2 be Bliss, as I dance along the road to Nirvana...

a blue moon . y'all know what a "blue moon" is? it's the second full moon in a calendar month . and it happens every... blue moon. '-) baby bliss and i read about it on the internet (where else? LOL) earlier in the week. tonight we made sure we were outside to see it. we went out shortly after dusk and there she hung in the purple-blue evening sky, a bright disk swathed in orange sherbert . (orange sherbert is one of my favorite desserts, by the way.) she was stunning. beautiful. breath-taking. exuberant. ethereal. for more info on the meaning of "blue moon" and the frequency of blue moons, check it: http://www.space.com/spacewatch/070525_ns_blue_moon.html .

i know what i'd like to be doing on my birthday: getting a pedicure. i haven't had one in a while. it's not that my feet are looking scruffy -- cuz i've been keeping them nice myself -- but there's nothing like a professional pedicure to get me all relaxed and happy. (oops! now that's a lie. there are definitely some other thangs that get me relaxed and happy. we're all adults here so i don't have to tell y'all what one of them is. lol) i haven't worn blue on my toes in ages. it's one of my favorite colors and i happen to like looking down and seeing it smiling up at me 10 times. my other favorite color does nada for my feet. too bad... so heads up y'all. i want a pedicure for my over-the-hill day. a gift certificate to the nearest salon will do just fine. or call and make the appointment for me, pay for it, and have them call me to confirm. that would be nicest of all. :-) hint: i can get there by 4 p.m. any day except wednes...

it's not today, but soon. and it's that magical, over-the-hill birthday too. i don't know why people get all freaked about that number cuz it's just one of many. i'm not sure if i'll do anything special that day, or if i even want to. i DO know what i'll be doing later today. i'll be eating more fiber than i had the day before. y'all know why. '-) .

yep, i'm one. and i love others who are too. nosey neighbors keep the hood safe for us all. that means if you're doing something sneaky, more likely than not, i'mma see or hear ya. so if you're gettin' out on your baby momma/girlfriend/wife when she's at work and i see your lil honey coming out yo door, grinnin' and puttin' her earrings back on as y'all say bye, yeah, i saw y'all. LOL in fact, you know i saw y'all cuz when i heard y'all saying bye, i was in the hall with my back turned and thought somebody was talking to me. so i turned around. and poof! y'all were busted. but don't worry homie. you don't know this but i ain't no snitch. your girl will find out eventually enough. if ya dumb enough to be gettin some strange in the house while ya lady ain't home, then you're probably dumb enough to leave some clues around. and believe this: if your lil honey on the side wants to be number one, she'...

it's official y'all. we are enjoying our summer . my child completed her end-of-grade testing -- as well as her required number of school days -- last week. now we can get busy at the pool (her swimming, me writing), at the park, continue at the library, etc. what a lovely life we have. thank you God/Goddess/Universe! .

yesterday my daughter and i met a beautiful dog named Cedric. oops! i mean a handsome dog named Cedric. (he doesn't like the word "beautiful" applied to him.) he was the most well-behaved dog i've ever met. almost made me wanna get a dog. i fell in love with him and he fell in love with my daughter. now ain't that a caution? .

originally posted friday, may 18, 2007; 1:04 a.m. hey y'all. i'm bliss and i'm new here. i relocated from another neighborhood because they've gone mad. they're shutting it all down and relocating to something that's a lot like that space place. ummm... okay... if i wanted my blog on the space place with all its gadgets, it wouldn't be a problem. but i just want to blog. so i'm changing 'hoods. this one seems cool. i'll begin moving my stuff in shortly. i planned to do a slow-and-easy but i think i'd better make it quick and dirty. i don't have a clue when my other digs will be wiped off the cyberspace map. gotta run y'all. stay tuned for the oldies but goodies. :-) .

i watched The Crying Game twice today. i'd seen it before but something i saw or heard recently prompted me to see it again. i'm glad i did. there were some things i caught this time that i don't remember seeing previously. like how well stephen rea played his role. and how enticing he was in the movie. mmm... i guess the whole plot was a little shocking to mainstream folks when it debuted. i was one among them, back then. the most important info i got from the movie was the "secret" about the mysterious Dil. LOL now i know more. it was a love story. .

originally posted Thu., May 17, 2007; 3:40 p.m. EDT i am thankful for the abundance that exists in my life. may the flow continue unabated. amen. .

originally posted Thu., May 17, 2007; 2:35 p.m. EDT some people don't get a grandma in this life; some get one; some might get two. i feel blessed to have had two blood grandmas, my momma's momma, and my daddy's. my daddy's momma died several years ago. i miss her more than i can say. i shared many secrets with her. she was my kinda gal. i've been lucky like that in my life, to always find an older woman who has understood me, and accepted me for who i am. i once had a mother-in-law who was that kinda woman. she died a few years ago and i miss her too. but the Universe is abundant and i live in the flow. two months ago, i was at the home of a new acquaintance (whose acquaintance i had to disconnect from). she got a seemingly accidental call from a woman from my hometown. because the acquaintance knew i was from ______, she handed me the phone. grandma was the caller and she was looking for her granddaughter. her granddaughter lives here but she's ...

