Extending your maintenance.

Hey Blog Fam!

I thought I would share a little bit of knowledge with you concerning Sisterlocks. The reason why I want to share this information is I have a couple of clients who have been going to distance in between maintenance appointments. Let me explain why 8 weeks and beyond is harmful for your Sisterlocks and your pockets. This only pertains to those of us who have average growing hair.

1. Limited maintenance weakens your Sisterlocks
   
2. It is more expensive for maintenance
3. It can be painful
   

First let me address the issue of weakening Sisterlocks. When you continuously go 8 weeks and beyond for your re-tightening your new growth will cause problems at the base of the locks. Even the most diligent client who takes time to separate the Sisterlocks at the root will have problems with new growth over half an inch. Once your hair begins it's locking stage that is what your hair wants to do naturally so it will begin to mat at the roots. Running your fingers through that new growth will snag and pop locks and you don't know what hair belongs in what lock. Keep on snagging and popping locks and you will notice that your Sisterlocks are weaker at the base than you remember. You will also notice small fraying hairs at the base of your locks. Is that new hair growing in? Could be....but if your locks are thinning at the base you most likely snapped those hairs from the lock. How can this be fixed? Your Sisterlock Consultant can incorporate those smaller clusters of hair into the base of the Sisterlock creating a stronger base. Yes that helps the base but now you have a thin spot in your locks that will eventually pop off at that spot if you are not careful. If your Sisterlock Consultant is crafty like myself that weak spot can be helped as well.

Longer times between maintenance = more money when you finally come to see me. The reason I charge more for clients who go longer between maintenance is that I have a lot more hair to work with and it takes me longer. Period point blank. I also charge more for locks that require any fixing, weak locs, holes, etc.

Longer times between maintenance can be painful. Extra new growth will mat together and if you haven't done your work and separated your hair I will need to separate for you. It sounds a little like velcro and it feels like some one is playing tug o war with your Sisterlocks. I have even had to cut come Sisterlocks apart because they were matted together so badly.

Just thought I would share this with you as a Sisterlock Consultant. Hope if helps someone out there. Even if I help other consultants by motivating clients to schedule regular maintenance appointments every 4 to 6 weeks then I consider my work done.

Locks 4 Life Atlanta Weekday Specials

Hey Blog Fam!

Are you currently researching Sisterlock? Have you completed your research and ready to have your Sisterlocks Installed? Do you know someone who is ready for a Sisterlock Installation? Locks 4 Life Atlanta is now offering special pricing for all Sisterlock Packages installed on a Weekday. Please visit www.locks4lifeatlanta.com or call 770-845-6241.

Who Moved My Cheese??

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Well I know you guys are probably wondering what is up with her title. Well the book Who Moved My Cheese is all about change and how well people handle change. My life has been changed upside down since my son arrived and I must say I like it. Prior to my son I was so career focused upwardly moving in my positions and salary. Now I am not that interested. It is great to have income coming into your home but to what do you have to sacrifice to earn that money?

Shortly after giving birth to my son I was laid off. Thanks for all the hard work on these projects Katrina but we don't have a job for you anymore. Wow!! I am talking about I came back June and they laid me off July 2nd with a 1 week notice. I received severance pay and shortly after that lay off I received another job offer. Everything in my sub-conscience, my spirit, and better judgment told me to pass on the offer but I accepted for the benefits and the income. Everything about the interview process was unorganized and just plain ole concerning. Let me just say that my first week I was like WTF!!! My boss kept asking me to...Please come back. In my mind I was like this is not good. Not to mention how rough it was on my son. The job was 27 miles away from my house but with the traffic it would take me 1 hour to 2 hours just to make it to work. My son was in daycare from 6:30 AM to 6:15 PM and it manifested in his spirit. He didn't want me to put him down when I got home. When I went from his sight he would scream. I kept on pushing on until just last week. I put up with a job that was unorganized, no support from management, no accountability, no documentation of anything, and all kind of other drama for about a month. They did me a favor and ended it with a termination because they said the client didn't like my style or technique. WOW! Never heard that one before, but hey I was two seconds from quitting. Thanks for the favor. I won't even include that mess of a job on my resume. Get this when I did a Google search on this company I found over 7 pages of complaints. This is a private company so I couldn't do much research prior to accepting this offer. Maybe I should have taken some more time. Yes! Unfortunately the recruiter and HR Manager were really pushing me to sign and accept the offer as quickly as possible. Now I know why!!

