Naturally Sexy

BLOG MOVED

2011-02-01T02:13:00.003Z

YoYo People

This blog ends here.... but, once you register, you can pick it up here...NS Life Blog

We've decided to keep it all inhouse. No point in putting all the work, having the ability to and not using it. So come and visit the new NS Blog in it's new home.

See you there :-)

Nuff ♥

I'm still here...

2009-12-09T23:06:00.012Z

...just working like a dog!

Now, my rather negative view of this common phrase was immediately turned on it's head after I googled it and came across the following:-

"How many times have you heard someone say, "I've been working like a dog!" or "My boss is working me like a dog!" The idea is that if you want to be successful then you will be forced to work long hours doing something you don't like to do. Working like a dog sounds like a tiresome, serious, and joyless affair, without a hint of laughter, fun, or play.

However, before you ever use the phrase "work like a dog" again, take a moment to think about how your own dog actually spends his days. In actuality, your dog has a pretty good life, and it would be your lucky day if you could work like your dog! Everything is new, everything is exciting, everything is fun to your dog. Dogs are great role models for us to emulate on the job. They approach their lives not only with dedication, loyalty, discipline, sensitivity, and love, but also with joy, enthusiasm, and a willingness to see their work as play."
Matt Weinstein - The Huffington Post - Aug 2007
Click to here see whole article and video

As much as, at times, what I'm trying to achieve seems tiresome and serious, I need to remember that I love, love, love, what I'm doing and the direction my life is going. Without dedication, discipline and more importantly joy, my work becomes work and not play and I thought I left that behind. Time for me to start working like a dog for real!

Unfortunately, my role of blogger has had to take a back seat while I get on with more pressing tasks but should hopefully return in the new year. As for Naturally Sexy, 2010 will bring about the unveiling of all my dedication and discipline over the past months with a dynamic new sexy website and fantastic new sexy products. It's been challenging but I'm joyful, enthusiastic and excited for 2010...woof woof!!

See you in the New Year... and have yourselves a very merry Christmas xx

He's Out Of Our Lives

2009-06-29T07:17:00.010+01:00

Michael Jackson is dead. How weird does that sound? Michael Jackson is dead.

Michael played a huge part in the lives of many generations including mine. His musical genius and sheer talent far out weighed the craziness that surrounded the latter part of his life and it is this that, in the wake of his death, that the world has been forced to truly appreciate and adore. What really got me on that day was what was happening in my household NO DOUBT while when he undergoing a cardiac arrest. This is a true story and as unbelievable as the fact that he's gone.

My sister was round babysitting and on our return her, Henry and I began a conversation that we will never forget. An episode of South Park was on which focused on yet another celebrity p**s take. It was U2's Bono's turn and we began a discussion about who else they had been ridiculed in a way only South Park could pull off and get away with. Kanye West, Paris Hilton and Angelina Jolie were mentioned and we ended up on Micheal Jackson. Henry who's the biggest SP fan I know and an eternal comedian, began quoting the memorable lines in the MJ voice and my sister and I creased up with laughter. I then recalled a recent article about MJ being upset about the 50 shows he'd been signed up to do here in London. My sister hadn't heard about it so, with my encouragement I told Henry to tell her what he had said...'In the voice' as he had done with me when the article was published, again my sister and I creased up with laughter. We then went into a long exchange about how the hell he was going to manage 50 SHOWS???!!! Half an hour later Henry turned the TV over to Sky News... 'Oh My God... look at this!' he said. The laughter had come to a dramatic end.

The breaking news of his cardiac arrest stood before us. Shocked and somewhat sickened we watched the story unfold. At that point I didn't think he would die. I even tried to lighten up the mood by saying at least he doesn't have to worry about the 50 shows now, they couldn't expect him to do it now he's gone through this - death to me was not on the cards. Then they showed a recent clip of him when he visited London to talk about the come back tour. We looked at him and the reality of what could happen kicked in. He looked so weak. He looked like his body couldn't withstand such an attack. He died about 5 minutes later.

I know I am not responsible for Michael Jackson's death but the guilty feelings within me, knowing that while his heart was failing him, I was laughing at his expense are difficult to shake. The laughter has turned into a sadness I have never known. The tributes that have taken place since his death on the TV and radio just remind us all, that Michael Jackson was THE KING of pop and THE PRINCE of Motown soul. Tune, after tune, after tune, after tune and let's not forget the moves! The guy was simply amazing and his music will live forever and ever. Amen.

Rest in Peace Michael.

So wot's bin gwannin'!!

2009-06-17T13:01:00.043+01:00

So besides quitting my job... what's been gwannin'?!! Well here's a pictorial rundown, most recent first and all the way back to where we left off on the 15th May. I suggest you start at the bottom and work your way back up...

June 12th 2009 - Hawk to sock bun and twist-out bump/quiff

Here's yet another attempt to calm my crazy hawk down for work! I took the back two thirds and turned it into a sock bun. Then took the front third and turned it into a twist out bump/quiff.

June 10th 2009 - Kamaal turns 11

My baby is getting bigger. He is at the start of the long road which will take him from a boy to a man. With secondary school only months away, it is time for me to let go, just a little and allow him the opportunity to grow. Here he is with one of his MANY gifts...with his chocolate cake... and with me...

June 9th 2009 - 'Fro Hawk to Puff and Bump/Quiff

Attempt number three. It's amazing the amount of style you can adapt around the Hawk...

June 9th 2009 - Meeting baby Elijah

I finally got to meet the new little man of the family. Baby Elijah. My nephew. He's sooooo cute! Look at his juicy kissy lips! And the boy is so cuddly and loves that close contact, he's still got that newborn, safe and warm attitude.

Here's the proud family - Baby Elijah , Carly, Isaiah and my bro Javan.

Me and baby E.J

Check out my mum's colourful twists. Blonds, reds, browns and blacks. An NS rainbow!

And Ms Kizzy's funky coils. She has lock ambitions. Her dream would be some Sisterlocks but with a baby on the way, the financial aspects wouldn't be warranted, so she made her own. She doesn't know yet whether she'll let them lock but I'm loving her style.

And a final one for this day, a picture on my mum's shelf that took me back... way back. To when I was Kamaal's age. Besides the NS cuteness the best thing about this picture is ... I'm wearing green!!!

June 6th 2009 - I Love My 'Fro Hawk

Still lovin' it!

May 30th 2009 -Park Life

The sun has finally made it's way to the UK. London in the summer time is a great place to be! There are plenty of beautiful parks for you to enjoy and since the sun doesn't like to stick around here, people make the most of it, including us...

May 29th 2009 -Fro Hawk to back flat twist & front Twist Out

Attempt number three to calm down the 'Fro Hawk for work. I flat twisted the back and placed some big twists in the front, that I took out the next morning...

May 29th 2009 -I Love my Fro Hawk

I just love this style. It's got so much attitude and makes me feel really powerful. Yep, it's definitely my favourite.

May 26th 2009 - 'Fro Hawk to Pom Pom head

This was my second attempt to calm down the 'Fro Hawk for work. The comments were flying -all good... there were plenty of admirers. The best for me was that the bumps looked like little pom poms.

