This post is about Locs... I promise!

LOL... that was for my sister and my sister from another mother. Previous posts were 'non-loc' related so I threw them for a loop. Anywho, this post is about how I aspire for my locs to be... kind of. My fam reunion was this weekend, and I got to see my cuzzo, who has locs, and sitting on her head is 9 years of beauty. They are traditional locs, but beautiful all the same. I will say that for a SPLIT second I wanted to combine mine because I loooove the way hers look, but then ironically, I saw a girl with Sisterlocks at the park, same length I want mine to be, and just the BOMB, plus, my loctitian's locs are the bomb, even though she keeps cutting it...LOL... Anyway, I just wanted to show a picture.

Words of Wisdom

"Your personal happiness is just that, YOUR personal happiness! Don’t be dependent on the opinions of others. Thoughtfully consider their opinion and weigh it against what you want, if it rings true for you then by all means value that opinion. When it comes to your personal happiness do not overlook your own ideas for the sake of others. Don’t let anyone steal your happiness."

For the most part, I have done just that throughout my life. I have experienced a lot of things and would not have done so HAD I let my happiness be influenced by someone other than me. No one can ever say that I am ashamed of who I am or who I have become because I HAVE LIVED, OUT LOUD at that, and LOVED like it was my last breath. I am eternally grateful for being truthful to me and being able to just be 'me' regardless of what anyone else thinks. My mission in my life is to continue to do just that, be kinder to myself, and love myself even more. Isn't it time for you to do the same?

I have had it... I WILL make it through the 'Induction Phase' of Atkins this time!

So, today is day two. Surprisingly, I am OK, and I don't feel the need to cheat. I know two days is not a lot, but when I tried Atkins before, it was a pain in the butt to make it through the first couple of hours because I knew that I could NOT have any chocolate. That is my downfall...yumny chocolate. I am doing great though. I have done the 14 day induction before, lost 10 pounds, but I did not stick with it as it was only because I was doing it to win a bet. This time, I am really committed. Since the first of the year I have become more active, there were some downs here and there, but I have been way better about it than I have ever been before. I have eliminated all excuses to NOT exercise by getting a stationary bike and I now have a Wii-Fit which is AWESOME. My goal is to lose 20 pounds. If I can lose more, that is great, but 20 pounds is great for me. I so miss being able to fit into my clothes. I tried doing the Weight Watchers plan, but time and time again, my body has proven to me that I just can't over do it with lots of carbs. This go round, my goal is to find out my carb threshold. I know that I will eventually introduce more carbs back into my diet, but for now, I want to give this all I have. Since I love to cook, I am being VERY creative with low-carb recipes. I am actually having fun with it and not over thinking the fact that I can't have sweets. Last night had a dream that I had a plate of junk and I was soooo upset. I am glad it was a dream because one bite of the wrong thing can throw off my ketosis. Any of you guys ever tried Atkins? Or any other dietary change? How are you doing?

Just saying thanks...

...to everyone who has stopped by to give me words of encouragement, to say hello, or just to even read my blog. I feel it's an honor to have people to come and visit and actually take an interst and keep up with my blog. I have learned a lot from you guys and it has truly been a great support group as we are all going through this journey. It's amazing...isn't it? Sisterlocks bring out a lot of Sisterhood...that's the way it should be.

My Sisterlock Report Card for the 3rd Month

V, my loctitian, said that my Sisterlocks looked good and that they were coming along just fine. We combined a couple of stragglers so I have some 2 headed dragons which is fine by me. I am going to start snipping the ends, the ones that have been pressed out so much that they are now straight, every time I get my locs retightened. I was going to wait for my year mark, but it would be toooo drastic for me to handle and this way I can do it little by little. I like that idea. Oh, I am also trying out this braid out thing... Post pictures tomorrow of the result...That's all to report for now.

P.S. I know I have a big head...lol

2 days before 3rd Retightening

Nothing much to say. Just some pictures of how my 3 month babies are looking. The 'spot' I have is really trying to fill in. My locs have gotten thicker. The first pic is from week 1 of my Sisterlocks. You can see that they were much thinner there. As I think on it...this post is a good post for anyone with doubts on whether or not their locs will thicken out. They will! I swore my loctitian made mine too small, but clearly she knew what she was doing.

It happened...

I lost 2 locs from my edges. *Sigh*…The locs I talked about in a previous post...the very locs that were hanging on for dear life...they are no longer with me, but with me in spirit. I figure it was from rolling my hair too tight. I was actually not upset about it, although I hate that I did lose my babies, I am not upset. It’s just my ‘edges’ telling me to stop being so heavy handed. I have 2 others that are hanging on. I am going to ask my loctitian to combine them or repair them; whatever she thinks is best is fine by me. I took a picture and deleted it so I could quickly get it out of my head. I realize that I am learning and it’s all apart of the process.

Before Sisterlocks

I never wore weaves or a lot of braids. I did press and dye my hair, but one day it came to me that I was still doing harm with the pressing. I wonder what the future brings. Sometimes I miss it.... But, we shall see what the future brings...

The Verdict is IN.... No More PRODUCTS

...Funny how running into a fellow SL'er who has been at it for over 6 years will get you to see the light. No PRODUCTS the first year she said. Plain and simple. Her locs were, OMG, words can't describe, but I will just have to say BEAUTIFUL. I can do it. I tested out the sponge rollers without the mousse and it works just fine. Looser curl, but still pretty, and it still does what it needs to do. By this time next year, I hope to report that I am 90% locked. Well, I guess that's that....

Essential Oils, Moisture, and PreMature locs...Thoughts??

OK.... I have a question for any Fellow Sisterlocker, or Loc'er period, that happens to pop on my blog. How are you taking care of your new Sisterlocks/Locs OR how did you take care of your Sisterlocks/Locs in the first stages. This is the question I asked a fellow blogger:

I am just curious. My loctitian about kicked me through the phone about using ANY type of oils or moisture on my hair until it has gotten older. She said that moisture is not good for the locs because they are not mature and it will cause slippage. This came up because I was telling her that I have one in the front that feels like it wants to pop off. She described what it looked like as if she were here: more hair towards the end and it feels and looks like the loc is hanging by a string. She IMPLORED me not to use any oils right now and stated I should use Sea Breeze ONLY on the scalp if I have an itch. Needless to say I am FREAKED out about it because I have been doing a spritz here and there and I use a mouse with my rollers. Has your loctitian stated this? I have seen arguements on both sides. I must say, feeling through my hair, a couple of my locs do feel that way and I am not sure if it is new growth or what. How are yours holding up?

Thoughts? What are you guys going through if anything?

I totally 'slept' on Sponge Rollers

... I had been debating for some time to get the Caruso Steam Rollers, and I am glad I dusted off my sponge rollers and tried those first. Love it! Easy, no money to be spent...for now, and I got loads of compliments off of the style. The pics don't do the style justice in my opinion, and some may say "Well, what's so great about it?" Well, I can't tell you anything other than the fact I feel better as far as styling is concerned. I have the Lock Loops, but I am not a fan of that crazy bend that I get and I wanted something more uniformed. Maybe it's the way I had been rolling my hair, but even after my loctitan rolls my hair, it's still the same result. I admit, I was inlove with them at first, but something was just missing for me. I love this look and I think it's because right now I am in that 'in-between' stage with my locs and I have major shrinkage. That's fine because these sponge rollers are doing what they need to do for me. Why did I not think of this before?? I never had use for the tiny rollers, but they came in sooooo handy when it came to rolling my edges and short locs in the back. I love it....