The Wrap Up Vol 10

Discovering your “Queen Bee Role” like Beyonce, second line music in the Big Easy, what if your Christmas tree is still up (asking for a friend) and missing Kobe Bryant all in this month’s the Wrap Up Vol 10

Ups Down and All Arounds

Ups

Oooooh, y’all. I am working on something so freaking exciting. This is truly something that I’ve wanted to do for literally like the last 10 years. And now it’s coming to fruition with Team (Mother F’ing) AWESOME (Justin, Liz and Maggie) helping me lead the charge.

First the was the rebrand and saying goodbye to Resplendently Living. Next the new house. And now . . . Well, you’ll have to just wait and see.

Spoiler Alert: You won’t have to wait too much longer. Squeeeee!

This. Is. Really. Happening!

Downs

Despite all the good going on, January 2020 has been one for the books with the suddenly passing of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and the 7 others on the helicopter manifest.  The passing of Kobe rocked me more than most celebrity passings for many reasons. True, I didn’t personally know him; however, I met him once with Meek (it’s actually a great story), but Kobe has always been a favorite of mine in the NBA dating back to high school. I watched his MTV “True Life” episode, I was excited when he and Brandy went to prom together, I was there when he received multiple standing ovations from my former city during his final game against the Houston Rockets and who can forgot when Kobe was drafted straight out of high school to the NBA.  See Kobe was just 1 year older than me, so in a way, he along with Aaliyah, were pivotal figures for my generation and the ones after.  So when the news of Kobe passed, I felt like I lost a high school classmate. My heart goes out to his wife, Vanessa and their 3 daughters as well as the family and friends of the others who perished in the crash.

All Arounds

My Christmas tree is still up (and I say that with a straight face and I’m not breaking eye contact).  #NotEmbarrassed And I’m sure if you tune into my IG Stories, you may still see it hanging out in the background.  

Quote of the Month:  

On ThisisMelDrake.com

Effective immediately, Resplendently Living will now be This is Mel Drake.  Don’t worry, I’m not done blogging just rebranding.  Here’s what you can expect from the new This is Mel Drake

This & That

Wearing

From last month’s stretchy (holy grail) faux leather Spanx leggings to this month’s athletic wear. . .

It’s official, I’m running my 2nd half marathon in Los Angeles annnnnnnnd I’m excited.  Bonus: I’ve roped my 3 friends into running with me too.  Boom! 

Watching 

Joe is back at it in Netflix’s “You”.  And no spoiler alert:  I didn’t see that little plot twist coming.  Bring on the full and complete package of crazy in season 3.  

Other Notables:   

Cheer (Netflix):  If you haven’t heard about Netflix’s “Cheer” or binge watched it by now, what are you doing with your life?  Probably being productive in life as the rest of us should be.  Fun Fact:  when I used to work in the (very) competitive cheer biz, Navarro College Cheer used to be one of my clients.  

And I’d like to give a shout out to one of my kids (aka my Daddy).  Seriously, he’s the real MVP.  During the Christmas holidays, I mentioned that I would be canceling my HBO subscription (due to non-use) and that if he wanted to finish watching Game of Thrones, he basically, needed to hurry up.  Well, my daddy came through. That spunky senior binge watched 4 seasons in 3 weeks. Impressive! Now he’s currently sad because he has nothing to binge watch. LOL!

Listening

Everything H.E.R. Annnnnnd it didn’t hurt that I lucked up on front row (in the pit) VIP access to the H.E.R. + Nas’ concert in New Orleans for the national college championship football game.  P.S. Geaux Tigers!

Reading

In last month’s The Wrap Vol 9 (hello deja vu), I shared that I was on a quest to for the fountain of productivity and the book, “Free to Focus” by Michael Hyatt was going to help escort me there.  Well, there’s been a change of plans.  As I started reading, I just couldn’t gravitate towards his methods.  And that’s ok.  Maybe in the future but not for now.  Enter Maggie.  .  .  A member of Team Awesome and my bad ass copywriter, suggested the book, Clockwork by Mike Michalowicz and lemme tell you, I’m digging it.  In a nutshell, you need to look at your business as a beehive and determine the “Queen Bee Role” (or QBR).  The “QBR” can be anything from a person to a mission to the sole purpose of your business.  But whatever your “QBR” is, like in a beehive, it must be protected at all costs.  Everything you do and all decisions that are made should directly serve the “Queen Bee”.  God save the Queen (Bee)!

Eating + Drinking

Besides a momentary lapse in New Orleans, I’m proud to say that I’ve began regularly infusing more lean proteins (chicken, turkey, and seafood) into my diet.  Have I given up ribeyes?  Let’s not be foolish here.  

Visiting

Who had an AMAZING time in New Orleans annnnnnnd Miami?  (raises both hands) This girl!  

Sometimes the best trips are the ones that are least expected.

First up, I went to New Orleans with my friend Sherroll, for my best friend’s baby shower and ended up on a party bus to a wedding proposal, then hit up the Nas and H.E.R. concert only to finish the evening at the ESPN party second lining to the musical stylings of Jon Batiste.  Catch the full visual recap on the This is Mel Drake New Orleans IG story highlight. What an amazing 48 hours.

And as if that wasn’t enough, the next weekend I hopped a flight to Fort Lauderdale and Miami to celebrate my friend Sherroll’s birthday girls trip style.  

Where to Find Me on Social Media

FINALLY I’m Facebook official.  Meaning, after a 3 (almost 4 month) battle with Facebook, they’ve FINALLY changed the name of my page from Resplendently Living to This is Mel Drake.  Woohoo!

@ThisIsMelDrake

THE ‘GRAM (the pretty pictures): https://www.instagram.com/thisismeldrake

PINTEREST (the inspiration): https://www.pinterest.com/thisismeldrake

FACEBOOK (a little this + a little that):  https://www.facebook.com/thisismeldrake

TWITTER (the sass + musings): https://twitter.com/thisismeldrake 

Love to you all.  Annnnnnnd that’s a wrap!

-XOXO Melissa