What Does Shameka Really Mean?

The Single Woman's 30-Day Blogging Challenge: Day 10

Google the meaning of your name and talk about how it fits or doesn’t fit you

**I never completed the Single Woman Blog Challenge since going on this unexpected hiatus. I will complete it starting where I left off... 

So I googled the meaning of Shameka, and this is what I found. Randomly known fact: Shameka was most popular in the year 1980. Makes sense as I was born in 1980. Anywho, I won't get into just how rude and insensitive urbandictionary.com is in regard to the meaning of my name. I won't even share their definition. I then found this site www.kabalarians.com that lists the meaning of my name as (I've added my thoughts to each point):

• The name of Shameka creates a very quiet, practical nature and a clever and inventive mind.  - Yes, very practical and inventive
   
• Being analytical and naturally studious, you are interested in a factual understanding of the mysteries of life. - Black and white, no time for gray
   
• Your methodical nature requires that you like to finish what you start without interruptions and also to have everything in its place and properly organized. - ummmm....I'm too ADD to finish what I start
   
• An ability to concentrate could take you into computer programming or accountancy or any work requiring concentration and attention to detail. - Again, what does concentrate mean because I have no idea how to do it, lol
   
• You have, also, a flair for creative expression with your hands. - with my hands? I doodle and that's about it
   
• You take life seriously and can be easily and deeply hurt and go into moods which can be quite extreme at times, causing much turmoil and unhappiness. - This can't be any more true! My heart is worn on my sleeve.
   
• Finding it difficult to join in conversation with those with whom you are not well-acquainted, you could feel quite alone and uncommunicative with new acquaintances or in a large crowd. - Yep
   
• As a result, you could be accused of being unfriendly. - How did you know?! People always read me incorrectly at first
   
• You desire so much to be understood, but your name has limited your verbal expression to such an extent that it is very difficult for you to divulge your innermost thoughts even to those closest to you. - LOL!
   
• One of your greatest salvations is being out in nature, for it is there that you find the peace and serenity you so much desire. - Not sure if I believe you on this one. I'll take indoors over outdoors at all times
   
• Physically you could suffer through tension in the heart, lungs, or bronchial organs, and also through intestinal problems, constipation, etc. - Uh oh. I do have asthma. Constipation, though?

Let me know what you think.

Made to Move

**I want to start by saying that I am so angry at myself for deleting two of the videos that coincide with this blog post. Ugh! Anywho, let’s get started….

I believe that I’ve shared with you before that I am a Big Sister with Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City. My little sister is Marily. She is a Hispanic 12-year old who has a lot of the qualities that I possess, the biggest one being that we are both shy. However, she was born and raised in Brooklyn, so she’s no punk! 

On last Saturday, I signed us up for a dance class that was to be given by two choreographers that reside here in the city. Unbeknownst to me, the two of them are big deals. The first is Alicia Graf-Mack. She is the lead dancer for Alvin Ailey. She is tall and lean and definitely has the body of a dancer. She told us that at the age of 3, she’s on video saying that she wanted to be a ballerina. She’s accomplished that dream and more. Now she’s continuing to live out her passion while helping others realize theirs. 

The other dancer is her sister, Daisha Graf. Daisha is a hip-hop dancer who has danced for Rihanna, Beyonce, Santigold, etc. She was recently signed by LA Reid to Epic Records and is now recording her first album. Her management is MBK, who managed Alicia Keys for all those years and who now manage SWV. One thing she said that stuck with me is that she continues to strive to be better than she is. 

So, Marily and I went to this dance studio for this dance class. We overheard people practicing opera pieces and playing piano. They were very talented. Our dance class began with Alicia leading us through some ballet moves (I believe that’s what they were). It wasn’t all easy and some of the moves actually hurt. I can say that it was FUN, however! After about 30 minutes, Daisha led us through some moves that she’d choreographed to her new song, “Reborn.” In my Tamar Braxton voice, “It was FUNNERS!” The littles and bigs all had fun doing these moves. Take a look at the video below of Daisha doing the moves. You can also see a big brother and a little who looks more than happy to be participating. 

During lunch, the sisters allowed questions from us about careers in the arts. The children enjoyed pizza and learned about this whole new world at the same time. What captured me the most was what took place after lunch. Everyone received a copy of the poem, “Our Deepest Fear” by Marianne Williamson. I remember this poem from the movie, Coach Carter. Alicia informed us that Nelson Mandela had apparently used it in one of his speeches. Awesome. We were instructed to stand in a circle and each of us were to step in the circle and proudly, authoritatively read one line of the poem. Some of the littles chose to read with their bigs (how cute?). We went around the circle completely, reading the poem twice. (This was when this poem resonated with me. More to come in my next post. Stay tuned.)

Alicia then instructed us that we do the same thing again, except this time she was going to dance to the lyrics. No, we weren’t singing the lyrics, nor rapping them. We were merely speaking them. HER DANCE WAS MOER THAN AMAZING! I can’t put into words her movement, but it was flawless! I actually took video, but accidentally deleted it! FML!  After we went around the circle once again, she then instructed that we would be tapped and have to come into the circle and move to the lines of the poem. Daisha started this time along with one of the little sisters that was clinging to her. I took video of that, too. IT was too cute. Again, I accidentally deleted it. L At one point the little boy next to me was chosen to come into the circle. He didn’t want to, but his big brother nudged him in and he did it. The big brother was then tapped and he followed suit. Lovely. 

I had a great time. When I initially signed us up, I thought it would just be fun to do a few moves together. I had no idea that I would walk away as inspired as I did. Actually, I think I enjoyed myself more than Marily did. Don’t get me wrong, she enjoyed herself; she was just a little too shy for that setting. 

Daisha and Alicia have started a company named D(n)A Arts Collective where they are giving back to others, inspiring them to go after their dreams. I am currently signed up to attend a vision board party this upcoming weekend. Way to keep the inspiration flowing!

My Blog

For the last month and a half, my blog has basically been nonexistent to me. To be honest, the last month and a half has been a a rough period for me, but I'm trying to bounce back. That starts with this blog. I love expressing myself through this means and some people have told me that they enjoy reading what I have to say. Well, that shall continue.

During my time off, I have had numerous ideas for topics of discussions. These topics range from fashion, of course, to relationships (familial and otherwise) to pop culture trends to my encounters in my everyday life. My thoughts have run wild and I need to capture some of them for this blog. I even have another idea for a new fashion blog - less words, more pictures.

Expect a new post very soon. I won't promise a regular schedule of posting since life is extra busy, but I will post more regularly.

Write to you soon. (Get it? Write instead of talk. LOL!)

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.