Dark Knight Rises, BANE. . . . .

So. . . who by now has not seen the Dark Knight Rises? (pause) If you raised your hand. ..then sorry for you! : ) I will not put any spoilers in this because that would be wrong and I hate to read something even if it says SPOILERS that tell the plot of a new movie cause some uber-over-eager ass nerd wanna get the jump on telling what he knows about the film, ugh. . . but I want to expand on something that freaks my friends out. . . .BANE and my obsession for him.

Yes, I said Bane and Obsession. . .so what exactly does this mean?
Well I have an obsession with Bane, not Tom Hardy the British actor with the soft voice and Channing Tatumnish odd lips who bulked up a sexy 30 lbs to play the character Bane. . .but the character BANE himself. And so you wonder. . .what the fuck does she mean by obsession?? hmmp. . . <----Like my obsession with using ellipsis' instead of just ending the damn sentence. . LOL

I mean an attraction to him. . so by now you either wanna keep reading because you find this subject odd as hell and are as bored as I am and want to know why the fuck I js admitted to this or you don't wanna keep reading because I sound odd as hell. . .. . either way it don't matter and I understand. No hard feelings yo. . .

My experience during the movie was weird for me. Bane appears in the first scene within a few minutes of the opening and when I saw him my heart started to beat faster...when he spoke I became flushed (I'm dark skinned so I became purplish: p ) Why? Not even I knew at first but when I saw Bane I had this instant attraction to him. (YES this shit is creepy right? keep reading. . .its gets uncreepy, I think). . .

My girl Lo looks over at me and sees me crying at this one part (yep, shut up!) and starts laughing so I stick up my middle finger to her and she informs our other friend that I am with tears (Hey nobody touches the BATMAN mmkay!) after my emotional bout she noticed my facial expression and I informed her that every time Bane came on the screen and spoke, my heart fluttered like with excitement one gets when their crush walks past them in the hallway, back in high school. . yrs ago (nowadays I guess they get flustered when he likes their photos on instagram. . ha the new world. . .okay I drifted. . ) She saw me breathing hard and literally loving this character which bothered her. . lol as it should but I could not tear myself away from the screen when he was on. People may have found it hard to understand him but I understood EVERY WORD however throughout all the films I sometimes found it hard to understand Batman. I think it's Bale's British accent turned to American that sounds off to me at times but I always have a hard time with British accents in movies and even though Tom Hardy is British, you could not hear it through the mask. . . (I drifted again), anywho every time Bane spoke it sent chills up my spine especially when he said "This is Gotham's reckoning" whew, crazy sexy shit.

SO after the movie all I can talk about to the annoyance of my often uptight friends who find ONLY their jokes and weird quirks interesting because they are as one dimensional as a 1940's James Bond cardboard cut out. . .this bothered them and one even had the temerity to shush me when a group walked by because she did not want them to hear my public adoration for Bane. . tssk fuck off. I maintained my obsession and now I do it solely to annoy them. . .what can I say, somethings in life are just fun to do.

Now the reason. . .why would someone like myself (as wonderful as I am) find a Character like BANE, appealing with that mask on and odd voice? Well I didn't find the mask odd at all, not worst and not the best, actually pretty damn cool. I understood him just fine and loved the way he sounded all creepy and shit like a villain should, like Ledgers creepy Joker voice. I even loved his attire. .the cliche military boots, vest, that coat and lets not forget the body. I usually do not like a huge muscled man but put with the fear, power, the mask and disturbing actions that is the character Bane then it was a go for me. Not to mention I admired Tom Hardy for his weight gain and conviction to play the role. I mean the man looked like a metro sexual London club queen in February and in July his head was the size of a delicious watermelon with a body like one of those Jersey shore meat head mudafuggas. . .I mean come on, that's the dedication that I love actors to get into, literally own the role. (Which pisses me off that singer Ne-Yo turned down the chance to play MLK in a movie because he didn't think the 30lb weight gain was worth it and he has an album coming out to which he was in the gym to get his body right for promotion. . .hA what album? what promotion? dude hasn't been good since the glittery jacket video thingy. . which is also why he will never be a great actor nor singer for that matter. . .damn I drifted again). . .