May 24-25th 2009 - Afro Hair and Beauty

All I can say is... Change the name.... PLEEEEAASSSSSSEEEEEE!!!! This is the second time I visited this black hair exhibition at Alexander Palace, Wood Green, London. Once again it was seriously lacking in actual Afro Hair. There was stall upon stall of hair to cover up, straighten up and hide Afro, but you could count the specifically Afro/lock stalls on one hand and still have fingers left over!!!!! After last year's disappointment, I had no intention of going in but thought I would check out a seminar on Natural Hair care. I watched as a woman long straight hair, not sure if it was weave but it was straight, talking to people about natural hair while she commended the demonstrating stylist on stage with her, as he pressed a young ladies hair. As the steam rose from her virgin locks and the speaker piped up "Look everyone, it's so straight you wouldn't even know it's natural" It was at that point I left the seminar. What a waste of my hard earned cash!

My sister Kezia and I stood outside promoting Real Afro Hair and Beauty. She had removed her twists to show off her Black Power Fro! She looked amazing, especially with her Naturally Sexy t-shirt and bump.

Me on day one with twisted top 'Fro Hawk hair.

Baby sis with bump, looking damn cool and strong!

Day Two - with twists-out.

Thanks to all my helpers and those of you who signed up to our mailing list on the day.

May 22nd 2009 - Freshly Hawked up

Finally I got it done properly, all thanks to the skills of my little sis Kiz. I washed and conditioned it with front twists still in, a few days before. Here are the finished results.

I kept it like this for work but as soon as the working day was done, I took out the front twists and did a twist out on all the left out free fro

May 18th 2009 - Zain's Birthday

My baby, baby, is getting bigger. 5 years ago I was like this, tired and fed up and eager to give birth to my second child...

On the 18th of May 2004 he came...
Today my baby turned 5. No longer a little one. Here he is in his birthday chair and with his birthday Spongebob cake...

And finally here's my Janelle Monae inspired twisted quiff/bump...

Departures

2009-06-16T10:08:00.000+01:00

Ah finally. Back to blogging. What a breath of fresh air!!

Me, well I've been busy as usual, where does all the time go? There just aren't enough hours in the day to do what I need to do. Fortunately I have been privileged enough to get myself 48 hours back. How? Well I have made a very brave decision to take voluntary redundancy from my part time job. It's time for my departure. After a long time off sick my return has brought about the true realisation that I no longer enjoy the job. What used to be fun and varied has become dull and monotonous. It takes me forever to get there...and back... and my heart just isn't in it, not even through that connection you develop with the people you work with - the ones who get you through the day (which, outside of the financial implications, is essentially what binds us to a job we hate). The people I connected with have either left, are on maternity leave or work a different shift pattern and so I see them infrequently. With all that said getting through work days have become harder, especially since I'm building a business and have 101 things to do.

It'll be a few months before I officially go but at least there's now light at the end of the tunnel... or should I say the runway!! The airport is an interesting environment to work in. You come into contact with so many different people, from all walks of life and from all sides of the globe. As I said I've made some really lovely friends there but for someone like me, the job does have a sell by date. Once you've made sufficient use of the perks (cheap flight concessions), you either move up or move on... if you can. I'd love to say I've been to loads of desirable destinations off the back of my job but unfortunately I haven't. After nearly 4 years service, my holiday list consists of 10 days in Barbados and two nights in New York. Now that's not right is it??!! And why is the list so dry? Well your concessions are a 'Standby thing' - if there are seats you get to travel, the big perk is that you mostly travel in business class and after three years service a seat in upper class if it's available! This is great if you can fly anytime and you don't have many responsibilities but when you have to fit it around kids and school it's no good at all. Standing by for a flight during the school holidays is a huge risk! There's the risk of not getting on at all, thereby dashing your partners and kids holiday hopes. Or alternatively and more so harrowing, not being able to get back!!! All that stress you lost from your relaxing break, instantly returns and the money you saved from your cheap flights is used to find you and your family somewhere to stay, till you can get yourself on a flight home. Luckily I have never had this experience but have heard the story on many occasions, so much so that I wouldn't take the risk.

But here I am, ready to risk it all. Give up my job to pursue my business dreams. A huge risk one would say, especially in these credit crunchy times, where jobs are being lost, left, right and centre. My heart goes out to all those in the struggle. For me, having struggled through the past year with all my teeth stuff , I'm going to take this opportunity to stop dreaming about the life I want to live and start living my dreams. Right now Naturally Sexy needs me! It needs me full-time to expand this celebration of our natural beauty, to really develop and maintain the website, to provide products, to blog (yay!!) and interact with all you Naturally Sexy folk out there and those of you who would like to join our party! I have the belief, the determination and the passion to succeed. You've got to start somewhere and just as the Daily Telegraph's recent ad campaign states ... It Pays To Think Big!

It pays to think big - Daily Telegraph

...Even my boss had to start somewhere...

NS Role Models: Janelle Monae

2009-05-15T12:50:00.001+01:00

I LOVE HER. What more is there to say? She has been on the scene for a while but has not blown up on the music scene the way she should have by now. She signed to Bad Boy Records last year and I'd like to ask Mr P Diddy, "What's going on?"!!! More Janelle please!

This Kansas girl, has fantastic voice, unique style and is an inspirational character. All that and she's Naturally Sexy. What a role model! GQ magazine dubbed her a 'Girlie Grace Jones' which I'd say it quite an accurate description. That plus a touch of Andre 3000, James Brown, Judy Garland, Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson & Lauryn Hill. She's amazing! Watch her do her thang in the video to Many Moons...

Yummy Treats

2009-05-12T02:22:00.003+01:00

So last week a friend gave me some money and told me to buy myself something nice with it. I thanked her, said "Yeah, I definitely will" and then popped the money in my wallet. What usually happens after that is that the money goes on bread, eggs, petrol, a bottle of wine for Costcutter... you name it, it goes on it... everything but that treat for yourself.

Well, today at work I decided to keep to my word and took at trip to the perfume shop to buy myself a treat. I had a few ideas but thought I would smell around to see if anything took my fancy. Fifteen minutes and £48 later I was the proud owner of a bottle of Prada Infusion de Fleur d'Oranger. It's a light, fragrant mix of jasmine and orange blossoms and it's sooooo yummy! Apparently it's on limited sale for 4 months only, so I count myself very lucky. Plus I think the packaging is to die for... It's very befitting of the person who gave me the money - elegant and classic.

Thank you friend x

Locks Loved Pt. 2

2009-05-10T12:11:00.015+01:00

(Click here to see Pt 1/Before pictures)

So today, at 5.30am some twelve hours later and after the following...

1. Adding 10 locks using human afro kinky hair plus a lot of patience and skill (see YouTube 'HOW TO' here). All whilst eating my hosts delicious food and naughty snacks and watching horror movies!
2. Dying the ends, to lift the colour and help newly formed locks to blend in
3. A shampoo and a herbal rinse
4. A Retwist

...Sam finally got her NS back...

Here is a close up of the lock extensions...

...and below, how they seamlessly blend into the other locks.

I must say it was a pleasure to do and I, but more importantly Sam, was very pleased with the results. Enjoy your beautiful locks sis, they're amazing.

Here's is a picture of Sam's yummy little girl, Arizona, next to a beautiful picture she drew for me...

And finally here's me back home after a long, tiring, but extremely rewarding and delightful weekend.

