THANKSGIVING TIPS

Hi All!!  If you are like me, you’ve got cooking on your mine for tomorrow.  I wanted to chime in to hopefully give a few Thanksgiving tips that may make the cooking go smoother.  I’m not a chef by any means.  As a matter of fact, I tried to get a professional chef who is also a blogger to give some tips and tricks, but she hasn’t responded yet.  When she does, I will be sure to let her send some of her “know how” our way.

Since is just me, here are a few things that I think make the kitchen a little less stressful.

Onions- I found that if I cut the onions near a lit pilot on the stove, that the gases released from the onion are attracted to the lit pilot and not my eyes, so… no tears.

Deviled Eggs- try adding about a little cream cheese (try a flavored one, I like the one with bacon in it.) to your recipe, it will thicken your egg mixture so that the consistency isn’t runny.

Meatballs- I got this trick from my husband.  If you do barbecue sauce, add a little grape jelly to the barbecue sauce.  Sounds gross, I know… you can’t taste the jelly and it gives your sauce a nice something special.

Gravy- Got Lumps? Try this, instead of adding the flour or cornstarch directly to the pan that you are making the gravy in.  Add about a teaspoon of flour to about a 1/4 cup of water or broth.  Whip the mixture in the cup until the mixture is smooth and looks like milk.  Put the flour mixture in the pan with your butter and drippings that you are making the gravy with and stir, add your seasoning and broth a little at a time until you get the consistency you are looking for.  Keep stirring. The mixture will thicken.

Apple- Some people use a little apple in their stuffing.  For the apple that you are not using, sprinkle kosher salt on the part  that was sliced, then put the apple in a sandwich bag. It will slow down the oxidation.

Banana Pudding- I like Paula Deen’s, Not Yo Mama’s Banana Pudding recipe. http://www.pauladeen.com/not-yo-mamas-banana-pudding   I use Nilla Wafers with it. A few times, I left out the bananas because I don’t like when the bananas turn brown, the next day. Guess what, the pudding is so good that no one even misses the bananas… Shh don’t tell, they won’t know!

Quick Dessert- If you need a super quick dessert, especially for a brunch. A slightly warmed croissant and Nutella… OMG!!! If you want it pretty, then warm and drizzle the Nutella on the croissant, but if you are by yourself… take a big ole’ spoonful of Nutella and put it on the croissant. (It’ll make you feel good on the inside 🙂  You can thank me later!)

Smoky Flavor- You can use, a few shakes of Liquid Smoke (I use the one by Colgin, one bottle last a long time) in your vegetables to replace the ham bone. I know that was probably blasphemy to someone… but… It really works. Just make sure you use your other seasonings with it. The veggies won’t be greasy and you still get the smoky flavor.

Ice Tea- Spice up your ice tea by pouring an entire small can of pineapples in its juice (not in syrup) in an “average” size pitcher with the tea. Depending on how sweet you like your tea, you may not need any sugar but of course after you stir your tea, sweeten to taste. Pineapples are good for your digestion, so you can feel good about drinking it.  Occasionally, I also add a little ginger slices or powdered ginger.

Let the salad bar be your friend.  It already has sliced veggies, and it’s usually cheaper. It may save you a lot of time.

Are your kid’s fingerprints all over your stainless steel appliances? Try wiping them down with Windex. For me, Windex works better than the stuff that came with the appliances.

E L A S T I C   W A I S T  P A N T S! (No explanation needed)

Well, that’s all I can think of for now.  If you think of any time saving tips and tricks feel free to chime in. Lord knows we can all use a little help.  Remember the thermometer temp in the turkey should be between 160-165 for doneness.  If the turkey is too dry, then add some broth or it’s drippings over it with a baster. If it’s too salty then baste it with about a half a cup of water and put foil over it.  My first turkey was too salty, the water trick works!

Please take time to look at the people who share the table with you and thank God for them. If you are spending the day by yourself, look outside and be thankful for the roof over your head and the ability to get on a phone and tell someone that you love them and that you were thinking about them. If you don’t have anyone, then send me an email, Angela at usmama4@yahoo.com,  I’ll send one back to you.

