Safa means tranquil, serene, calm…I try

I don’t know if you guys are familiar with Freecyc.le. It’s like Cr.aig’slist but for neighborhoods and instead of selling items, you give them away. Last week I gave away a headboard. The woman was supposed to come pick it up at 6:30pm. I rushed home at 6 to straighten up and bring the headboard downstairs.

When I arrived, my 6 year-old told me that the lady had already come by. I was p-o’d b/c the house was a wreck….but at least my hubby just handed the board to her at the door right? Right? WRONG.

How about my husband was asleep when she came over, my son let her in the house! The story I got from my son and hubby is that when she first knocked on the door, my son tried to wake up hubby (who’d decided to take a power nap!!!!). Hubby said he thought he was dreaming…mmmk.

Hubby said by the time he realized what son had been saying, he jumped up out of the bed just as the lady was WALKING UP THE STAIRS ONTO THE LANDING IN FRONT OF THE BEDROOM!!!!

There are soooooo many things wrong with how this went down. First off, I reminded my son that he was not supposed to answer the door…let alone OPEN it!. He says he didn’t think it was nice to make her wait outside until I came home from work! My hubby should not be power napping with a 6 year-old roaming the house! AND FINALLY, what in sugar and spice is the lady coming in a house at the urging of a 6 year-old for? If it was me, I would be scared to just walk into some stranger’s house!

You are all invited to my house this week if you’d like to attend the following workshops hosted by your’s truly:

1. Stranger Danger 101

2. Power-naps…over-rated

3. Divorce for the Power-napper 101

4. Trespassers can be shot on site

I mean geesh, can you imagine if this was a Craigsl.ist transaction? I woulda been all over the news!

I purchased a new coach bag (always makes me feel better). Here’s a pic of it:

Now, looking at the picture, one might assume that it is a nice sized tote. NOT! When it arrived I was disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, I love the bag and am wearing it today but I swear, when I first tried it on it looked like a had shoved Barbi.e’s purse under my arm!!!

Man, you know times are rough when you order accessories that make you look fat.

Hi all! I really don’t have anything of note to post but just wanted you all to know that I am here LOL! I am reading your blogs! I have been kind of busy with PTA stuff and school activities and am so exhausted sometimes I don’t the energy to post.

I am so sure you know how it is!

I had planned to write this long, sweeping manifesto of sorts related to my visit this weekend to the home/plantation of George Wa.shington. However, my thoughts can be relayed briefly.

My aunt came to visit from New York City and she wanted to go here. I live in Northern VA (DC metro area) and only 10 minutes away from Mt. Vernon. I have never really considered going here before. Driving along the GW Pakrway is breathtaking as you are driving parallel to the Potomac River. I live very near the river. Anyway, it never interested me because …well, it just never did.

I must say, Mt. Vernon is beautiful. Washington was definitely a visionary, a planner, shrewd businessman and all the rest. Mt. Vernon is captivating…this place is what comes to mind whenever I’ve envisioned a plantation in my mind. The mansion (big house) overlooking the river, the stables, forests, outbuildings, etc. The sheer beauty of the land….over 4 thousand acres is by far the most beautiful land I’ve ever seen. I took the tour of the whole place. There are still areas under the houses that I wasn’t privvy to. They had houses specifically for salting meat, one for smoking meat, one for shoe repair. Mt. Vernon was conceptualized by Washington and realized by the people who were under his “employ”. There was so much history there. Some of it I knew already-a lot I did not.

I would encourage everyone to visit this place if you ever have the opportunity. From a purely historical perspective, it is a must-see. Washington was ahead of his time in agricultural and horticultural practices.

I visited the slave memorial and slave quarters, overseer’s house etc. I was brought to tears. So much work went into building Mt. Vernon. As I walked along this magnificent land, marveling at it’s beauty and scope, something kept tugging at me. I mean, I was happy to be seeing this splendor - grateful even. I kicked myself for never having come before this. As the guides talked about the greatness that was Washington, I could see the truth of it around me. The guides at Mt. Vernon do not ignore the fact that he had slaves. In fact, many of the plaques state at the time of his death he owned 316 slaves. However, it is downplayed on the tour. You can take a separate slave tour….I may the next time I visit.

I can say a lot more about my experience while at Mt. Vernon, but you should go yourself. As I walked off the plantation, one thought came to mind and escaped my lips, “I want my 40 acres and a mule”. Seeing this place gives a whole new meaning to the idea of reparations.

