Friday Night Fights

Friday! And it's Friday night!

And it's Payday!

Glory!

I've been trying to get a travel authorization taken care of most of the day. It is due at COB today for the fiscal year. I think it got done.

I was telling one of the admin folks helping me... "Look here brotha, I don't really want to go, so uh... if we can't figure it out, you know... WHATEVER."

LOL

Aren't you glad these conventions are over? RNC was a dumpster fire. DNC was excellent. It says a lot.

GO HILLS! This is what was on Huffington Post earlier today!

Yes!

Boss!

Get it Oldgirl!!

Trump got me SHOOK with all this Russia dog whistling. Dude, you can dog whistle with these white supremacists, but you need to kill that noise when it comes to these russians, man. That ain't funny. That's a whole nother country, and they know you're ignorant. We don't need an invasion. NOPE.

Fresh Cut Grass! In other news, in other WONDERFUL news, that is, my grass has been cut. 

My grass is beautiful. Shrubs are trimmed. GLORY.

Why am I so excited? Because I thought my yard guy had been locked up again. He's a week overdo on my grass. So when he rang my doorbell yesterday and hollered "Open your garage [so he could grab my lawnmower]", I didn't argue. I just did it. I wondered where he'd been, but I shut up. I was just happy to see him.

And I was happy to see my wonderfully cut grass this morning.

My porch is a bit dusty. I need to get out there with my head rag, my bucket of suds, and my swiffer jet and clean it up. I will do that if it isn't terribly hot outside. (Yeah. We will see)

Fresh Veggies. A new CSA box came in this week. It is an odd one.

Tomatoes, peppers, spaghetti squash, okra and sprouts,

Sprouts!!

When I see sprouts, I think bacteria. YIKES.

I have no idea what to do with those. I just know I'm going to cook them hard enough to kill everything. Looks like I have a stir-fry in a hot wok coming up soon. Yes indeed.

There is some sauce there. No, I didn't get that from the CSA box. It just happen to be on the kitchen counter. I bought that while I was roaming around in Douglasville last weekend.

That wing spot is too expensive so I just bought the sauce I like. That is good wing sauce, though! And it will last me a couple of years at that.

Song of the Week. So... I have been deeply inspired to re-read and rework my Sweet Heat manuscript. There was a song on the radio and the lead character was singing along, trying to figure out what the song was. And I was trying to figure it out too! That was hilarious to me.

It was "Go Outside in the Rain" by Milara.



That's a 90's song. How DRAMATIC is that video? Look at her facial expressions! She's feeling it, isn't she? She's feeling it a bit too much!

The song lyrics that left me a bit O_o

Oh Lord I see
So many eyes on me
And I imagine what I'm saying
They're saying I'm a fool
They're saying I'm a fool 
Cuz I'm still in love with you
Don't they know I'm only human?

This is an odd verse. And a guy friend and I, who really like the song, discussed it.  No one is watching you, a random female, walking down the street and saying, "Hey look at that fool. She a fool because she is in love with that guy".

No they are not.

But it speaks to how self-conscience we can be. We think random people are looking at us and judging our personal business. Not the case. Well, unless you are a celebrity or something.


Loved-ed it! That's a good whiny song!

Really though.

Let me quit rambling.  This weekend's mission is to go buy a new vacuum cleaner.  You never miss a vacuum cleaner until yours break and that carpet needs some help, man!!

I need to do some writing. I'm working on a noir story right now.  Noir is not a genre I write in (I do have a couple of stories lingering around, though), but I like reading it. But I am working hard on it!It is a bit different. I will admit that much.

Have a good weekend.

On purpose!

Sister Callie Jo Antics

I have paper blinds in my house.

And there is a reason why I have paper blinds.

Look what Callie Jo did:

Ugh.

She must've seen a bug or something. And lost her mind.

It took me all of 5 minutes to cut and paste a new one.

But I let her know about herself.

"Gal, it took 5 minutes out of my life to put up new blinds. You better get your life together!"

LOL

Of course she hides or retreats to the beams over the living room.

She knows what she has done. No way she'd let me get a hold of her.  

She will probably tare more down. I hope she grows out of it. 

Maybe then I can buy a curtain or two. 
 

Ten Tuesday Thoughts

It's Tuesday! And here we go.

1. It's STILL hot in my beloved ATL. Heat like this make you wonder if it will ever go away. Lawd help us ALL!

2. How it feel outside, Mitch?

"HAAAAWWWWWWTTTTT!!!"

