Time Out for a SL Lunch

Us girls (Karen, Detra, Me & TRA, top left pic) decided to take a nice little lunch today and have some down time by treating ourselves to some good ole PF Chang.

It was a blast, we just could not help ourselves, the minute we sat down we started chatting as if we've known each other for years and years. I felt so at home with them, it's like an extenstion of blood sisters.

Anyway, we talked about family, telecommunication industry (we also have careers in common), gave advice to one another, discussed what we need to do to get ourselves in shape (exercise - ugh!), New York trip plans (Detra's working those reservations), how addicted we are to blogging & reading everyone else's blogs (daily), laughed, joked and of course discussed our favorite subject.... SISTERLOCKS!
Thanks for the enjoyable time today ladies!!!! If lunch can be this much fun, I can only imagine how much fun we'll have taking a bite out of the Big Apple!

I included the pic below because it shows my newly cut locs styled with my brand new Soft Spikes, thanks Detra for sneaking this pic in on me. Of course, the curls are not as tightly curled as I would desire because I ordered the large ones for growth use later on. It would probably look better once I wash and curl immediately afterwards instead of curling on four day old washed hair. At any rate, I like it for now!

Sisterlockers, New York City and The Color Purple

While talking about the Color Purple with Gigi during my hair cutting appointment last week I had an epiphany and said to her, "wouldn't it be awesome to have a city full of Sisterlockers in New York to see the Broadway Musical?" We talked about how cool it would be and it's been on my mind ever since.

So, I pondered on the idea, sent it out to the LockItUp Group and the response was a GO! Detra was the first to respond, then the emails came pouring in. Currently, the we are working on group airfare, hotel and tickets for Oprah's Broadway Musical The Color Purple either scheduled for late March or early April with plans for Friday through Sunday weekend trip.

Leighann, hopefully you'll have a show going on at one of NYC's Comedy Clubs because we'd love to come and cheer you on! Princess, KimJ and all of our other New York/New Jersey sista's I sure hope you'll get to join us for some of the activites if your schedules permit!

Anyone interested please leave comments or email me directly at, virtuous_woman7@yahoo.com (there is an underscore between virtuous and woman7 in case you can not see it). We're looking to book at least 20 people so please let us know if you are interested as soon as possible.

Stay tuned for updates.

Update 12/28/05:
Hello All,
Several people could not do April because of school and other scheduling conflicts. So, we met for lunch today, (Detra,Karen, TRA and myself) and we decided on another date, will June 1st-4th work for everyone?

Also, please forward this email to others that may not have seen the original email on the LockItUp group. I originally responded to those that indicated they were interested. If I missed anyone it's definitely unintentional. Please let me know so we can proceed with the reservations and cost. Right now the cost for Broadway tickets, flight, hotel in Manhattan & airport transfers is estimated at $600.00. It's a rough estimate and hopefully the June date won't be much different.

Will keep you updated.

Updated 01/06/06
Hi Ladies,
What a blessing!! Attached are the plans (please request a copy if you have not received via email) passed on by Gigi (SL Consultant) who extended the invitation for us to combine our NY trip. The format of the trip is really nice and I've spoken with the coordinator Shawna Ridley 972.222.0162 who welcomes us. Feel free to contact her with questions. Her email address is Shawna.Ridley@utsouthwestern.edu. Shawna indicated that the plans are now on Phase Two indicated on the forms and the itinerary is not written in stone, once we are in New York we can venture off to where ever we would like to go.

Several of us have reservations for hotel and flight and working on the tickets. Try to get as close to row"J" Orchestra as possible. That's where Gigi has her tickets and I'm trying to get that area as well.

Leighann,
Can you get a Comedy show for us on Saturday night June 17th? Also, we'd love to take on some of there recommendations from you, Princess & Zora.

Did I miss anyone? I sure hope not and if I did please feel free to pass on to others. Looking forward to taking a "bite" out of the Big Apple, let's just hope it doesn't bite back.

Peace!
LaChanda

The Big Cut, Fresh Look and AA Men

Yep, I did it!! Christmas Day is soon approaching and I wanted and desperately needed myself a new look for the holidays. One of the pictures I took last week showed my hair looking wild and loose on the ends, I just could not take it any more, Gigi had an opening this week and I told her what I wanted and grabbed the appointment.

