Yes, Like a Bull

I have been wanting to get my septum pierced for a little while now and after asking several people how bad it hurt and how the healing was I decided I was going to do it.

However, I was a little put off on getting it done because one guy told me it hurt like hell. Then after thinking about it I realized:

A- he was probably being sarcastic and 

B- he's a guy and my personal opinion is males have a lower pain threshold then females.

I researched some more online and realized that unlike several other piercings you are actually able to hide your septum piercing. This was the finally reason to get it! Not only would I have a bad ass piercing BUT I could hide it when need be.

After calling several places to get it done I found one that did it fir a great price and went in and got it done.

As fair as tge piercing it's self it didn't really hurt but I did feel a pounding in my brain, yes my brain, when I was getting it done. Another thing is my face was COVERED in tears afterwards. I wasn't crying out of pain I think it was my bodies reaction to the piercing of several sensitive tissue matter and sinuses.

Anyhow. I LOVE IT! I've accidentally bumped it a few times and my little sister did punch it while she was sleeping but other than that im good!

Right afterwards

Nan and I at the mall

Mechanical Bull

This is something that I have wanted to do for a long time!. Finally I did it.

First time riding a mechanical bull

Sophisticate's Black Hair Magazine

Here is the link to the Photo Shoot Post

Thanks for watching!

Wheat Thins and Liquor Chocolate

While I was once again hungry and at school I went to the vending machine and tried Wheat Thins Toasted Chips Veggie flavor. The chips were good and I will definitely buy them again and try them with a homemade dip.

The night I shaved my head I went down la bodega and picked up a few things and as I was checking out I saw little liquor infused chocolates. Now I'm not sure how long those have been sitting there... lol but they were 2 for1 so I got two. One flavor was B-52 and the other was Strawberry Daquire, they were both good but nothing out of this world.

DiDi Dumplings, Club Fair and drinks.

While I was at school feeling quite famished I ventured outside of the vending machines and went to DiDi Dumplings. This place is cute, quaint and simple. After looking at the menu I decided to get the five piece vegetarian dumplings steamed, the dumplings were only $5!!
I got the dumplings and the sauce and they were both delicious.

Another few of my First are trying new drinks.

I have tried Casillero del Diablo Carbernet. The wine is a red wine and was nice... Lol
I'm sorry to be so vague but I'm becoming to realize that my "appetite" for drinking lately has been about zero, maybe it'll change maybe not.


Before realizing I was getting sick I purchased a different brand of coconut water. Whenever I get coconut water I either get Vita Coco or Naked however this time I got, Zico for the First time.

The flavor was nice and refreshing, however it was around $3 and for that price I can get one and a half Vita Coco or a brand I'm more familiar with; Naked.

While I was at my First Baruch club fair, which I will go into in more depth later, I was given a drink called "Snow" by the Undergrad Student Government. The drink taste like a soda but has vitamins as says it is healthy for you, cute concept and the drink was actually good. I will probably be trying it again but only in a original cocktail type drink, as I am not a soda drinker.

Stayed tuned for more First :)

Full Of First!

So I promised you guys that I was still embarking on my Daily First adventures and here are a few.

I woke up the other day and lately I have been completely skipping breakfast which is NOT GOOD! I used to be the person that never ate breakfast and I was fine without out. However, when I got serious about losing weight I had to start eating breakfast because I was so dam hungry I wasn't going to miss any meal lol, oh yeah and its good for your metabolism too :)
Anyhow I have sadly enough fallen back into the "no breakfast" zone and I
A) hate it
B) can see the effects on my mood and body
C) Need to change it
After dropping Leilani off at school and finally getting to mine I found I was considerably hungry and decided to get s protein drink to hold me over, it was only a short day. I went to the Rite Aid and although I really wanted some rice or soy milk I decided that I really had to get a heavy protein drink to curve my appetite.
After strolling around the pharmacy for too long I finally got a Muscle Milk.
This was the First time I had ever tried Muscle Milk and I can honestly say it is the LAST, unless I find a good flavor for FREE! I bought the Vanilla Creme Flavor and at first sip was over come with the OVERBOARD sweet taste and then the "BLUH" taste.

