Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Transformation




Hey Blog Fam!




I am really excited! Locks 4 Life - Atlanta's studio is going through a transformation. My contractor came yesterday and started laying the tile and I must say I was very pleased when I arrived home from my business trip just an hour ago. He is doing the darn thang. He also told me the plans for the shampoo bowl. He even did a sketch on the floor of where it would lay. Take a look at the closet area on the floor area. He will be making the door to that closet wider so the shampoo bowl can fit right in and I can go to either side to wash the hair. He is really professional. Take a look at the what the studio looked like before compared to right now. It is not finished and of course I will share the completed pictures. The tile makes the room look much bigger and more open as opposed to the carpet, even though the carpet was very plush and my customers and I loved it. :) He is also doing the bathroom right next to the studion in the same tile. COORDINATE!! Gotta love that! Plus we have enough tile for him to come and do the other two bathrooms in our home. My hubby picked out the tile...what do you think of his selection. I think he did a wonderful job!

















So you guys know I have been chatting up my new gym and the knowledge that I have recently got my hands on concerning my metabolism and heart rate. Well to my surprise when I stepped on the scale today just to see what was going on from last week I discovered I had lost 3 pounds. That is with clothes on! I decided to leave my clothes on because that is how I weighed in. More food, cardio in my fat burning zone and strength training equals more weight lost faster. What a great surprise!! I am so sure my trainer won't let my body go into a plateau as I am training with her for 4 months.


If you guys don't have a heart rate monitor...I highly recommend one. This little sucker was on my behind this morning. As I went out of my zone that thing started beeping so loud and angrily until I submitted and slowed my heart rate down. Dang! It is worse than my trainer.



Monday, September 8, 2008

Hair in face...it can be annoying


Hey blog fam!


I started my new workout at my new gym last week and with 2 years of growth I am finding that I am now wearing two headbands just to keep my hair from slanging sweat in my eyes or on other people YUCK!! So today after a quick wash in the shower this morning I braided the hair out of my face while wet for a quick solution. Remind me never to do that again. When it drys I am looking rather slanted eyes and it gets pretty tight...even if you didn't braid too tight. So when I got home this evening I was just playing around and practicing my braiding skills on my own hair (it is a beast braiding your own hair) and I came up with a great solution. It is a braided semi pony. It keeps the hair out of my face and I can just use one band to lift the hair off of my neck. I am giggling just saying that. I have hair that touches my neck.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Locks 4 Life - Atlanta Styling and Profiling

Hey Blog Fam!


I have a new client Ms J with beautiful traditional locks. I washed, retwisted and styled her locks. Here is what I came up with. I love the curls on her hair.







Friday, September 5, 2008

So I changed up a bit

Hey Blog Fam!



During the summer months I have been a bit lazy and I free styled my hair almost the entire summer. With the ATL heat who wouldn't? So last night I decide to rod my hair with my soft spikes and just hit work like. Wrong! I took the soft spikes out and I finger combed it to ride to work. Then I got irritated by the curls in my face and I half way braided the front out of my face. Then when I got home and was preparing to go see the nutritionist I just say forget it and came up with this. Yall know I love me some flowers in my hair so don't ride my back too hard about always putting a flower in my hair trying to look like a fly Mamacita..Fuego (Like T Pain says).




Speaking of Nutritionist I must tell you guys about my transition. I just joined Lifetime Fitness (which I love) and I am doing a total make over. I have 35 pounds to lose. You may say where but please believe it is all in my hips. The nutritionist even said that she couldn't believe how much much my body fat was and that I carried it well. If that is supposed to be a compliment... no thanks I don't want it. I discovered that I wasn't eating enough calories (Thanks Weight Watches). My body at rest is burning 1,683 calories and by the WW standard I was only eating 1,200. My body was in starvation mode so no matter how much exercise or how many days in the gym I was spending I wasn't losing anything. I am now on a 1,900 calorie plan eating 7 small meals a day with 2 strength training days and the rest cardio. I invested in a heart rate monitor and a new attitude :) I have to do so something to get this extra weight off of me. We had a little too much fun in St. Kitts. I brought back a nice tan and an extra 5 to 7 pounds. Dammit!




I also purchased a new compact powder. For those who don't know I have had the hardest time finding a compact powder to compliment my complex skin tone. In the summer my red tones are more pronounce but the golds and yellows are still a factor. Any other time my red tones are a little less pronounce. I was in Toronto and went into Sears ( I know I tripped out too. Buying makeup in Sears) and the lady referred to Iman. I tried this Luminous powder number 4....Baby let me tell you, that I love it! It gave me a nice glow without that bronzer look. It is great!! I was in the salon in Lifetime fitness and the lady behind the counter was like you skin is beautiful. Thank you!! Now you know it is good when the ladies at the Spa compliment your skin. Thanks Iman. Here are some before Iman and after Iman shots.