Now I know that I’m officially old. Why? I requested a rain check on a sale item at the store today. How embarrassing!
When did you officially realize that you were an old lady?
Black family and marriage March 20, 2011
I hadn’t heard about this Face Off series that Nightline put on with the title of “Why A Successful Black Woman Can’t Find A Good Man?”
Now, I know a whole bunch of you just sucked your teeth and rolled your eyes thinking, not this again. I think it’s something to think about though. I think that the program is mistitled though. It would be aptly titled, State of the Black Family. So I’d encourage you to look through the different conversations that are there…I’ve enjoyed it. I especially liked Part 3 where you’re side swiped with the reality of Michelle and Barack Obama’s initial courtship. It will check you, for sure!
These are conversations that need to happen in our community. We need to talk about the real and not just the statistics.
Another teeth sucking moment? Steve Harvey is one of the moderators. Give it a shot though…it’s good!
Not a paid post…just a good find March 15, 2011
Hola ladies! I just found this great site called Fiverr.com, where you can buy services for $5. I wish I would have known about this site back when I was planning our wedding, I would’ve been all over that!
How about this for a Save The Date with you and your honey’s name on it? It’s only five bucks! Seller: comfy
Or what about those folks who want logos made up for invitations and whatnot? How about this one? Seller: pahome
How about your honeymoon? You’ve booked it, researched it, and are fired up about going! What if you could contact someone where you’re going and get the inside scoop on the haps in that city. Well, you can at Fiverr! This seller (donnak) will give you a customized itinerary of all the best secret spots of Sonoma County wine for $5.
And for you entrepreneurial bride-to-bes out there, you can sell space/write ups/ads on your website like seller heavenstorm does…she’ll put up a link on her site for five bucks.
Now, I haven’t used this site or bought anything, but it seems like a great idea! I’m sure like any site that has an aggregate of sellers, some are better than others. Considering the cost of putting together a wedding, this may be a smart way to go for some things.
I’m actually planning on using them for some design stuff for things I’ve got going on at work. What’s the worst that could happen? I’m out $5…worth a try, in my opinion!
Itty bitty March 13, 2011
When I bought my house, I was a single lady and had only been dating The Mister for a few months. Fast forward a couple of years and now we’re married and my cute little single-lady house is home to me, The Mister, and his little girly.
Now you’d think our little house would be too small for three people, but it’s actually okay. My heart sometimes tries to tell me that I want a big ole house with tons of bedrooms and bathrooms (that usually happens after I go to a family members home that is fab!), but my head says that we don’t need it! We want to save so that we’re comfortable when we’re old and can’t work to earn money…which means holding back during this time.
I thought of all of this after reading an article in the Sunday paper today titled, Much Less Is More, which talked about small houses. Their definition was anything from 300 – 1,000 square feet. Why so small? It’s cheaper, less wasteful, and allow their owners financial freedom. Our house is about 1,200 sq. ft., not including our attic or basement. Most certainly a small house.
Anyhoo, here are some pics I found of tiny/small houses at tinyhouseblog.com:
This house maxes out at 400 sq. ft.
This cabin is 2 bedroom, 2 bath…and only 681 sq. ft.
This last house is 600 square feet and only cost $56k
I know that living in a small space isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but think about smaller house notes…and what you could do with the loot you saved! Whether it’d be taking trips, buying nice things for yourself, or saving up for your future…I think it’s something to think about.
With the recent recession, it’s no longer a status symbol to have a gargantuan house that you can barely afford. Now it’s cool to be a good steward of our money.
So, do you think that you could live like this?
What do you think? March 10, 2011
A couple quotations from the latest Psychology Today:
When I ask Jean Twenge about marriage and happiness, the psychology professor at San Diego State tells me about her grandmother. She ran a farm, gave birth to seven children, and was married to her husband until he died, shortly after their 51st anniversary. It was a good marriage by all accounts. “But she would have laughed in my face if I had asked her, ‘Was he your best friend?”
Now we expect our marriage partner to be our best friend and a great lover, a great parent and a soul mate, really good-looking and have a great sense of humor. We have these expectations for marriage we can’t possibly fulfill.
Interesting huh? I’d read this at the same time I read my Cosmo (trashy, I know) where the actress Michelle Williams was quoted as saying that we can really only expect another person to meet 60% of our needs…and if we get that, we should be pretty fired up.
I think these are right on! One person can’t possibly be everything we want…isn’t that why we have community? In that same PT article, the author talks about how our society is getting so insular. We stay at home to school our kids, we attend home churches, we’re working from home. All of this puts even more pressure on “home” to bring us happiness.
