Hey Blog Fam!
I am just now getting over a nasty cold that I got courtesy of our visit to our hometown. I have been so busy posting pics of new clients that I haven't really posted new pics of my hair growth. You can imagine how it is coming along with the prenatals that I have been taking. Well here are a couple of pics to show you have 3.5 years has treated me. By the way nevermind my huge red nose in the pics. I was still dealing with t
hat cold.
Hey Blog Fam!
So I was just browsing the Sisterlocks website today and guess what I found on the Certified Consultant List. MY NAME!! Whoo Hooo! It has been a long road to this point and I am excited. Headquarters can be oh so slow at times but this certainly made my day today. I was feeling a little down about losing my granny last week but this has picked me up a little. Check me out http://www.sisterlocks.com/Web_Registries/CertConsult_AtoL.html under Georgia.
With the baby coming in April I had to make some decisions concerning business. Well first off I won't be taking any new Sisterlock Installations from January through May. I know that is peak season but with me going into my 3rd trimester and my poor little feet and ankles swelling I figured I better take it easy. My hubby will be all too happy. He worries so much over me when I am doing hair, which is understandable. Also after the baby is born I will be taking 6 weeks of leave from both corporate and the hair business. I need to get acclimated to the new baby. All of my clients are prepared for that time and all are willing to wait until I am up to it. It may be sooner than 6 weeks but for right now I feel comfortable saying 6 weeks.
I found out the sex of the baby. I am excited to say that it is a boy that will be nicknamed CJ. He is already 14 ounces and is long. He wouldn't stay still long enough to get a total measurement for him but from the ultrasounds the doc and ultrasound tech say he will be long. My hubby is so proud. I am just excited to be at this point.
Hey Blog Fam!
Please forgive me as I have been hella busy over the past month. Not to mention I am trying my best to get accustomed to my ever changing hormones. Good thing is momma's baby is growing strong and is very demanding already. Little thang (10 weeks) is so consistent that I don't get over 6 hours of sleep a night due to 2:30 AM and 5:30 AM feedings. As well as my hour interval potty needs. My meals are small meals so I am not too off my 6 mini meal schedule.
I completed a record breaking (for me anyway) install this past weekend. We started a little late at 7:30 AM and finished at 5:45 PM with a lunch break and mini breaks in between. I will post pics as soon as I finish with my client today.
Hey Blog Fam!
As I continue my spiritual walk I have eliminated a lot of unnecessary drama and limited hurtful conversations or what they call No Purpose Convos. You know those convos where you gossip freely just say what you want without considering how that person would feel if they had heard your convo. I am finding that I am losing friends because of my lack of participation. It is really true that God will bring people into your life for a reason, a season, and a lifetime. God will allow certain people to walk out of your life that do not agree with your new way of thinking. He will also aggravate the naysayers who say they believe in what you are doing but when you reject their advances they get irrate. Man, it is a mess! Even family members are falling by the wayside, but you know you can't just totally rid yourself of family all.
I just had a very hurtful situation happen that just blew my mind because I didn't participate but I got the ex-communication (the deleting of your friendship status, email addresseses, etc). So here is the jist...I am with a client on Saturday and I hear the house phone ring and of course I don't answer. Then my cell phone rings, and I picked up because I thought it was my sister or my mom and it must be important for them to dial all of my numbers. Nope it is my soror and she asks if I am busy and I state yes I am with a client. But it sounded like something was wrong so I asked what's up...to get the quick jist of the issues. Oh man why did I do that??? It wasn't even anything wrong with the soror on the phone she goes into something concerning another soror who she had a convo with that previous evening and she just felt like something was wrong because she was being secretive with some info. Now yall remember I said I wasn't participating in this type of convo anymore right. So as soror was chatting and asking me if I talked to her I said no and maybe this woman was being secretive because of another reason. Nope that wouldn't do for her and she kept saying it is something wrong. I ended that call because one I spent too much time on the phone anyway over my client's head and secondly I am not going to sit and participate in this conversation. I kindly called the soror in question and asked her to call the questioning soror to answer her questions that I had no answers to. End of conversation. So how in the hell did I get punished because I wouldn't participate or tell her the surprise? I don't know but obviously if this person could walk away from me then that means that she was never for me in the first place. Secondly if she could walk away that shows me that she has no respect for my position on eliminating drama and no purpose convos. Thirdly this person is not willing to accept responsibility for her own actions. I believe if you have concerns you can pick up the phone and call your friend no matter what. I am not going to call another friend and put that person in the middle because I can't communicate. That is unfairly putting a third party in the middle and how uncomfortable is that. I am standing my ground on eliminating drama and no purpose convos and if anymore friends, sorors, family members etc want to fall off....then se la vie, adios, and God Bless!
