A Special Visitor: The King of Uno

My workgroup Super Hero, The Infamous Hen-Dog has a baby boy name Ja...

The last time I saw Ja was a few years ago. He was strutting through my door wanting to play Uno...

He beat our tails, even did his little victory dance to the Ol' School Music I was kicking at the time.

Man... while he was doing all that dancing, I was trying to cheat. My baby bro Milk and Cookies was concentrating hard while I was trying to slip a Draw 4 his way. HUMPH...

Ja's always been such a great kid. When he was in town on summer or spring break, I would bake him a big pan of roasted chicken. (He REALLY loved my chicken, lol).

Ja is a big boy now... 17 years old. He was in town this week, and I was talking to him on facebook. (Do you have young peoples as your Facebook friends. I tell you, it is HARD to follow their jargon. I must be getting old). They had been hanging out and at midnight, he wrote:

"I'm still up, LadyLee!"

"Uh no, boy. I am in the bed. I am old. I will holla tomorrow," I said.

So his Daddy brought him over on Saturday morning.

"Hey Miss LadyLee," he said in a deep baritone.

I was a little distraught. I mean, his voice was all deep.

"You sound like somebody's Daddy," I wailed. "And you're taller than me!!"

LOL!!

It was good to see him. My oh my, they do grow up fast!

He's as tall as his Daddy now.

Yesterday Snake said "Did you see Ja? Girl, that boy opened the door, and I almost hollered, because I thought it was Hen. I was like "Oh no Hen, these streets got you too? You smoking the rocks now???"

Oh... that was funny. I had to tell him the Hen is bodybuilding now. No smoking of the rocks allowed, lol.

And as you can see, Hen is so proud of his baby boy. LOL

Ja had the nerve to holler "You still got some UNO cards!?"

*LadyLee gives Ja the HARD side-eye*

No fella. And if I did have some, I wouldn't tell you. LOL

It was good to see you, Ja.

You're really growing up to be a fine young man!

Snake Watch

So...

I was getting ready for my Triple F Possee meeting on Sunday (getting my budget book together, packing up cookies for the ladies, etc.) and all of a sudden my doorbell rang.

Now it rang one time. Not 50 TIMES. (The locals do know they like to LEAN on a doorbell.)

I peaked through the blinds. It was a man dressed up, holding a Bible.

"Jehovahs Witnesses," I thought. I wondered why they were out on a Sunday. I opened the door.

Wasn't the witness... It was Snake.



Hadn't seen the House of LadyLee Poet Laureate in a LONG time. He use to write the popular "Snake Bites" series here on my blog.

Word in the hood was that he was caught a 5 year bid for burgalary.

And you know me... that's what I asked about.

And he told me this loooooooong story starting with, "See what had happened was..."

(You know how we do.)

This from the man who was ALWAYS lecturing us: "Watch who you dealing with, work hard, stay out of mess, blah, blah, blah!"

Yeah he has taught me that lesson well. You know what I say:

Our lives preach the best and worst of sermons.

I hope he stays clean. Hard to do when your environment be calling you...

But I thought he looked nice in his suit, just coming from Church. And he was hopeful for a better future.

And I hope his future is bright.

Monday, Monday

It is Monday.

THAT IS ALL.

lol

That's how I feel right about now.

Tha L, proprietor of the Blackrageous blog, cooked up breakfast this weekend.

Somebody come over here and hook that up, minus the soy sausage. I don't like soy sausage. Just do the grits and eggs and those biscuits. I'll just lay in bed.

Bring it on in here to me. Thank you. Much Obliged.

I STILL haven't gotten caught up when it comes to the spring forward madness. I am going to sleep super late (last night I went to sleep at one in the morning). I sleep well, but I am a groggy mess in the morning.

Kentucky leaves the house every weekday morning at six o'clock. She is my alarm system. In the past, I get up when I hear her leaving. I get my reading done, then any little writing and blogging done.

But the last two weeks, I've simply turned over and gone back to sleep. Thereby busting up my MUCH needed morning routine.

So now, I am still in the bed. A lazy Oldgirl.

I'm going into work later today. For some reason, there's not much work in the lab. It should be pretty festive around there today, as my director is gone on some 2 month detail on the west coast.

(This is part of the problem at work: management doesn't really man the ship. It's all about them and their career advancement. I won't go into that.)

This will be a short post.

*Chele falls out of chair. Southern Black Gal laughs uncontrollably*

Y'all calm down. It will be short.

I had a FANTASTIC weekend.

Simply fantastic, just how I like it, chock full of activities I simply love. The only thing that would have made it PERFECT was if it hadn't rained on Sunday.

And I have enough pictures for 100 posts, and they are not loaded up yet.

Friday night, I had a Women of Color Writing workshop, headed up by my former bookclub sista Dawnie. That was GREAT. It's writing prompt type of stuff, so I will post a couple of pieces I liked on blog. I've posted pieces here in the past. (Two I remember: "Let Me Explain" and "In this One...")

