Child's Play in Locks

My daughter and her two locked buddies got together yesterday and had a little fun in the hot 104 degree Texas sun. Lord help us!!!

We encourage our children to spend time outside having the real child like fun we experienced back in the day. You know when we used to play, one two, three red light.....hop scotch, double dutch, block ball and riding our bikes up and down the street....mad fun!

One thing about Texas is we have to keep the babies hydrated or else find one of them passed out in the yard. LOL!!



Too many times we allow our children to stay locked up in the house watching TV, playing computer games and especially listening to some of the unacceptable music of todays R&B world. So instead, we make them play outside or get a really good book.

After a good run of childs play there is no better joy than to see them so drained they shower, eat and go right to sleep. I just love to see children having a blast building relationships and learning how to deal with each others personalities.

Don't get me wrong now, my husband and I get our share of disagreements since we seem to have the house that the kids migrate to for treats and advice. And we often have to mediate between "it's my turn to ride the bike because my bike has a flat." And the other responding "Oh well, that's not my problem." Then we encourage the rule of sharing. It's funny to see little people work out issues and overall we would not have it any other way.


At any rate don't they just look so innocent and beautiful in their locks?? The beauty of little natural sisters secure and loving how God made them!!!

Oh, they were all locked three months ago and yes, I felt like writing today.... LOL!

The Toni Long

It arrived! I was out of town last week and arrived home this weekend only to find the fab-u-lous Brunsli Hair tie in my mail box! Brunsli you are one gifted and talented SISTAH!

I could not wait to wear it to work today! It was so nice to have my hair off my face and neck , even got a couple of compliments on my new style.

My little pineapple turned out sooooo well with the Toni Long!!!! Usually, any kind of head band gives me a headache after one hour of wearing it and the thing I admire most about the Toni is I wore it all day and I DID NOT not get a HEADACHE! Yeah! The Toni is totally stylish and very comfortable. Finally, I have hair ties/jewelry that is not painful!!!

Hold on girlfriend....I'll be ordering at a whole bunch more! Thank you so much!!!!

Diet Regiment

TRA Wrote:
I couldn't help but notice how awesome you look in the NYC pic. Very fit indeed. I was wondering if you would share your work out regiment as well as what you are eating and if you are taking any vitamins, supplements, etc?

My Response:
TRA, first of all, I'm both flattered and humbled! It's good to know something is showing on this "40 something" body because I started working out in February and increased my supplements, here's my diet regiment:

Diet - I now only eat chicken, turkey and fish, lots of veggies and I take the following:

One a day multi-vitamin w/antioxidant protection
Omega3 oil softgels
Magnesium tablets
Biotin capsules
Drink lots of water!!


Detox - I'm addicted to hydrotherapy! In the past I would have a colon cleanse twice a year but so far this year I've already had three. Love the process because we have about six feet of colon and over a period of time the colon can hold waste that can lead to colon cancer and other diseases. Depending on diet and how one eliminates we can easily have 4-7 pounds of waste stored in our colon. My hydrotherapist, Shannon, is great if anyone in the Dallas area would like to try the process...one day.

Exercise Regiment & Buddies

Exercise - High impact step class 3/4 times weekly, my instructor "Mrs. Tasha" is a militant crazy woman! LOL...but she gets the job done and we all love her dearly.

Tasha incorporate weights and bands for arms as well as many leg and thigh bench strengthening exercises.

Pictured left to right:
1. Me with all my junk in the trunk! I've toned quite a bit since working out for the past five months. I can actually feel my muscles instead of fat and still working on the thighs..once I officially let that Blue Bell go at night I probably see better results. LOL!

2. Terri - has been working out for two months and has lost 1 dress size, you go girl!

3. Vicki - just had a baby and went from a size 14 to a size 6, the girl has major endurance and strong legs!

4. Pam - continues working out in order to maintain her already sculptured body!

5. Tasha - Our fearless instructor and she will call you out if you are slacking off at any time during class. The chic is wild and I love her because she makes me hurt and burn! Thanks Tasha!

6. Genevieve - My buddy and fellow church member who inspired me to get my self together. "Jenny" has gone from a size 16 to a size 8 in two years and is currently working on toning for competition. Anything she puts her mind too.....happens! Thanks again Jenny..from the block!

