Christmas Card

Open Our Hearts Religious Christmas Card

Custom Christmas cards are always available at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

Lightbulb!

Monday, one of my professors was talking about her own life and something that her father said to her that kept her motivated to get her doctorate at her age (she never said how old she is... or was when she got it.) Anyway, when she made a comment to her dad that she would be x years old by the time she got it, her dad said, "Well you're gonna be that old anyway... might as well be that old with a doctorate."

OMGingerbread! I so needed to hear that! That is how I have been feeling because I did not go straight to college after high school. Every time I get a set back I always think.... omgingersnap I'm gonna be 30 before I finish my bachelors...

Well you know what? Lord willing, I am gonna be 30 anyway. I might as well be 30 with a bachelors degree!

I love wisdom that only comes with age. You will not read that in a book!

Lemons

I really love fresh lemons in my water. More and more restaurants are doing away with freshly cut lemons and replacing them with packets of lemon juice concentrate.

It is not the same!

It does not taste the same!

I want my lemons back!

Easter

I usually don' t blog about religion... but,

I am so happy that I belong to a church that focuses on the Resurrection rather than the death of Jesus Christ. Yesterday was wonderful!

The end.

Tomorrow is

Earth Day!!!!

My friends and family tease me about my dedication to recycling, but I think I can handle that. :) Take care of our earth, it's the only one we have.

Happy Earth Day!

And have a great Good Friday! :)

Happy 4:20!

Today is April 20th, better know as 4:20 in stoner land. Although I don't celebrate this holiday (I'm drug free!) I have a lot of friends that do so

Happy 4:20!

Anyway, today has been a FANTABULOUS day at work! Two students that have been trying to pass the GED test for years finally got enough points today! Yay! Not only did they both pass, but they also scored higher on today's test than they have on any other test!

Maybe they did a little celebrating before they took their tests this morning...

You know...

I'm kidding but I couldn't pass that one up. I am really happy for our new graduates though!

Random Rant

 Listening to the news this morning upset me so I have to get this off of my chest. I was looking for a picture to post along with my rant, but that further pissed me off.

I do not understand why racists connect black to monkeys. I have yet to see a monkey with nappy hair.

The end.

You really need to follow this chick!

Okay, so I entered a contest on her blog that will take place AFTER she gets 1000 followers and I am so ready to win! If you are a curvy and stylish girl, she is full of fashion tips and inspiration so you, like, um, really need to follow her blog. PLUS, she is from Brunswick! So follow her blog already, ok?

Thanks!

P.S. Follow this blog.

Alone... and not so alone

The 3rd day of loneliness.

My husband is gone for the entire week on business AND my coworker to a vacation this week. Not only am I alone at home, but I am alone in the office as well. Ugh.

My husband did, however, teach me who to load, unload, and shoot a rifle before he left. *evil laugh*

Well, I am not really alone at home because, apparently, a SUPER RAT has decided to keep me company this week.

My Super Rat

I haven't slept well all week because when hubz is away I sleep very lightly. On top of that SuperRat is ravaging my home! Night One: I put down one box of rat poison and the rat ate it... and didn't die. Night Two: I put down two boxes of rat poison, the next morning BOTH boxes were missing. Not empty, missing, as in GONE. Also, a jar of peanut butter is missing. The whole jar. But SuperRat did leave the wrapper in the middle of my kitchen floor... I guess he is tauting me. Night Three: A whole shelf of spices were on the floor. I guess SuperRat is upset with me because I didn't buy him anymore poison, because he climbed onto my spice cabinet and threw my spices on the floor one by one. Ugh.

I think SuperRat is about to win, because I am seriously thinking about moving out until my husband comes home.

Or maybe I could play target practice with SuperRat...

Officially Irked

There is someone that works with me that tries to finish everyone's sentences when they are talking. For example, if I say, "I think we should have a meeting," my co-worker will say "meeting" at the exact same time that I do. I thought it was funny at first, but I am becoming more annoyed by this daily.

I digress.

I LOVE My Hair

I absolutely adore this video. I didn't have any black hair role models when I was young. I actually cried a little when I first saw this video. Enjoy!