My son and I were driving and came upon an overturned SUV. He was initially very excited to see the firetrucks and ambulances. He thought this was so “cool”. He talked my head off about how cool it was that the firemen were on the scene and again reminded me of how my husband had JUST taken him on an impromptu tour of the neighborhood firehouse after school. Finally, we settled into a nice quiet drive.

About 20 minutes later:

He says - “mommy, can we have a conversation?”
I say - “yes, what about?”
He says - “well, this is crazy stuff so I am crazy”
Me - “just tell me, I won’t think you are crazy”
Him - “you remember that car that was upside down?”
Me - “yes”
Him - “well I don’t know those people but I almost want to cry about them…that’s crazy right?”
Me - (as I get choked up) “No that’s not crazy, that’s pretty great! It means that Allah has put caring in your heart. That means that you care about other people and that you are so cool. That means that at 5 years old (he just turned 6) you have a huge heart. I am so proud that you want to cry for those people”
Him - “oh, ok”

The above makes me disregard his usual conversations. Like this one from yesterday:

Him - “Mom, if we had an accident will the ambulance come?”
Me - “yes, to make sure no one is hurt”
Him - “Will they take us to the hospital?”
Me - “yes”
Him - “what if I fell out the car on a stick and my private parts got chopped off?”
Me - (thinking…here we go again, I am so not in the mood for this right now)
Him - “mommeeeeee, I’m talking to you”
Me - Yes, J. If that happened they would take you to the hospital”
Him - “What about my peni.s?”
Me - ” The doctor will sew it back on”
Him - “That would hurt too much! I don’t want them sewing it back on”
Me - “ok”
Him - “They have that medicine that can put you to sleep and I won’t know they sewed it?”
Me - “yes”
Him - “How do they do that?”
Me - (getting annoyed b/c I’m TIRED and the commute is long and he talks THE WHOLE WAY HOME NON STOP) “I don’t know. I am not a doctor”
Him - “Can we go to the doctor school and ask them right now?
Me - “no”
Him - “That’s why I don’t know nothing cause you never take me anywhere”

1. Where is your cell phone? DESK
2. Your significant other? tries
3. Your hair? HOT MESS
4. Your mother? eternal
5. Your father? who
6. Your favorite thing? books
7. Your dream last night? forgot
8. Your favorite drink? tea
9. Your dream/goal? contentment
10. The room you’re in? office
11. Your ex? *blush*
12. Your fear? hell
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? alive
14. Where were you last night? home
15. What you’re not? skinny
16. Muffins? blueberry
17. One of your wish list items? house
18. Where you grew up? harlem
19. The last thing you did? smile
20. What are you wearing? clothes
21. Your TV? none
22. Your pets? none
23. Your computer? nice
24. Your life? busy
25. Your mood? optimistic
26. Missing someone? sister
27. Your car? junky
28. Something you’re not wearing? earrings
29. Favorite Store? TARGET
30. Your summer? short
31. Like someone? hubby
32. Your favorite color? black
33. When is the last time you laughed? YESTERDAY
34. Last time you cried? yesterday
35. Who will/would re-post this? naad

Not a tag but try it!

from continually running around on this hamster wheel but expecting a different outcome. My son will is 21 months old so I think I should let him off the hook for my excess weight. What’s so frustrating is that I could probably write a book on weight loss! I know basically to eat less and move more. However, I am NOT doing it.

Over the years, I’ve been on Jen.ny Craig, LA Weigh.t Loss, Cur.ves, and most recently We.ight Watchers. I am not into fad dieting as I know they don’t work. I could easily say the probem is that I just like food. However, I know I can still like food and eat the types of food I like without ballooning out of control…but I don’t.

Ugghhh, this is so frustrating. I think I have reverse body dismorphia or something. I’ve been looking in the mirror and seeing a “voluptuous” beauty for the past year. Reality is that I am really overweight and need to “STOP THE INSANITY”….as the ’90s weight loss guru Susan P.owter used to say.

True story: My friend was over my house last year. She and I are the same age almost to the day. My son, then 5, was amazed that we were the same age. Here’s how it went:

Son: Y’all are really both 34?
Me: yes, we will both be 35 next month in February
Son: For real Miss C?
Friend: Yup
Son: OK, but actually my mom is probably older because she’s fat right?

I started crying in my heart. I remember telling my husband while I was pregnant this same child in 2002 that I didn’t want to be the mom at my son’s school that the kids said was fat. Don’t you guys remember “that” mom who came to the class and y’all laughed because Johnny’s mom was a pig? Well, I never wanted to be that mom for my children.