Hey Blog Fam!
The new site is now up and running.. Please take a look and let me know what you think.
http://www.locks4lifeatlanta.com/index.html
Hey Blog Fam!
What a busy week this is shaping up to be. WHEW! I was off last week from doing hair because my mom was visiting. I actually had a client on Saturday but we had to reschedule. God is so good! He has blessed Locks 4 Life Atlanta abundantly and I am so thankful. Where do I start? Okay I will start with my retightening that I have scheduled. I have one on Thursday and two on Fridays (Thank God I can work from home on Fridays). I have one install on Saturday that just confirmed. Just a few days ago I was called from a young lady calling internationally. WOW! She will be transitioning to GA in a few months but she definitely wants her hair done by none other. I was so humbled and grateful that she appreciates my work enough to want to entrust her installation to me. She will be in the ATL on Thursday for 5 days total. So guess where that put her installation. You guessed it on Sunday. I am looking at my schedule like GEEZ Oh Petes! God is good so I am going to run with this.
Thursday – 1 Retightening
Friday – 2 Retightening
Saturday – Full Install
Sunday – Full Install
With the business growing I need to step up my marketing and advertising efforts. Did I tell you guys that I have a B.S. in Marketing, so this is so right up my alley. I love Marketing! First thing I wanted to do is find a vendor that could not only revamp my website but provide a total solution for my small business needs such as a logo, website creation and hosting, as well as web marketing (Driving business to your site). I found that in Leaders in eDesign http://leadersinedesign.com/index.html The wife of this husband and wife team is actually my Soror. I figured why not keep it in the family when I decided to reach out. That was a week ago and they already sent me two different approaches for the website and the logo. I loved the first and now they are moving on to writing the code. What was so funny is that when I chatted with my Soror she knew exactly what I wanted just based off of my personality. She was like you want something artistically captivating, natural, professional, etc. I was like you sure do know my personality. When I received the mock up it was perfect with my favorite color combinations. So be on the look out for a new website and logo coming soon. Be sure to check out Leaders in eDesign if you are looking for affordable small business web solutions.
Hey Blog Fam!
