Monday Night Musings

 Whew wee! This year has started off with a bang. Literally.

My sister called me on January 6th, and ask if I was alright. It was about 1:30 pm in the afternoon, and I'd just finished up a workplace zoom meeting. I turned on the television and the folks at the capitol were breaking in. Ugh.

"Lisa, are you alright?" my sister asked. 

"Girl don't nobody care about that! Damn them rioters! We took the Senate!"

"Oh, right," she said. 

THAT was the big news to me that day. The state turned completely blue. The state went blue for the presidential AND the senate. Who would have thought that could happen. That was like threading a needle.  And it was completely overshadowed by the terroristic activity at the US Capitol. 

They couldn't' even celebrate their wins, with the mess and the covid going on. But that ain't all that  important right now. Georgia is BLUE.

Then the president called and tried to shake down our Sec of State. And that didn't work out well at all. 

Then the weekend came and we saw what was happening, with all the cellphone footage. This "insurrection" (gee, a new pretty sanitized word), is much much deeper than it looks. Man oh man, this felt like an inside job. Will we ever know?

This could have been super tragic. SUPER tragic. I really think they came to hurt some folks, or worse. 

I mean, they constructed some gallows at the Capitol.

Ands someone brought a guillotine to the Arizona Capitol.. 

Ugh.  You got to be real entitled and crazy to bring a guillotine out. 

January is going to be a long month. The goal right now is to get through the Inauguration.

The President said he wasn't attending the Inauguration.  GOOD. Go wherever you are going to go. Go away. 

And what's CRAZY is the shutdown of ALL his social media. ALL. Wow. 

Even Pinterest. How do you get banned from Pinterest? Is there something going on on there that I don't know about? Because I usually just look up recipes on Pinterest. The president can't look up recipes? OH MY!

Let's get through this time. 

Hopefully getting control of the pandemic will become of importance once the new administration takes over. 

I pray it will. 

Monday Afternoon Ramblings

Covid-19 still got us all looking crazy for another week.

Sitting here at home... STILL in shelter-in-place mode, Day 34 no less, in my beloved ATL. And although it has been raining off and on, it has been beautiful out, with temperatures in the 60s and 70s. Go figure... when we were out and about a month ago, it was raining on what felt like a daily basis. Now, the sun shines bright through my windows while I peer out from within.

This picture describes how I've been feeling, and how I feel right now (minus the curse word, lol).

Meal of the Week: I made some bootleg shrimp linguini.

It was good, but needed twice as many vegetables. I cut up about 2 cups, but that wasn't enough. I don't have a real recipe, but I will put up more pics this week. I got two meals out of it.

I don't have a microwave, but I am considering buying one from Amazon or something. That way, I can heat up food a little faster instead of having to bust out a skillet and

Song of the Week.  So one of my coworkers, Lady Niq, likes jazz. I can't say that I care for jazz. Personally, I like songs with words, preferably with a storyline with a cuss word or two kicked in. Throw in a heartbreak theme, and I'm all in. Sprinkle in a fight and some gunshots, and that there is my song!

BUT, I get word prompts all the time, and Lady Niq provided one that intrigued me immensely. The character is very loosely based on Lady Niq. (It is actually my lazy way out: I can use details she provides and add to them).

So I was working on the prompt, and it has stretched out to a 25 page story. And I know I really like a story, or I'm almost finished with it when it starts developing a soundtrack. That is how I know I really like a story. A member of my reading team is beginning to read it, and she is drawn in. She's my favorite critiquer, and if she says it is crap, I may as well just take it outside and light a match to it. So it's a good multilayered story. My goal is to finish it by May 1st. That should not be a problem, since I working on the third draft.

Back to the song.  Lady Niq likes jazz, and she's particularly fond of  flautist Althea Rene. So I've had to listen to some of Lady Niq's music to get a feel for the story character's personality. Now, no way would I even THINK to be interested in anyone playing a dayum flute, but it has grown on me. And it chills my emotions out. Must be something to what they say, how music and words affect your mentality, in a good or bad way.

And the song I really like is "We are One" by Jeanette Harris and Althea Rene. And the icing on the cake is this is a duet with a female saxophone player. How cool is that?



This here is my corona quarantine song. In other words, when I feel blue, I put it on.

And dance around the house as I clean up.

And I feel better!

Man, I got a good mind to order a trumpet and a wig off of Amazon, and play right along with them. LOL.

But on the real, I am getting older... time to listen to more mature music.

Last but not least... Shout out to all the health care workers.

I don't know how on earth I would handle working with infectious patients. But I am learning, from all the stories told by these professionals, that one has to have a love, passion, and calling to the medical field. Not many of us have that. I don't know if I could ever be that brave. So salute to them. They are soldiers on the front lines of this fight, and I know that it is a fight that will be won.

That's it for my Monday ramblings.

Ya'll have a great week... on purpose.

Monday Morning Rambles

It is Monday.

I think this is the second Monday in 2018?

Yes it is.

So we have some 50 more Mondays to go in this year.

Then it will be the year 2019.

(Now, if that was not a mindless ramble, I don't know what is).

It is STILL cold as hell outside.  I never thought I would yearn so much, and so soon, for warm temperatures.  I am COLD. I keep turning the heat up.  And it's just not warm enough for me.

I had a pretty eventful weekend.  The most interesting thing that happened was that I was trying to go somewhere on Saturday morning and I could not find my wallet. I mean, I tore the house up looking for it, throwing stuff everywhere, and I could not find it. I'd ordered some takeout from a Thai place near my job that Friday night, and I called them up. They hadn't seen my wallet. I tore up my car looking for it. I then decided to just call and cancel and reorder all my credit cards. This only took about 30 minutes. I thought about how first thing Monday morning, I needed to go get a new drivers license. I was a bit miffed, but happy that I caught everything before someone went and had a GREAT time with my cards.

Then... I found  my wallet.

After all this, I found my wallet. It was in my coat pocket in my coat closet.

Sigh.

Why didn't I just look in there in the first place? I was happy to have it, even though the cards meant nothing.

But I was happy to have my drivers license and my Michael Kors wallet back!

GLORY!!!

I really like that wallet.



The Tired Fury of the D-List Fire.This past week was crazy.  As always, it starts in the world of politics. This tell-all book came out:

Sigh.

So Trump came out blasting with all these crazy tweets.  He was calling Steve Bannon  "Sloppy Steve"... It was just crazy.

