Author Archives: deepcurvesahead

The Best Laid Plans

Posted in family, For I Am His by

You know how I know God is real?

When I went back to Kentucky, I had every intention of placing flowers on my Granny Aloma’s grave in the morning on the anniversary of her passing. I got up, got dressed, and went to the florist to buy a small arrangement to place on her grave. I planned to take care of that first, before I ran any of my other errands for the day and before the forecasted rain showers began. 

…But the florist didn’t have any fresh flowers. She wouldn’t get any until early afternoon. Silk flowers were not an option; my Granny Aloma loved fresh flowers and that was what I would bring to her. I was initially upset and considered going to another florist–the only other florist–in town but agreed to come back around 2:30 that afternoon to purchase some flowers. 

I picked up flowers at the scheduled time, a small but beautiful bright spring arrangement. I placed them, leaving a single stem on my infant cousin’s grave, and had a good conversation with Granny Aloma. I walked around the graveyard and paid my respects to so many other members of my family. And who pulled up to the graveyard but my Aunt Sybil and Aunt Rhonda, two of my Granny Aloma’s daughters.

God has a plan for all of us. He knows what is best and guides toward it. My plan was to place flowers in the morning. But God knew that if I placed them in the afternoon, I’d be able to see my Aunt Sybil and Aunt Rhonda–two women who watched over me when I was young, who I otherwise wouldn’t have seen on my trip to Kentucky. He placed me there, at that specific place and time, for a reason. So we could comfort each other, spend time together as family, before the rain began to fall. 

The best laid plans–our best laid plans–mean nothing compared to God’s infinite grace and wisdom. 

My Old Kentucky Home: Final Four Edition

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I am a Kentucky girl born and bred. I love my Commonwealth (yes, Kentucky is a commonwealth not a state) and since I moved to Wisconsin almost five years ago I really look forward to taking trips back home. Seriously–these Wisconsin winters are *not* something this Southern belle appreciates much. 

I started the nearly nine hour drive to my hometown early Wednesday afternoon. Overall it was a pretty easy trip; just a few traffic snags outside Chicago and Indianapolis slowed me down. Once I finally made it home my mom and stepdad were waiting up for me. We chatted for a few and then headed to bed. 

Thursday morning, I did mostly nothing–and it was FABULOUS! I slept in, visited my high school speech coach, watched Jerry Springer and Maury, and indulged myself in a Hodgenville staple: Laha’s hamburgers! 

   

 Those burgers are so greasy and delicious. 

I also went to visit my great-aunt’s grave. It has been two years since she passed and I miss her all the time. I’m glad I was in town on the anniversary of her death so I could pay my respects. I also ran into two of her daughters there–my great-aunt is still bringing our family together even though she’s in Heaven. 

  Rest in peace, Granny Aloma. 

I picked my brother up from basketball practice and I do believe he has grown more since Christmas–if he keeps this up he’ll be seven feet tall! I call him “my big little brother.” Once my mom and stepdad got in from work, we ate dinner–I made chicken tortilla soup–and relaxed. President Obama was in Louisville making a speech and it was all over the local news. 

 Someone needs spell check…#ecomomy

On Friday my stepdad headed to Indianapolis to watch the University of Kentucky play in the NCAA Final Four. Kentucky is known for college basketball! I always tell people that on the day you’re born in Kentucky you have to choose a team: University of Kentucky (UK) or University of Louisville (UofL). My mom and brother are UofL fans; my stepdad and I are UK fans–a house divided most definitely. Makes for interesting times when the teams play each other…

Anyway, the big game wasn’t until Saturday but my stepdad wanted to get up there early to meet with some of his Air Force buddies. My brother was spending the weekend with my grandfather, so my mom and I went to the outlet mall with my grandmother. I know where I get my good taste and unquenchable appetite for shopping from! I got a ton of good deals and I got to spend time with two very influential women in my life–a great day indeed. I also visited with my grandfather and his wife for a bit. 

  One of my MANY purchases–found it on clearance at The Loft Outlet!

Saturday Mom and I met with our cousins and took a trip to Indy ourselves! We went to the children’s museum and met up with my college friend Katie for lunch. 

              

Kids (and adults) having a good time!

Then we headed to Lafayette–I got us a free room with my hotel points–and watched UK play Wisconsin in the Final Four. UK lost by just a few points, which was devastating, but I live in Wisconsin so I guess if we had to lose I’m glad it was to them. Mom and I had cake and wine to ease the pain. 

Sunday morning Mom and I had breakfast, then parted ways: she headed south toward Hodgenville; I headed north toward Madison. It breaks my heart every single time we leave each other. She is truly the best mother on the planet and I love her more than life. But I know I’ll get to see her again soon–not to mention we talk almost every day. 🙂

So that was my trip! I had a great time hanging out with my family and friends and can’t wait until I get to spend more time with them in the Bluegrass State! 

