see the queen in you.

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Single this valentine’s day? No problem!

Valentine’s day is around the corner and not everyone has that special someone to celebrate with. For me it’s just another day, but for some, Valentine’s Day is a pretty big deal. So if you’re one of those people and you’re single this year, don’t sweat it. I got a few ways to spice your single Valentine’s Day up. Don’t trip ladies, Valentine’s Day when you’re single can still be fun, too.

Take a spa day.

Everybody loves a good spa day. What better way to celebrate than to pamper yourself and make yourself feel beautiful. Grab one of your single friends and take advantage of some of those couple specials they have at the spas. Lol. One of my best friends and I did it one year and they gave us chocolate covered strawberries and everything! It was amazing! If you can splurge, go to one of those fancy spas with really good amenities and take advantage. For instance, hotels like the Four Seasons allow you to get your massage, pedicure, manicure, facial, body wrap, or whatever you’re getting and enjoy the amenities. They have a women’s lounge with snacks, a jacuzzi, pool, sauna, and wine! Take advantage of those amenities, girl!

Wine night with other singles.

I don’t know about yall, but I love a chilled glass of wine and some chocolate covered strawberries every year. Man or no man. Grab some of your friends and have a wine night; watch some movies or play a game. You could even go to one of those wine bars or a winery and have you some fun. Live a little.

Take a trip.

Taking a trip is always a good time. Relax your mind on the beach, do some exploring, and just be free. I love going to islands and just having a nice, peaceful time. It gives me time to unwind, reflect, and rejuvenate.

Unplug and have a self-care day.

Your self-care day can be anything you want to do. If that’s sitting in front of the tv with fresh, moisturized skin binge watching your favorite tv show, movies, or reading a great book, then do it. Just make sure your self-care day is all about you.

Spend time with your loved ones.

Valentines day isn’t always just about your significant others. It could be for your loved ones, such as your friends and family. Spend your day with people who truly love and value you. That’s always a great time.

Treat yourself.

Buy yourself something nice or something you’ve been having your eye on. Enjoy a great meal and indulge in some of the foods you wouldn’t normally eat. Spend time catering to yourself and have a good time.

Valentine’s Day is just another day. Don’t get so caught up with what’s going on with social media. You want to celebrate? Celebrate yourself for being so amazing. Can’t nobody treat you better than you can treat yourself. I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine’s with or without someone.

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5 Ways to Practice Self-Love

It’s the month of love and while some cater to their loved ones, we should always be catering to ourselves as well. Self-love and self-care are very important to living a happy life. Here are a few things I find important for self-love and self-care.

Stop the comparison game.

Forget what Keisha, Samantha, Melissa, and Khadijah doing on Facebook and Instagram and how their lives seems so perfect. Social media shows you the highlights and never the low moments and failures. You don’t know how their lives are going behind these pictures and videos. One of my favorite quotes is, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” These people that you’re comparing yourself to could be suffering from childhood trauma while vacationing on the isle of Capri like their living their best life, but she could be silently breaking down cause she hasn’t dealt with that trauma.

Activity: Do some self-reflecting. Write down things that you love about yourself, things that make you smile, things that bring you peace, things that make you happy. If you aren’t sure, take a moment and think about it and come back to it. While you are reflecting on the positive, also reflect on things that trigger you; rectify your trauma. Do an honest reflection to get a honest clear picture of you. You cannot heal from any place that is not true and honest.

Find your happy.

One thing I learned from listening to people talk is that a lot of people don’t truly know what makes them happy. Some people see other people do shit online and think if it makes them happy then it has to work for me, too. Nah sis, it don’t work like that. I scroll through social media thinking to myself that these people in the club every night can’t be this happy to be there. That wouldn’t make me happy, I’d rather sit on a bench in the park or sit at the lake and just enjoy nature. That’s my happy. My peace. You just have to find your happy and figure out what works best for you. Finding what makes you happy may take some trial and error, but it’s worth the journey. You’re worth working hard to please.

Activity: Try something you’ve always wanted to try. Whether that’s a yoga class, performing at a open mic night, shoot it could be taking a pole dance class. Try something new and see how it makes you feel.