But come on, ya'll. You know that stuff is true. Maybe not all 100% of  it, but you know it's true. Our  president is not  the sharpest tool in  the toolbox, despite tweeting that he's a "stable genius".  This whole thing has become a reality show, and a bad one at that. I am frankly tired of being emotionally drained day after day. Sometimes I want to just turn on the news for some actual news, and not the constant spiel of shenanigans and corruption that is now the presidency. This feels like a D-list mafia/mob movie, with the endless azz kissing and pledges of loyalty. It's a bad one that's on every channel. This is not a thing of genius.

I know what a genius looks like. I have a 164 IQ. I am a genius. He is not. If he is a genius, then he's a bored and unfocused one. I would have felt better if he said that.

Now you know who's a frickin' genius?

That dayum Oprah.

Oprah. Did you see her speech at the Golden Globes?

My goodness. I felt chills when I heard it. I was just happy to hear some sound and coherent words for a change. In the midst of this reality show that politics has become, I heard some greatness.
I have watched Oprah since I was in high school, and that was over 30 years ago. I have, like us all, watched her grow and evolve and expose her challenges and imperfections. I can relate to her.

People want her to run for president. If that is what she wants to do, then fine.

If there is one thing that this emotionally exhausting presidential season has taught us, it's that anyone can run for president. And win.  And if anyone could win, Oprah could.

I have said over the past few years that the most powerful man and woman in the country are both black: Oprah and Obama. And you can't uncrack that egg. You cannot unring that bell.  The dangerous and powerful thing right now is that you cannot tell a young black child right now that they can't be something in this life. They have seen a black president. And they have seen Oprah. And Oprah  alluded to something similar in her speech last night, when she talked about how as a little girl she sat on the kitchen linoleum floor of her home and saw Sidney Pointier accept the award that she accepted that night.

So who... what small child... was watching her speech last night?

We will know in a couple of decades... we will know.


And that is all that I have to say about that.

Song of the week. When I pulled into the garage last night, I heard a GREAT song. The song was so good that I turned the car off and sang along.



"Everything She Wants" by Wham. How great is that song. It brought back so many memories.  It was LadyTee's  favorite Wham song when we were in high school. She would play it over and over.

What I truly like about the song (and what I find is a rarity in songs these days), is the story it tells. It's a short story in a song, about a man frustrated with his woman and her superficial and materialistic ways. My favorite part is when he sings, in the midst of his laments, even with the news  of a baby on the way,  "My God... I don't even think that I love you!"

That's such a revelation. My goodness.

Anyway, I love that song.

Homebody.  So... I am working from home. Why?  Because the National football championship is going down tonight. Mix that with the fact that our beloved president will be there. Combine that with the fact that it is cold outside and there was a threat of freezing rain and ice this morning...

There was no need for me to go to work. I have been working on a big report and I can do that from the house.

And with the president in town, do you realize that they have to shut down BOTH sides a freeway for his motorcade to come through? And there are police snipers on bridges over that freeway?

I have been caught up in all that in the past. No thank you.

There are going to be protests of the president tonight. There is no way I would do that. I told my sister that if I HAD to protest, it would be in Newnan or Macon, cities 40 and 85 miles away from Atlanta respectively. There is NO way I will be down near the stadium tonight, around 100,000 folks and the president. They have police snipers on buildings. All it will take is one person to get rowdy  and we all shot  up. NO.

I don't care who wins the big game. I want everyone to have fun and get out of here with no terrorist attacks. That is ALL I want. And then maybe I can go to work on tomorrow or Wednesday.

With that said... I hope you all are getting back into the swing of things after the holidays. I took 2.5  weeks off, and I am still trying to find my footing. I am confident I will.

And I am confident you will too!!

Monday Night Musings

It is Monday!

The Monday after a long holiday weekend!

And it's more O_o for me... As I only really worked one day last week.

ONE DAY.

The time off was good, but my attitude needs to be better about the return to work. I must admit that I have today I have ran through a range of emotions - anger, sadness, lethargy, confusion. At the same time, I have gotten a few things done today. I remember driving to work this morning that I thought "Something great will happen to me today."  And just making it through the day - I receive that as my great thing.

Thanksgiving was good. The whole week was good. I happen to get a good bit of decluttering done, and even take some items out to the Goodwill. I have been in my house for 12 YEARS. So I have an abundant amount of stuff  that needs to go. I am starting in the kitchen which is easiest to do, and if I haven't used items in a year, they must go.  For real. And I must admit it is very freeing.

That brings me to the quote of the week. Not sure where I heard it, but I did hear it.

"A cluttered space is a symptom of a cluttered mind."

My mind is a bit cluttered. I need to be free.

I am working on my house, and I will also work on  decluttering my cubicle.  I will.

Pictures. So my sister made gumbo. I watched her do it, while I had the baby. It came out good, but I like seafood in mine, and she has shellfish allergies - something like that (it is very confusing). But she did a good job. There's no picture of that. When it was done, I split up and froze that stuff QUICK while Notorious J was calm.

But I also made what I wanted to make for Thanksgiving. I get a taste for traditional thanksgiving food every few years, but I try to do something different every year. Our family doesn't gather for thanksgiving, which makes me sad, so it is easier for me to just go get a plate of traditional food from someone's gathering. This year I stayed home.  My sister came over later (she'd made the gumbo the day before).

I made my stuffed acorn squash!

(And here's a picture of my acorn squash before roasting).

Here's the final product!

Oh it was so good. I thought I added to much quinoa, but that actually turned out to be the right amount. It was more filling.

Of course I mixed in WHATEVER was in the fridge. Here's my concoction.

I'd run out of pecans, so I substituted pistachios, which was GREAT.

The stuffed acorn squash is good because it makes for great meals this week. So I don't have to deal with leftover turkey. I deal with leftover squash. And this is something I will not get tired of!

I also made some red bell pepper-carrot soup. I don't have a picture of it, but I do have a picture of the roasted peppers.

Here's a link for the red pepper carrot soup. It is super easy and oh so good. I think I may have to make it more often. It's getting cold and I have to have something hot, and preferably good for me.

That made for a great  Thanksgiving. And this little guy did, too.

LOL!! Look at that expression on his face! I wonder what he's thinking about!?

Maybe he just has gas.

That is it for me. I am looking forward to having a great week. On purpose.

You do the same.

Monday Evening Blues

I am not sure why I titled the post that.

I am not blue.

