I Luv My Mani/Pedi BUT...

By: Chanelle Ward

So my friend Ayana of The A Team Talk Show  and I FINALLY made it to the salon to get mani/pedis. When I tell you we tried like 25 times......Ok let me just tell you a bit about myself first. 

I'm Chanelle. I operate a blog called simplychanelle.com and a youtube channel called "ItsSimplyChanelle". I'm a beauty blogger. Better yet, a beauty enthusiast. I love hair, makeup, skincare, all of it. And its my passion to talk to people about it. Everything I learned about beauty, I learned from blogs like my own, and YouTube, so I wanted to add to the great pool of information that helped me discover what I love. So! Now that you know me, lets talk about this infamous trip to Luv Nail Manicures and Pedicures. 

We went to LUV on a Friday afternoon (the most busy time of the week) but they still managed to service us in a reasonable amount out time. Kudos to them for that. Though my experience had some highs and lows, I quite enjoyed it. Thanks to Ayana for getting me out of the house! Lets look at some of the Pros and Cons. 

Pros: 
The Atmosphere: I love how clean and modern the salon looked. Their selection of polish was great. They carry a huge selection of OPI and Essie polishes in addition to Gel polishes. The manicurist was very friendly and made me feel comfortable. 

Cons: 
The salon is a bit pricey, though the experience and fluff in the salon can account for the $20 you'll pay for a manicure. This next thing was a con, but it takes a while to explain, so just read ahead. 

The lady that did my nails was super nice. We talked about everything. She even told me about her boyfriend and their date later on that day. I felt really comfortable. That is, until she pulled out those wrench like clippers they use to cut cuticles. I had always read in health class that its unhealthy to actually clip the cuticles but I trusted her because she was the professional in the situation. When she tried to cut my cuticles, they didn't cut immediately which led her to start pulling and semi-ripping them off, causing a lot of pain. Being the introvert I am, I let her keep ripping my cuticles off, knowing something had to be wrong. I silenced the voice inside and focused on how cute my cuticle-less hands would look with this saucy lime green polish I picked out. I got through the rest of the manicure with ease and was busy loving how my nails looked. I gave her the money, wished her well on her date, and headed home. As soon as that night, I started to feel some swelling in my nail beds. The bases of my nails were itching and swollen and red. I knew something went wrong during that manicure. In the next few days, my cuticles started to tear even more, bleed, and itch as my body fought off some kind of infection. I decided to get on Google and do some research on the topic. While cutting cuticles is a widely used practice, it is discouraged in many beauty schools, and most doctors agree that it is bad for the body. The cuticles are your body's first line of defense and you need them to keep bacteria out of your body. The swelling I was feeling was a result of my body's first line of defense being sabotaged ! Instead of cutting your cuticles, as the manicurist to simply push them back. This will still give you a clean nail bed without compromising your immune system! 


In all, I had a blast that day. I have a tendency to look at beauty as something to blog about and not something to enjoy; just sitting there and allowing myself to be pampered was great. I won't hold the cuticle thing against the salon, I just know that its my job to speak up for myself next time. I and only I am responsible for taking care of myself. So while there are so many talented beauty professionals, only you know your body like you. Make sure you protect it and keep it safe, so that you can continue to enjoy making it beautiful! 


Thats all for me guys, thanks for listening to me rant about my awesome day at the nail salon. If you'd like to hear me rant about some more beauty stuff, go check out simplychanelle.com,,subscribe to my youtube channel, and follow me on Instagram at "ItsSimplyChanelle" ! 


Thanks so much to the A Team Talk Show for giving me the opportunity to run my mouth on their blog! Love you guys !

Generation Z

                                                             By: Ayana Bryant-Weekes

I grew up in the 90’s. Orange VHS tapes, Hey Arnold, Giga Pets, M.A.S.H. and book covers made out of brown paper bags were the youthful pleasantries of my younger days.  In the church world, the 90’s meant WWJD bracelets, Lock-Ins, Vacation Bible School, and Late Night Gospel Skates. These constant activities fueled my affinity for participating in church events and my love for my church’s youth department. There was always something to do and be a part of no matter what age I was and we had Auntie Shawn…. the best Youth Leader EVER.

Over the last few months I’ve been working with my church’s youth department to plan this year’s Youth Conference. I haven’t attended last 4 Youth Conferences because I was either away at school or uninterested in participating. Since this is my first year being both home and interested in participating in a long time, I decided to make a few suggestions on what could be done for #YC2k14. Somehow, I ended up on the committee and in charge of several youth conference activities just by walking in on a meeting and making suggestions and I must say it’s been quite the learning experience as well as a great insight to how important Youth Department’s are.

