it was a blast!

Let de photos do de talking LOL

The wedding blessing

A few photos from the wedding yesterday 14th january 2011. It turned out well despite a few glitches in the morning. We were 30 min late but once the bridal party arrived things moved on.
Being a winter wedding, all the photos were taken inside. We milled around chatting and taking photos iside the church whilst the Hall (attached to church ) was being decorated. After about 45min-1hr they called the guests in and then the bridal party.

Knowledge is power! Learn to DIY!

With the resources now available on the internet, no one need be in the dark about retightening their locs. I felt compelled to write this bc I heard the distress in the post of a lady, feeling trapped cos she may be running short of cash and doesn't know how to do her hair. I've run across this situation many many times before. It's a common scenario. You start your SLS journey. You've got it well thought out and you can manage X amount of $$ to maintain them. Then the unexpected happens. Consultant moves, stops providing the service, urgent matters swallow the $$/££. This is one of the major reasons I encourage DIY, or at least know HOW-TO. Some people have cut their locs cos they got short of money and could no longer go to a trained person. It's a crying shame for anyone to have to do that after making such an investment in your hair. Retightening locs with a tool is neither rocket science nor is it brain surgery. (I'm not knocking anyone who makes their living this way, I myself earn some occasional side money reTing other peoples locs) but.... There is no mystery surrounding it. To be honest, there are only so many types of rotations you can do, and any one of them will eventually aid your hair in locking. The main thing is, be prepared to do your research and spend some time practicing. And, don't be afraid. Most mistakes can be rectified. Even far gone locs can often be salvaged. If you aren't a perfectionist, if you don't have to have every strand of hair in place, then DIY is a cheap and reasonable option. The reason my blog is called DIY sisterlocks is, I took over retightening after 1 yr when my consultant became unavailable for months(she was travelling). She actually encouraged me to do it! I didn't take a class. I went online and searched for blogs and tutorials. I got my tools and practiced. I did and still do a few at a time. I use the nappylocs tool, yarn needle and flatloc tool. They all come in handy for different parts of my head. Back when I was looking for help to reTI, different blogs offered different bits of advice. Now I believe the best place to look is Kalia Dewdrop's blog. She has excellent vid and tutorials and/or links to good visuals and step-by-step instructions using different tools, all of which are easily available. She has instructions on how to repair locs, how to sew in stray hairs, how to groom, how to combine etc all in one place. If you learn how, you will never be held hostage by your hair. It's about freedom. Even if you don't intend to DIY, it's worth knowing what's going on in your hair and if push comes to shove, you can jolly well have a go!
I made mistakes in the beginning. Joining locs, leaving holes and such-like, but I learned to undo or repair and now mistakes are rare. All this isn't to say I'll never treat myself and have someone else do my hair, bc like I say ...never say never...

THIS HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2011, and we have a lot to be thankful for. Some people didn't make it. Some have endured unimaginable hardship and terror. Some have lost entire families, like little boy Ruben who survived the plane crash. We have put our hand to the plough and we will not look back. This year will be one of growth, prosperity, breakthroughs and vibrant health. A year when walking with our Creator is the norm. When we have become accustomed to hearing the voice of the holy spirit. When we do the works that Jesus did, healing,soothing, bringing hope and love, giving people breaks and being kind and gentle to one another. Jesus gave us a mandate. He said go into all the world and preach the gospel...and these signs shall follow those who believe....in my name they will cast out devils and cure diseases....are we ready for the ride?
I for one have determined to walk with my saviour, to fulfill the call on my life, to walk in ever increasing amounts of the annointing that comes from the Holy Spirit. One day, when I cross over, I want to know that I did what I was meant to do. Friends, if you aren't doing what you're called to do, you're wasting time. Every moment is precious. Find out who you are, why you're here and where you're going because trust me, everyone is headed somewhere. This earth is where you get to choose where you'll spend eternity. God begs us to choose life. Choose Jesus, who gave himself for our sins. It's that easy. Just say YES to Jesus. No one has to pay for their sin, it's been PAID FOR!! Recieve LIFE. It's FREE. Why wait? Forget religion. I'm talking about a relationship with the one who made you. Don't let deception keep you from the truth any longer. I truly pray that if you don't know him yet, you will call on him. He will answer you. Jesus is just waiting for your call.

Shea cocoa-nutty butter!