It's a bit dreary here in my beloved ATL, but it's no reason to be blue. Sure it's all hot and sticky outside, and it will probably rain at any moment... yet, it's no reason to be blue.

Title just sounds good. And I am listening to a piece of garage rock/blues music, which I will post as the Song of the Week later.

So... last week was a LONG week. My sister was in the hospital and I am happy to report that she was released yesterday. GLORY!  When they said she could go home, we packed that room up SUPER fast, in 5 minutes flat.

I have been in the hospital myself for a week in the past. I can STILL remember being wheeled out the hospital in that wheelchair. I can still feel the warmth of the sun on my face. And I never knew the sun could be THAT bright.  I don't ever want to be closed up and shut in a room for that long ever again. Ever. So I could understand the glee on her face when they said she could go home. We are praying all is good now.

So I am looking forward to a normal week of going back and forth to work and meandering around the house doing chores and writing, etc. Can't wait to get back to that.

Song of the Week. So, I must say I have heard what I think is like, the best song I've heard this year.  If I don't hear another song this great this year, then I am good. I'll take this one.

Jay-Z used it as a sample on the title track of his new CD 4:44.

Well, the music of the CD is much like the cover of the CD... not much too it. Yet it had a lot going on.

You know how you wish rappers and singers would get to the point where they could make whatever the heck kind of music they want? Trendiness be damned and all of that? Well that's what Jay-Z did. He made this CD for himself. It was him looking into the mirror rapping to himself concerning all his mess in the past. And he gave good sound financial advice. I think Jay-Z and I are the same age (mid- to late 40s), and it is what I expect from someone that age. He would sound a straight up fool trying to do all this mumble rapping. Stop it, I say. He did exactly what he should have done. Alas, that is not going to excite much interest from the masses, many of us who are realizing that jibberish and nonsensical rap is the norm.  Sigh.

And for that reason alone, it is definitely worth a listen. 

The producer is a legendary one name No. ID.  I was more interested in what he was going to do with this CD. I can appreciate that it's not a commercial venture.  And I love the sample that he used for the title cut.  I thought it was an old 70s song by some soul sista, but it's not. It came out last year, and it's by a white chick from the UK.

Hannah Williams and the Affiimations - "Late Nights and Heartbreaks"



Man oh man... how GREAT is that song? I think I'm more caught up in the whole unique story line of the song. I love any singer who can tell a story in a song, and it makes me wish we had more music with some substance like that. HUMPH.

A good find. I definitely threw that on my playlist.

And if you haven't seen the video for the 4:44 JayZ song, here it is. It might disappear, so here's the youtube link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOcdhQ9KfJA



That video was TOO much for me. Someone needs to explain that to me. What the world was up with the contemporary dancers in the video?  Wow. I have watched it a good 10 times, and to me it represents black joy and black oppression and black pain. And we have essentially become snuff film subject matter. Sigh.

Most powerful line that has stuck with me and is this week's Quote of the Week. 

"Hey, I'm an innocent bystander. They sayin' I drove a getaway car, but I cannot see. I'm legally blind."

There was A LOT going on in that video. I am waiting for a good think piece on it.

And that feels good to say. Not too much music makes me think these days.

That is it for ME.

I hope to post all week. I really do. This month's offerings have been quite paltry! I have to pick it up, pick it UP!

So as always, have a great week.. .On purpose!!

Monday Evening Musings

Good Monday Evening.

It is hot, muggy, and rainy in my Beloved ATL. I am so glad I got my AC fixed because if not, I would be truly miserable. 

And this has been a good enough workday. That is all I can ask for.

So, I FINALLY saw the Wonder Woman movie.

Man oh man... That was a GREAT movie. Wonder Woman is a BAD sista. That is ALL.

And I saw it in 3D IMAX. That made it extra special. I felt like I was in the movie.

Wonder Woman was kicking behinds left and right, you hear me?

WOW.

That was so good that I will be seeing it again. I know I missed something.

The whole history of Wonder Woman was phenomenal. I loved anything with a great background story woven into the storyline just right. And I loved seeing black women in power in the Amazon structure. AWESOME. What a powerful movie.

I will be seeing it again because there was so much going on... I KNOW I missed something. It is well worth seeing a few more times. I will definitely be buying it when I comes out on video. I may watch that just as much as I have been known to watch the

This was a pretty laid back weekend. I had much to do around the house. My goal this week is to stretch my chores out during the week. When I have done that in the past, my weekends were more relaxed.

I had a personal moment of clarity concerning Fathers day last night, and I posted about it yesterday. So I will not talk much about that again. You can go back and peruse it if you like. But it made me feel much better. I was in struggle mode and didn't even really know it.

Song of  the Week.  Hmm. Of course I want to put up some ratchetness. How about I just save that for Friday.  My morning drive music on repeat for some reason was this song. Why? I am usually a bit moody on my way to work (even though it is a short 12-15 minute commute in ATL traffic), and for this reason, this song on repeat made me happy.



I was feeling alright by the time I made it to work!

GLORY!!

That is so good, I will post the 1 minute sequel!



Such nice songs. Ain't nobody cussing and taring up stuff.  No ratchet behavior. I know it's a remake,  but that song has to be some 15 years old. I like oldies, you see.

(But like I said, I have a piece of ratchetness laying around. I will put that up soon enough. LOL).

That is it for me. I am looking forward to a great week.

You have a great week. On purpose.

Good Monday Evening... The Rainy Night Edition

This right here is the situation in my beloved ATL.

Rain!

Rain, rain, rain!

Rain ALL the time (well over the past couple of days).

And here's the kicker: It is COLD. It is in the 50s here in my beloved ATL.

LAWD!

Rain and cold together. Uh, NO, NO!

Especially since it was just 80-85 degrees last week.

Last night I was shivering in bed, but I refused to go get another blanket. Nope. Because it's going to be azzzzz HAWT in a few more days. You watch and see.

This has been an interesting day. I had my routine 8-10 week doctor's appointment today. Every thing is fine, but the dude who does out blood work was out, and we all had to wait around for his replacement. I decided to wait an hour, then jet. I could always come back another day, since my next appointment isn't until early July.

But they all looked at me like I was crazy when I asked if I could do that.

The  answer was "NO.  Wait for Dr. B. to come out here."

Uh... yeah. I waited for her. And she made the new blood work person (I know this is a phlebotomist. I just don't know how to spell it) do my blood work. That poor young lady had a rough time. Took her 15 minutes to do my blood work.

