Thank you Stranger!

These past couple of weeks have been really crazy in my world. A lot of things have happened...really good things. Hopefully I'll be able to share it with you guys really soon. It's not that it's a secret but sometimes it's good to keep certain things to yourself, at least for a little while. OMG, I'm totally making myself curious although I know it's not that serious. This blog wouldn't be doing this well if it wasn't for all of you and I'm super grateful that you're even an itty bitty bit interested to hear what I have to say:)

I believe there is something Godly about being able to recognize people and being able to say thank you. In the midst of "hectic life", we sometimes forget the people who encouraged and supported us. Not only the people we know, but even perfect strangers.

I'm talking about you Jack:)

The other day I was doing some research for a client and in the midst of my "have to get this done asap" panic attack I called a company who I thought would be of help. An older man by the name of Jack picked up the phone and what was supposed to be a quick "hi, can you help me" turned into a 45 min conversation over the phone with someone I've never met before. He told me that his beloved Iris had passed away and he told me that he used to be an editor for a magazine during the war. I was fascinated! I kept asking him questions after questions and he seemed to enjoy answering them. He seemed to enjoy sharing what was in his heart.

Eventually I worked up the courage to ask him if I could read a paragraph from my book to him and he graciously said yes. When I was done, it was time for my feedback. I almost held my breath as I thought I would cry once he told me that he hated it...but he didn't! He loved it, and told me exactly what I had to do to get published.

Jack and I are not friends, he's not a friend of the family, nor do we go to the same church or anything of that nature, but yet he inspired me. It was a stranger that God put in my way to move and to inspire me.

I hope that all of you're dreams come true...
...so to sum it all up...

THANK YOU STRANGER!

Stealing a Baby Name//Smart or Evil?//You know who you are!

It has come to my attention that girls actually steal their friends baby names. Shady...huh...you know who you are. I find this to be interesting as this offense is ranked in a somewhat of grey-zone of crimes. However, to some it is actually close to murder. I'm serious!!

It goes a little something like this...You have a BFF (best friend forever) whom you share everything with. One day you start talking about having children and voila you commit the cardinal sin of telling her what you plan on naming your future bundle of joy, not knowing that this copy cat monster of a friend is actually taking notes....you know who you are!

Now! Who can you blame? Is it her fault that you fed her the info? Is it her fault that she lacks any type of imagination? Not really...huh? It's your fault! You where naive enough to think that she wouldn't steal your baby name.

Let's talk legal...obviously this cannot be classified as stealing intellectual property as nothing was put in writing. You're probably thinking that I'm insane for even mentioning this, but consider this a disclaimer...if there is a friend of mine out there that has baby name info (that I've provided) keep that shizznee to yourself. Not playing!! Just saying.

On that note...I love my friends:)

Passion...

...relax, not that kind of passion. I'm talking about the kind of passion that moves you. The kind of passion that guides you in the right direction, the kind that blows life into your dreams. It's what makes you dare to dream and want things that are completely and absolutely out of reach to the human eye. That's why I believe that dreams are not human, they are from God. They are thoughts and emotions that God place in our hearts. When you are truly passionate about something, nothing can stand in your way of attaining it. You simply won't let anyone or anything stop you in your quest of accomplishing your goal.  Everyone should have it...that umff, that thing!

What's your thing?

Ps. Something to think about...

Coulda, woulda...and of course, shoulda!

I just found an email I wrote myself, dated November 1st 2009. Obviously I'm not going to read what I wrote, but the subject said "I promise to..." and the email was basically a long list of promises that I made myself. As I went through the list (just now...17 minutes ago, to be exact) I realized that I have only been true to three of the promises. Three is not that bad, however, there are over 25 of these written down. I'm extremely bothered by this. I do have until I turn 30 to materialize these promises, so I have a little bit to go, but it is worrisome that I wrote them all down, sent them to myself, and forgot all about them. What is my problem??

Happy Earth Day - 'A Billion Acts of Green'

Earth Day is here!!! Finally! Just kidding, but I am kind of excited. This years Earth Day theme is; "A Billion Acts of Green". The whole idea is to encourage the people of the world to become more aware of the non friendly environmental pressure that we are putting our planet through. This is a people powered campaign created to generate a billion acts of environmental services and advocacies. If you think about it, it's actually pretty scary. I mean...if this planet doesn't work out; where do plan on moving to?? Alaska?? Newsflash, it's on this planet. I'm just saying! In honor of Earth Day, Starbucks are giving you a free coffee, all you have to do is bring a mug. Pretty cool for all you coffee addicts (Jamie Thompson).

Even my darling Pharrell is very serious about the environment. He has teamed up with the people at Bionic Yarn to create environmentally sustainable fabric. Pharrell is both owner and investor as well as the spokesperson for this two year-old textile firm based in New York. I like, I like:)

This actually reminds me of my days in undergrad when I designed dresses for Groundwork Providence. They were made out of my old vogue covers...my friend Semira and I were sweat-shopping it in our living room for days. Mama mia, she is such a good and supportive friend!

Go out there and join this movement and see what you can do.

