Everyday Life

That’s what’s been going on around these parts.  A whole lot of nothing and everything at the same time.

School starts on August 8, so I’ve been picking up a few things here and there so Lovegirl can have a few new outfits for the beginning of the school year.  This year is much easier since we’re not transitioning from uniforms like we were last year.  She’s requested “lots of skirts and lots of leggings.”  I don’t know about lots and lots – I’m aiming for “some and some.”

I hate that one of my favorite bloggers has taken her blog private.  I understand, but I hate it.  I don’t think I’ll ever cease to be amazed at internet gangsters.  Dumb asses.

Lovegirl is really enjoying being in the pool and I’m glad we decided to do two sets of lessons this summer.  I let her get in the therapy pool (0-4ft) for a little while after her lessons on Tuesday.  And she promptly had to be rescued by the lifeguard.  She was so busy having a good time – and talking – that her noodle got away from her and she couldn’t get her bearing.  It wasn’t funny, but I laughed.  After her rescue, my girl put on a float vest and jumped right back in the pool!

There were all sorts of law enforcement vehicles in our subdivision Monday evening.  Turns out some television stealing dude fled into our neck of the woods, hopped out his car, peeled off his clothes and took off running.  They caught him in the woods after about 2 hours.  I guess being half naked was supposed to help with aerodynamics??

Today’s the end of the work week for me.  There’s a summer camp program tomorrow at eleven and I figured instead of splitting the day up all weird and crazy-like I’d just take the day off.  Yay!

I’m going to redeem my Mother’s Day gift certificate tomorrow – massage, manicure and pedicure.  Bliss!  Thank you Smoochy

Have I mentioned that I really like my iPhone?  I do.  But I can’t believe the thing doesn’t have a speed dial function.  Does it?  Did I miss something?

My brother and his fiancee are apparently thinking of having a destination wedding.  I know it’s selfish of me, but I really hope they don’t as we likely wouldn’t be able to go.

Has anyone read The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao?  I’ve been trying to read it for nearly a month, I’m just not feeling it.  Guess it’s a good thing I don’t sit on the Pulitzer committee…

Have a great weekend, I’m off to do a little work-related reading and sketch out our weekend plans.

Peace and blessings.

Monday Randoms

• Good morning, good morning, good morning!
• My weight?  Right back up to 171.4.  I managed to gain back every single ounce of the weight I lost week before last.    But, I’m not surprised.  Chick-Fil-A, Zaxby’s, IHOP, and Ding How Chinese Bistro all in one week…yeah, all the exercising I did was no match for my crizzappy diet last week.  Back in the saddle I go!
• Project clean-up-the-house continued this weekend.  I ran across a desk nameplate that Smoochy bought me to celebrate my second real job after college.  Sweet huh?  Except for the fact that he bought it about 8 months before we got married and it had my maiden name on it.  I really and truly thought the man was trying to call it off.  Yeah, I flipped.  Oops.
• Babs, if you’re reading this?  I howled when I read your comment on “Incognegro!”  I mean howled!
• Signed Lovegirl up for another session of swim lessons.  Figured we’d better strike while the iron is hot.  Her being in the pool is also a built in guarantee that I’ll be working it out consistently in the gym for the next two weeks.
• Speaking of fitness, a friend and I are doing the 100 pushup challenge again.  Join us?  Today’s day 1 – no catching up required
• I’m cleaning up/planning to decorate (for real this time) in anticipation of starting a PhD program next fall.
• I have been soaking my locs in coconut oil nightly to try and bring them back to life.  They feel better, not great, but much better.  I’m going to a loctitian the first week of August to have them professionally tightened, styled, and maybe even dyed.  I think I’m tiring of the gray.
• I was irate yesterday while trying to get my oil changed at the local WMart. The manager and I had a long discussion – well, I discussed, he listened – and I got a $25 gift card for expressing my concerns. Yay!
• I’ve decided after all of the horrid news over the weekend, I’m back on a news-viewing strike.  Y’all let me know if anything major happens this week…
• Oh, if you’re participating in our next book club, go ahead and try and get your book ASAP.  This one wasn’t available electronically as far as I could tell nor was it at the library or local bookstore (Borders…) so I had to order it from Amazon.  I hope it gets here soon!

That’s it for today – I’ve got work to do this week and I hope to take Friday off to do some back-to-school running around sans Lovegirl.

Babs?  This is for you

Smoochy and Lovegirl. In the flesh. Kinda...

Incognegro

When I first started blogging – back when I was pregnant with Lovegirl – I was pretty open with details of my life.  Where I was from, our real names, etc., etc.  Back then I’m not even sure it was called blogging – I think I kept an “online diary.”