3. That speech by our first lady, Michelle Obama, the best first lady EVER, tho...

It was all that and 100 bags of chips.

4. If I ever see Melania... I would let her know, "Now THAT's how you give a speech. Go sit down somewhere.

5. I need to find a roll of parchment paper and a fountain pen so I can write that speech out word for word.

6. I am trying to watch these political conventions, but I am realizing that all the yelling of the speeches is bothering me. It might be just easier to watch the highlights the following day.

7. Look what my sister bought me from the UAE:

Camel Milk soap,

8. Something's just odd about the thought of Camel Milk, tho...She said they use it over there in the coffee, and it has a sour taste. Ick.

9. Yesterday, I ordered my favorite juice from a local juicery through UberEats. This is no big deal, except the driver got here in less than 2 minutes. I almost had to hurdle some cubicle walls to get down there to meet her. That's the fastest instant delivery ever! Usually they are here in 5-6 minutes.

10. I have to go out and get my lunch today. I MUST get up early enough in the morning in time to fix my lunch. No more sleeping in.

Friday Freestyles!!

It is Friday!

Once again.  And thank goodness for that. I made it to see another Friday.

And I am ready for the weekend, babes!

Something exciting happens today: it will be 100 degrees in my beloved ATL.

That is HAWT!

Normally I don't concern myself with this. I tend to stay inside when it azz hawt outside. I walk from my car to the building and from my building to my car. I don't stand around out there. But I didn't bring my lunch today, so I may have to walk to get something... if I dare.

Yesterday, The Cowgirl Cre ran up on me while I was sitting in my cubicle, talking about "Come on, let's take a walk!"

"What the hell?" I hollered. "It's hot as hell outside."

It was hot yesterday. I think it was 95 degrees.

"It's okay. Let's go!"

I hemmed and hawed. She ignored me, as she should. We have been friends for 20 years and she knows how to handle me. Glory.

Anyway, we took a trip to our local Quik Trip.

If you're not familiar with Quik Trip, it is a popular gas station, based out of Missouri, I think. They have a bunch of gas stations in Atlanta, but only out in the suburbs (not the inner city). Their gas is cheap and good. Whenever I am in the suburbs, this is where I get my gas.

So imagine my glee when I found out that a Quik Trip was being built in Midtown Atlanta.

"Oooooh wee!" I hollered. "Cheap gas, cheap gas, cheap gas!!!"

Except... this Quik Trip doesn't have gas. It is a convenience store.

THE HORROR!

I have been hemming and hawing about that.

"They can throw a couple of pumps out there and charge $5 a gallon. And have somebody out there pumping the gas. And they would have a line of cars around the block!"

But alas. No gas pumps. This is the first of its kind, I hear.

So... me and the Cowgirl Cre walked up there. I see that people from work have been trekking up there (it's only a 2 block walk). The food is super cheap. Cowgirl Cre has been hitting it up. So since I had not been, we decided to walk up there.

That was a long HAWT walk. And we tried to walk in the shade of the skyscrapers. It was STILL hawt!! Ugh.

But we made it. And it was nice and cook inside.

The store looks like any other Quik Trip, but glossier. And they have a lot going on

There were plenty of sweets!

There is a hot dog counter.

I think you can get polish sausage dogs and some mexican treats I can't pronounce.

You can order sandwiches and pizzas too.

I was intrigued by this tea station.

And they have a plethora of coffees too.

And there are more conveniences.

I think it is a great idea after having gone there. I'm still a bit miffed about there being no gas pumps out front. But there are a TON of high rise condos along Peachtree street. A ton. And they need corner stores of high convenience like this one. Something fast and quick. And this is the only place open 24 hours. I'm not sure that's a great idea in the hood (Most places downtown  close at 6 pm. Midtown closes down  around  10-11 pm).

So let's just say they are going to do good! And rightfully so.

I got what I usually get when I go a Quik Trip... An orange slushy. They have a really tart slushy made out of orange juice. I mix it with coconut and berry slushy. GOOD STUFF. I didn't have any money, so the Cowgirl Cre treated me. I think it was like, 79 cents.  I didn't break the bank.

Oh yeah... Cowgirl Cre got a breakfast sandwich.

"Dang that look good," I said, wishing that I'd gotten one myself.

Maybe next time.

