Day 14 – Something you wish you hadn’t done in your life.

16 Day Blog Challenge.  Day 14 – I wish I hadn't gotten myself into a ton of debt from college. I wish I would have applied to a million scholarships and found a way to go to college for free. I hate that I used Sallie Mae also, biggest scammers around. They are like the mafia or insane loan sharks...something. I make sure to tell everyone I know not to use them or ever consider letting someone use them. Horrible customer service. Even when you want to try to work something reasonable out they aren't interested.&nb...

Day 13 – A band or artist that has gotten you through some tough days.

16 Day Blog Challenge.  Day 13 – Incubus for sure. They were huge when I was going through shit. I'd just fall asleep listening to them. I think they're an amazing band. I remember going to their concert in Cleveland with my mom and sister. It was a great time. &nb...

Day 12 – The reason you believe you’re still alive today.

16 Day Blog Challenge.  Day 12 – I think everyone has a purpose and a journey that we are here to travel or complete. I think my journey is suppose to be a long one. I take everything and I appreciate it. I have been through ups and downs but I have always found a way to learn from what I'm doing. I feel lucky to be alive even in the most stressful of times.  I'm not only lucky but blessed. You don't need to attend church every Sunday or ever, to have an amazing relationship with god or whatever you believe in. The key is to believe in something and trust your beliefs.&nb...

Day 11 – What if you were pregnant, what would you do?

16 Day Blog Challenge.  Day 11 – This question seems pretty irrelevant to me because I do not plan to have children and I'm single lol. But if I were single right now I'd be wondering why God planted a super seed in me that came from somewhere other then a man lmao!&nb...

Day 10 – Have you ever thought about giving up on life?

16 Day Blog Challenge.  Day 10 – I can honestly say that I have never seriously considered suicide, which is my interpretation to this question (giving up on life).  There were times when I was younger when I'd think about my father not wanting me that I'd briefly think I wasn't worth it. I just never thought suicide was an answer. I have been very lucky to have family who loved me and always made me feel great about myself and feel worth it. Still to this day when I'm stressed out the first thing I do is call family. I appreciate them being there for me and teaching me the value of myself and my gifts.  I...

Day 09 – Make a playlist to someone, and explain why you chose all the songs.

16 Day Blog Challenge.  Day 09 – This is for my future husband...whoever he may be. Some cheesy love songs that I like :)  The Best In Me- Marvin Sapp Cater to you- Destiny's Child Love Song- Sara Bareallis  The Only Exception- Paramore Love- Keyshia Cole There are like a million more. Anything by John Legend, Chrisette Michelle, Anthony Hamilton......

Day 08 – Someone who made your life hell, or treated you like shit.

16 Day Blog Challenge.  Day 08 – Ah yes, R & J, these are two miserable people from a former job who could do nothing but torture me. I was in a senior position and they did not like that someone decades younger knew much more than they did. They were threatened and it was obvious to all around. What they don't know is that their anger was entertaining and their insecurity was funny. I feel sorry for them and failure is coming their way very soon. Their evil plan actually gave me a push in the right direction and has made me happier than I was when I was around their incompetent under showered...

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone I hope that everyone enjoys their family and friends on this wonderful day. It's so funny to reflect back on Christmas adventures over the years. Last year Christmas night I was in Denny's laughing like crazy with my mom and sister. Who knows what this year will hold. Right now I am in Ohio so I'm hoping to update ASAP and fill you in on more of my adventures. My family is my world and I appreciate the time I spend with them more than any other time I have in my life.  As a kid Christmas is about the presents we get and how quick we can wake up Christmas morning to run...

Day 07 – Someone who has made your life worth living for.

16 Day Blog Challenge.  Day 07 – For this I have to pick four people, I cannot dwindle it down to just one. My grandmother, sister, mother and grandfather are the people who have made my life worth living. Whether they were helping me through a tough time, or loving me just because they are the reason I am who I am. This past year I got a tattoo to represent all of our birthdays and its really special to me.  Check out my blog I'm Lucky to Have My Family...

