The Gift

I remember the first time

I gave you a gift 

It was wrapped perfectly 

Symbolic of all 

that I had put into it 

Hard work, blood,

Tears like rain 

 and even a little of that

I may not make it thru this- pain 

 And I remember you said... 

 Thank God! 

 Thank. god. 

 And I thought 

 Whomever is this God 

 He must be great 

 And thusly 

 My gift must be great also, 

 at the very least 

 To YOU. 

 Thank. God you said

 I felt the exchange 

 A light. Shining. I felt Lighter 

 Having experienced 

 The power of giving 

I intended to give more 

But then- 

 There's always a then 

 Then... 

 I saw the way you cared for it 

 When I wasn't looking 

 And even later- 

 When I was... 

 It began to show 

 Signs of being defiled 

 And wear and tear 

 Long before it should 

 Each scratch 

 Became a wound 

 the wound, 

 a scar 

 and my gift to you 

 Now a curse to me 

 And I... 

 I wanted to take it back 

 I wanted God to remove it from you 

 To forcefully 

 Lightning strike you down 

 strike the gift from your possession 

Right there 

 Where you were standing 

 Take it back from you... 

 Like an Indian giver 

 Like a reneging 

 Put that spade back on the table 

 You just cut your partner out 

 And me and she  

Are about to run a Boston 

 Flip the table 

 On your sorry azz 

 A righteous take back 

 A take down 

 And after 

 With my last breath 

 I... Wanted...to... 

 thank God 

 Just like you 

 But mean it. 

 I wanted to nurse it 

 Back to nice 

 To life 

 Back to ripe 

 Full and pumping! 

 To all the greatness 

it Was before 

I gifted it to you 

Before... you mocked it 

 before me 

and God 

 Before I gave you me 

 I wanted that me back 

 Sans scuff and brokenness 

 Back in the box 

 With a pretty bow 

just like when I gave it to you 

I would have THAT me 

 And I would say 

 Thank you. 

 God!....

Poeticly Cooking: Frittata Boot Camp

My first time began with an egg scramble gone awry... I basically forgot to scramble it and I suck at flipping with a spatula.  So... what to do? It hit me that I'd seen someone at North Star Cafe with a frittata and then, that I might have an idea how to make it. I dont know how... I just have tons of information stored in my head and it seems to know when to push to the front if my thoughts. In this case, it was probably a cooking show memory. I basically watch them for relaxation AND fall asleep to them nightly. But I digress... so I tipped the pan to cause the uncooked egg to rise to the top. I finished in the oven, posted a pic to my Instagram and dug in. It was DELISH!  Want to give it a try? Heres how to make a basic frittata. You can change it up to your own liking.  Lets go- forwarrrrrrd MARCH!

Essentials to key to any frittata (hence the bootcamp):

A cute dish (ok, you dont need per se but cute dishes ROCK)

1 carton of egg whites

1/4 cup of cream (Or just a splash) 

1/2 cup mushrooms

1/2 cup onions

1 cup spinach, broccoli or other green of preference

Pre-cooked Bacon or other meat (sausage, ground turkey)

Cheese is optional (goat cheese or parmesean are great)

Dont like those veggies?! Get your own soldier!!

First, pre-heat your oven to 425

Sautée your veggies in a healthy oil such as olive oil or clarified butter. Sautee to your desire on low to medium heat.

In a separate dish, whisk together your eggs, splash of cream and seasonings. I use salt, pepper, garlic and others based on what im trying to achieve. Sometimes I add taragon or cumin or rosemary. 

Once your eggs are mixed well, pour atop your vegetables. Add the meat. If you are using a pan that can go from stove top to oven, you can continue to cook the eggs for a bit and as the bottom firms up, tip it to cause the uncooked eggs on the top to go to the bottom. You can also skip the stove top part altogether! Either way, place dish in oven and cook until firm. Bake for 15-25 minutes or until firm. Add cheese during the last 5 minutes and VOILÀ! You have graduated from frittata boot camp! Enjoy and please comment and subscribe! 

