8 THINGS I LEARNED SINCE I STARTED BLOGGING

I have been absent most of the month due to battling my allergies, traveling and planning for GirlChat events for the months ahead.  GirlItsMel is almost 2 months old and I can not believe how times flies. It's has been a dream come true with many, many, many years in the making. Has it been easy? Heck no, nothing in life is easy. It has been challenging juggling work and my passion to allow them to coexist together. The look and feel of GirlItsMel has changed little by little each week with a few additions such as the GirlChatwithMel events page, the Shop and creating my youtube channel. 

Here are a few things I've learning about myself since I've started this journey:

1. Success is not going to happen overnight. Patience is a virtue INDEED! People will come in due time.

2. Things do not always go as plan and there is no need to dwell on the negative, push forward and do what you can for NOW!

3. I always considered myself as introverted person and I was WRONG! I am both introverted and extroverted, I love meeting and talking with people. Speaking in large groups motivates me even than EVER. Having this platform has been a great conversation topic with women of all ages.

4. Networking is KEY! No one will not know who you are if you are not out promoting your brand. I have made a lot of connections with so many people and businesses that will help grow my brand.

5. Be HONEST! I had no clue on which direction I wanted to go with this site until I kept hearing the same stories being repeated by many women of different ethnic/age groups. Hence the birth of GIRL, IT'S MY EVERYDAY LIFE! (GirlItsMel).

6. Set a schedule, stick to it as much as possible. Consistency is KEY! Although I haven't published many posts I am grateful for social media sites (Instagram, Facebook and Twitter) to keep my audience engaged.

7. Step outside of your comfort zone and go for IT!

8. Be Yourself and Stay true to your brand! MOST IMPORTANT BE RELATEABLE!

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What are some things you learned about yourself recently?

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5 TIPS FOR GETTING READY IN THE MORNINGS

I have always been a last minute person even before I became a parent.  If I had to be somewhere, the chances I would be on time were slim to none.  Occasionally, I would use my son as an excuse for being late, if you are parent then you know each day is unpredictable with a toddler.

My days start as early as 5:30 AM and I still hit the snooze button at least 3 times before I actually get out of bed. Technically I don't actually make it out of the bed until 5:45 AM. Most mornings as I'm getting ready for work and preparing my son for his adventurous day with grandma. I still find myself rushing to get to work by 9AM. I'm so focused on breakfast, hair, makeup, preparing lunch, ironing clothes and chasing my son around. I had to make things easier and start pre-planning, which is something I have never done. Here are some great tips and tricks I found to make my morning routine easier.

1. Plan your outfits ahead of time

Living in GA the weather can be tricky, check the forecast, you can pick your outfit the night before or plan for the week. I bought a clothing rack to help organize my clothes which saved time when searching for pieces in the morning. Keep your outfits simple and try not to go overboard.  Aim for neutral colors or pair a sweater with jeans, boots/booties and your favorite necklace.

2. Shower the night before.

Some people may not agree with me on this, but saves it time. I love taking my morning showers that helps me wake up. The benefit of showering the night before gave me more time to get ready in the morning. This was a huge time SAVER!

3. Prepare your meals ahead of time

For breakfast try eating cereal, fruit or oatmeal. This will take less time to prepare and have you on your way out the door quickly.

Deciding what to eat for lunch can be challenging. Try preparing your meals the day before or plan for the week. If you are OK with eating the same foods for the week, prepare a big meal to portion for each day and store in your fridge. It is so convenient to grab a container and through it in my bag and GO!

4. Style your hair the night before

Hair can be your worst enemy on those days you are in a hurry. If you are naturalista like myself there so many styles you can do from twist/braid outs, high puff, Mohawk or pull our your favorite wig. You can never go wrong with a simple ponytail.

5. Keep your makeup simple

If you have oily, acne prone skin using a multipurpose foundation or beauty/blemish (BB) cream is key with a good setting powder. Using a BB cream cuts out the steps of priming and concealing. I love using BB creams which helps to conceal  blemishes and provides the right coverage I need for the office.   I am currently using Kiss BB Cream Medium and I set it with a  translucent powder.

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What tips do yo have for getting ready in the morning?

INSPIRE WITH MEL

Everyone is a critic in their own right and we often take what others say personal. Sometimes people can see things that you may not be able to see for yourself. In my early adult years I would cry whenever someone criticize my work or the way I dressed. It made me feel like I was not good enough, as I grew older I realized that criticism can be a good thing when you take it serious. Recognize the commonality of what others say, if you are hearing the same things over and over take notes. 

I love this quote from Hillary Clinton and it's perfect for anyone who are on path to success. She endured a lot of criticism during the election and she remained humbled and strong, that a true testimony.

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How do you handle criticism?

