10.31.2012

Part-Time Pet was on THE VIEW!!

See this girl?
She is our Part-time pet, Arista
Part-time because she is my sisters dog that she has had since College, but some time during the year she stays with our parents or even us! She comes to visit on the weekends from NYC at times!
Well today, she has become A STAR!

She was coached all week so that she would not act a FOOL on TV.
She has a tendency to want to run around in furious circles really fast when she gets excited.
Or she may randomly pee or do any other random things that may embarrass us from time to time. 

They wanted her in a hot dog costume! 
HA! A hot dog in a hot dog!


She was trying to get her mind right before her Live Debut here. LOL

She had her trusty partner Mustard to walk her out there.. 


Then, when she appeared on TV, I was SO TICKLED!!! 
I laughed the whole time she was up there with little Mustard and little Ketchup!

I mean I was as excited as I will be when a child we know is on TV!
She did SO GOOD!



I am such a proud part-time parent / doggy auntie!







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10.30.2012

Show and Tell: How I Met Your Father


Since Sandy has me in quite a funk, (not that she took my power and has me more of a home body then I normally am) but I believe that the weather outside has me a bit of a funk. 

This may sound weird but I thought I was getting sick the day that Sandy was on the way, but someone told me that my sinuses may be acting up because of the atmospheric pressure that Sandy was bringing with her ... now that she is just about gone I feel fine! Even cleaned the Master Bedroom, which can be a MAJOR feat at times. 

SO, what do you do when its cold and odd outside?? You find new blogs to read and write more posts that you can link up with. 
One of my favorite blogs From Mrs. to Mama does a Show & Tell link up and this week its about writing to your children or future children about their father, my future baby daddy aka the hubby. 

So this is a letter to our future kids about how I met their Father



1. Tell us about how and when you met your love and what attracted you most to him.
I met your father at a church in 2004 while our Pastor was the guest preacher at a revival. I remember that he was sitting in the Pastor's office near the door. We glanced at each other but never said anything to each other. A few months later we saw each other again at yet another church and he made sure to get my attention this time. He eventually sent a message through a mutual friend which allowed me to feel comfortable in reaching out to him via email and from there we became good friends. What attracted me to him the most was that from our first conversation, we talked like we knew each other all our lives - we truly brought out our true selves in each other and that is really hard to come by when you meet someone knew. Your father made that very easy. It was easy to become his best friend. His heart is SO big and he is the biggest teddy bear and will go out of his way to make sure that his family is taken care of.

2. Show us the very first {or one of the first} pictures you guys ever took together. {Feel free to show us more than one}
The top one was our first official pic that we took together as a couple. Of course it was taken in the recording studio... at this point we had been friends close to three years at this point. The bottom one was taken this year. 


3. Tell us some of your favorite memories that you two had together.
Hmm... I don't know lets see - there are so many memories that we have together. Well first, our birthdays are 10 days apart. Our first birthday as a couple your father took me to a restaurant Linwoods. His good friend was a Chef there and he made sure that we had a great table and of course great food. We got to dress up really nice. Before dinner, he pulls out a Tiffany Box and gives me a Tiffany Silver heart necklace.. I immediately asked him to put it on for me. He really surprised me! and as I turn around he says if you like this then you are really going to like this and pulls another Tiffany box out of no where! He REALLY went out of his way to surprise me that day and continues to do so. And trust, he got his share of surprises for his birthday as well. We love showing each other love and planning elaborate things for special days.  

4. Tell us your favorite qualities about this man, what makes him "the one."
Caring, Thoughtful, TALL (this was VERY important to me because I love to wear really HIGH heels and I am already 5'7 flat foot) , Loves the Lord and has a relationship with God, Trustworthy, Goal Oriented and so much more... what makes him the one?? Well, mostly this is hard to put into words however, I KNEW he was the one because of a conversation I had with God when I asked him to show me who my husband was and when we met it was followed with confirmation. Including a dream. 
Its a feeling that you just have.

