Sugar, Spice & Everything Nice!

Our precious little blessing is a girl!

Estimated arrival: April 8th

She's almost a pound at 13 ounces & very healthy at 5 months 3 days.

Wives tales that predicted a girl:

• Had lots of morning sickness (still having some!)
• Sleeping in bed with pillow to the south (that's the way our bed faces)
• Feet are not colder than they were before pregnancy (colder feet = boy)
• Refuse to eat the heel of a loaf of bread (never did that anyway)
• Nose is the same size now as always (boys make mama-noses big)
• Want orange juice daily
• When people asked to see my hand, I showed my palm
• Maternal grandmother does not have grey hair (dyed or natural)
• Not having headaches
• Necklace over the stomach went in circles not back and forth
• The "popular" vote was girl, around 20 girl votes to 5 boy votes

Wives tales that were "true" for me that predicted a boy, but we're having a girl

• Hair on legs is growing faster than usual
• Dad-to-be is gaining weight (Ha! He gained 5 unnoticeable pounds that he already lost!)
• Urine is a bright neon color (guess I need more water)
• Have a craving for salty or sour foods (still craving these things)
• Been craving cheese (Usually, not a cheese fan)
• Used the handle to grab a mug instead of the body
• Folks are saying mom-to-be looks good (Sisterlocks photo below is at 14 weeks pregnant)
• Sum of the mother's age at conception and number of the month of conception is even

Shows what good those "wives tales" are!!

We'll keep our trust in the Lord (smile)!

Sisterlocks 5 Year Anniversary

Today is my 5 year anniversary of Sisterlocks. This was a big change for me, but I'm so grateful that the journey has turned out so well. Some of the freedoms that Sisterlocks have brought to me include:

• No more booking Saturdays from 10am til 6pm at the hairdresser's. (The appointment should have only lasted 2 hours at the most.)
• No more mandatory dependence on someone else to maintain my hair. There's an option to have someone else retighten, but I can retighten my hair myself
• No more scalp or ear burns from relaxers or hot combs (hallelujah!)
• No more bumping an itching head instead of scratching it because the relaxer would burn in scratched places
• No more tears while I waited a few more minutes for the relaxer to "take" or the beautician to get a chance to rinse my hair (remember the scene from Malcolm X?)
• No more hair that smells like Nair (yuck)
• No more fear of water touching my hair. I'm still not the best swimmer, but I didn't worry about my hair when taking lessons or going into the ocean or pool.
• No more buying hair to get long hair. I can wear a ponytail with the hair grown from my scalp, not hair bought at the local hair supply.
• No more arranging life around my hairstyle
• No more 12 hour sessions to get braids (which I loved) and 24 hour sessions to take them down (which I HATED) every 8 weeks
• No more thousands of dollars spent at the beauty supply store to try to make my hair be something that it is not (I was a true product junkie)
• No more trying to be something or someone that I'm not. What God makes is GOOD and I'm grateful for His design
• Finally, deliverance from: the press & curl, the Jheri curl, the perms/relaxers, the fried/laid-to-the-side-took-all-day "do", the weaves, the freeze, the extensions, the piece of foam that was supposed to make the updo fuller (ha!), the fingerwaves (ridiculous on me), the sleeping still to preserve the style, the running from any and every source of water (sweat, rain, amusement park rides, pools, etc), the drama!

Getting to 5 years was not always easy for me, but I'm grateful that I found this style and made a positive change for my life. Let me just say, I love my locs!!! By the way, for all who have visited and made such kind comments, "Thank You!!!"

NAR Conference in New Orleans

We recently attended the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Conference in New Orleans. The conference had about 25,000 attendees from all over the world. There were also classes, vendors and fun things to do. Gerald worked the corporate booth for his job and I visited multiple vendors to look for new products and services. We also ate at Tommy's, Mother's, The Bombay Club, Mulates, The Sun Ray Grill (in the warehouse district) and Cochon's among others.

We also got to see Harry Connick Jr. in concert. Neither one of us had any of his CDs, but Connick is a native of New Orleans and definitely dedicated to the people of his hometown. He's also very talented and can play that piano with soul. Gerald also got us the hookup so we got VIP treatment, VIP tickets and seats in the 4th row. So, even though we probably wouldn't have ever seen Connick in concert on our own, it was a pretty good show. He even highlighted some of the local musicians and gave them long solos.

By the way, if you want to support the folks of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, you can buy Connick's song "All These People" (video-it will make you cry). The song was inspired by the suffering Harry witnessed first hand after Hurricane Katrina. All proceeds from the sale of the song, written and composed by Connick and performed by the acclaimed singer/pianist in duet with gospel singer Kim Burrell, will benefit New Orleans Habitat Musicians' Village.

New VP? ABSOLUTELY!!!!

Here's the press release from Gerald's promotion to Vice President. Congratulations! I'm so proud of you, Gerald! XOXO

GERALD PROMOTED TO RE/MAX VICE PRESIDENT, FRANCHISE SALES
(Greenwood Village, Colo., Nov. 1, 2006) – RE/MAX International has named Gerald vice president, franchise sales. Previous to this promotion, [he] was director, franchise sales for company operated regions – a position he earned in September 2004 – with oversight of franchise sales operations in seven company owned regions, Mountain States, Pacific Northwest, St. Louis, Central/Northern Ohio, Pennsylvania/Delaware, Central Atlantic and Southwest.

From 1998 to 2004, he served as regional franchise sales manager in the Mountain States region and Southwest region. [He] joined the RE/MAX organization in 1992 as an asset management coordinator and contract administrator at RE/MAX Relocation. From 1995 to 1998 he served as a senior marketing consultant for the Mountain States region.

“Gerald is an amazing individual,” said Vinnie Tracey, president of RE/MAX International. “He has consistently been one of the most reliable team players in our organization. From the day he joined us, he has sought knowledge, jumped into every project and achieved every goal placed before him. He is well versed in mergers, acquisitions, client relations, strategic planning and of course, sales. We are honored to have a man of his caliber on our team, and this new position of vice president is well deserved.”

Prior to his RE/MAX affiliation, he worked two years in the mortgage industry after serving three years in the United States Army. He holds a Master of Business Administration from Devry University and a Bachelor of Arts in communications (cum laude) from the University of Colorado, Denver. He is married to Jeri, who works in the residential and commercial development business with her father.