My very own updo with the Brunsli Hairtie

I wanted to get that hair off my neck and after I went to the bathroom and started twisting the back up, I decided to keep going. Here's the results. Kinda cute for a first try. I did it all by myself.

Photos from The DFW Gathering

With the exception of the videos, I think this is all I have. I had to upload them to my premium fotki account so ya'll can see all the pictures. pw: locks

Enjoy!

Maryee

Here's a photo montage for your viewing pleasure.

Free MySpace slideshows, photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Sisterlock and Locked Hair Testimonies

These are video testimonies from the DFW Sisterlock Gathering this past weekend (10-15-06). The sound is not good because the Cheesecake factory was packed that afternoon and the only place we could get interviews done (it was raining outside) was in the hallway leading to the bathroom! (LOL). Each lady genuinely shares why she's locked or natural.

We've come to find that it's more about becoming natural than focusing on any particular style or method to wear your nappy hair! Of course since it's a Sisterlock gathering, most of the women talk about why they love Sisterlocks. Each video can only be found here, on the Locked Hair Blog Exchange, or possibly on each ladies blogs, if they have one. You will not find their testimonies in a search on google video because I uploaded them as "unlisted" in a search on google. My photos from the event are in my fotki. Your comments are welcome and please forward this blog post to your family and friends who are curious about going natural and especially about the dynamic versitility of wearing your hair locked! Enjoy!!
























The next DFW Sisterlocks Gathering will be in Waco, Tx at Beatnix Coffeehouse on Sunday February 18th from 2-5pm. The pre-paid cost is $17 which includes dinner and tea catered by Blaneks Catering of Waco. If you'd like to attend, please email me off line at sweetiepp03-bloggin at yahoo.com

Sneak Preview from DFW Sisterlock Gathering

For those of you who attended, you know I took a lot of pics. This is all I have time for today, but I wanted to share a few photos. It was great seeing everyone!!!

Meet David From the Cheesecake Factory

David was wondering why I had two to three women following me to the restroom every five minutes and got "curious". More videos to come later. Back to studying...

Cheesecake Factory:
DALLAS
7700 West Northwest Highway, Dallas, TX 75225
(214) 373-4844

That girl looks good for 36

I'll be away from the computer all day tomorrow on my birthday because I'll be at school teaching from 8am til' 4pm and then I have to head to night school at 6pm. I doubt I go back home so that will mean a long day for me. The last two years on my birthday I've celebrated. Last year at the first DFW Sisterlocks gathering and the year before at my cousin's wedding in Norfolk, VA. This year, it will be work and school. But that's all good. I'll have a cool new "do" to sport and a nice pedicure compliments of my sissy, Jena. I did a roller set and put a little lotta body on my hair. I also used the Sisterlock Moisture Treatment after I shampoo'd my hair. I have also come to realize that I must retighten my hair every 4-5 weeks and not a day later. So by the first week of every month I will need to turn on the juice and get to retightening. It seems to be really growing as I near my 3 yr lockversary 11/28.
I've already received calls and emails from afar and that's been so nice. I love hearing from folks who love me and I love them, too! It's been fun blogging about my hair, meeting so many cool and interesting folks and learning how to love the natural me.

When is the last time you've Googled yourself?

This link on college students managing their on line reputation is not just for college students to check out, but anyone who does a lot of on line blogging or has a website, like myself. I google myself often and suggest anyone whether they are on line a lot or not to do the same. Anyone find anything surprising when you googled yourself?

I learned the hard way when I had a psycho guy who wanted to marry me 3 yrs ago that google is my best friend. He was caught red handed lying to me about getting his Doctorate in Religious Education from a "no name" institution back west. The nerve of him.

This picture was taken at Beatnix Coffeehouse's 1-yr anniversary party. I had my hair pulled back with a few wispy lock bangs. Jen was taking a quick break from playing on the guitar at the celebration.

