Pause...

You know that every blue moon, I like to snatch a WHOLE post from another blogger that moves me.

Just cut and paste the whole doggone post.

Today I lifted one that gave me... pause.

One of my blog sisters, Mizrepresent, posted her thoughts on the Month of May, Lupus Awareness month... I was hesistant about asking to repost... This thing, it's so doggone personal (at least for me, in a quiet way). She gave me permission to repost here.

May is Lupus Awareness Month

Look to your right and you will see this on my page, "May is Lupus Awarenes Month". It's a permanent fixture on my page because Lupus is a permanent fixture in my life.

Around 8 years ago i was diagnosed with Lupus Profundi, it is a skin condition of Lupus, causing rashes, lumps like cysts in my skin, hair loss, and more. I sometimes suffer from unknown ailments all over my body, only for them to go away and show up somewhere else. Like the time i couldn't open a bottle because my fingers weren't working, or the time my wrist and arm became paralyzed and i couldn't lift either, or when i couldn't sit down because i had something going on in the lower region, or my fingers turning blue...so many things...but it was all Lupus.

I'm sorry to say that there is no cure for Lupus, some very good treatments but no cure, so those who are suffering are like me, wishing and hoping and praying for a change. Sure we can change our eating habits, exercise more, stay out of the sun, try not to be stressed and take pills that are meant to ease our afflictions, but not no cure. No matter, we have hope, we continue on, we have no other choice but to.

I have Lupus and I am surviving. I honor all those who are suffering and give them more than a head nod to the struggle, because it is a struggle unlike no other. Each day is a blessing for us, each day that we can live without the pain, the stress, the nagging afflictions...each day with a little more hope.

My test results last year weren't so good...but i didn't let that stop me from living...so i'm saying to all of my Lupus afflicted sisters and brothers, and those who know someone who has been diagnosed...we are not giving up. We are still here, still believing, still surviving...still living with Lupus.

Thanks to all who "Walked for Lupus" and if you feel it in your bones to do more, please donate to the cause, at the least hug your fellow man and women and just let them know that you care.

Hugz

Miz

Excellent post. It gave me pause. It caused me to stop and sigh, raise my hand to my chest.

Shed a tear.

She put into words things I couldn't.

She so eloquently expressed how I feel.

She let me know that I am not alone.

Good Monday Morning- Memorial Day Edition

Good Late Monday Morning.

(It's not noon yet. Well, it will be afternoon by the time I finish this post, lol.)

In that case... Good Monday Afternoon!!

I am up at at 'em on this Memorial Day.



I have been watching much of the special programming this morning, stories of soldiers fallen and still serving, including my Grandfather, uncles and my brother. So today I salute them, and I'm thankful to them for protecting my freedom.

Today has been quiet, yet busy. I woke up around five this morning and spent some time praying and reading. I washed and folded clothes. I ate breakfast. Then I got the notion to do some painting. I answered a few emails, did a little tweeting, and voila... It ain't even noon.

I am being a productive Oldgirl.

Alas, I'm not doing much else today. Lots of reading. I am currently reading Tayari Jones' Silver Sparrow. I'd previously read rough drafts a year or two ago, but man... just reading the final draft and all her changes... It's like reading it for the first time. Total excitement.

I spoke with her yesterday about an article about Silver Sparrow in the local AJC. I couldn't track it down online for her, so imagine me rolling outta here yesterday in my houseshoes and pjs in search for the newspaper. Normally I can go buy one from the man who stands on the side of the freeway entrance.

Sunday he wasn't there.

So imagine me. In house shoes. And pajamas. Hair uncombed. Walking into the gas station to purchase newspapers.

LOL... Don't matter. I live in the 'hood. 'Tis the normal look. LOL!

Great article. As to be expected. I'm looking forward to seeing her and getting the books signed and hearing her read during the week of June 5th. Can't wait to see ya, Oldgirl!!

I am not grilling out today. Nerp. No need. Just relaxing.

Quotes. There are some pretty good quotes on twitter right now by Consciousskillz. Right now he is dicussing self love among other things. Here are a few to think about.

How others see you will never be as improtant as how you see yourself.

The perceptions that others have of you should never be the ones you live your life by.

Never be so quick to give up on the unique qualities that make you just who you are.

Life is too short to be weighed down with the insecurities and baggage of others. Help if you can. If not, move on.

The fear of letting go or losing something is what keeps us staying or holding on to things way after their expiration date.

Those are all very good. Very good indeed.

So with that, I am outta here. About to got relax and read. Do a few more chores. A little more painting.

Enjoy your Memorial Day... on purpose.

Friday Freestyles- Book Drawing Edition

Good Friday Morning to you ALL!!

I am sooooo excited? Why, Cuz it's a THREE DAY WEEKEND, baby!

*cartwheels*

AND today is Pay-Day!!

The Oppressor better have my money straight!!!



*lee counting bread*

LOL!

Man... if you live in the ATL area... Was it just me, or was that the absolute worst storm that blew through last night? WOW! My whole house was shaking. The thunder was ear splitting! I can't remember it being THAT bad!

And with each crack of thunder I was hollering "I REBUKE YOU!"

The more the storms talk to me, I talk to the storms! Doggonit. And you can take that literally or philosophically or spiritually. I ain't got time for a bunch of craziness!

Really though.

Don't get me to preaching up on this front porch of the House of LadyLee!

Moving right along, honey.

Drawing for Silver Sparrow. So today I announce who won the copies of Silver Sparrow by the baddest writing diva in the Universe, that Tayari Jones!

She has a nice review in the June issue of O Magazine!