I arrived and we greeted each other, but honestly I did not know what to expect once I sat in the chair. This I did know, I wanted "my fresh look!" Gigi probably saw the gaze in my eyes as she picked up the scissors and headed towards my Sisterlocks. She looked at me and said, ”breathe, it’s going to be alright”, then showed me what needed to “be gone.” In some places one inch was taken off and other places two inches. It was a heart breaker after the first cut then it was smooth sailing thereafter. As she carefully measured, groomed and cut the excess unlocked natural ends (my curly Q’s) I could actually see each individual lock come into existence. It was like a new birth all over again!

The grooming session took two hours and when Gigi was done, I looked in the mirror and could hear each one of my seven month old locks singing, “Hang all the mistletoe, I’m going to get to know you better, This Christmas", by the great Donny Hathaway. I was so excited I began jumping up and down in the salon and could not stop grinning. My head actually felt and looked locked, I can only assume that the experience was close to others cutting off their permed ends.

When I arrived home, I intentionally did not say anything to my DH (darling husband) to see if he would notice. He looked at me and said “what did you do, that looks nice?” I was surprised because he usually says he can’t tell any difference in my hair after my retightening appts., but this appt was different. I got my "fresh look!" Thank you DH for loving me and my natural hair!! It’s funny because, he’s always calling me throughout the week and asking for my blog address to share with others he comes in contact with.

Lately, Ive been hearing/reading about AA men that do not appreciate our natural hair. Well, my husband and I have been married 15 years and he has been through "all" of my hair drama. I can certainly say that this is one man that proudly sports me around and loves taking over conversations when we are in the company of folks questioning me about my natural hair/locs. I often have to calm him down so that he does not offend our sista's still sporting hair crack, including my family, no, especially my family! Unfortunatley, AA men as we were at one time conditioned to believe that straight is best (ya'll know the story) and we all know that is far from the truth because most of us were not created that way. There is hope for our AA brothers and all it takes is education, communication, love, and patience. When my DH read "No Lye" he went into straight up rebellion as I did and from there on it was history in the making. "Stay strong" and continue to love AA man through the process!! This picture was taken by our son, thanks baby boy!

I certainly got much more than I expected and I am looking forward to my Sisterlock journey without my Curley Q’s. THANKS GIGI!!!!!

Natural Adventist Church Family

I attend the a Seventh Day Adventis Church and it's so uplifting to be part of such a wonderful group of people who promote accepting the design the Lord has made each of us. We have many natural people that are members of my church family and I wanted to highlight several but couldn't get to as many as I wanted because the holidays have rolled around it's difficult to get everyone together. I'll try later next year but for now here are a couple of my brothers. (I forced them to take this picture) They love their locks and are always encouraging others to go natural and/or lock. Both have lovely locks and I can't wait to get where they are.

In case some of you are wondering, Seventh-day Adventists are a group of people that believe Jesus is the Son of God, trust in the Holy Bible, worship on God's original Seventh-day Sabbath (Saturday), and believe in God's health laws so that we do not defile our temples of the Holy Spirit. Our church is made up of individuals and each has different ideas, different ways of doing things and different ways of saying things. But even within such diversity, strong common threads of belief run through every Seventh-day Adventist heart. It's what makes the church unique and Seventh-day Adventists happily share the princples of His kingdom with others. We desire to live our own lives as a demonstration of Christs character. People from any race, creed, ethnic orgin, background or religion are invited into the fellowship of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. And seeing people accept Jesus Christ and His Word is what helps to keep the mission alive! Ok, sometimes I get a little excited talking about my church family, I digress..back to natural hair.

Ironically, we all wore lots of black last Sabbath, we are a little washed out but I really wanted to highlight my natural sisters and I used this pic anyway. This is only a small number of us natural gals and here we range from ages 9 - 58. Yes, one of the ladies in the picture is actually 58! We have such a wonderful time worshipping together and often times we get too carried away talking about our natural hair, styles, products, new ideas, challenges, well you get the point.

I often think back, hummmm now that I'm thinking; wow it has actually been 10 years instead of eight that I have been natural. Time really passes when you are having fun. So, what I was thinking was, who would I be if I had not gone natural? I don't really want to know because this journey has been so gratifying and self defining that it's made me accept the true LaChanda. And for that, I am eternially thankful to thank God for being my shepherd, for leading me beside the still waters and restoring my soul!

Peace to ya!

The love came pouring in.....

