2nd Charlotte Sisterlocks Gathering

In case I didn't already know it, I don't have time to blog, at least not as regularly as I would like. That being said, I'm sure you've heard by now through the blog grapevine that we had a grand time last Saturday (Dec 8) celebrating our SL journeys together. Extra special for me was the fact that I got to celebrate being SLd for one whole year on that same day! It was truly wonderful getting to hang out with Carmen/beautiful1 again, and a little longer this time. Keeping up with her personal journey has been so inspiring. And her creativity with Tomoka's Twists is growing off the chain! Check it out ...

You'll see more of Carmen's talent below because I don't think any of us could walk away without at least one Twist, Tie or set, and of course we were more than happy to model some of her pieces when the opportunity arose.

There were several times when I found myself just being quiet and staring, trying to drink in all of the unique beauty exuding from our locs. Our collective SL journeys spanned the timeline from just a few months to several years, and our loc length spanned from neck, shoulders, to "sitting on it". Man, I thought I'd gotten a good pic of Lauren's "sit on it" length, but I don't seem to have one - darn! And to my further surprise ... I guess I was so busy taking pics of these ladies (I sure hope I didn't forget anyone) that I forgot to have someone take pics of me with my camera. We did get one of my vest though for my Crochet Passion blog ;-) ...

(Not that I ended up needing to wear this vest that day; it wasn't until I stepped foot outside for the first time that evening that I discovered how unseasonably mild it was outside.)

But no worries, we have all agreed to get together again in the spring, so there'll be one of many more Charlotte SL gathering photo opps to look forward to. Besides, I've previously posted some "almost a year" pics on my blog and will surely have more to come.

Now I've purposefully shied away from naming names here because I know I will forget (at least) one. However, BlackRussian (a much more dedicated blogger than me and also a true pleasure to finally meet in person after reading so many of her great posts) has them nailed on her blog. I'll never forget any of the faces and warm personalities though. What a blessed"gem"lady I am to have met these ladies in person and benefited from their experiences, tips and sisterhood.

Happy Holidays ladies!!

I so appreciate the fact that you took the time out to come from near and far (very far in some cases) to hang out with us. I know we'll continue to keep in touch and I can't wait to see what the next few months holds for each of us on our SLs journeys.

Almost a Year

On December 8, 2007 (less than 2 weeks) I will have had my Sisterlocks for one whole year! Other than a couple of (mostly self-imposed) blips on my SL radar screen, I've been in heaven with my decision. I've had to get accustomed to some facts about my natural hair, but that has been part of the journey for me and, as my locks progress, I'll learn and have more to accept and love about my hair. I always think thrice about saying "never", so I will just say that no one would be more surprised than me if I ever turned back from Sisterlocks to ... do what? Go back to a relaxer? I definitely don't have a "soap box" mentality against relaxers, but my choice to use them kept me in salons for hours, much of it spent waiting and waiting, and enduring poor customer service. Thank God those days are behind me and they don't ever have to be part of my future! To a TWA? Well, been there, done that and very much enjoyed it during those times of my life. But my hair has always been naturally long and I'm not feeling the TWA lately. Actually, I'd have probably never gone the TWA route had I found an easier way to take care of my thick, long and natural hair. So, just for today, if ease, freedom and mad versatility is what I want, I can't think of any other style that would make me want to leave my SLs. Okay, back to the present -- I decided to create this post so that I could compare pics of my SLs from "the early days" up until now.

2-month retightening

These two are at about 3 mos. I'm glad that I took the close up "scalpy" shots. It helps me to see the amount of my natural hair that is actually in the SL pattern (my consultant put my relaxed hair in the pattern too, just for continuity, and I'm so glad that she did because I don't have tangling issues, etc. to deal with).

These are from my (before/after) retightening last Wed (Thanksgiving eve).

Okay, my locs have definitely thickened up (I really thought they never would!) even though they are still not yet fully settled (sigh ... even after a year). Actually, I'm going to say that they look full and luscious!! And, although I started with a good amount of length, I can tell that I've had some more growth. The last time my hair was wet, my locs (in the back) stretched down to the top of my bra strap. Finally I can really enjoy my length, carefree!!

Lastly, while I didn't plan this by design, I'll get to *celebrate* my 1-year SL anniversary on the same day as the Charlotte SL gathering -- December 8th - yay! I look forward to having some fun pics to post that weekend.

Sisterlocks Class Comes to Charlotte

I attended the SLs retightening class this past Saturday and wow, what an experience!! The energy, the attitudes, the professionalism ... all off the chain! I made some wonderful connections there. Just further testimony to the life-changing power of the Sisterlocks lifestyle. And of course I learned a lot too. Roxanne (pictured directly below) was our instructor and she gave us a lot of SLs tips that went beyond retightening (e.g., general and specific care, coloring, styling). She was so professional, beautiful (these pics really don't do her justice) and real.

