Thankful: Day 6 Blog Friends

I knew the weekends were going to throw me off with my posting, but I have committed to making sure I get my 30 Thankful posts in this month. Late last night I managed to drop my blackberry in some water, while leaving a birthday party. The good news is that after a couple of hours of drying out, all of my information was intact and it still works. The bad news is that all of the pics I took at the blog gathering disappeared. I am sure their will be some pictures on Three Food Words soon, so you can check over there so you can appreciate all the goodness. 

First let me say that the Internet is a marvelous place, despite all the negativity that can exist online. I have been truly blessed to have been able to meet, connect and become friends with some wonderful people through blogs, twitter, and even FB.  I have been reading and blogging for about 3 years. So before FB or twitter was all the rage the last couple of years, I discovered blogs and how many talented writers there really are in the world. It is amazing how you can get to know people so well, or feel like you do, just by reading their words on a computer. It's so cool to read about peoples lives and come to know that you would be good friends just by how they present themselves online and it is great to meet them in person and have it confirmed.

I went to my very first Blogger meet up about a year and a half ago. I posted about it here. This was my first encounter meeting in person Serenity, Tiffany in Houston, and Icey. Since then we have continued to hang out IRL and I have come to know some of their friends and made connections with other people like Blaqueberrybabe, Rhapsody Diva,  CBean, and Nicintx. Last night I met WiseDiva for the first time. She is cool peeps, and a very sharp young lady.  Since becoming friends with all of these ladies I have attended a baby shower,  a wedding, a birthday party and just random meet ups for drinks and conversation. It is awesome to be able to meet and connect with real people and enjoy their company. None of my other friends are really into blogs or even twitter. Like most people, the majority of my FB friends are people that I met from school, work or are family members. Blogging is a different type of community and I am glad to be a part of it.

I must say that  Ms.Icey can "burn a pot" as Mr. Mixologist would say ! After arriving at her lovely home,  I had a drink in my hand within 5 minutes ! LOL Now that is my kind of place :) I love being around people who know how to make you feel welcome and comfortable in their home and she did just that. I met some of her family members before the other bloggers showed up and they were wonderful people. The appetizers were deelish ! We had hummus and pita chips, these little skewers with feta cheese, cucumbers, and tomatoes, and this crostini with some kind of grilled chicken, with caramelized onions and some type of aoli-like sauce  to put on top that was amazing ! She had some fresh cut apple with this cream cheese brown sugar type dip that was sooo good.  Man I wish I still had the pictures still so I could look at them again, but I am sure she will get it up on her blog soon. For dinner we had roasted chicken that was so moist, some potatoes, sauteed spinach and some carrots that were glazed with crack I swear ! LOL  Unfortunately, I had to leave early for another event, so she sent me on my way with a bag of brownies for the road. I am sure by now, you know they were heavenly ! 

So today I am thankful for the Internet leading me to my blog friends ! 

I am thankful for good food, great friends, and fun times ! 

What are you thankful for ?

Beautifully Complex 

Thankful: Day 5 Me Time

Since I was off  work today, I have some solo activities planned to start off my weekend. Mr. Mixologist happens to be out of town until Sunday and this is the first weekend in a very long time that we haven't spent together. It seems a little weird,  but yet familiar since I was single for a significant amount of time. Nonetheless, I am a pro at occupying my time. I know how to stay busy and chill out with ease. I got up earlier than I planned, did some things around the house, hopped on the Internet for a bit.

Cue Jill Scott, "Made me some breakfast......toast, two scrambled eggs...."

I then headed to the nail shop for a pedicure. Now I am headed out to Bella Nova Day Spa for a much needed massage by my girl Candace.  Then I am headed to the movies to check out "Colored Girls" and then have some errands and a little bit of shopping to do. Tonight, I plan to get some sort of takeout, and clear out my Tivo, while finishing up some chores around here.

Tomorrow I get to sleep in again,  and then later meet up with some of my favorite blog buddies for a bit for an evening hosted by Tarsha , before heading to a Birthday Bash for another good friend.  Now me and Mr. Mixologist have been in communication since he left yesterday. We have been talking and texting.  Not as much as usual, because he has business to tend to. I really do miss him, but I am reminded today of how thankful I am for time to just be with me.

I am thankful for time to unwind and relax.

I am thankful to have time and resources to enjoy the things that I enjoy.

I am thankful to have an active social life, yet I am thankful for alone time too.

What are you thankful for ?

What do you enjoy ?  What do you have planned this weekend ?

Beautifully Complex

Thankful: Day 4 Appreciation

I spent most of the day working in the field but stopped in my office for a few hours this afternoon. I was pleasantly surprised to find these sitting on my desk.  I must be honest, I initially thought these were from my man,  LOL, but after reading the card, I discovered they were from my lovely sister. Last month I planned and hosted her 40th Birthday Bash I told you about here, and she just wanted to surprise me and let me know she appreciated all that was done to make the party a success. 

They were beautiful and I got so many compliments on the arrangement.She timed it just right because I am off Friday, so I brought them home to enjoy the extended weekend.

