Alright ya’ll, in just a few short weeks I will officially be a culinary student! I’m excited and nervous at the same time. Everytime I watch The Food Network, I realize how much I don’t know about food and cooking. I wonder if I will have what it takes to be really good…anything less than excellent is just not acceptable. Funny, I have a degree in Economics and a background as a business and management consultant…I am going to be shoulder to shoulder with people who have been in the food industry their entire lives! WOW. Does eating food count as being in the food industry? I think I will be a quick study (I hope).
Right now I am enrolled in the diploma program, since getting another Bachelors for me, doesn’t make financial or common sense. If I want to go the mile with this, I might as well go for the Masters. But before I even think about that I want to clear his hurdle first. So I think that what I want to do is open up my a bakery/catering business. My plan is to use my Pure Romance and Lingerie Business to fund my schooling. Maybe I can even work at a resturant somewhere…but I don’t know because I don’t think that would pay my bills even though I need the experience.
Okay, so I took a stab at creating my own logo for the business and here it is…let me know what you think!
Anywho, that’s what I’ve been up to. Sorry for the sporadic blogging. But I knew it was going to be like this, see earlier post.
And oh yeah, anyone in school knows that textbooks can be expensive (my books alone for this one class is damn near $200! I found this great site that allows you rent your books (instead of buy)…save money and save the trees at the same time! Who knew! The site is called Chegg and you can click here to learn more. If this saves you cash, let me know!
About a week or so ago I posted Do You Believe in Love. I appreciate all the feedback and comments which I truly take into great consideration. The next day my gf sent me an email basically saying how she felt inadequate, like she wasn’t pulling her load. She felt beat up by circumstances and she wants to do so much more for me but can’t. She basically felt like I didn’t need her, I guess she felt like she added no value to my life (nothing could be further from the truth). Hence, why she said the things she did.
I was so thankful that she let me in on how she was really feeling. Now, I understand. Now we are working ont it. She has a plan and she has been working her booty off and really making strides. I told her I love her regardless and that her love was all I need and want. Of course, she still is going to do what she needs to get to get to where she needs to be for her and for us. I can’t stress enough how glad I am that she opened up to me.
Some may wonder why do I feel the way I do, why I don’t just let go. Well, I guess it’s because I fell in love with her when I was 16. The first time I ever saw her, my heart stopped. My First Lesbian Love Story sums our story up. I never forgot about her, all these years, and I never forgot. Always remembered her bday, her laugh, her scent…wondered how she was and where she was. 10 years later, she emails me. Turns out she searched for me and despite many false starts she finally found me. Her persistence paid off because after emailing me through multiple sources (reunion.com, myspace, etc…) I responded…it took me 9 months, but I responded. And when I saw her again, I just knew…and well, the rest is history as they say. I remember when I was young, my parents had a plaque that read “if you love something, set it free. it if comes back to you, it is yours…if it doesn’t, it never was”. She came back to me…
So, we are taking it day by day and building our life together. I am so very happy and very in love and putting all of me into us. It takes me not being afraid to trust, risking loving and loosing the person I love, placing my heart in her hands hoping she won’t break it. This means I am not trying to control everything or always have the final say. We both have our hang ups that we are working on because we both want to make this work. So I just wanted to give an update on where things stood with us. It’s hard to really say how I’m feeling, but these two songs gist it very well…
This past Saturday, my girlfriend took me out on a date. Yes, a date! We never have time for ourselves and when we do, it is at most 3 hours, which doesn’t leave much time to really enjoy each others company. But on Thursday, she sent me a dinner invitation to a Moroccan restaurant in DC. I was so excited! I was so looking forward to getting outside of a 15 mile radius, spending time alone with her and just relaxing. Also, I never had Moroccan food before, so I was looking forward to the feast!
Anywho, she dropped the kiddies off at the sitter and off we went to DC. As usual, I got lost, DC has never and will never make any sense to me. The planning was totally illogical. It’s like you’re on 24st NW and then the next street is Newark Ave., and the next R street and then 31st street. WTF? Anyway, after getting lost we finally made our way to the restaurant.
