03.09.10
Posted in General
at 8:05 pm
A sorority sister of mine asked me recently about starting locs. She has been wearing her hair permed for years and she wants to finally be rid of the “creamy crack” (my slang for relaxers). At first I thought I couldn’t really answer her question because (in my mind) I haven’t been loc’d long. But come to think of it, I officially began this journey in October of 2004! I had my permed/natural hair in twists and had been wearing braided styles off and on for YEARS in order to grow out all the perm. But in October of 2004, I did the BIG CHOP and cut off all the permed portion of my hair leaving only about 2 inches of natural hair and made the transition to yarn locs. At that time (working in corporate America) that was the only acceptable way I could see to make the transition without too much fanfare at work.
For a while, I could rock some styles that were corporate America acceptable without me feeling too self-conscious. But learning how to take care of my new yarn locs was definitely a learning experience! Not all yarn is created equal ya’ know! The texture of the yarn was paramount. The technique was key. I experimented for many hours until I found a look I was comfortable wearing in public. WOW!! I remember feeling so self-conscious about my whole hair look and finding something that could blend in my corporate lifestyle. It seems like yesterday that I rocked that bun. I remember being in South Africa and walking around with my hair loc’d and really feeling comfortable in my own skin. In hindsight, that trip to South Africa would change my life totally and mark the beginning of the cocoon phase of my self-development. The sign on my head should have read: The Fat Little Caterpiller is UNDER CONSTRUCTION!
After about 2 years of wearing my yarn locks, the time had come to let them go. Although I had plenty of loc’d hair which had grown, the yarn locs were becoming more of a security blanket than a tool to aid in my loc process. In 2007, some MAJOR changes were happening in my life (i.e. Ben/Gabby, the appointment to my 2 new churches, a move to a new home, adjusting to a new area, Pam’s sudden death, changes in my body and skin as I finally lost the weight). I thought now is the time to let them go. So I finally unwrapped the yarn portion of the locs. It was certainly interesting because the ends of my hair were braided and the rest was loc’d. So I had to cut off the braided ends first. Now I was ready to fully embrace my natural self!
So now, 5 years after I began this journey and not sure what I would find, I am glad I made the choice to loc my hair. I LOVE MY LOCS!! I haven’t been brave enough to color them like I see some women do. The most I’ve done is to braid them and then take the braids loose to wear them crinkly. They’ve grown quite long now but I can’t imagine cutting them at this point. One of my minister friends who had a beautiful set of locs recently cut hers off. I literally GASPED aloud when I saw her! I can’t imagine!! It would almost be like cutting off a limb to me at this point! HA!! It’ll be interesting to see what they look like 5 more years from now!
Permalink
12.23.09
Posted in General
at 9:34 pm
Our annual visit with the Big Man in red! I can’t tell you how many tries we had to go through to get this picture. For some reason, Gabby would look everywhere EXCEPT at the camera! But they’re still too cute! Ben told Santa he wants a monster truck and a motorcycle…(uhh oh – a sign of teenage trouble to come) and Gabby told Santa she wants a tinkerbell, a princess, and a REINDEER. Umm…yeah…okay Gabster! Keep dreaming!
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12.21.09
Posted in Gabrielle
at 11:36 am
Gabrielle is growing and changing each and every day. More and more, her language, speech, and personality are beginning to blossom. It’s amazing watching the transformation of this little baby to a little girl.
This weekend, she came to me and Lamar and said she wanted to sing a song for us. “Oh…okay Gabby.” She begins to sing:
Aww de cinquo let
Aww de cinquo let
Aww de cinquo let
Aww de cinquo let
Now put your hands up!
Lamar and I look at each other confused (we’ve never heard THAT song before - maybe she learned that in daycare). Lamar turns to her and says, “That’s nice Gabby! Good job!
But it wasn’t until I saw a commercial of the new Alvin and the Chipmunks movie that I realized what she was singing:
All the single ladies
All the single ladies
All the single ladies
All the single ladies
Now put your hands up!
Go on wit’ your bad self Sasha Gabby Fierce!!
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12.15.09
Posted in Benjamin, Gabrielle
at 1:20 pm
They got us AGAIN!! Those GANGSTERS over at Kindercare got us for the THIRD time!! Here they go again taking utterly ADORABLE pictures of Gabrielle and Benjamin and then TWISTING OUR ARMS to FORCE us to buy them!! And at Christmas time too! The dirty dogs!! What gets me is that we never asked for the pictures to be taken. They just take these really cute pictures (no purchase necessary) and then make them so irresistable that you can’t help but buy them. And they get us for 3 sets every time! One of Ben. One of Gabby. And one of the both of them together. See for yourself!