originally posted Sun., May 13, 2007; 12:22 a.m. EDT happy birthday to my lovely youngest. you are mommy's joy, always. :-) my mother is here too, visiting. LOL .

originally posted Tue., May 01, 2007; 6:39 a.m. EDT hey y'all. it's a beautiful morning in my town. the sky is all muted pastels and lovely to look at. i know it's warm out already because it's not at all cold in here. the birds are chirping lovely serenades and my own chickadee is still asleep. what more can a mama ask for? i've been up for a while now. when i opened the blinds a few minutes ago, i noticed that our neighbor(s) -- on the lower level in the building across the lawn -- is/are up too. he/she/they have their blinds open too, and their lights on. i saw what appeared to be a man standing at the stove. i can't believe i can see so far back into that apartment. i'm guessing that means my neighbors on the upper floor in that building can see into our window as well, when conditions are just so. i have lots to do today so i started early. around 4:30 a.m., i organized the remainder of my writings. i have so much work-related stuff that ...

originally posted Thu., Mar 29, 2007; 10:11 p.m. EDT once again, i'm giving thanks. i'm still living the life i love. there have been "forces" out there that have tried to steal my joy and dull my shine. but my Creator made me as i am for a reason and i ain't hiding my light under a bushel for a soul. some people just don't have enough love in their own lives so they try to steal it from others. all they had to do was ask... i ain't hating though. we're all here to learn. some of us learn by example and some just don't get it unless it's the hard way. i am thankful for all i have been, all i am, and all i will be. amen. .

originally posted Mon., Jan. 29, 2007; 1:38 a.m. EST good news y'all. i got an e-mail last week regarding a short story i submitted to a major publisher. my story was accepted for inclusion in an upcoming anthology that will be edited by a well-known writer in the genre. thank you Universe! i worked on that story for a brain-draining number of hours. i edited it at least 11 times, once after i submitted it. i almost missed the deadline because i wanted to turn in my best work. (which i'm still not completely sure that it is, but i think it's a heck of a writing job, if i must ring my own bell.) i'm not sure when it will go into print but i assume it's this year as the editor needed certain documents pronto. i'll give y'all more details as i get them. hard work really does pay off y'all so don't let anyone tell you otherwise. and sometimes it pays (literally) to be patient. i subbed that story 11 months ago. .

originally posted Wed., Jan. 03, 2007; 1:31 a.m. EST happy new year y'all. so what did y'all do? did anyone get pissy and feel up their sweetie's best friend in the hall between the kitchen and the bathroom? did anyone trip up the stairs on the way to bed and bust their chin on the top step? did anyone ring in the new year while banging the headboard? no? well damn. what did y'all do? 👀 my own celebration was fun but mild. i hung out with family and we toasted in '07 (or they did; i was too full from gorging on all the good grub) along with several nations around the globe. it was rainy and foggy here. not too cold but could have been a lot warmer. next new year's eve, i wanna be on a warm beach in a bikini, drinking a shirley temple and eating shrimp and pasta salad. .

originally posted Sun., Dec. 17, 2006; 1:03 a.m. EST my kid and i went out to dinner with some other family members earlier. she nodded off in the backseat and my grandma asked what time the kid had gone to bed the night before. we were all ready to go into the restaurant but my daughter was still sleeping in the back. (pretending really) so my grandmother said: leave her and let her rest. now y'all know that's against the law! but in my grandma's day you could leave your chil'ren sleep in the back seat and most likely they lil stinky butts would be right there when ya came back. .

originally posted Wed., Dec. 06, 2006; 7:38 a.m. EST it's that time again y'all. the "holiday season". this time last year, i was all a-rant, disgusted at the buying . this year i've had a change of heart or at least a revision of opinion. there's nothing wrong with giving. i just don't think christmas should be the only time we think about doing for others. however, i was recently made aware of a project that gets into full swing at christmas. i think it's interesting that it's sponsored by a church. but that's only because i don't like the way obsessive spending this time of year is tied to religious piety by some religious folk who (i feel) should really know better. that said, this particular project does give all year long. we are participating because i think it's a cool thing to do and my daughter wants to as well. it's called operation christmas child and it's sponsored by an organization called shepard's...

originally posted Sun., Dec. 03, 2006; 10:43 p.m. EST i need one y'all. does anyone know of any furniture warehouse places in the piedmont area that sell them? i don't want a couch because i think it would take up too much space in my living room. but i'd get one of those too if i had to. i also need an interior designer to come by and organize my space. preferably one who's cheap or free. thanks y'all.

