Authentically Nita

Hey ladies, Valentine's Day is just around the corner and while it's supposed to be a day of love, a lot of times it ends up being all about us. This is the one holiday that can seem a bit one-sided. So let me remind you; men want to feel loved and appreciated too! You don't have to go all-out with grand gestures, but here are five great gift ideas that will make Valentine's Day feel special for him too! 1. Buy, or pre-order a game he has been wanting, or get him a gift card. This is going to tell him two things. The first thing it will tell him is that you are paying attention to his interests. The second is that you put thought and effort into his gift. If your man is not a video gamer, then get him a gift card to his favorite place. This could be anything from a coffee shop he visits every morning, to a gift card for playing golf. It's all about showing you pay attention and you care. 2. Plan a day out doing something he loves Valentine's Day doesn't have...

Dating should be exciting and fun, but for many of us it can be a little stressful. When you first start dating, you are not quite sure what the other person's expectations are. You don't know what your date will think of you when they meet you in person. You may even be a little anxious or nervous. But don't let that deter you from dating. Dating can be an exciting and rewarding stage in your life, and if you have patience, it may lead to finding someone who's just right for you.  Here are some helpful tips that may improve your dating experience:  1. Be sensible - The first two things you should do before you start dating are to evaluate your attitude and be realistic. It is important that you be realistic about what you desire and don't expect too much from a first date. You should avoid making assumptions because it could lead to disappointment. The only expectations you should have when going on a first date are that the date will go well, and that it will ...

Why do we give ourselves to people who don't deserve us?  It changes us.   It chips away at us piece by piece until we are shaped into something else;  something different.   We don't even recognize the old person.   Who was that girl?   My, how she's changed. I feel like everytime that I've accepted something I didn't deserve it took away from who I was.   I don't know when I started allowing people to treat me so badly.   It just sort of happened and then it never stopped. I guess it doesn't really matter when I started it, what matters is that I stop.   I'm done letting people take from me!  My time, my love, my attention; is valuable.   I will not let anyone else hurt me, or make me feel like I am beaneath them.  It hurts so much when the person you love makes you feel like you are nothing.  I've decided, that's over.  It's time to rebuild.  And rebuild, I shall. ...

A lot of people I know are unhappy with the outcome of this past election.  They're blaming Libertarians, they're blaming the Green Party and they're blaming people who didn't vote.  But the only person they should be blaming is Hillary Clinton. Clinton's campaign had more funding than any other candidate running in the primary and in the general election.  Hillary Clinton had more experience than any other candidate running in the primary and in the general election.  The Clinton's were well-established politicians that had a lot of support from democrats, because of their years in public service.  This should have been a cake walk. In 2015 when she announced that she would be running for president both my husband and myself were happy supporters.  Hillary offered pretty much the same platform as the candidate before her with less enthusiasm.  And if Bernie Sanders had not run for president then perhaps a self-righteous, typical Democratic poli...

I love this! ...Can't afford it, but I do love it. Burberry Trench Coat, $2,995

Shawish Jewelry, a company based in Switzerland, has created the very first all diamond ring. Ladies, this is a 150 carat diamond ring that compares to no other. It is one of a kind, all diamond. I mean like, the band and everything. Pure diamond, nothing else. Just beautiful! It's worth $70 million. Jewelers at Shawish took about a year to design the diamond ring and have already obtained the copyright for their design, so don't expect to see any copycat make-ups of this baby. Shawish jewelers calls their diamond beauty, "The World's First Diamond Ring." It's definitely worthy of the title. There was never a diamond ring, until this one. (The others were gold and diamond).

