LOVIN IT!

So i'm also trying to get tickets to the Mary J Blige/Jay Z concert... Looking forward to summer! Shouts out to Questo for the hot pics and editing techniques, besides being a drummer for one of the illest bands (no pun intended) he is a great photog too... Ain't it hot!!!

Touch the sky

As a self-professed "Photo-fiend" I have got to say this pic made me smile...Touch the sky baby!I love Kanye and frequent his blog but today I was at one of my other faves Okayplayer and gingerlynn took these photos at the JayZ Vegas show in 07'. I'm saving up to buy a digital SLR but i've not been able to get up the revenue to get the one I want. You can donate to the fund if you'd like. I'll post some of my pics soon.

Hilbama

Just a lil' Thursday Humor...But seriously, one of them needs to hurry up and reach the delegate benchmark, because I'm almost getting tired of the debates and justifications, arguing, in-fighting and random ridiculousness.

30 seconds...An eye trick

Ok so I thought this was so cool. First of all that someone could create something that appears to be a negative on a metal surface. But what's even better is that if you stare at her nose for 30 seconds and then close your eyes this picture will be inverted and you'll see the real colors.

Time

I keep fretting about being successful and doing things with my life, things that almost thirty year olds tend to do I guess. Recently i've discovered a new aging me. One that doesn't know how to do more than one current dance (wouldn't look right doing them either btw), who doesn't wear gym shoes and no longer thinks going to the club is cool, that can't drink milk with a good conscience, is discovering smile lines, not to mention i've recieved the invitation to my 10 year class reunion. Guess I should be depressed but I've changed perspectives. I'm approaching my prime I guess. If you look at the clock (pictured and explained below) i'm almost at the halfway point if I should be so lucky to make it past 60 years. I'm now thinking about retirement plans, nest eggs, a family, Legacy, contribution, heaven and hell, dying and most importantly I have recently rediscovered living. I'd like to live well. Anywho, more about the clock read below.

This is "The Life Clock" a clock mechanism slowed down 61320 times (each number represents years) would you get one? As Erykah badu sings, Time a wastin'...

Vote 08

and my last blog for the day says it all....

Now i've got to get back to work!

Vote

I Love You Katt

Ok I'm on a roll now...I just wanted to show Katt williams a lil love, not this mouch tho...

We've got to do better....

Ok so I just wanted to post my version of the Hot Mess of the Day...
Jolly ranchers tho?

I know what you're thinking

This lil girl captures my sentiments exactly...I live in Ohio, but I didn't do it...Sorry Barack!

Obamarama

So today...I'm still sick, it sucks. I don't know what's worse coughing up phlegm or having warm flesh, or the faucet nose or the tightness in my chest that makes it feel concave. I'm so over this flu season, I may even get the flu shot next year ( say that every year and never do). I've been following this presidential bid pretty closely and the more I want to support Obama, I realize that he's still a polititian nonetheless. I still get irritated about politics and how things are over-promised and under-delivered, how orchestrated this all is. But it's a game I must play and I will choose a candidate who seems to sell me what i'm trying to buy. One of my favorite blogs (to the right, the cyincal ones) did a post about going to an Obama rally, it was pretty funny in a sad way, you should check it out.

my annual "Valentines Day" rant (but only when i'm single)

So the word of the day is "Love".
Blood red and mylanta pink are the colors of the month in lieu of this pagan holiday of St Valentine that'll be coming to take our pocket money soon. Valentines day, hmm...I try not to think about it too much but everytime I walk into Walgreens or CVS, i'm bombarded by a fusillade of fake roses, cheap candy, heart shapes, balloons, teddy bears and oversized cards. I try not to be too cynical about it but give me a break. Perhaps i'm a bit on the wrong side because i'm single but i've never been much into it. Well...there's this one year that I made my boyfriend a basket full of indulgences for the bad habits which I despised, it had beer, black and milds, incense and chocolates. He wasn't a teddy bear kinda guy. I felt inclined to give him what he liked.
Speaking of love and relationships, I recieved a forward today that had a few quotes from Oprah, I think i'll keep some of this in mind when I put myself back on the market. Any thoughts? i'll be blogging about some of this later.

If a man wants you, nothing can keep him away.
If he doesn't want you, nothing can make him stay.
Stop making excuses for a man and his behaviour.
Allow your intuition (or spirit) to save you from heartache.
Stop trying to change yourself for a relationship that's not meant to be.

