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The Habit Filter: The Discipline of Keeping Your Word to Yourself
Keep Your Word To Yourself
If you truly understood the power of habits, particularly the cumulative benefits (or consequences) they offer, you would not cut yourself so much slack about the ones that undermine your goals and ...
Read More 
When Love is Opaque – Are You Blind to Love?
The Personal
Love could be starring me in the face, and I just might miss it. I could be blind to love. This is definitely a pattern. I see it in lots of my ...
Read More 
The Sacred Right to Rest: Even When the World Feels On Fire
The Personal
Say it with me: I deserve rest, joy, and happiness. I deserve rest, joy, and happiness because I am alive. I deserve rest, joy, and happiness when things are going according to ...
Read More 
Do You Trust Yourself To Rise?
The Personal
Ever wonder why your life feels overmixed, underbaked, or stuck in someone else’s flavor? You might be borrowing too many ingredients. Do you trust yourself to rise? This is what happened: I ...
Read More 
Teeth Sucking Rage In the Woods!
Conflict
Have you ever said yes—but meant no—and then gave into teeth sucking rage? Have you ever felt punished for setting a boundary? Do you recognize the low hum of resentment when people ...
Read More 
A Plantation – My Juneteeth was on May 10th
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
One of the things that I never share with people who aren’t family (and I don’t share this with all of them) is that it bothers me that my family has always ...
Read More 
Take Up Space!
The Personal
As you grow into yourself, you begin to accept that no place or person can offer you absolute acceptance. Coming to terms with this reality brings a duality: you recognize the futility ...
Read More 
The BIG small Changes
The Personal
Due to road construction, her commute changed. The family got a pet. The kid needed a tutor, so you found them one. An injury or illness that takes a while to fully ...
Read More 
Practical Strategies for Managing Overwhelm and Stress
The Personal
Have you ever seen someone effortlessly navigate the chaos of life while others buckle? It's not the weight of their tasks. It's the strength of their systems and sense of self-awareness. Understanding ...
Read More 
Journal Prompts to Reflect, Recharge, and Reignite in 2025
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
As mature women navigating the myriad responsibilities of daily life, it's easy to find ourselves at the bottom of our own priority list. However, prioritizing self-care and personal growth is essential for ...
Read More 
ALL Leadership is Personal
The Personal
All leadership is personal. We just happen to do it in professional settings sometimes. Often, we talk about alignment within our organizations; however, we don't talk about alignment in our personal lives ...
Read More 
Whatever you feed will grow!
The Personal
The other day, I was beyond angry. I was seeing grey smoke. Thankfully, I had three friends who let me vent. But get this: when I got around to my fourth friend ...
Read More 
Who You Are versus What You Do
The Personal
Be clear about the difference between who/what you are and what you do. The relationships in your life are based on one or the other. Neither is necessarily good or necessarily bad. ...
Read More 
What’s Your Recovery Plan?
The Personal | 2 Comments
It is impossible to become the person you want to be and avoid all mistakes. No matter who you are, no matter how worthwhile your goal, you are going to stumble and ...
Read More 
Are You Scared?
The Personal
A significant part of fear is worrying about who is going to criticize you and your approach to your goal. You have to make changes and adjustments to what you're doing based ...
Read More Does that Goal REALLY Matter to You?
The Personal
Focus is about remembering your why and setting goals that are truly compelling. When you set a goal that you aren't really committed to, it's easy to look up one day and ...
Read More 
Michelle and Kenya Talk Conflict, Self-Care, Success, and Distractions
The Personal
Is it hard for everybody to hear their own voice, or is it just me? I'm digging in the crates and listening to old episodes of The Leadership Drives podcast. This episode ...
Read More 
Personal Grit
The Personal
Stick-to-it-ness is more than about not quitting. It's also about sticking to the plan that you created for success. You will be tempted to keep trying new things, especially if you don't ...
Read More 
Waiting for the Good Stuff
The Personal
Delayed gratification is recognizing that success involves learning, application, failure, revision, and re-doing. Even as you look at how much growth is before you, train yourself to respect what you've already done. ...
Read More 
How many, “Starting now Mondays” have you had?
