Sam Houston Boat Tour 

I woke up a few weeks back on July 24th, opened my Instagram and found out that it was International Self Care Day.  Perfect. A few days prior I was surfing the net for fun stuff to do around Houston and came across the Sam Houston Boat Tour. It's a 90-minute round trip boat ride that takes you on a tour along the Houston Ship Channel. The price: absolutely FREE!! If you know me, you know I loooove being in or around water so this was right up my alley. I reserved a time slot and the day of, my family and I hit the road down highway 610 E! We pulled up just in the nick of time to load the boat. The weather, the water, the atmosphere, the people; everything made for smooth sailing.

While the ride was relaxing, it was also educational. If you're not from Houston like me, it's interesting to learn about the culture of the city while having a good time. As the tour began, we came upon a line of ships with a story individually attached. Further down the line, we saw a few buildings that have a history of how the Ship Channel came to be.

Fun fact about me: I am TERRIFIED of ships, so I semi-conquered my fear by doing this. 

Some of the ships lined up, Sam Houston Boat Tour

The tour guide and boat guards were very friendly and accommodating. There was more than enough space for seating or standing. You might even leave with some new friends! 

I highly recommend going on the 10am tour since Houston is extremely humid and hot any other time of day. They do have some 6pm slots on certain days but of course, you have to call or check their website for further details.  This was an awesome and new experience for the kids, they had so much fun. 

Here's a few more pics from the ride...

My pics don't do this experience justice! So go to the website (hyperlinked in blue), and schedule a tour!

Women Making History Series: Ja'Myya

Say HEEEEEY to Ja'Myya!!

Ja'Myya is one of my newfound favorite persons. I haven't known her for that long, but I feel like she's been in my life for eons. Myya is married to my best friend, so by default, she's my best friend lol. She is one of those people that you just automatically click with, ya know? Her way of joking, her open mind, her smile, her love for herself, her passion for truly living. She's a one of a kind that fits in by standing out. Her vibrations keep you lifted. She takes a lane and turns it completely into her own. 

While we still have yet to 'meet' in person (*ehem*), I am blessed to have been able to call her my friend. She's more than demonstrated how loyal she is. When she says something, she means it with her whole heart. Her peaceful semblance resonates with who she actually is. Not a show, or just a pretty photo. Ja' Myya is also a bomb mother, hair stylist, henna artist, photographer, the list goes on. I know as time goes on, my mission of stealing her from my best friend will be accomplished lol! 

When I asked Myya what makes her most proud to be a woman, she said:

What makes me proud to be a woman.

I am able to set a positive example for young black girls. Especially in the world we live in today where we are born into self-hate. A lot of pressure is put on all women to be so much while still being ourselves. For years I lost who I was. I was Lisa's daughter. Alicia's little sister. Khayce's mom. I was everything to other people other than ME. And it took a lot of strength and self-evaluation to find Ja'Myya. But those tough times are what helped make me who I am today. Losing myself in other people's happiness helped me find me. 

Life is precious and as a woman, I am proud that I am able to assist in the creation of life, and carry that life for 9 months and then give birth to a beautiful life that has the potential to make an impact on the world. I'm proud to be a wife. I'm his peace in the middle of chaos, his nurse when he's sick, a masseuse when he's sore, and cosmetologist when his locs need to be retwisted, a cook when he's hungry. I'm proud to be a mother. For my children I am a source of nurture, a bridge throughout life as they figure out their own paths and a shoulder to cry on as they make mistakes. 

I'm proud to be a woman because of the beautiful people God put in my life.

Well put don't you agree? Keep being YOU Ja'Myya and the rest will follow. Today, I honor you boo! 

Women Making History Series: Catherine

Y'all say Heeeey to Catherine!!!

Catherine and I have known one another since the fourth grade. THE. FOURTH. GRADE. We're reaching 30, so you guys do the math. This woman is without a doubt a diamond. The smile you see in the photo above is how I've ALWAYS known Catherine- positive, cheerful. Even when I've seen her sad that smile was always right behind it. She has NEVER switched up her personality for anyone or anything. She has always stayed true to herself, she's NEVER passed judgment on others, and she's so loving y'all. Catherine is really one of those people you always want to hang with. Her spirit is contagious!! You can't help but be in a good mood around her because she won't let you be sad for too long. 

