The More things change....Happy New Year!

Hello Pooka Family!! As I sat down to write my new years words of wisdom I realized that they are pretty much the same as last year! Not in a bad way, but I read the blog I wrote last year and it really still applies so here it is for your viewing pleasure again, LOL!!! (ps I changed the dates to make it current for you!)

"Well this New Year's Eve I did a lot of thinking. I listened to a lot of people who were overjoyed to get rid of 2010 and I started thinking why is it that at the end of every year we can't wait to get rid of that year because it was horrible, but this was the same year we welcomed with excitement last January! Lets be thankful for every year we are allowed to see. Thanks 2010 for the good the bad and for just being here to experience it all. Now that being said or thought I wondered if I should even make resolutions? hmmmm....Let me think about resolutions past and see how some those turned out.....
1. I still don't look like Halle Barry
2. I didn't do the stairmaster every day, so.....my butt still doesn't look like Jennifer Lopez'(remember that blog?!)
3. Will Smith still hasn't called me if you remember my past blog, neither has Danny Glover or Morgan Freeman!
4. I still can't make collard greens and continue to eat free stuff at Whole Foods, just not with the kids, remember how that went....
5. I tried to live by my budget but you all read my ipod blog!
6. I haven't found Barack Obamas brother and married him to make myself Michelle Obama(oh you missed that one!?here it is!)
7. I haven't cleaned up yet.....(yeah there was one for that too!)
8. Hmmm...my hair, well I'm leaving that one alone and you should too, LOL!

The list goes on and on, LOL! So this year no resolutions for me, I'm just going to be the best I can be and when 2011 ends I'll be happy for a great year!

Sister Can You Spare a Car?

Greetings Pooka Family!! I hope that everyone is in the holiday spirit during this time of year. That spirit of being with family and friends. That spirit of giving. Finding that special gift for that special someone. Now I always try to embrace this spirit because the holidays are a wonderful time for me. Well my spirit was momentarily shifted when I viewed a recent Lexus commercial. Family has anyone else seen this?? It shows a white woman and her clearly ethnic husband. She is so excited to present him with a brand new Lexus all tied up in a beautiful red bow. On first view of this commercial I was completely taken aback. Now I believe that you can’t choose who you love. Real love happens that way. But.... yes, there is a but, I have a problem with this commercial. I feel that it feeds into the stereotype of our black man choosing woman that do not look like their mama! And because he chooses this woman he gets a new Lexus as his prize. Family is it me? Am I being the Grinch on Christmas? What message does this send to our young women of color? When black men see this commercial do they wish that was them? I need to hear from my Pooka sisters to see what you think about this. In the meantime maybe we need to get back to the Reason for the Season and we wouldn’t need to worry about what kind of car we are driving on our way to church!

Peace Pooka Family

Dragon Universe!!!!

Ok so everyone knows that I have two boys and I'm always on the look out for something for them to do. A friend of mine suggested joining MommyParties which I did and I was selected to host a Dragon Universe Party!!!! Soon after a large box arrived at my house and I was amazed with the products! I had to hide them from my sons because I knew if they saw them before the party, they would want to play with them right then and there! We live in North Carolina now but we actually traveled with them to New Jersey, where they and us were warmly received. We made fire-breathing bagel melts and enjoyed dragon Scales with Dragon Punch, while watching the Dragon Universe Video. Then it was time to create! Most of the boys picked the Dragons, while a few made the Alliance military pods. They were fairly easy to put together, nobody asked an adult for help! (which is really big!) Then they battled and ran around for the rest of the night! A good time was had by all!

