Times of Refreshing Come from the Lord....

I am feeling good this morning. I started my exercise regimen this week. I am on the Slim Fast diet and this is the last diet I am trying. On Sunday night I committed to REALLY do this diet right. That means no sneaking in my Hardee's chicken, no sneaking in my Chinese food. So far so good. I think Slim Fast modified the plan because you can have a half a sandwich with your shake. Only time will tell. This morning I got up at 330 and I hopped on the treadmill. I thought I would be dragging and tired, but it was the exact opposite. It was actually kind of invigorating. I have to work out in the morning because my ass is too lazy to do it in the afternoon. When I get off work, I just want to come home, play with my baby, watch my Netflix, and just unwind. Not sweat to death on a treadmill. At least in the morning, I have gotten it over with.
The Lord is beginning to deliver me from my issues I was having last week. I know one thing for sure and two things for certain, that the Word of God is stronger than any situation that you are going through. When you are going through you have to stretch out on His word to give you comfort.
After 17 years of relaxing my hair, I have decided to transition to natural hair. My sister and I had a long conversation last night about being brainwashed into thinking natural hair is unkept and unprofessional. Why should the hair the good Lord gave me be considered a bad thing? No one would tell a white woman with curly hair to keep hers straight ALL the TIME because straight hair looks more professional. I have been thinking about this all week and the final decision came after something I saw at my daughters daycare. There is a little girl in the Pre-Kindergarten class who had natural hair. Now, her mama wasn't taking care of it at all so it did look a little dry, but that was nothing that couldn't be fixed. She kept it in braided ponytails and she looked fine to me. Keep in mind this child is no more than 5 years old. I walked in the daycare on Monday and the little girl had a relaxer. *sigh* Yes, her hair was swinging in the wind and she could wear it out, but what bothered me was what this meant for this little girl. This was her induction into a society where you will be bound to that relaxer forever and ever. I remember my first relaxer when I was 11 years old. When I started getting new growth I was horrified at the new texture, I wanted that gone STAT! Now years later, I am trying to fight to get back the very thing that I ran from. I can tell you one thing, Miss Beasley is not getting a perm anytime in the next 15 years. First of all, I spent mass amounts of time showing her how to work with her hair texture and not against it. I wash it, I deep condition it and then I air dry her hair in four big braids, then I braid it in whatever style is suitable. Her hair is thriving. Its about half way down her back and she's only three! So, with all that said, I am transitioning. Hell, if I don't like it, my Silk Elements Relaxer is waiting with open arms. Be Blessed!

I'm Bringing Weddings Back......

