What a day!!!

I like to be spoiled. I want to live a pampered life of luxury and lavishness, but those weren't the cards I was dealt. I'm a sister who (insert Donna Summer voice here and sing) "works hard for the money" so a few days out of the year I want to "do me" ALL DAY.

My birthday was Saturday, April 26.

I woke up to kisses from my family and calls from my friends and relatives. I was a bit tired because I was up until 3am altering my outfit. I had to sew the buttons down on my shirt and hem my pants. (One of the blogs I love explains my problem better than I have energy for right now, I'm trying to remain on the happy vibe.)

After a slow and leisurely stroll around my room getting ready I went downstairs.

My DAM (diamond among men) husband made me a homemade pancake breakfast. We ate big because I wasn't going to eat again until dinner.

Then I hopped in my (environment killin', gas guzzlin') truck and headed for Cincinnati. I bumped Carl Thomas ALL the way. "All You've Given" is just.....no words.

I was on my way to meet my girl there for....drumroll please




I had FRONT ROW SEATS!! I had a ball. My friend and I both said we didn't expect to have such an emotional reaction to this, but we did. It made you laugh and cry and smile and have chills. I don't think the Broadway version could be any better than this touring cast. They were GREAT. (I'm going to do a post with spoilers on it later)

I saw a few people from Big City Wanna Be that drove up too. Anytime I can sit in a place full 'o Black folks and watch some Black folks, I'm enjoying a fat slice of heaven!

We ate at one of my favorite "chain" restaurants, Maggiano's. I didn't know it was a chain until we ate at the one in Vegas then I went on line and found them everywhere. We used to go when we lived in Chicago. (My other favorite is Houston's, hope one is coming my way soon.)

I got flowers, cupcakes and a pillow and a bag (which I'll tell you about too in another post).

I will have photos soon. Haven't had time to look at my camera but I wanted to get this up.


Hope everyone is having a GREAT WEEK, mine is off to a BANGIN' start.

God Bless!

Great story about Black homeschoolers...

For Some Black Parents, the New Home Room is Home
Public schools are failing black boys, say a growing number of parents who are homeschooling
by Chloe A. Hilliard, The Village Voice
April 8th, 2008 12:00 AM

Say "homeschooling" and what tends to come to mind are the whitest people you know, holding Sunday school every day of the week in their basements, producing kids who can declaim against Charles Darwin for hours on end, but who are so screwed up socially that you can't imagine them getting a date, except years later as part of a group outing to Christian Day at Disney World.

So, with that admittedly over-broad stereotype in mind, it's something of a shock to see the lessons in progress at Bread Stuy, a small café in Brooklyn, where customers sip at their coffee and read newspapers, unaware that a woman named P. Aurora Robinson is holding a homeschooling class in their midst.

Her two teenagers, working at laptops, are tapping away at their writing assignments for the day. They're a little young for coffeehouse literary types, but otherwise look the part: Deion in a baseball cap, Tau wearing his hair in twists, both hunched over their screens, glasses resting on the tips of their noses. They're slender, studious, and seriously into their work.

And they're black.

Continue here.

ONE YEAR BLOG ANNIVERSARY!!!!

Wow! Just a few months ago I celebrated my 100th post and now my 1 year anniversary!
I remember coming into this with a few apprehensions. One of them being the fact that I am "known" in my town. I didn't want anyone to stumble upon this and exploit anything I wrote. But I had to let that thought go. I tell the truth here. My truth. My feelings. My opinions. I own them and therefore can have no fear, embarrassment or shame about anything I put here.

Blogging is a gift that I gave to myself. A place to be "me". And each day I am getting closer to realizing who that is.

I chose the name Fascinating Womanhood based on a book that I try to model myself after. It is a controversial book, as many "enlightened" women feel that it puts women's liberation back 100 years. But I see it as a chance to reclaim some of the femininity and womanly charm that escapes us as we navigate through this hellacious place we call America. Black woman are often called hard and bitchy but we often find ourselves out here unprotected and we have to toughen up to make it through the day. So when a man comes along, we don't always no how to act and we challenge his manhood unknowingly and it causes arguments, resentment and loss of loving feelings and a withholding of intimacy (not just sex).

I think that I am a fascinating woman. I founded a newspaper, pitched a radio show to a sponsor and then a radio station and I now have a show that I also own. I sew window treatments and reupholster chairs for my home. I cook most things from scratch including bread, cakes, pies, pesto, salsa, egg rolls and many other tasty treats. I homeschool my daughter and at 39 I still have hopes to have 2 more children. I am happily married to a man who CHOSE me. He waited 12 years for me. He also trusted me with $10K to start our company and now we are both home working and schooling our daughter. And each day I strive to speak a little more kindly and softly in my home. And each day I strive to be little more tidy. And give a little more of myself and I don't think that there is anything wrong with that!

