Blog Update!!!

Lushes Brown Thoughts will no longer be updated here. I have finally decided to follow my heart and change my Blog name.

All new blog posts will be posted at SoFrolushes.com. I have owned this domain forever and wanted to use it. So to make my life easier Lushes Brown Thoughts and SoFrolushes Hair Chronicles will merge into one blog SoFrolushes. I have moved over all the blog posts to the new blog so everything is all one place. 

My Faithandi blog and That Sweet Sugar Dumpling blogs will remain as they are. 

There are still some technical stuff to fix but I hope you will join me over there as I continue my blogging journey. 

My contacts remain the same for now.

SoFrolushes

My Primark Asda bargains

I am so getting used to combining blogging with vlogging. My blog posts will continue as normal and I will not be all about just posting videos. Been quite busy (who isn't) in the lead up to school. Oldest moves into a new year and my youngest starts school. I just do not get half days for a week etc. But hey. I hope you enjoy my video and please do give me feedback. I intend to change my background as I am not sure if it is quite working for me.

30 Things About Me

I have been wanting to start vlogging for the longest of times. I had been put of my comments friends have made in the past. Though a few a sistren have encouraged me to start. So just to break water I have done a tag video to get an idea of how well or badly I am received on camera. Feel free to leave a comment on here or on Youtube.

SoFrolushes TV

So for years I have wanted to do Vlogs in addition to my normal blogging. I have some great ideas on things to discuss and also simply ranting or sharing a bit more of me. I am on the verge of buying a better entry level video editing software than iMovie and windows movie maker. I have both on different machines. I have been told the current Final Cut Pro is a no no. My favourite choice is to buy Adobe Premiere Elements. I am just unsure if I should buy the 10th edition or wait 1 month or 2 for the 11th edition to service. Also adobe can do great bundles and I have seen the Adobe Photoshop Elements with it as a package deal. I need to decide buy now or wait and pay more for some newness.

I have quite a few devices that can be used for recording video. One is not HD but picture quality is decent enough in the right light. I will do a post soon on the equipment I have currently and what the tech geek in me wishes she had. Saving is so long but you do appreciate the things you end up with in the end. I kind of wish the UK had a lay away system from what I remember in my youth in LA. Pay for it bit by bit by x date and its yours. Which is kind of like a pardna system West Indians use to save from the days when no one would give them a bank account. My West Asian friends tell they too have a similar system but I cannot remember the name.

So I have digressed a little bit. Anyway my Vlog channel is SoFrolushesTV. I decided to make a separate channel because everything in one Goo

gle basket makes me nervous. Now I just need to put up my 1st video. I have some old videos I have made but I will do a fresh one.

If you do vlogs please let me know any tips you can offer.

Jamal Edwards SBTV

Have you heard of SB.TV? Well I am always browsing the pages of Madnews blog and have come across their name a few times. I watched the documentary about them and their I believe website launch a few months ago. It was very interesting to see how everything came together for the young lad and his team. Now Jamal Edwards has been featured in Google current video blog. This infomercial style blog has been featured during prime time TV shows and has been the feature video on YouTube. I  find this refreshing to watch as currently many have slated young people as lazy good for nothings. However through Jamal you see the other side of the spectrum A young lad doing something he enjoys and well on is way to become an entrepreneur like Richard Branson who he has met and has somewhat of a cameo in the below video. I may just take occasional peaks now. Oh and definitely check out their "About us" section you will be amazed to see how far reaching they are interacting with grass roots organisations in the community that hopes to bring about positive change and recognise those who do. His mum Brenda Edwards who was a former X-factor finalist must be so proud of him. Well done Jamal!! 

Their website SB.TV
Their YouTube channel
Jamal was also featured as and up and coming entrepreneur by the Guardian newspaper back in March 2011.