 We all can think of things that we don’t have, but Thanksgiving is a time to pause, and be thankful for what we do have.  One of the things that I’m thankful for this year is YOU, because you are taking the time to read my blog- Thank You!

Please try to slow your mind down and enjoy the moments, especially if you have little ones.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

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PROTECT & SERVE

Hi Friends of the Blog. A few months ago, I started writing a poem about how so many of our young black males are being slaughtered by white officers, who get a way with murder basically. In the unfortunate case of Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager who was killed recently, the officer was not indicted of his crime against Michael Brown and just like all the other cases, found some way to say he was justified in killing the teenager. Just tonight on the news, I learned the boy supposedly punched the officer in the face. Do you think that just maybe he was scared for his life? After all, he obviously had reason to be scared literally to death.

Justifiable Homicide… When will it end?

It makes me think about a conversation with my friend who did the blog on Friday, Valerie. She has teenage boys. She was telling me how she has had conversations to prep them in the event that they are ever stopped by  police. I can only hope and pray that my own boys are protected from those whose job is to Protect and Serve.

After hearing the verdict last night, it prompted me to finish the poem. There is an audio recording of me reading my poem entitled, Protect and Serve. Its dedicated to the town of Ferguson and any other town that is feeling the sting of violence against its citizens whose crime is having Black skin.

I know that there are many races of people who read this blog. I’m thankful for that. It’s not my intent to make anyone feel bad or uncomfortable. But this is an uncomfortable time to be an African American and see blatant injustice to people who look like you. There’s supposed to be a justice system that we should be able to rely on to do the right thing, but instead it rears its head back and spits in our faces repeatedly! Its enough to make you sad… to scream… to be violent; though violence won’t solve one problem. It’s a helpless situation because you don’t know what to do or whose next. Will it be your friends, your kids, your spouse that some officer thinks is walking in a threatening way then justifies a reason to shoot them?

My heart hurts for these parents because the officers do all that they can to discredit these young people as violent thugs and trash that they were completely justified in ridding the world of in the name of justice! I can see if the kids were actually armed or doing a crime, but they were just walking; trying to get home.

We have the luxury of turning the tv off when we get tired of hearing about this. But, these parents and towns have to live with their heart being unjustifiably shattered. One of their own was stolen and the person who did it, is on paid leave. A Paid VACATION until the smoke settles!

Rest In Peace to all of you and may God give your parents peace and purpose in the days ahead.

Please use the link below to hear my spoken word poem: Protect and Serve

CARROT PARENTING

CARROT PARENTING.

CARROT PARENTING

HAPPY FRIDAY Friends of the Blog!!! 🙂 Today is a special day because we have a guess blogger.  One of my BFFs from back in the day, Valerie Williamson, has graciously agreed to share her blog with us today. Valerie is a wife and mom.  She is the author of the blog, Spare Me No Details.  Do yourself a favor, and read some of her blogs.  She’s an excellent writer and her blogs typically make me smile or shake my head, in agreement.  Valerie loves to write and is a self proclaimed, Punctuation Geek.  Personally, I like Punctuation Princess 🙂  I will put a plug in for her skills, if you are blogging, working or writing a paper and you have a question regarding punctuation, or need a proofreader. (we all do from time to time) Shoot her an email at: val@sparemenodetails.com. Tell her that you are one of Angela’s Friends of the Blog.  She may be able to help you out. (She’ll work out fee details if there are any.) Ok Friends, please enjoy the featured blog of the day, Carrot Parenting.

Most times I feel I’ve done a relatively good job parenting, but then comes those moments of self-doubt when I question where I could have gone wrong and what I could have done differently. I mean, my children are always polite, well-mannered, respectful…and if I dangle the right carrot, they can add honor roll student to their credentials. But, it’s that last point that continues to nag me. If I dangle the right carrot. Why should I have to dangle anything to get you to strive towards excellence? What ever happened to having a little bit of self-motivation and initiative? Listen, I get that they are children, (to continue reading please follow link at, http://www.sparemenodetails.com/2014/11/21/carrotparenting/

Grape Dum Dum; Sees Me

 

