Still Standing

I was driving my daughter to school this morning and listening to some Marvin Sapp.  The first words of a particular song struck me: "Here I am.  I'm still standing."

Most of us have been through something that we thought, no doubt, would break us clean in two.  Whether it was painful, or difficult, or just plain unfair, it cut us to the core.  We might have prayed and cried and beat our fists on the wall.  We may have kicked up a fuss and screamed out loud, to anyone who would listen, just to ease the pain and confusion.  But when the dust settled, there we were, standing in the rubble.  In the rubble, yes.  But STILL STANDING.

Do not let your circumstances make you forget your power.  You were made a little lower than the angels.  Juuuuust a little.  There is Divine power in you, and you have to tap into that and find the strength to get back up and take those same broken pieces of rubble and rebuild.

There's nothing wrong with looking back, but don't stay back there.  Let the past pass.  Let it be a lesson.  And when you rebuild, make it better.  Make it bigger.  Make it stronger.

Blocking The Blessing

Ok...so you want this....thing.  But is there room in your Life for it?  Is there room in your yard for a new car?  Is there room in your budget? Is there room in your Life for a new love, when you still have a 5-piece matching "baggage" set sitting on the floor of your heart from your last relationship?  Clean it up...get the negatives out, and let The Blessing flow.  Sometimes our desires delude us because there's no room for The Blessing.

We want so much, but often forget we need to do some work to get where we want to be.  We want it to be all roses.  Well, roses don't fall from the sky...they're cultivated.  They need water and sunlight and nutrients...that doesn't just "happen".  Someone has to do it.  And another thing...roses have thorns.  It ain't all fun and games.  If you want the pretty flowers, you may have to deal with some thorns, and you certainly need to get your hands dirty.  You need to get down in the dirt and plant the seeds.

We want to be satisfied at work, put in only half the effort and wonder why we aren't getting ahead.  We get lazy in our relationships and expect the same response from friends, family and loved ones.  Really?

I try to keep myself empty.  What I mean by that is that I really, really, really try not to harbor anger or resentment or fear or jealousy.  I try to leave the past in the past.  I said, I TRY...  It's not easy but Life has taught me that it's not worth it to let these feelings take root in me.  All they do is choke my Joy and stifle my growth.

We so often get in our own way.  We pray and doubt in the same breath.  We try something new and say, "Here goes nothing" and wonder why we actually get nothing from our efforts.  Please, don't speak defeat into your own life.  How are you going to be your own hater?  What's up with that?  We do it all the time.  And it's sad.

We need to stop blocking The Blessing.

Snazzing Up Some Booooring Box Braids with Creme of Nature Products

I really don’t like how my box braids turned out. I braided my hair last week, so I refuse to take them out so soon, so I figured I’d curl them to pretty them up a bit.

I washed and conditioned my hair with Crème of Nature Argan Oil Shampoo and Conditioner on Saturday afternoon, then applied the Creme of Nature Argan Oil Strength and Shine Leave-In Conditioner and Creme of Nature Foaming Wrap Lotion to hair that was 70% dry.  I set my curls on small perm rods.  I got my perm rods at the beauty supply store.  The brand is Goody.  I set about 3 braids on each perm rod, so my hair would dry quickly.  I did not want to use heat to set my hair, so I put the rods in early enough that I wouldn’t have to go to sleep with a damp head.

On Sunday morning, I removed the perm rods in the morning and pinned my hair to one side.

That’s it!  

Curls after taking them down when I got back home.

The Foaming Wrap Lotion seems to have good hold.  I'm going to try lots of styles using this.  I can't get over how soft and moisturized my hair is!  I usually have to slather on oils and butters to get my hair to feel like this, and then it's a little greasy.  This is the first time I've been able to experience soft, moisturized hair without using a creamy leave-in or shea butter.  I'm really liking this Creme of Nature Argan Oil line so far.  It may just be that "staple" I've been looking for!

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Creme of Nature Argan Oil Shampoo and Conditioner Review

Soooooo...

The Revlon Crème of Nature Argan Oil hype sucked me in.  I’ve been using the sulfate-free shampoo on and off for the last month or so and I like it.  I also recently purchased Tressemme Moisture Rich shampoo and conditioner and I CAN’T STAND THEM!  Something in the formulation made my head itch and flake like mad.  Maybe the sulfates :-/  So, clearly I needed a change.  I decided to give the Crème of Nature Argan Oil stuff an honest try.

The shampoo has a pleasant, almost “baby powder” scent.  I like it very much.  And it de-tangles my hair.  Did you hear what I said?  IT DE-TANGLES MY HAIR!!! I’m going to keep using this until I finish the bottle.  I have a very sensitive scalp, which reacts to some products by breaking out in awful dry, scaly patches.  So far, I’ve had no such reaction with this product. 