Slower is better.

Never live your life for a man before you find what makes you truly happy.

If a relationship ends because the man was not treating you as you deserve then heck no, you can't "be friends". A friend wouldn't mistreat a friend.
Don't settle.

If you feel like he is stringing you along, then he probably is
Don't stay because you think "it will get better"
You'll be mad at yourself a year later for staying when things are not better.
The only person you can control in a relationship is you.

Avoid men who've got a bunch of children by a bunch of different women.

He didn't marry them when he got them pregnant, why would he treat you any differently?

Always have your own set of friends separate from his.
Maintain boundaries in how a guy treats you. If something bothers you, speak up.

Never let a man know everything.* He will use it against you later.

You cannot change a man's behavior.* Change comes from within.

Don't EVER make him feel he is more important than you are...
Even if he has more education or in a better job.

Do not make him into a quasi-god.
He is a man, nothing more nothing less.
Never let a man define who you are.
Never borrow someone else's man.
If he cheated with you, he'll cheat on you.
A man will only treat you the way you ALLOW him to treat you.

All men are NOT dogs.

You should not be the one doing all the bending...
Compromise is two way street.

You need time to heal between relationships...
There is nothing cute about baggage...
Deal with your issues before pursuing a new relationship

You should never look for someone to COMPLETE you...
A relationship consists of two WHOLE individuals...
Look for someone complimentary...not supplementary.

Dating is fun...even if he doesn't turn out to be Mr. Right.
Make him miss you sometimes...when a man always know where you are, and you're always readily available to him - he takes it for granted

Money never solves a money problem...

Like me, you’ve probably grown tired of seeing a picture of peanut butter oatmeal, so I reckon I should begin a new post. I mostly blog when I’m feeling something. Today I’m not feeling anything extreme, but I am happy that today is Friday. Income tax season is here, this is a time I’ve been waiting on for at least 10 months, yay! A couple of months ago, I read an article on Yahoo from the Associated Press that claimed that tax season could be delayed because of some pending legislation. I think I had an anxiety attack, that was horrible, how could I wait? I needed to pay my tuition so I could start school Winter Quarter, to pay bills and well of course splurge on some annual indulgences that I don’t really need but want nonetheless. So this is it…Christmas in February. And although I have my sights set on techie toys like a 56’ Plasma, GPS Navigational System, The new uber thin Mac laptop, and other sweet indulgences of the home couture persuasion. But hmm, lets see the factual issue in this matter is, that I need to pay the bills to live in the house and drive the car and need the degree to be able to afford the lifestyle that I’d like. By saying that, I mean this, I’ll be paying the bills and the tuition (God Willing).

Pop-culture oatmeal

At the workplace, there's a big ol' flatscreen tv facing my desk and the channel is always set to a news station. Today CNN, yesterday FOX News and so on...I watch and listen between arguing, handing out cards, saying please and thank you, organizing, inputting, problem solving, and other daily tasks, and it is kind of strange how the nation gets hooked on the headlines and how fast they change. A few days ago, the media storm was around the pregnant marine's death and the manhunt that followed, today it is Heath Ledger's death. It's like one story eclipses the other continually and it seems a bit strange to me, but that is the culture...I sometimes get entranced too. I will say this about news and the such, there are a few blogs that I frequent and some i'm just checking out for the first time, most of them entertainment blogs and they can be a bit over the top and evil at times. It's one thing to poke fun at pop culture but Perez Hilton's blog made light of a British singer having a miscarrage and another of Anna Nicole Smith's daughter's crossed eyes. I do think these bloggers are starting to become quite sociopathic in their quest to get a little recognition, I mean poking fun and saying Heath Ledger died of smoking rocks and drawing crack rocks on the pic of him at the time of a young man's death is a tad absurd. But what can I say, that's the world we live in and people will be as they are.
Next thing, i'd like to make a confession...I am a foodie.
google it of you don't know what it is. So today I decided to post a recipe since that is my new obsession. I can't eat the way i'd like, you still at the gym and losing weight but I like to cook and find new recipes etc...Sounds a bit counter-revolutionary eh? Well hmm what can I say?
This recipe choice is inspire by my lunch for today, oatmeal. Enjoy!

