We are 4 women bound by blood, 3 sisters and their mother. Our goal is to help each other become the best we can be. Helping each other we can improve our intelligence, image, health, wealth, talents and abilities. We are each magical and powerful when we stand alone, but we are amazingly powerful when we stand together, and the results are out of this world. We talk about our natural hair, our weight, fashion, food, parties and living well. We make the ultimate Mother Daughter Team.
I really want to be in-depth about waist training and period panties but I will do that in 2016. Today is the last day of 2015 and I just want to say yes or no on these two intimate apparel subjects.
Period Panties by THINX WORKS! I love them. They feel great. They stay dry. They protect your clothes. I had them on during a road trip for over 18 hours with no problem! Just be careful these panties can get full. I wore them just long enough to get it to the over full point. If they get over full the stitching can be an area of leaking but not really. I like it better than pads and tampons and I think they are great to wear while sleeping. I feel it is prefect for preteens just starting their menstrual cycle. Read the washing directions.
Now on to waist training, which I like. What I don't like is over paying for something when it is not the best product on the market. That waist training company that the Kardashian's keep promoting is over priced by over $60.00 and it is not the best one. How do I know? I own two of them. I will talk more about that company later. Very unhappy with that company and their over priced under performing products. I am not naming the company because I want to devote more time to deal with this company. Now on to Divafit, my waist trainer of choice, is not cheap. It is also not super expensive. I love this product. The sizes are true to fit. A medium is a real medium. They fit well and are comfortable. The quality is very good, too. It is much better than the one the Kardashian girls keep taking selfies in. I also own Miss Belt Instant HourGlass Shape, thanks to Faith giving it to me as a Christmas gift. It is cheap and it is worth it. It makes my back feel better and supported. It feels like a back bra, lifting you up. It is bulkier than real waist trainers but for true back support this one feels better. Comfortable enough to sleep in and worth the money. Waist training has some benefits beyond making you look smaller. I swell up a lot, especially while driving or flying. I have to wear compression socks and stockings. I really should wear compression sleeves for my arms. I think waist trainers that offer compression can offer help for those who need it. It is not just vanity people. I take long road trips and even if I am fasting my body can gain 10-20 pounds in water weight in one day. It is very scary and can take 2 days to recover. When traveling I must wear compression everything. Waist training has a point.
The 4 have had a very odd year this year and yet it was not so odd. It was full of ups and downs, arguments and fights followed by impossible achievements. This Christmas like this year was very odd. On paper we had the best Christmas ever!!! It was filled with evening gowns, 100% silk linens and major property acquisitions. There were no real major fights during the Holidays and we had a beautiful Christmas tree. We even have great pictures of the four of us together. On paper everything was perfect. In the years to come that is how I hope to remember everything. Off paper was something the world doesn't see. Everything we did, every present we gave each other, every picture we took, was part of our working Christmas. Yes, even on Christmas Day, we worked.
The Gifts
We each purchased beautiful dresses for each other. They look beautiful and we look beautiful in them but every dress we bought was for an ad campaign. We didn't pick the dresses because we wanted them. We picked the dresses because we needed them. Do we love Ralph Lauren? Yes. Would we have made different purchases if these were actual gifts? Yes. We were so under pressure the entire month of December that we didn't give ourselves a chance to even think. We each got at least 5-8 great gowns and dresses. If it were a holiday shopping spree it would have been a fun one. We would have enjoyed ourselves. Perspective is everything. We were panicked. We wanted a certain look so we didn't go for what we wanted for Christmas. I look at the rack of clothes in our "war room" and they really are amazing but I can't say they were gifts because they weren't. If I could do the moment again I would remove the pressure we felt to get things done. I would have noticed sooner that I am in a store with my beautiful mother and my two beautiful sisters shopping for dresses. Next year and the years to follow will be working Christmases, too. I know this because of the type of work we do but I am going to have to learn to change my perspective. A woman in the grocery store was talking to her sister on the phone. I over heard her ask her sister if she wanted to go dress shopping. It was only then that I realized that I had that moment with my sisters already and I missed it! When family works together it is hard sometimes. We are entertainers, event planners and we host guest from around the world. Entertainers never take off for holidays, hospitality never takes off for Holidays. Technically we did not give each other gifts, but we can think of what we did purchase this year as a working gift.
