I’m not big on forwards, especially those that require you to send to 20 people in the next 6 minutes.  However, every once in a while, I find one with useful information or just plain amusing that I’ll actually hit send to brighten someone else’s day.

Well, here’s one with some good advice from Tony Robbins that you could actually use to be a better, more thoughtful and compassionate person in 2012. 

We’re all about evolving and becoming optimal citizens of the world, right?  Take these 21 tasks and implement them into your everyday life.  See what you get in return.  Hopefully, a whole lotta of peace and blessing!  Remember to share this post on Facebook or Twitter with your friends. 

You don’t have to FORWARD this to get something you’ve wanted in the next 3 days….Just SHARE it to be NICE!

21 Tasks for 2012

ONE.  Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
 
TWO.  Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
 
THREE.  Don’t believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
 
FOUR.  When you say, ‘I love you’ , mean it.
 
FIVE.  When you say, ‘I’m sorry,’ look the person in the eye.

SIX.  Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
 
SEVEN.  Believe in love at first sight.
 
EIGHT.  Never laugh at anyone’s dream. People who don’t ave dreams don’t have much.
 
NINE.  Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt, but it’s the only way to live life completely.
 
TEN.  In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
 
ELEVEN.  Don’t judge people by their relatives.
 
TWELVE.  Talk slowly but think quickly.
 
THIRTEEN.  When someone asks you a question you don’t want to answer, smile and ask, ‘Why do you want to know?’
 
FOURTEEN.  Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
 
FIFTEEN.  Say ‘bless you’ when you hear someone sneeze.
 
SIXTEEN.  When you lose, don’t lose the lesson!
 
SEVENTEEN.  Remember the three R’s: Respect for self; Respect for others; and responsibility for all your actions.
 
EIGHTEEN.  Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship..
 
NINETEEN. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

 TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.

TWENTY-ONE.  Spend some time alone. Reflect and get to know you and what you want!

By: Angel Elexa

Yeah, it’s sad!  I am the ripe age of Flirty 31 and too excited to the see the NEW Muppets Movie this Thanksgiving Holiday! Ms. Piggy is one of my long time favorite muppet.  She has style, grace and a bit of a temper…but I ain’t mad at that.  Sometimes we as women have to be a bit willing to put our Stiletto down and lay down the law. 

With that being said, Ms. Piggy is back starring in yet another Muppets Movie alongside her Green Prince Charming, Kermit the Frog.  Many designers have stepped up to make sure that Ms. Piggy is Fabulous for her debut.  The famous makeup company, MAC, even made Ms. Piggy her own line of products, while InStyle, provided her with her own layout in the magazine.  Other designers have taken on the task of redesigning Ms. Piggy’s wardrobe since she is a high-profile #Fashionista.

See her outfit below designed by an up and coming fashion mogul in Canada. I liked his demure, yet fashion forward frock the best.

Fashion Designer- Jeremy Laing : “In my earliest memory of Miss Piggy, I find her lounging in a marabou-feathered robe, pink of course. As she’s gotten older I can only imagine how much more she values her lounge time, and so I propose a robe gown. Because even on the red carpet, or pink as the case may be, a piggy deserves every comfort.”

Miss Piggy’s critique: “Moi in a shade other than neon-tinged pink, and with nary a sparkle to be seen? Hard to imagine! And yet, with his exquisite eye for texture and tailoring, Jeremy Laing has opened my eyes to the possibilities that lie beyond all that glitters. Most of all, I simply love the way the dress moves with moi. Très importante fashion tip: Always make sure that your dress moves with you. Trust me: If you move and the dress stays behind, scandal ensues.”

It’s back, Ladies!  Get ready to see and be seen this week as Houston celebrates Fashion!  You know you are addicted to style and all things beautiful and grand. Get your ticket today to see some of the hottest runway shows to hit H-Town. 

I’ll be there to cover it all.  I adore clothes as much as concerts….And you know I’m a pheen.  I’ve loved sketching, color and style since I was a little girl,  so I have to be in the place.  It’s not too late for you either.  Check out the dates below and TRY to make it over to the Wortham Center in Downtown Houston. 

Get you tickets HERE!  Don’t miss the event that will bring the most talented designers, the most celebrated models, and worshipers of style from around the globe to the city of Houston, Texas.

Thanks to Houston Tidbits for the below information!

Laura Mercier Pop-Up Shop
Tuesday, October 11 – Thursday, October 13
Learn how to create a flawless face from this year’s official beauty sponsor, Laura Mercier, a global brand headquartered right here in town. Stop by their chic set-up in the Audi Pavilion at the Wortham to shop shades available exclusively during Fashion Houston, then get snapped by a pro photog on your way out.