I have all of this now and wouldn't change a thing in my crazy hectic past, because my life may have turned out differently.

In my first post I said, "...I want to give perspective on being a working Black woman. I think we give too many excuses for what we don't accomplish. The truth is; if it is important to us, we get to it. If we really don't give a damn, but it's important to someone else, we make excuses. If we don't give a damn and no one else gives a damn, we just skip it."

and

"Most of us can do way more than we are doing and I'm looking to be inspired by those who are living their best life or at least striving."

I have been inspired by many of you and hope that something I do or say here can do the same for you. I am all about continuing to make positive progress.

To my most loyal commenter Don, I thank you. I always look forward to what you have to say because I know you really read what I wrote.

To Smells Good '98, I'm glad you found me on that message board. I feel a kinship to you as a working, homeschooling mother and wife. You are doing it Sis!

I can't name everyone, but you are all special to me for even checking a sister out and taking the time to comment.

If you have read this far down and are a "lurker" who has never commented here, please introduce yourself. I'd love to know you're out there!

Peace and love yall!

(It's almost my birthday!!!)

Love List continues

#11- I love that I have found my purpose in life, have a passion for it, have the support to accomplish it, have the sense to study to qualify myself to do it, and make a living doing it.

#12 (sort of 11.5) - I love my job!!! Giving a voice to the often neglected Black experience is so rewarding. I meet people all the time who thank me for starting the paper and compliment me on the radio show or tell me they got customers from the business directory we publish and that makes me feel SOOO GOOOOD.

#13 I love my eyebrows.

#14 I love my thick, kinky, natural hair.

How green am I?

Happy Earth Day!
I had to really consider this. I am definitely more "green" conscious now that I live in Kentucky. This town is SERIOUS about conservation, even the Mayor's city car is a Hybrid Toyota.

Ways I am green...
1. We have three city waste cans. One for garbage, one for recyclable empties (paper, plastic and glass) and one for yard waste.
2. I get recycled mulch each year for my flower beds from the city.
3. I don't water as much as I used to. This saves water and keeps my grass from growing so much (which my husband appreciates :o)
4. I don't do bottled water in my house we have a filter on the kitchen sink for drinking and cooking water and ice cubes.
5. I turn off my surge strip each time I cut off my computer so it cuts off the printer too. I just learned that while items are plugged in they even draw "juice" when they are off.
6. I open and close windows, open and close blinds and use ceiling fans to keep down on air and heating costs and use the sun and wind to heat and cool whenever possible.
7. My house is ALL electric, no gas at all.

What I'm going to do...
1. Unplug vcr's (which we NEVER use) and electric clocks and get battery wall clocks and get rechargeable batteries.
2. Walk in my neighborhood park and exercise in my house instead of driving to the gym during good weather.
3. Start a compost so I can garden next year.
4. Shop more at the farmers market.
Hey it's a start.

If you have a few minutes take this quiz to see how many planets it would take to support your lifestyle.

Homeschoolers alert: If you need activities for Earth Day, here is a link.

Blogging

Sometimes, I think about stuff to write about and then when I sit down at my computer I can't think of a thing.

So I'll just go back to my love list.

#9 I love that I can enjoy being with myself. I can go out to eat alone, go to a movie alone, shop alone, even travel alone. I love people. I can meet people while I'm out, I don't have to bring anyone with me.

#10 I love that I am not intimidated by the thought of trying new things. African dance, sewing something without a pattern, starting a business...I have a bring it on attitude!

Love list and stuff

I'm mid-way through my birth month and I haven't done anything else for me, per se. But in Islam we say, "anything you do of good, you do for yourself." Meaning, you are always the one who benefits when you do a good deed.

I have spent some time really looking at my husband and making sure he is taken care of. I know how easy it is to not SEE people when you see them everyday. I don't want to ignore him and his needs.

I got with another homeschooling mom and we started a Black homeschooler's group and we're out looking for other families to join us. (We know of a few but man, homeschoolers are hard to catch up with!)

I made a date with a friend for my actual birthday and will have photos from our big LADIES NIGHT ROAD TRIP on Monday the 28th.

Love list

#6 I love being intelligent.
#7 I love how many good memories I have.
#8 I love cooking from scratch. Just tasting something and going to work to duplicate it in my own kitchen is a passion.
Have a great weekend!

What I love about me and my life...

My girl LoveBabz had a love list going for a while and think I like that idea.

I've been having this reality check for a while and have been very deliberately focused on what is wrong in my life (most of March if you're back blogging :o). For now, I'd like to take a trip down Positivity Lane.