Yes! Go girl! As you can see the magazine is laying on the washing machine. I was multitasking! I was in the laundry room folding clothes AND reading!

So I cut up little strips of paper and placed them in a ziploc bag, shook it around and voila!!! We got 2 winners!!

LoveBabz!!!

The Bball Mama!!!

*cartwheels*

Ladies! Congratulations! These are long time readers. That's rare for that to happen, but cool!

Let me tell you something! Don't come on here leaving a comment entering an anonymous comment for a contest or drawing. You better leave your name up in there somewhere, you heard me??

2 more books will be given away next week! If you leave a comment now up until next Thursday on posts, then you are entered. Additionally, those who entered for this drawing will be included in that one.

Ladies!! Get your info to me. I'm going to run up on Tayari and get her to sign your books. I know where here Mama and Daddy live. She'll be here next week, I think. She gonna walk in her Mama house, and LadyLee the Stalker gonna be sitting there cheesing down!

*Tayari kicks the hard eyeroll*

LOL! No, I'll attend one of your signings. Don't act like you don't know me, gal. You don't want me to get loud! LOL.

So again, congrats to you ladies! Be sure to enter to win!

That's all for today, ya'll. That's as freestyling as it gets. I think I have to put up a Song of the Week, don't I?

I think I will put up a nice SWATS Atlien song in honor of Silver Sparrow. (Note: SWATS stands for Southwest Atlanta. Me and T, we SWATS girls through and through).

Anyway, I kept thinking of this song when reading Silver Sparrow. I think it's the tone or the mood.

And they talk about Cadillacs. That bigamist James liked Cadillacs.

"Elevators" by Outkast.




(Tayari is hollering "What the ****" right now! LOL!!!!)

Here's another SWATS original: "Fresh and Clean" by Outkast




Tayari's gonna punch me in my face when she see me. That's alright. I think of songs when I read. And she need to get acquainted with some good SWATS music.

I might make her a CD. She'll like that!

LOL!

Yo! Ya'll have a great holiday weekend. ON PURPOSE!

Busted! Broken!

(Drawing for TWO books tommorrow, so stay tuned)

So...

I was laying in bed the other night...

I'd been fast asleep. I awakened, peered at the green digital numbers of the alarm clock.

4:16 a.m.

Good, I thought. I have a good couple more hours before it's time to get up.

So I roll over.

And I hear a slow "Cruuuuuuuunnnnnnnch". Followed by a snap.

And I moan "Noooooooooooooooooooooooo."

That crunch was the sound of my glasses breaking.



(Sidenote: You see how I tried to make them look all nice, right? Placing them lovingly on the glass coffee table in the living room... next to some fake green ivy. LOL)

I reluctantly turned on the lamp, and there they were, my eyeglasses...

Busted! Broken!

Oh goodness. This pair only lasted 2 years. My glasses normally last 5 years. I wear some glasses completely out.

I tell you there is nothing worse than a pair of broken glasses. Well there are much worse things. I almost call it trivial, because in the light of true tragedy, it is nothing... But I'd paid $350 for this pair. I don't mind paying that much as long as they last awhile.

Two years is not long enough. And I didn't like these glasses anyway. They were from one of the more popular eyeglass retail stores. I wasn't all that impressed with the eyeglass wear. But I needed some glasses.

Soooo, with these broken glasses came the quest and mission to find new ones.

I decided to ditch the popular retailer and go with a less popular one. Sure, the glasses would be more expensive, but not that much more....

Right?

I made an appointment to have my eyes examined over at a place in the hood. (But it was the "Good" hood). First interesting sign of issues was that the Doctor was late. I wasn't happy about this, as I needed to get to work. Oh well. I waited.

The eye exam was fast. Got my prescription from her and preceded to look around at the frames available.

I knew there was a problem when I saw Versace, Dolce Gabbana (however you say that), Coach, etc...

"These are high end designer frames," I said quietly to myself.

I found an interesting pair of frames similar to my own. I'd never heard of them, but they were just as expensive as the Versace frames.

I told the associate that I wanted that pair. We sat down and he added up everything. I need progressive bifocals. That's a first. I also like transition lenses, and a super thin lenses.

Yeah that adds up. That's why my glasses have been in the three hundred dollar range. Not sure how much the bifocals would add. Oh well.

But I wasn't prepared for how much the associate said my glasses would be.

"The total is 783 dollars."

I just stared at him. I was waiting for him to say he was joking. He looked at me with a straight face.

"You joking, right?"

"No," he said.

I held up my 50% off coupon. "Even with my coupon."

Actually, he had said that they were 40% off. (Only certain frames qualified for 50% off. Mine didn't. Go figure.)

So he said it would be $1200 without the coupon.

I just KNEW this dude was joking. But he was not.

"I ain't NEVER paid $800 for glasses. Never!"

He went into some spiel about how I had special lenses.

Uh no. Ain't no lenses THAT special. They better be self cleaning and give me Xray vision. Something!

Anyway, I told him that I would pass. I reluctantly drove over to the place where I bought my last pair of eyeglasses. That would just have to do.

I perused the frames, which all of a sudden after my experience at the other store, looked good enough to me.

Interestingly enough, a transvestite came into the store. We perused frames together. He kept me HIGHLY entertained. Tried to get me to look at these fancy frames. I had to keep telling him, "Look, that's what you wear when you trying to go out and party and be fancy. I'm a plain chick. I need everyday wear."

That was a RIOT.

I priced out some frames very similar to what I have. My total was $374. Good enough. This is WAAAY better of a price than the last store.

So now I have to be more proactive. I'm going to also buy a pair online pretty soon. They are much cheaper, and shouldn't run anymore than a couple hundred dollars. So I will see what that's about.

