Get ready for the New Year #2015...

As the year winds down, and as the holiday season is in effect...it has me thinking forwardly to what will become of 2015. A midst the presumable chaos, check out these "Four Game-Changing Morning Rituals," found on the FABULOUS site, "Howyouglow.com." --Don't wait try them now!!

Click Here for the entire post

Let me know what you are doing to get ready for the new year...or better yet, what tried and true morning rituals do you practice...

~Product Alert~

While you are at it, check out these "selfie" worthy necklaces from Dorthy Wang of Rich Kids of Beverly Hills #RKBH.  I'm loving "#2015," and "#nofilter." The site says that All chains are adjustable 15″ to 17″...

click here to "shop" the DW collections

Prices range from $28, for the original collection pieces, to $32 for the holiday collection. The site requests that you allow 7-10 business days from date of purchase for processing and shipping. 

From what I see.  "#2015," is a part of the holiday collection and ships starting the first week in DEC. DW is a reality show personality so if you want these cute items you will need to act fast!

<3...,
 Sb 

Can you commit to yourself for FIVE YEARS??

reinvention is the topic of this post.  

"Don’t look to find the end of the road when 

you are still at the very first step."

Why reinvention?...because ideas become stale, life complacent, relationships distant. the need to be more, do more, make more. the fear of stumped growth. why not reinvention?...

I googled the topic and got hooked on the first finding.  a blog by James Altucher. He is many things including writer, father, entreprenuer, blogger,...but above all he is committed to reinvention.

below is his description of how long it takes to reinvent yourself and what it looks like...

F) Time it takes to reinvent yourself: five years.

Here’s a description of the five years:

• Year One: you’re flailing and reading everything and just starting to DO.
• Year Two: you know who you need to talk to and network with. You’re Doing every day. You finally know what the monopoly board looks like in your new endeavors.
• Year Three: you’re good enough to start making money. It might not be a living yet.
• Year Four: you’re making a good living
• Year Five: you’re making wealth

Entrerenual in tone , however the post has nuggets and I've copied some below... [read entire blog post]:

A) Reinvention never stops.

Every day you reinvent yourself. You’re always in motion. But you decide every day: forward or backward. 

E) Don’t worry if you don’t have passion for anything.

You have passion for your health. Start there. Take baby steps. You don’t need a passion to succeed. Do what you do with love and success is a natural symptom.

C) You need a mentor.

Else, you’ll sink to the bottom. Someone has to show you how to move and breathe. But don’t worry about finding a mentor (see below).

D) Three types of mentors

1. Direct. Someone who is in front of you who will show you how they did it. What is “it”? Wait. By the way, mentors aren’t like that old Japanese guy in “The Karate Kid.” Ultimately most mentors will hate you.
2. Indirect. Books. Movies. You can outsource 90 percent of mentorship to books and other materials. 200-500 books equals one good mentor. People ask me, “What is a good book to read?” I never know the answer. There are 200-500 good books to read. I would throw in inspirational books. Whatever are your beliefs, underline them through reading every day.
3. Everything is a mentor. If you are a zero, and have passion for reinvention, then everything you look at will be a metaphor for what you want to do. The tree you see, with roots you don’t, with underground water that feeds it, is a metaphor for computer programming if you connect the dots. And everything you look at, you will connect the dots.

please read his entire post...nuggets I tell you.

where are you in the timeline of reinventing  yourself? would you commit to yourself for the next five years?

xo,

sb <3

The On Position...

The picture is perfect as no one is turning on the switch, it's just on.  It represents the two states of being and it does not illustrate any other person flicking the switch on, it just implies that someone has created it's current disposition.

Most importantly, it represents, my disposition.  Ideas and actions are clicking for me and the only image I could find to illustrate this feeling, is a light switch in the on position.  Here I am sitting in my dining room completing a reading assignment for work and as I am reading, expanding my mind, learning if you will, ideas begin to flow.  The ideas that begin to flow inspire me as it points to, and organizes, everything i've learned with a creative way to manifest it. It being a meeting with the respective volunteers, incase you were dying to know. As, I digress though back to the feeling...as these fibers begin to connect, the act of switching on permeates to my work agenda and then to my personal agenda.  I begin to sit here and be awakened by this invigoration...

I just thought I'd share that with you...

<3, ...

sb

"Royals"...

We crave a different type of buzz"zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Lorde!


This is a dope concoction of lyrics, sound, vibe, tone, beat, p.o.v...

1/20

<3, ...

sb

Chase is 15m and counting...

