Happy Monday to you! How ya feeling this morning? Me too! I had a big event with my job on Saturday.  I worked from 10:30 am until 10:30 pm. I’m glad it’s over.

I was online this morning and came across 18 ways to make $100.00 a month. As I am always looking for ways to bring in extra income, I read the article. It was kind of interesting. Most of the things it suggested, I am not qualified to do. Then I came across this article called: 20 Ways To Waste Your Money. I found that even more interesting. I personally don’t know many people that are rich/well off but I do know people, including myself, that waste a lot of money stupidly. For instance, I have bought shoes that I have nothing to go with! Then I have to find an outfit to wear them with. I have so many shoes, and when I really stop and think about it, I could use that shoe money to either help someone or make that money work for me in a better way. Honestly, I think I have enough shoes to wear a different pair for 365 days. Hmmm….. as much as I like shoes, that is ridiculous and I’m wasting money!

Step one in my efforts to not waste money, reading this article and sharing it with you. I have told you about my wasteful ways with my shoe addiction. Share with us your wasteful ways but more importantly, PLEASE let us know of things you have done to save money! Maybe something you are doing can be helpful and useful for us all! Also, share with us some things you know about that we can do on the side to bring in extra money.  I  believe there are many ways to supplement our lives these days, we just have to find that ”on the side” job that works for you!  

Below is the article.  Holla back!

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/FindDealsOnline/20-ways-to-waste-your-money.aspx?GT1=33006

This was sent to me, along with many others.  It not only caught my attention, but stopped me dead in my tracks and made me read it. I am so proud of this young lady and have asked myself why others haven’t stepped up before now and said the same things.

It is a well written, well voiced cry out, from a 15 year old, young, black, articulate woman. It is lengthy, but powerful. Please try to read to the end.

Ms. Janitra Patrcik: Dear BET, Why Do You Hate Us?

Dear Debra Lee,

I’m Janita Patrick, a 15-year-old African-American female from Cincinnati. Recently, I watched the 2009 BET Awards and felt the strongest urge to reach out to the program. My family is of the typical middle-class variety; both parents and four brothers. See, I’m a junior in high school (got skipped), so naturally EVERYBODY in my age group watches BET. I’m used to seeing the sagging pants, tattoos, lack of emphasis on reading and respecting women that makes up your videos. People in my class live this out everyday, while teachers tell us that we’re acting just like the people in your shows.

In your shows. That struck me as odd, because I would think that with your show being the primary outlet for black entertainers and musicians, and considering the context of blacks in this country, there’s a social responsibility factor to consider. I would never blame BET alone for the way a great deal of my classmates act and talk and dress. Everybody makes their own choices. However, if anybody is aware the power of television on impressionable minds, it’s the people running the television operations.  If you are not aware, then perhaps you shouldn’t be running the operations.

Guess who watches your network the most? Not those who are intelligent enough to discern foolishness from substance, but those who are barely teenagers, impressionable and believing. It’s awfully cruel to plant seeds of ignorance in fertile minds. You know it’s really bad when the co-founder of BET, Sheila Johnson, said that she “really doesn’t watch it” anymore.

I am constantly fighting against the images and messages put forth on your program. What made you think that it’s okay to bring my classmates on stage to dance behind Lil Wayne and Drake to a song talking about boffing “every girl in the world”? Why does reality train wrecks have to thrown in our faces? Are you aware of the achievement gap going in inner-city African-American communities? A report from America’s Promise Alliance, a non-profit group started by Colin Powell, recently stated that 47 percent of high school students in the nation’s top 50 cities don’t graduate. (Fifty-four percent of males of color in Ingham County graduated from high school, compared to 74 percent of white males). This isn’t because of BET per se, but I don’t see any episodes on your show doing anything to counteract this disturbing trend. In fact, your show is a part of this cycle of media depicting us at our worst.