originally posted Fri., Nov. 10, 2006; 2:12 p.m. EST my tween is having a (long-distance) conversation with her best friend. she's giving dating advice right now which is hilarious to me, considering she's never been on a date in her life. other topics: the mall, favorite jeans, lunch menus, and other assorted tidbits. but the boyfriend/dating situation is hot. .

originally posted Thu., Nov. 02, 2006; 7:03 p.m. EST in my years of rambling along the information highway, i've come across tons of interesting and useful tidbits. but most recently, i've come across something so facsinating, it has inspired me to get back to work on my first novel. i plan to incorporate this new found knowledge into my book, a task that will require a lot more research, a re-write of my synopsis, and a new outline, but i'm up for the task. i'm really excited about this and i'm thankful to have received such enlightenment. amen. .

originally posted Thu., Nov. 02, 2006; 4:53 p.m. EST my daughter and i are watching it for the second time. the old version, with katherine ross, not the newer nicole kidman version. my daughter has fallen in love with this movie. like most things we do together, watching the movie has sparked interesting conversation. i saw the original version probably 25 years ago so i'd forgotten most of it, especially how it started out light and optimistic and descended into diabolic, testosterone-driven darkness as the movie spiraled to its inevitable ending. not at all comical like the new version. it's eerie. frightening. blasphemous. a sign of the times. of everything we voiced about this movie, one of my daughter's questions chilled me. she asked if i thought "daddy" (my husband) would have done that to me. with no hesitation my answer was yes, if he thought he could get away with it. not that i've ever thought of my husband as a murderer, but i ha...

originally posted Wed., Nov. 01, 2006; 1:26 a.m. EST i should be sleeping right now cuz i'm sick and tired. but i'm up, surfing the web. sposed to be writing my to-do list for later today's activities but i haven't gotten to that yet. it's cuz i'm sick and tired. saturday morning i woke up with a sore throat. it felt like someone had slit it, on the inside. i felt better as the day progressed. but as evening crept in, my throat was hurting again. my symptoms (of what, i don't know) have gotten alternately worse then better then bad again as the days have passed. i've been drinking teas (alternating peppermint, raspberry, rosehips and hibiscus, and cold care p.m.), hot water and lemon, garlic broth with honey, and emergen-c. i do feel a lot better than i did saturday morning. what's bad is that when i get in bed, i'm waking up every hour or so coughing and choking. when i wake up in the morning i feel like warmed over garbage. so i ...

originally posted Sun., Oct. 29, 2006; 11:39 p.m. EST finally! i found the name of the song i was looking for a while back. i thought it was from an opera, remember? it's "con te partiro" by bocelli. silly me, i already had a disco-sounding, english version on one of my playlists. i don't know who's singing it because it was on a CD of hits and it just says "countdown singers". now i've gotta get the italian version. thanks God. :-) .

originally posted Sun., Oct. 29, 2006; 11:05 p.m. EST i'm about to talk about something that is one of the most time-consuming obsessions in the black community. i'm talkin bout hair y'all. some of y'all know the whys and wherefores of this here topic, right? uh huh. but guess what? i ain't gon get into it like y'all might be thinking. i just want to make a statement bout it. here it is: there are certain members of my family who are so afraid of nappy hair that it's almost a phobia. one in particular has a severe fear of the naps. but she done long ago stopped talking bout mine. now she wanna talk about my baby's head. i don't like it . i'm raising my baby to be free of the bondage that keeps some afraid to be seen without a fresh perm or press and curl. i don't live like that. our hair is nappy and i love it just like it is. if somebody got a problem with it, they need to talk to God about it cuz God made it nappy, not ...

originally posted Wed., Oct. 25, 2006; 1:20 p.m. EDT just this morning, my tween daughter said something that reminded me that she really is just a kid. this munchkin --who has been on the planet just about 1/4 of the time i've been here--is a know-it-all and can usually tell me why and how in several verbose sentences filled with 3- and 4-syllable words. we go toe-to-toe daily--on topics like why one should (or should not) take care to brush bedtime lint from one's hair before presenting oneself in public, why sleeveless dresses and flip flops are/are not appropriate clothing for 40-degree temperatures , and the ever-popular why one should/should not brush one's teeth for more than 20 seconds per session. she has a tendency to present her arguments with the shrewdness of Marvin Belli so when i heard something so... elementary-schoolish come from her lips this morning, i was shocked back into the real world. (she's getting ready so we can go out as soon...