Another Business Trip for Mommy

Hey Pooka Family! Well I'm on another business trip without Taiye. Although I know I will miss her like crazy (oh yea, and my husband too) J I am soooo looking forward to this short trip so I can take some time for myself. The first thing I'm going to do is get a manicure and a pedicure. I haven't had one since the summer so I am looking forward to relaxing and having my hands and feet pampered without the worry of having to rush home to cook or go pick up Taiye. Next I think I'll go and do a little shopping. I love hitting Marshall's and TJ Maxx to see what "good finds" I can get. Afterwards, it will be the "piece de resistance" SUSHI! Luckily my business trip is to the city which has my absolute favorite sushi restaurant, Waraji. This place is like Cheers! It seems as though the sushi chefs and the regulars (customers) all know each other. When you walk in you're sure to hear, "Norm!" "The regular, Norm?" "Yelp, give me a Scary Jerry!" I can not wait to indulge in my favorite dining pleasure! I know I will miss Taiye and my husband, but Mommy needs this time for herself! I'll be back at home before you know it so I'm going to enjoy it! Have a great week Pooka family!

Black Friday at Pooka!

For Colored Girls…

Greetings Family! Well Dawn told you that we had a girl’s night to go see For Colored Girls when it opened a few weeks ago. I am still completely absorbed by the emotion of this beautiful, raw, honest, funny, intense, emotional, heart stopping and triumphant movie. My sisters…if you still have not seen it run don’t walk and take your girls with you. I must admit that I was a little nervous about seeing this movie. The book is always better than the movie in my opinion. Especially a book containing poems that jumped off the page and into your spirit. I tried not to read any reviews because I wanted to formulate my own opinion of how this work would play out on the big screen. I did read one review however that thought Tyler Perry would not give this most reverent book and play its due justice. I am here to tell you it is his best work yet family! It was truly awesome. I believe that he was able to bring these powerful words to a main stream audience, especially our younger sisters, who might not have otherwise been exposed to these stories of us. The words of Ntozake Shange flowed like liquid on the screen and they moved us from story to story, sometimes drowning us and sometimes washing us clean. Our stories are not always pretty. Sometimes our stories have pain that crosses from generation to generation. We may live in the pent house but we are not so high up that we can’t get hurt. But in the end we survive. We fight and laugh our way to the other side sisters! I am proud to be a Colored Girl because we are fierce and refuse to let anyone walk off with all our stuff!!
I love you Colored Girls!!

Black GIrls Rock!!!

YEAH!!! I am sooo empowered this week! The last couple of days have been filled with inspiration and motivation! Let me tell you, I started out by attending the Essence Women’s Conference, you want to talk about AMAZING, it was an awesome day! If you don’t listen to anything else I say, listen to this, if at all possible attend this conference next year! I”ll give you a quick replay of my day... I arrived and was warmly greeted and given my very cool patent leather tote filled with goodies, I had a beautiful breakfast, and then listened to our welcome from Mikki Taylor from Essence who was followed by Lisa Nichols, best selling co-author of The Secret, Chicken Soup for the African American soul and many more, well all i could say was, YES!!! She was inspiring, she had everyone on their feet screaming yes, Yes! She told us we don’t just say yes, we gotta say it twice! So all day as women passed each other you would hear a yes, Yes! You feelin good?, yes, Yes! Enjoying your day? yes, Yes!! Are you motivated? yes, Yes! After getting us charged up you had your choice of individual sessions, I chose “How to make a million” and it was an awesome panel of dynamic women with real business advice. Then back to the main ballroom where Tamron Hall led a discussion on how to find your power! Then a fabulous lunch where the amazing Judge Hatchett was the key note speaker. I’m running out of adjectives but she was DYNAMIC!! After enjoying our lunch and rousing applause for Judge Hatchett, we were a part of panel discussion with Lauryn Lake, Finesse and others on men, women and relationships, where to find one, how to keep one and what to do when you have a bad one! It was so much fun and the men on the panel told all of the women in the audience that even though we don’t want to hear it most men like a women who can cook!!!(I’m going to live a lonely life, LOL) Once that was done we had more personal sessions and I chose a session on recharging with Lela Ali and Dr. Ian. Both were funny and gave great tips on how to relax and unwind. As our day started winding down we found ourselves back in the main ballroom for a closing message from Iyanla Vanzant! Okay now the ticket was $200 and thank goodness my fabulous family got me one as a gift but this seminar could have easily been $500!!!! 
Keeping up with my wonderful weekend, on sunday the pookalitas and friends went to see For Colored Girls and our review is coming soon but I have to cheat and say I thought it was sooooo good! Later that night I was inspired again watching Black Girls Rock on BET! Well my wonderful weekend made me realize that as BLACK Women we are resilient, fabulous, fierce, beautiful, unique and WE ROCK!!!! 

ps. When I got home and looked in my goodie bag, I found a TSHIRT that I’m gonna wear every day until next years summit, LOL!!


