Out...Of...CONTROL!

{source}

In case you haven't noticed yet by the lack of fitness posts from me I took a mini fitness hiatus. At first it was sorta of impromptu but the further along I went the more deliberate it got. I knew why I "decided" to do so but wasn't really able to put it into words until earlier this week. My boss offered me a piece of cheese cake (with strawberry sauce and EVERYTHING!) and then quickly reneged while saying "Oh wait. My bad, I forgot you are on your diet." I looked him square in his eye, picked up a fork, took a huge bite of cheesecake and replied (after I ate my cheesecake lol) "If you weren't so busy nagging me ever 2 seconds you'd notice that I've been off my 'diet' for 3 weeks now....sir". To my surprise he asked me WHY. I didn't expect him to care enough to ask me why. It surprised me even more that I immediately had an answer. My response:
"Because I am sick of being told what to do, when to do it and how to freaking to do it. When to eat, when not to eat, what to eat what not to eat. How to feel, how not to feel. I'm over it. I need a break." He looked confused so I broke it down further. "EVERY day you and your boss, and his boss tell me the expectations that you need from me. What you need me to do, what you want me to do, what I should do...and I get that. I do the same to my employees. This is a business...it pays the bills and affords my livelihood therefore I must do what you ask. But frankly sir, I'm sick of being told what to do ALL day EVERY damn day. I HAVE to listen to you but when I leave work and go home I just want to do what I want to do, when I want to do it, how I want to! And I wasn't able to do that. My ex was telling me how I should feel, my trainer pushed me over the edge physically and emotionally every session, my sisters were worrying me, my friends were worried about me....I just wanted a month with no rules (outside of work), no worries, no do's, no don'ts. A world full of strawberry cheesecake! *takes another bite* I'm not saying that my health or being fit isn't important, I'm saying that these past few months I haven't had control of anything that has been happening to me and I really needed to get my mind clear.I needed to have control over SOMETHING sooooo...I stopped dieting,haven't really worked out, drank way too many adult beverages, and eaten out a few several times. But the fact that you cant look at me and tell that I have gained some control by losing absolute control of myself and my eating habits makes me feel better. I'll be back on the fitness track in a week...sir" *giggles, eats the last bite of cheesecake, and sashays out of the office*
He is my boss, annoys the hell out of me and has NO real idea the hell that my personal life has been lately. Yet, he has still been able to inadvertently help me sort some things out and even motivate me. Cause now that he knows Ive been playing all month if I even look like I gained a pound he'll prob have something snarky to say. So...one more week of play time me time and I'm back on the grind. June 1st, next Friday, is my official day back. And the closer that day gets the less I think "Hmmmm, what am I sippin' on when I get home" and the more I think "Which shoes am I wearing for my morning run next Friday: the Vibrams or the Nikes?!" Decisions, decisions!

*Disclaimer: Yes, my trainer knows that I went on a fitness "sabbatical"...it was actually her idea. But no she does not know about the cheesecake, the Jager, or the macaroni & cheese indulgences O_o. I'm sure she'll make me regret it when I get back in the gym but it was worth every bite!!! Some times you just have to lose control to gain control*

In Review: So Fresh So Clean

I have been using Numa's So Fresh So Clean Spray for my protectives styles since February and my hair and I love it! So Fresh So Clean can be used as a dry shampoo or to detangle. I typically use it as a dry shampoo for after workouts or while I'm in between wash days. (Note: I do NOT replace my regular shampoo with this product. I still wash my hair regularly...I just use this in between washes to neutralize any odors in the hair and take care of my scalp while my hair is protected). It has a light citrus smell, its light on the hair and the scalp, and is packaged conveniently in a nifty little spray bottle.

Ingredients: Distilled water, Aloe Vera, Glycerin, Lime, Orange, Rosemary,Tea tree, and Citric Acid (Organic Preservative)

Price: $10.99 for a 4oz bottle. I think that's reasonably priced because a little bit goes a very long way with this product. Again, I purchased this bottle since early February and use it regularly and still have 1/3 of a bottle left. So I will prob get 5-6 months total usage out of it.

