IT'S ONLY SKIN DEEP!

While I was away, I had a pretty interesting conversation with my girls Kinta and Latika, the essence of which was as follows....For the life of me, I have never understood people who brag or boast or place such a heavy emphasis on how they look, most specifically, on how pretty or handsome they are. To me, it's actually a sign of insecurity or shallowness or the fact that something else is missing.

Cause let's be real, no one who is pretty or beautiful or fine had very much of anything to do with that fact. OK, so maybe you wash your face every night and drink lots of water so your skin is nice or you wear sunblock or you know how to apply makeup really well, but when it comes down to the raw basics, I'm gonna say you were just lucky! I say if you wanna brag or boast something, or thank somebody maybe you should thank your parents for having such great genes.

Thank God too, for genetic symmetry and for Him seeing fit to bless you with it. Beauty is not like a sport where you have to work really hard day in and day out to accomplish a goal; it's not an instrument where you have to practice consistently to be proficient at it; it's not a language that you studied really hard at in order to be fluent; it's not a degree that you worked for and so therefore proudly get to put those letters either before or after your name.It's not even like your body where you can actually really workout and sculpt it to achieve the look you want. Beauty is none of those things! You can't/don't earn it. And it is fleeting.

There will come a day when this crutch, so superficial and temporary, will fade and what will be left? I say work on the inside and that beauty which lasts forever. Give me an average looking person with a heart of gold any day over a stunner with that snob, better than thou attitude.

If you hang your hat on your looks and ride that so hard to the deficit of things that really matter in your life, it's really only a matter of time before the ugliness that narcicissm inherently fosters will show itself. And that is definitely NOT a good look. Now if you happen to have both, looks and character/personality, then more power to you. Who doesn't want to look the best they can? But it just shouldn't be THE feather in your cap. Your looks should not define who you are as a person cause guess what?.....it's only skin deep!

PS. After a conversation I just had, let me clarify myself lol. I think there's nothing wrong with being confident about your appearance and putting time and effort into making sure you present yourself well. It matters for sure. I'm just saying, if you are confident or proud of your looks, there's no need to brag about it or to feel that anyone else is less than you because of it. It should speak silently for itself.


****I had a WONDERFUL trip!!!! There's really nothing better than getting to spend time with your friends and people who you love and care about. Everyone took such great care of the cripple, lol, and I am so grateful. From great food (bacon wrapped scallops, wow!!!), great conversations, some much needed QT, a great movie (you gotta see Law Abiding Citizen!!!), and just great hospitality all around and lovely homes, I couldn't have asked for more. Thanks everyone:-)****

LORD HAVE MERCY......

If you have not yet heard Robin Thicke's new song "Sexual Therapy" you are definitely missing out and all I can say is Lord.Have.Mercy!!!! This is what I call "baby making music", lol. The song is beautiful and sexy and you could probably get into a whole lotta trouble if you are with that special someone:-) It has a Maxwell sort of feel. I don't really need to say much more except to say listen at your own risk lol.......



I went to the Dr. a couple days ago to have my cast changed and my leg is looking like a little kid's - not attractive, let me tell you! The incision is really long, about 4 to 5 inches but from the looks of things, my scar won't be too bad. I'm gonna be taking a trip tomorrow and will be seeing some of my favorite people while I'm gone. In spite of the hassle that I will have to endure with the crutches and being wheeled around in a wheelchair through the airports, etc, it's definitely going to be worth it!! I probably won't be blogging while I'm gone cause I'll be otherwise occupied.... Hope you all have a great weekend. I know I will:-)

RIDE OR DIE

Do any of you have a "ride or die" friend? Someone who you would do anything for and vice versa? Well for the past 8 days, my friend Joice has been here in LA visiting me. When we originally planned for her to come down, we had no idea that my Achilles surgery would have ended up being the day before her arrival. Once I found out, I made the offer to her to come at another time where she wouldn't be dealing with an invalid, but she said no, that she would be perfectly fine coming regardless.

To say that we had a lovely time would be an understatement...we had a really really good time! I cannot begin to express to her how much I appreciate her time, her friendship and her concern. Joice was the best caretaker a girl could ask for:-) I live in a 3 storey apartment and for a person taking Vicodin for several days, negotiating steps on crutches would not have probably been such a good idea. She did everything for me from making my breakfast nutrition shakes every morning, to driving us to and from everywhere we went, to carrying my bags for me, running errands with me, going to the dr with me, to getting things out of my closet that I couldn't necessarily reach. Joice you spoiled me and in fact you did SUCH a good job taking care of me that I haven't left the house since you left this morning because I think I've convinced myself that I need you:-/ (I think I was just going through withdrawals lol - I'll get out and go to church tomorrow).

