HTT - Hair to There and that girl is 39

To think that I've been so busy as to not mention my 39th birthday, which was on the 9th of this month is just plain sad! I went to work that day and my students sang happy birthday to me in every class. Some made me hand made cards and brought me gifts. They are just too sweet!!! We'll I'm well on my way and all is chugging right along this school year. Sixth graders are a unique age group. They are coming into finding their identity and enjoying freedoms middle school provides. They also remind me of how I'm getting older. I consider them my kids because I'm old enough to be their mothers. I think in some ways they think of me as such. Some even tell me that some of the stuff I say is what their mom would say. The mantra is, love your students and they will love you back. I concur. Thank you Dr. Michael Wesch and especially your wife Sarah.

OAN, Jen's got her own updates, she's hopefully posting on her blog soon, but I wanted to post a few pics and discuss this Hair To There or aka, HTT. I must admit, I was used to having other peoples HTT for years, but to have my own has got me really thinking what is this all about. Next month will make 6 yrs of me having Sisterlocks and it has been an amazing 6yrs.




But as my locks grow longer and longer, I can't imagine how ladies who have longer Sisterlocks even manage. I'm curious about those who think having HTT is what this journey is all about. I must admit, I NEVER in a million years would have thought my hair could grow this long, EVER! But, in the same breath, I truly miss having a length that could be shampooed, rolled and styled a lot faster and would last a lot longer. I don't know. I'm curious to hear from those who are on the quest to having their locks grown down their backs. I'll post more later.

Checking in- Back to school

I'm teaching at the same school, Carver Academy. This time I'm teaching only 6th grade math. My children are adorable and most work hard and are eager to please and learn. I decided about two weeks ago to shampoo, condition and bantu my locks. The kids noticed quickly, my new "do". It was so cute, when most of the compliments came from my little AA boys. "Miss E, you look pretty today...I like your hair...you look really nice today." The girls gave compliments as well, all colors, but to think that adding a little curl made all that whoopla was interesting. The curls came out tight and are still squiggling around now. Jen's promising to help me finish retightening my hair this weekend, so I'm looking forward to another shampoo and set. Maybe this time, I'll try soft spike curls or a braidout. I used setting lotion and stayed under the dryer. I know when I do that after bantuing that the style will last well into two weeks like it has. If I use no setting lotion, I'm lucky if I make it a week. My locks are getting soooo long. It's hard to believe that in 8 weeks, I'll be celebrating 6 years with my Sisterlocks. Amazing! I'll update more after my birthday.

Now this is what I'm talkin' 'bout - The Truth, London Style

Tell it Chi!


510

Parody or Reality? Too Many Weave Video

I received in my inbox my I-magazine subscription from Mia Press's Going Natural.
What caught my attention was the interview with Jason Lewis, a comedian out of the UK who created a parody from another UK artist's song, Too Many Man.
When you watch the video, you'll see he says he was really playing at the end about the whole "Too Many Weave" complaint. My question is, is this a true parody or are men starting to feel the overpowering effect of "too many weaves"?

When you take a look at Chris Rock's documentary called Good Hair, you'll see women profess to the "Creamy Crack" as well as view discourse about how men "can't" touch a woman's weave.From movie stars, to high power executives to simply women who get their "check" once a month, weave is in. And I must question, are men starting to feel the constraints or boundaries for the price they pay for beauty they will accept? I do remember my "weave" days, although short lived and remember how my biggest concern was, "Can anyone see my tracks" or the noticeable difference in my and the weave's hair texture. But nowadays, women of all colors are increasingly drawn to many things that are not natural, but in their eyes "beautiful". Begin to observe children, tweens, and teens of all colors longing to have "Hanah Montana hair".

It's more than a notion, the HM phenomena. Do you actually think the industry is going to stop and say, "Hey, let's not promote wigs, weaves and extensions. It might damage these children's self esteem, self concept and self acceptance." They are saying, "Wow, what an easy way to have customers for life starting as young as 4 yrs old!" At the end of the day, HM, her dad, Disney and every endorser will be stacking their dollars after they've pimped out millions of folks who can't rub two nickels together for their own daughter's education. Just something to think about. Thank God for those who are writing/blogging about the truth. It is the only thing that will indeed set you free. But hey, we all gotta defend something. Let's just hope it's the right thing. I've blogged about this topic before.

You can view the rest of Tyra's show on Good vs Bad Hair on this youtube channel.

Zumba in Waco and beyond anyone???

I've had ladies of all colors in the past 5 months raving about Zumba. The Dewey Rec Center is starting classes on Wednesday and Fridays and if I reinstate my membership at the Y, they already have classes. I wanted to join a volleyball league but that's not going on in town any more at the Dewey. Soooo, if I decide to Zumba, I'll post a video on my blog. If anyone in the community is attending classes, let me know how it's going for you.

Michael Jackson Video Blog

I created a blog of all my favorite Michael Jackson Videos and will keep adding cool links, more videos and encouraging articles as they roll in. It's the best way I can grieve through this great loss. As I told Jen Thursday night, "We were raised on Michael Jackson." My feelings are mixed and I'm pretty upset about his sudden passing. Gone too, too soon.