Before baking (See exhibit A - cute dish :) )

All done!

Poeticly Cooking: Two Apple Spinach Salad

One of my favorite things to do is recreate meals that I find at local eateries.  Because I've been eating clean I had the notion to copy one of my favorite salads. Cap City restaurant features the Two Apple Spinach Salad. After having it once and falling in love, I decided I had to have it whenever I wanted versus only the times I made it to a locale. It's beautiful and pretty simple and quick to prepare:

You'll need: 

2-4 Salmon filets

2-4 slices of bacon

2-4 apples (gala and green)

1 bag of spinach

2-4 tablespoons of goat cheese

Pecans (optional)

Season and grill a piece of salmon to your liking ( I sometimes pan fry them in olive oil for 6 minutes on each side- medium heat)

Slice 2 types of apple

Fry (or microwave) a couple slices of bacon and crumble

Arrange spinach on a plate. Arrange the apples on separate sizes. Place the cooked salmon in the middle. Sprinkle with the bacon, goat cheese and pecans if you like them. Serve with a balsamic vinaigrette or whatever dressing you prefer.

Bon appetite!

Chalk the Block at Easton Town Center

One of the things I love about Easton Town Center on the north side of Columbus is that on any given day you might encounter an art festival or a live band. On our way to grab some brunch today, the hubs and I discovered both when we rounded a corner and stumbled upon Chalk the Block! Chalk the Block is a contest happening at the center where competitors gather to create amazing works of art using chalk in the streets. 

We found them engaged in their work just outside Brio. Some artists drew their work in advance, while others appeared to sketch them freehand from the creativity of their own minds. All were sketched on the streets in bright hues and amazing artistry. We saw super heroes, anime, animals and lots of other fun illustrations. As the artists worked, a live band played music (I recognized one song by Daft Punk) while families perused the streets. Children were allowed to look, but not touch although some artists allowed the kids to draw their own pictures nearby. One artist, Lea Gray, allowed some of the children to color in parts of her master piece. I personally thought that was awesome! You can find Lea at  http://m.leagraydesign.com. Here is her project:

We found ourselves returning to see the progress as they worked to complete their drawings by the 6:00 pm deadline. Of course the event wouldn't be a contest without prizes. All artists were competing for prizes up to $500 and the audience was able to vote for "The Peoples Choice". The event ends on Sunday when all projects are complete and votes have been counted. Various live bands are scheduled to play and it's truly fun for the entire family! While you can see the start of many projects below, if you have a little free time you should go see the winners and their work on Sunday! Your kids (and your inner kid) will love you for it!

Product Review: Eden BodyWorks Cleansing Co-Wash and Leave-InConditioner

A visit to Sallys Beauty Supply in June caused me to purchase the co-wash from Eden BodyWorks. I had heard lots about it thanks to it being included in CurlBox kits. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I always knew I'd give it a try despite my loyalty and love to the one from As I Am. I love coconut oil and it was in the top ingredients. I tried it a few times before taking a trip to Washington, D.C. where I had the honor of attending a conference on volunteering and service. It just so happened that included in the conference goodie bags was a sample of the leave-in from the same line. SCORE! I found it interesting that it was included because there really aren't a lot of African-Americans that attend this particular event. So, I came to the obvious conclusion that it is intended for all hair types. Cool.

So let's get to it. The first few times I used the co-wash I was not particularly impressed. It cleansed my hair- no doubt but it didn't give it that extra umph factor that would make me go back and buy it again. My hair cooperates completely when it likes a product it is soft and compliant afterward. This time is was compliant but not really soft. I didn't give up but I left it behind when I went to D.C. While at the conference, I washed my hair with a dreadful, typically expensive shampoo and conditioner that came with the hotel room. HATED IT! I roomed with my Caucasian friend whose hair also HATED IT! We give that product 2 thumbs down and a flush! It starts and ends with an "A" friends and that's all I have to say about that.

