Wordless Wednesday: That Good Sleep

A Most Interesting Letter

So look what I got in the mail...

Humph.

This type of thing happens from time to time, especially since a bunch of improvements are being made to my neighborhood. I have even been working out in my yard before, and thirsty people have driven up wanting to know if I want to sell my house.

Um, no.

And looking at the letter above...

Dude, you are writing out notes on yellow lined notebook paper. They have a company, and I blotted out that information. I'm not sure I should take anyone seriously who doesn't take the time to type out a letter on company letterhead.

One word: Suspect.

This may be aimed at some of the more dilapidated houses in the neighborhood. I'm not sure.

At any rate, I'll be throwing this letter in the trash.

Quote of the Week

Quote of the Week (On a Friday)

Have a great weekend!

This Week in Good Food News...

My sister is gone back to the UAE...

*ladylee with the sad face about to CRY*

I miss her.  I have only talked to her once since she arrived back there.

 I am alright, tho.

Anyway, she has a favorite restaurant,and it has been her favorite restaurant for years.

Tropical Cuisine in College Park, Georgia.

She's been telling me about it, and I've simply nodded as she talked.

All the time in my mind I was thinking... "That place is off in the 'hood in the cut. Ain't no way I'm rolling up in there!"

Well, we were trying to pull together a dinner for her and some of my friends and we decided to meet at this place on a Sunday. But they were closed on Sunday.  So the Saturday before she left to go back to the UAE, I asked if she wanted the two of us to run down there for dinner. She said yes, but she wanted to get takeout and bring it back to my house. I was cool with that.

We arrived and there were a good amount of people ordering and waiting for take-out. We placed our order and it took about 15 minutes or so. We sat around and chit-chatted. 

We paid for our dinners and returned to my house.

My sister got the oxtail dinner with cabbage, brown rice and a side of plantains.

 I got the shrimp in brown stew, cabbage, brown rice, and a side of plantains.

Man oh Man!!!!!!!

When I tell you it was GOOD!!???!

It was GOOD

Good-T!!!

I don't know what the "brown stew" is. I don't even care. You can call it whatever you want.  It was GREAT!

I tasted one of my sister's small oxtails. They were good too.  

Why in the world hadn't I gone to Tropical Cuisine before.

I was being hard headed I suppose.

Well, not anymore. No ma'am. No sir.

In My Hood...

There are all kinds of great things going on in my neighborhood.

A state-of-the-art park has been built.

They are changing some of the streets from asphalt to brick...

And last year, I noticed that the old brick middle school was torn down.

Thank goodness because it was super old. The bricks were falling apart. It was just old.

And I saw that a new school was being built.

"How nice," I thought.

Well, I was driving past it last month after casting my vote in a local election. (And I was in *side-eye* mode because my polling spot had been changed. Ya'll not gonna suppress my vote. I  found the place and I cast my vote. Humph).

And I came upon the FINISHED middle school.

Look at that!

HOW FANCY IS THAT!?!?!

That looks like a fancy office building, doesn't it.

I know one thing...

Love it or hate it...

Gentrification sure does do a neighborhood good!

Ten Tuesday Thoughts

Ten  Tuesday Thoughts...

Once again.


1. I woke up this morning depressed for some reason. I don't know why, though. Must've been that zzzquil I took last night. Today is Tuesday, but I thought it was Saturday. (Oh my, that's enough to depress anyone).

2. I spent time talking to my best friend LadyTee this morning while I was getting ready to work. That made me feel a little better.

3. I talked to her while I was preparing today's lunch, which was a salad (kale, spring greens, cranberries, chicken salad, cucumbers).

4, My snack for today: one banana, 5 fresh strawberries, and one banana.  This kept  me all good for my workday.

5. My good for the day: buying Lady O, who's my best workplace friend in my head, a cookie from UberEats.

6. I know the UberEats driver had to be thinking "Who the heck is ordering 2 cookies?"

7. My 2 cookies were $5.00. I gave her a $1.42 cents tip, though. That was all the change I had in my pocket.

8. They must have that happen all the time, because she handed me a bag just the right size for the cookies.

9. Plans for tonight:  clean up the kitchen, clean up the laundry room. This should take all of 30 minutes.

10. My biggest problem: after a long workday, I just want to go home, take off my bra, and lay down somewhere. Really.

That's my Ten Tuesday Thoughts.