The conditioner has the MOST slip I’ve ever felt!  My hair was already detangled, but when I applied the conditioner I was able to slide my fingers through my hair.  And I have that “type 4” hair…ok?  My hair felt like buttaaaahhhhhhh!

The product directions say you should sit under a dryer, but since I don’t have one, I covered my hair in a plastic cap and towel turban while I did some stuff around the house.

When I rinsed the conditioner out, my hair was sooooo soofffftttttt.  SOOOOO SOOFFFTTTTTT.  Wowwww….

My only regret is not being able to find a full-sized bottle of the conditioner.  I can’t find a retailer in Trinidad that carries the full bottle, just the little pouches.  But a huge plus is that a single pouch was just enough to condition my entire head.  I bought two, thinking one would not be enough.  But this will do until I find a retailer who can provide a full-sized bottle.

Overall, I’m really pleased with this product and definitely want to repurchase.  As I said, I would like to try it for about a month to see how my scalp reacts.  A lot of products are great for my hair, but I have a very sensitive scalp that gets seriously offended by some of the ingredients in a lot of products on the market.

Fingers crossed that this works well for my hair in the long term...on a serious hunt for a "staple" shampoo and conditioner.

Wishing you good health, and happy hair :-)

Blessings...

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Braid and Pincurl - Trying A New Stretching Technique

I've tried bantu knots a few times in the past, and EVERY SINGLE TIME...I get a headache.  No matter how loosely I try to make the knots, I get a headache.  And my hair doesn't dry.  Or if it's dry already, and I can stand it, they stretch my hair to this "blow-dried look" that I don't like.  Sooooo...I decided to try braids.  Now, braidouts don't work for me either.  The ends look limp and weird, unless I set them on perm rods, but my perm rods weren't cooperating. Yeah; I had issues.  So here's what I did...

Now that my hair is longer,  I realize keeping it stretched is essential to keeping knots and tangles at bay.

My hair was badly in need of a good wash and deep condition, so I de-tangled, trimmed single strand knots, shampooed and conditioned, and massaged in a combination of Cher-Mere Deep Conditoner and a mix of oils (extra virgin olive oil, grapeseed oil, and castor oil).  I braided my hair in about eleven sections and let it air dry overnight.  When I got up in the morning, it was still damp, but just barely.  I had a few remaining single strand knots, so I got rid of them as I went through each section.

Twisting the ends makes it easier to undo the braid.

I pulled the hair taut while braiding, and when I got to the ends, I twisted the hair and then created a pincurl and secured it with a large, flat pairpin.  I plan to keep this in for a few days, until Church on Sunday.  I'll post when I take these down.  I'm hoping for big, stretched, fluffy hair.  Fingers crossed!

Wishing you happy hair,

Blessings...

Denim Remix - Jeans to Maxi Skirt

Hi there!

I couldn't sleep on Friday night so I passed two hours of time reconstructing a pair of not-so-favorite jeans.  I bought these jeans when I still had baby weight from my last pregnancy, but they fit so slouchy now, I decided to remix them.

I cut along the inner leg seams, through the crotch, then up to a few inches under the front zipper and about halfway up from the crotch in the back.  I then overlapped the resulting flaps in the front and back and pinned them in place.  I tried the skirt on before sewing to ensure the right fit.

I then took a medium-sized needle and thread and sewed up the back and the front flap.  I used dark blue thread on the main back seam, being careful to overlap the fabric slightly and sew very, very, very, very, very close to the edge for a clean finish.  I wanted an almost invisible seam.  Yes, I HAND-SEWED this!  Yeahhh...I knoowwwww... On the sections that were topstitched in contrasting thread, I used a similar color.

I'm really digging the center split!

The back seam came out nice and smooth :-)

The sections where the fabric overlapped were a bit hard to sew, but I really put my back into it, and with the help of my metal thimble, I was able to get the job done.  I adoorrrre this skirt, and I can't wait to style it.

The jeans were a bit too long for me to begin with, and I didn't hem the skirt, so I can't wear it with flats.  But that's okay - any excuse for heels will do.  LOL!  I have a great pair of wedges I plan to pair with the skirt, and maybe a cute tank top and some BIG hair.

I love remixing pieces from my wardrobe.  It's like shopping, but you're the designer! :-)

Blessings...


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Hair we go...off to the races!

Hubby was invited to the racetrack today so I had to come up with a hot style that wouldn't leave me looking like a hot mess.  I washed and conditioned my hair yesterday, twisted it in about 25 sections and set each section on small perm rods.  I twisted each section before putting in the rods.  I let my hair air dry overnight and kept the rollers in until this afternoon, so they had been in my hair for pretty much a whole day.