I also got to meet Blenna Williams, imho a famed SL certified trainer and consultant. Blenna was leading the SL consultant training class and actually just stopped by to introduce herself to our class. Her personality is so alive and upbeat, she reminds me of my consultant who she happens to know and gave me messages to take back to her. She was also wearing one of our own -- beaut1ful1's -- Tomoka's Twists!! It looked gorgeous on her already gorgeous locks! Well you know I was fit to be tied because I'd been looking for ms. beaut1ful1 from the time I walked into class that morning. For some reason I thought her class was going to join ours for the Retightening segment, but that wasn't the case. I sent word back w/Blenna to be sure to have the sister she knew as "Carmen" come by and see me, which she did but my class was in progress so, other than some quick hugs and peeks at her merchandise, I had to wait until my class was over and she returned from lunch. It was worth the wait to see her though y'all. It was obvious to see how Beaut1ful1 came by her name. She is a truly beautful sistah visually as well as the beauty you can feel from her wonderful, beaming, bubbly, shining spirit (yes, she is all that and then some). Her pictures (below) don't do her justice. I walked her back to class and asked Blenna if we could please have someone take a pic of us before I had to leave. Little did I know that our photo shoot would take place at the front of the class - LOL! In any case, Beaut1ful1 has a better pic of us hugging at the front of the room, which I'm sure she'll post. Actually just meeting her alone made my day!!

So, what else did I learn you ask? I learned that beaut1ful1 and I, to our TOTAL amazement, were the only sistahs there that were aware of LIU!! From what she told me, no one beaut1ful1 had spoken to in her class so far that day knew LIU existed and no one in my class had ever heard of it. How could this be, we wondered? How were they able to start and/or progress through their SLs journey without LIU?!?!?! They'd never heard of some of the names/blogs we threw out at them, the Sisterlocks stars of "our world"??!! Okay, so maybe beaut1ful1 and I have very small worlds, but whatever ... we passed the word on now, so hopefully there will be a deluge of additional LIU members signing up within the next few days.

I also learned that there is no way in the heck, no way, no how that I am ever going to sit down with the intention of retightening my hair. Now don't get me wrong, I was intrigued by the process and very glad to have learned it. Roxanne even told me I'd done a great job with both tools. And to be honest, I'd always known since way before I signed up for the class that my only intention was to gather enough knowledge to perhaps retighten my edges from time to time. Well guess what? N-O-T!! When I got home, I still felt confident about the sectioning, the pattern, everything involved. But watching a movie or not, just finding my center parts took more time than I ever wanted to spend on the entire task. Listen y'all, one of the main reasons I got SLs was to be able to have a beautiful "do" as the result of spending as little time as possible on my hair. Because of weekday and weeknight commitments, my weekends are about the only time I have to play catchup on household and fun things. As it as, the big task for this past Sat night was to braid & band, wash, separate, curl and dry. Yes, we're talking all night already. I just wasn't feeling the idea of adding an attempt at retightening a lock or two to the list. And no, I didn't have time to start earlier that day or any other. And no, I can't crochet or look through a mag while I'm retightening my own hair. So I sat right here in my bedroom Sat night and left word for my consultant to move my 2-week appointment up to this coming week if at all possible. LOL! I don't even feel bad about it. I would have always wanted to know how to do it, and as I said earlier, the sisters I got to meet in addition to the retightening and other SL knowledge I gained, were well worth the investment. Definitely there was nothing wasted. Check out some of my classmates below.

I think my consultant is going to try to fit me in on Wednesday. Hmmmmm, I can't wait to catch her up on my class experience and what's been going on in her life while I crochet, look up at the tv now and again, and relax while I get my locks retightened. Aaaahhhhh ....

Charlotte SLs Gathering

We had a small but fun meeting here in Charlotte, this past Saturday a.m. Catina and I had Sisterlocks and Tonya had Interlocks. We each had so much to share about: when we first heard of SLs, when we made that VIP decision to get locked, experiences with our consultants, on and on. I love Catina's SLs. Even though they're "just" 3 months old, they look more mature and, as much as I love my own process and my decision to start with permed ends, her locks definitely had me thinking twice about that decision (lol!). They're just so thick and lovely and once again, I marveled at how different and wonderful SLs look on each of us. Tonya gave us a schooling on the entire Interlocks process. Now it could be because I'm still a newbie, but I was hard-pressed to see a visual difference between SLs and Interlocks. Her hair was quite cute and I'm not mad at her for spending a considerable less chunk of change and time in the chair than I did for the installation of her locks . :-) I forgot to ask her, but I hope Tonya will post some info (website link, etc.) on LIU about her locking process. I'm not sure how new this process is, but the web searches I've done don't even come close to describing what she has.

We are all looking forward to our next gathering so that we can see in person the progress we've each made on our journey. We're also hoping for a larger turnout the next time.

Okay, I know you're wondering cuz I would be too -- where are the pics?? Well, in my defense, I DID pack my camera and I DID bring it into the coffeeshop. However, I was so enthralled with the other ladies and their locking experiences, that it wasn't until I was driving away from our meeting spot that I realized I never pulled the darned thing out!! Never fret though, we already know that we will have another Charlotte gathering, hopefully before the end of 2007, and I will definitely not forget to pull out the camera while we're together the next time.