That's So Handy

Welcome to the last month of the year. I don't know if you ran, walked, or crawled to make it to the finish line, but you made it to December 2020! This year came with A LOT , so much so, that there were many mentions of canceling the year. I don't necessarily agree with canceling a year - as if the second it becomes January 1, everything will start over with complete bliss; as if every year doesn't come with it's own set of challenges - but I feel like there's just been a consensus of tiredness because most of the events this year were beyond us individually; it was worldwide! Yet on top of what happened collectively, some people still had to deal with their own individual losses. To say the least, 2020 was a year! This week, I watched the latest episode of Grey's Anatomy. No spoilers, but kudos to the show for bringing to light many of the issues that have been magnified during this pandemic. I felt so seen and validated. Who truly knows how much this virus af...

Gobble Gobble! This past week we celebrated a holiday which, like many others, is known for getting together with family and friends to eat, watch sports, eat, play games, and eat some more. Thanksgiving looked a little different this year for many of us. Some had to face the day knowing that their loved ones are no longer with them. Some were working and couldn't really see family and friends. Some are still missing their kidnapped family members. Others couldn't see family and friends because they wanted to take precautions due to Covid. There is so much happening and so I think we all can agree that there were many reasons to NOT   be grateful this Thanksgiving. This season is a time to think about your blessings, yet of course, sometimes in life there are situations that tend to overshadow the holidays.  So here I am, with an amazing life, but it can feel pretty unamazing sometimes, with the busyness of raising a toddler and infant, sadness from missing my friends and...

Another week has passed and to sum it up, it was hectic to say the least (emotionally mostly). Along with all the regular tasks that to be seem never-ending, I also had the mental battle of feeling like a failure because I can't keep up with everything that I had planned. Lately I've been feeding off of the thought that if it doesn't all  work, then I can't accept just some  of it working. It just seems like if I can find time to do some , I should be able to find time to do all . A few of my goals are to read the Bible and pray daily, workout 5 days a week, keep up with my weekly cleaning schedule, write daily, and do daily activities with my toddler. There is so much more on the list but consistency with just these items alone have seemed impossible. I've been a stay-at-home mom since December 2019 and you would think that this list was just the bare minimum of what I should naturally be doing. But the truth is that things have been challenging and instead of reas...

I went into Food Lion this week and a woman was with her daughter walking in as I was coming out. Her daughter had on a mask but she did not. I paused and kind of looked at her with a confused look. When she got to the doorway, she realized she didn't have her mask on so she walked to the side of the building and reached in her purse to retrieve it. Another time, there was a young man I knew in front of me at the register. He didn't have a mask on at all. I gave him a second look and just kept my distance. This is part of our "new normal". Don't forget your keys, wallet, cell phone, mask! When a mask is forgotten, or when it's not quite covering you the way it's supposed to, you might just get a funny look from others around you. We've been mandated to wear masks, we've been instructed on how to wear it. We've been informed on what types are the most effective. However, with all of this comes a variety of interpretation .  What was said? "...

Last Sunday, I set out to do something I had never done before and it was one of the hardest things I've ever done in my 35 years of living.  I STARTED JUICING One week later, during my self-reflection, three thoughts became prominent: Make every effort to take care of your health. You can do ANYTHING you put your mind to. Don't go back to something you already came out of. My husband has juiced before and has been successful with it. But anytime he made a juice for me, I would drink it with a meal. He told me that the juice was supposed to be a meal replacement. I never joined him with his juicing because substituting a drink for food didn't make sense to me at all. I loved food way too much and didn't understand how just juice could possibly be enough. So why juice now?  Well, I eat a lot. More specifically, I snack ALL the time. In middle school, I was called Big Hungry. I would eat snacks in class, on the bus, everywhere. If there was food, Big Hungry was eating it....

I was blessed to be able to celebrate turning 35 this past Wednesday! Here I was starting a new chapter, and the next day was the start of a new month. For some reason, I felt a sadness start to creep in and I can't even give a viable reason for why it happened. Thursday was a busy day that took a toll on me emotionally. It started out with anxiety and progressed quickly to irritability. That morning, I took my infant to the doctor for his two-month checkup. At the appointment, I was given a form to fill out which asked questions about my mental health since having the baby. I answered honestly about my feelings and the doctor consequently asked me if I'd thought about talking to a counselor or therapist. I definitely have. Not even because of having a baby, but just because of life. I had seen therapists/psychiatrists before including in college and even while working as a teacher. In recent years, I hadn't made it a priority although it could have been beneficial. My husb...

