Kinky Twists

On Friday, I went to get my hair braided!  I left work early and made it to the salon around 10:30.  This was a new stylist to me (Sheba) so we talked for a few minutes about my transition to natural hair and the most important thing to remember:  moisturize, moisturize, moisturize!

For those that don't know, braiding takes HOURS to do.  I knew I was in for a long haul, so I brought sustenance with me--my 80 ounce jug of water that is always with me, a peanut butter and honey sandwich, rice krispie treat, banana, and a little white cheddar popcorn.

About 8 hours in.

Since I was in a joint salon/barber shop there was plenty to entertain me! (I also had a magazine and book in my purse)  The barbers were hilarious!  Talking smack, flirting with random women that walked in, and the funniest of all:  their reaction when they saw Beyonce's new video "Best I never had".  You would think they had never seen a woman in lingerie (pronounced leeng-err-reee) before!

One woman came in with her drunk friend.  She had bright, kool-aid red hair, and a tight, supershort sundress.  She sat around for an hour or so and then left in a huff because the men weren't paying attention to her!

Are we done yet?

Anyhoo--I digress.  So I have to tell a "not-so" secret.  I have an unbelievably large head.  Seriously.  I get it from mi padre.The crazy thing is that you don't realize how large it is until you're actually doing my hair.  So a few minutes after the 1st picture was taken, I had to go to the store and buy 2 more packs of hair (my stylist doesn't provide hair-you bring it with you).  That gave me a nice little stretch---sitting still is not a strong point for me. 

Getting the ends curled with a piece of yarn.

The hair braiding commenced at 10:45am and I walked out at 10:50 pm.  12 hours ladies and gentlemen!  Sheba and I are TROOPERS!  

Daniel's reaction.

Sorry for the blurry photo-Daniel LOVED the style.  He couldn't stop staring!  

I've got dinner burning (literally), so I've got to run.  Have an amazing week everyone!!!!

Adventures in kayaking

Hola!

The pics from our kayaking adventure arrived!

We decided to do the 10:30am tour, because 7:30 was just too early.  Daniel works until late at night, so his internal clock would not allow such early morning festivities.  The forecast said it would be 90 degrees, but we new that would be perfect out on the water!

We arrived and began walking towards the dock.

 and were greeted by the best tour guides in VA Beach--Daniel and Cody!

Once everyone in our group arrived (4 couples, 2 guides, and the business owner) we discussed our route.  A quick tutorial was given on how to stroke, stop, and move backward.  Later in the water we learned to turn in a circle.  We were also given instructions on what to do if we fall in, but we knew that wouldn't be an issue for us.

We got into the kayaks and pushed off.  We started at the Owl's Creek boat launch, headed into Rudee's inlet, and then into the Atlantic Ocean.  What fun!  

We already slathered our bodies in sunscreen and I was so happy we did.  Not only was the sun blaring from above, but the reflection in the water hit us from below.  Throughout the trip, you could find me dipping my hand in the water and splashing it on my legs.

Unfortunately, there is only 1 picture of dolphins, even though we saw at least 7 (one came fully out of the water for us! for their food).  It was amazing to see their gleaming bodies.  I can't even describe it.  At some point, you could even hear them breathing!  Oh, and a random crab came swimming under our kayak.

They call him Flipper...fasting than lightning...

The guides talked to us throughout the trip--pep talks, stroke tips, and trivia about dolphins and the area where we are floating.  Everything is fine and dandy and then:

WE FELL IN!

We were laughing hysterically.

I still don't even know how it happened!  Once second we're floating merrily in the Atlantic Ocean, and the next, we're in it!  Steve (the owner) snapped a few pics of us and then helped us back into the kayak.  

Who is that handsome man?  I'll save you!

Notice the skewed visor--thankfully my glasses didn't fall in!

Since we were already in the water, 2 other couples decided to get in for a few minutes too!  Once everyone was back in the kayak safe and sound, we started the trip back to the dock.  We took a few pics with the VA Beach Boardwalk behind us

and I waved to others out on the water (FYI, in the water, the right away is given to the person/vehicle with the most tonnage.  So if something is approaching and you weigh less, it's your obligation to get out of the way--who knew!!!)

Practicing for the day I win Miss America.

the other Daniel!

Cody and his awesome hat.

I can honestly say this was an experience I never imagined I would have.  The older I get, the more time I want to spend outdoors having fun, instead of indoors watching TV or reading.  I would definitely recommend doing this type of thing with your family.  Actually, Steve said he's had as young as 4 and as old as 87 on one of these trips!

 I'll put pics of my new hairstyle up tomorrow.  I've got to get to the gym and they close at 4.  Have a great weekend!!!

Hair update-1 month

Hi!  I had an amazing time yesterday--we kayaked in the ocean to see dolphins!  I'll post more about it as well as pictures once I receive them in the mail.

Hair update

So I figured monthly updates would suffice concerning my transition to natural hair since hair doesn't grow quickly enough to warrant more than that.  I'm planning on getting kinky twists this week (a braid style), so I'll definitely post more pics then.  Here is what my hair looks like at 1 month with no creamy crack--as you can see--the part is still visible!  Yay!

I don't really have much new growth yet (that's the new, virgin hair coming in at the roots).  It's becoming more difficult to comb, but my hair is still 99% relaxed.

I have done co-washing twice now and I'm a fan.  My hair isn't being stripped of it's natural oils, and it's getting just as clean.  My scalp feels healthier as well.  Basically I do a normal wash technique, but with conditioner instead.  After I've saturated my hair with the conditioner, agitated my hands through my scalp and rinsed, I then put a little more conditioner on to sit for a few minutes.  Then I rinse like normal.  My hair feels silky smooth!

Tierra Skye Cook

From a previous post, you know that we have a new kitten in our family, Tierra Skye Cook (sound familiar?).  About a month ago, I received a text from Daniel's sister stating that she heard meowing and went to investigate outside of her apartment.  She found a mama cat and 2 kittens in a trash can--on trash day.  Horrible, right?  So she asked if Daniel and I wanted one.  He and I had been talking about a pet for a few months so we decided to add her to our little family.

Tierra-her 1st day with us

We made her an appointment and took her to the vet, and other than some swelling in her hind-parts, and a respiratory infection, she was healthy as can be!  Daniel and I talked about names and he stated he wanted to name her after me (my middle name is Tierra) and since Tierra means "earth" in Spanish, we decided to add Skye (earth and sky).  

Anyhoo--she fit in immediately!  She's so silly and accident prone--just like D and I.  Her crying can be extremely annoying, but we love her to death.  She's a great addition to our lives.

She fell asleep--in my SHOE!

Apparently, my feet don't stink--boo yah!

When we took her to the vet, we asked how old she was.  The vet responded around 6-8 weeks old.  We had gotten married 6 weeks before on April 15th, so we kind of took that as a sign that she really was meant to be with us.

Sleeping near the kitty litter--yuck!

This post is beginning to get extremely long, so I'll end it now.  I'll be back later in the week with hair pics and hopefully dolphin pictures!  I'll leave you with a picture of me and 2 of my favorite people in the world--my line sisters (LS). I'll talk more about them, and my sorority, in future blog posts.

The blu-tiful O.C., Ezpionage, and me-Blueprint! UWG Homecoming 2008