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Feb 29 2012
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faith, happy, Life, Living Freely, Love, rant, Thinking aloud, Uncategorized, write, writing

Just Take the First Step

Can I just take a moment to tell you how good God is? Just a moment.

Many of you already know I left my last gig in January to finish working on my second novel and take some time out for myself. It was a pretty bold move and if you want to know more about that, the story is here. Anyhow, I was hard at work on my second novel, a sequel to Don’t Tell Your Cousin, and every morning I woke up, I went straight to writing. Not once did I click on Indeed, Career Builder, or any other job site to apply for a job. My main priority was my novel. I literally spent the last of my dollars to get this novel published. I had paid rent for January, February and March, so I knew I had until April before things got a little tight. I had friends and family call and ask me how my job search was going and I’d laugh and say, “What search? I’m busy writing this novel.” I got a few chuckles, head shakes, and words of concern, but I continued doing what brought me joy –writing.

Fast forward to February 16th. I received an email from a guy at CBS, asking if I was available to come in for an interview on Tuesday, February 21st. I didn’t see this email until Saturday night (Feb. 18th) and I responded, letting him know that I was available. On Tuesday, I arrived at the Prudential building on time, and nailed the interview. Of course he had other candidates to interview, so I wasn’t certain that I’d end up with the job, but hey, at least I got a nice tour around CBS. Today I received a call, offering me the job (basically doing what I was doing at my last job, but with waaaaay more perks, opportunities, connects, & money), and I accepted it.

I’m telling you this, not to let you know that I got a job at CBS, but to remind you about that one little step of faith I took, by leaving my last job, with no idea of what was to come. Y’all don’t understand, I HAVEN’T APPLIED TO A JOB SINCE LAST YEAR! How did he find me? I don’t know! But what I do know is, God is beyond awesome!

All I did was take the first step in faith.

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Feb 02 2012
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amazon, Don't Tell Your Cousin, happy, Life, Love, rant, Thinking aloud, write

Happy Birthday Gladys Santiago Kelly!

Two things:

First and foremost I wanted to wish my beautiful mother a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I miss her so much and I wish I could hug her, kiss her, plan a getaway with her, have dinner with her, send her flowers, pay her a visit, take her shopping, write her a letter, buy her somthing nice, tell her how much I love her…

But I can’t. She’s not here. She’s been gone since I was eight. And there isn’t a day that has gone by that I haven’t thought about her. I know she lives on through me, but… I just wish she was here. I never really knew what it felt like to have a mother. I mean, yes, I’ve had a step mother but as I mentioned in this post, no one will ever take the place of your parents. Be Grateful. Appreciate them. Love them and hold them close to your heart.

I LOVE YOU MOM! Happy Birthday!

P.s. Happy belated birthday to my Aunt Doris as well. I hope you and my mom are celebrating in heaven.

I decided to give away FREE (yes FREE!) copies of my book today! Get your copy from Amazon here

It’s a celebration! Thanks for celebrating with me…

Happy Birthday, Mom

 

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Jan 25 2012
2 Comments
Don't Tell Your Cousin, happy, Life, Living Freely, rant, Thinking aloud, Uncategorized, write, writing

Checking In

I justed wanted to take the time out to thank all of my readers for their love and support! I know I haven’t blogged lately, but it’s only because I’m hard at work on my second novel and I can’t wait to get it out  to you all! I’m so excited about it. If you thought the first book was craaaaaaaazy, wait until you read the sequel! I bet you’re wondering what’s to come. ;)  You’ll know soon. To everyone who hasn’t read Don’t Tell Your Cousin, check it out and brace yourself for part 2!

Also, as many of you already know from my last post… I quit my job. Oddly, I’ve spent way more time working on my second novel than I have on Career Builder and Indeed in search of a new one. But hey, you have to do what makes you happy, right? I thank God for giving me the courage to step out on faith and leave behind a role that no longer served me. My first week without working a day job was absolutely fantastic! I don’t know where I’ll be in a couple of months, but worrying will serve me no purpose. Be blessed everyone. Live out your dreams.

