10 ways to look and feel your best

10 ways to look and feel your best

1. Love Do something nice for someone, you never know how quickly you can change a person’s mood with an act of kindness. Be nice J

2. Smile   It can light up an entire room and makes everyone think that you are sweet.

3. Sweat   Take a walk, do some cardio, dance like no one is watching. This can relieve much stress and make for an amazing transformation in your waist  line ;)

4. H20 Drink lots of water. Stay hydrated from the inside out. This will affect the appearance of your skin and your over all health.

5. Keep good company be sure to surround yourself with positivity. Don’t stay alone for too long or waist time with cynical people.

6. Keep your ears clean by this I’m talking music. Opt for more upbeat and uplifting music that inspires you to do something great!

7. Eat breakfast Whole grains and healthy snacks in the morning will give you a boost each day. You’ll be surprised what a difference it makes.

8. Wear eyeliner ( ladies only J) I always say the quickest way to change your look is add eyeliner. If you’re going to wear it on the bottom make sure it’s heavier on top.

9. Change up your style add a new color into your wardrobe.  Wearing bright sunny colors can make spring seem closer. Do something different with your style to boost your confidence.

10. Cut back on carbs and sweets. Extra weight can make us feel tired and unhappy. Make sure you don’t overdo it and eat healthy balanced meals throughout the day!

Guest Blogger: Marquita Brown Co-Founder and Artistic Director; TriFYRE

Check her out:

http://www.facebook.com/marquita.m.brown  http://www.facebook.com/trifyre?sk=wall

Ó2012 Marquita Brown

Goal Planning.

I work in the news business as a producer. This is something that didn't happen overnight but thanks to goal planning, I made it happen.
I'll keep this short and sweet so that it will resonate with you. (I find that I always get distracted/bored if an article is too long)

1) Don't set unrealistic goals. Seriously, if you know you won't achieve a goal then why set it? It's wonderful to fantasize but don't say "I'll be the first female president" and you hate politics. That's just unrealistic.

2) Always have 3-5 short term goals and a time to achieve them. I recently started at a new news station and I set five goals that I knew I would master. And so far, three have been checked off my list. These short term goals can be anything from "I'm going to complete three extra credit assignments this semester" to "I will cook dinner every Sunday for the next six months". These obtainable goals will motivate you in the long run. I mean, it feels good to say "I DID IT" right?!

3)ALWAYS HAVE A LONG-TERM GOAL. Know what you want to achieve in the long term. Right out of college, I didn't know what I wanted to do besides make money. I chose that instead of following my orginal career dream. My mom told me to not chose a job because of money but because I loved doing it. Ignoring her, I worked for a retailer and then a cable company. HATED IT! I knew I wasn't happy and decided to do what I loved and that was report the news. It took me about a year and a half after I set the goal to achieve it. But thanks to the help of short term goals, it worked out. And I became a news producer! Same thing can apply to all aspects of life. Just know what you want or where you want to be in life. (this takes prayer/medidation/focus/courage)

4)Don't let anything distract you. Sure, life happens. The unexpected suddenly slaps you in the face. Don't let if get you down. Even if you need to postpone or push some things back...don't let it stop you from achieving what you said you were going to do. When I was trying to get into my career, I was working a full-time job, part-time job, and interning at a television station while auditing a journalism class. And then there was a boyfriend in my life. We'd been dating for four years. He felt neglected and didn't really understand why I suddenly had less time for him. He broke it off with me and I was devastated. But I didn't stop working on my goal! Three months later, I became a news producer. Two and a half years later, I moved to California and now I am a successful, emmy-nominated producer!

5) Once you achieve a goal...set new ones! Complacency is NOT a good look on ANYONE. Even if it's a personal goal like "I'm going to pamper myself once a month" or "I'm going to be a manager in my company in the next five years" you should always strive for something.

Here are some other things that help me: 

*Always network with your teachers, professors, co-workers, employers, etc. Anyone in the field you are/want to be in. They could be your boss one day!

*Never burn bridges. It's hard. SO hard. But even if a professor was downright nasty to you the entire time you took his/her class, never reciprocate it. It's a life lesson that 
will carry on. You'll have opportunities to burn bridges by quitting an employer on the spot, screaming at a co-worker. But you never know what/who can come back to bite you.

*Never forget who helped you. If someone helped motivated you or simply made a phone call that lead to a job interview, always thank them and never forget them. 

*Pay it forward. If someone helped you, help someone else. Plain and simple.

So ladies: plan to achieve the OBTAINABLE. Reach higher than you think you can (but at a realistic height). Distractions happen but YOU would be to blame for letting them affect your outlook on life. And never stop setting goals. They set you up for success...no matter what age! 

Guest Blogger: Akemi Harrison
Follow her: Akemi Harrison (@kemico) on Twitter

Sign up for Twitter to follow Akemi Harrison (@kemico). Producer at KXTV. Lover of breaking news, good music, pretty purses and shoes. Oh, and I like to laugh... a lot!

Thanking God and The Importance of Devotion

Thanking God and The Importance of Devotion

A Simple Guide to Creating a Monthly Budget

Check our another cool informative article from Queen Prep!!!
Click on the title link below to view!


A Simple Guide to Creating a Monthly Budget

Being a Good Steward!!!

Money this. Finances that. Good credit, slow credit, bad credit, no credit.  Budget now.  Blow it all. 401K. IRA.  Surely you’ve heard at least one of these. 

Good stewardship is the fundamental financial principle.  If you commit to a few simple practices, you’ll secure a healthy financial future.

Here’s the foundation:

Pay God first.  Pay yourself next.  Pay your bills on or before the due date.  Watch things fall into place.

Tithing is at the forefront of stewardship.  See it as trusting God with the resources that He’s kindly provided you.  In the end, you will realize that He can accomplish more with your remaining 90% than you can with your 100 percent.  Try the NIV Stewardship Study Bible for extra help.

Saving is the core of budgeting and self-discipline.  Living within or below your means is beyond attractive, sexy, and fancy.  New dresses, shoes, cars, jewelry, and furniture will be produced every minute, hour, day, week, month, and year.  Most places you’d like to visit are not moving any time soon. We’re all human and we get tempted.  I know how difficult it can be to stick with a budget, but it’s becoming easier and easier with resources provided by many banks.  My personal favorite is www.learnvest.com!

Most people want a cookie for paying their bills on time.  Realistically speaking, your credit score is that cookie.  We could even call it a fortune cookie.  Bad credit can easily defer a cash dependent dream. Unfortunately, people actually judge you by this system.  Employers check it. Banks check it. Apartments check it.  Cell phone companies check it. Department stores check it.  Insurance companies check it.  If you have established a credit history, you should definitely check it—for free of course. Point is, in many instances, people see your credit score before they see you.   Don’t dismiss this; your credit is not limited to actual credit card accounts. 

Since we’re on the subject of credit cards, they are the devil.  Maybe devil is a little strong.  Credit card lenders are predators.  If you determine that you must have a credit card for EMERGENCY purposes, make sure that the limit is an amount that you can comfortably pay back within one month’s time.  This means no minimum or monthly payments spread out over long periods of time accumulating interest and making an item or service extremely higher than it was initially. Pay that bill off each month in full!  I suggest using the money within your checking account as often as possible.  If you don’t have the cash, don’t make the purchase.

The entertainment industry along with the rest of the world sells multiple illusions that you can’t afford to buy.  Tithe. Save. Give. Spend responsibly.

Guest Blogger: Staarland Thompson

Follow her on Twitter: @Staarland