Freedom

I am one of those people who is not happy unless I am using my hands, painting, sewing, making cards anything creative. I rarely "create" for myself. Growing up both of my parents put a huge value on creativity. To this day the biggest gift for my mother is something that comes my hands. More than eight years ago I painted this picture. The painting is titled,"Freedom." Unfortunately, most of the painting is cut off. The woman in this painting has her hands outstretched and she has on ballet shoes, her feet are in "fifth position." Again, I do not know what inspired me to paint her but, it seems funny that it took me eight years to get the the "freedom" shown in this painting. I am so glad I woke up!

You can't eat everybody's cooking...

Happy Belated Valentine's Day to all. On Valentine's Day a huge snowstorm hit the Mid-Atlantic region. As I awoke early Wednesday morning I felt like a little kid. Snow Day!!! While my SO on the other side of town had to brave the cold. I had to shovel myself out. It took forever! (I looked like the Abominable snowman) After such hard work, I was ready to eat. I made a Valentine's Day reservation at a Restaurant for two. I was excited and ready for good cooking, feel me. I love to explore unique favors and diverse cuisines however, we have been dining out a lot lately and I had a craving for some home cookin'. (I was tired of foie gras, and blah, blah a top of a bed of rosemary puree)

Well...I am still in the mood for some good cookin'. I ordered the Chicken Gumbo as my starter...big mistake. I know what good Gumbo is supposed to taste like, and this was not it. (Creyole you feel me?) Above is the picture of my SO's second course...the shrimp looks as surprised to be on the menu as we were with our food! (He looks like he is saying, "Ya'll gonna eat me? I am not really that good...Dang, I was supposed to be in that Gumbo with the rest of my buddies...)

I spoke to a few girlfriends about my dining experience. The reactions were hilarious!

Girlfriend #1=See my grandmother taught me how to cook...you can't eat everybody's cooking...
Girlfriend #2=Girl, it is hard to find good cooking in this area...I know what good cooking taste like cause I throw down!

Lessons learned:

1. Obviously, Valentine's Day has nothing to do with good or bad food; we had a fabulous time regardless.
2. If you want good cooking... go home:)

The Pain of Motion

I saw Alvin Ailey on Friday night. After such an inspirational performance I decided to recommit myself to my love of dance...therefore I bought this pain on myself.

I am recovering from a brutal Jazz dance class. Brutal. You know it is going to be bad when the teacher says,"I am going to work every muscle hard... you may wish to stretch good." Mind you I have taken: ballet, African, tap, yoga, pilate...but I have never seen anything like this class. I thought he would teach the fundamentals of Jazz dance?? Nooooo. He believes in "hittin' the ground running." So for Valentine's day, I may have to bring out my clutches from this summer (I will blog about this at a later date).

This mean little man pushed my poor unexpecting body to a new low. ( I am being dramatic...) He was like a little energizer bunny...meanwhile I just kept my eye on the clock...8:00 p.m. could not come soon enough. In the middle of some complex mind-boggling set I asked him if he was certain that this was the beginner class? He said, " Work BOO, Just work it, let me see those hips move!" I started sweating' (during stretching mine you) and the Mean little teacher caught a glimpse...he said, "sweating' already...that's okay cause you ain't seen nothing yet." ...I swallowed hard and tried to remember why I wanted to put myself through this torment in the first place... I will subject myself to any torment just to get as far away from the gym as possible. With few notiable exceptions, the gym tends to be a meat market...not quite my bag baby:)

After class was over...I actually felt good but during... I wanted to scream, "make it stop Little Mean Teacher! Make it Stop!)

Darn, Alvin Aliey...and Judith Jamison for making a gal dream.

On an positive note there were more than seven sisters with Sisterlocks at the Alvin Ailey performance! And by the way, my girls held up well during Jazz dance I wish I could say the same for my body!

I got tagged!

1. I have a tattoo on the left side of my lower back. It is a ancient Ghanaian symbol called, "The Gye Nyame" There are a several translations of the literal meaning for this symbol. The one that I use is "Love GOD and Fear no one." I got it in one of my favorite cities New Orleans in 2000.

2. Last year while visiting my Aunt in Hawaii. My Aunt begged me to go on a glider ride with her. She is very tricky this Aunt, she would not let me get any information on-line about what the ride would entail. For those of you who may not know what a glide is. A glider is a small plane without an engine. It is hooked by a cord to the back of a larger propellor plane. Once you reach a certain altitude the cord is cut and the small plane "coasts" on geo thermal air currents. It was one of the best experiences of my life!

3. I ran on stage and hugged D'Angelo at a concert in Philly! It was the end of his set and I seized the moment...it still brings a huge smile!

4. I sing and dance all the time. In the shower, while cooking, while cleaning, in the car, all the time!

5. I do not like deep water. I fell off my Jet ski in Puerto Rico...this was not very fun. I was very calm. But, my SO almost drown me trying to keep me afloat. (mind you I had a huge lifejacket on) I had to calmly say..."PLEASE GET OFF...YOU ARE GOING TO KILL ME, smile." Needless to say it was a very dramatic rescue!