Happy New Year!

I wish you and your family a wonderful 2010. I'll be back soon with pictures and commentary. Right now, I am counting down to a new year with new experiences and things will be bigger and better in 2010!

Ramblings Post Thanksgiving

I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving and took some time to be thankful. I did as well. However the holiday didn't really start out great.

 

• Um, I waited to the last minute to finish my cleaning. Hence, I was still cleaning up until Thanksgiving morning. Yep, I was mopping and waxing the kitchen and foyer area at 1 am. I ended up in bed by 2 am, but up again at 3:30 am to take my brined turkey breast out of the oven. (It should have been done by 2:30 am, but it wasn't. And when it was finally done, I was so tired I went to bed without covering it, sigh, I got back up and wrapped it up tightly.) I will do like I did last year and make sure all cleaning is done by the weekend so I can concentrate on cooking.
  
• My cousin decided she was going to do the Thanksgiving meal this year with minimal help from me and her sister. Well her sister had the flu, so she was a wash anyway. I only made yeast rolls, cinnamon rolls and sweet potato soufflé. Did I mention my cousin isn't the greatest cook and um, she doesn't know how to make enough food for folks? Geez, she ran out of dressing before everyone had eaten. She didn't season the turkey so it was bland, the ham was dried out and she forgot to put out the potato salad. I didn't gain one pound on Thanksgiving Day, because I only ate a few things and didn't go back for seconds. By the way, I had ham, turkey and sides at the house because there wasn't enough food to take any home. I don't know why she didn't have a menu, well she had one, but she didn't share it with the rest of us. She tried. My sister said she wouldn't be coming back for Thanksgiving if she was cooking again. Wow! I could go on, but I'll say it again at least she tried.
  
• My brined turkey breast is juicy, flavorful and moist. Everyone should do this.
  
• I had a minor breakdown on Thanksgiving morning. I was just so tired. I hadn't slept in days and my frustration was a category 10. Rolling out the dough helped.
  
• I did Black Friday. These damn stores are opening earlier and earlier. My plan was to leave the house by 3:30 am and be ready for JCPenney which was to open at 4 am. My cousin's wife was up and at them and because she got lost looking for Old Navy she was calling me at 3:15 saying the store was opening at 3:30. Well, I still didn't leave until 3:30, but I was mad. The sales were a bit better than last year. The only downfall was Target. They have this really bright idea to have a single lane for customers to stand in to check out. Well, the line got so long and convoluted it was a mess. I was a cussing mess. I mean really, it would be easier if folks could just go to the registers, but no, you have to spend 20 mins looking for the end of the line and you have to go up and down damn aisles. It was a mess. Shoppers couldn't go down aisles because those of us in the checkout line were blocking them. In line for over an hour, needless to say our buggy got lighter as we waited and dropped stuff off all along the way. This reminds me I need to write a letter to them because this is the 2nd year they have pulled this mess and it logically makes no sense. I was home by 15 mins to 10 am and we stopped to have breakfast before our last stop the infamous Wal.mart. I did retighten some locks while waiting in line. What? I retighten when I get mad or upset.
  
• I rested all weekend. No work for me.
  
• My nieces put up my Christmas tree looks nice. Now I have to fill in the gaps.
  
• I ordered my Wii. Let's not get into why it is sold out ever damn where all of a sudden.
  
• My niece and I made vanilla cupcakes, tasted okay, but too sweet. Ick! Will not be making those again.
  
• Will everyone stop talking about Tiger Woods! OMG! If he didn't cheat on his wife the media is on its way to making sure they destroy his marriage. I don't even like the guy for my own reasons, but he can play some golf.
  
• Speaking of sports, Serena got a big azz fine for her outburst on the court with the line official. Wow! Makes me wonder.
  
• Why did they have Rhi.anna's CD on sale for $.99 and it still didn't come in at number 1? Can she and C.hris Bro.wn sit down and shut up now, please?
  
• The Soul Train Awards. Well, since it really isn't on television except with the way back in the day episodes, was it really necessary to revive it? The categories were wack. And how was it Sola.nge it the new artist category when she is on her 2^nd or 3^rd album?
  
• Seriously, I would never think Tre.y Song.z invented sex. Never.
  
• I was seriously upset with seeing Kc and Jojo. It is no longer funny. Why have them on shows knowing they are in the throes of drug addiction.
  
• Chrisette sang that song.
  
• Fantasia screamed Chaka's song and um, could Angie not hit the note and that is why she had Chaka do it? I was scared at first because sometimes Chaka can be off but she did that!
  