Day 06 – Something you hope you never have to do.

16 Day Blog Challenge.  Day 06 – The first thing that comes to mind is that I hope I never have to bury a loved one, but we all know as time goes on people get older. This one is really hard for me. If I have to choose something, I think I'd never want to have to change who I am for any reason whether it be a man or a job or anything. I want to be who I am, whether that be perfect or just working on it.&nb...

Day 05 – Something you hope to do in your life.

16 Day Blog Challenge.  Day 05 – I hope to be married and live a long happy life with one man who is faithful and only ever thinks about me as "the one" for him. The idea of marriage is so scary to me but I can truthfully say there aren't many things in life that I want more. I don't necessarily feel ready today but I want this for my future. I want a husband and I want to experience life with him. I want to cook for him and vacation. Sometimes I'm afraid it won't happen but I refuse to give up on that dream. I don't "dream" much but on this occasion I just cannot stop. I am even nuts enough to already...

Day 04 – Something you have to forgive someone for.

16 Day Blog Challenge.  Day 04 – Even though I will never meet him, I have to forgive my father. I don't know him nor will I ever but I have to forgive the idea of him and know it was not meant to be. It breaks my heart to think about a man not wanting to be in a childs life but at the same time I do not want kids so I understand how he must have felt. Doesn't make it hurt less, I don't think it ever will but I want to forgive him in my mind and not be so angry and hurt.&nb...

Day 03 – Something you have to forgive yourself for.

16 Day Blog Challenge.  Day 03 – I have to forgive myself for a few past mistakes that I have made. Ones that I cannot just learn from but ones that have altered how I go about certain things. I just have to forgive  myself and realize some things happen for really weird reasons even if it doesn't make sense right now.  Most mistakes you can just learn from and move on, this one I cannot just fix which makes it all the more harder to handle. I'm a fixer and I hate not being able to make it all better. I have to forgive myself for the mistakes I have made that have led me he...

Day 02 – Something you love about yourself.

16 Day Blog Challenge.  Day 02 - I love that regardless of how many times I have been hurt in life by friends or men I refuse to give up on people. I care for people and always go out of my way to be the best friend or girlfriend that I can be. I refuse to give up on the idea that there is a Mr. Right for me.&nb...

16 Day Blog Challange (Day One)

16 Day Blog Challenge. Tune in to learn about The Savvy Brunette over the next 16 days. I hope this will give me the motivation I need to get blogging more frequently. Day 01 – Something you hate about yourself. Day 02 – Something you love about yourself. Day 03 – Something you have to forgive yourself for. Day 04 – Something you have to forgive someone for. Day 05 – Something you hope to do in your life. Day 06 – Something you hope you never have to do. Day...

Clogged Head Space

I'm at a weird place in my life right now. My "head space" as I have been calling it lately is really clogged and foggy. I don't see much clearly right now, because quite frankly I can't see the future and the present is day to day for me. I feel like I have accomplished a lot but then it feels like it isn't making a difference at all. A few months ago I was let go from a job, the position no longer exists that I once held and enjoyed. Towards the end it was a very miserable place to be with a lot...

Marvin Sapp | The Best In Me

This is such an amazing song...definitely a future wedding son...

New Years Resolutions

Until this moment I hadn't really thought much about it but for now I have one that I want to share and that is.... NO MORE FAST FOOD... except Jimmy John's Vegetarian subs. Which I don't really think is fast food anyhow even though their slogan is fast. I'm all about getting it together and getting healthy this year. Workin it out + getting sexier=finding Mr. Right!! More resolutions to come soon.....

