Monday Night Special... Random, Random

Look at me...

Haven't been blogging!

Just got a lot of other stuff going on.

(Or being hard-headed - the choice is yours).

You know, I have soooo many posts in my head, all of which I want to do at the very same time, that I don't take the time to work on them. And I need to do that, because this is part of my therapy.

Well, I'll just do some quick randoms.

I had a pretty good Thanksgiving. I'll write about it later, as I am still thinking about it, and I have to load up a couple of pictures.

I've pretty much had a 4 day weekend. I was off today (Monday) due to having a dishwasher repaired. It's still not repaired. They had to order a part for it. I have one of those high end digital Jen-Air joints. I HATE anything digital. That stuff is bound to go out. I only used the washer once a week, and heck, it's been out for a while. (You should've seen the repairmens faces when they saw all that rust. LOL). But it runs, and all the digital stuff don't work. So... that means sticking around next week for another repair job.

This is cookie baking season. I baked a couple dozen for Thanksgiving (I never go anywhere empty handed), and I baked a few for blog sista Tazzee.

I like her comment concerning them. She and her tailgating crew found them to be orgasmic.

Now THAT'S what you call a GOOD GOOD GOOD cookie!

LOL!

I was happy to meet her, albeit briefly. She seems to be a funny chick. Good to meet you, Oldgirl!

I've gotten much writing done this weekend. TWO whole, very pivotal chapters.I've been battling around with them all month long, and I am finally done with them. (I think I may have 4 or 5 chapters to go... I think). Serenity3-0 has been reading some of the latter chapters. I was VERY nervous about giving these 2 chapters to her. She loved them. It all made her curly natural hair bone straight, lol. She enjoyed them, and that made me proud. It's hard to hold her attention. I'll write about my writing later on this week too.

I spent most of the day doing chores (I'm so slow with my chores... I think I'm caught up for the week) and watching television.

A couple of interesting things I saw on several talkshows.

The chick that is to be the new princess, Kate Middleton, has a wonderful style. There was a whole segment on it, and how I too can dress just like her.

The Kardashian girls have a new book out. They were on 4 different shows promoting their book of nostalgia and style, etc.

This depressed me a bit, along with every other story. Most of it surrounded the theme of, as far as I'm concerned

"How can I be like this or that person? Because I just don't like who I am."

I think that's our problem. No one's satisfied with themselves.

This makes sense, though. We should all be in some stage of personal growth in some area of our lives. I don't deal much with people who aren't, as I myself use them as inspiration to do better.

But I like me and who I am. I love my good side, and I don't care for my bad side.

I'm working on my bad side. That's where my growth and development will take place.

No one wants to be like me. i'm NOT famous. I have NO style, none of that. And that's okay.

I have my portion. And what a wonderful portion it is.

I consider myself one of the most unique individuals on the planet. And one thing for sure: there will never be another like me, and you will never meet another like me.

We have a problem of identity crises in this society. And with all I watched today, while busying around the house doing my chores, and a little writing, well, rightfully so. We do take in a lot of garbage. All day, whether we notice it or not.

I myself have to work on filtering out and separating the garbage from what is good and helpful for my life. And the lines tend to blur sometimes.

It means work harder... I suppose.

Whelp... That's it for my Monday randoms. I REALLY want to do a full battery of posts this week. I think that will be my goal!

I hope you had a good Thanksgiving Holiday!

Now get back to work! LOL

Dinner with the Great Chef Darius!!!

So...

I have my stalkerish ways, you know... I like to stalk some of my favorite bloggers.

One of my favorites has been Master Chef Darius of EverydayCookin.com.

We ooooh and awwww over his videos and food posts. And I've cooked a few of his dishes, and they are always easy and wonderful and DELICIOUS.

Our favorite was his special Tequila Lime chicken Fettucine.

Talking about GOOD. And QUICK. And Cheap and EASY!

I am crazy about Darius. I stalk him on twitter. I've told him, if he was 15 years older, and of the heterosexual persuasion, and lived in ATL instead of Chicago... I'd be on him, stalking him HARD. He'd have to have me locked up!

So, when he said he'd be visiting Atlanta sometime in November, and wanted to have a dinner party...

You KNOW I got all giddy.

*turning to cubicle mate, the Cowgirl Cre and hollering "Darius is coming to town, and he's gonna cook!!!!"*

There was much discussion about him looking for a house to cook at. If you've ever been to my crib, it is TOO small for a party over 5 people, lol. Cowgirl Cre said he could cook at her house if he wanted.