5 Feet tall ball of FIRE!! Tasha posing at my request!


















Tasha leading the class up front and the young lady to the right of her in the red baseball cap, Cynthia, approx 5'1 once weighted 160 pounds and was a size 14. Today she is a trim size 3 and is in great shape! Way to go Cynthia!

July 4th Celebration

The 4th of July was a blast this year, my daughter and her friend stole the show by joining the band and singing along with everyone during a private party with all the fixins.

I thought this pic really shows how her two month old locks are coming along.

I could not be more proud and as a result of her having Sisterlocks this summer with weekly swimming, we no longer experience :

1. Complaining after washings and detangling
2. No more 2 - 3 hour weekly braiding styles
3. Combing hair and running late for work, the girl is up and ready for summer camp in 1o minutes, it can only get better during school ..she does it herself and she especially loves spritzing with my Lavender/Rose Water. Shucks,I need to get her her own bottle!

We do get:
1. Massive attention from so many people, everywhere we go.......
2. Many of her friends are interested and so are many adults
3. She's now anxious for hers to look like mine...go figure, I'm so sure her's will look 10 times better than mine! Dad's favorite humble line is..."I think hers will look better than yours" thank God I'm happy with who I am! LOL!!



I'm more anxious about seeing hers in a year which helps me take the focus off my retightening compulsive disorder.

Some of ya'll can relate! Right, maybe, am I the only one?

Peace out!

Sunday Brunch at B Smith

Let me just tell you, this resturant was first class, B Smith knows her stuff .

I had salmon eggs with potatoes and banana and spice pancakes.

We then took our last strolls down Madison Ave, Fifth Ave and visited the American Girl store. There was also a festival going on near Times Square so we toured the area and of course ate, ate and ate.

I ended the afternoon with a bite of New Yorks famous cheese cake. It was so good and tasty I wish I would have brought a piece home.

Then...off to the airport....I'm still having flashbacks of the wonderful time I had in New York!!!

Leighann "Laugh Factory Show"

Boy did we have a blast laughing at the comedians! Leighann sho nuff did do her thing and my favorite was the Lifetime joke.

New York is now on my top 5 favorite cities list. My first visit and we could not have done it any better.

After the show, Leighann took us to a local diner, we sat, chatted and ate breakfast until 3:00 AM.

Sisterlock Dinner

Dallas, California, Miami, Cleveland, Washington D.C, New York, Philly...The LockItUp Group represented! We met for dinner at Amy's Chicken & Waffles in Harlem.

I must send a personal shout out to Sandy for creating this group, how would we have ever met??

Kim, (top left in red) so nice to meet you, me and my buddies really loved your locks, you are sooooooo pretty!

Lashaune, you are such a cutie, beautiful smile and that hair is taking off. (with me in middle pic) Too bad we did not get to hang out like I really wanted. Maybe one day soon....at a DFW gathering???

Tanya and mom, (middle left) you two are to be admired for taking this journey together. Tanya's mom took the floor telling us about how she decided on Sisterlocks.. I love her spirit!

Consultant Cynthia was present and I don't know how I missed her pic, she was an inpiration to talk to. We discussed hair types and my early beginnings of bunching. Again, I was reminded that pattern four would have been best for my hair type. But in the end, Cynthia encouraged me in knowing that I am now on the right path and it will all work out well!

Paulette inspects Brenda's locs (middle and bottom right). Brenda has a wealth of knowledge in educating anyone on Sisterlocks.

Leighann, thank you so much for coordinating this dinner, you too were wonderful entertainment and fantastic energy! :)

Oh, the pic at the bottom middle is of Brunsli's hair tied with a really cute "mother of pearl" hair tie she picked up at Khumit & Kinks. Hate I missed out on that excursion.

Brooklyn Brownstone

I wanted to see a brownstone before leaving New York so my buddy took me to Brooklyn to see her aunt and show me her old neighborhood.


It was so cool and on the way out we stopped and ate a "pattie" from a West Indies store in the neighborhood!

Sabbath Worship in Harlem

Many of you know that I am a Seventh-day Adventist Christian, my buddies and I took time to attend service on Sabbath morning at Ephesus. This visit meant a lot to us because of its rich history.