This weekend was totally productive on the wedding front. Rev, Mom, Miss Beasley and J.J all went on a mission for wedding favor supplies this weekend. Our first stop was Micheal's Arts and Crafts. Before I left the house, or really the whole time up until this day, I had a clear plan on what it was that I was going to buy. Hell, I even had a chart made up along with prices and materials. Of course since Mom was there, all of that went out the window. I had the idea to make 300 bubble favors, since those are the most popular favors. I know when I go to a wedding, I look forward to getting them. Also they serve as something for the guest to use in lieu of rice or birdseed when Rev and I depart to our after party. Mama didn't think so. According to her, bubbles are for children and there is not going to be 300 children at my wedding. *sigh* So of course, being the bridal wimp I am, I only bought 48 bottles of bubbles. But, Mama was nice enough to purchase a DIY book for weddings for me. That is going to be a help to me. Mama decided she was going to make favors consisting of votive candles wrapped in tulle. That's going to be fly. She wants to decorate the votives. Even flyer. After spending an hour in Michael's, then deciding that a lot of the stuff we put in the cart we could probably buy at Garden Ridge, we kept only what we thought was at the lowest price(tulle circles, Save the Dates, and bubbles). Before I take you to the next part of our adventure, I have to tell about the shenanigans that ensued between Miss Beasley and J.J. I keep telling my child she doesn't want a brother or a sister, and I think she got the message why I am always saying that. While Mom and I were embroiled in the "Nobody wants bubbles" battle, I turned and Miss Beasley says, "Mommy, J.J. hit me in my chest". My blood ran cold. NOBODY hits my baby! Rev obviously read the, "Get your belt" look in my face because he immediately says, "I took care of it." Uh huh. Usually when he disciplines(I use that term VERY loosely) J.J. he starts crying. I ain't hear any crying(I am going to prove this point in a minute). At that point I go on about my business, but I keep my eyes and ears more open this time around. I draw the line at my child. About thirty minutes later, I am standing in the aisle, and I SEE J.J. hit my baby on the side of her face. That did it! I told him to stop hitting my child, and told Miss Beasley to come stand by me. Rev turns around, grabs him and fusses at him, and he starts crying(see what I mean?). Rev needs to get that in check because I will not have my child in a home where she is being terrorized by someone who is bigger than her(even though her and J.J. are the same age, he is a foot taller and 20 pounds heavier than her). I told her the next time he does that give him "the business". Boys shouldn't be hitting girls. Period. After that drama we head over to Garden Ridge, where we should have gone in the first place, because they were having a major sale. We bought 18 tablecloths, plates, napkins, a unity candle, and ribbons. The napkins were only 50 cents per 50 count pack. That was a steal. It felt good to get some of the stuff out of the way. I also bought a glue gun. I started on my bubble favors that night and got just about all of them done. During this time, I discovered 2 things: 1) I am doing 300 bubble favors.....this is MY wedding. 2) I love my glue gun, I want to use it for everything.
Church on Sunday was cute, fabulous and wonderful. There was more praise from our "Praise Team" than there has been in a while. Pastor had some good advice for me. I think sometimes he is misunderstood, but I got a lot of my questions answered about his methods from our conversation. He answered a lot of my questions about himself without him even knowing. The most fabulous part of church Sunday came after 8 o'clock service. I went to Miss Felton, a lady I am supposed to interview for the Member of the Month to see if we could do the interview before Sunday school started, and you know what she said? She declined the interview because she doesn't want recognition, she just wants to work. That is beautiful. My church has a plethora of people that feel they should always be recognized for the things they do at the church. I have had some MOTM chase me down to get their interview because they want someone to see how important they are. It was so refreshing to come across someone who did not care about having their name in a church newsletter. Be Blessed!

Please Let Me Testify.......

Ahhhh Friday. Gotta love it. It has finally gotten warm enough that I don't have to bundle up like an Eskimo. I hate cold weather. When I get a little bit more money I am transplanting my behind to Florida. I need 5o degrees or warmer everyday.
This week has just been a week of ups and downs. I am not going to get into all of that here, but it has been a doozy. I just know that tomorrow is another day and it will be another chance the Lord gave me to do it right.
Last night Rev and I celebrated our 8 month anniversary with dinner at the Japanese restaurant next to his job. I have been wanting to go here since I heard they were opening, because they cook on the hibachi grill right in front of you. You know I love a gimmick. The decor was really nice. It made me feel like I was in Kill Bill during the Showdown at the House of the Blue Tea Leaves. At any moment I thought I might have to throw down with Oren and her Crazy 88's. The food was nice too. The only thing they could have left at home was this soup made from tofu. Nas-tee. I tried it because I try everything at least once, but I will not be partaking of it again. If I wasn't driving I probably would have had some sake. Or maybe not. Last time I had sake I ended up drunk as hell in downtown Atlanta. Not a good look.
Last night, my sister Helen and I were talking about stalking people and crazy things that women will sometimes do in the name of love(or vengeance). What we concluded was every woman has some crazy in her. Every woman can get a little stalkerish at times. No one is exempt. My mind floats back to Astronaut lady who drove in an adult diaper to kidnap the woman who was having a relationship with the man she loved. I think she was just simply a woman on the edge. She had been reading e-mails between her lover and this woman(probably also obtained through stalkerish means) for weeks and then something probably just snapped in her that just said, "Oh hell naw!" Tell the truth and shame the devil, a lot of us could not tolerate reading steamy emails from another women to our significant other for weeks with out getting ready to catch a charge. I hope Astronaut Lady gets some healing for her soul.
I have a lot of work to do in relationship to school, and my latest set of drama(not to be discussed here...to trifling and confusing) has put that in the background. Not a good look. Chances are during my Moisturizing deep conditioner, I will be doing my Final exam on line too.
I am looking forward to this weekend. No meetings, no trips...just me and me. I love it!
Today I made the decision that I am not going to have anymore kids. Well, hell, Miss Beasley is the only one. When I had her, I was not prepared and caught off guard, therefore making it a not so pleasurable experience(being pregnant, taking care of a newborn). Don't get me wrong, I love my daughter to death, but she is enough. I count myself blessed that I was able to experience the love that fills your heart when you have children, but I don't need a repeat performance. I miss my life. I miss going to church and just listening to the Pastor without saying every 10 minutes, "Sit your ass down before I get my flip-flop". I miss getting off work, taking a shower and laying in my bed watching movies and reading, I miss being able to bounce out the house in a moments notice. My daughter is getting to the age I can ALMOST do all of those things. Why ruin the good thing we have going now? Plus to be honest, neither Rev or I make a colossal amount of money to warrant us having another baby(Rev has a son Miss Beasley's age). So that being said....Victoria Page will not dance the dance of the red shoes tonight or any other night....that's right, I am getting snipped, clipped, and stomped on. I will be discussing a Bilateral Tubal Ligation next time I go to the GYN. I will just die if I come back from my honeymoon and see a plus sign on a stick. Then my relationship with my new husband will have been robbed from me because I will have to focus all my time on 1) Making ends meet 2) My pregnancy 3) The new baby. Whole marriage shot down before it even got started. Be Blessed!