Someone in another cubicle, who'd requested for Darius to come up with a sesame chicken recipe a couple of years ago, called my work phone and whispered "He can use my house if he wants to."

As a matter of fact, The Cowgirl Cre has been telling him for a couple of years that he should come do a tour, and cook at a different house each night.

We would eagerly show up wherever he would be, you see.

Anyway, the date of the party was to be November 20th... at his friend's house in Buford, Ga.

Waaaaaaay the hell up in Buford.

The Cowgirl Cre and I looked at each other.

"Whatever man. We're going. Gonna take us an hour to get there. Whatever!"

Darius was like "I understand that's a little far!"

"Dude," I replied. "That's like Denzel Washington saying he was having a party way up in Buford, and he knows it's a little far, but..."

BUMP THAT.

He also said let him know if we have dietary concerns or requests, because there would be plenty of pork and beef and butter!

"Whatever," I told Cowgirl Cre. "This here is Darius. I'm eating it ALL."

That boy could've cooked some chitlins soaked in lard, with a side of fatback... LadyLee was gonna get her eat on! And just be inflamed and sick as a dog later.

LOL

We were going. Gas up the car. Steal some gas. Steal a car, man. We're going!

Cowgirl Cre printed out the directions... even secured a emergency phone number, just in case we got lost in the backwoods of Buford.

(Yes we were that serious. Come hell or high water, we were going to FIND Chef Darius!)

So, we sat out to Buford Ga. Took me 30 minutes to get to The Cowgirl Cre's house, and it took us another 45 minutes to get to Buford.

We parked and walked into a most lovely townhouse.

And there he was... Chef Darius... in the kitchen... cooking up a storm!

*Lee screaming uncontrollably deep deep inside*

"It's him," I whispered to Cresha. "It's really him!"

He gave me a hug. And he went back to cooking.

We all stood in the kitchen... watching and talking.

We drank Pomegrante margaritas. OH THEY WERE GOOD!!!

Chef Darius made some eggrolls, but used rice paper, and he was hollering about he wasn't going to cook them, because the rice paper was coming apart.

Uh, uh... we convinced him to cook the eggrolls.

And they were the BEST I've ever tasted. Yep!

Then there was dinter!!!

OH MY!!

Braised Beef Ribs!!!



OH MY!! I had to really gear myself up to eat some red meat, but I had a rib. (There was someone there who hadn't had beef in 8 years. She had some too. We picked on her something terrible. She was gonna be all jacked up the next day. We told her husband to get ready to help her in some kind of way!)

Macaroni and Cheese!!!





Very cheesy! Party in your mouth! He must've used 100 differnt cheeses in that mac and cheese! Best I've ever tasted!

Green Beans!!!


Sauteed with some scallions, sundried tomatoes, garlic and pancetta.

GLORY!!!!

A brave soul inquired about the pancetta. Darius said it was italian bacon.

We all saw *crickets* with that one. He could've said it was regular old bacon. WHATEVER!

The beans were great. Cooked perfectly, not undercooked, not overcooked, perfectly tender.

And you know me... keenly interested more in veggies than anything else.

"I'ma hook this up," I said to Cowgirl Cre. "I'ma leave this bacon off. I can hook it up with the sundried tomatoes, scallions, and garlic, man!!!"

LOL

Then there was the cornbread! All cheesy, with corn mixed in.



WOW.

I think I was suppose to just cut a small piece, but I got a whole block of it.

GOOD EATING! I don't eat much cornbread, but this reminded me of how my grandfather use to cook it... with the corn kernels all throughout the bread!

Good stuff.

Then... Darius, proud owner of the Cupcake gallery, brought out the cupcakes!!!



He made 2 types for us: banana and red velvet.

We all stood back and listened quietly as he gave a little speech about the cupcakes. You would've thought he was reading Shakespeare or something!

He'd whipped up some cream cheese icing, and we were to ice our own cupcakes.

He demonstrated to us how to ice the cupcakes...



He showed us how to peel the paper cup away from the cupcake.

(We stared in amazement.)

He showed us how to eat the cupcakes...

I don't think we need to know all that. We were willing and eager to work that out.

And as you can see, Cowgirl Cre peeled her cupcake perfectly.

