Prayers 🙏🏾

I’m praying today for all my family, friends, and readers that are going through struggles physically or spiritually, mind, or body during this time. So many of us suffer in silence or go through things without anyone even noticing because often times a smile will overshadow and mask any issues we’re facing. 

We’ve been in a state of pandemonium for over four months now. Isolation is not the answer but living and breathing in fear is worse, especially during this time of hurt, sickness, death, life, birth, etc.

My prayer today is whatever stress, worry, or sin you have is cast into the Sea of Forgetfulness, never to be brought up again! 

My prayer is that pain, anger, hurt, or sadness you feel is removed and pleasant rewards and joy that only our Father, which is in heaven, can heal and provide! 

As you may mourn or suffer a loss, allow the good and faithful memories that you hold deep in your heart to carry you over the bridge into a city of extreme PEACE!

When entering a new destination either professionally or personally, I pray the Lord continues to guide your steps, keep a lamp lit to order your steps and keep your enemies under your heel the entire route! 

I pray only goodness departs your mind and blessings impart your life with a take over so abundant you won’t have room enough to receive it all; you’ll have to give some away...and when you give it away; I pray those blessings are given to a receiving hand and cheerful heart! 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen and good day!

Pregnant Appointments Amidst Covid-19

There’s most definitely a new normal when it comes to pregnancy amidst Covid-19. Here’s my doctor appointment look

Masked up. No visitors. No make up. All natural. Taking in all the information they give me. Patiently waiting for my cutie patootie little Prince. No worries. Smiling.

Protect Your Peace ⚠️

Some people operate in ignorance and it shows in their conversation, their skill set, their manners, their delivery, their behavior, lifestyle, etc. You could blame it on being half-raised, lack of education, a deterrence of life experiences, or purely choice in decision-making but whatever the reason...you must by any means necessary protect your peace. 

Protection of your peace could mean various forms of disengagement or abandonment. If you continue to remain in the presence of ignorance, you, yourself begin to feel void of logical thinking and reasoning. You could begin to question your own sanity.

A warning ⚠️ Don’t be fooled. Ignorance will mask itself behind jokes, questionable banter, or flat out wrong statements. Ignorance can be rude, crude, and cocky. Ignorance has no age limit! Don’t think for a moment that life experiences or years of experience reshapes ignorance believing that only adds to a greater shock value. 

You could attempt to “fight” ignorance at all costs, but just be mindful that even the Bible speaks multiple times of ignorance; one that I pulled is Ephesians 18 “They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.” 

I include scripture because it’s important to know ignorance has been around and will continue to be around; the honest truth is to just protect your peace from ignorant thinking, actions, intolerance, speech, plans, etc.

Remember disengage or abandon. To disengage it MUST be a conscious effort. Actually focus and turn your energy into something else. Disengagement is primarily used in the moment for a quick resolution, actually the better word would be dissolution. You ordinarily won’t get resolution from the mind or mouth of an ignorant person so don’t hold your breathe! However, an ignorant person can’t continue a conversation with themselves (actually they can and will but as long as you consciously disengage they’ll only talk to themselves for so long before they shut up.) 

Abandonment is another conscious effort but it has specific fidelity and finality that gives you sustained peace! It’s lasting...because once you abandon ignorance you are truly free! It takes me back to the idea that unlocking the door to bondage is education, reading a book. Even another scripture being, “people perish for lack of knowledge” Your peace is protected! 

I could go on and on, but I won’t. 

One thing I know but these three things fo sho’ (for sure) 

1. Ignorance is NOT bliss! 

2. Either disengage or abandon ignorance!

3. Protect your peace!

Ain’t No Fun When the Rabbit Got the Gun

This is SO disrespectful on so many levels. Writing a song about the indiscretions, saying your testing your WILLpower, providing details under the guise of rap, we still mentioning Tupac 👀, then to add insult to injury you SING how you know it’s wrong! My goodness, this is how folks go insane. 

Mind you women been doing it for years...I mean writing and performing songs about affairs and being the mistress so this is not new information. Many of those songs have been hits 👀 To me it wasn’t “cool” then either. It seems to hit different in the wake of a quote, unquote scandal where the woman is attempting to set a narrative after being exposed and the man is in fact the one heart-broken and taken advantage of.  I’m just blogging here...so either way it’s not right, not cool, and certainly not something I would be caught up doing! Wow! What do you think?

Watch Here

Today’s A Good Day For A Gender Reveal (Quarantine Edition)

Fatal Affair (A Review)

I’d been looking forward to this movie for over a month when from Nia Long’s Instagram she started publicizing it. So, of course, I watched it the day it came out July 16, 2020! 