Weekend Fun!

This weekend was cold, but fun. Rev bought a new car on Friday. A Ford Focus. The Escape was guzzling gas like nobodies business and the payments are lower on this car anyway. Live your dreams Boo. The buying of the new car came just in time, as we went to Busch Gardens this weekend. My advice to anybody that goes when it's not summer....don't. I enjoyed spending time with Rev and the ribs were off the hook, but it was too dayum cold for us to be at an amusement park. We got there right when the park opened and of course the first thing we jump on is the Loch Ness Monster. We rode in the first car. That, by the way is the ONLY way to ride a roller coaster. It's a totally different experience. Next, we head over to the Alpengiest and guess what? We were told they would have to wait until the temperature reached 40 degrees before they could start operating the ride. WTF? So of course like dumb asses, we wait in the line like little eager beavers as if its gonna warm up 3 degrees in the next 5 minutes. After about 30 minutes of that, Rev and I decide to cut our losses and hop on the Big Bad Wolf. Front car again....jammin on the one's. That ride never gets old to me. By this time it's RIB TIME!!! This ladies and gentlemen is what we go to Busch Gardens for. They have these wonderful smoked ribs(It's hick-ray...have some!). They were a little skimpy this time but good none the less. To make a long story short, we were cold but we had a good time together. I even convinced Rev to get on the "non-roller coaster" rides. He still thought they sucked....lol. There are things I MUST point out that just baffled me while I was there. First of all I could count on one hand all the black folks there. I felt like a stranger in a strange land. It was like colonial Williamsburg for real out there. Second, when will folks realize that the rules cannot always be bent for you? We were standing in line to get some fresh cotton candy(yum!) and this man in front of us had two borderline obese twins in a stroller and two other little girls with him, all I was assuming to be his daughters. Well, he orders two cotton candies for the two oldest then he wants the man to take one and put it on two cones because the twins, "Don't share good"(exact quote). The polite young man stated he could not do that. It was against company policy. He would have to charge him for two. Texan with the twins drawls, "I want what I wants and I want two on a stick" *sigh* Why can't folks just let people do their jobs? I am too sure that if they boy could have he would have given his selfish ass twins their cotton candy on two sticks, but because he is trying not to get fired on the first day he can't. Sweet Jesus.
I lost 3 pounds y'all! That was all the motivation I needed. I am straight up drinking water and watching what I eat. I knew I felt little slimmer yesterday but any other time the scale always says different. Be Blessed!

Thank the Lord it's Friday and Go Big Girl.....