How is my baby doing? Well, I am doing my best to break him from this spoiled state that he is now in. He doesn't want me to put him down at all. He screamed for an hour today because I nor his father would pick him up from the swing. He wasn't wet, hungry, or sleepy. He just wanted us to hold him. I do understand how this happened with him being in daycare from 6:30 AM to 6:15 PM for a month. It was way too much for him. Since birth he has never been there that long before and some may say a child that young doesn't know the difference. I beg to differ!! You can see the children faces when a parent walks in the infant room. That hope it's my mommy or daddy look. My son's face would light up when he saw me now it is get over here now and get me. I really regret taking that job and I am paying for it now.

I never thought I would be here typing this or saying the words out loud. I always thought I would never be able to stay at home with my children. Now that he is here I think differently. No one can teach him better than I can. This change has been really good for my soul. I have this glow about me now. It is about something greater than just money and job status. I thank God that he has enabled my husband to have a job where he is taking care of us well. I continue to look for the right opportunity but it won't be a decision based solely on money. It is about a company that is empathetic to growing families and mothers who are working. The company must have a defined career path for me. I need a company that will appreciate what I have to bring to the table. I need a company that I can retire from. If you know of a company in my area that fits what I am talking about hit me up and let's network.

Just because my cheese changed from Swiss to Baby Swiss it is all good because I can roll with this change. Change is good!

After baby

Hey Blog Fam!

It has been a while since I have blogged but I haven't forgotten about you. I have been busy raising a demanding 5 month old, studying for the PMP, started a new job, and still taking new clients. Well after I had CJ I noticed something different about my hairline. It was thinning heavily! BUUUTTT where did the hair go. Well I found out where the hair went. It embedded itself in the locs around my hairline. I am talking about nice size balls of hair that formed a nice little bump in my loc. Check out the pics I snapped. I had to take the locs down and get the excess hair out and start the loc again. The hair is growing back but I was disappointed to see all of that lush hair disappear like that. It was there one minute and the next it was gone.

Transformations

Hey Blog Fam!

Ever so often I complete a install that I can really really puff my chest out afterwards. I mean a install that makes my husband go WOOOOOWWWW!!! A Sisterlock install that leaves me feeling extremely satisfied. Today is one of those days. I have a client with 7 inches of natural hair. Yay! Right!? Well she has tri color hair with platinum blond, honey blond, and some brown and black roots. You guys may remember my rant about blond hair color if not cared for properly. Man let me tell you...this woman came into my business on Saturday with plaits. When I took the plaits down I was stunned to find all kinds of matted hair. To add to that the ends where the platinum blond was just crumbled in my hands. I asked here if she trusted me and she replied yes. I then went to work. I had to cut some of the mats out that I couldn't pick apart. I also had to add some leave in conditioner to get my fingers through. It took me an hour to just comb through it. Her install took 18 hours with 1.5 hour worth of breaks. I took 10 hours on Saturday and exactly 8 hours today to finish. So I will say it took me about 17 hours of work to finish. Here are some pics... I am so proud

Do you know what today is 7-15-2010

*Tony Toni Tone * Playing in the background. Do you know what today is? It's my loc-anniversary. I celebrated with a nice layered cut. I LOVE IT!!! I was going to get it colored but the cut made my hair look so great I can go without. Check out the pics

Just curious

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I was just interested to see a comparison of my 1 and 2 month progress reports. See below....

2 month progress report. 8 more to go

Hey Blog Fam!

Well, I am still on this weight loss grind. I am jogging again and loving it. I have also gotten back to my walking lunges which I couldn't do last month. I moved on to more weight training to help me sculpt and lose some serious inches. My body responds very well to weight training. I tend to build muscle which will move the scale upwards a bit but the inches will disappear rapidly. Then once the inches are lost the scale will move downwards again. So now I am back in my pre-pregnancy clothes comfortably. I also purchased summer clothes in my pre-pregnancy size 14 and I am in those clothes comfortably. The legs, thighs, and butt are slimming down. The upper body is coming down as well. The waist is also slimming down. I couldn't be more pleased with my results. To celebrate I purchased a new pair of running shoes (Brooks). I needed a new pair anyway since my feet have grown during pregnancy about a half size (boo). I also purchased some inserts as well. Since I purchased running shoes my perfomance while jogging and running has increased. I began a couple of years ago with going to Fleet Feet and getting my feet measured and analyzed. They recommended 3 pairs of shoes and I chose the best one for my feet. We added a supportive insert and it was on from there. I was jogging/running about 15 to 20 miles a week, which is good for a non runner such as myself. Now with my new pair of Brooks I clocked in 2 miles in 26 minutes and another mile with heavy incline in another 15 minutes. I added in 2 sets of 40 walking lunges and that concluded my one hour workout on the 4th of July. I feel great!