I did however buy silk for each of us. I had been meaning to for years but silk, even on sale, even with a coupon, is expensive. I spent well over $300.00. I think it was closer to $500.00. I should know but I am trying to avoid becoming depressed. So why did I buy silk now? It wasn't for Christmas, although my purchase arrived just before Christmas Eve. I bought it because I am trying my best to avoid a major problem with our hair. Yea, I know just get a regular satin pillow case and hair cap. I tried that. I have used that for years. Silk is better. Satin served me well but it was not enough. Satin keeps hair healthy but it doesn't protect as well as silk. Oh and just so you know satin is the type of weave of the fabric it is not fabric. Satin can be any fabric including silk. I also learned that real silk is sold by the weight not thread count. Well, to get back to the topic. Something really bad happened that I don't want to talk about, but the silk was all I could do to help the situation. I one day I will have the money to get them piles and piles of silk for fun.
The property we bought is a historic building. It is a building everyone notices when you drive by and we will make it a place people won't forget. We closed on this building in December which is a great Christmas present for all of us but...this was a lot of work. Several months of stress and more to come. Still this was the best moment we had this Holiday Season. Maybe by New Year's Eve we will take a moment and really celebrate. Again perspective is everything. We need to take just 30 minutes and say wow. Instead we are busy renovating the building and booking guest at our properties and burning the candle at both ends. I want the 4 to see that they are not just working, but achieving great things. I just need them to take in that this is Christmas and though everything we did this year was for work, it is still pretty cool.
Work
We tried to attend family events this year. Last year I did not attend Christmas dinner and missed most of the Holiday Season. This year I really wanted to try and be there with everyone for Christmas. I was looking forward to Aunt Kim's Charity Party. I missed it. I wanted to be on time for Aunt Crystal's Christmas dinner. We were 2 hours late. I knew Aunt Kim's party was going to be amazing. I was still searching for dresses with Mom and my sisters for our company ad at 9:00 PM the evening of my Aunt's Party. I looked like a haggard hobo not a woman looking for dresses for work. I remembered looking at my phone and saying I'm not going to make it. Being creative while collaborating with 3 other women takes time. The pics to Aunt Kim's event were amazing. We were also late for Christmas dinner. Why? Because we had someone book our property on Christmas Day. Our guest arrived in Louisville on Christmas and found they had nowhere to stay. Since we just purchased a new building this was a much needed booking. Mom and Faith worked hard to settle our guest in one of our places. In our family, you dress for Christmas dinner. We did not. We arrived looking well, less than what is expected, but we were there and we had fun.
Holiday Season
My husband passed December 13, 2013, Friday the 13th. This year I wanted to decorate on the 13th to change the emotional charge of the day. We haven't decorated since 2012. We did not get a chance to do anything for Christmas on December, 13th this year like I wanted. I was feeling down. I felt like I failed. I was downstairs at 2 am when the doorbell rang. I didn't answer the door because it couldn't be for me and everyone else was asleep. I did not know it was my mother's youngest brother, my uncle. I did not know he brought us a real tree. I went to bed before dawn. I called my mother later that morning and she told me Uncle Wayne left us a tree. The mood at our home had not been good. It was difficult at best. When I came downstairs later that afternoon it smelled like Christmas. Faith who works all day and all night everyday looked happier than she had in months. The tension was leaving our home. We had something that we needed but couldn't get for ourselves left at our door step and it changed everything. My uncle knew what the 13th was and he brought us a tree. My uncle loved Bryan, too. We all did. He was our family. I believe Bryan knew we felt defeated. He knew that we really needed to change that day, so he sent my uncle at 2 am. Thank God! We decorated our tree differently than we normally do but we still love it. That is our first tree in years.
Perspective
I need to look at my life with new eyes. Days can be a burden or a learning experience. Work can be work or a moment to be spent with others. A beautiful dress is a beautiful dress. Does it matter that I got it for work? Christmas is Christmas even when we work so hard and we don't take notice. Christmas happens. Life happens.
