#37

I figure since my line number when I pledged Alpha Kappa Alpha in 2003 on the campus of Prairie View A&M University was 37. I could participate in the social media circulation of 37 odd things about me . . . .

1. Do you like mustard? Yes

2. Choice of carbonated drink? Dr. Pepper or a good strong Coke from McDonalds

3. Do you own a gun? Yes 👮🏽‍♂️

4. Whiskey, Tequilla, Rum or Vodka?  Depends on where I am and what I’m drinking 🍸🍹🥃

5. Hot dogs or Cheeseburgers? Cheeseburgers 🍔

6. Favorite Type Of Food? Seafood 🦞 🦀

7. Do you believe in ghosts? No

8. What do you drink in the mornings? Coffee and/or orange juice ☕️ 🥤

9. Can you do a 100 Pushups? Yes

10. Summer, Winter, Spring, Fall? Fall 🍁

11. Favorite Hobby? Reading 📖 , writing ✍🏾, karaoke 🎤

12. Tattoos? Nope

13. Do you wear glasses? Yes

14. Phobias?

15. Nickname? Khrysti, Khrys

16. Three drinks you drink? Dr. Pepper, Grand Gold, Mai Tai

17. Biggest Downfall? Procrastination and 2nd Guessing (🤦🏾‍♀️ See what I mean?)

18. Rain or Snow?  Snow ⛄️

19. Piercings? Yes.

20. Married? Yes

21. Kids? Yes

22. Favorite color? All of them

23. Favorite age? 36

24. Can you whistle? No

25. Where were you born? Mainland

26. Brothers or Sisters? Brother

27. Ever Been Arrested? Yes

28. Surgeries? Tonsillectomy, Episiotomy

29. Shower or Bath? Shower 🚿 🧼

30. Like gambling? Yes 🎲

32. Broken bones? No

33. How many tv's in your house? 8 💻

34. Worst pain in your life? Loss of my baby

35. Do you like to dance? Yes 💃🏾

36. Best time of your life? Seeing my baby happy, traveling, happy moments with my family, success

37. Do you like to go camping? If it’s GLAM I’m all for it

Please play along! I have fun reading them. 😊
These are fun to do and fun to read.
Copy, paste, change the answer

Married...with Food (Meal Three)

Omg! 

I made my very first ever shrimp and sausage gumbo! My husband came home with colossal-sized shrimp, and so much of them I had no choice but to fry, sauté, grill, bake, broil, turn them into shrimp salsa and finally gumbo! Okay, okay; I’m exaggerating about everything but the shrimp salsa, sauté, and gumbo! I payed homage to Forest’s best friend, Bubba. Surprisingly gumbo doesn’t take long, but the thing I hate most about preparing mostly all meat, especially seafood, especially shrimp, is peeling, cleaning, and de-veining them! It’s yuck! And on colossal-sized shrimp the yuck is magnified 🤢Albeit a daunting task; I did it, added all the other ingredients, browned my homemade rue, even added non-slimed okra, and it has been really, really good! My mom still wears the crown, but I come in a nice and solid second!

Power 610

I can’t stand Cooper Saxe or, Blanca Rodriguez. Leave well enough alone. And not only that; they stay coercing criminals into lying on other criminals🤦🏾‍♀️

Jamie wants out, wants better, has ALWAYS wanted better! Why can’t he have it? (I’ll leave it there) I get in the real world what goes around comes around. Eye for an eye. You live by the sword, you die by the sword. 

Tommy did choose the life that ends with nothing, so why is he upset. He and Pas bought confessed they knew Jamie didn’t kill either LaKeisha or Angela; so why still want him dead?!

What the heck was up with the shoot out scene. WHO and WHY were those people there?! Unanswered questions and people...

Good to see Two-Bit and Spanky safe in lockdown. 

I hate that Ghost offed Terry Silver. That was his mistake in this tragic circle. He should’ve let Tasha ride off with him in the sunset. Their relationship wouldn’t have lasted. Tasha doesn’t want a safe life, she wants the ridiculousness of the street life. And Silver believed in justice for bad guys. He would’ve wanted her son in jail for his actions. Speaking of Tasha- her was laid!

James wanted better, Tasha didn’t. They grew apart. He did attempt to make it work more than once but she wasn’t having it. That’s that. 

What in the world is a Sneak an Peek?! Obviously the entire point of a Peek is to find something. Why in the world would the judge even allow the feds (that office at least) to go after St. Patrick with their background and reputation with the man. After what he learned, after all the deaths of the office. That part seemed off.  

James seeing all his ghosts, speaking with his Uncle Gabe, facing all his enemies one-by-one and seemingly winning, ending relationships, giving back to his old community, making his father proud, seemingly convincing Tariq to do the right thing...all were redemption acts for the life he lived (in my opinion). 

Ghost! As bad of a guy as he is. He wouldn’t be at my house for Christmas. I STILL wanted him to WIN! To be lieutenant governor and take Albany! It’s too much like a happy ending and criminals, thugs, murderers, etc usually don’t get happy endings! 

