Black Friday | Cyber Monday

If you know me from around the web, you will know I love to shop online. I thought that I would never get into online shopping. I like instant gratification. But as I learned to be patient, I gave it a try. After a few times, I grew to love it. There were no lines, I did not waste time and precious gas running about town looking for stuff. I just browsed, read a few reviews, placed my order and waited for the delivery man to drop it off!

How did I first find my way to online shopping? It was during one particularly busy holiday season in 2002. My aunt had died in May and those first holidays without her were miserable. My family decided to keep the tradition of pulling names on Thanksgiving for Christmas in tact. With my person's name in pocket, I hit the streets on Black Friday to get some bargains. Child, there were people everywhere. The streets and malls were crowded with people looking for a bargain. Traffic snarled, people were rude and would not let you merge, I got the heebie jeebies. My aunt Libbey and her husband went to Wal-Mart for a computer for their daughters and were nearly crushed to death! I said no more, never again. I turned my buggy around the first chance I got, went home to the warmth of my house, and logged on! I've been logged on ever since. I'm glad that lesson was learned because I am not a morning person anyway!

Check For Feet Please!

Thanksgiving was great. Got some time off from work and caught up on some rest! I did cook. Kept it pretty simple: Turkey and Dressing with giblet gravy, potato salad, green beans, sweet potato pie and hummingbird cake. I'll post some pix soon.

Decided to go visit my Grandmother on Friday since I spent Thanksgiving at my house. On the way down for the 3 hour trip, I had an interesting experience.

I always stop at a certain gas station for fillups and restroom breaks: the Pilot Truck Stop in Winona. Can you believe that a woman walked into the stall on me! OMG!

Is it just me or do we all check for feet before entering a CLOSED bathroom stall in a public restroom? Not my fault that the lock was broken. Kinda hard to balance in there and hold the door too! I think she was more embarrased than I. To make matters worse, there was no one else in the whole darn 5 stall joint but us! Why did she pick my stall to break into? Back at the wash basin, she apologized profusely. I told her that she had exposed my greatest fear in life: public nudity!

If you don't already, please check for feet in the bathroom stalls! LOL!

REM

I overslept for work this morning. My husband was calling me at the standard 7:30 and I was still sleep! I took a look at the cable box and realized that I had lost all sense of time. I am so ready for Thanksgiving break that I guess I got caught up in the moment. How sleep was I? I was so sleep that Thanksgiving dinner had been prepared and eaten, the turkey salad already made and the Christmas tree had been put up! I was in the REM of sleep. It was raining outside and I always sleep better when it's raining. Unfortunately, today was not Saturday! I managed to get to work only 20 minutes late. Go figure.

Obamania!

I have officially been diagnosed with Obamania! The crazy thing is that I did not have it during the campaign! I guess that was my defense mechanism. Now that it is real, I have lost it! I recently ordered a life-size Obama cut-out. It was supposed to be for my Grandmother but I think I may keep it for myself! He is kinda scary at times when I'm walking down the hallway and have forgotten that he was here! I don't think Granny needs that scare. Anything to keep the cut-out right? I know.

Make A List & Check It Twice. . .for Thanksgiving???

I managed to leave work early for a Wednesday, faculty meeting day, because the things they were going over had absolutely nothing to do with me. I bounced! I decided to stop in the grocery store to pick up something quick to eat for the night. Once inside, I realized that Thanksgiving Eve is exactly one week away! I'd better get my ingredients while I was in the store and it was not crowded.

What will I cook? I am not planning to go home so it will be just my husband and me. Hmmm. . . Turkey or Chicken? Turkey. Patti Labelle's Cookbook is my Thanksgiving Bible every year so I have to fix her potato salad and her "Over The Rainbow Macaroni and Cheese". What are the ingredients I thought to myself. Then I remembered that I had just upgraded my cell phone to the iPhone and was saved! I ended up getting just about everything I needed and felt pretty good. Why is it as soon as I was in the car and was driving away from the store that I remembered that I would need chicken stock and cream of mushroom soup for my giblet gravy?! I did remember to get the onions (red & white), bell peppers, celery and all that for the meal and for the Turkey Salad afterwards. But why did I forget the Hellman's Mayonnaise and the mustard?