Blogger Template Designer

I have been tinkering with this much loved new feature since it popped up at the beginning of March. However I have had to play around with a few things. I for some strange reason did not realise the importance of resizing YouTube videos for my blog. So a case of trial and error and finally thanks to Google I was able to sort that problem out. I will eventually go through every single post and edit the videos on them. I know some of my gadgets and pictures in the sidebars need re-sizing but that will be done over the coming few days (give me a weak).

So what do you think of the new look. Have I chosen the right colours. My HTML is not as on point as I would like it to be otherwise I would have put some brown and gold swirls throughout. However I think it turned out okay. Please give me some constructive feedback. Any suggestions for what to fill my 2 side columns with please leave a comment.

Stay Blessed!!

My Radio Interview

Oh my days. Who knew that leaving work early would lead me to a radio interview. How ironic that I was on my way to pick up my VistaPrint delivery of my business cards that I missed the day before. Yeah I have business cards now.

So anyway Devon Daley  is one of the main presenters and has been doing this show for years. I bump into him at the sorting office and we get to talking and I mention among other things I have blog I am working on etc. So he asked me if I would come on the show which is the African Caribbean Experience (which is on BBC Radio Derby every Sunday from 7-10pm). I was like um um.

Thankfully I was given 2 days to make up my mind and I went and did the show. I talked about my experiences as a blogger and why I blog. Also discussed the usefulness of blogs. Oh yeah I mentioned  Vex in the City and The Musings of Ondo Lady. I also mentioned my friend Alexander Jackman whose book is out now called “I Am”.

So I do need to work on my elocution a little bit as I cannot pronounce all names good, but I do try. This was a lovely experience and I am thankful for the opportunity to be on the show. You can catch the interview on BBC  I – Player up until the 4th of April 2010. I start speaking at about 1hr 31 mins. I speak for about ten minutes. Tell me what you think? What does my voice sound like? I have not done radio in years but I loved my short time spent there.

You’re Beautiful Woman

I had the pleasure of attending the You're Beautiful Woman event in London on Saturday 15th August 2009. I was invited to attend by the wonderful Ondo Lady. It was such a pleasure to meet one of my blogging buddies in the flesh. She is such a lovely lady.

The event was held at the Highgate Newton Community Centre. I travelled from the East Midlands to London just for the day. Got lost with my friend, though thankfully a nice lady offered to give us a lift and we reached safely. Even better it turned out a handful of my friends were in attendance.

We listened to some inspiring seminars and delighted in the many black business women and men in attendance. Fine hand crafted jewellery, bags, hats and handmade beauty products. Business opportunities and more. The food smelt delicious.

One of the seminars I attended was by Noreen Mak’Osewe called Bag Lady put your S down. She used a bag as a way to describe emotional, mental, financial and spiritual baggage. Key point for me was when she said that a bag only fulfils its purpose when it is in use. If your bag is weighing you down you must think about what it is you have put inside of it.

I will be doing some more posts of some of the stalls and entrepreneurs I had the pleasure to meet. So do look out for those. Also if you did not attend please try and attend next year. You will not be disappointed!!!

100th post !!!

Wow it is amazing to think that now my blog has 100 entries. I really wanted to do something major to celebrate but I could not think of anything to celebrate. However one thing I have noted, is that I started this blog and did not have a clue what I wanted to do with it.

Back in 2004 I began writing this blog. Was inspired by other bloggers from one of my favourite forums to give it a go. I only managed 7 entries from October to the end of the year. The blog was called Through Brown Eyes and the URL was different as was my username. Then 2005 I gave birth and blogged about that and other stuff to. 2006 came and passed this blog by like it just didn't exist except for 1 entry to tell of the change to the blog name.

2007 I began to explore and get a feel for what I wanted to speak about (gave birth for the 2nd time too) and then 2008 was the year I got serious and made the effort. I purchased my blog domain name. So that has been my blog journey.

I thank all of my fellow bloggers who have placed a link on their blog to mine and everyone who has followed me thus far. Not forgetting my currently 9 official followers, though I know I have lurkers and visitors in excess of that. Please leave a comment.