On another note, I ran into one of my mom's long time friends yesterday. This woman knew me since I was a preteen. Guess what she said to me...

"Oh my gosh, you cut off all that pretty hair. Now it's nappy! Why would you do that!?!"

"I like my naps."

"But it's all knotty. I bet its hard to comb."

"Actually its not as bad as you think. I have learned a lot about how to take care of my hair, including how to comb it."

"Whooo! I could not walk around with my head that way! Sherry (my mom) what you think? (my mom just shakes her head... she doesn't like my "naps" either) "Well, you can get away with it becaue you have the face for it."

"That's exactly why I cut my hair. I think every woman should be able to rock the hair God blessed her with and not be ashamed. Because the WHITE man says straight hair is pretty, I am supposed to think so? I think not! As a matter of fact, White people compliment my hair, the only people that object to it are Black."

"Well you know why I keep a perm in my hair? Because I don't want it NAPPY!"

Shoot me NOW!

PLEASE?

If you don't know how much I loathe this conversation, read this.

Changed My Mind

I had a lot on my mind this morning. I was going to write about it, but I just can't. So instead, I am going to repost the words that sent my emotions on a rollercoaster ride... causing my eyes to spring a leak, making it nearly impossible to manuever through 8:00 a.m. traffic this morning on my way to work. Did I mention I smeared my make-up? Anywho... I will not go in to detail as I planned about how not having a father can have an effect (affect?) on a teen. I am just thankful that I met my husband when I did.

"When a man calls a woman beautiful, she should already know that. He shouldn’t be telling her any breaking news. Fathers, hug your daughters. Tell them you love them. Tell them they are beautiful. If you don’t, they will fall for the first man that does. As we know, the first man is never the right man. . If you’ve never been a decent father or self-respecting woman, its never too late to start now. We fall down, but we get up."

As soon as I got to work, I googled until I found the blog it came from. To read the whole thing click here.

Mondays

This morning I was having a great day! I woke up early, found exactly what I wanted to wear the FIRST time, and I even made it to work early enough to get some extra work done before students started to arrive...

And then I woke up and realized that it was already 7:20 and I was actually running late...

I was dreaming!!

I hate it when that happens, and it only seems to happen on Mondays! Ugh!

On another note, my first wedding anniversary is in SIX WEEKS! I am so excited! I am thinking about taking some bodoire pics as a sexy gift for him. Well, I am not thinking about it, my mind is made up! I am excited! Did I mention that part already? I already have my outfits picked out. Anyway, I wrote an anniversary poem for him as well. I will probably frame it the same way I framed the poems I wrote for Valentine's Day.

3/17/11

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!!!

Today is one of those days when I think about how far in life I have come. Just a few years ago today, I was stumbling up and down River Street in Savannah kissing white men that I have never seen before or will ever see again! *holds down head in shame*

Anywho... I hope you are wearing green so you don't get pinched!

Jessica's Story

I just read a post on one of my favorite blogs. Today, a reader's story was featured that sounded similar to my own, but moreso like the stories of a few of my "natural" friends. They, however, are still hiding their beautiful locks behind weaves. (My hide-n-seek game only lasted two days)

Read "Developing Confidence" here.

International Women's Day

"Man has will; but woman has her way."

- Oliver Wendell Holmes

"What would men be without women? Scarce, sir, mighty scarce."

-Mark Twain

"I love women. They're the best thing ever created. If they want to be like men and come down to our level, that's fine."

-Mel Gibson

Happy Women's Day!!

P.S. I love the Dove's all women are beautiful campaign!



Vintage Fashion

Somewhere between my love of art and my love of my favorite sister-in-law and her love of photography, I have also come to love enjoy photography myself. I was thrilled when I read on Neglected Princess about another blog, or picture archive (or whatever you wanna call it), full of photos of divas of color from the years past. I love everything about these pictures. Here are a few of my favorites from Of Another Fashion.

Gotta love the woman changing a tire in a skirt, heels, and pearls!

I love the 'fros!

Check out those capri pants!

