My Hair is growing

Dear God (and anyone else out there reading me),


Here is a photo I took of myself the first week of March. It is now time to re-tighten my hair. After this is done, I will post agian. It is difficult at times not to compare my hair length to the amount of hair BlaqKofi's mother has accomplished over a similiar length of time of being lock. I remind myself we are a uniquely made.

Sis RJQueen10

Happy 2009!!!--- It is time, It Is Time, IT IS TIME... for change!!!

A Woman's Strength

A woman has strengths that amaze me...

She can handle trouble and carry heavy burdens

She holds happiness, love & opinions

She smiles when she feels like screaming

She sings when she feels like crying

She cries when she's happy, and laughs when shes afraid,
and her love is unconditional.

There's only one thing wrong with her: she forgets what she's worth!

Dear God (and anyone else out there reading me...)

This photo below is an attempt I made to curl and sytle my hair. I enjoyed the results. It was lots of work and it did not last a very long time, because I sweat really, really hard when I exercise. But it was a chance to try a new and different look! I love, Love, LOVE My Locks.

It is amazing to me, how many people are willing to trust me in their hair. Since Creyole, taught me to retighten my own hair, I have had numerous offers. It usually starts when people ask me who does My Locks. and after I state that I do the retightening, they quickly offer to pay me to do their hair. I remember being so, cautious, so concerned, and so careful it is still amazing how uninhibited others are concerning their head and their hair. Oh yes, it is completely flattering also, to God be the glory!!

This year my birthdate is going to be the coolest!!! 09/09/09! I am so ready to start celebrating for the whole month of September again!!! But I shall be patient, Patient, PATIENT!!!

RJQueen10
Please feel free to share, let me know you were here by leaving me a comment...

IT's OUR Birthday!!!

It is my and twin's birthday today! We have taken to celebrating each day in the month of September!

Sept 1, 2008 Pedicure and New Sunglasses for me and new Sunglasses for my Best Friend and Twin Sister, Grilled some Salmon and feasted on an awesome Chicken Salad (Labor Day off from Work)
Sept 2, 2008 Delivered New Sunglasses to Best Friend and Twin Sister (hung out for a while)
Sept 3, 2008 Worked Out Aerobics with T.S., Mama is helping us Celebrate each day, Made us dinner and bought us lovely brackets and matching necklaces, with the most heartfelt cards I have received in years! I even cried when my twin read her card out loud. She said since we are celebrating each day we can't open the second card til our actually birthday on the 9th!
Sept4, 2008 Worked Out Aerobics with T.S.
Sept 5, 2008 Children with Nana (on a date) and shopping bought new jeans and shirt to match.
Sept 6, 2008 Children with Nana --80 Minute Full Body Massage (26 Minutes Jacuzzi) and treated my T.S. and our (okay my favorite) restaurant Pappadeaux!
Sept 7, 2008 Church and our (okay my favorite) restaurant Pappadeaux! My T.S. had already opened her second birthday card. She mentions to me, you know there is money inside? I immediately ripped it opened. I am glad I did not lose the card, I had been carrying it with me everywhere. I will use the money to buy another lovely gift for my self!
Sept 8, 2008 My childen and I made my birthday cake (lemon flavor and lemon icing). I love them so much, they are so awesome.
Sept 8-12, 2008 church, Church, CHURCH, church, CHURCH! What better place to be on your birthday than in the presence of the LORD! I am honored.
Sept 9, 20008 IT IS MY BIRTHDAY, THE SECOND BEST HOLIDAY OF THE YEAR, NEXT TO JESUS'S BIRTHDAY (CHIRSTMAS)!
Sept 13 -30 Just having fun and making it up as I (We) go!!!...

RJQueen10 (Photos will be added later--I need to get ready for work!!! and children ready for school!!!)

Liberation

Dear God (and anyone else out there reading me...),

Over the span of three days, I retightened my own hair. Thanks to my consultant who showed me the process, I am FREE... When I got my hair LOCKED I never imagined that I would be able to maintain it so early in the process. I am so appreciative and blessed.



I love that I did not have to feel rushed. I opened presents with my children, cooked dinner, played with my children and their Christmas toys, visited family, and more. I was in absolutely no rush with retightening my hair. But once I was in the flow of retightening my hair, I had to force myself to stop. I did not want to stop, but all of these other events required some of me.