I was planning to wear my hair out, thinking the rods would curl my hair up so much that it would shrink up, and not touch my neck or face. Not so...  Used to work before.  Ah well.

So I ended up having to pin it all up on the crown of my head.  It was soooo HOT today!!!

I used about 8 large pins.  Four across the back of my head, and two on each side.  I intended to leave curls in front, but they frizzed up on me when my forehead started to sweat.  And I was still in the house!  So I grabbed the ends and swooped it all to one side.  Off my neck, off my face, off to the races!

Couldn't take the hair in my face.  But sometimes necessity = cute :-)

The pins are waaayyyy up in the crown and high on the sides.

I like the end result.  Regardless of what I had in mind, I wasn't going to *make* my hair do anything.  I can't.  She always wins.

I forgot to take a pic of my entire outfit, but here's the clutch I carried.  I heart this bag!!!  I got it at a thrift store in PA for $12! I got my black and white snakeskin Etienne Aigner belt for $8 as well.  The store is called "Second Story High End Thrift".

I wore a black two-layer BCBG dress with nude Nine West "Vishelle" peep-toe pumps.  I really saw the value of this little black dress today.  I bought it in Macys about 8 years ago, and it's STILL one of my go-to pieces after all this time.

My little flower earrings were another great find. I got them for $12(TT) in a little store in Arima.

The races were...well...races...  Hubby and I didn't get into the whole betting thing so it was a cool event but not "us" I guess.  A nice day nonetheless!

Off to relax and watch movies with the Hubs.  Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings...

~ AfroTee

I'm Not...

I'm not one of those pretty decorative sistas

My beauty takes you back to the motherland

As you lose yourself in the coils of my hair

The depth of my eyes

My nose is prominent in my face

Sniffing out the dangers in strangers

And warning them with my eyes

That though we are far from Africa, the truth in me is like a spear in my hand

And I can, and will, defend

My lips are full

Full of kindness and wise words

And prayers for your soul

My shoulders are square and strong

Bearing burdens and carrying your cares

My arms lift my prayers and my sorrows, and they praise

They praise God for His mercy and His goodness

For letting me in when I should have been shut out

For sheltering myself from myself

So I could shelter you

©AfroTee

Hair and Life

My "quirky" puff; a little off to the side.  Just like me!

Sometimes we can't do what we want because our hair said so.

I wanted to go to the beach today.  I decided against it because I want to go out tonight, and the hair...well, the hair is not in order.  As I've grown more hair I've been limited.  Gone are my TWA days when I could just "get up and go".  I have to plan.

It's not all bad, though...

If I need to get going quickly, there's the go-to puff, and at my current length I can place it anywhere on my head for a different look - low in the back for a quick trip to the supermarket, or waaay up on the crown for a more regal effect.

The key to dealing with, and loving, my hair is learning what it can and cannot do.  I don't play with my texture.  I'm not interested in the ever evasive "curl definition". I don't have curls.  I have kinks.  Kinky is ok.

Tonight is date night, and I have no plans for my hair besides making it clean.  I'll let her decide the outcome.  I know it will be fabulous.  She always makes good decisions.

Blessings...

~ AfroTee

My hair, my hair, my hair!!!

I'm stuck in a rut with this hair!  I really don't go outside much, so I don't *have* to do much with my hair.  Sometimes days pass without me leaving the house.  When I do go outside, it's mostly casual, so I just throw a headwrap on and get going.  There's a holiday coming up this weekend, so hopefully I'll get to pretty up a bit! ^_^

I'm still on the hunt for a staple shampoo and conditioner.  I used Organic Root Stimulator Creamy Aloe Shampoo and Replenishing Conditioner for about a month, but I wasn't "wowed".  This month, I switched to Creme of Nature Argan Oil Shampoo.  The whole sulfate-free thing sucked me in, but I think it's a little drying.  I'm going to finish the bottle, but the hunt continues...  Another issue I'm having is dry scalp, but I will do a hot oil treatment this weekend and see if it helps.  I forgot to get the Teressentials mud wash when I was back in the States recently.  I really wanted to try that and I don't think it's available in Trinidad, so I'll have to order it.

Stay-At-Home Style

Honestly, I'd love a DIY shampoo and conditioner that will nourish my strands.  I really enjoy making my own products.  I've switched from body lotion to extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and my skin is so happy! My hair loves it too.  I've also added Jamaican Black Castor Oil to my regimen, but only as a leave-in.  It's too expensive to wash out!  LOL  I use EVOO for that :-)

So I think September is going to be a co-wash month.  Let's see how this goes!

If you want to follow my journey, subscribe to my YouTube channel.

Blessings...

~ AfroTee