"Hot"

I like it when LadyTee and I attend church together...

The biggest reason is because I get a chance to see her. We rarely go to the same services. She likes the late service, and I like the early service. So most times we miss each other. However, we do talk about church later on in the day, trade up notes, etc…

Second, she knows my ways. If we go to church together, she can look up the Bible verses and I can concentrate on my notes. She don’t care about this arrangement, because she’s going to copy off my paper anyway. LOL.

One Sunday, me, LadyTee, and her Baby Daddy Big Corey were sitting in church listening to the sermon. My pastor said turn to James 3:6.

I nudged LadyTee.

She didn't move. She just sat there, hands resting on her Bible.

And then she whispered something.

I was wondering if she was praying or something. I gave her a moment (all of five seconds) to wrap up that little prayer, then nudged her again. I nudged her again.

“Tee, turn to the book of James, chapter 3,” I whispered. I leaned over and tried to help her out by quickly flipping the thin pages of her big bible. My head was a little closer to her as I leaned over

She whispered something inaudible into my ear.

I didn’t know what she said. All I heard were the words “usher” and “hot”.

I glanced her way. She had a sly smile on her face.

"Turn to the book of James, man!" I whispered.

She bit her bottom lip. “Lee, the usher is hot.”

I frowned. She nodded in direction of the aisle, a full grin threatening to spread across her face.

There, in the aisle, approximately 10 feet away, stood the most beautifullest black man on the planet. He wasn’t tall, but tall enough, about 5’10”. He was chock full of muscles, so many that he looked like he would bust out of that suit at any minute. He looked liked he may have been an all star running back back in the day. If someone would have happened to hand off a football to him, he would know exactly what to do.

But he was just standing there in the aisle… gripping a box of tissues in one hand and offerring envelopes in the other…

…and he had the one characteristic that LadyTee knows that I love…

He was Hershey-Bar dark. As a matter of fact, he was several shades past Hershey bar dark.

Made me want to jump up and yell “GLORY!”

It was one of those moments-- Me and LadyTee sitting shoulder-to-shoulder, eyes squinted, staring at this beautiful black man.

“The Usher is hot,” LadyTee whispered once again. I heard each and every word she said THAT time.

She knows how much I love jet black men. I always have my digital camera on hand, but left it at home... I surely needed my camera THAT day.

We both glanced over at Big Corey, hoping he wouldn’t be looking at us. He was paying close attention to the sermon.

Good.

Maybe he could fill me and LadyTee in on the important points we missed…

Yeah, we stared at the brother, as he walked slowly back and forth up the aisle, for all of five minutes. It briefly crossed my mind to raise one finger in the air so that he would walk our way. But I think both LadyTee and I would have passed out on the spot.

Then we got our heads and minds back straight, realizing we were in church. I began taking notes again. LadyTee went back to finding bible verses.

On the way out of the church, the Hot Usher was standing in the back. LadyTee nudged me again ("He is hot, Lee.") We both stared him down on the sly.

We couldn’t talk about him with Big Corey there. No need for LadyTee getting cussed out in the church lobby.

But we laughed about it later.

“Lee, I can’t believe you didn’t notice dude. I saw him before you did. And you know I can’t stand dark men.”

(Yeah, LadyTee likes her men who linger around the “high yella” to redbone stages.)

“That dude been hanging with 50 Cent!!” she said later on the phone. “You know he hot if I’m looking at him, because I don’t like no charcoal black men like you do, Lee. But his body was like 'WHOA'".

So, now we see the usher all the time. I actually ran up on him and asked a question. (Don’t worry, it was a legitimate question).

And his voice… made me pause.

Low, deep, and smoky. Dark, just like him.

And of course LadyTee and I discussed this later, LOL.

"Tee, the dude voice is like "WHOA""!

"Sure is," she said. "I ran up on him and asked a question already."

Naw… I ain’t trying to run up on the brother. And LadyTee wasn't either (She continuously reiterates that she can't stand no dark man, LOL). He can’t be a day over 30, and I, at age 37, don’t want no parts of a younger man. Besides, LadyLee don’t be jocking negroes at church. That’s not my reason for attending worship services...

It’s just that sometimes…

It is nice, you know…

To see a hot Usher.

LOL!

Just a nice little story… something funny for you on this Wednesday morn.

Have a nice day!

Food for Thought: Big Bark

One day a couple of weeks ago, when I was being chauffered home from work by my coworker the Infamous Hen-Dog, we ran up on a small white dog, no more than 10 pounds, standing in the middle of the street barking HARD at a couple of people (in their own yard, at their OWN house, mind you) who were washing there car.

We all just kind of froze, and watch this dog bark.

"Look at his little butt," I said, "trying to bogart like a mutha!"

We laughed at that dog, standing strong in the middle of the street regulating ish...

But we waited for him to finish. He did a minute later, then walked back to his own yard...

Another day, I was watching the Mayor of my hood Snake lay out some pine straw around my bushes and out of the corner of my eye, I saw something white moving towards me.

Scared the hell out of me so bad that I jumped!

There is NOTHING worse than seeing something out of the corner of my eye like that. First thing I thought was "A RAT!"

But no, it was that doggone dog. It resides 2 houses up from me. It had walked down to my yard. Got within two feet of me and started barking up a storm!

Snake and I just stood there and looked at it.

The dog barked HARD, then after a minute, walked back to it's own yard...

The other day, I was fidgeting with my keys, trying to get into the house and the dog walked up again. Had the nerve to walk up on my porch. It seems to have some type of method: sneak up on you, and then just start straight up GOING OFF.


I could only imagine what this dog is saying:

"Wassup Oldgirl? My name is Rock, and I am new to this block. Just want to let you and er'body else know that I run this street, and don't you or your cat forget it!! Ya hear me?"

Both Oscar and I stood there, in the door, just watching it. Poor Oscar-Tyrone had a most peculiar look on his face, as if to say... "Goodness gracious, what IS that and why is it so angry!?"

The dog finished it's mini rant, then turned...


...and walked away.


There's a lesson in there somewhere...

We've been picking on that little dog, laughing and pointing everytime we see him... "Look at him, trying to bogart, with his little self! Trying to run things! What does he think he is, a pit bull or rottweiller? He ain't nothing but a little mutt!!!"

I made a comment on that Platinum Card carryin' Original Oldgirl Chele's site yesterday, an old quote I heard years ago...

“It’s not what others think of you, it’s what YOU think of YOURSELF that matters.”

Really though.

Imagine all the things we could accomplish in this life if we weren't so caught up in what people would think about us if we pursued our personal dreams or goals...

Humph... Ponder THAT for the weekend.

I know I will...

The Journey, the Passage of Time, and the Pledge

I thought I would post something from deep within the pages of my very personal tomes (journals)...

My life is sort of like the movement of the space shuttle from the staging complex to the launching pad. Although the distance is only about 2 miles, the journey takes about 6 hours. If I get in my car and drive for 2 miles at highway speeds, I will complete the trip in only a couple of minutes, maybe less. But the shuttle's journey is 6 hours. Just watching with the naked eye, it may be hard to detect the move. But over time, the shuttle reaches it's destination. It is then ready to be launched into space.

So I look at things in my life- goals , attitudes, habits, and the most crucial of intangibles (self-worth, self-love, and self esteem) and realize that although it may seem as if these things are not changing, they always are. Now they could be changing for the better or for the worst. I don't know that.

The only way to tell is: The Passage of Time.

Time tells all.

Time never lies.

Today, I make a pledge to myself not to get upset or frustrated by my goals, wants, and needs not coming to fruition fast enough.

They will come to past over time.

They always do.

PEACE OUT!

Well, I'm leaving for the Airport.

Kentucky is picking me up before work and running me up there.

All you Chickens!

You know who you are!!!

Look alive and alert! Claws stretched! Feathers fluffed!

Hold the barnyard down!

Please and Thank You!

Happy Hump Day,

And I'll leave you with the sweet sounds of my favorite male singer, singing one of my top ten songs.

Alexander O'Neals "Morning After"



Can you hear me? Yes, it's me. LadyLee! I'm one of the backup sangers. My voice sounds so smooooth.

"Morning has come,
New Day has Dawned
We're still wrapped in each others arms
Being with You
Feels so Good
Will you stay with me?"

Yeah, i sound good!

(Yeah right)

LOL

One of my favorites for the last 18 years or so...