I think they may be the second largest family in America. With 18 children and counting, the Bateses are being labeled as the Duggars rivals. However, the Bateses and Duggars are actually acquaintances. Check out the video as Brian Owens of ABC News meets the family:

If you've never heard about CSN Stores, let me fill you in: The company, CSN Stores LLC, is an online retailer based in Boston. The company was created in 2002 and quickly grew to become one of the top 3 online U.S. retailers. The company has 200+ websites and 400+ employees. Some of their online stores are; JustVanities.com AllModern.com Cookware.com BedroomFurniture.com WritingDesksAndMore.com Luggage.com You can find anything from entertainment stands to school supplies at CSN Stores . It's very much like having a shopping mall right at your fingertips. The Review: My lovely grandma gave me a "how-to" book about making fun cakes. My daughters REALLY wanted to make the butterfly shaped cake in the book. That was fine with me, but I needed new bakeware. I had thrown away my old 9" rounds because the finishing was coming off and they appeared rusty. I ordered the Silicone Solutions 5 Piece Burgundy Bakeware Set from CSN Stores . I had never cooked with Silicone B...

I am pleased to announce that any one of my Blog readers could be the lucky winner of a $60.00 gift certficate from CSN Stores. It could be you! All you have to do is enter the drawing right here on this site. So here's the deal: CSN Stores is a company with 200+ websites that sell an abundance of products. They have everything; durable cookware, gorgeous lighting fixtures, sturdy baby cribs, beautiful corner TV stands and much more! The gift certificate can be used on any one of their sites. Imagine purchasing a beautiful corner stand like the one below. It's a corner stand so it saves space, it has drawers to hide the children's DVDs, game controllers and remote controls, it looks pretty sturdy and on top of all that, you'll get to slash $60.00 off the price just winning a drawing! Here's what you have to do: You may submit more than one entry, but you must follow the rules to do so. 1st(Mandatory)Entry: You must publicly follow my blog and then leave a comment...

I accidentally threw away my glasses one night, (that's so me, I had put them in a plastic bag with some snacks). That was over a year ago and I just recently took on the challenge of selecting and purchasing new eyeglasses . This is a challenge to me, because I always have a difficult time selecting the best glasses for my face shape and skin tone. Honestly, I hate the way I look in any glasses and if I didn't need prescription glasses in order to operate a vehicle, I would go without them. (I do not recommend that anyone else do that, and I'm sure my optometrist would scold me). In order to prevent myself from getting another ticket, I had to take on the task of finding some glasses that I would feel comfortable and confident in. This time around I did some online research on how to pick out the perfect glasses . I watched some videos, read some articles, figured out my face shape, and then forgot almost everything as soon as I walked into the optical shop and saw ...

Nadya Suleman Mother of the second set of Octuplets to be born in the U.S. She's going through a lot right now and so many people have something to say about her situation. Regardless of how it happened, these babies are here now. All eight babies: Noah, Maliah, Isaiah, Nariah, Makai, Josiah, Jeremiah and Jonah These babies are the world's second set of Octuplets to be born alive. They are also the only set of Octuplets that has had all babies survive this long. Everything else aside, that's amazing to me. I hope they all make it. I don't think that what this woman needs right now is the entire world telling her how stupid she is or people sending her death threats. This is a crucial time in these baby's lives and she is probably worried about them all making it. Especially since multiple births have an increased risk of death.

Domestic Abuse affects millions of women worldwide. Some women may not make it out of the relationship alive. Many women are able to overcome and live normal, healthy lives once they have left their abuser. Some women overcome and rise up to tell the world their story! Brenda Thomas, is a Philadelphia author who went through a horrible domestic relationship. She tells about it in her memoir, "Laying Down my Burdens." I have an autographed copy of this book that I purchased earlier this year. When I started reading, I couldn't put it down! If I were a book reviewer, I would give it 5 stars. But don't just take my word for it, Brenda Thomas is an Essence best-selling author! Brenda Thomas should be recognized because not only is she writing and sharing her story, but she's also making a generous donation to benefit and and inspire other Domestic Abuse Victims. "During the month of October, Philadelphia-based, Essence best-selling author Brenda L. Thomas will d...