I want to think of 100 things that I love about me and/or my life.

1. I love my smile.
2. I love my laugh.
3. I love being tall.
4. I love being almost 39 and still having all the organs Allah sent me here with. And they are all working pretty well.
5. I love that I have learned to be transparent. Take me or leave me, this is the "real" me. And I am WONDERFUL as I am.

The beauty of spring

One of the first things I noticed when I returned to Kentucky from The D was how BEAUTIFUL it is here. In early April we already have fully green grass and many flowers and trees are in bloom. I have the most beautiful tree/bush in front of my house and it only blooms for about 2 weeks and then it's gone. But I look forward to it every year.

I was talking to an 80 something year old writer the other day and commented on how beautiful Kentucky is this time of year and after we chatted for a bit (I was really calling for someone else in her house) she said it was so nice to talk to someone who even notices those things and I thought about that.

People talk about so much but often neglect the simple pleasures and joys and I have wonder if its because they were too busy to notice.

I talk to my mom at least once a day but sometimes we call each other just to share something funny or cute. I know that she is someone I can call to say

[contintued here...ok, Don just "get's me" because I must have lost the other half of my sentence when I saved....]

I talk to my mom at least once a day but sometimes we call each other just to share something funny or cute. I know that she is someone who just appreciates you thinking of her...something simple.

Pre-posting

I've been playing with the new Blogger features. I like the new feature that let's you pre-schedule posts. I did it twice last week.
I used to visit a blog where the blogger would do 12-20 posts a day but they schedule some and do some live. I'm not a news/gossip blog so I don't think I need that much but I like keeping the blog regular even when I'm not :o)

Do you ever pre-post?

Can he make you thin?

My sister called me one night to tell me to watch this but I was too busy. I had seen the commercials with his declaration of "I can make you thin!" but I was skeptical.

Well, when I was in Detroit she tried to show me some of the techniques and I almost passed out laughing.

But the next night I watched it and....I think it works. I have used some of the techniques to stop a habit I've had since I was in the womb (thumbsucking) and it has really helped so he may be on to something. If I show up on here in a bikini then it worked.

Have you seen the show? I've only had time to see two episodes but I'm going to work on watching them next week.

Tech Junkies Anon

My name is Sister P and I am addicted to technology.

I have tried to cut back on my addiction. I never bought the PSP that I longed for and I haven't bought a Wii (yet) but I'm about to give in and get this Kindle that I first heard Whoopi mention on The View a few months ago.

I think my tech Jones was subsiding because I haven't been traveling much. My husband and I would fly away at least once a month somewhere and drive somewhere every couple months and technology just felt necessary. GPS, cell phones, lap tops, etc. But taking my last trip alone, I wished I had more variety of reading materials without lugging around a bunch of magazines (which are getting heavier) and books. I had to lug my laptop but didn't even pull it out in the airport though all had wi-fi.

Does this look like something you'd like to have? The cost is what's holding me back. I think I'd rather have the Wii first (you have to prioritize).

Here I am...

So far I’ve bought myself some flowers for my birth month. I like fresh flowers and had not bought any for myself in a while. I always did that and was once told that if I always bought them for myself then a man wouldn’t buy them for me. Well, that’s not true. My husband will sometimes buy me two dozen roses and I already have some other bouquet on my desk. I like flowers and they are like jewelry, you can never have too much!

Also, I’ve given myself the gift of one hour of personal totally non-work related reading time. I do it during my therapy. During my pregnancy in 2004 I developed lymphedema and I’ve been using a machine like this to reduce the swelling in my ankles and feet when it gets to be too much. But I found out I should do it regardless of swelling for several months and then as needed. I got bad information on using this, I took directions from the equipment tech who brought it to me instead of asking my doctors for his recommendations for prescribing the therapy, DUH!

I have a lot of writing that I have not posted. I haven’t been online blog hopping lately. I’ve sort been in a news and celebrity detox mode (but did catch the Jayonce’ news).

I am having more big dreams about what will be my next big thing. I am really excited about what’s going on right now with my company and my family and will be glad to be past this step of my life.

I used to think I didn’t have time to manage 3 blogs but I was putting pressure on myself to write on them regularly. But to use blogging like a real journal, I can be sporadic here too. I’d really like to do my writing blog separate and one on homeschooling/child rearing. I think I’m going to. I really am.

Happy...

Happy Birth Month to me!

I plan to do some things for myself this month. My birth anniversary is not until the 26th and I'll be 39. Really 39. I know someone who is 46 but celebrates the 7th anniversary of her 39th birthday. That's too much energy.

What do you do for you birthday? Do you have a ritual or something you do annually?