http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzAtukfgeBk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ4aPJmBea0
Friday, September 27, 2013
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Exercise Rant: 09-24-13
Sometimes songs can bring you out of a very annoying funk. Even if the song isn't meant to be inspirational it can make something inside if you spark and your whole attitude changes.
Lately I've been in a workout funk. I have had very little motivation and desire to workout. The days I did workout I forced myself to just to see if I could get out and it didn't work. During this time I had started at home workouts, Jillian Michael's 30 Day shred to be exact. The workout itself was great. I have no complaints about the results that I have been seeing. My only problem was that I didn't like being secluded from people. I am a full-blown gym lover. It's not the fact that there are a ton of machines and equipment, it's the people who I enjoyed being around. To be around everyone with the same energy motivated me. I also feel that at home workouts for me are an easy excuse for me not to workout. So after the second week I my in home workouts I started to get bored. So the workouts slowed down. I would come home and fun other things to do to keep me from working out. After some thought I realized what had me in a terrible funk. I missed the gym, that person to person interaction. Being surrounded by people who indirectly motivated me to workout.
Yesterday was the first day in three weeks that I went back to the gym. Just the simple act of packing my gym bag excite me. I got to the gym and immediately felt better and funkless. My go to workout that gets me pumped is a run. I have been running for the past three years and it's one of the things that makes me feel good about my body. I hit the treadmill, plugged in my iPod and hit play. I don't remember the first song that played but I do remember it not being hype enough. Then I remembered I had the new Katy Perry song Roar. Immediately after turning that on my body and kind reacted. That song made me remember why I love working out and what it does for me. Working out is not just about losing weight and getting fine. It's about the inner feeling that it gives me. That clean, free and nourishing feeling is what I loved so much. I could be upset, sad or even sexually frustrated and when I run every emotion goes away. That's what I was missing these past three weeks. I wasn't allowing myself to have that inner peace.
To Katy Perry and whoever else wrote that song, thank you.
Lately I've been in a workout funk. I have had very little motivation and desire to workout. The days I did workout I forced myself to just to see if I could get out and it didn't work. During this time I had started at home workouts, Jillian Michael's 30 Day shred to be exact. The workout itself was great. I have no complaints about the results that I have been seeing. My only problem was that I didn't like being secluded from people. I am a full-blown gym lover. It's not the fact that there are a ton of machines and equipment, it's the people who I enjoyed being around. To be around everyone with the same energy motivated me. I also feel that at home workouts for me are an easy excuse for me not to workout. So after the second week I my in home workouts I started to get bored. So the workouts slowed down. I would come home and fun other things to do to keep me from working out. After some thought I realized what had me in a terrible funk. I missed the gym, that person to person interaction. Being surrounded by people who indirectly motivated me to workout.
Yesterday was the first day in three weeks that I went back to the gym. Just the simple act of packing my gym bag excite me. I got to the gym and immediately felt better and funkless. My go to workout that gets me pumped is a run. I have been running for the past three years and it's one of the things that makes me feel good about my body. I hit the treadmill, plugged in my iPod and hit play. I don't remember the first song that played but I do remember it not being hype enough. Then I remembered I had the new Katy Perry song Roar. Immediately after turning that on my body and kind reacted. That song made me remember why I love working out and what it does for me. Working out is not just about losing weight and getting fine. It's about the inner feeling that it gives me. That clean, free and nourishing feeling is what I loved so much. I could be upset, sad or even sexually frustrated and when I run every emotion goes away. That's what I was missing these past three weeks. I wasn't allowing myself to have that inner peace.
To Katy Perry and whoever else wrote that song, thank you.
Monday, September 23, 2013
God Given Love
I have spent the better part of the last 3 years evaluating things and learning more about myself and what I want in life. Not specifically professionally, more so personally and spiritually. I have only been in one serious relationship, which was during my teenage years, and after that breakup I really wanted to make sure that the next person I let get that close to me was God sent. Now, if you aren't a spiritual person you may not understand what I mean by that, but just bear with me and I will try to explain it for you.
