I’m so very excited to announce Freely Fatima Designs. Freely Fatima Designs was inspired by my passion to help people announce life’s special moments. My goal is to provide you with personalized invitation design. I am also on ETSY! Like my FB page and Favorite me on Etsy. Are you looking for custom invitations? Contact me today!
5 Easy Tips for a Stress Free Thanksgiving
Hey my lovely readers. It has been FOREVER since I have written a post. That’s because all of my writing efforts have been towards completing my graduate degree (two more semesters, woo hoo!!). I am so happy to see that you all are still reading and hanging on with me. It really really means a lot.
Well, believe it or not, Thanksgiving is coming, (YES!) and many of you like me, are preparing their houses for friends and family to come over and eat what I know will be delicious food, good football, and the best post-thanksgiving nap ever.
For me, this is the first year that I am hosting thanksgiving and it’s got me a little nervous. I want to share with you five tips that are keeping me on track, so that I am not feeling like a crazy woman. Continue reading
If you can’t stop thinking about it…
So, first of all, HAPPY JULY! I’m so excited for this month. Awesome things are happening and who doesn’t love summer?! Although, I just wish it would stop raining!
Today marks the day, that I turned freelyfatima.wordpress.com into FreelyFatima.com
My own sanctuary. A place that I can call my own. I was so excited when I launched this blog, I had all of these ‘brilliant’ ideas, topics, and thoughts. And then, life took a major turn and I stopped writing. There was sickness in my family, and I experienced a very precious loss of my own…not everything was bad. I got a new job, PASSED my social work licensing exam, my husband and I put an offer in our first house(!!! Stay tuned), my hubby has accepted his call to ministry and started grad school, among so many other great things!
Needless to say my life has been a whirlwind this year! Each day that went by, I would feel guilty not only with this venture but other business opportunities that I was pursuing that I am truly passionate about. I would beat myself up, feel guilty about not doing enough..just a lot of negative self talk. BUT! Something in me would keep checking to see if people were still reading my posts..and they were! In fact, my views have been consistent each month since February when I put my last post up.
I got an email from my hosting site like everyday last week saying “renew your domain, it’s going to expire.” I waited until the very last day, and even then this little voice inside said, “Don’t renew it, you haven’t written a blog post in 5 months, stop playing yourself.” But then, I heard a BIGGER voice say, “For I know the plans I have for you…”
This blog and my business venture with one of my best friends was birthed from a vision bigger than my own. I don’t have all the answers, I don’t know what will come of it, but I know that I have just got. to keep. going….! My dreams seem so grandiose sometimes, but I just believe that with God ALL things are possible.
If you can’t stop thinking about it, don’t stop working for it!
So I’m back. Taking it one day at a time. 🙂
On Hiatus…but I’ll be Back!!
It feels good to know that despite having not done a post in weeks, I am still reaching people, and readers are still looking at my posts! I am going to be on hiatus to fine tune my website and work on some material. In the meantime, keep reading my loves. I am so grateful for each of you who continue to support Freely Fatima ❤
My Favorite Things
Happy Holidays!! We are 10 days away from Christmas! (20 days away from my birthday! 🙂 ) Can you believe it? This is my favorite time of the year. It is time to be with family and friends, to give, to share, to love, and to honor the birth of our precious Savior. Generally, during this time of year, I love to give gifts. I love to see people’s smiling faces when they unwrap their presents or the joy they have when trying on the plush new robe that they’ve been eyeing in the store..It just makes my heart happy! I thought I would channel my inner-Oprah and share with you some of my favorite things of 2014. These are great things for yourself or for someone you love ❤
In no particular order…here you go: Freely Fatima’s Favorite Things 2014
30 Days of Gratitude – Day 24 – Life
Today I am grateful for life. Life gets taken for granted each and every day. Not everyone gets the chance to live out their full potential, to see their latter years, to live out their dreams. Today, I am remembering the life of Mike Brown and the lives of many of our young Black men who have paid the ultimate sacrifice of being Black in America. Young men who had bright futures, young men who were not afforded the opportunity to live their lives, young men who did not know the day they woke up they would not return home. In the blink of an eye, your life can be taken in an instant, intentionally or not. It’s important to cherish and value your life, as much as possible, for we just don’t know the day or the hour. I am showing my gratitude..but this is also a sad moment in America.
30 Days of Gratitude – Day 22 – FaceTime!
Today, I am thankful for FaceTime! Yes, FaceTime! I guess in contrast to day 20, when I talked about being unplugged, being connected is not so much of a bad thing either. It’s good to have balance. Today, I was blessed by technology because we were able to include my brother all the way in Miami in the little birthday celebration we had for my dad at my grandmother’s house. He was soo happy to see his family and so was I! It was great. My grandmother who doesn’t even have internet at her house was able to see her grandson, we were able to laugh and joke, it was like he was right there in the room with us. We sang happy birthday and everything. It seems like technology can either bring us closer together or push us further apart, but I’m grateful that it gave us the chance to be together as a family ❤
What are you grateful for today?
30 Days of Gratitude – Day 21 – Friendship
Today I am grateful for friendship. It seems like the older I get the less friends I have. People are not always meant to be in your life forever, sometimes they are just meant for a reason or a season. Either way, I have learned that quality is much better than quantity. I’m grateful for those women and men who have seen me at my best and at my worst. The ones who stuck by me regardless of the situation, the ones who celebrated with me and cried with me. To me, friendship is an extension of my family and I am so grateful for them. I may not always reach out to my friends as much as I would like, but I would never want them to think that I am not grateful for them. It seems like no matter how long we haven’t seen each other or talked, we catch up right where we left off. To each of my friends near and far, I love you all and I am so so grateful for you ❤
What are you grateful for today?
30 Days of Gratitude – Day 20 – Sister
I have not blogged in 7 days! Why? I thought I would have access to internet on my cruise, but I was sadly mistaken. I was completely unplugged…which was actually quite liberating. I am grateful for my time off. I went to the Bahamas with my sister in law, niece, and 97 other women. It was such a blessing and such fun. What I loved most about this trip was the time I spent with my sister. I did not grow up with sisters, but I have been blessed with women in my life who have acted as such..women who have been there for me, been a shoulder to cry on, to encourage me, laugh with me…well my sister in law has been all of that and more
.
I’m so so grateful for her. More than words can say. We have only been sisters for about a year and a half but yet it feels like we have known each other for a lifetime…I mean we were finishing each other’s sentences! lol She is an awesome mom, wife, and a beautiful example of what it means to be a lady and a woman of God. I just constantly thank God for bringing us together through our husbands (our husbands are brothers!) xoxo
(My niece, me, sister)
What are you grateful for? ❤ Share with me
30 Days of Gratitude – Day 14 – Vacation!
Today, I am super super grateful for vacation!! As you read this I will be sailing away to the beautiful Bahamas. This vacation is time for me to enjoy special moments with my sister-in-law sister-in-love(!) and my sweet niece. Vacation is so rejuvenating and refreshing! I’m so grateful to have time to relax and refresh my brain! Whatever type of work you do at home or out of the home, you always need a break! Vacation gives you just that 🙂
What are you grateful for today?
freelyfatima.wordpress.com 