2013: A Fruitful New Year!

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by Fruitful Friday, Life, Money • Tags: , , , , , ,

I’m hoping all of you had a great holiday! It’s the time of year when we (most of us) spend ridiculously and give gifts to those we love (or pretend to) and feel miserable after because we’re broke. I promise myself time and time again I won’t partake in Christmas because I need to save my damn money! But honestly, I love what the day brings. I love what the holidays bring! My family, decorations, excitement and gifts! Lots and lots of gifts! I get to see the excitement on my child’s face when she opens her gifts. Shallow? I know but whatever.

So, for those of you that are on a mission to save this year (like myself) I found this awesome post (please see below – click on the image to make it larger) on Facebook. Not sure where it came from originally, but I got it from a distant cousin, James. If any of you do,  please share, so I can give credit to that individual.

Some suggest to open a savings account dedicated to the ’52 Week Money Challenge.’ But I plan on doing it the old fashioned way, using my piggy bank. (I had to super glue the bottom because I know the ‘compulsive me’ will have a change of heart, one of these days, and hopefully the superglue will be a deterrent.

Once I save the money, I’ll determine what should be done with it next. No use in counting my eggs before they hatch., right? Hmm….maybe I’ll buy a new purse? Maybe I’ll travel somewhere exotic? Or, maybe I’ll add it to a high yield savings account? Who knows. Whatever I decide to do with it is my business. But, I challenge YOU to save this year. If you already have tons of cash and don’t need to, it’s still a fun way to discipline yourself and show that you can commit to something.  If you truly do need the money, once the year commences, you’ll have some. You’ll feel accomplished and it’ll prove that you can save and do more.

I wish you all the best of luck this year and may you continue to do what (or who) you love. May you continue to turn your dreams into a reality one day at a time, one dollar at a time.

Much love,

S

2013: MI$$ION to $AVE

Fruitful Friday: Family First

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by Home •

This past year has been quite eventful. I traveled for pleasure, had tons of fun and I’ve learned a lot about myself that I needed to learn: Family is everything. Despite the drama and falling outs, at the end of the day, we all come back together (partly because we have to) during the holiday season to reminisce and laugh.  I’ve learned that you should never wait to long to reach out because life is short and our days are numbered here on planet earth. As hectic as our lives are, it takes just a few mintes to make a phone call to say ‘hello.’

Try it.

S

Fruitful Friday: Time Well Spent

by Kids, Life, Words to live by, Yummy Mummy • Tags: , , , , , ,

“Children are great imitators. So give them something great to imitate.” - Anon.

Today the little one stayed home with me in light of Tropical Storm, Sandy. If you never told me a tropical storm was passing through… I would never have known.

Typically, my Fridays consist of me doing things around the house, as it’s my only day off that I have to myself…but today would be a little different. Dr. Phil always says that a child’s biggest role model is the same-sex parent and I never knew how true that was until my child was born. I do try my very best and have minor slip-ups on occasion (I’m only human you know) but I’m quickly reminded of my potty mouth when I hear, “Ooh mommy! That’s not nice.” Yikes.

Anyway, today was a chance for us to spend the day together, alone, so I attempted to make the best of it by distracting her with books, movies, TV etc. while I tried to clean my house and get caught up with my shows I’ve missed this week. Ha! Not!

No, that was definitely not the case, none of that was happening today. It was impossible for me to clean and I didn’t even think to watch the TV. Why? Because we did the following TOGETHER:

1. Played dress up

2. Had a tea party

3. Watched “The Little Mermaid.” This inspired her to want to dress up as the little mermaid

4. Play dress up again

5. Did each others hair

6. Rode the toy jeep throughout the house (old pic I had but you get the point)

7. Play dress up

8. Read some books

9. Had lunch (she successfully picked out each piece of broccoli I strategically placed in her food and said it hurt her stomach) LIES!

10. NAP (In which I took the time to write this post)

Today was not only an experience but a lesson learned. Time spent, should be time WELL spent. We had an awesome day despite the house looking like a tornado visited and I’m officially one week behind on my shows but it was all worth it. I love this little girl with all my heart and soul and wish everyday could be like today. Okay, I went a little far but you get it. I just wish we had more days like this together.

S

Are Your Kids Bad As Hell?

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by Kids, Life • Tags: , , , , ,

And don’t lie.