Ya know what!? Sometimes I really amaze myself with the amount of knowledge I know about natural hair. I am talking about how my experience over the years has grown and has helped so many women gain freedom from relaxers or damaging hair styling techniques. For example I had a young lady call me and she really needed to have her hair retightened. However she told me she had a hard time finding someone who did interlocking. She said she called countless salons and everyone told her they did only palm rolling. Sorry ahead of time, I didn’t take pictures. I went into doctor mode and forgot all about yall, but I will get some next time to show the progression over time. Well when she arrived I took a look and I noticed excessive palm rolling had created thinning locks and locks that had totally broken off. I also noticed several locks that had accidentally been combined at the base. Her hair was also VERY dry but had excessive product buildup (specifically coconut oil). She really did give it the old college try but it didn’t work for her because she had limited knowledge and plus her time was consumed with family life like so many of us. What was my prescription? I promptly took her to the shampoo bowl. Yes I do have a portable shampoo bowl now and it’s so wonderful. I did a clarifying shampoo with extra hot water as close to the scalp as possible without burning her. I did an apple cider vinegar rinse to follow that up. I also washed her with a conditioning shampoo. I used some good old Cream of Nature (I only recommend this shampoo to mature lock wearers. Teenagers and babies beware of the unraveling). It works great on my hair. That is something that you will learn with me many of the products that I used I have used and rated them myself on either myself or my clients. Immediately after the conditioning shampoo I noticed her locks came to life. I followed that up with some conditioner and we proceeded to my chair. I lightly oiled her scalp along with some moisture spray. After I massaged that in I begin to go through and interlocking her locks. I kept with a simple 2 pattern on the mature locks but the brand new locks that I needed to start due to breakage I did a four. Her hair just spiraled and coiled all up and the mature locks just gracefully bowed down to my hands. It took me 2 hours from start to finish and when she was done her hair shined and glowed just like her pregnant glowing skin. I gave her some a take home prescription which should cost her about $16 which included a bottle of Cream of Nature shampoo and a bottle of Carol’s Daughter Tui Hair Oil (She loves fruity scents). We scheduled her next appointment 5 weeks out and thus the blossom of a beautiful client relationship.
I really have a hard time with people calling themselves Locticians when they really only know one form of locking hair and they wouldn’t know the best for what hair textures. That’s not a Loctician. That’s someone who simply knows palm rolling. Or like Sisterlock Consultants and Trainers they are trained in the technique of Sisterlocks. They took a class and they do hair according to what they were taught. Yes I have taken the Sisterlock training class. Yes I know how to do palm rolling, interlocking, comb coils, and backcombing. So what do I call myself? I really like the term my friend gave me when I was at Alumni Weekend. It was funny! They were asking hair questions and I was just a spitting that knowledge and my old roomie was like Trina the Locologist. I was like you know what I like that. That is what I call myself The Locologist. I will give you the right prescription for your hair. If you want healthy flowing locks while visiting with a great spirit then come on and sit in my chair. If you want highly manicured locks that look really synthetically shiny and styled in elaborate hair styles that my be harmful and detrimental for hair in the long run, then go and visit any neighborhood Loctician.
The Locologist is in and she will see you now.
Hey Blog Fam!
w my hubby not only has clothing in our master closet but he has two bedroom closets as well. I just have my clothes in the master closet. Do you know he went through those closets today and he unloaded two trash bags full of 90s gear. I couldn't believe it. Just to prove my point I took a picture of one of his treasured shirts. Notice the Red, the Black, and The green with the Key Sissies. Yall remember that from the X Clan days. Well this bad boy was hanging in the closet just a chilling. He did admit that he needs to do a better job of eliminating clutter. That's all I wanted to hear. Now if we can get him on a quarterly schedule like myself we will realize more space. 
Here is the video of my lil sorors who busted their butts to put on this wonderful show. Check it out and let me know what you think.