I woke up late as hell this morning. I literally threw the first thing I saw in my drawer on, washed my face, brushed my teeth and slapped on my wig. Simultaneously. I came into my daughter's room wielding a hot washcloth so I could wash her face and get her dressed. Simultaneously. Thank God I redid her braids last night because there wouldn't have been anytime to spray some Soul-Glo on the old ones. The upside to all this is I am not as tired as I have been this week. How could I have overslept? I swear alarm clocks malfunction at some point. Shoot, I have had that clock since 1996. Time for a new one you think? Hell, it comes with a cassette player.
I swear my self esteem is getting beat up from the fine folks at Rev's church. People think that being married to a Minister is glamorous but, let me just say this: You become like property to that church. They feel they can say what they want when they want to you. Yesterday, I was at Rev's job and his Pastor came up there( I won't even get into that). The first thing out his mouth was, "It looks like you're getting fat and Rev is getting skinny." WTF????? What in his mind told him it was OK to say that? What if I would have cussed his ass out? In my old day I would have, but I think I was in such shock and awe that I couldn't say anything. Then a couple of weeks Rev and I see one of the Deaconess from his church, and this broad doesn't say hi or nothing, just...."You look nervous." Hoe sit down. Keep that shit to yourself. For her information I was recovering from the flu and I am sorry I didn't look the way she thought I should. I think it is safe to say I will not be going to Rev's church anymore. If I wanted to deal with rude ass people I will stay at my church. At least I know when they say their crazy shit it's coming from a place of love. Be Blessed!

Let Me Upsell You......

I went to the dentist yesterday for my deep scaling. My how times have changed. I have been going to my dentist for the last 17 years. I have watched him move from having one storefront office in Chimney Hill to several offices in the Hampton Roads area. God is good. When I got there yesterday I was tired as hell. All I wanted to do was lay back in the dentist chair and let them have their way with my mouth(that sounded sooooo pornographic). They take me in the back and my hygienist is this chick named Rosa* with a Spanish accent. As she is scaling my teeth she starts this sales presentation on teeth whiting. No, really. She gives me cost, types available and payment options. When did up selling dental services become apart of the program? All I wanted to do was get my teeth scaled so they don't fall out from gum disease or something horrible like that. If I wanted my teeth bleached today I would have totally signed up for it...mkay? While all the talk of bleaching was going on, the dentist noticed (thank God someone was paying attention to the important stuff) that they left #15** off my treatment plan, which happened to be the biggest cavity I have. Like root canal big. Of course this changes the ENTIRE finance picture that I had initially. You know what was really annoying as hell, Rosa was in the background, talking about, "Add the bleaching up there too so she can see what it would be like!" Hoe sit down. I DON'T WANT ANY DAMN BLEACHING!!!!! The finance lady comes back to the chair and she starts giving me some astronomical price. For one damn filling??? One filling? No ma'am I need to see the math behind that! So we go back to her office, and mind you, my whole left side of my mouth has been Novicained so I look and sound WAY touchdown. She starts doing all this talk about deductibles and limits etc. All I want her to do is explain to me how it cost $200 for a filling. Are you all filling it with platinum? Will it jump out of my mouth and do dishes? In the end her ass was confusing her self and I figured it out myself. What a waste of time. But I am happy I got my deep scaling done. My mouth was sore last night but my gums felt good this morning. The moral of this story is to go to your dental visits every six months like you should(Rev and Boogie) or this could be you. Except my mom won't be saying, "Serves you right." Gotta love her! Be Blessed!

*Not her real name
** I have no idea what that means, but they kept saying it to me like I knew what that meant.

Choir 'Hersal and Daylight Savings Time

I am so tired. No, really. Why did we have to turn the clocks back? A sister just lost an hour of sleep. For whatever reason, I cannot seem to get to bed at a decent hour. It's probably because I am up watching these Netflix all night long. In the midst of all this sleepiness, I have so much work to do pertaining to me wrapping up the semester and I have not even scratched the surface. I am going to the dentist today to finish up the rest of my deep scaling. Fun times.
Since yesterday was Tuesday, of course there was choir 'hersal. We have a new musician now. He's the bomb! We learned two new songs. On of which I was dying to sing anyway(I Will Bless the Lord by Hezekiah Walker and LFC). But the real story to tell was when we moved on to "Do it For Me." My God. Miss Dee sang(yes, saaaaaannnnng) that song! The Spirit got so high in that place we could not move on. People began giving their testimonies, it was beautiful. We didn't just have 'hersal, we had chuuuuuuuuuch. I really needed that worship and fellowship time. I have been going through some things lately and I have just been asking the Lord to deliver me from myself. Yup, myself. Sometimes we can be our own worst enemy.
I am so excited for me and Rev's trip to Busch Gardens this weekend. I hope the weather is not bad or too cold. But if so, I will make adjustments. Be Blessed!