My older brother told me something about profit being the number one goal for every business. I’m not sure I understand what that means, but I do know that your shows have to be entertaining enough to generate viewers, which is how you make your money. But surely our culture is rich enough to entertain without anything extra to “boost” ratings; why the over-the-top foolery? I listen to classmates talk about Baldwin Hills like it’s the Manhattan Project. It doesn’t take much effort to produce a throng of degenerative reality shows, nor does it take much to eliminate socially conscious shows off the air. MTV isn’t much better, but since when does two wrongs ever make a right? It’s one thing for white television shows to depict us in a particular way, but for black television shows to do it is baffling.

Why do you hate us?
All of the values that my parents seek to instill in me and my brothers seems to be contradicted by a more powerful force from the media, and your show is at the forefront. Your network is the only network that features rap videos and shows exclusively to children of my color. I know that you have no control over the music that the artists put out, but you do have influence as to how you air these videos. I’m sure if a stand was taken to use the talent in your organization to actually crank out thought-provoking entertaining shows and videos, then artists will follow suit. Being that they need you as much as you need them.

There was one awkward segment in the BET Awards when Jamie Foxx singled out three black doctors-turned-authors, but the introduction was so powerless that many of the viewers had no idea who they were. Had they been introduced as Sampson Davis, Rameck Hunt and George Jenkins, three brothers who overcame major obstacles to become a success without the use of lyrics that berate women, the sell of substance that destroy communities or through raps about loose gunplay, then maybe my classmates would have come to school talking about more than Beyonce, T-Pain’s BIG ASS CHAIN and Soulja Boy Tell Em’s hopping out the bed.

But they weren’t introduced like that. It seemed like a throwaway obligatory tribute to appease some irritated fans. It missed the mark. Big time. Ask Michelle Obama if she watches BET or encourages Sasha and Malia to do so. Ask President Obama. It’s a reason he is the leader of the free world, and it isn’t because of Buffoonery Exists Today.

You’d be surprised how smart young black children can be with the absence of Blacks Embarrassing Themselves. If your goal is to deter engaged, forward-thinking articulate black minds, then consider your goal fulfilled. It’s hard-pressed to think that your shows are working to promote cultural betterment. However, it’s quite easy to conclude that the destruction of black children through the glorification of immoral behavior and rushed production is by design. Poison is being swallowed by every viewer who adores your network, and the worse thing is, these viewers – my classmates – are not even aware what they’re swallowing.

There is nothing edifying for black women on your show. I don’t judge people who do throng to your programs though; I mean, if a jet crashes in right in front of me, I’ll watch it too. That’s why I don’t flip by your channel…I don’t even want to be sucked in.
I have aspirations of acquiring a law degree and possibly entering the public sphere, so I can counteract conditions in my community perpetuated by the images on your channel. So I should thank you, because in a weird sense, your shoddy programming is the wind behind my back. And it is my hope that I can accomplish my dreams despite BET’s pictorial messages, because Lord knows it won’t be because of them.

Sincerely,
Janita Patrick

Wow… Holla back!

No Christianity 101 today. No cruise talk today. And we will even leave Obama alone today. Let’s go light!

I have thought about writing this post more than once and did not because I thought you might find it too shallow but I saw it again and had to speak up! How in the world did Brooke Shields get roped into doing a commercial on how to get your eyelashes to grow! Of all things! Of course it’s not about Brooke; it’s about the obsession with it all. Where will we ever draw the line and say, enough is enough?

Now let me go ahead and admit, I am all in favor of women (and men) taking care of themselves and projecting the best “you” possible. I wear makeup. I go to the salon for hair and nails. I get my eyebrows waxed/arched. I do microdermabrasion. I try to utilize all the bells and whistles available to me as a woman, to make me look my best, and feel my best, thus projecting my best self. However, when I see a former co-worker with a jacked up line on her lip because the tattoo artist went outside the line when permanently tattooing on a lip liner, or another friend with amazing eyebrows because her tattoo artist had a steady hand and created the perfect line, or hear a commercial telling me that I can grow longer eyelashes but the side affects are “possible” permanent brown eyes that should be white (Sclera), I think that is going too far!