Eliminate self-doubt.

Instead of saying you can’t, tell yourself you can. If you can’t right now, work towards it. Everything is a journey and nothing happens instantaneously. Stop selling yourself short, you’re amazing.

Activity: Write down your strengths and weaknesses. Reflect on your strengths and work with your weaknesses and figure out how and where you can make changes to be better in those areas. For instance, a weakness of mine is procrastination and time management. In order to work at it, I set timers and reminders in my phone. I have a planner and I plan my week out on my self-care Sunday’s, so that I am prepared to take on my tasks without stressing myself out trying to do things in a rush.

Practice the law of attraction.

Law of attraction is the ability to attract into our lives whatever we are focusing on. You are what you think about. Thoughts and words will manifest. If you are thinking negative, you will attract negativity. You will attract whatever you focus on.

Activity: To practice the law of attraction, start with some positive affirmations. Write some positive affirmations or copy some you find on google that is applicable to your life and practice them. Stand in the mirror and smile at yourself. Take a couple deep breaths and say your positive affirmations a few times. Believe your affirmations. Believe in yourself. Sometimes, I practice my positive affirmations first thing in the morning while taking care of my hygiene. I make it apart of my daily routine. Sometimes I do it at night before going to bed. It all depends on how I feel that day.

Protect your peace.

This will always be a favorite point of mine when it comes to self-love and self-care. You have to find peace within yourself and protect it. We live in a crazy world that’s filled with so much hatred, anger, envy, and just miserable people. If you let everything happening in the world and on social media get to you all the time, you will never be happy with your life or yourself. So find your peace and happiness and protect it at all costs.

Activity: Practice meditation. If you aren’t into that type of thing just put your phone on do not disturb for a couple hours and leave it in your room. Do something that doesn’t involve your phone. Practice telling people no and do things you want to do. Stop sacrificing your happiness to make other people happy. People will wear you thin if you give in to every little thing they want you to do.

I hope these self-love tips help. What do you do to love yourself? If you have any other routines that you practice, please share so we can all help each other love ourselves more.

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ain’t no room for yes men.

If you’re looking for a yes man, I ain’t the one.

I’m just not cut out for saying yes to every single thing you do. I say yes to things that I absolutely agree with or to things I want to do. I don’t say yes just to spare your feelings and I definitely don’t feel like I have to be conned into doing things I don’t want to do. You’re friends with me? Expect to hear a no from time to time. The word “no” may seem too rude or harsh to some of my more sensitive folks, but not to me. However, I try (keyword: try) to say no in a nicer way.

Friend: “Do I look fat in this dress?”
Me: “You don’t look fat, it’s just not a flattering dress for your body type.”

Friend: “What you think about me writing a comedic book? I have a great idea.”
Me: “Do you tell jokes? I don’t remember you ever really being into comedy.”

I’m the honest friend and I really can’t help it. This isn’t to down you, but I just want us all to be honest with ourselves here. It’s natural to want to be friends with people who agree, support, and praise you all the time. I mean, there is a little self-absorbed person in all of us that loves the idea of that. It’s like having your own personal cheerleader. Some people think that’s what makes some of the best friends. They’re loyal and always on your side. I get it.

But your yes men are also there when you may fail and will attempt to band aid your wounds as if nothing you did was wrong or flawed. I don’t believe this is healthy for anyone. Imagine if we only had yes men as friends? Then we would have a bunch of Kanye’s running around here- self-absorbed, egotistical, tactless people finding no fault in anything they do. No one is always right and no one is going to do every single thing right. We’re human, we’re not perfect. It’s okay if we make mistakes.

Sometimes you have to tell your friend to chill. Sometimes you have to give them honest critiques of ideas they’re pitching. If your friends are coming to you wanting your opinion, don’t give them a cute yes man answer. Be realistic. Because if you don’t, the world will. Then they’ll come right back to you feeling down and out, just for you to continue to band aid the hurt.

At this point in my life, I don’t have room for yes men and women in my crew of friends. Give me the real, straight up no chaser. Don’t water it down for me, just let me know what’s up. I feel that your friends should be a reflection of you. Not saying that everyone should work the same job, have the same income, or do exactly as you do. But they should be good hearted, honest people who are able to give you honest answers without being seen as the bad guy.