I was raised by a strict single-mom that always said to me when I ‘misbehaved,’ “I brought you in this world and I will take you out!” She was always so extra with it too, like, if there was a dish in the sink, I would hear that. If a person called the house that she didn’t know, I would hear that. If I didn’t do something RIGHT when she said to do it, I would hear that. I swear that phrase put the fear in me though.

Can you imagine if she ever followed through with what she said?

Although I didn’t get that many belts to my rear, I did get my fair share when I was rude or disrespectful…Or that time when I set the trashcan on fire…or that time when I…well you all don’t need to all of those details…just know I got my fair share. 

Now that I’m older and have my own child, I do realize that my mother did the best she knew how, when it came to discipline. When I was younger, I thought she was the worst person ever! Now that I’m older, I realize she was a great disciplinarian. Disciplining is hard work!

My daughter is 3-years old and behaves as if she’s seventeen. There are times when she tests my patience and I must admit, I have needed to do some deep breathing (woosah techniques) to calm myself down in the past. What 3-year old, doesn’t test your patience though? So, in my quest to being the best parent ever, I’ve read some books on the topic; not because she’s too much to handle, I just want to make sure I’m doing the right thing. I want to make sure my kid is the best kid she can be. I want her to be a good citizen!

All I can hear now is, “She’s a child, not a kid… Baby goats are called kids…” Her father can be so anal sometimes.

Anyway, the books don’t really help. Here’s why: We don’t do ‘time outs’ nor do we ‘count to 10.’ I have been trying out this new thing where I give her a serious look and say, “Wait until we get home” (the misbehaving is done mostly outside of our home). I can NOT say however, “I brought you in this world and I can take you out,” surely because I don’t have that much sass, for one, and the thought of me saying that is hilarious! I could never say that with a straight face. Let’s not forget that my child will ask, “Where exactly are you taking me out to mommy?”

My child seems to only show out when in public (and if you know me, that means…shopping). She’ll ask for a toy OR she’ll want to climb out of the shopping cart to walk around independently and I won’t allow that because:

  1. I get distracted way too easily
  2. She’s 3-years old and needs to sit her behind in the cart
  3. I’m not paying for anything she breaks
  4. We live in a crazy world and I would seriously go crazy if anyone approached/abducted my child

When I say, “Wait until we get home,” this immediately corrects the behavior and she’ll yell out “Noooo mommy… noooo!!!” I have to admit it does make me want to laugh because deep down inside it’s just an empty threat, but she doesn’t know that. I don’t plan on following through unless she does something terrible because we’ll just forget about it by the time we get home honestly. So what happens if that day comes? I pray to the universe it doesn’t. How about I just leave that part to her dad? I’ll let him be the bad guy.

I have seen, however, other children in public that throw tantrums and sprawl out on the floor. The mothers pick them up in complete embarrassment and hurry to a private area to say, “Now Billy, you behave yourself right now, or else!”

Billy will usually shout out, “No!” or “Whatever Mom!!!” If I were Billy’s age and said that, I would have teeth missing.

I shake my head and thank the universe for blessing me with a child that fears my intimidating stare, for now anyway…because it’s so not intimidating, in my opinion.

What works for you? Are your kinds bad as hell? Don’t lie.

S

Did You ‘Give Thanks’ Today?

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by Life, Words to live by • Tags: , ,

Go to work this morning thankful and appreciative that you have a job to go to.

Be thankful you have income and money coming in. Even though, it may be going to bills… be thankful you have employment, because many people don’t.

Be thankful you have your health and life to live. Be appreciative of your loved ones and those around you that care and support you.

Be thankful you have food to eat and a roof over your head. Be thankful you have a car to drive and if you don’t have that, be thankful you have your two feet to walk with.

Take a moment today to be thankful of all that you’re blessed with because you are very blessed.

S

Fruitful Friday: Do You!

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by Life • Tags: , , ,

So I haven’t done one of these “Fruitful Friday” posts in a while so enjoy it while it lasts.

A lot of us are consumed with work, family, friends, social networking… and the list goes on and on and on. We never take a moment to sit down, relax and enjoy ourselves. I mean really enjoy time… alone! I know I don’t… I work 10-hour days, pick up my daughter from school, take her to a swimming lesson, cook dinner, and then I finally finish my day at 2am. For those of you that are in my same predicament, there are many things to do to create more time for yourself and free yourself from everyday stress. Read on to learn more those things and remember, you only have one life to live, so live it!