I didn't eat my cupcakes until later. I was having TOO much fun with the crowd of people that were there, including Jermaine Sellers from last season's American Idol, shown here with the Cowgirl Cre.

Man, I was having TOO good of a time. Darius has some HILARIOUS friends.

Cowgirl Cre whispered "Girl, get a cupcake before they disappear."

I got a banana cupcake. And WOW!!!

Best cupcake I've ever had.

Darius did not make that cupcake.

Jesus made that cupcake!!!

That cupcake. I can't describe it. It was full-bodied banana. chunks of soft banana throughout. And topped with that cream cheese icing, which was suprisingly light and almost mereigned-like (yeah, I spelled it wrong)... MAN IT WAS GOOD.

Now I'm not a fan of red velvet, but this was a GREAT red velvet cake. Very moist and flavorable.

Go DARIUS!!

I spent a couple of hours having a good time, and whispering to the Cowgirl Cre "Girl, I got the itis! I need to lay out on the sofa!"

I think we left around midnight. I dropped Cowgirl Cre back off at her house. And I arrived home at 1:30 am.

I immediatley went to sleep. With a smile on my face, lol.

I woke up the next morning, to my phone buzzing from Miss Celie's tweets.

She called me and I relayed (very animated, I must say), the details of the food and drinks from the night before.

She thought I was still tipsy.

No, just giddy! (And headachy and discombobulated from liquor and meat, too. I was JACKED up for a good 48 hours. Just say no to liquor, pork and beef is all I got to say... well unless Darius hooks it up. My body hated me for a minute. And I'd probably scream and faint if I saw another piece of red meat on my plate anytime soon after feeling like crap!)

I was happy for a good meal, from the best Chef on the Planet -- Chef Darius.

Darius, thank you for such a great meal. Like that tat says on your arm, man... Food is your life, and life is your food!

Yes indeed.

So if Chef Darius tours a town near you, BE SURE to get to a dinner party! Man... you will NOT regret it!

Darius... feel free to come back to the ATL anytime! You hear me? Really!!!

Here's one last tidbit... One of my favorite videos by Darius!!! Enjoy!!!

Good Monday Merning

Good Monday Merning!

This is a good Monday morning, as it is a Monday that falls on the week of a Holiday.

And I'm at charge at work this week. Imagine that! The prisoners are taking over the asylum.

LOL

I'm gonna have a good productive week. And that's a great thing.

Anyway, I had a nice weekend. I actually went to work for a couple of hours on Saturday afternoon. This is okay, because it will save me about 12 hours of time this week, and hopefully move me forward a bit faster with some things I'm doing.

But the most intersting part of my weekend was attending a dinner party hosted by the GREAT Master Chef. Darius, who is proprietor of the food blog Everydaycookin(dot)com.

Man, I tell you... it was some of the BEST food I've EVER had. That dude KNOWS he can cook.

I won't go into it. I'll do a post in the next 2 days. But that wonderful meal is STILL on my mind.

If you're not familiar with Chef Darius, here's a video of him cooking a dish I've made a few times - Tequila lime chicken fettucine.





And he's the cupcake king, Owner of the Cupcake Gallery in Chicago.

And I had some of his cupcakes.

*Lee passes out on the hard concrete*

Like I said, I'll write about that in the next couple of days.

Other than that, I did the usual... my chores. I didn't get any writing done, for some reason. I'll work on that this week.

I watched 2 very strange horror movies this weekend: The Box and Legion. Both scared the cheese out of me. Please remind me not to look at crazy stuff when I'm alone.

And that's the gist of my weekend. Nothing earth shattering. Well, that meal cooked by Darius rocked my world, but we'll talk about that later.

I'm up and getting ready for work. You have a good workweek, and if you're off, enjoy your time off!

Friday Freestyles

It's Friday...

BLAAAAAAAAAAAH.

(That's how I feel right now).

Feeling more like...

O_o

Man. I am SLEEPY. This heat is on, I'm in the bed... my head resting on these down pillows, all cozy under this down comforter. I just want to go back to SLEEP!!

For some reason, I woke up at 4 in the morning. That usually means I need to get up and pray about something, but I lounged around until about 6 (then I got up and said some ANGRY prayers. hmph).

I think I'm feeling some sort of way because Aunt Flo is here. I don't have cramps and all that anymore due to the vegetarian changes (man, i still have to look into that), but doggonit, my emotions are alllllll over the place.

Not a good time to be messing with me or pissing me off, man.