My only issue was that my thumb and pointer finger required me to rest because they ached from fitting my locked hair through the tiny slot on the Nappy Lock tool. I believe as I do this more that finger aching will be a thing of the past.

It was actually a therapeutic and spiritual process for me as I handled my own hair, my mind released thoughts and I felt unburdened. One of those days I did not turn the TV on at all, most of the day I played Christian Christmas and Gospel music. I took this long to post this post (1/2/08) because I was waiting to get the pictures back from my sister who took them with her digital camera. I did get an opportunity to visit my consultant Creyole and she said I was doing a good job with my hair. I lost my first Nappy Lock tool when it fell down my sink, and I could not retrieve it. So when I replaced it, I bought two, just in case.


Sis RJQueen10

Please feel free to share, let me know you were here by leaving me a comment...

One Step Backwards --Two Go Forward...

Dear God (and anyone else out there reading my blog...)

I am not going to be hard on myself, but I sort of feel like I took one step backwards in my self-LOVE experience. I know, Know, KNOW wearing braids is not the better option for my hair! Yet, here I am kicking my braids for the moment! I am kind of reminded about this when I think of my natural wearing Friend and Sister in Christ. She said I can call her Porsha83. I want to commit to myself that when it is time to take these braids down, I am going to stay natural no matter what. Perhaps, if I "put it in writing" I will be able to ...

I am so late doing this, but here are a few of pictures of Porsha83 . She is my girl, and the “girl” in my graduate program that I wrote about on my first blog post dated Wednesday, February 28, 2007, “Being Natural is True Freedom and Internal Joy”. Her hair is so beautiful to me and so is she. Her hair is so full. It is so textured. I thank you God for the courage this lady has helped me capture. It is such an experience in self-LOVE to go from wearing braids in my hair, to confidently wearing my own natural, textured, short, kinky, coily, wavy, nappy hair. I am looking forward to the next stage (LOCKING MY HAIR).

She told me in class the other day; she is going to lock her hair in the near future too. I believe without a shadow of a doubt this will be so perfect for her, she will be PHENOMENAL!

She is a hair inspiration for me because she started her natural self-LOVE experience with the Big Chop, rocked her TWA and now two years later has abundant beautiful mass of lengthy, voluminous, healthy, natural hair.

Porsha83, if you are reading this, thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU for helping me get to the “next level” with your excellent support, your true compassion, and your great conversations. I am glad I KNOW YOU!











If anyone out there besides God is listening, feel free to share and post a response.

Sis. RJQueen10

CREYOLE, she is such an Inspiration...

Creyole,

Have you seen BlaqKofi’s latest blog? Dated Sunday April 22, 2007? Before I begin, let me just say… I AM YOUR BIGGEST ADMIRER, besides your immediate and extended family of course. Okay here is an excerpt from Blaq’s post:

“Four years ago, I met a sister with small, gorgeous, neat locks in Tom Thumb on Sycamore School Road in Fort Worth, Texas and asked, "are those dreads?" "No they are called Sisterlocks. Go to http://www.sisterlock.com/ and check them out." I am eternally grateful that our paths crossed on that fateful day.

That Tom Thumb has since closed...I often wonder about the sister who opened the SL door for me, wish I had of gotten her name or number so that I could tell her how she contributed to my Natural Awakenings...

but also,

so that she could see

BlaqKofi on loc'down.I think she would be proud.”


Well you are “that sister, who introduced me to Sisterlocks”. I am blessed, Blessed, BLESSED because I know your name and I know your phone number. I am able to tell you over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again how much you have contributed to “My self-LOVE Experience”. You have been such a patient and gentle friend and probably don’t even know it. Here is a summary of what you have done for me so FAR…

1) You told me about your hair.

2) You gave my your designerhergal business card with your blogspot address on it.

3) You created an informative, insightful, and transparent blog about your hair, your spirituality, your family, and your general perspective on life. I learned so much here as I read it from beginning to end and eagerly wait for new posts.

4) You invited me to the WACO Sisterlocks gathering (I got food poisoning and missed the event because I was in the emergency room getting rehydrated!)

5) You forwarded me to BlaqKofi’s blogspot, which of course I read from beginning to end. I now have two beautiful ladies of Sisterlocks whom I admire for their growth, openness, and thoroughness of helping other sisters along in their Sisterlocks JOURNEY or self-LOVE experience. As I have read your blogspots from beginning to end.

