Trick or Treat on my Street

Best parent/child costumes of the night. The kid did a horror flick worthy zombie walk!

5 Halloween Ideas in 5 Items or Less

An entertaining Halloween costume doesn't have to cost a lot. 

White mask, black hoodie, baggy black sweatpants, sneakers and white gloves
JabbaWockeez Costume (http://images.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/JabbaWockeeZ-member-americas-best-dance-crew-759957_300_365.jpg)

Guitar, superhero mask, cape
Guitar hero costume (http://ptplteens.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/guitar-hero-rock-band.jpg)

Unitard, rock wig, crazy makeup, high heels
Lady Gaga (http://christinewho.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/lady-gaga-5.jpg)

Vest, dress shirt, dress pants, nerd glasses and fake Hawaii license
McLovin (http://thepiratesdilemma.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/mclovin-2.JPG)

Elvis wig, white hair spray, business suit, padding
Rev. Al Sharpton (http://nymag.com/daily/intel/20070730jacksharp.jpg)

BFF

My mother, Wheezy, with my godmother, her BFF from college. Aunt Doris and mom have been tight since 1958. Their friendship gave me the gift of having a second mom.

Just Say No to the Frenemy

While usually a fan a mash-up words, "frenemy" isn't one that I like.  Friend + enemy = unnecessary drama.  This week on "The Satisfied Life" (http://www.thesatisfiedlifenetwork.com/templates/System/default.asp?id=31327) we interview Susan Shapiro Barash (http://susanshapirobarash.com/content/index.asp), the author of a book called Toxic Friends.  She finds that 65% of women remain friends with someone who is difficult on some level. 

Thanks to moves from New Jersey (http://www.co.somerset.nj.us/) to Pennsylvania to Ohio to Indiana (http://www.wtlc.com/home.asp) toVirginia and the Carolinas there are lots of friends who I miss.  Distance, family and career demands.... there are so many reasons why we've lost contact.  I'd never had an official friend break-up until last year.  Frankly, I didn't even know pals did such a thing, but I thank her for pulling the trigger.  Damaging friendships are just that... DAMAGING!!!!  They rob you of the true joys of having a good friend.  When you can't confide in a friend for fear of your confession coming back to bite you... when you can't celebrate an accomplishment for fear of jealousy.... when friendship turns into a power struggle or an energy drain of epic proportions, then it might be time to say good-bye. 

I've moved enough to learn that new friends are out there.  They're hoping you'll ask them to meet for brunch after church.  They hope you'll join their club (http://www.gfwcnc.org/), invite them to become an exercise buddy or just stop by with coffee and muffins.  Just because you've been friends since Madonna's first hit, doesn't mean you have to put up with a frenemy (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=frenemy).  I've been blessed with some chicks (and a few guys) who've taught me how to be a better friend.  Give me a new true friend over a toxic old friend any day of the week.

Senior Technology

My mom and I have an ongoing tech issue.  It started back in the days when I carried a pager.  When I retrieved my messages I'd hear her reading the pager instructions I'd given her.  After she finished reading, she'd hang up.  No message, just mom repeating my pager number and the instructions!  Thankfully the pager days are over (http://inventors.about.com/od/pstartinventions/a/pager.htm)

Now our nemesis is the cell phone.  Wheezy refuses to leave it on when she's not talking.  She'll call and leave a message then turn the phone off because she doesn't want to run down the battery.  Do you know how frustrating it is to get an urgent sounding message (and they all sound urgent) only to call her back minutes later and get the voicemail.  Answer when she calls or miss her altogether.  Maybe when batteries were first invented, they only lasted for a few minutes (http://www.batteryuniversity.com/partone-2.htm).  Perhaps in the post-depression era battery conservation was a big deal, but its 2009!  How can I convince her that the cell phone will stay charged all day?  Should I just give up?  Maybe senior citizens and technology just don't mix! http://www.sunliving.com/seniortech.html

She's called me about 4 times today.  Each time I've called her back her phone has been off!  AAAAAAAHHHH.  It's driving me nuts!

 

New hair

The latest hairstyle. Its all mine. I grew some of it and bought some of it. LOL

Can I Touch Your Hair?