Oh, the love is felt and I am sooooo much at peace now. After reading every one's response I feel my inner voice is telling me to repair.

The blessing in this lesson is that essentially my Consultant will be correcting my Trainee Consultant's (nothing against TC's) , work who installed my locks and for that she is to be commended. She supports Dr. Cornwell, her invention and feels that she would like to make me HAPPY by re-doing them. That expression of LOVE is beyond belief to me. Of course, I'll be discussing this repair/rebuilding process with her as she examines more closely.

At any rate, after pondering, praying and reading the responses I'm convinced that I will choose to do the repair and box off my locs. I may even take down just a couple of areas in the front so that the parts are better aligned for middle and side parts for front styling purposes only, if ever. I'm not too concerned about the back because several of you made profound statements...who wants to go through the bunching and budding stages all over again when you can't even see my parts at all due to my hair density? As "bunch prone" as my hair is, that alone is confirming "repair!

To those that advised to "Take Down," I appreciate your true concern and it's now too exhausting for me to even think of it. To make the decision to go through the entire take down, walking around again with part of my head done and part undone then losing hair in the process? Whew, I don't have enough energy to deal with that at this point in my life.

Also, many valid points were made and I really did relate to a phone conversation and emails from several people. Some indicated that they had so many worries in the beginning. Case in point, not having 400 locks (the recommended minimum), locks too big, locks not big enough, parts too exact and not hidden, more locks on one side of the head than the other. The worries soon faded as time passed and in a years time they are "completely satisfied" and their SL's are absolutely beautiful!!!

All that to say, I now have a new outlook and that is, SL's are really individual personalities and my issue is not as bad as it seemed. Some may have started with perfect parts, today they may not have them because of shifting and retightening new growth, but they are ok with it. Oh, the issue with more locks on one side of the head than the other? Everybody's head is different in some form or fashion and the bottom line is... we are still Sisterlocked and I can live through this by tackling the challenge.

I am still LOVING my locs and praising God through this experience! The responses were pouring in so fast that I could not keep up with my responses back to everyone so I've decided to address everyone here in this post because I am truly touched by the personal time you all took to help me.

Elaine, Brunsli, Karen, Jen, Detra, Pam, Tammy, Kai, Princess, Lashaune, Leighann, Maryee, Samsoness, Kemicute, Roz, Pat, Tra, Scarletlocs, Beverly, Jazzilocs, Shayla and Combfreesista. You all are the best Sisterlock family a girl can have, thanks again for your advice!!!

I'm FREE AGAIN!!!!









LaChanda

Creyole's Exodus, or Not????

When I chose to name my blog "Creyole's Sisterlock Exodus" (flight) , I had no idea it would turn into just that! It’s like a real trip, at times a smooth ride, occasional turbulence, and those never ending questions. Will I ever get to the end of my journey and my locks are settled? I know it's coming! How long has it been since my SL’s were installed? Will mine ever look her hers/yours/his? Well, I now need the advice from my Sisterlock Community....... I spoke briefly with Brunsli today ....thanks for being a listening ear and also for your wonderful support.

It's been six months since I've had my locks and I truly LOVE everything about them, my pattern is in good shape, the locks are starting to bud and I've taken the SL retightening class. So, you ask, what is the problem?? (Click on picture view larger image)

Well, if you look closely you will see that my parts are not uniform. My hair is very thick and although you cannot see the parts unless I pull the hair a part, when I try to part down the middle, side, back there are no straight lines.

Having 8-9 inches of natural hair...my investment was no joke! I did bring the situation to my Trainee Consultant (TC) who installed my locks and she thought she did what was best at the time of installation. That's where I'll leave it because I took it to my TC first and I feel good about it.

I did my best too, I had the consultation, tester locks and I trusted because she too wore SL's. The installation took 60 hours over a three day period and I left myself wide open all in the name of "emotional excitement." Where does that leave me now? Well, shame on me for not doing my homework and knowing that the parts are such an important part of the process. I can kick myself for not doing more research but I'll work through it, there's a blessing in every lesson!

My Consultant has offered to take down my locks and re-install. What a jewel!!! This process would be done next week if I decided to do it. Additionally, I spoke with Dr. Cornwell and she suggested that I could have my Consultant groom the parts into squares if I did not want to take them down and start over. That's a thought.

I expressed to Dr. Cornwell that my TC was great to work with and that this situation is based solely on "principle" and not "personal." We are Queens and should handle our business as such!!!!!