A few days later I, once again skipped breakfast and once again found myself hungry when I got off the metro so I once again strolled into Duane Reade this time and looked for a protein drink. However, this time I STAYED AWAY from the Muscle "Bluh" and reached for Odwalla Vanilla Al'Mondo Protein drink which was amazing! It has SOY MILK in it and I love soy milk and the flavors were so good and when I got the the end of the bottle I was saddened by how quick it all went by. However, my sadness was short lived because I had Oatmeal Raisin Walnut bar from Cliff.
My level of satisfaction was marketability different from that of the Muscle "Milk" Which by the way contains NO milk just saying.

1. Odwalla Vanilla Al'Mondo Protein
2. Cliff Oatmeal Raisin Walnut
3. Muscle YUCK... I mean.. Milk

No Guard!

This is AN EMERGENCY POST! I have several others that should be ahead of this one but I had to take out the time to do this one FIRST!
So today I was going to go to Bryant Park and watch a dance that is part of the annual Bryant Park Fall Festival but instead I stayed home and shaved my head. Yes you read correctly SHAVED MY HEAD!

For those of you that know me well, you know I have been wanting to shave my head for some years now and after thinking about it all day, tweeting about it and calling you to see what you think I DID IT!
IT feels great! I am super excited!
Today I woke up and my hair was as dry as scarecrow straw and as you all know I don't like my hair. Don't get me wrong I have great hair but I CAN"T STAND IT! Anyhow I went down to the dollar store and got some deep conditioning treatment thing came home, washed my hair, twisted it and then looked in the mirror and told myself: "Fck it shave it!" After about six hours I did!

Leilani told me I looked like Damien, my nephew, and that she now needed a new mom. Lol. But after I told her I needed a new daughter she apologized and said that it was just strange and now when she drew a picture of use she would have to draw me with no hair instead of my curls lol.

Before

During

OMG WTF!?

AHHH! She did it!




MY FIRST TIME SHAVING MY HEAD!!

Indian Food, Veggie Lasgana

I made the decision to go vegetarian on the 26th of August. So far I have done well and I'm actually proud of how well I am settling into the meatless life style.
In an attempt to make my meals more diverse I made vegetarian lasagna for the First time. I must say it was delicious and I honestly didn't miss the meat at all!I used spinach, eggplant, squash, tomato and onions, with whole wheat noodles, and home stewed tomatoes!
Since going vegetarian I have been looking for more fun and exciting recipes to try. One of my favorite types of food is Indian food. I can't say one specific reason why I enjoy Indian food so much but I know several as to why. Even before making the change to a meatless lifestyle I enjoyed the flavors and the way Indian food is cooked. The other day I had a two hour break in the middle of my school day and decided to get some Indian food!

This is was the First time I had ever been to Curry in a Hurry in Murray Hill. The restaurant is two levels and has platters that allow you to sample different types of Indian food, the platters start at the low price of $10. I wanted to try something new and for the First time so I got vegetable biryani. The dish was delicious! The spices and flavors of the rice were top notch and the price was budget friendly! How can you argue with that? Vegetable Biryani is a rice dish cooked with vegetables and delicious spices... lol Once again I didn't even miss the meat. Then to continue on my First adventures I had a salty lassie. The salty lassie taste a lot like liquefied Greek yogurt and although I love Greek yogurt, I don't think I'd have the lassie again UNLESS it has some flavor to it. All in all I would go back to Curry in a Hurry, good food, great prices and in my schools neighborhood!

My first for this post are

1. Making vegetarian lasagna
2. Going to Curry in a Hurry
3. Trying vegetable biryani
4. Having a salty lassie

Thank you for reading and I would LOVE suggestions!

Whhaaa

I have failed, I've gone too many days without a first :"(.
No excuses but it's been hard to do something for the first time everyday since starting school, Leilani starting school and my other blog/site, Teen Mom NYC, taking off and developing at the speed it has. Then the few that I had before my lapse of First were earased off my dry earase board by Leilani, whom thought it was hilarious by the way.
However, I am very excited to say that I have NOT lost sight of my goal and that I am still trying things for the first time.
I am happy to announce that I have tried many things for the first time and I'm even more excited to tell you all about them!