The Gothic-inspired Reformed Low Dutch Church of Harlem (later, Second Reform Church of Harlem) was designed in 1885-87 by architect John Rochester Thomas and built of Ohio sandstone. Careful inspection of the facade's lower level reveals carved corbel details a mysterious man with a mustache between the doors. The truncated chimney-like steeple, a victim of a fire that destroyed the church's original interior, makes the it visible for blocks up and down the Boulevard. Booker T. Washington gave a sermon at Ephesus and the famous Boys Choir of Harlem was founded here in 1968.

One of our personal convictions is that we do not buy or sell on Sabbath so we had a wonderful time at church service and then did some site seeing....

Harlem, Harlem, Harlem - Oh how I love you!

Hands down, Harlem was my most favorite place to visit! Rich in culture, friendly people and great places to eat and shop. We just about killed ourselves eating at Sylvia's, that food was da bomb!

Make-up artist Kurt at the MAC counter in Harlem did us some justice! He is also the personal make-up artist for LaChanze who plays Celie in "The Color Purple."

Owner, Carol's Daughter (bottom left) posed with us after picking up some great hair and skin products to quench the thirst of my dry Dallas locks and skin. I picked up Khoret Amen Leave In Hair conditioner, one of the ladies in the store uses it on her locks from a spray bottle. Not much is needed, I've used it since getting back home and it is so refreshing.

A Harlem Sisterlock Consultant

We ventured out and took the subway to Harlem. While strolling down Lenox Avenue, my friend Angela spotted a Sisterlock sign in a Salon window, well I made a quick detour to meet the Consultant.

Her name is Valerie and she had the most beautiful four month old locks I'd ever seen! Her daughter shown on the bottom left is 10 and her 7 month old Sisterlocks were stunning as well. She gave me permission to show pics on my blog.

Anyone in the New York area looking for a Consultant? If so, you would want to contact Valarie at 212.222.5895, she is located at 371 Lenox Avenue, Between 128th and 129th St. The Salon name is Acres of Diamonds Natural Hair Salon.

Shout out to ya Valerie and thanks for taking pics with me!

911 Site

My most emotional reminisce..........words cannot express.

After the Concert

We hung around taking pictures...some people we knew...some people we did not know. LOL! Brunsli was able to convince the young man in the upper left picture with 15 year old locks to take a picture with us.

Brunsli may be shy but when it comes to hair and pictures she has skills! LOL!

Robin Roberts, Shelia E. & Prince

I'm a huge fan of Robin Roberts, the girl was an awesome athlete, is intelligent and so very pretty. You go Robin!

And here he is Mr. Prince himself, the wait was well worth it! Only three songs but it was really nice to see him up close and personal!

Shelia E. thru out a couple of stick and one girl with our group caught one! We completely enjoyed!

Thanks - Good Morning America!

First, I have to send out a special thanks to "Samantha" with Good Morning America for giving me VIP access to the concert and allowing us to join in on the fun.

Leighann informed us that Prince would be performing on Friday morning in Bryant Park and I immediately contacted GMA, Samantha called me back to invited us to the concert. I was able to make reservations for the Sisterlockers as well as the GRITS group.

We were up at 5:00 am, Brunsli brought us delicious pastries from her cousins' bakery and we were 35 deep in the VIP line at 5:30 AM. People had actually been camping out since midnight in the general public line so if it were not for Samatha we would have never been as close as we were.

There was a Starbucks right across the street from the park so Karen, Brunsli and I went over and got some wake us up drinks..... after all we were operating on only 2-3 hours of sleep. But, boy was it worth it!

These are pics of our anticipation and waiting for Prince.

It's Leighann!

When we returned to the hotel, I received a call from Leighann saying she was in the area and wanted to meet if we were still up. By this time I had gotten myself some comfortable shoes and a second wind.

Karen and I met in the lobby and went looking for Leighann. We were on the cell phone trying to zone in on our meeting destination and as we were talking we walked right up on each other and once we spotted each other we all ran up and embraced as if we were old high school classmates at our 20th year reunion.

It was awesome, Naturally, Leighann was as beautiful in person as she is on her blog and talk about energy, we could have talked to her all night but we knew she had just finished working and needed to get back home. We chatted for a while, said our goodbyes and then off to find supplies to decorate our signs for the Good Morning America Show next next morning. Karen and I were on a mission. Leighann, thanks so much for showing us a fantastic time!!!

