Orlando Came & Left

so Thursday was the big 32 & to be honest it didn't faze me the least. strange when i was 25, i went on a 7 day cruise with my girlfriends and ended up having a mid-life crisis. sad & depressed & in the middle of the Caribbean Islands thinking that i haven't accomplished anything and that i was getting old and getting nowhere fast. now, i don't even see it that way; i am actually trying to count my blessing without the "buts" it's not easy for me but i'm getting there.

orlando came to town because one of his best friends was getting married & he was in the wedding. he bought along Neal {another best friend} and though the visit was just till Sunday, i enjoyed every moment with both them. looking forward to going to West Palm Beach & hanging out with them, haven't been there in 8 yrs.

i had a wonderful weekend with a friend, stayed home, watched movies & that's all ya need to know. sunday morning i went to mommy's house to spend the day with them, by the afternoon we were shopping and then once we got back to mommy's my cousin was there with his family {pic below}. my cousin came by to bring his kids over so that we can see how much they have grown, he hasn't seen his kids in 6 yrs. because he was fixing his papers here so he can become a resident. he finally got it done and now he isn't an immigrant, as i like to put it {i say this w/love}. after that a family friend & her husband drove Anthony {Orlando's middle name} & Neal to the airport & we came home.

my dad bought me my computer chair, mommy got me my bathroom set, my step-mother bought me pj's for DR, Anthony gave me money, and Lala made me 2 birthday cards.

the official birthday will kick off during Thanksgiving Weekend in Delaware. Vivian's birthday is the 25th & we will be celebrating it then. looking forward to getting out of the hood for a little bit, change is what i need. speaking off change, CONGRATS TO OBAMA & his success.

my daughter witnessed something greatly historic & what better birthday gift could a girl ask for.

Barack Obama for President

we remember that i have a 9 year old daughter and who @ times i believe is 19 years old. she is way to mature for her age, of course when it benefits her.

this child has been up and down the streets of NY letting everyone know how she feels and who needs to be president of the US. in her world, she is voting for Obama. cute :-)

friday i picked her up from afterschool {fridays are club days} and she was in her Nutrition class {not cooking class}. she and a few friends were in the middle of a deep discussion on Obama & McCain. the poor teacher was trying to teach them about the different toppings you can put on an apple slice instead of eating just a plain ole apple. god bless her, for not wanting to tell them to shut up, turn around & listen.

Lala, J, & A were telling H that she needs to be voting for Obama because McCain doesn't know what he's talking about. H tells them that her mother & her are voting for McCain because he has more experience & knows what he's talking about. J tells H that she has no business voting for McCain because she is Spanish & poor that they need a black man to help them out. Lala, of course, backs J up & reminds H that everyone is voting for Obama because he is smart & understands what Spanish & Black people are going through & that we need a change. A is standing in back of H chanting, "Obama, Obama, Obama".

A's mother told him to be quiet & sit down & that people can vote for who they thought was the man for the job. Lala tells A's mother that Obama is the man for the job & turns to H & tells her that when he wins she is going to cry because nobody is voting for McCain. She also reminds H that "you never see anyone with a McCain button/shirt". At this point, I tell Lala to be quiet & to pay attention to the teacher so that we can go home.

Because my child cannot vote, she is praying hard that Obama wins. So every night, he is in her prayers and on Facebook I posted a pin just for my baby girl.

Righteous!!!!!

Saturday's Halloween Show

my friend Rachel is an aerialist-silks & she invited a few of her friends to her Halloween performance on Saturday. it was good to see her, Dr. J, DeAndrea & meet a few of their friends. the company would not allow the audience to take pictures after the opener. so I was not able to take Rachel's picture while she was performing.

my date to her performance was Lala & she enjoyed the show, they opened the show with a "Thriller" number & ended it with a trapeze act. the ending had my heart stopping from time to time whenever the girls would let go of the swing & have the guy on the other swing catch her wrists. lord, did i pray for them while they were performing.

Rachel's performance was beautiful, saw her act on Facebook but watching a video & seeing a live performace are way different. Lala's said that she's beautiful & that her performance was the best by far. Can't wait for her next performance in December. Lala's already marked it on her calendar & is looking forward to it.

Oh Lala, Lala, Lala

what on God's green earth am i going to do with you. love you dearly & there's no doubt about that but sometimes you take to a place that makes me wonder if we are related @ times.

friday was movie night @ her school, we had a wonderful evening watching "the witches". i sat with vincent & she sat with her girlfriends all the way in the back. after the movie ends, i tell her to put on her sweater & jacket. of course, she tells me that her sweater is in her backpack so i look @ the backpack & see that it looks kind of empty. i open the bag & she admits that she lost it {as usual} of course I am pissed. wait, it gets better... while on the train going home, i realize that Lala doesn't have her hannah montana purse with her. i ask & she tells me that she gave me the purse while she was hanging out with her friends, i think for a minute & remember that she did no such thing because I had a benefits fair earlier & had a bag full of information & goodies. the only thing i had was her iPod because i saw her friend L with it & she knows that i don't want anyone listening to it. since she doesn't have it & i didn't have that meant that she left in school, you know i was pissed because she lost almost $200.00 worth of stuff in that bag. her DS & all her games, her lotion, wallet & money were in the bag. she's on punishment even if the purse shows up.

saturday mornings we are both in class, so when picked her up after class S {a parent & member of the PTA} handed the purse over to me. after i thanked her she explained how she came about getting the purse {everything was in there}. Lala's friend B saw some girl with the purse & told S that some girl had Lala's purse & was about to leave the school. S stopped the little girl & explained to her mother that the purse her daughter had was not her's & that she needed to hand it over.

yesterday, i find out from S that during after lunch she had to help Lala find her brand new winter coat because she missplaced it. on my way to pick her up the only thing i could was pray that she had found it. while looking through the lost & found, she came across the sweater she lost on friday. though she has both items, her punishment has been extended till January.
no DS, iPod, costume for Halloween, we are not going to see HSM this friday as planned, no tv, no music, will not participate in any activities @ school, and if she loses another thing--she can forget about Christmas.