Of course, I'm especially drawn to that carribean picture. I hope to see a sunset as beautiful as that while on vacation!

And you know me. I have my camera ready to go!

There are daily repost set up for your reading pleasure. Let's just hope the blogger scheduled post system isn't being completely ratchet!

Enjoy the remainder of your week!

Your Friendly Neighborhood Oldgirl,

LadyLee

"Pretty Shiny Things"

You like rings.

You love them.

You like buying them out of the bubblegum machine at the drug store, as they only costs 25 cents apiece.

They are pretty: pretty shiny things, gaudy and so big on your fingers that you can only wear 2 or 3 at a time. And you would love to wear 5 at a time. That would be high fashion right there, you see.

But you find that your drug store rings don’t last very long. The band of your favorite one, a bright turquoise one that reflects the sunlight just right, turns from gold to a dirty silver with time. It leaves an ugly green ring around your finger when you take it off. It takes awhile for the stain to wear off. And you notice that the more you look at it, the more self-conscious of it you are.

The other rings, you like them too, but they don’t really last as long either. One is too tight and tends to cut you. It makes you bleed. Another cracks if you mistakenly hit it against something. Yet another one just falls apart for no reason.

And then your father comes along and says he has bought you a ring. You are happy and excited. You open the pretty package presented to you, and your smile melts into a frown. It’s not big and pretty like your drugstore rings.

Not a pretty shiny thing at all.

You take it out of the box and hold it between your index finger and thumb. You place it on your finger. You hold your hand out, fingers stretched wide. You consider it.

“It’s a diamond ring,” your father says.


You nod your head. It is pretty enough. The solitaire stone is chiseled on all sides. The diamond is clear as drinking water. The platinum band is shiny, and it fits your finger just right.

"Only the very best for you, sweetie," your father says, his grin broad and toothy. "I had it made special, just for you."

The ring is less gaudy than the ones you buy in a drug store, that's for sure. You can’t even purchase it there. There are not enough quarters in the mason jar you keep in the bottom of your dresser to buy it. And you can’t quite sashay around with it on.
It probably won’t get the attention from your friends that you love.

But you notice that it matches all of your outfits perfectly. It doesn’t turn your finger green. It fits your finger perfectly, never cutting it.

It doesn’t fall apart, that’s for sure.

Over time, you begin to love it.

This ring is indeed a pretty shiny thing afterall.

You go and thank your father for it.

For he knew exactly what you needed in the first place.

Even before you could understand within yourself what that need was.

He truly did.

Good Monday Morning!

Good Monday Morning to YOU!!

'Tis me, Your Friendly Neighborhood That Original Oldgirl LadyLee!!!

Happy Presidents Day to Ya!

"Obama to You!" LadyLee yells!

LOL

I'm STILL on vacation.

Doing it big like the Queen of England.

That means I'm on Holiday, Shawty.

"Holiday!!!" LadyLee hollers in her classic Queen's english. "Holiday! Holiday!"

LOL

The temperature in my beloved ATL is a nice 45 degrees. I plan to get out and about today, go get a pedicure, get a few last minute things done...

Bags are mostly packed and ready to go.

In a little over 48 hours I'll be on that SHIP!!

Not sure where my room is, but it's one of those with the balcony!

GLORY!!!!

I am PMSing like a mug right now. WHY oh WHY must Aunt Flo accompany me on this journey. I need her to show up RAT NOW, but she will show up the 2nd day of the cruise. UGH. So right now, I'm dragging. I'm like one step behind where I need to be right now. I just wanna SLEEP. Not a 100% chipper, but it's all good. My shopping is done, save for a few little things. I go today to get some cash out of the bank, go to Target, and get a pedicure in the morning. All that's left to do is a little more packing, getting Oscar-Tyrone set up for his solitude (Uh, stop tripping. Kentucky will be coming through hanging out with him).

Then I'm OUT!

I'm baking a gang of cookies, and spending the evening boxing those up and mailing them, because I am behind on that. So if you are suppose to get cookies from me, and you are high on the list, they are coming. So bear with me, please. Ya'll know I'm slow.

I should do better since I found a post office that I like. I can do more mailing, without all the danger!!

Purpose Week. I'd like to thank you for pulling up a rocking chair on the porch of the House of LadyLee and sitting a spell and reading my ramblings concerning the whole "purpose" mystery. Oh how I wish I'd found my book on Life Assignments and Purposes out in the garage, but I couldn't. It would have lent more clarity to the whole subject. I guess it was just best to go from some recent church notes, and my own personal thoughts and observations on the matter. I think it will stick with me better that way.

(Some of you wanted the link for Pastor Sarah. Her name is Sarah Omakwu. I didn't write her last name because I didn't want to spell it wrong, lol)

Just a little food for thought on spiritual matters, which honestly, I think about 90% of the time. Those are things that are most important to me anyway, and it helps my courage to write about things that are in the forefront of my thoughts.

I know earlier this year, I said instead of making resolutions, I needed some revelations. That purpose saga is an example of revelation. I need some stuff revealed, something that's going to stick and changes will grow out of it. Some revelation, man! An Oldgirl needs revelation!!!!

So with that said, we have a book giveaway at hand.

Serenity and I just finished a 6 week workbook. As usual she picks the book. (This always causes an argument. When she asks what to read next, I yell "I don't know, Chicken! Just pick something!)

So she picked up the following book.

This workbook... I don't even know what to say about this. All I know when people whine about not getting answers and hearing from God, well this workbook breaks it down where you need to back up and get in a position to hear from God. Good grief. What an eyeopener.

I like Priscilla Shirer. She's an exceptional teacher and she presents subject matter in such clarity that you have to be deaf, dumb, blind and stupid not to understand thoroughly what her point is. She's a sister like me. With issues like me. And she STILL working on her isshas. And she gets alllllll the way up in your personal business and gets down to the business of why there's so much wax in your spiritual ears.

I think we've stomped through 4 or 5 workbooks, and this one is the best thusfar.

So, I'm giving it away. I'm drawing names from whoever leaves comments over on the Purpose posts. Commenting is closed on Tuesday evening at 10:00 pm.

So leave a comment to win. Good workbook. I think you'll like it.

Great workbook. That was one that generated a couple of good long discussions betweenst me and that Chicken Serenity. Definitely an eye opener.

I think Serenity is about to start up a group workbook exercise over on her blog soon. You should get in on that. And the thing about workbooks is that it's a lot of information, combined with mini-personal journalling. All you want is to get a couple of morsels that apply to you concerning your situation. That's all. Just one or two points that will help you do better.

I like Workbooks. They got em on everything. If you trying to get off the pipe, or stop being a ho, if you lie, cheat, steal, or cuss out folk all the time, they got a workbook on that, where someone has sat down and compiled allll the scriptural info into one book and you just work through it. Very interesting concept, and a great way to learn your bible indeed!

Post of the Month. I would be remiss if I didn't mention a post that has been on my mind ever since it was posted close to a month ago... It's by a blogger than I just adore, and I stalker stan her every time I get when I see her on Twitter.

"Next Door" by the Infamous Ladidahdi, La Bella Vita.

Man, some of La's posts. Man... she's only 26 or 27 years old, but I swear she had to start writing them when she was 2 years old. So much THOUGHT put into them. When i found out she lurks over here at the House of LadyLee, man... I was just ashamed. I'm so ebonic, and smurfy. My stuff just wasn't worthy for her eyes to fall upon. Sheesh.

If I don't read another post this well crafted the rest of the year, then fine. This was EXCEPTIONAL. Left me without air.

Oh La! I will stalker stan you even more now!

*La kicks the hard eyeroll*

Song of the Week. Especially for one of the Original Oldgirls Chele. I think you will like this one, hon. I listen to it when I need a good pick me up. One of my favorites by ol' Mary J!

With that said, I am done. I won't be doing any blogging for the next 2 weeks, as I'm GONE!

But never fear, you have exciting reposts of some of my favorite posts. Don't worry, I picked the short ones. Lots of food-for-thought. Some funny stuff. All pretty short! LOL

Tomorrow I have a short story that I wrote last week for a friend. I hope you enjoy it.

I plan on having internet on the boat. So I will probably be on twitter, or answer comments around this way!!

So for now, I'll holler!

The final leg of my vacay is at hand!

Ya'll have a great workweek... on purpose!!

