Cooking by Dummies

So today, I went to the bookstore and bought a cook book. Let's face it, it's time to learn how to do something besides warm up already prepared food from the grocery store.

I came home, perused the cookbook, and picked out four main dishes for the week (ya'll know I'm not cooking on the weekends. I mean really!). I made a grocery list, and off the Publix I went. I found most things on the list. I was surprised.

Tonight, DIT and I had Caribbean Rice and shrimp, by way of Spanish rice. LOL. OK, so they didn't have the specific rice, but I used this preseasoned saffron rice. It was awesome. The girl wanted seconds, so I know I did good. And she ate her asparagus. Thirty minutes from start to table. I couldn't ask for anything more (except to maybe have come across this book five years ago-lol).

For dessert, we are having a cookie pie a la mode. A roll of chocolate chip cookie dough rolled out in a pie pan and baked for 15 minutes. Add ice cream and viola'! Yep. Even though I am challenged in the culinary department, I can do this stuff. LOL

The book: Simple and Delicious Cookbook by Taste of Home Books. (242 quick, easy recipes with everyday ingredients) Check it out if you need help in the kitchen. They even break the recipes down into 10, 20, and 30 minute categories.

What are you cooking tonight?

A Good Day

Bikini wax- check

Hour massage- check

Lunch with The Man (lobster ravioli or some other stuffed pasta)- check

Visit to the gourmet sweet shop for pralines and fudge- check

Movie with The Man (Iron Man-loved, loved, loved it!)- check

DIT calling dibs on the living room sofa for the rest of the night while she happily consumes her fast food- check

Book at the ready to snuggle up with for the rest of the evening- check


Looks like I had all the ingredients I needed for a great day. I hope you guys had a Happy Friday.

Ode to Running

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways:

I love the feeling of being one with nature. Uh, no. That's not it.

I love to sweat, and this is the best way for me to work up a good one. Um. No.

I love feeling like I can't breathe. Nope.

My rapid heartbeat makes me feel alive. Hell no.

There is nothing better in life than feet pounding on the pavement. Unh, unh.

I love how great it feels when I stop. HELL YES!!!


I haven't been running in a while. Getting back to it in the morning. DAYUM, DAYUM, DAYUM. What can I say, it'll keep my heart in good shape so that I don't die from my own laziness and bad habits. Now what to do about my love of McDonald's french fries and Coca Cola?

Politcal Op-Ed

I'm still on the Obama train. Too much to talk about most days. Check out this op-ed when you get a chance. I would say this is a pretty good breakdown of the current political landscape.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/11/opinion/11rich.html?ex=1368158400&en=7b2dca827d9642d0&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Fear

I was supposed to blogging today about how wonderful it is to be able to live out my dream. How on this third day of professional freedom, I have pounded out thousands of words, and my first work is moving along pretty well. I was going to announce that I have found my writing groove and all is well with the world.

Except, that ain't the truth. Or at least not all of it. All is well with my world. I could be in a much different place. Third floor office with a spectacular view of the parking garage while my co-workers torment me with their egoism and narcissistic behaviors to no end. I could still be there, but I'm not. And I am truly grateful.

Of course, I spent Monday and Tuesday on the road and in meetings for my consulting gig. I marveled at the warm welcome I got where ever I went. It was heady to say the least. I almost got caught up. Almost filled up my dance card for the rest of the month. And then I heard the voices of The Man and Cha reminding me that this opportunity is about me pursuing my dream. Not about me chasing the dollars. And thank goodness they did. I would have a fat bank account in a few months, but would still be wondering when I am going to find the time to do what my heart yearns to do- WRITE!

So today, after I got DIT off to school, and watched a couple of hours worth of recorded stuff on the dvr, and had lunch with the Divas I pulled out the laptop and got ready to write. I've had ideas bouncing around for weeks. But guess what. I froze. Couldn't get one word typed. I know where the story starts, I know what motivates the characters, I know the setting. I even, for once, know how it ends. But I froze.

I have to admit that I am afraid. I am afraid that it won't be good enough, that no one will like it, that it won't sell. I'm also afraid that it will be good enough, that everyone will like it, that it will sell. And folks will want me to do it again. So there you have it. That's my stuff for today. Blogging has been very cathartic for me. It's helped me get my ass in gear this year and focus on what I want out of life. God has given me an opportunity to pursue the dreams that I have talked and prayed about for years. The rest is on me.

Fear can be a good thing. If you use it the right way, you can examine your personal motivations in life. Do you want something bad enough to move through the fear? HELL YES!

Gotta go Divas. There is much writing to be done. I'll holla atcha tomorrow. I'll leave you with the sage words of Eminem:

Success is my only motherfuckin' option, failure's not.

Sunday

Over the past two to three years, Sunday evenings haven't always been relaxing for me. Quite the opposite actually. I would become anxious about the week to come. I'd begin thinking ahead and gearing up for the drama. I would try to anticipate the crazy before it actually happened based on how the week before went. Sometimes I got lucky and things weren't so bad. Most times not.

