My Soul To Keep

As a child growing up in a Christian family, I was taught the classic children' prayer:

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take

There are several variations to this prayer so some of you may have been taught something different. Anyways, the prayer above is what immediately came to mind after my line sister told me that our college classmate passed in his sleep. She said that he had sleep apnea as well, but of course we are not certain of his cause of death. When I say that hit home it really did. In the past, I spoke briefly about being diagnosed with the sleep disease and just started to think on the importance of this prayer. Although simple, it is still very relative and effective. Don't get me wrong, I pray at night, but if I were to die, I'd want the Lord to take my soul.

My classmate/friends death really made me realize the importance of wearing my Darth Vader mask. There are few times that I fall asleep and forget to put it on. Let me just tell you, the next day is beyond horrible for me. I feel super tired, irritable, moody, and just a mess. Although it's uncomfortable (and will probably prevent morning nookie, whenever I have a better half) it is definitely necessary. What happens when you stop breathing during your sleep is that your bodily functions start to shut down because there isn't oxygen going to your brain. If your lucky enough to catch your breath again, you often time start to shake/tremble a bit because your heart had just been told to start beating again. The problem without getting a constant air flow (besides death) is that you can have a stoke or heart attack because of the strain that it puts on your organs.

I am very saddened by my friends death not only because I heard he had sleep apnea and so do I; but he was one of the koolest guys at Albany State University. Just kool. We always went back and forth about sneakers or as we call them in the South, tennis shoes (little unknown fact, your girl had all of the newest and hottest sneakers, usually before they were sold to the public). He always had a smile and a kind word to say. I remember Dion being the first Big guy that I had a crush on Freshman year, whatever we called swag then is what he had. R.I.P Dion you will definitely be missed.

A Fractured Puzzle

I know I usually don't get too deep into my personal relationship per se. But the chapter in my book with Mr. Coconut has closed. I can't lie my feelings are super hurt but it's definitely no where close to any of the harder things I've faced and yet to face in life.

It's only been a couple of days since its happened and I totally beat myself up over the situation. Questioning and analyzing over and over what I did wrong. I've wasted enough time wondering what he's thinking and waiting for my phone to ring. I mean we just had a good V-day celebration (or so I thought).  Truth is, its not about me. Sure I played a part, but the pieces we both played with, did not complete the puzzle. This is actually the first day that I haven't used the excuse that my 'allergies' are acting up. By tomorrow, I'll be over the tears and happy that I only wasted months and not years. My best friend asked 'Did you learn a lesson' well yes I did. First I'm only dating americans with american parents (jk I kid I kid). The lesson that I learned is that I can give my all in a relationship. Meaning that I can love/like unselfishly, and put the the other persons needs before mine. Some can't say that. I also have no issues with communicating wth my mate, however, when they shut down its safe to say that the course has been run.

I honestly had a feeling something wasn't right for the past 2 weeks and tried to discuss it, but hey, his mind was made up. The biggest lesson in this is knowing exactly what I do and don't want. Just as a reminder and to keep me from being EMO in days to come, I'll list a few I need that were missing:

*I need a mate who accepts me for me, Flaws and All
*I need a mate that doesn't run at the first sign of an issue
*I need a mate that knows the difference in having a discussion and having an argument
*I need a mate that may not be into my hobbies, but since they're into me, they're supportive
*I need a mate that has a relationship with God, and can pray for me as well as us
*I need a mate that understands the no judgement zone

All wasn't bad with Mr. Coconut he had a few qualities that I'd like my next beau to have and the main one was a No Deal attitude in regard to cheating. I knew upfront that if that were the case, it would certainly end with no second chances. I have had relationships where I stayed with a cheater and didn't value myself. But because I saw Mr. Coconuts value in himself, it taught me to have that same attitude.

Please know that I definitely won't be rushing into another relationship. I'm going to fine tune the one I already have with God. He sets the standard. His love comes with no risks of betrayel, its readily available at anytime. It is also not based on feelings or emotions but on a commitment to His word. His love NEVER fails. His love is the pattern from which human love is based. The more we duplicate it, the more we resemble Him (click here).

I am sooo lucky to have ride or die friends that listened to my many sobs and cries and told me that he wasn't worth it (and all the other stuff I needed to hear). One of my friends even asked if I wanted her to flatten his tires (lol, I did not oblige). I really thank all of them!!!

Although I'm hurting now, this too will pass. Remember: Love is patient, love is kind. Simply put, Love suffers long, and puts up with people that it is easy to give up on.