Happy 1 Year Anniversary Savvy Brunette

My blog and I have survived a year together. 80 blogs later and it's already been a year...wow! I promise to give my blog much more attention in year two. I have really enjoyed starting The Savvy Brunette though, I even bought my URL which was an awesome step!! I have been so busy with life that it took me a little bit to even post my 1 year. I just turned 28 years old and I'm very excited about that. I'm hoping for a great year, and a great 2011. I have a feeling things are going to be good and I plan to share the good and the bad on my blog!! Thank you to everyone who had read my blog over the past year and...

The CW Glamorizes Student Teacher Affairs

I have no problem admitting that I am addicted to what most would called teenage drama shows. What I do have a problem with is that one in particular is glamorizing a student teacher affair. They make a big point to show us that they both know it is wrong, but their feelings are so strong so they refuse to do what is right. Not too long ago I worked in a school where this was a real life issue. A male teacher had an "alleged" affair with a high school girl, he was late 20s she was about 16 or 17 years old. There was nothing glamorous about the situation or what happened afterwards once the truth came to light....

I Voted....Did You?

I VOTED (last week), DID YOU? Voting is so important, I have been doing it since age 18. This is my first time voting in Illinois though. I use to vote absentee in Ohio because I wasn't sure if I was planning to stay and I also felt Ohio needed all the Democratic votes that it could get. I knew it was most definitely was time to register here though because I have been here 5 1/2 years. While checking out my Facebook and Twitter this past week I was really saddened to see that a lot of people were not planning to vote. I did my best to impart my "wisdom" to try to motivate my friends who were confused to put it...

28 things to do while I'm 28

I am almost TWENTY-EIGHT years old! Just a little under a month away and I'll be that much closer to 30...eeek!! I think I kind of wasted age 27 on being absolutely miserable at a job and dating a ton of weenies...NO MORE OF THAT! The official list start date is my birthday: November 21st, so hopefully I remember to come back in a year and see if I completed it all. I will try to update as I go.  28 THINGS TO DO WHILE I AM 28 GET IN SHAPE…shed some extra lbs. Enjoy life…figure out what my “happiness” is and how to start traveling towards it. Date a better quality of men. No more D-bags for age 28!! Visit...

Bullying in Todays Society

Bullying is a huge problem worldwide, and it seems to have reared an even meaner headed in todays society. With things like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and email bullying has climbed to an all new level. The effects of bullying can last forever, and with such easy access to social media the ability to bully is limitless. When I was in high school there were very few bullies, and by no means were they going online to do their dirty work. It was only 10 years ago and there was not even an option to bully online, it was old fashion teasing and kids being jerks. In todays society bullying consists of completely breaking...

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

BREAST CANCER IN THE UNITED STATES STATISTICS Go here for more: http://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/Statistics.html From the 1940s until recently, the rate of new cases of breast cancer (called incidence) in the United States increased by a little over one percent a year. In the 1980s, the rate of new cases rose dramatically (likely due to increased screening), and during the 1990s the rate of new cases leveled off. From 1999 to 2006, there was a decline in the rate of new breast cancer cases [5,41]. Although mammography screening rates fell somewhat over this same time period, recent studies...

I'M OFFICIAL

www.thesavvybrunette.com I'm official, I finally registered my domain and directed it here to blogger! Please enjoy my website, I hope to give it a lot more attention then I have in the past!  www.thesavvybrunette.com ...

Texting has changed how we interact

I have been thinking a lot about texting and just how frequently I do it. I looked at my last phone bill and realized that I text 4800+ times in just one month. That seemed like an astronomical amount, but then I logged into Twitter and I see someones Tweet that they tweet almost 400 times per day, YIKES. Anyhow, the amount of texting we all do is affecting our interactions with people. Both in good and bad ways. Texting has been positive for me in the way that it keeps me in touch with people...

Hi Everyone!!

  Just wanted to say hello and play around with my video feature on my computer. The secret is now out...yes, I am a total nerd haha!!  I'm not gonna lie...a small reason I finally decided to do this was because I was having an awesome hair and makeup day haha!! ENJO...

Internet cheating...what are the rules?