My Wonderful Weekend....

So much happened this weekend, I don't even know where to begin.....

On Saturday morning, my mother, Miss Beasley and I went to an event called "High Tea with Tramaine Hawkins". I will admit that before this event, the most I knew about Sister Hawkins, was from that Rough Side of the Mountain gospel commercial on BET when I was little. I got dressed up in my first lady finest and away we went. I was with Mama so you know that meant some draaaaaaaaaammmmmmmma. The church we were going to is in the Churchland section of Portsmouth. Anyone who knows anything about that area knows that it is VERY close to Suffolk. I mean, one wrong turn and you are in Suffolk. I decided to use my trusty GPS on my Nextel phone(that was a shameless plug for Nextel). First we ran into some slow traffic due to an accident. That is when all hell broke loose. She started hollering she should have just went through the downtown tunnel and that dayum GPS doesn't work. So she continues to fuss and carry on until the next blow up.....she sees a sign that says Newport News/Hampton. More hollering ensues. At this point I just tune her ass out, because she has reached a level I like to call, Bonefide Crazy. Needless to say after what was probably a big ugly scene in an Advanced Auto(I stayed in the car....I wanted no parts of that) a nice gentlemen told Mama to follow him to Tyre Neck road where we were trying to go. When we got to the church the first thing I noticed was the parking lot was not as packed as expected(Or rather how Mama proclaimed that we would not have anywhere to park). I remember when we went to see Juanita Bynum and we waited in line for almost 2 hours. We got inside and the inside was decorated beautifully in pink and green. Oh you know a sister was taking notes for her wedding. Sister Hawkins came out and gave her testimony which led to her discussing her new release. After her testimony I decided I would buy her CD because she went through a lot to get it released. Well, seeing that I am a Ministers Wife to be( I am learning there are some perks to this role...lol) I got an autographed picture and a free copy of her CD. Hello! Y'all know I like free. The food was good and plentiful, there is nothing I hate more than going to something and there isn't enough food. We had a good time.
On Sunday, Rev preached at my home church. The Lord really used him. But of course, when there is a guest preacher, there has to be someone to introduce him. Guess who that was? Me. Anyone who knows me, knows I don't do public speaking. I had on 4 inch stilettos and a girdle and I thought I was going to faint. I got up there at that podium and I introduced him the best way I could. I got a little nervous at the end, because I did not know how to wrap it up. I will ramble all day long if allowed. He did wonderful, though. He was not nervous at all. Rev preached from the book of Isiah. If I had my notes, I could give the exact chapter and verse.
Pray for me y'all, I have an interview at Sally's today. I hope I get it. I need the extra income.
This past weekend was a good one. I did a lot of soul searching and a lot of praying, and this morning I could feel the Lord turning things around for me. Be Blessed!

Scripture Time....Real Talk

Last night I was talking to my sister, and we were both talking about how hard it is to forget a past love when the wound is still new. What we found funny is that you may get in deep sadness over that person and then in like 3 months, you can't even remember their name(figuratively speaking). I decided to dedicate this blog to some Word that can really get you through. It doesn't necessarily need to be a lost love, it could be any trial. We know as Christians that God is going to deliver us, but sometimes we get weak in faith and need to encouraged and God's word is the BEST thing to keep us encouraged.

Mark 14:32-36
"And they came to an olive grove called Gethemane, and Jesus said, 'Sit here while I go and pray.' He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he began to be filled with horror and deep distress. He told them, "My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and watch with me." He went on a little farther and fell face down on the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. "Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine."
Jesus knew that his final hours were coming. When they stopped in the garden he became so overwhelmed with sadness that He had to stop and pray. When we are hit with great sadness and hardship that is the same thing we should do, stop and pray. Jesus then lay prostrate and prayed that the moment he knew was coming, might pass by him. Have you ever had a time where you were braced for the absolute worse. You cry and pray to God that some dreadful event doesn't come to pass. I know I have prayed many nights that the Lord wouldn't let me lose my job or that check wouldn't be cashed because the money wasn't there. But there is something interesting that Jesus says after asking for suffering to pass over him. He ask God to do his will. Often, we want to put God in this box. We want him to bless us when we want and how we want. It doesn't go that way. If God meant for it to happen it will happen. There is nothing that any man, can do to keep it from happening. This also speaks to the human nature to worry. We often worry about things that we think we can control. God is in control. "The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord." There is no need to worry. God is guiding you and your life.

