Charlie Mack's Granddaughter

The MAC store is the debil!

2009-01-19T00:02:00.004Z

Yesterday I went to Columbia mall to find outdoor wear for the inauguration and walked out with no outdoor wear but $100 worth of cosmetics at the MAC store...and I don't even really wear makeup. The girl behind the cosmetics counter asked me about my make up regimen (which is basically nonexistent). I lied a bit about foundation and such because I knew I wasn't going to buy any and I didn't want her to start with the hard sell, but at some point she started to talk about eye make up, and for some reason I told her I didn't really wear any because I like a more natural look... Now why did I say that?! Here this girl was with her eyes VERY made up and looking quite nice by the way. She looked at me with this incredulous look on her face and next thing I knew I was sitting for 20 minutes in the chair getting my eyes done with a natural look (I left poor Derrick and Jamal waiting patiently outside the store..LOL). Afterwards, I was so impressed with my eyes that I walked out with an eyebrow pencil, base paint, three eye shadows (because one just wouldn't do), and the lip gloss and lip liner that I had originally gone in there for in the first place. Sigh...

Um...what part of I don't wear make up don't I understand?! Now I'm looking at all this makeup realizing that I now need foundation, blush, and BRUSHES!!! I see a trip to Ulta or Sephora in my future.

The MAC store has created a monster!

Charlie Mack's Granddaughters do San Antonio!

2008-08-06T07:12:00.001Z

Ok... I'm late as hell with this post. My apologies, cuz'ns! (Pic: Keisha, Me, Catrice, Anita, and Kim)

Well, we did it again! We celebrated our 2nd annual Charlie Mack’s Granddaughter’s weekend in San Antonio, Texas, and you know what? We had a ball!!!

Now I know what you're thinking... Why San Antonio?! And why in July?! Most of us were thinking the same thing before the trip, but afterwards we were saying, "Why NOT San Antonio in July?!"

Prior to leaving for this trip, I thought San Antonio was just a big dust bowl with nothing to do. Wow was I ever wrong. Thanks to my sister, Anita, who was our event planner for the trip, we had a non-stop, action packed, whirlwind of a trip. Our itinerary included the following:

Friday

Arrival in San Antonio!
Pickup rental - The Ford Explorer was almost too small for us and all our luggage. We packed like girls...LOL
Grocery shopping - We girls need our snacks...and drinks.
Arrival at Homewood Suites Hilton at San Antonio Riverwalk - Complimentary hot/cold breakfast everyday and the beds were soooo comfortable.
Stroll down the Riverwalk - It's absolutely BEAUTIFUL...and long.
Casa Rio - The margaritas are sublime and pack a powerful kick. I highly recommend!
Pedicures!
Chillin' with the cuz'ns back at the hotel

Saturday

Morning jog/walk on the Riverwalk - Hmm...this was Anita's idea.
Market Square - Shopping!
La Magarita - Margaritas were WEAK! Very disappointed. Food was good though.
Another stroll on the Riverwalk - Yeah, again! I told you it was long. It's actually quite awesome, with tons of restaurants and shops.
More chillin' back at the hotel

Sunday

KENDRA!!! - Who knew there were Dixon's in San Antonio?! We met up with our cuz'n, Kendra, who recently moved there.
Riverwalk Tour - It's still the Riverwalk, but this time by boat.
Dick's Last Resort - None of us had ever been before but we had heard about it. Let's just say this isn't the type of place you want to go to if you insist on "good service", polite wait staff, and not being forced to wear a paper condom on your head with words that say "Sex Toy Instructor". It was definitely an experience, and a lot of sophomoric fun. Shout out to our waiter, Eric! Oh, if you want to eat alligator, try the Gator Bites. I did. Um...let's just say it DIDN'T taste like chicken...LOL
River Center Comedy Club - The opening comedian was funny but his black jokes got a little tiring after a while (especially when we were the only blacks in the club!). I guess it was payback for black comedians singling out the lone white audience member. Anyway, Tom Rhodes, the headliner, was great, and the appetizers and drinks were surprisingly good.

Monday

Horseback riding!!! - This was by far the best thing we did during our entire trip. We spent 2 hours horseback riding through Texas Hill Country, and it was absolutely great. I highly recommend the BR Lightning Ranch, located just outside of Bandera, Texas, the Cowboy Capital of the World. Thanks to Cowboy Mark and the horses: Red, Junior, Pal, Rodney, and Copper for a great experience.
Texarita - Everything is definitely big in Texas! We discovered this when we had lunch at Texarita. This is the only place I know that offers an entree with your sides...your up to 5 sides!!! Yeah, we ate like queens and the food was YUMMY! Unfortunately, the margaritas were just ok, but still a great experience.
Alamo - What can I say? It's the Alamo. I signed the guest book so someone one day will know I was there... LOL
Tower of the Americas - I don't usually have a problem with heights, but this place made me extremely nauseous. Me no likey at all. Way overrated and the 4D show was budget, booty, and a waste of my hard earned money. Hmph!

Tuesday

LaVillita - Cute cultural arts center with shops containing the artists' wares, like jewelry, weaved clothing, scents, souvenirs, etc. Wish I made the big bucks to be able to purchase some of the artwork.
Leave for Home

Since this was a weekend (a long weekend) for my sisters, cousins, and I to get together to reconnect with each other and appreciate the special relationship we have, I'm taking the liberty to share some of my reflections on what I learned about them and me during this trip.

Apparently I'm a whiner and instigator. I plan to work on this. (Don't laugh!)
Keisha is not just loud. She's really LOUD!!!
Kim is her sister's keeper, and a diva who will seriously rock a blouse and designer jeans while horseback riding...but I'm not hating or anything...LOL
Catrice doesn't like the word "bitch" and she's serious, ya'll! Oh, and since she's gone completely natural, it's clear that she inherited the Jarman hair, and, yes, I AM hating!
Anita is not bossy after a few drinks. We need to get her liquored up more often. :-) She was rocking a serious short cockatoo-like hair style at the comedy club. It was the hotness! (And, yes, I just compared her hair style to an exotic bird...LOL)
We are Dixons and we argue and we love each other, despite the fact that we argue and when we finish arguing, we play Spades and get over whatever it was we were arguing about...until we bring it up 2 days later and argue about it again. :-P
We SERIOUSLY MISSED those of you (Erica, Danielle, Kaci, and Tiffanie) who could not make this trip. Next year's trip will not happen unless ALL OF US are there. That's the point of the weekend, right? 100% participation in 2009, ladies!
My sisters and cousins love each other something serious, and Grandma Charlie Mack would be soooo proud!

I'm looking forward to next year's trip...which I hope will be somewhere in the Caribbean!

Smooches!

Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii...sigh

2008-07-24T14:16:00.002Z

To all the Apples, Pilot Inspektors, Audio Sciences, Banjos, Denims, Jermajestys (ya'll...JERMAJESTY...Ugh!), and so many others, there is actually a little 9 year old girl born to non-celebrity parents who has a more jacked up name than yours.

Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii - Yeah... that's her name.

People, please do better.

Zoom zoom zoom

2008-07-04T10:12:00.003Z

Have you ever noticed the make and model of car that causes the most havoc on the roads, like speeding, swerving, and all around recklessness. Well Derrick has and he's convinced that it's the Volkswagen Jetta. When he first mentioned this, I thought he was crazy. I mean how can a specific car type be responsible for its driver to be a total ass on the road. Well after further observation, I think Derrick may be on to something.

After he told me this, I started making a mental note of the cars that zoom by me in reckless abandon and you know what, they weren't Mazdas (Get it. Zoom zoom zoom?). They weren't the fancy sports cars that I assumed would be the main culprits. They were Jettas!

I guess those drivers really took those Jetta crash commercials touting its safety to heart and now think they're invincible, or maybe its the superior German handling. In any event, I know which cars to stay away from on the roads from now on....and now you do too.

Showing my support

2008-07-01T21:24:00.002Z

I'm coming out of blogger retirement to show my support for my favorite blogger, Monica Mingo AKA Creole Princess, who is a guest blogger on Sephora's website. Please show your support by clicking on this link. Thanks!

My sister the marathoner

2007-10-28T12:15:00.000Z

As I sit typing this, my sister is 16 minutes into her very first marathon. Yes, my sister, Anita, is one of the runners today in the Marine Corps Marathon. She will be running 26.2 miles through Virginia and DC in support of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She started training for this marathon 5 months ago. When she started she could barely run a little more than a mile. However, her last email update regarding her progress about a week ago reported that she had successfully reached a 20 mile high, and she was confident that she was prepared to complete the marathon today.

I'm so proud of her efforts and dedication and am confident that she will complete her 5 month goal of completing her first marathon.

If you would like to support Anita in her efforts and at the same time support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, please visit her webpage: www.active.com/donate/tntga/tntgaARollins.

Well, gotta go now! Have to get downtown so I can stand on the sidelines and cheer my sister on!

Is it ever too early to break out the boots?!

2007-10-12T02:14:00.000Z

I recently bought three pair of boots (yes, three!) and I can't wait to start wearing them. I've noticed that the Hollywood celebrities wear boots pretty much anytime of year (Britney Spears is rarely seen without her brown ugly stinky looking boots), but I think most normal folks break them out in the fall. So, is it officially ok to start wearing mine now? Do I have to wait for a consistent run of 60 degree weather before I can show them off?

A few years ago, I worked with a crew of ladies who had a strict rule against wearing boots too early in the season. Kind of like a no-white-after-Labor-Day rule. I mean they actually believed that if you wore boots one day when the weather was cold and sandals the next day when the weather got warmer, you had somehow violated a major fashion rule. I honestly had a boot wearing complex for a while. Hmmm...it appears I still do. So help me out, people. Is it time?

There was a chill in the air today... I'm just saying... Rules are made to be broken right? I mean the boots are FIERCE!

Who pays for YOUR beauty maintenance? Him or you?

2007-10-12T00:59:00.000Z

I've been an independent woman all of my adult life. When I need to get my hair done, nails manicured and pedicured, back massaged, etc., etc., etc., I've always managed to take care of these things myself. I've never had a sugar daddy (nor have I ever needed or wanted one) and never have I felt like I needed to rely on a man to take care of my personal maintenance, but that's just me. However, recently, I had a discussion with one of my coworkers, and learned that it was not only expected but a requirement in her relationship that her man (her fiance) pay for her weekly hair and beauty maintenance. Hmmm...

I thought this was an urban legend, because I have heard of women like this, but I've never really met one who practices this with her man on a regular. I'm confused. This woman goes up to her man every week with her hand out looking for money, when she takes her grown behind to work every day to earn a dollar just like he does. Now, yes, he earns more money than her, but a baller, he's not. She insists that he pay for her upkeep because she's looking good for him. But I must ask, can't she pay for these things herself and still look good for him? I don't know. It just doesn't seem right to me.

I could see this as a nice treat every now and then, but an every week requirement! Shiiiiit, first of all I can't see sitting in anyone's salon for hours on end, let alone for hours on end every week. And I'm damn sure not going to be in the position of getting bent out of shape when my man tells me that he doesn't feel like paying for MY HAIR this week... that was how the convo with my coworker got started. I'm just saying.... that's just me. Shiiiit, I'll pay for my own damn hair. Hell, it's mine!

Anyway, what say you? Do you pay, or does he? Do you agree with me, or do I need to start hitting up my man for hair money??? (Ha... yeah, right.)

P.S. For real tho, if my man was caked up like the dude in this picture, I might be persuaded to change my argument.

P.S.S. Hmm... nevermind. Upon further inspection, I see he's holding a big stack of ones. He's gonna have to do better than that... ;-)

Something squirrely's going on

2007-10-01T02:27:00.000Z

Over the past few months, squirrels have managed to burrow their way through a hole in one of the shingles on my roof and have made themselves a little home. At first I thought the scratching noise I've been hearing above my bedroom window was birds, but no... they're squirrels. This was confirmed when I called my friendly neighborhood Critter Control. They pointed out a rather large squirrels nest in the tree next to my home. In fact, the branches are so close to the house that the squirrels have been able to easily go from the nest to the hole in the roof.

Well over the past week and a half, Critter Control has come by to set traps and so far have caught two squirrels. Since the last squirrel was caught and Derrick sawed off the branch with the squirrels nest, we haven't heard any more scratching (YAY!). Although I love, love, love this, I don't love what it's done to my pocketbook:

$250 for the trapping
$310 for repairing the damage the "critters" left behind, and
$50 for each squirrel caught (so far $100)
= TOO DAMN MUCH!

This week the Critter Control guy will be stomping around in my attic to make sure no squirrels have managed to get in there. The idea of this is BEYOND GROSS!! I once witnessed birds in an attic, when I was house hunting and it was the nastiest thing I'd ever seen. I can just imagine what kind of nastiest squirrels can leave behind.

Oh yeah, the Critter Control guy also mentioned that this is the time of year for squirrel babies. Babies, ya'll! Baby squirrels in my attic! I need some smelling salts, because the thought of this is just making me want to faint. UGH!

Pray for me and my pocketbook, ya'll...sigh.

Boondocks: It's not for kids

2007-10-01T00:17:00.000Z

You would think most people know that Boondocks is not for kids, but I learned recently that is not the case. Yes, the Boondocks used to be in your family newspaper, but even if you read it there, you would know that it wasn't really for kids. It's adult. Boondocks is on a TV program called, Adult Swim. Uh... did you read that? ADULT!

So imagine my surprise when during a recent family reunion a cousin of mine who is older than me (and should have known better) decides to put on the Boondocks during a chartered bus trip to a nearby harbor with 5 to 6 kids younger than 10 on board. Sigh...

We were about 5 minutes into our trip when the movie came on. When Boondocks came up on the screen, I braced myself immediately for a show down. I don't really like confrontations, especially with family, but Derrick was with me and his son who's 9 was on board. I knew Jamal and the Boondocks wasn't going to mix. This was quickly confirmed when a string of motherf*ckers, sh*ts, godd*mns, etc. etc. etc. began to echo through the bus.

And you know what? No one said anything (!!!) ... except Derrick... to me... in my ear. He wasn't happy, ya'll. We don't listen to stuff like this in our house, let alone allow Jamal to, and here we were stuck on a 1-1/2 hour bus ride with one of the most inappropriate choice of movie imaginable for a FAMILY reunion bus trip.

Before this ridiculousness got too out of hand, I got up (at Derrick's urging) to confront my dear, but misguided cousin. I let him know that the content of the movie was too adult for the kids on the bus and that he needed to cut it off. His response? "Really? We can't really hear it that well up here."

HUH?!!! That was NOT the response I was expecting.

Anyway, I told him that whether or not HE could hear it, everyone else on the bus could hear it loud and clear and it needed to be turned off.

Needless to say, it was turned off, but it took him a few minutes to do so...sigh. He made an announcement that because of a complaint (MINE) he would have to turn off the movie. There were a couple of boos from some of the teenage cousins in the back of the bus (whateva, young'uns), but there were also several applauds, particularly from the mothers on the bus. I even received some personal thank yous from some of these mothers later. (Nice, but where were you when I was making my complaints...humph!)

Anyway... we listened to music for the rest of the trip to the harbor, had a great time partying on the boat cruise, and watched a KID FRIENDLY movie on the way back home: Are We There Yet? ... That's what I was thinking while watching this stupid movie. Are we there yet? BUT, it was much better for the kids, so I guess I did my charitable deed for the day.

_________

I'm back, people. ;-)

How often do you exercise?

2007-08-15T08:34:00.000Z

I'm starting a new exercise routine and want to get an idea of how often my readers (all 2 of you...LOL) exercise. I need to get a gauge of how often the average person really exercises. Maybe this will convince my lazy behind to get off the couch and move something. I'm trying to keep up with the Jones's (at least when it comes to exercise)...LOL

Also, what type of exercise do you do? Do you jog (or run like my sister is doing to prepare for the Marine Corps Marathon)? Do you go to a gym? Do you go for walks? If so, what time of day and how often?

Inquiring minds want to know...

My life in a whirlwind

2007-08-05T12:25:00.000Z

Well unfortunately I didn't get to write that great post about my cousins' weekend. I wanted to. I really did, but life just somehow got in the way. I've been busy, busy, busy since that weekend in Atlanta and haven't had much time to sit down and just chill out long enough to write anything. However, it seems like today I'm finally getting that chance.