From the previews and trailer I believed it was going to be a true quote, unquote, entanglement since that’s our new 2020 word from Jada Pinkett-Smith concerning affairs. You know; hot and steamy love scenes, unavoidable indiscretions that only a married woman would have to commit while having an affair to prevent her husband finding out. But this was quite different. 

Intent. 

Was Ellie wrong for going for drinks and a night club with a former classmate, I think so. I wouldn’t go out with another man without my husband either being there or knowing and I certainly wouldn’t have him thinking I was going with my good girlfriend and mask the truth by saying, “she said hi :)”

Would I grind on another man on the dance floor or intertwine our fingers together and stare into his eyes?

Absolutely not! 

I respect the sanctity of marriage, even when others don’t. So for me. It’s always going to be a no as long as I’m legally married. Or anyone is legally married, for that matter. 

You already know if I wouldn’t do the above mentioned; I’m mos def not allowing a man to kiss me or fondle me in a public restroom. Can I just add, umm gross?! But nevertheless; in this film it happened and Ellie came to her senses before the actual act of sex happened. She realized she got caught up in the moment and further told David she made a mistake and wanted no parts of what he possibly was offering. 

No means no, right! 

Not for David! In his mind he was now in a relationship with a woman ending her marriage and she felt the same way for him that he felt for her! 

Let me pause here and say I enjoyed the professional positions of the lead characters: attorney, hacker, architect, student...

Why are psychos in the movies hackers?! The Perfect Guy, Fatal Affair, etc 

I must say; there were a few things I know for a fact I wouldn’t have let David get away with throughout the course of his insanity. 

1. How did Ellie forget, or let it slip, that David was a hacker? 

I wouldn’t have trusted ANYTHING about him, not one thing as far as my privacy goes with my technology. I’m already an untrusting person, so knowing what he did for a living would have been in the forefront of my suspicious mind. I wouldn’t have conceived the night club camera footage though, but phones, emails, texts...100% yes I would’ve suspected that he’d get access to those.

2. Why do women and men try and keep secrets from their life-long partners? 

I’m not talking about your boyfriend or girlfriend, I’m talking about someone you’ve spent 20 years building a life with. Even if not 20 years, the partner you’ve promised to love, honor and cherish until death. I know why...I don’t even know why I asked. Some men and women get married for the wrong reasons and with ulterior motives...they are untrustworthy so they don’t trust. (sad) However, in Ellie’s case; I believe she felt she was “protecting” her husband from any hurt she could have caused him by sharing intimacy with another man.

That’s too great a burden to bear! 

Too GREAT! Child please! 

As soon as David walked in with my friend Courtney under the guise that they are dating...knowing full well what he’s disclosed to me the day or so before; I would’ve shut his front down by spilling the beans. “David! Hey, when did you all meet?! Honey, Courtney, we went to college together, and caught up recently when he did work for my firm this past case just before I left!” That would’ve solved any intentions he had plotted in his peabrain! But nope, not Ellie, she played into his stupid game. I’ll blame cinematic story lines on that. I would hope, in love and war; you always choose honesty and integrity and if you don’t; just remember Ellie...don’t be like Ellie!

3. Why didn’t she call the police? 

I’ll tell you why! Guilt. When you do wrong you always worry about the consequences of your actions and how it’ll affect you. But through all that googling, following, threatening, asking around, and anonymous numbers coming through; I would’ve BEEN got a restraining order and at least placed some sort of documentation out on him so that the authorities were aware of his capabilities. Especially once she saw he had access to her home! Protection is key. Or my husband would’ve known!

4. Why didn’t she suspect something when she pulled up to her office with all those lights out. Lamps and such and no sound coming from the building? 

I don’t know about you all but if I walk into a room/office where I’m supposed to be meeting you, first; it better be well lit so I can see. Next, I’m calling your phone, not reading text messages so we can get the show on the road. Blame my impatience! 

5. Why do people hit, stab, push someone and not keep going until they are down and out?!

She kept hitting him and then running allowing David chance after chance to come back after them. He has attempted murder on my friend, faked his own death, killed my assistant, I suspect he murdered his wife, ummmm yea...there’s no limit to what he will do so he gets zero amount of mercy or benefit of the doubt from me while I’m protecting my family! Mama Bear don’t play! I’m not hitting you to slow you down. If I can muster strength to get you down, I gotta make sure you staying down. No repeats. No second chances. You picked the right one on the right day!