I'm like the women in the bible, in the old testament... You really need to throw me off in a dark tent on the outskirt of town somewhere. I need to be alone. Have a little solitude, you know.

But alas, that ain't happening. I have to go to work today.

GLORY!

This has been a so-so week. Things are what they are at work. Whatever. I've had a productive workweek. I'm happy for that.

I am in charge all next week. This doesn't bother me, as I plan to work through the holidays. I want to take 2 weeks off for my birthday. We've been mulling over whether they gonna mess me over concerning that, but I don't think they will.

I am looking for that time off, and my 8 day cruise, man! That's gonna be a good time.

Post of the Week. I haven't been reading my regular blogs like I should. I gotta do better. But one that has stuck with me the past couple of days is one written by Serenity entitled Beating a Dead Horse.

I especially love this line:

"When someone cannot stop and realize that the things they SPEAK and MEDITATE on become their reality, I have to just stay away. I don't invite negativity over here."

I don't invite negativity over here. That's a good line, a good statement to incorporate into life. That will keep much of the drama away, won't it.

I myself tend to be a little negative at times. (Don't we all?) But I always follow it up with thanksgiving. If you read a little further down in her post, Serenity did that, too...

(She wants to be like me so bad. Keep working at it, dear. lol).

But I thought that was a fine post. It makes me think about my prayer time this morning. Boy, was I just angry about some things. To the point where, if I woke up this morning around 4 a.m., I should've had my butt on my knees praying until I felt some peace. But I felt much better after my prayers... after I spent time praying more and giving thanks for matters...for what's really important.

That probably didn't make sense to you. Made sense to me, so keep on reading along, lol...

That's all I have for now. I don't have a song for the week. I've been listening to much talk radio, etc...

I know everyone is looking forward to the Thanksgiving day and may be taking next week off. i didn't have plans, but as of this morning, I do. So, I'm looking forward to that.

With that, don't forget the reason for the season... Give thanks!

I know I will.

You all have a great weekend. On purpose.

A Happy Couple... First and Foremost

I've been watching the news shows this morning...

And it amazes me at what is the "top news" some mornings.

England's Prince William's engagement is the top news.

Uh. Okay.

I guess I have to be British to understand all of this.

All I know, if you're gonna wait 8 years on a man... this is how you do it. You better wait on a Prince... not these jokers who are tripping. LOL

We in America don't have a royal family. I think our royal family is the Kennedys.

Hmm.

Anyway, this is the top story. All spotlights on them. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

I remember, when I was 10 years old, watching the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. This was a BIG event at our house. And I guess that I was at the age where I was heavy into my Barbie dolls, etc... I was to get a chance to see a real life Princess.

This Princess didn't look like me, of course.

And I watched this wedding, thinking, even at the age of 10, that Diana was the luckiest woman in the world. She would never have to work. She was pretty. Her life was set.

Then, years later, I completely understood what the word DYSFUNCTIONAL meant.

When it came out how she was all suicidal and bulimic... how the Prince was cheating on her, and how miserable she was... I was like, WOW.

Even though the Royal Family is considered the epitome of perfection... It simply isn't true. They have to be the most dysfunctional folks I've ever seen.

Of course dysfunction is magnified by media attention. But I wouldn't call depression, bulimia, infedelity, emotional abuse, and suicidal tendencies light issues. Shocked me that a Princess was going through this.

And let's not even talk about the Kennedys, America's royal family of sorts. YIKES!

I have reconciled that fortune and fame don't cancel out dysfunction. Really, it doesn't.

This is what I think about when I watch all the oohing and ahhing and excitement over this impending wedding of the millinieum.

I hope this couple is a happy couple FIRST. Not a royal couple. Not a couple put on the highest of pedastals.

(And I hope they keep the Queen out of their business. Shoot!!)

A happy and whole couple first and foremost. A peaceful couple.

I think that's what we all want for them, and our own lives...

Isn't it.

Good Ol' Charlie

So, the Charlie Rangel story is all over the news...



He's up on ethics charges... He walked out of his hearing yesterday because he didn't have adequate representation.

Man, Charlie Rangel is 80 years old, and a 20 term congressman. And they're trying to get him on some ethics charges...

Leave him alone. He's 80 years old. That man is OLD. Leave him alone.

You cannot tell me that other congressman don't have just as much craziness going on. I think he had just a bit too much power and got targeted..