6) You told me about the Dr. Cornwell meet and greet event at GIGIs.

7) You help me overcome my trama with the initial costs of obtaining and maintaining Sisterlocks. You did not invalidate my concerns, you helped me search within inside myself of what is really, Really, REALLY important to and for ME. I now am able to see myself as worthy and valuable of sporting Sisterlocks.

8) You are consistent with your self and your Sisterlocks. I like your detail-orientedness (Smile, because I think I made that word up) when it comes to your hair, its upkeep, and understanding its naturalness.

9) You inspire me, inspite of yourself, because each time I have had the opportunity to be in your presense (be it on your blogspot, at the gym, at a Sisterlocks event, or over the telephone) you have been completely down to earth, welcoming, friendly, and patient.

10) You recommended GIGI and Elaine and you don’t make me feel like I am as wishy washy as I have been when it came to gaining an understanding of Sisterlocks and RJQueen10’s self-LOVE experience.

So if the truth be told you have what it takes to be a SISTERLOCKS CONSULTANT and so much more. I just want to thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU for being Creyole. Thank you God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit for allowing our paths to cross!

I was going to post this as a comment on your blogspot, but it got kinda of lengthy. So I decided to park it at my spot and pray that you will see it one day. Now let me end this and get to working on my take home final exam. God is good, I earned a 92 on my midterm exam and it is worth 50% of my grade. This final is worth 40%!

To everyone else out there reading, thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU for coming to my blogspot and reading my thoughts and reading my praises to God and my conversations with God.

Special thank yous to muslimahlocs and Aya for not only visiting my blogspot, but taking time out of their schedules to leave me a comment. I do appreciate you! Feedback really is important and comforting.

Last but definitely not least, thank you to BlaqKofi for being Blaq. I read your latest posts! Congratulations grandma or nana or what will you natural hair care wearing first grandchild call you? I love Malcolm’s name, it is such a strong name. That name goes back a very long way with me, I was going to name my first son Malcolm Alexander -------. But God knew what was best for me and gave me a Boy and a Girl, Twins.

Let me forcefully pull myself away from this blog! Until the next post….

If anyone else out there is listening besides God, feel free to share and post a response...

Sis. RJQueen10

What has been happening with ME...!

Dear God, (and anyone else out there reading…)

God, I just wanted to give thanks to everyone who has taken time to come visit my blog spot. I want to give special thank yous for those who take additional time out of their schedule and leave me a comment. Most importantly, God, I want to give thank yous to everyone for being patient with me. In addition to being a Mama of 4 year old twins, I am a graduate student. When classes are in session I will make a post weekly, when classes are not in session I will try to make a post daily.

Well I started with 10 test locks. Four in the front and six in the back. Currently I am wearing my hair in two-strand twists. Well this morning as I was getting ready to attend church I re-twisted some strands that had come a loose in the back. I noticed I now only have ONE test Sisterlock™ left in the back. The four in the front are still going strong. I guess it is time to put a call in to my consultant to first verify my scheduled May 10, 2007 appointment, second to express eagerness of accepting any cancelled appointment slot, and three to talk to her about my five back test Sisterlocks™ coming down, disappearing. Will this be a problem area for me when I get my full head of Sisterlocks™? If I notice my Sisterlocks™ are getting loose (slipping) is there anything I can personally do about it? What are my options, if any? I am really not that worried at this point, it is just interesting to note how different sections of my head responded to Sisterlocks™ I knew I was grateful for ALL of this time for some reason.

Note to self: Be real careful about the back of my head when I get my Sisterlocks™!

I am at a new gym for four weeks, well I have about 10 more days left on a four week pass. It has been a great experience, because it is my husband’s gym. I have had several opportunities to actually workout with him, while our children were in the daycare area. I enjoyed this experience a lot. My husband is really noticing my weight loss, and my seriousness about my workouts! He taught me how to use some of the machines I did not know how to use before. He also praised me for my “good form”.

I saw Ms. Y at this gym twice so far, who I met at the Sisterlocks™ meet and greet. On the second day, Ms. Y talked me into taking a spinning class. Well, let me tell you! I represented, I was hyped, Hyped, HYPED! I kept paced with most of the seasoned class members and even exceeded the paced of a couple of spinning class veterans. But my body paid for it the next day-Friday, and the day after that-Saturday, and today is Sunday and still feel slight tenderness in places I did not know muscles existed! It was a fun and great cardio experience I will try it a couple of more times before my free gym pass expires. I am serious about my workouts!