Poor Souls

You have to be pathologically miserable to your core, to sit up in the middle of the night (3AM to be exact) concerning yourself with other people. Hunting and fishing for things as old and meaningless as eighteen years ago to as little and minuscule as five years ago that only you feel are disparaging to a person’s  CURRENT and happy life. You cross criminal lines only because your actual life has no meaning and you obviously desire to be physically caged just as you are mentally caged, stewing in agony and self hatred. 

Perhaps you’re  upset with your self but have misguided appropriation of your emotions.  To people this post fits, they won’t understand my words because they speak only ebonics.  They lack logical reasoning and for that reason alone; they may be stuck in a lifestyle that begs for attention and validation that only their lack of parental figures could be to blame. They know the post is about them only because they lurk and remain anonymous hidden in the shadows of everyone else’s success. And by everyone...I mean EVERYONE, including the little engine that could. 

I don’t believe, personally, I know these type people, but what I do believe is that these type people will always be among us, just as the Bible says; the poor will be.  They may not be financially poor, although I don’t believe people that aren’t poor have time for such foolishness, but they are definitely poor in spirit, in truth, and in life. Poor souls. God be with them!

Mommytale

For months I mommed! I planned, prepped, painted, and kept posts weekly on all the supplies, food, decor and dessert I needed for my baby’s Sesame Street themed 2nd birthday! 

I did all of that so the day of, there wouldn’t be any need for last minute shenanigans. We woke up at 8:30am and I didn’t sit mindlessly until about 9pm when the very last of the guests were out the door and it was just the clean and straightened (thanks to family and the husband) aftermath!

I hired an Elmo, assigned roles and responsibilities to friends and family, set up photo booths, created an agenda, and a playlist of YouTube videos to show....

In the end a house full of rambunctious toddlers and their, “too cool” big brothers or sisters were only interested in a single balloon and a 16x20 blow up bowling ball 🤷🏾‍♀️

FYI those were upstairs from a previous event

I say all this to say: 

Simplicity is key! And don’t stress the small stuff

Life 008

The beautiful thing about life is CHOICE! You get choices in life to live the life you imagine! Most people, especially in America, can take opportunities and turn them into a life worth living. Some people plan their life to the letter T and strategically make moves around that plan. Other people live by happenstance and as life comes to them they swing hoping for homeruns! A vast majority of people live...how shall I say...? As in the Good Book of Matthew 15:27 (side-eye)

Life is unpredictable true and it’s our greatest test of faith but if and when you allow God to order your steps, you feel more confident in your decisions. 

What’s not a good look is making choices to suit your selfish desires and then expecting other people to make moves and “save the day”, pick up where you leave off, clean up your mess, or quite frankly; take over because you can’t, or won’t based on all the life-decisions you make. It’s inappropriate, disruptive to others peace of mind, and rather reckless. 

CHILDREN make mistakes because they learn, grow, and develop through their mishaps and mistakes. Adults can make mistakes too out of error or common misjudgment. But no grown adult, on the other hand, should still be unstable and carefree when they’ve been afforded various CHOICES for several decades of learning, development, and growing. 

CHOICE. It’s a little word used for making selections or decisions based on the best of options for your life. As a new mother I’ve learned that ALL my choices especially now, have to be determined with my child in mind. This will last up until she’s a productive citizen because it’s my priority to model and shape her into a beautiful well-rounded human being. 

Life is not always about being foot-loose and fancy-free. It’s not always about satisfying a self-soothing gratification. Now...are we free to makes that our choice?! Absolutely. But don’t pee on people and call it rain by living your “best” life selfishly and then expecting someone else to splash through your pissy puddles. 

Friendship Rules vs Associates

This is a tragedy!

In college I had a group of girls that; it only took one time for me to know they weren’t “friends” to me. It was a night like most college party nights. I wasn’t with my normal group of friends, and I don’t really remember why. It could have been homecoming or some other big party weekend but the girls I spent that weekend with had solely become my associates strictly through our college associations. 

The particular night I recall;  I wasn’t inebriated however, I had been drinking enough. I wasn’t alert however, I wasn’t unaware. 

Socializing. 

I lingered one too many times and in turn; they left me! 

I looked around and they were gone. It was dark. It was an outdoors party. And if you’ve ever been l.e.f.t. without prior knowledge that it’s happening it can cause a sudden panic to come over you once you realize you’re alone. It feels as if you hear no sound other than your own heartbeat. Everything and everyone looks unfamiliar. 

I felt that. 

I felt it for longer than I care to remember. However, thank God for grace and His covering.  The night didn’t end tragic, ruined, or even with a spot on the associations.   My friends, true or just simply DECENT...wouldn’t have left me, not even for a second without me knowing it or where they were going and undoubtably not without one staying or them pulling me  along with them. It just doesn’t happen! 

The girls, the chics, the crew, the clique, the ladies I call FRIENDS...it doesn’t happen! 

The other side of the coin would be to say friends aren’t “babysitters” and my reply would be, what kind of friend doesn’t check up, help, recover, fend, protect, care for, or have concern for another person that they deem a companion? 

So my heart goes out to this young lady’s family. Lord have mercy on the conscience of all involved. Speculations, misjudgments, and allegations, among other things, will certainly conspire but in the end this loss is troublesome and disturbing all around. God be with them all.