Naturalle Drea

When something tugs and pulls at you, you have to just go in that direction. I had intentions on posting a makeup tutorial today but my heart decided I should post this. I was inspired by something I saw online and I just had to speak about it. Hopefully you guys take something away from this and it inspires you as well. Hey, this may turn into a series. CLICK HERE TO WATCH MY BLOGGER CHAT!! Hope you guys have a great weekend and see you Tuesday!!

Sometimes it is hard to adapt when things change. You are just so used to how something is and then something new comes and it is going to change everything. I am willing to go with anything that changes in my life but I had a little difficult time with a change at work.  My job title and work load has changed. Two jobs were basically rolled into one position and when I first heard about it, I freaked out a little and was scared. I am still new to the current position I am in and thought I was going to be totally overwhelmed. I still had like a million questions a day and things always came up that I did not know and now I have to learn something else on top of that. I was wondering if I was going to be able to handle this.  I know that I asked for a challenge and worked really hard to get the job that I'm in now. So this seemed like another challenge to me. I know that I was doubting myself in the job I am in now but I wouldn't of gotten the job if they didn't bel...

I can't believe I've been married for 3 months already. It seemed like yesterday I was stressing out over wedding planning and now we are officially married. I have officially changed my last name and it is weird sometimes when people call me Mrs. Johnson. It wasn't as bad I thought going around to change my name. I don't think that now we made things official that it changed us, we are still the same people but just now husband and wife. It is more trying to be on the same page with finances, life, schedules, goals and so on. It is not just about myself anymore, we are a unit, we are one. It has been an adjustment making room for us to share space because as my husband said jokingly, I'm selfish with space. I have a lot of stuff, I'm a female, I'm supposed to lol. Overall, it has been great and I'm looking forward to many years of happiness and love. I feel like I've been having a mini mid-life crisis. I've felt all over the place with my thoug...

I had another post scheduled for today but this was on my heart to write about. I was kinda inspired over the past couple of months with this and also after seeing Girl's Trip (which was really amazing by the way, go see it). Next to my relationship with my family, I cherish my friendships. Those are the people who know you best, won't steer you wrong, there to listen to you, give advice when you ask for it or not, the people who you can call up and have a great time with no matter what you are doing and those who push you to do and be better. In return you do the same for them. I've have some friendships come to an end in the past and have out grown some friends but I've been wondering how I can be a better friend or how we all can be better friends. I'll admit to not keep in touch with everyone all the time but it is good to check in on some of your friends, you never know what they may be going through. I am one to put on that facade and act like everything is p...

I was in the craft store one day getting new fabric for a backdrop when this couple walks up to get in line. We greet each other and the woman says "Wow you have a nice head of healthy hair, its beautiful". I said thank you and she goes on to say "It's nice to see our sisters wearing their natural hair instead of all that weave, its damaging to your hair". I just nodded because I didn't agree with her statement and was so glad my number was called right after that. She just could of left it at the complement but I honestly don't understand why women do that. I honestly do not care how you wear your hair, as long as you are happy with it and it works for YOU. I have worn weave before, my hair used to be relaxed before I decided to go natural and I always change up my hair. Why bash someone else because of how they choose to wear their hair? We are supposed to be about unity, support and togetherness and it hurts me sometimes to see women tearing each oth...

I saw a post on Instagram the other day asking about what wedding traditions do you think are outdated. It caught my eye and after reading in the comment section, it really made me think....what are wedding traditions? Do you have to follow the old school traditions? The New Ones? Or make up your own? The goal of getting married in the first place is to stay married. You can and cannot follow every tradition but the marriage after the wedding is the most important thing. You are spending the rest of your life with the person you couldn't live without, your soulmate, love of your life. I hear marriage is not all sunshine and rainbows, you both have to be willing to stick together, make things work and keep your marriage fun and full of love. I have seen a lot of weddings growing up and everyone did pretty much the same thing when I was younger but things and times have changed. You don't see everyone wearing a white dress, people are seeing each other before walking down the a...

I'm thankful to be seeing another year and 33 looks good! Yesterday I celebrated my birthday and I didn't want to do too much. I just went to Sephora to get my Birthday gift (and brought other stuff lol) and went out and had margaritas and lunch with my fiance and treated myself to a mani and pedi. It was good just to have a day off and relax. It seems like the attitude of this country has changed so much and it is a bit scary. A lot of people have very strong opinions about recent events and what has been going on lately. I'll admit, I am very scared of what the next 4 years will bring. It seems like we are going backwards in time and it is not a good thing. I am scared of how people will be treated, if manners, equal treatment of others, respect and just plain common sense will go out the window. I know that I can't live in fear and chosen to take a positive and optimistic approach to things. I know I can't control,how other people think or their views. I'm ch...

