Frustrating Hair Days

Yes i said it! Frustrating hair days. Not to be confused with bad hair days.

The days i am talking about are when you just do not know what to do with the crown that is on your head.

I mean, you could style it like this.. No i did that last week/yesterday. Or i could tie a bun. No it is either won’t be big enough or it will be too big. I have to go to the salon. Either not enough money or you just want to do something different. you could tie it in a turban, however given this Nairobi heat, that is not the best option available.

No option seems to work!

At such a time it is OK TO HATE YOUR HAIR. It is impatient and frustrating to deal with just like a little toddler can be. You wish you didn’t know what you do about heat damage…sigh

So you know what i did, i let it be. For two whole weeks *gasp*

I went to the salon  and had it washed and then i just let it lie. All i did was put some jojoba oil on my scalp.

An interesting thing happened: I enjoyed the break and so did my hair. I saw a growth spurt in my hair when i finally relocked the roots. 🙂

Sometimes just like a toddler it just wants to be left alone for a while and then it will come back to you in all its glory and good behaviour 🙂

I learned that this period of letting go is SO WORTH IT and i truly love my mane of dreadlocks. It is how the Good Lord made me and i wouldn’t change it for a thing!!

The pros of being natural/nappy head outweigh the cons.

To all of you who are just starting out on the natural hair journey or who are considering jumping ship and to those who are frustrated, don’t be. You are not alone.

All you’ve got to do is just learn to accept your hair and its quirks there is only so much you can do about it. Just let go and get on with your life. It takes a lot of time and patience. In my 6 year dreadlock (12 year natural) journey some days i feel like i am just starting out.

Happy Thursday!

..The day after

So here we are; the day after the marathon.

I had been thinking about the Stanchart marathon since January. Playing with the idea of participating, to walk, to run or to jog.

I did participate and i walked.

Fast walked.

With a lady old enough to be my mom.

I was filled with lots of questions the night before:

Am i sure i could do it?

Why oh why did i register to do the 10km instead of the 5km? Surely that would have been a better place to start?

What are the security arrangements? What would happen if…the unimaginable  happened?

WAS I SURE I COULD DO IT??

I needn’t have feared.

I walked 2kms to the start of the race and it was a sea of white.

After a cursory security check i went and joined what looked like the group of 10km participants.

I did a little stretching with minimum space. You could feel the anticipation in the air.

I was way at the back and so i didn’t realise that we had been flagged off by the Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero. It seemed like we were being flagged off in intervals of a few minutes. Soon enough i had crossed the starting line.

I had met a friend and we set off catching up on our lives.

So we walked and walked and we realized that we were among the last! To make matters worse, there was a group of 3 older gentlemen who were discussing the state of different companies who had passed us.  We increased our pace and decided that they were the group to beat.

Intermittently they  would pass us and we would jog to overtake them  and then yet again they would pass us.

We got serious and set a fast pace and maintained it. We also realized that there was an older lady and a Chinese lady who were ahead of us. How could that be? The next goal was to reach them and pass them. Privately, i had set the time of not more than 2 hours at the most for the 10km walk.

We caught up to the first lady and kept pace with her. We realized that the elder Chinese lady was way fitter than us so we let her be. We kept pace with her and even had some conversation with her. It was fun.

As we got to the last 2 kms i realised that i had about 20-2 mins to get to my time of 1hr 45 mins (i had 15mins to spare)

My friend N.O. was more than willing to help me get to that goal. We left lady friend behind and picked up the pace. We were excited. We hadn’t cut any corners and the end was so so near.

The closer we got to the finishing line the harder it was to actually cross it….because there were so many people taking pictures!!

I waded through…and i crossed the line! YAY FOR ME!! 🙂

I also did my thing and took some pics and soaked in the feeling of accomplishment.

Today, there is a little stiffness in my calves but that’s about it.

Next year i could do it running/jogging. And beat my record of 1:45mins.