The Personal
It's Monday: are you starting a new diet, budget, exercise routine, reading more, looking for a job, signing up for a school or some new learning opportunity, dressing differently, putting your foot ...
Read More 
It’s Doesn’t Necessarily Mean You Aren’t the One
The Personal
I understand why it takes some ppl so long to decide to commit to someone they've been with forever. It’s NEVER as simple as "you aren't the one" when a man/woman won't ...
Read More 
Who do you talk to?
The Personal
Ultimately, it is an act of self-care to know when my kee-kee person can and can’t be my “oh shit” person: who do you talk to? So, I made a pretty big ...
Read More 
Southern Black Nostalgia – My Love for a Place I Can’t Stay
The Personal
A throwback - sharing a post from my journal on Black Southern culture. This is probably the best NY's Eve and Day that I've had in a very long time, especially since ...
Read More 
Why Are You Dragging Your Feet?
The Personal
Sometimes you know what you need to do, but you don’t do it. You don’t do it because it’s hard to overcome your patterns and habits. Coincidentally, you know these patterns and ...
Read More 
Have you grown out of what you grew up in?
The Personal
When you look at the various experiences you've had over your life, especially the early experiences, how do they show up for you now, as an adult? Can you connect some of ...
Read More 
Are you afraid to ask for what you really want?
The Personal
Is this you? A friend has an upcoming event that is VERY important to her. She wants me to come; however, she began with, "If you can't make it, it's okay. I ...
Read More 
It’s Okay to Need Help
The Personal
Have you ever felt like this? Nobody can tell me what to do. This is just a time in my life when I can’t see or think straight. The more I ask for ...
Read More 
Stop Arguing with Them
The Personal
Have you ever held an unpopular perspective near and dear to your heart? By near and dear, I’m not referring to something that you necessarily like or makes you feel warm and ...
Read More 
Are you willing to lose yourself just because someone is lost to themselves?
The Personal
Are you willing to lose yourself just because someone is lost to themselves? If you are in a relationship with someone where you are subjected to manipulation and abuse, whether emotional, physical, ...
Read More 
What are you focused on?
The Personal
I was thinking about people who I admire and had an introspective moment about the power of vision and focus. One of the things that many of the people I admire have ...
Read More 
Change is not possible without conviction
The Personal
One of the hardest things in the world to do is to identify what truly matters to you and subsequently go about redesigning your life so that everything you do helps you ...
Read More 
My Struggle Isn’t Your Struggle…
The Personal
My struggle isn’t your struggle - this is why some things look easier for me. I have a friend who I sometimes call my “almost auntie” because she’s only about ten ...
Read More 
Have You Judged Yourself As A Failure Prematurely?
The Personal
Sometimes, we set goals and we go after them gusto and things don’t work out the we’d hoped and planned. When this happens, it is easy to go down the, “I failed” ...
Read More 
Iyanla Your Own Life!
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Okay, it’s late January; where are you with your resolutions? Bump yall who didn’t make any - don’t get me wrong, I kind of dissed them, too. I dissed them because I ...
Read More 
Why Obituary Writing?
The Personal
Introspective activities are my favorite form of emotional selfcare (hiking is my favorite form of physical self care whereas taking off at least one full day on the weekends (including no email) ...
Read More 
Do you Even Know what a Bath House Is?
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
My first introduction to the idea of a bathhouse occurred while I was in Chicago with my boyfriend (thank goodness for new times and new boyfriends). I didn’t quite get the concept, ...
Read More 
End of the Year Resolutions
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
We all know New Year’s Resolutions aren’t usually worth the breath that it takes us to utter them. I mean, let’s be honest: resolutions are not real goals! They are fairytales and ...
Read More 
Mantras To Live By
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
I was sitting around the other day and thinking about a hashtag that I saw, #WHATIKNOWNOW. As I thought about it, I thought about all the lessons that I’ve learned and wish ...
Read More 
Stop Reading That!
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
FULL STOP! You know exactly what I’m talking about. Those posts that tell you that you are broken and in perpetual need of fixing in every area of your life. From ...
Read More 
I’m Too Old to Just Be Figuring This Out
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Earlier this week, I made a pretty significant mistake. Actually, I made two mistakes. First, when I saw the train derailing, I didn’t advocate for myself. I didn’t know how to backtrack ...
