Birthing Day! or is it Independence Day?

Hi All!!!

It's been a while. Today is our nation's "Independence Day". So those that feel independent Happy Independence Day or Happy 4th of July. Some of us are still having a hard time accepting the concept of independence. There's a song I listen to that my "A" in ACE turned me on to a couple of years ago. You've probably heard it...

"I N D E P E N D E N T"
Do You Kno Wat That Mean Mane
She Got Her Own House
She Got Her Own Car
Two Jobs Work Hard U A Bad Broad
Webbie, Lil' Phat & Lil' Boosie

That's one way of looking at it, or....Remember the film "Independence Day" Starring Will Smith...



From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

That's another way of looking at it.

You know last year our country elected for the first time in history a President of Color... That's truly African and American and that is a real form of independence from impossible thinking to possibilities.

Oh one more thing...

In the United States, Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, political speeches and ceremonies, and various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the national day of the United States.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Hummm... I just read the story from Wikipedia and it doesn't mention that Black Slaves were able to declare their independence.

Well here's Herstory

22 years ago in a town call Frankfurt there was a young pregnant women who celebrated everything. She celebrated birthdays like you wouldn't believe because she enjoyed the smiles it would bring to the young and the old. To recognize someone for being born is everyones birthright. Anyway, this women was planning the nursery and planning a 4th of July party for all of her friends who were very far from home. She got ribs and made potato salad. She baked beans from scratch and barbequed chicken. The whole nine yards.

But something unexpected happened...She wasn't due until August 17th, two days before her dad's birthday.

At 5:45 on the morning of July 4th she felt a pang and then a pain. She woke up her husband and deposited her oldest daughter across the hall to the neighbors apartment and went to the hospital. She delivered a beautiful baby girl at 6:26 that same morning. It was her Independence Day. All of the preparation for the party was done so she encouraged her family to go on without her and the new baby. They would have their own celebration that day and they did. She made a promise to that baby girl that every 4th of July there would be fireworks and this day the whole country will be celebrating and having a party on her day.

To this day I always like the fact that I'm celebrating an Independence Day that I can be proud of... so Happy Birthing Day to me and Happy Birthday to the "C" in ACE and it is our Independence Day!!!


I hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed sharing this with you. I hope it put a smile on your face because I'm smiling ear to ear right now.

Peace and Blessings,

T

Oh and Guinness Anyone....

Waiting

Hi Friends,

Yesterday was the "E" in ACE's Prom. She looked absolutely beautiful. She was so excited of what the night would bring and she went with expectations of having a great time. That she did.

Do you remember your prom? The "Dress" or "Tux", that I can remember, was the most important thing. We were lucky if we had a license to drive let alone a car to get there in. And what about the food? Who even remembers what was served? I think we had a DJ at my prom, but I can't be sure. I really barely remember it. I do, however, remember the dress and my date and what he wore. Yep...We have pictures to prove it.

I remember after the prom too. Going to the lake. Nothing exciting really happened. It was just the first night ever that I was able to come in after 12am. I really don't no what my expectations were and I guess it really didn't matter then or now. I guess it was the experience.

My "E" in ACE had quite the time she told me. "I'm having a ball!" were her exact words. She danced and ate crab balls and took lots of pictures with friends. I saw the key chain. Very nice. She also took advantage of the situation of coming in after 12am. More like the next morning with the sun up. Yes, I was very upset and disappointed that she would do that. She got the lectures from me and her dad. All she could say was "I'm sorry". Never mind that it wouldn't happen again. It's her last prom.

She, undoubtedly, will have a lot to remember over 20+ years. She will have stories to tell...some of which I'll never probably hear. Oh well. I don't think my mom and dad new everything I did.

Well the prom is over and now her life after prom begins. We have to still parent our children after prom and graduation or what ever the intro to their adulthood brings. The lectures may get shorter, but still, while they are beginning their new path, still influence their decisions by letting them know what is and isn't acceptable and what is and isn't appropriate. "E" in ACE...Just in case you read this....It isn't appropriate to come in the next day without permission from the ones who love you and care about your well being.

OK so what's the assignment? Any one of us that can tell our young people the safe rules in life that warrants lessons to be shared...share them and don't be afraid to do so. It doesn't have to be sugar coated, but if you prefer go ahead. Just be sure you tell the truth.

Thanks for reading.

Peace and Blessing Always,
T

Oh and...Guinness Anyone?

Happy Mother's Day!

To all of those Mothers.... Happy Mother's Day to you.



This is just a short greeting today because I am on short time for the beach. Yes that means I can't think of much else than that today. Work is really a struggle. Nothing seems to be matching. That's OK. There's Monday to have a fresh start. That's the great thing about getting away every now and then. Everything looks fresh when you come back.



Well no assignment today, but Sunday please celebrate all the Mom's you know. Have a great weekend and I look forward to meeting soon.



Peace & Blessings,

T

Oh and... Guinness Anyone?

Let's Dance

Hi Everyone,

Yesterday was Cinco De Mayo and I forgot to mention it so Happy Belated Cinco De Mayo.  I went out last night and did a little celebrating.  No Guinness though :-(.  I had a margarita and a couple of beers and shots of tequila.  I was still spinning when I woke up this morning.  

