Setting up shop in Panera to write I am still working on the book that I promised would be done almost a year (or two) ago... After all this time, this dang book had better be a best seller! Ha! This is my first weekend free in a while. It is not really "free free" but, I made it free to work on my own stuff, versus doing stuff for clients.  I know you noticed my straight hair in the half pic up top... I got a haircut on Thursday, so it is flat ironed. Oh...and peep my attention grabbing t-shirt I picked up from For Sisters Only a couple years ago. LOL People always comment on it. It catches me off guard at times because I forget I have it on.  Anyway, I refuse to let this book go unfinished. Pray for me!

Inside Mary Jo's Cloth Store 401 Cox Road #20  Gastonia, NC 28054 (704) 861-9100 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting                 (704) 861-9100         end_of_the_skype_highlighting My colleague has been bugging me about having my blogging pal over at Nikki Panache create some custom bowties for him from her Boldties company. He asked that I go select some fabrics for him because he felt I "got" what he was looking for look wise. I told him I would, and to trust my judgment. After only knowing him a short time, I could already read his tastes. That's the one thing about men's fashion, a woman's touch can take it to another level. Granted, I am a woman who appreciates a certain type of man. I don't really do fru fru men. LOL. By fru fru, I mean guys who are waaaaaaaaaaay overboard when it comes to their styles. Think Lil Wayne in zebra leggings...that is too much for my taste. Gold fabrics I thought my colleague would like.  I prefer a ma

The straw that broke the camel's back. Photo from WashingtonPost.com Breaking news...the REAL refs are back starting tomorrow night!!!- Text from my guy friend After the Seahawks vs Packers game and the controversial call that gave the Seahawks the win, it was only a matter of time before league officials announced the return of the referees. For a minute now the league and the refs have argued over pensions and health insurance, with the NFL taking a hard line against allowing the refs to keep their pensions.  This came with the use of replacement referees who many say have jacked up the game this football season. From struggling to make calls to placing the ball at the wrong spots, the replacement refs have been much maligned.  Players like Aaron Rodgers and Steve "Smitty" Smith have spoken out against the replacement refs as though they were keystone cops. Steve Smith called them "lingerie league rejects", referencing the women's linge

So the Charlotte Observer ran the below picture of Cam Newton with a Hello Kitty t-shirt on. Growing up in this area as a kid, I know how the media treats a team and its players. I have never seen a player held up to such ridicule as Cam Newton. Before he got here, as a number one draft pick he was dragged by Frank Garcia and others on sports talk radio station WFNZ. Then when he came out and smashed several rookie QB records they all started back peddling. The Observer cartoon is ruinous and ridiculous to me. He is three games into his second season with a jacked up offensive line and a still weak defensive line and he's 1-2. I'm listening to The Drive with Taylor Z and Marc James and one of the guys stays on his back saying he is 7-12 for his career. Really?! Most of the losses the team had were because of the weak secondary and piss poor defensive schemes. Not to mention the crazy draft picks the team made this year. Absolutely nuts. How do you have a talented su

Whenever my fellow blogger Nikki and I get together, there are core topics always at the center: BLOGGING, FOOD, FASHION, and MONEY MAKING. Oh yeah and men... Today we perched at Midnight Diner to discuss a couple business ventures and have some good food. I linked Nikki with a client for her Boldties and we were supposed to pick fabrics today. The fabric store did something that businesses do all the time: it failed to match its social media to their business practices. On the website the company listed one set of hours of operation, but the business was closed during that time in reality. That is a mistake, and hurts business sales and customer relations. Anyway, Nikki and I also had a little chat about our BFFs of the male persuasion. It's always good to know there are other women who understand the position of being best friends with a guy. We both have interesting endeavors upcoming, so look out for them.

Sometimes you should just put down the rope.  For such a small word, made up of only three little letters, E-G-O has a big impact. I am one who has a huge ego. Not in the sense of being conceited. I'm not that in the least. My ego is more about doing things myself. And WINNING. I hate asking for help. Absolutely loathe it. And like many others, I hate the vulnerability of emotions. Lawdhammercy. I'd rather just remain logic driven and leave the emotions to someone else. But, part of that is my ego. My ego tells me that I must win...always...in every way. My ego has me so driven that I rarely pull over to rest. And I'm driven by the most random things. I'm not driven by money. I am more driven by accomplishments. My ego is also a line of defense for foolishness, misunderstanding, and chaos...oh yeah...and vulnerability. But one place...whew...that one place that my ego gets me into the most trouble is in relationships. Oh yes. I rarely talk about my relati

Today was a court day for me. I stayed up late last night making sure everything was in line for my case. I picked out the proper attire, black and white dress with black jacket and black shoes. I made sure my natural was pulled back in a bun-esque diddy atop my head. Grabbed my file carrier and was off for my trip to court... Everything was cool. I prepare to sashay into court. As I'm walking in, judges are at the front as some new attorneys are going to be sworn in before the cases are called. Well...I'm almost to my seat at the front when I hear a familiar voice belt out: Live the life of a thug... til the day I die... live the life as a boss player All Eyes On Me Wait! Where is that sound coming from...uhhhhhhhhh God *in my niece's voice* it's coming from me!!! I had accidentally hit the Pandora app on my iPhone and the sound was turned all the way up!! Now here's how it got worse. I couldn't even get to the app fast enough to shut it off,

Ebony McIver, Leon Robinson, and Rosario Dawson via Zimbio.com Can someone please let me know the age of the actor known only as Leon? I promise you this guy never ages. ( I looked it up...dude is 50!) I stopped for breakfast (technically it was lunch time) at this spot called Midnight Diner in Charlotte. As I waited at the counter, this tall slim guy walked by me. Before I could think "hey...that guy looks like Leon," he was gone. As I turned to oblige a waitress coming by, I spotted him sitting at a booth with a couple of other people. Apparently he's in town for a play called In Love with Tyrone . You may remember Leon from Waiting to Exhale, The Five Heartbeats, He Got Game, and The Temptations.