I have no idea how he got caught, but uh... I bet he knows about what some other congressmen are doing. If it was me, I'll be threatening to blow the whistle on some folk! Bet that'll shut folks up...

This is politics as usual...

Sigh.

Monday Morning!

Good Monday Morning!

You know what? I had a Friday Freestyles post on Friday but I FORGOT to post it. It was one of those things where I finished it at home, and stopped to get ready for work, and thought I would post it when I got to work. I got so busy that I completly forgot. UGH.

So excuse my lack of posting. I have a few I need to do. I usually do them in the morning, but I do other things in the morning right now, so... gotta work out working on them in the evening or something like that.

So, this post will be a combo of Friday and today's post.

My weekend. A bit boring. Chore filled. That is all. Sigh. You know, I sort of need it to be that way. I get out and do things every other weekend. That's the goal right now. This was more of a "me" time weekend.

I was doing great on the financial fast, but jacked up some things this weekend. This is okay. Get up and get back on the horse. Period.

Moving on to last week's news...

So, our boss is gone on to another group now. She bought pizza for us on Wednesday. There was much whispering and controversy behind this. I mean, heck, you crashed our group into the ground. Folk refused to go to the gathering. I went. I ate my political piece of pizza.

Sure did. And it was some good pizza. (I didn't have this pepperoni slice. That was just the last piece of pizza left. I had the cheese pizza, and a veggie and chicken slice (pulled off the chicken).

Negroes need to act right. Negroes know they'll need a recommendation someday. Better sit there and eat a piece of pizza in peace. Celebrate if you can.

Interestingly, since no one was talking, the boss left and went back to her office. She had work to do.

Hilarious.

The tides have changed. LadyLee is gonna have a good workweek... on purpose, babes.

Posts of the week. I posted a quote earlier this week, and Chele and Serenity tackled it.

Serenity was BEGGING me for a writing prompt, so she wrote about the freedom quote in a post entitled A Writing Prompt. This was especially good since she just saw For Colored Girls, and her feelings were still a bit raw.

And in a effort for me to understand the quote a bit better, Chele, my resident expert of fear and freedom, broke things down also in a post entitled Breaking Free.

Great job, ladies. You really made me think about some things...

That's it for today. I'm going to TRY to post all week. Not sure how that will go. But we will work it out.

Leaving Atlanta Teaser

One of my favorite books is by my favorite author, Tayari Jones.

The name of that book is Leaving Atlanta, and it is a book about 3 children who grew up during the time of the Atlanta Missing and Murdered Children era in the late 70s/early 80.

I love this book because I was the same age as those children when all of that was going on. So was Tayari. And she captured the very essence of our thoughts and feelings and fears during that trying time.

So imagine my joy of hearing that a movie is in the works... Wow.

The filmmakers have posted a really nice teaser for the film, as they raise funds to make it.

Click on the following link to see it.

Leaving Atlanta Teaser

I'm looking forward to this movie. It will be a testament to a most important time in my life, and in the life of so many of my ATL friends.

Freedom, Friends, and Tone... On Purpose

Hey!

Wassup!

How you doing? How you feel this beautiful Monday morning?

As you can tell, I'm chipper. I think that's because of the turning of the clock back an hour.

Man, I worked the cheese out of that extra hour of sleep. Well, maybe I didn't. I think I went to sleep around one in the morning last night. I woke up at six am.

So maybe I didn't get any extra sleep. I like to think that I did, though.

My weekend. I had a pretty good weekend. I washed clothes. I cleaned up my house. Got a good bit of crocheting done. (I am far behind on 3 baby blankets right now. Babies are here and probably sitting up now, trying to talk, and I am late with the blankets). I also made groceries. (That's how they say it in New Orleans.) Just a normal relaxing weekend overall.

My goal for the last 2 months of the year is to spend more time with family and friends. If you know me in real life, and off of the blog, you know that I'm a consummate loner. Not sure if this is the nerd in me, or because I was an only child during my early formative years, but my goodness, I do enjoy my personal "me" time a little more than others.

My major problem, I've found in the last 10 years, is that I look at negroes alllll day long, and it aint the most positive experience. I deal with a lot of different personalities, clashing with my own "different personality", and more often than not, it wears me the heck out. So as a result, my alone time is like gold to me. It's like, a chance to clear the mental clutter from my mind, regroup, and hit the the reset button... so I can deal with it all another week.