Young people need to be constantly entertained and catered to or they’ll entertain and attempt to cater to themselves, most times outside of the church. That’s why they youth department of my day was so fun and exciting; we ALWAYS had something to do. Throughout this whole ordeal, God has blessed me with idea after idea about fun events for the Youth Department to sponsor and hopefully the same excitement and vigor I experienced as a youth will resurface.

Get The Look

By: Ambrea Curry

So I dont think im the only one but I loooooveee Tae Heckard she’s so gorg!! I came across this photo of her and I thought her make up was bomb, so I decided to recreate the look. Below you will find the product info. and products I used to recreate this sultry eye look. Tell me what you think!

                                     

**Face**

1. Ruby Kisses 3D Face Creator Level09 (concealer)

($4.99-local beauty supply stores, CVS, Walgreens)

2. M.A.C Studio Fix (C6/NC 43)

($27- M.A.C, Macys, Nordstroms)

3. CoverGirl Trublend Minerals Bronzer (golden sunrise)

($7.99- CVS, Walgreens, Walmart)

**Eyes**

1. Ruby Kisses Auto Eye Liner (Black) Used to Outlined the eye

($1.99- local beauty supply stores, CVS)

2. Wet N Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow (Don’t Steal My Thunder) Used to fill in the eye

($3.99- local beauty supply stores, CVS, Walgreens)

3.L’oréal Paris Voluminous Original Mascara (Blackest Black)

**Lips**

1. Kiss Maxi Shine Lipstick (almond)

($2.99- local beauty supply stores, CVS, Walgreens)

2. M.A.C  lipglass (C-thru)

($14.00- M.A.C, Macys, Nordstroms)

#100HappyDays

By:  Ayana Bryant-Weekes

“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” -Thomas Jefferson via The Declaration of Independence 

This is one of my favorite quotes. It's the legal (and quite eloquent) verbiage of every human’s most basic rights that embodies more than we even realize to which we own the rights. To so carefully choose his words and enlist the pursuit of happiness as an unalienable right instead of just plain happiness, Mr. Jefferson must have known what a lot of us are still trying to figure out; that happiness is not a destination, it’s a decision.

Over the last few weeks I’ve noticed friends of mine posting pictures on Instagram, Twitter etc. with the hashtag #100HappyDays. At the time I was too lazy to explore the hashtag and see what it was all about but God kept it in my spirit. In the days immediately following I had one of the best days of my life. I spent the day with my best friend getting pedicures and trying new flavors of ice cream on one of the first sunny days of the season. The atmosphere was great and at the end of the day I breathed a sigh of relief, I needed another day like that. Surprisingly, I did. Though less eventful, the next day was just as satisfying – and the next day, and the next day.

Without even knowing it I managed to produce seven happy days in a row. Upon this realization I finally decided to look into the #100HappyDaysChallenge. To my surprise I was basically doing what the challenge called for, I just wasn’t taking pictures. I consciously repelled negativity and anything that didn’t appease my already happy disposition and I made sure I was aware of what was making me happy.

I used to think that the idea of happiness as a decision was just dumb. Why would anyone decide against being happy? Anyone with sense, if given the choice, would automatically choose to be happy…wouldn’t they? The crazy thing is, some people don’t, knowingly and unknowingly. Everyday, we make decisions that either honor or dishonor what we need to be happy. If we aren’t careful we can turn our focus to the wrong things and never see the forest for the tree.

God gifted us an entire world to experience and marvel over, what a disservice we would do to ourselves to let it pass us by with no regard for what it could do for our souls. I’m not sure if Mr. Jefferson knew the magnitude of what he was saying by adding a pursuit to the idea of happiness but the next 93 days of my life will consciously honor the that unalienable right which God so graciously granted us all.  

Determination Allowed My Lifestyle Change

Determination Allowed My Lifestyle Change

By: Lulu Ogadinma

Ever since I could remember, I’ve been overweight. I got teased a lot

because of it. I even remember taking diet pills at the age of 11 years old. When I got to high school, my weight fluctuated only because I got a little active by jump roping everyday and I had the courage to join the shot put. I got down from 195 lbs to 175 lbs and that was my lowest. Little did I know that during my senior year of high school, I would get pregnant and my weight would shoot all the way up to 232 lbs in 2008. I stayed that size even after I gave birth, all the way till Feb 2013. Eventually I just got tired of being over weight. My weight issues caused me to have low self esteem and no confidence. I wanted to finally feel good about myself and I wanted to stop shopping at Lane Bryant and in the plus size section of every store. I was too young for that. I started researching what I should eat when trying to lose weight and that’s how I changed my diet. I now eat clean, meaning, cutting out processed foods, fast foods, pop, juice and white simple carbs. I only eat complex carbs, lean protein, egg whites, beans, veggies and some fruit.