Fast forward a couple of years to when I started blogging over at blogspot.  I wanted to be kind of anonymous.  I’m not hiding anything from anybody, but I wasn’t real sure that I wanted my name/face/identifying details out there for the world to see.  All those warning about online stalkers/predators/crazies and the like….Well, I started posting pictures and then along come FB and the Twitter and now I’m pretty sure I’m not as anonymous as I once was.

Several folks from the blog found me on FB, I’ve emailed back and forth with readers, and several of y’all I know in real life.  Which means clearly, some of you know my name.  I think I’ve done a better job of keeping Lovegirl’s name under wraps but I know I’ve mentioned Smoochy’s  name on FB more than once.

Anyhoo, what I want to know is:

Do you know my name?  Do you know Smoochy’s name?  Do you know Lovegirl’s name? (A simple yes or no will do – no need to prove your knowledge.)   If so, how’d you find out?  Do you blog/FB/Tweet?  Are you anonymous or are you an open book?  How’d you make the decision to “go public” if you did?  Do you regret it?

Thanks!

What Not To Do…

…if you notice that your not-quite-seven-year-old has breast buds.

Do not:

• Yank up her shirt and palpate her chest;
• Stare at her all weekend with watery eyes;
• Tell your husband that he’s “got to do something about this NOW!”
• Spend hours on the internet googling “precocious puberty.”
• Pray to God that your grandmother’s large-bosomedness skips yet another generation.
• Throw everything in the house containing soy away while cursing all forms of estrogen.
• Scour your old photo albums trying to figure out when you started to develop.
• Force Pserendipity to stare at your child’s chest in a church parking lot until she says she sees something.

Sigh.

Love Unconditional?

Last week I had lunch with a friend – we had a ball.  This friend of mine is raising her stepdaughter and over the course of lunch, she confided that she thinks her stepdaughter is gay.

My friend is so worried about this may-be-gay stepdaughter – because she’s embarrassed by what her friends and family will think about her.  Huh?  She went on to say that she couldn’t believe it, she was ashamed, she didn’t condone that type of lifestyle, she didn’t want anything to do with her, she couldn’t believe that the girl didn’t like getting her hair done or wearing dresses, etc., etc…

Of course she asked me what I thought, how I’d feel, yada yada yada.

I basically told her that I couldn’t see myself ever chunking Lovegirl the deuces because she was gay.  Do I “agree” with homosexuality?  Nope, it goes against what I believe.  Do I want Lovegirl to be gay?  No, I don’t.  But that little girl is the best thing I’ve ever done and I honestly don’t believe that I’d turn my back on her or tell her stuff like she’s disgraced the family if she were gay.  I certainly wouldn’t be worried about what anyone else thought.

When we were younger my mother used to tell us not to do anything to disgrace the family name.  She never really told us what exactly we could do that would disgrace the family, but I figured that meant for me not to get pregnant…

I’ve been trying to think of circumstances under which I’d be disgraced/ashamed/embarassed by something Lovegirl did.  I’ve come to the conclusion that short of some sort of heinous crime, there really isn’t anything.  Maybe I’m just being naive ’cause my kid is seven and we haven’t had to deal with any real “issues,” I don’t know.  Of course I have high expectations for Lovegirl and there are things I hope she never takes part in, but to just tell her “holla” because she does something I don’t agree with?  I just can’t see it.  Disappointed, yes, but all that other, not so much.

What do you think?  Am I being naive because my child is only six and we haven’t had any real issues yet?  Is there something that your child could do/be that would make you walk away from them?? (Not that my friend has walked away, I’m just asking…)

*Today’s weight?  170.   Down 1.4 pounds.  Yay!

 

August Book Club & Other Stuff

• Anybody out there ready for another book club discussion?  If so, join us as we read and discuss Tananarive Due’s My Soul To Keep.  We’ll discuss on August 15.  Cool?  Cool.
• If there’s something you want to read and discuss next, just let me know.
• Did y’all see Serena’s assets at the Espy Awards?  Oh my damn.
• Lovegirl finally got to start her swim lessons last night.  Evening thunderstorms resulted in her M, T, and W lessons being cancelled.  My little guppy was so excited to be in the water!  She even got over not wanting to get her face wet – we’re making strides!
• Thank you Lord for swim caps.
• I worked out at the gym three times this week and plan to get in another workout before the weekend is over.  I hope to see a difference on the scale – no matter how small.
• Today I get my first bi-weekly paycheck.  I’d really, really like to go back to being paid once a month.  This 1/2 check madness aint hitting on…well, you know.
• I’m ready for football.  NFL can act a fool as long as there are still college games I’m good!  I think we’re going to get JSU season tickets this year.
• This whole debt-ceiling thing is really, really working my nerves.  I’d like to go to D.C. and do a clean sweep of the House and the Senate.  Democrat, Independent, Republican – they all suck.

Okay, that’s it.  I hope y’all have a great weekend.  I plan on doing a whole lotta nada.  Operation “get my hair back soft” is in full effect – I’m trying the Carol’s Daughter stuff One From Philly suggested in the comments a few weeks back – hope it works!