I felt that when I was dating I wasn't consulting to God about the men that I had chosen. I was in college and felt that I had to try different types of people and see what my interest was. I went through the thugs, preps, sporty, super religious, non religious, pretty boys, frats and all other different characters. Now, I never made any of those guys my boyfriend, they were merely potentials. The issue that came up was that I didn't know who Nikki was. I didn't know what I wanted in a relationship or even what to expect. I had always compared every new guy with he previous one and eventually fell on my face every time. So after college I decided that I wouldn't get into any serious relationships until I did some serious soul-searching. That lasted for about a year and I was ready to dip back into the dating scene. Then I hit a wall last year.
I was living and working in DC at the time. Had a few potential guys here and there, some good and some very bad. I even tried online dating for the first time. After a couple of crazies, being stood up (3 times) and booty calls, I began to get discouraged. I thought that I would never meet the right guy. I mean I was wreck last year. Guy after guy I was being disappointed. It felt like I was taking a thousand steps backwards. If you ask my cousin, the one person who really knew details, she would say that I was a mess. At that time I thought it was going to be impossible for me to be loved. Sounds depressing but that's how I felt.
Fast forward to a year later aka present day.
I am living and working in NY. This is something that I have wanted all my life. I worked very hard to get here and I am very proud of myself. My confidence level is high, I am secure within myself and I have no doubt of where I want my future to go. I met a few guys and went out on a couple of dates but nothing seemed to catch my attention long enough to remember their names. Eventually I stopped actively looking for men and just laid back. However, this doesn't mean that I would turn down a cutie or two. lol Anyway, so I am at work and I need to contact a coworker at another campus, one that I had left the previous day. I sent this coworker an IM requesting some work related information. After a few minutes I realized that I was taking pictures of this guy yesterday and never knew his name. (Well, he never formally introduced himself to me.) I got the information that I wanted and then I figured I would keep talking to him since I was new at the time. I can be a very sociable person, so it's very easy for me to start a conversation with someone. I continued to ask questions about him and where he was from. You know the general questions you ask someone to get to know them. I had no intentions of this conversation going any further than normal coworker chit-chat. However, after a two days of questions he asked me for my number. (Which I claim to be the action of who asked who out first, lol.) I of course interested in him by now gave him my number and we continued our conversation outside of work. That was a Wednesday, that Friday was the weekend of my birthday and I actually had a date that night. (Which turned out to be a dead-end.) We talked all that weekend, finding out that we had a lot of similar interests, spiritual wants, common present day and future desires.
That Monday morning at work we talked as just like we did the days before. Around noon he sent me a message asking me if I wanted to go out on a date. I was totally not prepared to go out on a date. I had work clothes on my hair wasn't what I would've wanted it to be and I had on no makeup. But for some reason I was really intrigued by this guy. So, I said yes. We met up after work in Grand Central station and immediately I noticed that he was really handsome and tall, both being a major plus. We started to walk towards Time Square to catch a movie, I unfortunately got us lost and we ended up at Red Lobster having dinner. Our conversation ranged from college days, religion, past relationships, food, music and much more. You name it we talked about it. It was such a relaxing and carefree date. It was also my first successful dates in a very long time. And by successful I mean that I didn't get stood up.
After the date we walked over to Bryant Park, which was lit by moonlight and tree lights. We walked, talked and shared more about ourselves. One thing led to another and he plants this very sweet, strong but soft kiss on me. A kiss that let's you know that he had a great time and plans on seeing you again. Needless to say its been almost 6 months and we have been together everyday since.
The point of my story is that you never know who God has out there for you. I had no clue that a small conversation with a coworker would lead to the blessings I have right now. We both had prayed for each other and never even knew the person we were looking for was right under our nose. God truly made all this happen in the way he wanted it. As humans, specifically Christians, we can sometimes forget who the real boss is and try to plan our life for ourselves. In this case, I have stepped aside and let God be my life planner and I have to say I like the direction he is headed.
I felt that when I was dating I wasn't consulting to God about the men that I had chosen. I was in college and felt that I had to try different types of people and see what my interest was. I went through the thugs, preps, sporty, super religious, non religious, pretty boys, frats and all other different characters. Now, I never made any of those guys my boyfriend, they were merely potentials. The issue that came up was that I didn't know who Nikki was. I didn't know what I wanted in a relationship or even what to expect. I had always compared every new guy with he previous one and eventually fell on my face every time. So after college I decided that I wouldn't get into any serious relationships until I did some serious soul-searching. That lasted for about a year and I was ready to dip back into the dating scene. Then I hit a wall last year.
