Having HOPE throughout your TROUBLES

WOW! I haven't been on here in a while! I promised myself I am going to devote more time to my writing, youtube videos, and religion. I don't really do New Years resolutions but if I did, those would definitely be the top three on my list...

I stopped by today though because I wanted to share a story with you all because it really inspired me today. I went to church and had the honor of hearing my friend preach for the first time in about 2 years or so. I have been having some troubles and to my surprise his message was about having hope in the midst of your troubles. I knew when he spoke those words, God was using him to speak to me. He continued on to talk about how he praise God for his troubles, pain, and tears because it makes him appreciate the happy times. How when you are having your trouble moments, don't give up because you feel there isn't a way out and people who said they would ride or die and claim they love you, leave you. Remember God will never leave you and will make a way. Of course, in my mind I knew all of these things but to hear the message directed about something that's been having wear and tear on me was reassurance that everything will be ok. So if there is anyone reading this that feels like there is no way out and you are going through your troubled time, talk to the Lord or whomever your high power is and NEVER lose hope and faith. Continue to hold on and even though the blessing doesn't come exactly when you want it, remember it is coming when the time is right. Mary Mary said it best "I just can't give up now, come too far from where I started from. Nobody told me the road would be easy and I don't believe he's brought me this far to leave me."

Hectic yet Happy: The H's of Life

Yesterday I got a text from my special friend asking if I was happy with life in general (he's so random but I love it!!). I sat back and thought about the question for a minute and smiled. I realized so much has been going weird, friendships have been tested, and the usual chaos but through it all at the end of day when I prepare to go to sleep I smile and feel very content with life.

SO WHAT'S THE 411?
HAIR:
Like John Legend said "Each Day Gets Better". I'm falling in love with my natural tresses and feel more eager to be bold and cut off my permed ends. I'm trying to be patient and wait until I go back to my beautician at home in December but I'm ready to fully rid my self of the creamy crack. Lately I've been rocking my braid-outs and letting the hair go whatever way it want to go. The wild look fits me very well I think. Also I found some AMAZING leave-in conditioner. It's by Cantu and only like $5 from target, love it! I have also changed my products a bit. The Herbal Essences Totally Twisted gel has been kicked out of the basket because it only agrees with my hair when wet and as of now since I still have some permed ends, it looks a mess! So until I'm completely natural I'm tossing it to the side. I've decided to use the Garnier Fructis Leave-in conditioner as a back up conditioner because the Cantu just feels so much better. Also I only braid my hair once a week versus every other night. Like I said the wild look is working, plus I don't have time to do my hair everyday. I found some awesome conditioning moisturizer. I can't remember who makes it right now because I'm in my second home (the library) but it's water and glycerin based and smells pretty cool (it's unique like a better smelling shea butter or something). I'll post more pics of my hair once I find my camera cord, smh...

LOVE:
uuuummm... we haven't gotten that far yet but I do care about him. The other day his teammates told me he thinks I'm one of the prettiest, nicest, most down to earth women on campus *blush*. He's a silly person so I couldn't imagine him saying any of that and especially to his teammates but I've heard many of them say the same thing so maybe he said it. I asked him if he said those nice things and he laughed and said they were lying. HAHA! He's such a dork, but actions speak louder than words...

LIFE:
My mom came to visit me about 2 weekends ago and OMG I had soooo much fun! For a lady in her late forties, she can hang with us "young girls". I took her on a "dinner date" and to the movies to see For Colored Girls. THAT MOVIE DESERVED A STANDING OVATION! I really didn't want to see it at first because I hate emotional, mushy movies but I'm so glad my mom talked me into going because the message behind the movie left me in awe. Everyone should go see it, not only colored girls. Saturday, we went to look for me a new place to stay *long story, updates will be in another post but I did find a place I liked*, out to eat with one of my besties, and then to a karaoke bar. We had a blast! Sunday, we went to one of my bestie's house and my mom cooked dinner for us and my home boy came over. We had a lot of good laughs. I love my mom to death! Oh yea her and my sweetie met each other. He was acting like he was shy, so cute!, but they hit it off pretty well. My mom actually liked him and thought he was a nice guy :)

SCHOOL:
The semester is almost over, THANK U JESUS! Taking 17 hours and working 2 campus jobs may seem easy when hearing it but actually living it can get complicated and very time consuming. The good news is I'll have all of my pre-reqs and get to apply to nursing schools in January. I'm so excited about that part. Pray for me ya'll...

