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I went to NOLA about two weeks ago and the food did not disappoint. Be sure to check out all of these places if you ever find yourself in the Bayou.
***WARNING pictures may cause increased hunger and an intense desire to fly to New Orleans.
I wanted to try something different for dinner so I hopped on Pinterest for some inspiration and stumbled upon egg rolls. It’s also an added bonus that trying some new recipes off of Pinterest is on my Summer Bucket List. Take a break from the traditional egg roll that you’d get from a Chinese restaurant and replace it with delicious steak, cheese, onions, mushrooms, bell peppers, and for a kick of spice, jalapenos!
I only slightly followed the recipe that I found. After you get the basics of the recipe and instructions have fun with it and add what you like in whatever quantity you like. But just for a general frame of reference….
By now, we are all familiar with the infamous James Baldwin quote about being Black in America. If not, Exhibit A.
And Exhibit B
Being Black in America is hard. That is an undisputed fact. It has only gotten worse in the age of social media because now, we get to see the BS in real time.
Over the weekend, the Klan thought it was okay to step out without their pillowcases and sheets. The Lord knew it was imperative to my mental health to take a social media break that day because when I did check back in it was like…
https://tenor.com/view/community-donald-glover-troy-barnes-shocked-surprised-gif-4747757
I don’t have time to get into all the BS that transpired because I’m exhausted.
Every day, we are bombarded with videos of police brutality or some white person physically or verbally assault our brothers and sisters. Or we hear the Celebrity in Chief say and/or do something ignorant and offensive. Not to mention the constant threat of nuclear war because Agent Orange can’t keep his mouth shut! It’s exhausting!
Watching these videos and trying to keep up with this endless news cycle can wear on your mental stability. Just look! Even PBS wrote about the PTSD like trauma Black people experience by watching stuff like all the time. And if PBS wrote about it, it’s true!
And not to mention the cycle of wondering whether the cop is going to pay for his or her actions, knowing the end result. You know they say the true indicator of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting a different outcome.
That’s why sometimes, I need to call in Black. I don’t know about you all but I am the only Black person in my office. On top of suffering PTSD like trauma from viewing the videos, I have to go in to work and pretend like I’m fine in a sea of YT people. My coworkers aren’t racist at all but they are stuck in their own worlds, which I wouldn’t expect anything else. It doesn’t really affect them. And even with all the rage I might feel toward YT people after these events, I don’t put that anger on them because I know they haven’t done anything wrong.
It’s just not a great feeling to have to go to work and pretend like everything is fine. For example, when Philando and Alton were killed just days apart and the entire world had to watch their deaths on Facebook, it felt like my heart had been ripped from my chest. I went to work the next day feeling empty. I knew that my physical demeanor and attitude were visibly noticeable but did anyone ask me if I was okay? When they turned on the news in the morning, did they even see a story about it? If they did, did they even care? All these thoughts ran through my head as I tried to process my emotions all alone. Ya know? Having at least one person connect with me or understand what I was going through would have made the day a lot easier.
For Black people, these videos are a harsh reminder that we could be the next hashtag. While we try to mourn the death of our distant brother or sister, we are also faced with our own mortality. That’s a tough thing to do while punching the clock. We need mental health breaks. If not for an entire day, maybe just a half day or something.
Calling in Black is essential. Just as important as calling off if I have the flu. I not that much fun to be around when I have virus or when I’m angry about all the injustices and prejudice again my people. Just like I need time to heal and recover from a cold, I need time to heal and recover from the mental destruction this country causes me.
This blog was inspired by one of my favorite YouTubers, Evelyn From the Internets. Check out her reasons for calling in black below.
The Nomadic Blogger is The Blog About Nothing. Created on the idea of networking and promotion through sisterhood, The Nomadic Blogger makes her home on the platforms of other established bloggers. Through guest blogging, The Nomadic Blogger hopes to spread her world views and messages while bringing attention to her #SisterBloggers. Follow #TheNomadicBlogger’s journey on Facebook and Instagram.
This past Wednesday, some of Detroit’s brightest upcoming bloggers met up at Our/Detroit Micro Vodka Distillery to network and exchange ideas. Continue reading “Detroit Blogger Networking Event”
#GoSomePlaceNow is back at it again, planning an epic trip to, drumroll please….
Meet travel extraordinaire Brittany Floyd aka Britta!
She is a flight attendant and the owner of GoSomePlaceNow.
GoSomePlaceNow is a website aimed at first-time and seasoned travelers offering a host of tips on places to go, things to do, and useful information to make a trip memorable. I got the opportunity to pick Brittas brain about her travel adventures, check out my interview below.
I am so jealous of people that get to grow up in the UK!
Once you get into Europe traveling to other countries is dirt cheap. Since we were going to be in Spain so long we took the opportunity to go explore Paris on a day trip. The trip was not without its snags but Ill be going into that in a later blog post. For now just enjoy the pictures =)
Stopped at a cute cafe to eat.
I bought a Canon T5I and have since fallen in love with being behind the camera. Here are my favorite moments from Barcelona with the #GoSomePlaceNow crew.
Because the hostel was lit.
Love birds Kat & Derrick during the walking tour.
Good vibes all throughout the trip. 
Listening attentively to the tour guide. 
Selfie time
The official photographer in action 
Aisha gracing Barcelona with all her black girl magic. 