I decided to combat the washing fiasco by using the Eden BodyWorks leave-in. My hair still felt really hard and ridiculous so I gave it a pass and asked for another sample to be used later. Fast forward to Sunday night. I decided to use the co-wash and leave-in together. You know what they say about using products from the same line... It's supposed to yield fantastic results, right? Well, if I'm honest... it left ok results. I tried the co-wash for about 30 days. There are some products which just cause my hair to shrug. Like- yeah that was cool but I don't want seconds or need a repeat visit. That's kind of how I feel about how Eden BodyWorks and my hair.

You can see from the pic that I used the products until they were gone. I can take it or leave it and for now I'll be leaving it. Perhaps I'll try again in a few months since I like the story behind it. You can read it here:  http://www.edenbodyworks.com/?page_id=2. I also like that the company does not use parabens, sulfates, etc (remember- I'm a product snob). I always seem to get product amnesia. What can I say? I'm a second chances kind of girl after all. Here's my overall take:

Price: $$ (reasonable)

Consistency: The co-wash was kind of runny but it't not clear. Just one of my personal quirks.

Results: The co-wash is cleans. The leave-in-- Hmmmm... I would like to say it added moisture being water-based and all, but I really can't say which is a sign that it didn't work for me.

Have you tried any of the Eden products? Which ones? Share with me some of your feedback! I like good news! Just because it isn't for me, doesn't mean it isn't for you. It's probably just me... it usually is. ;D

Absence makes the heart grow fonder... Right?

I think the answer is... sometimes! So... ya girl has been busy with EVERYTHING. Life happens to me every few months and I get off track from my writing and many other things. My absence has been mostly work related but fortunately I had a great 2 weeks away from the place and got not all-- but a good portion of my mojo back!

I took a week long vacation to Assateague State Park in Maryland where wild horses run free. While there and enjoying the view, my thoughts ran free also! I thought a lot about life, my future and where I was going with this blog. I really wanted to write from the beach but I was distracted by the state of it. I determined that I mostly like discussing the most recent topics... Hair, music and other not so heavy topics. I realized though that I've kind of lost my passion for glasses. I still like them, but my focus isn't there. I really want to start sharing my poetry. So- I changed the name of the blog. Im pretty authentic... even here but I want be even more open. The name now reflects the moniker I use in my social media life (twitter, Instagram, Pinterest). So when you see that- know its me!

Anyway, expect to see some of the same and also some new! Happy second half of the year!

Must Be the Music - The Death of the Radio DJ

Back in the 80's there was a song that I loved called- Must Be the Music by Secret Weapon. It had a super long intro, a funky beat and ventured into the world of deejays and rap. Man! That song would immediately get my pre-teen legs to grooving and my fingers snapping from beginning to end. If I was lucky enough to press record when it came on the radio- I replayed and danced all over again! I became an expert at predicting which songs a deejay would play next so that I could record the hot songs and ignore those I didn't like as much.  The death of the true radio DJ has long been a point of discontent. There was a time when it was the job of a DJ to know what was hot and what wasn't. They introduced us to new artists and had a long repertoire from which to pull. On any given day, you might here KC and the Sunshine Band, Taste of Honey, Brothers Johnson, Natalie Cole, Earth, Wind & Fire, Hall & Oates, Toto, Foreigner, Barry White, Lou Rawls, Luther Vandross, Isaac Hayes, Marvin Gaye, Pointer Sisters, Aretha Franklin or Patti LaBelle. The list goes on and on and it changed based on the era in which you grew up. You got to know the deejays then. You could trust them to share if they actually liked a song and to ask the listeners for their opinions. One of my favorites was Dr. Perri Johnson out of Philadelphia. I missed his flavor sorely when I moved from the east coast to Ohio. His air time came with an announcement: "You’re listening to the good Dr. Perri Johnson, Music Therapist". You just knew that some good music (old and new) was to follow! Interestingly enough, there was so much good music available that you were more than excited when they finally played YOUR song! Now, it's back on in 20 minutes (deep sigh).