And I could definitely use that extra pair around the house, you think?

That'll be better than paying close to a grand for new glasses!

LOL

Today's the Big Day!

Today is the big big day!

The official debut of my favorite author's new novel.

Silver Sparrow officially comes out today!

*cartwheels*

GLORY!

The book is out now... and articles have been out over the past few weeks. There's a seven page spread in Poets and Writers...



I was joking with her.

"She is ready! She is ready!"

She paid me no attention. Afterall, her name is swahili for "She is ready, she is prepared".

I felt silly for picking on her after that. She doesn't care. She knows I am ultra silly anyway.

You all know how much I jock her, and how I'm such a HUGE fan of her writing. I've gotten a chance to know her over the years, and she's a great chick in addition to being a great writer. She takes extra extra good care of the writer in me. Extra good care.

So you know I have my copy already. Amazon had them on sale early! (I didn't know this until peeps were on twitter hollering about how they had their copies. I was like "OH HAYLE NO! Gotta get mine!!!!!")

And you know Lil' Serenity Chicken is just as excited as I am about the new novel.

She put her good scarf on! She tied her red and white polka dot scarf extra tight over her natural hair and posed for pictures with the book...
And you know what? You know what? I'm even in the acknowledgments! GLORY!!

If you know my gub'ment name, you see my gub'ment name!

<

Uh, yeah... Tayari... where's the "Dr." on the front of my name, hon!?!?!? You know my whole name! Say my name, gal!

LOL!!!!!!!

Wow... It's such a great feeling to be acknowledged in a book. Carleen Brice acknowledged me in her last novel, and I almost kicked the cat AND the coffee table over when I saw "ladylee" printed on pages of such a great book.


I have been looking forward to this book. I remember reading an early draft of it (which I begged for with no shame whatsoever). I remember seeing a marked up chapter on her Mama's dining room table, and the thoughts of stealing it running rampant through my head. I remember our endless discussions about it. I remember so much

And now I can say I remember the day the book came out. When I received it in the mail a couple of weeks ago, I held it to my chest... I fanned the pages and enhaled the scent and newness of it.

Today's your day, Tayari! Big tour has just started so I know I will not get a chance to talk to you until you do your ATL tour stops!

You know I will be there! With several copies in hand for you to sign.

I am giving away copies of this book! All you have to do is leave a comment and I will do a drawing. I got waaaaaay too many lurkers lurking around the front porch of The House of LadyLee, so you better say something. Your chance to win an autographed copy of her book (Yeah, I'm going to get her to sign it for you...).

Not sure how that will go. I may give away one copy here, or one a week. Not sure which. Just know I am giving away copies, Mayne!

So, congratulations on the release of Silver Sparrow, Ms. Jones. I am so so happy for you, girl!

You are indeed ready.

Ready indeed.

Good Hot Monday Afternoon...

Good hot Monday Afternoon to you...

I am late with this post. Shoulda did it this merning.

Shoulda, woulda, coulda...

Oh well... Late! And that is okay...

It is HAWT in the ATL right now. It's going to be in the 80s and 90s allll week long. I really sorta liked having a low power AND a low gas bill for a minute. Guess that is over!

I had a productive weekend. I babysat a houseguest on Saturday morning. I will post pics of that on tomorrow (left my camera at home. Humph). But I got out there and cut the grass, even stained the front porch (that didn't turn out well AT ALL. No pictures of that.)

Well, your world didn't end on the 21st. Don't surprise me none. I just didn't want to wake up to Campings' followers taking themselves out. I would collapse on the floor and cry like a baby if some Jim Jones Guyana type mess jumped off. Man... you know how that goes down every so often, the mass suicide in the name of that religion. As long as that doesn't go down... well, this has been a lesson for someone out there. That is all I have to say about that.

We have a new interim supervisor starting today. The last one did alright, yet everyone was severely uptight about her being there. That is over. It's a new day! We will see how that goes. Hopefully we will have a permanent supervisor soon.

That's the gist of my weekend. I did a little writing on an anthology I'm trying to finish up... That will be available soon over on Kindle, I hope. Yay!

Anyway, if you read Sweet Heat, this surrounds something I found interesting about a very minor character, Fred Ellison. He seems to be a bit perturbed by that "Michael Jackson" boy that everybody is raving over, and he doesn't care for that song that everybody likes, "Rock Wit You" (yeah, this takes place in 1981). The whole glitter socks and afro is not to his liking. He is more of a fan of good "classic" soul music... the type of music that you can enjoy while you drink a little Crown and coke.

He's a huge fan of Ben E. King...



(Yes, I'm like you. O_o. Really, Fred? Really?).

That song hasBIG words!

Interplanetary! Extraordinary!!

Hmm...

LOL. Always interesting when characters speak...when they tell me new things.

Always...

It sparks my attention just a tad...

And that's a GOOD thing.

Always.

And with that... as always, have a great week!

On purpose.

Friday Freestyles

Hola!

It's Friday!

And it's not payday, and I am still happy.

Just cuz it's Friday, man.

I am sorry that I have not been blogging. I have a TON of things to write about, a TON of pictures, all kinds of stuff, but I've been trying to get myself on some type of schedule this week, where I take care of other business and get some sleep in the process. Seems to be working out well. My house is squeaky clean, to the point where I don't have to clean up all weekend, and I can concentrate on yardwork and other little household projects.

I know that doesn't sound like a big deal, but it is. I need to get in the bed by a certain time, and be sleeping good. I tend to stay up sometimes until one or two in the morning, and by the end of the week, I am drained. So I solved that this week. YAY ME.