From Tyra Banks letting Larry King run his fingers through her "real hair" to Chris Rock promoting his "Good Hair" movie on the Oprah show... my hair has never been a mystery to me, but when it appears to have grown three inches overnight,  I realize that its probably the 8th Wonder of the World to some.  Our VP says he's never met anyone who does as many things with their hair as I do.  Will Rock's movie shed light on the kinky hair/straight hair, real hair/fake hair questions?  http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2009/10/good_hair_movie_review_chris_r.html
I haven't seen the movie yet, so I can't judge.  All I can say is all the talk about Black hair has sparked a few questions from listeners.

Karoline in Hickory, NC asks... I've heard you talk about how long you spend at the hairdresser before and it always kind of amazed me at the amount of time you spend at the salon. Today's (Oprah) show Chris was back on because a lot of African-American women were upset that Chris exposed their secrets. Were you upset? There was 1 woman who worked in corporate America and she didn't want people asking her if that was her real hair or a weave.

Karoline, I don't think Chris is exposing any secret you can't learn by picking up a Black hair style magazine in the grocery store (http://www.sophisticatesblackhairstyles.com/sbh/) or watching a Youtube video on hair weaving techniques (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F30Ni8jENos).  Am I upset?  Absolutely not.  The subject only becomes polarizing when people use hair texture to discriminate.

Cathy in Charlotte asks...  I hope I don't offend you by asking why so many African American women wear fake hair?

Cathy, I can't speak for all Black women.  I can just speak for me.  I enjoy the versatility.  Any good hair day gets ruined by my clunky headphones.   At least one night a week I have about five minutes to go from the studio to an event.  I'd have to come to work in curlers to look decent.  My own hair takes me about 20 minutes to style on any given day.  Add about three hours to the process if I've washed it.  Fake hair takes about 5 minutes and I'm out the door. 

April in Monroe, NC asks... I love seeing the different things you do with your hair and after watching Tyra reveal her real hair, I was wondering when/if you would do the same thing.

April, I don't think it'll be as exciting as you think, but then again I did tune in just to see Tyra's real hair
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pisyysp24rw&feature=related).  The next time I go to the salon I'll take some before and after pictures.

"Can I touch your hair?" is a question I've been asked more times than I can count.  I've also recieved hair questions from women with bi-racial children and from a White couple adopting an African child.  Learning about other people brings us together.  And let's face it, hair is important to most girls, no matter what color we are.

The Booty Pop Experiment

Before photos are never flattering. It is obvious that I'm not related to J-Lo or the Kardashians.

The Booty Pop Experiment

After putting on the Booty Pop panties my Mom bought for my birthday. Now I could star in a Miss New Booty video. It feels like you are sitting on memory foam.

No Release for Roman

Let's start our own petition.  If you care about children who've been the victims of sexual abuse, then add your name to a list of movie-goers who do not support the release of Roman Polanski.  We need to let Hollywood know that we take child sex charges seriously.  I for one, will NOT support the projects of celebrities who DO support the release the director who fled the country the day before he was to be sentenced for unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.  Petition for his release?!?!  What are these celebrities smoking. http://www.news24.com/Content/Entertainment/CelebNews/1048/18fc09e4eae142f49de84f01f82a6d07/05-10-2009-10-02/Cruz_signs_Polanski_petition

Tyler Perry recently revealed that he was molested as a child.  Compared to a pregnant 15-year old Charlotte girl who was shot to death while waiting for the school bus, Perry was lucky. http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/stories/wcnc-092209-al-murdered_teen_vigil.1a541d1d4.html.
A short time after Tiffany Wright and her baby, Aalihah, died the Charlotte-area was hit with the story of a North Carolina father charged in the abduction of his two daughters -- including a pregnant 12-year-old.  He now faces faces rape and incest charges. http://www.witn.com/home/headlines/62861107.html

Thankfully there are agencies like Florence Crittenton Services (http://www.fcsnc.org/programs.html) that try to help bring a happier ending to may of these horrific stories.   And I want our justice system to do its part as well.   Let's start with Roman...