When I had my 2 oldest daughters, Catherine (and her mama) came to see me both times. I never told her how much that meant to me. She's been a consistent friend in my life and we don't have to speak daily to know that the love is there. I'm so proud of her, literally, I'm proud of her entire life. She never quit on her goals, she's an excellent mother, and now she's married!! I just love her so much and I'm getting emotional writing this. 

When I asked her what makes her most proud to be a woman, she said:

Okay. I'm proud to be the first one in my family to get a Bachelors Degree. Proud to be a mother of 2 smart young black boys. Proud of having the strength to work for all I have. Proud of being with my husband for 10 years and (now) married to him. Proud to come from a strong black woman who has raised her kids to be strong black individuals of society.

Catherine is a light. If you ever meet her, you'll see what I mean. I'm so blessed to know her. Today, I honor you girl!

Women Making History Series: Keisha

Everybody say Heeeeey to Keisha!!! 

She's such a gentle spirit, y'all. Her aura oozes confident modesty if that makes sense. She's a refreshing and pleasantly humbled individual that makes you want to know more about her.  She makes sure her first priority is her relationship with God and incorporates that in everything she touches. Oh yeah, can't forget about how her sense of style gives me LIIIIFE!!!! 

Keisha and I met at our church, Higher Dimension. I was interested in being apart of an event that took place at the time called The Answer Conference. Slightly later on down the line during my dark moment, she reached out to me and just spoke affirmations of life continuing. But it meant so much more to me. It's all of what she said, how she said it, and it wasn't just prayer. This was yet another person that didn't know me but related to me. Ever since then, whenever we see one another or there's a moment of a check in (cuz she's busy and booked alright) it's always greetings of hugs followed by the warmest smile. 

One thing that I admire about Keisha is the way she WERKS, and goes without missing a beat. Even if she has a moment of being down, you can best believe she's NEVER out- so don't ever sleep on her. 

When I approached her with the question of what makes her most proud to be a woman, this was her response:

"I love the fact that God took His time with creating a woman, “God fashioned the woman...” (Genesis 2:22). He took His time creating the being that would need to be filled with wisdom, soft to hold and care for and strong enough to bring life into this world. I’m capable of loving a man to his greatest potential, bring life into this world, bear (raise) our children, be the backbone of the family/home, accelerate in my career, focus daily on my spiritual growth and etc while doing my very best to slay every day! Being a woman is a full-time, no off days, work every holiday, overtime everyday responsibility and one that I’m honored to be a part of!"

That's everything! Today, I honor you!

Women Making History Series: Bianca

Y'all say heeeeeeeey to my boo thang, Bianca

Bianca and I actually met through Deneka! We were both bloggers at the 2015 Nzuri Natural Hair Expo. Ever since then, she's become my sweetheart! Bianca is HI-lar-I-ous!! There has never been a time where we’ve been somewhere that she hasn’t had me dying laughing! I mean to tears and stomach hurting. She's a joy to be around.

Bianca is also one of the most transparent people I know. She's one of my friends that I know I share in-depth similarities with. She'll let you know with the quickness that she's an open book and what you see/hear from her is exactly what you get. That's one of the many qualities she has that's allowed our friendship to bloom. Anything she has, I'm supporting somehow and she does that same thing for me. We don't have to see one another or even speak every single day to know that we're friends. It's one of those when we link up it's over with types of connections.


One of the things I love and admire about her is her tenacious ways of going through life, even in dark times. She bounces back that's for damn sure.


When I hit her up and asked her what makes her proud to be a woman, she said:

"What makes me proud to be a woman.. well I'm proud to be a woman because being a woman is like being a superhero- I mean I feel a woman can handle any situation that's thrown at us. I'm glad I can express my feelings. My daddy passed away when I was 4 years old and I was raised by a strong woman. The woman I am today is all because of the woman I was raised by and all the credit goes to her."