Banana and Peanut Butter Oatmeal
This was my favorite one so far. The peanut butter and mashed bananas made this oatmeal was nice and creamy. The peanuts on top added a nice contrast in texture.
Ingredients:1/2 banana (mashed)
1/2 banana sliced
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar (optional depending on how sweet the banana is)
1 serving oatmeal1 tablespoon peanuts for garnish

(Well since i'm at work you can't see the wonderful pic)

Sowing seeds...

It's kinda funny, in a sad kinda way that my blog is kinda sappy, perhaps it should be called e-motions instead of e-griot. I'm really not that sad a person, actually I smile a lot and have a fun quirky side, you should see for yourself. Anywho, last night at the gym, one of my friends we call "Pastor Rick" came up to me and a friend, saying that we needn't stay away from the gym as long as we did, we needed to keep health at the forefront of our lives with the other things that are important. Just as soon as my friend fixed her lips to start giving excuses as to why she had been absent, he told us about moving while you're going through, in other words not letting your entire life revolve around your woes. He also gave us a word about sowing into the areas in life one is most desperate in. He said that he gave away his last $40 when he needed money, when he feels lonely he calls someone else to let them know they were on his mind, when his wife wrecked his car, he got hers fixed> I know this seems like the opposite of what you should do, those things actually gave way to the things he'd lacked. He now has abundance in wealth, people in his life, and has a new car etc...Well I've got to go but i'll leave you with my thought for the day.

"When people can walk away from you let them walk. Your destiny is never tied to anybody that left. The Bible said that, they came out from us that it might be made manifest that they were not for us. For had they been of us, no doubt they would have continued with us. (1 John 2:19) People leave you because they are not joined to you and if they are not joined to you, you can't make them stay." -TD Jakes

New Years (re-visited)

So were into the hmm…second week of the New Year and my life hasn’t changed as drastically as intended. I have a bulleted register of about 15 resolutions for 2008, and now with about 13 of them broken already, all I have to do now is figure out what to do now. See the illusion is that the new year is a new beginning, and it can be but it can also be September 3rd or March 29th. And I’m starting to see now that change is usually ignited not planned the week before it happens. Change for me is ignited by some triumph or disaster into a flaming ball of “must-do, can-do, will-do”. I’ve waited all year to change my life, I’ve waited till the top of the week to start my new diet, new budget or whatever else was going wrong at the time. Last year, the spark that ignited the flame came on the fourth of July ironically, independence day. Towards the latter part of the year, I lost momentum, and my progress declined and then came to a sudden halt. Yesterday I thought myself into oblivion about change…It’s like I think but don’t do because I’m slightly afraid of the vice. An important person once said, “if you’re gonna bring about change do it and be done with it”…Perhaps I should take his advice because after seeing the movie “The Great Debaters” I gawked at the thought of being mediocre. I hate the thought that I could be behind a computer for the rest of my working life and I refuse accept living a mundane life, a life of struggling for paycheck to paycheck, crisis to crisis, a life accepting defeat. I’m sorry, No Sir Ree Bobby…I grew up in subsidized housing, in generational poverty, being immoral, having low self-esteem but that to me is a place where I will never accept being again. So while now I’m far away from that not so distant past, I use that one thing that works to my advantage to stay far away from that island of woe, and that advantage is persistence. Today I’m going to gym, tomorrow, bible study and so the story goes, it is my will to live, live well indeed

Auntie paparrazi hurts her "kne-ego"

I skinned my knee today. I know you're thinking, "why is that something to blog about?" Well, besides the fact that it bruised my ego, I can't stop thinking about it. So earlier today, my friend called me in crisis mode. I didn't really have any advice, besides I don't think she was looking for any. I've been there before, just wanting a human to be there to listen and give a lil' feedback so I know that I haven't gone completely insane. A lot of my relationships with friends has to do with listening, no pity parties, just listening. So we have a lil' food therapy and then proceed over my grandma's. When I arrived, I was greeted with excitement by my rambunctious nephew. We bonded a bit I think, when I began to ask him the typical questions you ask a 2 year old, he responded by saying, "what are you talking about?" I wasn't quite ready for that. He knows that i'm the paparazzi, so he said "take a picture" which sounded like cake-a-picher. Now that's my kinda party, one where I get to take pictures. So I galloped off the bed to get my cameras out of my car, and since I had energy, I decided to sprint back to the house. There are four steep and broken steps to get to my grandma's modest home. So I step, "one, two, three" and on the fourth step, I fell on both knees. I peered over both shoulders to see if there were any wintesses, I listened for chuckles and I bowed my head in disgrace. No one saw my folly but I was embarrassed somehow. My keys slid across the porch and onto the driveway, so I had to face the stairs once again. This time, I would do it slowly and more carefully, never looking up, not even for a second. I made it the second time unscathed. I took a deep breath and slowly proceeded in the house to take pictures of my nephew. No one noticed my slight limp, the pain throbbed and I eventually told my sister and friend of the fall and I finally lifted my pants leg to see the injury, I knew there had to be some evidence left because it hurt too badly. My knee was red and slightly swollen, there was a strawberry the size of a quarter and white scrape marks where the skin had peeled from the fall. My knee still hurts a lil, but i'm a big girl, I just wanted to give you the heads up friends, watch your step.