Sept 4th- Skin

September 4th-  Skin

I was laying in bed continuing my do absolutely nothing weekend when I got on Netflix and found this film. I watched it and WOW! I was cringing at the raw non-fiction elements just 10 minutes into the film, by 15 minutes I was tearing up and at the end I was...

Source

The life and story of this woman was so appalling and then I found out it was based on a true story of Sandra Laing.
To not give away too much, the film is about a White South African family who has a child that is biologically theirs but she comes out "Black." I say "Black" because she is biologically "White" but has the complex and "characteristics"  of a "Black" girl. The family has to balance the tightrope of race, racism, prejudice, the legal system, the institution of education and be parents all the while trying to not make their daughters appearance a big deal. The father has an especially hard time with EVERYTHING both "good" and "bad" along the way.
There was one scene at which I became particularly emotional on. The young girl, tired of the problems her skin color was causing her and her family, mixed household cleaning products and rubbed them all over her body in a desperate attempt to literally was the black off. The result was her completely covered in burn marks and unable to sleep. The film is a series of racial battles both within the main character and the world around her and how to two coexist or the lack of co-existence plays out.
Often times film about racism are "back in that day" and about the Civil Rights movement and along the same, sorry to sat it, sorry, boring, played out story. In short they lack originality. However Skin is very "up to date", produced in 2008 and because racism was JUST outlawed in South Africa in 1994.
And although it was LEGALLY outlawed the principles and thoughts that racism create in generations of families still remain at large! Black South Africans still live in tin/ wood homes in townships and are treated like second class citizens. With little to no education about many things in life and sadly enough the basic education of sexual health and health it's self.
If you think about how far America has come and how MUCH FARTHER it still has to go imagine what South Africans are experiencing.
Have we as a human race become and allowed ourselves to become so vile despite the historical "lessons" we have and the ability to THINK? Just THINK!
All in all I really and truly enjoyed the film, the thoughts and questions it made me ask myself about myself and the world at large. Watching Skin made my thirst to go to South Africa even stronger!
WATCH THE MOVIE you wont be sorry. I also found out that there are two documentaries about her as well,Sandra Laing: A Spiritual Journey and Skin Deep: The True Story of Sandra Laing.

Sept 1st- Sept 3rd

So my next few First are not going to be especially exciting for you but they were both essential and none the less exciting for me in the path to get my life on track here in New York City.
September 1st- Orientation
I was awarded a work study and had to attend the orientation in order to be able to apply for a job. The orientation was short sweet and simple however, to this date I have been unable to locate a position for my work study.
September 2nd- #9 bus, HSCA and Dunkin Donuts cold Apple Cider
On this day I had to go pick up my father's check and once again it was a wonderful wild goose chase. I went to the office I had to go to before only to find out that I had to go on the OTHER side of the Bronx and pick it up at a different location. On the way to catch the bus I stopped in and rewarded myself with a cold apple cider from Dunkin' Donuts. One thing about me is that I LOVE LOVE LOVE apple cider, any type of apple cider or apple flavor. The drink was good but I like warm apple cider better. I had to ride the #9 bus to get to the location, finding the #9 bus proved to be more difficult then I thought. I literally walked around in circles and stumbled upon the bus stop. Riding the bus was pretty exciting because it allowed me to see other parts of the Bronx I have never seen before.
September 3rd- Morning Star 

Since I am still early in my quest of vegetarian-ism I was experiencing some carnivorous withdraw impulses. Lol. I went down downstairs to the OVERPRICED and annoying grocery store to buy some Morning Star Meal Starters to include in a pasta dish. My "review" um... it taste like rubber pencil erasers, not good...lol.
I mean I'll try them in a chili, but other then that... yeah no.