The Color Purple

After our sightseeing we returned to the hotel to get ready for our "Color Purple" show. This occasion would be the first time I would meeting Brunsli face to face. She did forewarn me that she was shy and that did not much because I was just so elated that the LockItUp group was bringing us all together for a time that we would never forget.

I arrived a little early and was seating, about five minutes before the show began Brunsli appeared and of course I knew exactly who she was, we hugged each other as if we were long lost cousins. Needless to say, Brunsli was as classy as I expected and she has such a calm/peaceful spirit. She was shocked to learn that my blog perception of her was that she was was a very outgoing person. Regardless, she was a joy to have in my company!

That was only the beginning! At the end of the show we all met in the foyer through the connection of cell phones and it was there that we made our formal introductions. It's amazing how we all held conversations like we had known each other forever. By this time my dogs were barking and I could not wait to get back to the hotel. Brunsli, Karen and I caught a cab so that we could get back, sleep for a couple of hours and get up for the Good Morning America Prince concert.

Did I mention the Color Purple was so awesome I cried throughout the entire show? From the performers to the wardrobe, what a production...Oprah really showed out!

New York, New York!

When we boarded the plane early Thursday morning and I learned that John Legend was the young brother I saw seated in first class along with his body guard I knew we off to a great start!

We arrived in New York early Thursday morning and hit the streets sightseeing and eating everything in sight. I was so filled with excitement I could hardly contain myself. I was finally in New York City.

Our hotel was conveniently located right in the heart of Manhattan where all of the Broadway shows took place.

Top left pic is my travel buddy and three other young ladies we met when we landed. We decided to all take the limo and worked out a fantastic deal with the driver instead of taking a cab that would have totally robbed us.

I Took A Huge Bite Out of That Apple!

It did not bite me back but whew.....I need major rest!!. Stay tuned for my NYC posts. Had I stayed one more day I would have had to be hospitalized! LOL!! This was one my best trips ever especially traveling with my two good friends, GRITS and my Sisterlock Sisters.

I'll be back soon.....need some zzzzzzzzzzzzz's!

New York City ..here we come!

Lights, action, cameras, shopping eating, church service, and meeting so many wonderful people all in the name of Sisterlocks and friendships over the internet!!!

I can't believe it's finally here and we are off to New York to see the Color Purple, Good Morning America featuring Prince and best of all Leighann in action at the World Famous Laugh Factory.

Check back with us as us Sisterlockers get together and take New York by storm!!!

Peace to you and safe travels to all!

LaChanda

1 Year Loc-Versary

The road seems like I just started yesterday and I can hardly believe it's been a year! I initially started with nine inches of bonafide natural hair that had not been permed in nine years.

Many things transpired thoughout my Exodus...

1. Major bunching due to having a three pattern instead of a pattern four installed on my "S" curl hair type

2. Parting had to be corrected due to the installation of organic parting

3. Three major cuts that totaled 4 inches of hair removal because of the bunching

4. Switched Consultants twice and I'm finally on the road to recovery

Even though I've been through the major pains of Murphy's Law, "everything that could go wrong, did go wrong," I believe my locks are beautiful and I've learned to accept them as they are. The back is completely locked and I've got a few locks in the front that slip every now and then. Since I've taken the re-tightening class I'm able to tighten them up before my washes so this does help with the problem.


Most of all, what better 1 year locversary than to share it with my courageous daughter who also loves her one month old Sisterlocks!! As you can see in this pic her locks are already beginning to puff out and she is enjoying everyday of wearing locks.

Kicking Off My First Year Birthday Week!

What better way to kick off my Sisterlock Birthday week than to spend it with two other beautiful DFW Sisterlockers, Gigi and Diane during a E. Lynn Harris book signing!

The Sister between Gigi and I is Monica "Dr. Moe" Anderson, the author of "When a Sistah's Fed Up," which was recently added to Essence Magazine best seller list. She too was featured during the E. Lynn Harris book signing and I was really impressed with her inviting spirit and the subject matter of the book, sounds like some fun fantasy drama to read during my evening commute from work!

