Recent Addition

So I called my mom one night to tell her we(my sis and I) were getting a new bundle of joy at home. And what does my dear mother ask? "Who's pregnant?" Not in that "OMG, I'm getting a grandkid" kind of voice, but more like that "what the hell have these girls gotten themselves into" kind of voice. That's my mama! LOL

Anyway, we got a puppy! The cutest little thing you ever saw. An opportunity came up and once I saw pictures, I was hooked. Check out my Pooter-Pie:

Isn't she CUTE?!?!?!? Right now she's almost 11 weeks old and we've had her for 3 weeks. And we can barely keep up with her! What a ball of energy! In the morning she wants to play. In the afternoon she wants to play. In the evening she wants to play.

And what's up with this picking up poop idea? It's the nastiest thing and now I'm committed til I'm 40 maybe longer. What 40 year old wants to have to go out in the yard and pick up her dog's poop? Perhaps I'll be married by then and hubby will do it...let's hope so.

OK, and what's up with peeing on the carpet? Why didn't anyone warn me? I'm gonna either need a good deep carpet cleaning or new carpet altogether. I'm leaning towards the new carpet b/c my house needs a little sprucing up but still! I can't wait for this potty training phase to be over. Might as well have had a baby...at least they wear diapers! Hmmm, they do have doggy diapers...but wouldn't that be just a little degrading for my little Pooter-Pie???

Tribute

So, it's been just over a month since my last post about the family reunion. A lot happened that weekend. And I'm just now getting to the point that I can write about it.

Meet and greet, picnic, and fish fry/BINGO night between Friday and Saturday. Church service on Sunday where my family formed a choir and sang sang sang for the LAWD! But then tragedy struck as it sometimes does when you least expect it. One of my uncles was rushed to the ER during the preacher's sermon so after church we went to see him thinking he had just gotten overheated from singing 2 awesome solos. But when we got to the hospital it didn't go quite that way. He had died on the way to the hospital. From a heart attack. At the tender age of 66. Quickly and suddenly without warning.

The day before he died I took this picture of him(right), my mom and our cousin Perry. Who knew it would be the last? I'm so glad I took a moment to get a picture of these three musketeers:

This was probably the most emotionally draining day of my life. He was my mother's best friend, my grandmother's second born, a father of three, grandfather of five, an uncle to me, my sister and so many cousins, and an awesome gospel singer. He was funny, he was kind, he was giving. He knew how to put a smile on your face and his singing could bring tears to your eyes. My aunts say he sang his way into heaven. Well, Unc, I will see you there! I love you, and you are surely missed!

Before I go...

I'm leaving for Da Sip(Mississippi for all y'all that ain't hip) in a couple of hours. The flight is about an hour and a half and then I get to see my sweet mama! It's like going back in time. She gives me a smile and a hug and all my cares are gone away. It's family reunion time so we're about to see everybody! Not just the Christmas dinner folks(which is already a lot) but EVERYBODY. My mom has 8 siblings. Almost all of them have children so I've got about 20 first cousins. Almost of all of them have children so it's adding up quickly. Now let's go the other way. My grandfather had about 8 siblings too. So all of his siblings children will be there too. And grandchildren. And great-grands....see how this adds up really quickly????

Oh, and the food! Fried chicken, collard greens, corn bread, roast turkey, glazed ham, Mama's homemade biscuits, gravy, mac & cheese, green beans, deviled eggs, potato salad, sweet potatoes, black-eyed peas, baked chicken, fried fish, spaghetti, cole slaw, Grandma's homemade rolls, pork chops, grits, ribs, grilled chicken, ham hocks, roast, mashed potatoes, and the list goes on....

Don't you want to come too?

Facebook = Addiction???

So I've finally joined the rest of the world and signed up on Facebook. Apparently I'm the last person on earth to do so(well, 2nd to last b/c my sis hasn't signed up yet!) And now I know why it took me so long...it's so addicting! It's only been a few days so hopefully it'll wear off. I've found practically every person I've ever met since birth and invited them to be my friend. And now I'm trying to find some more. Sad, right?

Anyway, I posted what I came to post...now I gotta find some more friends on Facebook............

Car, part 2

The very next day...

I'm feeling good. Got my car fixed up and she's riding fine. When lunch time rolls around, I decide to head over to Borders to look for a book I've been wanting. My coworkers invite me to eat with them at the office to gossip a bit, but I need to see the outside world. I don't like being stuck in the office all day. Going to the bookstore is always a good idea.

