Hi.....and warm wishes to all those who are nappy and proud.  So I just recently finished reading, Ada's Rules, A Sexy Skinny Novel, by Alice Randall.  I love, love, loved it!  It's about a woman (Ada) in her late 50s struggling to re-connect with her adult parents, her husband, and her grown daughters.  The book is basically a series of chapters in a book that is being written by Ada, about her journey towards losing over 100 pounds.

The thing I like so much about the book is that Ada's weight loss is not for her husband, Preach, or to fit in with friends......it's for her.  I think any sort of lasting change we make in our lives has to be driven by self-improvement, and not because someone else wants you to do this, that and the other.

As Ada is slowly shedding pounds, she is also realizing a new type of intimacy with her husband, a popular local preacher, and inspiring her two grown daughters, both teachers, to adopt healthy habits.

As is often the case, I'm inspired by books I'm reading, the challenges the characters face, and how they emerge on the other end, better and ready for a new level of living.

So check this book out, friends, and be inspired, not just to get that J-Lo body, but to embrace healthy habits that will serve you well in the long run.  Stay nappy, and don't forget to enjoy the gift that is you!

Hi there Nappies, and rest of the world!  So I'm totally feeling the style of some of the Harlem Renaissance writers, including Nella Larsen, Zora, and Georgia Douglass Johnson.    How hard must it have been, with all the other barriers these women had to overcome, to maintain a healthy sense of style, grace and self-image?  As women of color, we've always known how to look good on a dime, and our influence on fashion, fads and trends can't be disputed.

Check out Nella, below, as a young woman...........so swanky!  Zora was equally prone to make a statement, and was well-known for her low tolerance for bullshit, and fly hats........

Encourage your kids to do 'Saturday Research' on these women, I think, if they were still with us,  they would be shocked to see how some of us are so quick to go around looking straight up stank.........sometimes I think we need to regain that sense of pride we had in ourselves before integration.........we might have been poor, segregated and uneducated, but we sure as hell looked good!  Peace and love, Nappies, and don't forget to take time to celebrate the gift that is you!

Check out one of our First Ladies of Literature........a pioneering priestess of hats, and words!

Nappy to the World!

Hello there, I truly hope you enjoy my first blog post, Nappy to the World!  I have two beautiful girls and the three of us often commiserate, and celebrate, our resilient, hard-to-control, nappy, kinky hair.  You can check out my oldest daughter's blog,  http://naptelligent.blogspot.com/2012/06/welcome-to-nap-central.html, she's a true Napstress, and I'm proud of her!

This nappy hair derives from the dark continent, Africa, and no matter how our ethnic soup has been stirred,  she always finds a way to add her unique flavor, usually in the form of, you guessed it, NAPS!

Companies such as Mixed Chicks, and Uncle Funky's have created unqiue value propositions in the marketplace, all based on the premise that mixed-race naps can be controlled.......but those of us who are truly nappy know that even if you  press it, flat-iron it, slick it down with blue grease or perm it, your NAPS will eventually rise to the occaison and re-assert themselves in all their ethnic glory.

Here in this forum, we will share things that celebrate and honor our Nappy Roots.......after all, this hair is what makes us unique.  It is our heritage, our calling card, and our feminine poem of beauty dedicated to the globe.......we are free to be, NAPPY TO THE WORLD!

In this, my inaugural posting, I would like to share some links to sites out there that elevate the gift of nappy......enjoy this week, and as always, take the time to celebrate the gift that is you!


http://www.blackgirlsrockinc.com/

www.spoonflower.com/profiles/nalo_hopkinson