For the Love of GJC

I created a new Pinterest board titled "Crafts for GJC." Let me tell you why.

If you didn't know, I have one niece and two nephews. They are Genesis, 10, Jalen, 8, and Christian, 2. Together, I will refer to them as GJC. I named Genesis, my niece. I love biblical names that are unique and not outdated. I love names such as Tamar and Micah. I also was in the room for her birth. The episiotomy has scarred me for life! Anyway, G is the sweetest, most innocent young lady. Jalen is also sweet and he's the most well-mannered young man you'll ever meet. Christian? I believe he tells it like it is, even at 2 years old. He has the cutest, most intriguing eyes. He's my Chocolate Boy Wonder, that's what I call him.  I'm blessed to be their aunt. Actually, it's "Auntie Meka."

 These are old pics, but they all look so gorgeous!

Anyway, I had a chance to spend some time with them over Thanksgiving break and it was awesome. My niece asked me to help her with her assignment that she was given over the holiday. She had to come up with a product to sell and make the advertisements for it as well. We came up with a product based off her interest in singing. Our collective idea was the Pitch Perfect Peaches doll. It was Jalen's idea to do a doll; he says that's what girls do. Haha! The name came from the movie, Pitch Perfect, which I adore. G came up with the name Peaches. The three of us were having a great time. Christian didn't necessarily understand what we were doing, but he was there to make sure we didn't forget any of our ideas because he kept repeating EVERYTHING we were saying. :-) As we began to come up with advertisements and whatnot, I thought we should watch the movie. It then turned into a movie day. I would buy popcorn and snacks and get a movie that they all would enjoy (I got Planes). Unfortunately, G fell severely ill that day and had to go to the hospital. We watched Pitch Perfect a couple of days later and Jalen took Planes to his home and watched it.

After that experience, I realized that I don't spend enough time with them. Here I am in the city spending time with my "little sister," through Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC, yet I am not fulfilling my "Auntie Meka" duties with them. That changes now. I will return home for Christmas really soon, and I am currently planning to spend a day with GJC.

I go the idea to do Christmas crafts with them after seeing some of the pins by those that I follow. I began to look for crafts that were gender neutral because so many of them were "girly." I'm too chicken to undertake making a gingerbread house, so this is what we will be doing:

We should have fun wrapping weenies. I like this because they get to prepare their own food.

This is Grinch Punch. We may watch The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, but it's ultimately up to them what we watch.

This is a Christmas tree made up of ice cream cones, frosting and M&Ms. This should be fun!

We'll probably make all the food and eat it while watching a Christmas movie. They don't know that we're having a day together, but I'm sure they will be excited. I'm excited also! This is going to be fun and messy. I don't even know how Christian is going to handle all of this mess, but we shall see!

That's What Friends Are For

I was recently in a meeting and, as an icebreaker, all of the participants had to state something that went well for them recently. What did I say? "I value friendship. In the last couple of weeks, all of my friends have shown me why I consider them friends." So, let me tell you the actions of my friends that led me to say that.


True Friends: 

• Tell you, "Mi casa es su casa" and mean it. I can call 30 minutes before I arrive and she opens her house to me.
• Come and visit you everyday when you're visiting home even though their in the midst of a family reunion and family means so much to them.
• Say, "I'm pissed off for you!" - They go to bat for you....as I would them.
• Send you personal "Happy Thanksgiving" texts rather than standard group texts. - I hate group texts.
• Go with you when you're trying something new and scary. 
• Refer to you by their own made up nickname. LOL!
• Allow you a limitless amount of time to just sit on the phone and cry until you're able to get out a full word. - This happened. 
• Understand your love for Patron, bring you an entire bottle, and stay up til 2am talking about nothing even though they must be at work the next morning. 
• Drop everything to take you to the airport, no matter how far away it is, and not ask for gas money.
• Drive two hours to see you and catch up. 
• Tell you that you can do anything and follow up with their reasons why. :-)
• Listen to your never ending woe is me saga.  And there is no judgement.
• Write this on your Facebook page - As always, great time together. I value the hours sometimes minutes that we share, my friend. Thank you for your friendship!

Over the last couple of weeks and as I traveled back home (Florida) recently for Thanksgiving, those were just a few things my friends in both Florida and New York did.

I'm grateful to call them FRIENDS. I'm blessed.