I didn't mind waiting. But that's the wrong side of town to be waiting around for something. I have been waiting around  in the waiting room before when the wait was a bit too long and...

What's the most gentle politically correct way to say this... 

Let's just say the working class "Make Amurica Great Again" clientele went OFF.   And it was SCARY. Then for some odd reason they start going in on Obama..

O_o

Ain't nobody got time for that. Because if any of the black folk  stand up and say something, we might ALL get shot.  Because you know they probably packing.

And I don't care to be around all that. Let us all just wait... peacefully.

I thought of all of that this morning.  And I would have GLADLY made a nice 60 mile round trip back out there to get some simple blood work done.

Oh well.

It is all good and well.  I arrived to work a couple of hours later to work than usual after an appointment.  The supervisor was alright, but you BEST believe I was equipped with a doctor's excuse. I'm going to scan that in and send it to him. This Oldgirl doesn't want any trouble.

CD of the Week.  So. I ran up on the STRANGEST CD I've heard in  awhile. I actually ran up on two of them, but let's just talk about one for now.

"Awaken, My Love!"  by Childish Gambino.

Childish Gambino is the rap persona of actor Danny Glover. I'm not  a fan of his rap music, and I think he was a part of that Community sitcom on NBC at one time. He produces the show Atlanta now, I believe.

Have you heard this Awaken CD, though?  Is it not the strangest thing you've ever heard? It's like, a mash-up of Prince, Funkadelic, and Sly and the Family Stone. Just ODD.

But SO Good.

It shocked the cheese out of me. I had it on while driving somewhere far from my house.

Had me sitting in the car like O_O.

It sure snuck up on me. And I like it. It is VERY different from anything out right now.

So my Songs of the Week are two cuts from that CD.

"Me and Your Mama"




Isn't that CRAZY???

It sounds all lovely and nice in the beginning then it just goes off a huge cliff.  WOW.

And "Terrified", my favorite song off the CD.



And it's just such a nice song... doesn't go barreling off a cliff. Thank goodness.

That's it for my Monday Evening rambles.

You all have a nice week.

By design and on purpose.

Good Monday Evening

I forgot to post yesterday.

O_o

And I was on my computer doing some writing. How does that happen? I was going to only post up an obligatory "Happy Easter" wish. And I just completely forgot.

Ugh.

Anyway, Monday will be over in 3 hours. I need to get something up NOW.

I took a sick day today. I didn't go to sleep until 6:00 am, so that meant, uh... no work. My sinuses were hurting, I suppose from all this georgia pollen, but I was NOT going to be at work hacking and looking crazy. I think I went to sleep around 6, and woke up around 9. I have to be at work at 10. That was not going down so I just took off. I think I may have slept another 30 minutes or so. So maybe I will sleep well tonight  (along with a little help of some trusty benadryl).

I don't even have anything around here to help me sleep.

The Big Buckle. So we had a freeway, I-20 West on the Eastside, buckle up this morning.

When I saw that on the news, I thought... so we're having earthquakes now?!

No we are not. They said something about a gas pipe issue. I still don't understand. A gas pipe caused that? Really.

Someone, a biker, ran up on it. He's in the hospital. I hope he is fine, because that is some craziness.

I don't go that way to work, but I passed it in the other direction late in the day when I made a run out to the farmer's market. I couldn't see the buckling but there were a gang of emergency vehicles in place. I got caught up in some of the bypass traffic. I got around it, though.

I hate it for folks who have to deal with a bunch of traffic foolishness everyday. I can't even imagine.

Quote of the Week.  "No" is a complete sentence.

How simple is that? I can remember that all day. And I will.

I think we all have trouble telling people "no" in some season of our lives. Those days are long gone for me. Don't get me wrong... I still say "yes" sometimes when I want to say "no". Those times are few and far between. For me, having rules for myself, like not lending money, cuts out a bunch of personal trepidation concerning people. I don't call that being selfish, I just call it being wise.

And for me, overall, being worried about upsetting people or being accepted by people is a bottomless pit, a battle I have learned that just cannot be won. Not possible.

Song of the Day. I came across this gem... "Whatever You Want" by Tony Tony Tone.



Can you believe that song is 25 years old?

And it's as good now as it was back then.

Timeless.

Have a good Monday Evening and a great week...

On purpose.

Good Monday Evening

Good Monday Evening to you all...

The First Monday Evening in this new... regime, era, kingdom, Land of Oz.


I don't know what to call it... I just know my eyes are burning and my head is spinning trying to figure out what is going on.

All I know is that I was watching television this weekend with this look on my face.

Now listen. I didn't mean to get caught up in the news, but you have to understand, terrible storms moved through my area. I needed to be informed as to what was going on. I had stuff to do, but I decided not to leave the house because trees were falling all over the place, it was raining cats, dogs and frogs, and the wind...

Let's not talk about the wind.

There were a couple of times that I stood still and spoke to myself in a soft voice, whispering,

"LadyLee, do you need to go get in a closet in the middle of the house?"

Humph.

In the midst of all that, I watched the news. All the news, which hasn't been my habit as of late.

Alternate facts. That's a new phrase I learned this weekend. I am crunching a large data set at work right now. There are a couple of sketchy figures in there. I thought about going to my boss with these "alternate facts".  I didn't want my boss to give me the MLK face in the above picture.

Luckily I reworked my data set and came up with actual facts. Because I am sure the alternate facts spin will not work for me. Nerp.

What a plethora of issues went on in the last 3 or 4 days. Large marches. Inaugaration.

And me, trying to take it all in.

Much of it I just don't understand.

If the last 4 days are a snapshot of what is going down for the next 4-8 years, then we are in for one helluva ride.

Man listen... ya'll better run out and marry your partners, get you contraceptives, get your health care, get your abortions, and anything else you can think of because it is ALL about to be outlawed.

ALL. 

I guess this is what they call "Make America Great Again."

For real.

Nothing wrong with that.

I just think I need to be a white straight male over 50 to understand it all.  That's the problem. . 

Good FALL Monday

How on earth do I keep letting so much time go by and not post. I have plenty of post ideas. But I have let things slip off. Shame on me!

Oh my! I am so HAPPY that it is FALL!!!

I like fall. I don't have to turn on the air conditioner or the furnace. That means lower utility bills. GLORY!

(I don't know what I would do if some big deer were in my backyard like in the picture, tho.)