All in all the movie was alright. Something to pass the time. Acting was sort of sub par; I don’t know whether to blame the script, pacing, filming, screen shots, editing, or actors. I did have about three jumpy moments. Omar Epps mos def still has a mean stare down. He took me back to his Juice days honey; staring down Tupac using that eye brow. It was also a pleasant surprise to see Nia Long in a maternal role, playing in her age bracket because I believe she has a college age, if not older son, and of course it’s always welcomed to see everybody keeping their clothes on. I enjoyed the movie. Wasn’t overly impressed but I’m on quarantine so my expectations aren’t high. 

What did you think?

Baking (babies and bread)

Tried my hand today at banana bread! I must say, I don’t mind baking (cooking) and for a person that doesn’t do it; I had to not only do it from scratch, but by hand! No fancy top of the line stand-alone mixer, choppers, or creamers....everything with my two little hands! 

Found a recipe online to make it from scratch and Wha-Lah!! She’s baking bread while baking a baby! 

What made my experience most exciting was that I actually had all the ingredients at home so I didn’t have to take extra time to shop for anything specific. That’s not always the case and many times will detour me from making or trying out a recipe. I sat on my stool whipping, blending, creaming, folding, and pouring!

Here’s the pics through my process: Enjoy...and try out a recipe or two and let me know how it turns out!

“Karen” 👀

At first I thought “Karens” were predominantly white women that falsely and very flagrantly called the police on people of color for simply existing. Playing in the pool, standing on a shelf to get something down from a higher surface, barbecuing, selling lemonade in front of your own house, walking down a street in your neighborhood, bird watching, babysitting children of a different race, etc are the types of things “Karens” would call the police for and it would be ridiculous. Fascinating. Even laughable. Of course after the fact. 

However, just as so many movements take on a different perspective or characteristic once it becomes nationwide, so has the ideology of “Karen”. As I peruse social media I see people, not just white women, being classified as “Karen” if they disagree with a post or a meme or an opinion or an example. Video “evidence” of a white woman cutting someone off in traffic assumes them to be a “Karen”. And here as of late; I saw a video of a woman pointing a gun at a black girl, or family or both, threatening for them to “back off” and “get out of the way”. 

My first reaction was- shit has gotten out of hand! When has it become acceptable for people to point loaded guns in someone’s face in broad daylight in front of a Chipotle?! I remember my mom always being protective over my younger brother and I. She fought our battles for us. We didn’t have many because we weren’t children that went out and found mess or drama or conjured up issues with people so believe me it was few and far between if there was an issue with another person for us but if there was my mom always taught us, you don’t know what goes on in people’s head. You don’t know what drugs or instabilities they may have. People are crazy!  

After no effort of my own I came across the same incidence, but this time a more extended version of what happened and it didn’t begin with the lady pointing the gun at the camera (the young woman or her mother). It began at the door of Chipotle where obviously the incident happened. It seems the white lady, who’s been deemed “Karen” bumped into the 15 year old girl as they, I don’t know which, walked through the door. “Karen” didn’t apologize, the young lady told her mother, and the incident begins. If I’m wrong, I’m sure I’ll read about it or hear the interview soon but according to what was said in the video; the woman bumped into the 15 year old and didn’t say excuse me. I’ve posted the link from YouTube below.

What do you think?

I think, if the bump or push or shove, etc was that bad definitely say something. Then after speaking your peace and acknowledging that you addressed the issue; keep it moving. Like, for me; that’s too much energy and time out of my day to badger the lady about bumping me. Even if I was indignant about the lady bumping me and happened to follow her or begin filming her it would’ve ended once she got in her car. 

My unpopular opinion is that this went way too far, and I don’t see this particular incident as one of RACE as I see it as one of COURTESY. Once it escalated it became an incident of, leave me alone, I’m not fighting you, but since you’ve now escalated the situation to stand behind my car to prevent me from leaving until you get what you want, I’m pulling my gun on you!

You’ve heard these stories before, I have. Gun packing granny’s and such. If you threaten them in any way they are subject to pull a gun on you. 

Is it right? 

No.

Is it justified?

No. 

Is it illegal?

It should be!

Should someone be threatening anyone?

No. 

Should ALL people just simply practice common human decency? 

Absolutely, Yes!

There’s a litany more of questions that I could calculate and rightly criticize, but for what?! 

This, to me, is not a “Karen” issue at all. And the only reason I’m even writing this blog about the incident is because there’s an entire spectrum of people that do classify this as a “Karen” incident when it clearly is not once you view the video in it’s entirety. It’s a sad, dangerous, and gross situation, but it has nothing to do with “Karen”. It’s a human decency issue and shit is getting out of hand!