Today, it is rare to hear anyone beyond Beyonce, Nikki Minaj, Rihanna, Katie Perry, Justin Beiber, Little Wayne, Drake, Jay-Z, Kanye, Usher and the like. Even worse, you must listen to their songs repeat so much that if you go out for lunch at noon, when you get back in your car at 1-1:30 the same song by the same artist is likely playing. Current radio DJs have become robots, a slave to the machines that crank out their pre-paid playlists. The most you know about them is if they hit the clubs, if they think the song will be hot at the club and about their apparent passion and enthusiasm for celebrity gossip. But--what about the MUSIC?? In essence- many of them are wack; likeable, but wack. Unlike hip hop, the art of being a DJ on the radio HAS suffered a largely unexamined death. It is evidenced by the fact that nearly every time my local station announces a new song- you can count on it being an artist hyped by none other than- a label. To ice the cake- it is more than likely one of the artists listed in the first sentence of this paragraph! Just the other day I heard them promoting an opportunity to download or delete it by none other than Drake. It’s like… C’mon son!

So, what's wrong with that? I mean, I actually like most of them and will dance (skate and workout) to their music too. But that's not all there is. The saddest part about the death of the radio DJs is all the music WE miss out on unless we're savvy enough to avoid being force-fed the pay-for-play artists. Savvy listeners access internet radio stations or utilize apps like Pandora. I personally love so many genres of music (hip hop, soul, jazz, country, pop) that I seek tunes out in other ways. I often entertained the idea of becoming a DJ and thought I had a voice for radio. I still think of doing it now. I'm not afraid to say a song is terrible. I'm not afraid to close my mouth (and ears) to the spoon trying to force songs down my throat. You shouldn't be either. Some like OutKast have managed to break thru the mold. Some like Pink have managed to make the music they actually WANT to make versus what the labels force upon them... But, you need to discover the good stuff for yourself. Check out talents like The Roots (I mean go back and listen to some of their old stuff- I'm still discovering!), Mint Condition, Viktor Duplaix, Amel Larrieux, Lianne La Havas, Hill St. Soul, Emile Sande, Kimbra, Luke James and heck, Foreign Exchange. Your local radio DJs may not know much about these artists but I sure do! Google them and stay tuned as I share what I've heard! And while you're at it, say RIP and pour out a little likka for DJs!

Revisiting Shea Moisture Curl Smoothie



Smile- it's definition!



 Man! I used to loovvvvve me some Shea Moisture Curl Smoothie! Back in the day when I frequented Curly Nikki, I was one of the first ones to try it. I tested it out on my 5-inch hair and fell in love. I loved the smell, the definition it provided to my twist/braid-outs, the affordable pricing AND the fact that I could get it on the ground at my local Target. Then one day it stopped working. It seemed that overuse made my hair dry up quite a bit. I attributed it to the fact that perhaps my hair didn't enjoy all of that protein and gave it up gladly. However, I decided to give it another try for no good reason (well... it just kept calling me like Pookie on New Jack City!). I'm glad I did. On Friday night I did a late night twist set using the curl smoothie, passing up all my other faves. I intended to take the twists out the next day but I ended up keeping them in until the following Tuesday (today!). While in twists, I moistened the hair after workouts with a spray bottle of water, olive and avocado oils. Today, I have a good looking twist out. It's super soft, defined, has lots of body and all the peeps love my 8-track (I mean, twist out!). I'm excited though because I enjoy wearing my hair out when I teach Zumba. On a good day, my hair  bounces around just as freely as the rest of me. After class tonight I will probably twist it back up and leave them in until Saturday when I have a photo shoot with a group that I'm in (Che' Marie and Extended Play). I'm excited. I'll post the results later. In the meantime- come on Shea Moisture!

 

Aerial view (ignore those granny grays!)



Let's Play in the Mud!

