I missed an anniversary!.....

So I realized that I forgot to blog about an anniversary I had recently......

At the end of January, I celebrated my 12th year of locking my hair!!!!!!!! Can you believe it??? I can't...... I still can't believe that most of the people in my life currently have never see me with relaxed hair......

It actually makes me feel a little old..... There are very few things I have done for 12 years.....

But..... I have never regretted it for a second, even during the awkward months/years.... In fact, I hardly remember them!

Here is a little hair retrospective I put together......








1997 - Year 2




















1998 - Year 3


















2001 - Year 6

more 2001





















2002 - Year 7





















2003 - Year 8





















2004 - Year 9
























2005!!!!

(Year 10 - Don't ask!)

Great documentary on PBS

I was flipping the channel yesterday, looking for Tavis Smiley and instead I found this great documentary on the hip hop music today. If you are like me, you were a fan of the poetry of hip hop from the beginning but have been turned off by the direction that the genre has taken in recent years. No longer do there seem to be many voices within the art form but commercialism is homogenizing it into a negative, violent misogynistic one. Independent Lens: Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes talks about the evolution of hip hop and the effect that it has had on society. While it doesn't provide any answers, it does provide thought-provoking perspective.

Check your local listings and check it out!

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/

My opinion on this season.....

So, I have kicked a lot of my reality show vices in the past year or so..... Reality shows are just sorta boring. I am over the hype. But one show that I do still watch, at least at the beginning of the season is American Idol.

So the auditions I just watch because I am always amazed at the nerve of people to get up in front of judges and sing so badly! Like, don't they have any friends?!?!? How could their families lie to them like that? Why hasn't someone else noticed how crazy some of these people are and get them some help!

And then there is the pleasure of hearing the folks who can actually sing! Talk about refreshing.... Honestly, I always wished I could sing..... I mean, on a good day i can hold a tune in the shower or in the car while the song is playing or sometimes hold a tune on my own. But music gives me pleasure and hearing folks who can really sing and are giving their all to a performance gives me joy.

So I continue watching American Idol past the auditions, normally until the voting gets too commercial and they start voting off the folks with real talent for the folks who are prettier or more marketable....

I have to say there is one rule about the show that is really bugging me right now, especially after just watching the performances of the remaining 24...... and that is the rule that there have to be 6 boys and 6 girls in the top 12...... The guys performed last night and, while there are some I like, like that cutie background singer, Brandon, or that fine Brian McNight sounding Jared or the slightly corny new father with the surprising powerful voice, Phil or the multitalented, beat-boxing Blake, none of them blew me away like the girls did tonight! First, the black girls are on point! Some slightly more than others but Stephanie, Sabrina, Melinda, Jordin and LaKisha brought it! They made me smile and LaKisha actually made me teary singing "And I Am Telling You" in true Jennifer fashion (pick your Jennifer.)

Now, I am realistic enough to know that not all of them are going to make it into the top 6..... there are 7 white girls in the top 12 too and the Middle class, Midwest, teenage crowd will vote because someone is prettier and not value the talent that they possess. But it will be a shame....

Careful what you wish for....

So I was buying jelly at the store to go with my peanut butter (well actually it is spreadable fruit because fruit is sweet enough, why add more sugar?) and I decided to diverge from my regular flavor of black cherry and get back to an old standby..... strawberry! However, I saw that they had a seedless strawberry flavor and I thought, even better! Who like strawberry seeds? They get stuck in your teeth and stay around in your mouth way after you are done eating.... Yuck!

So I bought it.

And I have tried it a couple times. It is just, in a word,weird..... Strawberry without the seeds tastes funny. And apparently, the seeds do provide some flavor aside from the texture. Maybe it is a nutty background flavor or something, but this stuff tastes different. And seems mushy.... like baby food or something.....

So I will finish off the jar but I think I will be going back to the regular, with seeds, kind next time!

Writer's block.....

So my blogging experience and having Brunsli ask me numerous times over the past year, "Have you read my blog today?" and reading her post about why she blogs all the time and likes to blog, has made me think about my blogging "deficiencies...." I really have trouble blogging regularly..... I just do. And this is not a new problem. If I think back, this is the same thing that happened when I tried to keep journals when i was a kid. I started off good but then had a stressful or hard day and didnt feel like writing.... and then I forgot about it for a while.... then would pick it back up and write for a few days... and then think it sounded boring and stop.... and then forget about it again..... and then pick it up a month or so later and decide that the whole thing was futile and just stop because it had been so long since I had written that I could not possibly catch up "the reader (like who was reading my journal)" on what I had written and that it was just a futile gesture because I couldn't possibly accurately portray my life and how I was feeling at the time since it had all these big holes in it! So I would quit..... Sigh....... Talk about a perfectionist.....

So have decided that I think i need to just get over myself! I need to not worry about whether what I think about writing is interesting enough or the best way to say it..... I am just going to speak my mind and hopefully, something will resonate with your folks out there who are reading.....

Internet Voyeurism....

So there is this interesting phenomenon I have noticed on the internet.... With IM programs, dating sites and other membership websites that show presence information, we are actually projecting our presence to the internet community..... And we may be showing more than we intend....