Now I just need to keep going. I do have two other blogs which I have placed a link on this blog too. One is about my natural hair and the other one about faith. Check them out.

P.S. … Any good suggestions on what I should be doing to this blog would be nice.

I am back finally

My work place blocks just about all the sites I like. The internet is such a part of my life that with it gone I had to make due with my mobile web, twitterberry, and the extremely limited web access at work.

I have so much to talk about and hopefully my readers will come back. Right now I am just admiring my new desktop pc, comeplete with company discount. The amount of times I hear the credit crunch means that I must make full use of incentives and discounts at work.

Hopefully I will be able to get to introduce and interview segment on my blog. It will either be monthly or weekly. So look out for that.

Now I just need to update my favourites and get back to what I love best.

If only I could get my speakers to work. Youtube just does not seem the same with no sound. lol

Glad to be back.

Pause - tech

Just letting you guys know that I am still here. I will be back in a few weeks sharing my thoughts and reading the beautiful blogs by you.

My laptop has died it seems. I was browsing then up came that dreaded blue screen of death. Now there is no screen lightening up but the hard drive is running. I will take it to the computer shop.

Enough is enough though. I have spent a bit on it during the last few months. So I have ordered a brand spanking new desktop PC. As I do not have the cash in hand I am buying it via finance.My aim to pay within 6 months so not to pay interest.

Next year or by christmas my laptop on the other hand will be upgraded to a mac book. Fingers crossed. Work mates say Macs are the technology worth investing in.

Anyway I will be back in a few weeks!!!!

Google Blogger for Dummies

I just happened to be reading an article on the Guardian news website about I-tunes and Apples removal of DRM. I LOVE reading and just looked over at the bookshop adds and saw this book "Google Blogger for Dummies".

Now because I love the Dummies range of books I immediately was like okay, I could do with this book. Especially if and only if, it would benefit my 3 blogs in some way. To spruce them up as I have been wanting to do for sometime.

It costs £16.99 but is on offer at £8.49. The book does not come out till 13th February 2009. Not sure if it is already released elsewhere. Mmmm. So I could just order it and then if I change my mind cancel it before dispatch. One of the nice things about Amazon, they only charge you when they have dispatched your items to you.

Dummies guides tend to be concise and easy to follow. Mmmm. Not sure yet. Going to think on it. What do you think. If there is a better book out there ,or a free website that is simple to understand Holla!!! (as Keyshia Cole's mum Frankie would say).

Update 17/3/09 : I bought this book from Amazon uk for £8.49. It is okay and being a dummies book it covers everything. If you are already familiar with Blogger you may be better off getting the Blogging for dummies book instead.

And the winners are....

Hey if you haven't had the time to take a look at the black weblog awards please go and look. The winners have already been announced and celebrations are taking place as we speak. It goes to show the power of your readership when you get recognition.
I have yet to check out all the winners but my faves as you already know Scandalous Beauty and Afrobella.com are winners. Here is the black weblog award winners 2008 link. So go and have a look, you might find a new blog to enjoy. I know I will
Congratulations to all the winners. Well done!!

2008 Black Weblog awards

I think the Black weblog awards are brilliant. As I browse my favourite blogs I can see that some have awards showing the prestigious awards. I hope one day or even within a year I have a following worthy of being nominated. Being nominated is shows that people enjoy what you do.

The Black web awards is now in its 4th year. Currently there are 30 categories and most will have 2 winners, judges vote and a popular vote. You can look at previous winners here.

I have already submitted my nominations form. I could not fill the entire ballot. However I made sure my favourite blogs got mentioned such as Scandalous Beauty and Afrobella.com. I have voted for some others too.

Anyway I am off to explore some of the past winners. Have you got a favourite Black blog. Well head over to Black weblog awards and cast your votes. Don't forget to have a look at the past winners as you may find another blog to enjoy.