 On Saturday, I had a brief moment when I was feeling a little down.  It was crazy, I had just had a nice lunch with two new friends and our little boys. (Hey Zoe & Wehti, shout back if you’re reading this.) I read an email before I went in the house, and the news didn’t go as I had hoped or expected.  I got the boys out of their coats, then I just needed a moment. I told my four year old to go in the living room with daddy and I closed my bedroom door.  As I was laying across the bed, sighing heavily, I could hear my son say, “Daddy, I know where mommy is. She is in the room, and she didn’t want me to come in. ”  Then what was kind of comical is that I could hear him gossiping about me.  I kept hearing, and Mommy, and Mommy.  I couldn’t hear exactly what he was saying because my younger boy kept bellowing Maa-maay! Maa-Maay! Though I wasn’t happy about the news I received, I began to slowly shift my thoughts to the fact that I wanted to get the little guy his first real haircut today. It was prompted because I tried to give him a scissor cut earlier during the week and lets just say it went badly… very badly. (This is an appropriate place to have a brief moment of silence. – Amen) He also has the habit of rubbing food and condiments in his hair. There were still ketchup remnants from lunch beginning to cake up. It was almost 4pm.  I needed to get up, get in the moment, and get to the barber shop before it closed.

My husband, the boys and I piled into the truck and pumped the little guy up about this BIG BOY thing that he was about to do.  He was cool with sitting in the big chair, but when he heard the sound of the clippers, he didn’t look so confident. He began to reach for me and I held his hand, reassuring him that everything was alright. But when he heard the clippers again… he was like, this ain’t gonna happen! Then the barber had an idea, he handed my little guy a grape dum dum lollipop. My kids know that I don’t really like them eating a lot of candy. My son looked at the candy then back at me for the ok to grab it.  When I said ok, he took that dum dum so fast and he enjoyed it!  Boy, did he ever! Grape dum dum drool saturated the barber’s cape. The boy didn’t care one bit.  The barber was able to cut baby boy’s hair without any issues.  My son didn’t even need to hold my hand. He changed his focus. He was now overly consumed with the sweetness of the grape dum dum lollipop.

When the barber was done. My little guy said, Mommy, I DID IT! At this point of course he was overly showered with kisses. It was a great moment!

There’s a saying, that if you can change your focus, you can change your life. Often times, when you change your focus, blessings can come to you.  You may find that the sweet things in life can happen for you; maybe even overflow like grape drool dum dum juice 🙂 I pray that you have an overflow of sweetness happen in your life; enough to share with others. Don’t forget me when it does 🙂

This morning as I was taking my older son to school, I was waiting to make a U-turn.  At the view point of this turn, on coming traffic is facing you, and you can also see anyone who is trying to turn onto the main street from any of the side streets.  As I made my turn, I noticed that the car coming from one of the side streets also turned.  I had enough time to brake. When she saw how close we were, it scared her. She mouthed the word, Oh fudge! (give or take a few letters) What was funny is that she was also going to the daycare, which is in a church (lol).  She saw me also pull into the parking lot. I saw her trying to walk in quickly, I guess to avoid the awkwardness of the moment.  I caught up with her in the school and I said, Hi Ms.,  I saw you when you made the turn. I know that I scared you because you didn’t see me.  I also saw you say, Oh F!  Embarrassed, she said, “You saw that? I’m sorry” and we both chuckled.

As I was driving back home, I could hear this thought,  Even when you are scared. When things happen that you are not expecting,  God sees it all.  Nothing, not one thing is a surprise to Him. He not only sees me, He knows me. And all things, even the things that hurt and don’t make sense will always work together for my good. Because I qualify for Romans 8:28. (Do you qualify? Look it up.)

I want to end today’s blog with Psalm 139. I love verse 14! This is the New Living Translation.  I wanted to get a version without the “thees and thous” just in case anyone feelth intimidated by the Bible.  This is just love being poured out in verse form.  I hope that you get it, embrace it and take it as our own.

Psalm 139: 1-18

1  A psalm of David. O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. 2 You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my every thought when far away. 3 You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am. 4 You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD. 5 You both precede and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to know! 7 I can never escape from your spirit! I can never get away from your presence! 8 If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the place of the dead, you are there. 9 If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, 10 even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. 11 I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night — 12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are both alike to you. 13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous — and how well I know it. 15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. 17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God! They are innumerable! 18 I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up in the morning, you are still with me!

