I'm BAAACKKK!

Yesterday, I had a chance to see some great friends and get out of the fog that kept me from this blog for so long.  My wonderful boyfriend (still the same one...in a few weeks, it will be TWO years together YOWZAH!) has been mentioning my hiatus for a while but it wasn't until my good girlfriend, let's call her Locked&Lovely (L&L), expressed disappointed in her not seeing anything from the blog in a while.

So A LOT has happened.  I started my PhD - about a year from finishing, went to Panama, the Bahamas, and Cozumel, spent two years with a wonderful man, and my hair has grown out of control! Check out the pictures...

Early 2012 - Hair hadn't quite reached my shoulders yet

Ugly Christmas sweater party 2011 - put my hair up in a style so cute that it made the sweater look good!

Me and my homie, VP on St. Patty's Day 2012

Curly Q hair!

Spring 2012 - at the dentist's office...lol

Summer 2012 - Curly Q again...this time the curls didn't turn out so great

Cinco de Mayo 2012 - Hair was in a "growth spurt" Lol

Summer 2012...Weird curl...or whatever...My hair was very awkward this summer

March 2012 - on my way to Panama with the BF

Office FLOW!  Summer 2012 finally got a cubicle

PONYTAILS!!

PONYTAILS! -- Now HOW LONG have I wanted this?? It's so HERE!

My niece giving me so much love!

In Panama...city lights in the background...feeling very model-like

NYE 2011 with the BF.  Coordinating my heel bottoms with his shirt...FLY :) Put my hair up in a style I found on YouTube. 

Ponytails on the cruise to the Bahamas for the BF's family reunion.  My family reunion was in Tennessee...go figure! Haha  The ponytail was just beginning to be huge but was a great option, nonetheless.

Tried a bun...Only once...not because I didn't like it - just felt like I wasn't doing it justice

MY CONSULTANT!  SHE'S AMAZING.  Danielle Akins is a God-send and I will always love her. She even came to hang with me on my birthday.  Crazy night :)

Danielle set my hair on pipe cleaners and I went to Hot Yoga...homegirl warned me!

My mommy and I finding matching outfits for Black Girls RUN! Drive to End Hunger 5k/10K and Conference weekend.  We wore grey/black and purple/black.  She's amazing!

My mommy is FINE!  There's that ponytail again :)

Did a side-pin up.  Did not like it.  But love moms!

On the snorkeling boat in the Bahamas with Atlantis in the background

Not in the Bahamas...in my room... but boy, my hair has grown.  It was in the collar of that sweater lol

Day of my qualifying exam - ALL CURLS!

There's that ponytail again...it's a staple!

And finally, BF and I in Panama in the Panama Canal.  Hair feeling like a vacation in itself.

Having locs has been such a blessing. For the first time EVER, I have been in love with my own hair.  I'm proud of my hair.  Though I'm not sure whether I've just grown personally or my hair is JUST that fly...but either way, I love me and I love my hair!  

I will post more frequently...won't let a year+ go by again.  January will be year 3 of being locked and loving it.  Hopefully, you all will see engagement and wedding pics with locked hair in the next couple of years...we shall see!!

Love...

The Lioness!

Finally a ponytail!!

As a runner, I have been very frustrated about not being able to slap my hair in a ponytail and get it off my neck and out of my face.  I put headbands on, but the neck was still being slapped with sweaty hair that was doing nothing but making me hotter.  


But today!!! Today I found a great YouTube video that showed me how to put these rowdy teenage locks into a ponytail.  Check sistergirl out!  She has some good videos with clear instruction.





Here are some pictures of my attempt to mimic it - it's not awesome, but it definitely serves the purpose for which it was sought.  All you need is a ponytail holder (elastic) and some hair pins!

I decided not to twist the entire front just to see how it looked - I liked!! A lot!  Wearing it out tomorrow :)

Wish I could show you a better photo of the twists but they're just flat twists, lol.

If you're worrying, I'm on my 18th month of being locked and I'm still LOVING IT!  The athlete in me loves the ease and flexibility of the style.  The fashionista in my loves the versatility and the stylishness.  Definitely a winner with me.  And I'm not going back to the shaved head any time soon.  Thanks for those who read my blog (especially my boyfriend...hi, baby!)

Vacation! Was Mexico ready for my SLs?!

Yes, Mexico was! LOL Hello, dolls!! A few weeks ago, my boyfriend and I went on a cruise to celebrate spring break 2011.  This was my first time going anywhere but home for that week off so it was very exciting to really get to travel.

The SLs travelled well, as always - and handled the sweat, water, and etc. very well too.  Feb 18 was my last reti so it had been 2 weeks.  I'm actually trying to go 6 weeks between reti's now.  Why? Because I'm not a DIYer (though my consultant is really trying to get me to take the class so I can at least know how) AND because it's getting expensive.  Besides, I went to my consultant at 4 weeks and we decided that I didn't have enough new growth and I should try to push it til 6 weeks.

Now for some pics!  Girlfriend has HANG! And I've also seen the fullness increase since I'm also letting new growth get a little more "out of control" before getting a reti.  One of my "loc mentors" actually gave me a compliment on my hair so I'm so proud to present these pictures. (wink, smile, wave, lol)

In the bed, talking to my sweetie and I wanted to check out my new camera.  Pretty nice!

First day on the ship! 

More boo-loving, lol

In my BFs hat - he said I looked like Wale!  Go Wale! LOL

Very vacation-y lol

I love this bottle.  I felt like a hip undergrad spring breaker haha.  Check the hair - it's got so much hang now

 This was before the last dinner on the ship.  We had a great time.  (Look at me wearing lipstick instead of lipgloss, lol, I'm grown up!)

SPRING BREAK!  We kept seeing these shirts on the undergrads and thought they had them screen printed.  I was like "These chicks have a major screen printing budget!" Apparently, you could buy them anywhere :p

Well now that you've seen a bunch of pics of me and him on our vacation now onto the new horizons and decisions.  Coloring!  I want to get my hair colored.  The tips have grown out and they're looking kind of brassy now.  For the summer, I'd like to have a dark base color with lighter highlights (maybe an auburn hue??).  So I need to find a good colorist or learn how to do it on my own.  Decisions, decisions.

I'm also on the lookout for a new do.  This shaggy-chic thing isn't really progressing.  I've done the pipe cleaner curls but not much else.  What can I do?? I'll let you know when I come up with something good.  :)

Until later!
The Lioness

One year PLUS and counting...

Hey, everyone!

So after all my waiting for my first Lockaversary...I completely dropped the ball on posting about it.

The first year was wonderful! My hair is healthy and happy and ready for oils.  Additionally, my consultant told me that my hair doesn't seem dry so I won't need to start conditioning after washes.  All told, IT'S WONDERFUL!  So take a look at my first few months...

These (above) were all from February/March of 2010.

These (below) are from late 2010.  What a difference some months can make!!

 The bf!  Isn't he adorable??

Side eye!  LOL (i like what my hair looks like in this one)

So yes, if you are just starting out - KEEP THE FAITH!  This is a journey.  Enjoy every step and every challenge.  Even my skin has changed from leper to lovely!! My consultant is also a wonderful woman - other consultants should take note.  She decided - as a thank you gift - to give her clients Knotty Boy shampoos FOR FREE!  She ordered them for us :) Isn't that awesome? 

Anyway, it's been a good year.  Thanks to my followers, lurker, and the such - it's been a great blog year too.  

Until next time

~ The Lioness