Would You Die For Fashion?
Tuesday, October 11, 10 p.m.
Aries Milan, owner of Coquette Boutique & Bistro, debuts her first fashion collection. See Kate Kills Pretty on the runway—the label name is a shout-out to the always-inspiring Miss Moss—then toast her at the private after-party at Side Bar at Gravitas featuring wine and passed bites.

Chloe After the Catwalk
Wednesday, October 12, 10 p.m.
After marveling over the Aztec prints she designed to use in her new collection, strut over to Chloe Dao’s post-runway celebration at Venue featuring footage from the show, a Dao Chloe Dao installation, candy bar, performance by Divisi Strings and looks from Elaine Turner. Pay $10 at the door, or get free entry with your Fashion Houston ticket.

SHUTTING THE PARTY DOWN

Thursday, October 13, 6:30 – 8 p.m.
Models will storm the runway in Robert Rodriguez’s sure-to-be-stellar closing show.

Our bloggers have been talking a lot about finding and creating happiness and opportunities in our lives lately. Many of us in our TryingTwenties and FlirtyThirties are feeling inadequate in life due to how we have allowed ourselves to be treated in relationships, on our jobs and by other people.  We’re looking for excitement and joy during our quarter life crisis and need desperately to move past the dark feelings of just existing. 

Let’s take a look at Steve’s life to find some encouragement and remember his life. He endured 20 years of hard times trying to get Apple off the ground, a mere start-up company in his garage.  Success may not happen right when we want it, but persistence and dedication will yield results.  Steve Job’s never stopped believing in himself, his partners, his company and the initial dream.  If something grand is calling you, then embrace it and don’t hesitate to make a change!  When you go on to Glory, you will have left your mark on this world, like Steve did, with no regrets in pursuing your dreams.  

LIVE Life….and do what you love.

Why do we seem to let other people get to us? They get us down, they ruin our weeks and weekends, and to just be truthful, steal our joy! Why do we allow people to take away what we feel and know about ourselves? It makes us feel inadequate on the job/school/church, and in friendships/relationships.

I get that other people are driven by accomplishment and acquisition of things. Why is it that you can’t be a nice person and have the amount of success you want, too? It seems like the more lazy, the least logical and crazy you are, the further you go in this life.  The only comfort for us good-hearted people is knowing that our riches are supposedly not here on this earth. The greater treasure is the reward in the afterlife based on how we treated others.

In my quarter-life crisis, I’ve realized that I want it all…Brand new socks and draws…success and to be a good and kind individual. For some reason, however, I keep running into mofo’s who make everything difficult!  I promise, it is not my intent to  wanna curse anyone out on Monday morning on my job, but dammit other people sure make it hard for a sista.  They smile in your face and then talk about you to your manager behind your back to make themselves look better.  Why should I not want to kick someone in their teeth or stab them with a pencil?

I don’t condone violence at all, but I have sure seen my attitude get bad over the last few years. Reasons, I’m sure you know, like unfair treatment, lack of respect shown or being just plain talked about.  All the drama has taught me that bad treatment shouldn’t denote me treating someone else like I smoke crack.  I know that I don’t have to honk my horn back at the person who honked their horn at me because they were too impatient to wait for me to turn across traffic. I get it, but hell, I just don’t feel like going out of my way sometimes to be accommodating. 

I think this quote from Mother Teresa says it best. Now, I’m no saint, but I want to be like one. Hopefully, the situations in life won’t alter my attitude too badly before I get there. Right now, people are working my nerves and I only exist to fight another day.  One day, I’ll be open-minded enough to find joy in knowing that I’m enlightened enough to give the benefit of the doubt to others and not let it affect my moral psyche and demeanor.   

People are often unreasonable and self-centered.

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives.

Be kind anyway.

If you find happiness, people may be jealous.

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough.

Give your best anyway.

For you see, in the end, it is between you and God.

It was never between you and them anyway.

-Mother Teresa

 FREE Midnight Showing of Bad Teacher

By:

Angel Elexa

It’s never too soon to get tickets to your favorite shows or events! Even if it is 3 or 4 months out. 

Who doesn’t love the holidays? It’s only August, but I’m thinking about my fav holiday movie, White Christmas. My cousin turned me onto it years ago.  I own it and watch it at least once a week starting in December. Imagine my surprise when I saw the opportunity to get half off tickets to the touring musical in Houston. 