Read More 
Your Best Habit
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Hard to Change Habits Checking social media and email every few minutes although it’s inhibiting your productivity. Checking email first thing in the morning when you’ve said that you wanted to stop. ...
Read More 
It’s Just Me
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
I had a conversation with a guy last night and something he said reminded me of a conversation I had with a different guy a few years ago. It also reminded me ...
Read More 
Are You Truly Pro-Choice?!
The Personal
The vast majority of the women I know can clearly articulate their rationale for their pro-choice abortion stance. These women can easily and clearly articulate how difficult the decision to ...
Read More 
What do you really want to do?
The Personal
What do you really want to do? I don’t feel particularly passionate about anything. I don’t have time. I’m going to do it next year. All of these statements are excuses. ...
Read More 
What Does THAT Mean?
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
This is a long one, but worthwhile. This information will help you at home and at work. So, grab yourself a coffee and buckle up! When grandma said, “it’s not what ...
Read More 
Hey Baby, what EXACTLY, is INTERSECTIONALITY?
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
How would you explain intersectionality and this other concept called “womanism”? ________________________ I have a great relationship with an 89-year-old woman, who just happens to be my great grandmother’s oldest living niece. ...
Read More 
Pin You to The Top
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Why I Did It: To embrace my personal sense of adventurousness and own my eccentricity. To have the freedom to not consider anybody else’s preferences. To force me to make myself a ...
Read More 
What kind of love do you want?
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
***This post is a series of posts of dating and relationships. We are specifically looking for guest bloggers to talk about dating, love, and relationships from the point of view of women ...
Read More 
Are you still quitting yourself?
The Professional
I started my business in 2007 because I wanted to work as I authentically am, and I wanted to do work that I felt good about. I had hated most of the ...
Read More 
Selfish: Permission to Pause, Live, Love and Laugh Your Way to Joy
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
An excerpt from Selfish: Permission to Pause, Live, Love and Laugh Your Way to Joy “Throughout the years to come, I’d experience hurdle, after hurdle, just to jump over and beyond tiny ...
Read More 
The 3Ps: The Personal, The Professional, and The Physical
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
I live in these three buckets, and I think most of us do. Each bucket contributes to my ability to live a full life. I can’t ignore one in favor of the ...
Read More 
100 Questions: How well do you know you?
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Self-Awareness is the cornerstone of maturity. Without it, a person will not see herself clearly, will lean toward characterizing herself as a perpetual victim or as self-appointment champion (unproven without temperance or ...
Read More 
What is Your Recovery Plan?
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Last year, I started running with increasing consistency. Frankly, I started running because I wanted to make exercise a regular thing in my life...and I thought running would be both free/cheap and ...
Read More 
Dear 88 Year Old, I Remember When You Were 40-something!
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Hello Woman! I’m so glad to see you! Although life is unpredictable in many ways, I’ve worked to prepare you for this moment. I want you to know that I enjoyed ...
Read More
What Makes you YOU?
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
What’s your “personal culture”? Ah, I bet you’ve never even thought about it. Most normal people haven’t, at least not in those terms. Think of it like your personal rituals, traditions, and ...
Read More 
Food & My Femininity
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Cake: Internal Oppression and The Thing I Love It’s the weirdest thing. I think I’m a modern woman. I’m certainly a professional. I reject tradition for tradition’s sake. I’m busy (who isn’t?). ...
Read More 
Good and Grown
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
What makes you feel like a self-possessed grown woman? How old were you when you first felt like a true adult? Or was there an experience that made you feel grown rather ...
Read More 
Who is Checking for You….
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
...because you went first and checked for them? One of the simple pleasures of my life is hosting my bi-monthly ladies check-in. The check-in is a gathering of up to ten women ...
Read More 
Don’t You DARE do Dinner and Movie!
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
I love a man who can plan a great date! I can also be rather competitive in what I call "love show downs". The idea of "out-dating" one another is fun because...well, ...
Read More 
Talk about Your Shame
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Many years ago, I was fired from “my good government job”. Ironically, the day before I was fired, I told God that I wanted more time to focus on the things that ...