Just because your friend isn’t a yes man, doesn’t mean they don’t support you just as much as your yes man friend. We can be your biggest supporter, confidant, and wish you nothing but the best. We are only this honest because we want the best for you and everything you do. If you are surrounded by a bunch of yes men, it’s time to do some evaluating. Get some new friends, with like minds and hustles. Get you some friends who are going to give it to you raw and uncut. Because every now and then we need that reality check.

I only want real ones at the table with me, ain’t no room for yes men.

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Drowning Above Water

Anxiety feels like you’re drowning above water. You struggle to breath and swim, but the pressure of the water just keeps holding you back.

This morning I woke up feeling low and I had no idea why. Last night, I worked out hard and felt a bit sick afterwards so I showered and laid down, but I couldn’t sleep. My mind and heart were racing and I couldn’t understand why. I had a pretty good day. Work was fine, my workout was great. I mean, I got a little weak after the workout because I was tired and hadn’t eaten since lunch earlier that day. I thought I’d eat and be fine. I ate, showered, meditated, stretched, and laid down.

But I was restless. My body was aching, my stomach was queasy, I felt like I was getting sick when just moments earlier I felt fine. Then all of a sudden, my face is wet with tears and I started to hyperventilate. I just couldn’t pull it together. I started doing breathing exercises and I ended up on my balcony in 40 degree weather scantily dressed, just trying to get some air. The cool breeze against my skin calmed me and there is where I began my meditation and prayer.

Finally, I calmed down and was able to breathe without feeling like I was hyperventilating. I tried laying down to sleep, but sleep never came. It was almost midnight and I lay in bed anxious and I still couldn’t quite figure out why. I haven’t been stressed. I’ve been working out consistently and eating well, so I was feeling great. My relationship with friends and family had never been better. I couldn’t and still can’t pinpoint the root of my anxiety as I laid in bed.

Anxious. Heart beating fast. Thoughts running a mile a minute.

When the clock struck 1:00 am, I decided to get up pray and meditate again. I sat in my meditation corner for awhile, burning my sage, my salt lamps on, my favorite crystals for sleep deprivation and anxiety, and my journal. I grabbed my journal and began writing about things I felt good about. I wrote about my feelings, what I’m happy about, my progress, and my journey. I wrote a couple positive affirmations and just really sat and did some self reflection.

Afterwards, I felt good and relieved. I was able to fall to sleep with ease and I woke up this morning feeling fine. But the moment I got to work the ease and carefree feeling seemed to lift from my shoulders and I was smothered with anxiety! I sat at my desk for a while thinking to myself, “What’s wrong with me?” Truthfully, I hadn’t gotten this way in a while. The last time I felt this way, changes were beginning to happen in my life. I was moving to a new area about 40 minutes from the area I had finally adjusted to, so the idea of change and a new environment excited me but made me anxious at the same time. But nothing was changing that I knew of.

Besides my goals that I’d written down and promised myself I was going to bring to fruition in 2019. I finally pinpointed a vendor to begin my new business venture and maybe the excitement mixed with fear from that also brought me anxiety. It’s a new, uncharted territory for me and I don’t really know what to expect from it. I’m not really sure; but my peace is important to me. So here are a few self-care tips I’m going to take to make this day better.

