My love and his locks

Hey there my locking brothers and sisters. I gather from your blogs and the messages on the Yahoo LockItUp Group that you are all doing quite well. Congratulations to all of you have taken the wonderful step to being locked. I hope that your experience will be as wonderful as mine has been.

It's been a while since I last blogged. Please know that I have not forgotten you, even though I haven't blogged in some time. I have just been quite busy training the will and shaping the character of my little ones. They are now 2 years and 3 months old and are doing quite well, however, by the end of the day I am just too mentally tired to write anything. As some of you know, my husband and I have been going through the locking process together. In a previous blog I had said that I would do a blog entry about my husbands locks so here goes.

Kerwin's Story

My husband, the last of 7 children, was born on the beautiful Island of Grenada in the Caribbean but moved to Brooklyn, New York when he was just 9 years old. He grew up being very active in the church and enjoyed working with the youth. I initially met him when our area churches formed a mass gospel choir but later met him again 14 years ago through his twin sisters who went to college with me. He was at the time and still is a very, very, very handsome guy. He dressed well, spoke well and listened very, very, well. He was just an all round thrilling person to be around. Anyway, I should probably be moving on to writing about his hair.

For those of you who are from New York City, you know that there are many, many, many skilled barbers there who know exactly how to groom an African American man's hair and beard. Kerwin had a barber that he went to for years, who knew just how he liked his hair and beard groomed. This guy worked wonders because everytime I saw him after he had gone there, I got that warm feeling all over. He looked HOT. You ladies know what I'm talking about. Wow, the memories.

When he moved out to California for grad school, he just could not find a barber in his local area who could groom him like his barber in New York. He just was not impressed by the caliber of barbers out here. Everyone kept telling him that he would have to drive to Los Angeles to get his hair done. That's more than 1 hour away. Rediculous!!! So he decided that he would not go to any barber out here. He asked me to braid his hair but I just could not braid his hair neatly because I was not a good braider. He tried cutting it really low and even weared a fro for some time. He still was not pleased and was getting kinda frustrated with the upkeep. He thought about cutting all of his hair off and finally he decided that he would lock his hair. When he told me about his desire to lock his hair I didn't really give it too much thought. I soon realized that he was quite serious when he said that he would grow his hair out in preparation for locking. I decided that I'd better read up on this locking process. I read everything that I could find on locking and was so impressed with the pictures that you all shared on your blogs and websites that I decided that I wanted to get my hair locked also.

My husband decided that he would do the traditional locks and had his locks installed last August by our locktitian. From the beginning, they looked good but he was quite frustrated because he could not wash his hair as often as he was accustomed to doing and his scalp itched a lot. Since that time they have been looking better and better. His hair has been growing very quickly and beautifully and the itching has decreased. I really think that this is HIS look. I think that his hair has probably grown at least 2 inches since starting the process. Wow. His journey has just begun but I anxiously look forward to seeing how his locks mature.

I hope that you enjoyed the pictures of my handsome warrior.

It's been a while since I blogged.... I feel like I've been delinquent

I feel terrible that I haven't blogged in a long while... almost as if I have forgotten to attend to a part of my soul. I've been able to visit the site of other SL bloggers over the past months but have not had any time to write an entry. I would like to thank all the SLers who shared their SL knowledge on the Yahoo LockItUp group because you have been a great source of information over these months.
It's been 4 months since I've been SL'd and it's been truly wonderful. I have been enjoying seeing the changes in my locks. Actually, I noticed today that one of my locks had become undone. I was kinda disappointed but I quickly got over that feeling. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Wouldn't you agree? My locks are still kinda curly, especially after washing them. I'm expecting that they will lose some of their curl when they grow out. Anway, moving on.
My little ones are going to be 2 years old tomorrow (YEAH!!!!). Here are 2 pictures of them from a few weeks ago... more like a month ago.

My Little Angels

I don't even bother to keep track of time anymore. You at-home moms probably know what I'm talking about. Why bother to keep track of time when most days are like groundhog days (or something close to it). Don't get me wrong, I totally enjoy every moment of being home with my children and would not change it for the world. I thank God every day that I have a husband who is an excellent provider and who is totally supportive of me being at home with our children. While they are totally adorable and lovable, they have been keeping me quite busy. Did I say busy? Yep, BUSY. I am just usually too emotionally spent by the end of the day to think about composing a blog entry, so that's the reason why I haven't blogged in a while. Well, I decided today that I just have to take some time to journal my progress. I don't have a lot to write about tonight but hair goes.
Since I'm home with my kids I don't have to worry about styling my hair for work so life has been sweet. For those of you who may be wondering what my hair routine is like, I'll share. Here's what I do in the morning.
1. Get out of bed. 2. Pray and thank God for his protection. 3. Take off the satin cap that I sleep with. 4. Run my fingers through my hair. 5. Get freshened up 6. Smile at myself in the mirror and thank God for not having to do anything with my hair. 7. Wish that I had made the choice to SL my hair before. 8. Say to myself that everything happens in God's own time. 9. Go to get my little Angels up for the day. Yep, that's pretty much the daily routine.
I haven't take any pictures of my locks recently,(are you surprised?) but I promise that I will soon so that you can see the changes (although minuscule). Even though I've been enjoying my locks, I've been having a problem with my scalp that just won't go away. It's like a thorn in my side. I'd like to share what's been going on but I'll have to do it in another entry. Gotta get to bed.

About the locks on the love of my life:
My husbands locks are looking really good. They are growing very fast and have fattened nicely. I promise that I will write an entry about his locks soon and include pics. Keep checking back for updates to my blog. God's blessings to all of you lockers.