5. Tell us what your "date nights" typically look like.
Our typical date night includes going out to dinner and eating some really good food either discovering a new restaurant together or at one of our favorites. Then we will always go see a movie that has just come out. It is one of my favorite things to do.




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Surviving Sandy


Well. This WENCH as I have liked to refer to her has definitely come and is now heading out of here!
Grant it. I like that I have been working from home the last two days but seriously to be held up your in home like this can make even the well prepared go a little stir crazy. 

My thoughts and prayers are with those that have extensive damage from the hurricane and the families of those who were killed during the hurricane. 

As for us, we discovered a leak in the basement which totally changed my happy go lucky mood of staying at home. It just made me wonder how much worse it was going to get. Mind you this house was just built 6 months ago so I am truly kind of irritated with the leak right now because its making no sense as to how its happening - through our basement ceiling and we live in a large town home and its not coming from the floor above it. Which then further lets me know its coming from outside somehow. Because I have seen this house built from the ground up, I have a pretty good idea as to how its happening - someone better get here to fix this QUICK!

At my parents home some of the siding in the rear blew off the house and as I type this right now they are sitting without power and have been doing so since earlier last night :( 

My sister lives in NYC and had to work yesterday as the storm hit - the life of a news producer. But she is safe also.  A large tree fell but luckily missed her vehicle by three cars. 

One thing I have done was try every recipe that I have been wanting to try. 
The pulled pork I made was SO delish- thanks Skinny Taste! and I have more great recipes that I have been trying since I have been home.
I made Oxtails for dinner and Lasagna is on deck for tonight.

Sandy we made it! 
Hopefully we don't have a winter like we have had in the past because I am going to have to find other things to do to keep the cabin fever at bay. 

Luckily, Sandy has not thwarted our plan to go on a mini-vacation this weekend so prayerfully all will be restored before we head on the road.

Do you know anyone who was affected or were you affected yourself? 
How did you survive Sandy?






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10.29.2012

Monday Musings: Weekend of Celebrations part deux and Hurricane Prep

I feel like this weekend was jam packed with things that we had to do, so I am appreciating this day home filled with relaxation that Frankenstorm Sandy has brought to the North East. 
More on that later. 

This weekend started with a few birthday celebrations-- 
That means good food and good fellowship.

First we went to Ruth Chris Steak House in Downtown Washington, DC to celebrate with our good friend Aaron who is an accomplished Professional Drummer. 

The funny thing is that in my observation of our fellowships with our friends, you have to love Jesus as much as we do because some how church WILL come up. 
In addition to most of our friends being professional or touring musicians and singers or in production, a great deal of us are Pastor's Kids as well... it makes for a very hilarious perspective on church and great conversation at dinners. 

We are sure to give an arousing prayer and embarrass the waiters as we shout (otherwise known as a praise dance) right there at the dinner table. 

Saturday

So the next day we were supposed to go segway riding through D.C. with the Birthday Boy and his wonderful wife, but we are truly late every where we go so we missed the tour. 

Instead we decided to go to Brunch. We attempted to go to Founding Farmers - an organic restaurant, but it was so crowded -- the wait for breakfast was an hour and a half.
We decided to walk around the Foggy Bottom area until we find another place to eat and came across a restaurant called District Commons.


I highly recommend this place for Brunch! It was AMAZING! I am so glad we accidentally stumbled across this place.
If I could suggest some of what we ate : New Orleans French Toast with Bananas Foster, they have a wonderful Raw Bar - Aaron had THEE biggest crab claw we had ever seen and I had the oysters on a half shell and the Pretzel Bread with a Beer Mustard Butter  =YUMMY!!!

Later that day, as in immediately after we left brunch we had to go home and change clothes because we all had to be at yet another birthday gathering for another good friend, Aryka. 
to see what I mean about our churchy antics, click here for the churchiest Happy Birthday Song ever. LOL

Sunday

The news has covered this storm SO MUCH on the East Coast and National News, so I don't have to tell you how crazy this thing is... Just know we are in that red zone! ugh!

