It's Christmas!!!

I tried very hard to hold off on a Christmas post, because I do not like to rush Christmas in. I feel like if the festivites start too soon the whole 'Christmasy-ness' of Christmas will fade by the time it actually rolls around. However, its exactly one week until Christmas day and I cannot contain my excitement any longer...ITS CHRISTMAS!!! Definitely my favorite holiday/season of the year. There are so many things to enjoy, so here is my Christmas list of favorites:

1. The Cleaning. Ok, let me be honest, I may not like the process. If you have Caribbean parents like I do, this process includes; washing walls...inside and out, washing chair cushions...burr???, gutting the living room and giving the tiles UNDER the vinyl a very thourough scrubbing and basically any task hinting at the slavery days (I wonder if they know its been abolished??) However, I most certainly love the outcome. Everything and everywhere looks and smells so clean, its almost as if the house is brand new! In all of this cleaning of house though we must remember to clean our hearts (my new favorite Christmas song courtesy Rizon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1-gxZsK2Mo ). Speaking of music, next on my list...

2. The Christmas Music. If you don't like in Trinidad and Tobago and you're not as blessed as I am to hear live parang in all its forms (soca, Chinee, etc.), I am sympathetic towards you. If you have no idea what parang is then you definitely need to plan to spend your next Christmas vacation here. Parang so sweet! and you definitely can't sit quietly and listen to it...there must be dancing! When that cuatro and the maracas and the tock tock start up, you start singing along in español (whether you can speak and/or understand it or not).

3. The Lights. Won't you agree there's something simply magical about Christmas lights? I know some of them can be quite gaudy, but the ones that are elegantly done have this ability to transport you to a wonderland. I love the lights.

4. The Tree. I love to put up our tree on Christmas eve. I feel like once the tree is up Christmas is officially 'in the building'. I also love the presents, not only in the receiving way, but also in the giving way. My family does a secret santa/gift exchange thingie and its so much fun playing Sherlock Holmes trying to uncover out who has whose name and also trying to figure out the perfect present for the peron's name you receive. Needless to say, its all quite exciting.

5. The Christmas Movies. My Christmas cannot be complete without at least one viewing of each of the Home Alone movies. Sitting with my family and watching A Charlie Brown Christmas or Jack Frost...what could be better? And I can't forget Lifetime, with its endless stream of Christmas/Romance (I had to create a genre just for them), it's the only time I can tolerate the network.

6. The FOOD!!! If you tell me food isn't on your list I may call you a fibber. Pastelle, sorrel, turkey, pepperpot!!! (please contact your Guyanese associates for a tasting of this delicious delicacy). I love my belly too much, but while we enjoy our feasts, let us remember those less fortunate than we are and share with them from the abundance we are blessed with.


NOTE TO CARNIVAL: Try don't rush Christmas out...give us a chance to enjoy it please.


What are your favourite things about the Christmas season?

Weave Believe...Or Not

The title may be slightly misleading. I was told it was not a weave that I had, but crotchet braids. However, it was close enough. Too close in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, crotchet braids are amazeballs...in theory...all of your hair tucked away, getting it's growth on, not having to comb/style your hair everyday, what could be better? I even like them on other people. That's the reason I decided to put them in in the first place, a couple friends of mine rocking the supercalifragilisticexpealidocious-ness out of those crochet braids. I also thought they would look quite real, and although some people did get the proverbial wool pulled over their eyes, I did not fall into that category. I had big plans for these crotchet braids; they would remain in my hair for one month (all in the name of length retention), but when I saw the finished product I knew immediately I could not keep all of that hair in for an entire month, so the time frame was cut down by one week. All I had to do was survive three weeks, but even that I could not do. That thing was out exactly two weeks and two days after it was installed. I've been told I'm the 'anti-weave-ist' and I made the hair worse than it actually was in my mind. I cannot say that I disagree. In my opinion it simply doesn't matter if everyone thinks your new hair (I use the words 'your' and 'hair' loosely) looks gorg! as long its not 'you' you won't be comfortable. And that was the case with me. If anyone asks I would definitely recommend crotchet braids...once they believe in their weave.

So Much Hair!!!

All curled up

The last day...thought I'd style it up

Yarn Locs: The Guidelines

Yarn locs had to be sent from heaven, because these things are too amazing! The versatility, the easiness/care free-ness, the look ( some day I want real locs)! I'm in love with it all! However, in order for them to accomplish the task I put them in for (growth), there are a few 'tricks of the trade' I had to implement, sometimes on a daily basis. Allow me to give you the run down on how to benefit maximally from yarn locs.