So it is Monday...and I go through the same thing I go through every Monday morning: looking for cats. I don't want them stuck in my bedroom all day (I close the door to my bedroom when I leave for work in the mornings). 

So there is a lot of:  "Ya'll up in here! GET OUT OF HERE!"

If they are, they usually scramble on out.

Because they know LadyLee is crazy.

When I don't see them, I go looking and I keep yelling.

And they trick me a few times a month. They sit silently on the beams over the living room and run back and forth.

And I know what they are thinking:

 "Watch this fool run back and forth. She won't even look up over her head."

LOL

As long as I know they are up there, I can just leave. 

I am looking forward to these cooler days. It seems like I'm not as flustered and I can think clearer.

Much clearer.

I am going to try to post all this week. Try.

Have a good week. On purpose.

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!

Monday Night Ramblings!

'Tis Monday!

Happy New Year!

And I am back at work. No, I ain't whining about it. Although I could've used another week off. That would have been just fine and dandy with me.

I refuse to hate Mondays. This is a day the Lord has made. I WILL rejoice and I WILL be glad in it, doggonit.

(That's what I say every morning, especially on Mondays).

I have been off since the December 23rd. Let's just say I didn't plan on getting much done today. And today was just a day to get my mind straight. I suppose. There was no way I was doing anything crucial in the lab today. I think I decided that last night while journalling.

My boss sent myself and a coworker a document today to look over before he sends it to our director. I don't know why he's so nervous about it. I've spent some time editing and going back and forth with him about it. I want to send an email in all caps that says....

"I DON'T WANT TO READ THIS ANYMORE."

I decided to incorporate my new Quote of the Year in this case instead...

"It's not what happens to me that matters, it's my response to what happens to me that matters."

I know this is a little situation, but hey, might as well work on what I worked on much of last year: respond without anger, indignation, or agitation. I spent much time thinking about this last year. It works 99% of the time. And that's good enough  for me.

So Iwent over to my coworker, who sits cubicles up, and who I co-wrote this piece of regulation with, and I said...

"Hey brutha! You get that [email]!? This what we gonna do. How 'bout you read this, and I glance over it, and be done with it. I'm not spending more than 5 minutes on it."

(He blinks hard and grins whenever I call him "brutha"... I think this is because he is Chinese, and he is not my brother).

"It looks fine, whatever," he said. "It's alright."

*crickets*

"Did you even open the email, brutha?"

"It's fine," he said.

Hmmm... I don't know if he looked at it or not. I went back to my cubicle.

So I did the right thing. I read through it (albeit quickly), and I even asked my coworker a technical question.  And I did that in 10 minutes flat.

And I felt good about it!

I am glad I didn't respond with a crazy email. And I have a very nice (and VERY fine) supervisor. I don't want to upset him at all. No way, man.

Anyway, I received some Christmas gifts in the mail early Saturday morning. I decided to buy myself some things I like or need.

I bought a couple of satin pillow cases and some ink pens.

 I have been wanting some satin pillow cases.  And those pens are now my official favorite. I was getting some training at our sister fed agency down the road from my current job, and they gave me one of these pens to write with.

Let's just say I took the pen. I wouldn't call it stealing. When I go back, I will return the pen. That is all.

I have been needing some knives. I only have 3 or 4 knives right now. It's funny how those disappear. Same thing with spoons and forks. I have to buy new ones every once and awhile.

But I was looking for a specific brand of knife, a brand I'd been using for years. I bought them at Wal-mart years ago, but I could never find them again. I decided to look around on Amazon (which for some reason is always my last thought), and I saw what I wanted.

This knife set has been in my Amazon cart since October. I decided to buy it. It was only $50. They had some that were upwards of $200. I am not a professional chef, hence I ain't paying that much for a set of knives. No indeed.

There was this piece here, though.

I didn't know WHAT this was for. (Now how am I suppose to cut anything with this? I thought.) It turns out that it is a knife sharpener. That let's you know I am not a knife connoisseur.  Good to learn something new, though!

I love chopping fruits and veggies, so it's been a joy these past couple of days to grab a knife without having to search for one or clean one.

I've enjoyed all these gifts to myself. I may do that again next Christmas. I usually do it for my birthday (and I still have my coin jar, so that will definitely be done). But it was nice to do something for myself this Christmas... on purpose.

That's it for me. Got to make sure I stay in the swing of blogging. I know this is "out of style" now, but it is my personal therapy. Thank goodness for that.

It is COLD in the ATL. It was warm last week. Now it needs it to be either/or, because I am confused.

And what's with all the flooding? What the world is going on with the climate?

I am sure it's the same way in your neck of the woods.

So everyone...

Stay warm...

Stay dry...

Stay safe...

On purpose. 

Happy COLD Monday Morning

It is Monday morning.

And it is COLD.

Specifically, it is 35 degrees in my beloved ATL.

35 degrees!

But you know what the silver lining is here?

There's NO rain. And it's going to be sunny all week long. Cold and sunny, but sunny all week long!

GLORY.

And you know what? That's all I can ask for. Because after all that rain? I didn't think we would EVER see the sun again. EVER.

Alas we see it. On Thanksgiving week, no less.

And this is a 2 day work week for me! So good, so good, so good!!

I didn't post much last week because I was so busy. It is rare that my mind is tied up in scientific things and I'm all O_O. I was learning a new procedure from someone who only gives 10% of the instructions and then the other 90% must be figured out on my own. I can't stand that. I am very detailed. Stop being nebulous, dude. So I was working hard on that. It got to the point where i would just come home and go to bed.

I told my boss the other day "My bullshit antennae is sky high and you need to make me feel better about what I'm doing."

And you know what? He did. Then the other boss came along and made me understand more. So now I have a correct state of mind to work out of. Thank goodness for that.

(I know that probably doesn't make much sense. Oh well).'

Look who I ran into the other day:

Snake! The self-appointed "Mayor" of my Hood! And the Poet Laureate of my blog. Just search his name in this blog and plenty of posts and poems come up.

I see Snake from time to time. I just don't get much of a chance to stop and talk, as I am driving and/or he is on his way somewhere. Well, I saw him in the middle of the day last week, on Veterans day, I believe. I happen to be off that day. He came running at me, his hands waving all over the place.

"LadyLee, I need some help!"

"Wassup," I said.

"I need to fill out a job application, but I need to do it on the computer."

I was silent, wondering what it had to do with me.

"I don't have a computer, can I use yours."