I should be able to zip back into the store in the next couple days to pick up the left behind items!

My advice to everyone: Make a list and check it twice, yes, for Thanksgiving!

~Peace

I'm a Victim of TOO

When I wake up in the mornings and on the morning commute, I listen to The Tom Joyner Morning Show. Thursday morning, Tom was talking about the Guyana Tragedy that took place 30 years ago. I remember it and remember watching the made for TV movie. Even as a child, I wondered why those people could not see what I could plainly see about Jim Jones and I was only watching him on TV. I have razor sharp wit and a tongue that will slice you shreds if you want to battle verbally. And my people radar can sum you up in a brief scan. Nobody could ever pull anything over on me. . .

How does one become a victim? I could have never imagined paying for things that should be free: water, air, dirt. I have bought countless cases of bottled water when I have a perfectly good free flowing facet; if my tire is low, I have no problem pulling up to the gas station and paying 50 cents for a squirt of air. I won't even mention the tiny parcel my house sits on. . . I remember riding in somebody's Cutlass back in the day and can still recall the sticker: "Ass, Gas or Grass, Nobody Rides Free"! Ha!

But back to the Guyana Tragedy. Until I read the new book one of the surviving followers has written, I can only imagine how someone can gain control over thousands of people's minds and free will. There has to be a high level of trust and an unhealthy need for acceptance involved. I have never been able to blindly trust anyone. I am soooo not a morning person but I gotta listen to Tom Joyner every morning or my day is not right. Oprah cannot list enough books or favorite things for me to buy and Obama has me scouring the earth for November 5 newspapers, t-shirts, ringtones, bumper stickers and yard signs and the election is over!

Oh my, could I be a victim TOO: Tom Oprah Obama!

Request for President Barack Obama

Now that Barack Obama has been elected, it's time to face the issues: how to resurrect the ailing economy, unemployment, homelessness due to foreclosures, disgusted educators who are sick of the No Child Left Behind Act, stem cell research, global warming, foreign policy and much more. I thought that I had better put my concerns out front right here and now. Besides, I am sure this issue affects his very own hometown, Chicago. Why are there 10 wieners in a pack and only 8 hot dog buns? There needs to be some kind of hearing and a standard needs to be set. Chicagoland is famous for their hot dogs and I know hot dog pushers agree with me. What do I prefer: Given the state of the economy, I could go with decreasing the number of hot dogs from 10 to 8. What do you think? I'll add a poll over to the left to get your answers.

Also, Mr. President, you might also want to replace the Bears' QB, Rex Grossman, with my favorite, Steve McNair.

Happy Hot Dogging!

My Poor DVR

My DVR (digital video recorder) is jammed up with shows that I need to watch. Let me tell you how bad it is. Do you remember 2 or 3 years ago when Three 6 Mafia had a show called, “The Adventures in Hollyhood”? Well, I've watched all the shows but I refuse to delete them. You never know when you’re going to wake up at 2 AM and need a laugh. I won’t begin to tell you what is on my DVR that needs to be watched. Matter of fact, I’ll create a list below and reveal my collection. It is so bad that I have to force myself to delete watched episodes of Oprah just to make room for more Oprah! Hey, she does not have her shows on boxed DVD sets.

Reflections

A student asked me if I voted for Barack Obama just because of the color of his skin. Hmmm. . .I had to choose my words carefully. I told her that based upon the 2 choices, Barack Obama's platform on the issues impressed me and promoted what I needed: change. In the past elections, race was never an issue in the race. We just chose a president based on the issues. But because of race, it was an issue. Regardless, the American public spoke and elected a historic choice, Barack Obama. It just happens that he is an African American.

Pedicures and Metros

Aside from the excitement of this week's presidential election, I saw something very funny. A co-worker was hobbling down the hall, walking as if each step were painful. I could not resist asking what was wrong. He said that he had gotten a pedicure and then went to play basketball later that night. When he woke up, his feet were extremely sore! Those darn metrosexuals!