For Colored Girls

Hey Pooka Family! I hope everyone enjoyed their summer and you are comfortably transitioning into the Fall season. We had a great summer and I still can't believe we are into the last quarter of the year already!

Well, the girls and I are excited and looking forward to seeing "For Colored Girls" this weekend! I remember when we went to see the play years ago at the Schomburg Center in the City. What a moving play! I can't wait to see how Tyler Perry has transformed the play into a movie. The cast is phenomenal (also loving Janet's new haircut; thinking about cutting mine like that)! This is one of those movies where you get your sisters and sisterfriends and go see it together (much like we did for Precious and Why did I get Married). We're planning on catching the matinee on Sunday and doing brunch afterwards to fellowship and talk about the movie. Hope you get a chance to get out and see the movie this weekend too and if you do hit us up on our Facebook page and join our roundtable discussion on your thoughts of the movie.

For those of you in north Jersey..maybe we'll see you at the show!

Pooka Lifestyle Lounge

Getting to Know the Pookalitas! What's your pet peeve?

What is your pet peeve?!

People who call me when they know my favorite show is on!

Someone expecting that their lack of planning should dictate my sense of urgency.

People who think they are funny, but they are really just being nasty.

Well, I've got a few.....people chewing with their mouth open, people trying to take out a mortgage at the atm and people burping or otherwise letting out things that should be held in!!

What's your Pet Peeve?

The Magic Bracelet!

Hola mi familia! Ok, that is Spanish for what’s up family! I have recently returned from a glorious week in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. The main objective for me and hubby, of this trip for our anniversary/we need a break, was to relax big time! And relax we did so much that I was actually exhausted from the relaxation lol! Can I always have this problem? We stayed at a fabulous all inclusive resort. Now usually when you check into these all inclusives you are provided with a wrist band to identify yourself and to let the resort know you paid your money to be there! Well when we got there we were given these lovely wooden bracelets instead of the snap on plastic kind they usually give you. That is when I knew we were in for a treat. I truly believe that bracelet has magical powers! Well…we know that you booked this room but is it ok if we upgrade you to a suite said the concierge, magic! Come right this way…we have special chairs for you on the beach said the hostess as she eyed my bracelet, magic! I believe you need another beverage with an umbrella in it while you relax by the pool said the waiter, magic! And on and on it went for our entire trip. It was painful to leave but I decided to take the magic home with me by keeping on my bracelet. On my first day back to work the train conductor asked for my ticket and I showed him my bracelet. He said it was nice but still needed to see my ticket. I tried to pay for my lunch with my bracelet but the deli wasn’t interested. I kept waiting at my desk for someone to bring me a refreshing beverage but it never happened. When I finally made it home I waved that bracelet as hard as I could so someone would bring dinner for me and my husband. Well family this never happened either. The only person who noticed me waving around like a crazy person was my husband who asked when I was going to the grocery store! That is when I knew vacation was really over. Now I am still wearing my bracelet and have decided that it will stay on until it falls off by itself. My husband is also still wearing his but that’s because he doesn’t know where we keep the scissors in our house… but anyway! I realize that the bracelet still does have magical powers because every time I look at it I am immediately taken right back to that tropical paradise. Gracias Punta Cana!!

Happy Days are here Again!!!

