Ill Baby On Board

Since Monday, January 26th my 2-year-old has been ill, much to my surprise. Sunday night she was her normal playful self. I was fifteen minutes into my exercise routine when she awakened at 5:10 a.m. & immediately began vomiting. I said to myself, “What the *bleep* is going on?” Now, four days into it & she’s not showing any signs of getting better. Her vomiting subsided a few hours later and didn’t return until Wednesday. Growing concerned, I took her to the doctor yesterday only to be told that she has a virus, which I knew, & it has to run its course. The doctor said that if the vomiting returned to let her know. It didn’t return yesterday, but it did again this morning. My baby is sound asleep now. I can tell by the look in her eyes that she wants this to be over very soon. She is traumatized by hospitals, & I dread having to take her there as a last resort if her symptoms persist. Please keep my baby & my family in your thoughts & prayers.

Let's Talk About Hair, Baby!!

As many of you may know for the past seven years I have wavered on my "hair" faith. I wore permed hair for a large portion of my life. That was until I woke up & smelled the burned hair. I can honestly say that I never had a bad "permed" hair experience up until last year when I backslid. Prior to that, my hair was healthy...(as healthy as it could be given the harsh chemicals in relaxers). In 2001 when I made the decision to go natural it wasn't because of a bad hair experience, it was because of my love for dreadlocs.

I know that there are some of you or someone you know who is undecided about whether or not to go natural. For many people making the decision is a huge step. Thoughts of what will people think of you with "natural/kinky" hair plays a major role in the decision-making process. So, if you or someone you know needs assistance during the early stages, I have a few recommendations.

http://www.nappturality.com/ - This site has forums, articles, photos, & much more.
http://naturalfreedomjourney.com/ - This site helped me tremendously. This sister has braidlocz.
www.motowngirl.com - This site has a bevy of information such as homemade haircare recipes, product reviews, hairstyle tutorials, & more.

There are also a slew of fotki albums to view for hair inspiration. For those who are unaware, Fotki is a site where you can share pictures with anyone you choose. I created a fotki album several years ago to document my Sisterlock hair journey, & I also have one this time around. You can view my album, check out my friends & view their albums as well. My album can be found at: www.fotki.com/phephi .

So, remember, if you're contemplating crossing over to the "natural hair" side, keep positivity all around you & don't be afraid!

Financial Fitness

The older I get the more it becomes apparent that I MUST get my finances in order if I want to be wealthy. By wealthy I don't mean get-rich-quick schemes. By wealthy I mean becoming a better steward of my money so that I can live a better life & leave a legacy for my family. I made the first step towards reaching my goal by ordering a FREE My Money Toolkit. I placed the order several weeks ago. So long ago in fact that I had totally forgotten that I ordered it. Be that as it may, I am quite excited about it. The toolkit includes pamphlets, handbooks, & catalogs on Consumer Information, Insuring Your Deposits, Investing, Being Money Smart, & Understanding Social Security Benefits, just to name a few. So, if you're like me & are tired of living paycheck-to-paycheck, order yours today at: www.mymoney.gov or call 1-888-696-6639.

Change is coming in 2009...and beyond!!

Let me start off by saying Happy Inauguration & Happy History Day. I was listening to the radio this morning & a gentlemen named today just that. There aren't enough words to describe how momentous this day is. Though I was not able to watch the inauguration as I would have liked, I can still feel the elation & joy all around me. President Barack Obama constantly spoke about CHANGE! There is to be no more excuses for anything. With that being said, I am making a change by taking initiative to prepare & plan so that I may have structure & be better able to manage my blog.


Last night, I decided to divide my blog into segments. Of course, this structure is subject to change without notice but, for now, it will give me a general idea on how to proceed. Here are the segments:


Mondays - Through My Lenses: This will be a weekly segment where I provide opinions, commentary, critique, humor about T.V. shows, movies, commercials, whatever is captured via my four eyes.


Tuesdays - Let's Talk About Hair Baby: This will be a weekly segment all about hair. I will provide products suggestions, hairstyle tips, articles, links, etc. Mainly, the focus will be on natural hair, but occasionally I may talk about relaxers.


Wednesdays - May I have a cheeseburger - minus the beef...and cheese, please: This segment will feature all things Vegetarian & Vegan, including recipes, links, articles.


*Thursdays - Freestyle: This segment is a freebie. I will talk about whatever my little heart desires. The name of the segment may change simply because I was unable to come up with a more clever title.


Fridays - Dear Diary: This segment will be my last entry of the week. I will reflect on random things such as work, home, life, people, etc.


*There is going to be a segment tentatively entitled "Get Your Shine On." This is going to be a monthly segment where individuals get to spotlight their talents, skills, business ideas, ventures, entrepreneurism.


Whew!! That's it! So, there you have it, the future of All About Phe!



Stay tuned!!

Braidloc Journey

I began my braidloc journey January 15-16, 2009. It took me about 11 hrs to install little tiny braids on my head. Honestly, I thought it was going to take longer. I parted them in sections w/rubberbands & ponytail holders. Then, I just worked each section at my own pace. I am quite pleased with the results. There are a few, especially around the crown of my head, that are very, very tiny. I did this because my hair is fairly short & it's easier to do tiny braids as opposed to medium-large sized ones. I will join those later. But for now, the journey has begun!!

Introduction!!

Greetings,



First I would like to say that I am excited about "my" blog. I believe this will be a great way for me to do what I absolutely love: writing. I am not completely sure what all this blog is going to encompass but, for starters, I will be thoroughly documenting my braidlocing journey. There are a gazillion blogs out there about almost every topic. However, I will not let that discourage me from sharing my experiences, my knowledge. Bottom line, I hope that you will find my blog interesting, real, enlightening, helpful, encouraging...and a host of other things!



Peace,



All About Phe