ON THE WALL

Hi Friends of the Blog!  Monday was one of those days for me where I just couldn’t seem to get it together to sit down and write a blog.  I guess it was the rain. My little guy woke up around 3am with a slight temperature.  I was up with him for about an hour. Then it seemed that as soon as I put my head down on the pillow, it was time to get my oldest guy up and ready to go to school. I’m sleepy now, but if I don’t write this blog, I won’t be able to sleep.

  As I was driving listening to the radio, the dj was talking about our President.  I was thinking about how seldom we actually hear him being referred to by his title, just by his last name.  I’ve never seen this type of disrespect with any other president or state official.  It makes me sad. I’m not saying that I agree with every decision that he makes.  For that matter, that statement is true about anyone that has held the seat of President.  No one would agree with every decision that anyone makes. Heck, I don’t even agree with my husband all of the time. Does anyone?  But I see our President making strives to accomplish the things that he said that he would. I can’t say that about everyone that has held that position.

I was chuckling a little as I was driving because a lot of our senior African American households, my parent’s house included, have a picture of President Obama somewhere.  A lot of times, its up on the wall next to Jesus (lol).  Why? My non-black friends may ask.  Well, as a race, we have a history of celebrating when another person from our race has succeed. If you think of that statement from a 2014 mentality, you may think that I’m making a racist statement.  It’s not and I’m far from being racist.

I’m thinking about the world that my parents grew up in. My mom is in her middle 60s and my dad in his middle 70s.  My dad’s parents were share croppers. He picked cotton. Share croppers were predominately black families who lived on a (usually white) land owner’s property. Their service of taking care of the land was the payment for living on the land. In many instances, they picked cotton, and/or farmed. They got a portion ( usually the least desired part/scraps) of the farm goods, and a small monetary payment, depending of the agreement by the land owner.

My grandparents were a generation or so out of slavery. My parents came through Jim Crow, sitting in the back of the bus; drinking from separate water fountains; not being served in some establishments simply because of what their skin looked like.  A lot about those times, older folks don’t like to talk about because it causes certain emotions to rise up in them.

There where actual known members of the KKK seated in the White House! (check out this link to see who) http://able2know.org/topic/99462-1 What chance would a person of color have of moving forward regarding equal rights, if the person running the country, literally hates you? And their spirit still lingers in our government today.

It’s through these eyes and harsh memories that make black folks celebrate the fact that somebody made it.  I’ve never had hot coffee poured on me in hatred (thank you Jesus). But I have sat in a restaurant and noticed that everyone had been served, except me; who was seated conveniently in the back.  I remember being the only black in my kindergarten class and one of 3 or 4 blacks in a class size of about 30, going through school. I remember my first  job as an adult.  Me and a white female, who was the same age as me,  started the same job position (we were office mates), the same day. I learned a year later that her starting pay was a dollar more than mine.

At this job, I was the first black woman to work there.  At that time the establishment was about 30 years old.  The only blacks who worked there were on the maintenance staff.  The older white female receptionist called the black maintenance men, boys. “Call one of the boys on the radio and tell them to go to such and such place.”  One day, I purposely called one of the white managers and told him that the receptionist said to go. She came back and said, I told you to call one of the boys. I said, he is one of the boys… isn’t he? She rolled her eyes and went back in her office. People were not particularly nice to me my first year there. Simply because I was different. I’ve always been a cutie (if I must say so myself :o) moderately sarcastic; full of positive energy; great personality and a big smile. After a while, they came to appreciate me for the person that I am, and I them. When I left, one of the ladies who couldn’t stand me when I started, cried like a baby when I left. We had become family after those 5 years.

When many people of color see someone like our President make it regardless of the pure BS that we have to deal because of the skin we are in.  We can’t help but be proud!

I’m proud of him because sometimes even in 2014, its not always easy to be in black skin. People who live in skin that looks like the President, know exactly what that means. But like him, you don’t use who you are to make lame excuses; but use who you are as a leverage to elevate you (and others) from where you are to where you want to be.  If he can do it, then we can do it too!