She never complained about anything and really and truly showed me the depth and breadth of our friendship. I tried my best to show her a good time in spite of my incapacitation. We went to church, we went to The Comedy Store one night, we went shoe shopping (don't think a little surgery is gonna stop that!!), we went out to eat a bunch of times,we went to the nail salon for my 3rd ever pedicure, we went to Melrose Ave. AND we went to several drug and beauty supply stores.....Joice's all time favorite past time, lol.

Anyway, I just wanted her to know how much I appreciate the time she spent with me. It's something I'll always remember.The time flew by and my girl has gone and left me BUT since I will be in Atlanta next weekend, we"ll definitely be hooking up again.

Here are a few pics from our week together....

Ms. Joice herself


Me, Joice and my friend Kai


Me getting my pedicure


The end result...


Me trying on my new pair of shoes at the store (well one foot at least lol)


Joice doing the same


Close up shot of Joice's shoes (she didn't buy them, Boo!!:-/)


At a park in Culver City with my "leg weight" - this cast is SO heavy!!!!


Me and Joicie:-)


I miss you already my sister........

GOSPEL SINGING + JAPANESE CHOIR= ????

So yesterday I was feeling well enough to head out to church and since my girl Joice is in town visiting and doing her best "nurse Maduaka" impersonation:-), I really wanted to take her to my church so she could see where I spend my Sunday mornings and so I could go to the House of The Lord myself and give thanks to Him for bringing me through my surgery safe and sound. It was a bit of struggle - picture wearing heels on my left leg, a super heavy/thick temporary cast/splint on my right leg, trying to keep my purse on my shoulder and not look too crazy while crutching down the aisle to my seat:-( but it was definitely worth it!

It was a great service as usual at First AME Los Angeles but we had a special treat by a 100 Voice choir from Tokyo, Japan. Who knew they got down like that in Tokyo?? They sang two songs and I THOROUGHLY enjoyed their performances, so much so that I stood up on my crutches throughout their songs just so that I could see better and fully appreciated their talent.

I just checked on Youtube and luckily someone has posted some personal video clips of them singing yesterday. It's not the best quality but I just wanted to give you an idea of what they sounded and looked like. Try to watch it all the way through so you can see them work.it.out. lol! I'm sure it will bring a smile to your face because they were fantastic. Enjoy!

IN YOUR PRAYERS.....

"You've been more to me than a friend...
We've shared more than most people do--
feelings that time won't erase
No words can ever let you know
the peace I feel when you are near
In times of trouble, your eyes express
exactly what I need to hear
In times of joy, your smile says
you're sharing what I feel
In times of doubt, I always knew
I could trust in your loyalty
We've stood the test across the miles
and watched our friendship grow
I've come to learn, when it comes to friends,
there's no one quite like you."

---Marie Grady Palcic


Tomorrow is a pretty big day for me. I haven't talked about it all on here but most of my close friends know that about a month ago, unfortunately I had an accident and re-injured my Achilles tendon, this time tearing it....completely. I was 4 months into my recovery and things were going really well. I had been back in the weight room for about 3 or 4 weeks. I still wasn't 100% but I was getting there and then, SNAP, I heard it go one day when I moved in a way that I guess I wasn't ready to yet. The MRI confirmed that there is nothing left holding my tendon together. Even though I've been walking around since then, albeit extremely slowly and carefully, I've HAD to wear high heels all the time to keep my tendon shortened. I'm so over high-heeled shoes right now!!!

Insurance paperwork and delays and approvals have held me back from having surgery sooner but tomorrow at 11am I will be undergoing Achilles surgery to repair it. As nervous and apprehensive as I am, I know it's for the best but to say that I'm not a bit of a nervous wreck today and that my eyes haven't welled up a few times would be a grave understatement. I am praying for God's mercy and blessing and I'm praying that I will come out OK. I've been told that the risk of re-injury once someone has this surgery is very low so for that reason alone, I'll be glad to get it over and done with.

I will be 6 weeks in a cast/on crutches and then another 6 weeks in a boot:-( and I'm sure it won't be the easiest thing in the world but I refuse to let it hold me down and I'm gonna do my best to keep my chin up and get through it.

My friends have been HOLDING ME DOWN! and I'm SO grateful and beyond everything else, it's times like these that I really realize how much I NEED them and how important they are to me. Love and friendship are equal on my list and one would mean nothing without the other. So I want to say thanks. You know who you are....:-)

Keep me in your prayers blog family....I'll update as soon as I'm able.

BLOGGER FAMILY

I wrote a blog with this exact same title last year some time when I wrote about my friend Jewells. Initially, she was someone I only knew through commenting on one another's blogs, but last year when she was coming down to Orlando for a visit, we finally met and we have since become really good friends who chat frequently, laugh a lot and advise and counsel.