Thanksgiving Thankfulness

 

For those who don't know, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It always has been. Unfortunately, the reason for the season has been lost amongst people trying to outdo each other in terms of who got what and how much it cost. Thanksgiving, however, is when the family just gathers over good food. What could be better than that? 

Last year, I missed spending this holiday with my family as it was my first year in New York. I spent it at a co-workers with some great, interesting people ; it was a lot of fun. On my way home, I got lost on 34th St. LOL! That gave me a chance to see the New York crowds out and about as they waited for the stores to open so that they could claim their Black Friday deals. 

Top Left: My too cute place setting from dinner last year; Top Right: In getting lost, I see my favorite landmark lit up in honor of Thanksgiving; Bottom Left: The crowd for Macy's was MASSIVE; Bottom right: The prizes my team won for winning Turkey Trivia. Yep, a Powerball ticket. They only asked for $1mil each even though the jackpot was +$300mil.

However, this year, I was determined to be home among my family and friends.

So, here I am. It feels so good to be home. I'm very thankful that I get to spend time with them all. In honor of Thanksgiving, I am listing other reasons why I am thankful. The list is endless, so I will list my top 5.

1. Family - I love them all.  I listen to others say how their families don't gather to celebrate each other, and I feel so sorry for them. I couldn't imagine. I love my family. We're not perfect, but we're there for each other when it matters.

2. Friends - I value my friends as they all play a special role in my life. Also, they value me, and that means more than I can say. 

3. Life - I'm thankful to be here in this world today. God didn't have to, but He did. I'm here and I'm grateful. 

4. Experiences I've Endured - Someone once told me "we are the sum of our experiences." True story. Those experiences (growing up in the projects, obtaining my Master's degree, teaching, my current job, living in NYC - just to name a few) are leading me to a place of greatness. I can't wait to see when it manifests!

5. The Food That I Get To Enjoy Today - My aunt's potato salad, my other aunt's macaroni and cheese, my uncle's fried turkey, and my mom's fried chicken!!!!!

I'm grateful! Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

 

Sunshine Award

I'm baaaaack! I had to take a pause for the cause.

Recently, I was nominated for a Sunshine Award by the wonderful Sophia of the blog TwentyFiveSeasons. Please visit her blog. She has interesting posts on site on life, love, children, health, and more.

Because I was nominated, there are some rules that I must follow, which are as follows:
1. Acknoledge your nominator.
2. Share 11 random facts about yourself.
3. Answer 11 questions from your nominator.
4. List 11 bloggers you think deserve to be nominated and recognized. - Unfortunately, I'm new to this and am not familiar with others' blogs. 
5. Post 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate to answer.

11 Random Facts:

I love God.

I moved from the smallest, country town in America to the biggest city (New York). Can we say culture shock?

I love salads. I can eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Everyday.

I am the second of five children.

I love to read, mostly romance.

I’ve only just discovered what I want to do with my life at 33 years old.

I am 33 years old.

I don’t like to shop, but I LOVE fashion.

I am shy, yet I tend to intimidate many.

My mom is my she-ro. She epitomizes strength and perseverance.

I want to leave my mark on this world in the biggest way possible. 

___________________

1.    What inspires you to blog? – Life. Issues. Disparities. Current events. Mood.

2.    Does your family like to be featured in your posts? - I’ve never asked them. Now that I think about it, maybe I will feature them.

3.    What is the meaning behind your blog name? - I think I want to change it, but right now it is “Cute, Curvy, and Uncensored.” I start it with cute and curvy, not only because I am, but because I originally wanted it to be a fashion blog. However, when I began writing, I headed into another direction. Specifically speaking, I began writing about all things important to me or that struck my fancy.

4.    What is your favorite show? It can be net or TV based. - My favorite TV show is a throwback. The Cosby Show. This show shaped my thoughts on how life should be. From growing up, to going to college, to having a family of my own, I thought this was how life was with many laughs shared in between. My second favorite show is Girlfriends.

5.    Do you have any strange abilities? - Uh, no. LOL.

6.    Are you a planner or fly by the seat of your pants type of person? - Both. I try to plan but end up flying by the seat of my pants. Procrastination is my middle name, unfortunately.

7.    What's was your last Facebook status? - Hehe. My last status reads, “Two words: Morris. Chestnut" I just saw The Best Man Holiday. Nuff said.