The things that I love the most about Sunday is Football and Post-church naps. 
As you can imagine then, I was all the more excited to get out of church early to come home and enjoy just that.. 


That was until I received a text from my parents saying they were taking a train from New Jersey to get out of the storms way and were going to stay at their home down here. 

So being the good kids that we are, we went to the grocery store for their house so that they would have something to eat and went to go pick them up from the train station. 

This was all pre-nap though :(

I tried the Peppermint Mocha and it was GROSS! I think that I am Starbucks bias. But it did its job in being a quick pick me up to get all that I needed to get done to prepare for my parents arrival. 

We had some time to wait and I had the bright idea to go and Early Vote so that just in case we cant get out post-storm, our vote would be counted. 
Clearly, I wasn't the only one that had that bright idea. We were in line for about 2 hours before we got the chance to Vote.

Hubby was not too thrilled with me at this point since I pulled him away from a warm couch and cheetos while he watched football to do this! waiting outside in the cold with a Frankenstorm approaching.


He made it VERY clear that it was all my fault! LOL


We would take random photos throughout the wait just to pass the time.. 
This is my "he think he is slick posting that photo of me on Instagram" pic.


Eventually, we were so close to the warm building yet so FAR AWAY when its freezing.


In the end, WE DID IT! We voted.. Hubby had to cast a provisional ballot because his polling station was already in our new county since our move - oops! hehehe


It was time to get the parents... 


My beautiful mommy and daddy made it safe and sound. 

Time to snuggle up with our snacks and ride the storm out.. 

 For lunch today, I slow cooked over night this Adobo Pork utilizing a SkinnyTaste Recipe to keep the calories down despite being stuck in the house snacking for a few days.  I can' t wait to taste this!


If you are about to be effected by Frankenstorm Sandy, please be safe and get out of low-lying areas. We are just praying for no power outages. 

The atmospheric pressure changes have DEFINITELY effected my health and my sinuses, so I may have to lay down for a little while. 



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miscellany monday at lowercase letters

10.26.2012

Friday's Letters


Don't you just love old people - pic via instagram

Dear Friday, We meet again! Oh there's much in store for this weekend and I CAN NOT WAIT!

Dear Readers, Get ready for an announcement on Monday! I can not wait to share!
Dear Ruth Chris Steakhouse, GET IN MY BELLY!

Dear Segway Tour through the District, Oh the fun we shall have!!!

Dear Job, I love you! Everything has been on the up and up! Please remain like this!

Dear Scandal, WHY must you have my blood pressure through the roof each week. The storylines just suck you right on in. Shonda, can we get to know a little more back story on Harrison (played by Columbus Short) please and thank you.

Dear Election Day, Please get here already... I am SO tired of the commercials.

Dear LFS, how DARE you! I will be writing a formal complaint for the way I was JUST treated. People need to realize that just because you are behind a phone does not mean you can treat people any kind of way.

Dear Blog Readers again, Click on the Home Button at least and stay awhile. See the latest of what I have been up to. Something brought you here - so I hope you click that follow button. Go ahead and comment, I don't bite, but I do try to respond to each one. I have done the Komen Walk for a close friend, went to Homecoming and talked about how I tweezed my eyebrow off and replaced it with a post-it.. Good stuff I tell you. LOL.

Dear Hubby, "We Breathe In Sync"

Dear Life, you're full of surprises and even when things get a bit overwhelming, I am just thankful that in you are persons who remind me that this is just a temporary feeling. I still believe this is the "Season of Yes!" so you may begin to be all that you can be right about now.

Dear Text-Enhance, where did you come from? Did I click a button for you to appear? I don't like it. How do I make it stop!!??

Dear God, Hear our prayers and open up a door.













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10.25.2012

Never Leave Home without your Eyebrows

I think its safe to say that of all the things that women do to enhance their beauty, from the days where you put on make-up to make yourself look more elegant for an event or from the simplest of days to all you need is some lipgloss - STILL eyebrows are the most important.