I'm mixing away again, now that I have a moment. I have some very patient people waiting for me to make this body butter. Well, at long last I've made it. It was great fun too. It's got shea butter,cocoa butter,coconut oil almond oil amongst other good stuff.

And you can see the finished product at the top, smooth silky and moisturising.

Tomorrow I will be having a go decorating part of my daughter's wedding cake.

On a hairy note...

This is what I'm calling a loc hair-filler or add-on. In other words it will fill in a thin area or add fullness to your locs. You may remember I blogged some time ago about getting a loc piece from endless creations. I used it just a handful of times, but stopped using it b'cos I felt it was waaay too big. The piece Gerry made was generic, seeing I wasn't there in person to have it more accurately fitted for me. I found it too big too bulky and it had 3 to 4 x more locs than I needed or wanted. (She did warn that I would have to remove some locs.) So I chopped it in half then halved it again like you slit a hotdog in half. I just about destroyed the piece after I had done this. So I've gradually rebuilt it to the actual size I want. I can tell you right now, that even a loc piece this small is a lot of work to make. I have still got some finishing touches to make on it before I attempt to wear it. The whole point of it is to seamlessly intergrate it with your own locs(by passing your existing locs through the holes in the net to secure it) so that no one is any the wiser. I also have another idea for making small loc braids/links that can cover bald temples. I don't need that myself, but hey it might help someone! Anyway, I'm working on it.

SNOW - and our road disappeared!

It snowed all night and all day. For those who live in parts of the world where snow is simply a fact of life, I guess it's no biggie, but for those of us in the south east(England) it's quite an event. There were vague mentions of snow in the news, but by the time we got ready to go shopping it was pouring down. We decided to brave it. We hadn't gone far when we realised we were in a blizzard and had to turn back. We then thought... why don't we just walk to the local shop to get a few essentials? Again, we donned coats,hats,gloves and wellies and stepped out. This time we reached the end of our road shin deep in soft velvety snow, then turned back to get the car. Once more, we cleared the fresh snow off the windscreen and windows and set off sliping and sliding to the corner shop. We managed to get a few bits, so we won't starve. Mary's in London working. She'll stay the night with a friend. Joseph and Joshua are away at a crown Jewels weekend - to be picked up tomorrow at 1. The worlds all still, silent and white. People have become more considerate of each other .....er....well, except the neighbour with issues down the road who was engaged in a shouting match with her daughter as we clumped (is that a word??)past their house.

Crisis over!

Folks, the last few days have been a bit of a blur. Last Thursday I was out shopping with my daughter (Mary). I had a friend coming to collect a parcel and called Paul to make sure he'd be home. He was driving and I just heard him groaning and saying 'Help me help.!' I started to say 'where are you...I'm not home,' when the phone cut. A short while later Joseph(son ) called to say could I come back home as Christian (other son) had called for an ambulance. I rushed home to find him writhing in pain in the back of the ambulance. I followed them to Watford General. After hours of tests and examinations, one surgeon decided to operate. It turns out he had a perforated appendix. Thank God for that surgeon who came at the end. They were going to do a scan, but the dept was closed so they suggested waiting till the next day and schedule him for a scan to check for gall stones. Precious time would have been wasted but for that God -sent surgeon who made the decision based on gut instinct(forgive the pun). So he's had the Op and was sent home after 3 days on his insistence!
Now he's recovering. He can't eat anything except 1 tsp yoghurt at a time, and sips of water and feeling quite weak. He's done a deep appraisal of his life and re-arranged ALL his priorities. For that I praise God. Seeing the suffering masses in the A&E is a real eye-opener. We have a lot to be thankful for. I'm looking forward to Christmas more than ever before, because I'll be celebrating my Saviour JESUS to whom belongs escapes from death. A big Thank you to all my friends who prayed and supported me. You are wonderful. Please continue to pray with Thanksgiving that God will speed recovery and also provide for us. Paul is self-employed and when he's down no income comes in. But God is our provider and he has never let us down and never will.
My hair has been totally neglected as a result of this crisis. I haven't even washed it for 2 weeks and it's in dire need of a wash.
Till next time..Merry Christmas y'all. God is GOOD!!!

Look what I found!