Please check out my cousin Tiffanie's blog to read up on some of the details from our cousins' weekend. At least SHE hasn't been too busy to do that.

Ok, so why has my life been such a whirlwind? It's called NEW JOB!

Yeah, I said it. Can you like a job and be stressed out by it at the same time? I've been there now for 3 weeks. The first week was ok, but the second week had me seriously considering whether I had made a huge mistake. The first day of my second week I was told that I was dressing too young. (What?! Me, Miss Conservative?!) Now she didn't mean that I was dressed too young because my clothes were too tight or my shirt plunged too low. I had on a pair of slacks, a satin blouse, and pumps. I was told that I looked too young because of my satin blouse had poofy sleeves, which my supervisor felt looked like a doll baby shirt...sigh. Well I saw Robin Roberts on Good Morning America wearing a similar poofy sleeved shirt the other day. I guess she's not conservative either...hmph! Hey, I am a youthful looking 35 year old, and I like that my clothes make me look my age. Am I supposed to apologize for that?! That's a good thing to me.

Anyway, I was more than a little put out by the observation initially, but now I've accepted that I need to dress even more conservatively and I guess wear a blazer every now and then...sigh. Apparently blazers equal looking older and generating more respect from my male counterparts in the office. (I sooo envy the employees of the design firm down the hall who can wear jeans and SHORTS to work...sigh.)

The second week also included a bunch of fires that needed to be put out. I luckily was able to handle them but it provided me with a real close view of how much of a pressure cooker this job can be. So far I've met the challenge. I really like the work, but I'm keeping my eyes wide open because I can see that the volume at times can be overwhelming and the expectations are high (possibly too high...I found out I'm the 4th person in a short amount of time to have this position!). Not only will they be evaluating me during my 90-day probationary period, but I will also be evaluating the company and this position as well, wondering whether this job is really the place for me.

My third week was good, so that's a positive. As I move into my fourth week, I'll just have to see.

Airport Adventure

2007-07-16T17:31:00.000Z

I thought my next post would be about my FABULOUS weekend with my cousins in Atlanta, but unfortunately that will have to wait for tomorrow. Today's post is reserved for my AIRPORT ADVENTURE (or more appropriately AIRPORT NIGHTMARE). This morning my sister Anita drove my cousin Tiffanie, sister Catrice and me to the airport. My flight was at 9:25 a.m. My sister's flight was at 10:05 a.m. and my cousin Tiffanie's flight was at 11:15 a.m. Although I knew that we should arrive at the airport by no later than 7:30, we didn't arrive until 8:00. This, of course, turned out to be a huge mistake for me. When we arrive at Atlanta Hartsfield Airport we see a long line of people outside the Baggage Claim area, and learn fairly quickly that this is the beginning of a very long security check point line that wraps around Baggage Claim and then around a shopping area to finally end up in a big mess in front of the security area. It took approximately an hour and half to get through this line.... Do the math. I missed my flight...by 10 minutes...sigh.

Catrice made her flight without a hitch but Tiffanie's flight was delayed by about an hour. I sat with her until her flight arrived. (Oh yeah, Catrice called me while I was waiting with Tiffanie. She had arrived at her destination...UGH!!!) That was at about noon. It is now 1:40 p.m. Wanna know when my new flight is scheduled to depart for Baltimore? 6:18 PM!!! Fun fun... almost 5 more hours of waiting. Fortunately, I have plenty to distract me during my wait. Tiffanie gave me her "Blood Diamond" DVD so I can watch a movie on my MacBook while I wait. I brought the "Infidel" book I blogged about earlier (I'm halfway through it now). I have my "Real Simple" magazine. I have my Ipod. And, oh, I purchased the $7.95 fee for 24 hours of wireless Internet so I can surf the Internet while I sit here, write this post, and wait for my flight to arrive 5 hours from now.

Sigh...

Oh...almost forgot. Highlight of my wait: An announcement that came over the intercom paging Usher Raymond to come to gate B2. Too bad I was in Concourse A waiting with Tiffanie at the time. I seriously considered running like a lunatic with my camcorder in hand to get a glimpse of him...LOL

Hey, I'm stuck at the airport. I need all the entertainment I can get.

Smoking in the face of a child: Oh my!

2007-07-09T19:21:00.000Z

On Saturday, my friend Stacia and I went to the fireworks show at Laurel Lakes. We walked through throngs of people around the lake to find a choice spot to watch the fireworks. Unfortunately, we got booted from our first spot after discovering that the tarp we were sitting on belonged to someone (silly us). We kept it moving. Our next spot was next to the stage where a blues/rock band was playing. It was a little loud, but otherwise we thought a good location, so we set up our folding chairs and sat down to enjoy the festivities. Regrettably after a few minutes or so, we booted ourselves after wafts of smoke started drifting into section. A woman that was sitting nearby with a group of people was smoking...UGH!

Now, I live with a smoker. I don't like it but it's a fact that I've come to accept and live with. The good thing (if anything is good about smoking) is that Derrick smokes outside ALWAYS. He never smokes around people (even when he's outside), and most importantly for me, he never smokes around me and rarely smells of smoke (however, those few occasions when he does...BLECH).

Why can't other people be as courteous?

Not only was this person smoking a cigarette around THRONGS OF PEOPLE, but she was also smoking in the face of her small child who was sitting RIGHT NEXT TO HER. Since the woman and her group had been sitting in their location before us, Stacia and I immediately stood up and searched for another location to sit.

People amaze me every day.

Anyway, Stacia and I found another spot, and just as we were getting comfortable, guess what? Some people came to sit near us and one of them pulled out a pack a cigarettes. (Uh uh...not this time). I started talking very loudly to Stacia about how rude people are to smoke when others are nearby. I also mentioned how much I enjoy the fresh air and hate to have it ruined by smoke. That chick put those cigarettes away and we never heard a peep out of her...LOL (That's what I'm talking about. Don't be a dragon lady!)

Those events happened a couple of days ago but I still can't help wondering about that child with the mother who smoked in her face. Asthma and lung cancer are real!Can the mother really be that unenlightened and naive that she would think smoking in her child's face (or anyone else's face for that matter) is ok? Isn't that child endangerment? I wish I was bold enough to have said something but I'm a wimp, and apparently so is everyone else because no one in the woman's group or nearby said anything.

That's just sad.

Can you tell I'm for a smoking ban? No smoking in any public place, indoors OR outdoors. Stop smoking people. You'll feel better for it. I promise.

Wow!

2007-07-05T18:53:00.000Z

I heart Keith Olbermann!

2 weeks notice

2007-07-05T18:19:00.000Z

As some of you know, I have a new job that I will be starting Tuesday, July 17. Yay me! I'm excited. My current problem is that I'm still working at my current job and have totally lost all motivation to do ANYTHING.

I've pretty much completed most of my outstanding assignments but have only jotted down a few notes for my transition plan. I'm just not motivated to do anything but bask in the fact that I'm almost out of here (July 11 can't get here fast enough)...oh and take long lunches...LOL.

Any suggestions for making myself productive while I'm still here?

My dad the metrosexual

2007-07-02T19:59:00.000Z

While hanging out with my parents this weekend my father started complaining about the smile lines in his face and told me he wants them removed.

Everyone who knows my dad, can chuckle. Go ahead it's ok. You and I both know that Arnold complaining about his looks is funny!

What? You don't want to laugh? Hmm...ok.

Well I laughed and told him he was becoming a metrosexual, knowing full well he has no idea what a metrosexual is.

What? That's not funny?!

Well, is this funny?

I told my dad his too tight shirts are young looking. He took it as a compliment.

Uh huh, I knew you'd think that was funny...

(pausing for your laughter...)

Ok that's enough. You can stop laughing at my daddy now.

P.S. Love you, dad. ;)

A tomboy no more...sniff

2007-07-01T23:05:00.001Z

Now normally I would be happy not to have that moniker, "tomboy," labeled on me. I lived with it for years growing up and I couldn't wait until I became a college girl and no longer felt the need to play sports because, you know, I was a college girl and no longer needed that kid stuff. As a child, I played softball, soccer, kickball, dodgeball, and just about any other type of sport you can imagne, but basketball was by far my main sport. I played from elementary school all the way through my high school years and for most of my adolescence, people knew me as that girl who plays ball.

Well, lately, I guess I've been missing those days. This past spring I started making moves to join a softball team. I bought all kinds of softball equipment (the glove, the balls, and the cleats). I also bought a knee brace because several years ago I tore my ACL (anterior cruceate ligament) and cartilage while playing basketball and it's never been right since. Anyway, I thought I would be able to play but after one visit to the batting cages, my knee swelled up to about the size of a grapefruit and forced me to accept that softball wasn't in my future.

So, a month or so goes by, it's Derrick's birthday and I buy a bike for him, because he wants he, Jamal, and I to start going bike riding together. (Sweet right? Humph!) Now, first let me give you a little background about me. It's been almost 17 years since I regularly sat my behind on a bike. My current behind is about twice the size it was 17 years ago. I bought my bike about 7 years ago when I thought I'd get back into bike riding but it's probably seen about 6 or so outings in total. Sad I know. Anyway, I knew this bike riding thing was going to be a challenge for me, but I wanted to be a good sport for my two guys, so instead of saying no, I accepted the challenge. Hey it could be fun.

Ok, well Derrick, Jamal, and I go for our bike ride and I notice immediately that I'm way more out of shape than I ever thought I could be. I soon discover that any type of incline (even a baby-sized incline) is torture...T-O-R-T-U-R-E!!! I am barely out of my neighborhood before I want to go back home and sit down. It was a big wake up call. I'm fat, out of shape, and at 35 if I don't do something to change this I'll be in worse shape later. So my first day on a bike in eons was a complete bust, but I decide that it won't be my last time on that bike.

Now fast forward to today. Derrick asks me if I want to go bike riding. I say yes with enthusiasm ('cause I'm a glutton for punishment). Shortly after breakfast we take out the bikes and start our ride. I make it up one incline (whew, so far so good). I make it up two inclines (wow!). Then we decide to go completely out of the neighborhood and ride up the street. It's hard work but I'm doing it. However, by the time we get a good distance up the road, I'm so winded and spent that the ride is no longer fun and I tell Derrick that it's time to turn back. As we head back we approach an overpass that has a walk way with a concrete barrier on one side to protect pedestrians from oncoming traffic. For some reason, I decide that this will be a perfect place for us to ride our bikes. WRONG!!! While riding a little too fast on the walk way I make the mistake of looking at the rushing traffic below me. The movement of the cars going one way while I'm moving in another direction makes me immediately dizzy and I slam directly into the concrete barrier, scraping the skin on my shin in the process. When I look down I see about 3 inches of stark whiteness where my brown skin had been (CAN YOU SAY, OUCH!!!"). By the time I got home, that whiteness had turned to pink and then bloody dripping red. It was NOT pretty.

Of course being the incredibly irresponsible people that we are, Derrick and I had no first aid kit, no bandages, no anything but some peroxide that's been in the bathroom closet for years. Derrick pored it over my enormous wound and then rushed to the grocery store to get some more antiseptic and bandages. Besides feeling like a complete and utter fool, I felt a little sad. I mean as I lay on my bed with a throbbing ankle waiting for my boyfriend to get back I couldn't help wondering...what happened to me? What happened to that kid who liked to relay race and rollerskate up and down the street with her friends, that girl who would ride her bike for hours all over her neighborhood and beyond without a care in the world, that teenager who would rather be on the basketball court shooting hoops than wearing silly dresses and makeup. What happened to that girl with all that energy, that tomboy? She used to me.

I miss her.

Beltway observations

2007-06-25T18:34:00.000Z

Little, itty bitty car cutting off huge tanker truck - Why?!!!

A work crew fixing the roads... all Hispanic - Are these the jobs Americans don't want anymore???

A trash collection crew picking up trash... all Black - Community service??? sigh...

Trash - Who are the idiots throwing trash on the Beltway?!

Nissan Altimas - Is my car the most popular car in America?! I counted exactly 25 of them between Rockville and Laurel...Hmmm

Shredded tire rubber - Beltway obstacle course or 17-wheeler?

Cargo truck/van passenger - Stop trying to flirt with me. I don't want you!

Nose picker - Yeah, YOU! Just stop! Ewww

495 West bumper-to-bumper traffic - means more jobs needed in Prince George's County!!!

Singing diva - Yeah, YOU! Do your thang, girl. Ain't this traffic some mess?

Ok, that last observation was me...LOL

The case of the judge, the Cleaners, the missing pants and $54M

2007-06-25T18:22:00.000Z

Plaintiff Gets Nothing in $54M Case of Missing Pants

Was there ever any doubt?

How about I just found out today that the judge in this case is black? For some reason, I pictured a fat white guy with too much time on his hands.

Nope. He's black...with too much time on his hands. Sigh...

We have to do better, my people.

Linganore Wine Cellars Blues Festival

2007-06-25T15:21:00.000Z

Why oh why don't I own a camera? Not even a camera phone...sigh. If I did, you would see pictures of my encounter with Ms. Monica Mingo (my favorite blogger) at the Linganore Wine Cellars Blues Festival this weekend. Luckily Ms. Mingo is never without her camera and camcorder. You can see us hanging out and having a good time on her blog Rantings of a Creole Princess.

Ms. Mingo proved to be a bonafide Southern belle as her blog indicates. She treated my friend, Stacia, and I to wine, tomato bruschetta sprinkled with parmesan cheese (yum!), and chips and dip. She's a great hostess and definitely GOOD PEOPLE!

While there I also ran into my good friends Gladys, Tawanna, Alonzo, and Scott whom I haven't seen in a while, and met Gladys' cousin Jay.

We had a great time chatting, enjoying the gorgeous weather, and tasting the fabulous wine the wine cellar had to offer. If you like fruit wines, I suggest you try Berrywine Plantations' raspberry, strawberry, and peach wines. They are yummy. Also for an added kick, try their Steeplechase wine (but pop a Hershey's Kisses in your mouth first...it's simply divine). I also suggest mixing any of the fruit wines with Berrywine Plantations' SkipJack wine. Can you say yum?!

Good food, good wine, good company, and okay music (they call that the BLUES????? LOL). It was a beautiful day. I'm planning to go to the wine cellar next month when they have the Reggae Festival. Hope to see YOU there!

Happy Father's Day

2007-06-18T00:02:00.000Z

Happy Father's Day to all the men who are holding it down. The ones that live each day for their family. There are a lot of fathers I'd like to celebrate and since this is my blog I'm going to send a shout out to the great men in my life:

Happy Father's Day:
- Dad
- Derrick, my boyfriend
- Terrance, my brother
- Tyrone, my brother-in-law
- Darnell, my cousin
- Warren, my cousin-in-law
- Uncle Roland Hayes
- Uncle Herbert
- Uncle Ernest
- Uncle Tom

Thank you for being such good examples of what real men are supposed to be!

Summer reading

2007-06-13T14:45:00.001Z

I have been woefully neglectful in my reading. It's been 2 years since I really had the time or inclination to sit down and read a good book. Recently I decided that the books on my bookcase in my bedroom needed to go because the books (which I have already read at least once) were just collecting dust. I decided to pack the books up and prepare them to sell at my next yard sale (whenever that will be). I don't really like re-reading books, so I figured I should sell them or give them away to people who would actually read them instead of using them as decoration on a shelf.

Well a couple of weeks ago, my coworker and I were in a bookstore during our lunch break and while we were there I saw the book, Infidel, on the bookshelf. The book's author is Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the Somali-born member of the Dutch parliament who was threatened with death for her work on the film, Submission, which was about domestic violence against Muslim women. The director who worked on the film with her, Theo van Gogh, was assassinated for his role in making the film. Ali

I saw Ali, who now lives in the United States, on "Real Time with Bill Maher" several weeks prior to seeing her book in the book store. I was so intrigued by her story that I decided to purchase her book. Infidel is about Ali's internal struggle with her faith, her rise to prominence as an outspoken member of the Dutch parliament, and how her outspokenness has made her a target of Islamic extremists.

Normally I would have finished a book like this in about 2 days, but it's been hard to find the time to just sit down and relax enough to dedicate 2 days for a good read. So far the 10 pages I've read (ha ha) have been great. I encourage you to pick this book for your summer reading as well.

You can read an excerpt and reviews of Infidel here.