If you're like me, one of the first things that you do when you wake up in the morning is check Facebook. It might not be the very first thing, but it's on the list. We all know the question asked right when you open the app: "What's on your mind?" I want you to think about what has been on your mind/ heart. The thing that you've been longing for but have used every excuse weighing on you as to why you can't have it. Imagine if you just went for it with no inhibitions; what's the worst that could happen? I didn't need to wait for 2020 in order to understand that life is unpredictable. But the year has still been an eye-opener to finally put some aspirations into action and prayerfully this will be the time that I stick to them. The time is now! All the gifts, all the dreams. Put it into action NOW! All the goals, work on them NOW! I have quite a few things that are in the works; one of them is creating a healthy lifestyle. Over the past few years, ...

Black Panther was one of my favorite movies because I felt like I didn't have to have all the background Marvel knowledge in order to enjoy it. It was just a great movie by itself. I've never been into the comics and such, which brings me to the main reason why I thoroughly respected Black Panther. Growing up, you didn't have to be a comic-head in order to be aware of Spider Man, Super Man,  Batman, Wonder Woman, so many characters. Not often was it common to mention the Black superheroes; even in fiction we were marginalized . So when this movie was due to air in theaters, Black people showed their culture. And I'm sure we got on people's nerves but it's pretty natural to represent when you're represented. During "rep your city" segments, when the mc, host or deejay calls out where you're from, you make noise. When your alma mater is shouted out, you make noise. Even at graduation, when you're name is called, your section of family and fr...

 Apparently, this past week encompassed National Rainbow Baby Day!🌈 So often I think about the child my husband and I lost, especially now that we've just had our second baby. Even though I miss the child and I still feel sad sometimes, I can't help but praise God through it because there was a reason we weren't supposed to carry the child to term. Who knows what the reason was but I know God is in control and even if the only purpose was so that I learn to lean on God through the bad times, there was a purpose. I am learning to praise God through everything. Like for real. Do you ever think about life and the fact that we are all here for a purpose? If no one ever told you, let me tell you that God has purpose for you, and that is to bring Him glory! In good times and bad times, we are to bring God glory. If this time at home during the pandemic has taught me anything, it's that bringing glory to God means that my character matters! ALL THE TIME! It matters! In a worl...

How are you doing? My husband and I have been asked this question very often lately. Today we had a real conversation and I found it interesting being two Black people with two different experiences, processing recent events two different ways being that we grew up in very different parts of Maryland. His answer to how he's doing includes being okay, sad, just living, being kind of numb; this is nothing new. One thing that stuck out to me in the conversation was him saying, "isn't this life?". See, he's experienced living in an environment where the majority of the people around were white. To him, white people always had the upper hand. He's experienced being the only Black student in class. Most of the Black kids were looked at as not good enough. If they were smart, they were "acting white". Not much was expected from them. Success was like a miracle. You had to work three times as hard just to be looked at as half worthy. He learned a lot ab...

We are in a pandemic...It's clearly, the perfect time for a nice getaway! I'm kidding. STAY HOME!! Listen, some of you might be like me where you are completely enjoying this time to not have to go so much. There's a blessing in the fact that my husband hasn't had to leave to go to work, or stay late to finish work or attend meetings. We haven't had to send our child to daycare. Our weekends are completely free. My family has just been home loving each other and spending time with just us! I love it. Time together has been rejuvenating. Of course this means that "me-time" has been very limited. There's always something to be done; not just as a wife and mom, but as a person in general. Cooking, clean-up, catching up with family or friends, work. Something always needs your attention. Which warrants the perfect time for a getaway... The shower! This place is my getaway. Crystal, are you saying that you actually hideout in your bathroom some...

HBO's series Insecure is one of my favorite shows. It's one that I have gone back and binged from the beginning multiple times. We are a few episodes into season four and I don't know how y'all are feeling but my heart is tugged on every single week. It's dealing with various topics but the one that's hitting me the most is the intricacies of friendship. I get chills every week being reminded of some of my own thoughts that I've been having lately in life. It's not exactly the same but there are many similarities. It's so familiar seeing them deal with the changes that are happening and watching them handle it differently. I am loving this season and excitedly wait each Sunday night for the next episode. There are so many thoughts that I decided to just write a blog post... So let's talk about Molly.  I've had my issues with her in prior seasons. While the two characters are genuinely friends, I feel like Molly is the one who seeme...