5:45am wake up call

I’ve had a busy day thus far!  My new kitten, Tierra (I’ll tell her story in a future post), decided to start crying @ 5:50am!  On a Saturday!  She really does cry---long, loud, meows that go on and on.  She literally won’t stop until she gets a hug.  

So I get up to hug her and of course, can’t go back to sleep to save my life.  So I decided to be domestic…

and I made muffins—a chocolate chip batch and a blueberry one!  Although the blueberry ones came out a little flat, they were muy delicioso!  They’re 75% homemade—I use a Bisquick mix as the base, and then add ingredients from there.

After making the muffins, my honey woke up and we talked for a few minutes.  Daniel and I want to get into bike riding and he was planning to meet a gentleman who is selling a bike off of Craigslist.  I’m really excited to get into riding---there are wonderful trails for bike riding at First Landing State Park, as well as biking on the beach….hopefully I’ll find a bike soon, too so we can begin our adventures.

I had to head out shortly after our conversation for a community service event.  I’m a member of the best Sorority in the world and few of my chapter members decided to help out at an event in Park Place.  A Norfolk native, Kameron Chancellor (plays for the Seattle Seahawks), decided to give back to his community and give away 15 bikes to the kids in neighborhood where he was raised.  It was a great event with lots of laughs –we may even make it into the Virginian Pilot at some point this week. 

Myself, L.W., & K.H.

The rest of the day is dedicated to washing my hair in a new way, returning an item from our wedding registry that was a duplicate, and then hanging out with my Sorors this evening at a club/restaurant called Upscale.  My chapter was charted 2 years ago and had increased from 6 members, to over 30!  It’s a great bunch of women and I’m excited for a night out (I’m usually a homebody).

What is this about washing my hair in a new way?  Well, I’m going to use a technique I recently read about called co-washing.  Apparently, the sulfates and other ingredients in shampoo are very harsh on the hair.  Co-washing is short for conditioner washing.  Basically, the only thing needed for hair to get clean is water and agitation, so even without shampoo, the hair will get clean.  Since only conditioner is being used, the hair will be moisturized without being heavy, as long as you rinse well.  I’ve also heard about pre-poo (conditioning with essential oils before washing with shampoo) but I think I’ll leave that for another day.

What techniques do you use for your hair that people may not know about?  Do you put unique things on your hair (mayonnaise, olive oil, etc)?

Have a wonderful weekend!

High School Graduation

Somehow it completely slipped my mind to post about my brother-in-law's graduation on Friday evening.  Joey, I am so proud of you!  When I met you, you were shy and quiet, and now you're a man that is confident and strong. And a high school GRADUATE!  I know your mom would have been so proud, too.  Congrats to you!!!!!

  

Big Chop vs. long transition

Obviously I don't have much of an update as far as my transition is concerned.  My last relaxer was June 9th so my hair is bone straight (I burned so badly it was the final reason I needed to go natural).  Here are some photos of what my hair looks like now (you can see the part and everything!)

          

I've already begun trimming the relaxed ends.  I had my stylist cut off about 3 inches, so my hair is only shoulder length now. I've got to be honest and tell you that I'm terrified---I haven't had short hair in years, back when my hair was unhealthy and breaking off.  I have  neck rolls, people....short hair doesn't look good on me!
 

So as I've been doing research on going natural, I've learned there are two ways to go about it:

1:  The Big Chop (BC) where a person cuts off all of their hair. 

2:  (my choice) the long transition where a person keeps their relaxed ends whil growing natural roots.  As time progresses, the relaxed end are cut off until nothing remains but the new, virgin hair.

To any reader's that I happen to have, if you've gone (or are going) through becoming natural, what choice did you make and why?  Were there any pros and cons?

Creamy Crack

For those that don't know, Creamy Crack (CC) is a chemical treatment used to straighten kinky hair. a.k.a. perm or relaxer.  Check out Chris Rock's movie, "Good Hair", for more in depth info.  Anyhoo---I've been a CC addict for over a decade.  Every 6-8 weeks I've put this poison on my head so that I could have straight, silky, blow-in-the-wind hair.  Well, I'm sick of all the money, time, effort, and pain it takes for upkeep (this stuff burns people, literally).


So I'm quitting.  Now they don't call it CC for nothing---this stuff is addictive.  I'm going to go through withdrawals, depression, and possibly even the shakes.  At the end of this journey, I hope to not only have stronger, healthier hair; but to also be a stronger, healthier me.

For those that are visual beings:

I'm going to go from this




to this






I'm sure this blog won't just be about hair--I hope I'm an interesting person, so I'm sure there will be day to day that I'll add to make it a little more interesting.  I might even post a few pics of my handsome hubby, too!