Holloweeeeeen!

Hi everyone! Thanks to those of you who check out my site when I post something new! I am by no means an expert blogger, but I enjoy this...a place to put my thoughts down, my favorites to share with you all, and a glimpse of my crazy yet beautiful life :)

Okay, so Holloween is RIGHT around the corner! Can you believe that October is almost finished, then it's by far one of my most favorite months of all time, hands down...November! Lol, probably because I like to eat!! ;)

Me and my hubby took the kids to Queens last night to go to Party City to find thier costumes. My son has been stuck on being a vampire since the summer time, and my daughter reallly wanted to be a Disney princess...let's be real here...I am not going to pay any place money for some girly dress when she has tons of dresses in her closet that she hasn't even worn yet, for that, I coudl dress her up in her of he rfancy dresses that she already owns. BUT, what 3 year old really wants to hear the word "NO". Luckily for me, I have a way with persuaion. I focused her attention on Bat Woman from Batman, a Kitty Cat, and Jesse from..she went with Jesse from Toy Story!

My son on the other hand was much easier, c'mon...he's a guy. He was so stuckon being a vampire, but then as soon as we entered the store, he changed his mind! He wanted to be a ninja :) I think he was more focuse don the knives and swords! I guess some things never change...from being a boy to a man and thier fixation with gadgets! So we walked out with a ninja and Jesse. Mission completed...

This brought me right back to my child hood though. Growing up, my mom would make my sister and I's costume. Every year, until we grew out of trick-or-treating. She would asked us what we wanted to be, and she would get the fabrics and the pattern to make exactly what we wanted. Going to Party City last night (which was insanely packed to the max) just really gave me a feel of how time flys by right before your eyes and how my child hood was different than that of my children's. The only thing I had to do last night was stand in a line, let them pick out thier costume, then let the employees know the number and size. Yes, sign of what was and what is now!

Holloween has to be one of my favorite time of the year to enjoy with my children. From pumpkin picking, to decorating our place with holloween related items, to letting thier imaginiation go with thier costumes. I just LOVE :)

Everyone, have a SAFE and FUN Holloween experience, stay blessed, xoxo

Courtney

YOUR life, YOUR health...

It is so important that you make regular doctor visits to get a check up! I cannot stress this enough!

If any of you are like me, I am terriefied of the doctors. In the back of my mind, I am always nervous about them telling me the un-thinkable...CANCER. We have to be realistic at this point though, cancer DOES exhist, there are MANY forms of cancer..some affecting a certain minority group, some affecting ONLY women and men seperately.

My father passed away 2 years ago from cancer. It was the hardest thing to have to go through. I almost start to tear up just thinking about how he KNEW his time was up, but his cancer progressed and there was literally nothing to do to bring him back. He lived a long, good life though. But I have this picture of his frail frame embedded in my mind that really never goes away. I think from that moment on, I was really interested and invested in taking care of my body and health.

I think 2 years ago, I went in for a regular check up with my doctor, and she performed a breast exam, she felt something, and reccommend that I go in to see a specialist, I have never been so nervous in my life. I went in, but luckily nothing was wrong with my breast tissue.

Now that we are in breast awareness month, I felt that I needed to STRESS the importance of checking your breast at home AND making regular check up visits with your doctor! Breast cancer affects women all over, state to state, city to city, and race to race.

Women in thier 20's-30's should perform a self-breast exam every month, looking for SWELLING, DISCHARGE FROM BREAST, REDNESS, UNUSAL CHANGE IN BREAST SIZE, and TENDERNESS. If you notice any of these, seek medical intervention right away, do not wait...this could save your life!

Women in thier 40's should start gettting a mammogram done, I think it's either every 3 years OR every 2 years.

