Martha and Me

I'm so glad that I went. Even though common sense and my already-hectic life weighed against it, two Thursdays ago I ventured to Manhattan to be a part of the audience on the Martha Stewart Show. She was having a special show dedicated to blogging and I was lucky enough to be invited to hang out with blogging buddies that I rarely get to see IRL like Niri and Prissy Mommy and StyleMom and Sunkissed Mommy, The Broke Socialite, and Jeanne - I could go on.

Martha's studio was fantastic (really, was I expecting anything less?). It was bright and spacious and perfectly decorated. The test kitchen caused this wannabe-foodie to gasp when I walked in, as did the kitchen set, which was bigger and more glamorous than my actual kitchen. Martha's definitely doin' the damn thing.

As for the domestic diva herself? She was much better in person than I expected. I don't know what it is, but when I actually (try to) watch her show on TV, I immediately get bored. I don't know if it's because I don't really care for crafting or gardening or if its the monotone nature of her voice, but I just can't get with it. I'll buy her cookbooks and magazines all day though. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that not only does she have a personality, she's actually a firecracker!

Her show guests included "The Whatever Girls" (her daughter Alexis Stewart and Jennifer Koppelman-Hutt), food blogger Chez Pim, journalist Brian Williams and actor Jeff Blumenkrantz. An awesome-smelling pad thai; postively gorgeous Orange-Almond cake; and some random craft later (see? I told you); the cameras turned off and Martha turned it on for a fun Q&A session. It ended with a roar of laughter and applause as she hiked her leg up 'pon the table to show us her 6-inch, gold, Yves St-Laurent stilettos. She's the real deal.

Oh and I must note that the music in her studio was live and direct. I mean they were playing hip hop, reggae, rock and it was pumpin'. To top it all off, on our way out we each got a copy of Pim's new book: The Foodie Handbook (yes, I almost died). In fact, I read almost all of of it on the ride home to DC. It's now next to my bed where I can catch a glimpse of the wonderful goodness that lies inside right before I go to bed and first thing in the morning. Yes, I realize that I have issues.

After the show, I had a lovely lunch with StyleMom and SunKissed Mommy - at a Thai place of course - since we had Thai on the brain after smelling Chez Pim's creations on the set. All in all it was a great trip, well worth the 4-hour ride each way.

Saints are NFC Champions

New Orleans Saints are the NFC Champions tonight and are heading to the Superbowl! Congratulations to all Saints fans!!!!!

I don't like football, in fact, I don't like sports at all. But, I've been watching football tonight because it's on and my hubby is a junkie. When the game went into overtime my hubby suggested that I not change the channel and watch the entire game because it was going to be history regardless of which team won.

When I saw the kick in overtime (please excuse me because I may not be technically correct) tears flowed down my cheeks because I was truly very happy for them - for the team, the fans and the city.

I was joyful to see a triumph for New Orleans. Just think that the stadium in which the game was played housed thousands of people just fours years ago. Never having been to the city, I cannot say whether the reconstruction of the stadium has been a victory for all people in New Orleans, but I can only hope that the wealth that surrounds this team has in some way helped the downtrodden.

If nothing else, seeing the Saints rise to the top, will remind this nation that work still needs to be done in New Orleans.

In the meantime ... revel in this victory; you've got a fan in the making over here!!!!!

Mask

The combination of scents in my house right now is stifling. I want to escape! I'm just about going crazy. Imagine a stinky basement, a broken garbage disposal and air freshener.

My basement has stunk for about a year. Why don't I just clean it, right???? Right!!!!! The problem is a little deeper than that. My fat cat got sick last year and we didn't really realize that he was sick for a couple days. So, poor kitty was basically crying for help and then started peeing in the basement. Yes, peeing! I guess we weren't paying him enough attention to realize that he was sick. So, rather than peeing in his cat box, kitty was peeing everywhere. As it turns out, he had kidney stones or some kind of urethral blockage. He got better after spending a night at the vet and us forking out a $500 check. But then .... the scent. What to do about the scent? I tried all sorts of scent removal products and techniques and nothing has worked. Some provide temporary relief, but none has permanently taken care of the problem. We got rid of our chairs and other furniture that kitty may have infected, but the scent is still here....lurking and silently driving me insane. I suggested to my husband that we get rid of the carpeting and his response was what's wrong with you - there's no scent. Are you kidding me???? Where's your sense of scent? So, I've been stuck with a scent that apparently is only in MY head.