I did much walking on Saturday. I am a 15 minute walk from the local track that was used as the practice track during the 96 Olympics, so I walked up there, hung out on the track and walked back.

(I tell you, you see some sights in the gentrified hood, lol. VERY interesting.)

Sunday, I had a Triple F Posse meeting. The meeting was waaaaaay out in the sticks. I was almost expecting to see the "Welcome to Alabama" sign. Always good to see the ladies, and I always get a few financial tips in the process.

I even saw a couple of people I haven't seen in a long time. Didn't see my brother, though, which is a disappointment.... he's gone back to Iraq, and I pray for his safe return in six months.

Lots of pictures coming up this week. Might have to do 5 or 6 posts a day, lol. My goal is to get them loaded, and go from there.

Most interesting thing I learned this weekend:

"If you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time."

Zig Ziglar said that.

Ain't THAT the truth?

Yes it is!

I will be thinking about all week what I am aiming at...

And I plan to take aim... on purpose.

Stay tuned for MANY posts this week.

Ya'll have a great week!!

Foto Fridays

Been a minute since I've done the Friday Fotos... where I dump all the pictures for the week out of my camera and post the most interesting ones.

So let'em roll!

The Gelato section at Whole Foods on Ponce de Leon in Midtown.

I know me and LadyTee drove the poor guy serving us crazy, with wanting to try each one. LOL. I finally got the banana pudding and cookies and cream... LadyTee chose the fruit mango on the end and the cookies and cream. 4 ounce for $2.99. Pricey, but worth it!

An outfit that I bought for Serenity's baby's 8th birthday gift.

Blog fam hollers "But it don't match, LadyLee!"

You know what? That's alright. There was a deep sale on Polo for boys. Serenity is quite the fashionable Chicken, I mean, Oldgirl. I'm sure Tyler has quite a few shirts that can go with those shorts. And I am sure he has pants and shorts that can go with that shirt.

Work it out, Serenity!

LadyTee's fly new hairdo, courtesy of cousin Cupcake's oldest dauther Shanice.


LadyTee's gift, courtesy of LadyLee... a gift card for 50 bucks to TJMaxx.



Her Mama Babs was like, "Oh Lawd, you know that's her store."

Yep. I call it Tammie J Maxx! Because she LIVES in that place. We must've spent some 2 hours in there after lunch! OH MY.

LadyTee's dog Mitch.



You can't tell from this picture, but he's a good 200 pounds. Big horse of a dog. Got me yelling "Get back, you big ox! Ya'll come get this dog!!!" lol

One of my favorite dinners...

Stir fried veggies with fresh buckwheat noodles. Takes about 10 minutes to conjure up... and I'm ready to get my eat on! (And no, that ain't beef... That's Gardein beef tips. I never use it in stir fry, but threw them in this time. I won't be using them again. I am use to a straight veggie stir-fry).

My favorite foto of the week: Oscar watching TV. For some reason, Oscar-Tyrone REALLY likes to watch television. He was very much interested in Amerian Idol on Tuesday night.


I'm looking at that vent behind the TV. It needs to be cleaned... Uh, yeah - Green Eyed Bandit, hey Mama, come over here and clean my vent for me. And it's time to replace the filter. Hook that up Miss Flylady-you-can-do-anything-for-15 minutes. Come over for 15 minutes and clean my vent.

*Bandit squinting hard at screen*

LOL! Just playing, Ma. That went on my to-do list for the weekend. Oscar Tyrone has bushy fur. I think I will use him as a duster. Hmm.

And please explain to me: why do we call each other "Mama"? Who started that ish?

(See you at the meeting on Sunday! Uh, call 2 hours prior to remind me. Much obliged!)

LadyTee and her Mama Bobbie Jean aka "BABS!!!"


Congratulations to Babs, who is newly retired. She looks more relaxed than I've ever seen her. Being a nurse on the trauma care floor at the local hospital has to wear one down after 30 years... Relax and enjoy retirement, Babs!!!!

I like when Bobbie Jean takes pictures... She likes to turn UP the wattage on that Colgate smile!

(And she has been calling me "Lisa Anne" since I was 10 years old. For 30 years, I've been wanting to know why. Maybe I can ask her, now that she's relaxed, refreshed and retired.)

That's it for Friday Fotos...

Ya'll have a FANTASTIC weekend:)

Book Review: Buying Time by Pamela Samuels-Young

Wow!

2 book reviews in one month!

Is that even possible?

Yes it is!

Especially when I'm coming across really good books.

And that's exactly how I felt about my latest read, Buying Time by Pamela Samuels-Young.

This wonderful author was even gracious enough to come to our latest book club meeting and discuss Buying Time with us.

And you know I got my book signed.


Can't read that? Look a little closer!



LOL!

Here's a summary of the plot (picked up from Amazon.com)

"Waverly Sloan is a down-on-his-luck lawyer. But just when he's about to hit rock bottom, he stumbles upon a business with the potential to solve all of his problems.