Except maybe today. Cinnamon(my car, remember?) and I roll out of the parking garage just like any other day. I turn the corner and see a bird(a pigeon, perhaps) in the middle of my lane, chilling like he owns the street. As I drive towards him, I wait for him to fly off because never has a bird not flown off as my car approaches. Never! Until today...

Oh my gosh, I hit the bird!!! And he must've tried to fly off, because he hit the front of my car and, oh so slowly, rolled up my hood, up the windshield and over the car. Tragedy has struck America! Mind you, this all feels like very slow motion so I can see and practically feel every turn the bird's body makes as he rolls. I can see his feathers flying to the left and right, and I hear the thud of his body hitting my car. And as he rolls up my windshield, not on the passenger side, but right in front of me(!), my arms fly up as if to protect me from an oncoming baseball. (Wait, why are my arms up?) As I grab the steering wheel again, I see an SUV coming towards me and I'm so very sure that they just witnessed everything.

Now, I have witnesses! I'm already horrified and now I have witnesses! I'm still driving down the street, not sure where I'm going anymore. And the most terrifying thought crosses my mind.

What if the bird rolled up my windshield and is stuck on my roof?!?!?!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

As this horrible thought crosses my mind, I quickly make a U-turn to visit the scene of the crime. Otherwise I'm stuck in this car because I can't bear to get out and find a dead bird on top of my car. I have to go back to keep my sanity in tact.

As I drive past "the spot" I see the poor thing lying on the side of the road. And, I must admit, I feel a bit nauseous. So I call my sister and tell her what happened in an effort to calm my nerves. But it doesn't really work. So, what do I do? I head to Borders anyway. Now I definitely need a distraction!

As I pull into the parking lot I deliberately avoid parking under a tree because I know that all of those birds will want revenge for their fallen comrade. I slowly get out of the car looking for any signs of the accident. Whew, no evidence.

By the time I get back to the office to eat lunch, my appetite is still lost. Borders was only a small distraction; what I really needed was short term memory loss. Oh, well...back to work...

Maybe I'm not supposed to own a car...

What a week it's been for me and my car, Cinnamon. We've been through a lot together over the 6 years I've had her. But this week takes the cake! First, Tuesday after work as I pulled into a parking space at Target, a screw fell out of the gear shift. (just my luck!) At first I couldn't put it into park. But then I pushed it down then forward and it worked. So, of course, I went on into Target without a care in the world because I knew when I got home I'd just screw it back in. Easy, right? Little did I know of all the problems this would lead to...

Well, I got home with my purchases and the first thing I did was find the screwdriver and fix the gear shift. Then I got my purchases out of the trunk and went inside. No problem.

Next morning...just like any other weekday I wake up, rush to get ready for work and look at my sister with envy as she watches a movie on the couch before going into work(why can't I go into work at 10, too???) I step out into the garage, and lo and behold, I had left the trunk up...all night long. No problem, I'm thinking, just close it and get in. When I get in the car I notice that I also left the interior lights on from my handy work. But, oddly enough, they look dull. No problem, just turn them off and start her up.

Hmmm, nothing happens when I turn the key but a low whining noise. So of course I try again...still nothing. Dang! Dead battery! Now what do I do?

I go back inside to tell my sister and find out what I'm supposed to do in this situation. This has never happened to me before. My sis asks "Do we have any jumper cables?" My response, "I don't have any jumper cables." Her reply, "Then I guess we don't have any." Then she gives me her car keys and tells me to go to Wal-Mart to get jumper cables. "Have you ever jumped a car before?" I ask. "Sure" she replies, and I run off to the store in high hopes.

When I return 20 mins later, she's on the internet reading instructions on how to jump a car. Hmm, I'm thinking, I thought she knew what she was doing. Oh, well, it's probably easy, people do it all the time. So we go out to the garage and get to work. Well, she gets to work and I watch. Maybe I'll learn something.

20 more mins later...no jump, no nothing. And my sis has to get to a meeting by 10. "What am I supposed to do?!?!?" Now I'm all stressed out!

"Your insurance should have roadside assistance. Call them." She's a genius!

I've already called my manager and left him a message while shopping for jumper cables, but I send him an email anyway to tell him again that I'm late and that now I have to wait for roadside assistance to come save the day....who shows up 30 mins later in my driveway with a little box that connects to the battery and jumps my car in no more than 5 mins. Yay! Now I just gotta go get a new battery....which they install in less than 10 mins(again, yay!), but it still costs more than I would like. Oh, well.

And that was just the beginning...

