25 Question Tag

I saw this on YT and thought it was innocent enough to have fun with so I brought it over to the blog world.

1. Do you have any pets?
One dog - 4yr old male pit - Tyson
2. Name 3 things that are physically close to you.
Cell phone, remote control, newspaper
3. What's the weather like right now?
Chilly
4. Do you drive? If so have you crashed?
Yes & never. Praise God!!
5. What time did you wake up this morning?
6:45am
6. When was the last time you showered?
This morning
7. What was the last movie you saw?
Vampires Suck and it was hilarious
8. What does your last text message say?
Umm - it's my bank acct balance (I won't say, lol)
9. What's your ringtone?
"Blow the Whistle" (instrumental)
10. Have you ever been to a different country?
Yes, Jamaica
11. Do you like sushi?
I LOVE sushi
12. Where do you buy your groceries?
Kroger
13. Have you ever taken medication to help you fall asleep faster?
Yes - Simply Sleep
14. How many siblings do you have?
5. 3 brothers, 2 sisters
15. Do you have a desktop computer or a laptop?
Both but I am donating one this week so now only a laptop
16. How old will you be turning on your next birthday?
O_o Really? Ugh....30
17. Do you wear contacts or glasses?
Neither
18. Do you color your hair?
Yes
19. Tell me something you are planning to do today.
Clean the bathroom
20. When was the last time you cried?
February 12, 2011 - my grandmother died
21. What is your perfect pizza topping?
Ham & Pineapple
22. Which do you prefer-hamburgers or cheeseburgers?
Cheeseburgers
23. Have you ever had an all-nighter?
Yes, too many
24. What is your eye color?
Dark Brown
25. Can you taste the difference between Pepsi and Coke?
Somewhat. Pepsi makes my teeth squeak and Coke does not. I don't really like either of them.

If you have a blog and  you do this tag, let me know and I will a shout out in the credits of my next YT vid. 

☮

Edit: 04.11.2011

The video has been made and all shout-outs have been added. No more shout-outs will be added at this point.

In the Sunday Comics

I can relate! LOL
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Apr 4 marks the 43rd anniversary of King's death.

On April 3, 1968 Martin L. King addressed a rally and delivered his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" address at the world headquarters of the Church of God in Christ.


At 6:01 p.m., April 4, 1968, a shot rang out as King stood on the second floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel. The bullet entered through his right cheek, smashed his jaw, and then traveled down his spinal cord before eventually lodging in his shoulder.


President Lyndon B. Johnson declared April 7 a national day of mourning for the civil rights leader.


Dr. Martin Luther King Assassination Investigation
Citizen King
Commemorating Martin Luther King Jr

Length Retention or a facade?

Facade: a superficial appearance or illusion of something: They managed somehow to maintain a facade of wealth.(1)


They are so many "gurus" out there in the natural hair world and it can be easy to get swept up into the mesmerizing curls/kinks of the bloggers and vloggers of the natural hair world. During my first year reading the blogs, natural hair forums, and watching YouTube videos I found myself drowning in information. However, there was one thing in particular that contributed to a setback in the very beginning of my journey.


Most of us have that person (or persons) that we consider hair idols because they have reached that goal that we have in mind. So in the beginning of my journey I had my eyes set on the hair of an individual that appeared to have the hair care game down to a T. In actuality, that person's hair care practices dramatically impacted length retention and hair health. It took me a whole year of watching and following this person to realize that my hair did not appear to be getting longer and their hair also stayed at the same length. 


The first thing I did was ask this individual if they were cutting their hair to stay that length. No response to that question - or to any others that asked about cutting/trimming. After I started putting together my own regimen and techniques (learned from trial and error) I finally started getting the results I desired. To this day this individual is still very close to still being at the same length - it has been 3 yrs. Now, there is a chance that some hair cuts have occurred over this time period, I stopped watching. I am not assuming to know everything about this person's hair care practices. (I will not name this individual).


One of my favorite quotes is "you can't make all the mistakes yourself, so learn from someone else's." I am not sharing this to bash - but in hopes that it helps someone avoid the same setback I encountered.