Though I don’t have a picture of Jesus or the President on my wall.  I understand why he made it on the wall at my parent’s house, and countless other black households.  I’m grateful for both Jesus and President Barack Obama, for different reasons of course.  Our President has left an indelible legacy with lots of people, that will never be forgotten.

*(No intended disrespect to any race of people reading this post. I’m not negating his influence on anyone else. I am simply writing from my own perspective.  I respectfully welcome your thoughts and comments if you wish to share them.)

The VA JAY JAY Monoblog

Hello Friends of the Blog!  Happy Friday Whoo Hoo!! The last few post have been a little on the serious side. So, I was looking forward to today’s post. Today’s topic has been referred to by many names, the cooch, the cookie, down there, flower, honey pot,  lady parts, privates, the purse, the puss, the wee wee,  the who ha. Yep you guessed it… we’re talking about the VAGINA! Most of us reading the blog have one. No one got here without one.

Can you believe that there are at least 29 things that you may not know about your “Good Friend from Down Under”? The attached article is called, 29 Things that Everyone With a Vagina Should Know. (By the way, the article is in no way vulgar or lewd, it’s informative.) I saw this article on my gynecologist’s FB page last week.  I  thought the article was enlightening and worth sharing with you, my Friends of the Blog.

To my guys who are also on the blog blast list, I hope that you enjoy the article. Guess what, there are pictures.  (actually someone’s art work and he put captions.)

I hope that after reading the article, you feel closer to your “Lady Garden”:o) and perhaps someone will “water your soil” this weekend 🙂

http://www.buzzfeed.com/carolynkylstra/vagina-facts

Until next week- make it a GREAT one!

WAKE UP- THE KIDS NEED US!

  Today’s blog will start with something very scary that happened to me when my oldest son was two years old.   We were in the Self Checkout at the grocery store.  He was standing by me as I rang up our groceries.  When I looked down to ask him something, he was gone!  I frantically looked around me. I noticed how close I was to the front door and did not know if he had wandered outside or if someone had taken his hand.  I  JUST  DIDN’T  KNOW. My calls to him went unanswered. The groceries needed to be bagged and other shoppers impatiently filled the line that I was in.  On lookers looked at me compassionately as beads of sweat cascaded, my world revolved in slow motion as my heart raced. I stood baffled not knowing where to begin looking.  For moments, that felt like an eternity, I had no idea where my baby was.  The truth of the matter is, I have no idea how he literally, reappeared.  I never saw what direction he came from or how he got in front of me. I just praise God that my child came back to me, safely!  Not  every parent has this fortunate ending. Many children of all ages remain missing.  Thousands of parents search for answers that never get resolved.  That day shook me into being more attentive.  It’s not that I wasn’t attentive before, but obviously, I needed to step it up.  And I have.

I’m bringing up my faux pas because I’m noticing people not paying enough attention to their kids while in public, especially in stores like Walmart (which is where I was last night). For example, the boys and I were going down an aisle in housewares, there was a brother and sister who were probably around 10 and 11 years old playing with a shopping cart.  I was alone with them, close enough for them to look at me directly in the eyes.  There was no visible adult.  In my opinion, no adult needs to be alone with your child while you are on another aisle. If you can’t look up and see them, then you are too far from your kids.  I have seen ladies holding on to their fellas, with their little person following behind. Do you have any idea how easy it is for someone to walk off with your child?

In our area on Channel 7 news, in the afternoon they feature children who have become missing.  Not that there should be a stereotype, but I usually think about young, non-black kids becoming missing.  I have to admit that I was taken aback to see the number of teenage African American males who are missing. The day that I caught this airing, there were so many teenagers of all races in this report, it was staggering.  It opened my eyes. I said to my husband, that I bet there is a trafficking ring somewhere that’s selling these kids.  If the powers that be, find this ring, I bet they will locate a lot of these kids.

