2013: A Fruitful New Year!

I’m hoping all of you had a great holiday! It’s the time of year when we (most of us) spend ridiculously and give gifts to those we love (or pretend to) and feel miserable after because we’re broke. I promise myself time and time again I won’t partake in Christmas because I need to save my damn money! But honestly, I love what the day brings. I love what the holidays bring! My family, decorations, excitement and gifts! Lots and lots of gifts! I get to see the excitement on my child’s face when she opens her gifts. Shallow? I know but whatever.

So, for those of you that are on a mission to save this year (like myself) I found this awesome post (please see below – click on the image to make it larger) on Facebook. Not sure where it came from originally, but I got it from a distant cousin, James. If any of you do,  please share, so I can give credit to that individual.

Some suggest to open a savings account dedicated to the ’52 Week Money Challenge.’ But I plan on doing it the old fashioned way, using my piggy bank. (I had to super glue the bottom because I know the ‘compulsive me’ will have a change of heart, one of these days, and hopefully the superglue will be a deterrent.

Once I save the money, I’ll determine what should be done with it next. No use in counting my eggs before they hatch., right? Hmm….maybe I’ll buy a new purse? Maybe I’ll travel somewhere exotic? Or, maybe I’ll add it to a high yield savings account? Who knows. Whatever I decide to do with it is my business. But, I challenge YOU to save this year. If you already have tons of cash and don’t need to, it’s still a fun way to discipline yourself and show that you can commit to something.  If you truly do need the money, once the year commences, you’ll have some. You’ll feel accomplished and it’ll prove that you can save and do more.

I wish you all the best of luck this year and may you continue to do what (or who) you love. May you continue to turn your dreams into a reality one day at a time, one dollar at a time.

Much love,

S

Fruitful Friday: Family First

This past year has been quite eventful. I traveled for pleasure, had tons of fun and I’ve learned a lot about myself that I needed to learn: Family is everything. Despite the drama and falling outs, at the end of the day, we all come back together (partly because we have to) during the holiday season to reminisce and laugh.  I’ve learned that you should never wait to long to reach out because life is short and our days are numbered here on planet earth. As hectic as our lives are, it takes just a few mintes to make a phone call to say ‘hello.’

Try it.

S

Fruitful Friday: Time Well Spent

“Children are great imitators. So give them something great to imitate.” – Anon.

Today the little one stayed home with me in light of Tropical Storm, Sandy. If you never told me a tropical storm was passing through… I would never have known.

Typically, my Fridays consist of me doing things around the house, as it’s my only day off that I have to myself…but today would be a little different. Dr. Phil always says that a child’s biggest role model is the same-sex parent and I never knew how true that was until my child was born. I do try my very best and have minor slip-ups on occasion (I’m only human you know) but I’m quickly reminded of my potty mouth when I hear, “Ooh mommy! That’s not nice.” Yikes.

Anyway, today was a chance for us to spend the day together, alone, so I attempted to make the best of it by distracting her with books, movies, TV etc. while I tried to clean my house and get caught up with my shows I’ve missed this week. Ha! Not!

No, that was definitely not the case, none of that was happening today. It was impossible for me to clean and I didn’t even think to watch the TV. Why? Because we did the following TOGETHER:

1. Played dress up

2. Had a tea party

3. Watched “The Little Mermaid.” This inspired her to want to dress up as the little mermaid

4. Play dress up again

5. Did each others hair

6. Rode the toy jeep throughout the house (old pic I had but you get the point)

7. Play dress up

8. Read some books

9. Had lunch (she successfully picked out each piece of broccoli I strategically placed in her food and said it hurt her stomach) LIES!

10. NAP (In which I took the time to write this post)

Today was not only an experience but a lesson learned. Time spent, should be time WELL spent. We had an awesome day despite the house looking like a tornado visited and I’m officially one week behind on my shows but it was all worth it. I love this little girl with all my heart and soul and wish everyday could be like today. Okay, I went a little far but you get it. I just wish we had more days like this together.

S

Did You ‘Give Thanks’ Today?

Go to work this morning thankful and appreciative that you have a job to go to.

Be thankful you have income and money coming in. Even though, it may be going to bills… be thankful you have employment, because many people don’t.

Be thankful you have your health and life to live. Be appreciative of your loved ones and those around you that care and support you.

Be thankful you have food to eat and a roof over your head. Be thankful you have a car to drive and if you don’t have that, be thankful you have your two feet to walk with.

Take a moment today to be thankful of all that you’re blessed with because you are very blessed.

S

Fruitful Friday: Do You!

So I haven’t done one of these “Fruitful Friday” posts in a while so enjoy it while it lasts.

A lot of us are consumed with work, family, friends, social networking… and the list goes on and on and on. We never take a moment to sit down, relax and enjoy ourselves. I mean really enjoy time… alone! I know I don’t… I work 10-hour days, pick up my daughter from school, take her to a swimming lesson, cook dinner, and then I finally finish my day at 2am. For those of you that are in my same predicament, there are many things to do to create more time for yourself and free yourself from everyday stress. Read on to learn more those things and remember, you only have one life to live, so live it!