We are all pretty, so we don't like be labeled the ugly sister. Although, I must admit from time to time I do make myself the ugly sister. Let me warn you now, that is a major set up. I do this because I want to know what kind of person you are. Many people are kept at arms length because they revealed their own ugliness. I guess that is one of the advantages of being sisters. There are 3 of us and it is very hard for people with bad intentions to get close. They do of course, but it is only because the one sister who is sounding the alarm was forced to shut up.
The other good thing about being sisters? There is always someone to cover for you. If Joy is supposed to be at a party but has an audition, no one will be upset with Faith or me replacing her. It is still a good time. If Faith is over booked but our mom needs someone's opinion about a new piece of property, I'll go with mom to look at the property and Joy will arrive ahead of time to one of Faith's other bookings and stall. Joy is great at stalling. We could also look at my classic "Love" moment. I am not feeling an event but I know Joy and Faith are going to look hot which means I don't have to try as hard, hehe. They look good so I look good.
Being sisters always means you have a personal stylist, personal assistant and brand ambassador. Yes, there are major problems working with your sisters. The fights are hell on Earth. The resentments are growing and sometimes you feel like you aren't getting enough credit! The thing is, the good out weighs the bad. I gladly serve as my sisters spotlight, bodyguard, personal assistant, glam squad and back drop. I know we all have the same goals. We all want to get to the same place. We may all want to lead and yes sometimes that is a problem but it is also a great advantage. Once we figure out this dance of lead, follow, lead the world will be no match for us.
Why Royal? I am sure many people ask that question when they see this page. I am also sure many other people get it. There is for me a well defined and yet verbally undefinable reason why I call my family royal. For me it is what it is and I consider all of my family not just the 4 as Royal, I always have. In Zen they say that if you try to define something you kill it. So I will do my best to bring you closer to my reasoning as possible without trying to define it.
The word Royal suits me and my family. It just fits. Some people are not comfortable with such a title and that's okay. The title of farmer really mattered to my Grandfather. Yes he was a reverend and a carpenter but the thing that made him smile most was farmer. To me, he was a Royal farmer, because I was lucky enough to know my great grandmother, his mother, but he down played that Royal part a lot. There are all kinds of titles in this world. Titles that are forced upon you and titles you choose.
There are also titles that go beyond choosing and beyond simply what you do. For me and my family there is something that seems written in our very being and the only word I can give it is Royal. It is there when we are at our best and our worst. It is there when we are in a crowd of a thousand other people. Our Royalty is not attached to a crown, a piece of land or a country. Our Royalty transcends all time and space and is recognized across the universe.
The problem is with the way the world works growing up I began to become ashamed. For I was a Royal without a country to rule. I had no knights to protect me. I had no army to command. History of this country forced more than half of my ancestors to carry the title of slave. I could not boldly go out in this world with the title I knew I had/have.
Then it occurred to me, why relinquish my truth, my crown. If I continue to live by what this world (reality) is offering me, I will be living on nothing, as I am a woman and black. I am claiming what is mine! People can try to take it away all they want but I be damned if I am just going to give it away! There are some titles you choose like husband. Other titles are forced upon you like slave. But we each have other titles that have existed with us since the beginning of time. I and frankly the rest of my family was born with a memory of one of ours. It is a Royal title and My Royal Family 4 will serve as a beacon. The 4 will not hide to make the world comfortable. The 4 will shine!
For years now my Aunt Crystal has held her annual Sister To Sister (Click here to read about 2013 party it was a blast) party. It is a party to bring together sisters of all kinds. Blood sisters, In-Law Sisters, Church sisters, Best Friend Sisters, Work Sisters and any other type of "sister" you can think of gather together for the first Saturday in December.
Now our family is very big and I don't think all of Aunt Crystals sisters have ever been at this event at the same time. In fact I know they have not. Now my mom has been there almost every year and so has Aunt Kathy but Aunt Crystal has yet to be lucky enough to have all her sisters attend in the same year. There is Yvonne the oldest, then of course Crystal (the host), Glenda (my mom), Wanda, Lutisha, C.C., Tonya, and Kimberly. They are a party onto themselves and one day I am sure that all will party together. FYI funerals don't count, lol.