It has been quite cold in the ATL all week long, and this weekend is going to be BEAUTIFUL. So I will do my yardwork and get a little exercise done.

Man, what is UP with all this Schwarzenegger mess on the news. Ya'll act like bustas don't cheat on their wives. Now if this was Joe Blow walking down the street, we wouldn't even care. Now when I turn on the news, I gotta hear the details of him and Maria's mess. WOW.

Reminds me of an old quote I posted a few years ago. I can't quite remember it, and I ain't gonna go look for it but it is something like this:

We are intimately interested in the details of other people's lives, but we don't know what's going on with ourselves and our own lives, and if we do, we are not quick to make the necessary corrections.

Something like that.

I think about that every time the sordid details of yet another celebrity's troubles are smeared all over the news. It makes me glad that no one is interested in my messes, and I never have to worry about it all over the place.

We get great joy in seeing that someone's life is worse than our own, huh?

Oh well. The man don't pay my bills. I don't care.

That's all on my mind today. It's about 8 in the morning, and I'm about to get ready for work. I hope to go to church tonight. I like friday evening bible study. Not many people there, extremely laid back. I like that, man! But my main goal is to get outside and cut the grass this weekend. I bought a trimmer, so I have to figure that out. AND I may even stain the front porch, if I'm up to it. We will see...

And besides... didn't you hear? The world is suppose to end on May 21, 2011. Might not get anythang done!!

(Aint' that CRAZY? I don't know about you, but I'm planning my weekend. Not believing what some religious fanatic is hollering. Sorry.)

I have to put up a video or something up... I have been listening to a Jones Girls station on my slacker.com online radio. Here's a smooth cut from 1981... one I bet you don't know.



Yeah! Bet you never heard that before. And that song is 30 years old. Back then, Egypt brought about thoughts of mystery and romance. Not anymore!

Here are a couple other cuts by them that you may recognize:





Man, I thought that last cut was an Xscape original song. Too good to be true. These current groups know they sample the cheese out of songs. HUMPH.

Oh well, that's it for me. I NEED to post everyday next week, man. BAD. Way too much stuff in draft. Gotta get it out! Gotta get it out!

We'll see.

In the meantime... have a great weekend... on purpose!!!

Extra Special Delivery

Look at what was delivered to my beloved lab!!!

An edible fruit arrangement!

(as usual, Lil' Serenity Chicken has to be in the picture. Humph.)

**cartwheels**

:::crying uncontrollably:::

Imagine my surprise when I got a phone call from a courier talking about a delivery, and how they wouldn't let him in the building. I'm thinking "Hmm, is this a crank call?"

LOL

So I met him out on the loading dock and recieved the delivery... Ya shoulda seen me walking back up the ramp smiling HARD like Miss Celie.

I looked at the security guard, looked back at my vase of fruit. "Hey man, do I need to put this through the X-ray machine? (everything that comes in the building has to be put through airport-type xray equipment).

He said something. I have no idea WHAT. But it amounted to, "No."

(Good. I didn't want to have to pull "Dr." rank on him. I was NOT going to put it through the machine. NOT a good look.)

I ran on back up to my cubicle, looking for my cubicle mate, the Cowgirl Cre. Turns out she knew about this allll along.

"You coulda told me, Cre!"

"Noooo!" she hollered.

LOL

This beautiful arrangement was from my "play Mama", my online Mama Adrienne.

Thank you soooooooo much, honey! Ain't everyday I get a nice surprise here at the Plantation!

That was so nice of you! I truly appreciate it!

I appreciate your friendship :)

Good Monday Merning

Good Monday Morning...

Something is wrong with the ATL weather. It was in the 90s last week. All of a sudden, the highs for the rest of the week are in the 60s. I am confused. Thoroughly confused. It is 50 degrees right now. So now I have to go find my jacket.

I'm looking at last weeks' posts, and that was the sparsest week of posting I've had in a long time. It didn't help that blogger had some major problems and dropped posts. I posted a blog that was dropped and was returned in draft stage. Not sure what was up with that. And I just didn't feel like going back and redoing it. I'll just put it back up this week.

This weekend was a lazy weekend. I haven't left the house since I got home from Church on Friday night. Aunt Flo is here, and man...I'm like the womens of the Bible: throw me in a tent on the edge of town somewhere. And this weekend I was hid off in my tent. Didn't get much done, only things around the house. Which is good enough.

Right now, the most exciting thing that has happened is that I had to buy another cell phone. Mine went haywire, so I immediately went and bought a smartphone, I'd been eyeing, the Evo Shift.

I'd been waiting anyway for my contract to be up in late June, so I could get another phone, but I was able to get it at the discounted price.

I was a little skeptical about it, because blogger Mzinspiredmind had been quipping about problems she had with hers, but I called her from the store and she squashed my concerns. I like it a lot. It's taking a little time to get use to.

But that's all that's going on for now. Nothing exciting, nothing to blow my skirt up. I am reading an amazing book right now, which I won't mention here. Too doggone controversial and I should finish it this week. Let's just say that I'm a much better person just for reading it.

And I ain't mad about that.

I have doctor appointments this morning so that means I may take the day off. Management is in a gang of trouble and from what I can determine, they are under hard surveillance by higher uppers, so they aren't messing with people much these days. I should be able to take the day off without any reprocussions (yes I do worry about this at times, as I have seen them terrorize people with medical problems. Somehow they leave me be. But I keep my good eye on them.) I don't have much to do at work, so I may take the entire day.

Since I didn't get anything done outside the house this weekend, well, I'll be doing that today after I get out. I was considering going to work. We'll see how I feel about that.