We received a couple of letters in the mail from Bank of America a couple of days ago and it looked like on of those privacy disclosure notices that you sometimes get from your credit card company or bank. Well I let it sit there for a day before I decided to open it yesterday and I am so happy I did. It was a BOA way of notifying us of some HUGE changes. Major change was a change in interest rate that could equal a 5% increase. We only have one card with them but we are trying to pay it off this year with that 5% increase we could pay more interest than what we wanted to pay. It gave the option of rejecting the increase but you must agree to not use the card again. DAMN! So you are saying if we don't accept your crappy increase we can't use our card? Just to think we were going to use BOA for all of our financial needs, mortgage, business accounts, checking, savings, and credit cards. WOW, talk about holding someone by the balls. That is okay though. I had my hubby quickly call BOA and cancel the card and we will pay it off promptly and go right back to Chase. BOA better hope Chase doesn't enter the ATL area because we will be changing banks. I am really happy I opened that letter because I could have shredded the mail and that 5% increase would have been effective May 1st. Just goes to show you that you must read the mail that you think is junk. That is how these banks are getting over on us. We don't read our mail and they increase your interest rate on your card, increase your late fees, minimum payments, and credit limits. Then who is left with the Boo Boo face? *fingers pointing at you* :(
Today I steps on the scale a little terrified of what this mofo may say after 6 weeks of travel to and from LA and a blockbuster weekend at the WU and to my pleasant surprise I am not that far off. I weighed in at 188 a while ago and today the scale read 191. Not that bad a 3 pound gain after all the brutality I have put my body through traveling coast to coast and the Zeta Punch. Oh the Zeta Punch....sweet nectar. Not to mention I haven't stepped in the gym in two weeks which shall end today after I hit the gym with hubster for a two hour kick ass blast. I will say that my eating has been EXCELLENTE. I have tried a great recipe this weekend and I have been eating plenty veggies and fruit. My timing of the food has been great too at every 2 to 3 hours and if I miss a meal I will follow up with a piece of fruit to knock the edge off. The funny thing about this is that when I settled myself down in ATL my appetite went right back to what it was pre LA. You have to love it. I plan to try another recipe for this Easter weekend. Not that old traditional ham or turkey meal. I want to try another great vegetable based meal. I will add some meat to it for the protein part. I am really in the mood for black eyed peas but knowing my hubby he will want that sweet Jiffy Mix cornbread. He loves that sweet mess.
My plans for next week in St. Louis
I plan to take my workout clothes with me as I usually do so I can workout Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I will travel back home on Thursday afternoon so I will have to skip that workout and make up for it on Friday morning. In St. Louis near our hotel there is a great little place called Provisions that serve great soup, salads, and sandwiches that I could eat all day long. To add the salads are so large you can eat half for lunch and half for dinner. The killer part is their soups are mostly cream based and I love their cream of chicken which can add up quickly. So my plan is to stick to the greek salad during the day and if we go to the restaurant for dinner as my team always does I will eat the fish and veggies. You must have a plan working with all men.
Sparkpeople
I plan to get back on Sparkpeople and document my food and water intake and my workout routines. This free online tool has been great for me tracking everything that I put into my body. The one thing that I wish it had was mobile capability where I could just scroll through my Q9 and update what I have been eating versus logging onto my computer and doing it the long way.
With the return to my Alma mater comes reverence of old loves, old flames, old crushes, people who had crushes on you who never said anything, etc. So while I was at the the WU it was a pleasure to see the men gawk and say Damn Trina you doing the thing or the occasional damn I used to have a crush on you. But with all of those good moments comes some not so good moments. I titled this I used to love him for a reason. Prior to marrying my husband we dated on and off since I was 16. Even when we were off we were still together. I had the opportunity to meet, love, and learn from the men who were lucky to have my love. This goes out to that one who came to DD and profess his love a day late and a dollar short. I have to get this off my chest and out in the atmosphere so I can stop thinking about it and getting aggravated..
Closed mouths don't get fed! You had the nerve to get mad at me when I asked you over 10 years ago what the hell were we doing. Either shit or get off of the pot dude. No man is about to be laying in my bed and acting like we are together but you don't want to put a ring on let a lone a title on it. Nope! Not the kid! You had the nerve to get mad at me! Shit I had every right to get mad with you because you couldn't make up your mind if you loved me or not. You refused to talk to me for some months after that encounter so I bounced and moved on. Yes I went right back to that familiar as you called him, but he was open enough to profess his feelings right then and there. It might have been fear that he would lose me but all in all he did what he had to do and put up. I didn't have to force him to put a ring on it. He brought it!