Me and My Foodie Friends...

So, one of the things I've been constantly thinking about is what to write on my blog.  Not like "what" to write, but more like what can I write that would be of shared interest and tasteful. I guess it comes with experience and getting it wrong sometimes...much like cooking...  

As for the picture ...

When I am in the kitchen it's really an experimentaion.  I know what I like and I know what I have and I try to see if it will all come together.  The above fruit and veggie mixture includes ginger, peanut butter, fresh squeezed lemon juice, mango, banana, cucumber, granny smith, sliced almonds, blueberry's and flax seeds.

Looking back, all I remember about this mixture is the fresh squeezed lemon juice.  It was a bit more tart than my usual mix.

As for the title, I don't have one friend that does not like to cook, so when I blog about those experiences, it will be under,"Me and My Foodie Friends..."

<3, ...

sb

12/31/14 : a creation...

So our first weekend in 2014 is here...

are you on track with your resolutions and goals?

where are you spending your first weekend of the new year?

what are you looking forward to?

I saw this cute hand out on "Home sweet First Home's," blog a week ago and thought to share it with you.''

you can get the pdf download here. With all the credit going to the creator of  run lucas runs' blog.

Another great thing to do this weekend is instagram's...#WHP Where  

''The goal this weekend is to capture photos and videos that symbolize your resolution for 2014. Some tips to get you started:

• Spend some time thinking about your resolutions and how you can show them creatively. Some resolutions can be captured in a very straightforward manner, but don’t be afraid to get abstract to express something more complex.
• If you’ve needed a little inspiration to get started on your resolution, use this project as a chance to jumpstart your new habits! Go visit that friend, pick up that instrument or explore that new part of town.
• Be sure to include the story and details of your resolution in your caption.''
• more details and rules are found on IG's blog, click the words below for the link.

Weekend Hashtag Project: #WHPresolutions2014

WEEKEND HASHTAG PROJECT, WHPRESOLUTIONS2014

"Happy"

                                    "...Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth,...clap along if you know what happiness is to you,...clap along if you feel like that's what you want to do..."

When I see Pharrell Williams, I don't see humble beginnings...I see him as a well established artist who works with the best.  He is a creative daring imaginative inquisitive and other soul.  I'm am truly thankful for the interviews that he does because i have never not been so inspired by one.

"Happy," should be a coke commercial...werd!

<3, ...

sb

My Top 10 Lust List...

10. Pedicure, I love getting pedicures...
09. Ciroc Peach, on rocks no chaser please...
08. 5 days of Hot YOGA Yonkers...
07. Desktop, with crazy power...nuff said
06. Tablet, Google or Apple...I am torn
05. iPhone, I am ready to take the plunge, on boost mobile that is...
04. Poster from either Holstee or Madebygirl...luv them
03. a Sick Camera, not the average point and shoot...
02. Apple TV...this is a must have on my wish list for way too long!
01. Nothing, but a connectious, infectus, expressive, and fabulous new year...

Just saying...

<3, ...

sb

I am thankful for YOU...

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I thought of you when I saw this post by Made by girl about creative date night ideas for couples.  You are  always coming up with great ideas and i wanted to contribute to you, for a change!! <smile> I must also add that I love everything about Made by girl's blog.  She is extremely creative, talented, and chic!

Today was one of those days where I woke up bursting with a desire to grow stretch-create-discover-tell-take in...live...Thank you for allowing me to be...ME!

<3, ...

sb

My favorite season...

the birds are quiet
the air crisp
The highway roars
The mind drifts
The sun peeks
People stir
New beginnings
... fall

9/6/13

<3, ...

sb

Like a kid in a candy store...

You ever pick up a book and you can not put it down...or ever download music and have it on repeat? Well, my homegirl, (shout our to SE) sent me a link to http://www.ed2010.com and I can't go to bed. Ok, well I take that back, I must go to bed, but first I want to share a little more about the site with you...

My question is, where was this site when I was in college?? Where was this site when Trace magazine handing me an "edit test,"?  All I knew was that I love magazines and had no idea how to nourish that love...oh but to answer the question, Turns out Ed2010 was conceived by Chandra (Czape) Turner in 1998- in NYC. Chandra, the website states, her friend and a group of other young editorial assistants met at happy hour to "swap secrets, and advice,"...Brilliant!!  They have now expanded to over 30 cities  (including the UK and Canada) and two dozen college campuses (note to self, make sure HU is on the list).  

