France Friday!

Booked our hotel in Paris....check!
Booked our hotel in Venice....check!
Booked our apartment in Rome....check!
Booked a beautiful train ride through Switzerland....check!

That countdown on the left side says 5.5 weeks left! I can't believe it! This year completely flew by! I feel like I just got married a couple of months ago....lol! We are extremely excited about this trip and can't wait to delve into the European culture.

You can see here that I was debating between 2 hotels in Paris. I decided on the Eiffel Seine hotel. It is right next to the Eiffel Tower and the decor and hotel amenities seems newer. I can't help it. I'm a hotel snob. I get it from my Dad. The hotel was completely renovated in 2006.

I can't wait!!!!!!

The History of Black Hair

In honor of black history month, take a look at this brief video about the history of black hair. It is very interesting. What are your thoughts? Enjoy!

France Friday!

Guess what?!?! We purchased our tickets yesterday! The trip just become so much more real now! I've got to get on it. I'm still stuck in Paris and haven't even begun to research Rome. This will be the first weekend that I haven't worked all year, so I plan on doing some research then.

Have a great weekend! I know I will :)

Timaya Round 2

Here is talking about how him and his friend were attacked by a CVS employee....lol!

France Friday!

Well people, I have a dilemma. Every time I feel like I find the perfect hotel for us, I do some more research and I find another one. Then I start to second guess myself. I'm the type of person that likes to look at EVERYTHING before I make a final decision. It's crazy! There are some many hotels in Paris and I feel like I'm driving myself crazy! I have narrowed my decision between 2 hotels:

The Royal Magda Etoile

This hotel has great reviews and is ranked 14th on tripadvisor.com's list of hotels in Paris. There is close to 2000 hotels on this list.

The location is good too. Situated near the Arc de Triomphe in the Palais des Congrès district.

The other hotel that I love is called The Eiffel Seine.

This is a beautiful hotel situated right near the Eiffel Tower. Its ranked 30th on tripadvisor's list. This hotel has not been reviewed as much as the other one. Its slightly more expensive {when I say slightly, I mean like 5 euros more p/day} than the other hotel.

As you can see these are 2 beautiful hotels with great reviews. Now I've got to decide which one. I still can't believe I've spent this much time on Paris hotels. I will probably pull my hair out when it is time to research Rome hotels. While researching, many recommended that you really research the area that you stay at in Paris because it can make or break your trip. Especially if its something that you weren't expecting.

For those that have traveled to Europe, did you exchange your money when you got there or here in the states? Some people say, there aren't as many fees if you do it overseas but I just don't want to worry about it once we get there, since we will be paying for most of the trip in cash. Advice please!

Have a great weekend!

France Friday!

Last time we visited France Friday, we were talking about the leg of the trip that included the south of France (Nice). Well plans have slightly changed since then. Instead of going to Nice, I fell in love with a part of Italy that I have to see while I'm so close......VENICE!

The city looks so romantic and the ambiance seems so magical as most of the city lies under water. Moonlit gondola rides, fantastic food, and historic scenery were just a few of the things that really ignited my interest in visiting this beautiful place.

There are several reasons that made me change my mind about going to Nice. The main reason was the train ride. It is 7 hours to Nice from Paris. Then a couple days later we would have to get on another 8 hr train ride to Rome. Well after doing some research, I discovered there is a fast train that goes from Paris to Venice in 6 hrs with a stop in Milan. The train from Venice to Rome is only 3 hours {Rome is the final leg of our trip to be discussed later!}

I'm really looking forward to visiting this majestic city. I've started to research hotels and they are pretty pricey to say the least but I'm sure it will all be worth it.

Have a great weekend!

Meet Timaya!

OMG is all I have to say! I stumbled upon his youtube page and I have been hooked because he is HILARIOUS! If you want to have a good laugh please please please watch this video. On this episode he is talking about blind dates!

*Disclaimer~He does use profanity a lot! So if you don't have headphones, get some so you can listen!