Lock Love Pt. 1

2009-05-09T09:58:00.011+01:00

A good friend of mine Sam, has some beautiful long locks that were in desperate need of some love. There was a lot of regrowth and the front section needed some work as there was about 5 inches of new hair that was not blending well with the other locks. Unfortunately, with the expense involved in getting this done at a salon and the time and effort involved in doing it herself, she had resorted to wrapping them up in a scarf - hiding them away from the world.

Now, you know me, I couldn't have her hiding her NS self away, so I offered to come to the rescue and save her lovely locks. Here is how she looked before the love...

Her sides had hair that needed to be locks. There was no point trying to pull this free hair back into a lock behind it. The other side also had more free hair that needed to be locks.

(CLICK HERE FOR PT.2)

My Green Obsession 4.

2009-05-08T12:52:00.002+01:00

So today I was out in the local market and there was a lovely lady with a stall selling bits and bobs from Ghana. As I walked past, her rings caught my eye along with a green beaded necklace. A few minutes and £5 later they were mine. I LOVE THEM!...

1. Because they're green
2. The price... £2 for the ring and £3 for the necklace
3. They were skilled by my husbands countrymen/women. Go Ghana!!

WOW... I DID IT!!!

2009-05-06T23:59:00.006+01:00

Talk about goal setting. I did it!!!

I haven't had much sleep but it's done and just within the 24 hour mark. 23 posts. I must say I'm quite proud. Excusing the grammatical errors it came out pretty well. I love blogging, seriously. I recommend it to everyone. It's therapeutic and a great way of scrap booking. It's nice to look back on the good times and look forward to more good times to come.

Right now I'm looking forward to some sleep... goodnight x

SIX WEEK'S IN 24 HOURS CHALLENGE...TO MYSELF!!!

2009-05-05T13:26:00.001+01:00

Okay today is the 5th May and ENOUGH IS ENOUGH arghhhhhh! I just get a little too into this thing. I have spent a few day's writing and constantly drafting ONE BLOG, you'd think I was writing for a newspaper - all the edits and the rewrites! Terrible. Although it was Mother's Day, so I think it was warranted the care and attention. It even had me putting together a slide show!!

Anyway, I have decided to give myself a challenge, six weeks in 24 hours?????? It's 1.39am...by this time tomorrow can I put up the photo's and stories of the past six weeks??? It'll certainly help towards my longness! So here we go....

First 22rd March 2009...the long one... Mother's Day... I'll try and keep the rest short and sweet, well now that I've challenged myself I don't have time for much more!!!

Little Noah

2009-05-03T18:49:00.003+01:00

(POSTED ON THE 6TH MAY 2009 AFTER SIX WEEKS IN 24 HOURS CHALLENGE)

Today we went to dinner round Henry's best friend Dwight's place. We enjoyed the great company and hospitality of Dwight and his partner Nicola, but most of all we enjoyed seeing their son Little Noah, who we hadn't seen since he was about 3 months old.

He is sooooo tiny and such a mini Dwight. It was funny to see someone so small walking around the room. Soooo cute! We brought him a Toy. It was hard for us to resist buying him this particular toy... A Fisher Price Noah's Ark
Well, Noah seemed to be very at home with his new Ark! Plus I can definitely see some similarities especially in the cheeks and eyes between Little Noah and the toy Noah...

Of course I wore my green dress...

And my hair was matching the dress in cool, chic and cute.

Dad's Day Out

2009-05-02T18:43:00.004+01:00

(POSTED ON THE 6TH MAY 2009 AFTER SIX WEEKS IN 24 HOURS CHALLENGE)

Today the brothers hooked up, along with Henry's Sunday Football pals and took the kids to Milton Keynes for a family fun day. There were rides, bouncy castles and 5-a-side football tournaments, so needless to say everyone was happy! Here are some of the pictures they took while they were there. Looks and sounded like they all had a really good time.

Henry and Eddie

Henry roughing up little Ezra. A usual occurrence when their paths cross!

Kamaal and Ryan, son of Henry's footie mate Paul, sporting a pretty cool Malaysian Afro of his own.

The Dad's look happy... but what's wrong with the Z's???
A closer look at the sad faces of Zain and Zari...

Well they wanted to do more of this... so of course they were vexed!

Mum's Day In?

2009-05-02T01:04:00.002+01:00

(POSTED ON THE 6TH MAY 2009 AFTER SIX WEEKS IN 24 HOURS CHALLENGE)

So what do Mum's do on Dad's Day out? Well I went out actually too. I had an appointment round my sister Kerri's, to help her and her best friend Irene design a website.

However, there were a few things I needed to do first. I had washed my hair last Saturday and during the week I put a spiral flat twist in it, mainly to separate my hair into strands which being clever it'll remember and automatically bounce back with a little help from my NS friends Spray, Shea and Styling Cream.

I took these pictures when I took it out today. With the camera at Dad's Day Out, I had to use my phone to snap these shots, so forgive the blur...

The fringe remained at the front

My unravelled hair was looking lovely, healthy and perfectly stranded for wet and go fro for the week or so.

My Green Obsession 3.

2009-05-02T00:08:00.004+01:00

(POSTED ON THE 6TH MAY 2009 AFTER SIX WEEKS IN 24 HOURS CHALLENGE)

So while I was round my sisters today, we decided to take a break from site designing to visit a lovely little boutique literally across the road. There, once again I fell in love! Look at this dress... I LOVE IT!!!

1. Because it's green.
2. Because it is so cute, chic and cheap...£20 folks, they do some cracking discounts in this place, but you know it has some exclusivity. Not like something you'd get the high street.
3. It has some really beautiful details (see below) and hidden pockets.

Look at this little guy, so sweet.

All wrapped up

2009-05-01T23:45:00.005+01:00

(POSTED ON THE 6TH MAY 2009 AFTER SIX WEEKS IN 24 HOURS CHALLENGE)

This is a reconstruction of how I wore my hair today, (taken on my mobile on Saturday...forgive the blur. Although sometimes, like in this next shot, it's quite effective!!)

Still Juggling

2009-04-28T00:31:00.016+01:00

Is it me or is 2009 on fast forward? I cannot believe we are hitting May... May you know...already!

It is said that time is like a handful of sand - the tighter you grasp it, the faster it runs through your fingers. I think I need to loosen my grip! This is the busiest I have ever been in my 33 years. They should call me 'The Juggler', keeping all those balls up in the air isn't easy - wife, mum, entrepreneur (there's at least 20 balls with those 3 roles alone!!), family duties, airport worker, etc, etc. It's exciting and I know there are plenty more to come. Unfortunately along the way, I had to put the 'blogging' ball down. It's only because I've taken annual leave and have put the 'airport worker' ball down, that I have the time to get this thing up-to-date.

So let's go through all these pictures I have sitting in my camera, waiting to be brought alive on my blog!

Happy Birthday x 3... sorry x 4

2009-04-26T14:06:00.002+01:00

(POSTED ON THE 6TH MAY 2009 AFTER SIX WEEKS IN 24 HOURS CHALLENGE)

What is up with this date? The 26th April. Kerri's birthday. Then Onika, my cousin, came and joined her (it was her 21st today). Then Michael, good family friend, came into our lives another 26th April birthday and then today, the day we all came together to celebrate the birthdays... another one steps into the mix. My little brother's new son Elijah. Needless to say it was a lovely lovely day...