1. Take a walk… alone! And when I say alone, that means, with no phone. Be alone with just you and your thoughts. If you live in a warm climate, I promise you, you’ll feel great after your done. Focus on your breathing too. Before your walk, close your eyes, take a deep breath in and then exhale. Do it!
2. When you’re at dinner, sit down and relax and not with your phone either! Put your phone on silent and don’t feel obligated to check your Facebook status, Instagram updates or any other social media outlet you’re apart of. It’ll be available after you’re done. Trust me.
3. Get a massage. A real one and not one from your man (or woman). Call your favorite spa and make an appointment for a massage. You’ll feel great after!
4. Call a cleaning service to clean your home for you, so you don’t have to. Do you know how much time you’d save if you didn’t have to do that? I’m not saying to hire a cleaning service every day/week, but do it at least once. Let them get on their hands and knees to scrub the grout and floor boards and use that time to do something for yourself, like go shopping?
5. Pick a good book and read it. Not sure what to pick? Click here to see NY Times best sellers and if you haven’t read the ’50 Shades’ trilogy yet, you’re mad late but it’s okay, you’re busy with life. Click here to buy from Amazon.com.
6. Sleep until you wake up on your own. Turn off your alarm clock and just sleep undisturbed. F*ck work. They’ll get over it because you’re fabulous…just don’t blame your ‘write-up’ on me! Can’t sleep at home (it may be too noisy)? Book a hotel room for the night and you go there ALONE to SLEEP!
7. Stop saying “sorry” for things you don’t need to say “sorry” for. Save your “sorry” for when you really need to use it – Seriously. When you bump into someone at Nordstrom’s say ‘Excuse me” and not, “I’m sorry.” The Bitch shouldn’t of been in the way to begin with! Just kidding.
8. Buy yourself flowers and a cute vase for them to go in.
9. Book a plane ticket to see your friends or family that you haven’t seen in a while. If you’re the one always making the trips, call them and express to them how much you’d like to see them. Either way, it’d give you an excuse to go shopping. Whether it be for your trip or for your expecting company…you know you need some new bath towels.
10. Buy some alcohol and drink it. Trust me, you’ll feed good after.

Have anymore? Feel free to comment.

Truth!

DeityNyota

I know and understand that not everyone of African heritage will agree with me, speak for me or represent me as an individual. But I feel that the time for inter-cultural evaluation has come.

Honestly, its been here for quite some time now. But I’m really getting sick of what I’m seeing. And its one of the reasons why I started my own entertainment company, in hopes that I may be one of the few people who have the courage to take the steps needed to change how we as a people perceive ourselves.

We visually ingest a healthy dose of negativity by the spoonfuls. Sopping it up like hog slop, and wiping the drivel from our chins with napkins that reads, “That’s not me, so I don’t care” or “it is what it is”. We make excesses for ignorance and justify the unnecessary based upon where we live or…

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On a Serious Note…

I woke up this morning super excited to research each candidate fully so I could speak to what they stood for intelligently. I watched the 2012 presidential debate on Tuesday night and it motivated me to want to learn more about it all. Side Note: There was a point where I thought a fight was going to erupt between Gov. Romney and Pres. Obama and my eyes widened in excitement as I snacked on Golden Oreos waiting to see who would throw the first blow. I quickly realized I was watching the presidential debate and not an episode of Jersey Shore. Embarrassing.

Discussing politics gets people super emo so I had to be prepared to fire back with solid good ol’ facts if needed. I wasn’t 100% familiar with what each candidate had to offer and still not completely confident. Truth is, I was never one to take politics seriously. Perhaps it was because I didn’t grow up in a politics driven household or maybe because I just wasn’t interested in the topic. Is that a crime? I would rather watch Grey’s Anatomy or do some online shopping, but as I mature and learn to understand the seriousness of the topic, I felt compelled to write this.

I’m also trying super hard to do this ‘blog-a-day’ thing. Dang, how do y’all do it out there in Cyber World? From my daughter’s swimming lessons to making sure dinner (I love my microwave)  is hot and ready for when the Mister comes home, I can’t find time!

I am an individual who needs things to be broken down in simple terms, especially when the topics are boring and uninteresting to me, and considering I’m a 20-something female (I’m a little overzealous in saying that because I won’t be able to say that the year after next) with a young daughter, I need to be able to explain certain things to her when she asks. Right? I can’t depend on Google forever. She’ll figure me out and call me a ‘fraud’ eventually. Trust me. I have a genius three-year old on my hands. So this whole political thing needs to be taken seriously. All I know is that I’m going to vote. I’m going to do my part and contribute and be a responsible citizen. Besides, I keep getting these cool bumper stickers in the mail but I’ll be damned if I stick them on my shiny white Beemer. Sorry ‘Bama!

Anyway, from women’s rights to education. I know that I want to vote for someone that’s pro-choice and supports a woman’s decision to protect herself from an unwanted pregnancy. I support the candidate who would not take away funding from places like Planned Parenthood and continue to allow private insurance coverage, provided by employers, to pay for contraceptives. I mean seriously… there are some people out there who DO NOT need to be parents…not yet anyway. I can name a few….

I know that I want to vote for the candidate that stands by education and supports a students decision to attend a traditional university and get government aid while doing it, if that’s their choice and if they need the financial assistance; why should they be exempt because they can’t afford it?

I have been VERY fortunate to be employed and can’t complain in that regard, including my friends and family. So, I don’t really have an opinion on that…  I live in an area where jobs are plentiful and it confuses me when I hear there are no jobs available. If yo’ as is jobless and broke, you need to take yourself to your local grocer and ask, ‘paper or plastic?’

In regards to everything who cares what I think? It’s my blog and my very humble two-cents. I write what I want. That’s why it’s called SumikoMelody.com and not something else.

Until next time.

S

Good Morning to You

Good Morning to you!

I hope that someone reading this will be inspired to have a fantastic day. Be the best you today and enjoy it. You only have one life to live, so live it. Most of all, smile and be fabulous all while doing it.

S.

It’s Been Way Too Long

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It certainly has been way too long. As usual, life gets the best of me. Will I ever manage to juggle it all? Anyway, I thought of this bright idea to write an ebook and I'm super excited! Until... the bright idea dims and is taken over by another bright idea. Let's see how long this one lasts.

S.

I Love This Girl: Beyoncé