Chasing Papers

I love Adele's album, 19, and the song Chasing Pavements! This is what I was doing this week trying to find headlines of Barack Obama's historic win of the U.S. Presidency! Everywhere I went, "Sold Out"! And you know how much I hate running around looking for stuff. I retreated. As I left my last spot, I thought about a place that I could find a copy of the paper. My Republican friend subscribes to the paper and was not a happy camper November 5. I flipped out my phone and called her. I asked her if she had gotten Wednesday's paper and she said yes. My heart leaped. I asked her what she was planning to do with it. After all, it was a historic day. She replied nothing and she was going to add it to the rest of the newspapers that she uses in her garden. @$%! what?! She brought me the paper to work Thursday and I left it in my school mailbox. I was glad that no one had taken it. I was thankful for the paper but like Huggy Lowdown says, "I'm gonna put that Bama on my list!"

Obama Wins!

(originally posted November 5, 208)

I am a tough cookie but when Barack Obama was announced the winner of the 2008 Presidential Election: I cried! I thought about all that it has taken for us to get here. The lives lost and those who died before they could live to see the day. I called my 89 year old Grandmother and we talked about Obama's win. She had been on pins and needles all day. At 4:30, my aunt Rosie called me and told me to call Big Mama because she was upset while watching the early returns. "Baby, he ain't winning," she said. I had to let her know that the polls were not even closed in Mississippi, let alone out West. I am so happy that she lived to see the day to vote for and elect the 44th President of the United States of America, an African American named Barack Obama.

John McCain offered a well-rehearsed but good concession speech.

Congratulations President-Elect!

All About Me

Welcome to my blog!

I guess the first thing I should do is introduce myself. Yeah, that would be the proper thing.
As my name indicates, I LOVE to create. I am trying to find a way to create 24/7 and sustain a comfortable lifestyle. I have grown quite accustomed to wearing clothes and eating at least once per day. I do not want to be the true starving artist. I did that for the first 18 years of my life and I think I have served my time.

I have been married for the last 4.5 years to Michael. We had a whirlwind romance and marriage. We don't have children and at this point, they are not in the plan. In 4.5 years, we have never had an argument.

My day job is in education. I am experiencing total burnout. It happens. Though I am not in the classroom and people think that I have one of the best jobs in the building, every job has it’s own quirks. Because I don’t have a class, I end up getting the catch all tasks like keeping up with the school’s fixed assets, making sure that computers are operational, and because I am thecreativelady, come up with catchy bulletin boards, scrapbooks and whatever other last minute shit they can come up with, all while trying to be the librarian.

I know what you’re thinking: that I must be an old fart, who wears a sweater and glasses and her hair up in a bun telling kids to “shhhh”. Only one of those things is true: I do wear a sweater or jacket all the time because it’s so fucking cold in the building even in the winter when the heat is supposed to be on. But consider myself a New Age librarian. I am in my 30s and often get mistaken for a middle school student (no, no please) and my vision is 20/20. I wear my hair natural and would love to be able to wear it in a bun but it hasn’t grown that long yet!
My hair will be a whole other separate entry one day. But I chopped all of the permed hair off in 2007 and started wearing it au naturale. I shocked some people and took some criticism but it is my life and hair and will do what I want.

So what do I create? kickass professional slideshows for weddings, reunions, graduations, etc., jewelry and fabric art. That is just a fancy way of saying “quilts”. But I don’t create your typical grandmother’s quilt. I will use a variety fabrics and techniques that differ from the traditional 9 patch or flying geese pattern. I have studied my craft and know my history. My 89 year old grandmother makes the traditional quilts. I like the funkier, edgey designs. One day, I will create a traditional one but not now. I also took home economics 20 years ago and have spent lots of time and money in Hancock Fabrics buying fabric and patterns with the notion of actually sewing a garment but it has not happened! Watching Project Runway really had me thinking that I was gonna create some clothes. It has not happened yet. I need time. I know that we all have the same 24 hours a day but . . .I'm special.

I also enjoy cooking and baking cakes. Cookies, well, I leave that to my friend, Liz. My cookies always come out like cupcakes. I have bought all kinds of cookie presses from HSN and QVC and every non-stick cookie sheet to be found. No deal! Oh well, you can't excel in everything.