Speaking on that I joined a new gym! My old gym was just that OLD! I don’t mean to sound ungrateful and like a complainer, I am just telling the truth! Thank you God for improving my FREE gym membership options! After I have spent about 15 weeks at new and up to date gyms, it was impossible to go back to the old. I have to drive 27 miles to my new gym, but it is worth the drive! They have childcare options for my children; all of the equipment is new, New, NEW. The equipment is state of the art! There are TVs and radio ON the actual elliptical machines, in addition to surrounding Flat Screen TVs. There is an upstairs and a downstairs area. I did not even make it upstairs on my first visit this Saturday.

I was giddy with excitement and energy! I took an Abdominal and Back Core group exercise class that lasted 20 minutes. Then I got on the elliptical machine for 20 minutes. I cut it short because I wanted to experience everything on my first visit; lately I’ve been doing 30 minutes to 60 minutes cardio sessions. I put on my bathing suit and I was in the steam room for 5 minutes and the Jacuzzi for 10 minutes. I took a wonderful shower and changed into warm street clothes. It actually snowed in Texas USA this Saturday. It was light flaky snow that did not affect the roads, but it was snow and cold none-the-less.

This gym even has a Smoothie bar, so you know I got caught up. I added so much to what started off as a based 20oz Smoothie for $3.25 by the time I was finished, mine costs $7.50. It was a most delicious smoothie, it tasted like a Piña Cola! It was called Tropical Oasis, and it had pineapples, coconut, and mango. I added Wheatgrass powder, Spirulina powder, Soy Protein powder, and Glutamine powder. I have to investigate this further on my future visits, but I believe the lady who prepared it said it only contained about 325 calories. She also said because I added the stuff I added I could use my smoothie as a meal replacement. I consumed the smoothie about 1:30 pm and I did not get hungry again until about 5:00pm.

Thank You God for my outstanding visiting gyms experience--threee different gyms so far, and my NEW free gym In Jesus’ Name, Amen!

If anyone else out there is listening besides God, feel free to share and post a response...

Sis. RJQueen10

The Meet and Greet With Dr. Cornwell...

Dear God, (and anyone else out there reading…)

Here is my version of the DFW Sisterlocks™ Meet and Greet With Dr. Cornwell. First I want to say, excellent, Excellent, EXCELLENT job GiGi, BlaqKofi, Maryee, Jen, Diane and there were two more ladies I don’t know there names (apologies). They made us feel catered to and comfortable.

When I first walked into the banquet room I felt the ambience of the warmth and beauty of Sisterlocks™ live and in person. The tables were nicely decorated with cloth fabric; food was served buffet style yet with the elegance of a sit down meal. Dinner was grilled or smoked salmon, Creamy Alfredo pasta with chicken breast, a Cesar salad, tasty dinner roll, and last but not least there was a variety of cake for dessert. There was an option of red wine, white wine, and/or the most delicious tasting sweeten tea ever (I had two glasses). Ms. Y teased me because I was the only one at our table drinking tea. I proudly proclaim that I no longer consume alcohol beverages. I give you all of the glory for that Lord. I so enjoyed fellowshipping with Ms. Y. I need to look for her at the most current gym I am attending.

Next, the beautiful ladies I met and experienced. I was proud to see my inspiration, Creyole, show up with her beautiful daughter Praline. Praline graced our ears with her deep and throaty version of "A Change Is Gonna Come" a 1965 single by R&B singer-songwriter Sam Cooke, written and first recorded in 1963. Though only a modest hit for Cooke in comparison with his previous singles, the song became one of his first blatantly political songs, and came to exemplify the sixties Civil Rights Movement. The song has gained in popularity and critical acclaim in the decades since its release. Little Ms. Praline, can definitely sing, Sing, SING! This is definitely a great song to symbolize the Sisterlocks™ self-LOVE experience.

Next I got a chance to meet Blaqkofi this is my living, walking, talking, breathing testimony of Sisterlocks™. I admire this woman and her spirit very, Very, VERY much.
I met Blaq’s sister, Ms. T #1, who is just as pleasant as BlaqKofi. I liked her instantly.