When searching for a regimen that will work for you:
1. Examine the progress of the person raving about the regimen
2. Ask questions - if they go unanswered or don't sound quite right, think about your next move carefully.
3. Are all the comparison pics a fair comparison (pose, photoshop, same section measured, etc)?
4. Is this person paid to plug products or services?
5. Are hair care methods and alternative thoroughly explained and supported?


MANY individuals are using their precious time to offer help to others on their healthy hair journey - while some see this as an opportunity to cash in .  I started blogging for friends and people in my social circle that had questions. I couldn't keep so I had to put all the info in one place - I do this for the sole purpose of helping others. (I wish it could be my full-time job, lol).


1. Dictionary.com

Got something to add? Please comment below.

Challenges in March

Pretty Girls Rock Dresses

I was introduced this challenge by a cyber buddy as well as introduced to the website. The challenge is to wear a dress at least three times a week. Check out the site: Pretty Girls Rock Dresses

Proverbs: 31 Chapters in 31 Days

This morning another one of my cyber buddies turned me on to a Bible reading challenge this month in which I am going to participate. I felt that is was such a good challenge that it was worth sharing.


Proverbs is a collection of wise sayings, divided into 31 chapters.  It covers sugjects of pride, knowledge, personal relationships, marriage, buisness, and emotions. [citation]

Alexander McQueen Canvas Foldover Boot

Love it or Leave it!?! 

These shoes were featured on Fashion Bomb Daily today, and worn by both Beyonce and Nicki Minaj.  Thoughts?

PJ-ism, a growing epidemic?

Epidemic
1. (esp of a disease) attacking or affecting many persons simultaneously in a community or area
2. a widespread occurrence of a disease: an influenza epidemic
3. a rapid development, spread, or growth of something, espsomething unpleasant: an epidemic of strikes


Product bandwagons and growth aid fads are some aspects of the natural/healthy hair journey hair world that never sat right with me. This feeling primarily came from some bad experiences with some regimen fads and money wasted on products that did not yield desirable results. There is nothing worse in your hair care journey than the feeling of a major setback. I fell victim to a few fades and feared that all my time and effort toward healthy hair was ruined. Thankfully, none of the perceived damage was permanent.

Recently, I read a post on Natural Urbanista that perfectly put my feelings about these trends into words. In my opinion it's an interesting read, check it out here:
Are Bloggers and Hair Sites Contributing to Your Growing PJ-ism?

I do feel that in a way PJ-ism is an epidemic in the natural/healthy healthy hair journey world. Some days you can bounce from blog-to-blog and site-to-site and see the same products or tools raved about (or bashed). This has even rolled over onto YouTube and it is not outside of the norm to see vloggers reviewing and posting tutorials about the same products within a close time period.

Do you think blogs/vlogs/sites are contributing to PJ-ism? What are your thoughts on this?

Happy Valentines Day!

Art work found on Alisa Burke.

How Thoughtful! Thank you!

Earlier this week I was passed the Stylish and Versatile Blog award from Ruth at Island Potppouri and I am finally getting around passing on the award to others. First things first, THANKS for the award. I am truly flattered.

Let's get to it, here are the seven random things about me that I am sharing:

1. I LOVE shoes. I have over 100 pairs stashed in various places around the house and I wear them all. I had to stop buying shoes because I ran out of room to store them.

2. I used to wish I was 2 inches taller so that I could audition for ANTM (LOL). I was stopped by scouts twice while I was in college and that was a real confidence booster - but I decided to focus on school and but that "dream" on the back burner.

3. At this point in my life there are only two foods that I have encountered that I do not like - squash and chitterlings (gag).

4. On my bucket list I have: Visit all 50 U.S. states

5. I am fortunate to have members in my family on both sides that have traced our lineage and found out that our people (dad's side) are from Ghana and on the other side (mom's side) trace back to an Irish man and a Cherokee woman. I think that's pretty cool.

6. My hubby and I married on 08/08/08 but not for the "luck" myth - we got engaged on 08/08/07, I wanted to keep the date significant for us. Our wedding colors were our birth stone colors - Aquamarine and Sapphire.

7. I am undefeated in Wii boxing. ::waves hand in front of face:: you can't see me! :)


So now I pass the Stylish and Versatile Blog on to:
Curly Film Chick at Diary of a Quirky Curly Film Chick
Karli at Curly Hairdo Ideas
Tia at NaturallyTia
Shones at Curly Sweet Life

So that they may share seven things about themselves to their readers. Have fun!