I'll holler!

Thoughts on Purpose, Part IV

Weekend blogging! I love it.

It's doing much for me. It's giving me life.
It's making me GREAT today!
So I'll continue with my thoughts on

Purpose

This is the last post in this Purpose series.I like these types of posts, but can't say that I am in love with posting them, because it gets over into the type of spiritual things I'm pondering some 90% of the time.

At the same time, it's more for me than for you. I have an extensive archive of such pondering, and they have helped me much.

So...

I've learned much about purpose this year thusfar. And it's only the end of February. I think much of this has come about from things I've been praying about. I like to try to pray for a good half hour to an hour in the mornings a few days a week, and I look back at my prayers and I can see quite a few times when I've awaken MAD about having to go to work, but at the same time having to close the door on those emotions and ask God to use me in some way that day to help someone, to just let me be a cobblestone on someone's life path... something. Because I noticed, it always stirred up something in me, so measure of personal peace.

Needless to say, on a broader scale, I was praying about purpose.

And as usual (and I tend to take this for granted, gotta do better), lots of things jump off. Like hearing a couple of good sermons on purpose. Additionally, a workbook that Serenity and I just finished working on through a fabulous workbook that touched on the subject. And reinforce that with powerful examples of purpose in my midst, and I am pretty much equipped to with a fair amount of appreciation and understanding for this thing called purpose.

So, I was happy to post about it. I hope you've been able to receive something from it. Of course this ain't like the gossip sites, with their juicy nuggets of info on people, places and things, but this is a bit different, hopefully soemthing that will benefit your spirit.

And as with anything, it's like trays of hors d'oeurves that come around. Take what you like, what you need. The smoked oyster canapes may not be to your liking, but the tuna pate rounds may be what you like. Or you may like the crackers spread with cheese whiz. Whatever.

I just hope you found something to your liking, something that adds to your being.

That's the way it is with me.

With that said, I feel as though, after pondering all of this, that:

"Purpose is born out of our passions, dreams, goals, triumphs, tribulations, trials, frustrations, anger, and pain."

All of that goes into developing one's life purpose in life.

And I see all of us as trees. And we know a tree by the fruit it bears.

I can recognize an apple tree because it produces apples.

I can recognize a peach tree because it produces peaches.

And I can tell a person's purpose by the fruit they produce.

Yeah, that's a little convoluted, but work it out for your ownself. Just my way of thinking about it all.

Let's take an example. Look at all these runners all over blogland. Just some running broads, they are. I love love LOVE being a witness to their journeys, from running 1/2 a mile to running upwards of 15 miles now.

You know, I can see the fruit of their efforts. LOVE being a witness to that. That's a passion of theirs. But purpose can be born out of that passion.

They are now infused with the ability to aid others who want to get on that path, but didn't know how to get started. They have now become the effective example for others, and you can tell their deep burning passion for it, because they go all out to show others the way.

Or I know some of Serenity's clientele like to meander over here at the House of LadyLee. She's the official consultant for the House of LadyLee food-for-thought posts (she ges a little, uh, cantankerous if I don't post something on a regular basis to "help a sister" out). I am the official consultant for House of Serenity fodder (uh, not that hair and makeup and clothes and accessories stuff - I am a tomboy forever).

She gets a little antsy about posting about disappointments, failures, fears, angers at times. I try to tell her that all of this is as important as all the happy times.

Purpose is born out of that. You never know, she may have the key that unlocks someone from the mental prison in which they reside.

And the same with me. I don't really care for food for thought posts, as much as I do my smurfy posts.

So I hope you understand where I'm coming from.

This post is already long, and it's about to get longer.

I wanted to list 3 things in my life from which my life's purpose is born.

1. I am an Encourager. Man. NOTHING pleases me more than encouraging people. Just being an encourager. Oh, that just really lights a fire in my heart.

That part of me is born out of my personal pain. I grew up with a mother who didn't know how to encourage. In fact, you had to be careful not to say the wrong thing to her, because she WILL use it against you. As a result, I've always been a terribly quiet individual, and I only trust individuals who I can say what I have to say and not be frickin' punished for it. And that's hard. (My BFF LadyTee always sayd, Lee. I have to drag stuff out of you. You so private, gotta drag whatever it is that's wrong out of you!)

To me, there is nothing worse than people who, when you see them coming, you want to run the other way, because they mentally drain you, instead of building you up. I don't do well with people who, when they walk in the room, they cause havoc and choas in the life of others, leaving mental carnage in their path. That bothers me down deep. Waaaay down deep.

So, I am a direct opposite of such. I don't mind listening. I will literally stop what I do and listen, and find a way to encourage. I refuse to use what I learn against you. If I can have ANY part in you having the advantage, then I'm totally down with that. It just ain't in me to do so. 9 times out of 10, I will ask you a TON of questions, let you talk to and encourage your ownself. I love encouraging people. Just love it, love it, love it.

2. I am a Teacher. I love to teach. That's one of the few joys of my job: finding a way to train a person on their level. I just loooooove to teach. People that I like being around, they have very strong teaching spirits. I'm sooo drawn to such... The best part of grad school for me was the teaching component of it. I just love to teach.

3. I am a writer. Boy oh Boy, if you didn't know how much I like to write, well, now you know. I just loooooove to write. Not sure where that came from. I've always been a master journaller. Then I think our women's fellowship at church had a "Readers and Writers" group, and I got nosy and attended it. We talked about journalling and writing, and I'd actually gotten a chance to talk to other church memebers who like to write and had actually published books. I think a great seed was planted at that time, some 8 years ago. And it has grown.

What has been terribly interesting to me is a mini-explosion of people reading my work over the past month. And I'm talking about things I've had put up for a long time, you know, finish writing it, and throwing it in the closet. And it's been such a blessing talking to the readers and discussing what they liked, what they didn't like, what touched their hearts, etc. It's really stirred something up in me, and I am glad of that. Definitely a place from which my purpose is born. So my purpose is born from those three things... It's like a chord made of three strands, making it stronger. This is where my success is, where my peace is, where my abilities to be a blessing to others' lay. It's where my passion lay.When you look at the fruit I produce on my tree, it involves some aspect of those 3 things I listed above. It's my place called happy.

Well! That's the purpose series. You have reader Ginae to thank for it. She asked asimple question about purpose in my comment section.

I had to tie up my sneakers and holler "Whelp! Guess I better get into this!"

And I'm so very glad I did.

Yes indeed.

Thoughts on Purpose, Part III

I suppose I will continue on with my thoughts on this important idea of

Purpose

Parts I and II dealt with different ideas of what purpose was, one part being more definitive in nature, and the other getting into specifics of a woman's purpose.

It was really interesting to hear about a woman's purpose from an African Woman's point of view. On top of that, Pastor Sarah is a widow. She is a single woman, basically. Her husband, who was head of the church passed a few years ago, and well, she had to pick of the reins and move forward. So of course, the message was more detailed than what I posted, as she went into her feelings as a woman concerning this, some of the desperate things she'd done in face of it all (relationship-wise), and getting through that.

But at the core of it all, the message was centered on a woman's purpose. I got the idea that African women had more pride in embracing the purpose of taking care of and nurturing their family. Moreso than American women. I know a few times, Pastor Sarah would say, "Oh my, I need to move on to something else because you don't like what I'm saying."

Much of it was tiring. We American women are career-minded. Nothing wrong with that. I myself have been career minded, of course.

But I learned something from her message:

I, as a woman, am a problem solver.

I, as a woman, am a helper.

I, as a woman, give others the advantage.

I, as a woman, aid, encouragement, and comfort.

That's who I am. No matter whether single or married, housewife or career woman, sister, mother, friend... That's who I am.

And that's why I see so much of what was said in all of you. That's who you are too. Whether joyous or weary in your daily dealings, that's who you are. That's what God put inside of you.

I rather think of myself in terms of what I just wrote above, rather than think of myself in terms of how media and society views me as a black woman. Society says I am angry and argumentative. I can't get along with other black women. My black men will rather have a white woman than deal with me. And then there's those news reports that pop up on the regular to make sure I as a black woman know that I have to compete for a black man, and that I am desperate, lonely and upset because I am single.

Wow. I rather confess the positive over myself, see myself as God sees me.

I prefer to look at other black women and see the positive in them.