Wellness Week 2K12

                                                                                                Image via Pinterest


As much as I like shopping and being cute, it is imperative that I actually treat my body every now and then. You know, the occasional mani/pedi, eyebrow wax/thread, and of course a massage. With sooo many amazing deals around, I have found out how to treat myself to at least 2 massages a year. Now of course I could do more since we live in an age of Living Social and Group on deals. But my philosophy is, Quality is better than Quantity. With that said, I have to thoroughly research the establishments I choose to let rub my body down. Of course my first choice of research is Yelp (I will read e.v.e.r.y review, yep all of em).

Today I received an e-mail reminding me that Wellness Week is approaching. I thought to myself, where did this come from. I thought that I knew about them all!!! Of course I clicked the link to see what it was all about, and just like Spa Week, they offer deals from reputable spa's in the area ($50 or %50 off). Of course I did my research and picked out the spa that I'll be calling to book an appointment tomorrow (#winning). Just in case you're wondering, I read great things about Creative Salon and Spa in Centreville, Va. and that's where I'll be. So go ahead and check out the site to find a spa in your area. But don't forget, Do. Your. Research!!!

Wellness Week is from March 19-25th but book now to get the best time slot. And just a reminder Spa Week is next month (switch it up and get a chocolate pedi)

I Love Zumba

                                                                                               Image via Pinterest

When I first moved to the area I discovered Zumba and even changed my schedule to allow me to go to class often. After realizing that I really got the hang of it (I am by NO means a dancer) I decided to get certified to teach. It was a goal of mine last year to get certified to teach. Well let's just say I got the certification, but I never taught. I can't say the opportunity wasn't available to teach, I just never took advantage of it. I've also been a ZIN member since Jan. ($35 a month) and haven't really watched a complete instructional video, but I always listen to the cd's.

Yesterday, CommeCoCo hosted a Zumba event at Mint with One Medical. Let me just say, I had a ball. I even invited two friends out to join in on the fun. As soon as I stepped into Mint I immediately felt the stress roll away.  The atmosphere was luxurious yet zen-like. I surprised myself with how well I kept up seeing as though I haven't attended a class since last year. The instructor, Lola, was very energetic and kept us on our feet (literally). She definitely gave me the push I needed to began to prepare to teach my first class next month.

One Medical graciously supplied everyone in attendance with a 1 year Free Membership (valued at $200). The One Medical team was super nice and answered any and every question we had. Yola also supplied us with a smoothie/yogurt happy hour. They were super tasty and fresh.

It was great to interact and meet other bloggers. We don't just get dressed up to talk fashion, we can also get dressed down to get healthy!!!

I LOVE- Gospel Music

If you read my previous post about my job, you know that its a sore subject. Usually the way I deal (and the way some of you have commented) is to pray about situations because I know that HE will work them out. Along with praying, I also LOVE listening to my fair share of gospel music. I've been known to make mixes for friends and family members and gospel happens to be one of my specialities. So below I've listed a few gospel songs that really lets me know that he is here as well as he hears. All of the songs listed are also located in my favorites here (be sure to subscribe as well). Feel free to leave a comment on any song (gospel) that's helping you right now. Be blessed.

SN-Do you say Be Blessed or Be Bless? I think Be Bless is incorrect (the nerd in me has researched it and obviously still is researching).

1. Back To You Dorinda Clark Cole
2. My Testimony- Marvin Sapp
3. Good and Bad- J Moss
4. For Every Mountain- Amber Bullock
5. Be Still- Yolanda Adams
6. I Hear the Sound (of Victory)- Maurette Brown Clark
7. In The Middle- Isaac Carree
8. After This- J.J Hairston and Youthful Praise
9. Still Able- James Fortune and Fiya
10. One More Time- Zacardi Cortez
11. Before I Die- Kirk Franklin
12. It's All God- The Soul Seekers ft. Marvin Winans
13. Let the Church Say Amen- Andre Crouch
14. I Feel Good- Fred Hammond
15. Shifting The Atmosphere- Jason Nelson

*Honorary Mentions*
1.  Standing in the Need of a Blessing- James Cleveland
2. The Lord is My Shepard- Cissy Houston
3. That's When You Bless Me- LA Mass Choir
4. If Not for Your Grace-Isreal & New Breed
5. Lord Do It- Hezekiah Walker
6. Who Else But God- Tye Tribbett
7. Call on Jesus- Bruce Parham

I LOVE Being Happy- Unfortunately, I'm Not In a Good Place

                                                                                      Too bad they only survived for 3 days


As much as I wanted to write consistently this month that.did.not.happen. I really wanted to stay on task writing about all the things I LOVE. I'll be the first to say that February usually isn't the best month for me. However,  I don't think I can blame it on the month all together this time. I actually haven't been in a good place since last year to be honest. Usually when I get sick, I fall off a bit and that (back to back tonsillitis) happened around October. But this is different. I say I haven't felt like myself since August, maybe even before. The issue is, I a not happy with my current work situation. I mean to be completely honest, I HATE IT!!! Yes, this is one thing I can honestly say I HATE and actually mean it. I mean everything about it, the type of work I do, salary, environment, and especially Caroline (if you're an Outkast fan you know the connection)!!!