  1. Take a walk… alone! And when I say alone, that means, with no phone. Be alone with just you and your thoughts. If you live in a warm climate, I promise you, you’ll feel great after your done. Focus on your breathing too. Before your walk, close your eyes, take a deep breath in and then exhale. Do it!
  2. When you’re at dinner, sit down and relax and not with your phone either! Put your phone on silent and don’t feel obligated to check your Facebook status, Instagram updates or any other social media outlet you’re apart of. It’ll be available after you’re done. Trust me.
  3. Get a massage. A real one and not one from your man (or woman). Call your favorite spa and make an appointment for a massage. You’ll feel great after!
  4. Call a cleaning service to clean your home for you, so you don’t have to. Do you know how much time you’d save if you didn’t have to do that? I’m not saying to hire a cleaning service every day/week, but do it at least once. Let them get on their hands and knees to scrub the grout and floor boards and use that time to do something for yourself, like go shopping?
  5. Pick a good book and read it. Not sure what to pick? Click here to see NY Times best sellers and if you haven’t read the ’50 Shades’ trilogy yet, you’re mad late but it’s okay, you’re busy with life. Click here to buy from Amazon.com.
  6. Sleep until you wake up on your own. Turn off your alarm clock and just sleep undisturbed. F*ck work. They’ll get over it because you’re fabulous…just don’t blame your ‘write-up’ on me! Can’t sleep at home (it may be too noisy)? Book a hotel room for the night and you go there ALONE to SLEEP!
  7. Stop saying “sorry” for things you don’t need to say “sorry” for. Save your “sorry” for when you really need to use it – Seriously. When you bump into someone at Nordstrom’s say ‘Excuse me” and not, “I’m sorry.” The Bitch shouldn’t of been in the way to begin with! Just kidding.
  8. Buy yourself flowers and a cute vase for them to go in.
  9. Book a plane ticket to see your friends or family that you haven’t seen in a while. If you’re the one always making the trips, call them and express to them how much you’d like to see them. Either way, it’d give you an excuse to go shopping. Whether it be for your trip or for your expecting company…you know you need some new bath towels.
  10. Buy some alcohol and drink it. Trust me, you’ll feed good after.

Have anymore? Feel free to comment.

Cristle & Kevin: Part II

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by Cristle & Kevin, Men, Relationships, Women • Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

“Ms. Salmon is a mess talking about if we missed her… I need to ask her why she always sounds like she’s arguing with someone when she talks,” Cristle mentioned to Kevin. Ms. Salmon had a deep Nigerian accent and was often confused with being confrontational. However, she was just a mild-mannered woman who was misunderstood and it didn’t help that she was big, round and black. Very black. Like tar. When she smiled, all you could see were her perfect white teeth. Her smile was beautiful though. Ms. Salmon was about six-feet and 300 pounds and loved to eat rice and beans for breakfast, lunch and dinner. She also loved to sip on mint tea throughout the day. She said it helped with her digestive system.

The ride home was quick and there wasn’t much said between the two. Cristle was coming off of her high from the hard to explain energy she felt between herself and Kevin. She turned to look at Kevin driving, who was focused on getting them both home safely as it was snowing outside and Kevin could barely see the road ahead. She admired his beauty. She never knew a man could be so beautiful. His chocolate-colored skin complexion was perfect and blemish free. His hair was neatly trimmed and he even appeared studious with his black-rimmed designer eyeglasses. When he spoke, he spoke with confidence and poise. She loved that.

A blizzard was passing through the town and it was extremely windy. The road ahead was covered in white untouched snow and the sound of the wind sounded like a ghost from a horror movie. Naturally, Kevin skidded a few times but maintained control of the car while placing his hand out towards Cristle to protect her from flying forward into the dash, even though she wore a seatbelt. She loved that he was protective. She loved the way he drove and maintained control. She loved how manly and authoritative he was.

The two said their goodbyes and Cristle quickly ran upstairs to get out of cold. She lived on the second floor of a three-story home that her grandparents owned in a middle class neighborhood right outside of Hartford. It’s the house she grew up in and lived all her life but she often thought about moving to Miami where the weather was obviously hotter and so were the people.

As soon as Cristle got home, she de-robed as she always did when she arrived home from work, and tossed the black sweater dress from Banana Republic she wore that day into the hamper located in the hallway. She was a germaphobe and didn’t want the ‘infected’ clothes that she’d been wearing all day to infest her home with God-knows-what. She peeked outside of her kitchen window and could barely see anything but snow blowing every which way. The blizzard was coming full force and she grew excited at the thought of not having to work tomorrow. She poured herself a glass of red wine, walked to her couch and sat down in her bra and panties turning on the TV. A Law & Order: SVU episode was on.

