February - #44! So Much to See, So Much to Do!

So much has happened since the last blog. I had a birthday (44 - ugh!), we toured Alcatraz Island, and I'm making great progress on my Leviathan sweater. My birthday was a weekend. Andrew is so sweet, and he makes me feel special everyday. He gave me a dozen orangey-peach and yellow roses and a chocolate birthday cake with whipped cream frosting:

I don't know why he put my "1st birthday" on it. It did have Tinkerbell trinkets on the cake.

The day before, we went to my beloved San Francisco. I LOVE San Francisco. We started the day at a BEAUTIFUL restaurant called The Cliff House. It's on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge. The views were spectacular. I had a Bellini and we shared a plate of spicy calamari. I definitely want to go back to that place.





Then it was off to Alcatraz. It's a penitentary, what else is there to say. I do like the fact that none of the prisoners had to share a cell. It was interesting. I delighted in the fact that some of the prisoners learned to knit and crochet.






We ended up at my most favorite restaurant, The Crab House. I could eat pounds and pounds of the crab. The garlic fries are to die for also. I'm still trying to decipher the recipe. The navy neckwarmer made its first public appearance:


All in all, it was one of the best birthdays I've ever had. Andrew makes it all so special.

On the hair front, I was scouring You Tube looking for layered haircutting vids, and I came across the CreaCut. It looked so neat that I ordered it. Click here for the You Tube video. I'm a little nervous, because I ordered it on Thursday, now their actual http link doesn't work. I'm needing bangs and layers in my Virgin Malaysian Straight. Hopefully, when I start working (a regular job), I'll be able to purchase a new wig whenever I want. I'll keep no more than 3 at a time. I decided to retire the hybrid virgin malaysian loose curly/Amina. I wore it for the birthday weekend, but she was shedding up a storm. I tried reinforcing the seam in the back by sewing some extra lace on top of it. The neat thing was when I removed the wig, I didn't have to remove the adhesive and tape from my skin. It was still tacky (I'd only had the wig on for 2 days). I put another layer of Vapon over what was still there, and put the Virgin Malaysian Straight right on. I did add a little dark makeup to my bandage/wigcap. Maybe I can do this two or three times a month, to further reduce the manipulation of my real hair (since I know how to do the beehive/spiral cornrow).

Speaking of hair, I finally saw Chris Rock's "Good Hair" yesterday. I LOVED it! I could see the comedy in it. I wish there were more natural haired girls representing. As soon as my hair is shoulder length, I'll be LF free. I think it's easier to take care of natural hair once it's fully embraced and accepted. I can't wait to be able to go to the beach and just jump in the water and not care that my hair is wet. As long as I carry my scrunchies and elastic bands in my bag, I'm cool. No more straightening. Just wild, and free, with a few blonde streaks here and there. Patience and tenacity are propelling me towards my goal. I love that the older I get, the more I don't care what other people think. I ran out of my GNC NourishHair caps. I don't really know if they work. I know that the MegaTek works. I will keep using that until forever. I'm trying to go through my products, without buying more. So far, the products (conditioners) that are keepers are: Silk Elements Luxury Moisturizing Conditioner, MegaTek Cell Rebuilder, Nexxus Humectress, and Tressemme Flawless Curls. I like the Organix Vanilla Silk more for the smell. I love the extra virgin olive oil for my deep conditions. Everything else is collecting dust. As for shampoos, I really like the Suave Daily Clarifying Shampoo. It's no more that $2! In these recessionist times, who can beat that! Hopefully, I can keep my hair braided and hidden until I can't stand it anymore. I'll eventually remove the bandage and wigcap and wash my braids. I love the path my hair growth is on.

I'm wanting to do more singing videos. Andrew and I have up on deck: No Excuses (Alice In Chains), 9 Crimes (Damien Rice), Down In A Hole (Alice In Chains), and Set the Fire to the Third Bar (Snow Patrol). Up for me solo is Harvest for the World (Isley Bros), Whenever (Maxwell), Why (Annie Lennox), and a million more. I'm doing songs I love and think are great. Not what's popular. I love music.

Okay, I'm sick of the hair debate... Chris Rock's "Good Hair" documentary.

My ranting thread on BHM today:
"I'm venting. I'm watching Chris Rock on Tyra. Okay, I'm getting sick of this "hair" debate (good/bad, long/short, kinky/straight). Chris Rock has gone on ALL the shows to promote his movie (I've seen him on Oprah (twice!), The View, The Monique Show, and The Tyra Show). I can't knock his grind/hustle, and maybe this subject needed to be brought to light...
*BUT*
I can't understand the power that people have given hair.
I can't understand how people who wear extensions say they feel ugly without them.
I can't understand how some people say they can't let their significant other see their "real" hair.
I can't understand the male mentality that values a woman's hair (length/texture) over her personality/heart. That seems pretty shallow to me.

There was a lady on Tyra that was scared to reveal her real hair to her husband. Tyra just said she didn't want one of her boyfriends to see her getting her weave done. Why not?

I'm standing by everything I'm saying here. I wear LFs to grow my hair out, but I wear my hair out too. My hair is short and curly (in my avi) right now. My man sees me with short hair, and with my LFs. He sees me putting my LF on and taking it off. He loves me with my hair anyway he sees it."

I'm sick of it! I know this is so ironic, since I have a blog titled "Magic Hair". The thing is, I'm not a slave to my hair. My hair doesn't dictate my life. I will swim, shower, workout, and whatever else I want to. Especially since I'm no longer using heat on my head, I feel free. So what if it rains? My hair loves water. My hair loves being short, and my hair is having fun growing longer everyday. I love that I comb my hair even less now, since it's curly. It's like the less I do to it, the better it performs. I was talking with my daughter (a hair professional), and I asked her if it's possible for black women to stop straightening their hair. Why have we come to associate nappy hair as bad hair? Even though I textlax my hair every 3-4 months, if not combed, it's as nappy as sheep wool. And during the time my LF is off, I don't comb my hair. I let it stay coily and springy and I love it. Lacefronts have strictly become a protective style for me. I don't pretend the hair is mine (that's grown out of my head), and if anyone asks me if it's a wig, I say that it is. Ain't no shame in my game. I'm just up in arms now that society has deemed nappy hair "bad hair". This ain't over... :-(

I do plan on going to see the movie though.