My cousin, the fitness guru

2007-06-12T16:20:00.000Z

My cousin (and another one of Charlie Mack's Granddaughters), Erica Dixon, has been working as a personal trainer and fitness instructor for several years now. She currently teaches fitness at North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina. I brag on her all the time. Erica lost a lot of weight while in college, kept it off with a healthy diet and exercise, and has committed her life to helping people understand the benefits of exercising and eating healthful. She's a fount of information and shares her knowledge wherever she goes. In April 2007, she shared her knowledge with folks in North Carolina by way of a radio interview on the Richard Brown Show - WCOM Carrboro on 130.5 FM. Her segment was called, "Burning the Calories with Erica Dixon." This was her first radio interview and she made us all proud.

The interview can be found here.

I predict she'll have her own radio show on "Oprah and Friends" in no time. :-)

For more information, you can reach Erica directly at efitlife@hotmail.com.

When pregnancy is torture

2007-06-12T14:33:00.000Z

Two weeks ago there were three pregnant women walking around my office. I was secretly envious of all of them. I'm 35, single and childless, presently in talks with my boyfriend about getting married (no ring yet), and oh so beyond ready to have a baby. As soon as Derrick pops the question, I'm making plans for a small wedding (HA...yeah right, our families are HUGE!!!) and will start working on a baby on the honeymoon (yup, you read it right). I have pregnant belly envy...BAD! I've been thinking of motherhood for years now, but in the last year or so Derrick has been getting an earful. I see a pregnant belly and I swoon. Imagine me seeing THREE of them walking around my office everyday. The sweet torture...

Well, unfortunately, now there are only two pregnant women in the office to envy. I found out late last week that one of my coworkers lost her baby...in her 6th month. The woman is really petite so her pregnancy looked very advanced. She was just starting to get that pregnant lady waddle. I hurt so much for her when I heard the news. I cried for her even though I don't know her that well. I can only imagine what she and her husband are going through. She hasn't returned to work and I'm not sure when she will return. When she does return, I don't know how she will feel seeing the other women in the office with their big bellies when her big belly is gone.

When I think of pregnancy, all I think of is the joy it brings, never the pain. Even the thought of swollen ankles, stretch marks, weight gain, back pains, and all the other uncomfortable things pregnant women talk about doesn't stop me from thinking about the beauty of pregnancy and motherhood, and how much I want it for myself. Instead I focus on the glowing skin, the bulging belly harboring a new life within, and the endless possibilities for when that child arrives.

I'm sure my coworker was thinking of that beauty as well...until she was confronted with unimaginable heartbreak. What a loss. I grieve with her.

Alright, I'm blogging already

2007-05-16T16:11:00.000Z

I guess you're tired of reading about my boo's pee issues (they appear to be resolved now, YAY!) and you're wanting something new. As you can tell it's been a minute (or two) since I've posted anything new. Anyway, here it goes...

How odd is it that the ultra religious conservative Rev. Jerry Falwell and the liberal civil rights activist Yolanda King die on the same day: one in the morning and the other at night. How sad. While I wasn't exactly a Falwell supporter by any means, I'm not one who can say that I'm happy that he's dead (glad that he will never be able to spew his yuck and doomsday predictions, but not glad to hear that he died). When I told my coworker the news, his response was: "Who shot him? Who poisoned him? Who ran over him with a truck?" We had a little chuckle over that, but really, it's not very funny. I'm sure his family is crushed, considering that apparently earlier in the day he gave no indication that he was sick or feeling unwell. It's been said that he may have died of a sudden heart attack. That's just sad.

Now, I wake up this morning to hear that Yolanda King, daughter of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his late wife Coretta Scott King, has also died in what is being said may be another case of sudden heart failure. I was actually shocked to hear the news. She was only 51. That's way too young. She seemed so full of life, and now she's gone. Wow. It's still a shock .

I know this is totally unrelated, but were you aware that none of the King children had children themselves and none were married? It makes me wonder what kind of challenges they must have faced being the children of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. No one to continue the legacy. That's also sad.

Anyway, that's my contribution for the day. I'll try to make my next post less depressing...

I like a fresh bowl

2007-03-30T19:28:00.000Z

Warning: This post is a little TMI. The subject is icky but recently it's become a bone of contention in my household, and I thought I'd pose this question.

In your household, do you have the "If it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down" policy?

I'm sorry, I know GROSS, and I know you water conservationists out there like this policy, but you know what? Eww!!! Just Eww!

Well, in my house, we've always had the "fresh bowl" policy, but for some reason over the past couple of months or so, someone in my household (who shall remain nameless...but HIS name starts with a D!!!) has taken it upon himself to start using the above yellow/brown policy.

Well I don't like the yellow/brown policy. I don't like going to the bathroom and being confronted by your yellow remnants. I, like John "The Biscuit" Cage from Ally McBeal, "like a fresh bowl".

So please stop this nastiness immediately.

Just Eww!

I'm sick, ya'll

2007-03-25T22:13:00.000Z

Well the woman who CAN DO ANYTHING, can't do a damn thing right now. I've been sitting in my bed all day playing online board games and watching bad TV. Calgon, take me away! I'm the biggest baby when I'm sick. Right now I'm silently cursing all the people I've come into contact with over the past week or so who have either been sick (Tiff Tiff and Ben!) or had family members who were at home sick (Ben and Monica!). Humpf. Spreading your germs all over the place.

I tried to fight the symptoms of flushness and achiness I began to feel on Thursday. I started taking medicine, washing my hands regularly, and spraying Oust all over my work station, but unfortunately by mid day on Friday I knew the fight was over. I left work early and since that time have spent my day with my friends: orange juice, chicken noodle soup, hot tea, TheraFlu, Kleenex, and Lysol. Fun..Fun.. Oh I forgot my friends: sneezing, coughing, hacking, and feeling like overall crap.

Thanks a lot all you sick people!

Humpf!!!

I CAN DO ANYTHING

2007-03-21T18:59:00.000Z

I received this email from my co-worker and friend Moni today.

-----------------------
Hello to my VERY Special Friend,

[Dee], you are such a bright, SMART, talented, and articulate person who, in my opinion, can do ANYTHING!

These are all the things that I think about when I think about you!

I WISH that you would put as much ENERGY in [Dee] as you do with Monica Mingo (??) [my blog obsession...sigh], your blog, and all the other LITTLE things that you seem to make so important. Shouldn't YOU be the most important person/thing to YOU?!

I am sending this message to you to say - You can do ANYTHING you want to do. Just say to yourself, I KNOW I CAN DO THIS and just DO it!

STOP selling yourself short and START believing in yourself. If you could start applying all the words in my first sentence to you, you'll be surprised by the energy those words will bring you!

I HOPE this message makes you smile. It made me feel good to be able to honestly write this message to you, and to choose such positive words to describe you without any effort. You can do the same for yourself!

Your Friend, Moni

-------------------
I wish I could provide all the detail that inspired Moni to write this message. It's really special to me that she thought enough of me to surprise me with this letter of encouragement. I'm forever grateful to her.

And, yes, Moni. I'm smiling.

Thanks! Love you lots!

When will the madness end?

2007-03-15T20:55:00.000Z

Sigh... I start to write a post about a man who stabs his baby son and then throws him out the window of his car, and then I see this:

Breaking News:

Body of missing 6-year-old Georgia boy

Christopher Michael Barrios has been found.

I'm done.

You ain't got to lie, Craig [err...Chuck]!

2007-03-14T17:57:00.000Z

When I bought my car in September, Chuck, the sales guy, promised me a lot of things. One promise was that I could get a free car wash whenever I needed one. The second promise was that if I had to wait more than 10 minutes for service on my car, the dealership would gladly give me a loaner car?

Guess what ya'll... Chuck is a LIAR!

One weekend a couple of months after I bought my car, I decided to get a car wash. I called in advance to reserve a time and was told that the car wash would cost $35. Huh? Well upon further inquiry I found out that the free car wash was only offered to customers who were bringing their car in for service. The service technician then followed with a comment like, "I don't know why they [the salesmen] tell people that they can come in anytime for a car wash." Now when the service technician told me this, I wasn't mad. It made sense to me. I was just a little ticked that Chuck lied to me.

That was Chuck's first lie.

I discovered his second lie this morning. I went to Nissan's service area to get my car's 6-month check up. As I like to be prepared, I called Nissan the day prior to make a reservation and to inform them that I would need a loaner car because I wanted to drop my car off in the morning and pick it up after work. Anyway, I waited in the service bay for 10 minutes for a service technician to get to me. Once he arrived, I explained that I was there for my 6-month check up, that I had made an appointment, and that I had reserved a loaner car. He told me they don't offer loaner cars for 6-month check ups because they involve oil changes and tire balance/rotation, which only take about an hour. They only offer loaner cars for services that may take several hours, like a 15,000 mile service. (Insert picture of my face slowly cracking....)

Sigh...

Ok, maybe you're thinking I'm a little naive, and maybe I am. BUT, my car is the first new car I've ever bought, so when the sales guy tells me things to sweeten the deal, I listen and take them to heart. Now, I'm not feeling ole Chuck. Because of him, I got stuck in worse-than-normal traffic, was late for work, and am typing this post about him today.

In the immortal words of Craig's girlfriend in the movie Friday: "YOU AIN'T GOT TO LIE, [CHUCK]!"

Humph!

A weekend with Charlie Mack's Granddaughters + one

2007-03-09T16:46:00.000Z

Since I started a discussion about family yesterday, I'm going to tell you about the plans I've made with my cousins for July. Last December, my sister and I came up with the idea of getting our cousins together for a girls' weekend, which we'd like to be an annual event. I got the idea from one of my male cousins, who has a guys' weekend with some of his friends and male cousins every year.

My Grandma Charlie Mack had 10 granddaughters (and 2 grandsons), so when we get together it's always a party. We were all really close as kids, spending almost every weekend at each other's houses or visiting grandma in North Carolina during our spring and summer breaks and having big slumber parties. As we got older, we lost some of that closeness. My cousins moved away and eventually life events like marriage, kids, and work made our interactions more and more sporadic. We now mostly see each other at the occasional family reunion or holiday, but we never get to spend any real time together. I'm hoping our annual cousins' weekend will change all that.

Since my sister recently moved to a big beautiful house in Atlanta, which none of my cousins have seen, we've decided to make HOTlanta our first cousins' weekend destination. We only have two rules for our weekend: NO KIDS and NO MEN. This weekend is strictly for the ladies. We're planning an old fashioned slumber party, a shopping spree, lunch or dinner at an upscale restaurant, and maybe even a night out at a trendy hot spot. I can't wait for July to get here. I've been so pleased by my cousins' responses. We are all so excited and already contemplating locations for next year.

We're going to have a ball!

Oh, and even though my "favorite" cousin Tiff Tiff is NOT one of Charlie Mack's granddaughters, she's coming too. We couldn't have a cousins' weekend without her.

P.S. The ladies in the photo are me (2nd from right) with some of my cousins. Aren't we BEAUTIFUL? I just love them!

Exploring my family tree

2007-03-08T15:38:00.000Z

The recent brouhaha over Al Sharpton's ancestors possibly being slaves of Strom Thurmond's ancestors sparked my interest anew in tracing my family tree. Several years ago I had started on this journey but after a while abandoned it. Last week, I started up again.

I went to Ancestry.com, the tool the researchers used to find the link between Al Sharpton and Strom Thurmond's ancestors, and began plugging in the names of family members I knew. Ancestry.com has a search feature that helps you explore birth, marriage, death, census, military, and other records (they give you access to copies of original documents) that can give you detailed information about your ancestors. For example, I knew who my Grandma Charlie Mack's parents were but I had know idea that census records would tell me where she and her family lived when she was nine years old and the names and ages of her siblings at that time. It was very eye opening.

Through my research I've discovered a distant cousin who has been tracing the maternal side of family roots for years. She has a website linking to photos, marriage records, and a whole host of information on my mother's family from now to the mid to early 1800s. I now know the names (and even have a photo, which I posted) of ALL my great great great grandparents. Unfortunately that's as far back as she's been able to go, but her search and mine continues.

While I can trace my mother's family back to the mid to early 1800s, before last week, I could only trace my father's family as far as my grandparents. My father was able to give me some names of his family, but he wasn't sure how they were related to him. So I started making phone calls to my aunts and uncles to see if they could give me some information, and although they knew maybe a fraction more than my dad, what little they knew really helped my search. Within 2 days, using their input and Ancestry.com, I was able to trace my paternal grandfather's maternal line to the early 1800s and possibly even the late 1700s. I say possibly because in the 1800s people had very similar names and it can be easy to get one John or James confused with another. So I'm trying to be very careful.

One thing I'm learning is that this type of research takes a lot of time and patience. I'm not sure how easy or hard it is for White people to trace their lines, but it can be very difficult for African Americans. For me to be able to trace my family to the early 1800s or beyond is very good and I assume very rare. The institution of slavery split up families, changed people's names, and spread people all over the country. Trying to trace a family member who lived during those times can be nearly impossible. What's been helpful to me is that most of my ancestors lived in the same area that their descendants live today.

My hope is that within the next few weeks I will be able to have at the very least the names of my paternal great grandparents. Overall, it's really been a fascinating journey. One I hope to share with my own children one day.

The McMissile case is FINALLY McOver

2007-02-21T19:34:00.000Z

You've seen the news reports:

Mother of three, wife of Iraq war soldier, loses her mind one day in bumper to bumper traffic on a hot day and hurls her McDonald's cup full of ice into a car that she accuses of cutting her off. I've seen said mother on almost every local news station giving her account of the incident with tears streaming down her face because she was facing 2 years in prison for her deed. Why I agree that 2 years is too long for her act, I have absolutely no sympathy for her. I mean really...HOW IN THE DEVIL DO YOU GET SO MAD THAT YOU THROW SOMETHING...ANYTHING...INTO SOMEONE ELSE'S CAR!!!

I sit in bumper to bumper traffic on a daily. I get cut off almost on a daily. Know how I deal with it? By cursing up a storm (and when I'm really mad I may flip you the bird), but have I ever lost it to the point where I would throw anything ... even a cup of ICE...NO!

Today, Mrs. McMissile was given probation and time served. Let's hope she won't be throwing anything into any cars (or anything else) any time soon.

What else can go wrong?

2007-02-06T14:52:00.000Z

Ok I'm really back now. No more writer's block. I'm ready to blog. You know why? Because I'm irritated. Why? Because Saturday, a kitchen sink full of water ended up in a puddle at the bottom of my cabinet and across my kitchen floor. Earlier in the week, Derrick did some repair work on the disposal and warned me that he had to put some sealant around one of the doodads before I could use it. Well I thought he had already gotten around to sealing it a day or so later, so as I was soaking dishes, I found out the hard way that he hadn't. I ended up having to take all of the cleaning products and everything else from under the cabinet and dry them and the cabinet out (bath towels really are VERY absorbant, by the way). Anyway, I thought that was the end of my water problems but...Um...NO!

The very next day, Derrick overloads the washing machine and a half load of soapy water ends up spilling out onto my living room, foyer, and hallway floors. I didn't even know a washing machine could overflow like that, but, guess what? It can.

By the way, have you ever walked across wet carpet? Squish, squish, squish. Ick!

Anyway, after trying to sop the water up with more bath towels (which were not so absorbant this time), we headed over to my parents' house to borrow their Wet Vac (the life saver). It did the trick, but as of today (two days later), the carpet is still a little damp.

I'm now crossing my fingers hoping the furnace isn't next. This morning I heard a click and then nothing when the furnace was supposed to come on. If I come home today to a frigid house, I'm really going to lose it. Sigh...

I'm BACK!!!

2007-01-29T14:56:00.000Z

Got my new 'puter in the mail today. I haven't even opened it yet. It's still in the cardboard box, so I haven't even seen the Mac logo yet. :-( I had it delivered at work so someone could be around to sign for it when it arrived. I hate having to go to the FedEx or UPS office to pick up a package that can't be delivered at home when I'm not there.

ANYWAY, I got my 'puter. I'll be back to blogging for real tonight.

Yippee!!!

Time to upgrade

2007-01-21T13:06:00.000Z

My poor laptop is on life support, and I'm coming dangerously close to pulling the plug. I've finally decided that it's time to upgrade and get the Mac that I've been putting off purchasing for so long. Until I make that move, I may not be posting. But keep a look out. I WILL BE BACK!