But like I mentioned above, I have to let go of some of this "me" time, and spend time with family and friends. This is difficult for me sometimes, but I am determeined to work it out.

This weekend, I hung out with my BFF, the Infamous LadyTee. I went over on Saturday and we watched The Karate Kid. This was a good night since a lot of her family was there, her man, and her uncle. So it was good to see everybody and just trip out like we usually do. When we get together, we cut up pretty bad.

Very good for my soul. Very good indeed.

Some of this is influenced by one of my favorite blog lurkers, and good friends, The Green Eyed Bandit. She told me earlier this year that one of her goals this year was to work on her friendships/relationships. This jarred and confused me a bit, because I think she's a great person, a great friend to all her friends, etc. So she had to explain it to me. She wanted to deepen her friendships, and be more revealing of herself in them. Yes, this still confused me, as I don't see the issues here. The chick is really cool and helpful to my life. But hey, it made me examine myself, and where I am overall in my friendships.

Thanks Green Eyed Bandit. This Bud's for you, babes! lol

Quote of the week: This quote here is specially dedicated to a blogger I jock, almost in a stalker stan kind of way, lol... that Original Oldgirl Chele. I came across it in a spiritual workbook I'm stomping through at the moment, No Other Gods: Confronting our modern day idols by Kelly Minter.

Lack of inward freedom is one of the most agonizing experiences of human existence. The one redeeming aspect is that blessings can grow out of our exasperating struggles with giants who are stronger than we are. I have been thoroughly changed, mostly for the good, from such bouts with weakness and powerlessness, even though it seemed unimaginable at the time.

That's a quote right there. Chocked full of something. We could all write some serious stuff surrounding that quote.

But I am most intrigued by that first line, highlighted in orange... the ramifications of what happens when you're not free in your heart and mind: agony.

Listen. I've never been in jail. LadyTee has, only for a few hours, and when she told me that they gave her some rough soap, and laughed at her when she requested some Dove or Caress for her sensitive skin, well, that was enough for me.

But we have all been prisoners in our own minds. We've all spent time sitting on the dirty musty floors of our personal inward jail cells, shackled and screaming for help. Crying inside because we think our state in life will be the same forever and ever and ever.

Not a good look, babes. Not at all.

Something good can come out of it. Personal rehabilitation. Identification of what situation in life brought us to this shackled state in the first place. A plan, a path out of it... and most of all, the strength to help someone similar out of the same mess.

Hmm... I got much out of that quote. I read that on last Wednesday, I believe, and I've been thinking about it every since.

I'd like to challenge my big blog sista to write on that quote.

*Chele spits her coffee all over the computer screen. LadyLee hands her a tissha to wipe up the spilled coffee. LadyLee hands her the phone so she can call the peoples down in IT*

Write about that one, man. You're my resident expert on "Freedom". I glean from your infinite wisdom on the subject matter. Why, you even have it tattooed in size 72 font on your arm.

You the man, Chele.

(Okay, I'll stop jocking.)

Whelp. That's all for today. Should I kick a Song of the week? Hmm... not today.

I'll let you ponder that quote above instead.

It's Monday, the beginning of a workweek. Our group regime changes at work. A guy was appointed as our boss, and the appointment made me laugh hard. This guy doesn't appear to want to be bothered. ("Is he even going to be around?" I asked a coworker.) I think he's only our boss for a week until they find someone else to do the detail. I hope it all works out.

My pastor has bashed the following in my head over the past 9 years...

"YOU set the tone for your day. Don't let the circumstances set it. YOU set it."

There have always been *crickets* flying around my head on that one.

So today I set the tone: I GO FORWARD... and I make a declaration this will be a good week. A blessed week.

Amen. Good Day. I'll holler.

Yeah. Sho you right.

You make it a great week too... on purpose.

Frosty Friday Freestyles

One word.

Cold

It is cold outside. It is currently 38 degrees in the ATL. For some reason, I thought it would HOT forever.

Wrong on that one.

I walked down into the garage yesterday to get in my car. I had on a thin t-shirt. Uh, let's just say I grabbed a jacket off a box and put it on. (I don't understand why I threw that jacket out in the garage in the first place, but I was happy for it!)

My week has been... I don't know, a week of hard work. I haven't been harrassed by management, so that's a good thing. If I can get away from Jedi Mind tricks, my week is GOOD.