Well the summer is over,the air has turned crisp, the kids are back in school and now its time to get back on my second job again. Class mother! Yes its time to sell, sell, sell, cookies, candy, wrapping paper and everything else that the P.T.A. is pushing. Its time for class pictures, making lunch (I don't like lunch meat!) and lots of HOMEWORK!!!!! Are you smarter than a third grader? Yeah you think you are? Well try doing math (the new crazy math), spelling, writing, and reading every night! I am doing homework every night for at least three hours! Screaming every morning for everyone to get up, rushing around getting kids dressed, fed, packed up and on the bus with me running behind it because Will forgot his glasses. Fighting with Wes because he doesn't want to go to school today (this of course is everyday). Racing to drop Wes and the neighbor's kid off to school and this is all before 9am! Then I get to rest, (go to work)only to start the process all over again, picking kids up, running to the bus stop, making dinner, doing homework, giving people baths, reading stories, putting them to bed, putting them back to bed when they get out again. Where did the summer go, when all I had to do was wake them up and put shorts and a t-shirt on them?

Bullying!

Hello Pooka Family. My heart is heavy and I am not in great spirits today, mainly because of two separate incidents on bullying that have been in the news recently. The first one is about the little girl in Florida whose father went on the school bus to berate and threaten the kids who had been picking with his daughter (who by the way has cerebral palsy). Some may not agree with his methods, but as a parent you can identify with his intentions. I'd always feel compassion when I'd hear about these incidents in the news but now that we have Taiye, I find myself more compassionate to the victim and angry at the perpetrators. Since day one when we found out that we were having a child, my prayers at night changed from, "God bless, my husband, my sisters and my family" to "God, I pray that we raise Taiye to be a strong, confident, Christian person loving God first, us second, her family & friends and her community." I think it is so important that we raise Taiye to be a confident child so she is not easily manipulated by what others think of her or influenced by some little boy who says she needs to prove her love to him by doing God knows what! As a teenager, I was insecure and not completely confident in myself so I definitely don't want to pass on those feelings to Taiye. I want her to be a leader and not a follower and achieve all the goals she sets for herself.

The other incident of bullying that has affected me was, in my opinion, a form of cyber-bullying. This was the incident where two students taped and then streamed on the internet an intimate encounter between his roommate and another person. As you may have heard the result of that incident lead to suicide. I'm sure these two student probably did not mean for this to happen and I'm sure they thought what they were doing was a joke, but what does it say about us/our children, that we find someone else's personal preferences a joke? Why are we so judgmental? Why do we feel we can make other people the butt of our jokes? Like I said, I am sure they did not mean for that young man to commit suicide, and yes, that young man could have possibly been suffering from some other issues that contributed to his decision to take his life. Nevertheless, it does not absolve those students's culpability of what they did. I feel sorry for the parents of all of the students involved in this tragedy. I'm sure they did not expect that when they sent their sons/daughters off to college that their children would end up being responsible for someone's death and for the parents who loss their child, this was probably the furthest from their minds.

Let's teach our children tolerance and confidence!

Gettin Personal with the Pookalitas!! What word do you have trouble pronouncing?

What word do you have trouble pronouncing?!

Massacheutist, see I can't even spell it, LOL! i just say BOSTON!

None!

Lol okay when my husband and I were trying to decided what to call Wesley we couldn't agree on a name. We knew we wanted it to start with a W like William but we couldn't find a name we liked. My mom really liked Warren, for some reason I just couldn't say it! It kept coming out like Warhim, yeah that wasn't gonna work! LOL

Spell lots of words wrong can't think of one I always say wrong??

So what word gets you tongue tied?!

For the Love of Food!