Diversity at the Golden Globe Awards

2007-01-16T04:58:00.000Z

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was somewhere smiling today as not one, not two, but THREE African Americans received top honors in acting (Jennifer Hudson, best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for "Dreamgirls," Eddie Murphy best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for "Dreamgirls," and Forest Whittaker best Actor in a Motion Picture for "The Last King of Scotland") at this year's Golden Globe Awards. These awards coupled with awards for "Dreamgirls" best Picture, Musical or Comedy; "Grey's Anatomy" best Series-Drama, created by sista girl, Shonda Rhimes; and even best Original Song "The Song of the Heart" performed by Prince made tonight's Golden Globe Awards particularly sweet. I was also happy to see "Ugly Betty" (one of my favorite shows) receive the honor for best Series, Musical or Comedy, and my girl America Ferrera receive the top honor as best Actress, Musical or Comedy in a Television Series. All I can say is "Times are a changin'."

Don't get me wrong, I was also very happy to see Kyra Sedgewick, Hugh Laurie, Helen Mirren (LOVE HER!), Meryl Streep, and Emily Blunt win their awards as well. I mean "we" can't win all the awards...LOL I like to see all talented people receive their deserved honors. But, it's also nice to finally see black and brown people (and not just one or two) finally get the recognition they deserve. I hope to see more of this at the Oscar's this year.

Oh my aching back: The update

2007-01-12T02:14:00.000Z

Today's trip to the masseuse had its ups and downs. The best part of the massage was when the masseuse firmly pressed the heel of her palm on my back and slid it from the top of my back to the bottom, putting particular pressure on the area between my lower back and buttocks. It hurt like hell but felt really good at the same time.

Unfortunately the worst part of the massage was when it ended. The masseuse had concentrated most of her attention to my lower back and that area became extremely sore. It was so sore, in fact, that when I attempted to get up from the table I could barely move. Every movement involved in getting off the table and putting on my clothes was met with spasms of pain (humph). Fortunately, with a little stretching, the spasms went away and I started feeling a lot better.

It's now been about 3 hours since I left the masseuse and I still feel a little achiness (particularly in my lower back), but overall, I feel good. I'm hoping I'll still be feeling this good when I get out of bed tomorrow morning. I may even try some more yoga tomorrow.

Oh my aching back

2007-01-10T21:42:00.000Z

Today, I did something I should have done 3 years ago...

I made an appointment with a professional masseuse to get a much needed hour-long deep tissue massage.

Over the past 3 years, I have lived with almost constant back pain that has hovered somewhere between a minor ache and take-my-breath-away spasms. I've tried pain medication, back massages from my sisters (who are both trained physical therapists) and boyfriend (who is not), and have even tried an expensive electric Shiatsu back massager with rollers that my boyfriend gave me one Christmas. All of it has provided some relief, but has ultimately resulted in continued back pain.

Anyway, I'm not sure if the pain is genetic (my dad has suffered from chronic back pain for years) or from over exertion (which is highly probable since I am still bad at letting Derrick carry heavy stuff like grocery bags and laundry baskets around the house...what can I say, I'm an independent woman...and a little stupid) or a bit of both, but I'm hoping that my trip to the masseuse will end the excruciating spasms that I have been experiencing of late. I can deal with the minor aches, but lately, getting out of bed or up from the couch has been met with what can only be described as seizing back spasms. It ain't pretty, ya'll.

This morning the pain was particular bad, so I tried to ease some of the pain and tension by doing some yoga. Can you say PURE COMEDY?! It was one back spasm after another. I'm going to see the masseuse before I try that nonsense again.

Anyway, tomorrow I will get a 1-hour Swedish/deep tissue massage that I've been promised will make me feel much better. Stay tuned. I plan to blog all about it. I know they promise relief, but all I've had since I made the appointment are visions of piercing screams, moans, and purple bruising all over my body.

And I bruise easily. Uh huh, more pain.

Ouch...

Down but not out

2007-01-10T15:19:00.000Z

One of my resolutions for this year is to blog more. I was doing pretty well with that resolution until this past week. I tried to upgrade from Internet Explorer 6 to Internet Explorer 7 and my computer, which is already on its last legs, crashed. I've not been able to log on to the Internet for a few days. As a quick fix, Derrick installed Mozilla Firefox onto my computer last night until he can get my Internet Explorer back up and running again. So my blogging will continue. Please stay tuned....

$1100 vet bill: Save him or let him go?

2007-01-06T13:23:00.000Z

Derrick's dog Rocco, a 9-year-old rottweiler, became sick over the Christmas holiday. He looked extremely pitiful. He was lethargic and wouldn't stand up (even to pee), so Derrick took him to the vet. After an initial exam, the vet told Derrick that he suspected that Rocco had lyme disease, and because it was a holiday weekend, Rocco would have to stay with the vet for a couple of nights to have X-rays taken and some other tests done.

Total cost for the exam, housing, X-rays, tests, and medicine = $1,100.

(Say it with me: "OUCH?!")

Spending $1,100 when you're not expecting to will hurt you anytime of the year. When it's the weekend before Christmas and you still haven't finished your Christmas shopping -- coupled with the fact that you also spent money on nice gifts for your son and girlfriend's birthdays earlier in the month -- it can be particularly devastating. BUT, my man LOVES his dog, so there was no way he wasn't going to spend the money for Rocco to get better. Thankfully, when we picked Rocco up from the vet two days later, he looked like his old self. However, the vet discovered another problem.

The X-rays revealed that Rocco has calcification in his spine in several areas. Apparently this is faily common in older dogs (at 9, Rocco is geriatric, ya'll). This condition can be painful for Rocco, so the vet suggested keeping Rocco comfortable with pain medicine (for the rest of his life!). Also, the poor dog can no longer go on long walks, run, or jump (all things he loves to do). Doing too much of any of these things could result in his paralysis. Another suggestion not highly favored by the vet was surgery. Surgery on each area of calcification would cost at least $5,000 for EACH AREA. Five thousand dollars, people! As much as Derrick loves his dog, even he wasn't sure if he could handle that.

So, I must ask the question: Is your dog's life worth more than $5,000? How about $1,000?

What's the most you would you pay to save your dog?!

Wow! I've been discovered

2007-01-05T20:40:00.000Z

In one day I've probably received at most 12 visits to my blog (and most of them are me!). Any other visits are most likely from a couple of family members, a few friends, and some friends of friends. Not much interest but, hey, I'm cool with that.

I decide to add my blog to DCBlogs.com this week and I get a little more traffic. I think, "Oh, that's nice." But TODAY, I go to check Site Meter and I'm like: "Whaaa?" I've received 74 visits today. (That's, by far, a record for me.)

Anyway, I'm wondering how this happened, so I check to see where all the traffic is coming from and it appears that my blog received a mention on DCBlogs Noted (right on the home page).

Wooooow!

Thanks, good folks at DCBlogs.com and thanks to you visitors for visiting my little ole site. You've made my day.

Pay up before you roll out, heifer!

2007-01-05T02:36:00.000Z

Picture it:

A group of seven 30-somethings are dining together at a restaurant. The conversation is great. There's laughter. Everyone is having a good time. Then... the bill comes. One guest immediately stands up, slips the host of the gathering some money (presumably for her portion of the meal), and says her goodbyes. In a flash, she's out the door.

Can you guess what happens next?

Uh huh, you guessed it. She stiffed us! She only left $15.00, when she ate more than $30.00 worth of food. Apparently, the cheap heifer had expected some dude she's been seeing to join us at the restaurant, so he could pay for her meal. She knew he wasn't coming when she arrived at the restaurant but instead of saying anything, she ordered her food, ate, and rolled out on the check.

How she was able to face the host (her friend) after the gathering is beyond me.

Trifling, heifer!

If I were running the show it would have never happened. My motto: NO ONE leaves the table until the bill is settled. Period!

Ugh! Just trifling.

Dexter: Only 9 months away!

2007-01-04T04:24:00.000Z

Is Showtime for real? I'm sitting here watching a boxing match on Showtime and a little image of the guy from Dexter pops up in the corner of the screen with a caption that reads Dexter premieres October 2007. Um... isn't it January 2007?!

Don't get me wrong. I love Dexter, the Showtime series about a serial killer who only preys on other killers. It's been a guilty little pleasure of mine all this fall, but to start putting out little teasers in January for a show that won't be showing again until October is just WRONG!

Anyway, is it just me or is Michael C. Hall a cutie. I never saw it when he played David, the gay funeral director, in Six Feet Under (loved that show) for obvious reasons, but I'm really feeling him as Dexter, the "good guy" serial killer...

...

Ok, I'm weird. I just made it official.

Yes, I can afford $4.19!

2007-01-03T02:28:00.000Z

What is with the retail industry? Does no one care about offering customer's good service these days? I've posted about this before, so please bear with me as I share yet two recent encounters with the service industry:

Encounter 1
Place: Ledo's in Laurel
Offense: The cashier who assumes a $4.19 cheesecake is beyond our means

On occasion, Derrick and I like to treat ourselves to cheesecake, Ledo's cheesecake in particular. Yum! We are particularly fond of the fudge swirl cheesecake, but lately that flavor hasn't been available. Anyway, we are at the counter trying to decide which type of cheesecake we'll try. We ask the cashier a few questions about the cheesecake varieties that are on display. One cheesecake had a very colorful topping, so I asked the cashier what kind it was.

Cashier: "Starburst."
Me: "Ok. What's in the Starburst cheesecake?"
Cashier: "Um, I don't know. Starbursts I guess."

Um people, from his response I assumed the Starbursts in question was Starburst candy. I had to assume because that's all the response he could give me and he wasn't trying to check with anyone else to find out. Anyway, if it was Starburst candy (I don't think it was), I wasn't eating it because it didn't seem appetizing. So Derrick and I moved on to the next cheesecake, which was a strawberry cheesecake.

Cashier: "You know that cheesecake is $4.19, right?"
Me (in my brain): "Whaaa?"
Derrick: "Why do people keep telling me that?" (A saleswoman at Macy's asked Derrick a similar question when he was purchasing my $300 Coach bag for Christmas) "Yes, I know how much it is. I can afford it. I don't look like I can afford a $4.19 cheesecake? You know that question is offensive, right?"
Cashier: (looking totally clueless...and stupid!) Uh, no. Sorry.

What an idiot! The day a $4.19 cheesecake becomes too expensive for us, we'll keep our asses at home. Thankyouverymuch!

Oh yeah, I guess we really frazzled the cashier because he forgot to give us our cheesecake before he moved on to the next customer. (Did I mention he was an idiot?)

Encounter 2
Place: McDonald's in Laurel
Offense: The cashier who cuts people off so he can ARM WRESTLE!!!

Derrick and I pulled up to the McDonald's drive thru to place an order. As Derrick gives his order, the cashier repeatedly cuts him off, rushing him to complete his order. Derrick mentions this as we move up to the window. Derrick pays the cashier and moves on to the next window to get his food. As we get to the next window, we look inside the restaurant and see the cashier ARM WRESTLING with a coworker.

Another idiot! Actually rushing a customer so he can hurry back to his ARM WRESTLING match.

Derrick and I are seriously thinking about offering our services as secret shoppers because this mess really has to change.

Mental health break

2007-01-03T00:56:00.000Z

My first work day of the new year will be Wednesday, January 3 and NOT Tuesday, January 2. Why? Because I needed a BREAK!!! I worked through the Christmas holiday and unlike most of the Christmas holidays I've worked in the past, I actually WORKED this time. My client had me hopping all week.

So, when I hit the alarm several times this morning and even re-set the alarm a couple of times and STILL couldn't budge out of bed, I decided to email my boss to let him know that I needed a mental health break and wouldn't be going into the office today. I was just too exhausted. Wanna know what my wonderful boss's response was?

"Refresh your batteries and we will see you tomorrow."

Did I tell you that I'm liking my boss (in the New Year!) ;-) Just kidding. He's cool people.

Anyway, my girl Monica (who also took a mental health break) and I spent our day looking at a beautiful million dollar model home. WOW! We also went to see "Dreamgirls". LOVED IT. I especially loved Jennifer Hudson's rendition of "And I Am Telling You" and Beyonce's "Listen". Totally awesome!

Breaks are great!

Happy New Year!

2007-01-02T14:37:00.000Z

Ok, I'm a day late but the year is still new. ;-)

How did you spend your New Year's Eve? Me? I slept through it. I was planning to make it to my friend Mai-Le's New Year's Eve bash, but I was just too exhausted, so my bed won out.

Anyway, I did get out on Monday. Derrick's sister's birthday is New Year's Day (how cool is that?!) so Derrick, I, and a bunch of her friends got together at Kobes Japanese Steakhouse to celebrate. A good time was had by all.

Oh, if you ever go, try the Mai Tais; they're delicious!

PhytoSpecific: I'm a convert

2006-12-30T03:25:00.000Z

If you are a black woman and not happy with the state of your relaxed hair, please check out Monica Mingo's blog Rantings from a Creole Princess and check out the link to her 2006 Healthy Hair Care Regimen that is located to the right of her blog (you'll need to scroll down). This link will lead you to a series of her posts on how she maintains her hair with products from the Phyto line of products, particularly the PhytoSpecific line.

When I first read Monica's hair care regimen, I was wearing braids. I had been wearing them for almost a year in an effort to grow my hair out after a bout of significant hair breakage caused by my poor hair care management. I originally thought a bad perm caused my hair to break off, but after reading Monica's hair care regimen, I realized that I was most likely the guilty party. I was guilty of not moisturizing my hair enough, using shampoos and conditioners that are not designed to moisturize black hair; vigorously scratching my itchy scalp (why does it itch so dang much?!); and basically not respecting the fragility of my hair. All things that Monica notes are detrimental to black hair. Anyway, after reading her hair care regimen, I became intrigued, and instead of getting my hair rebraided, I decided to take the braids out, get a fresh perm, and try out Monica's regimen. I've been very pleasantly surprised with the results. After using the fantastic (but, unfortunately, expensive) PhytoSpecific line of products Monica suggested, I've noticed a significant improvement in the health of my hair and have received many compliments. No more excessive itchiness (although it still itches occasionally); no more million strands of hair all over my shoulder and back; and no more dry, listless hair. I'm a convert.

Thanks, Monica!

I'm a bad blogger

2006-12-30T01:58:00.000Z

It's been a while since I've posted a blog, largely because my personal laptop is having major issues. The hinge broke, which causes the screen to bend back further than is comfortable to see the screen, and it has caused the screen to become slightly distorted. I can still type and read but it's annoying as you can probably imagine. I really want to purchase a new laptop, preferably a MacBook, but one thing is stopping me: (1) the commitment I made to pay off my credit card debt.

I promised myself that for the next 2 YEARS (yes, TWO) I would pay at least $500 a month on my credit cards, AND use any extra money that comes my way towards this purpose. Oh, and I can NO LONGER use my credit card (I broke this part of the promise a little bit over the holiday, but nothing significant. I'm back on the bandwagon.) I made my promises in October and now that it's December and I'm holding on to money from the sale of my couch, an escrow overpayment check, and a work bonus, I'm seriously debating whether I should screw the second part of the promise and use this extra money towards a much needed laptop. What do you think? Should I give myself a BIG belated Christmas gift, or keep the promise I made to myself?

If it helps, I WILL NOT BREAK the first part of the promise. I WILL pay $500 a month for the next 2 years in order to pay off my debt. That's a must!

Anyway, I'm eyeing a refurbished (I'm trying to be good, ya'll) MacBook that costs between $800 and a $1,000 plus tax (Can you believe it?!!! I'm eyeing the black one.) ;-) And, yes, I know a PC would be much cheaper, but I've been wanting a Mac for a least 3 years now. I don't think I can wait another 2 years. That would be torture.

I appreciate your feedback. Thanks, folks!

Oh, MERRY belated CHRISTMAS!

Songs in my head...

2006-12-08T19:58:00.000Z

on my BIRTHDAY!!!