Yesterday I was watching a movie and strayed from the story line as I watched the woman’s mouth trying to move but it couldn’t. Botox! Gosh, isn’t it a shame that we can’t just be who and what we are and look the way we look and still be considered beautiful? Who actually defines that beauty? Is it society? And what society, hormone growing men? Young eager men? Mid life crisis men? Dirty old men? Lol. Let’s just establish up front, surely the society I’m speaking about is men! Wouldn’t you agree? Because woman to woman, we know the pain of trying to be beautiful! I’d love to go out occasionally looking like “who done it and what for”! I’d like to just throw and go! That is, throw on anything and go anywhere and not care how I looked. But I can’t! That doesn’t project the image I want to exude. It doesn’t speak to the classiness I try to carry with me at all times! But people… it is hard! Don’t hate me if you think I look beautiful, it was hard work getting there!!!

I quit perming my hair in a stand for sistas everywhere! I wore it in its natural state for quite a while, all kinky and whatnot. Did I feel as pretty??? No I didn’t because society says my hair needs to be straight and as close to the Barbie look as I can get. (Sidebar: Did y’all know Barbie turned 50 this year and her full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts? Uh huh) In efforts to change up occasionally, I took the hour and a half necessary and went through the grueling steps of straightening my hair. I did that one time too many and now it won’t conform back to the kinkiness and whatnot. Once again I am sporting that permed look (although it is still natural). My husband is happy and I do like it, but I’ve lost my Angela Davis edge and I feel like I have let my sistas down!

I want to be beautiful. I want to be sexy. I want all the good feelings that come with what we go through to look our best. I have another admission. I got the fake eyelashes. Yes, I did! I went to the salon. She analyzed my natural lashes and we discussed the appropriate size for me and my face. Off we went! She glued the lashes on in groups of three hairs at a time. I sat in fear as she got closer and closer to my eyeball. When she was done, I was beautiful! Or so I thought. The lady next to me told me so. Nails, toenails, hair and eyelashes! Mary Kay helped me manually do the rest. Lol. So the next day when I saw something black lying on the floor, only to discover it was a group of my customized lashes, I was distraught. The next day, the next group landed on the sink. Between Tuesday and Saturday, I had been to that shop three times getting and re-getting my lashes done! Nothing worked! I even had my husband to bring home goggles to wear over my eyes when I showered. And still they wouldn’t stay affixed to my “real” lashes and lid! I had to treat them so gingerly. “Don’t get them wet,” is what the “lash tech” told me. Huh? How can I not get a part of my face wet? And I always felt like there was a shadow looming over me. It felt like I had clumps and clumps of mascara caked on my lashes when in reality, it was my $20.00 set of new lashes I tried in my next step of enhancing my beauty! Pray church!

Where should it end? Now I am a proponent of believing all women should wear a little something. There is nothing more beautiful than a finely crafted eye with just the right shades of matte shadow/s and pencil and mascara to make the eyes pop! Rarely do you see a perfect complexion, one without a little blemish here and there. Nothing a little foundation or pressed powder couldn’t smooth out. I believe it is self affirming to take steps to beautify ourselves and it gives us confidence, I just don’t know where we stop! Treatments for growing eyelashes??? One that could leave permanent browning of the eyes?

So here’s the thing, you have the treatment, you get beautiful lashes that have probably only grown a 1/10 of 1/10 of an inch and the whites of your eyes are permanently brown. Uh… certainly the latter completely cancels out the former. And what’s up with the commercials when they say, “before starting this regiment, ask your doctor. Blah blah blah (said regiment) may not be right for you”. I’ll just speak for me; I have never had a family doctor that would sign off on an eye lash treatment that could cause permanent browning of the eyes!

I have one more admission. I am in Georgia now. A place where it is (as I say) slavery hot! The women here are not feeling all the beauty regiments I am used to in Indiana. The heat makes them just say no to beauty regiments. However, I have seen some beautiful, beautiful smooth complexioned ladies here who use a bar of soap and go! I ain’t mad at ‘em!

Sigh…. I’m just saying… Is the side effect of a brown sclera, for slightly longer lashes, worth it? Is beauty still in the eye of the beholder? Hope so! No brown eyes for me. Short lashes that are mine and snowy white eyes that shine bright! )

Holla back!