I wasn't married until 21 months after his proposal so you had your time. We communicated during my engagement but nothing big, just the friendship thing. You always joking (a little too much if you ask me). You still made me laugh so I will give you that. You called him the lumpy spare tire and the familiar. You even called me scary and afraid to take a step out and experience new things. One thing you never said was WHY? Why should I step out there and experience new things. Who were you speaking of. You never could tell me. You never could say what was on your mind, so to me you were the one who was scared. I kept my distance and continued on with life, school, and work while planning my wedding ceremony. Then on the day of my wedding, you called my cell phone and you yell...Don't do it! WTF!?!? I couldn't contain my emotions. You waited until the day of my damn wedding to tell me to not marry him but you couldn't tell me why I shouldn't marry him just not to do it. Are you serious!?!? I was so livid my maid of honor and bridesmaids had to calm me down. Just to think this was supposed to be my special day that you tried to destroy but you still couldn't tell me WHY?!?!?
So after you have two beautiful daughters that have humbled you and helped you grow you want to tell me all those things that should have been said 10 plus years ago. Thank you! You are right it is never too late to express your true feelings, but what were you hoping would happen after you expressed those feelings? I'm not sure. All I can say is I used to love you but now all I have is love for you. I am happy that God has blessed you with two beautiful daughters. I am happy that you have grown and matured into a great father. I wish you nothing but success in your career whether it be rapping or blue collar work. I pray that you share with your daughters this story of a love lost and you tell them to never wait to do something that they can do that day. Tell them that tomorrow is never promised. I pray that you find the right woman, even if in your heart you believe that you did once upon a time and she has moved on (Me). I am happy!! My life is much different than what it was in college and grad school. I am so happy! Did I say I am happy already. Yes very happy! Let me be happy. Let me go so that you can move on. When you let me go only then will you be able to find that right woman and that is what I want for you. I used to love him....now all I have is love him that will never fade. Once I love you I will always care for you. Be blessed my friend.
I put this out there for anyone who can use this to grow. People come from your past and sometimes it is good and other times it is bad. Just remember the reason they were a part of your past. My mother always told me that. She would say they are in your past for a reason. I never knew what she was saying until recently. Old sparks come out in hopes to rekindle that flame but I realize why they were a part of my past. Either there were incapable of expressing their feelings, they were jerks, they were lacking motivation, lacking goals, lacking desire, etc. Sometimes we as women are hoping they have changed and our nurturing side comes out and we are looking to save them. Oh I can help him get to where he needs to be. We can't do that for all men ladies. We must allow these men to grow in their own time. Some men do well with a woman helping them some part of the way, but for that last green mile they need the Lord. Without a higher power it is a WRAP!! I realize that now after being married to my husband for almost 8 years. His last green mile God stepped in and he is not that same man I met 17 years ago. He is totally different. With my husband changing I needed to change and no one could do that but my God. I am not saying I am perfect. Nope! I am a work in progress.
Peace and always love.
On a good note...everyone that I reconnected with was like Trina you look great. I even had this one dude give me a sweet and sour compliment. It went a little like this....Trina I hope you don't take any offense to this but this is the best that I have ever seen you look. DAMN dude what are you trying to say I was looking busted back at school. He better be lucky I didn't take it like that. This was Friday. On Saturday with my cute jeans with my shirt and vest more compliments poured in from everywhere. Talk about motivation. It was a great weekend. 
Hey Blog Fam!
As I surf the net I am always amazed with the amount of women who want to control their locs. Oh my hair has lump, bumps, and holes my consultant must have installed them wrong. Or my hair doesn't feel right my consultant must have done something wrong. Or my hair doesn't look like her hair my consultant must have done something wrong. NEWS FLASH ladies your hair is exactly that...YOUR HAIR. It is going to do what it wants regardless. We as consultants may give you a flawless installation and your hair will still do what it wants to do because it is what....YOUR HAIR. It will not conform to what you want it to do or what I as your consultant wants it to do. I have seen women bash consultants or trainees because their hair did something unexpected. Now I am not saying there aren't any consultants or trainees that need to have their certificate ripped to shreds and their tool taken away. There are some bad people who do bad things and unfortunately that gives us good people a bad name. Ladies, we need to just be realistic...we can't control our natural hair in all of its kinks, coils, and beautiful glory. Let your mane BE FREE!! Wake up from your relaxed hair comma and let your hair be FREE.