Daddy's Little Girl

Today was a really long day. But the evening proved to be more of a drainer than anything. I attended a scholarship banquet the local AA Chamber hosted and afterwards, a friend gave me a ride to my car. Well, it was late, more like near 11:30pm already because we sat outside at the Cultural Arts Fest chatting about life, family and relationships.

Well when she drove around to my car we both witnessed what looked like at first, a couple making out. The man had his back to us and all we saw were hands locked around his neck and whomever he was hugging seemed to enjoy the affection. The hands and arms looked pretty small but since it was dark, we initially assumed perhaps it was a baby. The man started rocking from side to side while holding on to her. She appeared to be sitting in his lap, legs straddled, but later I found out she was standing in front of him. Her hands would drop down and he kissed her, seemingly in a passionate way. My friend and I both sat in the car because in that instant we both got a queasy feeling like the guy wasn't with a woman and it wasn't a baby (infant) either. I told my friend, "Boy, I hope that's a really petite woman he's all hugged up with."

Well, sadly enough, it wasn't. He stood up and in front of him as what looked like a cute little 8 yr-old with a pretty pink and white dress on standing there embracing him. My friend and I both had a look of dread on our faces. I said, "That's inappropriate. My dad never held me like that. OK, that was nasty!" The man didn't flinch nor move in a way that would reveal to us he thought he was "caught" by our curious eyes. He just grabbed the girl by her hand, with her in complete submission and took off walking across the street further away from the venue they were attending which was a wedding reception.

I told my friend that as soon as I got into my car I was going to head across the street to see where he was going with her. I waited about 2 minutes after she drove off and then proceeded across the street to the Marriot Courtyard's parking lot. I drove all the way to the back and thought they perhaps went into the hotel because I didn't see them at first. Just when I made the last curve, to my wonderment, there they were both far off in the back of the lot, back in the same close cuddling position. Now you tell me, why would a father carry his daughter off around midnight to go and "cuddle"? Ugh!

I drove by trying to figure out if I was going to call the police or just head back to the parking lot where I saw a car that a lady and a small child were getting into before I headed on the scout. Well, I drove back to the original parking area and asked the lady if she knew the guy and the little girl. She said that he was her brother-in-law and the little girl his daugther. I immediately told her that what my friend and I saw was inappropriate and that I have a Daddy and she probably has one too, and that's not how Daddys are supposed to be with their daughters. She started sighing and pacing back and forth as if what I was telling her was nothing unusual. I started to get a little nervous and then suspicious.

She decided to follow me in her car and we cased the lot and when I pulled around to where the guy and his daughter were, the little girl jumped up and then he got up, staggering like he was drunk, clinging tight to her hand. I drove my car past the guy and it was then I noticed he only had on a tuxedo vest, with no shirt on and he was trying to put the vest back on as I drove by. OK, by now I'm getting pretty sick in the pit of my stomach. The lady pulled up to both of them, but I was too far ahead to hear the conversation. It was quiet. He didn't speak loud and neither did the girl. They chatted for about a minute or two.

I motioned for her to pull up next to me and the lady did. She started in with some song and dance about how there was a commotion at the reception (sounded like she was making an excuse for him) and bla bla bla. I'm thinking to myself, what does that have to do with this drunk guy in the parking lot a half a mile away from the reception near midnight with his daughter have to do with some "commotion"? I just said, "Did you see him pulling his vest back over his shoulders?" She just looked at me shrugging her shoulders. I then told her, "Well, I'm just telling you what I saw. You have seen for yourself. Now you know." I then just drove off. I saw him with his daughter, still hand in hand walking across the street back to the reception hall as if nothing was going on and I wanted to throw up. How could this have gotten this far without no one's observation? Or was the lady revealing to me that what I saw was what they already have been knowing and they don't know what to do?