Read More 
Toni on Love
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
If you have stronger, more vivid quotes on love, SEND THEM MY WAY. But, I bet you can’t because all of these were written by my aunt (in my head), the incomparable ...
Read More 
A Woman For Every Season
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Hmmmm...a winter’s woman? Seriously, what exactly is old? One of my agemates once told me that her grandmother said that she didn’t feel old until she turned 90. By the same token, ...
Read More 
Is THAT the Same Tree? What To Do When you KEEP Going in Circles
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
I have a personal growth practice that totally works for me; I’m sharing it because I hope that you’ll try it and that it’ll totally work for you. So, what is this ...
Read More 
The Five Gifts of Reflection
The Personal
I hope you’re reading this blog post at a time where you have the mental capacity to think about how 2022 and beyond are going to go for you. No, I’m not ...
Read More 
What’s Really at the Root of Your Fears?
The Physical
In 2018, I went from 160 pounds to 119 pounds (mind you, my entire family kept asking if I could afford groceries or if I was sick). I'm still quite proud of ...
Read More 
Happy Dance!
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
The other day (a Friday), my car wouldn't start. I didn't realize this until about 11:30am. Not only was I annoyed by this, but I needed to get my car fixed because ...
Read More 
My Holiday Tradition
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
The holidays are supposed to be a time of family, food, hanging out, and gift-giving. I don’t know if this experience is delightful and true for most people or if most people ...
Read More 
Forgiveness is a Patient Companion
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
You can forgive someone and still be hurt about the situation. Yes, you can love and forgive someone and still be hurt, perhaps broken, about the situation. We've put forth this untrue ...
Read More 
Self Care: What It Takes to be Me
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
The journey to become a pretty face and beautiful soul is the life's work of the grown women. Essentially, you can't be what you want to be to others before you actually ...
Read More 
Are YOU READY?
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Have you ever longed for something with a type of desperation that is nearly indistinguishable from physical hunger? If your desire for a thing is something you can feel, you got it ...
Read More 
Are You Hungry?
The Personal, The Physical
Hunger by Roxane Gay I listened to this book on “self-care day”. My self-care day consists of things I need to do to take of me like exercise, no appointments so that I ...
Read More 
Self Care is More Than a Spa Day
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Maybe it’s age. Maybe it’s a shifting culture. Or Maybe I’ve just hit enough walls to quit playing the game; but I’ve come to learn that constant self-neglect is an absolute and ...
Read More 
10 numbers EVERY Woman needs in her Phone
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Life is such that there are times when you just need people. You know, the "have your people call my people" type people! Yes, we need people who we know can do ...
Read More 
What would you do if you couldn’t spend a dime?
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
A few years ago, I lost nearly 40 pounds. I did it with exercise and changing how I ate, and a big part of the new way I was eating meant eating ...
Read More 
Come Through, Thanksgiving!!!
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
You can keep Christmas, all of it. I loooooooooooooooooooooove Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is my holiday. Here’s why I love Thanksgiving: I don’t have to shop. Yup, that’s it. I hate the expectation of ...
Read More 
You BETTER Vote
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Okay, okay, okay! I admit it! Since George Floyd, I’ve fallen down the audio book rabbit hole. Stick with me for a minute. I’ve listened the following books, and I’ve listened to ...
Read More 
40 Things to Smile about Today
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Sometimes, life is easier, sweeter, and better just because we notice what makes us smile. As I prepare to enjoy this lovely Sunday, I let my mind roam to the simple things ...
Read More 
What You See Versus What They See
The Personal
Who are you? Are you who you say you are or are you only what people see? Recently, I had a conversation with a friend about whether I behave the same way ...
Read More 
STOP IT!!!! It Really is Okay to Quit
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Watch me: I'm a Youtube Video -----> Stop It!!! It's Okay to Quit A friend of mine once told me that everything we do is done out of fear or love. When ...
Read More 
Perseverance vs Endurance
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Tonight, while I was supposed to be doing something else, I gave in to the spirit of procrastination and watched The Great Debaters movie for the first time. I know I’m a ...