One of my favorite people as of late is someone I call my "Play Mama". Her name is Adrienne. I found her on twitter. She's a real nice chick, but I noticed something interesting about her.



She takes so much pride in being a housewife... a wife and mother. She just loves, loves, loves, it. She talks about it. She goes to sleep thinking about her family. She wakes up thinking about her family. She just adores her family. She lives to make them happy.

Adrienne left a comment on part I of this series:

"Walking in one's purpose should be sweatless, and bring a sense of peace, joy or delight, and a sense of accomplishment. <------ THIS is how I know daily that I'm walking in my purpose!!! It may just be my purpose for right now...who knows how that will change down the line, but I have NO doubts that what I'm doing now is what I'm SUPPOSED to be doing."

This confused me. Like, it goes in my brain, and I have to process it before I accept it. You rarely see a sister like this. And heck man, I didn't grow up like this. I KNEW I was nothing but a burden to my mother. I can't say there was a real bond between myself and my mother. My goal all my life was to stay out of the way, and make sure I kept any and all of my business from her.

Mother took care of me, as was required by law. That's as far as that goes.

She did the best she could. And to hear this woman, Ms. Adrienne, just express so much joy in motherhood and being a wife, it caused me to holler "Adopt me, please!" So hence born the "play Mama" status. And she embraces her new role. She nurtures me more than my own Mama has ever thought to.

My sister, who's going through her own brand of mess right now with our Mama, has to hear me holler "My Mama live over in Alabama. *lee pointing in direction of Bama* She don't give me all these problems!! Ain't got time for a bunch of foolishness!"

I know Adrienne said something the other day that made me stop and ponder. She had friends who chided her for being a housewife. Oh, I know that had to be painful. Here you are, doing your best to be a good wife and mother, and your girls, who I would think are career women, are hating on you. Proves something that I know to be true concerning purpose:

When you are walking in and living out your purpose, there will be naysayers all around you attempting to talk you out of your purpose.

You know it's true. You have some burning desire in your heart, some dream, and you start walking in it... and there are jokers around you tripping. It hurts you, even makes you second guess yourself. You know the solution. Adrienne knew the solution. You have to drop those folks.

Listen. I had to learn something, and I don't know when I learned this. Maybe around the age of 30. It got VERY strong when I turned 40, and is one of the foundations of my life: I am quick to rid myself of any folks who are negative in my life. I mean, people who are highly critical and judgmental of what I do, to the point of bringing me down. You gots to go. You're not being a blessing to me. You're not encouraging, uplifting, edifying, constructively criticizing, cheering me on. You're a hindrance. You are of no use to me. Go away. And hence, another thing I've learned about this thing called purpose

People who downgrade people walking in their purpose usually do so because they are not busy walking in their own purpose. As a matter of fact, they may not even know their purpose.

Because come on... if you are busy with your own purpose, you have respect for the another's purpose. And you're so busy focusing on your own thing, that you don't have time to be hating on another.

Yeah, it's a jealousy thing. Jealousy is an ugly word, but it is what it is.

And it's fine to drop these suckers. I call them suckers because that's what they are: they suck the life out of you. They stress you out. They drain you. They have you laying in bed at night, alone with your thoughts, and thinking: "Am I doing the right thing?"

What an awful thought. A seed planted by the sucker. Get rid of the sucker. I have to get rid of the riff-raff. I may not be able to rid myself of them physically, but I can keep them from renting space in my mind. Why get rid of them? Because I have to make room for something better

When you decide to walk in and pursue your purpose in life, God sends people into your life to support you.

Because it's the truth with me.

And if you look around, it's true with you, too.

To be continued.

Thoughts on Purpose, Part II

For Part I, see Thoughts on Purpose

Dedicated to my "Play Mama"---Blogger and Twitter sista Adrienne

So...

My church, WCCI, just celebrated our 25th church anniversary.

It started with 8 lone members back in 1986... now some 40,000 members between the ATL and Manhattan campuses, and the satellite churches. GLORY!

I like my church. This is my 9th year of membership, and it's been great for me. Maybe I will do a post on why I go there, one day. But today's not that day, honey!

For now, I am just thankful to God for giving me a pastor with some of the same emotional issues I have. As a result, I've made great strides in working through them, especially when he teaches out of his own issues.

*blank stare*

(You didn't think it was all about money, did you? *lee raises eyebrow* lol)

Moving right along!

We gonna stay on target, and keep talking about

Purpose

Anyway, as usual with church anniersaries, there's always a someone who comes in and preaches for the anniversary, thereby allowing the pastor to sit back and relax.

This year we had a minister from Nigeria, Pastor Sarah. She pastors a large church in Nigeria. It was her husband's church, but he passed and she had to get in there and head it up.

So she preached this year.

Very good sermon. Me and sister watched on the internet. Didn't go to church because my pastor was calling folk hollering about come to church because Karen Clark-Sheard was going to be there. This means ALL the negroes who don't go to my church gonna show up. That means crowded. BUMP that. That's how it was with Yolanda Adams and Donny McClurkin. When the stuff is FREE, negroes come out the woodworks!

But Pastor Sarah showed up on the scene... in full African garb, so shocked and honored to preach for our churches 25th anniversary.

She said she had to pinch herself, had to look at herself in the mirror... She felt like she was Michelle Obama.

It was the first time I ever heard an African do that real chant, you know, that high pitch

"Yi-di-di-di-di-di-di-di-di-di-di-di-di-di-di-diiiiiiiii!!!!!!"

(I was standing in the kitchen washing dishes when she did that. I was watching the stream over the internet, and had to turn around and look at the laptop! What the world!!)

Let me tell you how thankful she was: she spent a whole hour giving honor to the pastor, his family, his best friend, his kids, assistant ministers, deacons, church mothers, etc...

But what really shocked the cheese out of me and my sister and LadyTee (who actually was at the service) was that she presented each of the members who were members that first year of the church and were still there now (some 60 members), with a $1000 dollars a piece.

She just wanted to show some honor.

(This was revelation to the Oldgirl. I have a post coming up on "HONOR" soon).

Wow. What a treat to come to church and walk off with some cash in your pocket. LAWD.

Interesting sermon. Me and my sister Kentucky talked about it. Pastor Sarah said she wanted to pretend that the pastor wasn't there and just talk among "us" and talk of how we all go through problems, but we will come out of it.

Interesting indeed.

But I'm not going to talk about that.

We had a women's fellowship meeting the next night, which was my birthday.

And Pastor Sarah was preaching for that meeting.

So, as a birthday gift for myself (along with taking a MONTH off from work, lol), I decided it would be nice to throw on my sweats and sneakers and roll up in this meeting.

Interestingly, the topic of her sermon was

When I am at My Best: A Woman's Purpose

(You see what I'm talking about? Whatever I'm praying by at the time, somebody gonna be talking about it. I'm down with that, man.)

Passage of interest. Genesis 2: 15-22

A woman is not an afterthought, or came into existance through default. She was a breakthrough idea in God's mind.

You are the best of God's thought to solve any problem.

This means you are not a trouble maker, but you solve troubles.

A man was made from dirt, a woman was taken from bone, i.e., refined dirt.

A woman is taken from bone, this means she is strong.

However, we as women are taken from man for man. You are there to bring out the best in man, to help him fulfill his mandate and vision, to make him the king he is suppose to be, to bring out the greatness in him. And you are there to bring out the best in your children.

This is why there is trouble in your house when you are not supporting your man, but you are trying to take charge over your man and you are trying to take over and be the head.

When is a woman at her best?

1. When she is a helper. What we try to do is take over. It don't work. You're there to help him fulfill a vision. You are a key to his success. You have what's in you to satisfy his every need. You aid. You make sure you are on top of his game. You do not drain. You do not cause or bring stress. You are annointed to solve problems. You remove burdens and destroy yokes. You are useful and profitable.

2. When she has others on her mind. You're at your best when you are not preoccupied with yourself. Your man and your children should be on your mind. His worries should be on your mind. You are created by design to take care of issues.

Our problem is that we are not content with our portion. The "How about me" attitude is the beginning of trouble.

When you are carried away about others, God will be carried away about you. God has your back, when you are like this.

It is NOT all about YOU. When it is, you are cantankerous and others don't want to deal with you. Work on your selfishness and ridding yourself of it.

You're at your best when you are giving others the advantage.