Speaking of spinning I want to find a nice dance spot that I could go to and dance by myself or with others.  I love to dance and I think I can dance. No... I know I can dance and with rhythm and coordination.  The "E" in ACE gave me that description.  She can dance her little .....(use sound effects)off and I must say she gets it from her mama.  My mama can dance too.  And did I mention that she is the most incredible mother there is.  If you have any suggestions of nice dance spots, please do share. That is todays assignment.  Find some terrific dance spots and go and dance.  You can dance with others or just dance by yourself.  Learn a new dance and teach it to someone. The most recent dance I learned is "the stanky leg".  The most important thing though is to have some fun. No...Lots of fun.  

Well, were approaching the weekend.  Mine will start early this week.  Yes, I took off work and I'm going to OC, MD and dance the weekend away.  Want to join me?  Come on down.

Peace,

T

Oh and... Guinness Anyone?

Break Time...

I worked all day today and I thought that I might go to the gym and run a while, but I got caught up in wrecking my Recs (The official name of what I do for a living giving to me from the "A" in ACE.) that I forgot to eat lunch. Yes, I came prepared with my two-day old vegetarian pizza from Pizza Hut and it's staring at me from my desk. I did manage to get my daily dose of Java. That's easy because when I come in to work every morning my friend has it ready. All I have to do is pour and go to work and forget my break.

There is an alarm that rings from my cell phone promptly at 11:55 AM. I don't know why I tend to ignore it. It reminds me of the Flintstones siren to end a days work. Remember that?

Anyway, it's 3 something in the afternoon so I'm taking my break now.

I didn't receive any recipes today. I was so looking forward to some comfort food from someone else. Please do share. I can't wait to try them.

Gee, as I'm writing now another alarm sounds from my cell phone. This one is telling me to go to my Yoga class at my gym. Well that sounds great and I'll tell you all about that tomorrow.

I know you're waiting for you daily blog assignment from me. I've done some thinking again. This time on finances and savings. I am challenging myself to pay me first. I work all day and I don't take breaks which means I'm working for nothing. I need to be paid for my non-break days. So here is the assignment. Go to your bank account (I can access mine online) and transfer something into your interests bearing savings account. I'm doing it just as soon as I finish here. Do it every Tuesday. We will call this Savings Day! Let's get our lives out of the red and into the blue by saving for a sunny day.

Peace and Blessings! Yes Blessings! The little amounts that we save can be a blessing for you or someone else.

T

Oh and....Guinness Anyone?

Starting Over

Hello Sunshine!

Hope you had a great weekend! Mine was a bit of a challenge, but it's over and now I'm starting over a new week. It's looks like it's going to rain for a couple of days, so I guess I have time to do the inside things. Yes, I'm asking myself that same question, what are they? Well let's see. There's books to be read, recipes to try, crocheting and knitting, watching movies that I've never seen, and of, course house projects. I list these things by priority and as you can see I am not very interested in house projects.

Anyway, I've decided to share my President Obama 1st 100 days with you. I like the approach with the H1N1 Virus or is it N1H1. Oh well it doesn't matter just as long as you know what I'm referring to. I agree that we shouldn't create a panic which is what we've been programed to do by the previous administration. Remember the plastic and duck tape panic? That, to me was hilarious especially when it was being seriously reported by the mass media. They were just doing what they were told and people blindly reacted to the possibility of .... I don't even remember why we were told to use the plastic and duck tape. It really must not have been important.

And then there's the struggling economy. We're still struggling and we have a long way to go, but I think he still conveys the message of hope and a positive outlook of our global future. I guess we all could be crossing our fingers, however, we need to continue to support President Obama's efforts and take action. I like that word action because it prevents us from becoming complacent and expecting miracles. The other point that I want to make about supporting our President during this struggling economy is that yes we need to ensure accountability on all levels (especially from the crooks). I threw that in, but don't you think he was thinking that
too? That's all I'm going to say about that.

There were points about the wars. I totally don't agree on more troops so I must say that I do disagree on all war points unless it involves stopping it right now. That's it about the wars.

OK... enough politics. It's time for the fun stuff. I hope you found out something new about the stuff we ingest. Today is another sharing assignment. I like to cook as well as eat good food. I've been trying some new recipes. Most of them have been pretty healthy, but sometimes I want to live a little. Help me out with some new recipes just keep in mind "no pork on my fork" and I can't eat eggs. Here's one that I would like to share with you:

Chicken & Dumplings (This is especially for my Mother-in-Law J.P) or

Vegetable & Dumplings (This is especially for my daughter A.C.W.

Don't use the chicken and for your flavor use vegetable broth.)

Ingredients

Bottle of favorite beverage

1 whole chicken

Salt & Pepper

Season All

Onion

Bag of frozen veggies (peas, carrots, stringbeans, corn or your favorite blend)

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1 can of cream of celery soup

Flour

Shortening

Water

Salt

Lots of Heart

Lots of Love

4-6 Hungry People

How to prepare:

Open a bottle of the favorite beverage and consume.