Read More I’m gonna eat the macaroni: black family, black food, and black health
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Thanksgiving is three weeks from today, and I’m already planning my menu. While, I’m beyond excited about this season of food, I remember the first time I hurt my grandmother’s feelings around ...
Read More - All
- Conflict
- Keep Your Word To Yourself
- Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
- The Personal
- The Physical
- The Professional
The Habit Filter: The Discipline of Keeping Your Word to Yourself
Keep Your Word To Yourself
If you truly understood the power of habits, particularly the cumulative benefits (or consequences) they offer, you would not cut yourself so much slack about the ones that undermine your goals and ...
Read More
When Love is Opaque – Are You Blind to Love?
The Personal
Love could be starring me in the face, and I just might miss it. I could be blind to love. This is definitely a pattern. I see it in lots of my ...
Read More
The Sacred Right to Rest: Even When the World Feels On Fire
The Personal
Say it with me: I deserve rest, joy, and happiness. I deserve rest, joy, and happiness because I am alive. I deserve rest, joy, and happiness when things are going according to ...
Read More
Do You Trust Yourself To Rise?
The Personal
Ever wonder why your life feels overmixed, underbaked, or stuck in someone else’s flavor? You might be borrowing too many ingredients. Do you trust yourself to rise? This is what happened: I ...
Read More
Teeth Sucking Rage In the Woods!
Conflict
Have you ever said yes—but meant no—and then gave into teeth sucking rage? Have you ever felt punished for setting a boundary? Do you recognize the low hum of resentment when people ...
Read More
A Plantation – My Juneteeth was on May 10th
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
One of the things that I never share with people who aren’t family (and I don’t share this with all of them) is that it bothers me that my family has always ...
Read More
Take Up Space!
The Personal
As you grow into yourself, you begin to accept that no place or person can offer you absolute acceptance. Coming to terms with this reality brings a duality: you recognize the futility ...
Read More
The BIG small Changes
The Personal
Due to road construction, her commute changed. The family got a pet. The kid needed a tutor, so you found them one. An injury or illness that takes a while to fully ...
Read More
Practical Strategies for Managing Overwhelm and Stress
The Personal
Have you ever seen someone effortlessly navigate the chaos of life while others buckle? It's not the weight of their tasks. It's the strength of their systems and sense of self-awareness. Understanding ...
Read More
Journal Prompts to Reflect, Recharge, and Reignite in 2025
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
As mature women navigating the myriad responsibilities of daily life, it's easy to find ourselves at the bottom of our own priority list. However, prioritizing self-care and personal growth is essential for ...
Read More
ALL Leadership is Personal
The Personal
All leadership is personal. We just happen to do it in professional settings sometimes. Often, we talk about alignment within our organizations; however, we don't talk about alignment in our personal lives ...
Read More
Whatever you feed will grow!
The Personal
The other day, I was beyond angry. I was seeing grey smoke. Thankfully, I had three friends who let me vent. But get this: when I got around to my fourth friend ...
Read More
Who You Are versus What You Do
The Personal
Be clear about the difference between who/what you are and what you do. The relationships in your life are based on one or the other. Neither is necessarily good or necessarily bad. ...
Read More
What’s Your Recovery Plan?
The Personal | 2 Comments
It is impossible to become the person you want to be and avoid all mistakes. No matter who you are, no matter how worthwhile your goal, you are going to stumble and ...
Read More
Are You Scared?
The Personal
A significant part of fear is worrying about who is going to criticize you and your approach to your goal. You have to make changes and adjustments to what you're doing based ...
Read More Does that Goal REALLY Matter to You?
The Personal
Focus is about remembering your why and setting goals that are truly compelling. When you set a goal that you aren't really committed to, it's easy to look up one day and ...
Read More
Michelle and Kenya Talk Conflict, Self-Care, Success, and Distractions
The Personal
Is it hard for everybody to hear their own voice, or is it just me? I'm digging in the crates and listening to old episodes of The Leadership Drives podcast. This episode ...
Read More
Personal Grit
The Personal
Stick-to-it-ness is more than about not quitting. It's also about sticking to the plan that you created for success. You will be tempted to keep trying new things, especially if you don't ...