The site offers EA seminars for all levels, salary info, start up guides, a glossary of editorial terms, and it's really a community as they have multi-city book clubs.  They also list a dreamy set of job posts, said to be word of mouth, that you just got to check out... "WhisperJobs™." 

Lastly, their tag line is... "NEXT STOP : YOUR MAGAZINE DREAM JOB,"...I'm DONE!!

<3, ...

sb

00.07.00

What you know about the running, the stretching
The katas, the weapons
The path, the journey
The jewels, the learning
The fear, the focus
The aches, the pains
The contact sparrin', the breaks, the sprains
The trial and error, the ranks, and belts
The spiritual growth, the science of breath
The tests, the techniques
The forms, the stances
The flow, the rhythm, the internal answers
The herbs, the healing, the quiet meditation
The truths reveal through daily dedication
The love for the art, the sweat on your shirt
The mind, the body, and the spirit at work
The feelings of failure, the hope to succeed
The battles of questions like "Should I smoke weed?"

(Verse 2)
The water, the thirst
The cleansing, the blessings
The flash of insights, the teachings, the lessons
The grappling and locking, trapping and boxing
The training and slacking
The starting and stopping
And stayin' committed, when your homies ain't with it
The hours or practice after the class is finished
The cause of your ignorance, flaws in your discipline
Broken laws of nutrition, and poor conditionin'
The vitamins and supplements
Salves and ointments
The kinships, pull joints in doctor appointments
The dues, the pads, the wraps, the gloves
The mouthpiece you left home, the taste of your own bloodThe hunger, the blocks
The punches, the squats
The crunches, the example you set for the youngsters
The will, the skills, to kill or to heal
The separation between what's fake and what's real
The laws of physics, The class "comradery"
The vows of humility, the bow, the courtesy.

ous-DeadPrez

Some self imposed sweat.........

It was about 5:23am that I started to actually run.  I felt very tight at first small steady strides, not really opening up.  I kept thinking to myself, of all my years on a track team, i've never learned how to run properly. Finally a minute or two in actually 3 minutes of me running the tightness went away. I was now throwing my weight forward with each step, my breathing was steadier and the struggle to continue or stop and walk was in full battle mode. I knew that I could definitly continue for a few more blocks, I was feeling good and but the struggle continued another 4 minutes before I gave in.  I turned around and walked back home feeling good with my AM boost. It is a start of something that is unfolding.

<3,
sb  

Kitchen Diaries: Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo w/ Spinach

Soundtrack: Pandora : Bebel Gilberto Radio (tyry)

Drink: Yellow Tail Shiraz (4 small pieces of pineapple as my ice cubes/sweetener)

Recipe Used-Addition Spinach and a dash of Dash (garlic and herb) 

Love does permeate...

Growing up with a father who absolutely loves the kitchen and a mother who is not too shabby herself, my siblings and I can not really be afraid of the kitchen, especially because we love to eat.  The only caveat was, that they cooked up a lot of complicated Island dishes.  Caveat, yes because growing up in an American culture, I wanted what everyone else was eating like baked ziti and sloppy Joe lol, not curry chicken; beef liver, and cornmeal porridge. That is actually a lie, I just wanted those dishes in addition to the Jamaican ones. (I was not deprived of good flavorful food).

Finding my own groove...

What I love most about cooking is smelling the herbs and spices, the prep, the conversations, the heat of the oven; the colors; the quantity lol, and the smiles I put on peoples faces when I am done.  In these posts you will come with me as I experiment on my favorite recipes or my impromptu dishin' (in other words meal making lol).

Why Fettuccine Alfredo, Why not?
Pasta in creamy white sauce is something I do enjoy so why not add a veggie and a protein? I've been collecting the ingredients since the weekend and right after I picked up Chase and put him in bed, I hit the kitchen.  See some pics below of the ensemble. I was able to make the dish have 3 glasses of wine and relax a bit before he woke up.

<3, ...

sb

Do it, Do it, Do it till you are satisfied ...

Rearranging my room is a constant for me. My bed has literally been against every possible wall. Now that I'm bunking with Chase, I am even more curious about how I can rearrange furniture to create the perfect habitat.

The one thing I regret though is not capturing the changes as I went along. Last Friday  I rearranged the room and I was not satisfied. Two days later, I started moving furniture, again.   The challenge was the crib/changing table placement.  My room has 4 windows (3 exaggerated bays and one flat wall), and it is advised that the crib be away from the windows.  As you will see, the crib is by the window. However, I managed to block it as much as I could.

baby area

view from front door

view from the bed

view of the desk area

view from the loveseat

view from the chaise

my version of an aerial view

I am pretty satisfied by the arrangement of my furniture and I see there are a bunch more organizational, sorting, decorating, and storing projects to busy myself with.