I was looking in bondlink when I saw the Africa's best herbal oil. I scanned the ingredients and decided to buy it as it wasn't expensive. Upon closer srutiny, the oil contains VERY good stuff. Look at the ingredients list: soybean oil,walnut seed oil,kiwi fruit extract,olive oil castor oil,sweet almond oil, vit e,safflower oil,calendula extract,yarrow extract,cucumber extract,carageen extract,ginseng extract,sage extract, comfrey extract,aloe extract and fragrance.
It says a blend of penetrating oils for bath body hair and scalp. I'm not a fan of SOY, but I'm making an exeption bc it's the carrier oil in this blend. My husband uses this on his skin, but I just rub it in my hair after washing it. I'm sure it'll make a good hot oil treatment.

And I went to the Ghanaian shop in Hatfield. I found this WEST INDIAN CASTOR oil. You know how I feel about castor oil. It's good for every occasion. Plus there are raves about Jamaican castor oil so it wasn't too expensive.... I bought it. It's going in my spritzes. Folks, I've been getting more and more requests for my home-made coconut spritz. People swear it's making their locs not only soft, supple and moisturised but getting super growth too. My daughter and I use it everyday and I can honestly say it accounts for me avoiding loc breakage and has helped dem locs grow like weeds. I will do a post on the product, prior to it going on sale to the natural hair community. Actually, anyone can use it...but more on that later.

My new son-in-law & boys

My new son-in-law

More hair pics

Photos above are 2 days after the wedding. Crinkles are a lot looser. Below, wedding photos.

Arashia's locs.

Civil Ceremony 12th Nov 2010

I just had to show de back of de dress lol !!! But Ara's dress was a DREAM.

Paul and I

The boys

The happy couple

Let the photos do the speaking. Today was the day my daughter got married in a simple civil ceremony. It was decided that they should have a civil ceremony followed by a church wedding in Jan. It went well and we had a lovely meal at the K2 in Hemel with it's tropical garden. God's sorted out the venue (for the wedding) and given us access to a picturesque church and Hall. We discovered it costs half as much if you have a church renewal/confirmation of vows as opposed to having the official bit in the church. It also solves the problem of having to live in the parish or attend the particular church for at least 6 months. You don't need to live in the parish or even belong to the church to do it! So Ara and Suru made the right choice in going with a civil first. It saved them a whopping £300 or more. I doubt people are aware of this. Folks jump through hoops trying to get married in a particular church. Well if they just did a civil, they can pretty much have their blessing in any church. They just change the wording of the vows slightly to reflect the fact that you're already married, and you are reaffirming your vows to each other. Everything else remains the same and it's a great deal cheaper.

Arashia's 1st marriage ceremony

...is looming and I had to do the decent thing and retighten my hair. Well thank God I was forced to do it. The back is in a right state! I've had to do so many repairs. It really isn't a good idea for me to go too long between reTis. (if you have SLs/microlocs, it's asking for trouble to leave reti for long periods). I thought about doing the front and getting a consultant to do the back. But the guy's travelled and won't be back till tues, and Ara is booked in to have hers done. Judging from the amount of growth she's got, it'll be several hours. I won't get a look-in. Her civil ceremony is on Friday. She gotta look good more than me, so I'll just do mine the best I can.
So guys, my baby girl is getting married y'all!!! She and fiancee are having a small civil ceremony at the registry on friday morning followed by a meal at the Posh K2 indian restaurant in Hemel (courtesy of Grandpa-Just family). The wedding is planned for January. I'm busy sorting out venues, bridesmaids dresses, food etc etc. A lady wedding planner has offered her services free of charge, but I haven't used her yet. I wanted to at least get the venues booked first. If anyone has ever planned a wedding, do give me tips. I'm negotiating this purely by His grace. All my wonderful friends have offered their help and I'm truly grateful. I feel really blessed, the way they ALL willingly, without ANY hesitation offered to help. I pray that God will bless them - Anne, Seiwa, Eni, Helen, Ayeley, Mama Alice, Brenda, Denisia...(too many to mention) and that I too will be able help them when they need it. I'll try and put a pic up of the locs at the back. And of course pics of the ceremony, which is just phase 1. I remember laughing bcos my niece got married 4x. She had the 'knocking' ceremony, civil ceremony, 'engagement' ceremony(which is actually traditional Ghanaian marriage) and a white wedding...phew! So Arashia is getting married 2x. Till then....hugs to all friends and well wishers. xxx

T444Z (all natural hair growth product)

w T444Z is the hair product I was referring to, in an earlier post. This is an ALL natural growth aid. It contains: aloe, herbal extract,rose oil, chamomile, menthol, rosemary leaf extract, castor oil, peppermint, papaya extracts, vitamin A, carrot extracts,Shea butter and essential oils.