I love everything about this picture! I'm definitely loving the "gangsta lean" thing her hat has going on!!

Can you say "Divas!"?

I love how "cool" and relaxed she is with her cigarette!

LOVING THE 'FRO!

I think this is called the "freedom fro"

Of course I couldn't add all of these beautiful vintage women without throwing in my own family!

This is my great-great grandmother Miss Lucy Jane.

This is Lucy Jane with her daughters Ruby and Ella. The man in the middle is James, Ruby's husband. Check out those home made dresses! (I still can't figure out why he is holding his hand over Lucy's head like that... is he trying to block the sun?)

This is Hallie, my mom's great aunt (Lucy Jane's daughter). She eventually went crazy and was institutionalized. (I think it runs in the family... we are all a little crazy!)

This is Hallie again with Ruby from my second picture. She looks like two totally different people!



President's Day

It's President's Day!

And I am at work.

And there are no student's here.

Because all of the other schools are closed today.

And my husband is off today.

And it's a beautiful day.

1:00 can't get here fast enough!

Happy President's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I never really liked Valentine's day because before my Vandy I NEVER seemed to have a bf on this holiday. Occasionally, I would receive Valentine's from someone who had a crush on me... but it was always from an, um, *coughs* loser. Well, I never know what to get my husband for this holiday because he doesn't ever seem to want anything! And men can be so hard to buy for... especially on a woman's holiday. Last year, I took a photo of all his brothers and sisters that he had blown up and was just sitting around the house and had it custom  framed. This year, I decided to do something a little different. Something that was a little more from the heart and less from the pocket. (Fyi: Custom framing is EXPENSIVE!) I got the idea from Kate at Wait in the Van to make a gift. I wrote two love poems... one nice and one naughty... on pretty scrap book paper and framed them. The nice one matches the living room decor. The naughty one matches the bedroom decor. I hope he likes them because I have no idea how to top it for next year, but I love the idea of home made gifts (for him, not me!) so whatever I do next year, it'll probably come from Michael's Crafts!

This is the "nice" one. I hand wrote it.

This is the naughty one... WARNING: Please don't try to read it. :)

ON ANOTHER NOTE:

 I chaperoned at a Sock Hop this past Friday. It felt like Halloween all over again! I love to step out of the box and dress up every now and again. Everything I had on came out of my closet. The ribbon around my hair was one of the pretty ribbons I saved from my bridal shower gifts that Gigi gave me a few months ago. I even sqeezed my size tens into some socks with the ruffles and some red shoes! I was a 50's housewife DIVA! I felt like Lucy! I had a lot of fun and I can't wait for another opportunity to become someone else for a night.

What a glorious feeling!

Another rainy day in Georgia...

"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass...

It is about

Learning to DANCE in the RAIN!"

Enjoy your rainy day!

Why? Why not? and 1000 other questions!

As you may already know, I recently started a second girl scout troop. Nobody warned me for what I was in for today. WHAT HAVE I GOTTEN MYSELF INTO!?!

From 4:00 to 7:00 this is what I heard:

Why do I have to lay on the paper? Can I draw yet? Can I use the other crayons? Can I play with these toys? Why not? Do I have to sit over there with the other girls? Can I help you trace so in so? Why can't the boys come over here with us? Is there a boy scout troop? Can we eat yet? Can I sell cookies? When do the cookies come back? Did you talk to my mom? What color do Daisies wear? What color do Brownies wear? Why do Brownies wear Brown? Daisies wear blue? I thought roses were red and VIOLETS were blue? Isn't violet purple? Why doesn't this box of crayons have light blue and pink? Why did they only put 8 crayons in this box? Why can't I sit with the Brownies? Is it my turn yet? Can I help you find the letters for the posters? Can I go to the bathroom? Are we gonna use these posters? Since I am a Daisy, can I sit in the blue chair? Why can't I cross this line? Then why are the other girls across the line? Is it time to eat yet? When is snack time? What time does the meeting end? Well can you ask that group if we can have some of their food? Why not? Why do I have to use these crayons? Why does this glue say gel? Is that the same as regular glue? Can you open this? Why couldn't I play with the toys earlier? Can I have my snack now? Why can't you remember our names? Can we do this again next week? Can I go to the bathroom again? Why does she get her snack first? If I am quiet next week can I get my snack first? Why isn't so in so here today? Will she be here next week? Are we getting new girls again? Since you have two troops can I be in both of them? May I have another cookie? Whose candy is that? Are we gonna get any of that candy? Why not?