Remember, this is YOUR life to live, no one else's. Be smart, check your breast AND make regular doctor visits

Be Blessed, xoxo Courtney

Pumpkin Picking

So last weekend, I took my kids to Queens County Farm to go pumpkin picking, get on a hay ride, and let them get dirty at the petting zoo, lol :) We had so much fun...I felt like a little kid again! I thought that I would share some pictures from our little trip to the farm!! Enjoy, xoxo Courtney

Once we got back home, i todl the kids that we would go to a art and craft store, which we did! We headed to Michael's (that place has every thing in it). We bought some paint, paint brushes, and all the other things to go along with painting! They ended up painting thier pumpkins all BLACK!! I was so sad, because who wants all black pumpkins in thier house for holloween? Not I...so I had the hubby fix them and paint scary faces. They look soooo much better!! (Sigh)

Here they are:

Assets :)

I am a die hard Kardashian fan, and who doesn't love Kim Kardashian?!? I know I love me some Kim K. The question is, who has the BEST booty, Kim K OR Amber Rose?

My vote is for Kim K. Kim is a short girl like I am, and if your packing some cake back there with no height, then its obvious!

Amber Rose was recently on Hot.97 doing an interview, and they were doing a "ass off" between her and Kim K. Rose said in her interview that she has the better ass, because Kim is short and she is like 5'9 with junk in the trunk. You can read or listen to her full interview at: www.hot97.com

BUT, let us not forget about thee original coke body ladies :)

Puerto Rican sex symbol, Jennifer Lopez

Tennis all-star, Serena Williams

Now this is a whoe lotta ass, lol!!

I think it would go Serena Williams, Kim Kardashian, J Lo, and Amber Rose...sorry to the Rose lovers, but she is NOT stacked like that!!

Something Personal...

Hey loves :)

So I know most who come to check out this site are pretty used to me posting about hair, make up and fashion...plus random mom related things. However, this post is something deeper that what I have done before. This is directly related to me, very personal!

I am adopted, this is apart of who I am that makes me so unique. My sister and I were adopted early on, I think I was about 5, and my sister must have been around 4 (we are 15 months apart).

Growing up, my sister and I never really knew that we were adopted. My parents (my adoptive parents) were black (father) and white (mother). Where I grew up in Fairfax, VA it was very diverse, the elementary school that I went to was so mixed, that the race issue between my parents never even crossed my mind! Plus, do kids really see in black and white when you're that little? I sure didnt! I was just happy to be playing with barbie dolls, lol.

So growing up wasn't bad at all. My parents were my parents and that was that. No questions asked. Hoever, prior to finally being adoptedmy our parents, my sister and I were bounced from house to house. I remember this so well. I remember one time, being taken away to this young white woman and her husband. I remember thier house being like a mansion. They were nice, but I only remember staying with them for like a couple of days then we were shipped right back to the foster home that we lives in (my sister and I). I was kind of used to being shuffeled around from place to place, home to home, family to family when I was younger. That's how I know something was kind of different back then.

My father once told me, that I asked him "If we were going to stay here, or leave"? So back then, even at the age that I was...I knew something was different.

Growing up, the fact that I was adopted didn't really hit me until I was in high school, maybe a year or two before then. I had thoughts of "I wonder what my real mom and dad look like", OR "I wonder if I have other siblings other than the one that I know". Questions like those began developing early on. Probably more like pre-teen. You know, when you begin to develop social identity. That was the hardest thing for me, I think. Not knowing who I am and when people would ask me what mix that I am, I would just say black and white, which I knew that much about myself...but it was deeper than that. I began lashing out in middle school...I really wanted to fit in and be like everyone else. I think I was like that because I wanted to feel like I belonged to something or someone, because for so long I was convinced that I wasn't me...as weird as it sounds, I truly didn't want to be me or be the weird adopted girl!

Anyways,I got older and I kind of grew into myself. I let the whole adoption thing go for then, because I was more focused on friends and boyfriends back then anyways. It wasn't until one day my sister and I got a important phone call from my mother who told us to come home quickly...I was thinking what could have happened? When we both arrived back home, both my mother and father were sitting at our dining room table holding a envelope and a letter...I kind of had a clue to what it could have been, but never thought it was what it ended up being...it was a hand written letter from our biological mother "Nicole" to my sister and I. My parents were very cool, they asked us how we wanted to approach this situation, if we wanted to write a paragraph or two back to her with a picture. So both my sister and I tped/hand wrote a paragraph and attached a letter. My mom mailed it off. That was that...