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originally posted Tue., Oct. 03, 2006; 3:19 a.m. EDT i finally found a(nother) legitimate job that allows me to work online from home. another reason to be thankful. (thank you God) with all the killings going on in schools this week, i'm thankful to still be able to home school my daughter. amen. .

originally posted Thu., Jul 13, 2006; 12:00 p.m. EDT i am thankful for my spirit-family, the people in my life who are not blood kin but who are there for me any way. i am thankful for common sense. i am thankful for my sanity. i am thankful every day i wake up and every breath i take. i am thankful for my daughter. i am thankful for the Angels that guide me when i cannot see the road. amen. .

originally posted Mon., Jul 10, 2006; 1:57 p.m. EDT ...a bit boring. it's Opera Grande: Overtures and Arias from Italian Operas. there's a specific song i'm looking for (listening for?) but i don't know the name of it nor do i know which opera it's from. so i reserved a bunch of opera with my library card in hopes of findin' the one i like. somebody help meeeeeeeeeeeeeee! .

originally posted Mon., Jul 10, 2006; 1:25 p.m. EDT ... that diana ross and marvin gaye had recorded a version of "stop, look, listen (to your heart)". i'm listening to the soundtrack from bridget jones's diary and it's on there. i got it from the library so i could hear chaka khan's "i'm every woman". i was mad cuz the entire huge library system didn't have any chaka khan cd's, only this one song on a soundtrack. i loves me some chaka khan. they got funkadelic, james brown, erykah badu, and such. why no chaka?! they sho got some cool songs on this here soundtrack tho. i'm digging it alright. .

originally posted Tue., May 30, 2006; 12:35 a.m. EDT at "Catch" who i'm sure is not a woman. don't make me come for you. .

originally posted Wed., May 24, 2006; 3:38 a.m. EDT okay y'all, i saw The DaVinci Code . and i liked it. i also understand why some are protesting it. the women are being led by the nose by the men who are terrified of what the movie "reveals". it's the reason they burned us at the stake, the reason they don't want us in the pulpit, the reason they want us barefoot and pregnant: they fear us. and now i know why. LOL but seriously, every woman on the planet needs to see the DaVinci Code. whether you like the movie or not, you'll learn some universal truths. people fear what they don't understand right? men fear our bodies because our bodies nurture and sustain life. men fear our minds because we have a direct link to God/Goddess. most people call it women's intuition. like Oprah once said: the world ain't always a safe place for a girl child. (that was Oprah, right?!) i can't help but wonder why no one is protesting ...

originally posted Mon., May 15, 2006; 12:04 a.m. EDT why is there such a fuss over this DaVinci movie? i just don't understand why the fundamentalists are getting their booties in a sanctified and holier-than-your-momma bunch over this movie or whenever someone infers that Jesus or the Bible might not be the end-all be-all. i know they are for some. but not for everyone and i respect that. i won't get into detail on my religious views but i will say this: i will never understand why some people think the Almighty needs their help with defense tactics. if you believe in an all-powerful, all-knowing God, why is it necessary to attempt to discredit or otherwise malign those who believe otherwise? let God handle God's business. okay, yeah. sometimes God's business is my business and/or yours too but y'all know what i mean. truthfully tho, ain't God big and bad enough to take care of His own public relations machine? doesn't He smite whole cities and ...

originally posted Thu., May 11, 2006 ; 11:19 p.m. EDT somehow, in the middle of one of the rare nights i went to bed before 3 a.m., some lil sneaky gremlin came in and pumped up the volume of my life. i thought it was a good thing that i'd finally started keeping "decent hours", going to bed at midnight or 1 a.m., like the rest of you good people. but it backfried on me. (yes, i meant to say back fried cuz that's what happened! i feel like i'm on the hotseat and my backside cain't get no blacker cuz it's charred to the bone.) i've got a dozen projects going, all stuck in between "i'm gonna get back to it" and "i done did it". one of them is this library jones i've got going on. for the past several months i've been going to the library like a page-turnin' maniac , averaging at least two visits a week. it's an addiction i blame on the internet (which i'm also addicted to). i found out i can res...

originally posted Thu., Apr. 27, 2006; 2:06 p.m. EDT hey y'all. i was checkin' and saw that i ain't been here in a minute. so it's april already. one of my least favorite months and not only cuz my mother-in-law has a birthday this month. thank Goddess we no longer live near her. amen and hallelujah ! it's been pretty rainy in our city this month. y'all know how i feel about rain . (see a previous post, aptly titled "rain".) i like to hibernate when it's rainy out. especially when it's rainy and cold, like today. i've got the patio door open but only cuz i like the fresh air. and it's cold air so i had to put on an extra shirt . i hate extra clothes and refuse to wear them in the house until i get sick of seeing them high ass 'lectric bills. then i'll put on everything i can to keep warm in here. the other people who live here don't have that problem cuz their blood consists of the jalepenos and hot sauce they...

originally posted Sun., Mar. 26, 2006; 6:53 a.m. EST thank God for sleepovers. my daughter has a friend over and i'm so happy. now i'll be able to get some uninterrupted sleep. i don't know when that might be. it's almost 7 now. i've been up for too many hours. maybe i'll start to nod around 8 or 9, just in time for the critters to wake up and give me dirty looks. .