But seriously though… with faces like these, how can you help but buy the dayum pictures!! BASTARDS!
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12.12.09
Posted in Family, General
at 10:32 am
Yesterday, I drove with my mother and sister to take my niece Kendra down to my ole’ alma mater, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. It was a great trip and great to be able to return to the place of some of my greatest life’s lessons and happy memories for a visit. WOW! The school has completely changed since the time that I was there. I remember rolling up on the campus back in 1985 like it was YESTERDAY!! And now, many moons later, I’ve returned to bring my NIECE down to visit the campus for a prospective student’s orientation tour as she begins to make her college selection for next year. GEESH!! Is time flying or what?? I remember when this little firecracker was BORN!! I changed her diapers and gave her bottles and now she’s ready for COLLEGE???? WHAAAT!
So…I’m already having an OLD-TIMER’S moment. I’m also having a “Why-wasn’t-THAT-here-when-I-went-here” moment. UMES is now quite the school! They’ve got EVERYTHING now!! An on-campus bowling alley?? A theater?? State of the art equipment??? Wireless internet?? Computer labs in the buildings?? WHAT! Kids there now even have the Trailways bus coming up on the campus to pick them up instead of us having to HUMP it the mile and a half into town to catch the bus! HMMPH!! I had to keep saying to myself “I’m not BITTER!! I’m not BITTER!!”
So we were standing out in the hallway during one of the breaks and we met a young man (freshman) who was on fire and trying to give us information about his organization. Mom mentioned to him that I was an alumnus of the University and he says “Oh! So is the founder of our organization!” (Turns out, I went to college with that guy and it was blowing my mind to know that my generation is “FOUNDING” stuff.) He says to me, when did you graduate? I said 1990.
Then here comes the face cracking moment… “Oh…that was the year I was BORN!”
Awww dayum…
Permalink
12.01.09
Posted in General, Recipes
at 2:32 pm
(Actual Photo taken of Angie’s Muffins – didn’t they come out pretty?)
This recipe makes some of the moistest muffins I’ve ever made. You can omit the nuts if you’d like or are allergic. These zesty beauties bake up to be very dense and the sweet orange flavor of the muffins is offset by the tartness of the fresh cranberries. The kids just loved them when I fixed them last Sunday morning. Pair them with a cold glass of milk or a hot cup of coffee and they’re some kinda good!! Enjoy my recipe! Bon Appetit!!
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons orange zest
1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs, beaten
3 cups fresh, whole cranberries, chopped
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray or fill a 12 cup muffin pan with muffin papers.
In a separate bowl, mix the cranberries, sugars, walnuts, vanilla, and orange juice together and set aside.
In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, orange zest, nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger. Then fold in the oil and the eggs until mixture is crumbly. Slowly add the cranberry mixture and then pour into the muffin tins. Bake for 25 minutes or until muffins are brown.
Permalink
For a while, I could rock some styles that were corporate America acceptable without me feeling too self-conscious. But learning how to take care of my new yarn locs was definitely a learning experience! Not all yarn is created equal ya’ know! The texture of the yarn was paramount. The technique was key. I experimented for many hours until I found a look I was comfortable wearing in public. WOW!! I remember feeling so self-conscious about my whole hair look and finding something that could blend in my corporate lifestyle. It seems like yesterday that I rocked that bun. I remember being in South Africa and walking around with my hair loc’d and really feeling comfortable in my own skin. In hindsight, that trip to South Africa would change my life totally and mark the beginning of the cocoon phase of my self-development. The sign on my head should have read: The Fat Little Caterpiller is UNDER CONSTRUCTION!
After about 2 years of wearing my yarn locks, the time had come to let them go. Although I had plenty of loc’d hair which had grown, the yarn locs were becoming more of a security blanket than a tool to aid in my loc process. In 2007, some MAJOR changes were happening in my life (i.e. Ben/Gabby, the appointment to my 2 new churches, a move to a new home, adjusting to a new area, Pam’s sudden death, changes in my body and skin as I finally lost the weight). I thought now is the time to let them go. So I finally unwrapped the yarn portion of the locs. It was certainly interesting because the ends of my hair were braided and the rest was loc’d. So I had to cut off the braided ends first. Now I was ready to fully embrace my natural self!