Be Blessed!

Aggravation Galore....

I wanted to post something else besides the product review on Monday, but I have been bogged down with all this work that has been thrown on me. And the laughable part is it wasn't even my work to begin with.
This morning, my mother comes into my room all hysterical about her "missing" Eucerin cream. I guess that is her equivalent to my wigs. I give her the evil side eye. Before I proceed. My mom has this propensity to flip out when something is missing. Instead of concentrating on locating the lost item, she instead starts focusing on all the wrong things. She will start saying things like, "You all probably got mad at me and threw it out", "You probably used it all up and just don't want to tell me"...etc. So she is getting ready to go into that diatribe and lo and behold, the cream is in the damn bathroom on the sink in plain view. Mind you, she was in the bathroom looking for it. I walked away flustered and the best part? She gets mad at me for being annoyed. Imma need her to get some counseling.
Sunday at church was interesting. First of all let me start by saying I feel like there is a conspiracy against me in the choir. Maybe I am being paranoid, but I feel some people had hostility toward Rev and now that he is not there, they feel that they are going to project that on me. They got the right one if they want to play that game. I will not hesitate to cuss you out. Nevada called me on Saturday night reminding me to turn in the Ministry report and all that good stuff and I agreed. She told me all that but she "neglected" to inform me that everyone was dressing in specific colors for the next day. Sopranos wear yellow, Altos wear Lavender, and Tenors/Baritones wear Blue. I came to church rocking a straight up white suit(it was 1st Sunday). I wasn't mad because I was clean as hell. Had a new wig on too...shoot. But she knew I was not at 'hersal. Why would she not share that? She shares everything else. I think she's still sore I didn't dress up like a runaway slave the 3rd Sunday in February. Shoot, I was dressed down....my ankles were covered. Then the final nail in the coffin was when Ronald(aka Mr Snaggles) comes up to me and ask, "Are you going to able to come to rehearsal on Tuesday at 6:30pm?" I know you all are saying calm down because anyone else could have asked the same question. First of all, it's the way he said it. He said it in this condescending tone and then who in world is he to ask ANYONE about coming to rehearsal. Hell, he barely comes to church. Hoe sit down.
Right now I am just praying to the good Lord for patience, because that is what I need right now.
This week I have been learning not to take every one's advice. There was this Evangelist that when I started going to Rev's church from time to time, that I befriended. Yessinia* would always go on these tirades that I need to be at Rev's church at all times and ministers cheat because their wives leave them uncovered and so on and so forth. Well I guess she left hers uncovered because his ass turned up at the strip club drinking a beer. Then I come to find out her life has been unraveling under the surface. What I am trying to say is, if she would have focused on her own home instead of what was going down in everyone else's, she would have been able to see some of that handwriting scrawled on the wall. I will keep her in my prayers for the Lord to see her through, and not only that but for Him to convict her heart when it comes to being focused on your own home. Be blessed!

*Not her real name

Monday Product Review!!!!

I am currently in my 5th week of stretching. My question to myself is can I make it to 3 months? Since I have started this hair journey, I have noticed that I have become at one with my new growth. I remember a time when I would be shocked and horrified and would ask someone to pass the Motions STAT! But, as I have been baggying my new growth is crazy soft. The back middle of my hair is usually where my new growth is the hardest. But for the first time in years I ran a comb thru it(I know I need to leave these combs alone). If I can go 3 months I may just go 6 months. Who knows? All I know is I want healthier hair. It could never grow anymore than it has now, and I would still be happy. Just as long as it is not shedding and breaking all over the place. Last night I did my weekly "good" combing and when I finished there was nary a hair on my shirt. Good times.
I didn't do Sally's this week. I found some stuff to whip up at home and some co-wash conditioners from Farm Fresh. I think the theme for today is conditioners....