so you ask, is that the only reason why I have an affection for such a character? No silly. . .of course not. I recently let go of someone I love with all my heart. A man who has been my Dark Knight. I don't think he knew but he was my protector. . I always felt safe with him, always. And when I saw Bane and his protection (kind of a spoiler but that's all you get from me) it reminded me of what I don't have anymore. I obviously loved Bane from the moment he stepped on the screen which has to do with his exertion of power, crime and control (I write crime novels so of course I'd have a liking to the workings of crime, NOT CRIME ITSELF PEOPLE, the workings of it and what leads people to do it) but when I saw him on screen it was K.J.C.A all over again. Not to mention I like a rugged man. . not those prissy too fresh looking mudafuggas. . .they look soft like pudding and I like my man to look hard like day old toast! (I know I used some fucked up analogies sometimes)

I haven't told my girls that this is why I have an affection for him because I like to see their discomfort. . lol. So fucking posh and uptight as if the idiots they seek are any better than Bane and he's a character. . .lol. (I cracks myself up sometimes)


So there you have it folks, for no reason other than my sheer boredom today I posted some bullshit blog about my obsession and attraction to a character in a movie. . . .

I mean look at this photo. The stance of power and fear, the body of a GAWD, those scruffy clothing that says he bout to get shit done in thee most violent way. . .the mask. I love it all but I mostly love the man I let go of and can't stop thinking of and for the first time in months I cling to some(one)thing that reminds me of him (to an extent because in no way was my dude a killer with a mask, although had he ever worn one during. . .ok never mind.) BUT it helps to let the heart heal. Bane is my K, period.


And I'm going to go see it again. . . (chuckle). . . .because it was fucking epic!!

The Journey from Natural to Weave to Natural. . .

Going natural has been a pain in my arse. . .seriously! I love the fact that my hair is growing and it's healthy and I get to see my natural texture but this process can be an annoying one. Getting to this point was not easy. I started out with my own hair being done every two weeks like clock work at the salon!! LOVED IT!

But anyone who frequents the salon knows how expensive it can be and draining. I would spend 8 hours in the salon (mainly because the stylist was a friend so I'd end up helping her out like shampooing customers and sweeping up, I was bored and got a good discount LOL) and it could get quite expensive. My stylist wore weave like you wouldn't believe, her own hair was beautifully healthy underneath but she would rock an 18 inch jet black straight quick weave like it was hers. This was back when people still glued directly to the scalp (WHAT WERE WE THINKING?). . .One day she asked me if I wanted to try weave and I declined but then I caved and gave it a try and for the first time, I had long tresses that blew in the wind and I loved the versatility of the look so. . . .

and I was in love! It went from long, to short. . .

to shorter (quick weaves were big now and the use of protectant's to put over the stocking cap were made like Morning Glory which I still love to use when I do a weave on someone else. . .

BY now I am years into this and started doing my own weaves (my friend taught me how, how sweet of her : )) I did Bobs. . .

I even began to add color then went on to do curly (which is always a fav . . .

AND more curls. . .

The decided to go back straight and do some BOLD color. . .

OBVIOUSLY I have been around the weave circuit and back again!! Tried wigs (hated them and still do, never did the lace fronts and don't think I will as I do not like the way they look unnatural to me) Anywho my journey was taking off in all the wrong ways. My real hair became quite damaged but I kept going because I did not know what to do anymore, I was so used to seeing myself with weave that without it, I felt unlike myself. . .crazy huh? To call my natural hair UNLIKE MYSELF. . .smh. I went back to my natural hair. . .