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XOMelissa  

ARE THESE BEAUTY TRENDS WORTH IT

We spend a ton of money and time to keep up with the latest trends. We are constantly bombarded with images of beautiful, gorgeous women with a snatched waistline and big perky boobs. It doesn’t help much to see celebrities who have given birth and their body snaps back to their pre-pregnancy shape. With the evolution of social media, everybody and their grandma haa a new beauty hack. As stupid as it may seem my dumbass tried some of them.

Makeup Primer

Recently I stated wearing makeup and I bought several brands both low and high-end products. At the end of the day, even with using an expensive primer such as Becca – Ever Matte Poreless Priming Perfector. I would look like I’ve been swimming in fried chicken. My skin is acne prone and extremely oily and I needed a solution to combat the shine/natural glow. I noticed a lot of people raving about using Milk of Magnesia as a primer on social media. One female who said it worked wonders and she had before and after pictures to show the difference. I was amazed at how nice her make up turned out. I began to see other women raving about the effects and I decided to give that trick a try.

Let me tell you, after a few days of using the Milk of Magnesia as a primer I noticed my acne was flaring up. Not only did my face start developing these huge cystic pimples I was breaking out on my back! It got really serious for a moment where I was embarrassed to go out.  At first I thought it was my diet until I picked up the bottle and read the ingredients. Using this was disturbing my PH balance allowing more bacteria in and clogging my pores. It does a good job at controlling shine but using it over time will create another problem.

Hair Hack

There is another beauty hack I tried. Your girl loves her wigs and the versatility it gives. I can be different women everyday of the week or even the same day. (giggles) Recently I started wearing lace closures and once I again I tuned into what everyone else was doing to make the closure lay flat. I tried was using Got2B Glued gel to hold down my closures on my wigs.  It had my hair laid for the GODS but when I took off my wig my hairline would look like fish scales. The gel has a good hold but it is so flaky you will either need to wash your hair or wipe your edges with a damp cloth. If you are a natural like myself then you know we dread "wash" day.  I know there are other alternative that works better, in the meantime I will stick to my Murray's edgewax and Eco styler gel. 

Share your thoughts

What are some of the crazy beauty hacks you’ve tried recently?

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XOMelissa

DO YOU REALLY KNOW YOUR FRIENDS?

I can count on one hand the number of people I call a FRIEND. People use the term so loosely nowadays which makes it hard to determine if the other person really has your back or not. Practically anybody can be classified as friend whether it's the guy next door you occasionally have sex with or the receptionist at your workplace. Although it's nice to have people you can relate to and bond. When do you consider that connection as a friendship?

I know you may be able to relate to my story. I have never been the one to follow a crowd or be apart of a clique for popularity. This may be due to the introvert side of me who would rather be alone at times. Sometimes being in group can be complicated and girl code can be broken. Typically in these groups/cliques there is always the leader, the female who thinks she can do no wrong. She would be the one to organize all the activities and often she would be the loud one of them all. If she got mad with one of the girls then everyone must follow suit and not speak to that particular female. How awkward can that be to be told not talk to someone?  If you are a kid that's expected but to be an adult is just ridiculous. I understand there is loyalty but why should your issue be my issue. Why do I need to inconvenience myself to please another grown ass woman?

The point is you shouldn't have to and often we feel the need to be apart of something whether it's healthy or not. Many of us may feel the need to have some sort of companionship to function. I'm OK with having my 1 or 2 females I considered a friend. A friend is someone you are able to cooperate with, trust and support. A friend is an individual who will listen to understand and most people lack this quality.  A friend may even agree to disagree with you at times.

However; a friend will not coerce you into holding grudges, control your life by telling you who you should talk to or manipulate you into doing things that may have a detrimental effect on your life. Be weary of the ones who do not have your best interest at heart. You always want to surround yourself with  positive-liked individuals and avoid getting sucked into the "clique" zone because you want to feel accepted. 

I want to hear from you. Does being in a group/clique make you feel included or not?

XOMelissa

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Welcome!

Welcome to GirlItsMel!

I have so many things I want to share with my readers/supporters. I think it's very important as woman we are heard and understand. So often we are misunderstood and misrepresented based on what society thinks. I am tired of seeing women fight over ridiculous issues. It feels like society has conditioned us to become reactive rather than proactive. Think about all the stereotypical ways the media has portrayed us. We have become so selfish to the point where we lack commonsense and integrity. It's time as women that we put aside our differences and begin supporting each other. We may not always agree on things and that's OK as long we respect each other. My vision is to united us rather than divide us . Remember there is strength in numbers. In the words of the late Dr. Maya Angelou: "We are more like, my friends, than we are unlike." 

I would like to hear from you. What are some ways we can change society's perspective of us and how?

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XOMelissa