I'll walk up there again... when the weather gets a bit cooler.

Song of the Week. I've been listening to Chrisette Michele's new CD Milestone. It is very good. I'm not a big fan of hers, but I like this 75% of the songs on this CD. And what's interesting is that it's pretty much a trap album, which is odd for her. 



That is definitely a trap song. Man. I guess that's the style now.

*ladylee bouncing hard while cleaning up the kitchen*

That's it for me! Have a great weekend!

My Adventures in CSA, Part I

I do quite a bit "locavore" shopping, i.e., I love finding ways to get my food from local sources.  It is a little more expensive, but let's just say a Georgia tomato tastes better than one shipped in from Chile or New Zealand. I'm just saying...

Purchasing food from local sources is possible. It isn't all that hard, as there are a couple of local farmers markets in my area that sell produce from farms in the state of Georgia. The farms bring their product in on a particular morning (Saturday for Morningside neighborhood, Sunday for my Grant Park neighborhood).

I've always wanted to be a part of a CSA program. CSAs are "community supported agriculture" programs. Essentially, for a set fee for a season, you can receive a box/or bag of food from a local farm.  It is as it is described... It's a great way to support your local farm. It also forces one to eat more vegetables and to learn new recipes, both of which I was looking forward to.

My coworker Lady M found a good CSA program. It is through a farm near her home up in Loganville (some 25-30 miles from downtown Atlanta). It is reasonably priced ($100/4 weeks). I thought this was a good price, as I have seen some that are much more expensive. (That's the reason I didn't care to get involved. What is great about this deal (through the Wrecking Barn), is that it is organic. Glory.

Anyway, I have the produce from my first 4 weeks.

Week 1:  potatoes, squash, zuchinni, cucumbers, eggplants and blueberries.

Those blueberries were great for my smoothies and my salads. I am not a big fan of eggplant, but I put those in the sauce for my spaghetti. These are small eggplants, so I buy those from time to time. (I hate the large ones.

Those round balls at the top left side of the picture are cucumbers. I'd never had those before. I have a love/hate relationship with cucumbers, but these are nice because they are mild. You can eat those like you eat an apple, and they were great on my salad.

The bicolor squash... let's just say it's 4 weeks later and I am STILL eating off of that. I have made 2 skillets of squash and I have had 2 or 3 salads with squash cubes on them.  I still have some squash left. That was a big azz squash!

Week 2: eggs, onions, cucumbers, blueberries, basil, eggplant, potatoes,

More eggplant. Gotta figure out how to do more with that than spaghetti sauce. Now those potatoes and eggs... I hooked up some serious potato salad. GLORY!!!  I am not a big egg eater (takes me 2-3 months to go through a dozen), but we had some omelettes. I tend to spend big money on pastured chicken eggs. They taste better. These were REALLY good.

Week 3: tomatoes, peppers, mint, purple bell peppers, potatoes, sunburst squash, onions, zuchinni

This is where it gets interesting. Why? Because I wanted to start with a CSA when they were REALLY picking more stuff. Like, during the summer months. I tell you one thing: those tomatoes are the BEST I have ever eaten. I don't know if I want to buy any more store bought tomatoes that have been trucked across country. NOPE!

The sunburst squash. I don't know what to do with those. I looked around on Pinterest, and found out that they could be stuffed. That is too much work. I may just cut them up and fry them.

Week 4: Eggs, okra, eggplant, sage, tomatoes, red bell peppers, purple bell peppers

So ya'll can get the hell on with this eggplant. NOPE.  I will just bring those to work to my coworker. (She would bring me her extra produce from her CSA.. I can surely return the favor. And she likes eggplant more than I do).

The eggs... I still have 10 from the last dozen I received in a CSA box 2 weeks ago. So I got the bright idea to take this dozen to a coworker. As you can guess, I dropped them! I saves 6 of them. The other 6 cracked. Gonna have some omelettes tonight, lol!!

Those peppers are good. Those went on my salad. The tomatoes are great! I put one in smoothie this morning. I have NO idea what to do with that sage. I think I am gonna use it in a smoothies and maybe put that in a stuffing for the sunburst squash. I don't know.  We will see.

I am frying up ALL that okra. Indian style. YUM!!!! 

This has been a good experience. I think I will renew for another 4 weeks. That will be it for me after that, since the summer will be then pretty much over.

We shall see.

Ten Tuesday Thoughts

It is Tuesday!