I know that I'm not at work all day. But face it, I'm there 40 plus hours and it is totally draining. I often sit and imagine jobs/positions that I'd be great at. And before you state why-not-apply, the answer is I have been. Honestly I have both feet and one elbow out the door and at anytime Caroline can kick/lie the rest out. My feelings on this are sooo much deeper than what I've written, but primarily this is what's been holding Kristin back from being Kristin.

I think last week was one of the hardest weeks thus far. The anniversary of my mom's death, work drama, and Whitney Houston's death. Of course I'd planned on writing about them individually but I got into a serious rut. I mean serious. I was 'overly' emotional last week and cried at the drop of a dime literally. I know that things will get better but I'm just not sure when. Honestly, if I didn't live alone I would have walked out (before having a Project Patricia moment). I truly would have been the epitome of a hoodrat and totally burned a bridge. Yes, its that BAD. I could go on, and on, and on...but I won't.

When I heard about the death of Whitney Houston, I thought and hoped it was just a lie. If you're on Twitter (as I am, follow me) you know that Twitter kills off celebrities everyday. I actually made my cousin check TMZ to verify what he'd read and yes it was true. I was totally shocked and shortly afterwards the news stations were broadcasting the news as well as playing famous records of hers. Later in the week I can say that I was deeply saddened to the point my BF had to make me stop watching the coverage. What hit home for me is that now Bobbi Kristina will be a motherless child. I'm almost 30 and know how much I'd like to call my mom and consult with her on the little things. I can only imagine how an 18 yr. old that had a super close mother/daughter bond will be able to handle it. I wasn't able to watch the Homegoing service in full (because of work) but I did catch bits of pieces of it from YouTube. After watching several specials remembering Whitney I was emotionally drained. I do plan on listing a few of my FAV Whitney Houston moments as well as songs a little bit later this week.

R.I.P to my Moma as well as Whitney Houston

I HATE the fact that I missed out on posting about my BF and my 1st Valentines day as well. Let's just say I expected more. If you know me I can be a bit whinny/bratty/spoiled at times. He surprised me with a dozen roses delivered early that morning (although I'm a tulip type of girl). It was sweet though, especially because I'm the only person that's not married in my area and... the ONLY one that received something. I knew that we weren't going to spend the day together because we both had to work and our shifts are complete opposites but I thought we'd have a romantic dinner this past weekend. Let's just say that didn't happen. But I can't complain, Valentine's is just one day, luckily I have a guy that shows how much he cares for me whenever he's around. We did however, enjoy facials and massages on Sunday which were FAB.

I am looking forward to a better week and trying to think a bit more positive in regard to my work situation.

I LOVE, LOVE- Candy Painted

Keeping with the theme of LOVE this month, another thing that I LOVE is nail polish. I know that I've mentioned it before but I'm really into getting new polishes but it is very rare that I actually paint my nails. I just hate when they start chipping, it seems like it happens at the most inoportune time. I wish I could be one of those chicks that polished once or twice a week but I'm not!!! I also LOVE nail design it looks like it works best on acrylic rather than natural nails. I wanted to try the stiletto nails but no acrylic for me, I learned the hard way several years ago.

While browsing my FAVORITE drugstore (CVS) I came across a new polish line that is stated to be similar to gel nails/Shellac.

I Love, Love- I Have A Heart On

The heart is the most represented symbol for the month of February, and it also happens to be one of my favorite months. As I've stated before I LOVE, LOVE so of course I'd LOVE the month its most celebrated. Plus, its also Back History Month and I LOVE black people so I'm excited to talk about the people who paved the way for my people through a couple of posts!!

Usually in Feb. I'll wear my heart locket everyday in memory of my mom who passed in the month of Feb. It has my initials with a small pic of her inside it. It's kinda funny because there are certain shapes/objects that I call myself obsessed with and a heart is not actually one of them (or is it). I remember a couple of years back, my ex gave me a 1 karat diamond heart necklace and I hated it. But today I have several pieces of jewelry with hearts on it. Heck, I have 3 tattoo's with hearts. It's simple, I LOVE, LOVE and obviously I love the shape that symbolizes love.

Today's Black History Fact is on Daniel Hale Williams. Mr. Williams is known as the first person to perform open heart surgery, not only that he is also the first to actually open up the chest cavity. After reading up on Mr. Williams I found out other interesting facts. Before he apprenticed with a physician, Mr. Williams owned a barber shop. Most would consider that a blue collar job which correlates with you socio-economic status. After reading about Mr. Williams it reassured me that no matter what you might be now you can always become/have that which is destined for you. Mr. Williams biography resonated with me because I'm about to start school and have not been my own cheerleader. After reading his biography and knowing the time Mr. Williams came up in I choose to replace doubt, and fear.  Thank you Daniel Hale Williams for being a pioneer in achievement for black people.