I graduated high school in 2003 and entered a university, to study HDFS. I ended up getting pregnant with my now 6 year old son :) This is what truly started my search to find clues about my past. Kind of a blessing in disguise, I guess. I found out so much from my on going to phone calls. Most people were happy to hear from me, which was warming. I ended up finding all my aunts and uncles, cousins, grand mother, and great-grand mother. As well as reconnecting with my biological mother. Although she has greater issues that I can't really talk with her with out getting angry or annoyed.

All this research, I have found out that my sister and I have 3 more sisters, younger than us. They all must be between the ages of 17-24. Fantasia, Lauren, and Malerie. I am on a mission now to find them. I also found my sister's father who sadly passed awa in 2001. I am trying to connect with her deceased father's sisters and brother...I have names for them all, but no addresses.

I do not know who my father is as of yet, but there is a man who claims to be my father..I have been holding off on doing the DNA test that he sent me months ago, I don't know...I would love to know, but something is scary as to finding out if he is or not...apart of me would like him to be, but then apart of me is kind of scared.

Being adopted is apart of me, but it does not define me. Yes, I am adopted and no I am not the weird person that I used to think I was because of this. Sometimes life gets the best of people and people make mistakes. I am so happy that there is a God up there, because I know that he looked out for my sister and I. I know that if I would have not been adopted my life would be unknown...I truly mean this too. I am grateful every day for Nicold giving birth to my sister and I. I have 2 beautiful kids and a beautiful nephew. Nicole is not my mother, she gave me life. I hold a special place in my heart for her...but I do not hold grudges. CPS taking us in changed my life forever. I was placed in the most warming and loving home that I could ever ask for.

So for those who are reading this, you might have learned something new about me, or those who know me...are getting more personal details. Being adopted and the feelings that come are not easy to deal with. But in most cases, being put up for adoption or CPS stepping in could be th eMOST important thing that has happened in your life. Sure, as you get older who have questions about idenity and struggle with that, as I did. But after becoming pregnant with my son almost 7 years ago, I let it stop defining me. I am adopted, so what!?! I remember I used to hide that fact from people, because most could never understand my situation or what it meant to be adopted.

I will continue to search for our other sisters, as well as my biological father, and my sister's biological fathers side of the family. Once I find out, this will be like closure...

Its just weird to me how somewhere out there, maybe we crossed paths at some point and didn't even know that we were sisters! I am blessed...and all I know is that God is good. Amen :)

FALL is here :)

One of my favorite seasons has made its arrival :) I am super excited about that. I LOVE everything about FALL. From fashion to make up, to fall activities, oh yeah...and football!!

One trend that I have fallen in love with and have tried experimenting with is fall make up. BOLD eyebrows (defined), and deep reds and plums for the lips! I was kind of excited about this new trend because it gives me something new to try out. I tried wearing red lip stick before, but I really hated how it looked on me! Now, don't get me wrong...some people know how to rock a bangin' RED lip, me on the other hand, not so much!! I perfer something more deeper, like a wine type of color on my lip!!

I am definetely on a budget when it comes to make up shopping :( But you have to work with what you got, right? You can be fabulous no matter what kind of budget you're on...you just have to make it work for YOU, and you need to be happy and confidant :)

Alrighty then...with that said, I am going to show a look for the "fall trend" in make up, and post two lip colors that I have bought and like!

BOLD and DEFINED brow with a deep wine color <3

I achieved the brow with MAC's Cork and the lips NYC Lip Stain 16H in "499- Forever Mine Wine"

I wanted to try this lip stain product, it was cheap, so I bought it :) I purchased it from Rite Aide around where I live for about $2.99. You can purchase these products from other drug stores. I am impressed, however the color is not as pigmented as I would want it to be on my lip, so I actually paired this color with ELF'S "Malt Shake", then applied NYC's lip stain on top. The color came out so pretty!! I will have to another review on Elf's "super glossy, lip shine". I loooove thier glosses. :) I want to try out NYC's other lip stains, but I went in only looking for wine, and plum colors. This is a good buy for someone who isnt really into make up like that and want to try something new to test out colors!!