btw here are a few of my fave shots of the day...The third one is hilarious, ladies and gentlemen, I have arrived...

Young Paris

i think i'm on the verge of a decline. last week i stood atop the peak, today the valley. it's all about trying to bridge the gap between good said and good done. it's all about will. i'm emotional, nothing new, sometimes a trainwreck, at times there is a calm. tonight fried chicken tomorrow bones, tonight lazy slumber, tomorrow anxiety and unrest. patterns in and out weaving throughout me, i would like to disrupt the pattern somehow but the problem is the difference between good said and good done. it's been 4 months and i'm still thinking about him waking and sleeping, writing poems, and spending time bitter, angry. i've been sitting on the couch for the last 3 hours staring at the computer screen listening to drowning jazz. i can deal with boney james, sweet thing but not seduction. but it's something bout' miles and coltrane that make me crazy, equinox and ooh, in a sentimental mood get the tears stirring. a damn mess i tell you.currently my house is dirty and the internal me is just as bad as the dishes. i hate sulking and that's what i think i'm doing, but it's honest. i declare today that this feeling be temporary. i've found something to fight about and all i can do is guard my face. young paris fighting, burning the city in protest, perhaps there is something to learn.

*humming* dooodah.....dooodah

Caffeinated and Motivated

so i'm caffeinated today....I'm ready to roll, coffee is a miracle worker for me... It makes me feel so energized, I guess that's why it's a multi-billion dollar industry...
Anywho even if it weren't for the coffee, i'd still be feeling good. I went to the gym last night and got my butt kicked, but there are some cool peeps in the gym, i'm starting to learn their personalities...My trainer is something else, but he does a good job. Tomorrow I go to Bible study, i'm excited about that. If you don't get a handle on your life and start doing what you gotta do, life can get you into a depression that can feel like a system of hell and there ain't no glory in it. Everyday is a different test and you gotta rely on the knowledge learned and the wisdom that only God can give and keep on pushin'. See i' hard on myself, but I can't stop moving my feet when I make a mistake, I have in the past but I refuse to keep doing it. Another thing that helps is changing the music, I tend to listen to songs that glorify feeling depressed or that fosters these feelings of insecurity, i made me a gospel mix this morn and it's got me going, making me feel good and prasing HIS name. Sure my bills are due, i'm still not back in school and still single but i can't let that keep me down, the Lord hears my prayers and he's got a plan for it all, i'm praising him through it and working on being a good woman and living in the light.

Miscellaneous stuff

Grandma's out of the hospital, yay!

Thanks for those that are praying for her, because as we all know life is an everyday struggle, so please continue to keep her/us in your prayers.

You know, here lately i've been thinking about giving up my house, moving in with a friend, cleaning up my credit and maybe in about a year and a half or 2 years moving to another state. It's a big move but I think i'm about ready. I'm thinking maybe Virginia, Minnesota, North Carolina or maybe even New York (but that's a far stretch) Any Suggesstions?

Learn to Love

I want to retract my demand
that you leave
but I want you to Love me
in the way that my Daddy told me you should
or love me in a way that I love you
and that is beyond belief and expression
more than I should
I wonder how you were taught to
love a woman
was it your mother loving your father?
Did the music you bop and sway to
influence your mode of expression?
I know life's hard knocks can teach you
and mold you in a way that lessons can't
but I hope you read the word
that tells you how
so that you can breathe new life into
a relationship gone stale
and if you haven't figured it out
or if you have a fleeting heart
then go, I stand firm on my decision
telling you to get the hell out
of my house.