I am so not ready for this.

Wasted Time

I spent about eight hours (yes, I said EIGHT... that's a shift at work) in a chair on a Saturday getting my hair braided into kinky twists so that my hair could rest. Well, It took me all of 30 minutes to yank them all out of my hair. I chose the kinky twists because the texture of the hair that you use to do them is similar to my own. Similar.... but not mine. I have grown to adore my own hair, and after my last post, I could not dare to spend another day ignoring it. Can you say a waste of time? I am glad my sister's labor is free! (she is the one that stood for eight hours putting them in.)

My hair is growing fast so I must enjoy my sassy short cut for as long as I can! 

On another note, we lost a family friend this past week. I will really miss Sister Copeland. She is one of the few genuinely good people that I have ever had the pleasure of getting to know. I know that my husband and his family had a special place in her heart and I am so thankful for her. The very first time I went to the LDS church with my husband (he was still a boyfriend then), he grabbed my hand until we found the Copelands and introduced me to them. I knew I was special then if he found it neccessary to introduce me whoever these people were. Little did I know, that this couple would become a part of my life, and have me looking forward to their monthly visits to deliver the Visiting Teaching Lesson of the month. She used to always hug me and tell me how glad she was that the Hubz found someone like me that brought him back to church. Little did she know, that on Sunday mornings it is he that wakes me up and delivers the guilt trip if I don't comply right away. She also used to tell me how on every Sunday morning, she would call him to wake him up and tell him to get his behind to church! For that reason, I kinda like to give her credit for my own journey to seek Salvation. I attended her funeral today and I still don't believe she is gone. A part of me still believes that I will get to hug her again on Sunday, and then have my Sunday nap cut short so that we can visit with the Copelands. It's really the little things. I am literally in tears because I can't imagine not being able to sit down as a family and receive an afternoon Word from them.

Okay, now that I have pulled myself together, I know that she is finally free of the ails of the World. She is back home waiting on Bro. Copeland to join her. Oh, what a wonderful feeling it is to know that love is eternal! I look at the Copelands and other older  experienced couples in the church and pray that me and Vandy make it there one day. I know that we will.

Natural Hair

A few days after the hubz birthday, I decided to do the "big chop" and rid myself of creamy crack forever... okay, maybe not forever, but I am hopeful! For anyone that doesn't know what "creamy crack" is, it is the evil relaxer that black women torture themselves with every six weeks in order to have straight, manageable hair. I say manageable hair, because all of my life that is what I had been brainwashed to  believe. I was taught to think that my hair would be easier to manage if I "tame" it. Looking back, I absolutely hate that way of thinking. Why should altering my hair type be considered the right thing or BEST thing to do? Is my hair... the fabulous hair God blessed me with wild and barbaric? I think not! I think that my hair is a treasure that only a few of  us on this earth have the pleasure of possessing. The only problem with my hair type is that there is such a lack of knowledge and education about how to care for it that most women find it easier to just take another hit of the crack. I have so much to say about my natural experience that the following rants will be completely random... which is fine and easier for me because that is how my mind works.