3. When she's under authority. Ephesians 5:22; 1Peter 3:1-6 You're at your your best when you are submissive. To your husband and to the Word of God.

4. When her affairs and household are in order. She referred to Proverbs 14:1. I looked at 20 different translations of this verse. And here are the ones that stuck out to me:

NIV Proverbs 14:1 The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.

CEV Proverbs 14:1 A woman's family is held together by her wisdom, but it can be destroyed by her foolishness.

GWT Proverbs 14:1 The wisest of women builds up her home, but a stupid one tears it down with her own hands.

I think that verse says it all... Keep an orderly household. And I think this mostly refers to keeping it from being emotionally and mentally chaotic, in addition to ridding it of physical chaos.

That's it for notes. I actually have handwritten notes, but I actually bought this CD yesterday, and sat here and listened to it early this morning so I could type it up in more detail. There was a bit more to it, but that above is the general premise/detail of it.

I posted that up just for YOU.

But more for ME.

My pastor's wife, who runs a pretty good women's fellowship program, put together a pretty good affirmation from her own notes that night. And here they are.


I am at my best
Because I solve problems
I'm not a trouble maker

I am at my best
Because I bring out the best in others

I am at my best
Because I am a helper
Because I bring out the greatness in my spouse

I am at my best
Because I am a helper
I provide what is necessary

I am at my best
Because I serve and wait on others

I am at my best
Because I help others rise to the top.

I am at my best
Because I am useful
And I aid and comfort others
I am at my best

The world does NOT revolve around me.
It is NOT all about me.

It is about the kingdom
And giving others the advantage

I thank you Lord that
I am a woman who is on a mission
And I am at my best.

I dare you to print that paper on a piece of paper and stick it up on your bathroom mirror and ponder it while you brush your teeth or put on your makeup. Makes me feel better about my self-worth and value just reading it here.

Man, I thought this was all so strong...

Whether you are a single woman or a married one, I know you see so much of yourself in that.

I see so much of what I just posted here in so many of you.

And I see so much of what was said above in my own self.

To be continued...

Thoughts on Purpose

I've been thinking much lately about one thing:

Purpose

And the ends and outs of it.

As always, I did what I like to do with fancy words: I looked up a definition of it.

Purpose: the reason for which something exists or is done, made, or used; an intended or desired result; end; aim; goal; determination; resoluteness; the subject in hand; the point at issue.

When I think of purpose, I think of a good thing... something positive.

Every once in awhile I will end a post with wishing you a good day, week or weekend and to make it good "on purpose".

And what I'm saying when I say that is for you to AIM for that weekend to be a good one. I'm asking you to expect and be determined for it to be a good one.

Now on a personal level, this whole purpose thing gets a bit more complicated.

But looking at the definition above, I can come to conclusion of what purpose is on an individual basis.

I think we've all, during our lifetimes at one time or another, have been alone with our thoughts and asked the following question:

What is my purpose?

And looking at the definition above, esentially what I am asking myself is"

What is the reason I exist? What am I suppose to be doing?

And you know me, I look at everything for myself for a spiritual perspective.

Essentially, I've asked myself:

Why am I here? What is God's purpose for my life? What was the purpose for which I was created? What is my life assignment?

Those are difficult difficult questions. Very difficult. It's a difficult topic indeed.

And here's the thing: it's not suppose to be so difficult.

I bought a book on life assignments a good 10 years ago. I've been out in the garage trying to find it. It would've been useful for this topic indeed.

But what has me thinking about all of this is me being off from work, and my mind being clear enough to ask myself these questions.

And of course, 100% of the time, whatever I'm pondering or praying about, well, somebody at the church house is preaching on it.

I know when I'm off from work, I like to attend morning bible study on Wednesday and Friday. I try to catch at least one of those. As you know, my pastor is a very popular televangelist, but I like to get a chance to catch the assistant ministers because they have their own areas of specialty. So some of them, I look forward to, and hopefully I can catch them in that early morning rotation.

One particular minister I like much is a guy who specializes in walking in love, and something else: identity crisis. So I like him A LOT. He gets real heavy into who you are in God's eyes. And he's real good at explaining spiritual principles related to such.

So when I see him, I'm cheesing hard.

Identity crisis... man, that is such a difficult topic. But his God given purpose: to grab you by the neck and break it down to you. And he does it extremely well. As a matter of fact, when I think of the most important sermon I ever heard, it is one that he did on identity crisis, and it wasn't even what his sermon was about. It was just an intro to what he was going to talk about. But it was so important to me that I wrote what he said down, and posted it here on my blog (See, "The Mystery of Identity Crisis"

I've learned one thing from him over the years:

One's purpose can be born out of one's pain, frustration, or anger.

I think for him, he has a slight speech impediment, and he was told by teachers and everybody else all his life, since being a very young child that he would never be nothing. So he dealt with that pain for a good 20 years. He apparently got through it, and is an expert at lifting others out of similar problems and helping them feel better about themselves... and going on to fulfill God's purpose for their lives.

His purpose was born out of personal pain. And I see it all the time. A child is tragically murdered or dies and purpose is born out of that. I think of it every time I see the host of America's most Wanted. His show is responsible for catching a multitude of fugitives. Parents go on to create these foundations that move with such force that they force laws to be created or changed.

Any way, I was particularly struck by segments of a sermon last Wednesday morning, where Minister Phillips taught on the topic of how our problems tend to stem out of us doing our own thing and being/moving independent of God. And somehow he got over into what happened out in the Garden of Eden, and how it changed much.

Essentially, if you read the early part of Genesis closely, you will see that God put Adam here and gave him a job, a purpose: to dress and keep the place up.

That was his purpose. His God given purpose, his God given assignment.

Then all that mess went down. And Adam had stepped out of his purpose, his God given assignment for his life.

Interesting enough. What was more interesting is a mini-discussion about us who are on jobs that really have us all stressed out, etc...

It's because we aren't walking in our God-given purpose.

He explained when Adam was working in the Garden of Eden, within his purpose, that job was sweatless, gave him delight. That's simple enough to understand, and we can make that assumption, because later on, when things went astray, he was told that in sorrow and toil he would work the ground and live off of it. So you can assume that when he was walking in his purpose, it wasn't a thing of sorrow or toil.

And it's the same way now in this present day, isn't it?

When it comes to some of us and our jobs, that is.

Well, if not for you, then for me. Made perfect sense. I am very impatient with my job. I like it, independent of psychological and political mess and hoop jumping.

Some people play golf. I play chemistry. Just something I do.

But it ain't my purpose. I don't wake up thinking about it. I don't go to sleep talking about it. Most of my friends aren't chemists, so we don't have these sweeping deep scientific discussions.

It is my profession. Not my purpose.

And as a result, it is a thing of toil for me.

Me waking up in the morning: "Shoot. Got to get up and go to work. Deal with these jokers yet another day. DANG"

*lee kicks Oscar-Tyrone out of frustration*

No do not call PETA. I do not kick Oscar. I may yell at him to get out of my way. That's about it. But you get my point. That frustration and impatience, that sorrow experienced of having to get up and "go till the ground"...that is toil.

Working within one's purpose is suppose to be something totally different. So I learned something else that day.

Walking in one's purpose should be sweatless, and bring a sense of peace, joy or delight, and a sense of accomplishment.

Yeah, that's a lot to pull out of that message and reading. But it's gotta be true, you know? And when I say sweatless, you know what I mean. A man's purpose could be to build bridges, and he's sweating doing it...

But he's not waking up in the morning PISSED about having to get out there and do it. He can't wait to get up, and get out there and build that bridge! He probably woke up with a bright idea of how to solve a certain problem they are having with the bridges construction. He has his helpers on his mind, and how he can help them in the process. He can't wait to build that bridge!

Heck... I know I've awaken on occasion and have busted out crying because I gotta go to work. UGH. Maybe it was just my PMS. Who knows. But it's a busted feeling, I tell you that much. I don't like that type of sorrow at all.

So that's what I learned about purpose that day. And it helped me gain insight into my own purposes.

To be continued...

Tuesday Night Special... The LadyLee Holiday Continues

Good evening, Oldboys and Oldgirls!

LadyLee Tuesday night special... Since I didn't blog this morning.

So I guess I will write this evening.

I doing it big like the Queen of England.

I'm on Holiday!

(And I say that with my best English accent).