I'm loving Corinne Bailey Rae's new self-titled CD. Derrick loves it too, which was a surprise to me since he seems to not like anything unless it's Rap or R&B. ;-) Anyway, she is truly fabulous. All of the songs on her CD are great, but my particular favorites are "Put Your Records On" and "Til It Happens to You," which you can hear on her site: http://www.corinnebaileyrae.net/. I actually love the latter song so much that I want Derrick to record me singing it, which is weird since I've never done this before or even had the desire to do so. But, hey, it's my birthday! I can want what I want ...LOL

I'm also loving Dave Hollister's single "Nothing but God" off his new gospel-tinged CD, The Book of David, Vol I: The Transition. Derrick made a CD for me and tacked this song on at the end. I love, love, love this song. If you need inspiration, this song will give it to you. I haven't heard any of the other songs on the CD yet, but I'm going to definitely check them out real soon.

Lastly, I have much love for Ludacris' new single, "Runaway Love," with Mary J Blige. What a change from all the booty music he usually puts out (although I have to admit, I love that stuff too). Love his voice. LUDA!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

2006-12-08T14:42:00.000Z

"Happy Birthday to MEEEEEE,

Happy Birthday to MEEEE,

Happy Birthday to MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"

And many mooooorrreee!!!!!

On December 8, 1971, a beautiful, intelligent, and (yes) FABULOUS person was born into this world. That person was/is ME!!! Today, I celebrate 35 years of life, and it feels sooooo good.

Thirty-five isn't as bad as I thought it would be. I feel good and ready to take on the world. I'm determined to make this 35th year better than all the rest. Woo hoo!

Go me! It's my Birthday!

:-)

Saying farewell to familiar faces

2006-11-29T15:55:00.000Z

I’ve enjoyed watching NBC4 for years. It’s the only local news station that I watch just about every day and because I’ve watched it for so long, I feel as though I personally know many of the on-air personalities. Unfortunately, NBC4 has decided that it's time to bring new blood into the mix and has begun to restructure the station. This restructuring has resulted in the laying off of many of the personalities that I have enjoyed watching over so many years. Some of the lay offs have already occurred while others will not go into effect until their contracts expire in March. My favorites, Jim Vance and Doreen Gentzler, are safe (for now), but I’ll miss the folks who have informed and entertained me over the years.

So long:

Susan Kidd – I had the pleasure of meeting you at an NBC4 sponsored Health and Fitness Expo many, many years ago. I remember that you looked slimmer and prettier in person. I’m sorry to see you go. You will be missed.

Arch Campbell – Hey Arch! I remember hearing your whacky laughter during the movie "Primal Fear". Even though I thought you were laughing during parts of the movie that were NOT funny, I was so excited that YOU were in the movie audience with me. Afterwards I went straight home to see your review, expecting it to air that night. (Yeah, I was young and dumb and the time). I caught your review a few days later. Anyway, I think you’re the best. I will definitely miss you.

George Michael – George! What am I going to do without my Jim Vance, Doreen Gentzler, and George Michael team? I read that you chose to leave instead of seeing members of your sports staff get the boot. I respect that. I’m glad that I will still get to see you do the Redskins Report.

Other familiar faces who are leaving or who have left include:

I.J. Hudson - Technology Reporter
Wally Bruckner - Sportscaster
Clay Anderson - Weatherman

Happy Birthday, Dad

2006-11-15T15:58:00.000Z

The studly man in this picture is my dad at about 20 years of age. He hasn't changed much in 39 years. Still handsome and studly as ever!

Happy 59th Birthday, Dad!

Getting my Valentine's Day plans in early

2006-11-14T20:44:00.000Z

I'm definitely reserving part of my Valentine's Day weekend to see this!

Maybe snoring really isn't so bad

2006-11-06T20:34:00.000Z

A couple weeks ago I made my second trip to the sleep center to undergo another sleep study. This second study was different from the first. My first test was done to see if my loud snoring is caused by sleep apnea. I had slept at the center overnight hooked up to a bunch of electrodes that were connected to my head, face, chest, finger and legs. Following the test it was determined that I had mild sleep apnea. The second test was performed to determine how much air pressure would be needed to correct the sleep apnea. This test was called a CPAP (or continuous positive airway pressure) titration. Like the test before, I had to sleep overnight at the center while connected to a bunch of electrodes. However, what was different this time was that I had a mask over my nose that was connected to a hose and a machine that blew a steady stream of air into my nose, sort of like a vacuum in reverse (see image).

NOW, PEOPLE, IMAGINE BREATHING IN AND OUT THROUGH YOUR NOSE WHILE AIR IS BLOWING INTO YOUR NOSE (with a mask attached to your face and electrodes connected all over your body). NOW TRY TO IMAGINE SLEEPING LIKE THIS. NOW TRY TO IMAGINE THE EVIL TECHNICIAN IN THE NEXT ROOM SLOWLY INCREASING THE AIR PRESSURE THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT WHILE YOUR TRYING TO SLEEP LIKE THIS. Can you imagine this? I can because that was my reality and let me tell you, folks, I'd rather snore because I've just discovered a new form of torture.

Ok, I'm exaggerating... a little.

But it was one of the worst night's sleep I've ever had and I did at one point during the night wake up gasping for breath and feeling as though I couldn't breathe. The technician immediately stopped the air, gave me a chance to get myself together (because I was freaked!), and then started the process over again... Fun, fun.

I learned later that reactions to this test vary widely. Some patients get headaches, some get nasal congestion (I got this too), some get nauseous, and some have to stop the test altogether because they're too uncomfortable. The unlucky folks who can't finish the test have to get a prescription for a sedative and come back later to take the test. My test results were a little fuzzy after my freaking out episode, so I may be one of those unlucky people who have to come back and take the test again. I pray this doesn't happen because I might have to tell my doctor that I'll just continue to snore... Just kidding.

Oh yeah, Derrick told me a few days after my test that he had had his BEST night of sleep while I was in the hospital having my WORST night of sleep. Ain't that something?! My snoring is out of control! Wait until he finds out I have to sleep every night with that contraption on my face. He'll REALLY lose sleep then.

So not sexy!

Why I'm a fan of Gilmore Girls

2006-11-01T01:10:00.000Z

It's Tuesday night and I'm spending it how I often do, in front of the television watching the Gilmore Girls (tonight's a rerun). Derrick absolutely hates this show and can't understand how I can relate to the lily white mother/daughter team from Connecticut. He immediately leaves the room as soon as the show comes on. I guess I like it because it reminds me of my one semester domestic exchange experience at Wellesley College many moons ago. But you know what? I don't care if he doesn't like it. I still like to watch the show, even though I must admit it's taken a nose dive lately ever since Lorelai decided to break off her engagement with Luke. I'm also not a big fan of Logan (Rory, he's a CHEATER!!) but I've still managed to remain a fan of the show.

When I watch this show, I can't help but wonder if one day I'll have a daughter and we'll have as close a relationship as the one the characters portray on this show (although it's probably highly unlikely seeing as how I'll be an old mama [I'm 34!], and the mom on the show became a mom at 16, and oh yeah, the story is FICTION!!!).

Sigh...

Anyway, am I the only black woman on the planet (other than my mother) who actually likes this show? I know I can't be the only one. Can I?

Baby mama drama

2006-10-31T20:13:00.000Z

Before I met Derrick I dated this guy who loved to debate me on just about everything. One of the topics we talked about often was baby mama/daddy drama. At the time I thought it was kind of funny that we would talk about this issue considering neither one of us had children. He’d take the side of his male friends who were single fathers getting drama from their children’s mothers, and I’d take the side of my girlfriends who were single mothers having problems with their children’s fathers. He’d tell me how some of his friends wanted to be more involved in their children’s lives but were prevented because the mothers wouldn’t allow it or would make problems. I, on the other hand, had a hard time believing that and would often defend the mothers because I was sure that like in many of my friend’s cases it was the men who weren’t doing their parts and were the catalyst for most of the aggravation. Some of the fathers of my friend’s children were not paying child support, not spending quality time with their kids and if they were picking them up for visitation, they were promptly dropping them off at their mama’s house. In any case, I definitely wasn’t seeing the male side that my friend was trying to get me to see. I was a staunch defender of the women’s team and was sure I could never be swayed. Until life showed me that I could...

Fast forward to today and I’m in a relationship with a good man, who loves his son and puts him first. He pays his child support, never misses a visitation, buys his son clothes and shoes and toys (oh the toys), takes his son on fun outings, photographs and videotapes just about every move his son makes, ensures his son has a close relationship with his cousins and paternal side of the family, actively communicates with his son’s teachers, ensures his son has a positive and loving female adult in his life (namely me), and overall just spoils the child silly. He does this all the while making every attempt to remain cordial with his ex, who STILL dishes out baby mama drama whenever she can!

If she’s not around to control the situation, she gets mad. Mad that he doesn’t seek her permission for everything that has to do with their son. Mad that he would have the nerve to talk to their son’s teachers to check on his progress without her knowledge. Mad that he helps their son with his homework (I mean really, what parent wouldn’t do this?!). And most notably, mad that he would dare be a father to his own child!!!

The woman has remarried, had another child, and has made it clear both in writing and by her actions that her new life is all that her son needs. His father be damned.

Ain’t that a blip?!

I haven’t spoken to a single mother who could find fault with the way this man loves and takes care of his child. Most of them wish their children had this kind of relationship with their fathers, and here’s a woman who instead of nurturing this relationship is doing everything she can to harm this bond between father and son.

I’ve now concluded that my original thinking on the subject was a bit naïve. Life lessons have taught me that, yes, there are fathers who don’t do their part, but there are also mothers who don’t do theirs and will try to sabotage relationships between children and their fathers even when the fathers are doing the right thing. I can only theorize that the drama comes from spite, bitterness, unhappiness, and maybe even a bit of regret in the decisions and choices they have made in their life. I have a sneaking suspicion that this is what’s happening in my situation. But, I could be wrong. Lord knows I’ve been wrong before. But, if I am wrong, what else could it be?

Stop crowding me!!!

2006-10-31T01:47:00.000Z

Ok, I admit it. I have new car owner disease. You know, a person who parks in the furthest corner of a parking lot to avoid the dings that invariably occur when you park in the closest parking spot to the door. So, why is it that despite my attempts to avoid other cars, there's that one car that loves to park next to me? I mean really! WTF!!!!!

I don't care if the car IS a Lexus or a Mercedes, or whatever else kind of high end car there is. The driver didn't need to park it RIGHT NEXT TO MY CAR! UGH! (As you can tell, this is a huge pet peeve of mine.) But seriously folks, wouldn't it annoy you if you purposely parked at the very edge of a huge parking lot where there's at least 15 to 20 empty parking spaces nearby (not exaggerating) and someone decides that their car is too lonely to park by itself so they need to park it next to you?

Hmm... now I know you're probably thinking that I'm totally overthinking this, but I'm telling you, I'm not. My last car, the black Mazda Millenia, (remember?) had about a thousand dings on it. I didn't even like washing that damn thing because the dings were more prominent when the car was clean. I mean can you really blame me that I don't want to same to happen to my new car.

Ok, that's my rant for the day. I have my fingers crossed that my car won't have a pal tomorrow...sigh

Bathroom horror

2006-10-12T16:57:00.000Z

Remember the new ceramic tile flooring I got in my bathrooms a few months ago? Well now the tiles are starting to buckle and loosen in 2 of the 3 bathrooms (the bathrooms with the shower/tubs). I'm mad as hell.

Sometimes I wonder why I even spend money to fix or renovate things when invariably it comes back to bite me in the butt later (first paint, now this...sigh). Now I have to call Mr. Hawk to come fix what he apparently didn't do so well the first time. Or should I call someone else to fix this mess. Decisions. Decisions.

What to do?

I shop at Payless

2006-10-05T14:35:00.000Z

A few months ago, I posted about how I've been pleasantly surprised lately by Payless shoes. Well after a recent visit, I still am impressed with Payless. Where else can you buy 4 pairs of cute shoes for $75? Yes, Payless is doing the damn thing, and my wallet and feet are happy for it.

Just this week, two coworkers complimented me on my recent Payless purchases (whipstitched boot, strap mule, and bow slingback). The admirers were shocked when I told them my shoes were from Payless. But I said, "don't be shocked, go check them out for yourself." HA..Star Jones has lost another job. I'm now the new Payless spokesperson...It certainly feels good to pay less.

However, I must confess that it also feels good to splurge too. I couldn't resist an online purchase of Sofft's Adair black suede boots from shoeline.com. Love them!

I'm done with my shoe shopping now. Derrick saw all the shoe boxes on the floor and mentioned something about how I'm supposed to be on a budget.

Yeah, budget....damn!

I've fallen, and I can't get up

2006-09-30T12:03:00.000Z

Yesterday I got another morning phone call from my mother while I was at work. I had just spoken to my mother about 20 minutes earlier while I was on my way to work, so I held my breath hoping that she wasn't about to tell me about another passing in the family (which has become a bit of a routine over the past few years when she calls me at work).

Well, it wasn't a passing but it was still bad news. My mother, while home alone, had fallen HARD in her house and couldn't get up (yes, just like the commercial). I was instantly in a panic because falling is a daily fear of my mother's. Several years ago, my mother began to suffer from a degenerative condition in her spine. More specifically, the ligament in her spine began to ossify (or turn to bone) and was causing nerve damage in her arms and legs. The surgery to correct the problem resulted in her complete paralysis for four months from the neck down. As you can imagine, that time was very scary for my family. The surgery was extremely dangerous, as the outcome could have resulted in permanent paralysis or even death. Luckily for my mother, she began to retain feeling after four months and over the years has been able to get around with just the use of a cane, even though she still has limited movement in her arms and legs. However, the fall has now changed all that.

After getting my mother's call, I immediately left the office and rushed through the 40 minutes it takes to get to her house. When I got there, she was on the floor near her bed and complaining of a swollen, sprained ankle. It looked more to me like a broken ankle, so I immediately called 911. She was taken to the hospital by ambulance and after a few x-rays it was discovered that she did indeed break her ankle, and unfortunately it's the ankle of her stronger leg. Now she's home with her ankle wrapped in a soft cast and elevated, her pain medicine at the ready, my dad at her beck and call, and anxiously awaiting her appointment with the orthopedist on Monday. And I'm now left to worry about how she's going to get around for the next few months.

New paint smell...aaaaaahhhh

2006-09-26T21:29:00.000Z

My upstairs hall bathroom is FINALLY painted in a color I can live with. No more Pepto Bismol pink that the previous home owners loved so much, no more hideous crayon blue that I thought would look nice with the ugly blue laminate floors, and no more baby blue that I thought would look nicer with the ugly blue laminate floors. Oh, and no more ugly blue laminate floors. I replaced them with a nice off-white ceramic tile. But wait, I haven't gotten to the best part... the new color in the bathroom is:

The color of light oatmeal or Sandstone (to be exact)

I LOVE IT!!!! It makes the bathroom look big and airy and has a sort of Zen-like, spa appeal. In fact, I'm so in love with this new color, I'm now thinking of staining the bathroom cabinet, which is currently a honey brown color, a dark chocolate brown to complement the walls and further expand the Zen-like appeal of the room. I'm actually excited about decorating this bathroom now. I'm imagining a dark wicker basket on the sink counter, candles, dark brown shelving with knicknacks, and maybe even a couple of pictures on the wall to tie the whole room together. I can't wait to get started.

Black on black customer service

2006-09-24T15:30:00.000Z

Why is it that SOME blacks (note, not all) don't know how to give decent customer service to their black customers? I really don't understand this. You would think we as a people would be nicer to each other. I mean we have a history of having "others" mistreat us, so why do some of us feel compelled to mistreat and disrespect our own?

Yesterday my mother and I were confronted with a somewhat unpleasant incident in the drive thru line at McDonald's (yeah, yeah, I know). We had placed our order and had moved up to pay for our food. When we go to the window, the cashier, a black woman probably in her 40s was taking the order of the person behind us. Apparently she was a bit upset with the other customer because the person wasn't clear about what they wanted. I think they ordered chocolate without explaining whether it was a chocolate milkshake, chip cookie, or whatever. Anyway, she turns to me and says, "How the hell am I supposed to know what kind of chocolate they want?!" Now I instantly didn't appreciate this or any of the other things that came out of her mouth about other customers she has had to deal with in the past. I mean, all I wanted to do was pay for my food and get out of there, not hear her complain about the other customer. I HATE when people working in retail complain TO customers ABOUT other customers. This is bad form and very rude. I immediately wondered whether she would have said this to a white customer, or is it because I am black, she felt that I wouldn't mind her talking to me like this. Anyway when she was finished I responded with "Right (very dry and sarcastically), now how much do I owe you?"