NEWS:
hmmm.... I just had a brain fart and forgot the news I was going to share. Well hopefully I'll remember and tell you all later. Well I'm off to class to do a presentation on the Phenomenal Maya Angelou *African American Psychology class*

~Love, Live, Laugh~

Hair Update

Hey all! I just wanted to stop by and show you an update of my hair. Someone told me to work with your hair and not against it and I think I'm going to stick to the protective braid out for a while until the back gets a little longer. The products I'm using so far includes Carol's Daughter Shampoo and Conditioner when I decide to wash my hair with Garnier Fructis leave-in conditioner for color treated hair. I also use that leave-in for my co-washes. For moisture I use Shea Butter and Carrot Oil mixed or Extra Virgin Olive Oil. While styling and doing my braid out, I use Eco-styler gel or Herbal Essences Totally Twisted Gel mixed with Shea Butter. So far, my hair has more shine, is more manageable, and more appealing to me. Let the journey continue :) Be blessed my loves!

Transitioner's Thoughts

Hey everyone! Remember when I thought I had that free week to catch up on blogging....WELL! Boy was I wrong!! That week ended up being crazier than the week before. Then last week was my official Midterm week and I had Fall Break. I went home to visit my family. I love my family to death but that five hour drive can be tiresome at times. I did get to do alot of shopping with my mom though. I missed those times considering I hadn't been home in about two months. When we get together, we can do damage in a mall... ESPECIALLY during a purse sale... fashion is my weakness!! On my way back to school, the weather was HORRIBLE!! We had tornado warnings throughout the state, which meant plenty of rain and high winds that sent my truck on a bumpy five hour drive. Glory be to God because I made it back safely.

Sooo what do you all think?

Ok, now to talk about the topic of the day: TRANSITIONING!! I took my braids down after two months of wear and tear and have been trying the transitioning look... it's alot harder to deal with than I thought! I haven't had a relaxer since the end of May (almost 5 months) and the two textures are weird. I also see why people say fire your beautician because my beautician from home colored my hair, which turned out gorgeous as usual but I asked her to 2-strand twist it... which turned out as a disaster so I immediately went home and tried different things to do with it. I'm on day 6 and I'm starting to second guess my decision. I really feel like a crack addict or something because I constantly have battles with myself over getting a perm or not. I feel like I'm weak to the creamy crack! I keep telling myself to hang in there and be strong but GEEEEESH it's hard. I also think back to the days when I was experimenting and learning how to do permed hair and how great I felt after I understood how my hair worked. I keep saying to myself, "If you could get through that, you can definitely get through this." I think tonight I'm going to wash it and blow it out...I'm not sure yet... I don't want to flat iron it because I don't want to mess up my growing curl pattern or put too much heat on it besides maybe blow drying it. Does anybody have any tips or helpful advice to survive this period?

I was trying to show off my earrings here lol! I love these!!

Charge It To My Heart

To all of you that take time out of your day to read my rants, raves, and concerns; I would like to say thank you. I know I've been slacking but between school, friends, working, working out, and trying this whole dating thing... I'm exhausted. I don't want you to feel I've neglected you at all, I'm actually glad to be back!!! This week will be a lighter week so I will definitely enlighten you all about all the craziness, funny moments, concerns, and serious issues I have going on or have read about. Time for me to close these study hall doors so ttyl my loves!OOOH...wait!... before I go, I take my braids down in two weeks and get my first two strand twist-out... exciting yet scary moment :-/ ... 2-B-CONTINUED...

*Love, Peace, and Happiness*

"What's in an Age? Something New, Something Fresh?"