8.    What public figure would you like to interview for your blog? Why? - Demetria Lucas of abelleinbk.com. I am really feeling her right now. She’s a blogger, author, is about to have her new reality show debut on Bravo soon, and is living the life she wants as she pleases. I would like to interview her to get pointers on how to get myself there.

9.    Where would you like to go for next vacation? - Jamaica. I just want to chill on the beach with no worries except how much darker I’m going to become.

10.  Are you an Android or an Apple? - I have no preference between the two, but I have an iPhone, but owned a Droid before that and probably will afterwards.

11. Is the glass half empty or half full? - Right now the glass is half empty. I have a few things

going on in my life that are causing that outlook. However, soon it will be half full.

Like Arnold said....

I haven't had the time to dedicate to my blog as life has just been hectic and stressful over the past few weeks. No need to fret, however. I will be back soon to add more posts and finally provide the much needed overhaul to my blog. I can't wait to get back to it. So, in my Arnold Schwarzenegger voice, "I'll be back."

What's Done in the Dark....

The Single Woman's 30-Day Blogging Challenge: Day 9

Your favorite “weird/funny single behavior”
(Anything you do that is uniquely YOU and that living alone allows you to do)

My weird behavior is that I not only memorize, repeat, and even dance to my fav commercials. Yea, living by myself allows me to become a little too excited when they come on. 

Here's what I mean. See the GEICO commercial below?  Well it uses the same music from the "Dirty Dancing" movie (actually from one of my favorite parts). If this commercial comes on, you'll find me mimicking the moves of Jennifer Grey (female star of the movie). And it's so obvious that this movie has nothing to do with that movie or dancing. 

Same thing with the following commercial. Although, I'm sure that many people get extra excited when these commercials come on. Right?!

BONUS: Do you remember those TIME CD collection commercials that used to come on late night? They usually last an hour or so with some "has been" actor/singer trying to tempt you to spend your good money to buy the CD with an extra $5.95 going to processing and handling. My thing was to sing along to the excerpts whether it was my style of song or not. Remember the ones that included The Beach Boys and all those old groups? I sang along to those, too!

Being single and living by myself allows me the freedom to get down......to these commercials. LOL!

Don't judge me! :-)

Single and Not Waiting

One of my good friends sent me the following link: http://convergemagazine.com/single-waiting-9283/ The words spoke to me. In order of my 30-day Single Woman blog challenge, I wanted to include it for you, my readers.

FYI: I did NOT write the post. It is not my own work.

"Single and Not Waiting"

I’m 23, I just graduated from university, and I’m single.

Many of my friends are married, and a few are starting to have children. And I feel as if I just graduated from high school again. You could say my life is in transition. And it’s true; I am in the middle of shifting myself from university to the career world. But I’ve started to wonder about whether it’s right to refer to my singleness as an in-between stage.

What exactly am I in-between again?

“It’s the first day of the rest of my life.” I recently I heard someone on TV say this about her wedding day, and it really bothered me. While I don’t want to discount the gift of marriage, I must say I’m a bit confused and frustrated with this sentiment. I’ve heard the cliché before, but I suddenly felt the weight of it. As if it equates marriage as the start of life, or at least the good part.

Don’t misunderstand my frustration; I think there is a beautiful element of starting a new family with your spouse. I’m all for godly marriage. But what I’m afraid of is viewing life through the lens of marriage as the goal. For waiting to get married before life starts.

I’m afraid, because I’m afraid it has happened to me. I’ve been living like I’m waiting for someone to get here. And it isn’t Jesus.

I’ve wasted my time, my energy, and my emotions on this concept that singleness is just a waiting room for a relationship. I’m tired of this view that my life begins when I wake up next to my husband, because I’m pretty sure my life began 23 years ago when my mom gave birth. And this mentality has robbed my joy.

As much as I’d like to place all the blame on Christian culture, the perpetual “Have you met anyone yet?” question the world asks me, and the reality that my Facebook feed looks more like a Pinterest wedding board these days, I am convicted of my own failures.

I’ve been living like God owes me something. Like he hasn’t held up his end of the deal. He has given me the desire for relationship and marriage, and he just hasn’t followed through.
I’ve been living under the impression that I deserve a relationship.

I’d be lying if I said Christian culture does much to inhibit this mentality. There seems to be a deep understanding and appreciation for the gift of marriage, but not so much for the gift of singleness (if it’s treated like a gift at all). Rather, singleness is something to be cured. Like I’ve got a disease, and introducing me to your single friend might perhaps cure us both. Singleness is the lump of coal, the gift that is never on your Christmas list.