Take a break. When you’re feeling overwhelmed, take a break. If that means leaving work early, taking an extended lunch, or just taking a day off; do it! Put your phone on Do Not Disturb, ignore all of those toxic social media apps, and just chill. I love taking a social media hiatus to get my mind right. During that time, I’m usually reading a lot and just enjoying time to myself doing things that I like to do. Do what you have to do to make sure you are good. You can’t be good to anyone else if you’re not good yourself.
Relax. Take a deep breath and focus on calming down and relaxing. Whether that is laying in bed and watching your favorite movies, reading your favorite book, doing some yoga, going to the park to enjoy the great outdoors, or just quiet time alone. Do whatever keeps you calm and relaxed.
Write it or talk it out. My journal is my best friend. She hears all of my darkest thoughts, secrets, the highs and lows in life, she’s knows everything about me. She listens without judgement and whenever I write it out, I feel so free. My journal doesn’t respond, so when I’m looking to really speak to someone, I call my best friend Deja. She’s listens without passing judgement, helps where she can, and always gives me great advice. I could depend on her just like my journal. She’s like my therapist. If you aren’t as fortunate to have a best friend that is a wonderful as mine, seek a therapist. I’ve been wanting to try therapy and just haven’t tried it yet. That will be my next move.
Focus on finding and protecting your peace. Finding your peace isn’t always easy. It’s a journey. It may take some time but figure out what brings you peace and how to maintain it. I could tell you a million things I do, but what works for me, may not necessarily work for you. That’s something you have to figure out yourself. It takes a lot of self reflection, focus, and effort to find peace but once you get it, it’s bliss.

This just about sums up the last two days of my life. Writing this brought me peace and made me feel better. I’m currently sitting at a job that I don’t particularly care for, focusing on my peace. At the moment that is meditating and writing for me. Just those two things have completely changed my mood.

I hope all is well with everyone and that you are all at peace and happy.

SMUDGING 101: 4 DIFFERENT WAYS TO USE SAGE

Some days I wake up feeling out of whack. My mood is unpleasant, my energy is low, I feel irritable and sort of sluggish for no reason at all. Sometimes you just wake up on the wrong side of the bed and you have no idea why. This may be happening due to some stagnant energy in your field that is blocking the positive energy. Your field can include your emotional, energetic, mental, spiritual or physical body, and your environment—whether it’s your home, office, or other physical space. Stagnant or negative energy can have extremely detrimental effects on your mental and physical state and is even believed to manifest into things like a lack of happiness and success as well as pain and disease.

Whenever I feel like there is negative energy blocking my peace, I smudge my environment.

What is smudging?

Smudging is a symbolic exercise found in feng shui practice, many Native American traditions, and alternative healing practices. It involves burning selected herbs or other materials in a manner that fills the home or other space with the fragrance of the smoke and it is thought to clear negative energy.

If you’re a beginner or someone interested in different ways to smudge, below are a couple examples of how your sage can be used.

Clearing negative energy in your home .

No one wants a home filled with negative or stagnant energy. Your home is your sanctuary. It should be a place filled with peace, positivity, and good energy. Clearing my home with sage is something I do a few times a week. It has become apart of my cleaning routine. After cleaning my home, I walk around my entire home with Sage to clear the space. I want new, fresh energy in my home to keep me positive, creative, happy, calm, and grounded.

Continue reading this blog at Piece of Peace

To the Internet Weirdos

You people are weird.

The internet brings out the worst and the weirdo factor in people and I’m sick of it. Nipsey Hussle’s passing really made me look at a lot of people different. A respectable black man with that much hussle, grind, integrity, foresight, charisma, and just all around awesomeness really brought out the bitch and stupidity in a lot of people.

I never seen so many people hollering “but yall wasn’t giving a fuck about him when he was alive” and “why are yall so affected by him yall didn’t even like him” posts that I was sick. So what if they didn’t?!?! I’ve been a Nipsey Hussle fan since 2013 and I was happy that all the things that he has been putting into the universe was being heard. Sad it had to be this way, but things that he had been preaching for years were finally being heard by the masses.

Nipsey spoke about black ownership and investing in your neighborhoods, having pride in who you are, loving your people, being healthy, stopping street violence, importance of manifestations, and just finding your purpose in this world. I’m loving that people are hearing and sharing his words. He was spewing positivity in his music, interviews, and to anyone who encountered it. Who wouldn’t want that shared around the world?

At his memorial, so many of his family members and peers spoke highly of him and it touched the world. Although, it made you cry, it made you want to hussle and do better because some of us realized that maybe we aren’t doing enough. That maybe we’ve been putting our energy into the wrong things, when we should be putting energy into bettering ourselves and our communities.

But here go the internet weirdos again with their bulls**t. My friend put this picture in our group chat and I had the same question. Why is someone’s change of heart such a big deal to you? Why is someone being inspired to make a positive change in their life a problem for you? At some point we all have to grow and progress in life and if it take Nipsey’s death to want people to change so what! We all have to start somewhere.