“Word!” she said in excitement, but her excitement quickly turned into annoyance.

She was lonely and wished that she had someone to cuddle with. Her daughter Zara was with Cristle’s mother for the weekend and she had the house all to herself. She hugged her couch pillow and pouted without even realizing it.

The door bell rang.

She rose from the couch,“What the hell?” she thought as her eyes widened with curiosity. She looked at the wall clock and realized that it was almost midnight, “Who the hell could that be?” she quickly ran to the bathroom and put on her red Ralph Lauren robe she had from high school, tying it tightly, and grabbed the wooden bat from behind the bedroom door. Who knows where she got the bat from.

She crept down the stairs and peered through the peep-hole but couldn’t see who was ringing the bell, there was just too much snow blowing around.

“Uh, who is it?” she asked in a deep voice, trying to her best to sound like a man. She figured if she sounded like a man, it would scare off the potential intruder but she wasn’t fooling anybody.

“Cristle, it’s me…open up!” Cristle swung open the door in bewilderment to see Kevin standing there in the snow hugging himself to keep warm.

She threw her arms up and asked, “What the heck are you doing here?” she was confused with good reason. “Come inside,” she ordered, motioning for him to follow her and they stood in the hallway that led to the stairs to her apartment. He closed the door behind him.

“You left your phone in my car and I just wanted to give it back to you,” he reached in his pocket and pulled out the black Android touch screen phone, “It’s been ringing non-stop actually. Hell, I’m surprised you didn’t realize it was gone – it’s practically an extension of you.”

“Ha. Funny!” she reached out to take the phone from him and he pulled back in jest. “Now you’re a comedian? You’re mighty playful tonight…didn’t know this part of you existed,” she replied leaning forward trying to get her phone back with her right hand, holding her robe closed with the left. The tie was coming loose. He held the phone in the air causing her to jump up for it. She was barely 5 feet 3 inches and he was well over 6 feet.

Kevin finally gave Cristle the phone and she quickly turned it on to see eleven missed calls from Zara’s father, Felipe and a text message that read:

I just wanted 2 make sure U reached home OK.

Rolling her eyes, she turned the phone back off. Felipe was used to Cristle answering on the first ring and he went a little crazy when she didn’t this time around.

“Thanks for bringing it back. That was nice of you.”

“Everything okay?” he asked genuinely concerned.

“Yes, everything is fine, you better get going. You-know-who might be looking for you,” she rolled her eyes sighing and turned around to open the door for Kevin. He reached over her and held the door shut with his right hand.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” She turned around to face him to answer the question.

“I’m fine,” she smiled to reassure him that she was really fine and he turned around to leave despite his urge to stay.

At work the following Monday at undisclosed company, it was business as usual. Cristle and Kevin went about their work day as if nothing had happened the week before as if those feelings didn’t exist. It was the end of the day and Cristle gathered her things to get ready to go. The last city bus would arrive in 15 minutes and she would have to take her time to walk down the street to avoid falling on her ass. A lot of the snow had hardened over the weekend, turning into ice. Cristle was a diva and wore heels every day of the year…rain or shine you wouldn’t see her in anything else but a pair of pumps.

The other workers including Ms. Salmon left for the day and weren’t scheduled back until tomorrow. It was unusual for anyone to stay past 5PM unless you were working the overnight shift like Kevin was that day.

“Where are you off to?” Cristle looked up from her desk, as she was gathering her things to get ready to leave for the dey, and saw Kevin standing in the doorway of her office.

“Home. Where do you think?” She put her head down and pretended to organize the papers on her desk trying to refrain from smiling. She had a crush. Being that Kevin was working the overnight shift she wouldn’t be able to hitch a ride with him that night and that disappointed her.

Kevin stepped fully into the office and closed the door behind him. Everyone was gone for the day and it was just the two of them left.

“Oh, so you’re being a smart ass, huh?” his voice deepened and he squinted trying to appear intimidating. Little did he know, Cristle enjoyed this game very much. He walked towards her and Cristle started to breathe heavily. “Take off your dress. Now!” Kevin demanded. Cristle did as she was told and slowly de-robed, not losing eye contact with Kevin. She was waiting for this moment to happen.

She like this game very much.

“Aren’t you going to do the same?” she asked him, unbuckling his pants causing his grey slacks to drop to the ground, exposing Pinocchio’s nose.