I guess people where right when they said age ain't nothin' but a number. Lately, I've been hanging with my young sweetie, I guess that's an appropriate word for him and we have been having an amazing time together. We're both different from our usual, previous partners, and exceed each others expectations. Like he thinks I'm weird because I snore, enjoy doing the dumbest things, rather have the simplest treats, and love watching football. Now on the other hand I'm at a lost for words when it comes to him because there's so much more to him than what meets the eye. He always amazes me with his poetry, random jokes, random greetings, and how intelligent he his. Intelligence is sooooo attractive to me. We're so in sync with one another, which is weird. When he's looking for me on campus, he knows exactly where to find me... may because I'm always in class, work, or the gym... so predictable lol. He doesn't like clubbing too much and find it weird that I'm ok and even excited for him to go out. We all need a break and to party a little from time to time in my opinion. Plus I don't want us to get too lost into our selves that we get tired of each other.  We see one another everyday and on weekends we're beasically together the whole time (my friends are starting to think we're joined at the hip, haha!). Then to top it all off, he asked to go to church with me without me even mentioning my Christian faith. Religion is important to me and I want my sig-other to share that same passion as I so that scored him major brownie points. Don't get me wrong, he's not perfect and has his "kiddie" moments but the other moments and characteristics outweigh them all. Ok, I'm done ranting and raving for now, it's class time *smooches*

*Be Blessed My Loves*

Truly Gifted

I was exploring on youtube for some good, soulful music to clean up to when I came across this song...It's so beautiful and show the true artistry inside of India Arie. You should listen to it or read the lyrics in your free time...

He heals me
Told him my biggest secret
And he told me four.
He smiled at me and said
that makes me love more
And then he made me laugh
And I knew it was a sign
That he was a man,
That I wanted in my life

And with every passing day
I feel more and more of that way

He heals me
He knows the real me
And he accepts me, he never hurts me
He heals me
He knows the real me
And he accepts me, he never hurts me
He heals me,
He heals me

I can play him songs, all
through the night,
And he will listen to every line,
And even when I'm wrong, he is still kind
[ Find more Lyrics on http://mp3lyrics.org/ERac ]
He chooses his words wisely
when he tells me I'm not right.

And yes he is a beautiful man,
But he is also a beautiful friend

He heals me
He knows the real me
And he accepts me, he never hurts me
He heals me
He knows the real me
And he accepts me, he never hurts me
He heals me

The moment that we met, he made me smile.
He has so much compassion in his eyes
I have no idea, how long he'll be here
A season or a lifetime, forever or a year
But for the first time in my
life I'm not worried about
the future
Because we have such a
wonderful time when we're together
However things turn out, it's all right
Cause he's already changed my life.

He heals me
He knows the real me
And he accepts me, he never hurts me
He heals me
He knows the real me
And he accepts me, he never hurts me

He heals me..........

My Abstract Art

As I sat at my desk and persistently studied, what I thought was another little boy approached my working space asking if I was single. Yes, I nonchalantly responded and went back to my work. He then looks at me and say, "Really? What's wrong with you then?" Now my reflexive thoughts went into attack mode but instead I took a breath and calmly said, "Since you're asking me about my status you must be single so is something wrong with you?"

At first I thought he was another rude little boy who's intentions were to only interrupt my studying time. So when leaving my job he wrote me a note asking if I liked him and to check yes or no...HA! I not only laughed in my head but in his face and simply wrote "I need to get to know you better first". The following day, he gave me his telephone number and yet again I laughed. I mean first of all he so much younger than I and appeared to be too silly and immature. So I kept his number but refused to call. The following day he said, "why didn't you call me?" I told him, you didn't even ask my name and I didn't want to go through a description of myself just for you to remember who I was. He responded, "What's in a name? I know enough about you to not even know your name. I can tell your favorite color is purple since your headphones purple, your backpack purple, and your gym shoes got a lil purple in them. I know you like tattoos and aren't afraid of needles cause you have 4. So what's so significant about your name?" Yet again, I laughed in his face. Inside I was really impressed with how he had observed the little things and excited to finally have had a "movie moment" but disappointed because it was him who I shared the moment with. On the following day, he stopped me in my tracks and confidently said, "Why didn't you call me? You're starting make me mad. Now you're gonna be mad when I leave you alone, I'm telling you." I couldn't believe he had the nerve to talk to me like that! BUT I'm a fan of consistency so I decided to call him and we had a good 15 minute conversation (he had to go to practice). I never thought with that 15 minute conversation a boy 4 years younger than me could be more manly than all the guys I've talked to in my college career...

I decided to spend a Saturday with him and to my surprise, it was awesome. He's the weirdest, nicest, funniest, freest, most creative, coolest, most true to himself guy I've hung out with in a while... We vibe together so well so we'll see how this goes...

It's Friday and I'm ready to saaaang...

...Pick up my girls and hit the party scene...