My boss walked in the lab the other day and asked a couple of us, since she is leaving, if she bought a pizza, would we come and eat.

*crickets*

Uh, if you have to ask, then you know the answer to the question.

I will go. I have deemed it "My political piece of pizza". I think we will all sit there quietly and eat. I may need a recommendation from her sooner or later. I will eat my piece of pizza. Take a magazine or something to read. Do the right thing.

Hopefully she will ditch that plan. Not sure why we should be dancing and celebrating with her. Glad she's moving on, but our group is in utter turmoil.

She needs to go buy her new group some pizza, ribs, chicken, and all kinds of other groceries because they are not, uh... happy. And they are the Chuck D Public Enemy Fight the Power type of negroes. They are looking for Harriet Tubman. I told them, my boss is no Harriet Tubman.

Oh well, hope that works out for them. *Lee tiptoeing out of sight FAST*

Anyway, things will work out. I need my check every 2 weeks. This is all that matters.

On to more interesting and important things. I am doing well on my 21 day financial fast. A little too well, really. I didn't get my cash allowance from the ATM last weekend. Haven't needed it. I haven't spent any money or used my ATM card. I did my grocery shopping on October 25th, spent about 100 bucks, and haven't felt a need to go back to the store. I'll get my budgeted amount out today, and will work it all out. I may or may not need to go to the store. We will see.

As far as my writing goes, I've completed 31 chapters of my current manuscript, and will finish chapter 32 this weekend. My readers seem to love it, and that makes me happy.

Quotes of the Week: I have 2 that have stayed on my mind:

From This One Woman's post Thoughts... and Stuff: "I have often said that I wish I could see how people see me. I am just curious. I thought I was wearing my mask pretty well."

From Kay C's post Random Thunderstorms...(Really?): "I have gone through some emotional and spiritual healing. Some people did not make the cut. Such is life, really."

Both of those quotes, though short, really struck me for some reason. I believe they have because certain things have been bothering me lately, a little more than they should.

I have a couple of friends who are able to deal with any and everybody. I mean, people who talk about them behind their backs, etc., or just have difficult and trying personalities, and are able to be cordial and keep it moving. I do not possess that ability. I wish I did. It would make my life so much easier.

As a result, I wonder how people view me. It's not enough to consume me, but for This One Woman to pose the internal question made me think of that also. It can't be good. And I really don't care. Really I don't. There are just vestiges of how I felt growing up, and it seems as though I don't care to prove that I am good to someone who views me as bad. I just don't talk to you anymore.

But we have joked about it, with me saying, "Man, I wish I had a good heart," with them responding "You Do have a good heart." I think I'll just accept that on faith. Having a good heart is a far cry and the direct opposite of trying to please people and doing things with the motive of being acceptable.

At the same time, with Kay-C's quote, sometimes to complete that emotional and spiritual healing, you have to let some people go. This is true and it saddens me. Trust, it doesn't bother me to do this. And I've seen as a result, as I was telling someone the other day, that I noticed the quality of my life improved. That bothers me, but it helped me realize... Man, people know thay can hold you in mental bondage. And as I get older, I get impatient about being mentally shackled. It's uncomfortable, and I can't progress. I have to shake them off. Such is life.

How did I get all of that out of 2 small quotes. Don't know. Sometimes things just tend to resonate, causing me to examine myself... and to continue to work on accepting myself for the great Oldgirl that I am.

Song of the Week: This song here is dedicated to my baby blog sis, That Southern Black Gal. Her man TI just got locked up AGAIN. I know she so sad. She's barely getting along.

But he will be out in 11 months. Hold it down, Ma. Don't give the cookies up to nobody else!

(Well, her other man Lil' Wayne just got out this week... so she might not be all that upset, lol).

This song is for you, gal... *Lee patting you on the shoulder and handing you a tissha*

It's gonna be fine. Your Whisper of a Man TI will be home soon.

Master P's Thinkin' about You (dirty version, so turn it DOWN!)



An interesting song... about holding it down when your man is locked down. Be strong, Southern Black Gal! TI will be out soon!!

LOL. I like that song. Reminds me when I finished grad school and I was a file clerk for a minute, looking for a job in my profession. There was this older woman who LOVED it. Cracked me up, as she would always yell how the peeps need to "Let a b*tch live, raise her kids, and floss her ice." LOL! Hilarious. (Okay, you had to be there.)

