IMPULSE BUY..

My impulse shopping comes in many forms. A pair of PHAT shoes that I know I won't be able to walk in, but they were purchased because they were on sale or in my exact size (size 5's are hard to come by outside the children's department). I made alot of impulse buys decorating my house, Target and Crate & Barrell are the DEVIL!!! or the 4 flat screen televisions that are now sitting in my mother's basement (since the BIG move) that I just had to have in my fabulous fully furnished house that was only occupied by myself and a 5 lb yorkie (he only likes HGTV). I'm so supposed to be on the path of controlling my spending, but driving by a Gold's Gym the other day I decided to stop in. I figured since I was so familiar with my previous gym in Atlanta and frequented it often, I had this membership thing down. Plus, it was time for me to get back on the Elliptical and off the couch. So I take my little tour, of the weights, workout rooms, the movie theater (yes!), and once I flashed the government ID, they literally starting throwing deals at me. So, I signed on the dotted line and looked forward to my first workout. Fast forward to Saturday morning, I head to my new gym with towel and bottled water in hand. I seriously was peeved when I looked inside where my class was supposed to begin and saw no one under the age of 55. I looked on the calendar to see if it was Senior Citizen day. Where are all the hot, young, and fabulous gym dwellers that work out on Saturday morning? It gets worse. I figured since I live in an area where minorities are the majority, I would see that reflected in the music selection during my workout. All I gotta say is Bon Jovi and Whitesnake are not my friends. I'm used to Clay D, MC Shy D, and the Big Booty All Stars. I am now orchastrating my plan to get out of my membership. That visitors' pass is looking quite attractive right now. FYI, if I don't break into a sweat, it was not a workout!!

Supernanny, You might need to visit the "hood"....

Okay- I am almost ready to go postal with a 2 YEAR OLD!!!! She is of course, brilliant, so friggin cute, and loving, HOWEVER, She can be hell on wheels! She is a little manipulator (at least I know she gets it honest...) She has my husband wrapped around her teeny tiny finger! I have tried everything- time out (UGHHH!) swats on the butt (She could care less) and trying to be loving when she is having a melt down. Nothing works! She has officially taken over. I am ready for baby boot camp! We ARE NOT going to end up on Maury! Am I more lenient than I think? The true kick in the pants for me is that anyone else that watches her is SO excited to have her. They say she is so pleasant and is such an angel. This is how I know at 2 years of age, she understands the difference between right and wrong. Someone, PLEASE Help!!! I am on my 7th child rearing book but as my 97 year old Grandmother says, Stop with the books!!! It might be time to grab the switch off of the tree.... LOL!!! OK, Please remember, she is ONLY 2!!! But I REALLY do not want to be one of the ONLY African-American families on this show! Getting my tubes tied is starting to look better everyday!!!
PLEASE HELP!!! I did want to give her a sibling.....

HOUSTON.. WE HAVE A PROBLEM

Sitting here at my desk, mouth watering.. and only one thing can tame this craving.. HOUSTON'S! When did they decide to get rid of the local DC Houston restaurants? I know I just got back, but when I left they had closed the one in Georgetown (prime location) but still had two standing in Rockville and Bethesda. Now we are down to one. One thing about Atlanta, I had four friendly locations that I visited often. Going down memory lane, I remember I was introduced to Houston's in '97 in Georgetown (hi Blink). My love affair began with the spinach dip and the Biltmore.. and I don't want to get started on that Hawaiian Rib Eye that makes me slip into food induced coma. That was my pick me up spot (for more reasons that one). I could go to the bar, sit quietly and enjoy my food. My stomach is turning in knots just knowing I can't hop in my car and cure my fix. I know it's a recession, but I've never been in a Houston's that wasn't packed.. what happened? I'd also like to pour out a little liquor for the Chi town location that went under a few years back, my sister still hasn't recovered.

INSTRUCTIONS TO THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD..

In the car during rush hour listening to Dr. Laura. Not my first choice, but Hip Hop Nation was in the middle of some Plies mixtape.. I couldn't take it. I usually don't like to listen to her cause she can be pretty rude and obnoxious, never lets the caller tell their full story, and hangs up on them once she dishes out her (mostly sarcastic) response... but today she said something poignant. Here's the story.. typical caller.. says when her and her husband have a disagreement, her husband completely shuts down, refuses to engage in communication atleast for a week. In my mind I'm thinking.. that's most men. Dr. Laura's response was a surprising and simple.. "DON'T ARGUE WITH YOUR HUSBAND". I sucked my teeth and rolled my eyes. There is no husband/wife union that I know of where there are no disagreements. So how in the hell do you go through life without arguing? The caller and I came to the same conclusion.. Dr. Laura is dumb as a box of rocks.... but then the Good Doctor said something that stuck with me. She said, unless it is a life or death situation or something that would put you in emotional or physical danger... let him win (come again?). She told the caller not to focus on always trying to win. If you let him win sometimes, he will start to return the favor. So that leads me to my search for the instruction manual on how to get to the middle of the road. Example of my problem (I'm growing). When I get really angry.. to the point where I want to spit.. I either completely go off (which I try to avoid) or I completely shut down and wallow in silence. I figured the latter was better for everyone so when I get a chance to collect my thoughts it would not come out in a jumble of emotional outbursts and curse words. Not realizing that "the shut down" can be harmful, because it allows you to store up resentful feelings that still come out later in the form of sarcasm. I have to learn how to engage instead of deflect (that is so hard since most of the time I don't know when I'm doing it). I was told I have to not always resort to those two extremes, and learn to pick my battles. Honestly, I'm really bad at that one. What's the point of winning most of the battles if I lose the war. So what would be considered the "middle of the road"? I'm asking..