Summer is not officially over...and that's okay. Living in North Carolina summer could stretch all the way into October temperature wise.  So...is it too early for boots? LOL This skirt is similar in length and color to the one I wore yesterday. Not in my opinion. Yesterday I wore a blue maxi skirt with gray knee high boots and a gray t-shirt with a flower emblazoned on it. My homeboy said..."Shawty it's a little too early for those boots..." I said, "Not in my world." He said, "You know we're in NC right? There's at least one more heat wave coming." I said, "I know...but today...I'm wearing my boots. Ha!" The toe shape and height of this boot are similar to my gray boots. One day one of my colleagues asked if the "don't wear white after Labor Day" rule still applies. I said, "No...It's the fabric that matters...besides...when it comes to fashion...there are no rules." LO

Listening to a sports talk radio show is like sitting in group therapy with nothing but men. My guy friend got me hooked on listening to a sports station here in Charlotte, and I listen more for the callers than the actual show hosts. The other day, I heard a guy call in who sounded as though he were seconds away from tearing up. That brought me to the following: FINISH THIS SENTENCE: If men talked and thought about, then analyzed, relationships the way they do sports... To wit many guys commented that sports are easier to deal with than women. My homeboy said men have better bonds with sports that have been there their entire lives linking them with cherished memories and such, than with women who may be new on the scene. One guy said sports are logical... Lol

Story from a colleague that I found quite awful and hilarious. Isabelle dates Jaoquin. Jaoquin has a woman on the side, Ayi. Isabelle and Jaoquin seemingly have a good relationship, and have been together since they were teenagers, for a total of about ten years. Isabelle loved Jaoquin and thought he felt the same way until she, at his request, answered his phone. That's when things fell apart. Isabelle found out that Jaoquin had been creeping with their mutual acquaintance, Ayi. Ayi knew about Isabelle and her relationship with Jaoquin. Ayi has been in the US since she was a child. But never bothered to renew her visa. Because Ayi and Isabelle are acquaintances, Isabelle was well aware of Ayi's status. Heartbroken, Isabelle calls INS, and subsequently Ayi is deported back to Mexico. Although the names of the parties and the country have been changed, this is a true story. So my colleague asked a bunch of us whether or not Isabelle was wrong to call INS. Onl

Today's Guy: Dwight Hollier @Dfin50 Claim to fame: UNC Alum, NFL Veteran (Miami, Indianapolis), Board Certified Licensed Professional Counselor, Husband, and Father How I know him: He played in the NFL for a number of years, and one day started following me on Twitter Today's Topic: Sports Depression Dwight and I sat down last week to talk about Sports Depression. He has also spoken with Pro Football Talk blog from NBC sports on the subject Goodell suggests mental health counseling Why sports depression? Well, athletes are viewed by everyone as these real life superheroes...and because of that, they often suffer in silence. When Junior Seau committed suicide, everyone was shocked, but I wasn't. I understood, and wanted to rip back the cloak that has been covering up a battle that a number of people have. I thought Dwight was the perfect person to talk about this with because he's an athlete and a licensed clinician. The video below is just part

Part of the Anti-Stop Snitching Campaign posted on on the Lynx September 5, 2012: I slept in... I was beat from working long days and walking all over Uptown. So when I finally ascended on Uptown, it was about 9 a.m. The train was more full than the prior days. The DNC is still in town. I sat near a gent who didn't know that the train schedule of drop offs and pick ups had changed, so I had to break the news that the train stopped several stops short of the usual route. As I walked the half dozen blocks to my building, I noticed people were already out selling merchandise on the street. I wonder if President Obama is the most merchandised political figure... Do you know? MERCHANDISE   President Obama's face is on everything. The attorney in me has questions: Who owns the rights to President Obama's likeness? I have never seen so much merchandise on display. It was like being at a concert or something.  Lunch Newks on Tryon New

My peek at the Morning Joe Show. That's Andrea Mitchell in the red dress. September 4, 2012: I had the bright idea that I could rise early to catch the train in order to be Uptown by 6 a.m.  Let me just say, the train had come and gone a couple of times before I made it to the station. I waited for the 6:15 train, but it never came! Why was I up so early? Well...I wanted to get to one of my favorite restaurants, Black Finn (I had part of my birthday party there a couple of years ago), to watch the Morning Joe Show.  I watch the show virtually every morning. I actually like the back and forth between Mika and Joe ...though sometimes each can get on my nerves in a very special way. I actually like them both and all of the regulars on the show. By the time I made it to the Epicentre Uptown , I had to get a ticket to wait to enter the show. Apparently, some very smart people had arisen at 4 a.m. and stood in line to go in. My Morning Joe button, with a shout out to m

The Democratic National Convention has had a party-like atmosphere. Uptown Charlotte is lit up like Beale Street in Memphis every night, and looked like the streets of Washington, D.C. during the day. As I told you before, I am an Independent. Initially I did not look forward to the influx of people to the city where I live. Honestly, I was wrong. It has been a really good experience. Charlotte Lynx Blue Line Day 1-September 3, 2012: Whereas I'm used to driving Uptown whenever I have to work up there, the streets were shutdown in many directions. Parking that is regularly a few dollars had a markup of three hundred percent. So I took the train. I met people from Boston and New York on the train. One lady worked with the dance corp at one of the museums. Her friends from Boston were in town for the convention.  A volunteer from New York sat beside me on the train, wearing her blue convention volunteer shirt and sneakers. Instead of running its usual route