I was irritated, especially since she made her comments in front of mother. If you know my mother she is NOT the type of person who likes to hear people cursing in her presence. My mom's a Southern lady, a class act, and she expects others to act accordingly. She was not amused.

Anyway, I had put the incident behind me until Derrick told me about a run in he had with another black cashier this morning at the grocery store. First, the woman gave him attitude when he asked her if her register was open. Mind you, there was a long line at another register and she failed to mention to anyone that she was opening another register. A woman had walked up with her cart in front of Derrick and he was following behind her but it wasn't clear whether the cashier was going to accept them at her register. Instead of responding "yes" like a normal person, she instead made a motion that was like, "can't you see that I'm opening this register?!" I don't know how Derrick restrained himself from going off on her. He's never shy about getting into a confrontation, but somehow he managed it this time. Instead he calmly noted to the woman that she hadn't turned her register light on and proceeded to wait while she rang up the customer in front of him.

Derrick felt further slighted by the cashier when she asked the white customer in front of him and the white customer now behind him if they wanted bags, but didn't ask him. Now some might find this petty but I see this kind of thing happen all the time. Why do SOME black cashiers go out of their way to give good customer service to white customers but are ok with giving the "okeydoke" to black customers?! This upsets me to no end.

So this is a notice to ALL black customer service providers in the hopes that the ones who need it get the message. In the future when I come to your register and you see my black face, please note that I am not your homegirl who you can talk to any type of way. I'm your customer. Please acknowledge that and treat me with the respect I, as a paying customer, deserve.

The Al Roker/Lenny Kravitz connection

2006-09-21T20:19:00.000Z

What do Al Roker, the "Today Show" weather man, and the sexylicious (yeah I said it) singer, Lenny Kravitz, have in common?

They are second cousins.

I didn't know this until Meredith Veira mentioned it on the "Today Show" this week. I instantly made the connection that Roxie Roker, Lenny Kravitz's mother and Helen from "The Jeffersons", must be Al Roker's first cousin. I bet there are tons of similar celebrity family connections in the entertainment world.

Did you get a look at that photo?! Damn, he fine! I love me some Lenny. SEXXY!

Act 2: Getting my work out on

2006-09-21T16:55:00.000Z

I've worked at my company for a year and some change and just found out THIS WEEK that there is a gym on the premises (in the building adjacent to mine) that is available for all employees for FREE.

A coworker hipped me to the gym and took me to see it the other day. It's smaller than a typical gym of course but large enough to have 2 treadmills, 2 ellipticals (my favorite machine), 2 exercise bikes, free weights, a circuit machine, some other machines that I didn't get to check out, a big TV in the corner, and space to stretch. Oh, it also has a locker room/bathroom with showers. Did I mention that all this is FREE?!

It's funny how I confess that I need to save money AND lose weight and a few days later I'm blessed with access to a free gym. I tell you the Lord works in mysterious ways.

Anyway, I can't believe I've slept on this all this time. Before I can start using the gym, I have to sign a waiver (which I did yesterday) which basically promises that I won't sue the building if I keel over from a heart attack and that I won't invite people to use the facility who are not employed in the buildings. Now I just have to wait (hopefully only a couple of days) for management to activate my key card to gain access to the gym and then I'll be on my way to getting my work out on!

Act 1: Getting my financial house in order

2006-09-18T19:20:00.000Z

Over the weekend I read and reread my post "Never Satisfied" and reflected on things that I want to accomplish to reach satisfaction within the next two years. The item at the top of my list is to pay off my credit card debt. First of all, let me say that I have excellent credit. My credit score is in the 800s. However, the blemish to my credit that keeps me from sleeping well at night is that I have high debt. I HATE owing anything to anyone. The problem is that even though I pay my bills on time, my bills are too high (and adding a new car to the mix didn't help). So, I have developed a plan to get my financial house in order and have already put some of it into action. The good thing is that this plan enables me to both pay down debt AND save for the future.

Here are some of the steps I've devised to get my financial house in order:

Talk with a financial advisor - My former landlord is a financial advisor, so I've reached out to him to discuss what I can and should be doing to pay down my debt while saving money at the same time. (I should have done this a long time ago.)
Make adjustments to allowances on W-4 form - I've increased my allowances on my W-4 form so that instead of waiting for a big tax refund at tax time, I can get my money up front each month. I'm going to use this money to pay off my bills.
Transfer the balance of my high interest rate credit cards to my lower interest credit card - This is a no brainer and something I should have done a while ago. I'm going to consolidate two credit cards with moderately low balances but ridiculous interest rates to my card with the ridiculous balance but low interest rate. I was trying to pay them separately, but it's easier to only have to pay on one card each month. That way I can put more of a dent into the debt. Also I WILL NOT close these two accounts once the balances have been transferred. I've learned that closing these accounts (which I've had for a while) can hurt my credit score because it erases my credit history...And like I said before, my credit is excellent. I don't want to erase that. So, I'll cut these cards up instead. No access equals no spending.
Cancel my current savings account and open an ING Direct savings account - The interest rate for the savings account at my existing bank is 0.56%. I received an offer in the mail last week from ING Direct that offers a 4.4% interest rate AND will GIVE ME $25 to get started. Um...that's FREE money, people. And there are no fees for minimum balances or anything else. You can't beat that.
No more frivolous spending - This means no more eating out, no more shopping for things I want versus things I need, and just no more wasting money!!! Again, a no brainer.
Maintain a check book - It's been forever since I kept a check book, but I'm starting back at it today.

Anyway, that's just some of the steps I've put in place to get started. I'll maintain a status report of my progress in the coming months. Wish me luck!!!

Never satisfied

2006-09-11T06:31:00.000Z

I've been up since 2:30 a.m. and it's now almost 5:00 a.m. I can't sleep....again. A bunch of stuff is flowing through my mind as it has for the past few nights. For starters, I'm thinking about how I don't want to go to work in the morning. Work is still pretty miserable. For the past month I've been interviewing and/or sending out my resume to get an interview, but so far I haven't found a position I really like.

I'm currently having "issues" with just about every aspect of my life, largely because I'm not who, what, or where I thought I'd be at this point in my life. I'm constantly struggling with being happy with where I am, but it's hard. I have a job that pays me well but is not challenging and is boring as hell. I have a boyfriend who I love and who loves me but doesn't seem to love me enough to want to get married any time soon even after 4 years of togetherness (hmm). I want a baby but I want to get MARRIED FIRST (duh!) and I couldn't now even if I wanted to because I'm taking the stupid Lupron to control my hormones. I want to get my debt under control but at the same time I want to buy new furniture, buy a new laptop (a Mac...expensive), and hell I just bought a new car! Oh and did I mention that I also want to SAVE, SAVE, SAVE. Even though four years ago I was over the moon about purchasing a townhome and becoming a new home owner, now all I can think about is how small and crowded this place has become. I want a house, specifically with a basement where I can set up a little gym. I'm too cheap to join a gym. Oh yeah that reminds me, I also want to lose the 8 pounds (and a whole lot more) of the 31 pounds I lost earlier this year. Hell, I'll never be satisfied with being overweight but why do I always want so damn much?!...sigh

I try to put things in perspective by telling myself that there are others who would love to have what I have and that I should be thankful, but it's hard when others seem to be happily living the life I want to have. I don't know why I'm always trying to keep up with the damn Joneses of the world. But no, even realizing that the grass is not always greener on the other side still doesn't stop me from always thinking, always stressing, always struggling to not want every damn thing (right now) and to just accept what I have and let the things come when they come.

I can't believe this shit is keeping me up at night! How fucking sad is that?! Ugh! I know one thing, some changes are definitely in order. I need some peace, satisfaction... and my beauty sleep. Nite!

It's a Nissan Altima, y'all

2006-09-07T14:46:00.000Z

No. I didn't get a Dodge Caliber.

Uh uh, not a Toyota Camry either.

Nope. Not the Acura TL...

I got the Nissan Altima.

Why?

Can you say $1700 REBATE?!

Oh and it's RED with tan leather interior!

Can you say Va Va Va Voom?!

I love the way it handles.

I love the price.

I'm so happy!

FINALLY!!!!

My car is junk

2006-08-30T19:17:00.000Z

I took my 1998 black Mazda Millenia to CarMax on Monday to get an appraisal. I was hoping that I could sell my car for a decent trade in price to CarMax so that I could use it as a downpayment on a new car, namely a 2007 Toyota Camry. If you haven't been to CarMax, I'm sure you've seen their advertisements that promise to "buy your car, even if you don't buy theirs". Well, guess what? They want to buy my Mazda Millenia for a whopping $250! (yeah, I said it), so now they've made it harder for me to buy theirs...dumb jerks!

It seems that my car (which isn't even 10 years old!) is basically unsellable. I guess it was really unrealistic for me to think that my car would garner a decent price when it's afflicted with the following problems:

Broken engine (needs a knock sensor and probably to be rebuilt)
Broken struts
Cracked CV boot
Cracked front bumper (damn, road debris)
High mileage (149K miles)
CRACKED RIM (which I just found out about today...sigh)

However, most of these factors weren't even considered in the CarMax appraisal. Just the fact that my car is a Mazda Millenia and isn't being manufactured anymore, is old, has high miles, and has engine noise, was enough for CarMax to deem it only worth $250! (Please bare with me. I'm still reeling from the fact that my entire car is worth less than the new brake service that I just put on my car.)

I'm now confronted with the following options:

Take car to a traditional dealer and try to negotiate a higher trade-in value AFTER finalizing a price for a new car - I would really love to do this but my negotiation skills are terrible. They would see right through me and some how they'd end up getting over on me.
See if another car appraisal company (WeBuyCars.org) would give me a better appraisal price for my car - I'm checking into this option today.
Donate my car to charity - Unfortunately, it appears that I missed out on the too good to be true tax benefits of donating a car. It used to be that you could write off the fair market value of your car (i.e., what Kelley Blue Book says your car is worth). NOW, the tax laws have changed and you can only write off what the charity sells your car for. If I'm looking at the possibility of seeing my car sell for a measly $250, what the hell is the point! (Hmm.. I guess I'm not very charitable after all.)
Initiate a private party sale (meaning put a For Sale sign in the window or an ad in the paper and hope and pray that someone will give me a decent price for my car - My cheapskate dad loves this option. No matter how I try to convince him that NO ONE would buy my heap of junk (that's my new name for my car by the way), he thinks this and donating to charity are my only two options. He refuses to even accept that I would consider trading it in.

So as you see, I have some decisions to make. I also need to call my insurance company to see what rate I would get for a new car of my choice (that Dodge Caliber is looking better and better), call a credit union to see if I can join it and get access to better rates, and go car shopping.

I hope by this time next week, I'll be blogging about my new car. Keep your fingers crossed!

Another death in the family

2006-08-30T13:39:00.000Z

Mom called yesterday morning to tell me that my Aunt Paulette (my dad's sister-in-law and one of my mom's closest friends) had died. I knew when I took the call that it wasn't going to be good news. My mother almost never calls me first thing in the morning, and when she has, lately, it's been bad news.

Last year, she called to tell me that my uncle (her brother) had died. Then a few months later she called to tell me that one of my great aunts had died. The week of my great aunt's funeral, another great aunt died and a great uncle too. I guess death really does come in three's sometimes.

Anyway, back to Aunt Paulette. She had been battling cancer for a while, but lately it had seemed as though she was going to beat it. However, it's not clear whether the cancer caused her death. I'm now hearing speculation from the family that the cancer may not have been a direct factor. In addition to the cancer, she had other medical problems. She was found, by my uncle and cousin (who were home at the time), in the bathroom after having collapsed. From what I heard last night, she never regained consciousness. Another cousin told me there will be an autopsy.

When my mother and I went to my aunt's house last night, I couldn't get over the feeling of her not being there. Every single time I've been to her house, she's been there. And she always greeted me with a smile and her usual "Hey, Dee Dee. How ya doing?" I'm going to miss that. I'm also going to miss watching my mom and aunt sit together and gossip like true sisters. They were really close. But why wouldn't they be. They met in college, married brothers who they had met in college, were pregnant at the same time, had daughters 4 days apart (one of those daughters was me), and were both elementary school teachers.

I guess it's kind of fitting that my last conversation with my aunt was just before my mother's 60th birthday party this month. I was asking her if she was going to make it to the party. Her voice seemed a littled tired and weak but her personality was the same as ever. Unfortunately, her body was too weak to make the trip from Maryland to North Carolina for the party, so I didn't get to see her, but I'm glad I got a chance to talk with her a few weeks before her death. I'll always honor her and cherish the memories.

I love you, Aunt Paulette. You will be missed.

Car hunting

2006-08-22T13:58:00.000Z

Last Saturday, Derrick, Jamal and I went to CarMax to look at cars. As I already posted before, my current car is slowly headed towards that junkyard in the sky, so it's time for me to buy a new car. The problem is that I have absolutely no idea what I want. One minute I want an SUV, but common sense tells me that I don't like spending a fortune on gas, so that's out. The next minute I want something sporty like a Dodge Caliber (yes, I said it). It's different (part SUV, part wagon, part car), kind of cute, and good on gas. BUT it's brand spanking new, a Dodge (American!), and maybe a little too trendy (meaning no resale value). I also haven't seen the interior. The interior of a car is VERY important to me. If it looks cheap and plastic, then I don't want it. I want LEATHER!

I would really LOVE LOVE LOVE a luxury car, and I make decent money so I should just go out and get one, but the problem is that I just don't know if I want to spend $550+ a month on a car, and the maintenance on a car like that...UGH! My last car was just under $400 a month and there were times when I felt strapped. Besides, I have bills out the wazoo and I want to buy a new house in a year or two, so I'm not sure if I really want to saddle myself with an outrageous car note.

So now I'm thinking about a Toyota Camry. It's a decent car, gets great gas mileage, and currently looks way better than its predecessors. The only downside is that they are so common. It seems like every other person around here has one. But as my friend, Kelli, told me, it would be MINE so I wouldn't have to worry about what anyone else is driving...LOL

My top choices (in no particular order) are as follows:

Lexus IS (Hefty price tag. Beautiful interior)
Acura TL (Derrick thinks I should get this. Nice interior)
Toyota Camry
Infiniti G35 (Hefty price tag. Beautiful interior)
Dodge Caliber

Your suggestions and opinions are welcome. Please share.

I love my reality TV

2006-08-14T13:48:00.000Z

This weekend I managed to go to my goddaughter's 8th birthday and that was about it. I mainly vegged out on the couch, watching reality TV shows. I never really considered myself a big reality TV fan before, but when I think about it I'm actually pretty addicted to them. These shows are currently on my "must watch" list (Note: some are currently in reruns):

Flavor of Love 2
Celebrity Fit Club (I love this new group. They are really committed.)
Big Brother All Stars (My girl Danielle is fierce, and hopefully NOT about to be booted.)
Project Runway
Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D List
Sell This House
Flip This House
Move This House
Flip That House
Find & Design
Gene Simmons Family Jewels (LOVE IT...I used to be a HUGE KISS fan!)
Intervention

Water walking is fun!

2006-08-10T14:00:00.000Z

"30 minutes of water walking is equivalent to 2 hours of walking on land"

The quote is from the water walking pamphlet at the sports and aquatics center, where I worked out last night. I think water walking is my new "thing". I like it. It's easy, low impact (which is great for my bad knee) and afterwards I feel as though I've done something. My muscles are a little tired but not sore.

Yesterday, my coworker and I went to the local sports and aquatics center and walked for about an hour. I also took a walk for about 45 minutes during lunch yesterday. I'm hoping I can walk again today but the weatherman is threatening rain, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. If I can't walk, I'll try to go to the sports and aquatics center again tonight to maybe try out their gym. I want to work out on the elliptical (my favorite gym equipment) this time.

I'm hoping this is a start to developing a regular work out routine. Since gaining 6 pounds, I've noticed that I'm sleeping harder and snoring louder (according to Derrick) again. If I keep this up AND get back on Weight Watchers (ha ha), I should still be able to reach my goal of being a size 10 by my birthday...

I love how I set high goals for myself when I haven't even completed my first week of working out. I'm so funny.