Check out a few more pics from my trip back home:

  Rainy Kentucky days–still a beautiful place. 

  Honest Abe chillin’ downtown. 

  Finally got to see the speech state champion banner with my name on it!

  Awesome Easter gifts from my awesome parents. 

 Crossing the bridge on my way back to Madison. 

Ipsy!

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I’ve heard a ton of great things about Ipsy and I’m finally giving it a try. If you’ve never heard of it, Ipsy is a service that sends you 4-5 full-sized beauty products each month. The products are tailored to your skin type and personal style. The best part is that it’s only $10 a month! 

If you’re interested in trying some awesome products, check out this link: https://www.ipsy.com/r/u4zaz

We’re all gorgeous–why not enhance it with some awesome products at a great price!

Crafternoon: Laundry Edition

Posted in Home Life by

Every now and again, I like to get my craft on!  

No, not like this. Though this was the first DVD I ever owned. #throwback

I am especially interested in crafts that will save me money. I’ve been considering making my own laundry detergent for awhile, mostly due to its cost effectiveness. I am also sensitive to some commercial detergents, so being able to control what ingredients were in the stuff that goes on my clothes piqued my interest too. While perusing recipes for homemade laundry detergent I found a tutorial for wool dryer balls that promised to cut drying time and save money too. What the heck, I thought–let’s make both!

I started with a recipe for homemade laundry detergent I found online. The steps were pretty simple: grate one bar of soap and mix with one cup each of washing soda and borax. 

   

         

It smelled really fresh and only took about 10 minutes to make. The most time consuming part was grating the Fels-Naptha soap. I pulsed mine in an old smoothie blender to make it super fine (like me!) and easier to dissolve in cold water(…not like me). 

   

     

I made a double batch (which should last me quite some time) that breaks down to about $0.05 per load! Wayyyyyy cheaper than the overly-perfumed store bought stuff! Check out the original recipe here for more information. 

I was feeling pretty accomplished at that point, but my crafternoon wasn’t over just yet. On the same site I found the homemade detergent recipe, I also found instructions for making “felted” wool dryer balls. These dryer balls are supposed to cut down drying time, eliminate static, and soften clothes (without the residue and hefty price tag that comes with store bought fabric softener). 

I gathered my supplies: 100% wool yard, a crochet hook, knee-highs, and scissors. Then I started shaping balls! <~That sounds really inappropriate, but I promise this was a family-friendly activity. 

   

               

I ended up with five baseball-sized balls from 585 yards of yard. Once the balls are made, pop them into the knee-highs and throw them on the washer on the longest, hottest cycle. Then put them in the dryer (also on the longest, hottest cycle). You may have to do this a few times–I ended up putting mine through the washer and the dryer twice–but at the end of it you’ll have a “felted” wool dryer ball! Peep the original website for detailed instructions on the process. 

   

   

Once you get the hang of winding them, the task goes quickly. You can use these things for YEARS, which will totally save money on fabric softener. Not to mention they are chemical free and won’t coat my clothes with yucky residue!

Overall, my laundry-inspired crafternoon was extremely successful. Not only am I saving money, I’m actually looking forward to washing clothes and seeing the fruits (of the Loom–hahaha) of my labor! 

Nail’d It

Posted in She. Me. Her. by

I love getting my nails done. Not only does it look pretty, it also gives you the opportunity to check out for awhile. You can’t really text or tweet when your digits are getting buffed and polished to filth. 

You also get to meet some interesting people in the nail salon. Today I met an older lady who was visiting from Iowa. She said I was beautiful (so sweet!) and that I reminded her of her 13-year-old daughter (even sweeter!). She even showed me a picture of her and her two younger brothers. 

Priory to ending my engagement, I probably wouldn’t have decided to get my nails done on a whim. There was always a bill due, a field trip fee coming up, a random unexpected expense, or just not enough time to get away. I’m glad I can take the time to focus on me now. Not to mention my nails look sickening! 

Game day mani–the ring finger polish changes colors! #BBN  

Starts With Goodbye (a.k.a. How My Entire Life Changed Over a Single Weekend)

Posted in She. Me. Her. by

Long story short, I’m not getting married anymore.  I’d rather not go into the gory details–those who need to know already do–and besides, the most important part of the story is that he’s gone.