It was damaged but with months of care it became strong again and I kept it maintained in the cute short styles like I always used to, before the weave. BUT. . .. .and there is always a BUT, I missed the weave. The versatility of it, to be able to put my hair in a pony tail

and go about my day without worrying about geling down sides and getting my back faded up. . .so I traveled once more back to the land of 18 inches (the other sought after inches we women crave). . .

even though I was wearing the weave I was keeping my hair natural under neath and learning how to maintain it's health under the weave. And it started to grow,

NOW you are probably just as tired of seeing my changes as I was doing them but still I could not stay away from weave!! It was like an addiction ladies, seriously. I felt connected to weave like it was my real hair and It was part of my personality, SAD I know but I am only telling you the truth!! Now my hair was getting healthy in the middle but the sides were taking a beating like no other and it go worse but what did I do, put more weave back in until I GOT TIRED and one day, I took my sew-in out and chopped!!

Now I spent MONTHS researching how to take care of my short natural hair because I knew I was going to do it I js needed the courage to cut! I had no idea what a Big CHOP was or that there were so many natural hair sites. I researched oils and hair care products and everything to prepare myself. The above picture is the morning of June 17th 2011, the day I after I took scissors to my crown!! Then I went to Miami, WOW I felt awkward being out in public with my little fro but my head felt cool..lol.

I was not received well in Miami especially by a club called LIV who, at first, refused to let me in and I quote "because she does not look like the type of women we want in LIV." My friend was such a club head and I was heated but because she wanted to go in so bad I kept my cool as she begged her homeboy to let me in with her. . .I did not enjoy myself, not for that nasty comment but because I always hate clubs, I was there for her as this was a plan on our trip she wanted to do. I came home and dealt with my hair best way I could finding new ways to do my little fro. I liked it and felt free and light on the head as we all know weave can be heavy. The damage kept me in tears constantly!!

THE LEFT SIDE OF MY HAIR Was well, you see. . .*SIGH*. . I had no choice but to nurse it back to health. I became a product junkie for months until I decided to start making my own hair care products which I still do and will continue to do. I don't use many store bought products and I keep oils around (such as coconut) like water. . .and my hair began to start it's journey to repair!! My self esteem was down because I felt ugly!! In time I grew to love my new short due especially being able to see my cheek bones.

I even started rocking a little fro with a head band. . .

It was nice to BE NATURAL. . . .but I still felt UGLY especially with my damaged hair exposed as it was healing. When my hair became long enough I went to the shop and got BOX braids!

The lady at the shop did them TOO tight so after a month and a half in I took them out. Then I went to Micros. . .YES I know how stupid to put more tension on my hair, but it wasn't all bad. I made sure she applied as less tension as she could (I still had some breakage obviously) but having my hair braided up gave my whole head time to grow and heal. I oiled it, and conditioned it to health.

I kept Micro's in for about 7 months (had them done about 3 times within that time frame). I'd wear them in cute updos and the ever adorable buns

When I took the Micro's out I let my hair breathe for a short while.

I was starting to see my real texture and liked it. However I hated the process to keep my hair in protective styles.

My hair had grown, my edges were getting stronger but I needed to stop the tension still so I moved to sew-ins having her leave out the edges so they could get nursed back to health.

I spent 3 months with a sew-in of Indian Remy Jerry Curl hair which was AMAZING, matched my normal hair so much so I was able to keep a natural part out. I used to wear sew-ins a lot but would only keep them in for about a month. I'd do them myself, having this in was annoying especially the cost, $50 for one pack may not seem bad but it is when you are a single parent and student on a budget so redoing it every month was not the option so I did it twice in about 3.5 months. Then there was the SMELL. . .I exercise every day and quite vigorously meaning major sweat and always heavy in my head. Even though I'd try to dry my hair, the smell came and it was hard to get rid of so I made the choice that going to the gym was more important that keeping my curly weave in so I gave it up. . . . I wore my hair for a few weeks. Conditioning it, moisturizing, trimming and giving it all the goodness it needed with my own homemade products. I noticed the growth of my hair was and is excited about it. The texture of it is long enough for me to explore and learn to understand. I wanted to try coloring but that did not work. .LOL.

So. . the weather starts to heat up and BAM my head is like a furnace and it's hard to keep my twist outs in for more than a day so I go to Kinky twists. Because I didn't want to go to the salon I did them myself. It took 3 tries and 5 bags of hair to find the right size, length and style. . .