Clean chicken. Boil in seasoning onion. When the chicken is cooked all the way (falling of the bone done) remove it from the pot keeping the stock that it was boiled in. Take chicken off the bone and put back in to stock. Make sure you dispose of the bones properly so that they don't get into the mouths of dogs. Chicken bones are not good for dogs. Bring to a boil and add cream of chicken and cream of celery soups. Bring to a simmer and add your veggies. Let simmer for however long it takes you to make up your dumplings.

Dumplings: I think this works well all the time. Make a pie crust and cut it into squares and rectangles and if you have young children helping you, cut into circles and triangles or whatever shape you want.

1 Batch of dumplings:

1 1/3 cup of sifted flour, cut in 1/2 cup of shortening (they should look like small peas), add a little salt to taste, work in 3 tablespoons of cold water and knead into a ball. Then split the ball in two and roll each one separately (unless you can figure out to roll simoultaneously ;-)). Cut into your desired shapes and add 1 at a time to boiling soup. It's important to only add a few so they don't clump together. So when you get good enough add more than 1 at a time. After all of the dumplings have been added it might be necessary to thicken the soup. Make a rue and add until you like the texture. (Rue=flour and warm water mixed)

1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Crisco vegetable shortening, plain or butter-flavored (see Cook's Note)
1/2 teaspoon kosher or coarse salt
3 tablespoons ice water

Note: The people you invite must not complain and if they do let them know all the heart and love you put into this. Enjoy!!!

Peace & Blessings,

T

Oh and... Guinness anyone?

It's Friday!!!

This has been a very interesting start for me. There's so much to say and so much time in the beginning of the month to say it. I know I promised you my analysis, but I'm still thinking about it.

How did the quote homework go? Don't get backed up because everyday I blog there will be an assignment. No... I'm not your teacher just a friend.

So I was thinking... I was drinking my superfood today and I decided to read the label. It informed me that I was receiving 1,000mg of spirulina per serving. Well I guess that's good, but inquiring minds wanted to know what this 1,000mg of spirulina was. Just in case I'm not alone in my ignorance of spirulina it is the "superfood' that warrants the name of my Odwalla fruit juice. I looked it up on the Internet and you should too or look up an ingredient in something that you probably eat or drink all the time and you have absolutely no idea what it is or what it does for you or in some cases, to you. Yes! That's the assignment for today and of course because you found it interesting share it with the masses and I am part of the masses.

I hope the masses (that's you) enjoy your weekend. It may sometimes be within my 1st 100 days, but I don't know. If I get on the computer on the weekend it's to Facebook. I think I just made that a verb.

Anyway, it's been a wonderful 3 days with you and I look forward to Monday or Saturday.

Peace & Blessings,

T
P.S. When I spell checked this blog spirulina isn't even in this spellcheck dictionary. I'm not alone ;-).

Oh and... Guinness Anyone?

My day 2! I'm going for 100

Hello!



It's a brand new day and I am celebrating. I read in the news (CNN) that the first 100 days of the Obama Administration is like celebrating a HOLIDAY!!! I agree. Yes, I voted for him like many other Americans. I voted for change and I think we are seeing that already.



Did anyone watch the Press Conference last night? I was having dinner with family so I promised I would "You Tube" it today and I will. I did watch his "swagger" though. I am really impressed that he doesn't listen to the critics asking him to slow down. Let him do his job and make the history that we've all been waiting for. Look for my analysis of his address later on. I have to listen and digest before I write.



I encourage everyone to think of a quote today. One you've heard or made up or even read. Share it with someone and ask them to do the same.



Here's my quote to share with you.



"All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem."

Martin Luther King, Jr., "Strength to Face"



Isn't that what's happened in President Obama's first 100 days. 'Transparency is inevitable.' (That's my quote.)



Anyway... Have a great day and accomplish everything you set out to do.



Peace & Blessings,



T



Oh and... Guinness Anyone?

Blog attempt

Welcome everyone! My name is Tina and I am ..... You thought I was going to say "an alcholic". No, just borderline. I am the mother of ACE and the grandmother of Grandson and Granddaughter. Pretty vague, huh. Well as I get to know you better and you get to know me will share a little more details.

I hope those that are reading this may not take me to seriously, but just enjoy the moment. I am in the creation of my second adulthood, yes that means I'm over 45, and it has been wonderfully challenging. I am open for suggestions, but let me first give you a base of where I am.

I think a list may be appropriate so here it is:

Mother of ACE
Grandmother of two
Newly divorced
So that means I'm single
Dogowner
Sister
Child to the best mother that ever lived
Best Friend to 3 incredible people
Graduate of Accounting
Accountant
Student of many things
Cook and jogger

That's enough right now. I must warn you...I have a lot more to list, but I'm just getting to know you.

Anyway, I hope we become friends soon. I can't wait to share some of my life with you. Yes I do the political thing and that may come off a bit passionate at times. I think that is probably what I'll write most about. Hopefully it won't be a soap box, but if it is just let me know.

Peace and Blessings to all that find me.

Oh and ...
Guinness Anyone?

T