The only thing I don't like about the new year is when the gyms get so crowded for the next couple of months! Like where did all these people come from? Lol! I will probably be one of those people lol. It seems like 2016 has gone by super fast! It was full of a lot of good and bad stuff and I have no complaints. I got through the year still employed, roof over my head and clothes to wear. I learned so much about myself in the past year and looking forward to applying those lessons to my life. I'm glad I finally learned how to be patient and wait for things to happen when they are supposed to. I can't wait for 2017 because of my upcoming wedding!! I can't believe it is coming up and I'm excited and nervous. I'm taking on a new role as a wife now and I hope just because you make your relationship legal I'll say, it doesn't change us. I know I have been all stressed about wedding planning but the goal is to stay married and happy. I know we will do just tha...

I had another post planned for today but I'm not sure what was up with my laptop and the pictures downloading super slow. I got a little impatient and wasn't going to write anything but something just came to me. It seems like there is so much going on right now, it is hard to see anything that is positive in the world. It just seems like everything is so crazy and out of control. I know a lot of people feel fear, anger, sadness and hurt. I just felt so inspired after attending The Fearless Conference. It was great to be around so many women and no one was talking about each other in a negative way, everyone was super sweet, down to earth and genuine. You don't see a lot of that on tv now. I know reality television is supposed to be for entertainment but how women are being portrayed sometimes is not right to me. I have stopped watch a lot of those shows because I just see women tearing each other down, calling each other outside of their name, being very disrespectful and ...

It is currently 12:45am and I just finished twisting my hair and kind of forgot I had a post that is supposed to go up today lol! I had something else planned for today but just wanted to be personal today. I had the most amazing weekend and just still thinking about it. I attended The Fearless Conference in Philly but I was doing my first Instagram takeover during the conference!! A little while back, Ahiyana Angel of Life According To Her reached out to me about taking over her Instagram stories during the conference. She first thought of me because I'm in the area and has been watching me on social media since we came in contact at her event, I Need New Friends (I have a post on this event, just to refresh your memory, you can read  RIGHT HERE )! I was super excited because someone thought of me and saw potential in me going to an event on their behalf. I then became a little nervous about doing so. I really didn't tell too many people until everything was all set. I will ha...

I have a lot of thoughts and things I want to write about on here. Most of the time, I just keep it to myself and sometimes it makes it on here. I kind of hold back some things and I'm not sure why. Maybe because I'm afraid of a backlash or how people may take what I'm saying. I'm trying to really break out of that and just express myself through my words. I am a blogger lol! I know many of you have seen recently that singer Alicia Keys decided to go makeup free. Her reasoning sounded so freeing and liberating and I really applaud her for that. I love those who stand out and are not afraid to be daring and take risks. What I can't stand is people, men and women telling other women they don't need to wear makeup or question why we do. Or those against not wearing makeup and telling others they need to. I have no issue at all stepping out the house without an ounce of makeup on. I'll look like I'm 16 lol but I can step out the house without it. I know some...

It seems like so much has been going on lately, the presidential race, Olympics, summer going by way too fast, Football season is almost back (I had to throw that in there lol). Along with that, I'm still holding down a lot but it has gotten so much easier with having a set schedule for everything. I don't feel like a chicken with its head cut off lol. I'm not doing so much last minute anymore but still procrastinate a bit (can't help it lol). It just feels like I am a lot more focused on what needs to be done, what is a priority and so on. It just hit me that I'm an adult (like after how many years) and I'm about to be a wife next year. Where did my young adulthood go? It just seems like I was fresh out of college with my degree, still going out and partying and just getting into real adult responsibilities. Now I'm a mommy, about to get married, looking for a house, back in school and really trying to find my niche in the career world. I am still amazed ev...

**A little disclaimer that I am speaking on the recent event that have been going on and I am not intentionally offending anyone, just speaking what has been on my mind and what I have been feeling.** The events of last week had me feeling so emotional and at a lost for words. It really got to me because I am a mother and those innocent children lost a loving parent. My heart went out to those families and I just cried seeing how it affected them, especially that 4 year old who watched her father die in the car. That really hit a nerve with me because that will haunt that child for the rest of their life. It made me feel so much fear for my son and fiance, especially for my son. I want him to be able to grow up in a world where he is not wrongfully punished for his skin color or be judged just because of that. I didn't want my son to be walking around fearing for his life. This made me think of Martin Luther King Jr and how he fought so hard for equality, peace and justice in a ...

I love that Blogger has a mobile app, you can blog from anywhere. I'm currently on the bus headed to work and felt like being a little personal today. I was in a weird place, I guess for the past couple of weeks. I just didn't feel like me in a way. I tend to really over think way too much and those thoughts started to get to me. I'm always questioning if I'm doing the right thing, taking on too much, not doing enough and so on. I'm grateful for my Tumblr account where I can get those thoughts out. I can be free on there and just clear my head. I just felt like things were chaotic and I couldn't get a hold of it. Life is not always going to be a easy, smooth ride. You are meant to go through some things to help you learn and become stronger. I feel like things are starting to fall into place and things are going to be okay. I've come a long way and learned to be in a more positive place. It changed my outlook on things. I'm more hopeful about the outcome...