We went to Marrakesh Palace in Washington, DC. Loved the decor, loved the service, loved the food. The first time I’ve ever had cold spinach and it was so good. The flavors were just right. Anywho, I can’t remember the names of our main courses but the food was excellent. I would most certainly go back there again. My baby had a seafood kabob thingy with couscous and veggies. She loved it. It was good (you know I had to taste some). I had chicken, now to say that sounds bland…but this chicken was anything but bland. I don’t know what they did to that chicken, but OMG it was delicious!
Our car was parked right in front of a crepe place and since my gf never had a crepe before, I encouraged her to get one. She ordered a blueberry and banana crepe and loved it! I knew she would like it, I told her I would try to make them at home. At least, she has had the real thing before she tries mine :-0. We walked over the Lambda Rising, a gay/lesbian bookstore and made a purchase. And since our gay/lesbian book section at our local Borders is hiding tucked away in a corner we were happy to see dozens of books shelves with books for us and by us proudly displayed.
From there we went to Dave and Busters, which is like a grown up version of Chuckee Cheese. I have always wanted to take her there (sans the kids) but didn’t get the opportunity until Saturday. We had so much fun! We played games and we had a really good time. It was so good to look at her and see her smile and be happy, that warms my heart. She beat me in basketball twice…but I let her LOL.
On the way back, she was craving some coffee, so we made it to a Barnes and Nobles in Tysons Corner just before they closed. She got her coffee and some chocolate Cheesecake Factory cheesecake (since it was half off). We took our time and didn’t leave until they announced the store was closed over the loudspeaker.
We made it home around midnight well, you can use your imagination for the rest!
I had such a wonderful good time, and with 4 kids and our schedules we rarely have time for ourselves, so moments like this are a breath of fresh air. YAY! I am still excited and giddy about it like a little girl! LOL. For our next date, we both agreed to play hooky from work and spend the day together. I’m looking forward to that.
This is the second snow day, and I have been home with 4 kids for 4 straight days…school…please open tomorrow!!!
There were so many things that I used to do, that I don’t do anymore that I should start doing again. Everyone in a while, I will realize that I lost myself…and it will take me about 1 year to realize it and then I will get back on the ball. Well, I just had a realization! I haven’t been doing my makeup or my hair like I used to. Part of that is because I decided that I don’t want to wear makeup everyday and since I went natural the need to run to the hair salon at the sight of new growth has disappeared..yay!!! BUT, I have lost track of the latest trends and am just in my own little world with kids and kids and more kids. lol. Hmmmm….I thought I was in control of my life!? Time to get back on track.
So for the month of March, here is what I am going to do for ME:
Drink more water! 4-8 glasses per day. On the days I can do 8 glasses, great! Some days I may only be able to get in 4…but I won’t kill myself over it. Water is soo good for you.
Complete a 14 day fruit and veggie fast. I did this a few years ago and my skin and everything looked so good. I actually did 3 weeks…not sure if I can do that now though! I will try for 2.
Just eat more fruit and veggies overall
Get my brows done. I goto Red Door Salon to get them done, the lady does a beautiful job…I haven’t been in so long. It’s so worth the $30 investment!!!
Pamper me time — 30 minutes a week on a pedicure, manicure, hair treatment, bath or something that’s just for me.
Stop driving! I drive too much. I think I blogged about this before. If I can commute to work 3x a week, I am doing good
Get with it! Get back into the makeup, hair and all those other things that I like. I feel a visit to the MAC counter coming on soon…
Finish a book. I have 3 books that I am reading. I just need to finish one of them. Too much stop, start, stop again stuff going on.
Spend $50 on me…just because. Just $50 without questions, without a coupon or sale (okay, maybe not without a coupon or sale) but you get the point here.
Do yoga or pilates 1x a week…I used to do these things and it made a difference in the way I felt. I think I can do this just one day a week again.
Reading over this list seems so simple, but with so many things going on I will need to set aside time to do it. But I feel good just writing about it, so I know I am going to feel great doing it! Wish me luck
Officer dickhead is back at it again! If you don’t remember, I wrote about this officer at my job (he is a DC police officer who constantly harasses me). I don’t know him from a can of paint, but he has made it his life job to get me. You can read about our encounters here. Yesterday, I parked in an illegal space. Actually, I just made my own damn spot because parking here is hard to come by. Now, not that this is an excuse BUT, everyone one does it. Cars always park there with no problems. This is probably the 3rd or 4th time I have parked there. But I guess that was one time too many.
