Wild Style

I don’t know what style is but I know I have my own. I don’t have to wear what everyone else is wearing.

Ugg boots? Nope, not my thing.

$250 name brand jeans? Only if I love em to death and I can find them on sale. Otherwise, nope.

The things I do love? Classic pieces. One great fitting pair of jeans. One classic fitted blazer. A great pair of boots or shoes. A nice bag.

IMO, when you have the basics, you can always pull a look together. I tend to incorporate my funkier pieces as accessories. I like a trendier bag, sometimes a trendy shoe or a great piece of jewelry. But my actual clothes are usually not anything screaming notice me.

I love good fit and I love color. As a caribbean woman, I have always been comfortable wearing colors. Yellows, greens, oranges, pinks, purples…..I love bright as long as it’s paired with neutrals. Tan, Chocolate, White, Gray, Navy or Black.

For example…..Today I wore my bright, kelly green trench coat over a tailored black suit. It’s not for everyone but hey, it’s my look and I love my pop of color.

Last night, Mr. 1969 and I were looking at pictures online from an event he went to last weekend. We were looking at some of the outfits.  Several of the women looked great and I complimented their outfits. A few were …AHEM….reminiscent of last year’s Holiday Party (remember the red and black bumblebee hair?). We started talking about individual style.

I told him that being overtly se.xy is not my look. You know how some woman can rock a skintight dress with killer heels and every man in the place will turn around and stare? Not me.

Then you have the trendsetters. They look like they just stepped out of the latest magazine? Everything hot in fashion is on their body? Not me.

So we were discussing what my style was. I told him that I wasn’t sure what I would call myself.

He laughed and said that I dress like an Uptown New Yorker. He said I can rock jeans, a shirt, a trench coat and sunglasses and look like I stepped out of a Starbucks on the Upper East Side. See, that’s why I love my husband. He gets me. So we have determined that I am Urban chic.

What is your personal style? Are you bohemian, park avenue, soccer mom, vintage? What vibe do you give off? Are you happy with your current style? And men, do you have a style?

The new glasses

Oh and just because…..a picture of some shrimp and grits I made on Monday (just in case the glasses scared you, this should make you feel better!)

The Randomness

I am a food snob. I won’t eat just everyone’s cooking and I can tell what I won’t eat just by looking at it….no matter how good it may actually taste.

I have read all of the Harry Potter books and all of the Twilight series of books. Yes, I’m too damn old, don’t judge me.

I hate housework.

When I am in NYC for my conference next week, I may skip out for a few hours and just walk around my hometown city enjoying the atmosphere. Plenary sessions are for punks…..(NinaMM, don’t forget, we have to ride the subway)

That other pack of liver is still sitting in my freezer. I am about to throw it away. I hate wasting food but I can’t even look at it. Ewwwww.

If you have one of those balance ball thingys at your house…dust it off and do crunches during the commercials when watching your favorite shows. That sucker WORKS!

This woman at work is wearing an entire mint green suit today with white shoes. WOW. I haven’t seen anything like that since Easter 1987 or Krystle Carrington on Dynasty.

If you ever need to buy me a gift and don’t know what to get me…..a Target gift card is the way to go. I will use it.

A total of three ex-boyfriend’s have found me on Facebook. *sigh* There’s a reason some folks are exes. TRUST.

I tried on my bikini yesterday. Not too shabby but there is still work to do before July.

I need a pair of pink or green satin evening shoes like yesterday.

Wolverine or the Hulk?

2 AM in the Garden of Good and Evil (subtitle: This is why I drink coffee.)

Both Tali’s are battling colds right now. You know how men act when they’re sick right? Well…I am dealing with two of them.

Last night, I fed them soup, gave them baths and put them to bed before I settled in to watch Heroes. (On a side note, Hiro and Ando need to just be wiped out. They irk me. And how cool was Micah? Is Nikki really dead?)

Just when I started falling asleep, around 11pm, Tali 2 started crying. I went in his room and he had climbed into bed with his brother and was sitting up crying at the top of his lungs. I quickly snatched him up and brought him to my bed so he wouldn’t disturb big Tali. Mr. 1969, left to go sleep in the guest room.

Knowing Tali 2 and how cranky he can be….you can only imagine the drama.

“Mommy?”

“Yes”

“I need medicine.”

“Mommy?”

“Yes.”

“I’m too hot.”

“Mommy?”

“Yes”

“I’m too cold.”

He did this until he finally fell asleep around midnight.

At 2am, when I was finally sleeping. A foot smacked me dead in the face. I jumped up and he was laying diagonally with all of the blankets kicked off. I straightened him out, covered him up and attempted to go back to sleep.

“Mommy?”

“Yes.”

“I like popcorn.”

“You do?”

“Yes.”

“Danny made me sick cause he ate my jello.”

“Next time, don’t let anyone eat your jello okay?”