(Great, Friday anthem "gone but never forgotten")

TGIF!!! This week has been soooo busy! Despite the bags under my eyes and slight feeling of exhaustion, I love busy times though. If you aren't being productive then what are you doing?... wasting time?... pointless. Anywho! I'm super excited today is Friday! Not because I get a chance to slow down... oh no, not at all. But because I get to go buy a few good books, buy new nail polish, give myself a mani and pedi, clean my braids, cook (I'm trying a home-made cooked pizza, super excited!), and get in atleast an hour worth of yoga. *sighs* the simple, precious things in life make me so bubbly and excited on the inside. Tomorrow will be even greater because I'm helping set up for the Susan G. Komen Race that's here in my city. I haven't had the chance to see those wonderful committee women in a while so I can't wait to catch up with them. They are some of the most positive, hilarious, free-spirited women I know and our reunion is well over due.

                                   

                                         Sneaking to take the pic in the library *hehe*

HEEEEY speaking of the race, I have on my shirt from like 4 years ago *walking advertisement*

Well I'm off to explore...

*Laugh, live well, and be blessed bloggers*

xoxoxo

Simi-lac...is slightly lacking :( *YAHOO NEWS*

At work, my boss and I always take time out to have what I call "Home-girl time" where we take a break from dealing with NCAA stuff, coaches, and athletes and check our fav blogs, online news, and review of good shows, food, and fashion we've seen. Today one of our many intriguing, yet scary, and serious stories was about a recall on Similac Baby Formula-powder. The factory is saying the powder has been contaminated with insect parts. My boss has an 8 month-old baby and he drinks the liquid but that's still a scary thought.

Not a funny situation, but the picture was hilarious. I couldn't resist

My issue: what in the heck are they going to do for the babies who have previously or are still currently using the powdered version? Get a special check up from the baby's primary care physician? I know if I were a parent I would be flipping out! I mean this is not only like a slight twist in the formula ingredients, this is INSECT parts... how disgusting (my first reactions)! My second thought was: in order to get insect parts in the powder, does that means there are insects randomly running around the mixing/processing room and and possibly the plant?!? Once I overcame my shock, being hysterical, ranting and raving, and being dramatic (I always freak out when it comes to kid care) I began to be my rational self again. Ok, I know insects can be anywhere but aren't there rules and regulations and special guidelines as far as cleanliness and inspection for insects and other species, especially considering the season (I wonder how that works... I'll have to do research inspection procedures...)... Also since they are creating products for a species that susceptible to almost anything (especially the first couple of days/weeks of birth), wouldn't they be more "on-top" of that kind of contamination? Could this contamination be super harmful to the babies (insects are gross)? And what type of insects parts were they?

Poor little innocent being :(

I just wanted to share this info in case a parent out there haven't had the opportunity to hear the news. I'll keep checking on leads to this story. If you want to read the full story, I posted the link below

*Be Blessed*

YAHOO! Similac Story


PS: I want to be a LDP (Labor, Delivery, Postpartum) Nurse so this was a slightly sensitive subject to me

Let's Talk About Sex Bay-Bey *Gender Roles, Gender Identity, and Sex*

In two of my classes we have been talking about Gender Roles, Gender Identity, and Sex. To many people's surprise there is a major difference and when it comes to children and sex and gender roles, it's major deal for some parents. They encourage the child to be different, yet get embarrassed if the child is an outkast to society's social norms... weird, confusing to the child, and contradictory. What's a kid to do when getting wrapped up in society's madness of what we should and should not do and who we should and should not be. I say JUST BE HAPPY! I decided to share a bit of my class response to the topic... PS we get to write freely about any topic pertaining to class so sometimes I get really quirky... Anyways, here goes... hope you enjoy!