“I’m the one who makes the demands. Not you,” She raised an eyebrow and continued to undress. She made sure she wore matching bra and panties that day. She was prepared for anything. Grabbing both of her arms, Kevin held them above her head with one of his. He admired her body and nodded in approval. Cristal was very curvaceous in all the right places and he was immediately turned on.

“Thank Goodness I shaved,” she thought to herself.

He turned her around and pressed his body against her back, cupping her breasts with his hands and burying his face in her hair, it smelled good….just like strawberries.

“Cristle, the um…the umm… umm…” Mrs. Salmon stammered and her deep intimidating voice trailed off into a whisper and breaking the silence with her mug dropping to the ground spilling her mint tea everywhere. The two didn’t hear the knock or even the door open for that matter.

The two spin around to see Mrs. Salmon standing in the doorway with her mouth wide open.

Cristle was caught with her pants down, or should I say dress? She was literally caught with her dress down by her ankles.

To be continued…

When Will This Stop?

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by Home •

Reblogged from DeityNyota:

Click to visit the original post

I know and understand that not everyone of African heritage will agree with me, speak for me or represent me as an individual. But I feel that the time for inter-cultural evaluation has come.

Honestly, its been here for quite some time now. But I'm really getting sick of what I'm seeing. And its one of the reasons why I started my own entertainment company, in hopes that I may be one of the few people who have the courage to take the steps needed to change how we as a people perceive ourselves.

Read more… 857 more words

Truth!

On a Serious Note…

by Politics • Tags: , , , ,

I woke up this morning super excited to research each candidate fully so I could speak to what they stood for intelligently. I watched the 2012 presidential debate on Tuesday night and it motivated me to want to learn more about it all. Side Note: There was a point where I thought a fight was going to erupt between Gov. Romney and Pres. Obama and my eyes widened in excitement as I snacked on Golden Oreos waiting to see who would throw the first blow. I quickly realized I was watching the presidential debate and not an episode of Jersey Shore. Embarrassing.

Discussing politics gets people super emo so I had to be prepared to fire back with solid good ol’ facts if needed. I wasn’t 100% familiar with what each candidate had to offer and still not completely confident. Truth is, I was never one to take politics seriously. Perhaps it was because I didn’t grow up in a politics driven household or maybe because I just wasn’t interested in the topic. Is that a crime? I would rather watch Grey’s Anatomy or do some online shopping, but as I mature and learn to understand the seriousness of the topic, I felt compelled to write this.

I’m also trying super hard to do this ‘blog-a-day’ thing. Dang, how do y’all do it out there in Cyber World? From my daughter’s swimming lessons to making sure dinner (I love my microwave)  is hot and ready for when the Mister comes home, I can’t find time!

I am an individual who needs things to be broken down in simple terms, especially when the topics are boring and uninteresting to me, and considering I’m a 20-something female (I’m a little overzealous in saying that because I won’t be able to say that the year after next) with a young daughter, I need to be able to explain certain things to her when she asks. Right? I can’t depend on Google forever. She’ll figure me out and call me a ‘fraud’ eventually. Trust me. I have a genius three-year old on my hands. So this whole political thing needs to be taken seriously. All I know is that I’m going to vote. I’m going to do my part and contribute and be a responsible citizen. Besides, I keep getting these cool bumper stickers in the mail but I’ll be damned if I stick them on my shiny white Beemer. Sorry ‘Bama!

Anyway, from women’s rights to education. I know that I want to vote for someone that’s pro-choice and supports a woman’s decision to protect herself from an unwanted pregnancy. I support the candidate who would not take away funding from places like Planned Parenthood and continue to allow private insurance coverage, provided by employers, to pay for contraceptives. I mean seriously… there are some people out there who DO NOT need to be parents…not yet anyway. I can name a few….

I know that I want to vote for the candidate that stands by education and supports a students decision to attend a traditional university and get government aid while doing it, if that’s their choice and if they need the financial assistance; why should they be exempt because they can’t afford it?

I have been VERY fortunate to be employed and can’t complain in that regard, including my friends and family. So, I don’t really have an opinion on that…  I live in an area where jobs are plentiful and it confuses me when I hear there are no jobs available. If yo’ as is jobless and broke, you need to take yourself to your local grocer and ask, ‘paper or plastic?’

In regards to everything who cares what I think? It’s my blog and my very humble two-cents. I write what I want. That’s why it’s called SumikoMelody.com and not something else.

Until next time.

S