I may try to post all week. No promises here. I've had to spread my time out over a few other things, and the blog tends to suffer a tad behind that. I tell you, if I could sit down and do a post in 30 minutes or less, you'd be hearing from me all the time. But that's not the case. My posts can take hours to compose. Especially those long ones. (I really don't like long posts. Sigh). I may need to work on that a little. I want to post more, but I just don't have the time.

Gotta work on that... somehow.

With that said... Ya'll have a great day... and a great week.

On purpose.

Wondering

She lay there, under the I-20 freeway overpass in the cardboard box every night, shivering against the drenching rain, the cold wind, in the dead of winter, wondering how she got there. Wondering, like she had so many countless nights before over the past year. . .

"How did I get here?"

Tonight it was cloudy, overcast, clouds relieving themselves on her face over and over again.

Funny how things change. Just last night, every star in the universe stared down upon her, watching and wondering too. . .

How did you get to where you are?

She told them, these inquisitive stars, that she really didn't know.

Why, she did all the right things- attended the best Ivy league schools, joined the best sorority, became partner in the top law firm. . .

. . .Married the right man: the one her Mother and Father introduced her to, the one they said was just right for her.

She did all the right things, she did.

She even ran away when the good and perfect husband became abusive, shoving her to and fro. She ran for a shelter as he chased her from their home, from her own life. He told the law firm lies, set her up, got her disbarred. He told her parents more lies, had them thinking she was the one in the wrong.

And now she lay there, under the interstate, rain falling upon her head, wondering, watching, waiting. . .

For the stars to come back.

Maybe they could shine down upon her again.

And tell her what to do.



Women of Color Writing Workshop 5 minute writing prompt "How did I get here?"

I Walked for Lupus...

I would be remiss if I didn't talk about the fun time I had last weekend at the Lupus Foundation of America walk last Saturday.

As most of you know, I've been living with lupus some 10 years. Actually I started having symptoms waaay before first diagnosis. I just didn't know what it was. So looking back, I've had it for some 16 years. It's nothing I talk to much about. As a matter of fact, I didn't mention it for years here on blog until one of my favorite bloggers asked me to discuss this "chronic disease" I had. And I gathered up enough courage to talk about, which is a good thing.

Anyway, I have been wanting to check out the Georgia chapter of the Lupus foundation, but haven't really gotten around to it. One of my blog sisters alerted me of the walk, and that we should do it together. I was delighted about this and made plans to go. She had other plans, which was cool, and I went by myself. (She was a tad bit upset about this. I was like uh... O_o. It is ooookay, lol).

The walk was last Saturday down at Piedmont Park in midtown Atlanta. It was odd that it started in the late afternoon, around 5:00. Not sure what that was about, as most walks and runs start way early in the morning. Since it started around 5, I left the house at 3:30, because traffic and parking is HORRID around the park on a beautiful sunny Saturday. I parked about a half mile away and walked to the park. I had pre-registered online, so I just picked up a tag for my shirt.

(I was going to do some REALLY wild graffiti drawing of my name, but I didn't want to draw attention to myself. Plus I'd seen plenty of other folks around with "Me!" on their tags. So I wrote "Me!" on my tag also!)

There were tons of signage all around the park that day. Here are two of my favorites.

And here's a picture of the stage.



There was a DJ and a drum team for entertainment.



Drums... they are really loud. Shockingly loud, lol. *lee walking in other direction, away from drums*

There were some really good speeches from people from all walks of life who have lupus, even a 8-year old girl who had been diagnosed when she was 6 year old. I have never seen someone so proud to reach their 8th birthday. I was NOT thinking of these types of things when I was 8 years old. I can't even imagine.

The walk started at around 5:30 p.m.

And it was a slooooooow walk. I had been joking around that week with my friends that there was NO way that they were going to have 5Ks and 10Ks for folks with lupus. Our joints are much to janky for all that! (Although I am sure there are runs for this. Sure of that. But this Oldgirl wouldn't go near such, lol)

There were some 4000 people. Not sure how many were there, but you can see from the pictures below that there were A LOT of people.







I was particularly interested in what else was going on at the park. There is a mile long track and there's a volleyball field in the center of the park. I've been in the ATL all my life and never seen any of this.



It must be something new. Hmm...



I'll have to get down there more often. I'd love to walk on that track!

The walk wasn't too hard. We were going a bit sloooow. But I was a little tired due to having to walk 1/2 mile from my parked car, and then standing up for about an hour. THEN walking the 1.5 miles. Next time I will have to make sure I sit down on the grass or something.

I was just thankful that I wasn't walking in heels like this young lady.



My goodness. The shoes looked quite comfy, and I am sure she like them.

I almost wanted to holler "Serenity23, is that you, hon?"

LOL (Ya'll know how she likes her heels. lol)

I crossed the finish line in about 40-45 minutes, I believe. Like I said, it wasn't a long walk, but we were just moving slow. It was literally a nice walk in the park on a pretty sunny day. < I really loved the music, the comradarie and such. But what I liked most were the t-shirts. There were many groups of people there walking for people who had passed from this disease. Here are a few of the shirts.

I was really surprised by the size of the teams walking. They had some great shirts. And it seemed as though the biggest teams were there walking in memory of those long gone. I thought that was really special.

All in all, I had a good time. I'd never been around so many folks who have what I have. I never really even thought much of it, much like I don't focus too hard or get all out of sorts with this disease. I have my good days. I have my bad days.

I am thankful that my good days faaaaaar outnumber my bad days. By far.

And I'm happy for that.

This was a good day, and a good function. I even got a sticker when I finished!


I look forward to walking for "Me!" and so many others next year :)

You all have a great weekend.