Birthday girls, Kerri and Onika

Now for the rest of my mob...

My younger sis Elida

My younger bro, Ishmael

My baby bro, Javan. Proud daddy of the baby of the day Elijah

My baby sis, Kezia. Soon to be a mother herself...

Mum with her gransons, Isaiah (Javan's first son) and Elijah, at the hospital that day. I have yet to see him in the flesh... can't wait!

Elida and her hubbie Mark.

The boys and their cousins, crazy Leon Elida's son and Isaiah (Javan's son)

Carmen, Elida's little girl and of course crazy Leon!!

My mum, Kerri, Auntie Debs (Onika's mum) and Onika.

My cousin Milly, Auntie Deb's first daughter. Onika's sister.

Kerri with Auntie Lorna, who is looking absolutely fabulous with her newly loced Sisterlocs.

My cousins Michelle and Adrian, Auntie Lorna's children.
My second cousin Chanelle, Onika's best bud and her cutie chunky son Tai.

Auntie Jennifer, Kerri's godmother.

Whilst practising her ANTM 'wind in hair' pose Elida ends up looking like birthday-boy Michael's wife...

Not pleased with the success of the last shot, Kerri step's in to play his mistress...

Oh and you know these guys...

And finally how cute is this...

Kezia snapped this shot and I had to include it... so cute!

Scratching it up again...

2009-04-25T13:56:00.002+01:00

(POSTED ON THE 6TH MAY 2009 AFTER SIX WEEKS IN 24 HOURS CHALLENGE)

Big sis Kerri celebrates her 35th birthday (which is tomorrow) with us and her girlfriend Kelly back at our recent favourite club...Scratch. Another good night.

Henry and I. As you can see the twists are going great with my fro and the 'sunshine' in my hair.

Kerry and Kelly.

My Green Obsession 2.

2009-04-24T13:50:00.000+01:00

(POSTED ON THE 6TH MAY 2009 AFTER SIX WEEKS IN 24 HOURS CHALLENGE)

So today I made another green purchase... This beautiful flower clip. I LOVE IT!!!

1. Because it's green

2. Because it beautiful

3. Because the sun's coming out more often and it's nice to have some sunshine in your hair!

Giving it some curl gurl!!

2009-04-21T13:43:00.001+01:00

(POSTED ON THE 6TH MAY 2009 AFTER SIX WEEKS IN 24 HOURS CHALLENGE)

So I gave my twists a dip in some hot water while twisted round a pen and gave myself some soft side curls...

Bold Robot

2009-04-19T13:36:00.003+01:00

(POSTED ON THE 6TH MAY 2009 AFTER SIX WEEKS IN 24 HOURS CHALLENGE)

Zain and I finally completed our mission to build a super robot for his Easter holiday homework. It's been days of cardboard and glue and sellotape and paper mache and paint but here he is... our robot, BOLD. (Named after the box that made his torso!!)

Sweeping fringe - Taking it up a notch...

2009-04-17T13:06:00.002+01:00

(POSTED ON THE 6TH MAY 2009 AFTER SIX WEEKS IN 24 HOURS CHALLENGE)

So I took the extension hair to the next level! Longer, thicker, sexier. The hair is really close to my own and everyone thinks it's my hair!!! I loosely swept them round my ear with an Afro puff today.

They are quite long but you can play about with them more when it's longer (please excuse the tired eyes, I'd just got in from work :-( )...

Sweep it all up....

Quiff it back...Give it some (tired) attitude!!!!!!

Yeah I'm feeling this style. Might just be sticking around!!! Am I cheating, or is a little bit of 'help' allowed... I say hell yeah! I'm still showing off my NS, the extra hair is simply an adornment. What do you think?

Welcoming Baby Farah

2009-04-12T12:24:00.003+01:00

(POSTED ON THE 6TH MAY 2009 AFTER SIX WEEKS IN 24 HOURS CHALLENGE)

Man I'm living in baby city. Babies everywhere I look. Two old ones from both my neighbours, I say old as they are now 5 months and as lovely as they are, there are newer fresher babies in town! First up the beautiful, super cute and cuddly Farah...

Daughter of Henry's younger brother Eddie, here looking proud of his beautiful baby no.3.

Proud mum Karin and son Ezra he's no.2

Proud Nana, Henry's mum & my 2nd Mum, over from Ghana to see her new addition.

Proud Auntie Sharon...

The lovely Zari is Eddie and Karin's first child. Her and Zain, are like two peas in a pod. It's funny, we seem to have this pairs thing going on with our boys and Henry's nieces. They share ages, name letters and personalities. And they truly are their sisters. Zari is 5 weeks older than Zain. We had already chosen Zain's name when they announced the name Zari but the names go together and these guys are tight! No matter how long it's been since they'd last seen each other they always just connect. It's beautiful.

And the second pairing Kenya and Kamaal. Another matching pair, daughter of Henry's sister Dolly, born exactly 3 months after Kamaal, again sharing a profound connection.

Sweeping Twists & French Pleats & Black Headband

2009-04-10T12:11:00.001+01:00

(POSTED ON THE 6TH MAY 2009 AFTER SIX WEEKS IN 24 HOURS CHALLENGE)

Sweeping Twists & French Pleats

2009-04-07T12:03:00.002+01:00

(POSTED ON THE 6TH MAY 2009 AFTER SIX WEEKS IN 24 HOURS CHALLENGE)

So the next day...

2009-04-06T03:25:00.001+01:00

(POSTED ON THE 6TH MAY 2009 AFTER SIX WEEKS IN 24 HOURS CHALLENGE)

...We took them to Kensington Gardens to visit the Princess Diana Memorial Garden. How lovely...

What a fabulous FREE day out. It's a memorial to be proud of Diana! The kids had a wicked time. The shoes were off and the smiles were bright!! As they and many other kids enjoyed the scene in the Spring time sun. It's definitely gonna be the place to be come summer, although no doubt very busy.

We even had some time in the Park itself and took some time to appreciate nature.

------------------------------------------------------------

SIX WEEKS IN 24 HOURS CHALLENGE UPDATE

So that's two weeks down, it's 4 am. Still plenty of time and stories to be told.. but for now I'll sign off. Goodnight x

And the next day...

2009-04-05T03:24:00.000+01:00

My Green Obsession 1.

2009-04-04T11:55:00.001+01:00

POSTED ON THE 5TH MAY 2009 AFTER STILL JUGGLING...

For about 2 years I have had a growing love of the colour green. Today I brought these shoes. I LOVE THEM!!!

1. Because they're green
2. Because they cost me £5.49 at a charity shop at the back of the west end. They were calling me in the window and were a perfect fit.
3. Because they are comfy and soooo cute!

Easter Hols, Not speaking, Girlies, Curlies, Twists & loose do's

2009-04-04T03:00:00.003+01:00

(POSTED ON THE 5TH MAY 2009 AFTER SIX WEEKS IN 24 HOURS CHALLENGE)

So the boys are on holiday. Here's them doing what the do best. DS - ing or as I like to call them their 'Don't Speaks'. It's terrible. They're not allowed them during the week, on school days, but get them on a Friday. This was a familiar scene in our place during the Easter holiday...

