Coffee

As I sip my cup,
I feel a surge of happiness,
I instantly wake up,
It makes me happy.

It's like a dark cloud over my head just suddenly disappears,
I have super powers,
I can conquer the world.

But only if I drink you in moderation...

Too much makes me foggy,
It's like cellular molecules in my brain explode,
I can't focus!

I'm restless!

I'm hot!

I CAN'T THINK!!!!
Coffee
*gasp*

I
need
you, but I don't.

Eating Healthy

Eating healthy is so important. Not just for weight loss, but for peace of mind. I find that when I eat a real breakfast like bacon, egg, and cheese & not just leftover pizza & chips, I feel so much better. I feel focused, and focus is very important. That's how we get stuff done. I have a looong way to go, but I'm really trying to get a grip on life and keep things rolling, and I realize that if I don't eat right, my body is just simply too tired to get work done. So I'm gonna try to aim for less junk and more healthy stuff.


**~**

Making Boring Food Fun

So I was proud of myself for making a week's worth of meals, but let's face it, I made tuna and salad. Boring!!! So, I bought some ground beef and taco seasoning & made my favorite meal...TACO SALAD!!!! It was great. To make it healthy, I added black beans and spinach.

Quick easy and affordable

Things I like...

Take a boring meal like rotisserie chicken and brown rice and make chicken fajitas!!!

I know this isn't a new concept but it's new to me and I absolutely loved it. Living in NYC can be a bit hectic and after a long day at work who wants to come home and cook! So for under $20 you can spice up a cheap meal like chicken and rice! All you need is the chicken (obviously), rice is optional but it's pretty cheap, spinach ($1) tomatoe ($1) fajita seasoning (.79) tortilla chips ($2) salsa ($1.89) and shredded mexican style cheese ($2.69) sour cream (2.09)...

Now in a skillet, heat up a little bit of olive oil (or not, I just used it to feel fancy), throw the chicken and rice in their add 1/4th cup of water and the seasoning, stir and voila!!! Instant meal! I even threw some slices of cheddar cheese I got from the deli on my chicken to let it melt, but that's totally optional...

Now just throw your chicken and rice in a bowl add the veggies and other condiments and dinner for 1 is served!

Eating Healthy on a Budget

Eating healthy on a budget...is there a such thing? Well to start off very simple, I bought 1 bag of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, eggs, bread, and tuna. I need to eat more vegetables and I also want to eat more fish, so I figured I can't go wrong with a salad and tuna. I really don't have a lot of time to cook during the week, and I want to save money by not eating out everyday for dinner & lunch. The solution, make my salad and tuna and place them in easy to grab containers for the week. It's not a new concept, but it's the first time I tried it. So basically all I did was use the whole bag of lettuce to make my salad and then split it into three plastic containers. Next I made tuna fish and placed it in a larger container, and I have the bread to make sandwiches. The game plan is to alternate between tuna fish sandwiches and salads for lunch and dinner for the week. Today, I ate a salad for lunch and for dinner I made a grilled tuna melt sandwich. It's nothing fancy, but it's a start.

This covers Lunch & Dinner for the week

Grilled Tuna Melt

Things I wish I knew in college...(note to someone younger)

I wish I knew...

1) That I was not gonna meet my husband during my 4-5 year time and get married.
Therefore, I shouldn't have spent so much time in relationships. None of them were beneficial and AT ALL, although during the time I was so in love and knew we'd be together forever.

2) That taking 7 classes is not the same as 7 classes in high school.
I've always had good grades but in college 7 classes is way too much and my gpa dropped because of the heavy work load, and once it drops it's hard to get it back up.

3) That a degree in journalism sucks!
Yay! You have a degree, but all anyone cares about is your experience. If you love journalism and know it's what you want to do go for it (maybe). But if you just like it and think it'll be cool, because you really rather be an actress, but you're afraid everyone would look at you funny. Just be an actress. I've been out of school for almost 4 years and my degree in journalism does not give me any type of advantage over anyone. Plus, I really want to be an actress, so yea...

4) That it's not worth it to take out a bunch of loans, especially if your degree is journalism.
Actually look at the cost of college. I didn't. I just took out loans, and now I have to pay them back, and I don't even have a job in journalism.

5) How to be fearless and go after what I really want.
Now, I'm at a point where I am fearless. You can't change the past, but for someone, whoever, reading this be fearless now! Nothing can hold you back. Go after what you really want. You never know if you can do something unless you try it. So, try it!

Yikes!!! I just deleted all my social media accounts (facebook, twitter, and instagram)

I deleted facebook, twitter, and instagram, now what? I don't really care about twitter and instagram that much, but me and facebook have been together for about ten years. TEN YEARS!!!! That's the longest commitment I've ever had, and it just ended today. Now, what will I look at when I'm bored? What will be used to fill my free time? How will I communicate with friends? How will people know what I'm doing, or what I'm thinking? I WILL BE CUT OFF FROM THE WORLD!!! Ok, so it's not quite that serious, but it will be different. When I wake up, I check facebook, when I'm bored I check it, during commercials, I check it, before I go to sleep I check it...get it? I can't even remember what I use to do before facebook. It's just time for a change.

Dear Facebook,
What have you done for me lately? It's over!
Sincerely,
Taniqua

*Out with the old, in with new!*

Loosely based on a True Story

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrFE5EKq2C4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Side Chicks

Now the new thing is to show the side chick as the one he loves. Side chicks be winning? TV paints the picture that the man is stuck with his wife, a wife that he chose. Yet, hopelessly in love with the side chick ie Fitz & Olivia (Scandal) Mary Jane & Andre (Being Mary Jane). Now, I'm all for good drama because although it took me a while to jump on the gladiator bandwagon... I'm on it now! But the problem is, some women may take that as reality. A lot of women settling to be a side chick cuz they feel like the man really loves them but is just stuck in his current situation. He's not stuck, he chose to be with his wife. For whatever reason he chose her and decided to make her his wife. It's an honor to be someone's wife. So I'm not dissing the shows because I think they are good. I just want to set the record straight that this black chick wants to be more than a side piece!

Just one of them days...

Sometimes you just don't want to be bothered. It's nothing wrong with that. Overall, I'd describe myself as a positive person, but I'm not always positive. If you're honest with yourself you can say 

the same. It's nothing wrong with having those down days. Look at the weather, it's not always sunny. Sometimes it rains, and who doesn't like a rainy day every once in awhile? Plus, the rain makes you really appreciate a beautiful sunny day!!!

Happy New Year!!! 2014

Last year, I wrote a diary entry that said at 25 I will be bold and take risks. At the time, I didn't have anything specific in mind, I just knew I didn't want to limit myself. Eventually, I ended up quitting two decent jobs and moved to New York with with no job. 

Now, I have a job, closely related to what I have a degree in and I've adjusted pretty well to public transportation. I'm not saying I've  ARRIVED and I still have my days where I'm like what was I thinking?... but I'm learning we have choices in everything we do. If I'm unhappy about something I can change it. Am I ready to go back to South Carolina? Hhhhhheeeee...*clears throat* no! I do miss the weather though. Today the weather forecaster said it's gonna be brutally cold and the low will be below zero. How do you dress in below zero weather? I digress, shoot I don't even know what I was saying. Welp, guess this is a good place to end. Happy New Year!!!!