Monday, February 6, 2012

It has been a while...

A while back (over the summer) I took a few months and took out my dreadlocks. I thought that some of you might be interested in the process and how it worked out for me!

I have had 2 sets of dreads, one that were truly dreadful because they were done extremely poorly and not sectioned by Adorn Hair Salon here in Asheville. I actually ended up with balding spots from where they didn't section the hair out, it was a mess. To fix that, I went to Eclipse Salon and worked with Jenn, who did a wonderful job with a dread perm. We were able to hide the bald spots, and I had exactly what I wanted for almost 5 years!!

This past summer, I needed a change, and decided to comb out the locks, it took me about 3 months, 6 combs, and LOTS of time. When I was done, I went back to Eclipse to see Jenn and after it all, I had a ton of hair left and was able to end with should length hair that was healthy and full of life.

During the process, I discovered a few things:

Dry combing to remove was better.
VO5 in the tube smoothed it out and helped keep it from re-tangling.
Go slow.
Don't expect to be done quickly.
A TON of hair comes out, and that is ok... I seriously think there was enough to knit a quilt, lol.

No matter the reason for, or how you start your dreads, they become a part of you; your energy, life and ... well... everything go into them, and when you brush them out, a lot of energy comes out too, it was really neat to feel the release of some negative energy and the good that came from the removal process.

Here was the process in photos:




dread removal 001

Comb #3

dread removal 002

dread removal 003

dread removal 004

dread removal 005

dread removal 025

dread removal 070

dread removal 074

dread removal 075

dread removal 081

June 2011 434

June 2011 438

June 2011 440

Halfway done

July 094

Half way!

July 115

34 dreads left 7-11-11

24 dreads remaining

24 dreads remaining

16 dreads left 2

Dreads 5 left 001

Dreads 5 left 004

Dreads 5 left 006

Dreads 5 left 009

September 090

September 107

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Flying with the Bean...

I flew out of Asheville without much incident. Our flight was cancelled, and I had to go through security twice with all of my breast milk, but it wasn't much of an issue. We got to IL in plenty of time for Grandpa's viewing.

The trip was as expected; it was wonderful to see everyone, but it was not the most wonderful reason to be there.

The flight back was... interesting. My mom decided to fly with us, which was a good thing because the Indianapolis Airport TSA decided that my breastmilk was cause for concern and I earned myself a full search of all of my belongings and a full pat down... It was quite a pain in the butt and it was sad that this is how they choose to use our tax money... it took almost an entire hour to search every item I had, take my camera apart, and to rub down everything in my bags for explosives.

Anywho... I grabbed a few quick photos of my mom and Evie on the plane, not the best, but cute nonetheless! (How could they not be cute with Evie and my mom in it?!)



Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Remembering...

I am spending today remembering the long and beautiful life of my grandfather. I received a call yesterday morning letting me know he had passed over night.

I miss and love him.

Here are a few photos of him with my kids; he got to meet all but Everleigh.

She and I are leaving for his funeral tomorrow.



Saturday, January 14, 2012

Melt my heart...

It isn't often that I think another baby is as cute as my own kids... (I think we moms can all honestly say we think our children are the cutest...) But this baby, oh my goodness! She is just the definition of beautiful! With those pouty lips and big eyes, she is going to be something else as she gets older!!











Wednesday, January 11, 2012

10 Months...

How can this be? My little baby is already 10 months old!!!

She has started standing on her own unassisted (but of course only when there is not a camera on hand), crawling out of her walker and is just chatting up a storm! The child is still a camera ham, and love as much attention as she can get... I have no idea where she gets it... ;o)


Sunday, January 1, 2012

Happy New Year!

With the new year comes new promise, new life, and new ... well, everything!

2011 was a good year for our family. All of our children are healthy; Our marriage is stronger than ever; Carl's company is doing really well; My photography skills are slowly growing... but more than anything, our family is happy. I really couldn't ask for more!

Happy New Year to all of you, and I hope that 2012 brings you as much happiness as 2011 has brought us!

May your year be blessed.

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Santa

We saw Santa today... TWICE! Here we are at the Mall where we saw him first... I think we might have to take out a second mortgage just to cover photos if the prices for these goes up any more!


Friday, December 16, 2011

Our Christmas Decoration for 2011

Years ago, when we first started having a tree together, I was particular about what went on it. All silver decorations, white lights, a dark red ribbon, and my angel (who is simple with a touch of dark red)... but each year we started being given decorations, more and more until I no longer have room for my silver balls, or any of those first decorations... But giving way to these ornaments has made our tree special, and unique... there really is something for everyone on it. There are 'First Christmas' ornaments, a family ornament for each year, and all kinds of milestone and special decorations. 

Here is the decoration that we have for this year.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Happy 9 months Baby...

Evie is already 9 months old and her first Christmas is approaching...

She melts my heart, and makes me realize every day how complete she has made our family, or rather how we weren't complete without her.




Sunday, December 4, 2011

Christmas is approaching...

Our gifts are bought, most are wrapped, and the parade season is here!

We were in Weaverville over the weekend and the shops and streets are decorated for the Holiday.

Check out this cute little dog that was hanging out on the street this weekend:

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Holiday Parade, part two!

Rory and Arden (and Cute Husband) were all in the holiday parade in Weaverville today. My handsome men were the hit of the parade! (Well, one of them anyhow!)


Friday, December 2, 2011

Thinking of My GrandPa...

Growing up, my grandpa was one of the coolest people I knew. He could make anything, out of anything, and whatever he made was filled with love. He was a coal miner in his younger days, even broke his back in the mines at one point... even so, he was strong as an ox.

I loved listening to his stories, and looking back, he may well have been one of the best story tellers I ever knew, and one of the funniest old men. He was always in good humor with us kids, even if we weren't the best fishing companions.

In the past years his body has started to fail him and recently he has been admitted to a nursing home, which I assume is for good this time... I really miss him and wish we lived closer. I wish that my children had gotten to know the man I knew.

The only "lawn decoration" we have is something that GrandPa made for me...


Saturday, November 26, 2011

Twin love...

Just a few shots of the twins from my good friend R. Such sweet little loves!






Here are a couple of Evie today while I am at it...



Saturday, November 19, 2011

Holiday Parade!

We went to the Asheville Holiday Parade for the first time this year, both Rory and Arden were invited to be in it!!!

I wasn't able to get a photo of Arden for the blog because he was on the wrong side of the street, but here are the other kids!



Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Have you ever...

Have you ever seen a baby this happy to be set down where she can eat all the sticks and dirt she wants??!! I swear she is would love to live on a diet of dried leaves and whatever else she finds on the floor if we would let her.