some photos from back- in -the -day

6 yrs, all natural

14-15yrs still natural. Afro hair, curled with thread, take it out to get a chunky 'fro

14yrs-chunky'fro.

Back to my roots with locs - Me, dad and mum at mum's 8oth
birthday party. Note my dad's cloth, typically worn by akans(ashanti). White or light coloured cloth means celebration.

Older Sis, mum and me with my braidlocs.

Athletics - (under15s ) County champion 2009!

WELL DONE Christian!! Christian is my 2nd son and 4th child. He's 14yrs old and thoroughly enjoys his athletics. He trains 2-3x a week and takes part in every championship we allow him to go to. He won the GOLD medal in the under 15s hurdles in the county schools athletics(the only home tutored youngster), much to the officials' suprise as he's never competed with the schools. He's no stranger to winning though - he has quite a collection of medals and trophys, most of them gold. He was really excited when he smashed the club record the ff week in both hurdles and long jump, also taking the lead in high jump. Now ranked no.1 in the county and no.4 in the country, his success was reported in the local newspapers. Now he's been selected to represent the county in the English schools athletics championships in sheffield. It's a 2-3 day event and will be televised(sky sports). He's a real credit to us. A very gentle boy, Very quiet, very focused, and unassuming, he's remained humble through all this, making sure to give the glory to God. I'm glad to say he takes his academic work equally serious and his average score is 98-100% in his pace work.

2nd award

This is my 2nd award in a short space of time, so I will not nominate anyone...yet. However, I would like to thank Maxizone for honouring me with it. I hope to step up the game and do some serious blogging. But, here are a fews thing I like......

I love to curl up with a good book. I used to be an avid reader (in my teens) and would finish a big bk in 1day. My dad introduced me to reading when I was about 6 and he loved to take my brother and I to the library. He also organised reading competitions between us, and the winner often got a new bk. Now my fav is real -life stories of stalwart men and women of God.

I enjoy eating a meal cooked by someone else. That's bc I cook almost everyday.

I like watching my son Christian doing athletics.

I like making wax paintings(when I'm totally undisturbed)

It's a real joy to chat with friends.

I enjoy a good/sound sleep

Hearing a good uplifting faith building challenging exciting sermon is so worth it.

Loc statistics.

Install date : 24-25th 2008

Install time: 25+ hrs

Starting length: 1-6ins

Texture: coily and fine

Colour: Dark brown and silver

Lock size: medium/large

Lock count: 370 ish f(or now), combined several.
(2-3 locs grew where there was none.)
Pattern: R3PT - I'm not sure if this exists in SL literature. I may have departed from the fold.

Tool: Yarn needle

DIYing since Jan 2009 ( I went faithfully to a consultant for my retights for 1yr, 1mth)

ReTi: every 6 wks over 4 to 7 days.(I'll try and pick up speed).

another reTI, I'm becoming a veteran.

My hair is coming along nicely. I've finished retightening. It took 4 days. (About 8 hrs). I guess I'm getting a little faster. I must say this time it was relatively pain-free. I've combined around 11 locs. I prefer a decent root bed, than locs hanging by a few strands. So now I think I have 370 locs, but I don't know. I've given up counting bc it no longer matters. Strange how we change huh? I'll wait a week or 2 so then give this henna a go. (I may have to be ready to do another reTi if slippage occurs).Hubby and I might be going to Switzerland next week. I still dont have a camera, but I will post pics when I get it asap. I 'm getting more creative with some simple styles like half- updos etc. I have quite a few accesories to help e.g tomokas twists, homemade hair ties, victoria's handmade, various head bands, some with cowrie shells. The longer my locs get the easier to style. Till next time.....

Caca brun and bio-identical progesterone cream

It's been a while. I'm thinking of dyeing my hair - finally. I've got a box of 3 or 4 different dyes(rinse, semi permanent, demi- permanent, permanent), but I can't bring myself to use any. I'd rather avoid all and any chemicals so.... I'm going for Henna. Lush henna to be precise. I was encouraged by nubian1's results so I've ordered caca brun. I don't do much with my hair. Freestyle mostly, occasionally crinkles. Also it's time for another reTi already. I should be very happy my hairs sprouting so, but I wish I could spend that £50 and get Angela to do it. But I won't complain. I can do it. My arms are much better. The pain's lessened a lot. I don't know what that was all about. Dr didn't know what it could be and mentioned fibromyalgia which I promptly rejected. I had been experiencing strange symptoms, hot/cold flushes, pains+aches, insomnia etc so dr wanted me to go on HRT. I refused and decided to do some research as is my habit when confronted with something I don't understand. I came across Natural progesterone and found out that the majority of women ( and men too!)are lacking in this vital hormone ( especially for women,during perimenopause/menopause, production can be down to zero, and lack of it gives rise to all manner of symptoms such as PMT, bloating,PCOS, hot/cold flushes,fatigue,hair loss, depression. This is because we're exposed to so many eostrogenic foods and chemicals. Infact xeno-estrogens are everywhere and it's causing people to become eostrogen dominant. Read more about it on this website:http://www.progesteronetherapy.com/progesterone-therapy.html Supplementing with natural progesterone cream over weeks and months helps to restore the right balance. I ordered some bio identical progesterone cream and with my Dr's blessing, started rubbing it on my skin 2x day.Not all over, you rotate the area each time e.g chest arms legs etc. Initially the hot/cold flushes intensified, and I felt drowsy, like a zombie, but I'd been warned this might happen. I persevered and now all my symptoms have been reduced. I'm not there yet, but I'm steadily improving. My sleep is much better since I started taking melatonin, another hormone that regulates sleep. I expect renewed hair growth too, that part of the condition that natural progesterone can correct. I do not have a camera right now (I loaned mine to my bro cos he broke his here en route to Ghana) but I'll get it back soon and will update with some hair photos and also what this progesterone cream looks like.