LundenTown

 These messages really resonate with me. More and more this fall I have been aware of what is truly important. It's really time to start investing in myself. Learning the value of minding my own business has been powerful. Taking care of me professionally and staying out of everyone's personal stuff is critical to my development. It's time to really stay quiet and remain observant. I'm looking for leaders and every opportunity to groom myself. Playtime is over!







1 – You are stronger, more creative and more capable than you realize. Smarter, too.
2 – Hard work will never go out of style and ultimately, never let you down.
3 – Love who loves you. Surround yourself with people who support you, believe in you, and encourage you to be great.
4 – Content will always be king, and consistence is crucial.
5 – Be genuine. Know yourself. Life is too short to pretend to be anything you’re not.
6 – Self care is essential and should be intentional. You have to take care of yourself before you can truly, effectively take care of business.
7 – Recognize the value of your work, but operate from a center of integrity. Your values and your moral compass are priceless.
8 – Develop your own voice, find pride in originality. Comparing and copying will only hold you back from actualizing your true greatness.
9 – Love learning. Never stop learning. Don’t be afraid to learn new things. Don’t be afraid to admit that you don’t know everything.
10 – You have the power to change your own life. The first step? Get out of your own way.

10 Realizations I’ve Had About Being In Your 30’s
1 – Everything you’ve experienced has made you who you are today. All of the past hurts and friends you’ve lost and mistakes you’ve made. You can either let those past mistakes be a burden, or you can learn and grow from them. Choose the latter. It will set you free.
2 – If you were one of those people who had a mental checklist of things you needed to accomplish by 30…you may find that you haven’t yet accomplished them. It’s up to you to be OK with that. If you’re finding yourself approaching 30 or in your 30’s with dreams deferred, you probably know what you need to do to achieve them. You can either work towards making them happen, or continue to let them gather dust. Life circumstances can prevent you from doing things your heart has been set upon. Being an adult means dealing with that, but not letting those circumstances paralyze you into permanent inaction.
3 – You have to find your identity and find your own happiness. I hear so many people say turning 30 was a turning point, where they finally knew and came to terms with who they were. Some people figure that out earlier than others, but by your thirties the Jell-O mold that is your personality should have pretty much set.
4 – Just by making it to age 30, you’ve outlived some incredibly famous people, including Aaliyah, Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Heath Ledger, Tupac, Biggie, Amy Winehouse, Garnett Silk and Otis Redding. If you make it to 35, think of who you’ve outlived – Donnie Hathaway, Sam Cooke, Chris Farley, Bruce Lee. Marilyn Monroe and Bob Marley only made it to age 36. Look at what they accomplished in their brief lifetimes. Now you’ve lived that long and then some. Thinking about that lets me know how much life you can live in a short time. It reminds me that I’ve got further to go and more of an impact to make. Just kinda puts it in perspective, kinda.
5 – Your concept of “old” needs to change. Remember when 30 seemed so old? And now here you are.Guess what? 40 isn’t old either, and it’ll come up on you faster than you realize. Nothing to be scared of. Just something to prepare for.
6 –  By now you know what you should be doing to take care of your health. You’ll notice, things change. Things you used to be able to take for granted, you can’t anymore. You don’t lose weight as easily. Your skin may need more attention. When you get sick you don’t bounce back from it right away the way you used to. You find that you really do need to eat better, drink more water, and exercise regularly. Whether or not you’re actually doing these things, is another question.
7 – Being in your thirties means less time to care about things that might have really gotten under your skin in the past. That petty friend who said that mean thing, that stupid guy who didn’t call you back – what used to be a grievous wound of the heart is now like you skinned your knee or got a mosquito bite. You heal quicker. You’ll find that you have less time for drama and less inclination for heartbreak. Time and experience toughens you up.
8 – You start realizing life is too short to be left with regrets. You start living life on your own terms, and taking action to achieve your goals. You can see the sand trickling through the hourglass and you get that someday, there won’t be as much sand. You realize now is the time to plan for your future and get off your butt. Things that seemed really far away – like retirement – are closer than you realize, and now’s the time to prepare for all of that.
9 – You have a greater perspective on the circle of life. In this window of my life, my friends are getting married, becoming parents, becoming first time home owners – all great things! And there are people I know who are dealing with medical issues of their own, or of their kids, or of their parents. This is a time when you find yourself dealing with life’s ebbs and flows, losses and gains. The need for maturity hits you when you least expect it.
10 – When you weren’t looking or paying attention, you became an adult who is more capable, wise and ready for the world than you may give yourself credit for. You’ve come a long way, and you’ve got further to go!