My goodness! The last 2 days have been uber busy. I sort of need a veg out day. Sigh.

Monday. I went to the bank to bust somebody up about some charge coming up on my grandmother's debit card. $12.99 a month. No it aint' much, but it adds up... doggonit!!

I also went and bought some blinds. Yeah, yeah, I'm being a lazy one with the paper and vinyl blinds. The goal is to try to put some up myself. Not working out all that great right now, trying to put a set up over the sink. If I get one right, I will be okay, and do more. That's my home improvement goal of the vacation: put up some blinds... doggonit.

My sis turned me on to this place that sells an incredible cinnamon type incense. The catch is it is sold at a place that uh.. If you go in the back section of the store, they display the most eclectic imported glass crack pipes and bongs for weed. Me and my sister have interesting convos about this.

"I found that place, man. You were right. It is interesting!"
"Lisa, I told you, the front of the store is a front for some mess going on in the back."
"Yeah girl! If you need a fancy crack pipe, that's the place to go."
"And something else be going on in the back room behind the curtain, Lee. I bet they sell them bath salts back there. Be snorting them. Soemthing goes on behind that curtain!"

I was thinking this myself. I've been in there twice, and I found the curtained area... mysterious. I would've loved to pull out my camera. You may have never seen me again, though."

"All I know, Kentucky, they were playing some serious Outkast up in that joint."
"I don't know about all that, but those white people are up in there deep."
"Yep. I was the only black person. That place is a trip!"

I'm sure we will make more visits. And more observations of the white people purchasing their special paraphanelia.


Tuesday... a long long day!!!

1. I got my taxes done!!! GLORY! I have the worst girl crush on the chick that does my taxes. Ooooh I just love her to death! Got me sanging Jodeci!

"I can't leave you alone!! You got me feenin'! Got me Feeenin for my Money!!!"

I was so excited to see her. I smile alot. My eyes glaze over. I'm swooning.

She's like "Uh, Lee... this is because I deal with your money. I don't excite you."

I think that's it. When I see her, I think "MONEY!!!!!"

*handing that chick my bank routing number*

When I left from getting my taxes done, I vacuumed my car out at a nearby gas station. Why, tell me, was I watching the news tonight, and there was some police shoot out at that same gas station? Right out front, where I was vacuuming out my car?

Sigh. And I remember doing it, and making sure to look around every once in awhile, making sure a sucka don't run up on me and rob me! Humph! A shoot out with the polices! WoW.

2. Field Trip! Field Trip! I took a coworker, my friendly workplace librarian, on a field trip to the local Natural co-op where I like to shop. We had a good time. She even brought along another coworker. So that was fun. I felt so helpful, giving them a tour of the store that I LOVE!!

3. Doctors Appointment. I don't like doctors appointment. But alas, I must go. I have to drive 30 minutes south of ATL, so I don't care for that. But that's okay. Gotta stay on top of the chronic!

I've lost 8 pounds since the last doc appt. Not sure how that happened. I don't feel it. But oh well. Maybe I'll be like some of my fella sistas and go pick up a dumb bell or something,

I love the guy who takes my blood. He is hershey bar dark. (I like dark-skinned-ed men!). He has gold teeth in his mouth. And he has prison green tats.

Sexy. DANGEROUS!

But oh so gentle with sticking that needle in my arm. Sigh.

A good visit overall. I was more concerned about lining up my meds for my trip. I ain't tryna be on that boat and run out of meds. *lee throws self off side of ship*

So that's it for your Tuesday night special.

The rest of the week MAY be food for thought concerning purpose...

Hmm... we'll see. I want to type up a few church notes on that. Take a look at a few thangs.

On that note... stay tuned...

And enjoy your evening!

TGIF!!!!

TGIF, boys and girls.

Of course, this means nothing to me, as I continue to be OFF!!

*backflips, cartwheels, and splits*

And ya'll... Well, ya'll gotta go to work!

*Morris Day cackles*

Just playing! Calm down. lol

I am getting up, getting ready to go to another morning bible study. I LOVE this. More detailed, and just a great way to start off my day! Would love to attend a couple times a week, every single week. Really.

So I don't have much time. Gotta get up and go, but I wanted to post something today. I may post something later this afternoon.

Video of the week. One of my top 10 favorite songs... Soul II Soul's "Keep on Movin'"



I love that song. I remember when it came out. I was shocked that there were black folks over in London. (I was young, alright?).

Yet I am happy for one of the few positive songs out there that have remained timeless. This is definitely one of them.

Quotes for the Weekend. Consciousskillz, the twitter philosopher, kicks out a good 20 or 30 quotes a day... Here are some good ones.

There is no one worth sacrificing your dignity or integrity for. To even consider doing it says alot about you.

Your present condition is part of the journey, not the destination. Keep it moving.

Taking personal responsibility for my actions negates any attempt I may have for blaming anything or anyone outside of myself.

If I don't learn the lesson the first time, then it will repeat itself insidiously until I do.

Circumstances look to chip away at your peace.

Never be surprised at the lengths people will go to stand in the way of your progress.

And finally...

The journey to loving self is three fold expedition. Mental, physical and spiritual. Take the trip, its worth it.

Those are all very good. Very good indeed.

That last one, that's a lifetime, day by day process... for the rest of our lives, isn't it?

Really though.

Well, I'm outtie. Bible study, Wal-mart, car emissions, car tag, Lowes, best-buy... and on and on and on...

Have a GREAT weekend... on purpose!!!

A LadyLee Holiday report... Thursday edition

Man, I wanna blog, but my mind is a BLANK!

Either that or I have too much on my mind to be trying to blog about.

Anyhow, we'll go random.

I had a good day yesterday. When I'm off, I like to catch morning bible study services. I get a chance to hear our assistant ministers preach and they are ALWAYS interesting. Yesterday, Minister Phillips, who is like, a MASTER on the subject of personal identity crisis preached. Very interesting. Everything with him leads back to correcting personal internal identity issues. WOW.

Afterwards, me and my BFF LadyTee, her mama Bobbie Jean, and her daughter Milk-Milk, went to this backwoods country buffet.

OH MY IT WAS GOOD!

It is called Charlie's Country cooking. Something like that. Out in Fayetteville somewhere.

They had

Fried chicken, fried whole catfish, fried whiting, steak and gravy, mash potatoes, fried green tomatoes, black eye peas, cabbage, collard greens, green beans, sweet corn, sweet potato souflee, a HUGE salad bar, rice, cole slaw...

*lee takes deep breath and keeps talking*

Corn bread, rolls, hush puppies, cheesecake, peach cobbler, cake, sweet tea, lemonade, vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream...

OH LAWD HAVE MERCY!!!

All for $6.50. All you can eat.

$6.50

O_O

Everything was really good. Not cooked with pork or smoked turkey. Very fresh and not greasy at all! And with this vegetarian thang I'm tryna do, I like stuff cooked fresh.

I was with Bobbie Jean at the buffet, filling my plate with veggies.

"What, you don't eat meat, Lisa Anne?"
*lee shrugging, salivating over the veggies* Try not to. If I do these days, it's on the weekends.
"Fish ain't meat!"
"It's got eyes, Bobbie Jean. It's got eyes!"
"It ain't meat!"

LOL!!!

Oh lawd. This meant I had to get a piece of fish. It was GREAT. If you like catfish, go there. Perfectly fried. But shoot man... they will be seeing me for huge plates of veggies!!!!

LadyTee has always hollered about "We bout to go over to 'The Spot'".

So now, I know where "the spot" is.

Let me tell you something else... when you see a bunch of elderly white folk running up in a place, moving fast, moving slow, kicking out the walkers and the canes...

Yeah... you wanna check that place out. Old white folk find good places and support them.

That is all.

After that, I went yarn shopping. Then I went to the bookstore.

And yesterday, all that was perculiar. Whereever I was shopping, people were discussing some dire family drama, man. All out loud. They needed to use their inside voice, or their library voices.

I found all kind of interesting fodder for stories. Man. And wasn't looking for it. There was a lot of "Uh, excuse me, I need to get past here."

I wasn't eavesdropping. It's just that ya'll ninjas are in my way. MOVE. So I can go home before it snow!!

Thoughts went through my mind while listening, though.

