Ancestry| Tracking Our Lineage

A few years ago, my sister and I talked about tracking our family tree and lineage. While the thought was awesome, it was difficult knowing where to start. With the bit of research we were able to do then, we found a few names and following names, tracked our lineage back to Nigeria. But other than that, we found limited information on our family (ie: names, US location, etc.)

2017 lit a fire under my sister again to start researching; looking at county census and speaking with our parents and grandmother to obtain and confirm information. My sister really hit gold with finding family signatures and tracking children she was able to trace our family back to the early 1800's... Which is more than what we recovered previously.

While confirming names with relatives, we also decided to take an ancestry.com DNA analysis: This requires a saliva sample that is sent off for analysis to identify the region(s) your ancestry is strongest in. 

Well, we received the results in April and discovered that we [of course] are of African decent (87%):

• 45% - Ivory Coast/Ghana
• 21% - Cameroon/Congo
• 8% - Nigeria

We also discovered that of the information reported so far, our family has not ventured too far from the East Coast of the US (NC, VA, DC, MD, VA, NY). This helped us confirm some family members by location to confirm that what my sister previously uncovered were the right records. 

So we know that our lineage is strong in West Africa which means that we were on the right track a few years ago when looking but gives much more than what we were able to find. 

Things to know about DNA analysis: 

• The results may vary from test to test - We used Ancestry DNA however, if we were to take another from a different service it is possible that the result will be different
• Siblings can carry different numbers - Siblings carry a difference percentage of DNA from both parents so your siblings results will of course be different from yours. We only sent in one sample may do it again to compare the results.

Are you tracking your family tree or thought about it? Have you submitted a DNA analysis to any sites? 

Let me know!

Motivational Monday| Estelle - Something Good

Hey hey!

Coming to spread some positive energy and/or motivation: 

Mondays get such a bad wrap but have been flipping that in my life and using Mondays as a day to reboot and set the tone for the the entire week. I mean, it's the start of the week so why not?

Music always take me to an emotional place and one song that quickly search for when I'm looking to feel good or just want to keep the upbeat tempo of the day going is Estelle's Something Good/Devotion.

CLICK HERE TO VIBE

What songs help you start or get through the day?

*Content shared is for entertainment purposes ONLY*

Farewell 2015 | Memorable Moments

Another year is coming to a close and again, so much has happened on a national and local level. I prefer to reflect on the more positive events that have happened this year in my life.

So, what went down this year: 

• Anniversary | Hubby and I were able to celebrate our 1 year wedding anniversary by taking our annual trip to the coast to relax. It is always a joy to get away with him and just take in sights and sounds of the coast.

• Retirement | My mother retired this year and now has the joy of... DOING WHATEVER SHE WANTS  with her time. I feel like I was more excited than she was. It is always nice to see someone hit the milestone of retirement [in my eye]. Praying I get the reach that mark.

• Birthday | Our family was blessed with the birth of our baby girl this Summer. It was a trying time but I would not take it back for anything. Parenting is definitely a new venture that we're so excited to go on.

What were your most memorable moments of 2015?

Positive energy to all in the new year!

[My] Eyebrows

I am always surprised at the compliments that people give me on my eyebrows... Honestly, because I FILL THEM IN . My eyebrows are very sparse: the hairs are thin, and are very spaced out so it is as if I do not have any. Over the past 2 or 3 years I have started filling them in and giving them shape. [In my personal opinion] I have perfected the process. Since I have received so many compliments, why not show how I achieve my "Just shaped" looked:


What you will need:

• Spooly brush (Beauty Supply Brush)
• Eyebrow pencil (NYX in Black)
• Brow brush (Beauty Supply Brush)
• Concealer (L.A. Girl Pro.Conceal)
• Small angled makeup brush (e.l.f.)
• Setting powder (e.l.f.)

I- I make sure my face is clean (of course) and I gently brush my brows with the spooly to ensure the hairs are laying in the same direction.

II - Some people stray from using a black pencil because it is so prominent but it works just fine for me (maybe because of my complexion). I make sure my eyebrow pencil is as sharp as possible to outline my brow. at the most narrow part of the outline I color it in just a bit but leave the rest open.

Taken with flash to show my actual brow and the traced brow

 III  - With my brow brush, I brush from the most outer corner (where I colored it in) inward towards the center of my face. Brushing in this direction helps to fade out the pencil and give the brow a more natural look. 

IV-At this point I have eyebrows (yay!) BUT, I need to give them a clean shape. This is where the concealer and angle brush come in to play. With the concealer on the brush, I play clean up: concealing any unwanted pencil and hairs that are not in line with what I have drawn. 

Last step is taking setting powder and applying to the brows (so I forget they are fake and wipe them off). 

BAM! There you have it. I feel like I look very different (in a good way) with eyebrows however, the biggest thing now is committing to them because if they aren't drawn on...People notice (lol), but I'm OK with that. 

Do you draw on or fill in your brows? If so, what technique do you use?

-CreativelyCoiled

Looking back...

I'm participating in Return Of The Curls Photo A Day challenge on Instagram and day 5 we're to post a pic from our relaxer/relaxed days. I found 3 cute pictures of myself and it got me thinking:

1. Do I missed my relaxer/relaxed days?
Sometimes yes. To me my hair was a little more manageable at times. Close to the time I officially transtioned I wore a lot of half wigs that were of a looser textures than my natural hair so if I was having a bad hair day I could turn to one as an alternative. I can't find that now that I'm fully natural. I also miss easily curling my hair. I'm now stylist but I could work wonders with a flat iron and some oil sheen (lol).

2. Would I consider relaxing my hair again?
I'll never say never HOWEVER, I don't plan on doing so. I've said before that of I ever decided to relaxy hair again....I'm going to cut or short (like Missy Elliott Supa Dupa Fly short).

I must say, that overall I enjoyed my relaxed years up until things went sour. I always wanted to revert back to my natural state but after a few months I'd punk out. Still glad I made this choice and I'm loving it.

What are your views on relaxed hair? If natural, have you considered relaxing it (again)?

-CreativelyCoiled