Time for some thoughts!

1. July is halfway over. It's going faster than I would ever think.

2. An instrument I'm working on is busted. So I have NOTHING to do until someone comes and fixes it. Sigh. *twiddling thumbs hard*

3. The Republican Convention has started. I won't be watching. It is not for me. And I know that.

4. I will watch the highlights the next day, though.

5.  Looks like Trump's wife plagiarized the cheese out of Michelle Obama's democratic convention speech.

6. She won't be chastised for that.  And that, ladies and gentleman, is the definition of white privilege. Oh yes, they are hemming and hawing about it.

7. Now just imagine Michelle Obama had done such a thing. Let's just say she woulda got dragged. And the president would have lost the election. Period.

8. Today's lunch. An amazing salad!

9. It is AZZ HAWT in the ATL right now. I don't like the dog days of summer!

10.  My sister is home! She has been home for a whole week today! And one little girl cat is happy to see her indeed.

Callie Jo is pleased as punch!!

LOL...

More on my sister's visit over the next couple of weeks. She will be here until August 9th, so there will be a few tales.

That is it for Tuesday thoughts!

Friday Freestyles

My goodness... What is up with me and this infrequent posting?

Oh my. Gotta stop that. I have tons of topics.

I think last night I was gonna post, but I was a bit miffed and saddened by yet another Paris terrorist attack. And I thought about the many terrorists attacks that have taken place in Muslim countries right around the same time that the news doesn't report on. My sister said that the muslim countries are catching more hell than the Western countries, and they are talking about it over there, but not much in the American news.

Imagine if they were, though. We would be in a constant state of depression.

So yet again, prayers and thoughts  out to all those who lost loved ones in those attacks. And prayers and thoughts out to all of us who will live with the residual affects of it all: fear, rage, sadness and the like.

Off course, this brings out the politicians. And they stoke whatever fires smolders in all of us concerning these tragedies.

I was particularly concerned with Newt Gingrich's rhetoric. If you haven't heard about it,  here's a 2 minute clip of what he had to say. 



That's interesting. Sounds simple enough.

I watched the whole 10 minute video. But this 2 minutes snippet is key. What did I pick up from this?

1. Test Muslims. If they believe in sharia, deport them.
2. You go on a website favoring a terrorist group, you will be charged with a felon. You should go to jail.
3. Destroy anyone who hosts such websites. Kill them if you have to.

Wow. Strong language. I am not sure he means that. I think it is political. He is hoping Trump will choose him for VP. (Not going to happen. Trump won't choose anyone who will possibly outshine him. That's how sociopaths do things, you know).

What concerns me is something I read over a decade ago.

That book is Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler. It is the sequel to Parable of a Sower

I thought about this book. I even posted my thoughts on how it was similar to some of the events of Hurricane Katrina.

Crazy.

Anyway, once this current presidential race began heating up, I thought of the book again. All of this stuff the republicans and Trump are saying was and is similar to the political race in the book.

I thought  it was just me... but then someone posted some excerpts on facebook.

Wow. How similar is it to the current rhetoric?

Did you see the ideology of "Help us make America great again"

So we deport all the Muslims.  Kill  off whoever is running malicious websites.  Vicotry.

Everybody is happy.

But the question becomes... We did this much?   What can we do next?

And how far can we go?

The passage above answers those questions.

And those answers are SCARY!

Give those in power an inch, and they will take a mile.

That can go bad real quick.

It is something to think about.

I know one thing: I'm going to be sure to read Parable of the Talents again.

It's most likely predicting our future... hmm.

Have a blessed day.

Have a blessed weekend!

ON PURPOSE.

(Despite what's going on all around us!)

Olympics Season is Here.

I knew the Olympics must've been coming up when I saw the picture of the final women's team.

This picture makes me want to sang some Beyonce.

"Come on Ladies let us get in formation!!!"

They look like they are ready to put the stomp down on some chickens... and come back with that gold.

I was watching the women gymnastics trials on Saturday night while talking on the phone with LadyTee.

We had our own special type of armchair commentating going on.

"Girl she better stick this landing."

"STICK IT!!! STICK IT!!!"

"Look at her. She is pissed. She didn't stick that landing. She mad."

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!!" (hollered when someone falls).

Speaking of the Olympics, what in the world is going on in Rio? Did you see all the trash out in the water? There is no way I would swim in that. But if you want that medal, then.... I guess you better do what you gotta do, honey. And hope you don't contract some nasty infection.