It's a new day

2006-08-09T14:39:00.000Z

Sometime last week I saw a news program on seniors and exercise. The segment featured a 58 year old African American woman who has been working out 4 days a week doing cardio and weight training. The woman didn't look a day over 30, and that's no exaggeration. She looked incredible. Even Derrick thought so by responded with his typical, "Wow!" He does this every time he sees a beautiful woman on television (and YES, it IS annoying.)

Um...but why was I jealous of a 58 year old woman?!

Since April when I stopped Weight Watchers, I have gained 6 pounds and haven't worked out a lick. This news segment was just the motivation I needed to get myself back on the weight loss track. On Monday of this week, I started water walking. My dad has been doing it for years, but during the summer has stepped up his work out and has gone from a 38 waist to a 34 waist. My mother and I joined him on Monday (yes, it was a family affair). It actually wasn't as boring or as bad as I thought it would be. I did about 30 laps in an hour, which is almost a mile. There's greater resistance involved in walking in water so it really was a pretty decent work out. I'm planning to go again today.

I'm also starting my lunch time walks again and have recruited some coworkers to go with me. My new goal is to walk 4 days a week during lunch time and then do some type of physical activity for at least an hour in the evenings. I'm determined to not gain back the weight that I lost a second time. It was depressing the first time and I don't want to go through that again.

Party Update... as promised

2006-08-08T14:57:00.000Z

My mother's 60th surprise birthday party was a smashing success. Somehow all of the stressful days of planning and bickering with my sisters resulted in a great party for my mother. She was beyond happy. However, now that the party is over, I'm left to ponder the following:

Why does party planning stress me out so much? I became overly consumed with all of the party planning arrangements. Even though I was only responsible for creating and sending out the party invitations, creating the photo slide presentation, and creating the party programs, I felt the need to check up on EVERYTHING. I had to get involved with everything from the party location to the birthday cake to the caterer to arranging the bi weekly party progress conference calls between my sisters and dad (and yes, they were all properly sick of me). Oh, and did I mention the mini meltdown I had when I learned that the party location we put on the party invitations was too small and we were left scrambling for a new location (thanks NCCU for the use of your lounge with 1 week's notice). Or what about the major meltdown I had when I found out one day before the party that my boyfriend (who had volunteered to be the DJ) was having problems with the music. Guess what? EVERYTHING WAS FINE!!! I quite literally thought at some point over the past 2 weeks that I was going to have a heart attack...I think I have a problem.
Never assume that people will not be willing to drive a long distance to attend a 60th birthday party for a friend. I invited members of my dad's family and a couple of my mother's friends to the party, thinking that they would not come because of the 5 to 6-hour drive (they live in Maryland and the party was in North Carolina), but wanting them to know about the party anyway. I did not invite my mother's retirement buddies who she lunches with monthly, her beautician who she sees weekly, or her card party buddies who she plays cards with bi monthly. However, when I received RSVPs from my aunt (dad's sister) and her family and my mother's friends saying they would be coming to the party, I instantly felt guilty that I hadn't invited the other folks. Now I'm waiting for the fall out of that decision as word of the party starts to get around.
Why does the caterer provide food for 120 folks when you ordered enough for 60 folks? After the party, we were left with a pan and a half of banana pudding, one whole pan full of fried chicken, a pan of macaroni and cheese, a pan of string beans, and a pan and a half of yams. Lucky for us my sister is close with the NCCU football team. Maybe they won't mind eating leftovers. ;-)
Why is that no matter how good the music is (and it was good), people don't like to dance? I've noticed this at family weddings too. So sad...
Kids will always find a way to entertain themselves away from the adults. I left the party briefly to visit the ladie's room and on my way saw all the kids from the party playing in the hall way. It reminded me of how I did the same thing when I was a kid.
When did 60 start looking so young? Mom may be 60, but she sure doesn't look it. I hope to be so lucky.

I'm BAAAAACCCKKK...

2006-08-02T20:03:00.000Z

and caving to pressure from my cousin, Tiff, to resurrect my blog. My absence has been unintentional. For weeks I've been busy planning my mother's 60th birthday party (WOW, mom's turning 60!!!) that will take place this Saturday, and I haven't had a lot of spare time or thoughts between work and the party to concentrate on my blog.

I'll try to post another entry this week, but I can't promise. I hope to be back to my blog posting routine on Monday. Monday's entry should be filled with party updates, so stay tuned.

Until then... stop nagging me, Tiff. :-P

It's official: I need a new car

2006-07-12T15:49:00.000Z

After reading my last post, it was pretty clear to me that I needed to buy a new car. But, my dad's influence of lifelong cheapness (sorry, Dad) was still giving me little doubts. Thankfully, a phone call from my Dad last night eliminated all room for doubt . The final repair estimates were revealed and they were astronomical:

Knock sensor - $800
Struts - $1400 ($600/parts, $800/labor)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
CV boots - $100 (labor tossed in for free...oh gee, thanks)
Front end brakes and rotors rotated - $269

These repairs of course equal TOO DAMN MUCH!

Like a dummy, I gave the mechanic the go ahead to install the new front end brakes and rotate the rotors BEFORE getting the total estimate, so I'm out $269. But in the long run, I guess I got off cheap. I'll continue to drive my beloved 1998 Mazda Millenia for the next couple of months (so I can save for a down payment). Then it will go the way of my previously beloved Mazda MX3 (or Champagne Charmagne as I liked to call her) and be someone else's problem or in someone's junk yard...sniff sniff... 'cause I'm trading it in for something new.

Now if only I knew what that something new is going to be...

When it rains, it pours

2006-07-11T14:35:00.001Z

First it was my laptop giving me problems, and now it's my 1998 Mazda Millenia. My car didn't pass inspection last month, so I was told to take it to a mechanic to fix the issue (the knock sensor...whatever that is). Anyway, my father took it to his highly skilled and trustworthy mechanic yesterday and besides needing to replace the knock sensor, the mechanic told me I needed new front end brakes, the rotors rotated, new struts (???), and new CV boots. My car is freaking 8 years old and needs about $2,000 worth of work!!! Everyone but my dad is telling me to junk it and get a new car. I love him, but my dad is the king of cheapness. He believes in nursing a car until it dies, and wants me to do the same. He's currently driving a 1990-something Lexus LS400 that still runs pretty well with 212,000+ miles on it but is in dire need of a paint job and its interior cleaned. Oh, and did I mention the torn leather upholstery on the seats??? My dad treats this car (a Lexus!) like crap. I was actually embarrassed to drive his car yesterday when he took mine to the mechanic. I used to love driving this car. It's such a shame. Ugh!!! Now, I think even he's embarrassed. He's actually considering getting the upholstery replaced on a car with 212,000+ miles!!!

Love him though...

Unfortunately, I really don't have the money right now for a new car, so I'm actually considering getting some of these repairs done to my old car. I went ahead and got the new brakes, but the other repairs are pretty costly. If you're reading this and you have a valid argument for why I shouldn't do this, please, please, please forward your comments my way. I need all the advice I can get right now.

Time for a new laptop

2006-07-10T10:28:00.000Z

When my previous job went out of business, I was given a parting gift: a free laptop. It was the same laptop that I had been using exclusively while I worked for the company. Unfortunately, this laptop is now on its last legs. I've been trying to nurse it for a while, but today I discovered that the hinge of the laptop is not working properly, and I believe this is effecting the color on the screen. I keep getting this bluish tint, which should definitely NOT be there.

If it's not one thing, it's another. First it was a frayed power cord, which I attempted to fix myself by putting electrical tape over the exposed wires much to Derrick's chagrin (sorry honey). It's also crashed a couple of times although with a little IT help, it was revived. It's just seen better days and now with this hinge issue, it's clear to me (and Derrick) that it's time for a new laptop.

So, I think Derrick will finally get his wish. Me with a new laptop. Only this time, it won't be a PC. I've been wanting a Mac for a while, especially since I want to focus more on graphic design. Plus I've been totally sucked in by Macs new commercials with one young guy portraying a Mac and another older guy portraying a PC. The ads are so creative, and seem to clearly show that Macs offer much more than PCs. I just hope for the extra expense a Mac is worth it because one thing it isn't is cheap.

A much needed break

2006-07-07T15:20:00.000Z

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. Two weeks ago I was under a lot of stress trying to put out a bunch of fires at work before taking time off for vacation, so I didn't really have the time or energy to blog. Before leaving for vacation, I finally completed a document that I've been working on for a client for almost 2 years . While in the midst of trying to finalize the document, I learned (just days before a scheduled deadline and before my vacation) that another project that I am responsible for was not going to be completed by the deadline. I had to quicky jump in and bring in more staff to help get the work completed. Thankfully the client granted us a few days past the deadline to get the work done, but it was pretty hairy there for a while. This experience has both shaken and strengthened my confidence in people because the person I trusted to get the work done didn't and my good friend Kelli who I always knew was a great person, stepped in when called and did a fantastic job. Thanks again, Kel!

Anyway, the vacation has been nice. Derrick and I took the time off together to spend with Jamal during his last week with us (he's been with us for the past month for his summer visit). Even though we didn't go out of town like I would have liked, we did spend the time visiting with Derrick's family and mine, and spending time at a wedding and 3 cookouts (Weight Watchers who?). The time away from work has been nice and I'm a little sad that it all ends tomorrow when I go back, but I can say that the time away has been rejuvenating.

I'm a food watcher...not a Weight Watcher

2006-06-26T00:45:00.000Z

I didn't go to weigh-in yesterday. I had too much to do in preparing for my coworker's wedding and my cousin's housewarming. Besides, I did so poorly all week, I knew that I wouldn't see a loss or would mostly see a gain. Anyway, I continued my poor eating ways and decided to screw the whole weight watching thing for the rest of the weekend, which leads me to today.

My mom and I decided to check out the new restaurant in town "Red Sky" for dinner. This restaurant should be in DC or some other urban environment because the decor, cuisine, and PRICEYNESS are, frankly, too much for surburban Laurel. I almost didn't go because the restaurant is so expensive. There are steaks on the menu in excess of $40! And that's just steak; no sides or anything else (I guess I'm used to eating at chain restaurants because that's excessive to me.) Anyway, I won't say that the prices are worth it, but after eating my Applewood flounder with jumbo lump crab meat, mashed potatoes, and sauteed spinach, I actually didn't feel a bit sorry for blowing my Weight Watchers points out of the water. It was deeeelicious.

But now that is behind me. I hope next week is a better week for Weight Watchers. (Yes, I know how deluded I am...)

Call me Miss Va va va voom

2006-06-23T19:25:00.000Z

My coworker is getting married tomorrow and I've been invited to her wedding. I've known about this wedding for over a month now, so of course I chose TODAY during my lunch break to find a dress. I'm happy to report that my struggles with finding a decent dress are behind me. I can now wear regular size dresses in a department store; no more plus size dresses that look like something only a granny would wear.

At first I was a little intimidated. Most of the dresses had skinny straps, no straps, or halter straps (the kinds that I've always steered away from) but I figured what the hell, I've lost 30 pounds. The least I could do is try them on. So, I picked out 6 dresses and took them to the dressing room. The results were as follows:

Dress #1 was brown, knee length, and was showing off entirely too much of my boobage. Derrick would have loved it but alas I am not into hoochie gear, so I went to the next dress...

Dress #2 was a cute v-neck, black dress with white polka dots and skinny straps. I loved it, but couldn't get the dress to zip up on the side, so ONWARD...

Dress #3 was also black. I had a little difficulty getting into this dress because I thought it had straps. It didn't. I quickly realized I was actually trying to wear the hanger straps. When I finally got everything together and looked in the mirror, my mouth just hung wide open. The dress was BANGING!!! I never thought a strapless dress could look so good on me. Anyway, I put that one to the side as a DEFINITE maybe...

Dress #4 was a brown halter dress. It had pink and cream designs on it. It was the only dress that was a plus size. I thought I'd try it on just in case I couldn't wear the others. It was cute and I would have definitely considered buying it... only it was HUGE on me. Guess what, I no longer wear a 18W...yippee!!!

Dress #5 was an unusual choice for me. The cut was similar to the strapless black dress but it had thin straps and a jagged hem. Oh and it was very colorful. The basic color of the dress was cream, but it also had tiny gold lines and big splashes of color throughout. When I first saw it on the rack, I thought the cut was beautiful but that the color may be a bit too wild for me. When I tried it on, I knew I HAD TO HAVE IT. WOW! I loved the way it looked on me. It was so beautiful and elegant. Only downside was that it was the most expensive of the bunch and I would also have to buy shoes to wear with it. So although I knew I wanted to get it, I had to consider the last dress...

Dress #6, although cute, really had no chance. It was purple, had little sleeves, flowed down to my feet, and looked similar to dresses that I have worn in the past (dumpy). The old Dee would have bought it because it was the best looking of the granny dresses. The new and somewhat improved Dee wanted va va va voom, so...

After careful thought and consideration, I bought Dress #3 AND Dress #5 AND ran down to Payless to buy a cute pair of strappy gold heels to wear with Dress #5 to the wedding tomorrow! Screw the price. I'll finally have at least two dresses in my closet that won't look like I've been robbing granny. I only hope I don't make the bride angry tomorrow when I outshine her at her wedding dress...just kidding... or maybe not.

I'll try to post pics of me in the dresses later.

I walked!

2006-06-23T19:11:00.000Z

Food choices were just ok yesterday and today I've already reached 25 pts and it's only 3:00. I don't understand why I easily could eat 28 and 30 points a day with no problem and often with extra points left over, but I'm finding it incredibly hard to stick to 26 pts a day without bingeing. Someone help me figure this out.

Anyway, I did get a walk in yesterday and I'm proud of that. I got home a little early from work. Instead of plopping myself in front of the TV (which is what I usually do when I get home), I put on my sweatpants, T-shirt, and shoes, and headed out the door. I didn't even call Kelli to see if she wanted to go with me (this usually stops me from going when she says no). I walked for about 40 minutes in the heat and humidity through my neighborhood and nearby neighborhoods that I usually drive by but never walk. I've lived in my neighborhood for almost 4 years and now and this was the first time I had ever taken a walk!

As I walked, part of me couldn't believe that I had convinced myself to do it and the other part was proud that I did. Anyway, I carried my water bottle with me so I wouldn't pass out from the heat. I'm sure it was at least 90 degrees. Overall, I felt pretty good about it and am looking forward to doing it again. Unfortunately, it probably won't be today (or the day after either). We're expecting torrential rain and thunderstorms for the next 5 days today. I guess I'll pull out one of my exercise tapes and exercise inside instead.

I blew it

2006-06-22T14:35:00.000Z

Last night was a total disaster. I knew I wasn't going to be able to keep my dinner to just 3 pts, but I had no idea that I was going to pig out the way I did. Yesterday was Derrick's birthday. I was planning to cook dinner but by the time I got home I was just too tired for that so I took him out for dinner instead.

I thought I was making pretty good choices by selecting the grilled shrimp and double portion of veggies instead of veggies and rice, BUT then I found myself eating a slice of bread WITH butter, dipping the shrimp in the spicy cream sauce it came with, AND eating more than what was necessary portion of Derrick's birthday dessert (apple pie ala mode...my absolute favorite dessert...go figure).

So 3 days of recommitting and I've already blown it. I guess the only thing to do now is get back on track. If it doesn't rain, I'm going to take a walk at lunch time.

*********************
Menu (so far)
Cereal with milk - 3 pts
Coffee with cream - 2 pts

Day 3 of WW

2006-06-21T13:50:00.000Z

As I start my third day of my recommitment to Weight Watchers, I must say that it's been so far so good. I had a couple of weird food choices yesterday (animal crackers for 5 pts, and SweeTarts for 2 pts) but overall, I did pretty well. I even skipped the chicken fettucine that Derrick prepared last night (and which I love) and opted for a sandwich and cereal instead. I also convinced Derrick and Jamal to go walking with me last night (still wondering how I did this by the way), which ended up being a nice little outing for the three of us. I'm hoping that it's something we can keep up.

***********************
Menu (so far)
Diet Pepsi - o pt
2 low-fat waffles with light syrup - 3 pts
Hot lemon tea with sweetener- 0 pt
Chicken cheese wrap - 8 pts
French fries - 12 pts (YES, I'm a complete idiot! I have exactly 3 pts left for dinner...sigh)
NO NEED TO CONTINUE THIS... I BLEW EVERYTHING OUT OF THE WATER WITH DINNER

Exercise (so far)
Vacuuming (yes, it's exercise!)