Ma'am, I hope Lil' Ray act right. I know ya'll gonna talk to him when he get out of his Thursday ROTC meeting. Cuz he been over that gal's house everyday, won't come home. Ain't taking part of his resopnsibility. I'm glad you're here talking to his Grandma, who works in this store. She's gonna call him as soon as he gets off. "Straighten him out, I will!" she says.

And you sir, I hope that child support thing goes right. Yes, you told her she needed to do better about little Tommy. Yes, yes, I understand you just gottta know how to talk to a woman, make her understand. And you gotta make sure you pray about it. *His friend nods in agreement*

And you over there sir, in the Hobby Lobby Parking Lot. I know they won't answer the phone right now, over at your woman's house. But that is no reason for you to talk about getting in your truck and going over there and whooping someone's azz. (Man, I wish I could have heard the other half of this long convo).

3 great writing prompts, hunh?

Not using them as prompts or anything.

I'm just realizing that EVERYBODY got something going on in their lives. You either in the middle of a trial, celebrating over a triumph, climbing some big mountain, got something renting space in your mind... something.

We all got something going on.

And hopefully we will all get through it!

Really though.

Have a good day... on purpose.

Kentucky Funnies

Like I said in a previous post...

My sister "Kentucky" cracks me up.

That is not her real name. She has a very unique name that no one else in the whole world has. One of them ethnic names. Related to kentucky, but not quite. So I call her Kentucky for blog.

And she is funny.

So here are a few of her funny stories that have cracked me up lately.

*********************************

*us talking on the phone the other day. She calls me "Lisa" (family nickname)*

"Lisa, this little girl today was a trip."
"What she do?" I asked.
"She hawked up some spit, and spit on a teacher."
"What?!?"
"Sure did," my sister said. "Spit on a teacher, I couldn't believe it."
"What the teacher do?"
"Well I was watching this. I told the little girl it was wrong, and you not suppose to do that."
"She must've seen somebody else do that," I said. "She just four. Something going on at home."

[That is ALWAYS my first thought when something goes down. Somethings going on at home!]

"I don't know, but I told her, she was wrong. And if I had a belt, I would spank her. And this other little boy in the class hollered 'I got a belt, Ms. Kentucky! I got a belt!'"

*little boy struggling to take his belt off*

"I told him," my sister said, "I told him, Yeah, take it off, and when you do, I'ma give you a couple licks too."

*little boy frowning hard, quickly fastening his belt back up*

*Lee laughing hard* "No you didn't say that, girl! No you didn't!"
"Yes I did, girl," my sister said. "He'd been bad all day. I was gonna whoop her and whoop him too!"

LOL

********************

My sister left a comment the other day on my "bath salts" chemistry post. This is odd. She lurks but never comments. I called her up.

"I see you left a comment gal!"
"Lisa, I'm so glad you explained that bath salt thing. I had got mad about it."
"Why?"
"Because," she said "I was like 'Doggonit, now I have to show some ID and fill out a form to get some Calgon! I just wanna take a bath! Now I gotta fill out papers!"

*lee laughing hard*

"No, no," I said. "They just calling it that. And it's different from Calgon."
"First the nutmeg, not the bath salts. What's wrong with white people? Why they gotta put stuff up their nose like that?"

*lee laughing real hard*

"I don't get it, Lisa. You know it's not 'us'. You KNOW this. They need to get out here and do something productive, and get a job or something. Why would you stick stuff up you nose like that?"

Man, she was hot over the whole bath salts issue. She STILL mad over that. I just laugh at her! LOL

*****************************

Kentucky always calls me with strange names of kids at school.

"Lisa, I got a name for you."
"Yeah, what is it?"
She spells out the name. "C-E-N-O-T."
I ponder this for a minute. "Ceeeeeenot," I say. "Ceeeeeeeenot."
"No," my sister said. "It's pronounced 'SNOT'".
"What???"
"Snot!" she hollers. "It's pronounced Snot!"

*lee laughing XTRA hard*

"And ya'll call the girl that?"
"Yeah, that's her name."
"Snot!" I yell. "Come here, Snot!"

(Uh... I've officially heard it ALL. That is worse than a student of hers named "Notorious")

That's it for Kentucky funnies... Hope it brought a smile to your day.

Good Tuesday Morning!

Oh yes!

It's a good Tuesday Morning!

Because I am still OFF!

*backflips, church shouts*

Feels good to wake up in the morning and have nowhere to go.

And then... to hear the sound of the trash truck off in the distance...

*lee jumping up, throwing on clothes and rushing to take trash to the curb*

Note to self: do ALL that the night before. GOOD GRIEF.

This is a randoms post, I suppose. Not sure. But we'll go with it.

My birthday. So I am 41 years old now. Still tripping on that. 41. Why am I so in awe? I don't know why. I think I'm just glad to see another year. I can't say that I worry much about my chronic illness, but it crosses my mind. Especially on my birthday. I've lived to see another year. And if nothing happened that year, then that in itself makes my year highly successful. That's one intangible I'm thankful for.

Not sure how much that matters. For this life... it's about as long as a whisper, a breath. I told a friend once, who was frustrated with life and spending too much time looking at the "perfect" lives of others one thing:

A person can have a perfect life: perfect health, perfect house, perfect spouse, great kids, the perfect job, nice cars, nice bank account, no issues, nothing missing, nothing broken.

Perfect life!

Then they could be walking down Peachtree Street and step the wrong way off the curb at the wrong time and be mowed down and killed by a car or truck.

Perfect life over.

Just. that. quick.

That type of things happens all the time, whether it be random shootings, some accidental as discribed above, anything. And I cringe. As I'm reminded... this life is short and you don't know when your time is up.

So yes. I'm happy for another year in my imperfect life. Grateful for it. No matter what's going on: grateful and plenty thankful.

Goodness! Food for Thought EARLY on a Tuesday morning!

My best Birthday Gift. Well, my only birthday gift. I'm not one who expects gifts. Don't give me nothing but a colgate smile and a kind word. That's like giving me jewels and yachts and sports cars! Same thing to me. Words are everything. More important than anything material for me. Really.

You have my explicit permission to slap the cheese outta me if I get to whining about gifts and lack thereof.

But my best gift came yesterday. My baby sister Kentucky called me. I wondered why she was calling. She was teaching at the time.

But I picked up the phone and said "Hello?"

And all these little voices started singing "Happy Birthday to You" over her cell speaker phone.

WOW.

They even kicked in with the "May the Good Lord Bless You" parts.

O_O

Separtion of Church and State law broken. LOL. I don't think that was planned. It was just what they sang at their own birthdays.

When they sang the "How old are you?" part.... well, they wanted to know how old I was.

I holllered "Forty-One!"

There was complete and utter silence.

Yeah, you don't tell no pre-K babies that you're "41". That is OLD to them.

A little voice said "71?"

My sister said "No, she said 41. Lee tell them what numbers make up "Forty-one".

It took me a minute to get it. The kids probably couldn't count up that far!

"A 4 and a 1" I hollered.

I could hear the little voices go "OOOOOOHHH!"

My sister said they all got busy writing a "4" and a "1" in the air with their little fingers. And I bet they are gonna go home and have a story to tell: "Mama! My teacher Ms. Kentucky's big sista is OLD! A 4 and a 1!!!"

LOL

Ohhhhh Lawd... that was just sooooo special. So very special. I still hear their little cherubic voices in my ear. That was such an amazing surprise that it brought tears to my eyes. It truly did.

That's a gift that I'll remember forever.

Other Birthday Joy. I didn't do anything yesterday but lay around and chill all day. I yacked on the phone with my BFF (we are doing something next week for my birthday), yacked on the phone with others, and just basically CHILLED. I should've been writing, but i didn't. (aww phooey). But I did a little reading, of a book I'd been meaning to read, and some of my own writing.

But yesterday, I mentioned in a post that this was a year that I'd focus on my life's purpose, as I am understanding that is where my satisfaction and provision is.

That's a profound statement for me. Meant sense. I'm more satisfied down deep when I'm doing things that involve my purposes. Not so much so when I'm doing other things.

Add to that that our special gifts make room for us, i.e., provision is there. Doors open and pathways are there. Always.

Ginae asked in the comment section what my life's purpose is. That caused a hand to my forehead, because I know I have to discuss it. I don't care to discuss personal or spiritual things here, but 100% of the time it is wholly necessary. Ya'll know if a question or request is made, I will jump a fence and answer it. It is ALWAYS more for you than for me. And you know my motto over here at the House of LadyLee:

Write like nobody's reading.