Here are my updates for my second month of progress. 8 more to lose and counting.

Nearing my 4 year anniversary

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July is here and guess what that means. That means my hair gains another year of loc growth. This hair is getting so long and lush. I decided to try a braid out and I can say the results were okay. I didn't really give it my all nor did I use any setting lotion. Here are the results. Next time I will try a setting lotion and some rubberbands for the ends.

11 more to go...One month progress report

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I have been working it out these days trying to get these pregnancy pounds off of me. I am happy to report that I am 9 lbs since getting serious about this and 6lbs since last month. I put the white stuff down as well as the breads. I also learned some portion control by using saucers to eat from. I also incorporated Tae Bo Amp'd and p90x. Here are the results.....

Client Updates

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Time has really been skirting out of dodge (time has been flying) and I finally took some time to take some photo updates of a few of my clients. Sisterlocks really did wonders for their hair growth.

Back to work!

Hey Blog Fam!

Today I have scheduled my first retightening since having my son. I am looking forward to getting back into the swing of things. I am still on on leave from my full time gig so I have some time to get my business affairs in order for Locks 4 Life Atlanta. In the next two weeks I have 7 retightenings scheduled. I have made arrangements for a sitter to come over on Saturdays while I am servicing clients. For the most part it will be in the mornings until my husband can come home and spend some time with CJ. My new client schedule will be Friday and Saturdays only.

My son is in daycare this week (we are doing a trial run) and it has been extremely hard to leave him. It gets easier each day I take him but I still feel my heart breaking when he is not around. The funny thing is this little boy is thriving in the daycare environment. The teachers raved about him when I picked him up yesterday. CJ is lifting his head. CJ is so alert. CJ is such a calm baby. CJ has some teeth that will be coming in soon. WOW! Every mother believes their child is the best but these ladies are making me feel great. I walked into the infant room yesterday and CJ was sitting in the swing just smiling from ear to ear. Swing? CJ? He hates his swing at home. The teacher picked him up to change him. She walked past me with CJ in her arms and CJ turns his head to look at me and smiled really big as if to say MOMMY. My pooter is growing up! I love him so! He is only 6 weeks and making moves. The women joked...CJ is moving out the way for his sibling. Sheesh!! Can I get used to him first before they start talking about a sibling?

I have been in the gym every day this week and it feels great. I plan to visit a couple of gyms in my immediate vicinity to see what the facility is like. If I can find a great gym within 15 minutes of my home and the daycare I can still have my gym time after work before I pick up CJ. I've playing around with the idea in addition to P90X. We will see how everything works when my hubby starts his new schedule next week. We will be in full swing next week with my hubby dropping CJ off and me picking him up. I plan to work 7:30 to 3:00 PM to ensure that I have time (including any ATL traffic) to get the daycare before 6 PM. If there is no traffic I can get to the gym by 3:45 PM, work out for an hour, and pick CJ up by 5:30 PM. It sounds like a plan. We will see how it works. LOL!! I am such a planner.

P90x...I love it!

Hey Blog Fam!

So we finally broke down and purchased P90x and I must say I am pleasantly surprised. I LOVE IT! I've heard so many people talk about it is so hard and I couldn't finish the workout blah blah blah. Well not only did I start the series I am keeping up and giving it my all. I paced myself and started with the bands and the weights versus the chin up bar. I think if I would have started with the chin up bar I would have failed. I think this is where a lot of people are going wrong. Why go out and buy this chin up bar when you know you can't get your large frame (I wanted to say something else) up there to even grab the bar. Do the bands until you work your way up to the chin up bar. It works much better that way. I started as soon as the DVD's arrived last week. I started over this week this week to make it count. I even took some before pics. These are my post baby body and after 5 workouts I am seeing my shoulders, chest and arms come back. YAY!!