So now I get to focus on me, which is something I haven’t done much over the past three years.  I’ve been thinking a lot about myself over this past weekend and I’ve come to some conclusions:

  • I like to fix people.  Call me the Olivia Pope of broken boys, if you will.  But sometimes you just can’t fix a person, and that’s okay.  The person God has intended for me won’t need to be fixed; God will have already prepared him for me.
  • I thought that putting myself first was selfish.  Putting yourself first isn’t selfish.  If you don’t put yourself first, who will?  If I don’t make myself the best person I can be, I won’t be the best person for someone else.
  • I can be willfully ignorant.  The warning signs about this relationship appeared LONG ago, but I chose not to see them.  However, God will make you get the message one way or another–I’m one that He has to bash over the head with stuff before I finally get it.
  • I am awesome exactly the way I am.  I’m not bragging; I’m speaking fact.  I shouldn’t have to change anything about myself for someone to love me.  If they don’t love me for who I am, they don’t deserve to marry me at all.

Throughout this ordeal I’ve also realized that I have the best friends and family on the planet.  They have supported me in so many ways and showed me that I am never alone.  I cannot begin to thank them for all that they’ve done for me.

Finally, I serve a God who will never, ever, EVER give up on me.  God will always deliver for His children, no matter what.  He brings people into our lives for a purpose and He takes them out of our lives for a purpose too.  Trust Him and you can’t go wrong–He won’t let you.

I guess it’s gonna have to hurt,
I guess I’m gonna have to cry,
And let go of some things I’ve loved,
To get to the other side,
I guess it’s gonna break me down,
Like falling when you try to fly,
It’s sad, but sometimes moving on with the rest of your life,
Starts with goodbye.

-Carrie Underwood, Starts With Goodbye

Taking a Risk By Being Myself

Posted in She. Me. Her. by

This one made me MAD, folks.

On Sunday, I had a decision to make:  watch the Oscars (ridiculously long, lack of diversity, terrible jokes) or watch The Walking Dead (Michonne).  Welp, my mind was made up–no Oscars for *this* golden statuette.

Since I didn’t watch the ceremony, I also missed out on the red carpet.  Apparently, Disney Channel star Zendaya caused quite a stir with her choice of hairstyle.  Fashion Police correspondent Giuliana Rancic made a judgmental comment about Zendaya’s choice of hairstyle, stating “I feel like she smells like patchouli oil or weed. Maybe weed.”

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Zendaya looking glamorous at the Academy Awards!

Zendaya issued a very eloquent response on Twitter–you can read it here–but here is my less-than-eloquent response if you’re in the mood for something ratchet:

How DARE you?!?

First:  Giuliana, you look like you smell like Ex-Lax and low self-esteem.  (Since you want to judge others by their appearance, I assume you can handle it if others do the same to you.)

Second, comments like these are why Black people spent (and continue to spend) unnecessary time, effort, and money making our hair look “presentable” to the white majority.  As a young girl, I had to endure torture from the teeth of the hot comb my mother heated up on the stove to make my hair “pretty” (meaning STRAIGHT).  I wrapped towels and blankets around my head and wished that I had long, straight, blonde hair because the hair that I had was “ugly,” “greasy,” “nappy,” and “hard to manage.”

When I was finally “old enough” (meaning IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL) to get a chemical relaxer, I had to endure scalp burns and hair loss every six weeks until I was old enough to figure out that I didn’t need chemically straightened hair to be beautiful.  Note:  That didn’t happen until, like, 2011.

Third, every single day that I wear my hair natural (meaning not chemically straightened, processed, or otherwise altered–a.k.a. the way God gave it to me) I run the risk of being seen as less than by others.  Less professional, less feminine, less clean, less intelligent, less beautiful. This is a risk I take because I believe God makes no mistakes and my hair is SICKENING just the way it grows it of my head.

It should not be risky behavior to be yourself. NO ONE SHOULD MAKE YOU FEEL INFERIOR FOR BEING WHO YOU ARE.

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Natural hair, don’t care!

Note:  This post has been updated to reflect that Kelly Osbourne did not make any negative comments on Zendaya’s hairstyle.  In fact, she came to Zendaya’s defense in a very public way.

One Word

Posted in Work Life by

“Describe yourself in one word.”

This is an icebreaker question I often use when training. Admittedly I use it because the answers are short–in a class of 50+people we don’t have time to waste–but it also solicits interesting answers. “Compassionate,” “detailed,” “empathetic,” “dedicated”–hearing a room fool of people share their best qualities is truly wonderful.

How would you describe yourself if you only had one word?

I’m Lovin’ It: Part Three

Posted in She. Me. Her. by

Today, I’m loving my training skills. My manager and I met today (as we do each week). She reviewed the trainee evaluations from one of my recent classes. Not only were my scores nearly perfect, my co-trainer also saw a marked improvement in her scores–more so than with any other person she’s trained with!

My natural public speaking abilities and deep knowledge of our product are my favorite things about myself today!