originally posted Fri., Mar. 24, 2006; 12:41 a.m. EST here we go again y'all. the debate is on gay adoption. why? are people making such a big deal about it, i mean. all people who adopt should be put through the same rigorous procedures. period. after all, if you replace the word "gay" with "Black", or "Jewish", or "women", or "high school drop outs", or any other word that represents a group of people who are not acceptable to another group of people... y'all get the idea right? .

originally posted Thu., Mar. 23, 2006; 10:20 p.m. EST i don't know how many non-black folk know this, but black people have a reputation for loving seafood, 'ticularly crabs and shrimp. i ain't nevva been part of that crowd. i cain't stand crabs but shrimp ain't bad i usually eat shrimp every now and then. but in the past few weeks, i just been wanting me some shrimp every day and i don't know why. maybe it's hormonal? what ever it is, i gots the shrimp-loving blues. i want shrimp. i crave shrimp. i'm feenin ' for it. i been gettin' it at least once a week but that don't seem to hardly be enough. and i only like it fried. not boiled, steamed, sauteed, or broiled. just lightly battered and fried. yum yum! .

originally posted Wed., Mar. 22, 2006; 2:55 p.m. EST why am i constantly losing space on my hard drive? it's annoying. the person who put this thing together put my C drive on a 2GB hard drive. grrrrrrrrrr! my data is all on the other, bigger hard drive but that doesn't help my C drive out. i accidentally made more space on the C drive the other day but i don't remember how i did it. talk about frustrating! .

originally posted Tue., Mar. 21, 2006; 2:11 a.m. EST i subbed. they accepted. the check is in the mail. (or will be soon.) amen. .

originally posted Fri., Mar. 17, 2006; 11:13 a.m. EST they scare the crapp outta me. seriously. i'm a momma and if i ever... i think y'all know the rest. but let me tell y'all 'bout something that i observed th'uther day. a friend and i took the chil'ren to the local library. we looked for the kiddies section where they said it was. but i thought, "naw, that's not right cuz i see two grown mens over there reading newspapers. sho'ly grown mens wouldn't be reading newspapers in the chil'rens section cuz they want peace and quiet." well kick my azz cuz i was wrong. they WUZ sitting in the chil'rens section, looking like they waz reading the paper. whut the hooter scooter? can y'all tell me why two grown mens -- with no chil'ren, mind you -- would be sitting in the chil'rens section when there were a gazillion other empty seats all over the place? it boggles my mind and i disliked like that doodie more and m...

originally posted Wed., Mar. 15, 2006; 2:08 a.m. EST i'm listening to Break Up to Make Up by the Stylistics... mmmm... sounds so goooooooooooood... now to the topic of the hour. why the hell do people think other people want to watch their dayummed chil'ren? i don't mean babysittin for ya homegirl or sista. i'm talkin bout when you rolling wit a sista-friend and she let her chil'ren run all over tha store and what not. that is more than annoying. it's stooopid. what with molesters being around every corner and carrying on. and the supermarket be havin people ridin around on forklifts and stuff. what if ya baby get ranned over? then ya wanna sue somebody! and for what? cuz you're being negligent. what really frooked me was a momma who kept actin like she didn't see her youngin bangin up a set of blinds at a friend's house. i was right there between baby and momma and i was the one tryna stop the poor lil thang from pullin the blinds down on...

originally posted Wed., Mar. 15, 2006; 12:43 a.m. EST i can't get enough music in my life. maybe it's cuz these people won't let me! y'all know what people i'm talkin bout. the same dayummed people who couldn't gimme no peace in my last post bout music. but tonite, i'm gettin my groove on! those people be sleep and amen for that cuz i'm vegging out with Elton and Eric and Angelique. mmmm... yummy sounds of blissed out vibe that do me right... okay Eric got a few on the Timepieces CD that i cain't get down with, but that's okay. i'm still a fan of the cool hand man. i only like one on Elton's The Big Picture so no biggie either way. what i can't figure out is what the hell happened to the ones i ripped to my hard drive? they ain't showin up on any of the lists. any way... *sucking my teeth while rolling my eyes* okay y'all, a sista is gettin serious for a minute. several years ago, i started taking a written assess...

originally posted Mon., Jan. 30, 2006; 11:02 p.m. EST it's hard being a momma to an 8 year old and a 45 year old y'all. i don't know whether to put the 8 year old out and beat the 45 year old's ass or just pack my shyt and leave. they have been really stressing me lately. tonight they just kept bickering back and forth until i wanted to gag them both and put them in separate closets. instead, i turned off the t.v. and unplugged it. et voila! silence. the oldest slunk off to his room and the youngest had to be coerced into doing the same. i relished being alone for all of 10 minutes. then the old dude comes back and plugs the telly back in. i raised my hackles, bared my teeth, barked and--whooo--i got him to back down. i was left in peace. finally convinced that i would have meaningful time alone, i turned off the lights and turned on my media player. ahhhh the music, the music! as it washed over me it soothed my soul. i know i joke a lot and i'm ...