Then my garbage disposal stopped working on Wednesday night - and of course, it would stop on the night that I made fish. The motor is apparently stuck and I've been at the bottom of the cabinet with a flashlight and a wrench trying to jimmy the motor, but with little luck. There is stuff in there; stuff that I prefer not figure out (or even think about for that matter). The only saving grace in this situation is that husband actually smells it!

So, there is the stinky basement and the rotting garbage disposal and I added insult to injury because in my infinite wisdom I sprayed a lovely air freshener through the house. In ordinary circumstances, this Pier One house freshener is divine. But I guess rather than changing the scent (which I thought it would) it has mixed with the other scents and I now have a melange of stinky scents.

I need a mask ... Just great! If you have any tips on solving either of my two problems, let me know .... please.

Belly

I just finished watching the movie "Belly" with Nas, T-Boz and DMX. Remember this movie? Gosh...it was so extremely violent. I don't think there was a five minute scene in this movie that didn't involve gunfire. I ask, like I did when I first saw this flick, is this for real? Is this art imitating life or the other way around? Regardless of the sequence, I am elated that we've seen some progress in terms of the representation of black people on both the small and big screen. We still have further to go and I'm hopeful.

Helping

The devastation in Haiti has been ever present on my mind. Maybe it's the images on television, maybe it's because it's in the West Indies and it's so close to home, maybe it's because I feel like I see my people in those images, or maybe it's because I have friends that have been directly affected - I'm not quite sure which it is, but I find my heart overfilled with so much sorrow.

I hope that there are many other people out there that feel the same way and do something about it. My deepest hope is that this devastation brings help to equalize the inequities that have persisted in that country for so long despite great growth around it.

That said, I gave blood yesterday. I have only given blood once in my life and yesterday I bravely faced my fear and gave a pint to the American Red Cross. I was told that I saved three lives with my pint.

Also, this week the Mamalaw ladies made a contribution of $0.25 for every Twitter follower we had. We made our contribution to Project Medishare, a group that has been present in Haiti for years and one that J. Fergie's mom has been volunteering with for quite some time. We set up a fundraising page with a goal of $1000, so pop on over and give what you can. Everything helps!

There is so much more that can be done. So please check out your options and do what you can.

One day a better place

It's Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and I've been watching PBS ALL DAY - The Eyes on the Prize series. It's been so long since I've seen it; in fact the very first and last time that I saw this series was as a first year law student at the great Howard Law. As I watch I am reminded of the intense struggles that Black people endured in the fight for equality. I am inspired, as I was 11 years ago, to fight to make sure that the world does not see such struggle again; to make sure that princess doesn't have to live in a world like that. I ponder about the city of Washington DC and I am very saddened by the fact that there is still so much inequality and then I think about the images of Haiti and the suffering that I know is occurring; there is still so much work yet to be done.

Figuring out your place in this world is not an easy task; even as a grown lady, I still don't quite know what my role is. All I can do is hope that I will be able to make it a better place.

The Streets Will Make You Feel Brand New...

I'm headed to New York City tomorrow and will be in the studio audience of The Martha Stewart Show live taping on Thursday! She's doing a show devoted to bloggers and the lovely ladies of Mamalaw were fortunate enough to be offered tickets. Of course Jonesie and Ny are being LAME-Os and have all kinds of excuses as to why they can't come - they say it's because of work...I say it's because they ain't 'bout it.

Tee Hee.

Anyway, I'm super excited for a few reasons: (1) I've never been to a talk show taping before! The college television production major in me is chomping at the bit; (2) Each of us is asked to bring a tech device so that we can live blog and tweet during the show. What's the big deal? I get to bring my spankin' new MacBookPro!! It's fresh out of the box as of last night. Woot!; (3) I get to spend the night at my college best friend's house. I haven't seen her since her wedding in 2008...and she's pregnant. I can't wait; (4) Finally, I am looking forward to seeing some bloggy friends. Word on the street is that Jeanne from Yahoo! Moms will be there, The Broke Socialite, SunKissed Mommy and a bunch more.