Before I make my final decision here's what I'd like to know from my SL community:
1. How important are the parts to you?
2. Do you wear styles that would warrant many parts?
3. Would you advise taking down and starting over?
4. Should I even deal with it or just leave it alone?
5. What would you do?
6. Does anyone out there have parts that are not so straight?
7. Any other comments, suggestions??

I'd appreciate any feedback you may have to offer, trying to do real homeowrk this time. Peace my sista's!

Amendment:
Just for the record, I want to make sure I did not convey the wrong message. The retightening class had nothing to do with this issue. My Consultant and I had been entertaining this matter for a minute and after visiting with her today I felt the urge to express myself and ask for opinions.

Retightening Class

Karen and I arrived at Gigi's Salon with bells on and anxious to learn the Sisterlock® "retightening" technique. Due to the ice storm on Thursday BlaqKofi had to work and could not make it....bah humbug! We missed you girl!

Gigi got right into the guidelines of the contract and she made it very clear that we could only retighten our own hair. Contract was signed and off we went. Oh boy, I couldn't wait to get started! Gigi is pictured above showing us our SL pattern and the technique using the yarn board and the hook tool. Ok, our turn......

Retightening Class #2

So, here we are... all into it! Karen and I were seriously "tool" challenged..... initially. But, we hung in there and practiced over and over and over and over until we felt comfortable enough to start on our own locks! With Gigi's approval of course!

Gigi, thank you for being so patient because I certainly have much "respect" for all you Consultants out there. This Sisterlock® thang is definitely a science and a brilliant invention! Dr. Cornwell you are Awesome!

Retightening Class #3

We are really on the ball now, completing rotations and moving from one lock to the next!

That "hook tool" is going to take some getting use to and once Gigi showed us how to use the "clip tool" we were shocked at the ease compared to the hook tool. I'm ready to rumble now!

I could not wait to get home; I started right away and finished my entire head in six hours over a two day period. I was driven to finish and now I find myself digging in my head looking for a lock or two that I may have missed, sick huh? Well, I've found a couple and when I did I broke out the tools and started in on them! I'll still be going to my Consultant for check ups and during those times that I feel I need a little pampering but overall, I feel freedom that I now know my pattern and can retighten my "own" hair.

Our group photo shows a sigh of accomplishment, it was a great experience. Thanks again Gigi and thank you Karen for the encouragement and team work!

DFW 2nd Sisterlock Brunch

My, my, my!! This weekend was off the hook!!! When I tell you it was truly a blessing to be in the presence of such elevating, invigorating, educated, professional, down to earth, dignified, confident sista’s, I tell you “No Lye!!!” This is only our second gathering of the DFW Sisterlockers and it just keeps getting better and better. This is the first time in a very long time that I’ve been in the company of strangers and felt so connected with each person there. Truly a blessing and I can’t even imagine what February will be like when we do it again.

Happy Birthday!!!! and Thank you Shirley for opening your beautiful home to us, the atmosphere was so inviting and warm. The girl does not look a day over 30 and I won't be the one to tell her age but keep on doing what ya doing. You and your sister (I managed not to get a picture of her please send me one somebody!!) were wonderful hostesses, your son Kory was very accommodating and the food was soooooooo good! Shirley did her "thing" too and told us all about how a Sista should be respected!!

I feel like I am ADD right now because my thoughts are running together from excitement and I can’t type as fast I’m thinking. Ok, let me take a deep breath and slow down. Inhale…..Exhale.....

DFW SL Brunch "My Guests"

OK, I'm back! We opened with introductions and everyone had an exciting story about their "Natural Journey." I invited my niece who is really considering locking her hair, she is a high school Senior and is totally infatuated with BlaqKofi’s Sisterlocks. I believe Narissa has seen every Sisterlock blog and Fotki album out there and she is ready to save and get the party started before heading off to college.

I also brought a friend, Thomasa, who has been natural for two years and after spending the evening with everyone she was ready for Gigi to start hers right on site at BlaqKofi’s house! I’m sure we can all relate to having to wait for that install appointment!

DFW Brunch - Mrs. TRA's Bud

While hanging out and chatting, TRA found a sweet little “bud,” she’s been locked for about three months now and like me she has Symptom #1 “hanzenthehairtis” listing in the book “A Tapestry of Dreams” by Dr. Cornwell. Since having this disease, she’s been searching for budding locks and guess what; she found one at the Brunch! Whoopi!!!!!! She was elated because this is the first sign of locks becoming locks!