XOXO,

Veronica

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Nov 15 2011
3 Comments
fashion, happy, I said it..., makeup, rant, self love, shopping, Thinking aloud, Uncategorized

A Little Tube of Lipstick… A Whole Lot of Fun

Okay, so I can’t seem to stop wearing my new lipstick color! I love it! **** sighs and smile**** (I’m rocking it even as I write this blog!) I’ve had a number of women ask me what color I’m wearing, so here it is: It’s Sephora Rouge Cream lipstick R11 Love Test (NARS and Makeup Forever has some hot and similar colors too). I plan on picking up quite a few more fun colors (more shades of pink and red perhaps). I’ve heard a ton of women bitch about not being able to pull off any colors. That’s bullshit, ladies. And to the women who love to shout from the mountain tops about how they don’t wear makeup… shut up  that’s your prerogative. Personally, I feel that there isn’t a woman in the world who wouldn’t benefit from wearing a little makeup (if applied correctly). Have some fun! Head to your nearest Sephora or favorite makeup counter (note: their are other brands besides Fashion Fair… do they still exist??? ****crickets****) and play in all the shades you want. You’re bound to find a color that works for you. Have fun with it! It’s nothing to be uptight about…. seriously. Remember playing in your mother’s makeup when you were younger? Yeah? Wasn’t it fun? Well hang on to that memory. This is something to have fun with. The cool thing about Sephora (and I’m still surprised at how many women haven’t been to this store) is that you can actually play in their makeup. They have a tester for everything; perfume, nail polish, nail polish remover, makeup brushes, eyeshadows, mascara, lipsticks, blushes, and the list rolls on. On top of that, if you play your cards right, you can easily get your face made up for free, and of course this is beneficial if you’re new to the makeup world. Just make sure the person touching your face actually knows what the hell they’re doing. I did have to save this one lady from walking out of the store with an ashy face. Don’t be intimidated by sales associates posing as makeup artist, some of them don’t know what the hell they’re doing themselves (this is true). I have me a few “go to” people at some of the stores and makeup counters that I know I can rely on to tell me, “Girl go!” or “Hell no!” Most importantly, just have fun with yourself. It doesn’t even have to be a group effort. If you have a day off and a lot little money to spend, go have yourself some fun! If you prefer to take a few friends along for the ride, that’s cool too. I prefer shopping alone. I’ll usually leave my apartment at ten in the morning and sometimes won’t head back home until six or seven in the evening. And I have to have my Chipotle (a burrito bowl half chicken, half steak please!…ummmm a little more steak…thanks!) or a Starbucks frap (carmel…more caramel, thanks!). I know, it’s bad; not too many people can hang, and I don’t like to be rushed. And I rarely answer the phone because I’m usually having too much fun to be interrupted. Shopping is a high for me. Anyway, I’m definitely looking forward to experimenting with some new colors. Let know what colors you’re rocking. Feel free to post links or pictures of you rocking your favorite lip color, in the comment box below!! ****Sigh*** It’s so much fun being a girl!!

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Nov 02 2011
2 Comments
Don't Tell Your Cousin, happy, If you can't say something nice...still say it, Living Freely, Love, rant, self love, Thinking aloud, Uncategorized, writing