That is all for today. My weekend is wide open and wide loose. No schedule for me... Just hoping it will be a good weekend, and I don't tare up ish...

And I hope you have a good weekend too... on purpose!

Halloween Pictures

No, I don't have many... Ain't no way I'm decorating for Halloween, man.

But I have 3 pictures.

Here's a picture of the pumpkins at Whole Foods.

That's a lot of pumpkins. I have never carved a pumpkin, and I don't eat pumpkins. Well, I do have some pumpkin spice ice cream in the freezer. That was pretty good.

Getting back on subject.

My sister and I saw this over in Grant park when we walked out of the local pizzaria.


My sister hollered "What is that thang?"

I didn't know. Looked gruesome. And I was gonna take a picture of it.

Lastly, my halloween candy.

I give out that GOOD stuff. A couple of kids were upset about getting the Whoppers candy.

We in the 'hood kid. Don't get choosy, or I'll take BACK my candy... and whatever else you got in that bag...

LOL...

Semi-Wordless Wednesday: "Serenity"

I was rolling in College Park, down Ol' Nat. L Hwy, and saw this:


That's for you, Serenity23!!!

(I bet they don't do natural hair up in that camp, though. DARN!)

GO Vote!

Be like your friendly neighborhood Oldgirl, and go out and VOTE today!



Lawd knows I don't care for the whole process leading up to election day.... The constant negative campaign ads, the debates...

Candidates saying what you want to hear... kinda like that quote I posted a few posts back, about how it's feeling like a late night booty call. LOL

But, we have a right to vote. If you are black, somebody died and marched so you could vote. If you are a woman, someone fought for your right to vote.




We are all intelligent folk. You be sure to go vote, and make the best decision for you and yours...

All and all... GO VOTE!!!

Happy November Monday Morning

Monday AGAIN.

But I'm much more intrigued that it's a NOVEMBER Monday morning.

This year is going by FAST. Before we know it, wel'll be screaming Happy New Year!

More intriguing is that the year is 83% over. I have 17% of the year left to make it do what it do.

The current temperature in my City is 50 degrees. The weather is really confusing me. I am not coping well with the cold mornings and the warm days. I must admit that I miss summer, and my early morning walks. I hope to resume that again once we turn the clock back. I am to tired to walk in the evenings, man.

My weekend. It was quiet. Full of routine things. I must admit that I spent much time yacking on the phone to my friends. I spent a good amount of time thinking about some activities I'll be involved in this month. I even raked a few leaves, and swept off the front porch. I took and educational trip to Lowe's in order to talk to someone about blinds for my windows. I do believe I can install them myself. We'll see how that works out...

But most of all, I did much thinking about the month ahead. I have MUCH going on this month.

1. Today is the start of our FFF financial fast. Now, I haven't heard anything from the others, save one person, but we're going to go head on and start. I did it earlier this year, and it's my goal to do it twice a year, moreso now just to check myself, and to set new financial goals.

2. I'm working through a workbook right now about confronting our modern day idols. I've had this workbook for a week, and I've just been perusing it. It's quite daunting. I plan on working through that for the rest of the year (would love to get through it in a month, though).

3. This month is NaNoWriMo month. National Novel Writing month. I may or may not register for it. I am moreso using it to finish up the final chapters of my manuscript. I have 31 chapters written, and I think I may have only 5 to 8 chapters to finish up, plus some editing.

4. Today is World Vegan Day. It is the start of World Vegan Month. I am not vegan, even though it would help me. Your girl likes cheese and butter and ice cream too much. But I plan to have a raw diet today to celebrate this. Lots of fruits and vegetables, seeds and nuts. Nothing cooked today. OH JOY! lol

I plan on writing in detail about some of this this week or this month. Especially the workbook part of it.

Quote of the Day: One from my big blog sista, Blu Jewel, in a post entitled "Having Seizures", concerning "seizing" opportunities that come our way.

"I do have down days. I have moments where I feel stagnant or unproductive and I entertain them. Why not? I have to explore that side of me as it serves as a catalyst for me to rise up and forge on; to open the door again and allow opportunity to come in instead of having to knock. While I may never achieve everything, I'm going to do as many things as I can and with each "seizure" I have, I'll have yet another thing to look back on and be proud of."

That's good stuff right there. Powerful indeed. Made me think.

That's all for today. Look out for a full week of posts. However, my power chord for my laptop is spazzing out, sooooo... we'll see.

Have a great week... on purpose...