Perfection is a cancer.

As a child, I was under the impression if I do everything perfect, I would be successful or reap the best. Oh how I was wrong. I even stopped myself from doing things because I knew I wouldn't be perfect for it. SMH. I've realized perfection only leads to crazy thoughts, behaviors, and procrastination. Nobody can ever be perfect. We were created with flaws or in sin, however you want to say it. So don't allow perfection to stop you from doing what you want. I know I'm guilty of that. I'll say things like oh I have to wait until I get things in order or get myself together. Eff that. You have to just start sometimes and everything will come together. I was having a gchat convo with one of my friends regarding perfection. And she said, you know how many mediocre people are successful? Tons. And I had an aha-moment. I'm wasting time waiting on "perfect conditions" and other people starting with no plan are creating genius ideas. So I'm hanging up my perfectionist cape and start creating. I hope you all will too.

♥ A.Erika ♥

oh january!

If the year is anything like January, I'm not sure if I'll make it to June. I have been so busy with work and church. Not that it is a bad thing but I barely have time to collect my thoughts. Starting the year all over the place was not my intention. Havent even finished my vision board yet, at least my 2012 goals are set. (I will post in a separate entry). But I am grateful and thankful for these opportunities to become a better person, meet and build relationships with great people.

On lighter note, I currently have a roster (as my friend refers to them.) I thought that was so clever and figured I would refer to them as such on my blog. Having a roster was definitely not a part of my first quarter plan, much less my first month. But here I am. Trying not to become distracted yet still entertain them. Of course roster updates will come. I do know that the draft is closed until further notice so I hope you all will enjoy the current roster.

♥ A.Erika ♥

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!! I finally did a post on the new years day! Lol. I can't believe its 2012 already. 2011 has been an interesting year and I am glad I made it through! Thankful for the closed chapters, leaps of faith, lessons learned. They all gave me strength and directed me in the place I needed to be. Not to toot my horn, but I'm always so surprised by my progress every year. I'm like wow I'm really becoming a great woman. Lol. Even though I'm still flawed, I can't help but celebrate where I've come from and where I am now. I am so hyped about 2012. The first time in a while I have been so excited for the new year and new beginnings. So happy new year to you readers and wish nothing but great things for you this year!

♥ A.Erika ♥

pace yourself, ash.

You know when you were a kid and you got all giddy when you’re mom or dad was about to give you something you REALLY wanted? My mom said I used to do this little dance and I actually still do a form of that dance to this day. Lol. Well I get that same giddy feeling when I find opportunities that I can use to prove my skill and abilities especially for my career. I just wanna e-mail all these opportunities and say I can do it! I can do it! Then I find myself overwhelmed with everything because I decided to be superwoman and take on too many tasks. So that’s going to be one of the things I focus on next year is pacing myself. Because I was limited in the activities I wanted to participate due to unemployment, now I want to do everything because I have money of the better resources. But I don’t want to stretch myself too thin, trying to do everything at once.  I am forcing myself to be patient, finish my commitments and do them to the best of my ability. THEN take on another responsibility. Learning to build my empire slowly but surely.

I hope you all had a great Christmas. The fam and I surely did and we have leftovers for dayssss!!!

♥ A.Erika ♥

um hi.

oh hello there! its only been 4 months since my last post. I took another sabbatical from the blog, not intentional though. It's harder for me to post since my laptop's screen has decided it's not gonna work. Despite technical difficulties, trust, I have been a busy girl. I am now working full-time at big computer hardware distributor. :D When I got that offer call, I was screaming internally because I was working temporarily at a private school. All those internships, pro-bono opportunities, etc have paid off and now I am a working woman!

I've decided to volunteer with the teen ministry at church, finishing up my shadowing process. As soon as I started my shadowing process, I got a call for a women's mentoring program I signed up for earlier this year. I was so elated because mentoring has helped shape who I am today. So our first planning meeting is this Saturday and I am ready to start working. I met with RPI Alumni in October and signed up to be a meeting coordinator for next year. I have photoshoot set up for later this month with my friend and I am hoping to meet with my image consultant so I can be fly for the shoot. And that is just small look into what I have been doing in these last 4 months.

In the midst of all that, I have been thinking about the future of my blog. 2 entries ago, I talked about changes and the changes I intended to make are completely different of the changes I am currently working on. When I started this blog two years ago [geez i cant believe its been 2 years], the intent was for it to be a one stop shop. Meaning I would post personal experiences along with sharing information [like pop culture, design, etc] I thought would be interesting to my readers. As my blog has developed, it became more of my online journal. So in a way, i'm sharing information, but its more personal, penning the highs and lows of my life. Although I love this blog, I contemplated eliminating it because I thought it was TOO personal. But I gave it further thought and decided if I can't share my personal stories and be transparent, then I shouldnt blog. So with that said, this blog is here to stay. But I still want to develop my brand so I have decided to create another blog that focuses more on my career as graphic designer and social media enthusiast. The launch date for that blog is TBD. But I am excited to "birth" another blog. I have all kinds of posts ready to go.

I have been doing much reflecting and assessing these last couple weeks in preparation for my vision board. I feel I'm moving in the right direction. So more updates in the next couple weeks. I have some goodies to share. :)

♥ A.Erika ♥

summer sabatical.

hello lovelies!

friendship.
my quiet storm and mouth-almighy

after a summer filled with toddlers and thinking, I'm back.

this summer I decided to nanny two 3-year-old girls. I was slightly nervous about it because I didn't suffer hell in undergrad for 4 years to become a nanny and this was not helping my career any. but I wasn't gonna pass up easy money. For two months, my girls and I went to the park, went to the aquarium, went to the petting zoo, got ice cream, went to storytime, did arts and crafts, talked about big girl school, AND took naps. [for all my tweeps, I hope my #nannydiaries captured the essence of summer as a nanny.] I realized children are not in my immediate future and riding with car seat is guy repellent. blessing and curse. Lol.

the family at mama lindo's celebration

I also used this summer to learn more about me. I was selfish this summer and I have never felt better. I was able to do some deep thinking about my career, friends, family, etc. Evaluate friendships even eliminate some. I got to meet new people and exchanged dreams/ideas with them, in turn they provided encouragement.  I reconnected to family I haven't seen in years. Partied with my parents until 6a in NYC. I was able re-develop my love of reading. Even able to meet one of my favorite writers and I'm now on HP book 4. I was able to explore my city and I'm proud to say I can navigate downtown Atlanta like a pro. Lol. I even gained a couple pounds by eating to my heart's delight. I shopped and got some "big girl clothes". I planned one of the best bday parties my mom has ever had. I got my belly button re-pierced and I'm going to see 1/3 of my rap trinity tomorrow. I'm going to a wine tasting next week and the week after, I'm meeting with some alumni. After all that, the thing I'm most proud about for summer 2011 is my relationship with God. If anything I could be selfish with is my relationship with Him. Understanding my significance and knowing who I am in Christ fuels my actions and keeps me inspired.

I'm so glad to be back. I've missed it so no more neglect. I have some surprises too as indicated by the last entry but I'm ready to unveil them just yet. But anyday now...hope u all have had a GREAT summer!


♥ A.Erika ♥

changes.

"im planning something REALLY REALLY big, very IMPORTANT, and when you hear about it, you will be VERY VERY PROUD!!" *in my best gru [from despicable me] voice*

until then....

♥ A.Erika ♥