What do you think?
I’ve been sleeping on this! February 19, 2011
Ummm…this album is H-O-T!! Dear Lord…make sure hubs is nearby when you listen to this one! I’ve got Robin Thicke’s first album, but this one blows that one out of the water (and I really liked that one!). Go get it for some special one-on-one time with your man!
The Pink Elephant February 13, 2011
As much as I think that folks aren’t wondering about this, because it shouldn’t be all that important to them…they do! What am I talking about? The baby question, of course! Case in point, I had a convo (if you’d call it that) with a work friend that I hadn’t seen in a few months and this is how it went?
Me: Hey!
Work Friend: Hey! *hugs*
Me: How have you been?!
WF: Are you pregnant yet?
Me: *crickets*
Ummm, wow…that was not what I was expecting to hear so soon into the conversation. At least butter me up a little bit and pretend that you want to know how I’ve been before you ask that question. I’m sure you recently married ladies get that all of the time.
Soooo, what’s the plan for human creation? Hit me up in the poll and then I’ll write about the results in a couple of days!
My dad February 7, 2011
This week, one of The Mister’s high school friends’ dad passed away at 61…just like my dad. It happened suddenly…just like my dad. It’s amazing how the present can take you to the past so quickly.
I remember getting a message on my phone while I was getting a bagel (toasted with butter) for lunch. I didn’t notice the message until I was driving, so I just waited until I got back to my office. And that’s when I first knew something was wrong. Because the message was from a hospital in Jackson, MI and that’s where my dad lived.
“This is Nurse Susie and I’m looking for Dawn. Please give me a call when you receive this message.”
My stomach dropped. All sorts of horrible scenarios went through my head as to what had happened to my dad. None of them involved his death.
I called the nurse back and she asked my name and I told her. She asked if my dad was my dad and I said he was. She said that the ambulance had been called to his house the night before and that the doctors had tried really hard, but he didn’t make it.
I didn’t understand, so I asked her what she meant. She said again that “he didn’t make it.” I asked her if he was dead and she said yes. I asked her if this was some awful joke and she sounded offended as she said, “of course not.”
I thanked her for letting me know and hung up while she was telling me that she was sorry for my loss. I just stared at the phone.
Then I went to look for my boss because we had a meeting scheduled at that very moment. I saw her and told her that I wouldn’t make the meeting and fell out right there in the hallway. She took me back to my office and I blubbered what I’d just found out…that my daddy had been dead when I thought he was alive.
I called my brother and told him what the nurse had told me: that my dad called the ambulance and didn’t make it…that he had an aneurysm. Since I’m sure I was nonsensical when I talked to him, he asked for the nurse’s number so that he could find out more information.
But all I needed to know was that my dad was dead.
I still have my dad’s phone number programmed into my phone…I can’t bring myself to delete it.
So when we went to the visitation the other day and his wife and kids all said they couldn’t believe it because it was so sudden, all I could say was, “I understand and I’m so sorry.”
Those are the most true things that I’ve ever said because I understand all too well…and that’s why I’m so sorry.
Disjointed and random… January 30, 2011
…thoughts, that is. I’m just sitting under the hair dryer after completing the weekly wash and thought I’d share a few things.
*I love it when someone says that they’re a “grown *ss man/woman…that usually means something is about to pop off. Get the popcorn and wait for the show!
*Does anyone out there subscribe to Groupon? I just signed up about a week ago and haven’t gotten anything even close to good…is it worth it?
*I’m sure you can figure out why I now know when I ovulate and how long my cycles are…but why am I a grown woman just figuring this stuff out??
*I bought mouthwash for $4 the other day and got a coupon for $4 back…I was embarrassingly over-the-moon at my savings.
*I love my hood dryer!
*Speaking of hair…did y’all know that I did my own hair for the wedding? Now that I look back, that was kinda crazy. I legitimately had no clue how I was going to style until I took it off of the rollers. I mean, what if it didn’t set right or something?! (you can see pics on the “About Dawn” button over there, top right)
*The Mister was listening to Public Enemy when I came home the other day…talk about a blast from the past! (Bass! How low can you go?)
*You know who was underrated from back in the day? De La Soul…now that was some good music!
*I’ve set my hair with flat twists the last couple of weeks and really like them…wish I could get them to last longer though. Anyone have tips? I never leave them in for public consumption, I always wear them in a twist out. Oh yeah, my hair’s natural.
*Thinking of running another half marathon in May…who’s with me?
I think that’s it chicas…holla back!
The Happy Nappy Bride 