Seven...Seven!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!! Today I turn 27 and I am so blessed to see another year and able to celebrate it with the same loved ones from last year plus NEW ones. The best part is I feel like this is only my 17th bday!! "Age ain't nothing but a number" it's all in how you feel and I feel amazingly blessed :-)

My Yellow Book...

Beginning to jot down thoughts, ideas and burdens to get a clear vision of where I'm headed. Talking to my good girlfriend Ebony, she gave me this idea to write down everything no matter how big or small. We are putting some things together so keep a look out for "Me and My Girlfriends"!! Follow the blog as well....www.memygirlfriends.blogspot.com

iPhone!!!

I'm excited!!! My iPhone came in the mail yesterday and so far I love it! I hear people have been sleeping outside the Apple stores to make their purchases this morning. I guess that pre-sale did pay off even though it took almost 3 hours due to system glitches from the overload of orders. I've been a blackberry advocate for years and I'm going to miss it but it's time for change :-) Let's just pray this at&t service isn't as bad as people say....

Controlling Emotions VS. Being A Pushover

My mind doing what it does best...run wild, I thought about the difference between controlling your emotions and being a pushover. It's really hard when you feel you are being taken advantage of, tested or disrespected but you don't have the desire to jump off the deep end. So I posed the question on twitter and I got two interesting responses...

Lillian: its a fine line..because people tend to mistake your control 4 weakness which for some reason gives them a green light to push your buttons. As long as you're comfortable with who you are, people trying to push u to the limit won't make u question your strength or maturity but...rather prove that they have an issue, not you.

DeJonte: a pushover~ is sumone easily defeated...your emotions such as joy, sorrow, fear, love, hate are how YOU feel.. NO ONE can change that!

I thought those were a couple good ways to look at it...there is nothing wrong with being a nice person, being vulnerable (which exudes strength) and not taking everything personal. But when you feel you have had enough, it is up to you to walk away and do it with pride knowing you did everything you could in the situation and you still have your dignity because all a person can do is respect someone for moving away from something that isn't making them happy or could potentially take them out of character.

Boondocks: Added to DVR lineup!

This is already Season 3 of the Boondocks and I am just beginning to watch, I have become a big fan!! This cartoon is a social satire of American culture and stereotypes in the world. The Boondocks started out as a comic strip then turned in to this hilarious tv show, which comes on every Sunday night at 11:30 on Cartoon network.

Check it out...if this doesn't make you laugh, nothing else will! I have to look into buying Seasons 1 and 2.

I Love The Smith's: Karate Kid

So yesterday I saw the Karate Kid movie and it was so well put together and Jaden Smith did such a great job!! There were so many lessons for children as well as adults in the movie...I can't tell everything and ruin it for those who haven't seen the film but the most important lesson I got was hard work and good character will always pay off in the end. BUT until you make up your mind that you will work hard, things won't fall into place...Jackie Chan did his thing also and those fight scenes were craaazy! I know everyone put in tons of physical work and it definitely paid off. What makes it even better for the Smith family is the movie brought in $56 million on it's opening day and being as though Will & Jada were the producers.....one phrase "MONEY IN THE BANK"!!

I've always loved this Smith family, they are definitely my inspiration for my future family. Aside from the Obamas, the Smith's are one of my fave families! After their interview on Oprah I had an even deeper respect for them and the way they choose to raise their children. I never knew this but it all makes sense how they say families should set goals and everyone needs to figure out what they will contribute to the family, community and then the world. If you don't have clear goals then it's easy to get caught up in the craziness of the world. Jada & Will have so much love for one another while still being very hands on with their kids. There are lots of people who comment about them letting Willow cut her hair and dress "crazy" but I think it's kind of cool that they allow their kids to be individuals and express themselves. She spoke on this in an article in "Cookie Magazine". We all get caught up in what others think of us and let the world define what we should and should not be...then we end up trying to live out other people's dreams and become mirror images of what we think is success and end up empty and miserable on the inside.