DFW Brunch Group Pic

Shout out to Ms. Brunsli!!! We missed you girl, you must make the February Brunch. Brunsli sent us an Instant Message during the Brunch to say hello, talk about a truly connected group. I can go on and on, but I’ll let the pictures tell the story. So, this was an awesome gathering and again…..I can hardly wait for February to roll around.

DFW SL Brunch "Audre Lorde Poems"

This particular DFW Brunch was especially empowering because of the powerful spirit of each sista in attendance.

Because of the everlasting impression I'd like to share some of my favorite Quotes by the legendary works of Audre Lorde

"it is not our differences that divide us. it is our inability to recognize, accept & celebrate those differences." -Audre Lorde

"If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive" ~ Audre Lorde


"Every woman I have ever known has made a lasting impression on my soul." -Audre Lorde

You see, we are Queens and should treat each other as such.....this world does not have any more room for hate, envy and jeolousy. I really felt like I was in the presence of Queens this past weekend! You all rock!!!!

DFW SL Brunch "Awesome"

Girls, I can't help myself... we are AWESOME!!!!!

See ya'll in February!!! No wait, see Karen and BlaqKofi on Friday, we go to the re-tightening class with Consultant Gigi on Friday! Whew Who!!!

Locks Starting to Bud

Happy Holidays everyone!!!
This is another favorite time of the year for me and after six months I can finally feel the locks in the back of my head getting really "puffy!" YEAH!! Not much difference in length and my locks have actually gotten somewhat shorter because of the bunching that's going on. I'm sure my locks are starting to blossom into the "teenage" stage and it's all a matter of time before they will be completely locked. They feel like small rope like braids and I love how the ends are sealing. Most of my curly’s in the back are completely gone, but still exist in the front of my head. (Click on each picture to get a closer look) Top left shows initial install six months ago and bottom left shows what they look like today.

I've picked up my "A Tapestry of Dreams" The Sisterlock Book by Dr. Cornwell and started reading it.....again. If you don't already have this book, you "must" order it. It's a great table topper and all of my visitors seem to gravitate to it and thumb through the pages, it never fails..... someone will always want to know more about Sisterlocks.

I'm "so digging" this transitional stage and I'm sure I have developed Symptom #1 (hanzenthehairtis) of the Sisterlocks Disease listed in the book. "This symptom is marked by a pronounced inclination of one or both of the hands to gravitate uncontrollably toward the locks. The onset of this symptom is governed by time of day or physical location and in fact has been reported in settings as diverse as board rooms, kitchens, restaurants and athletic fields. Researchers have hypothesized that the cause may be due to an independent gravitational field generated for some unknown reason around the head area of the Sisterlocks wearer." This describes me to a "T" and you can read about the other Symptoms listed in the book, they are so funny...and true!

The majority of my locks are definitely budding and starting to feel like real locks. It's very fascinating because my hair in the back is so thick and dense I believe my hair is locking at two different speeds. The front and sides are much softer and not much budding is occuring and bunching is more prevalent in the back than any other area.

If you look real close you can also see the frizzes have not yet gone away. I’m continuing to be encouraged as I’ve learned from my fellow bloggers and LockItUp group....the frizzes will eventually go away….. but much patience is required. I’m in for the long haul however, I must admit, I’ve been entertaining the thought of using some of the soft locking creams to speed up the process. I know that if I ever used creams or oils my consultant would probably work me over real good. So, I dismiss the thought real quick.
I’m back to free styling for a while just so I don’t over do it with my Caruso Curlers. Those things are really addictive in helping me create a cute soft curl... too much of anything is never good. Therefore, I’m waiting and will use them every other week instead of every other day.

This photo shows how my side locks are longer than the locks in the back, I think it's because they are not bunching and as I stated earlier they are much softer and the curl pattern is not at tight as the back. Oh well, since the back tends to grow faster, hopefully they'll catch up.... Thanks for checking in on me, this weekend is our 2nd DFW Brunch I'll be posting pictures next week.

Holler at me!
Peace!

Upcoming Events:
December 4th - 2nd DFW Sisterlock Brunch
December 9th - Retightening Class (BlaqKofi & Karen, I'm ready my sista's. Since we're all taking the class together it should be interesting and fun! I hope I can get the hang of this retightening technique.