I like the twists and because I do them myself I can control how tight or not tight they are. I will keep this style around a lot while continuing to nurse my hair back to health. This journey we take with our hair is absolute hell ladies and sometimes we do not have to do as much as we do but when we get into the habit it become hard to break!! Our hair them becomes like cigarettes, an addiction that takes multiple times to quit. Actually I quit smoking cigs easy, cold turkey even and as hard as it was it was still easier than letting go of fake hair. . .now how fucked up is that?! I am with this journey to get my hair back to a healthy state and I have learned from all of my hair mistakes. I also know that my beauty is not defined by how my hair looks,t hat was hard to accept when we place so much of our physical appearance on the things we add to our outer selves like clothing and hair, etc. Not many friends and ppl have accepted my natural hair but I don't give no fucks bout them. . .it just shows their superficiality! I remember when a guy I was "dating" told me he didn't like my hair,t hat he liked me better with longer hair. I was shocked not only that he admitted to liking me better with FAKE hair but that he said so with a straight face while being 30 with two kids, no job, living with his mother,a club head and had just dyed his hair the same blonde that Chris Brown did. . .it was a shocker yall!! LOL I keep my twists up like you see in the photos above and I love not having hair touch my neck or face. . .this journey has been hard and will continue to be but I can say that I now know my real hair, it's texture and what it needs. I now have my staple recipes for the hair products I make and a few staple store brought products such as (Mango Oil & Capaucu Butter Whipped curl cream, One & Only Argan Oil Shampoo, Coconut, Olive, Almond, Castor, Rosemary and Grapeseed Oils. . .) I use all natural products when making my conditioners and of course 100% Raw Shea Butter and Australian Manuka Honey is THEE ULTIMATE STAPLES. . . I know plenty of women out there like me and all I can say is bravo. I have no other reasons for going natural than to save cost of weave and to gain healthy hair again but whatever the reasons. . .good luck to you in this journey as it is one hell of a challenge!!!!

BODYROCK.tv Best Free Home Exercises EVER!!

Hi There,

Me here and bored again. I should be studying for my Homeland Security quiz but the chapters are like 90 effing double sided pages long. . .who in the hell do they think WANT to read that as a whole chapter?? I'd rather painfully sit through a reading of Twilight by a 6th grader but instead of those options here I am with a new treasure for you!!

I hate going to the gym, especially when it's crowded so I began at home working out. I started out with Jillian Michaels home workout DVD's which by the way will still make you want to punch her through the screen (In a good way) BUUUT I disliked the same routines everyday so I stumbled upon a site online called Bodyrock.tv It started out with Zuzana and Freddy Light, a married couple giving free workouts to the world. Fred never works out on camera (he is shy) but his wife did, she is Czech (he Canadian, I know right? How'd they meet??) and her accent is crazy but her body is hotness (youtube her Zuzana lights 600 rep video, it will kill you)

Well fast forward, I'd follow their youtube videos and eventually got on the FB page and BAM I am working out everyday. (now Freddy and Zuz are divorced but he still runs BodyRock with his kinda sexy younger brother Sean and new girlfriend Lisa-Marie (from the UK so her accent and high pitched voice takes some getting used to)). . .anywho MONDAY thru FRIDAY they bring you new workouts using cool equipments you can buy or don't have to buy or just body-weight and it's amazing!! Zuzana has a youtube channel where she does her ZWOW (Zuzana's Workout of the Week) She's a beast with it. . .

I do all and it's amazing, seriously just go to it and try it. You can do it at home, or write them down and take to your gym. I keep a book, actually its my free Oprah's Life Class Journal that I got in the mail in which I write my exercises down in. I use a GYMBOSS interval timer (which is handy) and a 6lb med ball, a weighted jump rope and weights at the gym. . .they use Lebert Equalizers, Dip Stations and Sandbags but they also give modifications to do without it! I am a year and a half in, a full 4 months in without stopping (because I did off and on before) and I feel great!! I never weigh myself as muscle weighs so much more and scares me when i see the big number. . .so I can tell you I lost a few pants sizes but I do not currently know my own weight.