This is what it says on the jar: for massive hair growth, volume and thickness. Repairs hair line. Stops balding,dandruff,scalp dryness,itchiness and hair loss.

Directions: apply T44Z massaging into the scalp. Apply to the whole head once a week. For damaged areas, such as bald patches and hair-line, apply daily.

Now we all know of products that claim to work miracles on restoring/repairing hair so I always take such claims with a pinch of salt. But I was sold on this b'cos my friend Eni actually knows a lady whose bald patch grew hair using this. So we went all the way to Luton to buy T44Z off someone. When I saw the ingredients, I thought this can't be bad, it's got all the stuff I would normally use to try to stimulate my scalp. As usual I haven't been consistent in using it. And quite frankly, using it everyday is out of the question. I'm going to try for 3x weekly, instead of the once in while if-I-remember-method. I wish I could tell y'all that I got some dramatic results. But I can feel tiny hairs on my scalp where there was none. Who Knows if it's T444Z? It's def God though cos I'm praying. But Maybe this stuff's helping. I know some of you readers have had, or are having a serious battle with alopecia/hairloss. This post is for you, and anyone who finds themselves in this perplexing situation. You don't know why it's happened, what you did wrong,or whether your ancestors left you this nasty calling card. Whatever it is,There's hope. Even Genetics can be changed for the better by the power of God...and I think this is a product worth trying. I'm trying to source it and sell it too, so watch this space.

A few loc shots

Liz - side view

That's Anne in her new locs, spitting image of her mum in the picture behind.

Liz. Anne's sister. She has sisterlocks

I never knew my locs were this long until I saw this photo
I thought they were looking rough, but perhaps I'm being too hard on myself. Maybe a little colour will liven things up a bit.

These were all taken at my friend Anne's 50th. She chopped off her 5 yr old locs and started a new set and the growth is amazing.

A lot has been happenin'!

I've been home-edding, following this christian curriculum for the last 9 years. When Mary was going to college they had a problem recognising the qualification(which is the christian equivalent of GCSEs) but she got in with her portfolio, interviews, and she came out tops in her English and maths test. Fast forward to the present time. We were given to understand that these qualifications were accredited by some BODY and was recognised by colleges and Unis alike. I thought Mary's college was the odd one not understanding what we had. As it turns out, it's not actually validated by anyone(inspite of ongoing talks with the Govt). They have had several students go on to higher education, many coming out with 1st class honours etc, so the academic content is not in question. It's the fact that after all your hard work, you now have to convince folks that you have a valid qualification!! This problem does not arise in the states(where the curriculum comes from) bc 1) they are fully aware of the system 2)It's been around for years in the USA 3) Some Colleges in USA actually scout homeschoolers. Many have a very open mind and so long as you can demonstrate that you are fully capable, you can get in. Many students who went through the system went to Universities in the states.

Not so in Narrow minded Britain! (Sorry people, I don't mean you lovely folk!). Everything is rigid here. You name it. From food, clothes, supplements to our tiny houses that cost an arm and a leg. I've never understood Americans who want to come and live here. I guess I'm suffering from 'the grass is always greener on the other side'...but I digress. You need a valid paper otherwise, you could have a fight on your hands. So in the light of all this, I've made the momentous decision so go over to GCSEs. We have 1 year to do everything that others have been doing in school for 3 or so yrs. I might add that all this is costing 1000s. I had no idea how I was going to come up with that amount of money. My dear friends, who I'm helping pioneer a village christian school came up with the idea of their Trust funding the cost of the GCSEs in exchange for my boys doing some work on their several acre farm. So it's been arranged and we have a challenging but exciting year ahead of us, and once more God has proved faithful!

Do you believe in arranged marriage?? I do!!!