If you are in the Atlanta area you can find this product at The Good Hair Shop If you are not local you can source this item online at http://www.thegoodhairshop.com/#!store I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

NNHMD Recap ATL Style: Essentially Natural

{Photo courtesy of Nisha Williams}
Jeanell Darden of CocoCurls, myself, and her adorable daughter. We called her Little Miss CocoCurls!^_^

It was touch and go for a little while as to whether or not Atlanta would be represented in National Natural Hair Meet Up Day, but these lovely ladies stepped up to the plate and made it happen for us:

Co-hosts Nisha Williams and Kini Slaughter of Variety Curls Apparel

Bridgette Gant (make-up artist AND hair stylist) on your left another co-host (3rd of the dynamic trio that put this event together)

The meet up was held at Naturally Essential in Lawercenville, Ga. It's only 30 min from my house but I was late because....well y'all know how I tend to get lost EVEN with a GPS smh. Anyway, I arrived JUST in time. When I got there Jeanell Darden of CocoCurls was speaking on natural hair care and products. She also did a giveaway on an 8oz bottle of CocoCurls styling aid. Guess who won! Tehehe:

ME!!!

When I ran up there to get my prize she said "Wait! I know you!". To which I replied "Yep! You sure do! I end up winning a bottle of CocoCurls from you at every event that I go to but I always use them for giveaways. But this time, I'm keeping this bottle for myself!" And I ran off before anyone could decide I shouldn't get to keep it Lol! Winning that bottle disqualified me from winning any other prizes which was fair because everyone got to go home with something. Some of the other prizes are shown below.

I love how the design on the picture kinda resembles her twist set. Both are stunning!

Crocheted earrings

Another set of crocheted earrings

Janine Lock about to announce the winner of an all expense paid 3 day 2 night stay trip. Winner gets to choose from various places such as Aruba & Hawaii. I'm so happy for the lady that won this prize! She will have a great time! Janine is a travel agent, if you have any questions you can contact her at janine@yourdoortotheworld.com and to check out rates you can check out www.yourdoortotheworld.com

Box full of FULL size Karen's Body Beautiful products

I had to get a full photo of her outfit. The shirt says "I create memories" in the front (yes ma'am you do!!!) and the back....

I also decided to take a sneak peek at the salon area...after I asked permission from the lovely Tahera first who was manning the front desk:

Very artsy decor with a chic vibe and warm and inviting atmosphere.

Tia Lou of If I Were A Brit Girl I have this thing I like to do...where I take pictures of other bloggers taking pictures. Love catching bloggers in their element!

Arkeedah of It's Arkeedah Fashion & Lifestyle Blog She is a fun and vibrant person, great to be around. Definitely the life of any event!^_^

Cherie, Owner of Nappy Rutz

"Nappy inspired t-shirts & hand made earrrings designed with a natural woman in mind."

Nappy Rutz earrings. Can't wait to place my first order!

Selena of It's My Hair Magazine there will be a launch party for the magazine in July. Will keep you all posted.

Side view of that lovely 'do

I love funky chunky twist outs.

Traditional locs

Ma'Mocha Naturals did consults ALL day and man was that line LONG! I listened as they did consultation for each lady and gave some very helpful info. The eased some natural hair worries, suggested some great products, and discussed proper product application for maximum benefits. They are Atlanta based so if you are looking for a consult WITHOUT an actual hair appt (like you would have to do at a salon) then be sure to check them out. www.mamochanaturals.com

My business card...everyone that I handed to loved it! "Wait...this is made of wood!" I believe the word "Dope" was used a few times lol. I had my cards personally made by Ayana, her site is www.TheHandmadeSeed.com and I did a recent post on her services. Be sure to check her out.

The swag bag! Lots of goodies!

Can't wait to try Darcy Botanical's Sweet Cocoa Bean Moisturizing Hair and Body Lotion

I also had the pleasure of chatting with Swarthy Daisy I think we talked for well over an hour about a wide span of topics...not just natural hair. Such a sweet and friendly woman. She was also very informative about blogger events, the Atlanta area, and the natural hair scene here. I will definitely be in touch with her!

As mentioned, there were various prizes and goodies as well as coupon codes from various companies.