• Ginuwine should not perform live. Lip-sync please. I am not offended by miming. I am offended by wrong notes and tones.
  
• Oh well, I posted nothing for the month of November, but I am thankful for all the Lord had done for me and the blessings he has invoked on my behalf.
  

Pictures coming soon, not much to show, hair is boring as usual right now.

Me vs. Hair Controversy

Well there have been a lot of things going on in the black hair world. Some of it positive and some negative. Lucky for me, nothing is going on with my hair at all. BORING. Anyway, let's talk about a couple of things going on that have sparked some controversy in the hair world.

GOOD HAIR the documentary done by Chris Rock is really shaking up the black community. I haven't seen the movie and it doesn't look like it is coming to my area, but I have seen the countless interviews done by Chris and Nia Long. The message according to them is, "Good hair is whatever makes you happy." So why folks all up in arms saying he has put "our" business in the streets and white folks asking whether their hair is weave or not. Please. Folks are tripping. It ain't that serious and if it is, tell that to the mother whose child was beaten to death. Really.

I am so tired of the black hair debate, I have contemplated taking down this blog. My reason for created it was to give newbies guidance through this locking process. Now that my hair journey is well over two years old, my hair is doing its thing and there is nothing to talk about. I did have the foresight to make sure that my blog would include my opinions and ideas on other topics of life. Right now, I am glad I made the decision to lock my hair. I like my hair some days, I hate my hair some days and for the most part I am indifferent to it now. I am not my hair and there are just too many other things going on in my life for me to constantly fret about my hair and give a damn what other folks think of it.

GOOD HAIR is supposed to give you a funny and insightful glimpse into an industry that makes over $9 billion dollars every year, which only a very small portion is being made by some of the major users of the product. Black hair makes money. Black hair is taboo. Black hair is controversial. Black hair should just be beautiful in whatever way you choose to wear it. My only caveat is it should be healthy. Where I live, I cannot tell you the number of folks walking around with dry, brittle, track showing, over-processed, too tight braids and unhealthy hair. That never looks good, but I look and keep it moving because it is not my hair. If someone asks me my opinion on perms, I say I personally will not be getting another perm, because I just don't think the chemicals are really healthy for my hair. However, I love when I see a good healthy head of permed hair. Beautiful. That I like. However, I am often pissed when I hear folks say something akin to "not everyone can wear natural hair." Why not? You were born with hair that was not chemically processed. Hopefully, you didn't get a perm as a toddler. You may not be able to wear every natural style, but bump that you can't wear the hair God gave you. If I didn't have Sisterlocks, baby I would be wearing my hair in a curly fro, twist outs and on occasion flat ironed. However, the most important thing is my hair would be healthy. As I said in this past Saturday's book club meeting, you may think you can't wear natural hair and you dread the fact of it "turning back" if you couldn't put a perm in your hair, you would be ingenious enough to figure out a way to wear your hair, because we are resilient like that. Folks hating on the truth being spoken in the documentary, are dealing with their own issues with hair. Our hair needs get to a place where it doesn't have some type of stigma associated with it. You do you. I am going to do me. I don't care what anyone thinks about it. Seriously, it so empowering to know your hair is not you.

Let's not forget the article written in Newsweek by black journalist, Samuels condemning Zahara Pitts-Jolie's hair. Are you kidding me? There is not enough news to talk about so you want to talk about a 4-year olds hair. I look at that beautiful black child and I love her curly, healthy black hair. The author talks about her looking unkempt and how children should do what everyone else is doing. Please, my niece cut her hair into a Mohawk. Children don't have to conform to anything the masses are doing. I don't believe in following along behind others, why would I want that for my child. And if that is the only way for me to get respect from the masses, I will never be respected. Who the hell does Zahara have to please? She is a child, no damn body! Ms. Samuels calling that child hair bad is a disgrace. We have to work so hard teaching our children male and female we are beautiful because the images they see don't look like them and we have to ensure they know our skin, our hair, and our culture are things to behold and take pride in. Calling a child's hair bad, when she is wearing her natural hair shows a lack of respect and implicitly states a child natural hair is unworthy. No ma'am, I will not adhere to that belief. I teach beauty in all shapes, colors and differences. Ms. Samuels would do to take some time and find true newsworthy topics to discuss instead of demeaning a child for what God has given her, good hair – you know the hair that she likes and makes her feel good. (FYI – there was an article not too long ago in reference to Zahara's hair and Angelina stated that when they tried to put bows and such on her Zahara's hair she would immediately snatch them out, so they let her hair be free. Let's not forget Brad Pitt saying he uses Carol's Daughter products on her hair. If Zahara's happy with it, who are we to judge?).