One more thing – y’all like these shoes?  Yea or nay?

Yea? Nay? What do you say?

It’s Been a Long Time

…since I was tagged! 

Shout out to sayitlikethis (thank you ma’am!) for providing me with a post today ’cause my blog mojo seems to have taken a break for the summer.  Shall we begin?

RULES:

List 7 random things about yourself, pass the award to bloggers

and answer a couple of questions.

 

7 Random things about me…(what don’t y’all already know???)

1.  Today my fingernails and toenails match.  I don’t think that’s happened since the mid-80′s.

2.  I very recently decided to stop wearing hoop earrings all the time.  Who knew there were so many cute earrings out there?

3.  Sometimes I really envy irresponsible people.

4.  I’m slowly getting into Twitter (@nerdgirlms).

5.  I’ve tried many times – without success - to break out of my jeans and a tshirt rut.

6.  I often fall asleep before my six year old child o_O

7.  I’m over summer. 

 

Q&A session

Favorite Color: Currently?  Orange

Favorite Song (right now, anyhow):  Gospel – Something Big (Mary, Mary)  Secular –  Victim (Candy Staton)

Favorite Dessert: Ice cream

Biggest Pet Peeve: Rude drivers

When You are Upset, You: Organize closets

Your Favorite Pet: My dust bunnies

Black or white: Black

Biggest Fear: Rodents

Best Feature: My charming personality

Everyday Attitude: Extreme nonchalance

What Is Perfection: I’ve never seen it

Guilty Pleasure(s): Real Housewives of Atlanta, Sleep, Giant SweetTarts

 

If you haven’t already done this one, consider yourself tagged

Road Trip!

I have no idea why, but this weekend found me reminiscing about a road trip I took my freshman year of college…

Picture it.  Pine Bluff, AR, Spring ’90.  My cousins, a couple of friends, and I decided to roll out to Grambling for their annual Spring Fest.  We gassed up somebody’s hoop ride and hit the road – singing along to our En Vogue and Soul II Soul cassettes all the way there.  Oh yeah, I said cassettes!

Man, I had a ball!  We went to step shows, hung out on the yard, I had crawfish for the first time, went to my first drive thru daiquiri bar, and made out with some Que whose name was probably Freaky Deaky (are all Ques named Freaky Deaky??) in the back of some pick up truck we were being chauffered around in.

Special shout out to my parents for encouraging me to go away to college…

Good times man, good times!  Any road trips that leave you with a big grin on your face when you think about them?

*Every Monday?  I’ll be posting my weight.  I’ve got to lose at least 10 11.4 pounds and then tighten up what’s left. All the fabulous Bloglandians who are doing amazing things like running, walking, biking – sometimes all three – have motivated me to be about it – for real!!!  Today:  171.4

Just Waking Up In the Morning, Gotta Thank God…

All right good peoples!  The other day we griped, we groaned, we whined – I hope everyone is feeling better and that the issues that were weighing you down earlier in the week have been resolved – or are on their way to resolution. Let’s go into the weekend with thankful hearts and grateful sprits.  I’m thankful for…

• My future sister-in-law hipping me to “ring finger manicures.”  My ring fingers got a coat of copper glitter on top of my “Chocolate Moose” manicure – love it!
• The “torcher” shaved ice I had yesterday - hot/cool cinnamon-y goodness!
• Knocking out 1/2 of Lovegirl’s school supply list yesterday.
• Being able to wear jeans today – it freakin’ rocks!
• My iPhone.  Oh yeah, I love it.
• Smoochy keeping me in a steady supply of watermelon this summer.  The one he bought yesterday is de.lic.ious.
• My blog buddies – y’all are awesome. 
• White nectarines.  Man oh man are they fantastic!!!  I can’t remember who mentioned them – KRock or MrsTDJ I think - but thank you ma’am!
• God’s mercies - new every morning.  Every morning y’all!

Okay – gimme what you got! 

 

Grouchy Arse Randoms

• Ugh!  Why are all these children on the radio singing about s.ex and how they throw down???  Either we’re doing it wrong, or they’re lying.  They’re lying.
• I don’t want to hear another thing about the A.nthony verdict.  Nada.
• Guess what we’re having tomorrow at work?  A potluck.  Sigh.  Don’t these people read the blog?
• Lovegirl has been one whiny, complaining chick lately.  My Mom says it’s because I give her too many choices.  Well, damn.  I thought I was teaching her how to make decisions.  Time to revisit that parenting strategy.
• My locs are dry.  Dry and crunchy.  I’ve taken to misting them daily with water, then oil, then water in the hopes that they’ll maintain some moisture and soften up. 

Okay, I promised myself five gripes and then I’d quit, so I’m done.  Anything you want to whine, gripe, or grouse about?  Today’s your day…let it out!