I don’t eat too much fruit because it’s high in sugar, and I aim to drink a gallon of water daily. I started off doing cardio 5 to 6 times a week, 2 hours a day, and weight training 2 to 3 times a week. Now I’am 160 which is 72 lbs lighter from where I started. I feel so good about myself. What keeps me motivated is my followers on my social media pages. They tell me all the time how I am such of an inspiration I am to them and that motivates them to change their lifestyle. I love hearing that because it fuels me to go harder. I am currently going through ISSA to obtain my personal training certificate. I plan on being a motivational speaker that goes to schools and other places to share my story and help motivate young people to start their journey now. I also plan on starting a mentoring program that will focus on the body and mind for the ages 18 thru 24. My goal is to inspire and encourage young women to embrace a healthy lifestyle and promote high self esteem.My advice is to look at weight loss as a lifestyle change not something you have to do. Looking at it as something you have to do will cause you to get discouraged and when you don’t see results and then you will

give up. A lifestyle change is permanent so you’ll know that no

matter what happens, the weight will come off and its not something

that you will constantly think about.

Passions. Paychecks. Planning.

By: Ayana Bryant-Weekes 

This past Sunday - in the spirit of our 40-days of prayer and consecration - my pastor, Bishop J.Drew Sheard, challenged the entire Greater Emmanuel COGIC congregation to take a leap of faith financially. He asked us, starting in the month of June, to tithe on the income we DESIRE to have. With several career propositions, student debts, and just plain old lifestyle preferences before me, I was more than willing to spiritually step out on the water.  This was supposed to be a simple task, pay 10% of what I wanted to make in my future income. As a regular tithe payer who usually rounds to the nearest dollar, I didn’t have a problem with paying more than what was required of me.  The problem was, and still is; I didn’t know what amount I really wanted.

Bishop’s challenge not only forced me to step out on faith but to also deeply consider a financial direction for my life. I got so wrapped up in making sure I followed passions and not paychecks that I overlooked the prosperous benefits linked to staying on the path that God has for me. Even before this challenge was presented to me I had small instances where I was asked to set my financial standard, for example, being asked what my preferred salary was at a recent job interview (I ended up getting more than what I asked for) in which my answer was hesitant because I hadn’t really considered the answer. The bible warns us on several occasions not to idolize and worship money and material things but that does not mean that God is not willing and waiting to bless us with the desires of our hearts and provide us with the things we need to survive in this day, granted that we keep Him at the center of it all.

[Matthew 6:31-33 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.]

This financial challenge that God dropped in Bishop Sheard’s spirit is a combination of faith and practicality. Faith says, “I’m paying 10% on an amount that I am not making yet” and practicality says, “I have to be somewhat realistic in my projected income and have to begin to act on said projection”. Let’s not exclude financial planning as a part of kingdom building as it can echo back into our lives as preparation for bigger blessings to come.

Deuteronomy 8:18 “And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”

Connections : What if it's just you?

What if it's just you?

By: Ambrea Curry 

"I was born alone, and I will die alone" a quote I'm sure you've heard before right? If you haven't...soon you will. Some may think that statement is a statement that comes from a lonely or hurt state of mind or from someone who may have been hurt many times by ones they've loved and consequently, put up a wall to keep out further hurt. To a certain extent I agree, however I happen to believe that adapting that mind set can be, some what, a safe guard against feelings of loneliness in a season of isolation. In life we go through seasons of isolation, when you feel detached from everyone and everything..the people you look to are not there, and the people you look for are nowhere near. Is that God's way of getting your attention, or is it the devils way of trying to get ahold of your mind? Could it be both? Perhaps.....well let's look at it this way....Isolation is good when God is allowing you to go through it to birth new things in you. It is in those quiet times that God speaks to you, directs you, gives you news ideas, and can even clarify a few things for you. When you're most vulnerable and spiritually weak, God is there to restore you and help you grow. In these times loneliness can also creep in, which is when the devil tries to wreck havoc in your mind. In the lonely times you can become bitter when thinking about the people who are not "there" in your life.....people who you've placed such high values on...that might not deserve value at all....that's when the walls go up, and the mind set "I was born alone, and I'll die alone" comes in. You may shut people out to prove you don't need them, which proves you need them more. Remember, a friend of mine says this often, "God loves through people and though you may think you don't need them, everybody needs somebody" and I believe that wholeheartedly, but if God needs to silence some things to get your attention he will. All in all be happy with those "alone" but not lonely, isolating  times. God is near, he's preparing you for something greater, he's ridding some things in you, and he's restoring damaged parts of you! Be okay with just you!