Love this picture, look at the love...

And Zain with 'hair'. So pretty, if I had a girl child, she'd look like him. Which is why I don't mind remaining a mum of two boys. Plus how lucky am I gonna be in years to come, surrounded by three sexy men!!

Zain's dense curlies fascinate me...

I've still been playing with the 'Afro Kinky' plait-in hair. Just a little in the front twists to add some length. It blends in well with my hair... very well. Did a sloppy big twist on both sides. Came out okay. Bit tatty at the back though!

If you can't take the curlies...

2009-04-01T02:43:00.001+01:00

...stay away from my Flat twist!!!

(POSTED ON THE 5TH MAY 2009 AFTER SIX WEEKS IN 24 HOURS CHALLENGE)

So he'd been begging and hinting for a few days and had recently washed his hair so I succumbed and put a flat twisted spiral in Henry's hair. Here's how it looked. Before twisting, I smoothed NS Hair and Body Butter on it and some NS Styling cream for hold.

This is how it looked a day later when I took it out just before he went to work.

The Man had a problem with one the length of his hair, (usually is shrunken into spirals) and as a result of the length the Perm like sexiness of his curls!! He was ready to call in sick! Look at the unease!!!

Personally I couldn't stop laughing! I thought it looked amazing, really beautiful but a bit too beautiful for our Henry!!

Remembering Us

2009-03-28T02:15:00.004Z

(POSTED ON THE 5TH MAY 2009 AFTER SIX WEEKS IN 24 HOURS CHALLENGE)

Henry and I like to ship the kids off and have some quality US time. It doesn't happen as often as we'd like but most importantly it happens. It's a time to remember how it all began...just the two of us.

So with the kids off to Auntie Sharon's we proceeded to make the most of our 24 child-free hours!

Do I look toooo happy??!!!

We were invited to Richy Pitch's (a friend of Hen's) Hip Hop night entitled Scratch. Wicked night, I hadn't done Hip Hop clubbing for a longtime, so it definitely set the scene for the remembrance of our love in the 90's!!

Here's us before...

During... with Richy...

And after, me a little worse for wear but hair was still BIG which was good for the amount of heavy dancing that went down!!

Fat Flat Twists

2009-03-27T02:03:00.003Z

(POSTED ON THE 5TH MAY 2009 AFTER SIX WEEKS IN 24 HOURS CHALLENGE)

So I put some fat flat twists in to stretch out my hair.

I was running late so didn't a picture of the work look but this is me before I went to bed.

Also I got some Afro kinky plait in hair, just for a change I suppose. Did some side flat twists using it and then did the hot water curls at the end. Looks quite cute I think. Although my edges could do without the stress. Been on a mission to grow them back. Been rubbing oils in for a few months and the hair is returning but needs to thicken up. Would probably be best left well alone.

Our Day

2009-03-22T00:38:00.012Z

(POSTED ON THE 5TH MAY 2009 AFTER SIX WEEKS IN 24 HOURS CHALLENGE)

Up first 22 March 2009... Mothers Day

Happy Mother's day to all. Here are some great mother quotes...

All mothers are working mothers. ~Author Unknown

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new. ~Rajneesh

If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands? ~Milton Berle

Grown don't mean nothing to a mother. A child is a child. They get bigger, older, but grown? What's that suppose to mean? In my heart it don't mean a thing. ~Toni Morrison, Beloved, 1987

What a day! I did my 'daughter' thang through the post, providing my mother with some much needed Mac Studio Fix and a cool Afrocentric card. She was pleased. Although come to think of it, now I'm a mum it's been while since I did a trip down to my Mum's to spend mother's day with her. Should try and do that next year. Anyway, on the flip side I got some mother's day of my own. The boys and Henry are great on Mother's Day never failing to show their love...it's nice being a mum on mother's day. I was awoken to Kamaal's self made yummy crepes, then presented with my lovely cards and gift - a new computer chair -so needed/appreciated. Then we has some mum and sons time in the park while Henry prepared a delicious meal mostly courtesy of Mark's and Spencer's but as we all know it's not food it's M&S food. It was a lovely day as can be seen in my slide show...Thank you boys (including the BIG one!!!)

Slide show was fun to do and looks good...WHEN IT WORKS

but I think I prefer the real thing...

This beautiful day was made somewhat poignantly more beautiful by being the day God chose for young reality TV celeb, Jade Goody, to pass away in her sleep aged 27 after a very public battle with cervical cancer. She left behind two beautiful boys and during her final weeks, the nation watched as she displayed her very palpable, deep love for them. It saddens me that they will not see their mum anymore but I know for sure that everyday she will be watching them grow from her higher plane until they can be together again. RIP Jade Goody, your legacy is great and you have saved the lives of many women, your sons are proud of you.

I am thankful for being in the here and now with my babies and am glad for every moment I am privileged to be in their presence. Tomorrow is not promised to no one.

My Red Headed Babies

2009-03-13T10:23:00.001Z

Today is Red Nose Day. A special day in the UK where we raise money for a charity called Comic Relief whose chief aim is to create 'positive change through the power of entertainment'. It's a fun day and we do fun activities to raise money, money that is allocated to a wide range of grants and social investments aimed at delivering real and long-lasting change to the poorest, most vulnerable people here in the UK and across the world.

Today in the spirit of Comic Relief my boys went to school with red hair. At school in exchange for £1, they were given their red noses to go with their red fro's. (don't have a picture of that I'm afraid). Poor Zain had a fall at school the day before, so he actually had a red nose for real!!

Keeping the Twist-Out Curlies

2009-03-13T09:09:00.003Z

So with this twist-out, to keep the curls you need to do the following...

...Before you go to bed, apply any necessary hair food eg. oil or Shea. DO NOT BRUSH OR COMB. Twist it down in big twists, about 4 and cover with a scarf.

In the morning twist out big twists, the hair will seem quite stringy but not for long! Spray with water (I use a watered down NS Moisturising Spray spritz) apply a 10p sized dollop of gel, rub in your palms and rub all over, repeat if necessary. And then shake it out...
You'll see those curlies spring right up and remain separated.

Then style. I'm wondering whether to go for fringy or punky for work????? What to do? What to do?
Fringy???Punky???

And the final decision is...

FUNKY PUNKY!!!! I'm such a rebel!!! I know it's not 'Uniform Standard' but hey...

...it is Red Nose day!!!

Happy Red Nose Day, keep raising money for those in need.

Natural Hair and Sisterlocks Meet Up

2009-03-11T13:53:00.004Z

So I was prepared for a wonderful evening and that's exactly what I got! Today 22 women from the Natural Hair and Sisterlocks Meet Up group finally got to meet up.

The lovely Cherry (pictured above) did a fantastic job organising the event. A nice location, good food, good drink and great people. It's the first time since starting my site that I got to meet-up with the people it embraces. And boy are you all great! Just as I thought. Beautiful inside and out, open, warm, great conversations, great night. It was wonderful to see so many natural heads at differing stages of their journeys. Some seasoned naturals, some newbies and some in weaves or extensions seeking advice and information. What was also interesting was that NO TWO HEADS were the same. We have all been on a similar journey but our destinations are all very different and individual. Here are some pictures...