I met an awesome lady whom I sat next to at dinner. She has such an inspiring testimony, let me see if I can retell it without taking away from it. I am going to call her, Ms. T. #2, She showed me a photo of herself with glorious long shoulder length thick permed hair. It was enviously beautiful. She said she cut it all off, to support her sister who was diagnosed with cancer and had to go through treatments. She wanted to show her sister that it IS JUST hair. Now, Ms. T’s #2 hair is probably two inches long and she was recently Sisterlocked™. God, life is so amazing when are blessed to meet people who are not just living for themselves. Now that is support!

I met Musilmahlocs and her most beautiful daughter is just gorgeous, Gorgeous, GEOGEOUS! I met AllyH20 (I need to go to her blog site real soon) and Ms. S. Ms. S. shared with me that before she got her Sisterlocks™ she a bald patch in her hair, the resulting damage from wearing perms. She said she went to a white doctor and the doctor asked her why does she not wear her hair natural? Ms. S. said the doctor gave her some shots of cortisone (I think she said cortisone) in her head and that stimulated the return of hair growth. She said it was not until she witnessed a lady sporting an afro and she asked the lady "Is that your natural hair without any chemicals added to it?" The lady answered yes! She said she immediately went to get the perm chemicals cut off, she said before she lost the courage. Now seven years later Ms. S’s Sisterlocks™ extend past her shoulders. Ms. S. story is significant to me, because she touched on the key component to being natural, after so many years of mis-educated torment… IT TAKES COURAGE TO BE NATURAL!

God, I felt like such a groupie at the Sisterlocks™ meet and greet Dr. Cornwell. I bought four Sisterlocks™ Lifestyle Journals and the “All About Love” Poetry Book by Dr. Cornwell. I asked her to sign all of my books, and she did. I wish I had brought my “A Tapestry of Dreams” The Sisterlocks™ Book. I have never in my life jocked anything, or anyone, with the exception of Jesus Christ Himself. God, you know I have a fanatical, radical, mathematical admiration of Jesus! I was truly a fan, Fan, FAN at the Meet and Greet with Dr. Cornwell. She never acted irritated with me in any way. Thank your Dr. Cornwell for your time, presence, and your love for all of us.

Something Dr. Cornwell shared with us that I did not KNOW. Essentially we all know Sisterlocks™ cost so much on the front end of the process. (After a minimum of six months to a year, there is financial freedom and beautician freedom for the rest of your life—if you want to go and get retightening sessions you can and if you don’t want to you don’t have to). Dr. Cornwell shared with us that after she trains a consultant she no longer receives any income from that consultant. I thought this information made Dr. Cornwell more real, extra transparent, and even slightly vulnerable. This type of sharing impressed me because I was reading in “Hair Story” by Ayana D. Byrd and Lori L. Tharps how Madame C.J. Walker and Annie Turnbo Malone had a sort of pyramid type business. Well I just assumed, until actually meeting Dr. Cornwell that Sisterlocks™ was that type of business as well. Dr. Cornwell stated that the majority income comes from The Sisterlocks™ Lifestyle Journals, The DVDs, the specially formulated Sisterlocks™ hair care products, and any other items they sell under Sisterlocks™. Dr. Cornwell did not ask me to write any of this. I personally hope she is not offended by me writing this. But I just want to appeal to anyone out there who is not using Sisterlocks™ products, let us start supporting the company that gave us this freedom in the first place, before we go out and use products by white owned companies, disguising their products as if they are black owned.

If anyone else out there is listening besides God, feel free to share and post a response...

self-Love for REAL...

Dear God, (and anyone else out there reading…),

I have been over there reading Maryee Sisterlock Journey blog from of course “Beginning to End” Her posts "What a woman's hair says about her " at http://lovemylocks.blogspot.com/2005_08_01_lovemylocks_archive.html and
"My Two-Year Anniversary is Today!" at http://lovemylocks.blogspot.com/2005_11_01_lovemylocks_archive.html
I love these posts. I needed these posts. I am glad she is sharing (has shared) herself with those of us to follow in her footprints. This is needed therapy for my soul.

I was feeling kind of discouraged for the last two days, because I will have to wait until May 10, 2007, to get my Sisterlocks™. But after reading a few posts Maryee at site, having my girl Creyole return, and a new post at BlaqKofi, I have renewed resiliency to be patience and wait, and not do something desperate and immature. Like get braids (I had made an appointment for next Tuesday—I am going to call and cancel) or worse (there is always a WORSE)... I must remind myself that with your help God, I am creating a self-LOVE experience. There is no time for drama!