I’m almost to the point where I WILL start ripping out tags in my clothes so hubby won’t see what size I’m in. I always thought that once I out grew a size 12, I would just die!!!! God those were the days.

There’s a new girl who started at my job last week. She is very nice and friendly. She’s a little too happy and talkative though IMO. I think most of the co-workers are a little uncomfortable with the ease in which she has insinuated herself to the job. She’s very hyper and “girlfriend-ee” if that makes sense? She is NOT understated in her dress or manner. For example, everyone takes turns providing breakfast for our weekly staff meetings. This will usually include bagels, juice, fruit or something like that. This lady volunteered to do breakfast her 1st week here…which is fine. However, why did she start setting up an hour before the meeting???? She had boiled eggs, bacon, waffles, (brought her own toaster from home) etc….people were looking at each other like, “this is not IHOP”.

Anyway, she will be shadowing me one day this week so as we were discussing the logistics of the day, she told me to call her a nickname that she says everyone calls her. Now, she has a long name so I assumed her nickname would be a variation of her name…like beth instead of elizabeth or neesha instead of shaquaneesha. However, ol’ girl told me to call her ‘dimples’. I gave a little nervous giggle and asked “huh”? She was like, “oh no, everyone calls me dimples, my mom, aunties, teachers, etc since my name is so complicated”.

A few things popped into my head while she was chatting away 1) We are two of three “sistahs” in our division and the third is our boss….I doubt the others will be calling you dimples 2) This is a professional setting AND your 7th day here…a little familiar aren’t we? 3) There ain’t a dayum dimple no where on your face!!!

I’m sorry, I don’t feel right calling a co-worker (albeit one who’s sweet as pie) dimples as I walk the halls at my job!!!

The following is a pic of actual shopping list I found in the produce section of the supermarket the other day. Do you think they are from the south???????

List Highlights:

margin
pigs feets
scrapples
honee
fatsbacks
white taters
cakemixs
sweettaters
mayters
strawburrys
peenut budder
letus
clorocks
linedry soap
orange drank
hinee paper
cukes

For those of you who don’t know - and if you don’t have young children or relatives, you may not, Diego is the cousin of Dora the Ex.plorer. My son loves Diego. Last Sunday I took him to see Diego Live. There were a few things that I wanted to mention about that excursion. These live shows for children are very relaxed and audience participation is encouraged. Children are encouraged to sing along, jump up and down and also do a call-refrain with the cast when warranted. My son can be somewhat reserved. If we had been sitting in the front rows, he probably would have been very active. We had great seats in the lower balcony level. We were right center, front and a little raised from the stage. Anyway, he would always look around at the other kids before he would get up and dance or whatever. Here’s what disturbed me as I sat there watching other families: if your child does not want to participate, this is not a reason to chastise! I saw mothers getting angry at their little ones because they didn’t want to jump up and down hootin’ and hollerin’. Dude, you purchased the ticket for them to see the show. Chill out. I felt so bad for those kids. On the other hand, it was pretty annoying watching parents more into the show than their children. For real, when Diego asks “you” to jump up and say “Rescue Pack” or “roar like baby jaguar”…they are really speaking to YOUR CHILDREN! It was so embarrasing. The other thing…

Do not buy tickets in the nose-bleed section if you plan on bringing your big aunt Essie. There were at least 3 families who really made me cringe. When the usher would point in the direction UP the stairs where they were to sit, people got attitudes! One lady almost cussed out her relative and loudy said, “all these damn stairs!”. It was very painful watching certain people take 15 minutes to walk up a flight of stairs! Some were leaning so heavily on the thin bannister I thought it would break.

Oh, and I felt like I could guess which families got their taxes back by the amount of crap they purchased. Now don’t get me wrong - I definitely bought my son a tee-shirt and one of those annoying light things where you push a button and Diego would spin around inside the bulb…aside…I paid $15 for it and my toddler threw it across the room in anger when J tried to take it back. We were in the house 3 minutes and it broke! Anyway, there were people who purchased waaaaayyy too much stuff, including candy, soda, etc. I mean really. I was digging those prepared families who packed granola bars and juice boxes:)

Finally, on t.v. Diego is about 8. Now I understand that it may be difficult to get an 8 year-old performer. However, should the stage version of Diego look 35???? Dora even made an appearance and she looked about 35! My son was not feeling that LOL!.

My dilemma….the Backyardigans will be there in June…I like them….I may have to leave my son home and put on my dancing shoes!