About Shanice

January 11, 2012 by Shanice · 4 Comments

This is not one of those obsessive posts that will consist of me proclaiming and doting over how wonderful, magnificent, epic, beautiful, amazing, sweet, terrific, outstanding, smashing, astonishing, and extraordinary Beyonce and Jay-Z’s marriage and new baby are. Also, this will not be one of those posts where I will be bashing Beyonce for “faking a pregnancy” or arguing that her and Jay-Z are affiliated with the Illuminati (a cult) with supporting evidence from a trillion different internet sources that are about as credible as the National Inquirer. This is, however, a post where I will express how disgusted I am with how society has glorified and idolized these two individuals.

When I heard Beyonce had her baby, I navigated to my Black gossip site of choice to read the article about it because I was curious and casually interested in things like, what she named the baby, what security was implemented, etc. I did not, however, take to Twitter to express my undying love and passion for “Princess Blue”, “Baby Carter”, or cosign with the rumors that the baby’s name has something to do with the Illuminati. I love Beyonce’s music as much as the next girl who is in her early 20s. But, the world’s obsession with Beyonce, her marriage, Jay-Z, and their baby is nothing short of sickening.

On one side, we have the Beyonce and Jay-Z Enthusiasts. You may have seen them on Facebook and Twitter. These are the people who participated in trending topics where they picked out names for Beyonce’s child like Beyonce was specifically seeking their personal input on what to name her baby. These are the same people who will get heated and defend Beyonce like she put their children through college (or put them through college), is paying their light bill, or any of their bills for that matter. These are the same people calling Beyonce and Jay-Z’s daughter “Princess Blue” or talking about this baby, whom they probably haven’t even seen a picture of, like she is their personal savior.

On the other side, you will find the people who hate Beyonce no matter what she does. These are the people on gossip sites that ranted about Beyonce not slowing down her career to have a child. These are the same people who continued to bash her relentlessly after she finally got pregnant. These are the people who claimed that Beyonce faked her pregnancy. These are the same people who claim to be so tired of Beyonce and call her an attention whore, yet they know her every move including, how many times a day she uses the bathroom, what time she got up this morning, how many stretch marks she has, what kind of weave she wears, etc. [Read more...]

Filed Under: opinionated, Pop Culture ·

January 5, 2012 by Shanice · 4 Comments

Since I didn’t do the standard 2011 reflection blog post, I decided to do a 2011 meme. I am a little late with this considering we are five days into the new year, but let’s carry on any way. I grabbed this from Jenn.nu.

1.What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?
I got engaged. Visted New Orleans, New York City, and New England for the first time.

2.Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don’t even remember what my 2011 New Year’s Resolutions were or I even had any. So I guess we can call this one a “no”.

3.Did anyone close to you give birth?
Nope.

4.Did anyone close to you die?
Thank God, no.

5.What countries did you visit?
None. Unfortunately.

6.What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
More discipline and motivation. My last year in undergrad was spent fighting with myself to do work.

7.What date from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
February 19, 2011 – the day Chris and me went on our first date.

8.What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Graduating with honors from college.

9.What was your biggest failure?
Being undecided on a career and/or being undecided about the next step for my career.

10.Did you suffer illness or injury?
No, other than a few colds here and there.

11.What was the best thing you bought?
My Macbook Pro.

12.Whose behavior merited celebration?
My fiance, Chris. He made it through 10 of my periods, 2 exam week breakdowns, and my pageant week meltdown like a champ.

13.Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Someone in my family, but I won’t get specific.

14.Where did most of your money go?

Bills, bills, bills.

15.What events did you get really, really, really excited about?
The second pageant I competed in, which I was first runner up.

16.What song will always remind you of 2011?
Beyonce – Best Thing I Never Had

17.Compared to this time last year, are you:
i.happier or sadder? Definitely happier.
ii.thinner or fatter? Maybe like 3-5lbs. fatter? My hips seem a little bigger.
iii.richer or poorer? Richer or about the same.

18.What do you wish you’d done more of?
Let’s keep this rated G.

19.What do you wish you’d done less of?
Looking at the glass half empty and stressing about petty things.

20.How will you be spending Christmas?
Well, I SPENT Christmas with family.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Misc ·

January 4, 2012 by Shanice · 4 Comments

…just so I can get the Mary Kay Skin car e products for myself! I was blessed with pretty low maintenance skin. As long as I keep it hydrated, it stays relatively clear. I just follow a few simple rules, including, keeping harsh body soap as far away from my face as possible. As picky as I am about NEVER using hand soap or bar soap on my face, I am still the girl who will gladly use the $5 facial cleanser from Wal-Mart. I am also the girl who is content with the cheap Pond’s facial moisturizer. I am the girl who skips the special makeup remover or astringent all together. So the thought of me dropping $55 on a skin care kit is painful to say the least.