Read More
Waiting for the Good Stuff
The Personal
Delayed gratification is recognizing that success involves learning, application, failure, revision, and re-doing. Even as you look at how much growth is before you, train yourself to respect what you've already done. ...
Read More
How many, “Starting now Mondays” have you had?
The Personal
It's Monday: are you starting a new diet, budget, exercise routine, reading more, looking for a job, signing up for a school or some new learning opportunity, dressing differently, putting your foot ...
Read More
It’s Doesn’t Necessarily Mean You Aren’t the One
The Personal
I understand why it takes some ppl so long to decide to commit to someone they've been with forever. It’s NEVER as simple as "you aren't the one" when a man/woman won't ...
Read More
Who do you talk to?
The Personal
Ultimately, it is an act of self-care to know when my kee-kee person can and can’t be my “oh shit” person: who do you talk to? So, I made a pretty big ...
Read More
Southern Black Nostalgia – My Love for a Place I Can’t Stay
The Personal
A throwback - sharing a post from my journal on Black Southern culture. This is probably the best NY's Eve and Day that I've had in a very long time, especially since ...
Read More
Why Are You Dragging Your Feet?
The Personal
Sometimes you know what you need to do, but you don’t do it. You don’t do it because it’s hard to overcome your patterns and habits. Coincidentally, you know these patterns and ...
Read More
Have you grown out of what you grew up in?
The Personal
When you look at the various experiences you've had over your life, especially the early experiences, how do they show up for you now, as an adult? Can you connect some of ...
Read More
Are you afraid to ask for what you really want?
The Personal
Is this you? A friend has an upcoming event that is VERY important to her. She wants me to come; however, she began with, "If you can't make it, it's okay. I ...
Read More
It’s Okay to Need Help
The Personal
Have you ever felt like this? Nobody can tell me what to do. This is just a time in my life when I can’t see or think straight. The more I ask for ...
Read More
Stop Arguing with Them
The Personal
Have you ever held an unpopular perspective near and dear to your heart? By near and dear, I’m not referring to something that you necessarily like or makes you feel warm and ...
Read More
Are you willing to lose yourself just because someone is lost to themselves?
The Personal
Are you willing to lose yourself just because someone is lost to themselves? If you are in a relationship with someone where you are subjected to manipulation and abuse, whether emotional, physical, ...
Read More
What are you focused on?
The Personal
I was thinking about people who I admire and had an introspective moment about the power of vision and focus. One of the things that many of the people I admire have ...
Read More
Change is not possible without conviction
The Personal
One of the hardest things in the world to do is to identify what truly matters to you and subsequently go about redesigning your life so that everything you do helps you ...
Read More
My Struggle Isn’t Your Struggle…
The Personal
My struggle isn’t your struggle - this is why some things look easier for me. I have a friend who I sometimes call my “almost auntie” because she’s only about ten ...
Read More
Have You Judged Yourself As A Failure Prematurely?
The Personal
Sometimes, we set goals and we go after them gusto and things don’t work out the we’d hoped and planned. When this happens, it is easy to go down the, “I failed” ...
Read More
Iyanla Your Own Life!
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Okay, it’s late January; where are you with your resolutions? Bump yall who didn’t make any - don’t get me wrong, I kind of dissed them, too. I dissed them because I ...
Read More
Why Obituary Writing?
The Personal
Introspective activities are my favorite form of emotional selfcare (hiking is my favorite form of physical self care whereas taking off at least one full day on the weekends (including no email) ...
Read More
Do you Even Know what a Bath House Is?
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
My first introduction to the idea of a bathhouse occurred while I was in Chicago with my boyfriend (thank goodness for new times and new boyfriends). I didn’t quite get the concept, ...
Read More
End of the Year Resolutions
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
We all know New Year’s Resolutions aren’t usually worth the breath that it takes us to utter them. I mean, let’s be honest: resolutions are not real goals! They are fairytales and ...
Read More
Mantras To Live By
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
I was sitting around the other day and thinking about a hashtag that I saw, #WHATIKNOWNOW. As I thought about it, I thought about all the lessons that I’ve learned and wish ...
Read More
Stop Reading That!
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
FULL STOP! You know exactly what I’m talking about. Those posts that tell you that you are broken and in perpetual need of fixing in every area of your life. From ...