The sponsors:

Curl Kit

Your Door To The World

Karen's Body Beautiful
CocoCurls
Yvonne4eyes
Sage Naturalceuticals
Chargin Valley Soap And Salve
Rooted-N-Nature
Natural Girls Rock
Dope Crochet
Taliah Waajid
Bunnies And Buggies
POPiPHi
That Artista
Professional Products Unlimited
SisiLi
Can't wait for next year's event which is no longer NATIONAL....it was such a success that it is now going to be INTERNATIONAL Natural Hair Meet Up Day! Kudos to Adeea Rogers (@TrendySocialite) for coordinating such a wonderful nation wide event that brought so many women together!

Getting Ready For NNHMD

I'm on my way to Natural Essentials Salon & Spa for the Essentially Natural Event in conjunction with National Natural Hair Meet Up Day. I'm running just a little bit late lol....I've had my hair style and my outfit planned for over a month now for this event. So you know I changed them both up several times today lol. Typical Landa. This is what I came up with.

The hair:

Roll tucked the back and left the front/side down. Spritz twists with water/Jane Carter LI mix and sealed with Oyin Sugar Berries Pomade. My hair smells DELICIOUS!

Accessories

Shoes

Yep, yep! I'm rockin' flats (errr umm flip flops) much to Sadie's dismay. I can't do 4-6hrs in heels OR wedges. Can't do it. Sorry!

The outfit

What's in my bag:

CHARGED up camera

 FULLY charged phone which doesn't matter cause my android battery hates me and will be dead by 3 or 4pm anyway -_-

Note book and pen for notes of the tons of information and knowledge that will be dropped today

Netbook for when I get tired of writing notes...I'll just type them.

Business cards for networking purposes

Business card holder to store all the cards Ill be collecting today.

My wallet of course...only taking $40 of cash with me so I don't do anything silly.
And some bobby pins...you know. Just in case lol

I'm ready this time! No history repeating itself with my camera incident at the World Natural Hair Show! Can't wait to share the details with you! 

Twisted With Yolanda Nicole

It just dawned on me that I haven't shared pictures of my new set of kinky twists with you:

 My current set of kinky twists.

My set of twist for February/March

Notice something different?! Yolanda Nicole (my stylist) and I did. My February set of kinky twist came out straightsh..meaning although the hair was indeed kinky the twist didn't curl up on the ends or crink up in the middle. Which was ok with me because I liked the way the twist fell. However this round we used the same exact hair and got different results. We came to the conclusion that the distrubutor of the brand we got has different textures under the SAME name, color, and style! -____- So this time my kinky twists did what they normally do...curled up! Yolanda knew how much I loved the last set so I had to assure her that I love this one too! Wasn't what I was expecting but I've learned to get use to that since I've been natural lol. I have a cute lil up 'do that Ill be wearing to Natural hair Meet Up Day and I can't wait to share it with you. I would not have been able to pull that style off with the straighter twist but with my curly twist? Stoked!!! I've had them in for 3 weeks now. I usually rock them for 6-8wks but I think this time I might only make it 4 or 5 weeks.I finally have the urge to experiment with my loose hair. Yay! Let's see how long that urge lasts lol!

2012 World Natural Hair Show

This was the 3rd WNHS that I have attended and each event has been a different experience for me. The 1st one was the excitement of being around sooooo many other naturals and SO many vendors and products. Yes, my haul was crazy that year lol. My next visit was still an experience but a little different. I was still focused on the products *hangs head* but I also made it a point to meet as many people as possible. This time though was a little different, starting with me waking up late. Every time I have attended I have been in the parking lot and at the doors by 9:30AM with minimal drama.So this year when I WOKE UP at 9:30 AM I knew it was going to be an ordeal. I scrambled to get ready as raced as fast as possible without the chances of getting to the Venue. I got to the Venue by 10:15 but sat in heavy traffic at the intersection for 45 minutes fearing for my life, not exaggerating. At one point I got stuck in the MIDDLE of a 5 point intersection for the longest 5 minutes of my life. Next time I will park across the street at the airport parking and walk. Its faster, its cheaper and Lawd knows its SAFER. As I finally walked through the front doors I got a text from my friend saying "Where ARE you?!" As I was texting back to say I was heading towards will call I looked up to see her standing in this horribly long line to PURCHASE a ticket:

It was the homie Kela looking fabulous as always. This was our 3rd WNHS together and our "1 yr anniversay of meeting curl friend to curlfriend" lol. After a warm greeting (and giving her the side eye for not pre-ordering a ticket) I left her in the line that she would spend over an hour in and headed to will call where I spent 25 min. When I got inside I aimlessly wondered around til my partner in crime was able to get in. While wandering I came across Queen (pictured below).