I was actually thinking about this when I myself was succumbing to a sort of voyeuristic temptation! Imagine this.... you meet someone online and you two are really hitting it off.... talking regularly via all mediums, both online and offline and then..... an email goes unanswered, a call not returned..... Well, where is he? I see him on IM! He logged into this site today! He posted to his blog today! Why won't he respond to my email!?!?!? I am slightly overstating this but.... you get my point..... It is easy for the online you (and in turn maybe the offline you if someone is crazy enough) to be virtually stalked....... So, protect your online persona!

A new start!

It is really interesting the psychological effect of a percieved new start. There is nothing really different about December 31st and January 1st. The weather is the same, you are basically the same age, nothing has really changed in your life, but millions of people are incented/motivated to make changes in their life, changes that will make your life better simply because you ripped one more page off of the calendar. And hey, I am a victim of this too!

So, now that it is January, I am incented to eat better again, think about the housing renovation projects I need to complete, thinking about how to working a regular exercise regimen back into my schedule etc...... Just because the year has changed.

I am thinking that the end of the year has the opposite effect as well. Why didn't I resolve to make any of these changes in November or December?

I guess the important thing is how long I keep this all up! Here's to the new year!

PS Obviously, I didn't resolve to be a better blogger! Otherwise I would have managed to post this 3 weeks ago when I started writing this! Hmmmm.......

I'm back!

So.... this fall I have not been the best blogger.... or the best blog reader.... Life has been distracting me! I have had a dog before when I was growing up and as experienced as I am owning a dog and living with a roommate that had a dog for 3+ years, I think I underestimated the effect of a puppy on my current adult life. I really feel like I have a little furry child but i didn't have to go through labor! I am exaggerating a little bit but not that much......

First, since she is still young, I have to come home everyday at lunchtime to let her out and feed her lunch because she is growing and has a small bladder which has really cut into my work social time. Lunchtime is a major social outing at work and I often used the time to catch up with my friends in other groups and to bond with the folks in my group. That time is gone for now..... Lunch now is normally a Lean Cuisine in between walks/potty breaks with the dog then it is back to work.

I have become one of those dog mommies who talks about their dogs all the time. I often would mention how folks with kids just talk about their kids and kid things all the time and I have become that person, except about my dog. My co-worker humors me, mainly because she has a 4 year old so she sort of knows what its like. So when I come in and talk about how Puppy gained 6 lbs since her last vet visit or how she learned to sit or had her first bath, she kindly humors me. :-)

But i have to admit, I am feeling a little isolated. She hates being in her crate and being left alone so it bothers me a little bit every time I leave her in the house since she barks like crazy so I end up staying at home on my free time a lot more, especially on the weekends. Today friends of mine came over for a little wine and cheese tasting, reminiscent of our Napa trip in June, so I got to have a little adult people time. And Puppy behaved well! They both own dogs so they would have been fine anyway but she slept most of the time they were here and didn't really try to chew or bite on anyone (the joys of teething! ;-)

So, I bet you want to see pictures! Here she is!






Chewing rawhide

How much is that doggie in the window?.....

So I have been contemplating getting a dog for a while now but was never quite ready to make the commitment. I had a dog growing up for about 10 years and I know how much attention they require and how much attention I would want to give one and I was not sure that I wanted to give up the freedom I have as a single unattached woman..... I mean, having a dog is similar to having a child. I could not go out after work but would have to come home and walk to dog. I would have to find kennels when I went out of town..... But this is a cute dog! She is a black lab/border collie mix. She sorta looks like this one here (who is not her.)

I don't know about the border collie part. They are longer haired than I would like. I am sometimes maybe allergic to dogs and I think that it would be better to have a shorter hair dog.

Well, i will think on it. I am going to call my aunt who had 2 border collies and pump her for information.....

RSVPs......

So..... its been a little over 3 months since I moved into my house and I had my housewarming this weekend! I was a little intimidated by the number of RSVPs I got.....about 70! So, I went to planning on how to feed and provide drinks for all these people. I decided to not make it too complicated so I went the barbeque route....... the menu included:

Appetizers:
Crab and artichoke dip
7 layer dip
Roasted rosemary cashews

Entrees:
BBQ ribs
BBQ chicken
Roasted chicken
BBQ Meatballs
Corn on the cob
Roasted vegetables with Garlic Tarragon Butter
Potato Salad

Dessert:
Mango Key Lime Cheesecake
Lemon Pound Cake with fresh Strawberries

Premixed drinks:
Peach Sangria
Rum Punch
Margaritas

Okay.... well maybe that doesnt sound all that simple but it is all stuff I have basically made before. I admit, I like cooking for people and somehow, this time was much easier than I expected. I did the majority of the cooking on Saturday.

I would say that the housewarming was a success but...... I had 24 no shows! 24! That is a lot!! Like how can you possibly plan for that?? But I guess I would rather have more food than not enough. However, if you say you are coming then you should come.... or apologize for not showing up and give an explanation/excuse. I have still not heard from some people. I just think that is rude. Am I overreacting about this?? Should I just give up and know that RSVPs just don't mean anything anymore?......
Tequila Lime & Buffalo wings