Dread Update

I have been thinking a lot lately about when to say goodbye to my dreads. My first reaction is judgement, that I should have had them longer, that I didn't have them long enough, that I failed...somehow. I know that none of this is true, but those emotions are still there are should be recognized. The end of April will be one year---yes, one entire year of having dreadlocks! It has actually gone by really quickly. I have mixed feelings about the year. I feel like they have been stressful and I've fretted over them much too often. But there have also been lot of times where I felt so confident wearing them, even beautiufl, sexy and powerful. I have oscillated between being self-conscious and completely home and empowered in them. I will definitely grieve that part of the experience. Aspects of having dreads I will not miss are : the hassle of washing and drying, flakies and random stuff in my hair, not feeling very comfortable wearing my hair down in public. With two young children it is hard to find the time to devote to them, and their craziness is, in part to that neglect.

So, as I continue to contemplate when the right time to begin to remove them I am really going to try to enjoy them as much as possible. I do feel like I will have dreads again someday. I know now the importance of getting them off to a solid start. Good, even sectioning, lots of rolling. I will definitely have shorter hair the next time and seek out someone who has expererience backcoming them, maybe even color my hair before. We'll see. Just as before though, I have to remember that it is just hair. It didn't define me before, during, nor will it after.

Books to Read in 2011

I love reading. When I was a young girl I would carry a book around everywhere we went, lost deep in the pages of whatever I was reading. A few of my favorites were The Boxcar Children, The Giver, and The Indian in the Cupboard.

This year I have chosen 12 books that I would like to complete. Basically one for each month but I'm not going to be legalistic about it, it's more of a guideline. Some of the titles I have picked up and put down several times, usually because they are larger and the language more challenging, like Anna Karenina and Middlemarch. I have also strived to make the collection a good mix of literature and current novels, both of which I enjoy. I hope you too will be inspired to make 2011 a year of wonderful reading!

1. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

2. Finish Anna Karenina

3. Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen

4. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

5. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie

6. The God of Small Things by Arundhadti Roy

7. Blubber by Judy Blume

8. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

9. The Brothers K by David James Duncan

10. Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It by Maile Maloy

11. The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migratoin by Isabel Wilkerson

12. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

Another great giveaway!

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Sweet Giveaway!

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A treasure trove of goods. Hurry, giveaway ends tonight!