This is me post baby at 217. I still have some water on my legs and around my midsection but as I continue to work out the water is moving. My pre baby was 196 so I have a little way to go before I get there. My P90x goal for the 90 days is to lose 25 but more importantly is to fit back into my clothes comfortably.

Something else that I am doing differently that is helping me succeed is EATING. Most people start this program and only eat 1,000 calories trying to lose as much weight as possible. Well that may work for some people but for my body I need to eat. I need to fuel my workouts properly or I will be on the floor somewhere. Especially with me breastfeeding which is already burning plenty calories. So I set a goal to eat between 1,500 and 2,000 calories a day. I am not doing so hot at eating as many fresh fruits and veggies but I am getting better.

All in all I love the program. Each DVD goes fast! Before you know it you look at the screen and you see the time is almost up and you are sweating it out good. The one thing that I know I will have to get is that weight set. I have two sets of resistance bands and a set of 5lb and 10lb weights. I am going to exceed that by the 2nd month so I am going to purchase the bowflex or something comparable. I also have plans to purchase a portable DVD player so I can take this to work and utilize it in the gym downstairs from my office. The gym is small with 3 treadmills, 2 elliptical, 2 stairclimbers, free weights, and nautilus equipment. Did I mention it has mirrors, two tvs, and a shower. I can bring my portable DVD player and get my P90x on in the gym. I might even meet some new friends who may want to join me.

I hope all of you ladies who are trying to get your prebaby body back are making progress. It is hard work being a mommy.

I was so ready to cut it

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With the birth of my son, I have been beyond busy. I had a moment. I was dreading washing my hair and looked down at the scissors. I was seriously going to cut my hair off because I didn't want to deal with the shoulder length locs. OMG!! I had to get some assistance and talk myself off the edge. Just think I was about to cut my hair right before my 4 year lock anniversary (June 2006). I would have probably kicked myself afterwards. Other moms have told me those moments are perfectly okay, but I really can't believe I was about to cut all of this hair. I attached a pic (sorry the hubby didn't capture the back). This is the longest my hair has ever been and it shows no signs of slowing down. Sidebar....I really need to color this gray patch in the front of my head but I fear that I will damage my locs by coloring too often. It has been over a year since my last coloring.

I am officially back on the workout circuit and it really feels great. I am doing run walk intervals on the treadmill for 30 to 45 minute time frames. I am also doing strength training with my bands. I also incorporated Bosu Ball training which kicks the core's butt. I ordered P90x since cancelling our $109 monthly fee gym membership. I really loved that gym but it just doesn't make since to waste that money if I have no daycare for that hour that I am there. I have heard some great things about p90x from both men and women. The men however tend to stay dedicated to the program more than the women I have talked to. That is about to change once my package gets here. I just have to keep my schedule with my hubby and son. I think during a certain time there will be no phone calls. I am discovering that answering the phone is my biggest downfall when it comes to my schedule.

So how did I do with the weight gain during pregnancy? I gained 45 lbs of which I lost 27. I can't believe I am sitting here at 217 and hating every minute of it. I know it was for a wonderful cause but it hurts to have it on my body. It is a lot of water too. I can press my shin and see the water move which is a little creepy. I am going to continue on my quest to get the 18 pound remaining baby pounds off so I can pick up where I started. I know it won't be easy but I am up for the challenge.

He is here!!! YAY!!

Hey Blog Fam!

I am so in love! My son CJ arrived on March 30, 2010 weighing in at 7lbs 4 ozs and 19.5 inches long. I never understood how much I could really love someone until I met my son. My heart is so full right now that I am at a loss for words. Take a look at this face.

Still hanging in there....

Hey Blog Fam!

I am officially on the countdown. I have about 5 more days before I enter the hospital for induction. I AM SO READY!! I am officially 38 weeks and feeling every moment of it. My ribs are really hurting with these little feet kicking me all the time. Speaking of feet...my poor feet are swollen beyond recognition, which they call cankles. :( I can only wear houseshoes so I have been working from home feverishly finishing up things at work before I leave on Friday. Of course the guys waited until the last minute like they always to do get things done. I am not going to let them rush me in anyway. I have been warning them since I was 6 months. Oh well!