This is me a Wendy Adams, she has a fab site called 'It's a Sista Thing' with great health tips and advice. Click here to check it out.

I'd just like to add that it was a pleasure to meet you all and I certainly look forward to meeting you all again in the spring/summer time and hopefully some new faces too.

Twists Out

2009-03-11T09:43:00.002Z

Today I'm taking the twists out in preparation for what I hope will be a wonderful evening.

Playing Around...Again

2009-03-09T01:27:00.000Z

Just me playing around again! Today I put them into a side ponytail.

Playing Around

2009-03-08T01:25:00.000Z

Today I was playing with the twists to see other ways of styling the style. I swept the twists round on to the top of my head, in an almost hat-like fashion. I thought it looked quite cute! Click on the picture to see it bigger.

C’mon lets twist again

2009-03-06T01:22:00.003Z

Yesterday while the twists were still in, I gave my hair a co-wash and a ACV/honey rinse. After I gave it spray with my NS Moisturising Spray and then retwisted it with some NS Shea mix and NS Styling Cream. I did some work on the side and got a better parting between the flat twists. I left the last inch of the twist free and put some NS Styling Cream on it to allow it to curl up.

So here is the finished article...

Henry's tight, funky, springy curls

2009-03-03T00:22:00.001Z

This is Henry's hair after a wash, spray and some raw Shea butter (gotta get mixing tomorrow!!) He wasn't impressed with the lack of NS Shea mix, as the raw Shea takes a while to settle and initially can leave a film on the hair - the NS Shea mix soaks in quite instantly and the oils in it give it a nice shine. While he was playing footie on the X Box, I took the opportunity to take a picture.

A few days later after using some NS Moisturising Spray and NS Styling Cream (it does take a few days for the products to settle and the hair to become re-moisturised), Henry has his signature curlies back. His hair goes into some tight, funky, springy curls - which absolutely fascinate me!

Blong

2009-03-01T23:38:00.002Z

My blogs are becoming blong!

Am I too ambitious to think that I can keep a blog, while I run a website, work part-time at work and full-time at home, raise two boys and be a loving supportive wife? Or do I just need to get more organised?

I'm gonna try the 'get more organised' thing before I give up.

I may not have written a word since the 2nd February but I've been snapping away and I have too many untold stories to fill you in on. So from today I will begin my tale of February 2009 while I keep up with what's going on in March. Now that should be interesting!!!

My plan is to get this blog up to date by the end of this week. I also plan to get clear by the end of this week - physically clear, mentally clear and spiritually clear.

But first some clearing on this blog.

NS NEWS>>>

2009-03-01T19:50:00.004Z

Ashley wins the competition

With an overwhelming 50% of the public vote, the lovely Ashley is the winner of the NS Twist & (sh)Out competition and will now feature on the styles page.

Well done Ashley and everyone else who entered the competition, especially Danielle and Mikaela who came 2nd and 3rd.

Also check out Ashley's blog:

Love me Napps and all: A Journey into Natural Hair and Confident Attitudes

NS Golden Fro

2009-03-01T00:22:00.001Z

Today I drove back to my home town, to pick up my boys from my mum's.

She was looking so beautiful. She is definitely feeling her new Naturally Sexy self. In only months she has grown out her texturised hair (with the aid of few wigs and weaves) and is now happily reunited with her beautiful god-given self.

You go mum, you're on fire with your NS Golden Fro!

Almost NS is almost surprised

2009-02-28T01:36:00.004Z

In celebration of her birthday and to commend all her hard efforts with Dolly's 30th and Thelma's Baby Shower, we organised what was supposed to be a surprise gathering for my sis-in-law Sharon aka Almost NS! It remained a surprise til only days before when NS Dolly let it slip...needless to say I was NOT impressed! But hey Almost NS was almost surprised.

Ahhh big bro and lil sis

We had a lovely time at Ridizio Rico a Brazilian joint with great food and fresh meat brought steaming to your table and let's not forget the yummy cocktails... Papaya Caipirinhas' ummmmmmmmmm! Anwyay, they had the most embarrassing system for the birthday folk present in the restaurant which on a Saturday night was at every table! A member of staff would come to your table and BASH LOUDLY on a tambourine and sing sorry shout Happy Birthday...along with the rest of the table. Sharon feared it would happen to her. And it did!...

It was a throughly enjoyable night was had by all.

Close up of hair, I wore the flipped up side curls again.

Me and my beautiful NS and Almost NS African sistrens.

Twist it/Flip it result

2009-02-27T02:19:00.003Z

This is how the flipped up twist came out. It dropped really well for work, the compliments just kept coming from both my colleagues and members of the public!!

Twisting it up

2009-02-26T01:34:00.001Z

So after a fresh wash and blow out I decided to twist my hair. I don't usually blow dry my hair, I like to let it dry naturally but I wanted the finished result to have a bit of length.

Here's the finished article...

On one side I put in some flat twist going over to one side from the front to the back. I didn't quite get the parting right as you can see, but it wasn't bad for a first attempt. The rest was just twisted.

Here it is from the back.

I put some rollers on the ends to hopefully create a nice flip up on the ends.

Online Offline

2009-02-23T21:40:00.003Z

Today by chance I met two women I have had contact with online, offline at a making your own hair products course I attended in Hampton. They were, Michelle - owner of Hair Affairs magazine, sisterlock consultant and organiser of the Natural Hair Meet Up (of which I am a member) and NS Gallery member Cherry or CherryLola as she is known on a fabulous blog Cherrylola.com.
Funny thing was, Michelle had recently stood down as organiser for the group (as she's one busy lady!) and after numerous emails to SAVE THE NATURAL HAIR MEET UP GROUP sent to all members, Cherry stepped in and took over. They had never seen or spoken to each before and yet today the universe threw them and me together. It was lovely sharing experiences and thoughts over boiling pans of natural shampoo. Their presence enhanced this fun, informative day and made it all the more inspiring.

Cherry has organised a MEET UP on the 11th March at Cubana. Those wishing to attend must first join the group Natural Hair Meet Up. I'm really looking forward to meeting them both again, as well as all the other NS ladies set to attend.

Baby Shower

2009-02-22T01:31:00.005Z

Yummy Mummy-to-be Thelma held her baby shower today. Here she is with her sexy bump and her wild blown-out NS hair.

We had a fab time playing baby orientated games, eating delicious Ghanaian food and sharing lovely gifts. One of the games was called Baby couture and we all had to produce a baby gro for the baby prior to the shower. Here was my entry, which went down well on the day.

My hair was quite curly today. Later that night I fell in love with this beautiful curl that was falling in my face and had to capture it on camera.

Aint that cool!

Half-term Museum Madness

2009-02-20T01:28:00.001Z

It's that time again. Half term. It's difficult to keep your kids entertained over the holidays especially when it's cold out and your feeling the credit crunch!

A nice FREE day out is a visit to the Science Museum in South Kensington. We always have fun and there's loads to do for kids.

So today we decide to pay a visit. Only problem is HALF term is not the best time to go. IT WAS CRAZY. Best thing to do is go EARLY like when the doors open. We went peak time on a peak day. It was madness, but Zain had fun.

NS NEWS>>>

2009-02-18T17:00:00.002Z

The competition is ON!

