Ramblings of a Southern Girl
Enter at your own risk...
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Men don’t take the time to end things. They ignore you. Until you insist on a declaration of hate.Joan to Peggy on “Mad Men”
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And I Will Always Love Whitney…
I don’t remember exactly how old I was when I fell in love with Whitney Houston. Maybe I was 6 or 7.
I just remember it was night time and we were on a family road trip headed south to visit family in Lake Charles. The radio was on and they kept playing this one song over and over again. At least once every hour. But no matter what we were doing, when it came on, we stopped talking and would just marvel at how beautiful the singer’s voice was. Just taking it all in like it was brand new each time it played.
That was my introduction to Whitney Houston. The song was “You Give Good Love to Me” and God her voice was rang through as clear as a bell. Just simply angelic. Even at that young age, I recognized it and even after all of these years, I’ve never heard a voice like that again.
We all know celebrities are people just like the rest of us, but there are some whose gifts are so amazing, so life-altering that they become interwoven into the fabric of our lives and for me Whitney Houston was definitely one of those people.
I mean, talk to anybody between the ages of 25 and 45, especially women, and I guarantee at least half of them are going to share a similar story, like mine, of how and when they fell in love with Whitney.
Of course, after the 90s, her voice never sounded quite like that again, but she was still one of those people who’s music was just part of the foundation of my life as I knew it.
While she fell from grace time and time again, and many of us laughed (yes, I laughed many times) I still wanted her to make it. After all, she was like family. Like that favorite cousin that you used to want to be just like when you grew up. The one who was so full of life and seemed to have it all, but got off track. You just wanted them to find their way back.
Her death, no matter how inevitable or predictable it may have been based on her troubled life, shocks my system just like the sudden loss of a loved one. It’s like yet again, another piece of my childhood is gone.
And if I’m feeling this way, I can’t even begin to imagine the mountain of pain her family is going through. I pray for them, especially her daughter, and I think of and pray for everyone else I know out there who is battling those same demons each day just to get through this life.
God I pray they find peace. And I pray she’s finally free.
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The joy of cooking and other discoveries
So I’m three months into this post-daily journalist life and happened upon one of the biggest surprises yet.
I had no idea was even possible, but after tonight’s activities, I now realize it’s true: not only do I now know how to cook, but…I LIKE IT!
Ok, I love it. Well, given that I’m a commitment-phobe, it might be too soon to say I love it, but I tell you what, it makes me feel so, well, GREAT!
It’s amazing. I never had the patience or innate gift that apparently so many women are born with when it comes to cooking.
I have distinct memories of Mom teaching my younger sister and I how to cook. She’d pull us into different tasks “Boil this,” “Add salt to that” “Let it simmer for x minutes” blah, blah, blah.
My sister picked it up easily and was making meals before she graduated high school. Me on the other hand? Well, I was the one that always got shooed away for exasperating Mom with all of my technical questions. “So what exactly is a dash?” “How much is a teaspoon exactly?”
And while I considered them legit questions (Hey, I need recipes that are clear and concise. The exact measurement of a dash is way more beneficial to me than just assuming my dash and your dash equal the same dash!) I have to be honest, about 50 percent of the time I bombarded her with those questions, I was doing it intentionally to get out of the kitchen. I was just not the domestic type.
I’m still not, really, but I’m really trying to take care of myself better since I’m in my *clears throat* thirty-something *crumbling paper” and want to keep looking 20-something or lose 20-something - tomato, ‘tomahto’ - I’m all about eating healthier and laying off of the fast food diet.
I mean, honestly, i get sick of eating that stuff after awhile anyway and my body is starting not to appreciate it so much either.
So, I reward it with new dishes I’ve experimented on and thank God it’s usually edible. I even introduced a new snack recipe to the family - homemade granola - that everyone seems to be loving. That’s right ME! Chef-Girl-R-Dee! (As my sister now calls me.)Even on those tough days, when I don’t feel so upbeat and happy, I now finding myself using the kitchen as a stress relief. Maybe it’s the feeling of accomplishment that gets me so high off of it. I don’t know. But I’m liking this self-discovery and I’m going to keep at it until I’m good enough to compete in the big leagues - the family holiday meals!
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Hey Fran Hey: Hey Fran Hey Xmas Giveaway
As a personal Thank You for all of your loyalty, kindness & support, I wanted to show my appreciation by giving one lucky reader my absolute fav item!
A Huetiful Hair Steamer <3
If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, you’d know by now that I rave about this steamer almost weekly!…
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I woke up in the morning feeling fresh to def, I’m so blessed….went to sleep stressed, woke up refreshed. I’m so blessed.Jill Scott, “Blessed”
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Adolescent memories of fun, laughter, innocence, first crushes, first kisses, dance-a-thons…
I mean, what else can I say about the legendary rapper Heavy D that hasn’t already been said in the countless blog posts, Facebook updates and tweets out there over the last 24 hours?
Like so many other fans out there, his music was part of the soundtrack of my youth. I sweated out a many of perms trying to get those dance moves on “Now That We Found Love,” his appearance on “A Different World” was one of my all-time favorite episodes, I just KNEW I was one of the models in the video for “Is it Good To You,” and the list goes on and on.
And even though I hadn’t heard new music from him in ages, I still knew he was there through his guest appearances on so many TV shows and films through the years. He just seemed like one of those people that still had a lot of life left in him. I mean he wasn’t old or one of those stars with a sad life-after story filled with drugs, women, STDs, bankruptcy or whatever.
Maybe that’s why his death is just so shocking to me, even a day later. Anyway, found this link on Twitter of his last performance and thought fellow Heavy D fans would enjoy the trip down memory lane. RIP Heavy D.
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This is sooo where I am right now. LOVE this.
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Still missing her…
I can not WAIT to get my hands on this. That track listing looks amazing.
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Young Bob Marley and his loose natural/starter locks. Such a bright future in his eyes. Love this photo and this era of his music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eciArkBTeBM
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Shaking things up…
So my life has taken some eventful turns as of late.
After spending a decade as entertainment editor at my hometown newspaper - about 7 years longer than I ever intended - I’ve taken a huge leap of faith and resigned to join the world of freelancing and find my own way to make my dreams come true.
After all, if not me, then who?
Today marks a full week since I said goodbye to the job that, in the end, taught me so much about myself, more than anything else. And while I felt an undeniable sense of triumph, there was sadness at leaving behind the folks I like to refer to as my wonderfully-dysfunctional-extended-family-not-related-by-blood and the memories associated with all of them, past and present members.
This week has been kind of like a mixed bag of feelings, of which I finally concluded were best described as workaholic withdrawal symptoms: anxiety, irritability, highs and lows…Yes, I realize these symptoms could probably also match that of bi-polar disorder and a whole bunch of other disorders out there, but I digress…
The point is, out of all the emotions I’ve felt, regret is still not one of them and I don’t expect it to be because I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was time for me to go and when God says go, you gotta move. Period.
And despite this roller coaster of emotions I’ve experienced, I’m still so thrilled about this journey.
One of the things I hate so much is routine and that’s what my job in my former life as a newspaper girl had become. So when I confided in my mentor about this decision to quit my job… in a recession… to freelance… full-time… Her response was like my divine confirmation that this is the right way to go. She said, “I think that’s a great idea. Sometimes you have to shake things up to find your way.”
And everyone from my friends, colleagues and usually-traditionalist parents to even my former boss and financial advisor expressed similar levels of enthusiasm toward my decision. I’ve been truly blessed.
So to all of that, I say, let the journey begin.
Well, the title says it all... but not quite... I don't know... I'm just finding my way folks... Stay tuned...
