Second Hiatus

Sorry for the second hiatus everyone. That is what happens when you get really busy with life sometimes!

I'm Back!: Dating Advice

So I took my hiatus and now I'm back and for my first blog coming back I'm going to answer a question I received from someone, who, because they want to be anonymous will be referred to as Emily. Emily asked this question.

"I had a relationship with this guy over a year ago. I was not allowed to date at that point and I ended up going through a  tumultuous with my parents and had a severed relationship because of that. He did me dirty several times but I'm having trouble getting over him. What should I do?" I want an unbiased opinion."

Taking a Hiatus

I'm taking a blogging hiatus everyone. I'll be back soon! Thanks for everyone who has and/or will drop by, I appreciate it.

Jack the Giant Slayer

So last night I had a date night and I went to go see 'Jack the Giant Slayer'. So here is just my quick opinion on what I thought of it without giving too much away. On a slightly digressive note though, my last date night movie I watched was 'Warm Bodies' so I just I'm on a Nicholas Hoult kick lately! Moving on now.

One thing I want to say about this movie is while a lot of the special effects were beautifully done I feel. It was definitely overkill and it felt like when I watched the movie that it relied too heavily on special effects, similar to a lot of new movies lately. I didn't see it in 3D either but that, like other 3D movies as well are unnecessarily in 3D. Focus on the story more people and you can have a great movie!

Black History Month Quote of the Day: Day 28

"Everything's the same; I'm living with cancer and it's not going to stop me. But until you really test yourself and challenge yourself, I don't think you quite know."
Robin Roberts

Black History Month Quote of the Day: Day 27

"We should emphasize not Negro History, but the Negro in history. What we need is not a history of selected races or nations, but the history of the world void of national bias, race hate, and religious prejudice."
Carter Woodson

Black History Month Quote of the Day: Day 26

"I really don’t think life is about the I-could-have-beens. Life is only about the I-tried-to-do. I don’t mind the failure but I can’t imagine that I’d forgive myself if I didn’t try."
Nikki Giovanni

Black History Month Quote of the Day: Day 25

“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.”
Arthur Ashe

Black History Month Quote of the Day: Day 24

"Associate yourself with people of good quality, for it is better to be alone than in bad company."
Mary McLeod Bethune

Black History Month Quote of the Day: Day 23

"A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives"
Jackie Robinson

Black History Month Quote of the Day: Day 22

"I felt that one had better die fighting against injustice than to die like a dog or rat in a trap. I had already determined to sell my life as dearly as possible if attacked. I felt if I could take one lyncher with me, this would even up the score a little bit."
Ida B Wells

Black History Month Quote of the Day: Day 21

"Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed."
Booker T. Washington

Black History Month Quote of the Day: Day 20

"Don't let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity. It's your place in the world; it's your life. Go on and do all you can with it, and make it the life you want to live. "
Mae Jemison

Black History Month Quote of the Day: Day 19

"I've always been multi-cultural myself. I'm not black and I'm not white and I'm not pink and I'm not green. Eartha Kitt has no color, and that is how barriers are broken."
Eartha Kitt

Black History Month Quote of the Day: Day 18

"I don't want a black history month. Black history is American history." 
Morgan Freeman

Black History Month Pic of the Day: Day 17

[2008 Victory Speech] “If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer”
Barack Obama

Black History Month Quote of the Day: Day 16

"I am not tragically colored. There is no great sorrow dammed up in my soul, nor lurking behind my eyes. I do not mind at all."
Zora Neale Hurston

Black History Month Quote of the Day: Day 15

“We wanted confrontation, nonviolent confrontation, to see if it would work… Not just for Birmingham – for the nation. We were trying to launch a systematic wholehearted battle against segregation, which would set the pace for the nation.”
Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth

Black History Month Quote of the Day: Day 14

"I have learned not to worry about love; but to honor its coming with all my heart."
Alice Walker

Black History Month Quote of the Day: Day 13

 "The battles that count aren't the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself—the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us—that's where it's at." 
Jesse Owens

Black History Month Quote of the Day: Day 12

“Keep working hard and you can get anything that you want. If God gave you the talent, you should go for it. But don't think it's going to be easy. It's hard!”
Aaliyah

Black History Month Quote of the Day: Day 11

"There's so much negative imagery of black fatherhood. I've got tons of friends that are doing the right thing by their kids, and doing the right thing as a father, and how come that's not as newsworthy?"
Will Smith

Black History Month Quote of the Day: Day 10

“It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.”
Maya Angelou

Black History Month Quote of the Day: Day 9

 "I'm very proud to be black, but black is not all I am. That's my cultural historical background, my genetic makeup, but it's not all of who I am nor is it the basis from which I answer every question." Denzel Washington

Black History Month Quote of the Day: Day 8

"'We, the people.' It is a very eloquent beginning. But when that document [the Preamble to the US Constitution] was completed on the seventeenth of September in 1787 I was not included in that 'We, the people.' I felt somehow for many years that George Washington and Alexander Hamilton, just left me out by mistake. But through the process of amendment, interpretation and court decision I have finally been included in 'We, the people.'" Barbara Jordan

Black History Month Quote of the Day: Day 7

"We have become ninety-nine percent money mad. The method of living at home modestly and within our income, laying a little by systematically for the proverbial rainy day which is due to come, can almost be listed among the lost arts. "
George Washington Carver

Black History Month Quote of the Day: Day 6

"Music makes us want to live. You don't know how many times people have told me that they'd been down and depressed and just wanted to die. But then a special song caught their ear and that helped give them renewed strength. That's the power music has."
Mary J Blige

Black History Month Quote of the Day: Day 5

“I am America. I am the part you won't recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me.”