Greetings Pooka family! Now you know that I am both president and vice president of the National Food Association lol! All things food are right up my alley…reading cookbooks, watching the food network, cooking, EATING!! As a Foodie I have recently encountered an experience that I don’t know how to perceive. It is both perplexing and disturbing to me. If I had not personally experienced what I am about to share I may not have believed it! I was waiting in line outside of the subway station for the shuttle that takes me over the bridge to my day job. A woman, who I had never seen before, came up on line behind me and we nodded good morning to each other. Now I noticed that she had in her hand a very large iced something and a bag which I assumed contained the rest of her breakfast. Now she was juggling this cup and bag in her two hands and as a result she dropped the breakfast bag on the ground. Now family when she dropped the bag the remainder of her breakfast fell to the ground. It was the most delicious looking croissant I had ever seen, it was light and crispy and my fellow Foodies…it was filled with chocolate! We both looked down on the ground at her half eaten croissant and stared at in for a minute or two as we both mourned the loss together of her culinary treat. I looked up at her with empathy and told her that surely that was the best part that was now lying on the ground. She couldn’t even speak but nodded in agreement as she leaned down to pick up her remains. She looked around for a garbage can but none was present where we were standing. She then put the remainder of the croissant back in the bag where it had fallen from. She then shrugged her shoulders and put up her hands as if to say oh well, sometimes things happen or tomorrow I will have to get another croissant. But family I realized that is not what that shrug of her shoulders meant. For at that moment she reached down into the bag and pulled off a piece of that heavenly croissant…….AND SHE ATE IT!!! No kidding family!! I stared at her with my mouth wide open. I wanted to say REALLY???? I understood about not wasting food or the 10 second rule (but remember we mourned the loss of her croissant for at least 1 minute!) Was this the fiercest Foodie I have ever meant or was she just merely disgusting lol! Is there any food that I have such passion for that I would eat it from the ground of the platform outside of the NY city subway. Sorry family…..can’t think of anything. I have pondered this middle aged woman, who seemed polite and was nicely dressed. What would make her eat that and not care that I saw her do it!! Oh well family. I guess you never know what some people will do for the love of food!

Business Trip!

Hey Pooka Family! I am writing this blog while sitting on a plane staring at the back of a man's head (why do men usually go bald at the top of their heads) on my first business trip without Taiye! This is actually my third business trip since I started back to work in March. The first trip, Taiye and Wale went with me to Oregon. Wale wanted to check out Portland because he's mentioned on more than one occasion that he likes the northwest climate and we may be moving there in the next 5 years (yea, right! I can't see Taiye and me going that far away from her Aunties). The second trip was to Atlanta and just Taiye went with me but we have a lot of family there so she stayed with them while I went to my business meetings. Now it's just me...without my baby...away for 3 days and 2 nights. Surprisingly, I'm not too nervous. She'll be at day care during the day and they take great care of her. In the evenings my husband will pick her up and warm up the dinner that I cooked dinner for both of them. Can you guess what I made?..yep, chicken and rice! I told you that's my standby meal and it can last up to 3 days! I laid out her clothes; Miss Erica at Day Care loves to do her hair, so with all that, I'm not too nervous about leaving her. My main concern is for my husband and how he will manage with her throughout the night. You see, Taiye still nurses at night. She is used to turning over and having her milk on demand. So the nighttime will be the challenge for her (not having the boob), for my husband (because she is going to scream bloody murder not getting the boob) and for me (because my boobs are going to swell up with so many milk ducts that it will feel like they will burst). I am prayerful that we all will be able to manage this short trip away for Mommy. Keep us in your prayers Pooka family!

Gettin Personal with the Pookalitas!! Do you think the economy is getting better?

Do you think the economy is getting better?

I do believe the economy is getting better despite the media rhetoric of a possible new recession with in the next 3 years.

Actually, I do. Usually at Pooka the summer is a very slow period, but this year was actually pretty good. I think we're in the thick of the recession and people realize they're surviving so they're not as nervous.

The economy will get better when I get a job!

I think it is heading in that direction but we have a way to go. My cost to commute has increased 25%! As most states are feeling the burden it gets passed down to the consumer. I am just more aware of what I am spending.

How do you feel about the economy? Are you still worried?

Blogger Buzz Contest! WINNERS!

WELL LADIES! I GUESS EVERYONE WAS OUT ENJOYING THE SUN, LOL!! THANKS FOR PLAYING AND THE WINNERS ARE, GINNETTE AND MYISHA!! (MYISHA THAT COULD BE A BET MOVIE, LOL) PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL WITH YOUR FULL NAME AND MAILING ADDRESS TO INFO@POOKAPUREANDSIMPLE.COM TO GET YOUR $25.00 POOKA GIFT CERTIFICATE!