• VO5 Moisture Milks in Strawberries and Cream and Peach Smoothie

I decided to give these at try for my co-wash regimen. On Monday night I used the Peach Smoothie. Two thumbs down. My hair was tangled and dry. I can go ahead and say now that this is going in the trash. On Wednesday I used the Strawberries and Cream. LOVE IT! It gave me the slip I was looking for. I don't know why the previous one didn't, but it doesn't matter because after using this one I was hooked. I will be buying a bigger bottle this afternoon.

The Verdict: I will keep the Strawberries and Cream, but the Peach smoothie is free to a good home.

• Molasses Conditioner for Breakage

I know what you are thinking. "Molasses is for biscuits.....and I know your hair was sticky as hell when you finished" SIKE! I mixed equal parts molasses and Silk Elements Moisturizing Conditioner with about 2 tsp. of EVOO and Castor oil and applied it to my hair. Please note, that this was a little runny once mixed with the conditioner and the oils. I put a plastic baggy on my head and sat under the drier for 25 minutes. I would have sat longer, but the conditioner was running every where. Oh yeah, this stains a little. I rinsed it out, my hair was soft as butter. As I previously mentioned, I haven't seen any hairs since using this either. I am impressed.

The Verdict: I will be keeping this on as a staple. I put the solution in an applicator bottle and will probably need to buy those little rolls of cotton to but around my head while I have it on because of the dripping. Welcome to the Family!

• Suave Clarifying Shampoo

I know I said this would be all conditioner, but I just remembered that I clarified my hair this Friday. I usually don't use shampoo, except for once a month so my pores in my scalp doesn't get clogged. This week I felt I needed to clarify because I hadn't done it in two months and not clarifying leads to breakage. This came in a clear bottle and really did not have a smell to it. I lathered with it once and rinsed. I was pleased with the results. I thought clarifying would leave my hair and new growth hard but this didn't. My strands felt clean but not stripped.

The Verdict: I will be keeping this for clarifying when needed. I won't be using this to replace my Silk Elements Shampoo, because my hair usually will tell me when it needs some clarifying.

• Fermodyl Leave-In Conditioner # 619

Since having a bad episode with some Infusium back in the day(maybe I did not know how to use it properly....mmmm...may re-visit this one), I have sworn off leave-ins. Naturally, there was some trepidation using this. I heard about it on the hair boards as a life saver for relaxed hair. I used the formula for relaxed and chemically treated hair. After I finished washing and conditioning, I applied this and moisturized and sealed. I guess this has been helping as well with the breakage.

The Verdict: I did not notice any kind of profound difference in my hair. This will be something that I will use if (heaven forbid) run out of conditioner.

• CareFree Curl Gold

I am sure you all read about my mishap the last time I tried to "let my soul glo". But a young lady on the hair boards suggested that I try this instead of the S-curl. I got this at Tar-Jay for $2.50 on clearance. I thought to myself, "What the hell, I'll give it a shot, because that Mango butter is expensive". The first thing I noticed was it did not have that "jheri curl juice" smell. There really wasn't a smell at all. The second I noticed was that it was not all that greasy. I applied this with a little mango butter under my baggy. My hair the next morning was soft a manageable. This has a good mix of moisture and protein, which I think will be beneficial for my hair.

The Verdict: I am going to keep this product. When I did my comb out last night my hair was really soft. I am happy I invested in the large bottle. Welcome to the Family!

Like a Ship That's Tossed and Driven....

