Wrapping & Reading

Since I nearly had my scalp burned off to get my hair straight, I decided to rock it for two weeks.  The back is silky straight, the front is poofy (lol) thanks to exericising (yes, I'm back on track..kind of). I create a decent style by rolling and tucking the front and leaving the back out. I'm learning to work with what I have. At night, I seal my ends with some aragon oil and wrap my hair.

That leads me to the point of this post.  Since I haven't been obsessing over my tresses, I've had time to pick up a book... or three. I got sucked into all the hype surrounding the "Fifty Shades" books. 


http://www.eljamesauthor.com/books/fifty-shades-of-grey


I needed something simple just to get me back into the groove of reading. "Fifty Shades of Grey," "Fifty Shades Darker" and "Fifty Shades Freed" were just what the doctor ordered. I read all three books, in about four days. I am not a fast reader.  The books are just that simple.  They are dripping with erotica, grammar errors, typos (like my blogs) and plain old fashion  fantasy.

It's the same old story. Powerful man falls for unlikely girl, who could be pretty if someone spruced her up.  The twist is that the powerful man is a FREAK, but that's not what pulled me through the book.  It was the fantasy.  The idea that a man would pick the girl no one really sees and protect and love her.

The first book does a good job of holding fast to that fantasy.  The second and third books really reveal the authors inexperience with plot and character depth. To me it read like this, "Happy sex, punishing sex, OBSTACLE (repeat)."  I literally skipped through the steamy scenes just to see if my predictions about what would happen at the next "obstacle" were correct.  I'd say nine out of ten times, I was right.

The odd thing was that in my mind the lead male character had a British accent that I couldn't shake, even though the story is set in the U.S. Once I read about the author I understood why.  She's British. LOL!

 EL James never claimed to be Toni Morrison or Jane Austen.  These are her first books. It was her dream to be a writer and she did it!.  She self published these books, they caught fire and now she's inked a movie licensing deal worth millions.

I tell you... dreams really do come true.

So.. if you're stuck in a rut, a plane or a car,  these books will help you out.  Just don't open the book expecting Pulitzer Prize winning writing because it's not there.

The next book on my list is Toure's, "Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness?"

I'm Straight!

I got my hair straightened over the weekend. My hair was duurrtay! and I didn't have time to wash and style it myself.  The hubby and I didn't want to waste a second of our two day weekend together, so I headed to a shop to get it done.

Here's what it looked like:

But oh Lord, did that woman burn my head. I mean she got my scalp a COUPLE of times. I hope there was no permanent damage and I'll be interested to see if my roots coil up anymore. I have a sneaking suspicion I won't have to worry about my new growth trying to lock anymore. OMG!  She was still trying to "work it out" when I told her, "It's straight enough."

It wasn't all bad though. She washed and detangled my hair like a champ. Unlike another shop I went to, she did not charge extra for deep conditioning and she did everything: washed, detangled and styled. I didn't have three different people in my head.

  If I ever run into another situation where I don't have the time to tackle my hair, I will return to her for a BLOW OUT. She shall not come close to my head with any other heat tool again.  She was also very nice and accommodating, so I don't want to totally diss her.

My hair was a bit longer than a I expected. When I go visit my Mom in Chicago in the coming months, I'll probably get about two inches cut off.  Don't get me wrong, I love length, but I'm trying to grow out a relaxer here. I can't keep holding onto those ends. Detangling is a beast!

I've come to the end of the roller setting challenge and I'm a bit sad. So I will just unofficially be in Ebony's banging and swanging challenge. Lord knows, I need all the inspiration I can get. I have fallen off the exercise wagon hard.. HARD I tell you.

*Update* I did plyometrics with the husband this morning.  The front of my hair is all kinds of puffy.  I've never been so happy to see it that way:-)

Gold Medal

If there was a gold medal awarded for fun, my mother and I definitely would have won it during our long weekend of fun this Memorial Day!

We ate well, drank well, played well and laughed just a bit too much. I always enjoy her visits.
Here's a look at some of the things that we consumed.

I spent so much time having fun, that I did not have time to do my hair and I laughed at the idea of exercising.  Needless to say, those inches I lost came back with a vengence (OMG!)  No need to worry though.  My crazy husband will have me back "getting it right and tight" in no time flat.

I'm going to get my hair "done" because we are celebrating our anniversary. I am sure I could do a fabulous blown out, flat twist out, but I don't have the time.  My hair is two weeks dirty, sweaty and filled with product.

This is my first trip to this shop. It is a last minute appointment, so I'm getting the newbie. I already explained over the phone that I am a year into growing out my relaxer and I need a deep conditioner. She said she thinks she can handle it, but when I get there, I'm going to take it down and make sure that she understands what she is getting into. Some stylists are so cocky when they see me.  Their tune quickly changes when water hits my hair and it expands.  Because it's my anniversary, I don't want any drama. I'm going in early enough so that if she has reservations, I have time to get home and get to work. Of course, that would just delay the start of some of our fun.

Wish me luck!