But that is all behind me. Today, when I realized that it was six o'clock (the usual "witching" hour for my anxiety)and my heart wasn't racing I remembered why. I am in the next phase of my professional life. Yay me. It feels really good knowing that I don't have to deal with crazy tomorrow.

Don't get me wrong. It's not like I get to sit back and marinate. Nope. Tomorrow and Tuesday, I'll be in Columbia, and then on Wednesday, I get down and dirty with my writing. I'm nervous as hell, but looking forward to the challenge. I'm still going to be working my ass off, this time for myself, and with minimal drama. Now that's what I'm talking about.

To my peeps still back on the plantation: Keep your heads up. Things can and will be different.

I'm going to get back to my loafing. I've got to hit the ground running tomorrow and I need to be on my game to do that. More rest for me- mentally and physically.

Happy Sunday!

A Diva in Baltimore

I know you guys have been wondering where I’ve been. I’ve searched to find the love within. ROTFLMAO. OK, no more corny song lines. Actually, I have been in Baltimore all week. It was my first official duty for my new gig as a consultant. Because of that trip, I have lots and lots to rant on. I’ll try to keep it brief. If I can’t do that, then I’ll break this up into several posts.

First of all, let the record show that until April 20th, I had not flown since I accompanied my friend Cyd to the BEA in Chicago in June of 2004. Some thangs have changed since that time. LOL. And the older a sista gets, the more nervous a flyer she has become. You can officially call me the Armrest Gripper. I ain’t shamed! LOL. I’m sure this will get better as I fly more regularly. Flying is not for people with control issues (namely me), but what can you do?

Now, before I get to ranting about Baltimore, I have to say a few things.
I realize that I have become a Southern snob. I never thought I would be able to say that about myself. But alas, it is so true. First of all, let me acknowledge that the south has it’s myriad of issues. Racism, sexism, high mortality rate, poor public education, high HIV infection rates, low wages, the list goes on and on and on. So, I know from whence I come. Overall though, we are some cordial folks. You expect everyone to look you in the eye and say good morning when you walk into Starbucks or say hello when you make eye contact at all. Not so, when you get north of Richmond, VA.

I’m just saying, the folks in Baltimore are not the most pleasant people on the planet. The minute I got off the plane in BWI, I could feel the freeze, and it had nothing to do with the temperature outside or the air conditioning inside. Folks just looked mean and unhappy. And this included the white people. I chalked it up to arriving on a really bad weather day- they had horrible thunderstorms and lightening strikes prior to our arrival. Nope, as the week wore on, I realized that they are just that way.

A side note: I swear I saw the gender-bending little gangster girl/hit-person from The Wire that got capped by the high school kid before he headed out of town. Oh, by the way. She didn’t look happy either. She looked just like she did on tv. Maybe I should get out more.

Now, it is at this point that I need to complain about my hotel. Let me set the scene. The Marriott Renaissance Hotel on Platt St. (oh yes, I’m going to call them out). A lovely, lovely facility. I couldn’t have asked for a nicer place. But for the costs of 229.00 a night Sunday and Monday, and 339.00 a night Tuesday and Wednesday (I never got a good explanation for the rate increase, but since it was pre-paid by the folks who hired me, I couldn’t say much) why in the fuck would a sista have to pay 9.95 for Internet access? A DAY!!!!! You know that shit pissed me off. I can go to the DoubleTree,the Hilton,the Sheraton, any Comfort Inn, or Motel 6 and not pay for wi-fi services. And these gus charge WAY less a night, so why in the hell would I pay folks who are LITERALLY making bank 9.95 a day for Internet access? To make matters worse, no one was able to access free Wi-fi while IN the hotel. Can you say blocking signals!!? Ain’t that some shit? And they had a ton on conferences going on. You can’t tell me they are hurting that bad that they needed to milk us weary travelers out of ten bucks a day. It’s a fucking conspiracy, I tell ya! My protest for the week was no hotel Internet access. I used my Blackberry instead as an official protest. Until I had to pay them 3.00 to print out my return flight info due to changes. The fuckers got me. I was pissed.

I have so much more I want to write about, like how much I think I am going to love this self-employment thing. And how my invisible force field is no longer working because people keep talking to me when I am reading, or like right now, while I’m typing. That shit sucks. I’m in Newark and I’m just waiting for my connection to my beloved ChuckTown.

I’ve got to weigh in this weekend on the Pennsylvania primary and the theory that working class white males won’t vote for Barack. I’ve got to talk about the local news in Baltimore. Now I see why those folks are so pissed off- nothing but rape, murder, drug use, and car accidents. Damn, don’t folks do anything positive in B’More?

In other words, the Southern Diva is back with a vengeance, and after May 2nd, it’s really going to be on and popping. I’m going to wrap it up because we are about to start boarding. I’ve missed ya’ll mucho. Holla at a diva when you get a chance.