In Waverly's new line of work, he comes to the aid of people in desperate need of cash. But there's a catch. His clients must be terminally ill and willing to sign over rights to their life insurance policies before they can collect a dime. Waverly then finds investors eager to advance them thousands of dollars—including a hefty broker's fee for himself—in exchange for a significant return on their investment once the clients take their last breath.

The stakes get higher when Waverly brokers the policy of the cancer-stricken wife of Lawrence Erickson, a high-powered lawyer who's bucking to become the next U.S. Attorney General. When Waverly's clients start dying sooner than they should, both Waverly and Erickson—who has some skeletons of his own to hide—are unwittingly drawn into a perilous web of greed, blackmail and murder."

Man... just reading that, I was wondering "Where is she going with all this?"

I didn't care. Because she always does a good job, and this book was no different.

This was a very slick, well written legal thriller.

Let's just say: John Grisham ain't got NOTHING on Pamela Samuels-Young. Nothing!!

Each character was very well developed, and I was kept guessing until the very end. It was the type of book that I couldn't put down... Each chapter ended with a little cliffhanger that made me want to keep reading...

... and reading.

If you don't believe, trot on over to her website and read an excerpt, the prologue. It'll hook you right on in.

Let's just say, I finished this 400 pager in 4 days. Loved-ed it!!

The most interesting thing about this book for me was how the subplots all folded gently into the main plot/storyline. There was much intrigue, but a little romance in their also. (And you know us ladies love that.) Her books feature strong black female lawyers, and this one was no different, as the lawyer investigating the case was a savvy sister. Within the fictional work, the author also gives a good amount of information and education on the law aspects of the novel, without going over my head.

And I like that Ms. Samuels-Young takes a little time to discuss how she came up with the idea (she came up with this "viatical brokerage" idea while attending a party), and she also discusses her process and crafting of the novel. (And you know, as a writer, I LOVE that, man!). She even answered some of my questions one-on-one.

Now, what I really liked about this book is that it was self-published... and you couldn't even tell. In fact, the book looked better and read better than any recent book I've read from a publishing house.

I'm so glad she's taken the reins in her own hands and decided her own future, instead of dealing with these publishing companies. (If you didn't know it, the publishing houses are straight clowning black authors right now. I don't see why folks don't get together and form their own BLACK OWNED small presses. Take a lesson from Tyler Perry, folks. Hmm. Got this Oldgirl thinking really hard over here, since I have a ton of short stories and 3 manuscripts laying around.)

It was refreshing to talk to her, to get the writer's perspective on the creation of such a good book.

She came to a book club meeting some 4 years ago to discuss one of her books, and I'd made cookies back then. She even remembered my cookies this time...

That's right... I showed up with some 5 dozen oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip pecan cookies.

So thanks Ms. Samuels Young for attending our book club meeting.

I love your books! I, LadyLee, will always be a fan!

So now, it's picture time. And it's picture grab time. Yeah, I was at the meeting yelling "Ya'll drop by the blog and pick up your pictures, because I'm not emailing them to you!!!! "

LOL!!!

Pamela Samuels-Young and her college roommate Donna Lowry.

Donna's not a member of our book club, but I remember coming into restaurant thinking "Dang! That chick looks VERY familiar." I thought she was a model or something. Turns out I watch her every morning on one of our local television stations. She's an anchor. (I didn't say anything until someone brought it up. You know me, if I don't know you, I don't talk to you, lol). But it was interesting to meet someone I watch on televison every morning as I'm getting ready for work!!

The author and our bookclub president Angela!

Angela just had a baby and is returning after a quick sabattical. Welcome back, Angela!!

Judy come get your picture, honey!

Judy can't do that right now, as she is getting married Saturday in Vegas. Judy's tweeting about winning money out there on the slots already. (Hey Ma, you owe me some money. I won't my money when you get back. DON'T make me come looking for you, Judes. *LadyLee cracking knuckles*).

The only dude in our bookclub, Sidney. Come get your picture, boy!!

Poor Sidney! He brings the male perspective to each meeting, but he gets a verbal a** whooping each time. He holds up well against his book club sistas. (And uh, I will send you that other picture with the author and Donna... Can't put that up here, that'll be trouble! lol! Look out for that!)

Super STAR and the author. Come get your picture girl.


STAR is the T-shirt lady. She has one of her special shirts on here, but it didn't shock me like others. (I'll discuss in another post). And Happy Birthday, Star!

Come get your pictures, sistas (and bruh Sid).

This was a great book club meeting. Ms. Samuels-Young even let us in on what she's currently working on, which is the fourth book in her first series! I can't wait for that one! It sounds real good! (As to be expected!)

Look out for the author on the Monique show soon!

So, if you're into thrillers that leave you on the edge of your seat, pick up Buying Time.

I promise you, you won't regret it!