This reminded me of when I saw Woman Thou Art Loosed when the daughter tried to tell the mother about the problem and she was simply ignored or told she was lying. At this point, I don't think this little girl thinks she's done anything inappropriate with her father. My question is, are women still lying to themselves when they see petiphile men/husbands/fathers taking advantage of unsuspecting innocent children by not confronting these sickos? Lord, Lord, Lord! Please pray that what I saw was just my imagination, and if it wasn't that justice be served swiftly. The saddest part about what I saw was how comfortable the little girl seemed with this man, as if it was an everyday occurance. He was just as comfortable. The video below is from a Slam Poet friend of mines sharing a true story in his presentation about the matter. It's kind of deep, but I had to share. It's called Daddy's Little Girl.

This heart wrenching poem is shared by Ft.Worth Slam Poet and host, Michael Guinn at Beatnix Coffeehouse, Waco, Texas. http://mikeguinn.com/ http://www.beatnixcoffee.com ****I spoke to my girlfriend who was with me that night and she said she was going to call a friend of hers who works for the sex crimes unit here in Waco to see what can be done. The good thing about following up with this is that there was only two Wedding receptions going on Saturday night. If we are able to contact the Visitor's Bureau who books the rooms at the Convention Center, the crime unit can start there with contacting the folks in the planning of the reception. It appeared that the guy and his daughter were in the wedding, since I saw groomsmen earlier that night with the same burgandy vests on, with tux shirts underneath of course!!! Thanks for everyone's prayers in this situation.****

Three Great Things about the beginning of Fall

#1 - It rained real good today! Here in Texas we were ready for both rain and cooler weather.

#2 - I dropped by SAM'S Club and filled up the tank with gas at $2.12 a gallon! Yippee!!!!

#3 - Time for a wardrobe change! Jena and I love wearing turtlenecks, jackets and blazers in the fall/winter.



Hosted on Fotki

The photo collage above is of Jena and me testing out my new Casio Ex-Z700 camera that was an early birthday present to me from Penney, the owner of Beatnix Coffeehouse, for my collection of pictures and videos I've captured during their 1st year in business. Most of the photos and Video footage used on Beatnix's website were taken either by me or Jena. Beatnix is Jena's and my home away from home. I'm the host of Open Mic Poetry and "the in house social Butterfly". Cafe, culture and community is their slogan.

Jena has her Brunsli Tony Hair Tie on, which she wears religiously. Me, I'm free styling, but already needing another retightening. Boy does one's hair grow fast with Sisterlocks. Whew!!!

Sisterlocks at G.W.Carver Academy

Yesterday I heard the coolest thing while I was substitute teaching in my 8th grade Math/Algebra class at G.W. Carver Academy. It is a 2006-07 Professional Development and Magnet School that focuses on Science and Technology through a NASA partnership here in Waco. One of my students (Hispanic young man) was clarifying to another student (Black young lady) about my "Sisterlocks." It was so funny because it caught me off guard. The conversation always comes up with them about what I would do if I decided to no longer want them and secondly, what they are. He was so smooth in how he told the girl about my "Sisterlocks". I've educated enough of them to the point where they are proud that they know what to call my hair "style". I sometimes clip my retightening tool on to the back of my hair and that always becomes a conversational piece. "Miss, what's that white thing hanging on your hair?" They are always so intrigued. I usually send them either to this blog, my fotki or my website. They sign my guestbook when they visit Maryee's Place which always warms my heart because I know they will be inspired when they visit. I'm always like, "Click on the Teens link. That just reminds me, I need to update that page since school has begun.

I'm finding out that the more they see me, the more comfortable they will be around "locked" haired folks. Of course kids at this age are usual very curious and uninhibited. My sister subs at the same school and there's another substitute who has natural dreadlocks, so between the three of us, they've seen a healthy dose of natural hair. It's sad to say that the number of black teachers there is scarce, but when we do show up, we try and reach, connect with and engage with all of the students. I'm happy to be a light to educate and stimulate the desire for our youngens' to love their natural selves. I think they don't choose natural because there's not enough of it around and no one to answer questions they may have. It's braids, perms and lot's a twig tails. You'd have to live here to know what I'm talking about.

