& Hello Again

And so I return... 5 months later and its only because I've started writing for someone else's blog... I've always dreamed of becoming a "serious" blogger. With important idea and read worthy opinions. Then I realize my life IS actually read worthy. The random thoughts I have make me chuckle on the regular. I know the things I think about and encounter are interesting. Its just the effort of coming to this site, typing and trying to make sense of it all. But I'm starting to get over that hang up and telling myself to just try harder. With all of that said, this (as I) is a work in progress.

Still here...

Smoking and drinking. Such a cool kid.

10 months ago...

I can't believe 10 months ago... at 12:10pm, I was laid out in the recovery room at Washington Hospital Center, looking at my new little baby. Its almost surreal how fast one year can go. I remember his birth like it was literally yesterday.
Its amazing all the things he has learned in 10 months. Just a few months ago, he was a helpless little person who needed me to do everything for him. Now, of course he still needs me, but his independence is amazing to watch. How he is learning to manipulate his environment, how he's learning to communicate with the world around him. Its been a blessing to have this little boy in my life.

Tunes Tuesday

My new favorite song... Mercy.

Swerve

A Journey To Natural: THE HUMIDITY!!!!!

As I sit here, admiring this lovely Memorial Day weekend. The sun and heat that I love has returned to the DMV and I'm beyond ready to step out to barbeques and pool parties. And who doesn't love happy hour bar hopping when its 80 degrees as the sunsets? I'm all about that life. Unfortunately, my un-relaxed hair is feeling some type of way about my lifestyle choices. I'm stuck. I really hate how I have to spend so much time to get my natural leave out nice, just to step outside and poof up. From my house to my job, I'll clock in looking as if I have a little poodle sitting on my head. Its annoying. However, I will not let a little humidity make me stray from my goals. While I write this, I'm researching different products for us natural girlies that can control some of the "poof". I've experimented with different edge control products to see if I can keep the hair laying down, but after some time I always get some poof. I'm considering doing a full weave or closure but I didn't necessarily want to pay the price, so over the next couple of hot weeks, I'll be reviewing several products to see which ones work best for me.
Mizani's Spradiance
Chi Silk Infusion
Sabino Block (maybe called Loc & Bloc)
Garnier Frutis Anti Frizz Serum
Mane N Tail Hair Dressing.
I'm praying I find the best one first, I refuse to have to suffer the poof all summer. I failed to mention that I re-installed my Brazilian hair last week. I'm actually very pissed off about the quality of this hair. I have TONS of shedding and its barely holding curls. I guess this was a lesson learned. I will never purchase hair from the girl that supplied these bundles. However, this was a great hair to experiment with. I was able to go on a crash course, if you will, on how to care for "higher quality" hair before I went on a big splurge. I do plan on purchasing 3 bundles (praying for 2 18' and 20' ) of Malaysian in the near future. I'm currently looking for a RELIABLE vendor. There are so many different hair vendors in this hair market, who can you trust?
Any recommendations???
Look out in the near future for a Vlog entry on the products.

U-try-it Recipe: Jerk Chicken

Who gets tired of chicken? Me. I absolutely despise chicken sometimes. I've been searching for recipes to make chicken less... boring. Here's a spin of Jerk Chicken. Not too spicy with a little sweet twist. I love this chicken!

Ingredients

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
10-20 pieces of chicken
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions

Make the jerk rub by combining the salt, allspice, brown sugar, onion powder, garlic, nutmeg, pepper, ginger, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and thyme. Toss the chicken pieces with the spice mixture, then cover, and marinate in the refrigerator 2 to 4 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Pour the vegetable oil into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Place the chicken pieces skin-side up into the baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour 20 minutes, until no longer pink near the bone. Turn the oven on to broil, and cook until the skin crisps, 2 to 5 minutes.

Here is the chicken after I marinated it for 4 hours... this is the most important part!!!

yummmmmmmmmyyyy!! It smells sooo good coming out of the oven

I served the chicken with cabbage ( Click here for my recipe for the cabbage ), rice (box brand) and cornbread. Dinner was a delicious and it was great to take to work.

Recipe was found at Allrecipes.Com

Prom 2012

My little cousin Qishawn went to her prom Friday, May 11. I had the pleasure of testing my "makeup artist" skills on her. She took me through the MOTIONS preparing for this prom, but what high school senior isn't excited about their prom. I think I almost committed suicide because my dress wasn't finished being sewn until three days before. Qishawn looked beautiful and I was proud to be apart of her night.

First I used my MAC "spiked" eyebrown pencil to fill in her brows. She had her brows waxed earlier that day but didn't like the look. I actually had to persuade her to let me do them. After much back and forth, she finally let me. I used MAC concealer to make the brow pop and she supplied her own foundation. For her eyes, I placed MAC "Aquadisiac" about 3/4 of her lid. I applied MAC "Sketch" in the outer V of her lid. I used a 252 large shader brush to apply both shadows. I used a 224 tapered blending brush to blend the Sketch into the Aquadisiac. I used MAC "Dazzlelight" to highlight the brow. For her lip I used NYX "Gold Pink" megashine lip gloss. She loved her look... my family almost lost it when they laid eyes on her. I am NO WAY a makeup artist... but I enjoy the transformation process. Seeing her face after she saw how I worked made me feel good inside. Makeup has become a hobby and I hope to continue to make others feel as good as she did on her night.