Thank you for following me on this journey. Let’s continue with our fitness regime.

In the meantime i wanna congratulate myself by stuffing myself with some masala chips and fried chicken as well as a huge piece of cake.

Join me?

Hydration for a Race

It’s almost here!! Stanchart marathon!!
And i am shaking with excitement. Shaking i tell ya!

I realise i have not done my due diligence regarding my training but that will not stop me.
I have registered for the 10km race.
I do not intend to go about it like an athlete. I will be real with myself. I will walk or jog at my pace.
My goal is to do it in 1hr 45mins at most 2hrs. If i do it in less i will be super duper happy.

What i am doing a lot of is hydrating. The importance of water cannot be overemphasized. The weather in Nairobi has been hot! And it is predicted that it will be just as hot on Sunday the 27th of October.

I came across this article on how to include water in your morning routine. http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/waking-water-8212-crucial-193400268.html
Here are some reasons why you should include it in your morning routine:
-It hydrates your cells after a night’s rest. It also increases the rate at which new muscle and blood cells are produced. This allows for healthy flow of oxygen. Thus increases your levels of energy and alertness.
-It flushes out toxins that have accumulated in the course of the night. This leads to clear skin 🙂
-Drinking water on an empty stomach in the morning boosts your metabolism.
-Not drinking enough water could make you sickly. Water is important in maintaining a healthy lymphatic system. When this system is balanced, your body can properly fight off infection.

Lots of good points raised yes?

Happy Training!

Curly Hair

What if curly hair was mainstream?

I had to stop and think when i saw that statement.

http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/wavy-hair-type-2/what-if-curly-hair-was-mainstream#nc-gallery-header

There is the link.

Have a look and enjoy it.

Tell me what you think.

Peace.

To all of us who want to give up again and again.

No matter what, don’t give up.

Hair Care

I haven’t written about hair care in a while. This was inspired by my current feelings of bleugh towards my hair.

In between training (not very consistently) for the marathon, i have let my hair go.

These dreads have started to resemble the free forming dreads.

You know, kinda like the ones sported by Bob Marley and Lauryn Hill.

This is what it kinda looks like.

This is because it is becoming difficult to fix them every so often and i am working out quite a bit.

In addition to this, i have become quite busy over the weekends. My retouch is two weeks overdue and i am very tempted to just let them be or cut them (too drastic though)

At the moment, i have had it washed and oil with Jojoba oil. I love it!!

As i wondered what to do to my hair and how to do it, i realised that they have not been moisturised in a while; and they do need to be moisturised regularly and deep conditioned.

Maybe yours needs it too.

Tips:

• Do not use products that will cause build up. Avoid products that have mineral oil as their base such as beeswax and shea butter. They can leave behind a residue that accumulates and collects grime over time. When starting out you can shop around for alternate products such as Stylin Dredz Moulding Gel.
• Wrap your locks in a silk scarf at night to prevent them from loosing moisture and lint free.

Essential oils

Again and again my scalp has gotten inflammed and irritated during salon visits due to too much heat under the dryer. My pet peeve.

One of my friends told me about essential oils and their benefits.

• Vitamin E repairs hair and skin damage that has been caused by the environment or stress.
• Lemon, Rosemary and Tea tree oil as a treatment for dry scalp
• Basil promotes hair growth
• Lavender and Peppermint for dry hair, promotes hair growth

So far i have only tried Tea tree oil and i could feel my scalp thanking me 🙂

Deep Conditioning

I try to be as natural as possible. I use half a tub of the smallest natural yoghurt, which i get from Nakumatt at around 50/-. I mix with regular vinegar. I don’t make it too runny to avoid dripping it everywhere.

I keep it on for about 30 mins with a shower cap on. Rinse it out thoroughly. And my hair is changed into soft and supple strands!! I love it when it is in this state.

I then proceed on to lock it with Stylin Dredz Moulding Gel.