Here's the ethnic breakdown of the student population at Carver Academy:
African-American: 41.3%
Hispanic: 48.7%
White: 9.2%
Other: .8%

I will be teaching at Carver until the holidays because the teacher I'm subbing for is on maternity leave. She had fraternal twins. Also, in case I didn't mention it, I decided to go ahead and get certified in Generalist 4-8 through the Teacher Alternative Certification Program through McLennan Community College, where I earned my Associate of Arts in 92'. I'm taking the content class right now to help in preparation for passing the State Exam. It's costing a pretty penny, so I'm always looking for creative ways to pay the bill, since they don't offer scholarships or grants to folks who want to get certified to teach who already have four year degrees. Bummer, huh? Anywho, that's also motivating me to use my God-given talents to get my hustle on. Pray for a sista and wish me well! Pray for all of our students in schools everywhere that they value education (especially free) enough to take full advantage of it.

Brunsli Hairties Review #2

OK,

Jen's away and Maryee's missing her sissy and deciding to play! Since I am all retightened and I had a fresh shampoo and roll, I decided to give my Brunsli Hairtie a try again. Let me tell you, I had FUN!!!The first set of pictures are of me using it to get the hair off my neck. It's sad to say that today of all days, it finally rained! No hot weather all day! Jen wears her hairtie DAILY and I mean DAILY. She was "eyeing" mine and I was like, Un un, girly. As you can see, the curls gave it a lot of body and I was wishing I had some hot date to go to tonight. I will at least go get something to eat in a minute cause I've only eaten once today. Now the last collage was a blast to create. My hair is in this style right now. The hairtie is so snug and comfortable. My "bun-like" toni pony is so cute!! I like the bang locks cascading down my forehead. I have a sneaky suspicion I'll be wearing this until the weather decides to stay cool. Thanks Brunsli!!! Your hairties are the bomb!!!

Perm Roller Set

OK, I guess I have to break the bad news. I "lost" my beautiful camera about 6 days ago. I'm not going to get into how it disappeared cause it's too irritating.




The pictures in the collages were taken on my camcorder's still picture mode. Needless to say, the quality is no where near Casio 7.2 meg quality. I shampooed my hair and rolled it yesterday morning. I didn't put any setting lotion on it or anything, and slept on the rollers with my satin bonnet. The sun finally decided to give us a break and today it even sprinkled here and there. The pictures below are what's left after all the curls fell quickly. These are the same white perm rollers I used in the beginning back in 2003 when my journey began. I guess if I would have put some kind of setting lotion on, they would have kept longer. Since Jen's in New York, I didn't have anyone to take a good picture. I promised pics, so here they are.
Now that my hair is as long as it's ever been in my entire life, I'm learning that I have a lot to learn about shoulder-length and longer hair. Although it's not "heavy" feeling, I guess I have to find a way to keep my style longer when I roll it. Anyone who has long locked hair wanna give me some tips? I'm open for anyone's help in the matter. Thanks!

Here's some results of curling my hair using Pipe Cleaners.

Jenny's Birthday Party

Jen celebrated her 37th birthday at Beatnix Coffeehouse this year. We had a private showing of her Experimental Video work from grad school (1992) all the way to her tenure work while teaching at the University of North Texas in 2002. It was a small intimate audience and those who attended had an opportunity to discuss the work and ask questions. Jen was all dolled up compliments of "moi". We had 31 flavors (two ice cream cakes) and she received a card signed by lots of folks who wanted to wish her well with a nice American Express travelers cheque in the middle for her to spend on her trip to New York on Sunday.

She'll be treating herself to a trip to see a good friend and colleague along with his family in the NYC area til next Friday the 8th. I'll do my best to keep busy until my sissy returns. I hope she has a wonderful trip and that her birthday was enjoyable as well.

Thank you to everyone who sent Jen shout outs for her birthday as well! Much love and peace!!!

Maryee