My Natural Hairstyles over the past few months

It's been a loooooonnnnnnnggggg time! I wanted to share some of my favorite hairstyles (including my first blow dry in over a year) during the Spring and early Summer.

Yes, I'm still loving my naturalness! My straightened hair now reaches past my bra strap which is longer than it was 4 years ago with a perm. I can't believe. It was that long ago! Two strand twists and twist outs are still my go-to style (both skinny and just recently chunky pictured). 

I now make my own oil and hair cream. I do a natural henna every 3 months, and once a month I do a homemade clay wash. There you have it. My hair update!

My magnificent Afro

My classy faux hawk Updo 

It was time for a cut and straighten. I still can't believe how long it is, and this was achieved with just the blow dryer. 

My twisted Bantu Knot-out

Skinny two strand twist out

And my new favorite: the chunky two strand twist-out

The teen and the tot Updates!

LMy teenager!!  She's 14 now and about to start high school! My goodness!

My Link! He's 5 now and best word to describe him would be precocious!

Popcorn and Coffee

Not the morning got drink nor the salty snack you have at the movies. These fun titles belong to Coffee, our 9 year old boxer/lab, and Popcorn, our latest addition, a 6 month old puggle.

It took us almost 2 months to get this happy sharing of bed quarters!

It was a rocky start. Popcorn kept pissing and pooping in Coffee's bed trying to assert herself as Queen, and Coffee would just stand there looking helpless.  Then if Popcorn wasn't doing that she was ripping Coffee's bed to shreds.  We went through 2 beds for Coffee, and 2 beds for Popcorn. Anything with stuffing was demolished! We asked her vet what we should do, his advice? Get rid of all bedding and only use blankets, which of course isn't fair to our old lady but it's either that or we keep buying beds.  

Then there was the 5am wake up calls in the morning from Popcorn in her crate, and I just couldn't take it anymore. So now we only crate Popcorn when we're out of the house, and her blanket became both of their beds. When we got Coffee, she was a year and fully trained and it is like having a baby all over again with Popcorn.  Lost teeth, potty training, crying in the middle of the night, etc. is all new to me.  I've been watching YouTube videos and reading lots of puppy blogs. 

Oh yeah, and she's quite the escape artist.  Not only did we have to put a harbinger on the crate but also a lock.  She figured out how to lift the handle and slide it open.  When we fixed that she figured out how to just push the gate door just enough to squeeze out the bottom of it. 

Friends and family were like "you're crazy to get a puppy this time in your life! That's TWO dogs?!" But I guess I was having a moment one day. Hysterectomy last year left me with a nagging feeling every time I was around new babies and I just felt I "needed" her in my life, you know? There you have it. I'll have to tell the story another time!

Snow/Ice but a non-Snow day Pissing NYC Teachers off!

Been a Long Time bloggers, but it felt compelled this morning...

Sitting at home watching News 12 and Channel 4, and I'm really sick of Mayor Deblasio telling everyone to stay off the roads but he leaves NYC schools open??

I'm not a baby sitter, I teach for a living and refuse to risk life and limb to sit in a class with only 5-10 students whose parents want them to have perfect attendance for graduation or they only live a block away from school!!

My First blow out & Senegalese Twists...

I recently did my first henna treatment prior to blowing out my hair for the first time in over a year. My cousin suggested I do a treatment before styling my hair in Senegalese twists for the summer. I used Jamila Henna on my hair and Maddy's.

Here's my blowout and twists:

And I've also stepped up my nail game:

Busy busy busy!

I hope to get back to this blog sooner than later!

But I will do some updates:

➡Darling daughter is now THIRTEEN!!

➡Link is four and a half and getting ready for kindergarten in September!!

➡I'm finally working on putting my poetry book together to self-publish!

➡I'm still on my path to being a better Christian, Wife, and mother!

➡Hubby and I are about to celebrate our 8th Wedding Anniversary!

➡I had to have a hysterectomy! (Bright side - no more periods!)

➡I'm turning FORTY in 2 weeks!!!!!

Lots more...but that's it for now!

Marble Nail Art

So it took me about 3 hours to get my nails they way I wanted or even to look like they were marbleized.

I can't wait to show them off!

Trying My Hand at Nail Art

Here's my first attempt at marble nail art. Even though I used tape, I clearly made a huge mess all over my finger. Didn't get quite enough blue, but I believe it's from where I placed my finger in the water.

Will post final nail designs.