On purpose.

Food-for-Thought: The Mystery of Seduction

Look at you.

You saw that title and you just had to read.

Get your mind out the gutter.

This post is about seduction. But ain't nobody trying to snatch your panties off over in these parts, honey. And ain't no tips on how to seduce your man. NERP.

This is a seduction of a different type. Something more subtle. A post I snatched, like I like to do from time to time, from the Original Oldgirl Lovebabz. She like to bust out her Original Oldgirl Platinum Plus card and use that sucka.

And she did it here.

Enjoy. Parts that left me thinking are highlighted by me in red... and you know I have a super duper LONG commentary and thoughts on the subject matter. You don't have to read that part. That part is for me.

So enjoy... and ponder.

Saturday, April 30, 2011
THE SEDUCTION OF WANTING MORE....
by LoveBabz

I have all that I need at this point in my life. But, I want more! Now here's where it gets tricky....the wanting more. What is wanting more? and what do I mean when I say I want more?

Do I want more love? Money? Free Time? Prosperity? Great Friends? What is the wanting more? I believe I waxed poetic about this a long time ago, and now I am revisiting it. I hear myself saying all the time I just want more. And honestly I can't really explain what the more is.

Maybe it's not that I want more, but perhaps there is a balance and sense of peace that I am after. Maybe it's wanting what I already have and moving my mind to embrace that thinking. What is wanting more? and what do I want more of ? Am I really mindless in my declarations of wanting more? Am I saying that by having more is a sign of success? Does having more give me the security I so desperately want?

I am easily seduced by the worldly messages of Get More, Have More, Want More, More More More!. The more I want the less I think I have. This train of thought keeps me rooted in lack. As long as I see myself with less and the desire for more grows, I remain trapped in a cycle of dis-ease, chaos, worry, over indulgence, greed and selfishness. I am not being overly critical, just standing in my truth. And in standing in truth you got to turn over and put down all the lies that keep you mired in madness, unhappiness, depression and mess. I find myself measuring my happiness by the things I have and acquired. That is a false sense of peace and pride. I know it...or at least I am learning it.

Overcoming the seduction of wanting more will require me to pay closer attention to my heart and mind. To be more conscious of what I say and how I speak it in prayers and everyday conversations. If there is more to be had, then I have to redefine that from a grounded spiritual, loving and God focused place. If there is more for me, then it has to be used for the greater good of serving and not just receiving for the sake of having more.

I am thinking and feeling my way forward. My birthday is coming and the kind of woman I want to be is right there on the horizon. I am walking toward her.


LadyLee's commentary.

Man oh man... I tell you. I sure would like to sit down with Babz and talk about life over a good cup of coffee. She's like a treasure chest of wisdom. I'd love to pick her brain on a few things.

That Oldgirl KNOW she be dropping some knowledge. She know she knows how to make me ponder... and wonder.

And here she go with a most poignant post.

You know, there's a lot going on in that post. Not only does she fully examine the problem at hand, but she puts forth a most viable solution. And if you can't discern what she's saying... man oh man, you missing something extra special.

I'm going through a time right now where my spirit is firecracker active. Don't know how to explain that, and I won't explain that here. Certain situations bring up scripture in my spirit. (It gets a bit annoying at times, lol). But when I read that post, one verse immediately came to mind. I went and looked it up with the quickness. It was I John 2:16. I read several versions of it, and the Amplified version seems to ring strongest for me.

For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh [craving for sensual gratification] and the lust of the eyes [greedy longings of the mind] and the pride of life [assurance in one's own resources or in the stability of earthly things]--these do not come from the Father but are from the world [itself].

Whenever I see "the world" in the Bible, I always like to replace that with "society". Just me. Helps me understand it better.

And another related verse comes up... one which seems to be indirectly connected to the verse above, and one that I just can't get away from. It's not my favorite verse, but it is one that I remember. Proverbs 4:23... And I've posted several versions of it so you can understand the full scope of it.

Proverbs 4:23 AMP Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.

Proverbs 4:23 NCV Be careful what you think,because your thoughts run your life.

Proverbs 4:23 CEV Carefully guard your thoughts because they are the source of true life.

Proverbs 4:23 GNT Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.

Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart,for everything you do flows from it.

Interesting...

And here comes my girl Lovebabz, with her own personal treatment and thoughts on seduction.

Now when I think of seduction, one thing immediately comes to mind: getting lured into some sex.

Oh yeah. I've been trapped quite a few times. Done got to fighting with my man. Messed around and left something at his house and gotta go get it. Then end up getting talked out of my panties. Then having to look for my panties...much later.

(CowgirlCre had preached the "one carload rule" to me numerous times. If you fight with a man, you want all your stuff to fit in one carload, so you don't have to come back for NOTHING - no furniture, no clothes, nothing!)

Yes, I was seduced. And I've done some seducing my ownself.

LOL.

When I think of seduction, I think of that.

But this is different.

I'm not the most learned oldgirl in the world... so I went and looked up the word seduction.

Seduction: the act of being led astray, as from duty, rectitude, or the like; the act of being corrupted; the act of being persuaded or induced into having sexual intercourse; the act of being led or drawn away, as from principles, faith, or allegiance.

Seduction means a lot of things.

And when reading Babz' post and thoughts, I'm drawn to the meaning of seduction meaning "the act of bieng led or drawn away, as from principles, faith, or allegiance."

And I'd like to add to that, seduction can be defined as the act of being led away from thinking soberly.

I live in a society where everything is very fast, very cool, and I gotta have it right now! I better be running with the crowd real good if I want to fit in. I better be doing what the crowd do, in total agreement from start to finish. Now I'm taking alllll this in, watching it, seeing it, doing it, speaking it, etc...