Most times, it takes an specific event or situation that evokes change in a people whether its death that served as a wake-up call, obstacles that made you want to change, specific events that changed your views on things, or near death experiences. Something happens that usually makes people want to make changes in their life. So I don’t know why people think this situation with Nipsey is any different.

I will be the first to say if my world hadn’t been flipped upside down and around again in 2015, I wouldn’t be who I am today. Not even close to who I am now. At this age, I choose peace, happiness, positive energy, sage and crystals, self-love, and things that serve me purpose. But if life changing events wouldn’t have occurred in 2015, I’d still be running on fumes due to work and being full-time graduate student, juggling men, dressing up and going out to feel good, and doing a bunch of other unnecessary shit that served no purpose in my life.

Two events changed everything for me. My view of the world, my thinking, my habits, and my life. Those were some of the lowest moments in my life that changed me for the better. Those trying times gave me vision, insight, peace, and the want and need to change. Sometimes God has to show us in order for us to understand that’s what we need. Change.

Nipsey’s passing taught the world a few things.

That we have the power to change and progress in this world.
Own something, invest in yourself, and your community.
Be a genuine person regardless of what you’ve been through.

So despite what these internet weirdos think, it’s okay to use Nipsey’s death as inspiration to change. And to learn more about his life and others who are doing work similar to his and grow. Don’t let miserable people who are stuck in their ways keep you from growing.

I said I wasn’t going to write about Nipsey, because this was too heavy for me, but i had to address this.

Rest in Power to a great man Nipsey Hussle.

Super Worm Equinox Moon

Did you see the moon last night? It was huge, bright, and breathtaking; I could have stared at the moon all night. I found myself sitting on the steps of my apartment complex watching the open sky in awe thinking, “Wow, the world is beautiful.” I took the moment to breathe in the crisp air and enjoy the light breeze that blew threw my curls. I took several deep breaths with closed eyes and did a couple stretches, before opening my eyes and staring at the moon. The moment was amazing until I caught the horrible stench of cigarette and my neighbors adorable little dog barking away. ( rolls eyes ) That quickly, my peace was interrupted and I decided to finish my quiet time in my apartment.

If you aren’t familiar with Super Worm Moon that happened last night, it was special because it reaches its peak on March 20, 2019, the same day as the spring equinox. The last time the full Moon and the spring equinox coincided this closely was in March 2000. This full Moon is also a supermoon, meaning the Moon will be nearly at its closest to Earth for the month of March. It’s the year’s third (and final) straight full supermoons. This means that the Moon may “appear” brighter and bigger than normal, provided the night sky is clear and dark. For more information

This is also the Astrological New Year, when we move from Pisces season to Aries season. Shout out to my fellow Aries! This full moon is also in Venus-ruled Libra, which feels very romantic and loving, and adds an energy of romance and sensuality to the passionate and blooming energy of the equinox.

This supermoon was a great night to manifest, meditate, and reflect. I did all of that plus more. Since love and romance was in the air, I decided to pull out all of my Rose Quartz crystals and manifest the man for me. Bae is somewhere out here looking for me, but hasn’t found me yet. Lol But I’m being patient and can feel something amazing is coming soon. But really, here are some of the things I did last night for the super moon.

Cleared energy. For the first time I got a energy clearing done at my favorite holistic store. It was a interesting experience that’s supposed to clear negative energy from my body and align my chakras. I laid back and chakra stones were placed on my body and the air was cleared with sage and Kyanite. For me it felt like meditation, I went into my quiet place, relaxed, and let go of the energy from the rough day I had. When I returned home, I did some cleaning around the house, burned my favorite candles, and cleared the energy in my home with Sage.

Wire wrapping. I had the pleasure to try a wire wrapping class this week and couldn’t wait to go home and wrap some of the stones I have at home. Last night I tried my hand at wrapping a Chrysocolla stone with gold wire and I liked the way it came out. I can’t wait to wear it as a necklace. Chrysocolla is a transformation stone that inspires new beginnings and helps to purify energy fields, which increases your capacity to love. It’s also opens the throat chakra, which boosts clear communication and self-expression by drawing negativity from the body. I thought this stone was perfect for the moment cause lawd knows that’s one thing I struggle with.

