I love this video! It reminds me of the early days of MTV when they showed Videos. The song and the video just remind me of simpler times.

Gosh these were the good old days. We used to go out to dance and this was “the song”. 2:25 was the part when the whole club would get down low then Bring It Up, Bring It Up, Bring It Up!!! Good Times. Good Memories.

You can’t listen to the radio without hearing a song by T-Pain or Lil Wayne or T-Pain and Lil Wayne. T-Pain and his vocoder have taken over popular music. He has to be a millionaire several times over from writing, producing and “singing” for himself and other artists. Unless you are over 30 and/or are a frequent listener of the Tom Joyner Morning Show then you wouldn’t know that T-Pain’s style derives from the work of Roger Troutman.
Roger_Troutman
Roger’s music could get any party started. More Bounce to the Ounce, Computer Love, I Wanna Be Your Man (which was the last dance at my prom) and of course California Love. I will admit that I like some of T-Pain’s music and it sounds as if technology has evolved with the musical equipment because you can hear more of T-Pain’s voice where Roger’s sounded more synthesized. And T-Pain doesn’t have that “straw” hanging out of his mouth (see Roger and Snoop videos below). I heard a joke that Roger must be rolling over in his grave because he may have gone platinum once in his career and T-Pain has gotten rich with this style of music. But according to the Wikipedia article, the younger artists have given Roger credit which I am glad. Enjoy some of Roger and Roger inspired music below:

Chicago 1941

I love this picture. These are some young boys in 1941 in Chicago. They look so classy. Trends come and go and sometimes I think the older generations can be hard on young kids and the trends they follow. But everybody has to remember that they too were young once upon a time and probably went through some stage or followed a really stupid trend or style. We all did, and I dare anyone to go through their old pictures and yearbook if you don’t believe me. But there is one “style” or trend that is just plain stupid and frankly just ignorant and that’s the “pants hanging off your a** look”. I don’t get it, I think it is vulgar and just ridiculous. The pants started out big, got bigger, started to “sag” off the butt and now are belted completely below the buttocks. These kids can’t even walk and have to hold the crotch just to be able to walk. Just plain stupid!! Too many people have fought, died and sacrificed for you to walk around like this. It’s not cool, you look like a fool!
Boy, pull your pants up!!!!!!!
Ok, I’m done:)

I am writing this post because I know there is somebody out there like me who is going to google this, hell I did. There is somebody out there who went out last night on a romantic date to a nice restaurant and ordered the prime rib, roasted garlic potatoes and asparagus spears. Maybe went dancing, had a few drinks and went back to his place and……….woke up the next day and went to the bathroom and said what the??? And got scared that something in the milk wasn’t clean. You can relax.
asparagus-stinky-pee-and-scientific-curiosity
8815628

Remember the days when you had to remember phone numbers because they weren’t stored in your phone. Or had to type a paper on a typewriter or word processor? What about rewinding a tape? Remember those primitive video games like Pac Man, Colecovison or that original Atari game where you played tennis bouncing the little blip off of the white bars (I found out it was called Pong). We’ll we’ve come a long way baby. Blackberries, CD’s, flat screen televisions, computers that run at light speeds. Technology has truly made our lives easier in a lot of ways but some would say it has made us lazy. People don’t read books as much anymore, people have become more obese because we sit in front of our tv’s and computers. Technology is the same as anything else, you have to use it and don’t abuse it. But still it is a shame that I don’t know my own mama’s number.

I remember when I first saw these album covers of Prince. I remember picking these up at my aunt Pat’s house and staring at it, wondering who the hell is this guy. I was pretty young but I remember thinking this guy is a little freaky:) He had his hair pressed out and was wearing g-strings. On the back of one of these albums he’s butt naked riding a unicorn or something. But I got past all of that and got into the music and realized this guy was pretty talented. Prince has gone on to have a long, interesting career and has fans of all backgrounds from all over the world. And though we may not “really” know much about him and make think him a little odd at times, no one can deny that he is a gifted musician and has given us lots of hits over the years. Some of my favorites: I Could Never Take The Place of Your Man, Erotic City, When Doves Cry, It, Hot Thang, Lady Cab Driver and the Purple Rain soundtrack from beginning to end. Since Prince is not down with YouTube here are some Prince inspired tunes from some of his protegees.