THE BEFORE:

- Your hair is going to be tucked away for a nice long, possibly much needed, vacation and you want to give it a nice send off, so do a protein treatment, pre-poo, a good washing and thorough moisturizing.

- Ensure the person doing the installation appreciates the health of you hair, especially your edges. If they are put in too tightly you run the risk of damaging your precious edges.

- Grab a good book or a season of your favorite series and prepare your rear end for the long haul because installing yarn locs takes a while (mine took ten hours!).

THE DURING:

- Yarn is quite an absorbant material and would basically be leeching your hair of its natural moisture. This can be counteracted with external moisturizing. Your spray bottle, which some classify as their best friend, will now also become your vitamins. At least once a day you will need to spritz your 'locs' with water and sometimes even twice a day, depending on the weather. You also need to apply moisturizer and oils to your roots and scalp often ( I tried to do this 2-3 times a week).

- When you have had these things in for as long as I have, a few washes are definitely required. 

CAUTION: When washing handle with care. To avoid the locs themselves becoming overly frizzy wash them gently. Careful 'squeezing-like' motions down the length of the locs should be sufficient. The roots, howver, you can go all in on those. They can get very heavy when wet and take some time to completely dry. If you would like to speed up the process a hair dryer can be used.

Side note: These things have a very special relationship with lint. I do not advise using a towl to dry. An old t-shirt or two will work just fine.

THE AFTER:

- To remove the locs the ends must be cut. However, your hair may be a little longer than you remember, so be very careful with the cutting. You don't want to undo all that wonderful growth you just acquired.

- Despite your best efforts your hair may still be a little dry and prone to breakage if you handle too roughly. Finger detangle, section and oil that baby up for a couple hours ( I use warm coconut oil and place it under several plastic shower caps and keep overnight). 

- To minimize the loss of hair during washing I suggest washing in sections and the use of your favorite conditioner to detangle. Remember to moisturize and seal after your wash!

THE FRO IS BACK!!!

A Girl and Her Curls

EUREKA!!! I have found the solution to my dropping curls: pipe cleaners!

If you saw mw this week you would have noticed my yarn locs looking rather short with a little bit of purple peeking out at the ends, that's because I set them with pipe cleaners. I have never used pipe cleaners to clean pipes, I have always seen them used in an arts and crafts/ project type setting, and what is natural hair and all its trappings if not a project, right? So since I was busy I sent my mother and my sister on a mission with specific instructions to retrieve black pipe cleaners at Samaroo's (Abercromby St., POS 40 cents a piece). The reason I wanted the black pipe cleaners was so that I would be able to have them in for an extended period, which would include leaving my house, so that the curls would set. I, however, ended up with purple pipe cleaners (there was no black). One night I decided to try out one and ended up doing my entire head. I tried it with the entire length of the pipe cleaner, but it was too long and wasn't covered by the loc, so I cut it in half so that only the ends were showing the purple. I was a bit apprehensive to leave the house with the purple in, but they turned out awesome! I left them in for three days and went about my daily routine. When I took them out this morning the spirals were super tight and I couldn't do much with it so I kinda pulled my fingers through them to stretch them a bit and the curls stayed! I slept, put them up in a ponytail, tried out different styles and they still stayed! I didn't even have to go through the discomfort of dipping them in steaming water, or waiting for them to dry (these things take forever to dry). I am completely pleased with the results. My next project: crotchet hair/weave/something! I'm excited!

Selfies at work with my cute hair!

Close up of the set 

 The perfect spiral

 They came out so great!

Extended curls

Surprise! Surprise!

Disclaimer: I am terrible at planning and/or executing surprises. Let me explain...

My sister who studies in California decides to come home and surprise my parents. She foolishly shares this plan with me. Fast forward to the arrival night, she arrives later than expected which throws my 'I have a meeting' alibi right out the window. My overly protective mother (understated greatly!), who is probably wondering why her girl child is not at home after midnight from her "meeting", is calling my phone more than sinners call on Jesus. Me being the "honest Abe" that I am, and not wanting to lie...again (figured I'd used up my quota for the day already) turned off my phone, which in hindsight was probably not the best idea.upon our arrival at home my mother rushes to hug me before my sister LOL! My family was just about to head to police station to report me missing *hides face*. So to future surprise planners, whether the surprise is for me or not, I suggest you keep me out of the proverbial loop. I consider this post fair warning.