Funny thing, for the past two weeks I didn't feel like putting on makeup. As much as I love it, I just didn't feel like it. I felt like I was in a funk or something. My thoughts felt pretty clouded and like I couldn't get them together. It felt like so much was going on or I was thinking about too much at one time. Times like that make me miss yoga. I love how relaxing and refreshing it was. I was able to clear everything out of my mind and just have a clear mind, be able to see things clearly. I often go outside for a walk on my lunch to get some fresh air and help to clear all these thoughts. Sometimes I go somewhere quiet and just listen to the quietness. I love to do that, just sit and be still. It is really relaxing and helps me a lot. I'm speaking on this to say that is okay to frustrated by life sometimes. It may lead to breakthrough or new discovery. Being in this kinda funk inspired me in a way. I feel like I discovered something about myself and really learnin...

Time management.....how do you manage?? We all want to get everything done in the 24 hour day but it seems like there isn't enough time in the day. I feel like I may be taking on too much or losing how to manage everything. There is so much I want to do and it is like I don't have enough time. Maybe I'm over thinking and I do that a lot but I'm starting to get a little overwhelmed with everything. I know what is important but there is so much that is a priority. It is already tough being a full time working mom and now fiance' but throw in grad student, blogger and now wedding planner. Also still finding time to be around friends, date nights,working out and family time. Sometime it is a miracle how I even get everything done. Sometimes I'm running around like a crazy person but you wouldn't see that. I keep it looking like I have it all together and not letting others see that you are going crazy. That you have a million and one thoughts running through you...

Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone enjoyed their Easter. My son had way too many jelly beans and was extra hyper all day lol! I need to hide the rest of them now lol! Well this is like a personal post tied into the wedding planning series. I'm happy to say we have a venue and a date!! I was so excited when that process was over and we can get along with the planning. I'm trying to figure out color schemes, what center pieces and so on. I'm trying to save on money by planning this and doing most of the decor and stuff on my own along with some help. Then the advice and helpful comments started to roll in and I started to get a little stressed. My fiance and I do not live together at the moment so we would need to factor that in with budgeting and everything that comes with moving in together. I will need a new car at some point and praying that my car holds out until next year because it is paid off and I don't have a car note to worry about. My fiance suggested a destinatio...

Happy Thursday! Man this week at work has been so crazy! Classes started up again and it has just been super busy. I can't wait to relax this weekend! It is funny how some things just happen for a reason. I wanted to put up a video today but my laptop decided to start acting crazy and I got a little frustrated but it was okay. I was think man what can I put up today and thought to give a little update to what is going on. My life is about to get a little more hectic and bust with planning my wedding. I got engaged December 26 and it was a total surprise! I plan on filming my engagement story soon and will be introducing a new series documenting the whole process. I was trying to think of a name of this series and hope to come up with one soon. I hope I don't drive myself crazy with all this planning but it will be well worth it when the big day. I'm just super excited about everything. I really have to buckle down and save save save!! It is going to be hard because I do a l...

Happy Sunday! I hope everyone has been enjoying the weekend and cold weather! This is something that I've been seeing a lot of lately and I'm kinda fed up with it. I honestly debated on writing about it but it has been on my mind for a while and I just had to write about it. I've been trying to wrap my head around why women do more tearing down of each other instead of being more supportive. I see a lot of this on social media and it's sickening. One thing I saw was a recent YouTuber that hit 1 million and an Instagram page posted a picture of her congratulating her and the comments where so uncalled for and ridiculous. People were basically saying that because she's light skin, she's not black and just being straight up ignorant for no reason. You just couldn't say congratulations on her hitting a milestone, you had to be disrespectful for no reason. I just can't understand why people feel the need to be Internet bullies and say whatever they feel in th...

Happy Thursday!! I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday weekend! I had fun with family and friends and just enjoyed being off work for a nice long weekend. Now it seems like everyone is getting ready for Christmas and 2016 will be here before we know it. I debated on doing a post on this but I kept thinking about it so I decided why not. Last month I went to a party with one of my best friends. We had fun laughing, joking and dancing to good music. It was great to get out because both of us have kids and we haven't been out in a while. So as the party goes on and people start filtering in, we started to get approached by guys. Now this one guy came over to dance and it's a party, you're supposed to dance. So the guy asks what my name is and if I have someone. I answered that yes I have someone. He's like No, I'm playing and I'm like I'm serious, no games here. Then he said something that made me stop and look at him like he was crazy. He said "Well, take d...