Karate Kid is definitely a must see and the Smith's are really about to take over!!

Career Change....

#Random thought for the day...I'm in search of a new career. Thinking about my likes and dislikes and moving on from there. I know I have more to offer with the things I enjoy doing in my personal time, just thinking of a way to put them all together to pursue a new career! #prayforme

Back to daydreaming...

F.O.C.U.S.

I had to get this off my chest...why do I feel like I have A.D.D?!!? My mind is always going a thousand miles a minute and I can never seem to get a grasp on my thought process....sometimes I over think situations that are perfectly fine and I stress when I feel they are too good to be true. I just need to learn to FOCUS, keep all negative thoughts far away and enjoy every moment. I came up with an acronym for the word that I need to repeat to myself over and over every day:

Filtering
Obstructive
Conditions
Upgrading
Strength

It took me a while to come up with this but I feel it's perfect! Once you began to filter out the negative this will strengthen the mind and once the mind is in order everything else falls into place....

This is a pretty random post, it may be all over the place but for today...that's where my mind is

I had to add a painting my girl Ezee did for me! I had to put it up on my wall to remind myself whenever my mind wanders while I'm trying to do something I need to STOP AND FOCUS!

Enjoy, I'm sure there are plenty who can relate!

Miya Bailey....

Anyone who knows me can tell you I've mentioned Miya Bailey at least once in conversation. He is such a inspirational ARTIST and tattoos are just one of many avenues he uses to express himself. Miya Bailey (black & red jacket) is the co-owner of City Of Ink, based in Atlanta GA along with artist Tuki Carter (green shirt). Miya has been tattooing for over 15 years and does a damn good job!! He started out as a "scratcher" amongst a host of other "not so good" titles lol, in his hometown of Asheville, NC and evolved into the inspiring, successful artist he is today. Everything we do in life, good or bad serves a purpose! The bad surely prepares you for the good as well as allowing you to appreciate making it out of situations that others we know weren't so lucky to escape. I began following & communicating with Miya via twitter about tattoos, then I began following his awesome blog www.miyabailey.com where you get to know who he really is as an individual as well as an artist! Please check out this blog, there are tons of great posts and I'm sure there is a little something for everyone to get inspired by. His mind is amazing, just the way he views life and FREEDOM should get anyone excited to work hard and for a purpose.

As for myself, he's been an inspiration for me to work hard to become immortal, have freedom while loving everyone despite people's flaws. Although, some people have to be left behind to move forward we can still appreciate them for the lessons learned and hopefully inspire them to do better through our actions. Miya has beautiful paintings, I'm waiting for the site to get up and running so I can purchase the "Love Again" painting...crossing my fingers it hasn't already been purchased! In the near future, Miya will be publishing a book entitled "Before I'm Gone: The Art & Life of Miya Bailey" while he has also begun taping for his documentary on the struggles and lifestyles of black tattoo artists in America. He definitely has a lot on his plate while still being a family man and running his his Foundation "Inspire Your City"....

Miya and some of his City of Ink family go on tattoo tours all over the nation as well as oversees and be sure to book your appointment up to 3 months in advance or you will not get an appt! I learned that lesson when trying to get an appointment for DC but I was able to get my tattoo done by Tuki Carter and I LOVE it!! All COI artists are very talented individuals so you can never go wrong with a City Of Ink Tat...I did meet Miya while he was in DC and he was really cool, down to earth and his accent was very country! lol Tuki also has a really cool music group called Hollyweerd and I love their song "Weerdo" ....I told Tuki it reminds me of Outkast and the rapper on the second verse reminds me of Do or Die...that's "just my interpretation of the situation"

Sorry for the long windedness (yes I make up my own words at times) of this posting but when other black people are doing positive things, the light needs to be shined on it as much as possible...I hope you enjoyed it!!