These ladies are up against each other in the hopes of becoming the winner of the NS Twist & (sh)Out Competition. The winner will receive an spot in the NS style gallery, an NS T-shirt and NS goodies. Visit the website to vote. Competition closes on the 28th February 2009.

NS Sistren

2009-02-18T01:27:00.001Z

So she rocks up to my place, in her beautiful NS Hat, looking all sexy and certainly not like someone undergoing Chemotherapy. Then takes off her hat to reveal her stunning TWA. Her new look simply ROCKS!!!

Gwan sistren you is looking hot!

NS Daddy

2009-02-15T01:26:00.003Z

Caught up with my Dad today, fresh off the plane from JA full of sunshine inside and out, he made me feel pale and in desperate need of a holiday. It's alrite.. it soon come!

An original Dreadlock Rasta and my NS Dad.

Return to work

2009-02-10T01:25:00.004Z

After a long spate off, it's finally time for me to return to work. I'm feeling good. I'm feeling ready. And I'm definitely feeling my lovelyfreshly washed fro and black bow.

Heaven is missing an Angel

2009-02-08T01:23:00.002Z

Look at this little Angel. Henry's neice Esiya. She and her parents paid us a surprise visit. What a wonderful, beautiful surprise...

NS NEWS >>>

2009-02-08T00:18:00.002Z

We 'In Da Spotlight'

Our beautiful friends at the Caribbean Natural Hair Scene Community have done a write up on Naturally Sexy. Click this link to check it out:

Caribbean Natural Hair Scene Community: 'In Da Spotlight - Naturally Sexy'

And if you're a Caribbean Naptural (or a Naptural with Carribbean parentage)then join this group. CHNS Creator, Mikaela (pictured above), works hard to keep it exciting and fresh with special features like the CNHS e-Zine. She's doing a great job, so keep it up Mikaela and all of those who are already part of the CNHS community.

JOIN HERE

No NS hubby

2009-02-07T01:22:00.002Z

Naughty, naughty me. I'm so used to snapping pictures of myself for my blog that this evening, after attending an engagement gathering for Henry's work colleague, I got to snapping to record my look for the evening. Unfortunately I forgot to snap my NS hubby. It's a family affair, not a my hair affair. Sorry guys I won't do it again...promise!

So this is how I looked. Henry looked good too...he did...promise!

Wii made her smile

2009-02-06T01:18:00.002Z

We paid a visit to my sister-in-law Sharon this evening to pass on a her birthday gift, one that she has wanted for a long, long time...

Cleverly disguised in a Rymans bag...

A Nintendo Wii

She was soooooo happy. Wii made her smile. It made me smile however when she named her Mii (your Wii Character) Almost NS. She had the last of her texturised hair cut off yesterday. She wasn't completely happy with the finish as there was still a some straightness on some of the ends and she's still not feeling fully NS yet. She wants a little more growth before she's ready to rock her NS-self. So it's going back in extensions but she is happy to see the progress of NS journey.

To Kerri

2009-02-04T01:38:00.002Z

Kerri is my beautiful big sis, who is very close to my heart. If you've read her gallery entry you'll know her story...if you haven't click here.

The treatment starts today. These words are for her...

May we discover through pain and torment,
the strength to live with grace and humor.
May we discover through doubt and anguish,
the strength to live with dignity and holiness.
May we discover through suffering and fear,
the strength to move toward healing.
May it come to pass that we be restored to health and to vigor.
May Life grant us wellness of body, spirit, and mind.
And if this cannot be so, may we find in this transformation and passage
moments of meaning, opportunities for love
and the deep and gracious calm that comes
when we allow ourselves to move on.

- Rabbi Rami M. Shapiro

Love you Sis, you are a tower of strength x

Kam's Hungry hair.

2009-02-03T00:39:00.003Z

So after his hat-free crazy exploits in the snow, Kamaal was left with some pretty dry hair. Now I should have washed it and all the rest but time was limited. I took aside that limited time to feed his hair and bring it back to life. Like an emergency NS resuscitation!

Kamaal has the super hair of the family. Never have I seen hair so thick and dense. Beautiful thick virgin hair. He's been growing his hair for a while now. Once Dad was growing his hair the boys we're like we're growing our hair too. Kamaal's strength and determination to wear his fro high and proud, as a 10 year amongst 'fresh cutz' is commendable, not to mention all the stick he has to endure!

So despite being a mother two boys, I do spend a lot of time doing their hair!

Here's how Kam went from dry to fly...

1. A spray, a brush and some Shea.

2. A twist.

3. A scarf. A rest.

4. A next day. A twist out.

5. An annoying Mum taking pictures for her blog, while you're trying to have your breakfast.

6. A revived, quenched funky fro and a handsome young man!

Ohhh sNO!!!!

2009-02-02T00:48:00.001Z

Photo taken by Kamaal

The snow decides to stay and reek havoc on the UK!!!

Evening Snow

2009-02-01T22:23:00.002Z

Around 8ish after we'd just put Zain to bed, Henry peeked outside and saw how the snow which had been falling for sometime was lying like a thick white blanket outside. Kamaal's coat was on instantly. Then Henry went and got Zain out of bed and put some clothes over his pyjama's - scarf, hat & gloves. He then proceeded to drag me off the PC. Out we all went to play in the evening snow - which we assumed was a temporary visitor. It was lovely especially since it was Zain's first real experience of playing in the snow -the soft, fresh, fluffy, snow. I felt my inner child awake as we ran about grabbing up ball fulls of snow and launching them at each other. Absolutely exhilarating.

Happy New Year

2009-02-01T10:00:00.000Z

2009 starts here. I'm celebrating the New Year Chinese style. Throughout January I felt I was still carrying too much of 2008 to feel like the year had began. So here I am, 1st February 2009, the official start to my new year. It's the year of the Ox, which characterizes a dependable, patient, methodical and calm, hardworking, materialistic as well as an ambitious character. Despite being a Cat/Rabbit I'm feeling very Ox-like, especially since just moments ago I relaunched Naturally Sexy and finally put all my hard efforts out there for all to see. Yep, it's definitely a more suitable start to the year.

So this is what I'll be jamming to at my New Year party tonight. It's Cat:Alist (aka Henry) in the mix. Yep, he does like to dabble in a little mixing from time to time. This one is a selection of feel good House which certainly makes an excellent soundtrack for the brighter days ahead. He called it Inevitable!

Click here to download FREE Inevitable.mp3

Enjoy... and Happy New Year!!!!

She's A 30 year old Doll

2009-01-25T01:44:00.009Z

"Thirty was so strange for me. I've really had to come to terms with the fact that I am now a walking and talking adult.”
C.S. Lewis (British Scholar and Novelist. 1898-1963)

Many of us cringe at the prospect of turning thirty. It's one of the first times that we really assess where our lives are at or more importantly where we had expected it to be. That's when the disappointment usually sets in and we get depressed! Thirty for me was quite exhilarating, it was the first age where I really felt like a woman. A woman whom had been through enough to base decisions on experience, knowledge and instinct. The beginning of truly being an adult.

My lovely NS sister-in-law Dolly turned 30 this week and tonight we joined her as she celebrated her big day in true Japanese Karaoke style. We took over the main room of a quaint, warm and friendly restaurant on the edge of the West-end called Ribon. There we were served exquisite Japanese cuisine and equipped with a large screen TV Karaoke Machine, two microphones and a catalogue of thousands of tracks, we sang the night away.