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My no-good-terrible-bad-rotten day

(events occurred October 28, 2008)


A friend and personal stylista recently told me that I am a caged bird in the workplace. She's right. I almost quit my job today. It started with my being late for work due to an accident on the 2 lane road that I take to work. Normally, it is the best way to get there because I avoid a lot of traffic. But now there is road construction going on to widen to the road and the accident was smack dab in the middle of the work zone. The accident was not in my southbound lane but the traffic jammed there anyway because the cops had to systematically let the cars in the accident lane get by. Fortunately, my lane was never stopped, just crawled. I called the office to let them know that I was going to be late. I only ended up being 15 minutes but still late. I hate being late. Lately, I've been late or just skipping work all together. Is that a sure sign that it's time to go?

Being the librarian should be a fun and relaxed job but it's not. I don't know whose bright idea it was to give the whole school a hands-on project but it sucks! The projects have to be done at school. What the hell are the parents supposed to do? The burden of education is already heavily on the teacher and now, projects! No matter how many times I've tried to teach the students to "copy and paste" in order to print only the content they need but they always manage to just click file and print and waste a ton of paper and toner. I get so pissed and tired of repeating the same shit. They herd the students in the library like cattle and that's how they act. There is not enough time in the day to hustle 6 classes through a library on daily basis. How do 30 kids use 10 computers for research in 45 minutes? I am not the math teacher but it ain't gonna work! I have tried to inform the powers that be that the library should be used for small groups. It would be a more meaningful learning experience than the roundup that occurs. But I no longer make suggestions. I don't know how they expect me shelve all the fucking books they want circulated and juggle the other jobs. Don't even mention the constant flow of interruptions of technical questions that I get. I give up. Oh, I do my job but I don't let them stress me out.

As my no-good-terrible-bad day continued, I learned of my BFF's father's death. He'd been ill but you can never prepare for the actual occurrence. The funeral will probably be Saturday. I'll be able to get home and attend with him. Oh, my BFF is a man. I had a strong vibe that something would happen. I am not completely superstitious but . . .

Whenever I see an owl, somebody close to me dies. It does not even have to be a live one. Being a librarian, I come in contact with plenty of book covers. Last week when I encountered one with an owl on it, I shivered. My family knows all about this premonition with owls and they believe me - now. I try to tell them about this so that perhaps nothing will happen. But most of the time, a death occurs. I've mentioned in my All About Me blog that I wear my hair natural. The afro puff is my style of choice because it is super easy. Can you believe a woman thought that I was wearing a weave afro puff?! Good grief woman! I wanted to take it down and show her but I moved on.

The best thing about today is that I found my spare set of car keys that have been missing for a long time and apparently since April! I have torn my house apart looking for those keys. I have searched every coat pocket, pocket book, lunch bag and box that I could find. Nothing. I knew that they were somewhere truly lost and in a place I would not be looking. In the midst of my preparing for my exodus, I found them: in the school-issued laptop bag that I NEVER carry. I have brushed up against this bag for the last 6 months without knowing that my keys were in there. Hmmm. . . my keys were lost for my entire summer vacation! I could pin point the loss back to April because when I opened the bag, the first thing I saw was the 40th Anniversary DVD on the Death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I picked the DVD out the bag and then my eyes landed on some keys. For a moment, I paused and knew that surely these were not going to be my keys. But they were! As I thought back, I remember rushing one morning to get the DVD to play in the video feed at work and ran into all kinds of problems. I was probably running late and just threw my keys in the bag. I am happy that I have found them because I've been paranoid about getting locked out the car or losing my primary set. You don't want to know how much Dodge would charge to get a key made.These days if you have a key with a transponder in it, it's expensive! You can't just take new keys to Walmart and have one cut. It will turn but not crank the car. I got out of that building today as soon as I could. Not knowing whether I would go back tomorrow. I wonder if Oprah needs a new BFF?

Confessions

Ok, I was tagged by Sonya over at http://www.borednappy.blogspot.com/ to reveal 6 things about me. My Confessions:

1. I cuss more than I thought.
2. I am a Product Junkie and I like it!
3. I cannot figure out how to activate the "Add Comments" feature to my blog and I am the Technology Coordinator at work! Yikes! Somebody help me!
4. I love shopping online because it saves gas.
5. I eat like a pregnant pig.
6. I watch Good Times, Sanford & Son and The Golden Girls everyday even though I own the Complete Boxed Sets of each of them. (Why do I still have cable?)