Really. And we'll stick with that format.

Interestingly enough, after praying about that some time back, and saying that yesterday on blog, two things happened.

1. Serenity and I are reading a workbook together, as is our usual thing to do these days. Yest We are on our last week of this one, and even though this is a PAINFUL workbook to work through, we both hate to see it end. I know she is will agree with me in that this one puts your face to the mirror. And I'm talking about where your whole face is smushed up aainst the mirror and your teeth are on the mirror, man. UGH. But it is good. A good gut check for the new year.

Yesterday's assignement was titled Submissive to the Lord's Assignment. It was all about purpose, with a very detailed explanation of what I said yesterday, about the whole satisfaction and provision connection. It was a really good confirmation of that statement. I needs to read it again.

And again. And again.

2. Our church celebrated it's 25th church anniversary this weekend. We had an excellent speaker, a pastor from Nigeria. I didn't go to church, but watched in on the net. Very good service. Karen Clark Sheard was there, and sang. She know she can SANG. WoW!

But back to that Pastor. We had a Women's fellowship meeing last night, on my birthday. So that was something that I wanted to do for my birthday. Go pray, and sang and hear some Word.

Got there for prayer and it was CROWDED. We were in the chapel, not the Dome, so uh... Crowded. Events on the weeknights are NEVER crowded. I actually sat in the balcony, and in all my 9 years as a member... I've never set in the balcony. It was hot, and some kid next to me could NOT be still. I couldn't even see the preacher. UGH!! I was in the middle of a row, and we were up in there TIGHT, and I couldn't leave. Thought about it after an hour of good prayer, just dashing out, but I was STUCK! And we didn't have a band! We were sanging acapella! (I rather enjoyed his though, as I bust out sanging acapella at home all the time, lol). And EVERYBODY was texting me. I mean, important, important discussion type texts. WOW.

And did I mention it was HOT!? I needed my Obama church fan!!! BAD!

And I couldn't leave, man. Couldn't leave.

Good thing I couldn't leave.

It was an intense discussion on a woman's purpose. And quite interesting take on it from an African woman's point of view. Never heard anything quite like that before. She had a clipped accent, but my oh my, just the intensity of her tone... she meant what she said, and she said what she meant!

So. Uh. Good birthday. HIGHLY intangible birthday.

Uh, won't be forgetting this one. Nerp! No sir!

Yeah mon. Really though.

I feel might special... God thought so much of me on my birthday that He hooked up a few activites JUST to confirm something that He placed in my spirit in the first place.

Just to let me know what I said is the bizness. Just wanted to stamp it as... true.

That's a gift. Can't put no price on THAT, can you.

Hmmm. Now, between that, and the babies sanging "Happy Birthday to You!" to me on my 41st Birthday??

I feel mighty special. Special indeed.

*lee cheesing hard like Celie and hugging self tight*

Whelp! Day 2 of this 30 day birthday celebration awaits your friendly neighborhood Original Oldgirl!

This will be a writing day. I also have a few chores to do around the Palace. I also have a bit of planning to do. I need to plan a shopping trip *grimace*. I think I can get ALL I need for my cruise for less than 100 bucks. So I feel okay about that. I won't be breaking the bank or anything. I need to get a little crocheting done. Tomorrows a big day: tag, emmissions, oil change, shopping, etc...

You all have a great Tuesday!

On purpose!

41

STARDATE

2.7.11

Your Friendly Neighborhood Original Oldgirl

LadyLee


is

41

41. I've turned 41.

I'm happy to see another year. It's another year, another day to get it right, to grow, and to do better.

Soooooo happy for that.

I have no iron-clad plans for the day. No big parties. No celebrations. None of that. For some reason folks thought I would be out of the country. (I guess that's because I've hollered during my 40s that I would spend my birthdays out of the country. Not this year. That's later).

I gave myself a great birthday gift. I took a month off from work. I'm off from Today, February 7th until March 7th. That's a pretty decent gift, don't you think? And just think, by the end of the year, I'll have 6 weeks of vacation left. Hmm...

lol

Don't get me pondering here.

Today I think I'll go to the movies. Go hang out at the YMCA and walk a few miles and think. I have a story for Valentine's day I need to work on. I am STUCK on the last chapter of my current manuscript, so that has to be ironed out somehow today, or at least by the end of the week. I REALLY need to do some shopping, but since that financial fast last month with my Triple F Possee, I could care less. I need to rig my mind up to shop for my cruise though. Better get in gear and get on it, doggonit...

For me, the last week or so has been a time of reflection, a time to think about what has gone on with me over the past year. It's been a time of checking my heart condition on a plethora of areas in my life, and thinking about making the necessary adjustments.

When I think of my year, I was more concerned about just how mentally drained I was. As a result, I've had to strip away as much as possible, those people, places and things which mentally drain me. If I'm causing trouble for anyone in my life, well, I had to excuse myself from their presence, too. And I told someone the other day, the quality of my life increased as a result. And that's fine by me.

So my goal this year is to get more involved with my life's purposes. I mean, get really focused on my personal growth in those areas. Those are the areas of my satisfaction and provision. Best concentrate on those.

41.

It's gonna be a good one!

Believe that!

Friday Freestyles: Holiday Edition

Going on a Holiday

Gonna make a sign
Hang it on the doorknob of my mind!

Going on a Holiday.

Heading for the Hills
Where I know I'm not the hunted prey.


If you see me
Look into my eyes and read
What the sign has to say:


GETTING OUT OF HERE!!


Going on a Holiday


GETTING OUT OF HERE!!!!


Gonna draw the shades
Let my own sunshine brighten up my day!


GET IT! GET IT! GET IT!


Going on a Holiday

GETTING OUT OF HERE!

I'm Gonna make it home
Cause I know that it's the only way!


If you see me, PLEASE look into my eyes and read!

What the sign has to say!


GETTING OUT OF HERE!
GETTING OUT OF HERE!
GETTING OUT OF HERE!
GETTING OUT OF HERE!


Going
Going
Going
Going
Going
GONE!!!


Going
Going
Going
Going
Going
GONE!!!!!


Yeah babes... That's LadyLee's official vacation song.

You see the parts I like, don't you? They are in BOLD red.

And I can sang it, on key, better than Patti can, man!

Hanging a sign on the doorknob of my mind, drawing the frickin shades, babes.

I know that songs is more about a "mental holiday". Me and Cowgirl Cre were practicing our "mental holiday" yesterday.

"Lil' Lee" does it best.



The cat that hangs out on my front porch has that "mental holiday" look too:



I will be disturbing the cubicle area something terrible, playing that song ALL day!

ALL day long!!

LOL

No, I'll be good. I'll listen in my headphones (I've already bothered my cubicle mate The Cowgirl Cre enough with it, lol)

Yes yes... a whole MONTH off. Today is my last day. I won't return to work until MARCH 7th.

Doing it big like the Queen of England, honey!

And I don't feel bad about it. People take off upwards of 4 to 6 weeks for the holidays. I worked the whole short staffed holiday season AND I worked all summer long. Add to that the lab trip to Arkansas (which was actually great, since I got a chance to meet and hang out with Southern Black Gal), then well, an Oldgirl needs a break.

And when I break, I BREAK.

LOL

I think they may call me and call me back in. I have no back up for what I do. Yeah, dumb management decisions at its very best, but what can you do? Hopefully they will just leave me alone. I'm printing out my leave approval papers with the time stamp on it, and I'm not answering the phone.

I'll still be posting as much as possible.

I was thinking of heading to New Orleans this weekend, but I am bone tired. I may try for next weekend. We will see. I have to make sure I have at least a grand set aside for my cruise later this month. So I have to look at the budget and see if I have a little wiggle room to take my tail down to N'awlins!

So that's my freestyle friday. I want to do backflips and all that, but I'm too tired to do even virtual flips. Sigh.

I will be 41 on Monday!

Glory!

I guess I have to remove the "Forty, Shorty!" in my heading.

I am looking forward to birthday #41. Yes I am! It will be a running around day for me: car emissions, car tag, new drivers license, taxes... all kind of stuff.

But most of all, I'll be glad to see my 41st year. Really.

So ya'll... I'm gonna have a great month!

All Ya'll... You, you, you and you over there, in the front and in the middle-

Have a great weekend!

On purpose!