The first couple would be organizing that pile of clutter noticed in some of the shots, here is a close up of it below: 

<3...,
 Sb 

Top 10 Things to do before I go back to work...

Maternity Leave is OVER!  It's been about two months since Chase Austin and I have met and it is now time for Mommy and Baby to separate.  The time was well spent with my brothers wedding, my baby shower, his great grandmother visiting, his grandmother being on vacation, lots of family members around and friends visiting, and of course Thanksgiving in Massachusetts.  

It has been a nice long break. But, BEFORE I JUMP INTO THE WORK GRINDER, I'd like to entertain you (whoever you are lol) with the top 10 things I'd like to do (this weekend) before I go back to work (Monday, lol). 

1. PEDICURE (in all caps because it IS that serious).  I love getting pedicures, and I love getting pedicures at a local nail salon "Perfect Nails" (Yonkers) because for $26 you get a spa pedicure and massage up to your knees.  My favorite part is the exfoliating scrub that is included.

2. Eyebrows waxed. I am not one to inflict pain on myself, so I go to Vivian in the Bronx who really hooks a sista' up. She always does a fine job of waxing your brows to flatter your face. When my hair is not freshly done, I like to at least shape up the brow.

3. Go to the Movies. Geez, I have not been to the movies in FOREVER (May is forever to me lol). I want to see at least one of the following: Flight, SKYFALL, life of PI, silver lining! (love romantic comedy's and Love Bradley Cooper). 

4.My Laundry which I must say includes packing away the clean clothes!! (enough said, lol)

5.Yoga, I must have 20 exercise videos (thank you School Specialty, lol) and about 10 of them are yoga flicks (well they are flicks until you actually do the exercises). When I was preggo I did one prenatal class and I must say I had a nice strong bounce when I walked out of there.

6.Make another casserole  I am in the pursuit of my best casserole ever lol. A couple days ago, I made a macaroni Ziti style casserole and I was impressed!! Prep time is always enjoyable and then when it's over the house smells yummy and you can share it with everyone.

7.Count how many loose pictures I have lying around.  I've been doing some rearranging (story of my life) and I have tons of loose pictures in boxes in my room and in the basement (ok "tons" is either an exaggeration or a scary truth :-))

8. Research how to hang a collage of frames.  I said in my Team Chase Blog, that I would have this done by Christmas. I would also like to at least choose two pics I want to blow up and place the order.

9. Publish 4 more posts to this blog. I've started some posts over the last couple of weeks that I'd like to share, and I've temporarily abandoned my Kickoff Project and today is the last day of the month. Yikes!

10. Give my baby a nice Sunday Morning bath. I reserve Sunday mornings for his lavish scrubbing, lol, complete with a olive oil de-flake-er (he has cradle cap) and relaxing shampoo.

Thank you for entertaining me by reading about my Top Ten things. If you had some time off from work and did some interesting things before heading back please share, Or even if you have a comment on any of my pretty mundane list lol, I'd love to read them!

{ps. I realize I've written, "lol" 1 time too many, I actually entertain myself consider this my disclaimer,lol}

<3..., Sb 

Inspiration for your Thursday...

As much as I back, believe, support, and cosign the above statement, the thought gives me anxiety. I mean think about it, we really get to create the lives we want to live, is that not overwhelming to you? 

It's funny, I've had this conversation many times* and I guess it's necessary, because as I write/think on it further, I'm getting some great insight*. Ie:

• In this moment, I am creating my future...
• Come to think of it my future is happening anyway so why not say how it's gonna go...
• Who else would you want to create it?
• Wait, do I want to predict it? Live it? or Just see how it all goes?*

*see there, that is why it continues to give me anxiety lol all I do is think about it and while I am thinking...the clock is ticking and life is happening.

What does this statement mean to you? Or what does it have you think about? Or, what are you/have you created for yourself/your life?

<3...,
 Sb 

Kick Off Project - Photo a day Challenge

I first found out about these shenanigans from the House of Smiths, who got started by playing along in a little Instagram photo-a-day challenge in January  made by  Chantelle from Fat Mum Slim.  

Now I was thinking of starting this in December, but there is no time like the present.  Furthermore, it's not that serious if you miss a day. The point is to have fun and capture a memory a day.  

Here Goes...follow me in real time @ http://followgram.me/sh33nabee or see below :