Some recent Headshots

I was on my way to church on Saturday and just could not resist the urge to get some headshots. I even got some shots of my little angels and my husband. My husband is getting his hair locked also but is using the traditional method of starting with comb coils. Actually, he decided to get his hair locked before I did. I asked him if I could put some pictures up of him on my blog and he said that I could after he gets his locks retightened. Awesome. Check back for those pics. I think I want to do an entire blog post of his locks.

Washing my Sisterlocks... How exhilerating

I've been having a lot of fun learning about the blogging process and all of the little things that I can do to make my blog unique. I decided over the weekend to start doing videos of my SLs so that people could see how I care for my them. Quite ambitious, but I'll blame the Sisterlocks for giving me more confidence. LOL. My husband says that it's not the SLs but it's the me that's always been there. What do you think?

I did my first 3-part video yesterday and posted it on YouTube.com for the whole world to see. Yes the whole world and that includes Timbuktu. Since I was washing my hair yesterday, I decided that I would show everyone how I wash my locks.

This is the very, very first time that I have ever done a video recording of myself so please be gracious with your responses. I will try to make it better the next time. My video was done in 3 parts. You can see all of them here on my blog or at YouTube.com under the name "naturalnickee". Please subscribe to my blog so that you see more videos and picks of my SLs as they mature.

Enjoy

Washing My Sisterlocks Part 1


Washing My Sisterlocks Part 2

Washing My Sisterlocks Part 3

It's been 2 weeks of Sisterlocks Heaven

My how the time has flown by. I got my SLs installed two weeks ago but it seems like I've had them for much longer. The joy that I feel is hard to explain to someone who is not sisterlocked but you SLockers know what I'm talking about. It's that joy you feel knowing that when you wake up in the morning all you have to do is run your fingers through your hair and go. Sweet Freedom!!!! For you church goers "Can I get an Amen?" It's wonderful knowing that I have a hairstyle that is suited to my busy life as a mom of 2 little ones.

Surviving the 1st Week
During the first week of having my locks I noticed that my scalp was a bit dry and itchy. I avoided using anything on my scalp for most of the week but then used very, very, very little of my 1/2 and 1/2 mixture of olive oil and coconut oil on the dry areas. I mean very, very, very little. I didn't want to reduce the possibility of my locks doing what they are supposed to be doing at this time. By the way, I also use a half and half mixture of olive oil and coconut oil on my skin and my children's skin. Works great as a moisturizer.... and NO, WE DO NOT smell like coconut oil.
Because I go to Curves (gym created especially for women) and walk on the treadmill in my very hot garage, I noticed that I was sweating in my head more than I thought I did when I had my afro. Here's the kicker... the moisture that came as a result of me sweating in my head during exercise reduced the itching of my scalp so I did not have to use any oil this week. YEAH!!!! I know that some of you are probably thinking, "that's kinda icky" but I say "whatever works....". Anyway, I'll be washing my hair this weekend so I'll have a nice clean scalp to start off a new week. I'll try to videotape my washing session and hopefully I will be able to get a good recording.

New Discoveries
I don't know about you guys but I've never, ever been comfortable taking pictures of myself. I actually started taking pictures of myself after my kids were born because I don't have any pictures of myself when I was a baby and wanted to have pictures of my children in their young years. When I decided to take my SL journey I knew that I wanted to chronicle my change in look and would therefore have to take pictures of myself. I figured that wouldn't be too much of a problem, even though I didn't really like taking a lot of pictures. Wouldn't you know it, I have now become so comfortable with taking pictures of myself that I am now trying to figure out new and creative ways to pose. WOW!!! Even my husband has noticed the change in me. He told my SL consultant that I can't stop taking pictures of myself. LOL It's like a wonderful awakening. Who would have thought that just a change in hair could create such a change in me. Have any of you experienced this when you got your locks. Share. I'd appreciate some good ideas for poses.

I'm looking forward to my re-tightening session in 2 weeks. My hair is already starting to grow out so I'm hoping that I'll have even more growth by my next appointment. I'm going to try to take some pics over this weekend and post them during this coming week.

Thanks to all of you who have checked out my blog and left comments. I'm going to spend the weekend trying to read through a lot of your blogs.

HAPPY LABOR DAY to all of you. Aren't you glad that you no longer have to LABOR over your hair? I know that I am.

My sexy sisterlocks on Day 1

I'm learning alot about how to develop my blog so I'm trying to use all of the tools I'm learning about to create my blog. You've probably seen these pics before but I am just putting them up differently on my site. Check back tomorrow for new pics. I really wish if I could do my entry tonight but I am just too tired. I've had a very long day with my 2-20 month olds. By the way, I'm still loving my locks.

Happy Sisterlock Birthday to Me!!

They're in y'all. They're in. Whoo hooo!!!!!!! Clelebrate!!!

I am pleased to announce that I got my sisterlocks installed this past Wednesday and Thursday for a total of 21 hours by Sisterlock Consultant Olufemi Alexander in Moreno Valley, CA. I am so pleased with the look and feel of my locks that I wish that I had learned about sisterlocks a long time ago. I guess everything comes in its own time.

Because my hair has been natural for many years and because it is naturally tightly curled, my hair has the cutest wave pattern to it. I know that it will change at every stage of the locking process but I look forward to those changes. I am amazed at how easy styling my hair has become. I literally just ran my fingers through my hair to give it some lift this morning and was ready to go. Wow.

Here are a few pictures of my new do.








I think that overnight I may have developed the much talked about Sisterlock disease... you know..... the one where you can't stop running your hands through your hair. You sisterlockers know what I'm talking about. (smile) I guess that's a good disease to have.

This is all I can write for today because my little ones are seeking my attention.

Congrats to all you sisterlockers and brotherlockers and thanks for all of the good information you provided on "LockitUp". I'm glad that I'm now part of the family.

Please blookmark my page and check back for future updates.