"Yes," I said. Stop through in another hour.

He was happy, his toothless grin wide. "Thank you so much!"

"No problem," I said as I sped off down the road.

I have my regular laptop and a netbook I rarely use around the house, so I figured I would just charge up the netbook and just let him sit outside and use my internet to do his application.

(At the same time, I was hoping he wouldn't run down the road with my stuff and sell it...)

He rang the doorbell and I handed him the netbook. He stared at it.

"What?" I asked. "Just sit out here on the porch and use it."

"Ladylee," he hollered. "I don't know how to use a computer or the internet."

"Really?"

"No, I don't. You have to help me."

So he came in and we sat at the dining room table and I pulled up the website and typed in all his information. It took all of 15 minutes."

"Thank you so much. I knew you would help me."

And I was glad to do so. It was such a simple thing to me, but it meant much to him. I can't imagine people not know how to use the internet. He actually had a cell phone, and he already had a gmail address, so that's a good start. But I remember the internet wasn't popular until I was well into my grad school years. It took much to get accustomed to even then.

I learned from him that the guy who takes care of my yard is locked up. My yard looks a mess right now. Thank goodness it's cold, because I can just take care of it myself. My yard man Wayne got caught running up in a house under construction. I guess they caught him running out with something. And I haven't seen him in a few weeks.

"I will go bail him out if it will cost less than $15," I said.

That's how much I pay to have my whole yard, front and back, done: $15.

Snake said, "Uh, more like $1500 or so."

Oh well. I won't be seeing Wayne no time soon. I even spent time cutting and shaping my hedges in the front yard. Oh well.

I need my leaves raked now. I'm going to just pull out the leaf blower and work it out. I can do it. I know I can.

And that will be my goal for my 5 day holiday weekend: straighten out my yard. That looks to be a combination of some leaf raking and grass cutting. I will spend no more than 30 minutes a day on it. That is all. Good enough. I would take a before and after picture of it, but honestly, it's not all that bad and may not be that much of a difference. Once I rake leaves, they will continue falling, but I have to at least stay on top of it.

Fun, fun, FUN!

I have a ton of half done posts that I want to put up. So I will jumping through those. I need about 45 more posts to surpass last years total, and that shouldn't be a problem.

Song of the Week. What is up with that Drake song? The Hotline Bling.

I say that because I saw the video, which was... interesting. But it samples something. And I remembered which song. MC Hammer's "Why can't we live together"



But it turns out that the Hammer song samples another song: Timmy Thomas "Why can't we live together"



Now, Drake's song sounds closer to Timmy Thomas' version. But Hammer's version stuck closer to the message of the original song. Drake's version is in the direction of some thotness.  Nothing wrong with that. Just a sign of the times, I suppose.

LOL. Can we please get some original music... Please.

Uh, no.

And it's okay.

Because I am the The Original Oldgirl. And that's all that matters.

This is Thanksgiving weekend! Please take a little time to ponder your year and what you're thankful for.

If you do, you will find out there's so much. So so much.

Good Sleepy Monday Afternoon

Good Monday Afternoon.

Correction: Good Sleepy Monday Afternoon.

Ugh. I am so tired. I had a doctor's appointment this morning. And it was a stand-in doctor. My doctor is on vacation, and I waited to late to change my appointment. I don't care to talk to strangers about my medical needs. I wanted to say, "Dude... I just want my meds. Stop asking a ton of questions. I am sleepy!"

I was so tired trying to drive the 35 MILES to work. I was so tempted to go back home and take a nap. I didn't sleep too well last night.

Maybe because I lazed away all weekend.

The kittens pretty much had it right:

That's the way it was. All day. All day long.

I did some reading. I washed all my clothes and a little cleaning (definitely not as much as I could have done). On Saturday, I went shopping! Can you believe that. I had a coupon, and I really needed a belt. The belt was $40. I've been eyeing it and thinking about it for a good while. Well, I got the belt, but when the coupon and discounts kicked in, I was able to get a shirt for free (a $45 value). Yay me for couponing!

Man. I don't like shopping, but I need to go shopping more often!

Other than that, it was a chill weekend.

Oh, I messed around and got caught up in a Snapped Marathon. It was one of those things where it was background noise for when I was reading or napping. Anyway, there was one episode that left me O_O.
This lady had killed her husband, then dismembered him, and fried his hands in a deep fryer, and cooked his ribs with some barbeque sauce.

WOW!!

That made me look up from my book and pay attention. She said some ancient gods told her what to do. Wow. I have watched Snapped a good bit over the years, but that one... I thought they made it up, but they didn't.

On tap for the week. WORK.

And we have a new group member. I want to find her and introduce myself, but she is seated in the other building. So I will see her when I see her.

Sister Callie Jo turns ONE tomorrow. So I need to get a post together for her.

I may put up a quote or two from the books I'm currently reading.

And so on...and so on.

Song of the Week. I've been trying to compile my top 10 favorite songs. It seems that the requirement for such is that the songs have to be at least 25 years old. Hmmm. So they were my favorite when I was a teenager. And for me, it's a testament to how awful the current music is. It would take a lot of hard thinking for me to come up with a song from 2014 or 2015 that I really really liked. Sigh.

Here's one of my top 20, though. May or may not be top 10. Keith Sweat's "Make it Last Forever"



Oh come on now. You KNOW you like that song. That was a GOOD song. Even the chick who sang with him could sang. And you know Keith Sweat can barely sing, and it is still a good song.

One of my favorites. Yes it is.

That's it for me. I have finished my lunch, and I have some stuff to do in the lab.

You have a good week... on purpose!!

Monday Afternoon Ramblings... The Food-for-Thought Edition

Good Monday Afternoon... from my sofa.

Yes, that is right. From my sofa. I didn't want to post today, as I am not feeling particularly smurfy. I ate something yesterday that made me break out in hives. So I rather stay at home and let this all wear off. And it don't help that it is really nice outside. This is no time to be stuck up in the house. ugh. I do think some of it is something I ate, and part of it is due to nerves. I have entirely too much on my mind right now. That is a bit unusual for me.

This was an interesting weekend. It didn't rain. The sun was shining high in the sky. Not a drop of rain fell. I don't remember seeing any clouds. I almost wanted to take a picture or something because it is so hard to believe. Even the humidity is low.

This is UTOPIA.

Or maybe is all just a dream.

Oh well.

My weekend was .... uggggggh.