Just weeks after seeing that on the news, I was watching Meredith Vieira. She had an interview with a man named, Tim Ballard who is part of a mission called, Operation Underground Railroad. I wasn’t able to find the Vieira interview for the blog, but I was able to find an interview with Tim Ballard on Glenn Beck.  I want to bring your attention to this subject because, it will really open your eyes.  On one of the links, he describes being able to buy a 4 year old boy for sex.  Apparently, there are MILLIONS of children in this industry and people who know where to buy them for sex.  You as  parents, teachers, aunties, and friends need to know that this exist.  I can’t say that I didn’t know that it existed, but when you hear it from someone who has seen it up close; you hear this man’s passion for wanting to emancipate these children whose innocence is being stolen… Something in your heart will change.  I know that it did in mind.  I encourage you to listen to the videos.  They are about 9 minutes long.  God forbid that you or someone that you know would be in this kind of situation, but if this does happen, this link list, the steps you need to follow if a child becomes missing. http://www.missingkids.com/MissingChild The links below are the interviews with Tim Ballard. Please make your self familiar with what his organization is doing. We as parents need to know about this and take it seriously! May our God protect our children. And may we be awakened to keep our kids safe! WAKE UP- THE KIDS NEED US!

http://www.video.theblaze.com/video/v36868605/operation-underground-railroad

http://www.glennbeck.com/2014/04/08/tim-ballard-explains-the-work-operation-underground-railroad-is-doing-to-combat-child-sex-trafficking/

Do IT Afraid

Do IT Afraid

 

Today’s blog is a sensitive subject for me because it’s something that I had to walk out myself.  I mentioned in one of my previous post that we lost 2 babies.  I want to bring attention to this subject because I’m finding that many women suffer through this in silence feeling as if no one understands. After I lost the first time, it was amazing how many woman came out of the “wood work” saying that they had the same experience.  If this is something that you are going through, or have gone through, I want you to know that you are not alone.  And just because you lost once, doesn’t mean that motherhood can’t happen for you. I found out that one of my friends lost 4 times, she is now the mother of 3. I was talking to another person over the weekend who was talking about a family member whose pregnancies all ended in miscarriage.  I believe that this is a reason why we need to talk more about Safe Havens, adoptions, and Big Brother/Big Sister Programs (to be a part of a child’s life but not have to raise them, but be an influence for them).  It’s possible that you can love a child that maybe you didn’t give birth to but, still use the love that you have inside of you.  One of the friends of the blog, adopted a girl a few years ago.  She looks like she is the child’s birth mother.  They have an amazing story!

Another things that I want to make sure I talk about is, pregnancy after age 35. Which is coined, “Advanced Maternal Age”. (Even actress, Haley Berry had to deal with this label. Can you image being as fit and gorgeous as she is, but labeled as Advanced Maternal Age?)  I had my first at age 39 and the baby boy at 42.

I had pneumonia a few days before my birthday, while I was pregnant with the baby boy. You would have thought that I was some type of “Endangered Phenomenon”.  There were about 3 women working at the hospital that I think I was sent to the hospital to encourage that day. I’m tempted to go back and see what happened in their lives since our talk.  One lady in particular was in admissions. She was 39, had been married for a year and had two teenagers from a previous relationship.  As she read my file, she looked up at me and said, Mrs. Alexander, you are 41, you have a birthday in a few days and you’re expecting. I nodded yes. If you don’t mind my saying, I really admire you.  My husband wants a baby, but I thought that I was too old to have one. Seeing you today is making me have second thoughts.  My response to her was, Ms.,  if it’s God’s will for your baby to be born, then the baby will be born.  If it’s your heart’s desire to have a baby. Don’t let fear keep you from doing something that is in your heart to do.

That’s the encouragement that I want to offer anyone who needs it.  Sometimes you just have to jump into the next phase of your life with “both feet”. Do whatever your “IT” is even if you have to do it afraid.  After losing my first baby, I was scared a good part of my pregnancy. I was blessed to have my pastors praying for me throughout the pregnancy (both pregnancies).  Prayer works!

If you are trying to accomplish something, I strongly advise you to get around like minded people.  Whether its pregnancy, starting a new venture, a business, getting an education, getting out of certain neighborhood.  Whatever it is.  Find someone who has done what you want to do. How did they do it? Know that it’s possible. It may not be conventional. Meaning the way you accomplish your task may not be the way everyone else does. And guess what, it’s ok. Sometimes you have to start where you are. Pursue it, even if you have to do it afraid.