There are at least a handful of us standing around, wondering what happened. (After all, I have been pretty nice this year.)

But it’s never been about being entitled, or even about being nice. I have to stop thinking that I’m doing something wrong here.

Well actually I am, but it isn’t about fixing something that will magically make a boyfriend appear. It is about changing the direction of my heart.

 “I’d rather have the right God than the wrong man.” –- Christen Rapske

People talk all the time about pursuing people or things for the wrong reasons, but maybe we pursue God for the wrong reasons. Maybe subconsciously I’ve been treating God like he’s a vending machine. And my pursuit of him has really been a pursuit of someone else.

When did Christ cease to be enough?

And when did I stop finding my identity, self-worth, and fulfillment in Him, only to place my life on hold for someone I’ve never even met?

Each day is a gift, and I’m not waiting for it to get here. It is present in every moment, and it begins anew daily.  Man-less or not, I want to wake up every morning and be excited because I get to spend my day with the God who created the universe.

And I want to do that for the rest of my life.

The one thing I'd risk going to jail for...

The Single Woman's 30-Day Blogging Challenge: Day 8 

What are the five things that are most important to you in a future mate?

1. God-fearing - I need someone that loves God. Point blank. Period. If we're both working in tandem towards God's plan for each of us as well as collectively, then we're only moving closer as a couple. There's something sexy about a man taking on the role of being the head of a family and praying consistently for his love and his family. Turn on, definitely. ;-)

2. Intelligent - I recently had a couple of dates with a Puerto Rican cutie. His best features were his eyes, skin, and teeth, i.e. damn near everything. He even had Brooklyn swag about himself and he was so gentle with me. Problem, you ask? He seemed dumb as a box of rocks. He couldn't hold a conversation about issues important in the world today. Turn off. I need someone that will challenge my thinking and engross me in intriguing conversations. Furthermore, I don't like to lead all of our conversations as well. Another turn off.

3. Sense of Humor - I love to laugh! A lot! I have my own sarcastic sense of humor and would love to be with a guy that has his own sense of wit. It's an absolute turn on. I was with one guy where darn near everything he said was funny and it just felt good to be around him. I guess when you're laughing, you're constantly smiling and that means you must be happy and that's the goal in life right? To be happy. So if a man can put a smile on my face constantly, he's a keeper. 

4. Romantic - OK! Sweep me off my feet please. Surprise me here and there. Keep me guessing. The sweet gestures keep a relationship going. Flowers just because. A sweet note to say I love you hidden in your purse. A good morning text. Two of my past boos used to send me "good morning" texts every morning. Started my morning with a smile each time I received those texts. I have a guy friend who actually bought a book titled "1001 Ways to be Romantic". He actually would refer to the book here and there to do things for his girl. One of the items called for him to send his girl's mom flowers to thank her for bringing his girlfriend into the world. Ummm, yea, I'll need my future boo to live up to those standards. 

5. Loyal - There are a lot of things that I don't have time for and being cheated on is one of them. Let me give you a little backstory. I'm deathly afraid of jail. When I was attending UCF, my younger sister stayed with me for a bit in my apartment. One day I came home to find her and a sheriff's deputy there in the apartment. He told me that there was a warrant out for my arrest. As I stood there with a McDonald's breakfast in my hand, I contemplated my options as jail was not one of them. There was a 6 lane highway right outside my apartment. My thought - drop the food and run into traffic. I was not going to jail! Anywho, the second before I dropped the bag of food, he told me that he was a cousin of mine. They got a few chuckles in; not me, I was hella scared. I say all of that to say that while I'm deathly afraid of jail, I can see myself going there because a man has cheated on me and we are supposed to be in a committed relationship. Just call med Lorena Bobbitt, Jr. cause his penis has got to go after that! Just kidding....not really. Seriously speaking, trust is very big to me, and my future boo must be worthy of mine.

Where You Are In Your Life vs. Where You Thought You Would Be At This Point

The Single Woman's 30-Day Blogging Challenge: Day 7

 

I think it is every little girl's dream to grow up, get married, and have children. Well, my dreams for myself were similar with career thrown in there. I wanted to go to college, get married, and become a superstar; I wanted to see my name in lights. I don't mean superstar in terms of acting, singing, or dancing (which is good because I'm not good at any one of those things). I mean superstar as in I wanted to be remembered for doing good while here on this earth in whatever I ended up doing as a career.My career path changed a lot. At one point, I wanted to be a cosmetologist (this was serious), accountant, social worker, etc.