I got to spend an amazing month with my sister but now she's off again to be awesome at school. And although I can now return to sleeping diagonally on my bed, I sure will miss that crazy lady.

I added the bloopers...they're so much more fun!

Murphy's Law

Urgh!! Whatever could have gone wrong today...certainly did. Firstly, it totally slipped me that school reopened and in order to get a taxi to get to work on time I would have to leave at least fifteen minutes earlier than usual, so I got to work late on the first day for the semester. Sigh! Secondly, I prepared for the wrong lab...smh, and while running routine safety checks before the lab my co-worker and I discovered that the safety shower lever was stuck...after we pulled it and it was running. We had to take turns filling and emptying containers so as not to flood the lab while we waited for the relative persons to come deal with this watery situation. Long story short...I got a work out and a bath. Needless to say, my first day back was eventful.

In other news; I got me some yarn locs! Had them in for a while and despite missing my own hair immensely...I love them soooo much! Partly because its great to have an ease from constantly having to comb my hair, but also because they're so protective. I was warned about being lackadaisical with my regular hair regiment thinking that the protective style meant I didn't have to do any work, so I tried to spritz with water every other day at least and moisturize and oil at least twice a week (this was aslo dependent on if I was out in the sun all day or the humidity of that specific day). I had them in during my guatemala trip and they were like an attraction, I could not get used to random spanish people randomly putting their hands in them. Sometimes it was even borderline creepy!

After a couple weeks of wearing it straight I decided to try to curl them. My hairstylist (big sis) is back home for a little bit so I thought I'd maximize on the opportunity. I scoured YouTube looking for a method with an outcome that was to my liking and found one using pipe cleaners. Now I didn't have pipe cleaners, but I did have flexi rods, so I improvised. We washed, rolled, hot watered and waited. I left them to dry for about 24 hours (did some blow drying and sitting in front of the fan) and the results were gorg! If only they lasted for more than a few hours. After about 3 hours I noticed they atarted to drop a bit, and by the time I got home from work my pretty curls were almost non existant. I have not yet come up with a plausable cause for such, but I intend to continue experimenting.

 These things were hell to sleep with...only for the love of all things hair

Life: Updated

Oh man has it been a while...two whole months...I apologize for my absence. So many things have been going on I will try my best to do justice with updates:

1. I have just completed the Divergent Trilogy books by Veronica Roth and before that I read The Fault in Our Stars and Looking for Alaska by John Green. WOW! Why am I just now discovering these amazingly talented writers??? Let me tell you, when you come to the end of a John Green novel you remain in a haze of the after glow of that book. You don't want to pick up another book 'cause you're not ready for the last one to be done just yet...not ready for the experience to be over. Or that could just be me...I can be weird like that. I don't even have words to describe the Divergent series yet. I'm still processing ( I do believe an entire post will be dedicated to it).

2. Both of my parents have joined social media. This may not seem like anything big, but if you only knew they condemnnation they rained on Facebook and the like you would understand my utter shock when i received whatsapp messages from my daddy and a FB friend request from my mama. LOL! That is exactly what I did when I got them. Needless to say I receive many concerned stares. My father has acquired a galaxy tab and my mother is now the proud owner of an android smart phone. Significant portions of my day are now spent in orienting them into the world instant messaging, emojis and a variety of applications.

3. GUATEMALA!! I spent a week there this summer and it was a spectacular week. I was there for the Inter-American Adventist Youth Congress, which encompass upwards of 27 countries! The experience was indescribable...so hopefully my attempt will suffice. I was not intended to be a vacation but we got to go on a tour the day after we arrived and I must say; Guatemala is beautiful. Their former capital city La Antigua Guatemala (The Old Guatemala) is so rich with culture and their Spanish heritage, which is proudly displayed in the architecture of their buildings, both recently constructed and the exquisite ruins. The rest of the week was spent between the hotel and the convention centre where over 6000 young people (and the young at heart people) met to learn how we can best use our talents, gifts and zeal for youth work in the Adventist church to bring more souls to Christ. The spiritual level was always on a high and I came home feeling so empowered by the Holy Spirit. I met so many new people and made so many new friends in that one week it's not even funny (my FB freind request notification thingie just kept popping up for about two weeks after I came home) and the best part was that most of them don't know any english. Attempts at communication were quite hilarious most of the time.

If I continue I will be typing all night and I have quite a few tasks to accomplish before I can curl up in my bed with my new book (its an extension of the Divergent series....I just cant get enough!). So enjoy the pics of the world's newest wanderluster (is that a legit word? idk...idc...lol).