Classes start back for me tonight, so I will be here but not on a daily basis! I want to keep up my high gpa. I am addicted to bloggin’ so I will not stay away too long.

Lord, appreciate you. I confess all of my sins to you, those I know of and those that I have committed and don’t know about. I am ever thankful to you for my exceeding and abundant blessings, my husband, my twins, and my sound mind, I come to you in supplication on my own behalf, please continue to teach me how to love the RJQueen10 You created Me to be. I don't want to be false anymore, covering myself up because I am ashamed of the natural me. Also please allow a spot to become available sooner with my consulatant GIGI, an availablitity that is good for both of our schedules. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Sis. RJQueen10

Exercising In My Aftro...

Dear God, (and anyone else out there reading...)

Day One
On Wednesday, I was waiting to see Creyole in aerobics. She was not there when I got there, but I was all prepared for her to take up close pictures of me with her digital camera to post on my blog.

So in a earlier e-mail I told her I would be wearing my afro. Well, I strutted confidently into class for the first time wearing my own natural hair.

Then I could not contain myself. Since class was late starting, many ladies were already there sitting around waiting for our instructor and class to start. I said, "Hey everybody, do you see my hair?" Many gave positive comments and some were silent. I started singing about how free I feel.

These pictures in this post are AFTER the workout. Which I think came about pretty good. Now the BEFORE the workout, you just have to take my word that I was-- my hair (which I had freshly styled) and my little lip gloss, and my outfit were --too cute! I will try to recreate myself next week and see if I can make another photo appointment with Creyole.

I hardly heard anyone as I told them I am going to get Sisterlocks™ real soon like the ones Creyole sports. Some began relate, by making comments about such as , "do I know such and such who wears her hair natural ?" and other ladies they know in class who wear their hair natural. Eventually with both Creyole and RJQueen10 in class being free to be natural they ALL will want to make the change.

It IS personal and it IS a process (like all healings that don’t come directly from Jesus Christ and God Himself. The bible declares that whenever Jesus healed, the miracle was immediate, instantaneous.)

In aerobics class, I told them not to laugh if my afro shrunk up by the end of class. I was really surprised that it did not shrink up after sweating up a storm for a little over 1 hour and then taking a hot shower afterward. I sweat so hard, that even by the time Creyole came into the dressing room (I left class 15 minutes early to shower etc.) I could not stop my body from sweating. However, my hair performed “exceedingly and abundantly” above all of my expectations and without shrinkage. You can see my sweat in this photo. My husband gave me a pretty good edge up! Thanks, hubby! I would have preferred a softer edge-up but beggars can't be choosy!

Day Two
okay, Okay OKAY here is FREEDOM and PEACE. I went to aerobics class again on Thursday, sporting my Afro day 2. There were a different set of ladies in the Tues/Thus. class vs. the Mon/Wed/Sat class. I did not make a big to-do about my hair today. However, I received several compliments on my figure (so far I have lost 24 pounds since 10/18/2006) and MY HAIR. I believe my strut is just so much more confident than in the past, so much more “phenomenal” (as Maya Angelou might say).

Okay I came home and today my 4 to 6 inch afro shrunk up like crazy (that did not happen yesterday, thank you, God because I went to church immediately after my workout)! I was like okay I have to do something to my hair or else tomorrow it will be totally unmanageable. I stepped in the hot shower with my large tooth comb. The heat and steam were perfect. I wish I had some eucalyptus to clear up my nasal passage (well actually I do have some I just did not know how to apply it during my shower, I usually take it to the gym with me and use it in the steam room). I let the strong water flow thru my hair. Whew! That felt so very, Very, VERY great! I just rinsed the impurities out, because on Satudays I like to do "No Poo" shampoo sessions with my hair and it is just was not time for that again, yet.

My hair became soft. I was able to comb thru easily. After I got out of the shower, I applied about 16 or so large Two-Strand Twists to my damp hair and foam rolled the ends. Let's see how my afro comes out in the morning... I am excited, refreshed, and renewed!

Day Three
I like the way my hair came out! I am actually forcing myself to like and LOVE my hair. I wanted to cover my hair up, because it was kind of unruly. However, I reasoned. I look less unnatural being natural than I did when I went about with braid extensions with lots of new growth coming in and fake ponytails extensions. I am glad I did not cover up my natural hair. I wrapped a black scarf around the edges and went to workout at the gym. I felt cute, I may not have looked cute, but I felt cute. And that I believe, is half of he battle. Understanding my natural hair is maturing me into the phenomenal woman that I want to become.