At 33 years of age, I look back and realize that I've only succeeded in going to college. I've yet to snag the man and see my name in lights. While snagging the man is out of my control, I'm working to become that superstar and see my name in lights. It took a while for me to determine just what I'm passionate about. Now that I've finally figured it out, it's time for me to knock down some doors in which opportunity stands behind. That's my focus right now. It's going to happen.
 

“Every woman has the exact love life she wants”

The Single Woman's 30-Day Blogging Challenge: Day 6 

 

Sound off on the quote “Every woman has the exact love life she wants”

 

Uh, no. Um, hello, I'm blogging to complete a Single Woman's challenge. Although I'm content (for now), this is not my destiny.  As of right now, I don't have the love life that I want.

Furthermore, there are MANY other women who are not experiencing the love life they want either. For instance, I previously discussed women staying in relationships that they knew were toxic only because they do not want to be alone. There are women who are settling for less because they feel that's the best they can do for themselves. That doesn't mean it's what they want; hell, it's probably opposite of what they want.

So, no. Every woman DOES NOT HAVE the exact love life she wants.

A Gift and a Curse

The Single Woman's 30-Day Blogging Challenge: Day 5

What is the biggest misconception you think people have about single life?

Most people think that having no one is a curse, lonely, and no fun. That is why a lot of people choose to stay in relationships that do nothing but stress them out. Well, that's untrue. As a single woman, I have time to do the things I want to do when I want to do them how I want to do them. The biggest benefit is not having to answer to anyone. (I guess this is where independence is most valued.) Many people complain about not having their own space when in relationships. Well, I have that. I come and go as I please. I have time to accomplish the things that need to be done.

Recently, I was at dinner reconnecting with a friend. At the end of the evening I said, "Well, I have a lot of work to do, so I have to head home." The friend says, "That's why you don't have a man. If you did, you'd be worried about taking care of him and his needs and not getting your work done that is going to take you to another level in life." His words hit me like a ton of bricks. Right now I'm working towards a higher purpose and it'd be just a distraction. Don't get me wrong, having a man and accomplishing career goals are not mutually exclusive; you can have both. However, maybe right now I don't need distractions. 

I'm working towards a bigger goal right now. Although it'd be nice to have support through this time, it's not necessary. 

Simply Put, I'm Inspired

So I'm a fan of Project Runway. I love that show. I love watching the process as a designer is given a muse, as abstract as it may be, and they come up with a look that blows minds. I am not that creative, but I love fashion. This show gives me life!

Anyway, the last few episodes have really caught my heart by its strings. Alexandria von Bromssen, Project Runway runner-up shared one of her businesses on the previous episode and I fell in love with the idea. She runs a camp, I believe year-round, for kids that allows them to learn to sew to foster their love for creativity, expression, and design. It's an awesome idea! 

Camp Couture - a fashion and sewing school that provides lessons to all ages and all levels in a supportive and creative environment. At Camp Couture, students are taught to express their individuality by designing and sewing their own garment and interior ideas. Instruction is provided in a professional and creative studio environment. 

In the photo above, the camp kids have sewn a map of the US using denim. Creative! When Project Runway showed the kids, their designs, and, most importantly, their excitement for the opportunity, I instantly became inspired. Many questions came to mind as well as many ideas! For Alexandria to take what she loves and is most passionate about and transfer that passion, love, and excitement to kids is AMAZING to me. She definitely became an instant inspirational figure for me.

I have my own ideas of programs or organizations that I would love to create for kids to help them navigate through this thing called life. She definitely gave me a spark that was needed.  

Then there's Dom. Dom Streater, the 24 year old winner of this season's Project Runway, has a way with prints. Her designs are amazing as well as her level of humility. Besides that, she's just the girl next door. She says she grew up poor and before coming to NYC for the show, she says she was working two jobs, unable to find one in the fashion industry. Her hard work and eye for edgy looks have definitely paved the way for her future, however.  She won a prize package worth half a million dollars. What's so inspiring about her? Her humbling personality through it all. Sometimes, that's rare to find. Actually, a lot of times. (Her natural hair is BOMB!)

During the show, Dom took another designer's losing look (left) and transformed it into a winning look (right). I absolutely adore the look. This picture does it no justice, whatsoever.