Since I’ve been more nice than naughty
Here are a few products I would like to get in my stocking:

This stuff is wonderful!! It just smells like candy canes and is great to open up your nasal passages if you have a cold. Love this stuff and hate it only comes out once a year. Don’t leave Bath and Bodyworks without this.

I picked this up at Sephora and fell in love with this product. It is a cross between lipstick and lipgloss. It goes on smooth like gloss but looks like a sheer lipstick. I have this in Black Orchid and it is a perfect color for me. Love this product! I want to try some of the other shades.

I get so many compliments on this scent. I can’t really explain it but it almost smells unisex when I first spray it but it calms down into a soft scent. Works well with my body chemistry. Give it a sniff the next time you’re at the MAC counter.

This is a great lip gloss that isn’t too sticky and it smells like grape (there are like 24 other scents). I would list this as one of my all time fave lip glosses and I have been down with lip gloss since Bonne Bell in the 80’s! It looks great over the Black Orchid stick gloss above. Grab these by the fistful while you’re in Victoria’s Secret.

This is a splurge for me. And they should be ashamed at how small they make it for the price. But I guess you’re paying for the name?! I love this little wax pencil and it lays down that brow hair like nobody’s business. If anybody knows of a cheaper alternative let me know.

This is the ultimate ash killer. Love it!! My son has even started using this in the morning. It has shea butter in it and goes on smooth, not greasy. It makes your skin soft and smooth. I love this in the winter for dry skin and in summer to keep knees, elbows and heels well moisturized.

Tomorrow is Thanksgivng.  I can’t believe the holiday season is here again. It seems like just yesterday, we were celebrating the New Year.  This time of year is usually a time when people sit and reminisce over holidays past, the good ole days.  We think about all of our warm memories of times past and loved ones who are no longer with us to share those holidays.  I think about my grandmother during the holiday season.  She would start cooking a couple of days ahead.  She would bake the best cakes you’ve ever tasted from scratch (4 layer german chocolate, coconut layer cake, chocolate cake, sour cream pound cake and about 4 sweet potatoe pies), a juicy turkey, ham and all the fixings.  I would go to sleep with the smells of the kitchen and sound of the mixer as I drifted off to sleep.  The next day, we could not wait to get a taste of the magic she created.  All of the family would come together and eat this meal as a family.  At the time, I guess I didn’t truly appreciate all of this.  I took it for granted.  Now that I am older and have a family of my own, I know how much work it is to plan and make a holiday meal.  Now that all of the family is scattered about and aren’t close anymore, I so miss the good ole days and appreciate them now.  I wish I could tell my grandma how much I loved those meals and appreciated all the work and love that went into them.  And how I will never be able to put my foot into a Thanksgiving meal they was she did.  Tomorrow I will have a nice time but I will think about those good ole days-the smells, the laughter, the love, the sound of Teddy Pendergrass on the old turntable.  And I will think of grandma and I hope that somewhere, wherever she is, she will know.

In the movie Forrest Gump, there is a scene in the movie when Jenny dies and he goes to talk to her at her gravesite under this big tree (Every time I watch this scene, I boo hoo my eyes out). He talks to her about whether life is built upon one’s Destiny or if life is more random “like a box of chocolates you never know what you are gonna get”. Like Forrest says in the movie, I think it is a little of both. I believe in Destiny and this is based on my spiritual beliefs. To not believe that there is some purpose or higher meaning to life would just blow my mind and what would be the purpose then? But I also believe our lives are driven and directed by our choices(good or bad), the decisions we make and do not make, who we choose to love etc. Then there are things like Murphy’s Law, bad luck and times when Shit (just) Happens.

So, do you believe your Life is based on Destiny? The friends you have, your parents, your spouse, your children, do you believe they were “meant” to be in your life? Or do you believe that Life just is…?