You may wonder what manner of heading this is, but I shall explain. I started praying for my daughter's(Arashia) marriage when she was still in her teens. Somehow, God laid it on my heart and impressed upon me not to take it for granted, but soak it in prayer. Over the years, she's had her ups and downs and been embroiled in some sticky situations. But God extricated her from them all. In the last year the Holy spirit led me to keep thanking him for her husband although there was not hair or hide in sight. In may this year He gave me a word that he(husband) was on the horizon. I shared this with Ara and she was really encouraged considering all the non husband material that had crossed her path - we kept thanking God. Then 6 weeks ago, I got another word...that something would happen THIS year. I was kinda startled to hear it. But I knew God was speaking. 3weeks later Ara met someone. And this is how it all happened..........................
We went to deliver a garment Ara had made for a lady I shall call L, and met another young woman (a friend of the 1st lady) I shall call J. L and J both have babies. We got on really well and were having some laughs when she(J) started talking about her 'brother', looking for a wife to settle with. (Talks like that don't normally go down too well with Ara as it's usally some over- the- hill sod looking to start over with some fresh blood) So, We didn't really take much notice but promised to call her later as she had expressed interest in the bodymagic which I sell. A few days went by, we never called and L invited us to her baby dedication. We found ourselves sitting with J and her baby. She eventually raised the topic again about her'brother' saying she was having no rest over the matter. She phoned me the next day to invite Ara round her house cos 'brother' was there and since we were shopping in the area, I agreed to take her there to say a quick hello. That was it! Far from being over- the -hill, 'brother' is a young, tall, handsome Nigerian man with jet black sheeny coily hair and a gentle spirit. He's very well read too, having completed his masters here in the UK. The pair of them got on so well. Next thing I knew he has popped the question, and came round to ask hubby for her hand in marriage in good old fashioned style. He came carrying some Port(drink) which in my tradition is the proper way to approach potential in-laws.
So that's it in a nutshell. I will post some more later with pictures so stay tuned.

A whole day at the Sanctuary Spa.

My daughter Mary treated me to a day at the Sanctuary Spa in covent garden. She's a beauty Therapist there and she got free entry and half price treatments for herself and guest . We got there at about 11.30 a.m to be greeted with drinks and smiling faces, and taken to change into swim suits and soft white towelling robes. I was determined to make the most of it so I insisted on having a go at everything, so basically we headed down to the exercise pool. After forcing ourselves to swim for 20 mins, we jumped into this round jacuzzi. After being suitably pummeled and massaged, we 'leapt' into the steam room. I endured this torture for a while and then made a beeline for the cold shower. Mary forced me back in the steam room(apparently it's good for you). Then we went into the sauna which was really lovely. We headed up to the koi carp lounge to have lunch, but not before immersing ourselves in the gardenpool/jacuzzi halfway up the stairs. Lunch was a vegetarian platter followed by water and orange juice, whilst we lounged in large cushioned seats over looking a pool while women in white robes floated by. After having a little rest, we gathered at the central point of the koi carp lounge to be taken to have the sleep'retreat'. You lie on this couch with a handset that you put on which gently vibrates whilst a voice leads you through paradise, encouraging you to leave all your cares behind. I then went on to have my 'dry float'- you are lowered on a watery bed and snugly wrapped up in a darkened room with soothing music in the background(heavenly). I went into the 2nd pool cos I had to have a go at that swing. In full view of all these other white -robed women(cos the lounge overlooks this pool) I struggled up that great big swing. Nobody was laughing cos I'm sure all the brave ones have tried it too. What's the point of that swing when folks (especially short ones like me) can barely reach it??? I then dashed back..erm- ok,ok...floated back to the small jacuzi which was bubbling like mad.....(hahaha what's she like eh?)I met up with Mary at the retail lounge(another beautiful lounge) to have scones and drinks. We both had a body skin consultation and were given free body creams. I headed off to have a facial while Mary went for her dry float. Every woman needs a facial. The girl massaged my arms too and gave me a mask that drew all toxins out. It was soooo good. I literally shimmered out with a huge smile on my face, to lounge and read at the koi carp again. Then, another skin analysis, this time facial. Ladies, I have less wrinkles than my age. She recommended some basic products which I bought and got another freebie thrown in. Everywhere you went there were jugs of water with freshly cut orange/lemon floating in it.(they're big on drinking loads!)We were given another cooling drink after this in the retail lounge. It was a lovely day. 9 hrs well spent. Things got slightly hairy at the end when Mary's phone went missing. But we asked God to find it for us and he did! Just as we were leaving, a girl came holding the phone which fell out of a bundle of dirty robes!!!