Friday Freestyles: The Last Day of Summer Edition

Ah yes...

The summer has ended. This is the first day of fall.

Or is it? *LadyLee running and googling the beginning of fall*

Nope... Fall officially begins on September 22nd.

So I have today to celebrate the last day of Summer.

My favorite summer pictures of late have me already missing summer.

That's a picture of my friend Karla's husband and son, taking in what must have been a beautiful ocean on a just as beautiful day.

I myself took in some ocean waves out in San Diego. I rode out on one of those duck boats. I need to put up those pictures, because a sister will NOT be hanging out on a duck boat anytime soon. Nope.

But that picture just says "summer" to me.

Another picture that oozes summer to me is this one.

Isn't that lovely? And just how GREEN is that grass? That is some green grass.

And God bless the man who cuts that green grass. God bless him indeed.

Well I am happy because today is not only the last day of summer, but it's PAY DAY. GLORY!

I love Pay Day. If only for a moment, though. Because the very same day that I get paid, I pay a bunch of bills and alas, some 2/3rds of my money is gone.
Oh well. STILL thankful for payday.

Song of the Summer. This one is considered the official song of the summer. I don't care for mainstream current music, but I must agree that this is the song of the summer: "Boo'd Up" by Ella Mai. I don't think I even first heard it until August. But what I really like is the live version.



That song makes me feel like love, and cotton candy, and all things summer.

And that is an ESPECIALLY great live version of the song.

I like Ella Mai. The EP that this song appears on is FANTASTIC. It's only 6 or 7 songs long, but it is a semi-concept album, meaning all the songs are linked together to form a story of sorts. I LOVED-ED it that.

I just love good R&B music, which means that I like OLD SCHOOL music, because I just can't listen to much of today's "R&B". It has no substance and leaves me feeling rather blaaaaaah... And I love live music.

And that gives me an excuse to post up a live version of my other favorite song. "Poetic Justice" by Kendrick Lamar.



Man, listen... I could listen to those two live versions ALL day long. ALL DAY.

Quote of the Summer. This summer, I crunk my "Morning Pages" back up. Shout out to Big Mitch for helping with my morning pages!

 Dude gets a bit of ink on his ears. He doesn't mind.
If you've never heard of Morning Pages, they are early morning journal entries. The catch is that they are three pages of journaling, not just a thought or two. So when I write that much long hand, I am SERIOUSLY unpacking my mind. I'm getting all the junk and goo off of my mind, so I can start off a fresh as possible for the day. It's especially helpful when I'm a bit down or depressed or confused. I RARELY tell anyone what's going on me, because I simply think no one cares about that. And I am not saying it in a "woe is me" way, but I just don't bother anybody with any of my problems.

I just choose to write them out and figure it out on paper. This is spiritually helpful in that it shapes my prayer life up very well... Prayer is laser-sharp and focused, I must tell you. Wow.

When I write that much, a good bit of it is mundane. I write about my finances, what bills I need to pay and savings goals and the like. I will write about what I ate that day (did most of my diet consists of raw fruits, raw veggies and water?).


But, I find that there are times that I am writing out of my spirit. In other words, there are moments of Where did THAT come from???

So my quote of the summer is one that I wrote somewhere around page 180 (I number all of my pages. I may have over a thousand handwritten pages. Now that's a LOT of unpacking of the mind. LAWD).

I don't have the quote with me right here and write now, where I can quote it word for word. But it has been on my mind every single day.

"Today is the last day of my life thus far, and today is also the first day of the rest of my life. So I must take time to learn from the successes and failures of my past, enjoy the sweetness and beauty of the present day, and be sure to have hope and faith for the future."

Something like that. I think I must have expanded on it and unpacked it for a couple of days. Heck, I am STILL thinking about it. I figure if I keep chewing on it like one chews on a chicken bone, then I will get more and more out of it.

But it first came up because one day, people were getting on my nerves and trying to get me caught up in petty mess. Someone got out of pocket, and I had to go off on them. This happened a couple of times (and this is NOT good when it goes on at work. NO). And I was thinking... would I be fooling with you and your craziness if I this was the last day of my life? Yes, it sounds a bit morbid, but think about it. If you knew that this was the last 24 hours of your life, would you be concerned about important things or some foolishness? Hmm.

Likewise, today is the first day of the rest of my life. We've all heard that phrase before. That means to me that I should leave all the cares and worries of yesterday behind. Today signals the chance to get it right, to just be better and to do better. And I should always strive to be positive concerning my future. I, like everyone else, tend to worry about the unknown, and where I will be and what I will be doing in the future. I need to smear my thoughts of the unknowns of the future with hope and faith.

I like that thought that was scribbled and scratched out in the early morning hours of my day. Surely it's something that leaked out of my spirit. I am happy for that.

And I'm happy for my morning pages.
And I'm happy that these hot summer days are coming to an end.
And I'm happy for a great weekend.


And I will make it a great one... on purpose.

You do the same!

It's Frday!

It is FRIDAY!!

I haven't been posting. And that is okay.

But I just feel like posting a picture I like.

That's from my cousin Mya's 4th birthday party. She was trying to pose with Justin. Justin is a SERIOUS walker right now, and did not want to be still. I was trying so hard to get them to both look at me so I could get the best picture, but it didn't work out.

I am just glad to get a pic of them together.

But the best thing is... I can't wait to take a picture of the two of them some 20 years from now.

Something to think about... and also to look forward to.

Have a great weekend!

911... Never Forget

So... It has been 17 years since the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

17 years.

It does not feel that long ago. And like everyone, I can remember where I was when it all happened. I was in Denver at a training course for my current job. I'd only been on the job for 3 weeks. It was my first work trip.

I was married. I lived in a condo. And I'd only been in Atlanta for a month, after having moved back here, home, from a post-doc position in New Orleans.

I was writing in my journal about this even this morning. 17 years ago, I didn't know I would be sitting at my dining room table, writing in my journal on a cool and quiet Tuesday morning.

And I wondered on paper what the over 3000 people would have been doing today if they hadn't lost their lives in a terrorist attack.

Life can end in an instant. Today reminds me of that very fact. Yes, we can make plans, have dreams and make goals, but we don't know when our time will come. That is scary. But in the face of that, we must live our best lives today, right now. Continue to make goals, have dreams, and live our lives.

Today I spend time thinking about the tragedy. I am amazed, still, that we have not had an attack on that scale in the last 17 years. Amazed. And I hope we never have another one. That was a depressing time.

My thoughts and prayers, as always are with the family of the victims.  May the memory of them live on in our thoughts.