Never Mind

Oh, wow, I can't believe it's been a week since my last post! Sorry to leave such a cryptic message, but everything is OK. Disaster averted. Must've been PMS.

Quick Thought

I feel like we're growing apart and it doesn't feel good. Maybe it's just PMS...

To Be Continued

A Good Time Had by Me

Have you ever had one of those days when you were overjoyed to have personal time to just do whatever you wanted on a whim? Just enjoy your day, alone and unhindered? Well, Friday I had that day. I took a half day and only had to work til noon. By 11:30 that morning I had no plans whatsoever on how I would spend my afternoon. So I quickly checked the movie listings for both the dollar movie theater and the full-priced theater. As cheap as I am, full-priced won out mostly because it was at the mall and gave me a chance to do some shopping(woohoo!).

The movie I picked, The Hangover, started at 12:25p. I didn't leave work til 12:05 and cursed myself on the way to my car, because of all mornings, I decided to park farther away to get some much needed exercise. So I strolled into the mall at 12:15 but I had to get lunch first(another reason I picked this theater is because they let you bring in outside food). I dashed to the food court and hit up Charley's...again of all picks I went with the one that cooks your food made-to-order, substituting the fast food lamp for slow food freshness. At 12:25 I was climbing the escalator, rushing to the ticket booth. Everybody knows previews run for 10 mins, sometimes more, but really I just wanted a good seat(even though the movie had been out a while; sometimes you just never know).

I rushed into the theater and I could see that a preview was still running(turned out to be the last one). I turned the corner to look for a seat in the darkness and (aaahhhhh, there go the angels singing softly in my head) the theater was completely empty! This has never happened to me before. I had the entire theater to myself. So, of course, I made all the noise I wanted, laughing way too loud and talking to the characters as if they could hear me. Perfection!

And that was just the beginning of a GREAT afternoon. And I didn't need anybody's company but my own.

My big sister

Those of you who know me know that I have an older sister who is my very bestest friend. We live together, play together, shop together and eat together. Oh, and laugh together! How can I forget that? Everybody wants in on the joke when we're around; we have THAT much fun together. Here's a recent pic of us(me on right) with the legendary Dick Gregory:

So, anyway, where am I going with this?

Well, two nights ago I went to a Big Brothers Big Sisters(BBBS) happy hour with my sister. She decided earlier this year that she wanted another(what?), yes, another little sister. Apparently I have fulfilled my younger sisterly duties so well that she had to go out and find another one. Thank you, thank you, no applause. Yes, I am that perfect.

That being said this post is simply to give Kudos to my big sister for becoming a Big Sister and allowing herself the opportunity to mentor and help shape the life of another young girl who will hopefully grow up to be as perfect as me. What a lucky girl...

Quitting the club!

Remember in high school you always wanted to join the cool club or the club that everybody else was a member of just so you felt worthy of taking another breath. Well, I'm in a club, and boy, is it a biggie! It's the 63% of the population club...did you know that 63% of the American population is overweight? 63%?!?!?!



So, what's my point? My point is that I don't want to be in this club anymore. I'm busting loose! Breaking free! I'm joining the losers...weight losers, not the other kind. Part of my life-changing journey is to shed some pounds and I hope to share that with you. So I started working out a few days ago, which is no easy feat considering how lazy I am. I always say I'm the laziest person I know! But I digress...

I ended up doing Cardioke, which I found in my On Demand listings. It was great! Fun, upbeat, and truly inspiring. So I googled it(What an age we live in!). Everybody knows Billy Blanks, but did you know he had a son, a Jr.? Well, Jr. is the founder of Cardioke. He and his wife have a blog and I started reading it. They are truly an awesome couple; they speak from the heart and it's so real and they really just want to help people. Needless to say, I'm buying the DVD(the On Demand is only about 25 or 30 mins long compared to the full hour DVD).

This is only the beginning, folks. This may be one small step for mankind, but this is one GIANT LEAP for me!

Where do I begin?

I'm 27...and 1/3. Single...but not lonely. Working...thank God! Loving...life. Living...for a purpose. Searching...but for what exactly?


I'm starting this blog because things are about to change in my life and the whole world needs to know! Nah, not the whole world, just those who are willing to embark on this journey with me. Recently it has occurred to me that I am not living my life to the fullest. It's as if I'm waiting for something...money, maybe? Or a husband, perhaps? Perhaps both in the form of a rich husband! Ha ha! Who knows? But whatever it is, I'm tired of waiting and I'm not getting any younger! So now the question is, where do I begin?