Au Natural sans le Chop #7

So I think I’m fully used to my new hair now. Napps and all. It’s actually not that nappy as people might expect. It’s just where the permed hair and nappy bits connect is the crazy part. It's SO much harder to detangle. I washed it today & yeah... I hate detangling the transition area.

Ugh! I jut want to cut it but I know I wouldn’t know what to do with my head then...

But at least I know it has been growing quite a bit! You can’t really tell because of curly shrink syndrome, but I can. In one year, it has grown about 5-6 inches which is pretty bomb! It definitely took off growing between September-now because from May-August, it was nothing. Like a centimeter or growth. So about 1/2 - 1 inch of Africa coming out of my roots a month.

Not too shabby. And now that I plan on exercising more & eating more healthily, hopefully it will be at my previous length (a little past my shoulders) by August or September! Whoo Whoo! Well, here are two more hair styles I have worn/tried out. Enjoy & happy nappy days!

Out with the curl.

Full Mowhawk

With love,

The Nappy Grasshopper

Au Natural sans le Chop #6: Un amor extraño

I am probably the last of my friends to say that they like natural hair, but I think I am starting to like my napps...

I KNOW!! Amazing! But I think its because I look better with curly, bigger hair rather than pin straight poop strands. And now that I've let my hair marinate with various concoctions, moisturizers and kaka, I can see that my curl pattern is actually pretty nice. Just the permed hair is kinda..... eh... throws it off.

And I'm learning how to speak my hair's language. You know, Nappenese. Its very difficult language, but I feel if I listen to it more, I will be fluent in the remote language and our lives will be SO much better. Wednesday, man... my hair was saying all types of foul words to me in Nappenese. I wanted to cut it off to make it shut up. But as the days progress, I understand it more. Listen to your hair. You will find out more than just telling it to shut up or yelling back.

Well, here some pics of my day 4 side curly pony. Fast, simple, messy & fun!

Yummy!

A bow but hard to see...

And here's a pic of my curl pattern... more like wavey fuzzy pattern

Au Natural sans le Chop #5: Realization

So. I finally took out the braids & rocking the natural and 1/4 permed crap. I am finally accepting my hair but I'm not completely used to it. I'm still trying to figure out styles, how to keep myself from tearing out my hair and what works & what doesn't.

I have seen that my hair isn't curly or coily. It's more or tight waves. So "curling" products.... I haven't seen much of a "curl" or definition at that when I use them... Kinda depressing. I thought it would have been like my friends' hair because hey! They're African. Africans have curly, coily hair. My people were stolen from Africa. Must me similar, huh?

NOPE! That Irish gene & whatever else crap that is in my gene pool threw off my hair genetics completely & now I don't know what this is! I was sad the first day....... I should have known I had weird genes after seeing Mia's hair is barely curly at all.......

I'm learning to love it & learning to actually do my hair. I never did my hair before. Just perm, straighten, done. Now I have to learn how to braid, twist, cornrow, bantu knot, everything! But I will learn & look hot, hot hot!

Here's some pics of my day one hair and day 2 hair:

Dinky pony tail because I was going swimming. No use it fixing it...

Nice hair style! Twisted it & rolled it up with flexi-rods. Air dried over night. Not the best night of sleep but then again, I haven't had one in a while anyway... Banana clip & big poof!

With love,

The nappy grasshopper.

Au Natural Sans le Chop #4: One Year Anniversary!

Well, I've made it.

One year without a perm today. My hair has not see the creamy narcotics in so long, and I still think it hates me because of my decision...

But it is for its own good. It's been growing quite a bit actually. My curly q's comes below my ears when stretched out which is good! My permed, dead, chemically beaten hairs have either broken off or still holding on for dear life. I plan on trimming it little by little until I'm comfortable enough to say goodbye.

Its so hard. I've had relaxed hair since I was about 6 or 7... somewhere around there. I was old enough to remember getting it but not know exactly when.

(She has nice hair, but mine won't look like this)

I still don't know how exactly my hair looks like curly. I've been trying to figure out what my fellow nappy sisters have been using but its hard to tell what my head will do since I have THOSE GENES.... Those Irish genes up in the mix.... Who knows what will happen?! I just hope it will love me and not be too hard to handle.

So far I have:

Kinky Curly Shampoo & Conditioner

Shea Moisture Curl Enhancer

Giovanni Shampoo & Conditioner

(I use this on Mia's hair!)

I don't want to have to wake up 4 hours before school just to deal with my hair and then end up trying to fix it in traffic. I already wake up 3 hours before class and that's already una tortura.

I will be sure to keep you guys updated on my hair when I take out my braids this up coming weekend. I shall conclude this blog with pictures of fellow afro ladies!

(I think my hair is gonna be more like Solange's. Wild with no exact curl pattern)

With love,

Raven & Señora Nappy Strands

My Addiction Came Back...

It's not video games, coffee, illicit substances, lawful substances, narcotics, or food...

It's shopping....