• Petroleum and mineral oil are not good for the hair or body. As a matter of fact, I will be glad when they are removed from store shelves. Petroleum jelly is made from gasoline (petrol) and mineral oil is the bi-product of it. Because petroleum jelly manufactures could not figure out how to dispose of the waste product from making it (because it can not be broken down or destroyed) they decided to market it as mineral oil. So many "black" hair and body products contain these ingredients, because they give the false sense of moisture and shine. However, neither of these products can be absorbed by the body and actually block pores and follicles from ridding the body of toxins. Learning this blew me away because I used to actually "grease" my hair and body with Vaseline and baby oil thinking I was providing moisture... Hahaha! The joke is on me! The most frustrating part about it, though, is I can't share this knowledge with my peers because their cousin's aunt or their grandma's grandma always used it and they had long, healthy, and flowing hair....
• On that note, I was in Ulta Beauty Supply (my new secret refuge) looking for a hair product when I mistakenly asked the women working in the salon how I could figure out whether or not a product was water-soluble (they didn't know.) Somehow the conversation led to me stating that I didn't use products with petroleum or mineral oil. That's when the woman holding my hair stuff stated, "Well this has corn oil in it and that is a mineral. I'm sorry ma'am, but I don't think you will ever find a product without mineral oil in it. Aren't minerals good for you?" The other stylists all nodded in agreement.... "yeah, corn oil is mineral oil!" they said. *facepalm* and walk away...
• I really hate hearing, "that looks really good on you, everyone can't go natural. It doesn't look good on everyone." What do you mean? I am sorry, but I am inclined to disagree with that philosophy. I think that everyone can rock whatever grows from their scalp. It's all about how you care for it and presentation. God don't make no mistakes! I am pretty sure that if he felt that tight coils did not look good growing from our scalps, he wouldn't have blessed us with them. Side note: I only hear this from black people addicted to the creamy crack.
• I was giving a ride home to two beautiful girls last Wednesday... one, a dark-skinned black girl with short hair and the other, a light-skinned black girl whose hair touched her back. I heard the darker girl confide to the other girl that she hated her hair and wished it was long like hers. My heart broke. I decided though, to save my "All women are unique and beautiful" talk for another time. I am working on how to integrate that into a future lesson for my girl scouts.
• My mother has hair that most black women would die for. It is long, touching the middle of her back, and wavy. My baby sister also has beautiful hair. She has never had a relaxer and her hair is soft, curly, and somewhat short. It wasn't until I made the decision to cut my own hair that I realized how brainwashed my own family really is. My mother was devastated when I told her my plans. She told me that Black natural hair was ugly and nappy (that word makes me cringe). She said my husband would "step out" on me or possibly even leave me if I cut off all of my hair. My sister was there listening to the whole conversation. She even added in her own two cents and said that short hair was ugly. It wasn't until then that I realized that my sister hated her own hair. Even though she has some of the most beautiful hair I have ever seen, she is afraid to show it off for the rest of the world to see. She spends hundreds of dollars every year on weave to cover those soulful locks of curls growing from her scalp... and my own mother encourages it. I immediately left my mothers house and headed straight to the beautician. "Cut it all off!" I told him. Twenty minutes later I felt free and liberated.
• I find that my hair is more manageable now than when it was "relaxed." I no longer have to run from rain or dread Georgia's humid summers. I am no longer a slave to the flat iron and my weekly hair washings take half the time it took before. I know that sounds backwards, but when you don't have to worry about blow drying and flat ironing anymore it makes life easier.
• I have gotten the most positive feedback from White men. They tell me my hair is beautiful and compliments my dark skin. They tell me that when every black woman wears her hair straight, that is equivalent to a white woman dying her hair blond. If everyone does it, no one stands out. They tell me how weaves look dirty and uncomfortable. They, these white men, tell me what black women need to hear from black men.

They tell me that my Black is beautiful and so is my Black, naturally  curly, and

nappy

hair!

An oppressed people?

It's Black History Month and I have a lot on my mind. I work at a GED school that is walking distance between two sets of housing projects in the city. Everyday, I look at most of these students and wonder what happened. Why are my brothers and sisters so lost? Why is their mind-set so self destructive? Some of these students are high school drop-outs, some have been expelled from public school; some are court-ordered to be here, and some are here as part of community service so that they can receive their welfare check and have their childcare centers paid so they can run the streets and do whatever else is so important that they can't get an education.

Every morning,
on my way to work,
I pass a store where people from the surrounding neighborhood gather to pass the time. That is something that they have always done. The only difference is a long time ago (when I was a child.... because I'm so OLD now) the only people I used to see at this store were older men... retired and disabled men. Now, however, when I pass this store at 7:50 a.m., I see young men. I see black men that are capable of making a living wasting their lives smoking cancer sticks, drinking cheap beer, and sitting under a tree.