That only took 9 minutes. GLORY!!!!

Monday Funnies

You have to admit, tho... That's pretty much what's going on...

Friday Freestyles... The "Roach" Edition

Friday!!

Glory!!

And this has been what my week has been like...

I have the Callie Jo blank face... eyes wide with a mild touch of bewilderment and a hint of anger.

It's just that some things that have gone on at work that piss me off. And I acknowledge that. Only for the moment. I have been journalling and pondering, and I tell you, more good has gone on than bad.

The bad sometimes is like a roach on the wall that catches your eye. The house is clean, all is well... but that doggone little roach is on your mind. 

You know what I mean.

It is amazing how one little thing clouds up the whole week. So many other great things happened (as usual)

But that roach... 

Story of the Week.  Them doggone swimmers! Our perfect beloved Olympic swim team!

This news cover describes it best.

That boy's speedo is a blazing fire!!

So, Lochte claimed he got rob... yet he and his boys vandalized a restroom at a gas station and pissed on a wall. They tried to walk off, and security wasn't having that!

HILARIOUS!

As usual, cameras are everywhere, and they were caught in a LIE!

HILARIOUS!!

That lie of his... it's like that roach on the wall...

You know what I mean... We're winning all those gold medals! We are all proud...

And then there's this.... damn roach.  

So you know what us black folks have been talking about... yes, all at work, all over the radio shows!

Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan, if it were some black male track and field athletes that had done such a thing.... WOOOOOOOWWWW!!!!

We would be dragging them through the mud.  At worst, they would've been shot dead by the police.

And all that "Camera footage" would've disappeared.

(You know the drill. That's what goes on here in our country).

And it's HILARIOUS... the whole spiel now:

"Oh, they're just kids."

WHAT?  Lochte is 32 years old! This is some mess that we did when we were teenagers. Stop it, dude.  You're a grown azz man. Cut it out!

Yet, I have had to watch young Gabby Douglass get dragged through the mud for her hairstyle and for not putting her hand over her heart when the the Star Spangled Banner.

Humph.

But you know... This CRIME they committed was just boys being boys.  (YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME).

Double standard deluxe.  All day every day.

I'm not mad. It's just the irony of it all. 

So much bad seed is planted everyday about how awful I am as a black person, that I have to remind myself DAILY that I am a successful human being. I am not a law breaker, out here rioting and burning down stuff, and I'm not in poverty. I own a home and two cars. I have money in the bank.  I am not a criminal. I am a great scientist.

I am an AWESOME and WONDERFUL Oldgirl.

Funny... I'm around black and brown people who are just like myself each and every day.  I'm never around the people they portray us to be.

Sometimes... you have to learn to just encourage yourself. 

Sometimes you have to pick up a proverbial can of bug spray and rid your house of lifes' roaches.

(Did you like how I just slid that piece of Food for Thought of the Week up in your life just now? Did you?)

Oh well!

USA! USA! USA!

*ladylee waves American Flag proudly*


Song of the Week: This one goes out to the whole Olympic team, especially that Lochte fella!




Come on, Lochte! Dance with me, babes! 

So high you can't get over it!
So low you can't get under it!
Here's a chance to dance our waaaaaaayyyy.... out of our constriction!!!! 

*chair dancing hard*

Man oh man... I don't know what  I have planned for the weekend.  I know I need to clean up. And I wouldn't mind a good movie!

We'll see.  All I know is that it will be a good weekend... on purpose!

Black Girl Magic!

The sisters stay winning at the 2016 Rio Olympics!

GLORY!!!

USA! USA! USA!!

Ten Tuesday Thoughts

It is time for...

Ten...

Tuesday...

THOUGHTS!

1. I wasn't feeling well this morning, so I took the morning off.

2. I should've taken the whole day since I have 880 hours of sick leave. That is 40 weeks of sick leave. That's 200 days. That's six months of sick leave. That's a LOT of leave. (I'm not sure my calculations are correct... I just know that that's a lot of time).


3. By year's end, I will have 8 weeks of vacation leave. Looks like I need to be thinking about a vacation.

4. I had this salad for lunch today.

I think I need to learn how to make it instead of paying $6.50 for it, you think? Because I could enjoy this several times a week.

