
Lunch (1230-130) i had leftover chinese food (rib tips and pork fried rice.. havent had this in months)
Another cup of tea cause im cold...
Some water...

its like 3 something.. i aint leaving here til 5

Yea,

im hungry

See what i mean, i didnt have anything to really hold me from lunch until now and its a good 3 1/2 hours from lunch til i leave so i need to do something bout that...

No yoga today and no money spent on food (not that i have any right now)