Holla Back!

Hi All. To answer a question I’ve recieved, these are per person prices. Let me point out, none of the prices I have given include airfare from the depature city. That is an additional cost.  Trip #1 and trip #4, the two most expensive trips, will have costlier plane tickets than the others.

Also, the time I have planned for our trip is Fall with Fall temperatures in Greece. Currently the trip with the most votes is Greece and IT WILL BE COLD at that time. Our options are to still go with the cool temperatures (I know we will probably loose a few people if we go during cold temperatures), move the date to summer and nicer temperatures or pick another trip. I just want us to go, be together and have fun! Any decision is fine with me!  

Bearing all that in mind, especially those of you who have already voted, come back and tell me if you want to keep your vote as is, or change it. I am giving the voting process until June 8th and then we will make the decision.

Holla back!

So my niece and a car full of teenagers went to a gas station in VA. My niece, who has a chocolate brown complexion, is a size zero, is very articulate and cute as a button, and most of the friends in the car, went inside the gas station. While being closely watched, they walked around and talked about their plans for the evening. My niece broke from the group and went and asked the male attendant if they had a bathroom. Without speaking he shook his head no. As my niece browsed around looking at potato chips and snacks, one of her friends that was in the car and also a part of their group (unbeknownst to the attendant), came inside. Her friend asked the same attendant the same question: do you have a bathroom? However, this time he immediately said yes and directed her to it! As you can probably guess by the title of this post, there was a difference.  My niece and the group she came in with were black and the friend that came in later was white! Proud as I can be of her, my niece immediately spoke up and said, hey, when I asked you, you told me that you didn’t have a bathroom! He ignored her but then stared at her when her white friend came out of the bathroom and began talking to her! OMIGOODNESS!  The bible talks about God winking at ignorance. My eye would be sore from winking repeatedly at that attendant!

Pinch me and wake me up! Aren’t we in the year 2009? Didn’t we just witness the most remarkable occasion, of the highest ranking official position in the United States of America, being voted on by we the people and consequently filled with an African American/black man? Are we still not at the place where little black boys and black girls are able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers? Haven’t we yet been able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood? Are we still not able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we are free this day? Aren’t we, all of God’s children – black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics –able to join hands and sing the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last”? I guess not…

Remember the outdoor game we played as children called “Mother May I”? You got to take some baby steps, normal steps and occasionally you got to take some giant steps! Do you remember? As long as we were taking steps, even if baby steps, we were still moving forward! But the sadness came when we had to take the backwards step and loose momentum on our opponent. We are losing momentum! As pretty as some things might look on the outside of this world, inside many homes and inside many hearts racial hatred is the drug of choice and is embedded deep down in the crevices and stuck to the walls of their being. Just like toxic waste is packed in our body and leaves us feeling tired, bloated and weighed down with pounds of waste and toxins and sitting there for years; the same is true with the deadly toxins associated with racial hatred. And as far as I can tell, the only antioxidants for racial hatred are acceptance and love! That is a whole other post…

Needless to say, the next time my niece goes into a gas station in Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Georgia, Utah, California, Oklahoma or 123 Anywhere Blvd, in Everywhere, USA; I want her to be given the same privileges, respect, response, reverence, and kindness the cute little white girl in front of her, in back of her or beside her is given. This is just a travesty! As my brother would say, I’m through. Pray my strength in the Lord!

Holla back…

Happy Marvelous Monday to you! This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it!

How was your weekend? I don’t have anything deep to discuss today, or not right now at least. Tomorrow we can talk about Obama reversing Bush’s stem cell research bill or the fact that a tornado touched down in Indiana where many of my loved ones are or the fact that Circuit City is about to lay off 34,000 people (in case you think I made a mistake let me spell it out, thirty four thousand!).  Nah, let’s not talk about any of those things this morning. I’m still sleepy. Why you may ask?  COULD IT BE THIS TIME CHANGE!