THANKS!!!!

Blogger Buzz Contest!

It's time for Blogger Buzz!! Win some free Pooka! We're going to start a story below and you finish it in the comment section! The best story wins some free Pooka!!! Get creative people!

Check back at 5:00 and we'll announce the winner!

A Wedding You wouldn't believe!

Okay last week, I went to a wedding for a friend of mine. It was supposed to be a very upscale wedding and I was excited. Not wanting to bring sand to the beach, I decided not to bring a date. The ceremony was amazing so many different things, I couldn't wait until I got to the reception. When I got there a friend of mine stopped me and said, I don't know if you want to go in there because................

$3.00 Shipping at Pooka Today and Tomorrow!

Technology Rocks!

Greetings Pooka Family! Hope everyone is enjoying summer as it seems to be coming to a close. Well we can’t say it wasn’t hot! I am almost looking forward to fall (a little bit!) which is so not like me. Looking forward to sweaters and boots, cooking Sunday dinner in my oven, starting my intense winter work out (ok so maybe if I write it, it will be!!) and snuggling on the couch to watch tv. Now it is possible that I am feeling this way because of something new we just installed in our house. We just connected a DVR!!! Welcome to the 90s people!! I know that this is no big deal for most of you who have had a DVR forever. This is a big deal for me. My Pooka sisters make fun of me all the time for my lack of interest in technology. This is an even bigger joke because I work in IT!! I am a foodie not a techie. Now the DVR is completely simple and does not require that I get a certification to use it. The concept of it though is so fabulous. I will never miss another TV show. Did I mention how fabulous that is? There are never enough hours in my day just like anyone else’s. Sometimes in those hours all I want to do is take a nap. Now I can take a nap and watch that show whenever I feel like it. I can tape my cooking shows! I can tape those shows that I pretend not to watch like the Kardashians. I can record while in the middle of watching a show. The DVR will also let me pause while watching live tv. (Thanks for that tip Nyika!!) Fabulous. I can fit this into my schedule and not the other way around. Just another tool to help make life simple and that Pooka family is truly fabulous!

Gettin Personal with the Pookalitas!! What household chore do you hate doing?

What household chore do you hate doing?

All of them!! (don't tell my mom, LOL) being single can make you lazy, but i'm workin on it!

I hate ironing clothes! That was my job growing up, I had to iron everyone's clothes in the house! (Mom, Dad, Grandma, Brothers,Where was DYFS when I needed them?) Everyones clothes looked like accordions! I am better now though, my kids clothes don't look bad.........Do they?

IRONING! It's the worst. I have almost never met a wrinkle that I couldn't live with much to my husband's annoyance.

Folding clothes!!!!

Obviously the Pookalitas are a wrinkly bunch, LOL! What household chore do you hate doing!?


Road Trip! Part 2!!

When we were in college Dawn and I became Omega Essences/Sweethearts/Pearls for the mighty mighty Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. This happened our freshman year (Party all the Time, Eddie Murphy) and needless to say there are a lot of stories from college that can't be printed here or anywhere else! Being the beautiful, sophisticated (single) women we are now,(I'm on my own, Pattie LaBelle) we decided to make the trip to the conclave. We are still friends with the brothers we helped cross the burning sands and our fellow Que-E sisters,(That's what friends are for, Dionne Warwick and friends) so we were excited to see everyone. I needed to make the most of my vacation away from my children, so we decided to stop off and see another friend in D.C. (Shout out to Terri!) We went out to dinner on U street the new happening spot in chocolate city. After staying up most of the night (talking and laughing) we hit the road again headed for North-Kack-a-Lack! Our girlfriend Vera came down with her husband who is a Que (Hey Juan, Love ya!) and we were ready to move! We went to a concert friday night (8th row center stage!) and saw EnVogue, ( Never gonna get it!) they were AWESOME!!!! Up next was Brian McKnight(start back with one) who was really good and he brought out his sons who sang and played the guitar with him! Love it! Rounding out the show was Frankie Beverly and Maze! (Before I let go!) We stood the whole time they played, Amazing!!!! The next day was like a family reunion, seeing brothers and sisters some of whom we haven't seen in years! We talked and laughed and hung out until the morning light. I have to say all of the brothers the ones we knew and the ones we had just met all were true gentlemen! We love you Omega Psi Phi!!! We will see you next year at the 100th Centennial!