Service Please!

(Originally posted October 31, 2008)

I don't want to always seem like I'm complaining but I have to vent. I did not take my lunch to work today so lunch became a bag of Doritos, a honey bun and a Coca-Cola. "Well why didn't you just run out and get lunch?" you may ask. I work in a school and we are not supposed to leave the building without permission. However, I see people leaving all day, without asking and without signing out. I am not one to ask for favors because granted favors come back to bite you in the ass. So most days I take my lunch or order from a deli that delivers. With today being Halloween, I just toughed it out.

On my way home, I stopped at my favorite burger place and paid $6.22 for a Grilled Chicken Salad that I could have prepared for much less but I was starving and I know that I cannot not go in the grocery store hungry. Gone are the days when I could just pay, grab the bag and pull off. Drive-thru service has gone to the dogs. Too often when I have just taken the bag, do I find that my burger has mayonnaise on it when I explicitly told them NO MAYO! How about paying top dollar for an up sized burger with pepper jack cheese, only to find that I was given a dried up Jr. burger and there was no sign of any kind of cheese. It wasn't worth the gas to drive back. How often have I gotten an order and the food was so sloppy that it looked like it had been on a roller coaster before making it to the bag? Nowadays, when I splurge and get the expensive combo (sandwich, fries and drink) why do I always have to ask for ketchup? And then they give me a damn handful. What the hell am I going to put that much ketchup on? I refuse to mention the wood chips fast food places try to pass off as fries. I try to be green when I can but damn.

Salads are perhaps the worst food to order in the drive-thru. Too much room for error. I often order taco salads and regularly missing are either the tortilla chips or the sour cream. I have started holding up the line to perform my own quality assurance. I check my order. I am not even intimidated by the impatient SUV-driving-soccer mom behind me. And I don't think she wants a black eye from the feisty-Dodge Charger-driving-pissed-off school librarian! Well today, I checked the bag and noticed that the blue cheese dressing that I ordered was not inside. I waited until the worker came back to the window and she handed me the 2 packs of dressing. I felt vindicated.

But the damn joke was on me because when I got home: the chick had given me a blue cheese and a thousand island! I don't eat no damn thousand island!

S O

In today's times, "S" and "O" together stands for Significant Other. But recently, the alphas took on a different meaning. As the weather is changing to fall, I had to get my sweaters out. I wore a new sweater and some khakis. The sweater was long and covered by butt. Working in a middle school, I know not to dress revealingly because I work with perverted teenage boys and men. Case in point, around midday, a male teacher mentioned that my waist was very tiny. I asked him why was he looking. At the end of the day, he told me that I should not wear that sweater again because it was too revealing. I was totally covered up, no boobies hanging out or skin showing. I told him that I was a grown a$$ woman and I could wear what I wanted and that he should keep his eyes and comments to himself. He said that to be so small and petite, I was shapely ! I asked him since I am shapely, like an "S", if I were an "O" would he have felt compelled to say anything to me about my sweater at all?! I doubt it. Why do some people not know when to shut the *bleep* up?!

Oh Happy Day!

This week,creativity has been minimal to say the least. With Barack Obama winning the Presidential Election, all eyes have been on the political activity.

I was super excited this morning as I went to work. Not only because Obama won the election but as I passed the new shopping center under construction, I took a quick glance to check on the progress. And lo and behold, my eyes fell on the most beautiful site The Creative Lady could see: a JoAnn's! I don't think it is open yet but it's only a matter of time. I cried when the Hancock Fabrics closed in the area. But this will make up for that. I have never been inside a JoAnn's, only saw them online. I'd better warn my husband to work longer hours!

I stopped at a gas station this morning to get newspaper for my personal archives and they were sold out! Man, I could not believe the Commercial Appeal did not print more papers. I just saw on the news that an extra 40,000 papers were printed. Apparently they did not make it to the newsstands! You have to go down to the headquarters and stand in line! Ha! I also read there will be "commemorative" edition put out that will be suitable for framing for the low low price of $30! I could not believe it.

