Blessings, affirmations, grace, and reflection

I have been keeping things pretty low key lately. Tomorrow I will be heading up north to see my photo on exhibit in a museum. Why yes, that is one of my bucket list items! It will be part of a multi-media presentation rather than on the wall, but hey it is a step closer to my dreams! Speaking of photo exhibits, I wanted to show the final product of my first photography class, but since some of the kids are in the photos I will have to wait until I can post individuals photos instead. Kids in first through third grade took a 6 week class with me and learned about framing their shots, composition, focus, balance and more. I would have loved to have spent more time with them, but considering we worked together for such a short period and they are so young it was pretty good. So, I will be saying a final goodbye to my old city on December 31st - how apropos! It will be a quick turn around trip...might not even have enough time to catch a meal before getting back on the train and ch...

I haven't left the house in 2 days and I am tempted to stay in until it is time to go back to work. Seriously, if I didn't have to work and I had enablers, I would probably turn into one of those people who needs to be rescued from themselves.  I am just now doing my holiday cards. I don't know if there is some unwritten rule giving me the 7 days of Kwanzaa as a grace period (maybe it is in the CP Time handbook) but they were just written along with the thank you notes. Yes, I need to attend a meeting or two of procrastinator's anonymous...but I would always be late! I just need to take them down to the lobby to mail and all I want to do is take another nap. Seriously, all I did today was write cards and I am done. Mind you I do write a personal message in each, but I think I could do better. I haven't hit the gym yet.  I ate a whole bag of Cowboy Bark along with other candy that was given to me for the holidays. I also had shortbread cookies, then my friend sen...

Today I wanna do the following (after taking a nap) get a massage get hair blown out and trimmed go to IKEA to get picture frames for family pictures The sorta must do list: Go to Whole Foods Get jewelry cleaned and repaired Take coat to cleaners and get pants altered Write thank you cards and new year cards to those who sent me a card or sent a gift clean bathroom and vacuum living room get vision checked Go through papers Go through boxes Buy candles for kinara

Last night I went to see Porgy & Bess. I am familiar with the 1959 version because my mother loved it so much she had the album and I would listen and sing along with it growing up. I knew "Summertime" long before Fantasia sang it on "American Idol".  I didn't know all of the facets of the story and so I am glad that I finally saw it. I would have paid good money to see Sammy Davis, Jr. playing Sportin' Life, Dorothy Dandrige as Bess and Sidney Poitier as Porgy. Pearl Bailey, Diahann Carroll and Brock Peters. Good gracious that had to be a fantastic show! This performance was just eh. I don't know if I have been spoiled by New York theater, if the energy was low, or what. I did make a connection between Porgy & Bess and Carmen. A lot of the same themes running through both stories. Interesting. I would love to write an analysis of it like I used to do in college. I rocked Bantu knots for the first time in my life and it was kind of liberating. ...

When I was a little girl I would pull the petals off of flowers and say, he loves me, he loves me not. He loves me, he loves me not. Then when I became a grown woman a song was released by a woman who looked a lot like me and she sang full of passion, he loves me...especially...different... Today I sent out an email telling my friends about the blessings that have been bestowed upon me this year. The first response I got back was from none other than Supastar. He has always been so supportive of me. I sometimes wonder if I made the worst mistake of my life by not being there with him. It might seem juvenile and naive, but the fact that he sent a response says a lot. It is like picking that last petal on the flower and confirming...he loves me.

Somewhere along the way it has been drilled into us that Christmas must be perfect; I think about the humble beginnings of the sweet little baby Jesus and know that nothing could be further from the truth. If we are to believe the story of how our Lord and Savior came into this world, the fact that he was born in a stable among the animals says a lot about how humble his beginning truly was. So why do we stress ourselves out trying to make everything perfect on this one day of the year that is supposed to be about remembering and honoring that sweet baby that was born in Bethlehem? I thought about this because as I was leaving Whole Food on Christmas Eve, a woman came barreling into the elevator with her cart looking haggard and stress out. I asked if she was ready and she gave me a hopeless look and replied, "almost." I responded, something to the effect of well it will be here and gone and we will wonder what all of the fuss was about. She just slumped her shoulders and m...