I Won't Complain

When I was little I had dreams of creating a beauty product & making a kazillion (you heard me right, a kazillion) dollars, having a huge fairytale wedding, 2 kids, living in a big white house on a hill, having the same house on the same land for my parents & grandparents & I was gonna do all of this before I was old & grey.....ya know....like 30!  

Well things didn't work out quite like I planned.  My daddy died, leaving my mother a widow & me a fatherless child.  As a result (at least in my opinion) I became a teen mother.  I finished high school on time & with my class, ranking 6th in my class I might add.  

I got my 1st real job during my senior year & have worked every since.  After HS, I had a job, entered college & everything changed.  Trying to work, attend school & care for a toddler was a bit more than I bargained for.  I couldn't quit working, I had Pampers to buy.  I couldn't send my baby back, he was here to stay.  Needless to say, my studies suffered & after a year & a half, I just gave up.  I could kick myself for that one!  Outside of having sex too soon, that was the biggest mistake I've ever made. 

Even though my parents and grandparents have gone home to glory, I am, however, grateful!  I have been blessed with a career (I worked my way up) that I enjoy.  I don't have the big house on the hill, but my lil townhouse is more than enough.  I only have 1 kid, as they say He gives you no more than you can bear.  {This boy is giving me the blues!!  That's another story for another day.}  I still don't have my prince.....still kissing these damn frogs!  My wedding dress is still on layaway (been there since 1995!  j/k...or am I??).   

I won't complain.....I am happy (most of the time), healthy (a sista ain't missing no meals) and when I really think about, I live like a damn queen compared to some people.

Sangria Naranja

Ingredients:
- 1 (750 ML) bottle of Fruity Red Wine or Fruity White Wine
- 1/2 Cup GranGala Triple Orange Liqueur
- 1/3 Cup Brandy
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 Orange, sliced into rounds
- 1 Pear and or Apple, cored and cut into thin wedges
- 1/4 Cup Superfine Sugar

Directions:
1) Cup the orange in half. Using a vegetable peeler, cut off the thin outer peel of the orange half, avoiding the bitter pith. Slice the other half of the orange and use for garnish.

2) In a bowl, use a wooden spoon to mash the sugar into the orange peel so the sugar absorbs the oils. Stir in all remaining ingredients.

3) Cover and chill for 8 - 24 hours. Remove orange peel and bay leaves. 4) Serve sangria in a pitcher, garnished with reserved orange slices and fruits. Add 3 - 4 ice cubes to each glass when serving.

For white Sangria, substitute white wine for the red and peaches for the pears or apples.

Jumpcut - Make Your Own Video

http://www.jumpcut.com/
This is better than youtube for personal use, imho.

Happy Birthday to Me!!! Ms. Mo - Thru the Years

1st I want to thank you all for the birthday wishes, emails, IMs, text & phone calls! I love me some y'all!!

Some of you who know me personally and those who go back to 360 have seen these photos. I know I missed a decade or two, but I'm too lazy to scan more photos right now. :o)

If you have 3 minutes to spare, take a peek at me!

What Shall We Name Her?

May 3, 1972 & that was the question.

Apparently my parents hadn't decided on what to name their 1st born until that fateful day.

Daddy had chosen Jennifer Lynn & wanted to call me Jenni Pooh.  Mama disagreed.  She didn't like either one & suggested Monica.  Daddy was okay with that & still suggested Lynn for my middle name. Mama said no.  So here's 9lbs & 1.5 oz little Monica with no middle name. 

Mama pondered the middle names of her nieces & chose one that fit, but spelled it differently. {Ya'll know how we do.}  Mama was happy & Daddy was too.  You see my family has a tendency to recycle and/or combine names to create a middle name.  Considering my grandmothers were Dorothy Mae & Lillie Mae, I'm just damn glad I'm not Monica Mae.  *gag*

Papa even threw in his nickel's worth and decided to nickname me Pumpkin because of my smile...imagine that. {I miss that old dude.}   I hear he raised quite a ruckus with nurses because they would only let him see me from behind the glass.  In the end, Papa got what he wanted.

Now of course, I have to ask - do you know how your name came about?  I'm all ears!

Racial Profiling? I Doubt It.

*Disclaimer - If you know anything about me you know that I'm not racist & why I could never be.  I'm definitely a realist, but not racist.*

With that being said, correct me if I am wrong, but 99% of the time, I know we can identify the racial groups involved by a simple headline.

1. Man Snatches Gold Chain on Rush Hour Subway Train
2. Wife Caught Cheating, Angry Husband Destroys Trailer Home
3. 15 People in 2 Bedroom Home Rescued from Fire
4. Brother Stabs Another over a Neckbone Dinner
5. Bungee Jumper Dies after 10-day Coma
6. Fruit Stand Operator Barely Escapes Freeway Crash

Even tho I made up all but one of the headlines mentioned, I'm pretty sure you all can figure out who did what sans the mention of any apparent racial identifier - Black, White, Hispanic, etc.

Doctor Mike has a video post about an 8-year old who is still breastfeeding.  Right away, several people including myself identified those involved before we even started the video.  Another person who happens to be of the same persuasion as the stars of the show was a little taken aback at the "racial profiling" that ensued on this post.  Ok....

With all we (as minorities) have witnessed and some may have even experienced (especially black men behind the wheel of a car), is this really racial profiling or just plain old telling it like it is?  I tend to believe the latter.

Let's talk about it.

Do Over!

As most of you know, I'm knocking on 36's door as we speak.  Our course I'm thinking about a whole host of things, & this blog came to mind.

I wanna do over! (That's me with those long ass legs at age 4. The baby is 1 year old & the little boy was 6 or 7.)

Remember how we used to yell that out {as children} when things didn't go our way?

• I don’t wanna be grown! I wanna be a kid!
• I don’t wanna work. I wanna go back to school & take the summers off.
• I don’t wanna pay a mortgage. I wanna live in Muda & Papa’s house.
• I don’t wanna pay bills. I wanna have all the luxuries of heat, a/c, phone, etc. at the cost of someone else.
• I don’t wanna buy groceries. I wanna tell Momma & Muda what I like & let them do the shopping.
• I don't wanna prepare breakfast. I wanna awake to the smell of bacon, eggs & pancakes, courtesy of Muda.
• I don’t wanna attend parent/teacher conferences. I wanna be the kid beaming because I’m a top student.
• I don’t wanna go to the Principal's office because my son is in trouble, yet again. I wanna go to the Principal's office & see my name on the honor roll wall.
• I don’t wanna buy $4.00 a gallon gas. I wanna ride shotgun in Papa’s ’72 Cadillac Coupe DeVille.
• I don’t wanna worry about or pay for home repairs. I wanna tell Papa what’s broken & let him work it out.
• I don’t wanna pay $300 for a plane ticket. I wanna pack my Sesame Street suitcase & wait for my Aunt’s RV to pull up & take us to our destination.
• I don't wanna visit my Mother's grave on Mother's Day. I wanna make those lil cards from colored construction paper & flowers from pastel tissue paper, scented with the teacher's cheap perfume.

I wanna go to sleep at night without a care in the world.