Pharrell Williams

The ultimate Woman

Cook, clean, raise children, raise well mannered children, be modern and educated, have a career, stay beautiful, be a loving and adoring wife, mother, daughter and sister. These are some of the duties that fall upon the shoulders of a woman. It starts early as the role of a daughter and possibly a sister. As a good daughter you are to respect and obey your father and love and protect your mother, a good sister is supposed to protect the feelings of her siblings as well as offer support and encouragement. None of these are easy tasks to master. It takes conscious efforts and constant trial and error in order to become an ¨almost¨ expert.


Obviously I have these two roles down! Seriously:)


In the old days a woman's role was to stand behind her husband and she was not to have a voice. A woman who deviated from the norm was considered a somewhat disgrace and was looked upon as a ¨wild woman¨. As times changed and women gained more and more influence in society so did the rules. Girls were going to school to become, doctors, lawyers, professors, bankers and even astronauts. In our time women are running for political office and changing the world. Women such as my girl Oprah have created history and are a great source of inspiration for young girls all over the world.    


So who is the ultimate woman? 


To me the ultimate woman is a confident, strong, loving, reasonable and nurturing source of comfort. She is confident enough to not have the need to be loud and is happy leading from the back. She is strong enough to take care of her parents and siblings, the family she shares with her husband as well as her husbands family. She is strong enough to take criticism and still be hungry for more knowledge. She is strong enough to earn a university degree while maintaining a humble and non confrontational demeanor towards her husband. She is loving enough to be kind and generous towards strangers and people in need. She is loving enough to put her family's needs in front of her own and loving enough to support and respect the dreams of her husband. She is reasonable enough to be forgiving and patient. She is nurturing enough that her husband and children see her as a pillar of hope and goodness. She is a source of comfort to her friends where they lean on her for moral support and a shoulder to cry on. The ultimate woman is God fearing and leads by example.


She is Superwoman!    

My vision, my life!

As a child my parents forced me to do many things that I hated at the time; I had to go to church, I had to exercise, I was not allowed to beat my siblings, I had to eat vegetables, I had to play with my younger siblings, I had to comb my hair, I had to study...the list just seemed to be endless. I remember getting extremely frustrated and one time found myself wishing that one day my real parents, the King and the Queen would come and get me, and bring to my real home, the castle. YES, my imagination was extremely vivid, still is! Once I got older I understood why all those rules and regulations (yes, in my house we had regulations and at times even sanctions) were necessary. I truly believe that these rules were what taught me to be a somewhat of an obedient child (although I did break many rules, yes, I know oxymoron, whatever), it also allowed me to be more of a patient person, in all my relationships.


There were many times we swore up and down that we would never allow ourselves to turn into our parents and that we would never put any child through the same type of torture that we had to endure. To us they seemed so strict and unreasonable, and most importantly, so unfair. 


Fast forward about 10 years.


Although I do not have children, yet. I already know that the rules I had to obey are nothing compared to the ones that my children will have to follow, but does it really start there? Most of us have visions and dreams for our lives, some are more clear than others. Mine is to have a happy family, a loving husband, healthy and long lives for my parents, healthy and God fearing children and a career that I love. I'm not sure if I sound greedy, if so, I don't care. I think I deserve it, as all of us do. As I'm getting older I'm realizing that this is not something that one can accomplish alone. There are the obvious parts of our lives that are in God's hands...health and a long life and things of that nature. However, my vision and my dream of raising God fearing, hard-working and obedient children, that are stand-up citizens who love God first and who will grow up to change or at least affect the world in a positive way, is something that I together with the person I end up with will have to work on. 


It's my dream and vision, to share my dream and vision with someone who shares my dream and my vision, get it?! No seriously...get it? Think about it. There really isn't a point in trying to build something with someone who has a completely different outlook on life, it will most likely only lead to conflict. 


No bueno!


According to Dr. Sam Chand, ¨A great vision in a toxic culture is dead¨, I couldn't agree more with this statement. Love is wonderful, but love is not everything and if you're not careful you can fall in love with a devil. This is only to say that two people who plan on spending their lives together must share a vision and a common goal. I truly believe that this is the only way to make it work, but hey, this is just my opinion.


WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK???

Time to Say Good Bye

Dear Friends,


I’m sitting here at Starbucks across the table from M listening to Andrea Bocelli’s ¨Time to Say Goodbye¨, (no we are not spending New Years Eve here). I can’t help but to find this song to be appropriate this last day of 2010. As this year comes to its end, we would like to thank you all for your support. This is the time to hit the refresh button and to leave the old behind you in the form of amazing memories or lessons learned. It is the time to mend what’s broken, if you have yet to do so, and to create new plans and set new goals. A time for rebirth.


We wish you all a wonderful 2011, filled with blessings, love, family, new dreams and happiness. May this year exceed all of your expectations.


Although ¨Time to Say Goodbye¨ refers to lovers, moments lost and the promise of new beginnings, it speaks to us all. Learn from the past, remember it, but make sure to leave it in the past and look forward to new beginnings.


Your future is BRIGHT!


Happy New Year, we hope we will be a part of your 2011!


Love,