Today I am thankful for being appreciated.

I am thankful for the beautiful flowers.

I am thankful for the smile they brought to my heart.

What are you thankful for today ?

Beautifully Complex

Thankful: Day 3 The Presence of Parents

Yesterday was quite an emotional roller coaster for me. After work, me and another girlfriend, picked up a couple of bottles of wine, some sushi and headed to the home of one of my closest friends for an impromptu gathering. You see, yesterday marks one year ago, when she lost her mother. We just did not want her to spend this day alone. Her mother, the matriarch of the family was very dear to me. Truly she was like a mother to me in Texas as I have no family here, other than a distant cousin, I recently connected with. I still remember how my heart almost stopped when I got the word she had passed. She had recently had surgery, had been recovering very well for 2 weeks, but then had a complication that caused her to be rushed back to the hospital. She died in the ambulance on her way to the ER, they were not able to revive her. I will never forget walking into that hospital and looking at the faces of my friend, her sisters, brothers, nieces and nephews. They are a very large (8 siblings), extremely close family that I was blessed to be adopted by since I moved here many years ago. The hurt they are all still dealing with is tangible. They are a family that constantly celebrates any and everything. There is always someone graduating from college, getting married, having a birthday, getting a promotion, etc & they GO. ALL. OUT. for everyone. Her presence has been so obviously missed this year.

It has been many years since I have had a friend lose their parent. However as I sit here today, thinking of it, three of my closest friends in this world do not have EITHER of their parents here anymore. We are all the same age. The friend I spent yesterday with lost her father years ago, but I had never met him. I have another close friend who lost her mother when she was 6 and her father at the age of 19. My third friend lost her father when she was 20 and her mother 10 years later. Here I am at the age of 41 with BOTH my parents, that raised me and my "biological didn't bother" is still alive as well. In fact the funny thing about yesterday was, while sitting with my friends, I get a call from my mother. When I answer, she says to me " I just got a call from M_______'s sister. She wanted your cell phone number, I hope you didn't mind that I gave it to her." I have had sporadic contact with these people over the years as my biological moved in and out of my life. I have so much more to say about this situation that I will save for another blog. Anyway, within minutes I am getting a call from a strange number with the area code where I am from. I took the call and it was my biological dad. My friend knows the whole enchilada when it comes to my "daddy issues" so I step into her room for some privacy. The context of the call is for another blog, but I will say by the end of the conversation, I had experienced the following emotions: conflicted, frustrated, angry, guilty, hurt, disappointed. I tried to talk to my boyfriend about it all last night & to prepare him for the possibility of meeting him when we go for Thanksgiving later this month, but in the end I was just confused about my feelings.

As I was praying before bed last night, I was thinking of my friends with no parents on this earth and how blessed I am to still have mine, even the one that I am so conflicted about. I asking Him to comfort them and thanking Him for sparing me with such a loss so far in my life. I was wondering if the timing of his call was deliberate, because there are some things that I probably need to deal with once and for all, but keep putting off. The dynamic of parental relationships varies in so many ways. There are people who are not close to their parents, have dysfunction that goes on for years for various reasons. But when I think about the blessing of my mother and my stepfather, and the fact that they still exist on this earth, to support me as no one else can, I am humbled. So today I am thankful that my parents are here. I am thankful that I don't EVER question their love or willingness to support me when I need them. I am thankful in a way that I could never truly express.

What are you thankful for today ?

How is your relationship with your parents ?

Thoughts ? Comments ? Questions ?

Beautifully Complex

Thankful: Day 2 - The Blessing of Good Health

Last week at work, we had a retirement ceremony for one of the Managers. The thing is, she is only 48 years old. She is taking a medical retirement due to the fact that she has been battling Ovarian Cancer off and on for the last 4 years. She had the chemo, went in to remission, her hair grew back, she came back to work for quite awhile.... and then it came back with a vengeance.  Normally these retirement parties have a different tone, because even  though the person is in their 60's they are usually in good health and have lots of plans for retirement, it seems exciting. This retirement was so different and it really shook me. I guess because she is so young, maybe because she is a woman, or maybe just because she is such a beautiful person that I hate to see going through this battle.

In August, my 39 year old cousin suffered a stroke. He is a married father with a  6 yr old son and  a 3 year old daughter. He is the oldest of 3 siblings.  He has had some recent health issues, and was diagnosed with some sort of heart problem about 3-4 years ago. He had been cleared to have gallbladder surgery by his heart doctor, came through the procedure, but then developed blood clots which led to the stroke.   I remember being by his bedside, talking to him, while his face was still contorted, trying my best to hide my disbelief about what was going on. 

In September my dad had the first of two knee surgeries, had some complications, and ended up being in the hospital far beyond the 5 days he was supposed to be. It was hard to hear the fear in his voice, especially because I could not make it home to be with him. He has recovered and is home now, going to therapy and getting stronger each day. 