Aunt Crystal's party has more to do with building up a sisterhood than being blood sisters. She wants women to come together and eat because that's what families do. She wants us to play games together because that's how families build relationships. She wants us to laugh and dance together because that's how our sisterhood celebrates this life together. In December 2013 I became a widow. Eight months later in August 2014 my Aunt Crystal became a widow, too. It is 2015 and many of the ladies attended a wake before coming to the party. Regardless we all share our lives together.
Sisters are sisters but sometimes your blood sister can't be there for you. At a gathering like this it is okay because you always belong to a sisterhood of women. Sometimes your Aunt is your sister. Sometimes the person who works with your Aunt and that you are meeting for the first time, is your sister. When you enter my Aunts party you know that everyone is a sister period and that is a comfort. It kicks off the holidays and all though we may not know what the future holds, we know today there will be the game Pokeno.
It is Black Friday many of you have Thanksgiving leftovers you are still eating your way through. I decided to go my own path and my own way. I am making up my own rules and this will be the first Thanksgiving I actually lost weight and I mean a lot of weight. I did not have a Thanksgiving meal yesterday and I loved it. I am finding my own Jedi way. To get the back story checkout my blog My Jedi Mind Trick Diet.
I was not sad to miss out on some of my Thanksgiving favorites. In fact I ate some of my favorites the week before Thanksgiving. I just feel Thanksgiving never occurs at a good diet moment in my life. I always end up not happy with having my big meal on the last Thursday of November. Let's face it we all want to look good during the Holidays and yet Thanksgiving almost guarantees you will spend the Holidays looking less than your dream holiday self. I would always lament the loss of the last weekend in November. I would always wish I could have my best food at the beginning of November because it was directly after Halloween and it would allow me to eat whatever I want and go on a diet later. If Thanksgiving were the day after Halloween I would have most of November to diet/recover. Unfortunately that's not the way things are. This year I lost weight on Thanksgiving. This year I will be my own Jedi.
I am posting video blogs on this page about my inner Jedi, my desire to become my better self and to be truly happy during the holiday season.
Jedi Mind Trick Diet- Losing Weight during the Holidays
Jedi Mind Trick Diet- Losing Weight during the Holidays Part 2
Jedi Mind Trick Diet- Losing Weight during the Holidays Part 3
Jedi Mind Trick Diet- Losing Weight during the Holidays Part 4
It was a Tuesday, early afternoon and we were at risk of having a very crappy food day. Monday we had a "meeting" that lasted about 7 hours. We worked hard Monday and we were in the midst of deciding if yesterday's meeting would continue today (Tuesday) or if we would be lucky enough to have the day off. I was in the camp of we aren't going to have to meet today and obviously Faith was too because she found NoMo. The problem was Joy wasn't sure and she wanted to be ready to do business. She made things difficult a little. Mom of course was a total diplomat. We decided to go eat lunch. Joy of course was like no we won't be ready. I was like we wasted 20 minutes arguing already. We were only going for lunch. That's what we thought, that's what we intended. That's not what happened. We did have lunch, but we also had dinner and then went out to drinks with the Executive Chef Salaam; oh and we had dinner at NOMO Wednesday, too.
We walked into this beautiful hotel that houses the beautiful restaurant NOMO and we felt like we were home. We were greeted by one of the most beautiful, cheerful and inviting staff we ever meet in New York. We were what we as a family would consider underdressed for our beautiful surroundings. I personally braced myself for a snob routine but that didn't happen. This was New York and it was beautiful people New York but they treated us as if we were the Royal Family returning home. We ordered drinks right away. At some point we found out we would not be "meeting" today so we relaxed. Now we were sad. This was clearly a place we should be having dinner and technically our meeting now setup for tomorrow should occur here, too. Joy decided to make sure our meeting would end at NOMO and Joy always gets what she wants. While Joy was sending pics of the place to production the rest of us were trying to plan the night. We all decided we would split 2 NoMo Wagyu Burgers. (The burgers were perfect and tasted perfect. The ketchup for the fries were made in house. We would come to find out all sauces at NoMo are made in house!) We noticed this beautiful man in an executive chef jacket. He was talking to an equally beautiful woman who turned out to be the Marketing Manager. Faith excused herself to go to the ladies room (apparently she spoke to him on her way out) and while she was gone Chef Salaam made his way to our table.