In effect, I have been seduced... subtley. Almost without me even realizing it.

No wonder it starts to affect my thought life, my thoughts about myself, and I get confused and not well grounded in discerning what I really want or need out of life to be truly happy.

Just looking at I John 2:16, my world encompasses what I see in other translations of the verse:

CEV Our foolish pride comes from this world, and so do our selfish desires and our desire to have everything we see. None of this comes from the Father.

NLT For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions.

Can't say I like that. But it's true. Look at everything that's on TV. Listen to our popular music (highly sexualized indeed!), and how we gotta keep up with the Jones' because they got more than we got... And all this pride we take in what we have, in our degrees and all that.

"Stop preaching, LadyLee," you holler.

Ain't nobody preaching. I aint' the most religious Oldgirl in the world (you know I don't really care for religiosity and legalism). I do and have done much of the same thing you do. I'm getting older now, and the older I get, the more I ask myself the questions that LoveBabz is asking of her ownself...

And certain questions aren't ones you ask yourself when you got your hands raised in the sanctuary, doing the *church shouts*. Looking all good, all smiles!

But certain questions you ask when you are alone with your thoughts, late in the midnight hour, when it's just you and the darkness... when there are no "hallelujahs", no church shouts, and you and I are being our true selves... who we are when no one is looking...

"I have all that I need at this point in my life. But, I want more! Now here's where it gets tricky....the wanting more. What is wanting more? and what do I mean when I say I want more?...What is the wanting more?...Does having more give me the security I so desperately want?
"

I myself have asked myself these questions, because like Babz, I understand that I have been seduced... as she says "by the worldly messages of Get More, Have More, Want More, More More More!"

Where does it always get me? Still wanting more.

And never satisfied.

Get More, Have More, Want More, More, More, More!!

Sets up a vicious neverending cycle, much like a mouse running on a running wheel... getting nowhere fast.

Now there's nothing wrong with wanting more. As long as it's coming from a good place. When I see myself as always not having enough, not being satisfied and thankful for where I'm at and not being mindful of how far I've come, that's where the problem starts... that's when I start to believe lies, and lack begins to take root in me...

And the fruit of such is produced... as Babz says above: madness, unhappiness, depression and mess.

And that ain't good.

And so an interesting solution has been brought forth by Babz. And she is confirming something that I have been thinking and praying about. She's definitely confirming a few of the answers I've gotten in my own prayers concerning this type of thing.

1. Pay closer attention to my heart and mind
2. To be more conscious of what I say and how I speak it in prayers and everyday conversations
3. Redefine my wants and needs from a grounded spiritual, loving and God focused place.
4. Use what I obtain for the greater good of serving and not just receiving for the sake of having more.

Man... If I can wrap my mind around those 4 steps right there... I'd be something special.

Better yet, I'd have something special.

Personal peace.

A sense of purpose.

Rest.

Thanks Lovebabz. You were talking to yourself, but you sure do know how to talk to this Oldgirl through your words.

Wordless Wednesday "Original Oldcat Oscar-Tyrone: Satisfied and Satiated"

An Ode to All Chickens

Dedicated to... well you know who you are... ya chicken.

I am a CHICKEN.




And proud to be one!

It don't mean I'm scared.
It means I'm strong.
I'm ready.
I'm a CHICKEN.
A former Chickenhead!

I'm a strong chicken.



My legs are spread.
Claws spread too.
I got my wings on my hips.
I got my leather cat suit on.
And I'm ready.
For whatever comes my way!

Because I'm a chicken.

Special Food-for-Thought...Lessons learned from Bin Laden

So...

On Sunday May 1, 2011, I was laying across the bed, eating a piece of chocolate cake, talking trash on Twitter with a folk, thinking about getting myself together for my workday the next day, when it came across from one of my breaking news twitter news company...

BIN LADEN IS DEAD.

Wow. I sent out a tweet on that. I think we all found out what was going on at the same time because my whole twitter timeline lit up on fire.

Bin Laden is dead.

I don't celebrate his death. I ain't out here with my USA t-shirt on, waving my USA flag. Me and Oscar-Tyrone ain't around here turning cartwheels.

But I ain't sitting up here crying for his tail either.

And like one of the wives of one of the men that perished in the most tragic terrorist attack on US soil 10 years ago: It is not natural to celebrate anyone's death, but somehow this feels natural.

That ain't my thoughts. Those are hers. She been dealing with the residual effects of loss for 10 years. I haven't.

People's lives preach a sermon. My life preaches a sermon... Your life preaches a sermon.

Bin Laden's life preaches a sermon.

I'm thinking about a couple of things this morning.

1. Dear Trump. So you were busy whining about the President's birth certificate. You whining about my President's Harvard and Columbia grades. Wondering how he got in, wanting to see his transcript.

While you and your inferior-complex having tea party comrads were wailing about this, President Obama was handling his business. He sent out the command to take Osama bin Laden out... Got the tea party people dumbfounded.

Just goes to show you...

Thought #1: Simple minded people think about simple minded things.

And let's not even talk about inferior complexes. Yep, I have a RIGHT to talk about it. I have a "Dr." title attached to my first name. Believe you me, not much time go by before I run across a fool who got a problem with that. Humph.

Listen, Trump. You ass out, man. All ya'll are. You can't top this. You not ready to be president. You whining about stupid stuff. Ain't Obama fault he smarter than you. Get over it.

Please admit. Obama handled his business. Kind of silly to sit up here whining about some grades, ain't it. Man up!

Yeah! You just learned what UPS means by "What can brown do for you!"