Read More
I’m Too Old to Just Be Figuring This Out
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Earlier this week, I made a pretty significant mistake. Actually, I made two mistakes. First, when I saw the train derailing, I didn’t advocate for myself. I didn’t know how to backtrack ...
Read More
Your Best Habit
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Hard to Change Habits Checking social media and email every few minutes although it’s inhibiting your productivity. Checking email first thing in the morning when you’ve said that you wanted to stop. ...
Read More
It’s Just Me
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
I had a conversation with a guy last night and something he said reminded me of a conversation I had with a different guy a few years ago. It also reminded me ...
Read More
Are You Truly Pro-Choice?!
The Personal
The vast majority of the women I know can clearly articulate their rationale for their pro-choice abortion stance. These women can easily and clearly articulate how difficult the decision to ...
Read More
What do you really want to do?
The Personal
What do you really want to do? I don’t feel particularly passionate about anything. I don’t have time. I’m going to do it next year. All of these statements are excuses. ...
Read More
What Does THAT Mean?
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
This is a long one, but worthwhile. This information will help you at home and at work. So, grab yourself a coffee and buckle up! When grandma said, “it’s not what ...
Read More
Hey Baby, what EXACTLY, is INTERSECTIONALITY?
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
How would you explain intersectionality and this other concept called “womanism”? ________________________ I have a great relationship with an 89-year-old woman, who just happens to be my great grandmother’s oldest living niece. ...
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Pin You to The Top
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Why I Did It: To embrace my personal sense of adventurousness and own my eccentricity. To have the freedom to not consider anybody else’s preferences. To force me to make myself a ...
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What kind of love do you want?
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
***This post is a series of posts of dating and relationships. We are specifically looking for guest bloggers to talk about dating, love, and relationships from the point of view of women ...
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Are you still quitting yourself?
The Professional
I started my business in 2007 because I wanted to work as I authentically am, and I wanted to do work that I felt good about. I had hated most of the ...
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Selfish: Permission to Pause, Live, Love and Laugh Your Way to Joy
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
An excerpt from Selfish: Permission to Pause, Live, Love and Laugh Your Way to Joy “Throughout the years to come, I’d experience hurdle, after hurdle, just to jump over and beyond tiny ...
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The 3Ps: The Personal, The Professional, and The Physical
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
I live in these three buckets, and I think most of us do. Each bucket contributes to my ability to live a full life. I can’t ignore one in favor of the ...
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100 Questions: How well do you know you?
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Self-Awareness is the cornerstone of maturity. Without it, a person will not see herself clearly, will lean toward characterizing herself as a perpetual victim or as self-appointment champion (unproven without temperance or ...
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What is Your Recovery Plan?
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Last year, I started running with increasing consistency. Frankly, I started running because I wanted to make exercise a regular thing in my life...and I thought running would be both free/cheap and ...
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Dear 88 Year Old, I Remember When You Were 40-something!
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Hello Woman! I’m so glad to see you! Although life is unpredictable in many ways, I’ve worked to prepare you for this moment. I want you to know that I enjoyed ...
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What Makes you YOU?
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
What’s your “personal culture”? Ah, I bet you’ve never even thought about it. Most normal people haven’t, at least not in those terms. Think of it like your personal rituals, traditions, and ...
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Food & My Femininity
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Cake: Internal Oppression and The Thing I Love It’s the weirdest thing. I think I’m a modern woman. I’m certainly a professional. I reject tradition for tradition’s sake. I’m busy (who isn’t?). ...
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Good and Grown
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
What makes you feel like a self-possessed grown woman? How old were you when you first felt like a true adult? Or was there an experience that made you feel grown rather ...
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Who is Checking for You….
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
...because you went first and checked for them? One of the simple pleasures of my life is hosting my bi-monthly ladies check-in. The check-in is a gathering of up to ten women ...
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Don’t You DARE do Dinner and Movie!
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
I love a man who can plan a great date! I can also be rather competitive in what I call "love show downs". The idea of "out-dating" one another is fun because...well, ...
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Talk about Your Shame
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Many years ago, I was fired from “my good government job”. Ironically, the day before I was fired, I told God that I wanted more time to focus on the things that ...