We all talked as if we had known each other for years. We had arranged to have dinner with NoMo at 8:30 (we ended up pushing it back to 9:00pm). We also arranged to meet there again on Wednesday with a producer we knew Chef Salaam should meet. When we left the restaurant after lunch we were excited. We began the day at a chain fake French place for breakfast (we did not eat of course) and happened upon the best food day of our lives, but I get ahead of myself. We spent the rest of the day getting ready for Wednesday's meeting. This entailed conference calls, bargaining, begging and shopping. By 8:00 pm we still had not dressed for dinner. Four women in a loft apartment in SoHo with their dog who has to be walked first and sharing one bathroom! No way in hell we were going to make it there by 8:30. We almost didn't make it at the rescheduled time of 9:00 pm but I at the last minute went off and walked my ass over there to arrive promptly at 8:59 pm. Surprisingly they were only 4 minutes behind me. We knew Chef Salaam wanted us to go with him to The Ship for after dinner drinks and that place is so amazing. If you want to know a city you have to know the chefs because they know everything!
Okay so we are all at the table. Each of us have wonderful drinks. We know from this afternoon there are no misses on this menu. Our server from lunch gave us the rundown of the food and we knew we wanted, no needed to try everything. It made it near to impossible to decide. We ordered the chicken lollipop. Remember the Teriyaki sauce like all sauces are made in house. It was amazing! At some point Faith realized we would not be able to decide for ourselves what we wanted to eat. So she decreed that we should try anything the chef decided for us. Executive Chef Salaam did not disappoint. It was a beautiful dream filled with beautiful food in beautiful surroundings. I could spend all day talking about how wonderful the food was and how it was the best food day I have had in many years; but it would take an eternity to describe this day. The food and the conversations were full of life. I must let the pictures speak for themselves. I will only say that none of us asked for more salt or pepper or sauce and that NEVER happens during a meal with us. Mom or Joy almost always have an issue but here at NoMo we had the most peaceful and perfect time together. Of course I our meeting went well on Wednesday. After getting a rocky start and working a few hours at the loft we moved our "meeting" to NoMo and NoMo provided a relaxing end to a long day.
Please note the pics of the food are of a tasting. Actual full orders are not pictured here.
Chicken lollipop
Cauliflower
Mini Tacos
Mini Tacos
Tuna Tartare
Kale Caesar
Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe
I also reordered this on Wednesday
it has a beautiful poached egg in the middle.
Branzino
This was so amazing with lobster sauce
Wagyu Flatiron Steak
Heaven on a plate
Their version of an ice cream sandwich is so good
Tapioca Pudding
I forgot the name of this dessert but so good
Let me start by saying this Halloween was and is high
maintenance this year.It is not
the decorating, we are used to that.It is not the food we have that part down!This year I made an epic mistake and ordered 12 costumes
from one company.Biggest mistake
EVER! I had to run to the store and find some dresses for each woman in my
family.HELL!!!! I have a rule, try
to buy something kind of nice for like $20-$25.I went to 5 stores before I could find anything.Yes, I could have made my costume but
this year I have run out of time.My feet hurt!My Back is
sore! My legs swollen! I fear that I have let everyone down but you know what?
I made I pretty good jambalaya (Party Food So Good You Don’t Want To Share- Halloween Goodness) tonight and I added some finishing touches to Mom
and Aunt Crystal's awesome decoration! In fact they have done such a good job
that our “costumes” will look stellar.
If you can’t think of a costume or your costume doesn’t fit
or you have hardly any money and even less time here is what you do.
1.Get a masquerade mask, witches hat or some other
prop like an eye patch.You can
get eye patches at Walgreens I think for like $4.
2.Raid your closet, H&M or Charlotte Russe and
find the cutest and/or slutiest dress, bathing suit or pajamas you can find
and put them on.FYI I did not go
for cute or slutty. (I am working
with sexy and I don’t really give a F…I am tired.)
3.And this is the most important. Surround
yourself with Halloween decorations.Pick a place that looks real Halloweenie and go.It is the environment that surrounds you that makes your
costume.