Thanks to my farm-raised mother, as a kid I always loved to run thru rainy puddles with my bare feet. I developed a special appreciation for pressing my toes into the squishy, coolness of mud and would later enjoy pulling night crawlers from their muddy holes during late nights in my neighborhood. My siblings and I earned money doing the latter from local fishermen and bait stores! While I still don't mind walking into cool wet grass with my bare toes, I'd given up playing in the mud for more girly things like clay. Crafting ash trays and vases from clay was a favorite activity in art class and I always thought I'd pick it up later. While on the back to natural journey, I learned that many naturals wash their hair with mud/clay! If you didn't know there are popular brands such as the one by Terressentials which can be ordered online. But you can also make your own, saving big $$$ just as I did last weekend. I already owned some clay which I use for homemade facials. In preparation, I wet my hair with a spray bottle:

 

Wet hair with spray bottle



You can buy Aztec brand clay at many local health stores, including Whole Foods. Looking around on the internet I found some recipes. When determining a recipe, I sort of pick and choose the ingredients that I know my hair likes or NEEDS. I create my mix based on that information. This time, in the following order and in a plastic bowl (do not use metal as it changes the properties of the mix), I mixed:

2 tbsp Aztec Secret Healing Indian Clay (about $5)

1 tbsp Olive oil

1Tbsp of honey

Essential oils (depends on my hair needs - this time I used peppermint and basil)

1/3 c. of water or aloe vera juice (you can warm it a little for easier mixing). You may use more or less as it should be the consistency of pancake batter.

I then poured it into a bottle (must get a funnel for next time!). I applied the mixture to my hair and scalp which I'd dampened earlier. I saturated my hair with the clay wash and rubbed it into my scalp. The basil and tea tree oils are stimulators, so it felt tingly! After applying, I put a plastic baggy on my hair and allowed the wash to perform magic on my strands!  You can see from the picture that when I finished, I pinned the sections with bobby pins.



Let mud sit for 20 minutes!



Mud applied
























20 minutes later I washed it all out in the shower. Remember- this is actually for washing your hair so you don't need to shampoo afterward. Don't allow the clay to dry on your hair as it will become more difficult to rinse. Thoroughly rinse the clay from your hair with a cheap conditioner. I just took care of it in the shower which is how I lost my eyeshadow and lipstick! LOL



Mud rinsed (ahhh shrinkage!)

Afterward, I applied my leave-in and styled per usual. Now... this "shampoo" really does remove any product build up from your hair. You may not even know that you had any especially if you're using products with sillicones. For me, the wash encouraged my shrinkage (see the pic above) but left my hair clean, soft and shiny. I loved it and will do it once a week as I long ago abandoned shampoos. They leave my hair feeling stripped and dry which is why I mostly co-wash. Below is the twistout I got after styling. It's full of shine, body and bounce!

That's it folks! Will you or have you given mud washes a try? Share what were, or are your results!

Peace and love, naturally!



















Sometimes I- disappear...

For long periods no less! Sorry folks! Between writing a grant for work, the holidays and my anniversary this chica has been busy! I've let many projects and such fall by the wayside but have attempted to maintain some semblance of a routine (i.e. teaching Zumba, trying struggling to eat properly, making holiday cards, some that just went out this morning O_O). I even managed to go to the movies once. I saw Les Miserables... I kind of liked it. There was a good storyline, decent acting and a LOT of howling singing, crying and overall it was just an incredibly sad film/musical. You can totally see why it was released during the holidays! Right? No? Needless to say it wasn't my cup of tea but I enjoyed it a little and managed to expand my horizons a bit.

Aside from that, I did my hair a few times but mostly it's been pinned up because I'm doing a protective style challenge until spring. I did it last year too, however this year I haven't been keeping up with the required videos because I've been too busy! I did one pretty late at night that made me laugh when I viewed it later! It was such a mess! Either way my hair has either looked like this when it's in an updo. I tend to either have the front twisted or hanging like it is. Always been a bangs girl!

or this when it's wild and free:

Anyway, in other news I'm starting an etsy with plans to sell some of my photo prints and other fun items. I am dedicating a blog to this endeavor and I will probably change the name of this one. I want to make it more personal. Stay tuned on both endeavors AND for a few music and product reviews!

Happy New Year! I started mine off eating clean again. I have a major goal to hit. The only resolution type thing I'm doing. Everything else is full steam ahead- per usual.

~Peace, Naturally