originally posted Sat., Dec. 10, 2005; 3:47 AM EST my daughter is funny. she's also very perceptive. she loves to create alternate worlds. i don't mean of the lord of the rings or harry potter variety, tho she dwells in those too, from time to time. her worlds are usually ordinary ones. in them, she's a teenager or young adult. she likes being a teenager who drives the parents' car(s). she loves being a young adult who works and has lots of friends. what i love most is the detail. right now, she's a waitress working in a restaurant where the boss gives all the waitstaff raises every week. her friends have come in for a bite and she's trying to convince them to take jobs at the restaurant as well. she's fashioned an apron out of a piece of fabric and i just saw her tucking her pen back in it after she was done taking an order. she's been back and forth to the kitchen several times to get orders as they've been called out to her. some of ...

originally posted Mon., Dec. 05, 2005; 3:45 a.m. EST i've had several in my life and believe me when i say not one of them has been as painful as the 2-day migraine i had this weekend. i had my first migraine several years after my daughter was born. we were at the circus. i didn't have a clue as to what was going on. we were watching the tigers when some genius thought it was a good idea to start the smoke machines. my mild headache got exponentially worse and a huge wave of nausea engulfed me. we barely made it to the bathroom in time. i was so ill, we had to leave the circus and take a taxi home. i thought i was dying. i was in bed for several days, trying not to see or hear anything. (note that although i wasn't married to my current husband, we were dating and by this time, my daughter and i had been staying weekends at his house for a year or two.) over the years, i've learned my migraines are directly related to what i eat, how often i eat it, and any s...

originally posted Mon., Dec. 05, 2005; 1:16 a.m. EST i ain't got no patience for it. i'm not talking about holding your tongue so you won't go off on your boss or biting your lip so you won't blurt out to your child how one of their lil friends gets on your last nerve. in this instance i'm talking about service providers you deal with on a regular basis: a teacher or principle at your child's school; your hair stylist; the sista who works at your favorite shoe store, who you kinda got in good with and let get the commission for all your purchases. i'm partial to people who are straight up. that way, we each know where the other stands. so if i've done something to offend you, call me on it. then we can either get over it and move past it, or go our separate ways. but all the b.s. that comes with the fakery sho ain't my cup of tea. for real, if you don't care for me, let me know. my money spends well all over town and i prefer to spend...

originally posted Sun., Dec. 04, 2005; 11:05 p.m. EST Oprah is a woman with a big heart and a big change purse to match. and i'm a woman who is thankful that some people still care enough to not only give, but to also share the choice to give (or not) with the rest of us. of course my gifts will never equal Oprah's in largess, at least not in the financial sense. but i know that my gift--when added with the gifts of others like me--adds up to a mountain of something for those who need and will appreciate. that's why i've decided to donate a small sum to the Fistula Foundation . though i may not always like what goes on in this country, i am blessed to be a woman living in America. i know it gives me access to necessities women in other parts of the world don't have. for the most part, i live a life of my own choosing; i also have enough good fortune in my life to share. i choose to share because above all, i believe it keeps the flow of abundance movi...

originally posted Sun., Dec. 04, 2005; 10:55 p.m. EST for the second time in my life, i have the means to make a major purchase with cash. and tho we do need this thing , my love-hate relationship with money has rendered a sista immobile. my husband has left it up to me to make the decision so i can't later blame it on him if i feel i've done the wrong thing. which kinda pisses me off cuz what is a spouse for if not to be the fall guy in all and sundry difficulties? i have to overcome my inertia for several reasons. one is the tax write-off. this is supposedly the last year to be able to write off this type of purchase on personal income tax. the other is necessity. as i said before, we do need this item. safety is another concern. we need a new one (did i fail to mention we have an old one?) because it will be safer due to design updates in the 11 years since the old one was made. i have a few more weeks to decide but part of me feels like i'm just being a stick in...

originally posted Fri., Dec. 02, 2005; 8:47 p.m. EST Okay, first of all, I don't care for the name. Ay-awn? A-yon? E-on? Eye-awn? It boggles the eye and therefore the mind, thus rendering it a word that should be auditory at all times. I love sci-fi and I haven't seen a good one in a while. The Matrix trilogy was okay but didn't quite live up to my expectations. Too much hype and not enough of what I envisioned in my mind. To top it off, I later heard the whole story (along with the Terminator series) was stolen from a sistuh . Talk about ugleh! Honey, that was it. If it's true, I hope them Cohen brothers get their balls drained on that one. So we're going to see Aeon Flux in about an hour. More later. .

originally posted Sun., Nov. 27, 2005; 7:55 p.m. EST i consider myself to be a literate, worldly, knowledgeable, live-and-let-live kinda sista. i have friends and acquaintances from many many backgrounds and i'm guessing most of these people would also describe themselves using some of the same adjectives i've used to describe myself. among them, i am the keeper of secrets. one of us truly believes his stereotypical views of people are dead-on accurate. (but don't most of us? LOL) and he'll go on and on when those same people don't live out (live up to??) his perceptions of them. he also gets vehemently offended at being stereotyped. he's a pain in my butt but he's still my bud. grrrr! .