While I'm not a huge fan of E. Lynn Harris, I do believe he is a gifted writer and wanted to add one of his novels to my book collection. I purchased "I Say a Little Prayer" and especially attended the signing in support of the the "GRITS" club members who actually organized the New York trip scheduled for next month. Wow! How time has passed, it's almost here and I can't wait to meet many of the sisters from our Sisterlock community.

My new short look was inspired by Calla's hair style on a model on pages 32 & 33 of the Sisterlock Journal. Calla used the medium orange smooth rods w/mousse and I rolled my locks with Motions foaming wrap lotion on about 30 small gray smooth rods for tighter curls. After they dried (which did not take long) I twisted five rows going back, bobby pinned each row down and fluffed out the curls. I love the look!!!

This Texas heat is already in the high 90's and we've had a couple of 100 degree days...ugh, and summer is not officially here yet, can we ever get a season of Spring before going right in to the Summer HEAT!!! Not in Texas!!! Ok, I said all that to say..I'm sporting shorter do's for now because of the Texas heat and surprisingly I've gotten many compliments from the African American community. I appreciate the compliments because it opens dialogue about "natural hair," and that alone is enough motivation for me to wear my hair up for the entire summer.

Back to E Lynn Harris, I must be upfront in my experience with this author. I purchased my book and got in line to have it signed. When I asked if he would take a picture as over 40 other people did, he said "sure" in an almost rude kind of way.

Now, I'm sure Mr. Harris was tired but you would think that if one is on a book tour they would expect to take pitures, sign books and have small talk with people that are buying their material. Then, as soon the picture was taken he immediately walked right off...not even a "thank you" for supporting my book. Can you believe it? The affair was only two hours and it's disappointing to me how some people handle success, especially when I'm spending my hard earned money!

I've always supported Black Images Bookstore and I've met many other authors that were much more successful, gosh even Terry McMcMillan was friendlier. After that kind of treatment I almost asked for a refund but I decided to take the high road.

I guess you are wondering why I included the picture on my blog?? It's "only" because I took two pictures and this one shows a clearer picture of my hair style. Hummm... looking at that smile on his face almost made me think I was dreaming all of this up!!

My 10 Year Old Baby Got Sisterlocked April 28!

I am so proud of the decision my 10 year old daughter made to get Sisterlocked!! (As if she had no influence). LOL

She has been natural all her life and loves getting her hair braided but hates to get it washed. So I had been dropping little nuggets that if she were to loc her hair we would not have nearly as much drama washing, brushing and combing through her thick 9 inch mane.

So, it all started when I received my first subscription of the Sisterlock Magazine. She read the entire magazine and especially like the story that showed the pictures/testimonial of the young girl that started at age 6. (My book is with a friend so I can't tell you the girls name or page number). That magazine "Set It Off" for us, here we are nearly 6 weeks later and she is locked and loving it. The process took four days and 15 hours and the child already has 2 of the 3 Sisterlock diseases listed in the "Tapestry of Dreams" book, pages 68 & 69:

handsinthe hair itis - hands gravitate uncontrollably toward the locks
whitegirlatoma - the hands drift below the ear area and jerks into a back handed flipping motion

When we went to church yesterday and as soon as she hit the front door every "natural" sister was all over her head showering her with many compliments. She was the center of attention the whole day long, it got so bad I had to give her a reality check because that head was blowing up! LOL. Anyway, for the most part I allowed her to enjoy the thrill of knowing she made an AWESOME decision!


As for Dad, he initially had concerns and asked her what she would do if she did not like it. She told him that she would like it and it was no different from what she had now. She also added that she could wear all kinds of styles like her ponytails and cute headbands. I was in the background going, YESsssssssssss!! (I trained her well) With her addressing the issues on her own he agreed to allow her to do her thing.

I'm sure we'll have more to share as she becomes more exposed to the extended family and friends so stay tuned.

I'm still here, just playing catch up

Hey all my blog buddies,
I appreciate the emails checking in on me and wondering what's up. I'll be posting again soon, been busy training on my new job. Yes, "new job." I was blessed with a Project Management position for a huge corporate company.....with my 11 month old Sisterlocks.


Who say's we can't get a job with Sisterlocks???

Peace and No Hair Grease!
LaChanda