I’m High

I’ve been on a high lately. Not the marijuana kind of high…  the happy to be alive, life is fantastic kind of high! The annoying, why is she always smiling kind of high. The “Girl, you must’ve got you some last night” kind of high. The I sold ten thousand books this month kind of high! The I just moved into the Trump Hotel (Chicago *wink*) kind of high. Price tag??… who cares?!! kind of  high. My chaffuer just opened my door to my Rolls Royce kind of high. The “Damn, where you jet setting to this time?” kind of high. The “Girl yo body is bangin’ you been working out?” kind of high. The “Daammmnnnnn who Bugatti is that? That’s you, V?” kind of high. The “Oh my God, is that Veronica on the cover of Essence?” kind of high. The I’m just sitting around chit chatting with Tyler Perry and Oprah kind of high. The I looovvveeee my man kind of high.The “Her man loves the hell out of her” kind of high. The I’m in my  beautiful home office typing away kind of high. The ‘Hmmmmm, what restaurant would I like to eat at tonight?’ kind of high. The I just checked my bank account and (smile) ‘Oh, another million,’ kind of high. The I’m headed out of the country with my family and close friends kind of high. The I just put out another best selling novel  kind of high…. *smile*

I just finished my vision board not too long ago and I’m really feeling it!!! :)

Oh and have you watched the Secret? If you haven’t, you really should!

My vision board

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Aug 27 2011
12 Comments
happy, Love, relationship, self love, single, Thinking aloud, Uncategorized

I’m In Love

The other day I was told “Girl, you look real nice, you must be going on a date tonight.” Um yeah, it was mid morning and my outfit was pretty basic if you ask me. My response was, “I can’t even remember the last time I’ve been on a date.” Smile. She looked at me, shocked. But its true! I haven’t had a man in my life for some time now. The last little “fling” ended back in mid June. Thank goodness. I’m sexless and happy! And most importantly I’m at peace. See, since I’ve been dating, I have never been completely single and I’ve always had  some type of “man-drama” in my life. And before I moved on and completely evaluated the situation and gave myself some time to maybe heal or look myself in the mirror, I already had a rebound, replacement… someone else I was “feeling.” Whatever you want to call it. But before my “man-count” got too high (I just made it to the second hand), it was time for me to face myself. And at this very moment as I write this I don’t even  have a man so much as texting my phone right now. No calls. No text. No dates. No late night booty calls. No drama filled relationship. No toxic relationship. No dating. No holding hands. No long phone calls. No waiting around for a call or text. No emotional roller coster. No drama. No cuddling. No kissing. No sex. None of that. I don’t even miss having a man in my life. And that’s because for the first time since the age of eighteen (the age I gave it up, yes I graduated high school a virgin) I’m man free. I feel liberated. I’m my own company. I’m enjoying myself. I’m loving myself. I have never taken the time out to just be “with” myself. I’m so far from the “I need a man” anthem. I hear it so much from so many women. To the ladies who dread being single (and I really mean single), you are missing out on some precious time with yourself. I realized that the relationship I have with myself is so vital. I’m not laying around in a deep depression, sad that i’m alone, wishing some man would come save me. That’s false. There is NO security in a man or woman. There’s no security in anything outside of yourself. Now that I’m completely “free” (my substitute for “single” because that’s how I’m feeling), I can stand back and look at myself. I am having the time of my life right now (not that I wasn’t before, but…)! I’m spending time with myself, reading, traveling, sharpening my kitchen skills (which I really enjoy by the way), spending time with my family, babysitting, enjoying conversations with my younger siblings, shopping, cleaning, taking walks along the lake, just doing all of the fun things that I enjoy doing …. and yeah you can do all of these things when you’re in a relationship. But imagine being truly in love with yourself. Sometimes we get so invested in the next person and we stop giving that same deserving love to ourselves. When you fall in love with yourself, basic things become beautiful moments of life. I’m so at peace with myself right now, that I wouldn’t care if  I had to spend the next year being single. Who cares?! Not me! I’m not relationship needy, sex-driven, emotionally unstable, attention whoring, none of that negative, dangerous, toxic shit women carry from one man to the next in search of a false security and a lack of self love. And no I’m not working on me in preparation for the next man, I’m working on me because I want to be the best Veronica I can be. I’m feeling myself right now. I’m loving it. I’m accepting it. I’m comfortable with it. I’m encouraged. I’m motivated. I’m feeling happy from within. I attract men like crazy, but I’m having so much fun with myself, I’m not ready to give it up (my me time). Men I love you all, but right now, I’m just having too much fun loving myself. Relationships are great, being in love is great, but you will not know true love until you truly fall in love with yourself.

