Water is My Friend.

I'm still not drinking water like I was suppose to, but I'm enjoying the amount of washing I'm getting to do with freeforming. So I put them in last Tuesday, I washed this Tuesday, and I washed them today. Not a twist lost!!! I read somewhere that the cleaner your hair the easier it will matte together. I may not wash the next time but just rinse to aid the tangling along.
I want to do a video but comcast is on some bullshit and will not be out to fix my cable/internet until Tuesday!!!!
Welp just wanted to give y'all a brief update.

Don't Call It a Come Back!

Well actually you can....I don't care.
Last Tuesday I decided to start my locs over with two strand twist. Yup just like that. 3 weeks spent taking out the last set to only wear my loose hair for 8 months. Just like the last set, the impulse was so great that I just had to do it and I had to do it that day! I could have waited until the weekend when I friend could have put them in, but no, had to be that day.
So at 7 pm I started and washing my hair and I didn't finish the last twist til after two in the morning.
I'm going for a thicker loc than the last time. Maybe something closer to what Lauren Hill had. My hair swells so I'm hoping that's a good starting size.Curled a lil bit.
After a week.
After the first wash.
I remember my first set of locs and how I went back to the salon after the intial twist was put in because I wanted to make sure that they didn't come out. She put on this mesh cap that was suppose to keep everything in tact. This time around I just washed them in the shower like it was nothing. Only two locs have unraveled and they had started that before I even stepped foot into the shower.
I'm going to semi sort of kinda free form somewhat a lil bit this time around. Basically meaning I will not be retwisting every two weeks but I will on occasion to do some all over maintenance. I plan on washing once or twice a week and lightly wrapping the loose hairs around the base of the locs. I plan on finger twisting the front a hairline because that hair is so straight that it will need a little help staying loced but I don't plan on doing a lot of retwisting to the ends.
Well that's all for now! I'm suppose to get more work done on the sleeve this weekend, I pray the snow doesn't interfere with the plans.

Alright Been Gone Long Enough-The Lotus

Lilies are the astrological flower of cancer and the other water signs. Lotus are a type of water lily, so there you have it.
At this point I just wanted something that was like a bracelet and this connects with the sewing needle on the other side. This was done in May of last year and is another Imani piece of art.

Status Quo is Hard When Your World is Falling Apart.

A week ago Haiti was devastated by a earthquake and when I first heard about it my reaction was at 'damn that country never catches a break'. It didn't dawn on me that one of my best friends is from there, it didn't dawn on me that a dear friend IS there. How fucked up is that. Sitting in my lil bubble of indifference. Too busy thinking about rent, car payment, tag registration and the fact that there are no eggs.
I don't really watch the news. Maybe I avoided it cause I know how sensitive to suffering that I can be. When I watch surgery stories or hospital dramas my legs will actually start to hurt. I cry for sad parts in tv shows, movies, hell even cartoons. Every beggar I want to give some change to and I feel a lump in throat form when I pass by the building that is being completed for children's hospice. I haven't been watching CNN because I don't want to see it in real time.
Every time I go on CNN.com there's a picture of a young one. The suffering those eyes have seen in such a short span of time is inconceivable. If my baby girl who was born in 03 was there she would have already seen:
-- May 2004: Three days of heavy rains cause floods that kill more than 2,600.

-- September 2004: Tropical Storm Jeanne causes flooding and landslides that kill 1,900 and leave 200,000 homeless in Gonaives, Haiti's third-largest city.

-- October 2007: Tropical Storm Noel triggers mudslides and floods, killing at least 57 Haitians.

-- August and September 2008: Three hurricanes and tropical storm kill some 800 in Haiti, devastating crops and caused $1 billion in damage.

And now this.

I read a story yesterday about a wife who had received an email from her husband in Haiti, just minutes before the quake. She hasn't heard from him since. She doesn't want to eat or drink because she knows that he may not be able to eat or drink. I couldn't imagine her pain. I'm sure I would be sick with worry. Literally.

My dear friend Arielle would inspire me and make me feel bad at the same time. She would send me a google chat message when she could 'Sew anything recently?'. Prior to the earthquake things in Haiti were not like they are here. Electricity was only on for a certain time period. After that it's candle light, oil lamps or if you have the money you invest in a generator and batteries. We would talk about the new Simplicity patterns, makeup, and hair like she was down the road or maybe just in another state. After we would talk I would always think, damn Shawnta you can do what you want whenever you want and yet you do nothing. She has to steal time to sew. Your DSL or cable modem is running 24/7, she has to count her hours on the Internet. But it was like it was nothing to her.
Always optimistic.
Her friends and family have made contact, and are nice enough to write something on her Facebook wall for all to see. Her home is destroyed. She is devastated and heartbroken.

If something tragic happens of course you feel bad, but do you really know what is to have that devastation in your face everyday? For it to be everywhere? I am thankful for the media in this instance and I'm happy that they have been giving it the amount of coverage they have. Now it is in front of us everyday. So we are compelled to give and give we should. Haiti has been suffering a long time and we didn't give it a second thought. Now we can not turn away because it is everywhere.
So it's hard for me to write about makeup, hair products, and tattoos when the world is falling apart. One week after the earthquake in Haiti the World has seen earthquakes in Argentina, Venezuela and most recently Guatemala. It's hard to imagine $14 for an eyeshadow when there are people living off of $2 a day or some even less than that for the week. I really don't know my intention for writing this post. Everyone probably knows all the ways to help, who to give money to, what numbers to call. If I was good about a paper and pen type journal perhaps this would have been an entry in that instead of on blast here. Perhaps this is a 'where ya been?' post for those that were wondering.
I have the lotus tattoo to write about. Then the sleeve. I have some hair products to review and a new regimen to talk about. I'm thinking about what to finish my degree in. Brooks need some pants...they are starting to look like high waters :). Madisyn is playing the recorder in music. There are still no eggs.
The sun continues to rise for now, and if you are reading this than you made it to another day. Be thankful for your blessings people.
Shawnta

Cangrejo , Crabe , Granchio , Pang Xie Rou!

That's crab in Spanish, French, Italian, and Chinese.
See you could actually learn something from this blog! lol
There are some tattoo's you will probably never see on my body and number one on that list is a name.
I understand why people put names on their body, but its just not me. Even people who aren't going anywhere or our relationship can never be changed.
For instance my girls.
I always wanted a way to show their existence in a tattoo form, but Madisyn and Brooklyn was not getting it. I've always been fascinated by astrology so the idea jumped in my head to represent my lil fam with our astrologically. I toyed with the idea of having star constellations of each of us going across the back. I thought of having the realistic crab, two fish, and lion head together, but making them look like a unit was proving to be difficult. Then it came to me! The mother and big kahuna moi is represented by the crab carrying with her a string of pearls that has the charm symbols of a Pisces and Leo. I still might save the constellation idea for if I ever get married and if I have anymore children I can always add on another charm to the pearls.
I could also say this tattoo represents me only because my rising is in Pisces and my Venus in Leo.
Since I'm from Baltimore a lot of people think its and ode to Maryland tattoo.
They can go right on ahead.
I love my crab. Despite it being something as ugly as a blue crab can be, the tattoo is so artistic and delicate looking.