originally posted Wed., Nov. 23, 2005 at 2:51 a.m. EST but it's that time of year. let me divulge. with the imminent approach of the holiday commonly known as Christmas, i am beginning to dread leaving my home. thanksgiving has yet to arrive but everywhere i turn, there are christmas reminders. cities have put up decorations, stores are selling anything remotely related, and family members are already talking about The Gift Exchange. i slipped and fell into the Gift Exchange by accident. i don't believe in the idea as a matter of principle. i think it's silly to have a set time of year to give gifts to people. even birthdays don't move me much. i'm not anti-festivities though. celebrations are good. i love parties and get-togethers. but the gift-giving thing makes me queasy. truly. as in "my stomach is churning right now". honestly. i think one's taste -- whether it be in clothing, food, beverage, or neighborhood -- is very personal. i ...

originally posted Tue., Nov. 22, 2005; 1:10 a.m. EST oh happy day! i found a job i can do online from home. it's not anything spectacular but it's fun sometimes and it's a paid position. it involves two things i love well: writing and adjectives. what more could a girl ask for? .

originally posted Mon., Oct. 31, 2005; 2:26 p.m. EST someone i met in the thrift the other day told me she makes a lil bit o' spare change selling on ebay. i'm thinking about it. seriously. i've been checking out ebay. they got a lotta stuff on there. looks like some good stuff for dirt cheap. til you add in the shipping and handling. but the descriptions are oooky. i love adjectives so i'll have that much of an edge. i've got a bunch of stuff in here i can get rid of and when i'm done with that, i might sell some of the things i make by hand. i don't want to rely on that too much tho cuz i put a lot of care into the handmade stuff and i'm not sure i'll get the prices i want. but it's worth a try any way cuz some stuff is just sitting around waiting... post script : after a lil research, i think the E-bay market is oversaturated. any way, i have more pleasant tasks to tend to... .

originally posted Mon., Oct. 31, 2005; 12:41 p.m. EST hey y'all. my writing takes every form imagined: to-do lists, fiction, poetry, personal essay, e-mail, notes to friends and family... i began submitting my writing for publication about 5 years ago. my first submission was accepted. it wasn't a particularly well-written piece, but it was heart-felt and a perfect fit for the anthology that resulted from the submissions. since then, i've submitted sporadically. mostly to non-paying markets but sometimes to paying markets as well. the number of acceptances and rejections has been about equal. this month has been a good one for me. i've subbed 6 times to various online publications. here's the breakdown: 3 poetry subs to paying pubs; 1 photo and 1 short fiction to a non-paying pub; 1 photo to a paying pub. as i said, this month has been a good one. 2 of those subs were accepted -- 1 photo by a non-paying pub, and 1 poem by a paying pub. the poem was acc...

my bed. i've gotta get in it cuz i'se tired. i sho did wanna get all my stuff moved in tonite/this morning, but i'll have to take a break and finish later. i can't operate under the influence of sleep-deprivation. the remainder of my things will be right where i left them when i get back there in a few hours. amen.

12: originally posted Oct., 30, 2005; 8:35 p.m. 7:30 p.m. why is is that people are so outraged/disgusted/furious when Britney Spears, Tom Cruise, Janet Jackson, and the rest of them folk do their thang? so what if Janet was sunbathing naked? was she on private property or was she booty up in the middle of Wilshire? if Tom Cruise has "derailed" Katie Holmes' career by knocking her up, that's a his and her thang. is the sista over 18? yeah? then i think she's able to make her own decisions. so what if the rest of the world don't agree? and if Britney and Kevin never brush their hair or wash their butts ever again, why is it a mortal sin? cuz other people think they should? and if he spends her into the po' house, then she must be allowing it. maybe the sex is so good it blinds and deafens her to the ching-ching of her coins being siphoned into his coffers. she got a momma! if her momma ain't looking out for her why is the general populace so...

originally posted Fri., Oct. 28, 2005; 9:40 a.m. i love Google y'all! i'm sure i'm not the only one, but i just had to put it out there. :-) has anyone tried Picassa , Google's photo organizer ? that thang is waaaaaaayyyyyyyyy cool. not only can you use it to organize ya pics, it also has bom-diggedy editing tools . you can also e-mail straight from the utility and it compresses those H-U-G-E photo files into managable chunks. gimme Google, Gimme GOOgle, GIMMEEEEEEE GOOOOOOOOOOOGLE!!!!!!!! .