Biggest Loser Challenge

I'm currently competing in a biggest loser challenge with some of my online friends. I'm really excited about it because as some of you may know from this post, that I have a weird fetish about losing weight. I love the challenge of losing it, then I truly enjoy eating the foods I love and gain it back. This isn't really all that healthy, but we are only talking between 10-20 lbs each time. So for the next 11 weeks or so, I will be working out non-stop and eating lots of healthy yummy treats. There are a lot of healthy challenges going on in the blogging world. I came across this one below, located on recipegirl.com:

Recipegirl.com has some great healthy recipes, so check it out. I encourage all of you to take this challenge for yourself personally. My motto is "If you don't like the way you look, then do something about it". Its starts with you. Weightloss is a 100% mental challenge. You have to motivate yourself to make the right decisions to eat better. Everyday you have to make yourself exercise, moderate your intake, choose the right foods, etc. Find something healthy that you like and stick with it. I offer you all my moral support. If I can do it, so can you. Even if you have 100lbs to lose, it all starts with 1 lb. Set small goals for yourself. Don't waste your life hiding behind closed doors stuffing your face with foods that don't make you feel good. Life is entirely too short! Make a change today!

At the end of my twelve week challenge, I plan to post my before and after pictures. Throughout the weeks, I will share with you recipes, workouts, and support! Good luck!

France Friday!

After spending 2 nights in Paris, we will be taking a 6 hr train ride to the south of france in Nice. I've found the perfect place for us to stay that has great reviews on tripadvisor.com. The hotel is called Hotel le Petit Trianon. Only having 12 rooms, its a small quaint hotel located right in the heart of Nice.

The hotel is located right next to the famous beaches of the Cote d'Azur and the Promenade des Anglais of Nice.

Its also located near the hotel are historic neighborhoods and lots of shopping! Every room is equipped with air-conditioning and free WIFI access in each room. Rates run around $120.00p/ night with breakfast served in bed for an aditional $10.00. I'm looking forward to it.

My feelings on being a DINK

Thank you so much to Ashley and Mrs. Vincent for your comments on the below post:) I personally love being a DINK! Its definitely something that you give up if you decide to have a baby immediately after your wedding day or if you have children before marriage. I cherish this time I have with my husband. I know that once we decide to have children, you can never have this time again. I live in the south(originally from the north) and it seems like down here most women are on an EXTREME time line. Not all, but LOTS! If I had a quarter for every time I heard "I want to have all of my kids before I'm 30" I would be rich. For those that didn't click the link below to Bellyitchblog.com, here is what it states:

What Does Dual Income, No Kids - DINKS Mean? A household in which there are
two incomes and no children (either both partners are working or one has two
incomes). DINKS are often the target of marketing efforts for luxury items such
as expensive cars and vacations.

What is a BUCKET List? A list of things you want
to do before your life is changed and become consumed with more thing related to
parenting than not.

I love my life with my family and wouldnt trade it in for the world, but every once in a while, I reflect on my life before babies as a DINK: Dual Income, No Kids (or Disposable Income No Kids) and I get nostalgic. Man...Those days were filled with...
-Waking up whenever I wanted which used to mean like 11 on Saturdays and noon on Sundays.
-Taking advantage of last minute vacation getaway deals. You know on Tuesday, you'd get an email alert saying if you book by Thursday, you could be on your way to Cancun, Mexico by Friday for $200! yeah. that.
-Going away on that vacation and not really worrying about anyone I left behind and just really letting go and enjoying the vacation. I trusted my adult siblings and parents would be fine.
-Taking in a movie, new nightclub or "happy houring" on a moment's notice and not thinking twice about bar hopping til the wee hours of the morning as I didn't have a babysitter to relieve.
-Spending freely on clothes, kitchen gadgets and all the toys I'd want for myself cause all my disposable income was for me and me only.
-Not having anything in the fridge or cupboard at all and being fine with that because I could and usually ate out regularly and casually.
-Buying whatever furniture I wanted for my house without having to think if it has sharp edges or is too white and would get soiled by kids.

So, if you are expecting your first child soon or about to start the process of trying to conceive one, I HIGHLY recommend you sow your DINK oats now. Get your pencil and pen out now and create a Bucket List of stuff you have or want to get out of your system before your baby comes because life will NEVER EVER be the same again...ever. Even when you are 90 years old, you will NEVER go to bed without worrying or thinking about your adult kids and what they are doing and if they are okay.