I received my last client for a retightening on Saturday. I swear my clients are so good to me. We spent 2.5 hours together and at the conclusion of our appointment she handed me a card for CJ with a couple of gift cards in there. I was so surprised because I didn't expect anything. I love my clients. This client is the mother of the daughter whom I gave my wedding dress to. Hey it had been sitting in my storage for 8 years now so I figured I would give this young lady a great start to her married life. She wore that dress well and added her own flare to it. It brought tears to my eyes as well because it brought so many memories from my wedding day flooding back. Ahhh black love!

Time Flies

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Time sure is flying over this way. I am officially on hiatus from completing new Sisterlock™ Installations. I am still servicing my current client base but any new clients who have called have been told that I can’t complete any new installations until May. I really thought I was going to lose a lot of business during this time of preparation and to my pleasant surprise I really haven’t. I referred a couple of clients to a business partner in Conyers but the others are willing to wait. Now I have a nice waiting list of clients that want Sisterlock™ Installs upon my return in May. I am really grateful to have a great client base that pass out my cards and give their friends my information who may be interested in Sisterlocks™. I was told that you have to weed out the bad eggs in the beginning and as you have read through my blog I have had my share of bad eggs. But now my clients are some of the most loyal and sweet people I have met. I thank God for that.

When I say time flies, I mean time flies. I am now 51 days from meeting my son. I am 9 days away from flying home for my baby shower. I will have plenty of pics and video to share once I return. The room is ready with the crib, changing station and dresser set up. I just need to decorate and get my glider in there before he gets here.

I have been doing a little shopping here and there, but nothing too big because I was warned to wait to see what the baby shower would bring. That is like telling a kid not to eat the candy that is sitting in front of them. There are so many sales going on and the coupons have been burning my pockets up. I did visit the Nike Outlet and was able to find a pair of baby Jordan’s for $19. I not only got my son a pair but my cousin’s son as well. Aren’t they the cutest little things?

Oh let me add that my amazing DH is being sneaky again like he did leading up to my birthday last year. He is only this sneaky and secretive when he is planning or doing something without my knowledge. Last year he surprised me with my Louis V bag. This must be really big because I can’t find anything in the house. Yes! I am that person who will tear the house up to find out what the surprise is. I am just like my dad with that. Fortunately for my DH is that I am so TIRED right now that I haven’t really been giving this surprise thing much of my time. I know there is something going on but choosing between sleep or finding the gift….umm I will take this good ole sleep right now.

All I want for Christmas and New Year's Commitments

So what did you get for Christmas you ask? Well Blog Fam...I really didn't ask for much this Christmas. As a matter of fact I didn't ask for anything but my child's health. God gave me the biggest blessing of my life in 2009 and that is my unborn son CJ. As you can see from my six month photo he is growing nicely. I couldn't be more focused and determined as I await his arrival. Furnishing his room, organizing his clothes, purchasing life insurance, researching, 529 plans, daycare research, hospital tours, etc There is so much to do and still in the midst of it all I still feel like I am dreaming this. I still can't believe that God has entrusted me with this life that grows inside of my womb. After many years of waiting only 2.5 months remain ahead of us. I can't wait to meet CJ.

While preparing for CJ, I realized that I sacrificed my fitness in order to bring CJ to this world. On hiatus are the 5 to 6 day a week gym visits and I sure do miss them. As a precaution my doctor advised me to put my gym visits on hold until after CJ arrives. I am glad I listened, because I have the following symptoms: shortness of breath, back pains, and edema (swollen hands, forearms, legs, feet, and other parts I wish to not name) which have plagued me for most of my pregnancy. So what happens when CJ gets here? I don't think my gym takes newborns so I am preparing my basement for my workouts. I registered for a jogging stroller for my neighborhood jogs. I also priced out a BOSU Balance Ball. If you don't know what this little wonder is you need to try it. I credit this ball with helping me to strengthen my core and literally shrinking my waist, thighs, and butt before I got pregnant. P90X is also in the plans with the purchase of a complete weight set. With my gym being about a good 20 to 30 minutes away I am not sure if that will be the best thing to do with CJ being so young. I love my gym and it stays open 24/7 so I may be able to fit it in on some days but for the most parts if I want to get a early morning workout in my best bet is to do it at home. I have worked out with 3 trainers and I formulated a program that works best for me and my body. Excessive cardio doesn't work for me at all. More weights and core training is what is going to take the weight off fast along with portion control. So ladies I will be back in to win in 2010 so look for me.