Thought #2: Ain't no such thang as getting away with anything.

Nope. Just like there is no such thing as Santa Claus, The easter bunny, or the tooth fairy... no such thing as getting away with anything.

"Well LadyLee, you can't say that," you may holler. "They assassinated Martin Luther King! They assassinated civil rights activists all over the place. They killed abolitionists. They beat and killed the slaves."

Yes. I agree with you. Many people died for freedom. It's sad. Make you and me mad.

But I will repeat what I said last week in a post.

The most powerful man in America (ESPECIALLY after giving that order for the killing of Bin Laden) is Barack Hussein Obama. The most powerful woman in America is a black woman (Oprah Winfrey)...

So tell me... why do you think white men put white sheets over their heads and hang black folk and burn crosses in their yard and murdered black folk. Why do you think a sniper sat in the window that day in Memphis and killed MLK? Why do you think these things took place?? Let's take it waaay back: why was it illegal for slaves to read?

Hmm...

Another question: Do you expend so much energy keeping a people down? If those people you trying to keep down didn't have potential, would it be worth it to do such?

Because if people were truly inferior... they ain't worth all that.

Hmm...

No such thing as getting away with anything. With all the efforts to keep black people down (and this still goes on), the most powerful people in this country of each gender are of the black race.

It's a shame that white folk have more faith in our potential than us black folk do.

"What that got to do with Bin Laden, LadyLee."

Shoot man... I'm just thinking out loud. And I don't care who you are, you don't get away with nothing.

Bin Laden is responsible for killing hundreds of thousands of folks violently. Suicide bombings, all kind of terrorist acts. Did you actually think he would get away with all that? You think someone who gets a kick out of killing folk gets away with that?

Really...

I think not...

mostly because of thought #3.

Thought#3: You reap what you sow.

Being a scientist, I've gotten in trouble at times for having spiritual beliefs. That's okay. I only been on this earth for 41 years and some change, and I don't try to figure out things with my intelligencia. Just ain't that intelligent. And then my spirit and my soul (which houses my mind, will, intellect, emotions) are 2 totally different things. In other words, I don't apply my finite intelligence to spiritual matters. These are matters of faith. For me. Might be different for you. I'm cool with that. I feel secure enough and happy enough with my beliefs not to debate such issues.

Anyway, I marvel when I can see spiritual law and natural law run parallel to each other. I am at awe when I see the tangible born out of the intangible. I love it when I can understand some scientific principle I'm trying to get a grip of, and I only fully "get it" when I fully understand the corresponding spiritual point of view.

(Okay, I'm getting to deep for you. Deep off the pages).

Let's see. Let me get plain with you. I had a garden out back for a couple years. And I LOVE green beans. LOVE them. To the point that half my garden was green beans. Man, I got me a couple of packets of green bean seeds and planted them seeds and in about a week, those little shoots came up, and in about five weeks I had me some green beans.

GOOD EATING! Good fresh beans.

GLORY!

Now. You gonna be looking at me crazy if I planted green bean seeds and I get to whining

"I wanted Watermelons!!!! Oh Lawd, what happened! Where my watermelons at!?!?!"

If I wanted watermelons, I should've planted watermelon seeds. I can't get around that one, can I? Nerp.

So... taking this over to a spiritual level.

I notice with myself, who I am today, right here, right now... is a direct result of all that I've been listening to, all that I've been saying and all that I've been seeing.

My spirit is like fertile soil. Very well tilled, very well watered, ready for seed. Whatever I'm exposing myself to on a daily basis, whelp... that's what I'm planting in my spirit. I'm incubating that seed, watering, feeding it with good fertilizer.

And a crop goes up. The results of all that shows up in my life.

That's easy enough to understand.

If I cuss folk out on a daily basis, do dirt to folk constantly, etc... that is a result from what's in my heart... And what's in my heart, uh, that seed got planted there somehow. And that crop is going to grow in my life. And you best believe it won't be a peaceful crop. I'ma have trouble... and if it look like I don't... it gonna hit my kids. (Which is worse).

Folk trip on me because I'm constantly trying to be of help to people. Especially if you praying about something, believing God for something, got a goal or a dream, working on some mess in their personal life,etc. Honey, I'm getting in on that. What can Oldgirl do for YOU, babes?

It's the same as me getting on my knees, and planting some seed. If I glance ovde and see you planting some good seed, I'm going to slide on over next to you and help your butt. While I'm helping you, being of service to you, someone drops to their knees and is tending my garden.

Nope, it aint' "What about me? What I get out of this?"

I don't have to ask that. It's like throwing a boomerang out. It comes back to me and bust me upside the head. In a GREAT way. I ain't mad about that AT ALL.

I reap what I sow. Period.

So...

You actually thought Bin Laden could sow his own brand of seed and don't reap?

You actually think he could kill hundreds of thousands of people, bomb buildings, mentally affect the families of all these hundreds of thousands of people killed...

and not reap?

No, he wasn't reaping what he thought he would reap... the annihilation of anyone and anything that don't line up with his beliefs.

Nope. He planted tomato seeds expecting to get squash. That's impossible.

You sow fear, discord, confusion and death... you reap the same.

Bin Laden couldn't get around this spiritual law... one that transcends all religiosity.

Saddam Hussein couldn't get around it.

Hitler couldn't get around it.

And uh, newsflash. Your boy Qaddafi won't get around it.

So no, I don't turn cartwheels over nobody's death, not even Bin Laden. I don't hate on anybody that do.

No, I ponder... and ponder the sermon that his life just preached to me.

The sermon that was his life has ended.

And I learn and understand the lessons there within.