That's all there is to it. Bianca boo, my sister, my friend, today I honor you! 💜

Women Making History Series: Lalita

Everybody say heeeey to Lalita!! 

Lalita has an AMAAAZIIIING heart with the spirit to match. She's the sweetest person to be around. We met through pure divinity, I can't even call it irony. I was going through a tough time and was contemplating suicide. My church, Higher Dimension, has this prayer feature on their site and I listed what I was feeling and going through. Lalita CALLED me, sat on the phone with me for quite some time, prayed for me, listened to me cry, spoke the most powerful word over my life, and even cried with me!! After that, I found her on Facebook and the rest is history.

Here's the reason why I stated that our connection is through the divine. At the time I was working at Whole Foods Market and this woman would come in, shop, and come through my line each and every time. We would talk and laugh about anything we could squeeze into a 7-minute window. One day (after the phone call I previously mentioned), the woman just randomly brought her daughter up and told me about a radio show she was doing about handling depression. She showed me her picture and y'all I had to excuse myself from my register and boo-hoo'ed because that was the same woman that prayed over me!!! I gave her mother the biggest hug after and explained to her that Lalita saved my life. That same week-ending Sunday at church, I walked in during altar prayer and ran straight to Lalita and sobbed!!!

God makes no mistakes. Lalita is a phenomenal woman, she has what I call a subtle strength because her words, the way she presents herself, just everything about her is so graceful, yet powerful!! She checks to make sure you're ok even when she may be going through it. I admired the way she's bounced back after her trying times. I love her so, so much. We'll be in one another's lives forever I can tell you that.

When I asked her what makes her most proud to be a woman, she said:

"As I ponder on the question of what makes me most proud to be a woman. I couldn't help but to think of the word, Carry. Webster defines the word: to support and move. Support the weight of. As a woman I was able to identify my strentgh by what I carried beyond my physical strength. I am proud to be a woman of who lives beyond natural eye sight but births purpose with spiritual insight. I'm proud of the Woman I've become."

Lalita, today I honor you!!

Women Making History Series: Kim (Isis)

This is Kim. She also goes by Isis. Either way, say HEEEEY!!! 

Kim is the BOMB! The b-o-m-b! This woman is the one that will get you allllll the way togeva (yes, with a v), doing so with love. Isis and I "met" on Periscope lol. One day around the time Periscope had just started to pop, her scope came up in my feed so I decided to watch. It was herself and her crazy roommate/business partner Alton talking about relationships. After that, I followed her on every social media platform she had and made sure I interacted with her whenever she was on. Later on that year, Isis and her crew came to Houston to be apart of the Nzuri Natural Hair Expo. Meeting her was beyond everything!! Her spirit was and still is very contagious, it was warm, it was nurturing, it was a blessing.

When she speaks to you, be ready to change your life and your current state of mind because when she's done...you will NEVA be the same. She'll have you questioning yourself like 'Why didn't I think about it this way before??' You may cry too so just have some tissue on standby. Isis is extremely pro-black & pro-woman; from shopping with and shouting out black businesses to speaking to women at events all over, to writing and releasing her own book (find it here) to aid women in finding their inner peace. Isis is really the total package and doesn't bend, fold, flip-flop, or phony in anything she's ever done. It has been an honor to get to know someone like her.

I asked her what makes her most proud to be a woman. Her response: 

"I believe that our ability to cultivate vision makes me most proud to be a woman. Woman by nature can see the possibility and potential in others.  We take this ability and nurture it to help bring out the best in that being.  This is a strength that most women are unaware they even possess.  I call it the "Eve Effect".  Once you become aware of it, you understand its value.  Unfortunately, many sisters are expending this precious gift on people who are unworthy of our cultivation.  In my book, I discuss this in detail... basically Ladies, "put your chisel down!"  Stop giving so much of yourselves to build a man for someone else.  The man that requires that cultivating spirit will be YOUR Man, husband, someone who has proved their worth."

*Snap, Snap.* Today, I honor you!