Info taken from here.

DINK

DINK stands for Dual Income No Kids. A time that some people experience right after marriage or a time when you live with your significant other with no dependents. I was perusing the internet and come across this post that really struck me at heart. Read it and tell me what you think!

I'm still alive!

I just wanted to let you guys know that I'm still alive and care about this blog...lol! I promise! One of my new year resolutions is to spend more time here. I just don't know where people find the time to update everyday and still have a life! No offense to those that do but its a lot of work :) I hope everyone had a great holiday. You will see me soon! I promise!

France Friday!

We spoke about all things Paris in the previous France Fridays, today we are going to start the next leg of our trip which is a train ride to the south of France......Nice and Monaco! I've always wanted to go especially since {my BFF in my head} Beyonce goes all the time. The south of France is just so breathtaking. Take a look at these marvelous photos:

Since I began researching, I've read many recommendations about how to get to Nice. Some people say fly because it is quick and less expensive. Some say take the 6hr train ride because the scenery is just so beautiful. A flight from Paris to Nice would cost us around $90 one-way each. That's not bad! For the train ride, its a little more complicated. Some say stay away from EuroRail because its so expensive. A train ride from Paris to Nice can easily cost Euro 150 ($210) each {Ouch!}. It gets pretty confusing for me because there are sooooo many rail road companies to choose from. We will eventually be traveling from Nice to Italy {which will definitely be discussed in future France Fridays}, so some say to get a rail pass. Has anyone traveled by train in Europe before? Any advice or help I would REALLY appreciate!

Would you buy this for your child?

While listening to the Bert Show this morning they talked about this doll being sold on etsy. I understand educating your children about childbirth, but does it have to be this graphic? People are really crazy now-a-days! What are your thoughts?

Natual Hair

Most of you don't know this but.......wait for it.......wait.......I am an addict. Yes I have an addiction. What am I addicted to? HAIR. I'm obsessed with hair. I love all different types of hair. It is fascinating to me. Everyone in this world are alike in many ways, but one difference that no one can argue is hair. The Good Lord blessed us all with different types of hair. I've worn wigs, weaves, hair pieces {you name it; I've worn it}. I view my hair as if it is an accessory. I like to change it up from time to time. My real hair is about shoulder length and its natural. Some of my white brethren may ask well what does natural mean? It means that I don't chemically alter my hair's curl pattern. Just like a perm for Caucasian hair makes it curly, a perm for African-American hair makes it straight.

OK well that was just a quick history lesson in hair, on to the real reason I started this post. I stumbled upon this photo:

Her name is Emerald Angel-Young, she stars in the movie Law Abiding Citizen with Jamie Foxx. She is 10 years old and her hair is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! It looks so healthy and thick. One thing about natural hair is that you have so many options on how you want to wear it. You can wear it curly like above or straight. I'll have more posts and videos to share about hair in the future. Until then, holla!

Rihanna on 20/20

On Friday night, I went to dinner with my fantastic hubby {His B-day was last Monday, and he catered to me in bed because I was still sick with the flu}. Anyways, as we were on our way to Carrabba's {I could slice someone for their fresh bread}, I completely forgot to set the tivo to watch the interview.

The blogoshere was buzzin' about this interview, stating that she wasn't going to go into detail about what happened that night with Chris Beat-Her-Down Brown. So this morning, I watched the entire interview on YouTube. I was surprisingly shocked about how open she was. I was just so proud of her. She seemed strong, open, and confident. I really hope it wasn't just a front. I thought she was going to sugar coat the situation and lessen the seriousness of the situation. I was happy to see that she realized the power of her stardom and even stated that she would not be able to live with herself if a young girl decided to go back to an abuser because of her selfish decision to go back to Beat-Her-down Brown { don't you just love that nickname}. After seeing the photo below, I can't see how anyone could feel sorry or empathize with him.

There are NO EXCUSES for this type of behavior. In case you missed the interview, you can see it in its entirety here.

France Friday!