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Toni on Love
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
If you have stronger, more vivid quotes on love, SEND THEM MY WAY. But, I bet you can’t because all of these were written by my aunt (in my head), the incomparable ...
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A Woman For Every Season
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Hmmmm...a winter’s woman? Seriously, what exactly is old? One of my agemates once told me that her grandmother said that she didn’t feel old until she turned 90. By the same token, ...
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Is THAT the Same Tree? What To Do When you KEEP Going in Circles
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
I have a personal growth practice that totally works for me; I’m sharing it because I hope that you’ll try it and that it’ll totally work for you. So, what is this ...
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The Five Gifts of Reflection
The Personal
I hope you’re reading this blog post at a time where you have the mental capacity to think about how 2022 and beyond are going to go for you. No, I’m not ...
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What’s Really at the Root of Your Fears?
The Physical
In 2018, I went from 160 pounds to 119 pounds (mind you, my entire family kept asking if I could afford groceries or if I was sick). I'm still quite proud of ...
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Happy Dance!
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
The other day (a Friday), my car wouldn't start. I didn't realize this until about 11:30am. Not only was I annoyed by this, but I needed to get my car fixed because ...
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My Holiday Tradition
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
The holidays are supposed to be a time of family, food, hanging out, and gift-giving. I don’t know if this experience is delightful and true for most people or if most people ...
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Forgiveness is a Patient Companion
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
You can forgive someone and still be hurt about the situation. Yes, you can love and forgive someone and still be hurt, perhaps broken, about the situation. We've put forth this untrue ...
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Self Care: What It Takes to be Me
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
The journey to become a pretty face and beautiful soul is the life's work of the grown women. Essentially, you can't be what you want to be to others before you actually ...
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Are YOU READY?
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Have you ever longed for something with a type of desperation that is nearly indistinguishable from physical hunger? If your desire for a thing is something you can feel, you got it ...
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Are You Hungry?
The Personal, The Physical
Hunger by Roxane Gay I listened to this book on “self-care day”. My self-care day consists of things I need to do to take of me like exercise, no appointments so that I ...
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Self Care is More Than a Spa Day
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Maybe it’s age. Maybe it’s a shifting culture. Or Maybe I’ve just hit enough walls to quit playing the game; but I’ve come to learn that constant self-neglect is an absolute and ...
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10 numbers EVERY Woman needs in her Phone
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Life is such that there are times when you just need people. You know, the "have your people call my people" type people! Yes, we need people who we know can do ...
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What would you do if you couldn’t spend a dime?
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
A few years ago, I lost nearly 40 pounds. I did it with exercise and changing how I ate, and a big part of the new way I was eating meant eating ...
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Come Through, Thanksgiving!!!
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
You can keep Christmas, all of it. I loooooooooooooooooooooove Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is my holiday. Here’s why I love Thanksgiving: I don’t have to shop. Yup, that’s it. I hate the expectation of ...
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You BETTER Vote
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Okay, okay, okay! I admit it! Since George Floyd, I’ve fallen down the audio book rabbit hole. Stick with me for a minute. I’ve listened the following books, and I’ve listened to ...
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40 Things to Smile about Today
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Sometimes, life is easier, sweeter, and better just because we notice what makes us smile. As I prepare to enjoy this lovely Sunday, I let my mind roam to the simple things ...
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What You See Versus What They See
The Personal
Who are you? Are you who you say you are or are you only what people see? Recently, I had a conversation with a friend about whether I behave the same way ...
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STOP IT!!!! It Really is Okay to Quit
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Watch me: I'm a Youtube Video -----> Stop It!!! It's Okay to Quit A friend of mine once told me that everything we do is done out of fear or love. When ...
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Perseverance vs Endurance
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Tonight, while I was supposed to be doing something else, I gave in to the spirit of procrastination and watched The Great Debaters movie for the first time. I know I’m a ...
Read More I’m gonna eat the macaroni: black family, black food, and black health
Pretty Faces & Beautiful Souls
Thanksgiving is three weeks from today, and I’m already planning my menu. While, I’m beyond excited about this season of food, I remember the first time I hurt my grandmother’s feelings around ...
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