In A fast Pace World How Do You Show Your Appreciation For Life

 How many of you heard of the saying " Thank God every day for you waking up in the morning"? How many of you actually do it with a clear mind and open heart, or do you just get up and go?  They say our society is lost and everything people do is all for social media now. No one knows how to enjoy road trips, concerts, etc precious moments without posting about it, but I believe social media has its pros and cons. Cameras have always been around to capture moments, we just had to wait for them to get printed and view them at family functions out of the album. I believe we as people are old enough and know exactly why we share what we share with the world now. Some people do it to brag and as for most it's a way of showing family members all across the world " hey I'm doing ok look at what I'm up to". Sharing your life with the world has it's up's and downs. You will come across public opportunities and there will be public setbacks. But with all that goes on in your daily life do you take the time to set aside to look at how far you've come and how you got there?


         I myself feel lost at times and don't always take the time to say "Thankyou you heavenly father for waking me up". Sometimes it feels strange for me to have that one on one with him when my days are going ok. It comes off much easier when I'm down and out and feel helpless and I drop everything and breakdown. I know I was taught to call on him for any and everything being I was raised in a Christian home and in the church but I never felt connected to him in the way my church and grandmother told me I should be.  The pressure of seeing and feeling what my church at that time felt about God and then feeling it was fake on their behalf kept me astray. But my grandmother, ugh, the love and passion she has for God always kept me open and she's a good woman. There is never a fake vibe from her about her lord savior Christ. She would always say " He may not come when you call on him but he's always on time". In away that stuck in my head growing up to call on him, but for me, that meant "in desperate need ONLY".  Judge me all you want people but I know I show my appreciation for life in a different way.

      Being the strong minded, loving person that I am I can say I sort of considered God's feelings and don't want to depend on him for every little thing lol if that makes sense to you'll. Not, calling on him as much I see it as "look at how you created me, I got this". Trust and believe when I look at the sky, the environment around me and close my eyes and take a deep breath and exhale I'm spiritually saying " Thank you, Lord, Thank you, God, Thank you, Jesus"! Sometimes we don't always know the words to say but actions speak louder than words really holds weight. It's in that moment when I know for a fact, my appreciation for waking up every day is noticed. It's the smile I give off when I greet others, the wave in the air feeling peoples energy, the heartfelt moments when something goes right and wrong. It gets noticed in the way I carry myself in certain situations and the lessons that I carry with me.

                When I felt the urge to write this article this morning I was looking out my balcony window looking at the grass smiling and taking deep breaths. Remembering how I was living in a crappy hotel for 3/4 months with no view, feeling like crap, working and trying to keep it together for my family, then we found our apartment.what once was a view of dirt from the balcony when we first got here, is now a field of green beauty leading into the mountains.  I sort of felt guilty for not saying the actual word" Thank you". But now I feel easy and like I rid myself of guilt and judgment because seeing what I wrote shows I appreciate my life and the people in it. The words may not always fall from my mouth but it walks with my soul every day and to me, that's a connection most won't ever get the chance to experience. How do you show your appreciation for life?

Picture source: By me using my Samsung galaxy phone 7.19.2017 balcony view

Hair And Makeup A million Dollar Business verse African American Women The Target On Self Confidence & Priorites?

Ladies, I'm not sure if it's been said loud and clear enough but this topic is one that I feel strongly about. It confirms more of what I was saying for a while now about hair, makeup, and our priorities. Popular rapper Meek Mills has been going back and forth on social media throwing shade at his now ex-lover Nicki Minaj. Being petty talking about her ways and looks he doesn't like now there broken up. We as females can't deny the rant he went in on about fake hair, fake eyelashes, fake butts, changing the skin color with makeup and looking like someone different when all that stuff is not on. Now the pettiness is he was with her for a year why not tell her while you were with her?

I hear his point ladies but he and most males still chase after the women who look like this and I personally feel like it's being shoved down our throats to look that way. So if this is what men are showing interest in, of course, women are trying to change to their liking but the backlash is "YOUR FAKE! " Even though we women know different races wear weave AND TRUST THEY DO and wear heavy makeup they don't get chewed up and spit out like we do against our own race. These changes do play a major role in the African American society and it plays into "will we ever be enough"? Which brings me to wondering isn't it time for us to take care of our real hair, our skin etc so we don't have to be considered fake? So we can be secure in our own skin regardless of men or societies approval?

 For me growing up I recall saying I was against makeup and being too made up to go now where all I needed was my earrings and my lip gloss. As I got older and got out more, I did notice the effect makeup had on women. I tried a little of eyeshadow in high school but it wasn't my thing like it was for a lot of the popular girls. It wasn't until I got my first real job at a women's retail shop where makeup was put into the clean professional appearance look. Days I didn't wear make-up female customers treated me like a kid who didn't know anything. Then, on the days I wore makeup they showed me WAY MORE RESPECT and wanted my advice on fashion.
 I guess this falls under the category look the part.

 It was strange to get this reaction but as a teen, it did take a toll on me. With that being said, can you imagine the pressure women feel now as an adult and dealing with corporate jobs and keeping up with the trends? So yes in a sense this goes past the pressure of men wanting a female to look dolled up all the time but even businesses. Trust, I don't think ANYTHING IS WRONG with makeup if your skin and health are being taken care of underneath. I do have a PROBLEM with bad acne and skin issues that can be a serious health matter being covered up without looking into the real reason it is occurring. This is not to take away from women with a few blemishes or a childhood scar you want to cover up a little. But a full dolled up face transforming you into someone COMPLETELY DIFFERENT TAKING AWAY FROM YOUR BEAUTIFUL ATTRIBUTES YOU WERE Supposed TO ENHANCE JUST A LITTLE is a no.