 I stopped her to ask her if I could take a picture of her Sisterlocks. She gave me a very stern and serious look and said "These are NOT Sister locks. I have TRADITIONAL locs." Then she paused, smiled and said "But yes, you may take a picture of my traditional locs." I realized that I was about to get schooled and what I later found out that is she is a hairstylist (hence the educating tone of voice:). She explained that Sisterlocs are started with a tool and sorta weaves the hair together against its natural curl pattern, leaving holes throughout the locs which is why a lot of women complain of breakage when they are trying to start SL's. Traditional locs do not use a tool to start them hence there are no holes through the locs making it stronger and less likely to break off. Hmmmm, interesting. Just when I thought school was over one of her clients walked up.

 This is Ina, one of her clients. 

Ina informed me that Queen's number rule for her as a client is to not let ANYONE touch her locs. "You don't know where their hands have been, especially on days like today when EVERYONE is dealing with and handling money." Makes sense! Thank you ladies for the helpful info!

As I said earlier, this year was not about product hauling for me...I'm over that. In fact here is what I "hauled" if you can even call it that:

I came here KNOWING that I was stopping by KurleeBelle's booth to get my racer back tank top that I told her I wanted. I also ended up with Oyin Whipped Pudding and Sugar Berries Pomade on a whim. "But Landa..I thought you were on a no buy." I am! But its a long story on how I even ended up at the booth to begin with and...well its Oyin for natural hair's sake! And of course I scored some samples: Taliah Waajid, Beautiful Textures, and Mizani.
Speaking of Taliah Waajid, while playing at that booth I saw some awesome hair:

 Traditional locs.....

 Two strand twists and a twisted up do....

and YEP! that is a high loc'd bun WITH a fade. Sure is...

And its safe to say that I was on a bit of an afro kick that day:

Hair styling demo at the As I Am booth

How 'bout I took a picture of  CHICandKINKYand didn't know that was her til i got home!!! UGH! *wall slides*

Look who I found in the Camille Rose booth doing what PJ's do best!

From left to right @MBeautyJunkie, @ColiyHeadChick, @CurlyKimmyStar, & the lil nautralista in the front rockin' a fierce head of curls is Cooper, @MBeautyJunkie's daughter. Look out world...future PJ in the making!;)

I finally got to meet Terrinique (@KurleeBelle) I love her t-shirts!

Kela and Lashawn. I'm so excited for Lashawn and her awesome haul bag of natural hair goodies!

So what did we learn that day?
1. Wake up early and be EARLY to avoid the headache of traffic!
2. Park across the street
3. Buy your tickets early to avoid that crazy purchase ticket line! Shout out to Kela! I think she learned her lesson this year;)
4. Make sure that my camera is fully charged  Buy a new damn camera.
5. I have an Android. My battery sucks and I should simply accept that lol
6. WNHS isn't JUST about the products and deals! Its about the connection that can be made with others that appreciate natural hair and are just some down right awesome people.
7. However, I did feel that some vendors took advantage of the hype of the event by charging regular prices. I won't rant but I shall direct you to @coilyheadchick's WNHS recap video for details ~~~> 2012 World Natural Hair Show Talk & Haul *whistles and walks away*
8. Last year loc styles were catching my eye but this year all the huge 'fros were making my heart race ^_^.
9. That there is a HUGE difference between traditional locs and Sisterlocks and just because a lady has locs that are thin in diameter it does NOT mean that they are Sisterlocks
10. STUDY! You know how many people I walked past and didn't recognize til I got home and got on YouTube or Blogger and realized I looked right at them! People look so different in person but I REALLY need to brush up on my YT videos and blogs before I hit the next big event....so that I can put faces with names lol...and smh.
I will definitely be attending future shows but I will be implementing all of the things that I learned above!