I just love the movie, "The Break Up." It's so realistic. Sometimes, I feel like I'm in that movie. You know, it would not have killed him to get off his ass and take a few minutes out of his time, to do the damn dishes! I had a discussion about this movie with my boyfriend and he didn't understand why Aniston's character wanted her boyfriend to want to do the dishes. He thought it was stupid. Well, it's not. It's not just about the dishes. She wanted to know that he wanted to help her out and that he appreciated all the work she had done that day. That's pretty much what it was about. He didn't really do anything to help and then at the end of the day he picks up a controller and starts playing video games. He didn't even try to acknowledge the fact that she was tired and wanted to relax too. Bottom line is, we need to know that we are appreciated and that you don't mind taking time out of your video game playing, to help us out a ...

Well, as most people already know, I'm engaged. We haven't set a date yet (it's my fault), I'm not very excited because I still have some fears. I have all these things running through my head. It's a big step and I don't know how people just rush into marriage without thinking twice. Don't think that I don't love my boyfriend, because I do. Here are some of the things that I worry about: Having a whole life with someone else. A life that could easily be taken away if he decides he just doesn't want to be with me anymore. (Or if he cheats on me, cheating equals the end of the relationship). I don't know anyone whose 1st marriage didn't end in divorce. If I don't get married, I won't have to worry about getting divorced. (All of the women in my family have been divorced, some more than once. My mom was married twice & she is divorced. Same with my grandma. My dad was married three time.) Divorce is expensive. I have a serio...

I was sitting here moistening my lips and thinking how much I just love the C.O. Bigelow® Mentha Lip Shine from Bath & Body Works . I've been using it for months now and I don't know what I was using before I started, but I love this stuff! My favorite one:

"You can never get ahead of anyone, if you're always trying to get even" A friend of mine has an ex who is going through all kinds of extremes to get revenge. Sometimes p eople will do anything to get a little payback. People will lie, make false claims in court, destroy property, try to sleep with their ex to ruin the ex's current relationship, keep a man from his children, spread rumors, post blogs on Myspace about a person, or post pics of them online and use various other methods to get revenge...I know people that have done some of these things. When someone does you wrong, retaliation just seems like a good idea. The Bride's personal vendetta in the movie " Kill Bill " displayed revenge in the most glorifying way that I've ever seen it displayed. She goes on a revenge fueled quest to kill every member of an assassination team that betrayed her. The end of volume two is the best part. She kills Bill and unites with her daughter. It's beaut...

or, In Desperate Need of Fashion Tips for an Extremely Busy Mom! As I've said before, I'm no fashion guru. Right now I'm having a serious fashion crisis! My mornings are hectic. They begin at 6-6:30am, I have to have all the kids at school no later than 8:30am. I don't have time to worry about my image when I'm getting them ready. But last week I actually walked out the house wearing the following: Blue jeans Dark orange colored, v-neck shirt a gray hoodie black sneakers huge brown purse I almost called the fashion police on myself. My wardrobe consists of mostly comfortable, casual wear. But that does not give me the excuse to walk out the house completely mismatched with my hair in a ponytail. This was just a once in a Blue Moon type of thing. I'll blame it on the fact that I was running late. Thank goodness that no one threw out the stereo type that people so often say when someone doesn't match. But really, I do neglect myself a lot. When you have childr...

Alluzee - Joyful Amara - Eternal flower, imperishable Alina - Noble, fair, beautiful Ali - Excellent, noble, greatest The names above belong to my children. These are their middle names which where chosen because of their meaning. Last night, for no particular reason, I was doing some name searching online. I decided to look up my children's first names. Each of them were named after someone in our family, so I never really thought about what those first names meant. Last night I found out that their first names have pretty cool meanings too. Tabitha - Gazelle (Gazelles are graceful creatures) Shalonda - Peace Glorious - Glorious (that one was easy) Fareed - Rare After that I searched for my first and middle names (I've never really liked them). This is what I got: Juanita - God is gracious Michelle - Who is like God I was like, "Wow, I'm cool even when I don't know about it." I had no idea my names had such great meaning. I feel a little special now. Do you k...