Notice the cobblestone roads which are throughout the entire city. Nice to look at, not so much to walk on.

 Not sure of the idea behind this one...

 All of the lights! (Friday evening alter call: they turned off all the lights and asked us to light up for Jesus [using our cellphones])

The last night...too tired to stand for the picture

Cookies and Chivalry

Today I indulged my wallet and my diet in a Mrs. Fields cookie. If you have never known the ecstasy of eating this piece of circular bliss, or by some evil twist of fate don't know what a Mrs. Fields cookie is, then I will be the angel that heralds this most glorious news to you. In the packet there is a single cookie about the size of your palm. Now this is not simply a cookie that yo absent mindedly snack on...you must eat this cookie with intent and purpose, the rest of the world is put on pause as the awesome cookie-ness of this cookie engulfs you. Yes. I know I have an unatural relationship with the cookie. I'm ok with that.

Mmmmm... ^_^

In other news...chivalry is not dead! Today I was about to enter a taxi and a man (not homeless and wanting money or 'thirsty' looking, just a gentleman who happened to be passing by) opened the door for me to enter, waited until I was properly seated, and closed the door after. Well consider me pleasantly surprised...

I wonder the merit of this...

Natural Hair Junkie

Hi, my name is Laurissa and I'm a natural hairaholic...

I've been natural for quite some time, with very little growth and hair health to show for it. Largely because I really was not that caught up in the natural hair scene. Well talk about making up for lost time! Opening just one link to an article on BGLH or just one Youtube video with a natural hair tutorial seems to be an impossible act for me. There will always be another link to another article or video below or adjacent to the one I most recently devoured that I simply MUST read, and thus the addiction is fed.

A screenshot from this morning: I don't always have time to read them all right away...so I open a bunch of tabs and save for later *hides face*

Despite this obsession, I am not a product junkie...well maybe not a full blown one. I read all these articles and watch all these tutorials about length retention, moisture retention, no-heat stretching, etc. to gain knowledge. One thing I have realised is that not everything works for my hair (I am thoroughly convinced that my hair has a type all its own. I call it 5Z). Everyone's head of hair is unique. And while there are general guidelines, it is up to me to do what suits my hair best. So although the arsenal is expanding with all this new found love for all things natural hair, I still take careful consideration of my weapon/s of choice.

Trying to stetch my hair using the African threading method...but with laces. Forgot to take an after pic, but it wasn't the most successful experiment I've ever conducted...

On a quest to achieve the perfect (or as close as I can get) bantu knot out...I think I'm almost there!

Farewell April

April is over?!?! When did that happen???...just the other day I was super excited for the BEST MONTH EVER!! now it's gone into eternity...sigh. April is such an awesome month though. When I was younger it was so rare that I'd find someone born in the same month as me. Now I've made so many friends and met so many people born in this amazing month. However, I don't only love April because it is the month of my birth, but also because of the weather and nature. I know in the Caribbean we don't have the season of spring, but I think in April we come pretty close. It's never too hot for extended periods or the rain isn't overbearing. The sun shines and warms the earth, but the rains come soon after just enough to cool it down. I'm fortunate and privileged to live in a valley with a magnificent view of the mountains, and just around April they begin to flourish after a short dry spell. The shades of green present seem endless, punctuated only by the beautiful pouis. The simplicity of these flowering trees are breathtakingly beautiful, and the blanket they form when the flowers fall is equal in it's beauty. Sometimes I just want to stop eveyone from walking on and trampling them so that their beauty can be maintained, but everything has its season and all things must come to an end. I'm thankful that it will not be like this forever. One day true beauty will be eternal.

Photo Credit: Kevin Sammy

Dedicated to my Grandfather....R.I.P. Dove

Novel Fashion

Fashion is becoming increasingly daring and bolder than ever. Now some things I can definitely get on board with...I LOVE color blocking, even mixing and matching patterns and textures. I saw a trend recently though, the book clutch, and I can't seem to get behind it. For those of you who are unaware of what a book clutch is, it is a clutch that looks like various novels. The first time I saw it I had to 'bust' out laughing. I mean...what is its purpose? Yes I know that we ladies sometimes carry bags (mostly clutches) that are less funtional than they are fashionable, seeing as they can only hold your chapstick and some vex money, but the book clutch is a tad bit on the unecesary side of life. How would you decide what to wear it with? What goes with Lolita? or Pride and Prejudice? or even Cat in the Hat??? So many confusing and unanswered questions. For the ladies who choose to rock the book clutch, more power to you...but please read the book before you wear it...its the least you can do.