They give expression - its almost one of those things that you do not even notice ....

until they are gone.

I know you see that my eyebrow is missing :(

Let me explain... I LOVE make up. You should see my bathroom counter because it is oozing with all things make up. I wear it mostly at events and on weekends because I do not like to wear too much make up to work in the field that I am in and with the demographic of persons I service.

So, let's be clear. Women wear make up to either hide or enhance their greatest features. For me, I struggle with my hooded eye. I hate to say it but I look almost Asian when I smile because you can no longer see my little eyes. I wish I had a bigger palatte to play with all the make up shading in the world that I love, but I simply do not have it. So instead, I play around a lot with color and making sure that at least my brow has a significant shape.

Well, that day, I decided to try two things: contouring to change the shape of your face - because I struggle with the high cheekbone / fat cheek syndrome and I would change the shape of my arch. I was beginning to simply get bored with them and saw some eyebrow shapes that I loved to try. 


 I went from loving thinner brows to loving thick juicy brow back to loving a hybrid.
Regardless... I overshot it understatement of a lifetime because I tweezed away half of my natural brow and didn't realize it until I wiped my make up off.

Not wearing any make up the next day, I didn't even notice them - that is until I went to work!
 I have a mirror on my desk and screamed "WHERE IS MY EYEBROW?!"
I drew something on quickly and that was that.

What made it worse was that one of my coworkers had noticed it was missing also when I rubbed my face because of my allergies and it was no longer there.
YIKES!
I thought to myself, I have a more permanent solution.


So, rolling with the laughter of my coworker I decided, that this would be my solution.
I learned that day -  Never Leave Home without your Eyebrow

I did accomplish my goal of having a thinner brow as you see from my most recent picture from the weekend:


but I KNEW I had to share with you the backstory.

If you want some more funny... well here you go:
Jimmy Fallon as Fit Romney for his DIY Halloween Contest


Here's what I submitted for the contest: a girl LOVES her coffee.

This is from Halloween 2010. Not yet sure what I will do this year.


I hope I put a smile on your face!













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10.22.2012

Monday's Musings: A Weekend of Celebrations



Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend - I sure did.
 
It was Howard Homecoming Weekend - 


Something about coming back to your Alma Mater reminiscing and teaching the Freshman Class how you used to do it when you went there.. 


I can say that I saw A LOT of people that I remember.. Some have aged well and some made u look like UMM IS THAT???? YIKES~ all in all though it was FUN!!!

Mr. and Miss Howard University and their court during half time 

We always have celebrity sightings during Homecoming and sometimes on any given day on the Yard. 
At Homecoming I saw Laz Alonzo and AJ but also there was T.I., Meek Mill, Brandy, Lance Gross and so many other recording artists were in town hosting parties. 


Also, Howard University has most Alpha Chapters for most Black Greek Letter Organizations. One near and dear to my heart is Delta Sigma Theta - a sorority founded by my great grandmother when she was a student at Howard University. I will share more about how that came to be during our Centennial Founder's Day in January 2013. 

Our symbolic statue of Fortitude stands right behind Founder's Library in what is known as the Valley.

We WON our Homecoming Game against Morgan State and this is the winning touchdown. Sitting right in the end zone definitely had its perks. The score was 21-20.



Also this weekend was the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Maryland. 



My Line Sisters got together to celebrate the life of two of our own who beat Breast Cancer and I also walked in memory of my Aunt who passed away a short time after finding out she had Breast Cancer. 


This was my first time walking in this Race for the Cure. I can honestly say that I wouldn't have been able to do it if I had not been doing 5K's recently at work. I really enjoyed getting out there SUPER early and getting a good walk in. 

Our Team Name was "Deltas In Pink" as our signature color is Crimson (Red).





I walked for her! 
I thank God for saving the life of my Line Sister. Had she not survived I would not have met such a wonderful friend and sister. 



She's a survivor!








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miscellany monday at lowercase letters

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