I DON'T BELIEVE IN SICKNESS!!!

Some awful cold/flu virus has tried to get me down. I utterly refuse to submit to this rubbish! This body is the temple of the holy spirit, and I'm not just going to lay down and take it. I'm furious, that it's interrupted my retightening. I found myself sleeping or laying down most of yesterday. Yes I felt like death, every muscle aching, nose bunged, coughing and spluttering everywhere - I've been through 2 rolls of tissue. It started like a sore throat,moved up my sinuses and now trying to get into my chest. I stood up today still feeling dizzy, struggling to breathe and said enough is enough! Gal3:13 Christ has redeemed me from the curse of the law(which includes sickness). Psalm103:3 He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. I started praising and thanking God that I'm forgiven AND healed and I received it in my body. Well... I'M HEALED praise God. I just couldn't see myself being out for the next 10 days or however long it takes flu to run it's course. What's more I know I've been given the power and authority to heal and cure diseases, so why was I allowing this to continue? Sorry, no pictures. I don't want you guys to see how awful I looked LOL Guys, until you get fed up with something, you tolerate and live with it.If you don't resist it with all you've got spiritually ,mentally, emotionally and physically, it will continue...and yes I AM a fanatic. It works for me and my family, cos we can chase off these cursed things when they rear their ugly heads up by God's grace!!!

Does hair grow faster on parts of your head?

Oh my! Re tightening the back of my head is a different story. I have about 1inch of new growth( which doesn't seem like a lot), but it needs 3+ rotations. What's more some are sticking together. This area is the fastest growing, most dense, strongest of my hair. On my scalp,I have 1/4in new growth some places,1/2inch other places and 1inch right in the back area between the nape and crown. I think on the whole, my hair grows about 1/4inch per month with variations of course. I managed to separate 2 locs that I inadvisedly joined. There's another 2 or 3 to split.

Retightening, nearly 3 months since the last.

Has anyone who has sisterlocks/microlocs gone 3 months before retightening? What was your experience? My last R/T was in the 1st week in march, so it's been nearly 3 mths. To be precise, it's 11 weeks. I have started doing handfuls of locs here and there. As you may know, I don't do my whole head in one sitting. And I no longer do it in 2 or 3 evenings as I used to. I now take a rather relaxed approach, doing handfuls of locs whilst I'm reading or watching something. I don't worry about misssing some days cos I'll always have time another day to continue. If going 3 mths is not detrimental to my locs, then I might do just that. I remember QueenLi mentioning something about Retightening once every 3mths. She has microlocs and it seems to be working okay for her. Queen if you're reading this, please confirm if I'm right or wrong. I'm also glad to report that my ex-thin area is doing well. As a result I haven't used my loc piece in a while. I must say life is much better without one, but if you need it, don't feel bad. Only you know what you're having to deal with. And very often hair can and will grow back given time and the right conditions.
PS: I'm averaging 2 &1/2 rotations per loc.

attending a naming ceremony

close up of my locks. I just swept it all to one side and added a red rose.

I was attending a naming ceremony. In Ghanaian culture, the proper attire for this is white,black&white (with more white than black), blue&white etc. As long as the white in your cloth is the dominant colour, you're fine. White signifies new birth, Joy, Hope, Thanksgiving. So I wore my 'whitish' cloth, and added some red shoes/ accessories to complete the look. This cloth I am wearing is older than I am. It belonged to my GREAT uncle. My dad gave it to me when I was in Ghana, saying 'this belonged to Papa Boahene'. I was really excited, that I'd got a piece of history. I had it made into 2 outfits. (Arashia's got the identical outfit LOL). My mum told me the name of the cloth(but, I forgot it). Every African print in Ghana means something as do many colours. It's from waaay back in the day and they dont make them like this anymore. Suprisingly, it in pristine condition.

The parents of the child wore white kente. I'll post pics of them as soon as I get it. What I loved about this naming ceremony was that it was christian through and through. Instead of calling on ancestors, and pouring libation to dead spirits,we called on God. The name of a person is very important and this baby's name was prayerfully recieved from God. We pronounced blessing on him that he may be brought up in nuture and admonishing of the Lord, that his name would be written in the lambs book of life, that he would be the source of great joy to his parents and a blessing to all around him and a credit to God our father.

Ruben, the Miracle boy

The world's been rivetted by the Libyan plane crash horror and the little boy who was the sole survivor. I've prayed for the little fella every day since that day. I could barely comprehend how an adult can survive something as terrifying as a plane crash,let alone a kid. The overwhelming joy I felt that he was alive was tempered by the sad fact that he was now alone in this world. I followed the story moment by moment, wondering how God managed to save him and what it is he is meant to do in this life. His survival is nothing short of a miracle, and I pray that God places him in the right hands to nuture and bring him up to his full potential. No one except the hardest of hearts can fail to be moved by this story. Each day I rushed to the internet to find out how little Ruben was doing, my tears mixed with laughter cos 'he's out of danger'. I don't know this boy, yet I feel as if he's mine.
Ruben I thank God for your survival, even though it must be bewildering to be without your parents and brother. God will keep you. The whole world knows you now. You have (unknown to you) become part of our lives. And we, who had never heard of you before this, now pray for you and wish you a speedy recovery.

Twist-Locs at 3yr+/splitting still in progress

You can see how far Ara's locs have come. she has a dozen or so short baby locs (the result of loc splitting)hidden in that bush. One day in the distant future, she might want to wear a huge afro, but for now, it's locs all the way!!!

FOOD COLOUR rinse and CONDITIONING with herbs

My friend who has long traditional locs, colours with food colour. I wanted to try it, with a slight twist, whilst conditioning my locs at the same time.
I assembled the ingredients.......

I decided to dye or rather, do a colour RINSE with coffee and food colour. I wanted to condition my hair too, and thought why not do it all-in-one? So, Put a large scoop of dried Nettles, and dried chamomile flowers and let it simmer in some boiling water. I added several large tbs of powdered coffee(the instant type). I let it cool down and strained it. I added the food colour at this stage. Red, green, yellow - about 5:2:1.

Method:

I washed my hair with my herby black soap and rinsed well,ie dunked my head in a bucket of water several times. (This is what I do instead of a strong shower cos I haven't got one.) I rinsed with diluted ACV. Then I dunked my head in my coffee/food colour solution. I poured it through my locs with a scoop repeatedly. Finally I rinsed it with some water and wrapped it in a towel.

I got a nice tint to my locs even though my greys are still grinning at me. Next time, I'll make a stronger solution with the coffee, (maybe use ground coffee in a filter), add dried SAGE, green tea and food colour, put it in those colouring applicator bottles and apply it that way. The addition of green tea will further moisturise and Sage will darken the greys better.

Conditioning!

Although I put the nettles and chamomile in with the other ingredients, I think it would be better to condition first, let it semi-dry and then colour. That way I'll get more vibrant colour. But my locs have never felt more conditioned than they do now. I can hardly believe the way they feel. Soft and pliable.

Note the reddish/brown tint in my hair. For those looking for a natural way to colour, this could be an option. And coffee moisturises as well,so it's all good stuff. It can be repeated weekly to maintain colour.