Gettin Personal with the Pookalitas!! What is your go-to dish?

Honey Lime Salmon, I found this in a Rachael Ray cookbook, it's easy and good! It's a colorful dish that looks like it came straight from a restaurant! So if i'm trying to impress someone, Honey Lime Salmon it is! Email me if you want the recipe, but remember i get the credit not rachael ray, LOL!!!!

My goto dish is Turkey Chili! Everyone loves Chili, its an easy one pot dish.

Topped with cheddar cheese and sour cream! (I'm getting hungry!)

Oh and don't forget the brown rice.

My turkey meatloaf, spaghetti and meatballs, baked fish and veggies (fish packets as Dawn calls them!), chicken potpie and turkey wings are all in my food rotation.

Arroz con pollo and plaintains...my husband and daughter look at me and say, "chicken and rice again Mommy?" Hey, it's quick and easy and it can last for 3 days!

Everybody has a go to dish, what's yours?


Road Trip!

Ah....those lazy hazy summer days....Do you remember when your parents used to take you on road trips? How excited you would get to jump into the car and get away from it all? (like YOU really had stress!) Every summer my parents would pack me and my brothers up and head to North Carolina to visit my grandma. (Dad's mom). I felt like we were gone ALL summer, my parents would stay with us for a couple of days then be gone! I loved the little town my dad grew up in (Ayden, next to Greenville) I thought I was big stuff coming from New Jersey (yah know a suburb of New York) all of my cousins were in awe of me as I spoke of The City and all the places I had seen. So now its my turn to take my kids on their summer vacation which would be back to Jersey! I wanted my kids to experience a good old fashioned road trip full of singing, finding license plates from different states, and really getting to know each other.We were excited to wake up in the middle of the night and jump in the car and ride! We woke up, jumped in the car and it didn't start! What!!!!! This was not the way to start our vacation. While we were cleaning the car out the day before, we left a light on which killed the battery. So now we are sitting in the car at four o'clock in the morning wondering what to do." How come we aren't driving?" " The battery is dead." " I'm hungry." " How did it die?"" We left something on."I then called Triple A which took two and a half hours to get to my house. " I couldn't find it." One word GPS. Triple A gets us going and off we go! Well I can see why riding in the car for eight or more hours my parents were ready to turn right around and go back home without us! I packed all of our favorite snacks, drinks, books and games and it still wasn't enough to keep them from annoying me! "Are we there yet?" "Why are you awake, go back to sleep!" " I'm hungry." " Its four o'clock in the morning, you don't usually eat at this time and your not now!""Mom can you read this to me?" " I'm driving."" What about this?" Okay this is a joke right? "Mommy has to pay attention to the car and drive." " Oh Okay." I don't know how my parents didn't run the car off the road with us in it, or drug us to sleep because I know we were just as bad. Well we finally made it to New Jersey, I stayed for a couple and days then me and Auntie Dawn were out! We had a date with some Ques, The Omega Psi Phi Conclave was being held in Raleigh N.C. and we were going to have some fun!

Gettin Personal with the Pookalitas!! What TV show do you watch but would'nt tell anyone?

......jersey shore.....(in the words of donald trump, I'm fired!)!

Okay I was hooked on "The Ultimate Merger" Its about time we see some brothers sweating a sister!

The Kardashians lol! I don't dvr it because I don't even know when it comes on...but if I flip through the channels and its on I'm hooked!

The crazy reality shows i.e. Housewives of NY, NJ, DC and when it was on....The Flava of Love....UGH!

So everybody, come on admit it, what's your show?