Forgive me for getting so bent out of shape but check this out. Last week I was wearing sunglasses to work! The babies (well, teenagers) that were standing on the corner waiting on the school bus looked safe. I could see all the soldiers running in the street beside my car doing their morning PT as I drove by. All was good! Today, I kid you not; it was pitch black! There was no way I could wear my sunglasses, the babies didn’t seem safe out there waiting on the school bus and I got right upon a running soldier before I could see him! I fretted about that one. He happened to be on the other side of the street but what if he had been on my side?

Here’s the thing, I’m not a farmer and I don’t rely on daylight to help me make a living.  For them, I’m glad they have that hour.  All that extra hour of daylight is going to do for me is keep me outside with my flowers until 10:00 pm instead of 9:00 pm and cut down on my “good for my health” sleep time! Ocassionally, I am sleepy by eight o’clock at night. And when I am, I go to sleep. Now I will be going to sleep when it is still light outside?!

Before long it will be daylight at 5:30 am and stay light until 9:30 pm. I don’t know about you but once it is light outside, I am awake. So I’m going to have to learn to sleep within the parameters of those dark eight hours and live life the other sixteen!

Holla back and tell me how you did with the time change and if you are little sleepy today! Still…it is a Marvelous Monday!

Will a Portuguese Water Dog be America’s next First Pooch? Seriously? Why in the world is that any of our business and how in the world have we become a society that sits in anticipation as the Obama’s dog choice makes the evening news? Yes, it is kind of cute that there are sites online that allow you to vote on the breed of dog they should buy but we already eat, sleep, and drink literally every move of President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Malia Obama, Sasha Obama, and now Spot Obama? You’re kidding me!

Here is my question, if we are this involved in the White House dog, which is really not our poop to scoop and is none our business because it has absolutely nothing to do with the running of this country, should we be privy to other things pertaining to the Barack Obama family? If they are this open with this piece of their life, will they be this open with the not so cutesy stuff?

Since Malia is the oldest I will use her; what if Malia did something wrong? Something that would make the country’s heads roll? Should we be privy to that information also? When do we mind our own business, take care of our own dogs and let them have at least a portion of life that is their own? Shouldn’t some things just be “their” business? They didn’t sign up for a reality show, just the Presidency! I know with some positions in life come instantaneously stardom but at some point shouldn’t a line be drawn and shouldn’t we let them have some family intimacy regarding matters the public never knows about? I’m just saying…

What do you think? Should we get to go inside and be a part of every aspect of the Obamas’ lives? Tell me what you think. Holla back!

This is America. We don’t do what is easy, we do what is necessary!
–Barack Obama

Was the President wonderful last night or what! He was his usual graceful, inspiring, motivating, encouraging, hopeful self! To me, he left no stone unturned when it came to giving us an understanding of what is really going on and how he plans to make things better and take our country to the next level. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing what he had to say, and although I was sitting down for most of it, I too felt like standing on occasion and applauding! Wasn’t that a long procession of people coming in and visiting with friends and colleagues along the way? Could we find anybody as excited as The Speaker of the House? And didn’t it just pull on your heart strings when he recognized his wife, the First Lady and she mouthed the words, I love you and blew him a kiss? I must admit, I teared up a bit at that moment. All those things were good but what he said/declared/promised was even better!

One of my favorites was, “We will rebuild, We will recover, and the United States will emerge stronger than before”! Whew! That is saying a lot! I tell you, during parts of his speech, I actually became nervous. I do not want him to fail! Not just because I like him so very much but because he is the gentleman that is taking us along with him these four years; so if he fails we fail! I feel as if his openness and honesty, and conscious effort to involve the country, gives us all a piece of the pie but also a share of the responsibility. Did you hear him when he said, he has already found 2 trillion dollars in savings!