Well, I take back what I said earlier about creativity being minimal. I've been helping students with their exhibition projects. This week alone I've shown students how to use video editing programs to give their presentations some umph. I'll probably post it on my YouTube in the next few days.

The lack of sleep is beginning to come down on me. All this blogging tutelage and election return watching had me missing some sleep. Bee pollen granules have been my saving grace. I used to drink Red Bull but I did not want to drink too many of them. Some don't, but I like the taste of Red Bull.

Election Eve

Politics and Religion. I learned early to avoid discussions about these two. But trust me, I have my views about both. But on this election eve, I had to go on record to express my thoughts. There is a buzz in the air. No matter which party wins, history will be made. Either the first African American Head of State or the first female VP. It is an exciting time to be alive.

I have been amazed at the number of people that I have known who died this year before they could vote. But on Tuesday's Oprah, there will be a segment about a fellow Mississippian who turned 109 and had the chance to vote in this historic election. The Oprah guest, affectionately called, "Aunt Nettie" is the mother my high school American Government teacher! How cool is that?! Now, the show has not aired yet but I work with Aunt Nettie's great niece and she reports that she proudly stated that she already voted early, for Barack Obama.

There is such pride in my community among older folks I know who have lived long enough to cast a vote for Barack Obama. My 89 year old grandmother is another Obama supporter. I've bought her t-shirts that I promise she is going to wear the silk screen off until it no longer reads "Obama" but "O"! Then she'll be able to represent both Obama and Oprah! What a team! My friend Liz has sent her 2 buttons all the way from Washington, D.C. and you'd think she had hit the lottery! She even went so far as to ask if I thought that Obama himself had sent her the buttons! I had to give her the truth, and tell her no. My grandmother is hilarious.

My husband and I voted early on October 20 and I was in line for 45 minutes. I did not mind the wait. Struggles ensued so that I may have the right to vote. Surely, if my ancestors could march and face unspeakable oppositions, surely I could stand peacefully in line to cast my ballot for Barack Obama.

Hitting the slopes

The bonus room over the garage is my very own creative space. Creating a space conducive for creating was very important. The room is large enough to have a tv, a long table and a few bins for storage. The room would be perfect if it was not the room over the garage! Because of the slope of the roof, the ceiling in the room is sloped. This really hinders my vertical space. I would have the perfect room if it weren't for those darn sloped ceilings. I will not mention how many times I have bumped my head on those sloped ceilings. In my next house, I will not have sloped ceilings!

Today, I just lounged around and did not do anything creative except watch Sewing With Nancy and Quilting Arts on PBS. I did manage to peep at the NFL game on Fox. The Titans were playing the Green Bay Packers. It was difficult to decide who to cheer for.



(Steve & Me in 1994 @ Alcorn's Sports Illustrated Autograph Session)

My 2 favorite quarterbacks have been Steve McNair and Brett Favre. I'm originally from Mississippi and I am an Alumnus of both Alcorn State University and The University of Southern Mississippi, as are Steve and Brett respectively. Living in Tennessee, it is probably unpatriotic not cheer for the home team. But ever since Steve McNair left the Titans and retired from the Baltimore Ravens, I've been looking for a team. Brett has moved to the New York Jets but I don't have satellite and don't always get to see him play. I am in that segment of the population who can see only 3-4 games per Sunday with cable, and my market always broadcasts games of the Tennessee Titans games and the Dallas Cowboys. I know that I will offend some people but I just do not like the Dallas Cowboys! Maybe it's their cult-like followers who talk much trash on a regular basis.

I know that I could cheer for the Manning boys and I do on most occasions. It just depends on who they're playing. If they are playing the Titans, gotta roll with the Titans. If they're playing the Jets, gotta roll with the Jets.

Anyhoo, I did get to see another Alcorn Alum, Donald Driver, have a great game but the Tennessee Titans kept their winning streak alive. Go Titans!

Aha!

It's been a couple of days and I've been learning about blogging. I'm getting the swing of things now.

This blog is all about my creative side. When I want to rant and rave, I have another blog for that! So I'll try to keep this purely about creativity unless I have to rant and rave about the creative process!

I love watching Thread Banger. The videos are upbeat and fun.

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