Every morning,
on my way to work,

my heart breaks.

It is hard to give credit to our ancestors for the way we have turned out as a race. Think about it. My ancestors were slaves. Hard working, dexterous, and strong. Their children marched for civil rights. Determined, progressive, and revolutionary. But then what happened? Can one blame society? Is that unAmerican? I don't think so. How can we improve if we never acknowledge our flaws? I am not saying "Blame the White Man!" but obviously there is a missing link somewhere. Every two weeks, our school gives an assessment test to new students. Every two weeks, the black students score between a 3rd and 6th grade level in Reading, Language, and Math. Every two weeks, the "other" students score AT LEAST an 8th or 9th grade level. The only exception to that are special education students.

There is a missing link somewhere.



"There is nothing more dangerous than to build a society with a large segment of people in that society who feel that they have no stake in it; who feel that they have nothing to lose. People who have a stake in their society, protect that society, but when they don't have it, they unconsciously want to destroy it."

-Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe."

-Frederick Douglass

"Hence, I have no mercy or compassion in me for a society that will crush people, and then penalize them for not being able to stand up under the weight."

-Malcolm X

"They ask us why we mutilate each other like we do, they wonder why we hold such little worth for human life... To ask us why we turn from bad to worse is to ignore from which we came. You see, you wouldn't ask why the rose that grew from the concrete had damaged petals. On the contrary, we would all celebrate its tenacity. We would all love its will to reach the sun. Well, we are the roses. This is the concrete. And these are my damaged petals.

-Tupac Shakur

"Did you hear about the rose that grew
from a crack in the concrete?
Proving nature's law is wrong it
learned to walk with out having feet.
Funny it seems, but by keeping its dreams,
it learned to breathe fresh air.
Long live the rose that grew from concrete
when no one else ever cared."

Tax Time!



Anyone who knows me, knows that I love to volunteer! Somehow, I feel more fulfilled when I do something from my heart rather than for a paycheck. Since I was off for a month, I have been studying my patooty off trying to get certified to prepare taxes. I am now officially certified as a VITA/TCE tax preparer. VITA is a free tax preparation service for low income families sponsored by the IRS. I say "sponsored" because the IRS pays for the software, training, training supplies, and background checks... none of us will actually be payed to prepare taxes. As broke as I am, one would think that I would be trying to get paid for some of the work that I do, but the Lord always provides for me when I am in need so no worries! :)

Busy on Sick Leave

OK, so, I said that I would be off for a month and would have plenty of time to update my blog...

well,

not so much.

Since I been off from work, I have started ANOTHER Girl Scout Troop.

I now have a fun group of Daisies!

AND My group of

seems to be growing every week!

Just in the past two weeks we have gotten THREE new girls!

Of course, along with Girl Scouts troops, comes Girl Scout cookies!!

Sometimes, I feel like they are more work than they are worth, but selling cookies earns much needed money for our troop. It has been interesting trying to stay clear of my nieces (who are also Girl Scouts) cookie selling territory... especially the little one. She is going to be a cookie selling monster in a couple of years. All of my girls did a great job during the pre-sale though so I am happy. Now I am looking forward to the booth sales at Wal-Mart and other stores.

I have also been busy on my Wii Fit

Yoga is a VERY interesting exercise... but a lot of fun and very rewarding. I love my Wii Fit because I can track my progress and as exercises and games get easier, I feel myself getting stronger.

Vandy (My hubby lubby) better watch out because I am definitely bringing sexy back! :)

Also,

The reason I have been out of work is because I had my third (and hopefully last) surgery on my ankles. This surgery went better than the first two (as far as healing time) but honestly, I don't feel any different. I still walk funny, I climb up and down stairs like an old woman, I STILL can't wear heels, AND they still ache every day...

but,

if I haven't gained anything from this experience, I have learned to be thankful every morning when I get out of bed, place my feet on the floor, and WALK!

So as long as I have breathe in my body, my feet will

ALWAYS

be HAPPY FEET!!! :)