Muhammad Ali

Black History Month Quote of the Day: Day 4

“Not a day goes by that I don’t think of Richard and our love, our right to marry, and how much it meant to me to have that freedom to marry the person precious to me, even if others thought he was the ’wrong kind of person’ for me to marry. I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom to marry. Government has no business imposing some people’s religious beliefs over others, especially if it denies people’s civil rights.”
Mildred Loving

10 Artists I Want Back Now!

I think every music fan probably has that artist or group they just wish would make another album so badly because its been years since they stopped making new music or broken up. Well I have 10, of course I can probably name more but these were just a few off the top of my head. By the way you can probably tell my general age based on some of these choices I have! In no particular order:

1) Destiny's Child (The Original Lineup): First I want to just say when I found out they would be coming back together I was happy but highly ticked off when I found out it was only a compilation album and one new song. Also on an off topic side note, I feel Beyonce always got the most parts and Kelly second and Michelle third however I always felt Kelly had a better voice on some songs than Beyonce and should've gotten more leads and Michelle to me always had the best part in any song she was in (ex 'If' and 'Stand Up for Love'). Anyway coming off that digression I just want a new album or I'd even settle for one song from the original Destiny's Child lineup of LaTavia, LeToya, Kelly and Beyonce. Even better yet putting their differences aside and having every past member come together for one song!! However though, I know it is a lofty ambition but I can dream can't I?

Black History Month Quote of the Day: Day 3

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you."
B.B. King

Black History Month Quote of the Day: Day 2

"Can I just tell you, I think it's the most beautiful thing about young people today, it gives me so much hope for the future, that they don't really recognize race the way my generation does."  Viola Davis

WorkoutBuddyX Final Results:30 Days

So I'm coming down to my final couple days of doing the WorkoutBuddyX program. I had my doubts in the beginning because it wasn't a big name brand like P90x or Insanity or Zumba or anything. However I was highly impressed with the workouts. They have difficulties for all body types, so if you're in decent shape you would try level 2 or 3. If you're just starting off you can do the level 1 workouts. One thing I was bummed about was not reaching my goal. I ended up having a bunch of things happen in my life that stopped my results from being what I wanted them to be. I will say this though, I ate some terrible and unhealthy things during this program but I still did the program and while I didn't lose the weight I wanted I can honestly say I never gained weight. So I will attest to the idea that this program is good with getting the metabolism going and keeping me from gaining weight which was good.

So in the end of this all I lost a whopping 3 pounds. The only person I can blame for not getting the results I wanted was myself. So I started at 185 and I'm now at 182 pounds. Not the biggest success but I still made some progress so I'm happy overall. If you want to try the program visit the WorkoutBuddyX website you can try their elite fitness program, free for 7 days.

I highly recommend this program for anyone who just wants to get fit and lean and not ripped and muscular. Easy to follow moves that give you a good sweat by the end. Its a home workout so no pressures from the gym or feeling self conscious about working out in front of people. You don't have to worry about finding expensive weights to use, just take a couple of jugs and fill them with water and you can do it. So go out and set your goals and try this program out. If someone like me can do it with all the chaos and bad eating habits I have, you can too and probably do even better than me.

Links:
WorkoutBuddyX 7 day trial
Official Facebook

Black History Month Quote of the Day: Day 1

Every year I feel there is less and less celebration of Black History Month. So I always try to do something, even if its the smallest thing to show some participation. I do this on my own personal Facebook account but I'd like to blog about this idea as well and that is a picture a day along with a quote by an African-American (last year I did a picture a day along with a little fact). Not all of them necessarily are directed at the African-American community. Some are just funny, some are quotes to live by etc. So to start of this month heres a quote by former football player and current politician Lynn Swann.

"This being Black History Month, I would like to ask people to celebrate the similarities and not focus on the differences between people of color and not of color."

Emmy Rossum 'Sentimental Journey' Album Review

So today I got the chance to have a sneak peak preview of Emmy Rossum's second album, 'Sentimental Journey'.  Rossum is also an acclaimed actress who currently stars in the Showtime series Shameless with William H. Macy. She also stars alongside Emma Thompson and Viola Davis in the upcoming feature film Beautiful Creatures, which hits theaters on February 13th. To me personally I always feel like 95% of actors should stick to acting and never try to release music, same goes for musicians who want to act. Emmy Rossum manages to be the 5% I approve of to do both.

Sentimental Journey has Emmy singing cover's of old school tunes. The three standout tracks on the album for me were 'Pretty Paper', 'Summer Wind' and the title track 'Sentimental Journey'. One can grow tired of listening to dub step and auto tune music, its good to get some traditional pop sounds in my head. I'm probably going on a limb here but I'd even like to think she's the female version of Michael Buble with her music.