I don't know about anyone else, but I am sick of folks and their hair hang ups. Be happy in whatever way you wear your hair. Seriously, the only opinion that matters is yours.

Here’s To a Rambling Great Week…

Why is one of my workers at my part-time job pregnant? "They" say she did it because all her friends have a baby. WTH? They also say she came into the store on Saturday. Wow, normally she comes to the office and speaks to me. I am totally disappointed. I could be heard walking around the store calling folks dumb and stupid most of last night.

I don't think the kids here realize having children is no joke. Being a single mom is no joke. The father's are only going to be around for a little while if they are lucky. HIV in their age demographic is no joke in this area.

I was so lazy this weekend. No cleaning. No real anything. I'll try again next weekend.

No job comes to you. You have to go to it and act like you want it.

It is unacceptable to come to an interview with a grill in your mouth. Seriously, I thought that fashion statement had passed.

It is unacceptable to have visible tattoos. Hiding them on your neck will not work. I have someone go to the bathroom during your interview to see if you have one back there.

Facebook going to get some folks hurt.

I have my Mama Dearest book by E. Lynn Harris. Problem is I don't want to read it because I have no other Harris books to look forward to. L

My friends and I got kicked out of a bar on my birthday. Not for being rowdy, but because we ordered food from a restaurant next door to the establishment after getting permission and the okay from the server. Pissed me off. I wrote an email to the owner of the establishment. I stopped responding when he stated he was sorry for hurting my feelings. Um, I have to know you and care about you in order for you to hurt my feelings. My feelings weren't hurt. I was pissed about the inequitable way we were being treating when another patron had enjoyed his sandwich without any consequences. Idiot.

There is an underlying climate in this country where folks think just because the President is bi-racial, we should be happy and they can say and do whatever they want because of President Obama. I am going to call you on it when I see and feel it. Things change, but some things stay the same.

I know what Kanye did was wrong, but folks were thinking what he said. What? That girl's video is boring. I don't heart M.tv anyway. How you going to have a video awards show and your channel doesn't even show videos.

I have my This Is It tickets. Don't judge. My heart still hurts.

I hate dreadlocks, but yours are okay. Do you wash them? …Said to me the day after my birthday.

Yes, I do wash my locks.

A prospective employee came in to fill out an application, but we were out of them. He raised his voice to me. The whole time I am saying, "Seriously, are you raising your voice to me, the person who has to interview you and the one who will hire you?" Happened Friday night.

I don't care if you wear a perm, wig or weave. That's your business. However, don't get mad at me when I make note of bad perms, wigs or weaves. We have all seen them. Jo.y Br.yant's nod to weaves was cute, but in reality she has sported some that really weren't that great looking, however, she did pay a grip for them so that is okay. You do you. I am going to do me. Just make sure the hair you wear out is healthy and the hair underneath is as well.

I told a young lady on last Friday her hair looked great. It was a weave bob that was feathered just so. Her hair was beautiful, no lie. How did I know it was a weave? She was schooling another lady on the benefits of a sew-in as opposed to glue in.

Twittering is going to get folks hurt. Twitter beefs are the new thing. I read the Twitter thing by Mashonda directed towards Alic.ia Key.s. Folks are saying she should be going off on the husband, not the woman. Hell, the woman is hurting and when someone posts about love and you know she is speaking of your husband you would feel some kinda way too.

I don't like listening to the radio anymore. What is this "LOL smiley face…" mess? Awful. Dreadful.

Two more people are following me on twitter. How many twits have I done? 0

This will be a great week. Here's to you having a great one too!

 

 

 

 

Pictures as promised...

Happy Birthday Glitter Graphics

Today is a milestone birthday. I could say I am 30 and holding, but in reality I am blessed to see 40. I just thank goodness I do not look 40. This is a remarkable day because I often to wondered if I would live past 35. I remember the fear of turning 30 brought me. I cringed in the belief my time on this earth was nearing its end. My unfounded belief was based on the fact my mother passed at 35 years of age, unexpectedly. This fear seemed to manifest itself completely at age 30, but by the time I was 35 I no longer had the fear.