In high school i liked shopping. Me ENCANTABA ir de compras. I shopped so much that I don't know where I spent all of my hard earned Regal movie theater pay checks. (And by hard earned, I mean sweat shop, slavery hard work)

Then college came along. I spent/spend about $40-$50 a week on gas commuting to the ATL, so I cut my budget to just eating at school 2-3 times a week so I'd only spend approximately $10-$20 on novelties y comida (food for non-spanish speakers). I rationed my dinero because who can I ask for money because I was being careless & spent it all? NO ONE! I only ask my parents for money to buy books for school. Everything else is my cheddah. Gas, credit card bills, clothing, oil changes, tires, brakes, toiletries, computers, some food, etc...

I didn't go shopping for nearly a year....June 2010-April2011. Like really buy myself clothing, jewelry, accessories, etc... I would treat myself to only ONE item at a time every couple of months... about 3-5 month spans between.

Now that the semester is almost over & I still see I have a pocket full of BIG FACES from not spending JACK, I went to the mall & treated myself to 2 shirts & a pair of sandals!!!! I hadn't bought that much in one outing in FOREVER.

I went again the next weekend and bought 4 items. Then there was a sale at Bath & Body Works while I was shopping for Mia. Now... I want to go shopping more!

Shopping is a horrible, TERRIBLE, ungrateful addiction! Only because it can't go away. I'm sure I'm gonna need new clothing because of tears, stains, lack of style or I'll gain 44 kilos (20 pounds)! Its not like alcohol where its not necessary or other substances that are just done for the recreation and stupidity. SHOPPING IS NEEDED!

But I must control myself from these urges... And overcome this stupid thing called Shop-a-holism.

Why I Dislike Movies with "Love" Stories

I just got done watching Remember Me for the first time. It was a great movie! Nice story line, sad ending but good message. Always makes a nice movie. Especially if you're scared out of your mind because, like an idiot, you watched Insidious and now you're afraid a demon is right behind you....

On the other hand, I dislike the movie. Why you ask? Because the "love story" intermingling throughout the movie NEVER happens in real life! Are you serious?! He walks up to a girl in a, I guess, student center at school because of a bet, they go on a date and magically fall in love with each other.

Get out of here!

It's stupid. The rest of the story was more "real life" situations. Daddy issues. Bother committed suicide. Bullying at school. Ok. Ally and Tyler story?? Yeah.... Only happens in movies & that's why it IS in a movie.

Things never happen so happily in the real world. That's why there's such a high rate of divorce, crazy people, greedy people, sad Facebook statuses about boy/girl problems and desperation. This picture suits a real life relationship more.

And if you want MORE realistic...

Yeah... they only had a picture with 2 girls... I wanted to find one with 4 or 7 girls to be even more accurate, but this will do.

I don't know. I just find "love stories" over exaggerated and highly predictable. They need me to be a director and make a REAL love story movie! **note to self: start writing script and put on youtube**

But overall, the movie was nice, the story was good, and yet another movie made to make girls have false hopes and think they'll actually have a love story just like this one..... *ahhhhh* The wonders of movies. =]

Dear Mia

It's been a while since I wrote you last. I've been busy trying to keep my grades up so we can have a good life, and you've been annoying me. So I didn't write you.

Kidding.

But really. You're quite the annoying little toddler, but you also are very funny. So that makes up for it.

Like one day, you got a cup of juice, and I guess you must have been extra thirsty or something because you said, "Mmmm. This good. This JUICE!!" You reminded me of one of those 200 pound babies on Maury.... Well... By the time you read this, you won't know what Maury is, but I'll inform you.

It's nice to hear your speech improving after you had your surgery. Now you're saying words I didn't think you had the concept of, putting together more sentences, and repeating me more often. Even at McDonald's, you repeated my whole order because you're funny like that. You still have an accent though... Pig is "peeg", horse is "haa" (with a falling-down tone like the #5 in Lao), phone is "fom", frog is "fron". Not sure where you get it from, but I guess you lived in Laos in your past life.

Oh, I might as well get this out now. Sorry I gave you laryngitis. You currently sound like a little boy going through puberty with a raccoon attached to his trachea. Its funny, but then it's sad hearing you cough because I know how painful it is. But you'll get better soon. And maybe you'll have a Tickle Me Elmo laugh like me now! (And I might have to inform you about Tickle Me Elmo also...)

And I dislike the fact that you call me "Raven", and fight with me over it. You only say "mom/mama" when you want something. "Please! Ma-ma!" I guess this shows you know how to trick people (which can me good), and that you're aware of your surroundings/details. You know I'm your mom, but you also know my name is Raven. You better stop soon... I look like your sister or nanny already out in public and you calling me "Raven" makes it worse.

But it's nice seeing you're like a real person now and I can actually have a mini conversation with you. You tell me how you feel now, if you want to eat, what hurts, and say your favorite sentence: "I doo-doo."

I hope that stays your favorite sentence forever. =]

Love,

Mommy