OUCH!!! #1

I will admit I stalled on this one guys... I held on to my voucher from Life Booker long enough so my girlfriend Kenya and I booked our appointments and headed to the Beauty & Youth spa on West 8th street to get our Brazilian wax... Obviously I could not film the process and I only took one picture upon entering the room. The pain came so fast followed by a few "HOLD UP NOW MISS" that upon exiting it was all a blur, the ladies at the spa were really kind, they even gave me a glass of wine to celebrate my accomplishment... Needless to say they'll see me in 3 weeks for another... YIKES...

WATER FRONT PILATES...

When I received a text from my girlfriend Kenya that read "PILATES anyone???" I was prepared to decline after spending my day with 4 of my god children I was beat, but then I looked down at my tummy, picked up my cell and replied "I'M IN"... I am truly happy that I did decide to go, the cool breeze of the water front with the view of the city was EVERYTHING that I needed... The workout was pretty intense kudos to the fitness Guru... There are only two classes left of FREE PILATES ON THE WATER FRONT, so I invite you all to join us for the next two Tuesdays all you need is a piece of identification, arrive at 6:30 to register and they will do the rest...

Leah Janell

Its Crunch Time #6, #12 & #21

Last night my sister Shyah, our girlfriend Patricia and myself took to downtown Brooklyn to get a few things accomplished. My original intent was to hit up a Monday night Karaoke spot PERKS NYC to accomplish one of my thirty before 30 deeds, we arrived at 8pm sharp and I was game to hit the stage until I was informed that Karaoke didn't start until 9:30... So we decided to grab a drink, we went up one block to Chance on Smith street and after debating on whether we should go in or not because of the big GRADE PENDING rating in the window we said "whatever lets do it"... After our first round of drinks we were pretty sure that there was something else on the list that could be accomplished and surely it was... We scanned the room and found a gentlemen at the bar and well I Kissed Him...  

I mean ya'll didn't actually expect me to give a stranger in a bar an open mouth kiss on the lips now did you. Well if you did "GIRL BYE" not happening, at any rate #6 on my list is accomplished... While exiting the bar Shyah suggested that I complete #12 on my list and I did just that... 

Yeah so apparently I'm about that plank life... And I'll tell you this, it almost cost me my freedom when the police rolled up, good thing they were laughing... On our way back to the car at 10pm we passed by PERKS where I performed a horrible performance of INDEPENDENT WOMEN (Patricia's Request) unfortunately the footage is pitch black (thanks Shyah) and I look so fat in the pic that was taken but there is only one way to prove it soooooooooooooooooooooooo consider #21 accomplished...

Leah Janell

Thirty Chic...

Most females dread the big 3-0, so I have complied a list of things that make turning 30 "CHIC"... Number one on my list is cooking... Find a new recipe, whether it be grandma's, something off of recipe.com or even one of your girlfriends recipes and get yourself in the kitchen. Daddy has always said "the way to a mans heart is through his stomach" so with that said cook up a meal for one of your male friends you never know he could be "THE ONE"... This past weekend I made a pasta & seafood salad for me family's cookout, I got this recipe from my girlfriend Taiba who is from Philadelphia lets just say this girl gets down in the kitchen... At any rate the salad came out amazing, the family enjoyed it and I think its worthy of passing on...

Ingredients

Rotini Noodles

Cherry Tomatoes

Fresh Brocolli

Cucumbers

Crab Meat

Baby Shrimp

Italian Dressing

Salad Supreme Season

Chop all of your veggies...

 

Chop the crab meat

Boil the Noodles

Season and Shimmer Shrimp

Mix everything in with the noodles and be sure to...

Add Seasons & Dressing

Final Results

If you ever try this at home be sure to let me know how it turns out!!!

L. Janell

From Blogger to Blogger...

One of my readers introduced me to her blog, I read her words and felt her emotion as tears came to my eyes I wanted others to feel the emotion that I felt while reading I encourage you all to read her blog...


CHECK IT OUT
Journasri-yesisaidit.blogspot.com

L. Janell

Ask Leah...

After I informed you all of my success with #13 "Make Amends With a Lost Friend" one of my readers left me a comment (greatly appreciated) within that comment she stated... Everyone that knows me know that I can be very stubborn and I agree I can be......sometimes. I think it's time for me to be the bigger person and make amends as well. Leah do you have any advice on how I should go about it?

I want to start off by saying when making a decision to bring a person back into your life you need to weigh your options, figure out why you had a falling out with this person. Ask yourself have you ever dealt with any betrayal from this individual or heartache and pain. If so ask yourself are you prepared to go through that again. I say that because while you may have grown from the experience your former friend may have not. With my situation my friend and I let a small debate turn personal, words were exchanged during the heat of the moment, I said some things he said some things but his words weren't enough for me to walk away from a 13 year friendship.

Once you are 110% sure that  this individual deserves a space in your life, I say jump right out the window. If this is a TRUE friend, don't guard yourself show your heart, show your vulnerability, show that you care. I used an open forum TWITTER not caring who knew or who questioned how I felt. expressing "I MISS YOU" I mentioned his sister and his nephew because I had reached out to them on his birthday to make sure that he recived my wishes so I wanted to remind him of the effort I had put out"

At the end of the day Life is short, too short to lose REAL friends and too short to keep FAKE ones around,  we all have to be able to judge someones character before making a decision on whether a person deserves to be in our lives it will eliminate having to put them out of your life later...

I hope I was able to help you on your journey lady, make the best decision for yourself... PEACE

L. Janell 

#2 Eat Oysters

Samantha & I took to Blue Ribbon on 5th Avenue in Brooklyn for me to experience "OYSTERS"... I was totally gamed to try these Oysters because Blue Ribbon is one of my favorite Restaurants and while depression set in because I wasn't having the "Whole Fish" the Oysters were an amazing start... #2 on the thirty before 30 list accomplished Oysters are a new fav. Watch the clip for my first reaction to eating oysters...