I wish this cold would depart from me. Last night while watching Cars with Miss Beasley, I broke out into this fierce coughing fit, that lasted all night long. I hate being sick.
I hung out with Rev last night for a little bit. Not too much happened. We ate a little Subway and cut up(BTW, Chicken Teriyaki Sub....LOVE IT!!!). He has started sending me these sweet little poems via email each morning. They start my day off right. It's nice to know someone loves you, because you can get beat up by life so much that you sometimes forget.
More car drama continues to ensue. This morning it was raining and of course my windshield wipers started to act the fool. The wiper on the driver's side started acting real touchdown and wouldn't move and it was just a mess. I had to keep getting out of my car on Hwy 168 and adjusting my wipers. I know I looked ridiculous riding down the road with one blade wiping. On top of all that I couldn't see. But thank God that He gave me traveling mercies and got me and Miss Beasley where we needed to be.
My appetite seems to be getting on track. I know this sounds bad, but I have eliminated breakfast all together. It seems like that just gets the "eat you feelings" party started. I hope this helps me drop some weight. I have also discovered the joy of Diet Pepsi Jazz in French Vanilla and Black Cherry. You can barely taste the artificial sweetener. Zero calories too? Fuggitaboutit.
I am watching TV in the reception area at my job. The Early Show has a story about playing music to help patients recover faster after surgery. This lady is in the PACU playing the harp. Bullshit. When I had surgery two years ago, when I woke up the last thing I wanted to hear was a harp. My throat was dry and sore and my ass was shivering. They had to use a fry lamp(hee hee) to heat me up. If you are going to play me music, no harp please. Al Green all day. Be Blessed!

Don't Mess With My Half Wigs.....

The theme of this week has got to be aggravation. Everywhere I turn someone is just trying me. Yesterday, all I wanted to do was get a new bulb for my low beam headlight. My bulbs are hard as hell to change, despite the fact the manual makes it look easy. The first call I made was one of my favorite places(when I become Oprah Jr. I am going to have a show called "Favorite Places")--Jiffy Lube. I read on the website that they change bulbs. I was greeted over the phone by a gentleman who clearly never heard of the phrase, "speak clearly". He told me that they did not change lights on my car because....you guessed it.....it's too complicated. Jesus. My next call was to the fine people at the car dealership, where I purchased this fine automobile I might add. They told me it would 50 dollars to change the bulb...parts and labor. WTF???? *sigh* It has to be done, so I leave work and head on out to the dealership. I get there and Cliff(not his real name....I just think he looked like a Cliff) tells me that they close in 30 minutes and he has a shop full of work and would not be able to get to it until Saturday. WHAT? So I went with the next available option. Go to the auto parts store and try to install it myself *sigh*. I was frustrated because I had choir rehearsal in 2 hours and I knew from the past experience with my headlights that this was going to be difficult. Last time I was fortunate that a store employee was kind enough to help me. It took his ass a long time. I called the parts store and the manager told me they have the bulb but because of liability and all that jazz no one would be able to help me put it in. Sugar honey iced tea. I get to the store and I am greeted by a lady named Jody. Off top, I knew there would be no chance of me getting any pretty girl-needs help-with her car sympathy. I asked her did she have a wrench set, because I was getting ready to go to town on my headlight. She asked me why I should need that, then she came out to my car and guess what y'all? Jody installed my light without removing the headlight and she showed me what to do for the next time. Talk about girl power! Thank God for her.
Rev bought me some molasses yesterday so I can make this conditioner that is supposed to stop breakage. You know I'll be letting you know all about it on Monday.
My mom wants me to help her clean for my sisters impending visit this Saturday. Do Jesus. I am tired when I get off work. I just want to come home and relax(read:do my hair). I am getting off early today and I am going to go home and clean the carpets and vacuum and then I want to be left the hell alone. I mean that. Shoot my Netflix will be here.....
I have been going through pure hell in regards to those two wigs I ordered from Hairsisters. After being sent to Nebraska the first time around they agreed to just resend me the wigs about 3 weeks ago. In this time I ordered another half wig from them(its fierce!) and I looked on the Internet saw where that wig has being shipped but the other two were still in processing! Why is everybody trying to try me? I called them and they informed me that my other two wigs will arrive from the manufacturer on Friday(they would have had them had they not sent them to Nebraska) and I should receive them by Wednesday. Jesus people...when was I going to be informed of this? If I don't have those wigs on my front porch via UPS by Wednesday I am going to be one angry black woman. You don't mess with my half wigs...or my Mango Butter. Get yourself cut.
Why is it some people can't just say what they want without a lot of extra talk? This woman at work feels the need to over explain every single thing she says to me. I am not touchdown...I comprehend. I don't recall her seeing me licking any windows. She gives this whole preamble to her general point. Shoot, when you come in my office you have 2 seconds to make your point or I am tuning your ass out. I don't have time to listen to your life story. Work on me Lord.