You are Wonderful

By Katrice

I often have this repetitive conversation about happiness with people. I literally say the same thing every time: You can't count on waking up every morning happy. When you're not in the middle of a blissful moment in your life or on the heels of some spectacular accomplishment, being happy ... staying up takes work. So, I think we have to start from a place of just understanding ourselves as wonderfully made. And from there, spend a great deal of time encouraging and thinking well of ourselves. If you really take stock of your thoughts, probably half of them, if not more concern the downside of things. Because, of course, we're always seeking an optimal balance. That's fine. But, the object is to train your mind to push the goodness to the top. When you don't know where to begin, just remember that you were already great at birth. Understand that as your foundation and use it to press on.

Spring Loaded

By Katrice

via Atlanta Tribune: The Magazine | May 2013 issue

The Free Girl Initiative Book Drive

By Katrice 

Next month MVL friend and fellow black girl activist Ebony Janice Moore, founder of The Free Girl Initiative, will make her first junket to Africa on an outreach trip dedicated to empowering black girls in Kenya to shape their own communities. Brilliant work. 

The Free Girl Initiative, a non-profit organization with a mission to utilize artistic and mentoring programs throughout Africa, will launch this summer with tutoring, and the teaching of yoga and entrepreneurial skills, while implementing an arts and mentoring program to high school aged girls in Nyahururu, Kenya. 

One of the aspects of her project to shape future leaders and world changers will be gifting books to the young women for them to share. I'll be heading on over to Amazon and Half.com to purchase a few of the books they've chosen, and I hope you'll join me in sending one before June 1st, as well. Some titles are less and $1. You can also purchase from your favorite book store or online book seller, or even donate a book you have if you see the title listed below. Every bit will help.

Booklist

The Bride Price by Buchi Emecheta

Beasts of No Nation by Uzodinma Iweala

Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Why the Caged bird Sings by Maya Angelou

A tree grows in brooklyn by Betty Smith

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kid

Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

A Midnights Dream by William Shakespeare

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafar

Becoming Billie Holiday by Carole Boston Weatherford

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah

Malcolm X: A Graphic Biography by Andrew Helfer

Touching Snow by M. Sindy Felin

What They Found: Love on 145th by Walter Dean Myers

The Riddles of Epsilon by Christine Morton-Shaw

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

13 Little Blue Envelopes and Girl At Sea by Maureen Johnson

The Maximum Ride series (The Angel Experiment, Schools Out Forever, Saving the

World and Other Extreme Sports, The Final Warning) by James Patterson

A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels and The Far Sweet Thing by Libba Bray

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series by Ann Brashares

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

A Mango Shaped Space by Wendy Mass

Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

All-American Girl by Meg Cabot

Uglies series by Scott Westernfeld

Define “Normal” by Julie Ann Peters

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Bad Boy by Dream Jordan

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Black Hole Sun by David Macinnis Gill

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch

Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones

Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel

Kick by Walter Dean Myers

Resistance 1 by Carla Jablonski

Rotters by Daniel Kraus

You Killed Wesley Payne by Sean Beaudoin

Mail book donations to:

The Free Girl Initiative

C/o Alysa Campbell

2263 Silver Maple Circle

Ellenwood, GA 30294

Books can also be sent after June 1st for this ongoing initiative.

BlackBerry Z10: First Things First

By Katrice

As soon as I heard that I was getting the BlackBerry Z10 as a part of the Verizon Ambassador Program, I thought I'm back! I have been using an iPhone for the past year and a half but it was absolutely a switch made out of desperation. I was completely enthralled with every one of my BlackBerries until there was nothing for me to upgrade to. It was a sad, sad day. So, when the Z10 arrived earlier this month, I just knew I would pick up where I left off with my last BB. Well ... It hasn't been quite that easy; What a difference a year (and some months) makes.

I love the design of the phone. It's ultra slim and lightweight with a nice size screen -- 4.2 inches to be exact. From the jump, I did find it pretty seamless to figure out the setup and actually was able to sign right back into the system manager with my old BB login information. That was cool. But, then, I hit a wall. 

The phone was all set up, I'd taken a few test photos, loaded my go-to contacts (actually a post for another time) and I was on to Blackberry World to download the apps I use frequently. PageOnce, good. Facebook, got it. Twitter ... Tunein Radio, check. Instagram ... [scrolling] ... Instagram ... Hm. No Instagram. Okay, that's alright. Mapquest ... [scrolling] ... Mapquest. Oh, okay, no Mapquest. Netflix ... [scrolling] ... Hmmmm. No Netflix. 

I actually had to take pause. I guess I didn't realize how app driven I was until that moment. Using my phone for actual calling has shifted to secondary. I conduct my life, in part, via the apps on my phone and it hadn't even occurred to me how involved all of this really was. So, on to Plan B. I thought, if I'm going to use this phone, I'll need to find some apps similar to what I'm missing.

Here's what I'm using:

Sometimes, I like to take my lunch in a park or at the picnic table outside my office and watch  documentaries. The NFB Films app is perfect for that. Unlike Netflix, it's free and has a pretty robust catalog of docs and feature films. 

Wisepilot is my answer to mapquest. It's efficient and updates automatically so I never have to worry about outdated streets or ever-present construction in our lovely city.

DoNow is new for me but I love it because I'm a list-maker. But, it's just that one single item that you need to keep top of mind at the present and it is on your homescreen whenever you look onto your phone. Perfect. 

DIY: Havana Twists

By Katrice

I've been meaning to post about my new hair style for a couple of days, but I'm in production for the May issue ... and that has taken over my life. But, here I am today to give you a few quick deets about how I did my own Havana Twists. 

I saw a photo of Brandy last week with Havana Twists and loved them so much that I immediately wanted the style. So, I googled "Havana Twists" to see some other styles people were wearing but one of the first links to come up was a DIY video on YouTube by donedo05. She made it look so easy that I thought I'd try it. 

I will do them larger next time, but I started small

I'm not very handy with my hair; if you've been following me — you know I tend to stick to fros, twist outs and puffs. But, I actually made it through doing these twists, so that means virtually anyone can do it. One tip that helped me to get them started with invisible roots is to begin them like senegalese twists. 

What I used:
Marley Braiding Hair, color 2 {Any brand will suffice; I used three bags but bought four to be safe.}
Elasta QP Olive Oil & Mango Butter Moisturizer
ORS Lock and Twist Gel
Qhemet Biologics Aethiopika Hydrate & Twist Butter