originally posted Wed., Oct. 19, 2005; 1:46 a.m. Wed., Oct 19, 2005; 1:41 a.m. EST some days, life is an ongoing SNAFU. a comedy of errors, so to speak. but what's funny about a day full of errors? i usually can't find a damn thing humorous on those days. monday was a day like that. urry thing that could go wrong did. had the runs, ran outta money, waited half the day sleeping in a mall parking lot cuz i had to get my siggie from work... it all sucked. some of it was my own fault, like not having a car charger for the danged cell phone, not making sure i'd put my debit card in my purse, and not realizing it would have made sense to return home and go back for siggie later. but thazz what happens when you're a walking sleep-depraved maniac! your brain goes on auto pilot and only the essentials work. you'll likely remember to eat, breath, and pee, but not to take enough cash or plastic to ensure that you don't get stuck sleeping in your car in a parking ...

originally posted Sun., Oct. 16, 2005; 11:27 p.m. 11:21 p.m. how many of you use them? i do. often. almost every day. i try not to use them for random notes but find that i'm doing it more. if i don't, i'll forget something. (or some things) i've been keeping to do-lists for a long time. maybe 20 years. i do have them going back to the 80s. that's a lotta paper to be clogging up muh crib, i know. but it's an obsession i have, being able to look back in time to see what i did on a particular day. that's also why i have journals going back to grade school. really and truly. i was journaling before oprah made it famous. (that's not a crack on my sista. just a fact.) i wish my daughter shared this interest but she didn't inherit the writer gene. she's the other kind of artist. she likes to dance, sing, act, draw... i love to dance and sing too but writing is muh fust luv. uh-ohhhhhhhhhhhh. gotta go to bed. i have to get up roundabout 5...

originally posted Sun., Oct. 16, 2005; 10:46 p.m. EDT 10: 46 p.m. hmmmm... my bio says i enjoy yoga. does that sound like a sista actually participates in the discipline? hahahaha! fooled y'all! seriously, i do enjoy yoga but i haven't done it in ages. i really want to get back to it tho. it helps clear the mind and focus the body like nothing you can imagine. that means i'll have to go to bed early so i can get up early cuz there's nothing like a sun salutation just as the sun rises. ahhhh... asanas... they're the choice of a new generation. truly. .

originally posted Sun., Oct. 16, 2005; 9:51 p.m. EDT it was beyond wonderful. the best to date so far. we met people from many places. some u.s. citizens, a lot of europeans... thank goddess for high school french and the smattering of italian and spanish i've picked up in tha hood over the years. we stayed at an all-inclusive right on the beach. how fantastico was it? tres, tres superb i tell you! the food was so-so. but the staff was great, the shows were very lively, and the scenery was breath-taking. three of the staff members were exceptional entertainers and could go a very long way in the u.s. if they chose to pursue work in the industry here. i got the feeling that ivan (Italiano) doubted his talent. he was one of the funniest guys i've seen since john ritter. if they remade three's company, he would be a shoe-in for the role of jack tripper. doesn't matter that his english is accented. he has the looks for a leading man and american women have alw...

originally posted Tue., Oct. 11, 2005; 1:53 p.m. EDT why ? never mind. i know why. flowers, trees, cisterns, people, drinking. but why not once a week, or every other week? why every day for a whole week? or two? it's more than annoying. it's discouraging. i don't like muddy or damp or clammy, all things i associate with rain. i want sun and breeze, sand and sparkling crystal clear waters. yes water. but at the beach, not on the roof of my house or car. that's why i'm taking a vacation. well, that's not why. it just happens to coincide nicely. tha Goddess is good! amen.

originally posted Tue., Oct. 11, 2005; 3:43 a.m. EDT moved. we done moved y'all. to say it was stressful is an understatement. y'all know that list of stressful life events? what you mean "no"? y'all know what i'm talkin bout. i don't know who made it up, i just know i've seen it. a few times. *sucking my teeth...* ANY way. the list consists of a bunch of stressful life events. moving is on there. along with getting married or your spouse dying. and i think each thing has a number and you add them all when you're done. the total score tells how stressed ya izz. i don't know bout the rest of y'all folk, but moving is VERY stressful for me. off-the-meter stressful. i can't believe i'm still alive. i tried my best not to get all outta joint but it was hard. i have a vague recollection of not being able to sleep the night before we rolled out cuz i was too nervous (i had to drive a few hundred miles in the a.m.) ...

originally posted Fri., Aug. 12, 2005; 8:59 a.m. EDT hey y'all, it's after midnite so it's officially friday. i'm tired as a dog walking a Miss'sippi highway in the middle of an August day. i went to my client's site again tuesday and thursday. each time, i'd stayed up late the night before. surprisingly, time fled vivace as i completed tuesday's tasks. thursday however, it was the opposite. the hours ticked slowly by... assai adagio... assai adagio... ASSAI adagio... tuesday there was the truck that pushed into a bridge at the K_______ A______ underpass, churning my normally fleet drive home into an endless mass of bumper to bumper road rage. still, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. i chilled with Al Green as i learned a few new back roads in my attempt to escape the confines of rush hour purgatory. i was happy to find a side street that put me about a half mile in front of the others... thankfully, picking up my daughter was ...