As you may have learned, I'm all about the DIY! I've wasted money in the past on fancy gym memberships and I'm no longer interested in hustling backwards. I lost a ton of weight one year just by changing some eating habits and working out about 20 mins. a day with the help of YouTube and my Spotify playlists! 



 Here are a bunch of people I follow on instagram for every time I want to stop, drop and cardio!
Who are your fave online fitness gurus? 



 
Keaira Lashae @keairalashae

 
Mankofit (@massy.arias)


Nic B @getfitwithnic

  
@squatvideos

I've gone back and forth on regimens throughout my 8-year natural hair journey. Right now, it is shoulder length and free of chemicals. I keep heat away from my hair for 6 months out of the year. The other half of the year (colder months), I straighten it from time to time. I usually have to cut off some heat damage, leaving my hair always around the same length.

I've come to notice my growth spurts occur when I am eating clean and washing my hair with mud. Thus, I have gone back to mud-washing. More on that later. I also use organic apple cider vinegar when I wash. I co-wash my hair with conditioner on the weeks that I do not mud-wash. I also deep condition every week that I remember my hair. I make my own oil mixtures for deep conditioning and styling. I try to use best practices for detangling and sleeping. I wish I took care of everything else in my life, the way I take care of my hair!  Working on it!


Here are a bunch of pics of my best hair days!

Been searching around my desk for my journal. Can't find it and I need it. Reading Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg. She is the CCO of Facebook. I'm reading an anecdote about a girl who grew up poor with little sense of hope in an urban area and how she became the first to go to college in her family. She studied policy and learn about the systems of oppression in this country. I resonated with her feelings that people love to list the problems but rarely take action toward solution. Like her, I want to be that change. I'm not ready to start a whole non-profit. I fear that will actually be too concentrated to one area. I'd like to volunteer with different organizations all around the globe. I really feel like I waste my free time. I want to spend it doing something meaningful. Not lucrative, just meaningful.

I also resonated with another story told in the book by Rachel Simmons. She was a Rhodes scholar who was praised all her life by how smart she was. She disgraced the country and Ivy league school by dropping out of the program in Oxford. She said all her life she kept doing what was expected of her but never listened to the inner voice telling her what she did and did not want to do.

As women, we are trained to always appear academically successful, well-rounded and attractive. We should aim to please everyone and be everyone's friend. But what if I don't want to be any of those things? Stop telling me to be sugar and spice and everything nice!

Literally, movement is happening! Moving to a new home. Moving to new jobs. Moving into a new career path. I guess I'll tackle each thing one by one.

Moving day is fast approaching and it feels like there isn't enough time in a day. Part of me hopes my store hires some new people to make room for a crazy packed schedule.To our surprise, we had a smooth sailing through our credit check situation and landed a place for 250 less than we budgeted. It may be on the South Side, but it has updated kitchen appliances, cabinets, bathrooms and an exposed brick wall. I'm a huge fan. Connie gets the bigger room so I'm not paying as much. Chloe gets her own room. We plan to build, invest, and create media content.

I don't think I've felt a grind this heavy in a long time. Insulted by uncle, I reflect on my reason for taking on so many jobs. "Three jobs!", he cried. "Why do you need three jobs if you have a degree?" BECAUSE I CAN, SIR! Mostly, I did it just to prove that I can go from no job to 3 jobs. Just to prove I have work ethic. Just to prove I don't have to ask anyone for a dime. I can build my credit score, my savings account an pay my bills on my own. DO I ASK ANYONE FOR MONEY, EVER? NOPE. So leave me alone, you blithering buffoon!

Now that I got my rant out and I'm proud to not have resorted to Facebook or Twitter, I feel infinitely better. Circling back to my goals, I am finally ready to investigate a Masters program. The requirements are daunting but I know I am smart and capable. Looks like I will be taking on the College Development MA/ED.  I would like to work in student affairs, residence life, or in a charter school as their Mrs. Rita Pinkard. If I take 2 extra classes, I qualify to take the LPC exam and get the clinical licensing. Hopefully, I can do this slowly and easily. We gone see.

God has been very good to me and I shall take it one day at a time!

Been passing around my daily affirmations and getting some feedback about what my friends are going through. Their trials remind me of what I have overcome and how I choose to live my life.I spend a lot of effort on self-care to ward off the noise that threatens to ruin me. The constant wonder what a fool people must think I am for the mistakes I make is something I fight daily. Then, I remind myself I am a queen and I've always been good at a comeback.

Myleik says to celebrate the failure. Celebrate the fact that you've tried. Celebrate the fact that you haven't lost your mind.

It's time to spend time networking and making moves while I'm childless. Children are not a goal right now. Building a personal brand is. What does that look like?