I have fibromyalgia and possibly RA (will know in APRIL, cross fingers) but I still manage to get thru it!! I do them in my complexes small gym early when no one else is in there with me or if they are, I have grown to not care if they look...anywho if you are looking for a place to workout on your own time and pace and in your home (because that's where I did them from the beginning) then hop aboard!!

you can find them at. . .

www.bodyrock.tv they are on FB as well. . . Freddy Light/Sean Light-Bodyrock.tv Host/Lisa-Marie Bodyrock.tv Host and Zuzana light (or Zuzka Light) also Z's workouts can be searched on youtube as ZWOW. . . .get it onnnnnnnnn!!

an example of a routine (this is one I put together however the exercises are from the site, after a while of BR'ing you learn to put your fave routines together)

This is a time exercise of 360 reps I did in Pyramind form (low to high reps or vice versa)

Santana Pushups 15 Reps
3 Pike Pylo Jumps 25 Reps
Side bends using 25lb Dumbbells Right Side 50 Reps
Fly Boy Abs using 5 lb dumbbells each hand 15 Resp (these are my fav but really hard)
Crab Toe Touches 25 Reps
Jumping Jacks 50 reps
3 Point Abs using a 6lb Med Ball (very brutal and another ab fav) 15 Reps
Hanging Knee Abs (Military Style and Brutal as well) 25 Reps
Lunge Kicks 50 Reps
Advanced Abs (OUCHIE) 25 Reps
Side bends left Side using 25lb Dumbbell 50 reps

TIME: 22:27 with about 5 sec break between each exercise

My extras as my energy keep me going:

3 Point Jumps 10 Reps (very hard)
Skips (jumping rope with high knees and weighted jump rope)
A variation of abs for 100 reps!

Body-weight exercises get you sweating in less than 3 minutes!! Control your breathing, stay in good form and never over do it, and stay hydrated (My water bottle is always in reach) I switch days as to what to work on and when my Fibro start to act up i focus only on abs or low leg movement exercises. . .if you think 10-12 minutes is not enough a day to get fit then you are wrong! no need for big machines when your body can do the work for you!! GET TO IT DAMMIT!!! Let me know what you think of it!!

and

You are very welcome!!
Ta Ta. . .

Coconut OIl to rid Nummular Eczema!

Coconut Oil. . How I Love thee let me count the ways!!

I have been in search for a great skin moisturizer for as long as my 29yr old heart can remember. My skin is incredibly dry and have had a bad case of nummular eczema for many years (circular round dry patches on the face and body *minimum for me*) and the only way to make them go away was to use heavy moisturizers, BUT *there is always a but* I like to take very long and hot showers. . . So what does one with eczema and hot long showers get?? Drier skin!!

*SIGH*

So when I chopped my hair off to go natural this summer I started making my own hair care products and voila, Coconut oil was on thee list of must have ingredients. For a while I only used it in my hair then I moved to the face and BAM, just like that my face is clearing up!!

I knew coconut oil worked on the skin but I had no idea how amazing it was for my eczema, I thought that because it was so light weight, it wouldn't have a huge effect, I was wrong! Many of you already know about the great uses of coconut oil on the skin and hair but I wanted to share my awesome results with you just because, it's late and I'm bored!! HA!

Anywho, it has been two or. . .hmm, three weeks and I have been using 100% Natural Coconut Oil on my face just by rubbing it in really really good and my eczema is getting kicked to the back!! My skin never looked so clear. . .

And to minimize the drying of my skin after a shower, I rub it on my face (avoid too close to the eyes, because it will steam and burn *found out the hard way) before I get into the shower and as it steams my face remains oily, when I get out of the shower, my face is perfectly oiled, no dry feeling happening either. It's pure greatness!! I then rub it into my face deeply like a massage then apply my Cetaphil Daily moisturizing (10 oz jar) and my day or night is to be had.

Ihope this helps someone facing the same sucky nummular eczema problems I am facing. I can honestly tell you that it works. My used to be dry patchy skin looks fresh, supple and even has a natural glow to it!!