Now ladies…
you know we can go through some stuff with our hair. We let it grow out, we get it all cut off, we perm it, fry it, dye it, you name it, most of us have done it to our heads, and don’t forget about the weaves! I have to laugh somethimes when I think about all of the stuff I use to do to my hair because I didn’t know any better for myself. No one ever taught me about the beauty of my coily hair also referred to as my nappy head. Don’t get me wrong… I stand proud of my nappiness, and thank you for saying so. If I had only known then about all of the great things I learned about my hair today…! So I would like to share my loc journey with you.
Seven in a half years ago today I decided I would no longer braid my hair with extensions. I loved them but hated giving up a whole weekend to braid ‘em. I would do the individual braids, and would have them all down my back and you know I was tryin to be all cute and stuff, but I braided my hair for the last time… I went on the internet to learn more about loc’s and how I would get started. After I learned how, I created my own technique and called them “Tylocks c2000″. At that time my loc’s were about as long as your baby finger, so when I showed up to work for the first time with my loc’s… honey you should have seen the faces! I guess them folks thought I had lost my mind. Now some people were supportive but for the most part…? Humph! But I did it and I stood proud, and was ready to embrace my journey.
At the same time I loc-ed my hair I was also starting a new way of life and joined weight watchers. My Tony bologna and I went to Disney and had taken lots of pictures and when I saw the pic of me with Mickey Mouse…? I could not believe my eyes!!! I was standing next to Mickey kinda squating a little bit ‘cuz he short, we were cheek to cheek and I had my hips all tooted out kinda to the side…? Well when we got back home and developed the film I could not believe my big ole booty! And I had on some short cut off pants!! I was like “awe hell naw who is that…?!! Y’all, I thought I was cute and for all that time I still thought I was still small like I was when I first got married! So I vowed not to take another picture until I lost 50 pounds! With Weight Watchers you have to count points and honey I was squeezing them points like they were money! (..hahahah) I was wheeling and dealing all over the place and when it came to my favorite peach pie… watch out! My Tony bologna can tell you about that!
Weight Watchers taught me a lot about myself ( and wait a minute… I did it online because I was not about to go to no meetings talkin ’bout “hello… my name is Dena and I’m chubby… pleaz!) It taught me a lot about myself. All you need is a slice of pie… save some for later! It also taught me a lot about butter and salt and food portions… “moderation is key”. It took me a year to reach my goal of losing 50 pounds and I am still in my size 6 today. People would talk about me behind my back and say that my whole diet thing was temporary and I would regain the weight plus more. They would also snarl at my hair but that was ok too because God is good. I’m happy, healthy, full of life, and still enjoying my marriage of 19 years to a man that stood by me in full support of what ever I wanted to do. Today my loc’s are down my back and proudly wave to all of the nae-sayers as they sway with the wind. Today, and always I am proud.
I will be working on a loc book in the very near future as well as Diet book so stay tuned!
Take a look at my pics through-out my journey! “Please do not use my loc photos in any publication with out my authorization. I do not authorize the use of these photos beyond this blog page.”