Now you can get out of the house, ask a friend to go, take your boo, whatever.  Make it a tradition! My homegirl and I make it a point to attend some type of holiday event every year. I’m about to hit her up now and tell her to mark the calendar.  You can’t beat center orchestra seats at a Fabulous holiday production!

It can be an inconvenience to make plans this far in advance and be able to attend on the specified promo dates, but if your schedule is clear, go and get outta the house!

50% Off TUTS White Christmas in December 2011Houston On The Cheap.

LIVE Life…and have a  Merry Christmas in August!

By:

Angel Elexa

In an article by Ruchira Agrawal, 6 Ways To Discover Your Authentic Work, she writes about finding your passion and making it work for you.  Ruchira says, “Some of you may be familiar with the term ‘authentic work’, others perhaps reading this for the first time and wondering what it really means. The term ‘authenticity’ according to Wikipedia means – “the degree to which one is true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character”, despite “external forces, pressures, and influences”. And when you apply it to your work, it obviously means engaging in work that is closest to who you are as a person and what you’re naturally gifted and talented in.”

Well, I hadn’t been so blessed to find exactly what that means for me yet. I’m just trying to work and pay the bills now because I’m discontent.  I thought that getting my degree in something that I thought I loved would mean starting at a certain salary level and would allow me to be Young with Money.  I’m not talking about Weezy, Drake and Nikki Minaj money, but still having enough to venture out on my own the first year after school, buy a house, travel and splurge and save all at the same time. You know, do the things that I wanted to in life without always checking the budget first.

 I thought if I did well enough in school, applied myself in my internships, companies would be eager to recruit me at their career fairs.  Interestingly enough, I even thought going back for my MBA would help me achieve status in the corporate arena.  And even at 30 and almost 8 years in the industry, I’m just now making what I should’ve been 8 years ago. Oh, how the Visions of Grandeur have mocked me. 

We’ve all suffered layoffs, manager cruelty and other promotional injustices during our careers and have learned that the job search sucks.  It’s such a numbers game and I can’t seem to figure it out.  So with that being said, what is an authentic job for any of us?  Where we thought selecting a major in college would catapult us to our dream job, many of us have learned that it’s just the opposite.  And it just leaves you wanting more out of life.  The question becomes, how can you link up what you like to do with earning money to support you?  Maybe we should not search for success with a corporation to support someone else’s dream, BUT  venture out on our own and create the opportunities for ourselves. 

They say when the time is right, THINGS just seem to start happening.  Chances are, you were already thinking about pursuing dream.  I hadn’t really gotten the chance to be fully creative and at my job.  The discontentment actually led me to be an entrepreneur, and I have to admit, starting my own business has been gratifying.  It takes my mind off the day-to-day stuff at my 9-5 .  It even makes me wonder about going back to school and meshing the two things I’m passionate about most, Marketing and Interior design.  So in the meantime, until I can make a firm decision, I’ve started dabbling in the homestaging, interior redesign and social media consulting business.  All things I love and I actually get to use my marketing degree to promote my baby.   

My message to you today is that life doesn’t always turn out the way we envision it, but it at least births out something that you never imagined that may be just as good, if not better! 

You may think you’re on the right path, but be flexible enough to venture off YOUR defined path and be led to the one FATE wants you on.  Trust me, HE will give you the most inner desires of your heart that you didn’t even think were possible.   I think Ruchira got it right, “It’s easy to find fulfillment when you pursue an authentic career“.

Read Ruchira’s Full Article HERE.

LIVE Life and Prosper!

By:

Kesharion “KeKe” Parker

To my girls…that is!  It’s National Girlfriend’s Day!

Hug your closest friends today and show them you care!

I couldn’t get through life without my besties!  Though they can get on my nerves and upset me six ways from Sunday, I know they’ve got my back.   You gotta appreciate all of them because they function as apart of your life in so many different ways.  There’s the friend you can always call when you wanna go out, go shopping, go to a movie, or just sit at home.  There’s the friend that you can always talk to about your boo, your momma and your cousin & them and they just get it.  Then there’s the friend that you can vent to, bitch at and in turn get some really good advice and they don’t think you’re just PMSing. 

That’s why I believe in Besties before Testes!  No one understands you like your girls…especially during your TryingTwenties.

Take the girls out tonight and tell them how much you appreciate them and have some fun!

LOVE Those Who Love You….Especially your girls!

How much do you love your girls?  Nominate them HERE for National Girlfriends Day!

We hope you nominate your fabulous girlfriends in August, and join us year-round on Sheckys.com and at our Girls Night Out events for a good dose of girl time!

XO,
Shecky’s