Crazy Yes! Creative...Absolutely!

Folks often ask me how I do it. How the hell am I working 3 jobs, volunteering, and managing school. How is this possible. I get the weird looks and long sighs. People do not focus on the possibilities. A parent at my job #2 asked, but what about days off? "What about them?" I replied. I work a max of 4 hours a day 3 days a week playing with kids. That isn't work to me. I'm getting paid (cash mind you) to have fun! I have a strength that has nothing to do with me alone. My spirituality keeps me balanced. I tried numerous times to balance my life on the solo and failed miserably so I had no choice but to call in for help. The best help around. Funny thing I average the same income I did as an investment rep at a well respected financial company I worked at for around 5 years. Now I can be happy doing what I love and working towards my purpose. That my friends is PRICELESS. I usually have to be at work no earlier than 2:30. That means no early mornings...well only Sundays. I work weekends but have my mornings to myself and can sneak in a matinee at the movies in the middle of the week and shop while everyone else is at work. Sweet. The absolute best, no micro management-no bosses over the shoulder. This ironically leaves lots of time for innovation since I'm rarely stressed out.

Inexpensive But Rich

Finding deals gets me all gushy inside and I just loves a challenge when it comes to shopping for clothing, accessories, and jewelry. Well I had a little soiree to attend last weekend and I also had other financial obligations. Why always around the same time. But hey, who doesn't? I had some Nine West booties I got last year for like $17 bucks (oh yeah they were like $60 something dollars on amazon) see here ...and a top I just grabbed from WalMart $9, a cardigan $16 and leggings $10, a snakeskin clutch (took the gold chain off) I got this on consignment many moons ago (I'm sure it was under $5). The colors are rich which equals Fall trends 2010. This was the final result of my innovations. Being creative with the funds and the fashions is a must. Besides everyone is doing it.

Unexpected Fabulosity

When picking up a book I grabbed from discount store Ollie's for like $3 bucks, I figured the new read was going to be a possible drag. OMG was I terribly wrong! The author none other than Bernice McFadden author of the beautiful novel 'Sugar' put her foot and leg into this fresh tale on the raw experience of love between a black woman and man who has past experiences that would make the average person shiver at the thought of loving another. The novel provided an unexpected surge of revelation at the end and was a major page turner. Her writing is graceful and doesn't throw in a fairy tale, unrealistic happy go lucky wrap up at the end. It gives you the real and concludes with the reader having a sense of positivity on the trials and tribulations which love often takes you. It was Brilliant!

Velma Newsome Creator of Tatianna's room

 www.tatiannasroom.org

 Don't you just love when people see something broken, or not 100% what it could be, take the problem, work to resolve it or improve the situation and in turn make someone smile one good deed at a time? I love it and this is why I had to write up a post on Miss Velma Newsome the creator of Tatianna's room. Her creation is not only fresh, creative, and fun but also loving for those children who benefit from the program. Here's the 411. She redecorates the rooms of children living in group homes or foster care. Miss Newsome worked in group homes for years and recognized that the rooms the children lived in were pretty much plain jane. She started Tatianna's room in 2008. Check out her site for more information and the scoop on donating.

 www.tatiannasroom.org
http://www.mindtv.org/cgi-bin/display_asset.fcg?member_id=2133;ordinal=1;file=vodind.ttml;style=mind

Masterchef's Tracy Nailor

Fox

Okay I'm not a reality TV junkie, well maybe a little but only for those shows that force people to perform at their best and expose the fiercest, most creative people at their best all the while under Chef Ramsey's foot and grueling screams of displeasure. Plus I love cooking (hey I get it honestly my Dad always showed me something new in the kitchen). Anyway my favorite on my new addiction Masterchef's Tracy Nailor. The MD whose real passion is cooking up the beloved recipes her mother taught her and raised her up on. This sista cooks with a true passion with her mother's memory at the core of her focus. All the reason for me to tune in week after week to route for her and hope she'll make it at least to the final four.

Hells Kitchen Autumn Lewis

 My all time favorite tube must see is Hells Kitchen with the famous screamer Chef Ramsey. I don't watch it though to hear him call folks donkeys and yell at them to piss off. I simply adore watching how individuals respond under his rage aka extreme pressure. My favorite was ousted just recently. Autumn Lewis 29 from Chi-town was a force to reckon with even though her team mates thought otherwise. Her creations on the show were appealing to the eye and her ability to remain poised while coping with an eardrum irritating Ramsey was enough to garner awards in my opinion. Her constant 'up for elimination' trials week after week often showed her team mates need to rid of her because of her endurance. Sure she made mistakes but who didn't on the show. Currently a personal chef in North Hollywood California, I'm sure she's on her way to even larger paths as a result of her success on the show.


Autumn's quote on being dismissed from the show says all. "I'm happy to have made it this far.  I was able to overcome obstacles I didn't know I had the strength in me to do".

Check out more scoop on homegirl Autumn here 
(Fox News pic)

A Beautiful Scupltor and Printmaker

 Born in 1915 in the nation's capital, Elizabeth Catlett was an astounding sculptor, and print maker. She studied design and printmaking at Howard University and changed to study sculpting when there was no sculpture division at Howard. She pushed boundaries becoming the first African American to get her Master of Fine Arts in sculpture at the University of Iowa. She mostly created pieces that depicted what she saw, images of her people, specifically black women . Her piece, Mother and Child, sculpted in limestone won first prize at the American Negro Exposition in 1940. She is the mother of America's Next Top Model Cycle 4 winner Naima. She studied wood carving in Mexico and used her art along with other artists to promote social change there. She received numerous awards and many of the outdoor sculptures she created are are displayed in Mexico; in Jackson, Mississippi; New Orleans, LA; and, Washington, D.C.