'The Following' Pilot Review

Last night I saw the series premiere of the FOX show 'The Following'. I am definitely going to be watching this show every Monday. I won't give away anything because I really want you to enjoy the show but every bit of the first episode was intense. To forewarn though, I will say it does have a lot of violence and gory scenes but if that is something you can get past then definitely watch this show.

To sum up what the show is about; it stars Kevin Bacon as a retired FBI agent who is brought back to help on the manhunt to capture an escaped serial killer. The serial killer, played by James Purefoy, has the creepiness of Hannibal Lecter from 'The Silence of the Lambs' and this cult like control over people like Charles Manson. After the killer escapes from prison its not only him they worry about, they worry about him having this creepy control over people and having them carry out his demented and eerie murders.

My first concern when I first heard of the show is that it seemed like a type of scenario that would be best made into a movie but after watching the first episode I'm highly curious and excited to see how the season will play out. One thing about the show I feel they did a good job doing is giving the viewer the idea that this could actually happen. The idea that a person can have this control over someone and the person they control could be an everyday, average looking person but in reality at the whim of a cult leader can kill. If you missed the pilot episode, click here to watch it online at fox.com

Landshark Video (Warning Salty Language In The Video LOL)

This is just a funny and admittedly very stupid video I suggest you watch if you like random humor.

Workout Buddy X: Day 7

Today I am on day 7 of my 30 day Workout Buddy X program. Now, I will not lie and tell you I followed this strictly because I am human and I have flawed moments, however, I try my best to do as much of the program as possible. Today was supposed to be the rest day for me but yesterday I didn't have time to get my workout in so I switched my rest day with my 'Yoga-Ville' day. I must say, I am not as flexible as I use to be and this was a struggle but I try my best and I hope to gain some flexibility out of this. Since my last post about WBX, I've done 'UFFC' 'Core Strength 2' and 'Total Body Evolution' workouts, each to me harder than the last. I bust out a good sweat doing these and I got 23 more days to kick it into high gear. Already I feel my body getting stronger. I was going to tell you all how much I weigh today since it is a week after starting but my results probably aren't that good since I went to IHOP for all you can eat pancakes one day this week (never do that when you're trying to lose weight). So tomorrow is another cycle of workouts wish me luck, the program is excellent it is just up to me to put an effort into it.

Workout Buddy X: Day 2

Well it is day 2 of my 30 day Workout Buddy X program. Today I was given the workout 'Core Strength Agility' to do and I thought doing 'Total Body Interval' was hard but doing this one was tough. I think it is because I never usually workout this hard 2 days in a row so I'm not use to it. I did stick with the workout though from start to end. I attempted to stay between the level 2 and 3 workouts which were the more intense versions of the workout but I just couldn't but I think it is better to at least keep going and not stop once which is what I did.  I feel the pain but I'll hopefully be worth it in the end!

Workout Buddy X: Day 1

Well it is a new year and I'm ready for a new start. One of my goals is to tone my body, last year I managed to go from 235 to 183/185 pounds (I fluctuate up and down two pounds usually) and now for 2013 my goal is to tone up and get to a nice 170/173 range. So today I started the Workout Buddy X 30 day program and to see what it does for me.

First a little about Workout Buddy X, directly from the website WBX describes its program as:

"...the first and only online service that fully integrates technology, science, support, social media, tracking with personal training. We call it the 3 T's and 3 S's. The result is a revolutionary fitness platform that delivers highly effective, interactive, and socially rewarding weight loss experience!  In reality, losing weight is hard, especially if you are going it alone.  This is why we go a few steps beyond in every aspect to provide the most effective, and "ACHIEVABLE" weight loss solution for people of ALL FITNESS LEVELS."

Contact Lenses and Glasses: My 3 Month Mission

This may come across as a rant post, and what I have to say to that is... yes I am ranting a little. I have been spending the last 3 months of my life looking for the perfect glasses for myself and to get new contact and eyeglass prescriptions. In this long and 'so ridiculous its kind of funny' process I have quite honesty, learned more information about how to choose the right pair of glasses than I wanted to know. Despite the fact I am still without any glasses of my own.

In trying to do something as simple as going to an eye appointment proved excessively difficult. I'm not insured for vision to start off with (even if I was on my parents insurance I wouldn't get any good deals anyway, which is another rant for another time!) so I'm paying for everything out of pocket. I tried going to Wal-Mart because everyone said it was low cost, however, me being the penny pincher college student that I am, I tried looking for other places. So I searched and searched and came upon this local place that does it for like $20 but to my high disappointment I found out last minute they only do an eye examination but do not give you a prescription, which was my whole point of going anyway. I went back to the drawing board after that, and through a coarse of events, including price comparing at Lens Crafters and Pearle Vision and trying to get a student discount, I finally decided to cave in and go to Wal-Mart, however the customer service is crappy and there doctor was never around, even when I tried to go reschedule at different nearby cities. After all that hassle I decided to say screw it and go to whoever will take me first and at the cheapest price.