August 31st:Enrolling into Kindergarten

If you may have no noticed by now I am an emotional mess when it comes to my daughter... going to school. Lol.
Being that New York City makes it virtually impossible to get your child into a kindergarten doesn't help and on top of that having her all the way in the Bronx while I'm in Manhattan isn't a settling feeling either. However, after calling numerous schools, visiting the office of enrollment, going through the "process" of "requesting" that she be placed in a school closer to were I WORK an go to SCHOOL, you know because that makes more sense, I kindly got a letter from the New York City Department of Education SEVEN days before school starting saying in short: Hell No.
The race was on to find a school for Leilani because of several reasons but the top two most important being that

1. I told her I had a school for her, and 
2. If she's not in school that means I'm not in school. Which means F__ !

Even though it was my official second day of classes and my school schedule was FULL for the day, I had to miss two classes and be up and at the school by 6:30AM to stand in line, to HOPE that I was one of the first 25 people in line to be able to enroll her into school.
Talking about a WONDERFUL, convenient system... NOT!
Luckily I was one of the select few to be there in time so she is now enrolled in school. BUT I learned that all the back to school clothing I bought her is now obsolete because her school requires uniforms. Lol.

My First for August 31st was enrolling my baby into Kindergarten! :*)
Time flies when you have a child! Lol 
Thank you for reading and MANIFEST POSITIVITY!

August 30th: First day of classes

Today's First was my FIRST day at Baruch College!
Yes I 
I am taking a literature course and arrived late however, finding the class and navigating the campus wasn't hard at all. Which was refreshing because that's what my biggest apprehension was about, being able to get around. While I was at school I realized a few things:

1. This was the first college course I've been in in a YEAR
2. I hope my brain remembers how to work
3. Doing something for the first time everyday could go either way now that I am in school again.
4. I have no text books and no money...lol
5. I think I want to join a sorority...?

Over all the course seems very self driven and reminds me of my A. P Lit class a bit but this teacher actually TALKS to us. Lol

Thank you for reading!

August 29th: Odwalla and Luna

This was my FIRST day of class at Baruch!
I woke up extra early, got ready, woke up Leilani, fed her and got her ready, bought my unlimited metro card and we were off to the schools early child development center to drop her off. Since it was the day after Irene the subways had a bit of a delay so I was going to be late to class! Then I remembered that I didn't pack Leilani a lunch and had to stop and buy her one, which was going to make me even LATER! After stopping into an extremely expensive grocery store and spending a small fortune on yogurt, bananas, juice and a sandwich we were off, RACING, to the daycare center.
Imagine my surprise when I get to the center and one of the teachers informs me that class... were... canceled!
I felt like saying seriously?! WTF?.
The night before I was on the website and checked to see if classes were going to be canceled and it said NOTHING! UGH
On the BRIGHT side it was a beautiful day so we had lunch at Union Square park. Then we went for a walking tour of Gramercy Park, Greenwich village and the meat packing neighborhood!
So I tried Odwalla's Mango Tango juice for the First time!! That juice is AMAZING! It was soo good and thick and taste like real juice! Now the price.... was a too much but worth it so I guess it works.

Yummy (overpriced) Mango Tango

My other First of the day was trying the Luna bar flavor Vanilla Almond and it too was very good.

Another First of the day having a worksheet appointment with an academic adviser. The appointment was AWESOME the adviser helped me so much and  helped me put a lot of thing into perspective for me.
Total First of the day 3!

August 28th: The Bluest Eyes

Being that this was the "day of" hurricane Irene the subway and most of the city was still shut down so I had a simple First.
I began reading a little bit of Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eyes. There has been a lot of controversy about the movie The Help coming out and how against popular beliefs it is NOT non- fiction and that there were real non- fiction books about such subject matter and The Bluest Eyes was one of them.
Not that big of a First and I didn't get too far into the book on account of Leilani was extremely bored and wouldn't leave me alone.
Total First: 1- Beginning to read The Bluest Eyes by Toni Morrison.

Auguest 27th: Boca Meatless Nuggets

I'm BACK!!
Wow that just reminded me of Poltergeist, now I want to watch that movie.
Any who I am be very glad to say that my family and I survived hurricane Irene with no injury to property or body and NO power outages. Good right!
Many things have changed since my last post. I am now officially a New York City college student at Baruch, a mother of a child enrolled for kindergarten and a VEGETARIAN!!
That's right I am going veggie!!I'm very excited!
After some very obvious and much needed life wake up calls I had to!
I care too much for animal to eat them. I know a lot of you maybe rolling your eyes but after getting emotional to Happy Feet in 4D I knew something was up and ever since then I have been thinking about making the change.
So far I am glad to say that I have only slipped up once! And the night I slipped I had a dream that people were eating bears, snow leopards and tigers raw! It was horrifying!
To help keep kick off my/our vegetarian life I went down to the grocery store, where people were going RABID buying massive amounts for the impending arrival of hurricane Irene, and bought some Boca Meatless Nuggets.
I cooked the nuggets and I can honestly say as a meat eater my entire life they are delicious, you can barely tell the difference! During all the times I've been thinking about going vegetarian I completely forgot about the variety of meatless products available so I was very happy when I found them.