Would you rock a book clutch?

The Sibling-hood

Yesterday was international siblings day (they sure do have a day for everything)...my apologies for the belated-ness of this...but I could not miss an opportunity to bless up my beloved sistren and bretheren by dedicating this blog post to them. I have never been an only child, so I cannot say if having siblings is better than not having siblings, but I do know that I cannot imagine my life without these two in it. They are my tree climbing, gymnastics (more like death) practicing, club house building, dolly house playing, hop-scotching, walking to school, licks-taking, partners. They are the loves of my life! So Happy (belated) Siblings Day to arguably the awesomest brother and sister in THE WORLD!! 

                                            We are quite a cute trio...aren't we??

Silver Linings and Silver Hair

Yesterday as I was styling my oh so awesome box braids I came across a...GREY HAIR! Now those who know me very well know that I have this secret (well not anymore) fear (for lack of a better word/term) of getting old. I looked it up and its called GERASCOPHOBIA.

This grey hair couldn't have come at a 'better' time to remind me of my imminent doom....errrr...I mean glorius future...than exactly one week before my birthday! Now I thoroughly enjoy the celebrations that come with birthdays, but the growing older part still hasn't, well, grown on me. Like my bestfriend loves to frequently and mercilessly remind me, I am 'twenty-something', which can be interpreted as anywhere from 21 to 29. That is kinda scary...the 29 part lol. I feel like time...life...is moving so quickly and I'm standing still, stuck in this irrational fear, as it passes me by. So I've made up my mind to grab life by the proverbial horns and enjoy the ride. Some people may say 'YOLO' would be appropriate here...but that's not my kind vibe...so I will raise an imaginary glass of NON-ALCOHOLIC wine (I love fizzy drinks) to aging gracefully and fearlessly...CHEERS LIFE LOVERS!

Wash Day = Stress Day

Washing day for a natural can be quite the ordeal...at least it is for me. I remember days when if I washed my hair I wasn't going anywhere for the rest of that day...and quite possibly the next one as well. Although I've learnt to better manage my hair since those dark days it is still quite a task. Co-washing, deep conditioning, moisturizing and sealing are terms that have become regulars in my 'hair-cabulary'. Eventhough these various processes have significantly lengthened the pre-styling stage, they have definitely made styling easier and has made that 50/50 love/hate relationship I have with my hair into something more of an 80/20 ratio. I've also grown to embrace the shrinkage that comes with wetting natural hair, and though I am yet to master...well let's be honest....come vaguely close to a wash and go (doubt I will ever achieve this natural style) I have found my go to style for very recently washed hair. Some people call it the Ellen White reincarnated (really....they've actually told me this), but I love it anyway.

                                                                 The Shrinkage Struggle

                                                       Throw back do...ode to the oldies


To all my natural sistahs out there we know the struggle is real, but keep the faith and the oils, and the shea butter...LOL!

Monday Morning Blues

Urgh!! It's Monday morning again and the one thought that's on rotation in your brain is; 'where'd my weekend go?!'

Whether you have to get up to face school or work or both, Monday mornings tend to be the bane of....well...everyone's existence. Well guys, suffer no more, or at least suffer less when those Monday morning blues roll around. Here are a few ways I beat those blues:

1. Prayer: say a prayer as soon as you are conscious enough. Thank your heavenly Father you are alive and well. 

2. Exercise: Now let me be honest, I don't always do this one, but when I do it always leaves me feeling a little more energetic and my mood is definitely happier and more positive.

3. Breakfast: Not to counteract that awesome exercise session you just had, but make a great breakfast, with all your favourite breakfast foods...all in healthy proportions of course...and enjoy it!

4. Style: Dress your best. Choose and outfit you feel confident in and strut your stuff...don't forget your smile :)

5. Positivity: Clear your thoughts of all negativity. Purpose to be cheerful, forgiving and happy. Exude those positive vibrations...

Follow these tips and I'm sure you will feel 100 times better, greater, awesomer!! and well equipped as you walk out the door ready to take on your week...

Have a happy Monday! and a successful week!

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Out of my Shell...

Life is all about choices. We've heard this statement about a million times over, but its the truth. Today I made a choice to be as free as the wind and as limitless as the sky!...So I started a blog...I'm widely considered as an introvert so this is definitely out of my comfort zone, but I'm determined anyway. This blog is going to be my attempt at coming out of my shell. Hopefully it will be a graceful entrance/exit...