I have never been to an Olympics. I lived 1/2 mile from the stadium where the Olympics went on in Atlanta in 1996. But I was a student and didn't see the point. I wish I would have, though. I would open my window while I watched on TV, and I could hear the cheers from the stadium. And people parked in my neighborhood and walked down to the stadium.

School was closed for 3 weeks, and I decided to get a night job in a warehouse putting together pamphlets containing results of the games. I made $397 during that time. My rent was $390. So I was BALLIN! You couldn't tell me NUTHIN!

I won't be going to these games. I'll be watching. From my couch.

I hope the USA does well.

And you know they will, as always.

A New Monday

When I say "A New Monday", that is exactly what I mean.

Who on earth would have thought that last week would go down like it did? We actually saw the death of two men at the hands of police, and the death of police officers at the hands of a vigilante.

And it was all too much.

When this type of thing happens, I think of a blog I posted a few years entitled "5 Minutes".

Basically I thought of how we have our 3 year plans and all our goals, yet it comes down to it, we don't even know what's gonna happen in the next 5 minutes. We just don't.

That is how I felt about last week. And I remember thinking "This has been a heckuva week, and I can't wait for Monday."

The most memorable image from my beloved ATL this week:

And then on twitter, I saw something more powerful.

I must give it to the Millennials: they are trying to do something. And that's a lot in the midst of ages old civil rights organizations who aren't all that effective.

It is all disheartening though. I think there is a lot behind the media running a continuous loop of someone of my race dying so violently on TV. It is a horrific seed to sow into the hearts of people over and over again. But don't think they aren't doing that on purpose. It is depressing for a reason. What on earth is the harvest from such? We saw some of what the harvest was, and it was tragic.

It bothered me so bad that I just didn't feel like blogging. My posts are usually happy, but this was not a happy time. Not when my heart was so heavy.

My condolences go out to those who lost someone so tragically, whether it be civilian or cop.  Families lost loved ones on all fronts last week. And I hope and pray it doesn't happen again, but you know how that goes.

There is something going on that makes me smile this week:

My sister Kentucky will be here on Wednesday.

I miss her so much. Even though I speak with her several times a week, it is hard with her not being here. She has been gone for 8 months, but it feels like it's been so much longer.  I am counting the hours until she arrives. I can hardly wait.

I might just sneak out on the tarmac and guide the plane in for parking.

That plane would be parked all crooked, tho.

But it would put me that much closer to hugging my sister's neck.

I.cannot.wait.

I am praying on purpose that this is a good week. I don't think that my heart can take another tragic week. I may not even watch the news the rest of the week. My spirit is a bit injured and I need to heal.

With that said... have a good week:

ON PURPOSE!

Food for Thought: A Chocolate Surprise

Two or three weeks ago, I woke up to some news that there was a new Miss USA. 

And I noticed one thing.

She was African-American.

Yes, there have been African-American winners in the past. I can think of two, most notably Vanessa Williams. She won when I was 14 years old. We were all happy about that, with her being the very first.

But, this morning was different. I didn't have my glasses on, but I noticed that, in my fuzzy nearsighted eyesight, that she was dark.

I grabbed my glasses and jumped out of bed in one huge move. Before I knew it, I was standing in front of my television, a few inches from screen. And I saw that it was what I thought.

"She's chocolate," I whispered. I looked at my forearm, even placing my arm against the screen. "She's dark like me."

I was happy about that. Surprised, but happy.

Why surprised? Because we usually don't see this type of thing. Miss America, Miss USA winners  and the like are usually of the same type: Caucasian with long blond or brunette hair. Now, this may not be the case in the past couple of decades, as I don't even care to watch these shows. In the AA community, we have our own intraracial issues where light-skinned is considered better than dark-skinned. So I hate to say it, but I am not all that interested in watching white women walk across a stage in bathing suits. I decided at an early age that this has to something that men like.

But it surprised me, even as a woman in my mid-forties, that she'd won. I think it is ingrained in my   subconscious... lighter skin is better, and white skin is even better. I know this is not true, but something made me jump up out of bed that morning to look closely at something that wasn't the norm.

With that said, I was happy about it.

And more so, I was happy for some little chocolate girl out there to see someone that looks like herself win a beauty contest.

That does much for her self-esteem so early in life.