Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Hello Lover

went to the car show tonite expecting to be completely unimpressed. then i spied this beauty. i've never felt this way about leather and steel before (at once delighted, then enchanted, then totally captivated). oh mini, sweet mini you make my heart sing. how i wish...

Yet another reason to love Jill Scott

OK, so part of my infosnacking is to check out afrobella.com every day. The woman who writes it is great, talks about life, politics and beauty products. I read it to tell Leona what to do for her hair as she grows it out (seriously...).

Yesterday she posted this entry (http://afrobella.com/?p=387) about a Jill Scott interview...you gotta read it. I will always, always, always love Jill Scott for this story & am adding it to my bag o' tricks.

Big smooches to you all in Boston.
xoxo

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Merry Christmas

well Oprah introduced her favorite things for 2007...so, in case you can't think of what to get that special someone Oprah has a few VERY expensive ideas. however, some of the items are reasonably priced. I like the refrigerator (#13) but since we still rent I guess that is a bit unreasonable to expect Santa to bring me that. Oh, and i heard that the Cole-Waters love to play scrabble..Oprah recommends a nice little scrabble board....here is the link:

http://www.oprah.com/presents/2007/holiday/gifts/gifts_oft_350_101.jhtml

Sunday, November 18, 2007

BEOWULF

Am i the only one who wants to see BEOWULF in IMAX?? Has anyone else seen the advertisements for this new flick?? I feel so butch :)

Monday, November 12, 2007

Girls Talk

Visited my friends at Lady Grace (lingerie store with old saleswoman that fit you for a brassiere by getting up close and personal in the dressing room) this weekend. My mum gently pointed out last week that gravity has begun to wrest control (and that a good bra would fix it).

There's no modesty at Lady Grace. Standing shirtless while your "tissue" is manipulated from left to right is not for the feint of heart. I felt a surprising level of comfort once I accepted my sales woman's commanding non-sexual touch. I would soon win the battle against nature (at least while clothed).

As luck would have it, today I went in for my 6-month mammogram to make sure that the girls were healthy. There were inconclusive findings during my previous two exams and my doc ordered a series of 6-month check-ins.

My radiologist ordered a second round of tests today during which my technician told me I was in the lab for women with "problems". Apparently, she cheerily informed me, there's a whole other facility in the hospital for women undergoing routine tests (and I was not there).

I was forced to wonder Have I lived the life I'd intended? Am I ready to fight if I have cancer? Am I ready to relinquish a breast? As the panic rose and the tears welled I wondered at my fallibility. Was I truly not an Amazon?

I texted Ms. Pamela to come hold my hand. She insisted on working out in a nearby gym (my shero). Thankfully, my radiologist called me in before Pam arrived and gave me good news. The calcification was unchanged. They just needed to be sure.

So there you have it, friends -- I'll live! I can still strut around pretending to be an amazon. My breasts will be adorned with beautiful new brassieres that lift and separate (hey, I even bought naughty-girl red number:-). Sweet.

Time to get on with the business of living the life I intended.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Holiday Cookin'

I've been home for a couple of weeks, which means that I have had time to start obsessing about Thanksgiving Dinner...We don't do anything too big, just us and maybe a friend or two (this year, our pal Shaboo from Charlotte is coming), but I like to cook it up like there's no tomorrow.

The typical Thanksgiving includes me running around Oakland and Berkeley the Wednesday before, trying to find that last container of buttermilk for my knock-'em-dead biscuits (let's just say they were a hit with Leona's sister-in-law in Atlanta...), and then I cook all Thursday so that by the time dinner is ready my tongue is hanging out & I can't enjoy a thing.

I've got a new plan for this year--buying non-perishables last week and this coming week, and then I plan to hit the grocery story around 10:30 am on Tuesday before Thanksgiving to get the fresh stuff. And I'm going to start cooking & baking early too, so that there's just a minimum of preparations needed on Thursday itself.

Here's our menu:
* Game hens (with stuffing, if I get my way, Leona's not that excited about that prospect)
* Collard greens
* Mashed sweet potatoes
* Mac-n-cheese (an awesome recipe--so delicious I could eat the whole pan)
* Buttermilk biscuits
* Pecan pie
* Pumpkin cream cookies (a new recipe from Real Simple--it looks awesome)

Wish me luck!

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

ok, I LOVE Savage Lov Podcast

Thanks Kathy for suggesting it and thanks Shug for including on your blog list!!

love it!!

Saturday, November 3, 2007

time waits for no woman

just noticed this week -- i'm old but no worries, i'm digging it. i'm rolling with the punches!

we had a halloween party in my office this week. my staff organized it. it was a happening! those youngins' turned off the lights, hung up orange x-mas lights, covered the windows with black and orange translucent paper, projected a halloween-themed screen saver on the wall and pumped up the jam with a cd mix of rock, rap, r&b, and alternative. there were witches, pirates, ninja turtles, a serial killer (a person wearing several boxes of cereal with knives thrust into them) and more.

there was a bartender serving champagne , sparkling cider and seltzer (i authorized this:-). everyone brought home-made goodies and candy and we jointly rocked (i baked vegan red velvet cupcakes -- they were the bomb!). it was a great party with a completely fresh, unique tone. as i watched my co-workers, faculty and students socialize i thought "gee, when did i get so old?" i ambled over to the bartender for a bit of the bubbly correcting everyone who asked "are you an angel?" "no, i'm a fairy! i was wearing sequin dusted wings with purple roses and ribbons (some people understood the double meaning...hey, i still got it!

Friday, November 2, 2007

the best popcorn ever

hello blog-mates,

i recently ordered some popcorn from this company that offered two free bags (if i paid for shipping)..well, it was the BEST popcorn ever. So, i am now on this "gourmet popcorn" kick where i can't get enough gourmet popcorn..anyhoo, i recently went to NYC for a class on "missing data" in research (i know, my life is so much fun)..while in the airport I noticed that the company that sells the popcorn has a store in the airport so i stopped by and asked if they had the flavor of popcorn i had just ordered and quickly devoured a few days earlier. Well, the store clerk told me that they don't sell that flavor (toffee and walnuts) in the store because some folks have peanut allergies..so, he gave me a $20 gift card. So you know i quickly ordered more and my tin of popcorn came today and i just opened it and OMG it is sooo good. So, if the next time you see me and I am 10 lbs heavier it is that damn gourmet popcorn (it is soooo good)...well, if they are still doing the promotional where they are only charging for shipping, i highly recommend it. i am sure my current fixation with gourmet popcorn will be gone soon, but for now i can't get enough! oh, and the name of the company is dale and thomas popcorn: http://www.daleandthomaspopcorn.com

Thursday, November 1, 2007

learned new word

hey there...we were watching "Drawn Together" this evening and I was introduced to a new word: merkin. What does it mean? well, you might already know what it means....i didn't. Kev and I got a good chuckle out of looking it up :)