I Feel Good

The song above has been my jam since I first heard it. It's one of those songs that actually makes you feel good about your situation. I love the fact that music evokes emotions. Not only do I feel good, I also had a very good day.

One of my goals or something that I wanted to achieve is becoming Elite status with Yelp. I think I've mentioned here before that I LOVE writing reviews for all of the exciting and non-exciting places that I've visited. I've actually been doing it for about 2 years. Unfortunately, my procrastination usually gets the best of me and I haven't written nearly as much as I could. Well today I received an e-mail stating that I was nominated to become an Elite Yelper for the year 2012. This was total excitement since I didn't expect it. After about an hor and a half I received another e-mail stating that I became Elite status (go me, go me) *does the cabbage patch*. Now I'll be able to get invited to Elite only events which seem great and an awesome way to network!!! If you're interested in writing reviews please follow me here.

Ooohhh weeee, another blessing. Something else that I've been mustering up is pursuing my Master's degree. I've put it off for quite some time and now its beyond time to get, get, get it. I won't lie, I am beyond nervous. The last time I tried to do online classes I was unsuccessful and it totally brought my morale down. This time I just hope I'm ready and that everything will work out for my good. Next up financial aid (ooohhh we'll see how that goes).

Anything going on with you guys that has you feeling good?

Weekend Review

I started out my weekend on Friday by missing a jazz event held at a local venue, to attend a sleep study. Yep, you heard right, a sleep study/ Problem is, your girl has been falling asleep at the wheel, and that's no bueno!!! A few of my family members have had sleep studies so I already knew what to expect. When I arrived the sleep center's decor was beautiful and it smelled great. I was taken to my room which was also ultra nice. There was a flat screen attached to the wall so that I could still view all of my shows. And the bed was also a sleep number bed. I die (wait, definitely don't wanna do that seeing as though I stop breathing during my sleep). I wish I would have snapped a pic after the sleep tech attached all of the equipment to me. I definitely looked like a robot or something. I had wires or sensors attached above my eyes, legs, head (as in, in my hair) and fingers. Uncomfortable was not the word. I'm happy that I'm not the type that has to use the restroom in the middle of the night. Other than my hands continuing to fall asleep and the goo they had to put on me to attach the sensors, I had a really good nights sleep,  or so I thought.


Saturday, the babe and I (really just me) were looking for something exciting to do. So I suggested an arcade. Since we're both way past our teenage years we needed a place with food to, so why not Dave and Buster's. The BEST thing about that plan is Dave and Buster's have a great selection of adult games as well as good food for a low price. As always we began to second guess ourselves basically because it was going to take 45 minutes to get there. We ended up changing and going to a spot in Alexandria called Lucky's. It was actually a total knockoff of Dave and Buster's but on a much smaller level and not really family friendly (if ya ask me). Let's just say me and the babe had a great time there. We played basketball and I tried really, really hard to beat him but I couldn't. My competitive nature started to rise and we played about 9 games against each other. We also had a motorcycle race. I sucked balls MAJORLY. And last we played table hockey. And guess who ended up winning... yours truly. Look at those stats below.

After gaming, we had worked up quite a hunger and I decided for us to go somewhere else to eat since I wasn't in the mood for 'bar food' and didn't know if  their calamari was up to par ( I really want calamari). However, we ended at Applebee's since they are low in cost as well as calories. We both enjoyed a steak dinner for about $30.

Sunday the babe textd me at work to say that he passed another IT certification and deemed it as 'his day'. Since I try to have  a balance on eating out and cooking I decided that we take a trip to Wegman's and we'd cook his choice of a meal. I am sooo happy that we were on the same page cause he chose baked fish (herb crusted tilipia), baked potato, and carrots. We also bought a rotisserie chicken so that we could make BeautyFash's chicken salad recipe (trying to save ca$h on lunch and not eat out).   All in all it was a great weekend!!! I can only imagine what I'll get into this coming weekend since it'll be Superbowl Sunday (I need to find a party ASAP).

Update:Today I received a call in regard to my sleep study from Friday. Let's just say not so good. I have a severe case of sleep apnea and will need to sleep with a Cpak as treatment. I'm happy that I took the test because since my whole 3 month tonsillitis episode, I've been falling asleep while driving. I mean it has really been a struggle at times and I'd call friends and family to try and talk to them so that I'd stay awake. If you hold your breath (or stop breathing) 30 times you are categorized as severe. I did it for 97 times #scary. My shortest time was 17 sec. and the longest was 47 sec. (with stats like that I ought to be able to swim #IkidIkid. As I learn more about sleep apnea I will definitely keep you informed.