A couple weeks ago, another blog friend and family member, Kinta, messaged me on Facebook to let me know that she and her sister would be coming to LA for a few days for some fun, shopping and relaxation and that perhaps if time and schedules permitted, we should get together. It's been a pretty hectic week for me and I have a lot going on, but I definitely wanted to make the time to meet them both. Kinta has been a very supportive and consistent blog friend and has often commented on my blog, Dave's blog and Brianna's. Sometimes you can get a such a positive vibe from a person without ever even speaking to them, where you just get that feeling in your core that you are dealing with a good, sweet spirit. Such is the case with Kinta.

Anyway, last night after a VERY long day for me, I agreed to meet them both at the Xbar at the Hyatt Regency where they were staying. It was a really cool spot and we enjoyed great conversation, food and music and it felt as if we'd known each other for ages. She was how I imagined her to be....genuine and funny. She and her sister have such a great relationship and friendship and I was glad to share the time that I did with them.

We covered everything from The Housewives of ATL, to relationships, to track, to work and just had a good ol' time. I will be doing some traveling in the next few weeks coming up and one of the places I will be spending a few days is Atlanta and so we will definitely be getting together again. Once again, I just have to say how this blog has given me way more than I could have ever expected and I am grateful for that.

Here's a picture from our evening together last night.

FABULOUS FIGHT NIGHT!

So I am a huge fight fan. In fact, one of the things on my bucket list is to go to Vegas for a big fight and watch it live and in person and I am determined to make this happen. I had been looking forward to this Mayweather/Marquez fight for some time now and earlier in the week I was really trying to figure out where in the heck I was gonna watch the fight.

As luck would have it, my friend Marcellus Wiley text me on Thursday to invite me to his house for a fight party that he was having at his new home in Chatsworth. Perfect! I invited my BFF Peggy to go with me and my girl Monica, who as it turned out was already invited herself. She was also invited to another fight party but a) I didn't hear whose party she said it was when we were on the phone and b) I figured we'd go to Marcellus house first anyway.

The night started outed innocently enough. The three of us trekked over to his house and to say that we were impressed with his home would be a huge understatement!! The house was beautiful and grand and I guess that's how the ballers do it:-)...I'm guessing 8 to 10,000 sq. ft. Who knows? There were so many TVs too, lol. He told me there were over 20 TVs in the house and they weren't just put up for the fight. Anyway, we made ourselves comfortable, ate some food and had a drink. Cool. Let's sit and watch the undercards and get ready for the main event.

At some point before the main fight did get underway, Monica gets a call and her friend is telling her to come to watch the fight at the other person's house and she seriously wants to go. I look at her incredulously saying that I actually want to SEE the fight and that I don't really care where we are. I'm thinking can't we go to this other place AFTER the fight? Plus I'm not dressed to go anywhere else...I'm just wearing a T-shirt and jeans (albeit cute skinny jeans and silver wedges:-). Peggy is indifferent but I can tell Monica really wants to go so somewhat begrudginly I agree to leave....

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that her friend was at Eddie Murphy's house. Somehow Monica knows everyone it seems and she tells me that she's been there before when he had another fight party and that it was fabulous. Since I'm a slow driver:-(, I let her drive my car and we drive like bats outta hell to get there in time.

It's amazing what perspective can do. I thought Marcellus' home was so gigantic, to the point where I was saying I didn't think I could live there and then we arrived at Mr. Murphy's house!!!!!! GOOD LORD!!! I can't even guess the square footage but I can say that it looked like a resort lol. There were easily over 200 people there, TVs set up around the pool, the tennis court was tented and a huge viewing screen in there. Add waiters, food, open bars, a DJ and dance floor set up like a boxing ring and you can begin to get an idea of the scope of what I'm talking about.

The list of attendees included everyone from Magic Johnson, to Sugar Ray Leonard to Martin Lawrence to Eddie himself, John Singleton (who knew he was SO short), Arsenio and trust me the list goes on and on and on. Monica knows everyone but Peggy and I felt like we had our necks on a swivel lol. But we kept our cool and just enjoyed the ambience, the food, the fun. Why did I run into my boy Chris and his wife. He said to me "Hey, what are you doing here? I'm supposed to be your only celebrity friend". LOL!!

Anyway, as you all know the fight went as predicted. Money Mayweather won in a unanimous decision. I didn't really want to be the chick walking around taking pictures so I'm sorry I only took two. One of the three of us ladies and one when we had moved out by the pool and I could take a photo of the back of the house from where I was sitting. The whole house couldn't even fit in the lens so picture what you see times 3 or 4....SMH....

Once again, I had an awesome night, spent time with my girls, met some super cool people and had some good food and drinks. Sometimes you have the most fun when you least expect it....I had a ball!





Monica just sent me this pic so I figured I'd add it...