5. My good deed for the day: I purchased a bag of fresh cut-up rutabaga for a coworker. I hate rutabagas. I was happy to buy some for someone else though.

6. While doing said good deed in #5, I did another good deed: someone waaaaay hopped up on their drug of choice wanted some muscadines. I bought her $2 worth.

7. I wonder about her life. What possesses someone to get high and roam around the curb market!? I mean she was flying way high. Thank goodness she didn't follow me around.  And I hope she gets her life together. 

8.  I pick up my last CSA box today. It has been an interesting 2 month experiment. I may do it again next summer.

9. This hasn't been the best summer at work. I haven't gotten much done.

10. SOMEHOW I had a great mid-year work review.

 SOMEHOW.  Glory!

Praying for more favor and praying to be more productive this fall...  on purpose!!!!

Friday Freestyles... The Payday Edition.

Friday!!!

And it's PAYDAY!!!

*ladylee cartwheels up and down the cubicle area*

YAY!

I am glad the week is over. But I am sad also. I dropped my sister off at the airport for her flight back to Dubai.

This is how I felt.

But only for about 10 seconds.

I'd been having small moments for the seven days prior to her leaving. I didn't cry, but there were moment where tears were threatening to well up and spew. But I held it down. I find these days that when I'm angry or sad, I immediately spend time giving thanks for the "good" of the situation. I find that doing that always eases my pain or anger.

And that's a good thing!

Nevertheless, she's gone. She left on Tuesday night. I texted her when I didn't hear from her by Thursday morning.

"You back yet?"

Her reply was "Yes, I am. I was trying to figure out how to use the data."

Ok... whatever that meant. I was just glad she was home.

My response was "Good. Post something on Facebook to let folks know you are back."

And she did. We were all wondering. I think she is jetlagged now, so I won't bother her 'til next week.

But it was so good to see my sister. I didn't spend that much time with her. But I'd see her most mornings and most evenings. I tried to make sure she got around and saw everyone she needed to see. And I encouraged her to get stuff done that she needed to get done. And we managed to go out to eat and go to the movies too. I was satisfied with the time spent. And I think she enjoyed her vacation. That's all I can ask for.

Olympics. Are you watching the Olympics? Talk about excitement!

Last night I watched the Simones do their thang!

Congrats Simone on your win!

Congrats Simone on being the first African-American to win a solo gold medal in swimming!

I wasn't paying that much attention to the events, as I was getting ready for bed. But I passed the TV and peered closely at the screen.

"Hey!!," I hollered. "That look like a black person out there swimming!! SWIM! GET IT, GIRL! SWIM!!!!!"

I almost flipped my tiny 15" flat screen TV over when she won!

Go ladies!

Song of the Week. I've been caught up on that Mary J. Blige. The OLD Mary J. Blige. I have a playlist on Spotify with 30 of my favorite songs by her. I really like "Reminisce"



Oh how I love the "Old Mary". She and I are the same age, so her music was right up my alley some 25 years ago (has this song been out THAT long?) . I don't care for her recent music (the last 5 CDs or roundabouts). You  would think I would've grown with her.  Nope.  I keep replaying the early stuff.

That's so good that I just gotta post the remix!




*ladylee chair dancing SUPER hard*

I kick the hard WOP to that remix. I can have a party in my cubicle for real. All day!

LOL!!

That's it for me, ya'll. I'm looking forward to the weekend. I have a writing group/workshop WAAAAAY out on the far eastside of the metro ATL.

It's a shame that I have to get my head straight to drive 40 something miles way out there.  But I know one thing is true:

I am a writer.

All day.  Every day. So if  there's somewhere I can get to get some knowledge... I am there. Gas the  car up and let's GO!

So I make the drive.  Happily.

Other than that, my weekend is wide open.  I can't wait to see what comes of it.

You have a great weekend.

On purpose.

My CSA boxes, Continued

This week in CSA boxes...

Well, the past 2 weeks in CSA boxes...

Last week:

This week:

I had a spaghetti squash 2 weeks ago. I jacked it up, though, by leaving it out on the counter. The seeds sprouted on the inside. It was bitter as hell when I cooked it. Hell, how was I suppose to know to keep it in the refrigerator? It's a hard squash! I should be able to leave it on the counter FOREVER.

LOL

I got something this week that I never buy: figs.

They look interesting.