Sleep apnea test results

2006-06-20T19:20:00.000Z

Last week I got the results from my sleep apnea test in May. I guess I forgot to post about it since the results weren't particularly interesting; I have mild sleep apnea. When I told Derrick, his immediate response was disbelief since in his opinion I must have the worst kind of apnea there is. Apparently to him my snoring is THAT loud. Anyway, he's wrong (and probably exaggerating). It's only mild.

So my next step is to make an appointment to see an ear, nose, and throat specialist. The doctor told me that the specialist would most likely suggest some kind of mouth piece or that vacuum thingy I told you about earlier. Fun. Fun.

Which do you think Derrick will prefer, my continued loud snoring or a vacuum thingy hanging out of my mouth? Sigh...

I'm never getting married...

Day 2 of WW

2006-06-20T13:50:00.000Z

Well so far so good. I couldn't resist a third slice of pizza last night, so unfortunately I went into my flex points, but overall I did pretty well. I'll try to keep a better rein on myself today. According to the scale this morning (I know, I know), I am down the 2 or 3 pounds that I was up yesterday. Yeah right. I think scales were invented to torture women. They're almost never consistent.

I intended to have apple oatmeal this morning for breakfast, but I put too much water in it and now it looks like a soupy mess. I'm hoping if I nuke it for a minute or so I can evaporate some of the water. If not, I'll just have to throw it out and go without breakfast this morning. Although I'd hate to do that. I hate wasting food and I hate skipping breakfast even more. Weight Watchers has taught me that without breakfast I tend to crave food and overeat throughout the day.

The one really good thing is that I'm making sure that I do yoga in the morning so I can alleviate the tightness in my back. The pain and tightness aren't as bad as they were last week, but there's still some pain. The stretching really helps.

Now if only I can get motivated to start walking again....

*************************
Menu (so far)
Diet Pepsi - 0 pt
Apple oatmeal - 2 pts
Animal crackers ??? - 5 pts
Pad Khing (Thai) - 10 pts
SweeTarts (again ???) - 2 pts
Diet Pepsi - 0 pt
Turkey and cheese sandwich - 5 pts
Special K cereal and skim milk - 3 pts

27 of 26 daily pts/2 of 35 weekly flex pts

Exercise (so far)
Yoga morning stretch - 10 minutes
Yoga for the back - 24 minutes
Walk - 45 minutes

Back on the WW bandwagon!!!

2006-06-19T14:41:00.000Z

I have a confession to make... It's been 3 weeks since my last weigh in. Yeah, I know. Horrible. What's more horrible is that I paid several weeks in advance, so you know I've basically been wasting my money. Something I HATE to do.

According to the scale this morning, I have gained 2 to 3 pounds since my last weigh in, which I find utterly and completely UNACCEPTABLE. I worked really hard to lose 31.8 pounds, and I refuse to see it slip away (like it did 2.5 years ago). So, as of today, I am back on the Weight Watchers bandwagon and recommitting myself to keeping a log in my blog of the food I eat during the day. Please people, I need YOUR help to keep me honest. For some reason, I always lose my motivation in the spring/summer. You'd think that's when I'd get more focused, but no, not me. I get lazy and want to eat out everyday. Ugh! Anyway, I'm also going to recommit myself to exercising, which I absolutely HATE to do and haven't been doing much of at all. I'm also going to log my exercise, but not the points associated with it. . I'm hoping this works for me. My goal is to be able to wear the size 14s that I bought in anticipation of my continued weight loss (yeah right) by July 1.

Anyway, here I go...and wish me luck, again...

**********************
Menu (so far)
Diet Pepsi - 0 pts
Coffee w/ 2 creamers - 2 pts
Chicken salad sandwich - 8 pts
Bayed potato chips - 4 pts
Diet green tea - 0 pts
2 slices cheese pizza - 8 pts
1 slice pepperoni pizza - 5 pts (I couldn't resist) :-(

27 of 26 daily pts/1 of 35 flex pts

Exercise (so far)
Yoga for the back - 24 minutes

He's checking me out!

2006-06-15T20:25:00.000Z

Question: What would you do if a cute guy saw you in traffic, maneuvered his car through two lanes of traffic to sidle up next to you, expressed an interest in talking by showing you his cell phone, and then followed you for 30 minutes in rush hour traffic (still trying to get your attention) when you didn't return his interest?

I don't like flirting while driving, particularly when I have no business flirting with a boyfriend at home. But I'm wondering what YOU would do.

Inquiring minds want to know...

Coming out of the fog

2006-06-14T02:19:00.000Z

I've decided that it's time for change in my life. Real change. The weight loss has been a bit slow the past few weeks and I haven't been following Weight Watchers as strictly as I once was, but I'm determined to stay on that path. But that's not the change I'm talking about. The change I need is with my job. I've been trying not to mention the job in my blog but I can't help it today. I'm miserable and have been miserable for a long time. It's just not challenging enough and I'm tired of fooling myself into thinking things are going to change. I'm just sick of sitting at my desk with little to do. SO ANYWAY, I've sent out my resume to several positions in the publications field that sound very interesting and I'm hoping that good things will result from it.

I was speaking with one of my coworkers today and she mentioned how my increasingly painful menstrual cramps and recent back pain may be physical symptoms of stress. It was like a lightbulb went off. I'M STRESSED OUT. And it's not because I'm so busy at work that I can't think straight, it's because I'm extremely bored with my job (and myself to be honest) that I can't think straight. I'm not enjoying the life that I always dreamed of having and I'm the only person who is going to make that change (thanks Kelli for clarifying this for me).

I'll keep you updated as to how things turn out.

June equals empty pockets...

2006-06-12T18:06:00.000Z

Why you ask?

June 10 - Clean carpets = $165
June 14 - Powerwash house, patio deck, fence, and shed = $360
June ? - Seal patio deck, fence, and shed = $235
June 16 - Anita's birthday = $ (I'm not cheap. We only give each other cards.)
June 17 - Coworker's bachelorette party/bridal shower = $$
June 18 - Father's day cards and gifts for dad and for Derrick (from Jamal) = $$$
June 21 - Derrick's birthday gift AND dinner = $$$
June 24 - Cousins' housewarming gift - $ (They don't want gifts, but I'll get them a lil sumthin.)
June 24 - Coworker's wedding - $$

Me = BROKE (and accepting donations) ;-)

Broke down at 34?

2006-06-12T01:09:00.000Z

I'm convinced that my body is breaking down. First it was the debilitating menstrual cramps (that have now been alleviated with the help of the Lupron shot) and now it's chronic back pain. I've had back pain before, but nothing like what I'm currently experiencing. This new pain is a burning, stabbing pain located in my lower back that is very debilitating when I move in certain positions. I did an Internet search on the symptoms and it seems that the pain is neuropathic (meaning nerve related). Fun. Fun.

I'm going to have to make yet another doctor's appointment to get to the bottom of this new pain. Unfortunately, back and nerve problems run in my family on both sides. My dad has had chronic back pain for as long as I can remember, but his is mostly muscle related as a result of playing sports. My mother, on the other hand, developed nerve damage in her spine while in her early 50s from a degenerative condition. The operation to correct the problem almost made her a quadriplegic. She was paralyzed from the neck down for 4 months after the operation. She now walks with a cane as a result of permanent nerve damage. I thank God it wasn't worse.

I'm not concerned that I'm headed for a similar fate but I know I need to get this pain checked out as soon as possible. It's so bad now that I'm having trouble standing up out of chairs and even laying on my stomach or rolling over. I feel like an old lady, and Derrick told me that I look like an old lady. Old ladies are not sexy. Sorry, old ladies, but it's true.

Oh, and one more thing...speaking of old ladies... I'm now suffering from hot flashes as a symptom from the Lupron shot. Evidently, some of the symptoms of the shot mimic menopause. I used to think it was kind of funny when my mother started suffering from hot flashes. She could break out in a sweat in a heartbeat. Now that I'm feeling some of these effects, I can definitely say it's no laughing matter. At times it can only last for a few seconds, but those few seconds are miserable.

Still waiting for results...

2006-06-08T03:51:00.000Z

Remember back in March when I took that sleep apnea study? Remember when I wrote that I'd get the test results back in two weeks? Well, guess what? I'm still waiting TWO MONTHS LATER!!!

After 3 or 4 phone calls to my doctor's office over the past 2 months, they have not been able to track down the results from the sleep center where I took the test. Mind you, the center is DIRECTLY ACROSS THE STREET FROM MY DOCTOR'S OFFICE. Why do I keep being confronted with incompetence?!!!

I'm going to call the sleep center myself tonight to see if I can get some results. If I do, best believe that SOMEONE at my doctor's office is going to get the tongue lashing of a lifetime.

Things that make you go hmmm...

2006-06-05T14:17:00.000Z

Rushing to work (when you're already running late) to be on time for a conference call with your client, making it to work on time (with 30 minutes to spare before the call...Yeah! No traffic), and then realizing that your client is running late (or maybe just plain forgot).

I've now been online with the conference service for over 10 minutes and no client. In that time, I've heard from two other people, who are supposed to be on the call, wondering why it hasn't started.

Not a good way to start a Monday morning.

Scenes from a mall

2006-06-05T13:55:00.000Z

I've been noticing something very odd lately in the mall. I'm not sure if it's because choices and prices are actually getting better, or if it's because I can now shop in stores that don't require a plus section. What's up with the cheap (meaning less expensive) clothes and shoes (and shoes even in 11 wides!) that I'm starting to find everywhere?

Over the past two weeks, I've shopped at H&M, Payless, and Target. I would normally never shop at any of these stores for clothes or shoes because at H&M I thought their clothes wouldn't fit me, at Payless I thought the shoes were ugly even though they had my size, and at Target even though I've bought some clothes from there I never thought there shoes would fit me. I thought they didn't have anything over a size 10. Boy have I been wrong.

H&M's clothes are offered in Large (I didn't see any XL) and size 16s, which I discovered last week I can wear. Payless shoes (at least their sandals) have improved greatly and I'm happy that they also offer a large selection of 11 wide. I'm most pleased, however, with Target. Target's clothes have always been cute, but now they offer shoes up to size 11. There not wide, but I'm finding that some are comfortable enough without being wide.

The best part about these stores is that their clothes and shoes don't cost a fortune. They're relatively cheap and great for someone like me who's in a size transition. So let the shopping begin!

P.S. If you know of any other stores that have trendy clothes at an affordable price, please let me know. Thanks.

My "sentimental" weekend

2006-05-31T18:42:00.000Z

When it comes to family I'm sentimental, especially when it involves my cousins. Tiff labeled me sentimental when I mentioned to her how I love it when we all get together and how I like to reminisce about the fun we had when we were kids and how I wish we all lived near each other so we could still get together and blah, blah, blah. I can't help it if I love my family.

So anyway, imagine how great I must have felt when I got to hang out with my cousins for the WHOLE THREE DAYS OF THE MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND. It was great.

Saturday
I went to Weight Watchers in the morning and had lost 4.2 pounds. Yippee! (Ok, this has nothing to do with my cousins but I had to sneak this in anyway.)

That evening Tiff and her husband Roz had an old fashioned house party (there were even red lights on in the basement!). I had a great time dancing the night away with my cousins Kim, Erica, and Tamika (I hadn't seen Tamika in years!). Tiff was the perfect hostess while Roz rocked the house with his DJ debut. A good time was had by ALL 50 or so of us who were in attendance.

Hey, Tiff, loved the open bar and tell Roz he can DJ a party for me anytime! It was a great Saturday.

Sunday
I woke up with a major hangover (which hasn't happened in YEARS), but after popping a couple of Advil I was all good. Later I headed over to Darnell and Olga's house (my cousin and his wife) to see their son and new baby and to hang out with Kim and Erica, who were staying there for the weekend. Tiff joined us soon thereafter and we headed to Arundel Mills to go shopping.

Ok, this is where things get really interesting. They wanted to go to H&M. I didn't say anything, but secretly I was dreading this trip. I like H&M clothes as much as the next person, but since I'm heavier than my cousins (and was much heavier just a few months ago) I thought me getting into H&M clothes would be impossible. So imagine my shock when I slid on a pair of size 16 structured (not floaty) linen pants and they FIT! I went into H&M convinced that I couldn't wear anything and came out with two shirts (size Large) and the linen pants. I was happily and secretly cheesing to myself for the rest of the day. Thanks Weight Watchers! :-D

Later, we returned to Darnell and Olga's house to watch a movie ("Something New"...Go Sanaa!) and talk and talk and talk about every topic imaginable (with a few heated debates thrown in...but it was all good, we wouldn't be family without them). It was a great Sunday.

Monday
I headed back over to Darnell and Olga's house (with coolers and beer this time) to eat crabs and shrimp with the cousins. I played with the baby (she's sooo adorable) and talked to my cousins until they left to go back home. It was a great Monday.

Tuesday?
Nothing great about Tuesday. The cousins went home and took all the fun with them and I had to go back to work...and back to reality. Sigh...

Sizing down

2006-05-26T15:40:00.000Z

During a conversation with my friend Kelli yesterday regarding my need to buy more jeans, I was reminded of the bin that I have in my closet where all of my "skinny" clothes reside (from when I lost 50 pounds a few years ago). I was all set to buy a new pair of jeans for my cousin's upcoming party on Saturday when I thought, "Hey, I wonder if I can wear those size 14 jeans that I was sporting 3 years ago." Guess what? I CAN! They fit like a glove.

In fact, I pulled out about 4 pair of jeans from the bin that I can now wear. So now I have no need to buy more jeans. Yippee! I still have a lot of losing to do to get into one other pair, but I'm really happy to see such significant progress.

Ever since I started the new Weight Watchers program, I haven't been doing well with keeping track of my points. I've been maintaining but not really losing. I'm hoping getting into these jeans will get me re-energized and motivated to get cracking on tracking points once again. Wish me luck!

Dinner with daddy

2006-05-22T15:19:00.000Z

I was feeling very domestic yesterday, so I spent part of the day spot cleaning the carpet, washing and folding 3 loads of laundry, and cleaning the grill and patio. Everything was looking nice and presentable (I can be a bit of a slob sometimes), so I decided to invite my dad (who's been home alone for more than a week since my mom left with my sister and her family to help them get settled in to their new house in Atlanta) over for a little barbecue. Dinner consisted of grilled steaks, grilled shrimp on skewers, loaded sweet potatoes, salad, and warm sourdough bread (um...Weight Watchers who?). YUM!

Dad had a good time and enjoyed himself, despite the fact that apparently my throw rug in the entryway needs to be replaced and my wilted plant needs some attention (some things my dad just HAD to mention upon entering my house. Thanks, Dad!). This is a maddening game that he likes to play when he comes over. It's called the What-can-I-find-wrong-in-Dee's-house game. Can't you just tell how I love it? The last time he came over, he had to mention how my sofa was covered in clothes, which I kind of knew since I had put them there to fold while doing laundry, but you know HE has to point that out to me because I guess HE thinks I didn't know that. Anyway, THIS TIME I spent all day cleaning and straightening up my house to prepare for his arrival. I thought I would pass inspection this time, but NOPE. Apparently my entryway rug is just a little too ratty for his taste and I don't have a green thumb ("Imagine that!"...quote courtesy of Jade, ANTM).

Anyway, despite my dad's pickiness, I really had a great time and will invite him over again for dinner soon. Just for laughs, I'll keep my ratty rug and wilted plant out on display. I'm sure they'll be perfectly acceptable the next go around, but I'm sure he'll spot a crooked picture or messy drawer that he'll just have to bring to my attention. He wouldn't be my dad if he didn't.

You're jiggling, baby

2006-05-21T03:21:00.000Z

Most people can't eat when they're not feeling well? Me? I eat. Over the past 2 weeks my attitude towards Weight Watchers has been "Weight Watchers who?" I've pretty much been eating whatever I want. For example, over the past week I've eaten Pop tarts, sweet and sour chicken, chicken nuggets, and french fries (amongst other high fat things). So how I managed to LOSE 2 ounces this week is beyond me, but I did.

Anyway I'm feeling better now, so I'm recommitting myself AGAIN to Weight Watchers. I have to. Today when I was getting dressed in front of the mirror, I was assaulted by the sight of my arm fat jiggling like a bowl full of jelly.

It wasn't pretty.