Sorry for the delay, but France Friday is back jack! {Yeah I took it back to the early 90's with that one}. Let's see....we've talked about Paris and the attractions it has to offer, where to stay, eat, and play. Now lets talk about how we are going to get there. Obviously we will be flying and since Delta is the airport hub for Atlanta, we will most likely be flying with them.

I have been closely monitoring Delta flight prices to Paris in May for the last couple of months. I must say.....they don't budge. Not.even.a.little. They have been consistently coming in at between $980-$1100.00 each round trip. That is a big bullet to swallow, but I don't want to wait too late before we purchase them. It's a pretty big gamble because the prices can go either way. We are ready to purchase them, whenever we see a good deal. Thankfully we have already saved up the cash for the trip.

Delta offers two types of planes that fly over. They typically leave in the evening. The Delta Boeing 767-300ER and the Boeing 777-200ER. The 767 is the smaller of the planes and the one that I'm more leaning towards. The 767 looks like this:

It's 2 rows, 3 rows, then another 2 rows. I'm a little crazy and don't like it when I have to sit next to someone I don't know on a plane. I have been lucky in this area, but you never know if someone who is extremely sick, or has a small infant, or needs 3 seat belt extensions will be seated next to you. I would just like to sit next to my husband.

The Delta 777 looks like this:

See how it has 3 rows across 3 aisles? Its a bigger plane and it actually gets you to Paris 20 minutes faster. I can deal with the extra 20 minutes as long as we don't have to sit next to someone random. The flight to Paris is 8 hrs and 40min. This will be the longest flight I've ever been on. I know one thing that will make this flight be smooth.....my best friend named benadryl. Don't judge me. A girl has got to do what a girl has got to do. And if sleep is what I want, sleep is what I'll get......lol!

I found a really cool site called seat expert. You basically go to the site, type in your airlines, flight number, and departure date, and wooo-laaaa! It tells you what seats are the best and worst on the plane. Isn't that cool? I love it. It looks like the second row exit seats would work best for us.

We want to spend around 11-12 days on our European excursion. Does anyone have any suggestions on what day to fly out? I've heard Tues and Weds, but the price doesn't seem to change much. I'm not sure. I will definitely keep you posted on what we end up doing. Until later, have a great weekend!

Giveaway, giveaway, giveaway

Check out my sister's blog. She is having her first giveaway. There are some cool, handmade cards that anyone can use. Click here to check it out!

Guess what I caught?

THE FLU!

And this is how I felt....

Pretty crappy! Five whole days in the bed. There are only so many Oprahs, Tyra's, and Wendy's I can watch. I'm actually happy to be back at work today!

Where the eff have I been??

Let me first start by saying SORRY, SORRY, SORRY!!! There has been so much going on in my life for the past month that I haven't had time to blog lately :( Let me give you a few quick updates. First, I was VERY busy at work for the past month. It is budgeting/forecast season so I couldn't blog at work. I can't make any mistakes during this time, because it can cost my company millions, hence I work extra long hours and have to go over everything with a fine tooth comb. Then, I got news that my Grandpa was sick, so my family and I went up there to visit him for a weekend. It lifted his spirits tremendously. He gets a lot of energy form his kids, grandkids, and great grans. My father is his favorite child (I know that sounds biased but he really is). He is so proud of him and I think its cute the way he talks about him. So please keep my family in your prayers. God is very Good and I trust his plan for us.

Ok on to some more positive things, the hubbs and I went on a mini-moon to Vegas. We had a REALLY good time and I'll give a review a little later. I'm still researching our European trip called France Fridays! I'll be giving an update about that this week. My sister nominated me for a blog award. She got her first award and it is well deserved! If you haven't checked out her blog, click on over. She puts a lot of time and effort into it and it definitely shows!

Well, I COMPLETELY fell of my weightloss wagon. I mean I didn't even have a toe on it. I'm going to make a video about this, which reminds me.....I will be turning this blog into a vlog...kind of! I won't always make videos but I feel as though I have a ton to offer when it comes to weightloss and hair. Hair is a whole other story I have yet to share with you guys.

Thanks for hanging in there with me and I'll will be posting regularly from now on.

Too-Da-Loo!