I didn't go anywhere on Saturday. Sometimes I catch up on my sleep if I have been sleeping crazy all week. Plus I am moody, and I am hard to deal with I am moody. And Aunt Flo showed up out of nowhere, and you know me.... I'm like those women in the bible - put me in a tent on the outskirts of town and leave me alone. Solitude, honey. Solitude.

But I ended up going out on Sunday. I needed to run some errands, some of which I needed to do on Saturday.

And I needed to do one other thing: spend some time with my father.

For some reason, I didn't feel like going over there. But I skipped going last week. One of the reasons is that I don't go over to anyone's house unless I call first. I don't understand the whole "showing up" thing. A lot of that has to do with the fact I rarely have people over. I just think it's a courtesy to always call. And I can't blame folks if they don't. I know that is just my habit. I don't like bothering folk. This is a good and a bad thing at the same time. The older I get, the more it seems to bother me.

Anyway, I called Aunt Ethel and asked if I could come over. She seemed surprised by this. Not in that I'm going to jump ship, which is easy enough to do. I think they are just use to people knocking on the door and showing up. Not gonna happen with me. I'm not even like that with folks I know well.

But I guess that is my third time going over there. The last time I went was after work, and that didn't fare to well for me, because I am a bit keyed up after I get off from work and I need a little time alone to decompress. So going from work straight to his house is not a good thing.

He is quiet. I am quiet. That makes for an odd gathering. And it's something I'm not in the mood for after work.

My solution is to go over on the weekends whenever I decide to go over. I have told myself it doesn't hurt to go over there for a half hour ever couple of weeks or so.

I still have to find some things to talk to him about. No, I am not asking him about his past of neglecting me. I could care less about that these days. But what is a bit troublesome is that I am 43 years old. And it seems as if he hasn't done anything of interest in the past 40 years.

And that isn't something you come out and ask someone.

"Have you done anything or had any accomplishments in the last 40 years?"

That is a rude question. Especially since I already know the answer to that question.

The answer is no. He has walked the neighborhood with his friends and drank liquor. He is an alcoholic. He has stayed in that same little bedroom all these years. I remember the room from when I was 4 or 5 years old, when I had to go over there every Christmas. Same twin size bed. Same furniture.

And I don't judge the man for that. Particular decisions afford particular results and consequences. Period.

But it makes me think of my own life.   When I get his age, age 67, will I be able to look back on my life and say I did something with my life?

Of course I would. But seeing someone like him, who has sat in the same room, drank the same liquor for so many years is daunting. It makes me think of my own life and accomplishments. But it makes me think of all my dreams, goals and desires that have gone unfulfilled. It also makes me think of all those bad habits and strongholds I have that I have been sluggish about eliminating from my life. Years and years can pass, sometimes those questionable areas tend to overshadow all the good. That is unfortunate.

It makes me think of a quote I posted here on this blog awhile ago...

"The bad habits I let go unchecked in my life will eventually be the very source of my downfall."

Eventually. 

And we see this happening all the time, these "bad habits left unchecked."  We see it with the superstars. I know if you're like me, you've heard the news of some star's demise and shook your head. I always associated wealth with the good life. And times like that always let me know that wealth doesn't solve all problems... sometimes it magnifies them. 

And I see the issues with my father, these effects of  bad habits left unchecked. And I also see this with myself. 

And it makes me a bit sad. 

Something must be said in light of all that. I am always under construction right up until the very moment I die. This means problem areas I had years ago are gone. I have problem areas I am working on now that will diminish or go away. And problem areas will show up in the future. I are always growing and changing. We are always growing and changing. We are never stagnant in that.

The problem becomes when we have certain problem areas that don't go away. They linger. That's the problem. 

And the very thought of it all magnifies when I have to sit down and talk to my father. It reminds me that I have to be more vigilant about working on my own personal sticky problem areas- those problem areas that won't seem to go away. 

I know it is not a good idea to talk to him about that type of thing. It stresses and frustrates me a bit to try to think up ways to have conversations with him. Afterall, I don't particularly want this, I didn't ask for any of this, and I am not looking for a relationship with him. I have learned to exist without any type of relationship with either of my parents. The idea of such is foreign to me. 

I hadn't seen him in two weeks, and he seems to be doing better. He is actually walking, and he seems to take pride in showing me that he can walk. I wouldn't be shocked if he did a fancy James Brown dance spin move, lol.

And we actually talked some, instead of sitting there quietly. I showed him pictures of some of my family. He was shocked to see that my mother, and his wife at one time, has grey hair now. I don't know why that shocked him, as he himself has grey hair. I asked him about his time in Viet Nam. He talked about some of his experiences there. I asked because I realized that is when his life basically stopped, after he got back from there. He said it messed him up so bad. He asked if being overseas messed up my brother. I said it bothered him, and he said that type of thing would.  I am just glad my brother is moving forward. I would hate to see him in such a state as my father is... some 40 years later. 

I think I stayed for 45 minutes. I would stay longer if I could remember to bring something to do with me, like my current crochet project. I don't do well just sitting idle. He was watching television - old cowboy movies on the western channel - but I still need something to do while I'm doing that. 

My goal is just to go over every 2 weeks or so. I think that would be enough of me, just giving of my time. These days I'm having to sow "uncomfortable seed", which means doing things that I really don't care to do or doing things that make me uncomfortable. This is a good thing in itself, as it allows me to still continuously work on my selfishness issues in more unorthodox ways, ways not of my choosing. And it is an undeniable test to see if I do the things I do without any odd motives. 

And it lets me know that I am growing...

Well, that wasn't one of my most usual smurfy Monday ramblings, was it? 

I can at least post a song of the week, right? 

Raphael Saddi - "Never Give you Up"

That's a good song.  I wish there was more real music like that. It's hard to find original music these days. Everything is sampled. No originality and limited creativity. Sigh. 

I may not post much this week. We will see.

In any case, have a good week... by design and on purpose. 

Monday Night Fights... The Pylon and Duck Edition

Good Monday night.. Or should I be saying "Good Monday Evening".

Yes, this post is late as all get out. And that's okay. It is alright.Yes it is. It is a Monday Night Fights edition.

Which is another way of saying it is just a monday night randoms edition.

I hope you enjoyed your day. I have. We're not very busy at work today. Things are chugging right along. That's the way I like it. I don't like running around like a chicken trying to get things done fast. No ma'am!