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Aug 16 2011
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apartment, rant, Thinking aloud, Uncategorized, writing space

My writing Pad…

So when I moved back to Chicago from Atlanta nearly two years ago, I moved into a studio apartment. I left a ton of furniture in Atlanta (a fabulous bedroom set from Crate & Barrel, a computer and a lot of other things) and came back to Chicago with only clothes and my shoes of course. Oh yeah, and I shipped my old car back too ( though its been replaced, thank goodness). Anyway, I knew I didn’t want to move into anything big right away because I didn’t want to spend a shit load of money on both a bedroom and living room furniture all over again. I had just started working again so my pockets were drained. And I was being cheap (real reason). So I chalked it up and went for a studio apartment. Hey, i’m single with no dependents so it was no biggie. My old one bedroom apartment was pretty cool, but I never got around to completely decorating my living room. It just had this huge couch that I bought from Pottery Barn ( I know, I know, don’t shake your head at me, I’m ashamed to tell you how much I spent on it and even worse I ended up giving it away) sitting in it and really nothing else. But my bedroom was fully loaded and painted so I spent the majority of my time in my bedroom. So when I moved into this studio I had this crazy idea of going more for a living room feel opposed to a bedroom. Crazy? Probably. But hey, it’s my place and I can do what I want to. I still have a lot of personal touches to add. I have to finish completely decorating my bathroom and kitchen and the rest of the main area as well (I’ve been slacking, just like I did in all my other places). Lately I’ve been dying to finish decorating the rest of my little sanctuary (I might move next year though, not sure).  I’m not even close to done.  Here’s a little peek at the area (okay, a corner of the area) where I spend most of my time. This is also where I cuddle up with my lap top to write.

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Aug 10 2011
6 Comments
Birthday, rant, Thinking aloud, Uncategorized, vacation

I’m Back… My trip in a nutshell.

I just made it in my apartment roughly an hour ago. I haven’t seen it since last thursday and though I had a blast on my trip, I’m happy to be home.

Thursday

I flew out to Washington D.C early thursday morning (6:25 a.m to be exact). I unpacked and lounged around my friend’s apartment until she came home from work. Later that evening we grabbed fast food and talked each other ears off until we eventually fell asleep (not together, eww). Uneventful? Trust me, our conservations are something you’d wish you could be a fly on the wall for (lol).

Friday

I decided to tour DC while she went to her internship. I walked a few blocks down to see the White House, Washington Monument and a few Memorials.

Yes, I stuck my arm through the bars of the gate surrounding the White House for this shot!

On a stroll through DC

Later that afternoon I had an hour long conversation with a homeless veteran on a park bench. I split a Potbellys sandwich with another homeless man. I sat alone for some much needed solitude at the park and I observed. Thought. Observed. Thought…. until my friend finished up her internship for the day and text me to meet her at Corner Bakery. Afterwords we went to a lackluster patio party in her building and then to Bloomingdales and Nordstrom at Tyson’s Square Mall. We didn’t get much sleep that night because we were up mapping out and preparing ourselves for our trip to New York.