While doing my study guide over the weekend, I decided to multitask and watch my favorite show, Law and Order: SVU. It was so weird because almost episode that came on dealt with the topics we discussed in class. Not to get off topic, but I have a scattered brain and wanted to share this! When I went to my Marriage and Family Sociology class last Thursday the topic ended up being about gender roles and sex. The professor decided to show us a film to explain why in some cases it’s best to let “hermaphrodite” children choose their gender when they are ready and guess whom the film was about!! Yes, David, the boy/girl/boy! They talked about his troubled childhood and how he's been so much better since finding out about his past and how horrible his parent were for trying to hide the truth from him. The only thing that irritated the crap out of me was how the talk show made his life seem so perfect since he found out who he "really" was, only to find out from our book that he and his brother committed suicide. I didn't like how they portrayed his parents as "bad" parents and blaming the psychiatrist for making his previous years horrible. I began to wonder if he would've been better off not ever knowing the truth. Ok, back to the Law and Order episode, this psychiatrist had worked with this boy/girl twin who had a similar situation to David. I didn’t catch the beginning of the episode so I’m not sure what made the investigators start talking to the child in the first place. Long story short, the psychiatrist that worked for SVU ended up telling the little boy/girl that she was really a boy because she (the investigator) felt the child should decide on their gender while the other psychiatrist (whom worked with the child all it’s life) felt children where a blank slate and it should never know about its past. When the child found out the truth, it and its twin where furious! The little girl changed back to a boy and one of them killed the psychiatrist (whom had worked with him all his life). This too made me wonder if you make the decision for the child, are they better off never knowing the truth? Another episode was about gender roles as well, which led me to look deeper into the theories about child development and all this stuff about gender roles and identity because its CLEARLY a bigger deal than I’ve ever thought. I was so shocked that gender and making sure their child fits the “perfect” structure for society is a really huge deal to parents. I thought since our society is a little more open in today’s time, being “different” would be more acceptable. In terms of child development, I personally feel children are blank slates BUT with time and development our inner selves gives us a sense of who we truly are once we hit our thirties. Yes, I meant to type thirties. I can honestly say as a 23 year old, I know who I am and that I prefer the opposite sex without a doubt but there are many confused individuals I have come in contact with. As far as my gender “role”, I’m more of a free spirit about it. Who’s to say I’m supposed to cook, clean, and take care of kids because I am a woman, WRONG! I wouldn’t mind having a husband to do those things so I can be the breadwinner and give him the allowance. Also, I was asked would I marry a man that like doing feminine stuff like planting flowers or wanted a floral shop. My response was, “YEAH!” He can sit in the sun and make my front yard look gorgeous or even give me floral arrangements and be the most masculine creature I’ve ever met. Gardening is hard work and the heat is a killer so that’s a VERY masculine job to me. Gender roles and gender identity are overrated topics in my opinion. I feel regardless of being gay or heterosexual, born with a mix of genitals, wanting to be a drag queen, or men starting gardens and taking care of the babies while their wife is a construction worker; just be happy, true to yourself, encourage someone else to live to their greatest potential, don’t be afraid to be who you REALLY are, and have fun with your life because you only get one. I know, I’m quirky and my train of thoughts are different but titles and society expectations can put a damper in your life and daily decisions.

Solitary Confinement

SO I just left my Organic Chem Lab and she discussed our test scores with us since the lab was pretty straight forward and wouldn't take much time to do unless you decided to be studious like some of my other colleagues and I... wait, but don't get it twisted, I don't try to better than the rest. It's just after my horrible, barely passing of a test grade, I realized "maybe I don't know as much as I THOUGHT I did" so I decided to unpack my laptop and notes and do some reevaluating. As a self-punishment, I'm putting myself on library duty *sigh* I love being out or writing or reading or socializing but until I can get this Organic Chem together, the only socializing I'll be doing is with the blog... sacrifices of a potential nursing student... until next time...

*Be Blessed*

I look so mean :( but was going for more of a sad look... 

"I know why the caged bird sings"

PS: Today is the anniversary of the Congress banning the trade of slaves in DC in 1850 {little Black History Fact for ya!}

This is the liiiiiiffe...

So I'm sitting here at my workstudy job listening to A. Keys "This is the life"... that song is so calming and a good study song. I'm supposed to be preparing for my Organic Chem Lab or studying for one of my three tests I have this week but something inspired me to write, read, and stare out the office window for a minute. Writing is one of my fav passions! Being random with my thoughts always makes my day :-) oh well my creative, lose thought moment is over... back to work I go



"Peace, Love, and Chicken Grease*

First Post!

Hola! Como estas mi amore's... or something like that. My spanish is a little dusty (no, not rusty but dusty). Anywho, welcome to my blogspot! I plan to post daily regardless of my PSYCHOTIC school/work schedule... hope you all enjoy this journey called life with me *smooches*