Email Lost - Feature Request

Just came back from a long weekend trip.  I received an email request from a young lady who wanted to be featured on the blog. I did not have a chance to respond last week, because I was packing for my trip. Today, being my first day back, I went to check my email to respond, and I can not find the email.

So I hope the young lady see's this post. You have lots of hair, you are on Fotki, and you shaved one side of you hair for something fun to-do.  Resend the email when you can. I want to feature you on the blog this week if possible.  I rarely 'lose' an email... lol. So not sure what happened.  Thanks everyone!

Rocking out with Kelis!

I am loving this song by Kelis called Brave! Powerful message that speaks to where I was and where I am.

I was weak... but now I am strong!

Happy Holidays!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Have a great holiday weekend.

Unashamed Tour 2010 Raleigh, NC

For my North Carolina folks:

Will I see you there?

I am in need of a new hairdo...

Any suggestions?

Kohls is only the beginning...

A comment I read regarding Kohls and that wig prompted me to Google "ghetto fab wig" and what I discovered was not shocking at all - it was a SMH moment. 

Image Search

On the left side of the screenshot please note all the stores that also sell this product that made some of us so upset with Kohls:

Product Search

Quite a few people (including myself) were not happy with the wig on the Kohls site but the thing to keep in mind is that Kohls did not make this product, they were only a vendor. For years, people of many ethnicities have fought stereotypes and we all know that history has the tendency to repeat itself. We shouldn't be overly shocked when things like this happen but I also feel that we should not let things like this slide just because we know that they will and are going to happen. Let's take moments like this to educate ourselves and others - I bet every customer service employee at Kohls now knows the true definition of the word "ghetto" LOL.


Ghetto 
1: a quarter of a city in which Jews were formerly required to live
2: a quarter of a city in which members of a minority group live especially because of social, legal, or economic pressure
3a : an isolated group b : a situation that resembles a ghetto especially in conferring inferior status or limiting opportunity
[Source: Merriam-Webster]

Thoughts?

Reverse Image Search?

Many times when I am looking for styles I come across pictures through a Google Image search, photo blogs, and/or natural hair sites. When I see something I like an want to recreate I sometimes save the picture. If I want to share the style with others I repost the picture. However, if I can tell that it is someone's personal picture (not a celeb) I like to know where the picture is coming from and I don't like to pass around the pictures of people that don't know their image is floating around.

The other day I came across this link for a reverse image search: http://www.tineye.com/.

This has been useful and actually works. I can even see where some of the websites that have my pictures.

Check out TinEye and let me know what you think.

Swagbucks

If you visit the blog often you may have noticed the Swagbucks widget in the side bar →  (you can't see it in Reader). It is one of the coolest and user friendly internet deals I have encountered in a long time. You basically get paid to search and if you are like me you search for stuff all day. I am a Google addict so I just started using the Swagbucks search engine instead. 

Recently, I went to see what I could cash my bucks in for and saw that I can get some amazon.com gift cards and some Target gift cards. This is great for buying new hair products to try, lol. The inner PJ in me is trying to emerge. 

ok...I just wanted to share the new found love. Sign up by clicking the sign up box above ↑ in the widget.

Natural Hair Search Engine

Look what I came across:

A natural hair care search engine!!!! I have heard of Naturally You! Magazine (website seems to be expired now) but I had not heard about this Google powered search engine. Needless to say, I have been having some fun!

I hope someone can find this useful. Click here to access the site: FindNappiness

How long will you grow?

Dear Diary,

Since I have been putting real effort into properly caring for my hair it has been growing tremendously. I used to think that I always wanted really long hair, like WL long hair. However, the length and thickness I have now is a lot of work on wash day and when styling. So now I am wondering - do I really want more. I am leaning towards "no." BSL may just be enough.

When I started my journey I was all about volume and not length. I wanted big Kelis-like hair. Big beautiful curls- that's it. Well....I feel like I have the big hair I want. So what now? I guess I just focus on keeping it healthy and trimming the ends as it grows. Maybe I will keep caring for my hair just to see how much I can control.

Honestly, I don't know what I want. I kinda want locs...

Eeeeee-Funk!!!!

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