Me and my Boca nuggets

Total First: 1!

Auguest 26th: Good Ole Samual Adams!

While I was doing minimal preparations for the New York City "welcome" of hurricane Irene I picked up some water, batteries, lighters, candles and OH yeah of course some beer.
This was my First ever Sam Adams I think. However, I am one hundred percent sure this was my First time drinking Sam Adams Cherry Wheat brew.
It is actually REALLY good!
When I get the chance I really want to go on tours of breweries especially those right here in the city and of course Boston!

Thank you for reading!
Total First: 1

• Sam Adams Cherry Brew

August 25th: Chase App

This was another one of my "I was feel like staying inside all day" type of days but I had to go the bank and deposit a check I got. Now the bank isn't far, at all, but when you are tired from running around the city all WEEK/MONTH little things just seem like a DRAG. So instead I used modern technology and deposited my check via my bank app!
It was very easy you just fill in what account you want it in, sign, take a picture and that's IT!!
When you use the app be sure to be in a well lit room.
The whole process took less time then s teller doing it and the funds were available the very next day.
Another thing is DO NOT destroy the check UNTIL the funds are IN your account, not pending.

Total First: 1!

• Depositing a check via banking app!

Wednesday August 24th: Blue Caravan

My First for this day was supposed to be going to the planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History but that didn't work because they tried to charge me way too much. :)
Instead I decided to finally satisfy my sweet tooth however, finding a place to do this was harder then it seems. We, Leilani and I,  were on the Upper West Side and I was being way too picky about what I wanted. Finally, after some advice we settled into the Blue Caravan for dessert!
I told the waitress and a woman that was there what I wanted and they suggested a dark chocolate molten cake with a scoop of ice cream. Now, here's the thing, I REALLY wanted a HUGE warm brownie with ice cream on top but... they didn't have that. So we got the dark chocolate molten cake with a scoop of ice cream and OMG! it was heaven on a really cute plate! Leilani even told me that we had to go back because the dessert was so " DELICIOUS and AMAZING mommy!" Words can even describe how yummy the cake was.
The waitress was very nice and I would go back for her alone. She was very helpful and sweet and her accent was beautiful!

Heaven!

Total First: 2!

• Going to the Blue Caravan 

• and my FIRST ever molten cake!

Tuesday 23rd: Tangled

SOURCE

Even though I personally do not like Disney that much, I did promise my daughter a movie night so when she saw Tangled was available on Netflix she decided that was the movie she wanted to see. I like the movie but not really. I think it was to heavy for children, there were certain remarks I could have definitely done with out and them showing the "mom/witch/antagonist" fall out of the tower and THUMP on the ground was too much!
My first pick at the movie was the Stockholm Syndrome! I don't know why but Disney LOVES using Stockholm Syndrome and then the fact that a "MAN" always saves the girl is so UNREALISTIC and just difficult for me to enjoy or even want my daughter to see.
The fact that the beautiful princess has LONG BLOND STRAIGHT hair and the CRAZY wicked "mom/witch/abuser/antagonist" had dark curly hair is also very UPSETTING! Then **spoiler alert** if they girls hair is cut it turns brown and is dead and ugly. UM excuse me my daughter and I and all of my family have DARK CURLY HAIR.
Hey, DISNEY I have an idea, it might be a bit too crazy for you though. How about making a movie about a beautiful girl of colour who has the type of hair that a girl of colour has, you know possibly brown or even BLACK and have a little texture to it. Just an idea.
The things I liked about the movie... it was cute for face value but I don't think I will let my daughter watch it again. We will be sticking to my personal Disney favorites, good Ole Lion King, Bugs Life, Jungle Book, Mulan, movies like that.
Total First: 1! Disney's Tangled