I was living and working in DC at the time. Had a few potential guys here and there, some good and some very bad. I even tried online dating for the first time. After a couple of crazies, being stood up (3 times) and booty calls, I began to get discouraged. I thought that I would never meet the right guy. I mean I was wreck last year. Guy after guy I was being disappointed. It felt like I was taking a thousand steps backwards. If you ask my cousin, the one person who really knew details, she would say that I was a mess. At that time I thought it was going to be impossible for me to be loved. Sounds depressing but that's how I felt.
Fast forward to a year later aka present day.
I am living and working in NY. This is something that I have wanted all my life. I worked very hard to get here and I am very proud of myself. My confidence level is high, I am secure within myself and I have no doubt of where I want my future to go. I met a few guys and went out on a couple of dates but nothing seemed to catch my attention long enough to remember their names. Eventually I stopped actively looking for men and just laid back. However, this doesn't mean that I would turn down a cutie or two. lol Anyway, so I am at work and I need to contact a coworker at another campus, one that I had left the previous day. I sent this coworker an IM requesting some work related information. After a few minutes I realized that I was taking pictures of this guy yesterday and never knew his name. (Well, he never formally introduced himself to me.) I got the information that I wanted and then I figured I would keep talking to him since I was new at the time. I can be a very sociable person, so it's very easy for me to start a conversation with someone. I continued to ask questions about him and where he was from. You know the general questions you ask someone to get to know them. I had no intentions of this conversation going any further than normal coworker chit-chat. However, after a two days of questions he asked me for my number. (Which I claim to be the action of who asked who out first, lol.) I of course interested in him by now gave him my number and we continued our conversation outside of work. That was a Wednesday, that Friday was the weekend of my birthday and I actually had a date that night. (Which turned out to be a dead-end.) We talked all that weekend, finding out that we had a lot of similar interests, spiritual wants, common present day and future desires.
That Monday morning at work we talked as just like we did the days before. Around noon he sent me a message asking me if I wanted to go out on a date. I was totally not prepared to go out on a date. I had work clothes on my hair wasn't what I would've wanted it to be and I had on no makeup. But for some reason I was really intrigued by this guy. So, I said yes. We met up after work in Grand Central station and immediately I noticed that he was really handsome and tall, both being a major plus. We started to walk towards Time Square to catch a movie, I unfortunately got us lost and we ended up at Red Lobster having dinner. Our conversation ranged from college days, religion, past relationships, food, music and much more. You name it we talked about it. It was such a relaxing and carefree date. It was also my first successful dates in a very long time. And by successful I mean that I didn't get stood up.
After the date we walked over to Bryant Park, which was lit by moonlight and tree lights. We walked, talked and shared more about ourselves. One thing led to another and he plants this very sweet, strong but soft kiss on me. A kiss that let's you know that he had a great time and plans on seeing you again. Needless to say its been almost 6 months and we have been together everyday since.
The point of my story is that you never know who God has out there for you. I had no clue that a small conversation with a coworker would lead to the blessings I have right now. We both had prayed for each other and never even knew the person we were looking for was right under our nose. God truly made all this happen in the way he wanted it. As humans, specifically Christians, we can sometimes forget who the real boss is and try to plan our life for ourselves. In this case, I have stepped aside and let God be my life planner and I have to say I like the direction he is headed.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Recent Articles on LadyChoices.com
Recent Articles on LadyChoices.com
Hi everyone!
I now it's been a while since I have been around but I wanted to give you an update on the work I have been doing for LadyChoices.com.
I have been in the process of computer buying and it has been stressful. Hopefully by next week I will be back with weekly blogs.
Thanks for your continued support!
NappyNikki
Saturday, September 7, 2013
Friday, September 6, 2013
i deserve
i deserve flowers on m doorstep
and coffee in the morning
i deserve notes left on my dashboard
and ice cream sundaes at 3am
i deserve honesty every day
and to be kissed every hour
i deserve to be reminded
how beautiful i am
~rephrased from StumbleUpon~
and coffee in the morning
i deserve notes left on my dashboard
and ice cream sundaes at 3am
i deserve honesty every day
and to be kissed every hour
i deserve to be reminded
how beautiful i am
~rephrased from StumbleUpon~
Thursday, September 5, 2013
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