When I was younger, about 21 years old, right after I graduated college I spent a lot of time in Columbus, Ohio staying with a friend of mine (thanks Jacci). I wanted to job hunt and really just party and enjoy life. I spent way more time partying and enjoy life then doing anything else. There were weeks where I would be partying every day. Anyhow I definitely digress from the blog topic. While I was down there I met this guy online who seemed really cool and was from there so we had plans to hang...

Adventures with Grandma in Chicago & Ohio family time!

Day 1- Saturday, July 17th Picked grandma up at the train and headed on over to White Palace on Roosevelt/Canal. Yet another place that Shawn put me on to. They have really good breakfast. I love little diners. This one was on some TV show also. Forget the name of it, but that annoying guy that does the Fridays commercials is the host.We then came home and rested before going to the Shedd Aquarium. We valeted so we did not have to wait in the long line outside which had to have been about a 1-2 hour wait. We got in to the Will Call line and that was at least a 30 minute wait. I have heard so many great things...

Men who choose not to be fathers

This is a follow up to my letter to my father (see previous blog). My father chose not to be a father, and my mom let him make that choice. I struggle with whether or not I think that is ok. Should a man have a choice as to whether or not he will be in his child's life? When a man and woman sleep together they are both equally making the decision to have sex (duh, I know). Most do not consider children in the process. Well when a girl ends up pregnant she ultimately can choose to keep the child or abort. A man at this point has no choice, his life is wavering while he waits for the girl to make a decision. He could...

Dear Dad

Dear Dad, I know you do not know me. In fact you might not even know I exist. I know you were probably young and not ready to have me, but shit happens. I happened, and my mother kept me. I am 27 years old and every one of those years I have wondered about you. Did you ever wonder if I was alive? Did you ever wonder if my mother kept me? Sometimes I wonder what you are like. Sometimes I wonder if I have siblings. If I had siblings I do not know how I would feel about it. My sister is the only sibling I want and need. She's amazing and I love her. When I was younger I always held out hope that somehow you would...

Enough said...

The top one is from @TheFifty50 and I love it, but I didn't get the full third panel so here is what it's suppose to look like!! I will most definitely get a shirt that has this on it like ASAP!! Also, NO I am NOT an alcoholic I'm just TWENTY-SEVEN years old and FINALLY enjoying my life!!Effen Black Cherry + Tonic = <3 of my life. Jameson shot=WTF why...

Is MTV encouraging teenage pregnancy?

What is up with this Teen Mom show on MTV? There is one girl on there that needs to get shaken. Her and her baby daddy cannot get along but she is a little devilish thing, always throwing fits in front of her poor little baby. Another young girl is living with the boy who is a total lazy bum and they have no business faking a relationship. He does not even act like a father.I hate watching this because it makes me sad BUT of course I'll continue to watch because I'm a true reality tv addict. I...

Nycole's Baked Mac & Cheese

I've decided it is about time that I get my cooking game up so eventually I can get married and not be a Peggy Bundy! I absolutely love baked mac and cheese so I watched you tube videos all day and none of the recipes completely grabbed me so I just took pieces from like 5 different ones and I did this on my own. It was really good. Next time I'd for sure use just a tad less sharp cheddar just cause its not my fave. I'd use another white cheese. Here's how I did it! Please let me know if you try it. I'd love to know how it turns out!! Good Luck!  INGREDIENTS 3 tbsp butter 3 tbsp flour 2 cups milk  1...

I'm lucky to have my family

Quite often I'm reminded of how amazing my family is because their support for me never ceases when I need it. For example today my grandma paid for a car repair that I needed. I of course will pay her back but how awesome is that that she was there for me all the way in Ohio. My grandmother is an amazing person and I do not know what I would do without her. In fact I think I wouldn't be a whole person anymore. She knows more about me than anyone else and she supports everything I do and loves me unconditionally. I am very excited my grandmother will be coming to Chicago not this Saturday but next and we'll do all...