Tag: me

Gratitude, Life, Me

The 2020 Win.

by MsSquarePeg1 Comment on The 2020 Win.

Believe me, I hate to go back to that weird year, but I promised to discuss this awesome development in ’20 and never got around to it, so here we are.

Here are five awesome things about my promotion at work:

  1. Honestly, I’d been praying for and working towards being back in a field where I could apply both my academic and professional training for a while. My previous position, though welcomed because I’m always grateful to just be working, didn’t really allow for that. But this new position does.
  2. It’s really interesting work. Nope, I’m not sharing my new title because it’s the interwebs and work and interwebs stuff requires a level of privacy, IMO.
  3. It’s challenging. And while challenges can be challenging, I’m also very accepting of them in this regard.
  4. I’ve been able to work remotely since March of last year. A blessing during this panoramic! (Not a gaffe; I’ve become a fan of calling the pandemic everything that starts with a ‘P.’ Blame TikTok.)
  5. I really like the folks I’m working with.

It would have been nice to celebrate with friends and enjoy dinner and a night out on the town, but I did that for myself and enjoyed it in the safety of my living room. A win is a win is a win. Thankful and grateful.

Beauty, Hair, Me

Do you know what today is?

by MsSquarePeg4 Comments on Do you know what today is?

It’s my naturalversary.

Eight years ago today, I drove to a salon in Maryland and told the stylist to commence with le big chop. Best decision ever. Several months before, I had decided that I was done with relaxers and straightening my hair. I’d place my fingers in my roots and feel the thick, coily texture and no longer held a desire to straighten those strands. I wanted to see the hair my mother saw when I was a child.

It continues to remain a journey. I’ve big chopped more than once, I’ve grown it out, I’ve been blonde, a redhead, all colors in between, I’ve been bald, so on and so forth. I’ve loved every minute of it. Can’t draw to save my life, but my hair has been the best artistic canvas this gal could ask for.

Favorite natural styles: Twistouts and Bantu knot-outs are my tried and true

Favorite protective styles: Senegalese twists, box braids, any crochet style

Favorite hair color: Brownish-red was pretty cool but my honey blonde phase gave me life

Favorite products: The Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus collection has never let me down. I use most of their products. A recent fave is Camille Rose products (their twisting butter is heaven). By the way, if you’re a naturalista, your bathroom is a CVS. Such is the journey to find what works well for your hair. Eight years later, I’ve solidified a lot of those things and enjoy my staples.

Image credit: Pinterest
Image credit: Camille Rose Naturals

Favorite Naturalistas: these are content creators that have helped me throughout the years to understand styling, methods, and natural hair care. Whitney White, Maeling Murphy, My Natural Sistas, Taren Guy, and countless others stand out. You’ll see many of them here.

Here’s to commemorating whatever makes us happy and reminds us of happy. Onwards and curlwards, dear reader…

Beauty, Hair, Me

Le Fro: Updates.

by MsSquarePeg2 Comments on Le Fro: Updates.

Here’s how the Le Fro is doing as of this past weekend, in my continuing efforts to grow out my hair and not eye the ✂️:

Frowth.

Curls galore, no? We love to see it. And this is actually a two-day wash-and-go courtesy of my stylist and good friend, who provided me with a nice, socially distanced wash/condition/much-needed trim. I’m always amazed by WAGs. I tend to leave WAGs to the experts, such as my stylist, because your Square Peg has no skills when it comes to that. I’ve done them, it takes forever (and not as “go” as the term implies), so yeah. Queen Twistout over here. But it’s always nice to simply see my natural coils and curls without manipulation.

What are my frowth goals? Big hair, y’all. I want big hair and I want to go as far as I can without, again, heading for the ✂️.

Onwards and fro-wards.

Life, Me

Just No.

by MsSquarePeg4 Comments on Just No.
Image credit: Instagram

Whew. The accuracy.

I saw this post on the ‘Gram and felt like discussing.

So, although “no” is a complete sentence (just like yes), most people don’t hear it that way. Agree? Most of the time, a “no” is followed by a “why not?” from the hearer or them giving you a run-down on why your response should be in the affirmative. Even a polite “no, thank you,” which, to me, should stop a conversation because I’ve said no and I’ve added courtesy to it, doesn’t always suffice for the requester. Reasons must be given. Responses must be qualified. Well, here you go for reasons and qualifications: because I don’t want to. And facts, right? Because you simply don’t want to.

I do wonder if all the above springs from childhood and adolescence. When the Terrible Twos come and little ones find their “no,” they’re usually saying that in response to things they need. Bedtime. Healthy snacks. Listening to mom and dad. The majority of us were taught to not respond negatively to things we needed. Perhaps we take that into adulthood, the politeness of agreeing, even though we now can decide what we want or don’t want to do.

I found my “no” when I learned to esteem myself. Being a people pleaser as an adolescent/teen meant agreeing to things I had no interest in and/or deeply wanting people to like me, although I still intriguingly maintained a level of control over bigger things. It was an interesting dichotomy. I wanted my peers to like me, but I was also resolved not to compromise certain values. Anyway, I digress. For the most part: it felt weird for me to say “no” back then. That’s not the case now.

Image credit: Pinterest

My bestie and I were laughing the other day because she asked me to try a few things and I said “no” to each one. She was like, you’re a stubborn one, aren’t you? She’s the bestie so there wouldn’t be applied pressure but it got me thinking. For me, saying no to new things may mean missing out on certain experiences because I simply don’t want to engage in them. That can be a blurry line. But c’est la vie. Free will, self-determination, so on. You get my drift. The point is: a no is a no is a no.

How do you feel about saying no?

Life, Me

Blogtober #29: A Few Things…

by MsSquarePegLeave a Comment on Blogtober #29: A Few Things…

…that I know to be true.

1. The last few minutes of Law and Order are the most explosive.

2. I’ll fall in love someday…even though hope is sitting in the corner, exhausted, bored, and yawning…

3. You’ll always get the Oxford comma from me. Always, always, and always.

4. I’ll end up living in a cottage in a quaint village in Britain. Claiming it.

5. This cottage will require a typewriter. Because: cottage.

6. Vintage travel ads will always bring a smile to my face. (I have a whole board dedicated to said ads on my Pinterest page. Take a gander; link is at the top of the page.)

Bon Thursday. Friday awaits us…

Life

Blogtober #28: Blue Light Special.

by MsSquarePegLeave a Comment on Blogtober #28: Blue Light Special.

(This blog post contains Amazon Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small commission for purchases made through these links.)

So, if you’ve been working from home for several months like me, you’ve also been staring at a computer screen for several months. But pandemic, so we’re also staring at Zoom screens, FaceTime screens, and basically living a virtual screen life with our eyes. I’m already a squinter when it comes to screens (the doctor maintains I don’t need prescription glasses though 🤔), so you can imagine the tension I’ve been been feeling. Enter a good friend and her suggestion that I head to Amazon to purchase Blue Light blocking glasses to help with the eye strain.

🤓

The MeetSun Blue Light Blocking Glasses are awesome. The price was fantastic and I received two pairs for the price of one. As a fan of fashion glasses anyway, it’s not surprising that I was excited to find a pair that were stylish and would help my eyes out at the same time. Check them out.

Happy Wednesday.