When I came into work yesterday, I pulled up into my self-made spot. Now there are two of these types of spots right next to each other. So I pulled up and parked next to my fellow illegally parked car. I got to work at about 10:30, I left at about 3. When I got to my car as I was headed home for the day, there is a pink piece of paper waving at me. I watched the wind blow this paper that had been carefully placed in my wiper blade. I knew immediately what it was…and I thought to myself that it can’t be from officer dickhead. But sure enough, when I got the ticket and looked at the bottom it was neatly signed “officer dickhead” (that’s not his name, but it might as well be). I couldn’t help but to laugh. I looked at the illegally parked car next to mine and do you think there was a ticket on it? HECK NO! Did I get one, of course! Now, I think it was just a warning, since the warning box was checked…but still.
Once upon a time, I really believed what goes around comes around but now, I’m not too sure. Is God really going to have it out for this man because he keeps giving me tickets and harassing me? I don’t think that would take priority over homeless children, genocide and other serious matters in the world. So, I really want to get this idiot back. Now, this is totally out of my character, but who does he is to think that he can just keep messing with me? He seriously seeks me out. And I just don’t know why.
Today, my client and I were walking to another building for a meeting. And who do we run into? None other than officer dickhead. There was all these cops and a fire trucks outside of the building. There always are. The damn thing needs to be condemned. So after being told we can go into the building, this idiot is yelling at my client saying “you can’t go that way…go the other way”. This is after we had been told by the other officer to in. I mean his tone and voice was just nasty. When I realized it was him I just laughed. He is such an idiot. If he had of addressed me like that I would have told his rolly polly ass where to go and what he can do with his nasty attitude.
He’s the type of person you want to give ex-lax to and tell him it’s hot chocolate. At this point its just funny and sad that he goes out of his way to seek me out. The funny thing is I have no idea why. Maybe I shouldn’t waste my time plotting to get him, but I want to make it known that I am not the one. Any ideas?
I have been MIA for a few days, I have just been busy juggling all the ventures that I am running. My weekend started wonderfully…a simple Friday (boss was out) and I had a party Friday evening and will come to an end tomorrow (I will be working from home, which I should do any way because going to DC each day is just a waste). There is something to be said about doing what you love and just living it up. And even though it may be tiring, there is something inside that just keeps pushing you forward.
On Friday, I had my Pure Romance debut par-tay and it was hit! Despite the late start (folks on CP time…since when does 6pm mean 8pm?) And half of the folks who RSVP’ed showed (blame DC traffic)…but I still scored big time in the sales department and booked 2 other parties! I am certainly thankful to the folks who came out in the freezing cold to party. It is interesting how many women feel like they need permission to want to have a fulfilling sex life and how many think that pursing their sexual needs in their relationships is somehow taboo. On Friday night, I heard a lot of bedroom stories, and I can’t believe how many folks opened up to me in the ordering room about their private sexual life’s. Which to me, means I did a good job. I wanted people to be comfortable, relaxed and to open up . Everyone no matter, how they came into to the party or whatever feelings they initially felt left feeling the way I had hoped. It’s amazing how many women will lay there so their partner can get satisfaction and relinquish all control and hope of being satisfied. So Friday was a good day for me, from many different aspects.
I also got some really good designs for my company conferences happening in Charlotte and Virginia Beach, so I will begin promoting that tomorrow. My speakers are pretty much lined up, and I am hoping that this one sponsor signs on the dotted line.
Tomorrow, I am having a phone party and by all indications it will go well considering, I just pulled it together about 1 day ago. I am still learning to work my other blog, I am self-hosting it and learning all that code and techy stuff has been quite the experience. But I haven’t blew up anything yet, so I think I am doing OK Plus, I want to take my other business completely to a blog format (and can the website) among other changes that I want to make, so this will be good practice for me.
Going back to work…I am not looking forward to. But I know it is just a temporary means to a greater end…so I will hang in there and work rapidly to get out of there. Like is too too short to settle for the okey doke.
So, it’s 5:45, and where I am? Still at work! Why? Because I have so much crap to do it’s crazy and they just keep piling it on. See, I am a contractor, I don’t work for my client, I work for my company. And I guess since the government folks don’t do any work…they give it to us to do. But for real, it’s like my boss doesn’t understand that 1 thing could take days…even if I worked on it without working on anything else. They don’t know anything…they don’t know how to work our software and databases, they don’t know how to work our Sharepoint sites…nothing! So guess what? They ask for stuff and don’t understand the complexity of the task because in their little minds, all I need to do is push a button and out comes this pretty user-friendly report with everything just the way they like it. NOT!