MJacksonvideos.blogspot.com

Class of 1989 Reunion Saturday Night album | MJSProductions Event Photography | Fotki.com

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We celebrated 20 yrs and I must say my classmates looked fabulous!!!!

Felicia's 3 yr Lockversary

If you remember my girl, Felicia's lockversary, it was 3 years ago today. Check out what 3 years did for her!!! She came down from San Antonio in February and Jen and I captured some snapshots. In the fotki collage, you will also see her locks from June of 2008 at her 2yr mark. She retightens her own hair since there are no consultants in San Antonio. You go girl! Enjoy!

Happy 16th Anniversary DST Iota Omega Spring '93

I pledged Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Spring of 1993 and half of our line managed to meet up when we had Statewide Founder's Day in San Marcos this past March. It was a special occasion because it is the place where we pledged when Texas State was Southwest Texas State University. We've had some amazing women come through Iota Omega's chapter.

It took me a while to get from Waco to San Marcos because I had to sit in Austin traffic for an hour and a half while SXSW was going on. Bummer. We reminisced about old times while enjoying each others' company with updates from everyone. We met up at the Outlet mall, shopped 'til we dropped and then had a nice dinner at Mamacita's later that evening. With us all "grown and on our own", and in our 30s, we always have tons of stuff to talk about with weddings, babies, career changes and relocations. I'm so proud of how much each of us has accomplished over the years.

Hopefully next time all ten of us will get together, which has not happened since the late 90s. So, here's the the Devastating Divas of the Spring 1993 line of Delta Sigma Theta, Sorority, Inc.

At Last...President Barack Obama's In Da House

The last time I cried this hard was Nov. 4th 2008. Pics borrowed from LA Times and Huffington Report. Congratulations Mr. President.

My friend Freeforming Dreadlocs

Now since I've discovered the widgets on fotki, I've found that you can make widgets from anyone's album. With this being said, I want to share some of my dear friend Dreadlocs' pics from his album. It's the best way to "not steal" other's photos, and still give them props on their locs/pics. So, with that being said, I'm going to add two widgets. One when he was at his one year mark and another from his current album showcasing his locs at 3 1/2 yrs so you can see the stark difference and amazing growth. The beauty of having on line communities is you get to see folks grow. Heck, when I first met up with Dreadlocs, he was an eligible bachelor. Now he's a married man!!! He was kind enough to be one of the few brothers who's on the Locked Hair Blog Exchange, and I appreciate him for that. He always checks in on me which is very appreciated. So, ladies and gents, I present to you, Dreadlocs!

Various Sisterlocks Styles

OK, as usual, I'm a little slow with trying out new things and for the longest I'd been saying, "click on the widgets" in fotki. Well, FINALLY tonight I clicked on the widgets and what a pleasant surprise, slideshows like slide, photobucket and flickr!! Since my blog community and my fotki community aren't all together the same folks, I thought I'd share some pics that may have never made it to my blog. This is called the "stack" and is quite easy to do...in seconds as a matter of fact. Just click on the picture and the stack will shuffle. Only problem I saw was that it will show pics randomly and not in order , thus making you think you've seen all the pics or it will lead you back to my fokti page if you click on the small arrow on the top right of the pic. So if you want to just view the pictures of various ways I've styled my Sisterlocks and remain on this blog post, click on the middle of each picture. Here's a tutorial on the fotki widgets, if you're curious. I guess fotki figured they'd better jump on the bandwagon. We love slideshows!!! I hope the pics post big enough. Enjoy!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Well, well, well. 2009 is already here and no better time than now to update my lock family with my 5 yr update. My locks were born 61 months ago, November 28th 2003. If you would have told me then that the results would be what you see in this post, I would have said, "Naw, my hair could never grow that long." Well, boot my nerves!! I still have a tiny bit of color left from when I got my hair colored two days before Imani Nash-Bey locked it. I'm seriously looking into a Henna Golden Brown color in the near future. I still have a thin crown, but nothing a pony can't easily cover. Boy, how time flies. I've been super lazy over the holidays, and haven't put any videos together. Maybe later. For now, enjoy a few pics of me and my locks. The lock community has been such a blessing not only to me but to hundreds who just needed a little encouragement to take that plunge and get locked up! I just can't imagine any other options.



Below is a video of me and Kalee being silly Christmas. I'll add a collage later. Until then, keep it locked up!!!!

From Willis Family Holiday 2008

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Locked Hair Blog Exchange

Happy Thanksgiving!

Jen and I didn't travel anywhere this year. Dad came by for a spell and hung out. Mom had plans over a cousin's house. We just chilled. I'm sure Christmas will be different.
We will however be heading to Dallas for our nephew's playoff game at Texas Stadium on Saturday. He's a Senior leading running back at Arlington Bowie. He's always had football in his heart starting at a young age. Travis is strong and has a lot of tenacity! Go Volunteers! Well, I thought I'd share a Thanksgiving pic. Tomorrow's my 5 yr anniversary! Another big post awaits!!!! Blessings...