“Mommy?”

“Wolverine can beat Captain America.”

“Yes he can.”

“Cupcakes are really good.”

He rambled on and on about nonsense for the next hour and a half. *sigh* I blame the cold medicine.

When I left the house this morning because I have meetings today……all of my boys were sleeping like they were in comas. You know, cause they are so tired.

*sigh*

Is it Free?

Needless to say, this group I just booked is ahem….ethnic in nature. Urban. Brown. LOL you get my point.

So my customers showed up at 9am for a breakfast meeting. We all enjoyed the restaurant fare. They had made to order omelettes, etc. After breakfast, we toured the hotel and I mapped out where everything would take place during their event. Once that was done, we sat down, fine tuned some details and they signed the contract.

At 11:3o am, my phone rang and they needed to see me downstairs. I figured they needed to say goodbye or wanted a parking pass or something. Uh no.

Your cousins wanted lunch in the restaurant for free. AHEM.

So I said no problem and let them sit in the restaurant. Now one young lady had just had a nice breakfast. Omelette, bacon, fruit, etc. What did she order? A cheesesteak. *cough* With Fries.

What did I have? A glass of water. Hello….we just ate breakfast.

Yup, YOUR COUSINS.

Am I the Baddest? SHO NUFF

Met with the clients at 9am…..11am, contract signed! GO ME!!!!!

Thanks to everyone for the prayers….they always work!!!

Wake up Blogland!

It’s Saturday morning at 8AM and I am getting ready for an action packed weekend with the boys.

Mr. 1969 has a man pass this weekend and is back home in Harrisburg. I am flying solo. (He will get his in two weeks when I  head out to NYC for my sorority conference…payback is a mutha!)

Before he left, I got up at the crack of dawn to run.  Spring better get itself together because I was bundled up in fleeces, gloves, etc and it was cold JACK. I am so not impressed thus far.

On my way back from the track, I grabbed my cup of coffee, walked in the door, kissed the hubby goodbye and I am now enjoying the quiet before the Tali’s wake up. Life is good.

So let’s play catch up since I have been blogging so sporadically.

On the work front, this Friday is the end of the quarter. I have a huge contract still hanging out there and it’s worth my entire goal for the quarter. If I close on it, I will finish at like 168%. (While I won’t get an AIG bonus….my bonus will be more than adequate).

The client will be checking into my hotel Sunday night. I am going in to have dinner with her and then will meet with her and her boss on Monday. If all goes well, they will sign the contract on Monday. This will be the largest program ever held at the Hotel. Can you say “Save the Day”? The event also occurs this year. I will be the golden child.

Needless to say, I need everyone’s prayers on that one and I am not afraid to ask for them, either! I want to be able to say I walked into this job and kicked butt and made an immediate impact.

On the home front, Tali 1′s 7th birthday is in two weeks and Tali 2′s 4th birthday is one month after that. This year, we are trying to scale back on the birthday festivities.  You may recall that we threw a huge party for Tali 1 last year that broke the bank LOL.

I think we will let him invite three of his friends over, we will have cake and pizza and then I will take them out to somewhere fun like Dave and Buster’s. It won’t be big, but he will love it.

Tali 2? Pizza and cupcakes at school. That’s all he wants and it works for me.

Personally, I am continuing to work out, trying to say no to things with frosting and just living.

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend. If (and when) I get that contract signed on Monday….I swear I will act the damned fool for at least a week. Heck, I may sit back with my feet up and blog all day. LOL

Peace!

A Tale of Two Talis

On the left, we have Tali 1. A peaceful child. He is always happy, very rarely at odds with anything or anyone. Wakes up smiling. Jumps right up and gets dressed. Great manners. Easy breezy.

On the right, we have Tali 2. Although sweet and lovable, is capable of severe mood swings at any moment (we call this HULKing out in the 1969 household). Habitually growls at family and friends when he feels wronged. Makes snack and juice demands instead of saying please and thank you. Wakes up EVIL every single morning.

This morning, for example, Tali 1 wakes up on his own. Gets himself dressed, brushes his teeth, washes his face and waits for his Daddy to comb his hair. All pleasant. He walks into my room and says “Good morning Mommy!” with a smile. Goes downstairs, packs his snack into his knapsack and is ready to go.

Tali 2?

He has to be woken up. He wakes up crying and screaming “I don’t want to get up!” at the top of his lungs. He cries throughout brushing his teeth and combing his hair. He yells at his Daddy “I don’t like school. I don’t want to get dressed. I’m cold.” as he gets his face washed and as we lotion him up.

The biggest battle? COLD PANTS

Tali 2 HATES, ABHORS, and DESPISES COLD PANTS. What exactly is COLD PANTS? T2 wants his pants to be freshly ironed so they are warm when he puts them on. When his pants don’t need ironing and you pull them out of the drawer and dress him……………….he starts wailing uncontrollably that his pants are COLD.