Of course his main focus was on energy, healthcare and education. Here are some things he said that resonated with me and made an impact on me and my growing belief in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
• Over the next 2 years this plan will save or create 3.5 million jobs, 90% in the private sector
• Healthcare reform will not wait another year, it is weighing down the economy
• He vowed to make college affordable to a million more students and by the year 2020 we will have the highest proportion of college graduates.  He also asked that every American commit to at least one year of higher education
• He vowed to end education programs that don’t work and come up with new incentive for teachers
• He vowed to hold his cabinet accountable for every dollar they spend and launch a website so WE can see what they spend (Wow)
• He vowed to end tax breaks for the top 2% of the rich and for companies that send jobs overseas and give tax breaks to 95% of working families

But even as optimistic as he is, he talked about the hurdles we will have to get over. What he told us was:
• Even if we manage this plan flawlessly, there will be no real recovery unless we clean up the credit crisis that is severely weakening our financial system
• The weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this nation
• Cost of action is great but cost of inaction is even greater

He even scolded us and challenged us by telling Americans:
• What got us here is many people buying houses they couldn’t afford
• When it comes to education, it is the parent’s responsibility. It is not a democrat issue or a republican issue but an American issue
• Not to pass the debt we can’t pay down to our children. (That one statement got one of the biggest stand ovations and Barack jokingly said, “I knew we could get some consensus in here!”)

He elegantly kept it real!  How do you feel about the direction our country is headed and what did you think of his speech? You know what to do…holla back!

At the end of the day she is wife, mother, daughter, sister, neighbor and friend. But for the world, 45 year old Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama recently transitioned in a role only 43 women have preceded her in filling, wife of President of the United States, Barack Obama and the first African-American First Lady of the United States.

Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago and graduating from Princeton University and Harvard Law School, Michelle Obama is the most talked about woman in the United States…maybe in the world! She is constantly being dissected and each and every part is analyzed from every angle. I think the overwhelming consensus is: Isn’t she lovely!

With this being the first presidential election I have followed this closely, I am not an expert on any of the other first ladies. I do think we have had some lovely first ladies. Nancy Reagan brought the unique Hollywood glamour she so elegantly exuded. Hillary Clinton had such a strong presence; I think we all knew we would see her again, with or without Bill. To me, Laura Bush is the epitome of all things right. I can’t say enough about her but… Mrs. Michelle brings a style and sassiness I don’t believe the White House or politics has ever seen!  She is what some may consider the most envied wife/woman with every advantage life has to offer, yet she keeps it real!

According to articles and stories, her White House décor comes from Pottery Barn. Her daughters, Malia and Sasha do not have a nanny as she is determined to keep continuity in the routine of her family, regardless of the monumental life they are living. She chooses to dress in J. Crew, use American designers and has even appeared on camera with dresses off the rack. She is not afraid of PDA (public displays of affection) and although her husband is President of the United States, they still have date night and romantic dinners and are not timid about sharing it with the world!

One of the cutest things I have seen is an interview with Barack and Michelle where they corrected each other and had little side conversations while the interviewer sits waiting to resume the interview. Already they have done some of the sweetest things, ever witnessed, by a President and First Lady. You would have to be blind to miss the love and respect they have for each other. Have you seen the picture of them on an elevator, inauguration night, where she has his jacket around her shoulders and they have their foreheads together looking at each other, with Secret Service all around them? Priceless and obviously a Kodak moment!

Her style has been compared to Jackie O. For me, I don’t see that but no matter, it is a compliment! She carries herself with a chic-ness and grace all her own. She is a strong lady yet feminine. Without a doubt, very intelligent yet you can see a countenance ready and willing to listen and learn. She appears happy and satisfied with what has happened but determined to keep the change process moving! As much as we have patted ourselves on the back for choosing such a great leader, I’m not sure we realize the two in one deal we’ve been given!

In 1993, she founded Public Allies Chicago which provided young adults with leadership training for public service careers. In 1996, she joined the University of Chicago as associate dean of student services, and established its first community service program. She’s not just a pretty face! Currently her passion is military families of deployed soldiers. As a military wife this thrills me. I really don’t think she could have picked a more overlooked cause. For this and all Michelle has brought, is bringing, and will continue to bring to us, thank you First Lady Michelle Obama. It is a delight to have you as our First Lady!

What do you think about Michelle Obama as First Lady of the United States? Holla back!

P.S. – Entertainment tonight is doing a series on Michelle Obama’s first 100 days of fashion. Check it out!