I am tired on several occassion to transfer within the company and my project manager just gives me lip service. Now, don’t get me wrong, I do not have deep feelings for any one job ever. If I am at a job for longer than a year, my friends and family think that’s a miracle…’cause I stick and move… But I want to stick around to be fully vested in my 401K and if they know what’s right for them…my raise should be sweet. But I don’t know how long I can last in this…on Monday I worked almost 12 hours…today it will be close to 9. Thursday isn’t looking too great either.
I have so much stuff to do it’s crazy… I am leading one group, the acting lead of another, a team member on this group, I just got the lead for anther iniatitve. PLUS, i sat in meetings 95% of the day today…how the heck am I supposed to get anything done sitting in meetings?
Then I have the stuff that I really like to do such as my businesses. I am planning a conference in Charlotte and Virginia Beach this year…and I LOVE doing this stuff. But I spend so much time at the JOB, by the time I get around to doing the fun stuff, I do get a second wind…but the next day I am so tired. Plus, I got my Pure Romance kit and I placed another order of stuff and I got it all and I just want to go home and play in it. I love it! I have my first party this Friday! YAY!!! So I am very excited. I will post another entry about the menu later. But I digress. Anyways, a sista is tired. I need to figure out a way to do what I want to do all the time and make a whole lotta money doing it!
Now that the majority have trampled over the rights of the minority…once again. They want to force gays and lesbians who were married to get divorced. Do people not have anything better to do? How does two loving people who are married affect someone else? And please spare me the analogies to two siblings marrying, people marrying animals and polygamy. Comparing homosexuals to any of these is an insult and shows the level of intellect of the person making the accusation. But I digress, we sit arounnd and let women get beat by their husbands. We encourage women to go back, we insist it can get better and that he can change. Yet, every other day this woman is beaten to a pulp. We force people into marriages because families don’t want to be embarrassed by unwed mothers and children born out of wedlock. We push our daughters to marry the man with the bigger bank account instead of the one with the bigger heart. We prefer a man on the DL instead of one who doesn’t hide who he really is. But when people actually love and care about each other, they can’t be married simply because they are both the same sex?
As the fight for the freedom to marry marches on, there are folks out there who want to rip families apart because of what theythink should or shouldn’t be. And spare me the religious argument. Yes, I am a Christian (see other posts about this). I can not stomach folks who say being gay is a sin, it’s wrong, etc… and are ready to go to war about it yet, do nothing about the appalling divorce rate. Being that 10% of the population identifies themselves as gay or lesbian and 50% of the people (straight people) who get married, get divorced I am not sure how going to all out war against gay marriage is an effective use of resources.
But I saw this photo project on the Courage Campaign website and I just had to share. It’s easy to make judgements and decisions about nameless, faceless people. But when you are forced to look into the eyes of a person before you start to belittle them, strip away their rights and otherwise call them 2nd class citizens, people tend to have a change of heart.
I posted about me being stuck last week, and I think, finally I am starting to see the light. I am starting to think being stuck isn’t always a bad then, especially if it causes you to pause and prevent you from making a wrong turn.
My problem, to an extent is that I try to put myself in a box. And I can’t do that because there will never be a box that fully captures me, who I am, what I do, my interests, my goals, my dreams… I am a constantly shifting paradigm, and, thats OK.
I may have several businesses, but I can never really be defined by one. I am not a consultant, an event planner or a marketing expert. Yes, I perform those functions but really at heart I am an entrepreneur, an innovator, and idea generator. That’s who I am.
So being able to free myself of my self-imposed box really helps me to see the light shinning not too far away. I think, i think I just may have got my mojo back. I am working on a new venture and it is 1 in the morning. I haven’t been up this late, this excited about anything in months. I am reinventing myself and repositioning myself. I am doing away with the old and embracing the new. I told my self I would be financially independent by the age of 30, I that I will do. I decided that it may make good financial sense to stay at my job, not only because the real work I actually do is interesting and will actually help me with my “side gigs” but also because If I can hang out for just another 18 months I will be fully vested in our 401k. Which means that all the matching contributions my company has made is mine for the keeping and I like free money!!