The essentials for my night. Quartz, Amethyst, Rose Quartz, Selenite, Sage, Love & Prosperity charged bath salts.

Bath. Oh, how I love a great soak! The bathtub is one of my happy places. I love submerging myself into some nice hot water with my favorite bath salts and oils and just rest my tired body. Tonight, I used a combination of Love and Prosperity bath salts, a few drops of lavender oil, and Dr. Teals Pink himalayan epsom salt. It was the perfect combination to soak away all negativity and stress.

Manifest. I wrote down a lot of things that I wanted to manifest in my life this year. It was a range of things from my peace, how I will treat myself and others, love, relationships, and career. I wrote these things down and told myself that I will continue to work on these things and practice consistency when it comes to working on them.

Meditate. Since the full moon feels romantic and loving, I tried a new guided meditation track through the insight timer app for opening up to love and happiness which uses frequency 528 hz which is known as the frequency for love. It was different for me, because I normally use guided meditation for sleep and anxiety, but I enjoyed it. I meditated surrounded by a blend of crystals, including Rose Quartz, Chrysocolla, Quartz, Amethyst, and Selenite.

Prayer. I end every night with prayer. Praying and thanking God for everything I have, how far I’ve come in my journey, and continuing to bless me with the gift of life.

I slept like a baby last night after a long week of sleepless nights. My mind was free of clutter, worry, and doubt. I wasn’t overthinking and obsessing over any ole thing. For the first time in a couple of weeks, I didn’t spend my night reading a romance novel or writing countless random notes in my google docs because I was restless. Tonight was different. I was calm, at peace, and was able to fall asleep with no problem. I woke up feeling brand new and ready to share good energy with the world.

I hope you gives are having a wonderful month. Happy Spring!

As always stay royal Queens & Kings,

21 Questions To Explore For Personal Growth

I read this on another blog and loved the questions, so I wanted to share Chaz’s post with you all. The questions are great for journaling. Subscribe to lovechaz.com for more great content.

Have you ever played the game 21 questions? With yourself?

The most important relationship (after God) is your relationship with yourself. It’s important that we love, care, and respect ourselves. It’s also key that we maintain healthy dialogue with ourselves. If you can’t be real with yourself, how can you be real with anyone else?

I have a list of personal questions for you to answer. The questions are meant to encourage positive dialogue with yourself. Some questions will encourage you to show yourself love and appreciation. Some will make you focus on your weaknesses. And some will make you think about your dreams.

I recommend answering these questions in a journal so you’re able to refer back to your answers. They make good journal prompts. I talked about the benefits to keeping a journal in a previous post. My journal is sacred to me. It’s where I put my innermost thoughts, ideas, and insecurities. It is an effective outlet when dealing with the ups and downs of everyday life.

Here are 21 personal questions for you to explore in your journal.

What is an achievement that you are proud of?
What is something you admire about yourself?
What do you love about your appearance?
Why do you deserve the best in life?

The rest of the questions can be found on lovechaz.com

Best of 2018

The year is coming to a close and as always I will recap my top picks of all the music released this year. A lot of good music was released this year; so much that I didn’t really catch everything that came out. It was really impossible for me to really digest all the music that was being released. Some projects I listened to once and never got a chance to listen again. Then there’s some albums that I’ve loved after the first listen and kept in rotation. There were so many short EPs that I loved and decided to not include on this list. This list was for albums only and they aren’t in any particular order.

Rap

Victory Lap – Nipsey Hussle ( My favorite album of the year! No doubt about it!)
Daytona – Pusha T
Redemption – Jay Rock
Championship – Meek Mill
Period – City Girls
Freedom Summer – Trans Lee
Luca Brasi 3 – Kevin Gates

R&B

East Atlanta love letter – 6lack
K.T.S.E – Teyana Taylor
Saturn – Nao
Passion Like Fire – Tamia
Black Denim – Deandre
Platinum Fire – Arin Ray
The Kids Are Alright – Chloe x Halle

Honorable Mention and I mean very honorable, but she still hasn’t given us one full body of work and I’m tired of H.E.R.! Girl grace us with a great FULL body of work already. I’ve loved everything she’s put out, but give us the album! I couldn’t make a list without adding her name. Shout out to H.E.R for being simply amazing.