L. Janell

COMMENTS

Hey guys a few of you mentioned that you were having a difficult time leaving a comment on some or all of my post so I took the liberty of changing that up a bit, you all should have no problem leaving comments now... Thanks for the support...
L. Janell

You Ready BEY...

This past Tuesday night I Had the pleasure of attending the Beyonce concert at the Roseland Ballroom in NYC. This was one of four shows for Beyonce's latest album "4"... As I heard about the event I wanted to attend but I couldn't imagine spending money on ticket for a STANDING ROOM venue... When I found out that my parents took the liberty of purchasing tickets for my sister and I, I must say I was elated.... My girlfriend Patricia and I arrived at the venue only to find a line that went all the way around the block and knowing we couldn't stand outside on that line we found ourselves among the first group of fans to get in. I must say my parents out did themselves with the ticket purchase because to find out that we were not ground level but yet on the VIP side stage made a world of difference... Watching Beyonce perform was literally amazing to me, my favorite songs performed were CRAZY IN LOVE, I CARE & COUNTDOWN. I included a few pictures for those of you that have not been or will not be able to attend the show... PEACE

L. Janell

#18. Conquer a Fear

I set out to have a relaxing night over at sam's place, we agreed to drink wine and watch Tia & Tamera's new show all was going as planned until Samantha decided that it was time for me to do something on my thirty before 30 list "Conquer a Fear"... Anyone who knows me knows that I don't smoke and I never have so striking a match is something that I have never done. More importantly striking a match has been something that I have always been afraid to do. I know this may seem minor to most but for me having my fingers catch on fire is the only thought I have when it comes to striking a match... Well the footage is below lets see if I was able to conquer this fear...

Breakfast at Tiffanys...

The Cool Kids and I took to Brooklyn Bridge Park in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn last week Thursday, to catch there weekly MOVIE IN THE PARK... We packed our blankets, ordered pizza, purchased wine and we were all set until we arrived at the ever so crowded location. It was pretty difficult finding a seat but after climbing the fence we made it work... We enjoyed the night air, the beautiful view of the city and the little bit we were able to see of the film, we shared endless laughs all in all it was a perfect night. I would like to invite you all to come out this Thursday where they will be showing CROOKLYN! I hope to see plenty of beautiful brown faces filling up the grass in Brooklyn Bridge Park...

THE DEETS
Bring a blanket
Wine is fine just not in a glass bottle
Bring something to eat
The movie begins at sun down
Arrive early to get a good seat
Spike Lee will be present

#13. Make Amends with a lost friend...

I must admit I am moving very slow at completing my thirty before 30 list, but I assure you all that I will complete each and everything on this list if its the last thing that I'll do :) So with that said #13 on my list is the first thing that I have accomplished "Make amends with a lost friend".... Back in December myself and one of my good friends shared a few choice words with each other, those words led to us not speaking for months. Its sad because at the time I was completely done I deleted all of his contact info, blocked him on all social networks I planned on erasing this individual from my life. Unfortunately in April of this year an untimely passing was an eye opener for me and I knew then that I had to rebuild what was broken. After a few months on contemplating I took to twitter sending a simple message "I miss you Mr. but I'm sure your sister and your nephew already told you" Needless to say : ) he replied and we are well on our way to rebuilding our friendship!!!

Just call me Alexander...

For those of you that follow me on twitter or have my bbm contact you already know that this past weekend was not the best for me. To express my feelings I told the world to call me Alexander in reference to one of my favorite childhood books "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" by Judith Viorst... Alexanders Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day started with a simple toe stub when he got out of bed which sent his day in a downward spiral, my weekend was no different. So today's post is to encourage you all not to allow one thing to stop your hustle, your flow, your grind whatever it is that you do continue to do it. STRIVE

30 BEFORE 30

I reached out to my girls Samantha & Kenya to help me brainstorm on the 30 things that I have yet to experience. I have decided to give myself thirty days to accomplish everything on this list. This is what we came up with...

1. Brazilian Wax
2. Eat Oysters
3. Flying Trapeze
4. A day of being SELFISH
5. Call a guy I'm attracted too and ask him on a date
6. Kiss a stranger in a bar
7. A day of mediation
8. Volunteer at a Senior home/ shelter/ animal shelter
9. Have Dinner at a Restaurant alone
10. Splurge on the one item I want
11. Babysit all of the God kids at once
12. Plank
13. Make Amends with a lost friend
14. Rekindle an old flame
15. Start an investment account
16. Test drive a luxury car
17. Date a different dude every night for one week
18. Conquer a fear
19. Skinny Dipping
20. Full day of pampering myself
21. Karaoke
22. Visit a gun range
23. Crash a party
24. Get arrested
25. Topless on the beach
26. Smoke a cigar
27. Kayaking
28. Learn a full Nicki Minaj verse
29.???????????????
30.???????????????

I have decided to get my audience involved, help me come up with two more things to accomplish before 30!

The New Chapter...

Well... Its been a while, some of you have sent emails, DM'd me on twitter and others have just said it straight up "GET BACK TO BLOGGING" sssooooooooo with that said "I'M BACK" and with a whole new twist. As much as I dread saying this the BIG BIRTHDAY is approaching and fast, so I am inviting you all on a thirty day journey "before 30". Where I aim to lose 30lbs (30lbs?!? that's a reach!), where I accomplish my 30 somethings, where I embrace whats "30 chic", where I introduce you all to the new ME... The New Chapter, 30 Somethings.... Leeegggggooooo...