Today, Mr. 1969 dressed him and I was calmly getting ready in my sanctuary…my bathroom. I could hear him wailing in the distance but no biggie, he wails EVERY SINGLE MORNING. Suddenly, he marched in fully dressed with tears streaming down his cheeks sobbing uncontrollably.

“What’s wrong baby?”

Heaving sobs….”Daddy did it.”

“What did Daddy do?”

“He made me wear COLD PANTS.”

“Let’s go talk to Daddy.”

So I take his hand and walk him down the hall. I walk into their room and tell Mr. 1969 “Tali 2 doesn’t like COLD PANTS Daddy.”

Then I sit him on the bed and wrap him up in his blanket.

“Sit here for two minutes and your pants will be warm”

“No they won’t.” (still sobbing uncontrollably)

“Yes, they will, I promise.”

I leave him and try to rush back in my room to get dressed.

Two minutes later, he walks in all smiles.

“Mommy, my pants are not cold anymore.”

*sigh*

This is a morning ritual at our house. So the next time you struggle to get dressed and out the door……remember your friend Sixty and her daily routine. After that, take some birth control and put it in your bag.

Right on Time

I have been out hitting the pavement in search of new accounts for my Hotel. The quarter ends next Friday and I want to be able to say I walked in here and did the damned thing. So I need to close on all of my stuff in the next couple of days to make my goal. Ahh…the life of a salesperson.

So today, I jumped on the bus headed for downtown and guess who jumped on one stop later? The fabulous Miss Bee’s Grandbaby! (Ha ha…you need a password to view her blog.)

Melonie and I have bonded due to our blogging, both being transplants to Philly from BKNY (uh, that’s Brooklyn, NY not a new fashion line) and she is a very sweet individual with a Brooklyn tough girl edge. No wonder she and I hit it off from day one.

So Miss Melonie steps onto the bus and let me lay it out for you. She was rocking a fab pair of skinny jeans, a cute trench and a must have bordeaux patent bag. Why is she so fly? On a side note, her bag matched the shoes I was wearing perfectly. Hmpmh. (Note to self to jack Melonie in the near future.)

We were on the bus for about 15 minutes. Just long enough for us to have good conversation and make plans to hook up over the weekend. Mel is someone I truly connect with. She is a very bright young lady who left Brooklyn and attended a top notch school in Philly. She works in a tough environment taking care of at-risk individuals and dealing with a lot of emotional stuff on the job. I so admire her toughness and kind heart.

Personally knowing young people that are out there screwing up, meeting and speaking to someone like Melonie truly restores your faith in the leaders of tomorrow. I hope she knows that she is destined to do big things no matter the struggles she faces currently. This young woman is sharp in every sense of the word and I am really proud of her.

My contact with Mel gave me a renewed spirit to face all that I had to do today.  Sometimes, someone crosses your path and they just give you an instant lift.  My mind has been so focused on work for the last few weeks that seeing a friend unexpectedly made me relax for a minute.  Nothing like good conversation.

Mel….I’ll see  you this weekend!

Newsflash….Wonder Woman is mortal.

Yes, yes….I am working hard to be fabulous at 40. Running, crunching, eating right….blah, blah, blah.

Let me share something with you….I am still getting old. *sigh*

In the last two months, I have noticed an inordinate amount of gray hair creeping onto my dome. In addition, just last week I was  reading on the train when it hit me…..the words were fuzzy. WHAT THE FUDGE!

Nineteen69 is now rocking a pair of very cute and diva glasses. Despite my best efforts to outrun time,  getting older is getting closer. Of course, it’s how you respond to change that’s really important. 

It’s amazing that I feel like I am in, arguably, the best shape of my life. However, time keeps on moving.

As my life moves forward there are certain things that are the core of who I am. I just want to live everyday as a happy and grateful individual. I want to be a good wife and a great mother. I want to be a kind stranger. I want to be a loyal friend. I want to be a generous daughter and loving sister.

Last night, I was lying in bed watching Grey’s and one of the characters found out she was going to die. I thought about that for a moment. If faced with that knowledge, would you collapse and mourn your life or celebrate til the end?

I am so happy with all that I have accomplished at this point that I would be able to go tomorrow (although I know God has bigger plans for me. You do… right God? Plans that will last another 40 years… right?). with no regrets. Life is too short to look back. I am living for each day and not for tomorrow. So far, I have been blessed beyond belief. I have everything I could ever want today and still have plenty to motivate my tomorrows.

Glasses and gray hair are part of my new armor. I will wear both like the true Wonder Woman that I am. I earned both by living fabulously. They are battle scars of age and a life well lived. Hell, coming from where I’m from….I could have very well not made it to this point.

I hope everyone is embracing themselves, flaws and all and understanding that their purpose is yet to be fulfilled on this beautiful Friday.

Enjoy the weekend.