One of the things that I have been researching for a few months now is becoming a consultant for one of those “sex toy party companies”. I have been to a few parties (okay, a little more than a few), I have spent hundreds of bucks on “novelties” and I have always had a good time. So I said, hey, I think I can do this. In a past life I was a Director in Qualification for Mary Kay, I also was an associate for Pre Paid Legal, both of which I did very well. Initially, I looked at Slumber Parties and Passion Parties but as luck had it I came across another company called Pure Romance. And both me and my sweetie decided to do this together and we both love the company and have decided to give it a go. Even though I have not officially signed up yet (will do that at the end of the week). I have already created a blog site (I wanted a blog in addition to the company site they will provide) and set a date for a Trunk Show at my house. When I get an idea, my time to market is rapid! LOL.
So I am excited and feeling good about 2009 and beyond. On a whole other note, I am also getting word that they killed Jenny in the next season of the L word. Can’t say I will miss her, ’cause she was getting on my last nerve! But that is still messed up.
As I have revealed in a previous post, I am fed up with the establishment…the corporate establishment.
I looked online today for an exciting job possibly in the areas of pr, communications or marketing and found none. Well one writing press releases for some boring government program. I feel like I am 19 all over again…I don’t know what I want to do with my life.
I have a small business, I have had several but that doesn’t do it for me. Yesterday, I thought about opening a branding, strategy and corporate communications company and today I am thinking about being a freelance writer. I have read all the top titles on finding your purpose, I have pondered the question “what would i do even if i didn’t get paid”.
The only thing that remains constant is the fact that i hate my commute…sitting in traffic going to and from work has to go! The other thing is that I hate not having the option of being home for my son. It is not that I want to be a stay at home anything. I just remember those times when I came home from school and my mom was there, I looked forward to that all day. My son goes to an after school program which is fine, he loves it. But I think what gets me is that I don’t have the option to be there.
One day I sat down and thought about how people get all happy when they start a job and they have a “great” benefits package complete with “2 weeks” vacation and sick leave. I am so over that! 2 weeks vacation really is only 14 days. And when life happens (especially if you have kids) you can use that up in no time. For example, if my sons school closes for bad snow and does that just 2x and I have to stay home…I am out 15% of my vacation time!
What crushes me is that I have seen a few “entry-level” jobs in fields that I have an interest. However, I can’t pay my mortgage on entry level pay. I have a great mortgage with a low-interest rate but Washington, DC has one of the highest real estate prices in the U.S. even in this market. So a home here costs much more than homes in other cities. I don’t envy homeowners in San Fransisco and NY for this very reason. So I have bare minimum level of income that I need to bring in.
When I was running my business (which I am debating what to do with) I worked with women entrepreneurs. One thing that irked me was that many would regale crowds with stories of how they quit their jobs and started their business. But what they don’t say mattered even more. These women were married, their husbands worked. These women’s incomes were probably not too important to the overall scheme of things, they were still insured (via their hubby’s insurance) so they didn’t have the same worries that a one-income household does. If I don’t have insurance, my son doesn’t have insurance. If I don’t make any money, there is no money coming into the house.
One of the the things that I need to get back on the ball with is passive income. I have earned a few hundred bucks through affiliate programs, so now I need to figure out how to turn those into 4 and 5 figure checks.
I am sick of the linear relationship between work and pay. Meaning, I had the notion of one hour of work for one hour pay. Which is why passive income is so great, because it pays off of work done previously and keeps coming.
One of the things I need to do immediately for the new year is fix my rental and rent it out. My rental unit brings in about $800 a month. But it needs a new toilet, paint and a few minor upgrades. I am going to try to do most of the work myself, but that will take time. If I bring in someone else to do it, that will take money. But I need to get it done ASAP. Rental income is considered active passive income since generally speaking as long as it is rented income comes in, but you do have to actively manage the property (upkeep, tenant issues, etc…). I need to do something (at the least get the toilet fixed) to capitalize on the inauguration rental frenzy. I probably can get about $1k for one week.
There are some new retail developments coming up and I know there is a way to capitalize on them…just quite haven’t figured out how yet.
Why was it that when I was younger, I had all the answers…now at 29…I have none?