Here's one I split open.

Man listen... those figs are GREAT. Who woulda known? I will have start buying those. I need to find some good fig recipes if I do.

I think I have one more coming. I can't wait to see what's in it!

Best Uber Eats Meal EVER

I like UberEats, but I haven't used them much since one of the restaurants I like is no longer in the system. So they lost some of my business. So instead of purchasing something once a week, I average about once a month or roundabouts.

There's a local natural juicer that I like called Rawesome Juicery. It's two miles from my job down at the Municipal market (The "Curb Market), but it's a BEAST getting in and out of there. (I have had to learn to try and go at the right time).

So they may have the juice I like once per week through UberEats - "The Refresher" - it's a cold press juice made up of pineapple, mint, lime and apples.

Sooooo good!

And then today I saw they offered a salad.

*crickets*

They've never done that before. And they have a chopped kale salad that I absolutely LOVE.

Here's a picture of one I had last week.

That is the best salad in the whole entire world. All for $6.50.

Best in the whole entire world.

However...

They offered a similar salad for sale this week. It was similar, but contained half spring greens and half kale. And unlike the kale salad, it contained chopped cucumbers.

I decided to get it, since it is azz hawt outside and I ain't trying to walk it out for lunch. It is easy for me to just run out and grab it from the Ubereats driver in front of the building!

So here's my salad.

It was HUGE!

And oh so good.

And here's my juice.

The Refresher was great as always. It's pricey but very fresh. They juiced that this morning!

I can pour that over a full cup of ice and it will water down and last alllll day.

Good eatin'!  Good drinkin'!

Quote of the Week

"Together the Ants Ate the Elephant"  

African Proverb

(In other words, we must all work together to solve the seemingly insurmountable problems.)

Good Monday Afternoon: Intl' Cat Day Edition

Good Monday afternoon!!

Today Is International Cat day. *throwing glitter*

Not all excited about that. I just find it interesting that there is a day for EVERYTHING. And I have noticed that on Twitter, whatever special day it is is trending.

So I thought I would put up some cat pictures. Yippee! LOL

Happy Cat Day to that Mitchell and Callie Jo.

I took this picture last week sometime. I woke up and they were both looking at me. I'm not sure what that was about. Thank goodness I don't sleep on that side of the bed. Humph.

I've tried to get some selfies, especially since I came across this picture of a guy and his cat on twitter.

Man, that is gangster. They look like they 'bout to go whoop some tail.

I know I can't get any selfies with my cats. They don't stay still long enough. And they won't look directly into the camera.

Anyway, I came across this picture several months ago.

Callie likes to climb the back of the chairs whenever I am sitting at the dining room tables. I have watched her bust her azz quite a few times with her acrobatics.

Then I came across this picture.

Me with Sweet Sister Callie. Sister Callie when she was a baby kitty...

And not always destructive... not always on fleek, like she is here.

I swear. I don't even think she blinks. She is always wide open, trying to figure out how to tare up something. Sigh.

International Cat day. I am not doing anything special for the kitties.

Maybe a rub on the head.

That's it.

Friday Freestyles

Friday!!

This has been a SLOOOOOWWW week. My goodness! So slow. I have been waiting for Friday to GIT HERE. Ugh.

In the meantime, there is quite a bit of ACTION on my street.

Well, there is action on my cross street.

So they are bricking up various streets of my neighborhood. It is beautiful!

But it is a hot mess when they are working on it.

And right now, when I pull out of the driveway every morning, there is some craziness:
.

And now they are digging up the street!

 Definitely can't drive that way.

That man above is down in the street. They have to fill it up with four feet of gravel before they lay the bricks out on top.

Hopefully they don't come up my street. They can have that. It's beautiful and all, but it is a slow process.

And that's the height of excitement for my slooooowww week.

I am looking forward to the weekend. If it is just to relax.

My sister will be on her way back to the UAE in a few days. I am sad about it, but I am so thankful for her being here. She is out and about, and I only see her early in the morning or later in the evenings, but it has been a joy having her there.

Sigh.

Hopefully we can do something this weekend. I'd like that.

That's it for me...

Have a good weekend on purpose!

Semi-Wordless Wednesday.

I get nervous when Mitch and Callie are quiet... and staring at me.  Especially that Callie Jo...

It always means they are planning something.

Hmmm...