I Was Given the "One Lovely Blog Award"...Yay Me!

Hello all. I just wanted to briefly (Ok it turned out to be not so brief) get on here and tell you that I was recently awarded the "One Lovely Blog Award" by Funbi of DatFunkyFro. Thank you, girlie:-)

How great is that! My blog is like my baby and I appreciate that others enjoy it. It just brightens my day.

So, here are the rules of this award:
1. Accept the award and in your post provide the name & the link of the person who gave you the award.
2. Tell us 7 facts about you that we do not know.
3. Give the award to 15 other lovely blogs that you have just discovered.
4. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

1. Of course I gladly accept this award!!

2. Seven Facts about myself: (1) My birthday is December 29th. I know that is random but, I don't think I ever shared that with you all. (2) I was born, raised, and currently reside in Tuskegee, Alabama and I graduated from Tuskegee University. (3) I was raised as a strict Pentecostal (this is still my belief) and we could not wear pants, nail polish, makeup, earrings, etc. growing up. (4) I believe I adore fashion, clothes, and all things girly because of my upbringing (5) I am an avid dog lover except for pit bulls. Please don't judge me for that:-/ (6) I have one tattoo on my inner right hand wrist that says 11-4-08---the date that Obama won. (7) I don't plan on getting any more tattoos. I think the one I have shows the rebel in me that came to the forefront briefly.

3. 15 Bloggers who deserve the "One Lovely Blog Award" (no particular order): (1) Dat Funky Fro. I don't know if I can give it back to the person who gave it to me, but why not? Great blog with great information on caring for natural hair and beautiful protective styles! (2) Natural Beauty and Wellness. I know she's my sister but, I love her blog. She gives great advice on products, concoctions, finding many uses for one product, information on locs, and natural hair! (3) Precious Curls. I really like this blog! She has the cutest hairstyles, thought-provoking posts, and so much more! (4) Fro Stoppa. This girl has one beautiful head of hair and a great sense of fashion! (5) Healthy Hair and Body. This is another great blog! She has a gorgeous mane of hair, does great features, and gives great advice for our hair and body. (6) Barbara Naturally Speaking. Beautiful hair and great features! (7) Livin LaVida Natural. Though this is a fairly new blog, she has some great posts! There is even one about her experience with Black Tea Rinse. (8)The Moptop Maven. You all know how much I adore the Moptop Maven. My prayers are with her as she is struggling with Wilson's Disease. For this reason, I may not contact her about the Blog Award because she is recuperating. (9) Meechy Monroe. I initially started following her YouTube channel but, I simply love her new blog. She talks about natural hair, her sisters' natural hair, her life, makeup, food and so much more. (10) the Natural Haven. Very informative blog from the perspective of a real-life scientist, Jt. (11) Happy Girl Hair. If you have children, go here for beautiful ideas for styling their natural hair. Adults also can rock some of the styles:-) (12) Target Queen. She is simply gorgeous! She sells beautiful handmade jewelry and she is simply creative. Her natural hair may be long or short in the next breath. She constantly changes it up and it fits her! (13-15) For the last three and then some, I tag all natural bloggers out there!!!

Beautiful Natural Men: Lenny Kravitz

Ok, so I must admit that I am not a big Lenny Kravitz fan. However, I can recognize a beautiful man when I see one. So, I am definitely featuring him today.

First off, Lenny Kravitz has always held it down on the natural forefront. I don't think there has ever been a time that he has not rocked a natural hairstyle. Personally, I can't really decide which look of his I like best. The locs were GORGEOUS. The textured afro is BEAUTIFUL. So, I just can't make up my mind and won't try.

It was kinda hard trying to narrow down which pictures of his I wanted to post up because he is so photogenic and takes good pics. (He really is beautiful). So, I just chose them randomly:-)

Featured on Naturally Obsessed!!!!

OMG!! I am finally featured on Naturally Obsessed. If you follow this blog you know I am a big fan of Naturally Obsessed blog. So, imagine my delight when my sister called me last night right before I was going to bed and told me I was featured. Can you say ecstatic?

So, check out my natural story HERE.

Feature: My Sister, Alison

My sister has been natural for quite awhile--on and off. I have decided to feature her on my blog and learn a little more about her natural journey. Enjoy!

Why did you go natural? Well, this is my third time going natural. The initial times I went natural was because I recognized early on that perms were not good for my hair (I was constantly experiencing breakage). But I would revert back to perming my hair because I never "went natural" emotionally and mentally as well...it was always just a physical transition. This last time I went natural, I was just overall disgusted with the issues that were resulting from having a perm. So this last time, I was mentally and emotionally changed into realizing that my natural hair (and natural self) was beautiful and need to be cultivated, not changed.

Are you a high maintenance or low maintenance natural? Why? I am most often a low maintenance natural. Honestly, that basically means that I am a lazy natural. All of my life, I've been very blase about hair styling. I like to look nice, but I go through phases where I am just completely laidback and uneager to do anything to my hair. On those days, I just wear a scarf, headwrap, or just rock a textured afro (where I've only wet it and pulled it out with my fingers). But I do have days where I put in effort to style my hair. Even then, these styles are usually not that difficult or require very little upkeep and maintenance.
Would you ever straighten your hair again? Never say never, but I have absolutely no desire to straighten my hair again. I've come to truly feel that natural hair is beautiful. So if I'm ever wanting to "do it up" or look especially beautiful, I don't feel like I have to get my hair straightened to accomplish that...I can just do an updo, braids, or whatever. Some people think you have to straighten your hair for special occassions like weddings, but I don't feel that way at all. Also, the only other reason I feel one would straighten their hair is to see how long it is, but I can accomplish this by just stretching it out through braids, twists, or ponytails.

Would you ever BC again? I don't feel a desire to BC again right now, but I can see myself doing it later in the future for various reasons. Basically, I've noticed that a lot of older women tend to rock TWAs because of the low maintenance...I can see myself doing that if I were married with children and felt too overwhelmed to constantly keep my hair up.

What is a hair move (ex. hairstyle, color, etc) that you would love to try? Well, I can't wait until my hair grows longer, to about my shoulder blades, because I love a lot of the updos and formal styles that I've seen people do with long natural hair. French twists, coiffed ponytails, individual twists styled like straight hair...so many options! So that's what I'm waiting for.

Any advice? For anybody who is attempting to go natural, I suggest that they transition in more than just the physical sense. While growing out your perm, visit natural blogs and websites often and take notice of all of the beautiful women who are natural. Then, once you feel an overwhelming desire to be all natural...cut it off! I also recommend that people surround themselves with positive influences when it comes to being natural...fellow natural friends, books on the subject, print out of pictures and webpages....whatever it takes. Though the world has evolved in a lot of ways, there is still a lot of ignorance when it comes to black women wearing their natural hair...don't let the ignorance of others discourage you. Instead, use it as a source of inspiration to remind yourself that you are no longer in that category, but have achieved a level of beauty and appreciation that they still need to catch up to:)

Any blogs? My blog is at http://naturalcommentary.blogspot.com/

My Poem is Featured on AnastasiaOsho's Blog!!

So, I was contacted on facebook by the beautiful and sweet Anastasia Osho to contribute some poetry to her blog. Though I'm not heavily into poetry, I do have some poems that were written when the mood struck. Please visit her blog and check out my feature here.