I could sense a more mature, womanly Dolly emerging. She shone in the glory of her big night and made it a fabulous evening for all, but most of all for her beautiful ten year daughter, Kenya, who throughout the evening looked at her and spoke of her with immense pride.

We all had a great time and there were certainly many memorable performances both good and bad!!! I found myself discovering my inner songstress - she's a bit of a diva, especially after a few glasses of champagne! Even Kamaal, who had shyly announced that he would be Simon Cowell and just watch, was indulging in a spot of 'ABC' three tracks later!

Just the three of us...

HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY DOLL, WELCOME TO WOMANHOOD XX

Naturally Sexy's First Family

2009-01-24T02:06:00.005Z

So this time around I have decided to feature more of the 3 most important people in my life... my boys!! Besides the three of them have really taken to the whole Naturally Sexy thing, I aint the only Naturally Sexy person around here!

Allow me to give them a formal introduction:

Henry aka The Man aka Cat:alist
It is said in our life time we only experience one true love. He is mine. Handsome, intelligent, funny, beautiful inside and out. Lover of life and music. Our relationship 14 years long and strong.

In the words of Chinese Philosopher Lao Tzu:

"To love someone deeply gives you strength. Being loved by someone deeply gives you courage"

He is my strength and courage and I his. We are truly blessed to have found each other.

Kamaal aka Young Man
Henry on the outside, me on the inside. Lives up to the meaning of his name... Perfection. A wonderful human being who touches the heart and mind of all who cross his path. My first child. My Zion -'the joy of my world'. My second blessing.

Zain aka Little Man
Me on the outside, Zain on the inside! Lives up to the meaning of his name 'to beautify, to honour, to grace'. His overwhelming cuteness balances out his penchant for the mischievous. Extremely loving to all but he and I share a love that rivals Henry's and I. He calls me 'My Beautiful'. My second child. My third blessing.

I am truly honoured to have them in my life. When I see the Obama's - America's first family, I see mine - Naturally Sexy's First Family. Two beautiful people with a profound, tangible connection who have been choosen to raise two more beautiful beings, with ambitions to change the world one Naturally Sexy head at a time.

New Year...New Blog...New Me

2009-01-22T10:07:00.001Z

It's a new year. 2009 baby! I don't know about you but I plan to have a good one!

So here we are on Blogspot. I didn't get to transfer the old blog over, just had so much going on that I didn't find the time. Then I thought, why bring the old to the new? So I left it in the past, to start a fresh over here. You can link to it here THE OLD BLOG

It's nice here though, spellcheck, widgets, comments, blog links, the works!! LOVE IT! I'm really looking forward to it, no more feeling like I'm talking to a brick wall! Definitely new and improved. Like me. New and improved.

So what's so new and improved about moi? Well I wasn't going to blog this but I figured it's something major that has happened to me and has added to shape my being. It is also one of the reasons I closed the blog for a bit, to get my head round it and gather up the strength to feel confident to blog again. The change in me has been so significant that I feel that the old blog is an old me. So let me get you up to speed before I continue with the new blog.

I had some issues with my health that I was reluctant to address in the old blog. This was mainly due to fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of how I would cope, fear of how people would respond - fear ,fear, fear. Now I'm on the other side I honestly feel like I have won a battle and conquered many fears. So with that stance I'm ready to share and hopefully inspire anyone who is going through any kind of adversity in these already troubling times.

On the 5th November 2008, the day we awoke here in the UK to find Obama had been elected 44th president of the United States, I went through major oral surgery and had the majority of my teeth removed. I am so glad that I picked that day to do it. Mr Obama being elected shifted the balance in the terrifying prospect of losing my teeth and when I asked myself whether I'd get through this a new phrase rang through my mind, one which truly resonated through my being... YES WE CAN. That phrase was highly personal to me and YES WE CAN became YES I CAN. That day I had 20 teeth extracted and a set of temporary teeth immediately inserted, which, to maintain the positive spin we named my 'Obamas'!!!

I was (and still am) a sufferer of Aggressive Severe Periodontitis - last level gum disease. An unfortunate hereditary condition passed down from my grandmothers, both major sufferers. My mother is a sufferer herself but not to the extreme degree as me. Mine was a rare case and my condition was exacerbated by my two pregnancies, which sped up the rate of the disease ten fold.

After years of suffering the ravages of severe gum disease and numerous attempts to control it, there was little else that could be done to arrest the situation. The only way to eliminate it was to remove the perfectly good teeth that sat in my disease ridden gums. Well they weren't perfect looking. Luckily God gave me these big beautiful lips to help with the cover up! And the pain don't even get me started on the pain - tooth pain is hands down one of the worse pains there is.

So at the tender age of 33 and with 9 teeth remaining, I now have dentures. I was so adverse to the prospect of dentures, that before my op I couldn't even say the word without prefixing it with the word 'granny'! My options were limited because I'd lost a lot of bone but with time, healing and plenty of cash, I will eventually achieve a more fixed solution to my predicament. I can't complain about the finished result. I found a great dentist along the way who is doing an amazing job. If you didn't know, you wouldn't know.

What has been a real eye opener is that it's an embarrassing condition. One which people don't like to discuss, a hidden disease. It's as if people just don't know what to say, so they say nothing. Sweep it under the carpet. Pretend it hasn't happened. Admittedly I myself was embarrassed to tell people what I was going through, only sharing my story with very close friends and family. I've been off work for ages, no one really has a clue why. I was a little anxious about going back but now I'm on the other side, I'm like... whatever. S**t happens, it's life. Apparently God never gives you more than you can handle. I can, and have handled this situation, so much so that I feel I can share it on this blog. It has certainly made me reassess the measure of my being. At the end of the day, sometimes life gives you lemons and the best thing you can do with those lemons is make lemonade... or in the words of Hip Hop artists Atmosphere... 'When life gives you lemons, you paint that s**t gold!!!'

So with my God given strength and courage and the love and blessings of my wonderful hubby, my two beautiful boys and my very supportive family and friends, I have managed to overcome. I may have lost my teeth, but that's all I lost. I still have my health, my happiness and my dreams - which I'm turning into my realities. I'm living my life like it's golden and am glad to be alive, with my 'Obama's', in these golden times.

Something old...something new...somewhere new...

2009-01-20T01:40:00.004Z

So this was where it all began on the 14th May 2008...

"This is my hair blog. I set out to record my natural hairstyles as they change. It's not a daily affair but if it changes, I'll post it!

Some say it's difficult to care for and manage natural black hair, I say, if you learn to love your hair it'll love you back no matter how it comes out of your scalp. I love mine as nature intended and I hope this blog will show you how and why...

So this is my hair today. It's in 'fro' mode and needs washing. I didn't think about how I was looking today when I decided to start this blog. Could have got myself all glammed but thought lets keep it real! So this is me, keeping it real, on a sunday afternoon."

Fast forward to today. A new blog in a new home. The old blog left behind. The old life left behind. The new life emerging. Visit the old home here to see where I was... THE OLD BLOG then come back to here and see where I'm going. It's something new, somewhere new. Welcome to our new home.

Leave any comments regarding the old blog here if you like...