We are having some balmy steamy days in my beloved ATL. Yes, it is still raining cats, dogs and frogs... but it hasn't been ARSE HAWT outside. Last year there was some  I haven't had a power bill over $150.00, and I am cool like that, even though my car seems like it has to float all the way home in all this here rain. I hope this doesn't mean a cold winter is in the future. That is not a good thing!

My weekend. It was uneventful for the most part. Saturday I ran errands. The most interesting place I went was to my local beauty supply store. Suddenly they have these beautiful pink pylons out in front of the store.

What's the reason for those? Well they are all over the ATL. I tell you, every week there's store video camera footage of a gang of folks ramming a store with a stolen truck through the door...

And running up in there and stealing all the designer jeans or hair weave they can carry.

Hmmm...

And you can see the wall up there next to the door is bit damaged.

Now I assumed that the store had been targeted. Especially when I went there one day a couple of months ago and the door was bashed in. The glass was gone from the bottom of the door, and the burglar door was removed and there was a brutha was standing on the inside helping us through the door.

And sanging "Come on girl... drop it likes it hot!*

*LadyLee takes the brutha's hand and ducks through the door*

This was bootleg indeed. You think they would've closed the store. But they didn't.

I was snickering at the "See, what happened was..." explanation the Asian owner was trying to sell us.

"See, a drunk driver hit the front door."

I wanted to holler, "Yeah right, Oldgirl!!".

But I didn't. I needed a couple of cheap combs and a brush. I like this store and didn't want no problems.

But she know that some dudes tried to pull a weave heist on her store. She didn't have to lie like that.

I didn't care. As long as I could buy my comb and brush...

And they got that GOOD hair up in there. The virgin hair, the real stuff. The yaki stuff. ALL the good hair, in all the colors of the rainbow. 2 walls full

So yeah, they better invest in those pylons.

And that little yellow chicken or duck at the front door is probably some type of security. I made sure I didn't touch that. It might shoot poisonous darts.

Nothing much else interesting happened this weekend. Chores and writing (not enough of the latter, though. Gotta do better). Sunday was a relaxation day. I made a run to the farmer's market which wasn't really necessary. I just want my weekday evenings free from grocery shopping. I want to do more at home chore-wise during the week.

So I was sitting at home, watching television and experiencing a touch of vertigo for some reason. It was around 4:30 pm. I was chilling, just trying to be still...

When out of the blue, I got a phone call...

And that produced... This Weekend's "Whoooooaaaa" Moment.

Hmm... My eyes are still O_O over this one. Totally totally unexpected. I will post about that later this week. You'll just have to wait until I calm down and pontificate it all a bit. It may or may not be a food-for-thought post, but it sure feels like one.

Hmmmmmm....

Anyway, this is a sweepstakes week. A gift card is hanging high on the walls of the House of LadyLee. And it's a good one, too.

Enough for gas and grocery...

...Or some weed.

Whatever your fancy.

Come back tomorrow to see what THAT is about...

Song of the week.  When was the last time you heard this song???



Oldie but Goodie!!!

That's it for now. Ya'll have a good week! On Purpose!

Good Monday Afternoon!!

Oh my.

It is MONDAY.

My birthday vacation is officially OVER.

Well not really. I called my boss and asked if I could take an extra day off. She said no. I have some training this week and I was supposed to be there at 8 a.m. (I called her at 8 from the bed. I was waaaay under the covers).

I got up, got my clothes together, took a shower and was getting dressed... when she texted me and said that my first day wasn't until Tuesday. So I could take the day off.

*lee throwing off all her clothes and diving head first back into bed*

LOL

I got back in the bed for an hour. Then I got up and took some meds. Then I spent some time reading some blogs, and crocheting. I am watching the news right now.

That training is all week. My boss sent the schedule, but I still don't understand it. She's going to have to explain it to me like I'm a two-year-old. I hope the trainers have themselves together this time. It is a pilot program test, and a waste of time.

However, I received some strange cash award for participating last year. I think it was like,$250, or something like that. If I would've know that, I wouldn't have been as surly about it. II never volunteer for anything. Never cute when management volunteers me for something. No, not a good look.). And it didn't help that I had to work half a Saturday to make up some of my regular work. That piece of change softened my frown... just a little.

It is raining cats and dogs here in Georgia. And I thought a leak was repaired in an upstairs bedroom. NOPE! Ugh, gotta deal with that again. It is a slow leak in a vent, but when it rains hard, I can tell a difference. But I will call and get that taken care of, pronto.

Like I said, I am crocheting right now, too. Here are a couple of pics.

 I can even fold it now.

Getting big. Very quickly!

It builds up quickly when it is small. It is bigger now, and it will be awhile before noticeable changes will be seen. But it's always fun to start something new and it grow so fast.

Whitney Houston. Today is the first anniversary of Whitney Houston's death.

Rest in peace, Whitney Houston. I sure do miss your music. I will be listening to some of my favorite hits today.

Grammys.  I caught half of it last night, as I was watching something else earlier on TV. Man, I hate to say it, but I don't know who most of those people were. I don't listen to current radio.

I remember the days when I couldn 't wait until the Grammys came on. And I stopped being interested right after the days of Jodeci and Mary J Blige... round that time.

Why does EVERYONE hate Alicia Keys so much? Wow! Someone please explain it to me. Is it because of the whole situation with her hubby Swizz Beats, and how she was with him while he was still married?  Ya'll still caught up on that?

You know how many people are in those types of situations? Heck, even I've fooled with a married man in the past. And I did it ON PURPOSE.

Heck no, I don't condone that mess. Not in the least. But ya'll still upset with her about that?

Maybe it's something else. But she gets lit up on twitter every time she shows up on the TV. Please explain!

Song of the Week. I yearn for the days of music I can understand. Here's my song of the week. I've been listening to this this past week.




Good music. Good lyrics, even though the subject matter is suspect and ratchet. But the song tells a good story, and I can understand what they are saying. That's what I like about it. Good story. And Rachelle Ferrell is playing and singing on this cut? Wow!

I love good pure music with some good musicality. That is rare to hear these days.

Hey, I wouldn't really know because I don't listen to the current stuff.

Am I getting old? :(

No, I am getting BETTER! *throws glitter*

That's all for today! The drawing will be tomorrow.

Alright ya'll... I posted up some blog posts this weekend. The birthday sweepstakes is still on. Comment for a chance to win a $43 gift card in my 43rd birthday sweepstakes...

You can't win if you don't comment!!

Have a good Monday!

On purpose!!