There ain't no party like a blogger party!

(What is with me tonight and the "ain'ts"?)

Anyway, look for me on Twitter on Thursday to hear all about MARTHA. Should be fun, yes?

Scene & Heard: Holiday Edition

[Scene - Nighttime on December 25. Chatterbox's and Giggles' bedroom. Girls saying their bedtime prayers.]

Heard...
Me: Girls, remember to thank God for your Christmas presents.
Chatterbox: But Mom, God didn't bring us our presents...Santa did!
Me: [silently] Oh boy.

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[Scene - Day 5 of Kwanzaa. At the living room table lighting the kinara.]

Heard...
Me: Girls, today we celebrate Nia, which means purpose. "Purpose" means our reason for being or what we're meant to do. Can you tell me what your purpose is?
Chatterbox: My purpose is to WEAR MOMMY OUT!

I swear I can't even make this stuff up.

2009 In 5 Simple Questions

[ Full disclosure: I totally stole these questions from NerdGirl.]

Q: Web tool. It came into your work flow this year and now you couldn't live without it. It has simplified or improved your online experience.

Oh, I've tried a lot of different web tools this year: Plinky, Whrrl, iGoogle, DropSend, Evernote, Springpad, TwitterTim.es, Posterous, HootSuite (which I hate), Cozi, Slide, BigTent and a host of others. But I'd have to say my favorite is TweetDeck, with Cozi Family running a close second.


Q: Project. What did you start this year that you're proud of?

Blogalicious!

I'm so proud of us, ladies!!

Q: New person. She came into your life and turned it upside down. He went out of his way to provide incredible customer service. Who is your unsung hero of 2009?

Now this is a hard one! What I really want to do is cheat and say that L'il Buddy turned my life upside down. But, since he was born in 2008, that wouldn't count. So. I will choose Kathryn Stockett and Emily Giffin. They came into my life by way of their books which I devoured this year and can't wait for their next offerings. Two very different, but captivating, writers.

And of course, Barack Obama.


Q: Shop. Online or offline, where did you spend most of your mad money this year?

I spent most (all?) of my mad money at the outlet shops in Bethany Beach, DE during my yearly girls' trip. Buying myself a new designer handbag is quickly becoming an October tradition.

Thanks for the good times girls!

Q: Word or phrase. A word that encapsulates your year. "2009 was: a blessing."

In these times when swine flu is lurking, the economy is languishing, jobs are dwindling, national security is threatened, and the constant news reports of philandering husbands, I thank God for my sweet little family and our fortunate life.

Happy New Year! May 2010 be all that you want it to be and more.

Merry Christmas

Sex and The City 2- Movie Trailer

I know everyone is finalizing their holiday to do lists but I had to stop and take a moment to share the news. Hot off the press- it's the official trailer for the Sex and the City 2 movie!! I can't wait until next summer to see this!!!

The trailer is such a teaser, I can't take it!! And the song-- perfect!

Check out the movie trailer here.

(I would post the video but YouTube restricted it.)

Smart Cookie Tip Exchange #3 - $hop $mart

I love nice things - who doesn't, right. Christmas time is especially difficult because I want to get nice gifts for everyone (and myself too) but after I make a list, I'm broke.

So, here are a couple tips that may work for you:

1. Give presents to families rather than individuals. You may find it much smarter to give a present that the entire family can enjoy rather than buying 4 or 5 separate gifts for kids and parents (if you're so inclined). So maybe give your family friends a dvd pack of family movies or large basket of goodies.

2. Save for yourself while shopping for others. This is a great strategy for kids shopping. I buy most of Princess' clothes at Gymboree and for most of the month of December a member can earn Gymbucks - a program whereby every $50 spent entitles you to a certificate worth $25 which is redeemable at a specified time in January. So, I don't get any clothes for princess in November or December and buy clothes as Christmas presents for the kids on my list, and then I return in January to get stuff for princess. So, I get a savings for stuff I would have had to get anyway. (BTW, to all my personal friends, your kids are getting clothes from me AGAIN this year).

What are your shopping tips or strategy?