All of these situations have me contemplating my health, in fact, I am just feeling so thankful and grateful for the blessing of good health as I sit here today.  I try to be conscious of health and taking care of me. My eating habits are not horrible but I can always do better. I probably do drink too much wine, and dialing that back might be a challenge. I can honestly say that I don't exercise as much as I used to or even as much as I should. But I have been using my treadmill and getting ready for the Turkey Trot at the end of the month. Every year I do my best to motive my family members to participate with lukewarm results. Like a lot of families we have a host of health problems in ours, including diabetes and heart issues, etc. I know that most of these issues just stem from bad habits. I don't want to minimize the heredity factor but lifestyle makes a huge difference. I don't want to live the cliche' "If  I knew I was gonna live this long, I would have taken better care of myself" So I am gonna act like I am thankful for my good health and take better care of myself as I age.

I am conscious of my mortality now more than ever. Somebody woke up & their life changed today, they got a devastating diagnosis, were stricken with blindness,  got burned, couldn't walk anymore, a host of possibilities. But today I am thankful for the good health that I am blessed with. I am thankful for another day to live life healthy and another day to continue to try to do my part to take the best care of me that I can.

What are you thankful for ?

How is your health ?

What are you doing to take care of yourself ?

Beautifully Complex

Thankful : Day 1 - For the Love of Reading

One of the things that I am most thankful for is something that was given to me by my mother. My love of reading is something that I truly believe was planted in me by my mother at a very early age. For as long as I can remember,  my mother always had her head stuck in a book of some kind. My mother read the newspaper every. single. day.  There were books everywhere in our house. I think seeing this from birth until I could understand it, made me curious about it. My mom talks about watching me as a baby, that could only crawl and sit, holding one of her books, with no pictures in it,  in my hands and staring at it, trying to figure out what was so fascinating about it ! LOL  I have a sister who is only 14 months younger than I am and we are very close. We  grew up close to my mother, who raised us as a single mother until my step-father entered the picture when I was 12.  My mother worked very hard to provide for us for many years with no support and reading for her was an escape and a way to relax. I think that me and my sister were drawn to reading as a way to connect with my mother. I have very vivid memories of me, my sister, and my mom, all three laying up in her bed together, all reading a book, in silence for hours upon hours.  We shared books, reading them in succession, so that we could laugh and discuss together. This was a constant in my life.

We had library cards and used them often, I KNEW the librarians at the Ralph Ellison Library Branch and they knew me. Sometimes when my mom had to work at her part time job. She thought nothing of dropping us off on a Saturday at the library for four hours or more, and me and my sister would select our books, check them out, and then find a quiet area to start reading. We would have snacks and sandwiches with us and let me tell you, we were fully entertained ! The librarians would often direct us to new books and make recommendations of things they thought we would enjoy.  After my mom got married and our finances improved, we would often get gift certificates from B. Dalton Bookstore (way before Barnes & Nobles ! LOL) for birthdays and stocking stuffers at Christmastime. We actually got clowned by our cousins when we would squeal with excitement after receiving those gift certificates. Yes we were "bookish" and teased for being "nerds" but we really did not care.

I think literacy is the key to many things. I mean it is the basis of education right ? It opens your mind and broadens your understanding, fosters curiosity among other things. Both me and my sister always did well in school. Honestly, for a long time it came easy for me. I assume that school is probably a bit more challenging for kids that hate to read. I was blessed to graduate as the Valedictorian of my class, however, I am the underachiever, because my sister is currently working on her dissertation to complete her Doctorate. Both my mom and my sister are awesome writers. My mom is actually working on a book that my sister is helping her to edit. I am extremely proud of both of them. Over the years, I have written some poetry and lyrics, but they are truly gifted. I say this to say that I believe that some of the best writers were readers first.  I hear people who say " I hate to read" and honestly, I just don't get it. I know we are all different, so I don't judge, but I just know that if I lost my ability to read, I would be lost. It has always been such a pleasure for me, I can spend hours upon hours with good books, magazines, and even the Internet. Another thing is,  I have a hard time getting rid of books. You know when you are moving and downsizing, and purging. It is really hard for me to let go of books because, they are sometimes attached to a time and place in my life that is meaningful. I  have two large book cases and really am in need of a third one but don't have anywhere to put it. I have been known to re-read books after several years. I don't mind loaning my books, but one of my pet peeves is people who don't promptly read and return books to the owner, or forget that it's yours !

Something that is music to my ears is the sound of my nieces reading. They love books and reading too, and Savannah in particular has great comprehension for her age and both of them have an advanced vocabulary and articulation. Both of their parents teach college level courses and they are going up in a house filled with books and readers so I guess it's no suprise, but I am so glad the gift is being passed on to them.

I am thankful for the ability to read and enjoy it.

What kind of books do you enjoy ? 

Who are your favorite authors ?

Any good books you would recommend ?

Beautifully Complex

Thankfulness

One of my favorite bloggers has thrown down another gauntlet and challenged us to blog for 30 days. Babs has challenged us to express our gratitude for things we are thankful for.

This is just in time for Thanksgiving so I am going to give it an honest effort starting November 1 !

See you soon & thanks for stopping by 

Beautifully Complex