Tameka Smith

forharriet.com — Like many of us, I come from humble beginnings. I grew up in a small town in rural Georgia. My parents divorced when I was twelve, leaving my mom to raise a teenager by herself. She attended school at night and worked two jobs to provide a roof over her and her child's head. While I was never homeless or wanted for food or clothing, I watched my mom struggle to make ends meet. She robbed Peter to pay Paul, borrowing from loan companies just to make sure rent was paid. This vicious cycle inevitably created more debt, putting her in a deeper financial rut.

www.necolebitchie.com — Out with the 'fro, and in with the flat top! With women becoming increasingly daring with their natural hairstyles, it looks as though men are not the only ones who need a good barber on standby. Nowadays, more and more women are ditching the salon for the barber's chair, but who knew the high top fade, made popular in the 80s and 90s would become a trend among today's fiercest chicks? Last week, Erykah Badu teased a photo of her rocking a sky-high flat top, and over the past year, both singer Chrisette Michele and LA Hair's China Upshaw have been rocking the throwback 'do.

bitchielife.necolebitchie.com — Breaking down the mental soundtrack playing inside the male cranium can be as equally mind-boggling as unscrambling a Nicki Minaj verse. There's no denying it, the opposite sex is hard to read. But, a formal class on mind reading, instructing how to peel back the hull of the pea-sized brain cells of men shouldn't be a prerequisite. Intuitive powers, yes, but head-ologists, women are not. While women may never put together all the distorted pieces to the male psyche, they do have the ability to decode a man's language as if it were a page from Jay-Z's autobiography.

www.examiner.com — It can be hard to resist spreading something as powerful and pulsating as love. However, it would be in your best interest to keep your budding romance away from social networks - at least until you make it past the one-year mark. The following are Facebook activities you should avoid: 1. Don't be so quick to update your relationship status. Being the relationship is still in its infancy stage; refrain from introducing your new boy/girlfriend to the online world. Making your hundreds of virtual friends privy to such personal information gives lurkers an open door to your love life.

www.examiner.com — Progression in a relationship is meant to gauge whether your future together is promising or passing you right out the front door. Though all the signs may not be clear, often time couples will take the next step in hopes of making "love" last forever. One move forward can literally mean moving in together. While choosing the perfect neighborhood and picking out the right dining table at Ikea can be fun; before putting those plans in motion, I suggest inspecting your partner to ensure they meet all criteria on the move-in checklist before signing the dotted line.

citybuzz.com — Built in 1910, The Georgian Terrace holds a special place in Atlanta's history, with its rich heritage and elegant charm. Once dubbed Atlanta's "Paris hotel," the building's nineteen-story design features stunning architectural details, floor-to-ceiling Palladian-styled windows, white marble columns along with crystal chandeliers, making it the grand dame of hotels in the city's glamorous midtown district. Saunter the Italian tiled floors to your spacious, luxurious suite with classic furnishings and modern amenities including full kitchens, pillow-top mattresses with 300-thread count cotton bedding, 37-inch flat screen HD TVs and complimentary Wi-Fi.

www.clutchmagonline.com — Dating is meant to be a period of time where two people get to know each another, and establish whether their occasional social hook ups will blossom into a love connection. Clutchettes, I'm sure you can relate to a dating dilemma such as this. You know the scenario - girl meets guy, guy is feeling girl - so she thinks. Girl gets all dressed up in her best duds to impress guy, only to commune several hours over dinner and a movie. At the end of the night, after what she considers to be a good date, girl walks through her front door still unsure if guy is really feeling her.

www.clutchmagonline.com — What do Drake, T.O., and Mekhi Phifer have in common? Head scarves. That's right; you read correctly, your eyes aren't playing tricks on you. The aforementioned males have expressed, or rather implied, either their like or dislike for the head scarf, a hair accessory worn primarily by Black women, to maintain their lovely tresses. What's the big deal you ask? Well, there really isn't a big deal, but there is a point to this trivial topic; meaning its intent is to be taken light-heartedly. Inquiring minds want to know; what's the matter with women who wear them, or should I say, what's wrong with the men who love to hate them?

www.clutchmagonline.com — We've all heard the terms "Mama's Boys" and "Daddy's Girls" but no one ever mentions Mama's Girls. They are equivalent to Mama's Boys, however, society seems to ignore or haven't realized they exist. Let me explain. A mama's girl is a female, 25 years of age or older, college graduate, works a professional job but is afraid of leaving the nest or from under her mamas figurative wings, because she's become so attached to her. After high school, she goes off to college for a short period of time, but upon graduation, the thought of entering the real world is a challenge for her.

www.clutchmagonline.com — If I were to ask every single woman on earth if she desires to be married one day, the answer would be an undeniable yes. But, is marriage a reality for all, or are some of us destined to be single for life? The reason I ask is because CNN's Black in America: Reclaiming the Dream aired a few weeks ago, and I heard one of the most profound statements that made my ears perk up like a puppy dog. "It goes to the issue of self-esteem because we've sort of glamorized that everybody is supposed to be married, when that's not the case, even from a biblical standpoint."