I completed the workout with another one of those great steamy showers. This time I applied a Moisturizing Spritz to my hair-- 1 teaspoon of aloe vera juice, 1 teaspoon of vegetable glycerin (I don't have this ingredient--I need to go to the whole foods store), 3 drops of your favorite essential oils (I used about 1o drops of Jojoba Oil, 1 teaspoon of Tea Tree Oil). For water I used 2 Cups Dasani purified bottled water a product of The Coca-Cola Company, that I drink about 80 to 100 oz of daily. I picked up this recipe from page 45 in a book called "Going Natural" by Mireille Liong-A-Kong, http://going-natural.com. I Two-Strand Twisted my damp hair and foam rolled the ends. Put on my black nylon bonnet with while ruffles. Then I chilled with the twins and my neice the rest of the evening.

Sisterlocks™ here comes RJQueen10, my appointment is 13 days away on March 16, 2007!

In Jesus's Name, Amen

Sis. RJQueen10

If anyone out there besides God is listening, feel free to share and post a response.

The Decision is FINAL--Sisterlocks™ are for me, Me, ME!

Dear God (and everyone else out there looking in...),

okay, Okay, OKAY! I am so excited by the process of SisterLocks™! Yesterday, I finished reading Creoyle's blogspot. It took me two weeks to read it from beginning to end. I feel such a sense of accomplishment. I am trying to be patient, my appointment to get my Sisterlocks™ is so far from now, March 16, 2007.

Yesterday, I was sharing different parts of Creyole's Sisterlocks™ Journey with my husband. He was attentively listening to me as I verbally traced my traumatic experience of the LOVE-HATE-LOVE relationship with my hair. I actually got "too" emotional as I was sharing my hair tribulations that, before I could get back to the JOY again, I lost my husband's attention. He said, "Okay, I have heard enough about your hair." I DID need to cool down, and I now know, that the God in him sensed this.

Well, the final confirmation, that this is the best decision for my hair came this very morning. My husband came in from work. He said, "that thing, that you are talking about doing to your hair, I like it. Why don't you do it to our daughter's hair too". I am still working on him about the $$$, but Wow! He actually heard me yesterday, and throughout our years together-- as he went from never seeing my hair for the first year of our dating, to him actually searching for women referrals to braid my hair. He has actually been very supportive and encouraging as "I find my way with my hair".


My first confirmation, that this JOURNEY should begin was when I gave birth to my twins (a son and a daughter) four years ago. I never knew how to care for my own hair. I used to say over the years, "If I ever have a daughter, she will come to the beauty shop with me." Well, after I was actually blessed with this miniature reflection of me, I wanted so much more for her, than I ever wanted for myself. So it was through the God in her and in me, that I took the time and I patiently learned how to tenderly comb her hair, style her hair, braid her hair (I went to the library and checked out books--my Christian beautician girlfriend thought that was too cute and so technical of me). Now I know how to do two-strand twists on her hair (so much easier than braids).

This symbol of God's love is awesome, she is so patient with me. I always tell her as I wash and condition her hair, I look straight into her large innocent brown eyes and share with her that her hair is "beautiful, is it thick, it is wavy, it is coily, it is full, and best of all it's just like Mama's". She never cries when I comb her hair, she is now able to sit up like a big girl while we bond through me combing her hair (she even crosses her legs like a young lady as she sits in her little chair).

Well about December 30th, 2006 I got my natural hair twisted. First time in four years of no chemicals on my hair, that I really, Really, REALLY find JOY in wearing my natural hair without braid extensions. (I will post pictures later). My daughter saw my hair, I was getting ready to put pony tails in her hair. She said, "No mama, I don't want that." Shaking her head no. She could feel me gathering her hair for the pony tail. She said, " I want my hair like yours. Pretty!". She smile and looked at me.

Well that seal it for me. I HAVE been doing something right, by not putting chemicals in my hair for the last four years, by not even considering putting chemicals in her hair, by taking the time to learn. It was through loving her hair, that I learned to love my HAIR. Thank you God for such an exceeding and abundant blessing.

In Jesus's Name, Amen.

If anyone out there besides God is listening, feel free to share and post a response!