In the meantime, i will just let them be and do their thing.

How to Stay Young (Monday Musings)

I saw this and i just just had to share it with you this Monday morning. I particularly like number 10, 11 and 18.

Smile!! 🙂

HOW TO STAY YOUNG

1. Throw out non-essential numbers such as your age, weight and height.

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down. If you really need a grouch, there are probably family members to fill that need.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Just never let the brain idle.

4. Enjoy the simple things. When the children are young – that is all you can afford. When they are in college that is all you can afford. When they are grown, and you are on retirement, that is all you can afford.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. Laugh so much that you can be tracked in the store by your distinctive laughter.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person that is with us our entire life is ourselves.

7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it is family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies or whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health. If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don’t take guilt trips. Go to the mall, the next county, a foreign country – but not guilt.

10. Tell the people you love how much you love them every chance you get. Never assume they know.

11. Don’t worry about things you cannot change or do anything about. Accept them and move on.

12. Read more and dust less.

13. Spend more time with your family and friends and less time working.

14. Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experiences to savor, not to endure. Recognize these moments now and cherish them.

15. Do not “save” anything. Use your good china and crystal for every special event such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, or the next blossom of flowers you see.

16. Wear your best outfit to the market.

17. Don’t save your good perfume for only special occasions. Use it even if you are going shopping or just to the bank.

18. “Someday” and “one of these days” should vanish from your vocabulary. If something is worth seeing, hearing or doing, go and see, hear or do it now.

Are you living each day to the fullest? Jesus is all about living an abundant life in the here and now … whatever stage of life that might be for you.Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away.

Mary Southerland.
61 years old.

karma2.jpg

“what you throw out comes back to you star, never underestimate those who you scare, cos karma karma karma comes back to you star” Those are some lyrics of the Lauryn Hill song – Lost One. I love me some Lauryn Hill….. At this transition …

Fitness Boot Camp

Hello hello all.

I finally tell you about the Fitness Boot Camp event that i went for.

It was a bright morning and i was a bit skeptical as to how that would turn out seeing as i had not hydrated very well.

The trainer Liza was great. Very friendly and encouraging.

I went with one of my best friends- let’s call her N. When we got there, there were 2 other girls waiting for the Boot Camp to start.

The first hour was broken into sessions for strength training, warm ups, and cardio; which included lunges, burpees, sit ups, sprints, jogs and a huddle game.

It was tough. Tougher than i thought it would be.

Unfortunately N did not fare too well. She was woozy (due to a light dinner and no breakfast) and called it quits 30 minutes into the session.

After that we went into the first obstacle course of the day.

First we had to do a set of 6 star jumps, then a bear crawl to a set of tyres and do no less than 5 push ups. Jog to a climbing net (i hate it! lol).

Thereafter do a set of jumps over 3 tyres that were cut in half while turning 180 degrees in the air. Finally do a crawl walk (hands and heels forwards) to the end. Repeat 3 times.

After that a two minute cool down session and we went for more exercises on a hill.

We had to do side jogs up the hill, twice. Do lunges up the hill, twice. Lastly, sprint up the hill, twice. *cue exhausted sigh*

Lastly we did the last obstacle course. We had to bear crawl a distance of 20m, dash back to the beginning, carry a set of 4 kg each, get to the second base and do a set of 8 squats. Go back to the beginning and forward crawl to the second base; go back to the beginning, take a tyre and carry it on your shoulder, go back to the beginning and change shoulders. Finally, choose one of the four and do it.

At the end, Liza kindly served us with fruit salad and juice 🙂

I enjoyed the session though at some point i was complaining and doing my own thing.

Would i do it again? Yes.

Would i recommend it? Yes.

I could not sit right for two days but the upside is that i could really feel my body getting a thorough work out.

Here is the link to their site: http://fitculturekenya.com/

Enjoy your work out session and remember not to push yourself too hard.