If you are a person who prays, then pray for wisdom and direction.  Proverbs 3:6 says,  Acknowledge God in all your ways and he will direct (or make straight) your path. If are not a person of faith, I have heard people use the principle, I think, therefore I am. (Which in faith language is, As a person thinks in his heart, so is he.) If you can change your thinking, you can change your life. Stay away from vision killers. If you have a vision/hope in your heart about something. It can become tangible. Take it a day and a step at a time. Don’t give up!

Even if your hope is for your own little one and you are over 40.  Well,  during my last pregnancy, I knew 3 other women who were also over 40 who were pregnant. We all had very healthy, beautiful babies.  One friend in particular was 46, her youngest was 16 years old. After she had her baby girl, she looked better than she did before her pregnancy!

I’ll end the blog with this… Find your IT and Pursue IT even if you have to do IT afraid.

THE FORMAT

Hello Everyone and HAPPY FRIDAY!!!! I  hope that you had a wonderful week!

This is the end of my 2nd week of blogging. I want to thank everyone who accepted the invitation to be a friend of the blog. Your support really means a lot to me.  And for those who did not accept as of yet, but you wanted to. Check your email, there may be an invitation from me or send me your email address and I will gladly send you an invitation. On the other hand, you didn’t return the invitation because you didn’t want to open your email and see 25 post from me. “Too much to soon“! I feel ya and understand. I don’t like that either.  I don’t want anyone to feel like they need to virtually break up with me because of blog overload :o)

The format will likely be 3 post per week.  The first one, on or around Monday, may be about something personal, probably my family. Lord knows they give me enough material. Wednesday, I thought would be called, Awareness Wednesday, when we talk about an issue that is going on around us; something in the news. Like Wednesday’s blog about Safe Havens.  And Friday, Free Yo Mind, or tips or something fun or funny. For example, one of my Facebook friends, (Sharonja) had an article on her page about, Why it’s important for couples to have sex daily… OH MY, there just may be a cure for this adult acne after all! (lol)

I want this blog to be a friendship of supporters. Some of you know me personally and you know that an encounter with me will typically have you smiling.  I want you as a friend of the blog to feel like you have a unit of people who care and will listen to you if you just want to get some stuff off your chest. If you just had a life event, we want to celebrate you. If you have a loss, like one of the friends of the blog (Tanisha) I want you to know that we care and want to put a virtual arm around you to let you know that you are in our thoughts and prayers. I have known her, her whole life and her grandmother, my whole life. She was a sweet woman who will definitely be missed. Love you girl!! There’s another friend of the blog, (Augus) who is a new mom of twin girls (they are so ADORABLE!!!), she said that she’d like to connect with other moms of multiples.  I know at least two ladies who are moms of twins.  It’s ok to send her a shout out, if you are a mom of multiples.  That’s a special kinda mommy, cuz I can’t imagine having two of my little guy.  (Does anyone remember the Tasmanian devil from the cartoons? Well, welcome to my world. He destroys the house~ but he does it with a smile.)

I’m not by any means a counselor, but if you have something going on and you need an ear, or someone to pray with your or encourage you. And you don’t want to print it publicly.  You are welcome to email me at usmama4@yahoo.com. I will respond to your email.

Well, that’s about it for today. I did want to give a tip. Maybe this can help someone over the weekend.  A few weeks ago, the boys and I were doing an experiment.  I discovered that baking soda and vinegar can unclog and slow draining sink.  Just put about a teaspoon of baking soda down the drain, then pour in about a 1/2 cup or so of vinegar. Run some water and botta bing botta boom! The water is going down the drain.  Add more vinegar if it’s still draining slowly.  It works! This helps for those of us who don’t want the smell of harsh chemicals from some of the stuff that we buy over the counter.

I hope that you have a WONDERFUL WEEKEND!! My husband and I have a date on Saturday night. Whoppee! I’m excited to put on my sexy heels. I’m gonna end the post now… gotta go take care of my toenails. You know you can’t wear sexy shoes with jacked up toes! (lol) Talk to you next week.