I have been asked over and over again what I was doing for my 40^th and my response has been nothing big. I grew up without birthday parties, so a party was out of the question. I wanted to go out of town, but damn that. I have travel enough for the summer and I do not want to be on an airplane for a minute. No Lordy, Lordy she is Forty, either. I wanted the day to be special for me. I wanted to wake up and feel the same as I did when I was 39. I wanted to open my eyes and say, "Thank You Lord!" I wanted to smile at my aunt and wish her a good day. I wanted to just breathe in thankfulness. I wanted my inner spirit to be at peace with the life I have lived and will continue to live. And every time I look in the mirror today, I wanted to see a woman who may not be perfect, but is continuing to strive for perfection in an imperfect world. I wanted to feel it in my heart that there is nothing I would change about my life, because so far so good! And I did all this. Happy Birthday to me!

My Hair is Boring…So I ramble

I know I should be talking about my hair, but it is not doing anything. I could talk about cooking some cool and new recipes, but I haven't been doing that either. So I'll just ramble as usual.

• I am going home after work today to wash my hair. Why? Because I will be retightening it tomorrow and Friday and hopefully I'll be done before Sunday. On Sunday I plan to soft spike it and let them suckers sit in my head for over 24 hours as I bask in nothingness on Monday. It is Labor Day and I plan to do no labor.
  
• Um, is anyone besides myself disturbed the 18 and counting folks are pregnant again? I know they don't believe in birth control and such, but at what point is it too many? I wonder how her body is handling this. The baby isn't even a year and she is already 3 months pregnant. I have tried to watch their show, but I am such a pessimist and I just can't believe they love living like that. I also wonder how much parenting is being done by the actual parents instead of the children. I see the older ones doing a lot of hands on with the smaller children. I guess I shouldn't worry about their life, but it is just disturbing. Will she continue to have children until she reaches menopause?
  
• I wish someone besides me would interview on my second job. The constant calling for interviews as soon as I get to work is working my last raw nerve. The applications are horrible for the most part. One precious mama's son called me a minute before closing asking for an interview. I politely and firmly said, "Are you kidding me?" Just kidding, I told him to call back on another day because I was in the process of closing for the night.
  
• I have young worker who is on some rebellious shyte right now. Right before she graduated from high school her mother put her out the house and she has been put out about 4 times since then. I had to have a come to Jesus meeting with her yesterday since she called in Sunday saying she was sick. Dayum lie, she asked me if someone could work her shift and I said no. I let her know that was her last time pulling that stunt. I also told her with her life being so chaotic she needs to sit down somewhere and get it together because the mess she is running around in the streets doing isn't going to make her future lovely, it will be the exact opposite.
  
• My book club had a family and friends meeting on Saturday to discuss Steve Harvey's Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man. We had several female guests and two males. Let's just say the discussion was lively. Guys really think about the cookies A LOT! The one thing I can say is black women and men really need to learn how to communicate with each other, because we do not know how to effectively. It was a really good discussion. Do I agree with everything Steve said no, but a lot of the stuff he had in there was common sense things I already knew and have said to folks.
  
• My birthday is next week and I have absolutely no plans for it. I plan to sit on my behind the entire weekend and just rest. I am supposed to go have drinks on my birthday, but I'll probably cancel. I am supposed to go to book club's member's birthday the day after mine for her B'day celebration. I am going to show my face, but I ain't staying. For some reason, the idea of overindulging in alcohol is not on my agenda. Watching folks get drunk isn't something I want to watch either. My time is too precious now.
  
• Oh, I'll be 40. That is why folks seem to be haggling me about a birthday celebration. I guess this goes back to my childhood where we didn't have many birthday parties. My mama did the best she could by having a dinner and your favorite homemade cake. So I although I recognize the occasion, I have never really gone all out for them and a birthday party is out of the question. Blah!
  
• I wrote a Dear Daddy letter that will appear on my book club's website in a week or so. Make sure you check it out. http://imanivoices.com
  
• My youngest niece starts kindergarten on next Tuesday. The time has gone by fast. My sister better get ready for the constant school calls because my niece has an interesting mouth. LOL! Plus, she is very intelligent.
  
• I will post some recent pictures at some point. Seriously, my hair is boring right now. I haven't been styling. My braidout lasts a couple of weeks or at least until I wash it. I'll take a picture after my soft spike set for sure. I just ordered the reconstructor because I think my hair needs some extra nourishment. It is still growing, but again it is boring right now. Oh, I have a new camera so I hope the texture pictures will show up much better.
  

Hope everyone on SL blog world is doing great. Most folks aren't blogging as much and I can understand why, but I hope to blog longer even if I have to change the direction of the blog. Lata!