The Saga Continues...

I am 17 months post relaxer and it is crazy.  Since I took a little break from working out, I decided to also take a break from doing my hair.  I have been getting it straightened for the past couple of months.  I forgot how simple straight hair made my life.  I literally wrap and go.

But my donut (flabby stomach) is starting to return and I am going to have to go back to the basement to get my body right and tight again.  That means that paying all of that money for a fabulous flat iron will be useless.  I've been thinking long and hard about this. I've decided that if/when I return to exercising, I will continue to go to my current stylist.  However, I will only let her wash and blow dry my hair.  Maybe I'll co-wash it in between visits.  That should cut down on the time it takes to do my hair on wash days.

Since I wasn't obsessing over my hair, I passed the summer by reading.  Here are some of the highlights.


Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness by Toure:  From the title of this non-fiction book I thought he was going to rant about how America has really become a color-blind society. I was wrong. I loved this book because to Toure, post-blackness means limitless. It means that BlackAmericans should drop the phrase, "Black people don't do that."  Gone are the days when we had to feel restricted because of our race. That does not mean that racism does not exist, but it means that we don't have to let our race or racism keep us from accomplishing things outside of what is expected of black people.  Toure used stories from his past as well as some other Black Americans to get his point across.

Room by Emma Donaghue:  This is a fictional story of a kidnapped woman and her five-year-old son.  What made this book so interesting is that the boy is the narrator. I thought it was going to be annoying to hear this story from his perspective, but he made it very intriguing.  He didn't have the influence of experience. All he had was that room and his imagination.  He made me realize that you really can't miss something that you've never had. With that said, the boy and his mother go on a frightening, emotional and thrilling journey to find their version of freedom.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn:  I loved this book.  If you are news junkie, the best way I can describe this story is a mix of the Lacy Peterson and Casey Anthony stories on crack!!  In this thriller, a wife disappears.  Through the search for her, we learn about her husband's dirty secrets, her crazy secrets and why so many marriages fail.  At the end of this book, I found myself saying do I really know my husband? Does he really know me?  Of course the answer to both questions is yes...at least I think it is.

Up next for me is a book called Swamplandia by Karen Russell

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!

One Year

It has been twelve months since my last relaxer. I tried to take pictures to show the difference in textures, but I'm not a good photographer.

I'm getting better thanks to all the ladies in the roller setting challenge. I hope things keep going the way they are right now.  If they do, I'll be okay.

This is how my hair turned out. Curlformer curls in a banana clip ponytail.

Shampoo: Quantum Clarifying & Creme of Nature

Instant conditioner: Paul Mitchell's The Detangler

Deep Conditioner: Jessicurl Deep Treatment

Leave ins: Argan Oil & Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum

Styler: ORS Loc & Twist gel

Come on, Carol!

I am a product junkie. I love reading about them.  I love purchasing them and I love trying them, but sometimes I think these companies go a bit too far.

Carol's Daughter has launched something called the Transitioning Movement. The company has a website to answer all of your questions and of course, a new product to peddle.  This is where things get sketchy for me.






CD is offering a Transitioning Kit for $40, but get this, it only has three products: a shampoo, scalp spray and conditioner.  Oh... and there are four ounces of the first two products and 5.5 ounces of the conditioner.  That breaks down to $13.33 for each product.  That's $13.33 for FOUR to FIVE ounces of product.  Come on, Carol!

I know there are other over priced brands and products out there, but it was just something about this kit that pissed me off. I would use it up in two or three uses (the conditioner for sure).  I mean even to this stone cold product junkie, that price point is a turn off.  Maybe I'm just cheap...at this moment.

I just feel like it should be a bit more affordable. After all, the sizes amount to about two samples of each product. Some companies charge $2-$3 for a two ounce sample (excluding Ms. Jessies lol!).

I guess I would have to try it to see if it's worth the money, but I'm not.  At least not right now. I'm in a  good transitioning space at the moment. I can think a bit more clearly before each purchase:-)

Perfecting The Set?

If you've seen one of my curlformer sets, you've seen them all.  Case in point, my last wash day (May 13):

The frizz in the top is from the hair I ripped out in the early days of my journey.

However, I think I may have found the secret to a "good" set. For me, that means a set that will give me curls for at least three days, despite my exercise regimen.  When I say "curls", I don't mean I can wear my hair down.  I can never wear my hair down past day one. The front never holds up as well.  I can get a good roll and tuck with the back down or a good banana clip ponytail out of the set.

So without further ado, the secret is:

DON'T USE A CREAM BASED LEAVE IN. 

Something about it doesn't allow the curls to really set. It does not matter how long you let them dry.
Koos of Feisty House said this in one of her posts, but I didn't believe her. I thought that she, like me, was a bit heavy handed. It's not true. I've done three sets without and a leave-in and two with a leave-in.  The latter had bad results.

Happy "curlformering!"