Love was in the air
Because I was secretly obsessed with her hair. Curls was poppin 
Off guard moment 
Selfie time again! 
Swag
Kat
Sister sister. 
Us: “Hey yall thats a good picture, dont move, act natural”! – lol
“Yall Serious?” 
Their “natural” attempt 
hair off guard 
Justine said it was Selfie time 
Barcelona with a side of burnt a$s from the sidewalk- lol 
Weird stairwell shot.
Dj being educated by the local Barcelona wine-o
He had a lot of wisdom to give 
Big Cash daddy Lewie 
Us: Do another pose
Lewis: 
(Dj Khalid Voice) & Another one lol 
Him” I wanna take a picture down here” 
“wait whats over here?” 
“Naw nevermind” -lol 
The beach was beautiful
There were protests going on while we were there. 
Paella Cooking class 
Cleaning Squid 
Then of course Derrick is in the back challenging the sangria guy to a chug off- lol 
Somehow found ourselves outside while we were supposed to be learning to cook.
Two Greyhounds- beautiful dogs 
When Dominicans link up in Spain. The love was so real. 
Ashlynn asking about spices and salt pulling water out of vegetables to maximize flavor. 
The group was full of laughs. 
Derrick made sure the veggie paella was swagtastic 
Throw the rice in the pot like:
He said meh Imma just dump mine in lol 
Barcelona Bike Riding
Barcelona at the Beach 
The three amigos- Cousins 
Kev our new UK friend. He Was lit the entire time.
Kev photobombing Jeanette
Photocred: Kev 
$5 Euro for beach massages. 
Dranks
Partied to the crack of dawn almost every day!
And you obviously go to Spain for the scenery. Part of the scenery is scantily dressed Europeans lol
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I just got back from Barcelona and the trip was nothing short of AMAZING.
It was our first time in Europe and we decided to go along with a travel group #GoSomePlaceNow. We honestly didn’t have the courage to go on a trip of this magnitude alone, being such inexperienced travelers and all. The group did not disappoint!
Say hello to Britta- travel extraordinaire who owns GoSomePlaceNow and planned our entire trip for us.
Her bio reads: “As a flight attendant and avid traveler, I’ve been to numerous countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, the Americas, and the South Pacific with a total a little over thirty. For the last 10 years travel has been my love, my hobby, and my lifestyle. Honestly, I just want to help the people in my life see how easy it is to make traveling a reality and teach them how to get the most out of the experience”.
What I really enjoyed about traveling with #GoSomePlaceNow is that Britta created our whole itinerary. We were free of course to pop in and out of it as we saw fit but we attended most of the events with the group that we were available for (got in later than everyone so we slept in the next day, went to Paris the Friday of the trip, etc).
I tried patatas bravas for the first time and they were AMAZING!
Barcelona gang at UltraMarinos enjoying tapas and drinks.
Fresh seafood
Fresh meat 
Spices
Cooked snacks 
Fresh squeezed juice 
Fresh fruit
We missed Friday because we took a day trip over to Paris. But they looked BOMB
Boat Party
The calm before the turn up…
Chug, chug, chug!!
Chug, chug, chug!!
& Again! Chug, chug, chug!!
Calamari 
Mussels 
The end result:
On our last day we decided to do our own thing with some other people from the group and went bike riding to the beach.
Hope to see you there!
Id love to hear from you!
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Facebook: Cherise Floyd
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“Suffering is not caused by pain but by resisting pain.” ~Unknown
We hate it, these are ugly words in our society. One of humans first basic instincts is to avoid being hurt, and since we all would like to avoid the breaking or losing of limbs on a daily basis it’s definitely safe to say avoiding pain, for the most part, is crucial for our survival.
I gratefully have never broken any bones. I have been in some pretty bad car accidents and got banged up a little but that’s about it. On the other hand, I could fill rivers with the tears I’ve cried over getting my heart broken,
losing friends and loved ones,
being uber disappointed when something I REALLY wanted didn’t work out.
Pain, grief, sadness, are as a part of life and the overall life experience as much as the things that bring us joy. I remember when my sister died I just wanted to “get her funeral over with” to get out of that awkward uncomfortableness that comes when someone really close to you dies.
Each us will someday face the experience of unavoidable emotional, mental, or physical pain. Whether mild or excruciating, how we approach our physical suffering can change how we approach any discomfort in our lives.- Sarah Needles
When you’re happy you dont stop and say let me quickly end this moment. You savor it for as long as you can. You dont have to savor negative emotions or pain but you do have to let your negative emotions run their course as well.
When we fight the pain: judge it, try to push it away, avoid it, ignore it, it actually triggers other painful emotions, resulting in more emotional pain.” We also never learn healthy ways to cope. – Sheri Van Dijk, MSW
Sitting with our emotions simply means allowing them, resisting the urge to get rid of the pain and not judging ourselves for having these emotions.
1. Observe your emotions.
Sit with your emotions by noting what you’re experiencing without judging yourself.
2. Validate your emotions.
Validating your emotions means accepting them. If you just lost someone or broke up with a boyfriend you have every reason to feel sad or be emotional.
3. Focus on the present.
It’s also helpful to focus our attention on now and not wallowing in the experience. This prolongs the pain.
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Facebook: LifeRiiImagined
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