 I enjoy weaves and wigs, love the creative look and style it gives off to our moods and outfits. Trust nothing is wrong with switching it up and giving your real hair a break. My first year going natural I cut my hair off to a brush cut and didn't like short hair. But I was going through knots and thinning with a perm and had started off with one since elementary school so I didn't even know what my real texture was like. We would usually get a perm every 3 months for some sooner just because we saw waves at the roots. I cut my hair off really to get back to my god given crown and to learn more about it not because of a trend.

I wore wigs to help my hair grow out healthy under the wig which it did, fast and beautifully. I gave my hair a break and wore it out sometimes and my family was more so" wear it all the time are you ashamed"? But these remarks were from family members who live by the perm no matter what and wouldn't dare think of going natural. I'm not taking away from women who rock perms because you can have healthy hair with a perm too. I just feel we as women of color and different texture hair, don't need to go by the guideline. Maybe we should only get a perm 2x a year and definitely focus on deep conditioning more.

 I personally love my curly texture which is the main reason I won't go back to a perm.Be outside, caught in the rain and not have to worry about looking crazy.You can have your hair curly too with a perm, but not your natural pattern. I love the big messy untouched look, especially if I didn't want to do my hair or touch it. Yes, it was easy to throw on a wig and handle my business for the day.But when I got back home that thing was on the floor or bed somewhere lol.

 All this is fine and dandy, but it is a bad thing when your real hair is unhealthy, falling out and not being looked into to see if there could be a health problem causing distress to your tresses. Some don't care, put a wig or weave in, neglect their real hair and end up hating what God has given them on their head. Then, want to feel bad if their wig gets snatched off! Feeling bad, embarrassed and less confident. This isn't to women who are going through lupus and cancer who know why their hair is fallen out. I commend you beautiful ladies that found out what was the problem and you're working on it. Wear a wig until you can grow your crown back it's all good.

 Even if it's permanent and It can't grow back, you still have a true reason to invest in hair assistance.  Having an illness and disease can no way shape or form add into this topic for me, I'm only talking about the women who use wigs and makeup as a crutch, neglecting themselves.Who rather spend $500 on fake hair when THEY HAVE A HEAD FULL but don't purposely take care of it. They cause it to break off then have to rely on assistance and no priorities are all messed up. Wouldn't you rather treat your real hair to a nice style FOR LESS?

The African American community spends so much on weave a year we could've put down on a car, a house or start our own businesses, open savings account and buy life insurance. Guess this is one of those things where women truly are blowing money on things they don't need. The #1 problem but booming market for OTHER RACES is hair. I know we all want the finer things in life etc, but when your bills are behind, your appearance is all you got, your heading to become a pretty homeless person.

All jokes aside, I just want so much more for us African American women because we been through so much and have so much more to offer. Women in general I think are phenomenal but there's no blind eye for the ethnic race of women who get looked past. I love living in a melting pot of races but nothing is wrong with uplifting and wanting more for our own race who needs a push, especially if it causes self-destruction that can be avoided.

picture sources: ( women green background with words )
https://i2.wp.com/www.healthlooksgoodonyou.com

(makeup background picture)
pic collage web search

(hair bundle)
ali-Julia--font-b-indian-b-font-straight-font-b-hair-font-b-bundles.jpg

(money picture)
https://kingdomtelco.files.wordpress.com

Fab trendy diets or eating for your blood type diet whats the secret?

In this day in age, we have all became so obsessed with diets and eating right but it never dawned on me till now we've been trying the wrong diets. One day I and my fiance was just watching TV and he came out randomly and said " You ever wonder why couples who been together for a long time bodies change at diff rates? They eat the same foods sometimes more or fewer proportions than the other but one ends up having high blood pressure or diabetes etc? One gets very heavy in weight and the other spouse may get lean or stay the same?" I said to him how I imagine family genetics and hereditary symptoms run in family's and some people catch it early or later on. He looked at me and said" You ever thought about eating for your blood type? " and shockingly I  responded no because I don't even know my blood type.They told me my blood type after my first pregnancy in 2015 but other than that I never paid attention or wondered about blood type.He said he recalled listening to a radio host by the name of Heather B a short time ago who he recalled her talking about the importance of eating for your blood type. 
Never hearing this conversation in my life or even considering my blood type would matter so much, this is the deepest, makes the most since topic that can be the true fountain of youth of our existence. When you go to the doctors we are observed as obese or underweight by a weight and height chart from years ago. When they ask us about our family health history we write it down and that's that. There was never a time my blood type was brought up to me why I  experience what I experience after them asking me what all do I eat.  So now that I've come across this topic  I wonder has anyone tried these blood type diets and how did their bodies react to it. Knowing this I'm so curious to do some research and take control of my health the right way but I'm currently 21 weeks pregnant So my adventure would have to start when I'm all healed and ready to workout.Us not knowing our blood type could be why our health can be bad at one point from feeding ourselves harmful things then good because we are eating the right things. Can knowing the right foods for our bodies save us from cancer, tumors, fibroid, inflamed hearts, arthritis etc? I never was a fan of medicine so if this new discovery helps I'm all for it, what about you?

                                        

Diet picture from source :  {https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YPl0naO6GR0/maxresdefault.jpg }