But something happened to me one day in late December that lessened the trauma that would usually come along with the thought of buying expensive skin care products. I tried Mary Kay’s TimeWise line. I didn’t just try a sample at a Mary Kay consultant’s “free makeover” party. My sister gave me 3 full-sized products after she had a change of heart about starting her own Mary Kay career. She gave me the Mary Kay Timewise 3-in-1 cleanser, Mary Kay TimeWise Moisturizer, and this eye makeup remover. I didn’t know how I felt about using anti-aging products at 22, but one thing is for sure, my skin felt very different after using this system one time.

My skin is extremely dry during the winter months. I mean, my-face-will-look-gray-if-I-am-not-careful kind of dry skin. The cheaper skincare products are fine for me in the summer, but wintertime is a whole different animal. The Mary Kay products seriously made my skin feel and look smoother right after I used it. I am seriously considering a Mary Kay career just so I can get my hands on these products without having to dish out a lot of my own money for them! That’s my frugal and business mind at work again.

Don’t get me wrong though. Even though I am very budget conscious, I will buy more expensive products if the quality is worth it. For instance, I have been hooked on MAC Studio Tech foundation since I first used it for a pageant in 2010. It’s about $30 per compact, but I pay for it because it’s worth every penny! I am just an advocate for being budget conscious and not continuously spending an outrageous amount of money on clothes, beauty products, or accessories of any kind. I know to some people $30 foundation isn’t expensive. But to put things in perspective, one of my recent shopping trips at Forever21 resulted in 2 headbands, a shirt, a tank top, and a pair of earrings for $27. So yea, I can do a lot with $30. I am just a believer that you can be fabulous on any budget. Do you use an expensive skin care system? Or do you prefer cheaper products like Clearasil and Clean and Clear?

This is NOT a sponsored post. I, nor, essjaee.com are not affliated with Mary Kay.

Filed Under: Beauty · Tagged With: skincare

December 31, 2011 by Shanice · 4 Comments

Marriage has declined for many reasons– rising levels of education for women, the demise of the shotgun wedding, better contraception, living together has become more acceptable, and divorce has made this generation more skittish. ― Barbara Ray via Psychology Today

Is marriage just a piece of paper now? I certainly don’t think so. I think a lot of people who ~~think~~ argue that marriage is indeed “just a piece of paper” are battling commitment issues, so they try to make marriage seem less important and seem like less of a commitment than it is. If marriage isn’t that big of a deal – why avoid it so much? My best friend, Shoneice, and me had a conversation about marriage a few days ago. Our conversation inspired me to write this entry. Shoneice argues that marriage isn’t all that important and a committed relationship can be just as “official” as a marriage. I don’t agree with her at all.

Marriage is a different level of commitment. It’s one thing for a man to tell me he loves me, will never leave me, and will be faithful. It’s another thing for a man to take vows and sign a marriage license (a legally binding contract).

I watch the show Love and Hip Hop (please don’t judge me), and it was painful to see Chrissy propose to her boyfriend of 7 years, Jim Jones, and then he still not take that next step and agree to marry her. Chrissy’s situation is just like so many other women’s struggles that I have heard about or seen. It’s sad to see women who desperately want to get married, but their boyfriends will not marry them. Some women have to all but lie, connive, and manipulate to get a ring! I have even heard of cases where women have had to give men ultimatums to get them to the altar. Maybe it’s just me, but I wouldn’t want to be in a marriage I had to force the other person to enter into.

I asked Chris (my fiance) why he thinks men like Jim Jones are afraid to get married or genuinely don’t want to get married. Chris’ response was: “Half”. Some people’s fear of marriage kind of made sense to me after Chris said that. It scares some people to have their finances intermingled. It also scares some people to know that if their marriage doesn’t work out, their spouse is probably entitled to half of their money and property. If a relationship doesn’t work out, you can leave and there isn’t much material loss or gain on either end. Marriage changes all of that. That’s just one more reason why marriage is more of a commitment than a long term relationship.

If someone doesn’t want to get married that’s his or her choice. People are certainly entitled to their own opinions and decisions. I don’t think a committed long term relationship is anywhere near the same thing as a marriage. But hey, different strokes for different folks. What do you think?

Filed Under: opinionated, Relationships · Tagged With: marriage

December 28, 2011 by Shanice · 6 Comments

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and are having a fabulous and safe holiday season! My Christmas was great and extra special since it was me and Chris’ first Christmas together. It was great spending time with my family too. My parents have a Christmas Eve party every year, and they are always a lot of fun. We have tons of food including green bean casserole and candy apples, which are my holiday favorites. I hope you have a Happy New Year! How was your Christmas? What are your plans for New Years?

Filed Under: Misc ·