Loc'd Up Thursdays: Locs and Summer

Hey all! I know it's been a while. It's the middle of June and warm weather is here to stay. Thank goodness!

My maintenance for my locs changes a bit in the summer. Instead of using a mixture of coconut, olive and castor oil, I stick to using coconut oil. It's a much lighter oil that stays a liquid at room temp. I usually apply it every couple of days instead of every other day.

You know what's also good for locs? WATER! Drinking it and spritzing it on your locs when you wake up in the morning. Ahhh, moisture! Whether the weather is cool, hot, humid, rainy or windy, your body needs water.

Might I suggest the app "Plant Nanny" if you need reminders...

Now that my hair is longer, I have more occasions where I need to get my hair off of my neck and face. I've love my locs but they sure know how to make me hot. (Also, when it's humid and my hair brushes up against my neck and shoulders I'm more likely to think that some giant bug is crawling on me.)

So, to remedy that, I do my version of messy bun. It's my go to do when I'm chilling at home, showering or sleeping. Nothing is ever tight. It's always very loose and I make sure that the bun is on top and not "slouching" so that it pulls on the locs in the front.

I think my profile looks funny

As far as washing, I still stick to washing my hair once a week and I still use Shea Moisture's African Black Soap Shampoo. I still do a deep clean ACV rinse every 1-2 months when I'm ready to retwist them, followed with a wash and conditioner. 

To this day I still retwist with water and it works for me. Not only is there less gunk to wash out later, but I save money by not having to go out and buy loc gel. I will say that I have used it a couple of times to retwist locs in the back of my hair (where the hair is much softer and the curl pattern is looser) that have come undone a day or two after I retwisted my locs . I don't do this often, only when water has proven not to work.

And that's it for now. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them in the comment box below or on my Facebook page. :)

What am I doing this summer??

Image Credit: marin via FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Hey all!

Just wanted to give a quick update on what I'm up to this summer.

For starters, I'm working at a job that I really enjoy. Ever since I started this job, I've learned something about myself. I feel more satisfied and fulfilled when I'm working behind the scenes. I like being able to start tasks on my own and being able to figure out how to organize or solve tasks using what I know and my own creativity. I like having the freedom of working out story ideas in my head without others thinking that I'm spacing out on them. On the other hand, I (and a gajillion of other people) am still trying to figure out what I want to do and what is it God needs me to do. I see friends, acquaintances and family getting into careers and work fields that they love and feel called to. Teachers, lawyers, doctors, nurses, engineers, therapists, entertainers, athletes, ministry work, armed forces, etc. It's cool to watch and a bit of a wake up call. One that's saying "we're not kids anymore". We're adults going into career paths that we observed the generations before us going into. Seriously? When did this happen??

I also play Ultimate with a local group about once a week. (I wish it were more often.) Per usual, the make up of players is 95% male, 5% female. (And I'm not counting those females that sit on the side lines and watch then leave after 30 minutes. Seriously ladies... join in! It's fun, we'll teach you how to play and if we gather enough of us, we can start our own game. C'mon! How cool would that be??) I'm no stranger to this (an unequal amount of males and females playing in a game overall). I've kinda gotten used to playing on a team that's mostly guys. For me, personally, it forces me to run a little faster, jump a little higher and re-evaluate my strengths so that I can use them to my advantage and to help out my team. It's like "progressive overload". Progressive overload is a term used in the exercise and sports science fields to describe the process when, over time, an individual adds a bit more resistance, weight, time or distance when training or working out. The overall goal is to become a stronger, faster and/or increase endurance. You have to keep challenging yourself. However, challenging yourself too much can have negative and even catastrophic effects. Kinda sounds like life, huh?

Hmm... what else? I'm caught up with Arrow and The Flash, so I've started watching "A Different World" on Netflix. The characters have me laughing out loud and identifying with them on some things they experience.

I've even decided to work with lessons on  Khan Academy like "Intro to JS: Drawing and Animation". It's actually quite interesting!

Other than that, I'm writing, reading and, dreaming. I'm thinking about writing. Thinking about plot ideas. Thinking about character development. Jotting down ideas and giving the loud ones a chance to express themselves in story form. I'm reading and listening to audiobooks that I have down on my "To Read" list while continuously adding new ones. I'm dreaming about what it's like to be paid doing something that I love, that's fun for me and benefits other people at the same time.

So that's what I'm doing. In the meantime, be sure to check out the CBLV blogger's new Facebook page and hit the like button if you enjoy reading my blog posts.

Later peeps!