Favorite Songs of the Year

Boo’d Up – Ella Mai
Gonna Love me – Teyana Taylor
As I Am – HER
I’ll Take Yo man – City Girls
Dedication – Nipsey Hussle
Win – Jay Rock
Sicko mode – Travis Scott feat Drake
Nice for What – Drake
I Like It – Cardi B
Feel Like Summer – Childish Gambino
Pick Yourself Up- Big K.R.I.T.
Smile Bitch – Lil Duval

Overall, this was a great year for music. A bit overwhelming with all of the music coming out at such a rapid rate, but a great year.

What were some of your favorite albums and songs of 2018?

6 Ways to Celebrate the Holiday

The holiday is near and I love to celebrate in the best ways possible all month long. To some Christmas isn’t that special after you turn a certain age, but if you’re like me you love it either way. It’s no longer about all the gifts you’re going to get, but more about how you spend your time celebrating the holiday. Here are a few things that I enjoy doing during the holiday season.

Decorate. Turn on some of your favorite Christmas jams with some hot chocolate, eggnog, or glass of wine and it’s a party. If it’s up to me, I’d decorate the whole house. I love decorating the tree, the coffee table, the dining room table, the fireplace, anything I can place something on. I just love the whole vibe the decor brings to a space. (cues Andy Williams) It’s the most wonderful time of the yearrrrr!

Go on a Christmas adventure. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m kind of childish or just festive whatever you want to call it. But I love going to Christmas light exhibits. I love the extravagant lights and ideas that people bring to life. When I lived in the same city as my nieces and nephews, I used them as my excuse to go to a couple of exhibits during the holiday season. Now I’m just owning up to it and I’m going on Christmas adventure, childless and all. Search groupon for great deals for local events or google what’s happening in your city.

Snuggle up and watch your favorite holiday movies. There are so many great holiday movies to choose from. Grab your favorite blanket, drink, snack, and cuddle buddy and enjoy some movies. It’s always a great time. Back in my younger days (really like three years ago), my drunk friend (we all have/had one) had the bright idea of hanging Santa hat on the corner of tv and we took a shot every time the hat landed on someone’s head. The was full of laughter as we quoted every word of “Friday After Next.” And before yall say a thing, it’s a Christmas movie! One of my favorite Christmas movies too. Lol

Go to an ugly Christmas party or host one of your own. Can’t go wrong with a having a gathering with your family and friends with food and drinks. It could be a dance party, a game night, movie night, or just a chill time with friends. Either way its lit!

Spend valuable time with loved ones. My family has traditions for the holidays that we continue every year. On Christmas Eve we do Christmas crafts with the kiddos, build a gingerbread house, bake Christmas treats, drink hot chocolate and end the night watching our favorite Christmas movies. Something simple and fun and it never gets old. My brother and I used to look forward to every year and now our kids are just as excited to do it with us every year as well.

Volunteer or sponsor a family for the holidays. This is the season of giving, so give back to some people in need. Whether its at work or on your own, lend a hand. Each year my job sponsors thanksgiving dinner for over fifty families and we make over a hundred shoe boxes full of necessities for the homeless. Occasionally, I donate to toys for tots for the holidays as well. But there are so many volunteer opportunities available to help families in need for the holiday.

You can donate to food banks, toy drives, volunteer to hand out food to the homeless and less fortunate, or help a family that you personally know. Maybe you have some cousins that could use some clothes that you’re no longer wearing or dinner for the holidays. If you’re able to help someone, do it. You don’t have to pay to help someone, you can always just volunteer to help. Either way it’s appreciated.

These are just some of the few activities that I love doing during the holidays. You can’t go wrong with food,family, friends, and a bit of Christmas cheer. I hope you guys are having a wonderful holiday thus far.

I would love to hear some of your favorite things to do during the holiday season.