Saturday

New York was a blast! We left DC at 3:30 a.m and arrived in New York around seven in the morning. We went to the W hotel and fixed ourselves up (our “bummy cute” look as we call it, where you aren’t dressed too homely, but you definitely aren’t bringing your A game, or B game for that matter…). We had breakfast at Blue Fin, wandered around Times Square and then off towards the subway station to hang out with some NY natives in Harlem and Brooklyn. We exited the train in Harlem on 110 and Lenox and then walked up to 125th by Red Rooster (where we should’ve eaten).  We sat on a stoop and talked to some of the Harlem guys and had at least an hour long conversation. They filled us in on some of their lingo, so if you hear me say things like “That was twisted,” or if it’s something I don’t like I’ll say “I don’t like that kind,” I learned it from the Harlem boys. We also had lunch at Sylvia’s (a renowned soul food restaurant) in  Harlem. I had smothered chicken, candied yams and macaroni and cheese with a glass of lemonade. After we finished touring a few of the Harlem neighborhoods we headed to Bed Stuy. We got off the subway at Fulton and Nostrand. Uuummm yeah…one word… CRAZY! Entertaining, but crazy! We walked from there all the way to Habana Outpost (Fort Greene Brooklyn) and got some drinks and mexican corn. There we sat with these 2 cool dudes (from Brooklyn) and chatted with them for awhile. They gave us some insight on Brooklyn and  told us about all the cool parties that would be going on that night. They also invited us to a party. Cool, right?! We continued our stroll through Brooklyn, stopped at a barbecue joint, grabbed more food and sat and ate it on the front porch of a random brownstone (we definitely made ourselves at home) and discussed our thoughts of the city until it rained and we took cover under a laundromat awning. We struck up a conversation with some Palestinian dude (also from Brooklyn) for another hour (that’s how long it rained). He went on and on about how cool NY was….especially Brooklyn and mentioned something about knowing Jay-Z. Crickets. He was quite a colorful character. When the rain stopped we were off towards the Subway again, headed to the Brooklyn Museum for a party. It was pretty cool! I give NY mad props on their night life and “social scene.” They can keep the dirtiness (I now have a new appreciation for the cleanliness of Chicago) and  overpriced rent. I enjoyed my visit to New York…and I love the NY men. Swag. We left NY late that night and went back to DC.

Me in Times Square

Sunday

The day of my 27th birthday… I slept like a baby! I was soooo tired from all the walking I did on both Friday and Saturday. But we eventually got our lazy asses up (because hey, it was my birthday) and dolled ourselves up and headed out for a night of fun! Sunday was a pretty slow night in DC, but I enjoyed myself. We went to Stadium (a strip club), Bar Code (a restaurant that later turns into a lounge/club) and the W Hotel. I can’t decide on which W Hotel decor I like best between Chicago, DC and New York. I do know that Chicago’s W comes in third place. We picked up Wendy’s on the way home (I know, we’re some greedy bitches) and watched Eve’s Bayou (great movie) and fell asleep. Happy Birthday to me!

I'm 27

Monday

I arrived back in Chicago later that evening and instead of bringing my my butt straight home, I hung out with my twin brother, his wife and my precious niece.

Damn… I’m 27

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Jul 29 2011
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amazon, barnes and noble, Don't Tell Your Cousin, rant, Thinking aloud, Uncategorized

Turning 27 Next Sunday!

My 27th birthday is next Sunday. Yay!

Now I could bitch and moan about being a year older, but I’ll rejoice instead. I’ll be in Washington, DC and New York for a couple of days with my best friend. I’m looking forward to another mini getaway. I do hate that I’ll be spending another birthday without my twin brother, but I could use a break. I’ll bring him something back. Last year I brought back Green Tea and bottled Maple Syrup from Canada as souvenirs to a few family members. No seriously, I really did. And they used it. The packaging was cute and it was something they couldn’t get in the states. Goal achieved.

This year I decided that for my birthday, the only gift I want is more readers. I want more people reading and reviewing my book. This would be the best gift of all! It would mean so much to me and it’s something that will last longer than a shirt, dress, gift card, etc. Though I am grateful for whatever I receive, if I receive anything at all (lol).