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO..

I usually don't get excited or emotional about movies, or maybe my recent movie picks have been a little wackolicious (made up word alert!!)! I know "Slumdog Millionaire" has been out for a minute, but I played myself by waiting this long to see it. When M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" comes on, I got the urge to jump up and start singing (of course without the 9 month baby abdomen and see through black chiffon).. but I didn't. Whatever award they are up for at the Oscars, they need to sweep all categories. Ya girl got a little choked up at the end. All I got to say is.... LATIKA!!!!!!

I went from a masterpiece to warm garbage aka "Notorious". I may be a little harsh, maybe it was my fault for watching them back to back. Next up.. The Reader, The Wrestler, and Milk... I may throw in Mall Cop for a little mediocrity.

MUSIC MONDAYS.. PRESIDENT'S DAY EDITION

Still enjoying my fabulous 3 day weekend.. My top heavy rotation ghetto picks (they're always ghetto ... aren't they?) One day I'll post some Will Downing of Babyface.. but for now.. I'm from the streets....

Enjoy!

magnificent - rick ross ft john legend

Turn My Scale On - Young Jeezy

yes - lil wayne ft pharrell

Swagger From Us - Jim Jones Ft. Lil Wayne, Twista, & NOE

LOVE HER OR HATE HER.....

Oprah is the Sh*t!!!

I have gone back and forth on many occasions, but I have never been a hater.

Here are my top 3 reasons why I may become an "OPRAH" stalker...

1. I believe, SHE, TRULY helped President Obama win the "undecided/maybe Hillary- white woman" vote! I know, I know, she received a lot of flack for her endorsement at first, however, people tuned in and finally listened....

2. She admits her faults- Yes, she is a fat ass right now but who has not had their moments. Get back on the wagon and take your ass to the gym!! That goes for me as well :)

3. HER MAGAZINE IS THE BOMB!!! Yes, she is on the cover every month but WHO CARES!!! The content does not disappoint, EVER. In addition to the VIBE and the JET, PICK UP THIS MAGAZINE!!! One of my favorite articles that appears every month is "What I know for sure" and The "Aha moment."

In the March 2009 issue, on P. 62 Jill Scott is discussing her "AHA moment." I can relate to it for a number of reasons, she lost her Aunt unexpectedly, was at turmoil with her family, but mostly because in all this, she learned a valuable life lesson- Enjoy life to the fullest and NEVER compromise on the search for love. Congratulations on walking away from a marriage that was not working, loving yourself first and finding happiness!

Read the article. It is damn good!

WILL YOU BE MY VALENTINE?

I'm ga ga for baby! How could you resist that face? Yep, that's my niece giving you the "whatchu talkin' bout Willis?" look. I woke up this morning and checked my email to find these lovely photos in my inbox. What a wonderful way to start out Valentine's Day. Some people are not celebrating Valentine's Day (I actually know a few that are boycotting until conditions improve), but I'm optimistic! These pics are subtle reminders of what unconditional love is.... family.


My nephew and I going down the Moon Bounce slide.. Weeeeeee!!

WHOLE FOODS OR WHOLE "CHECK"

Okay, you know I'm at the new job... watching my p's and q's, but I'm being corrupted by my hilarious "who gives a f*ck" coworker that likes to take naps at her desk, curses like a sailor, and take 2 hour lunches. I was coerced.. okay forced on one of her excursions yesterday to Whole Foods.. ON THE OTHER SIDE OF TOWN (14th and P Street)!!! Peer pressure is a b*tch! So once I reached our destination, I forgot Whole Foods can be intoxicating and expensive. With two additional coworkers in tow, the original plan was to head to the deli, pick up our food and roll out. Shouldn't take more than 10 minutes... right? WRONG!!! They all scattered like roaches when the lights come on.... and one of the Fabulous Four had the nerve to get a grocery cart (WTF are you doing?). The whole time I'm standing there with lunch in hand looking for something to keep me occupied so I don't keep looking down at my watch. What was my impulse purchase?... CUPCAKES! It's a code 10/man down situation. I need someone to yank me up out of here now! I head to the cashier and was floored when my final total came to $17.85 (FOR LUNCH!!).. my original budget was $7.00. I have to rebuke these lunch excursions before I go broke. We were gone 1 hour and 45 minutes! I complained.. "I'm going to get fired!!! " which was met by my coworker's response.. "Shudup!". Tomorrow it'll be a turkey sandwich on wheat with Doritos and a Capri Sun in the 4th floor lunchroom.

IN HONOR OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH..

In classic TBC style, we wanted to bring you the highlights of the great achievements of African Americans.. coming off the big inauguration and all. Of course I had to mention our Black President (love saying that out loud), Congrats to Mike Tomlin (coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers) for starting the month off right with a well deserved Superbowl win, former Maryland lieutenant governor Michael Steele becomes first ever black Republican National Party Chairman (have mixed feelings about that one), and Eric Holder being sworn in as the nation's first African American Attorney General (a plus, he had no hidden tax problems). All this would not be possible without the dire efforts of everyone's role model Lil' Wayne who somehow made the cut to read the coveted Top 10 List on David Letterman. Now I may be a little loopy from the mixture of NyQuil and Chardonnay (will explain later), but the funniest part ... Paul Simon's band doing their own remake of "Lollipop". Priceless!

Lil' Wayne presents Letterman's Top 10 List
by yardie4lifever2

I'VE GOT THE COODIES!

I'm sick!!!! I've got my suspicions on how I contracted this rare case of the whooping cough, but I'll keep it to myself for now. That 4 block walk from my parking garage to work in 14 degree weather this morning was the nail in the coffin. I was already tinkering on the edge of the sniffles. After pressure washing my desk with a Clorox wipe and dousing myself repeatedly with hand sanitizer, I knew there was no turning back. Too late for Zicam. So now I must suffer, at home.. with thermal sweat pants, a long sleeve shirt, covered by my favorite Shine 'N Drive hoodie sweatshirt.. oh but I'm not done.. the matching Shine 'N Drive skully, wool socks, and to cap it off.. my thermal baby blue bath robe. Am I sweating yet? I am silently cursing!!

PIMP GAME PROPER..

Did I tell you I LOVE DC? It never lets me down. This is a first! The identity of a "chick" has been revealed. In preparing for all the men lining up at my door at this very moment (no stalkers please), I must tell you my heart belongs to Wolf Blitzer. I have crossed over. That silver fox swagger can sneak up on you. The glasses, the tie.. it was all working. Before you hit the send on your email.. I'm totally kidding. I did want to ask him whose idea was it to put Will I. Am as a hologram (corny)during election night results. I mean.. when did he become the ambassador of American politics? Back to my boo, running into him at a Wizard's game made me think.. slow news day? Shouldn't you be somewhere reporting Michael Phelps cradling his bong. Or maybe I'm just that cool. Mr. Blitzer all up on me. My excitement was short lived when I came into work the next day to show my coworker (the one that sings off key to every song that comes on WHUR at her desk) my new celebrity crush.. and her response was "Is that your old boss?". Sucking my teeth with a grimace on my face... you don't watch CNN? I was met with a blank stare. I politely changed the subject.

GOOD DOG!!

I do believe in Divine Intervention. Especially with all of life's changes that I've experienced in the last couple of weeks. Not to get all TD Jakes on you, but I think I'm tapped in.. highly favored.. blessed. Everything that I questioned regarding the BIG MOVE, God has given me a clear answer. I don't recall it ever being any clearer. Blind faith (I get it). So, I was torn leaving my mother in Atlanta with all the personal turmoil she went through over the past five years, with coming out of retirement, being deserted by her husband of 34 years (sorry pops), losing her mother, and taking on the daunting task of caring for my ailing grandfather who just had his 92nd birthday... and not least of all... running her own business. That guilt kept me in an undesirable place for five years (which pales in comparison to the sacrifices she's made). So on my journey to DC, I left something behind... my beloved Kingston (the dog). He couldn't make the big trip until I got settled. I miss the sound of him gnawing on his chew toy, barking at the sound of what he thought was an intruder but only the mail man, and him snoring like an old man that had been at work all day (annoying and cute at the same time). Ok, so here is where the divine intervention comes in. I forgot how much joy a family pet can bring to a household, and that is something my mother never experienced (which explains her initial apprehension to becoming Kingston's temporary dog sitter). She doesn't want to admit it, but she has completely fallen in love with that dog. She has taken that dog to the groomers, gotten him a new dog collar, and morning walks (I didn't even do that). Everytime I'm on the phone with her she tells me something funny he did that day. All the things that made me laugh, now make her laugh. My guilt has subsided and now my mother has a new best friend. Eventhough I may have lost my dog to my mother, the sacrifice is well worth it.