 

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Jul 17 2011
2 Comments
rant, shopping, Thinking aloud, Uncategorized, write, writing

Just Me, Myself & I…

Sometimes it’s good to sit around and do nothing at all. It’s a beautiful sunny day in Chicago and I spent it lounging around my apartment all day. I’m not even wearing clothes (looks over myself). It’s really one of those free, lazy, chill mode type of days. I haven’t even turned on the TV. I did get the dishes washed though (yay me!). I got a couple of phone calls from friends and siblings asking me to hang out. Didn’t happen. I’m enjoying my own company right now, doing absolutely nothing at all. I’m sitting next to an opened window, so the outside noises are making their way inside. But you won’t tempt me outside noises! I’m not moving. Just relaxing. So often I feel the need to be on the go, always out on the move trying to keep up with the world. It becomes tedious. It has almost become more normal to be “out” and on the go doing nothing, than sitting in the house alone doing nothing. I actually enjoy spending time alone. I’m liberated. I making time to chill out and calm the chatter in my mind and allow my body a day off from the long tiring work week. How many people actually enjoy their own company?

Last year I took a solo trip to Toronto, Canada and had the most amazing time by myself. I got up when I wanted, shopped where I wanted, ate where I wanted, talked and mingled with who I wanted, had dinner in the CN Tower alone (beautiful views by the way), went for a boat ride on Lake Ontario, and did one of those double decker bus tours, what an experience it was! I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again. I will do it agin! The people there weren’t friendly and I’m a pretty sociable person myself so I definitely wouldn’t have had a problem finding someone to hang out with while I was there. In fact plenty of people were trying to hang out with me. (Especially for my birthday and since they thought I was so “cool” for just hanging out in another county solo, lol.) Girls from the clothing stores all wanted to hang out, the store manager in BCBG gave me her card and told me to call her so we could party (I never did), another girl from the boat ride asked where I was having dinner later (she was there solo too, only she was from Montreal) and plenty of guys wanted to hang out (of course). I avoided them all. I was having too much fun by myself and didn’t want to interrupt my “groove.” I did have a drink (that I didn’t finish btw because I dislike the taste of alcohol) with the one guy ( I think he was from Peru) at the hotel bar. It was the night of my birthday and he wanted to “show me around”. Mind you, it was at least 10 pm their time. It was night out and I had an early morning flight to catch. This guy had to be nuts to think I’d leave the hotel premises with him. It  gets creepier: He wasn’t even a guest of the hotel. Of course while he was talking and practically begging me to take a walk with him I was making a mental note NOT to go straight up to my hotel room. I thanked him for the drink and conversation and casually walked out of the bar like I was headed up to my room. I casually glanced behind me (intuition) and saw him exit the bar with his eyes fixed on me. Yeah, I definitely was NOT about to end up on Cold Case Files on my birthday night. So I played it cool and walked over to the front desk agent and whispered to him.

Me: (leaned over the counter) Hey, shhhhhh, don’t make it obvious, but I think I’m being followed. Is it a strange guy standing around?

The front desk looked over my shoulder as I turned my head to look back (so much for me not being obvious). Yep, that “friendly guy from the bar that owned his own business” just happened to walk past and look over at me. I smiled as if all were well and looked back at the front dest agent.

Agent: Yeah, he’s suspicious. Would you like for me to have securtiy escort you to your room?

Me: Nah. I don’t want it to be too obvious that I’m on to him ( whatever I assumed the guy was on). He’s not even a guest in the hotel.

Agent: Really? Ok, I’ll walk you up and we’ll take a different way up.

Me: Thanks! (smile.)

The agent and I hopped on an elevator different from the one that I usually used to get to my room. We had had small “elevator talk” about the strange guy and I filled him in on my encounter with him at the bar. Anyhoo, I arrived to my room safe and sound. And that was my little crazy adventure while away.  ……and what was the point of me telling you all of this again? I think I had flashbacks…

Anyway, I received an email from the front desk agent a couple of days later at work, checking up on me. How nice of him. Brownie points for Sheraton Centre Toronto hotel’s staff, I enjoyed my stay!

FYI- I know I mentioned this on a previous post, but Toronto has some phenomenal shopping!

Yeah, so back to the original topic… I really enjoy my own company! Lol.

 

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